Method and apparatus for capturing images using blemished sensors
AssigneeCreo IL. Ltd.
InventorStanley Barkan
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Abstract
Apparatus for image capture via a blemished sensor, comprising: a large area pixel based image sensor being actuatable to move between a first image capture position and a second image capture position, an image capture controller for controlling said sensor to move between said image capture positions during an image capture operation thereby to take a sub-image at each one of said positions so that each part of an image subject is captured by at least two separate pixels of said sensor, and an integrator, associated with said sensor, for integrating said sub-images into a single full image. Preferably, the sensor is tested to find blemish positions and a shift is calculated that minimizes the number of blemish positions that superimpose between the two pixel positions.
Claims18
Apparatus for image capture via a blemished sensor, comprising:
- an image sensor, said image sensor comprising pixels and being actuatable to move between at least a first image capture position and a second image capture position,
- an image capture controller for controlling said sensor to move between said image capture positions during an image capture operation thereby to take a sub-image at each one of said positions so that parts of an image subject are captured by at least two separate pixels of said sensor, and
- an integrator, associated with said sensor, for integrating said sub-images into a single full image,
- said sub image being captured in a plurality of separate color channels and blemishes being generally restricted to a single color channel, wherein said integrator is operable at each blemish to use data from each complete color channel and surrounding data of each damaged color channel to interpolate for each damaged color channel.
A method of accommodating for blemished pixels in a pixellated image sensor comprising the steps of:
- capturing a first sub image at a first sensor position,
- shifting said sensor,
- capturing a second sub-image at a second sensor position, and
- integrating data from corresponding pixels of said first sub-image and said second sub-image to form a complete image,
- wherein color data is collected via separate color channels and wherein blemishes are per color such that at least one color channel is complete at a blemish position and at least one color channel is incomplete at said blemish position, the method comprising determining color data at said blemish position by interpolation using data of said complete channels at said blemish position together with data of said incomplete channels surrounding said blemish position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.