Back to results
US 7,679,041 B2Granted
Electronic imaging device with photosensor arrays
AssigneeGE Inspection Technologies, LP
InventorRaymond A. Lia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electronic imaging device is provided that includes a plurality of sensor elements, such as multiple photosensor arrays, wherein some of the sensor elements have a different numerical aperture value than the others, and wherein the sensor elements can be arranged such that their electrical signals can be combined to produce a composite electrical signal.
Claims24
An electronic imaging device for capturing an image, comprising:
- a first plurality of sensor elements that output signals based on the amount of light received by each of said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements;
- a second plurality of sensor elements that output signals based on the amount of light received by each of said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements;
- and
- an aperture mask layer disposed proximate said first and second plurality of sensor elements, wherein said aperture mask layer defines a first plurality of openings and a second plurality of openings, and wherein each opening in said first plurality of openings has a first area and each opening in said second plurality of openings has a second area, and wherein said first area is different than said second area;
- wherein said first plurality of openings limit the amount of light that can be received by each of said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements forming a first light acceptance angle for each of said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements, and said second plurality of openings limit the amount of light that can be received by each of said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements forming a second light acceptance angle for each of said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements;
- and
- wherein said signals from said first plurality of sensor elements are combined with said signals from said second plurality of sensor elements to produce a composite image.
4 more elements
A video inspection device for capturing an image, comprising:
- a display;
- and
- an insertion tube having an image sensor and a lens disposed at a distal end thereof, wherein said image sensor is in communication with said display and includes an electronic imager;
- wherein said electronic imager includes a first plurality of sensor elements that output signals based on the amount of light received by each of said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements, a second plurality of sensor elements that output signals based on the amount of light received by each of said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements, and an aperture mask layer disposed proximate said first and second plurality of sensor elements, wherein said aperture mask layer defines a first plurality of openings and a second plurality of openings, and wherein each opening in said first plurality of openings has a first area and each opening in said second plurality of openings has a second area, and wherein said first area is different than said second area, and wherein said first plurality of openings limit the amount of light that can be received by said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements forming a first light acceptance angle for each of said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements, and said second plurality of openings limit the amount of light that can be received by said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements forming a second light acceptance angle for each of said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements, and wherein said signals from said first plurality of sensor elements are combined with said signals from said second plurality of sensor elements to produce a composite image.
1 more element
A remote visual inspection device for capturing an image, comprising:
- a base module;
- a computation module;
- a demountable inspection module;
- an interconnection module;
- a power module;
- a unitary display module and control module;
- and
- and an image sensor, wherein said image sensor includes a first plurality of sensor elements that output signals based on the amount of light received by each of said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements, a second plurality of sensor elements that output signals based on the amount of light received by each of said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements, and an aperture mask layer disposed proximate said first and second plurality of sensor elements, wherein said aperture mask layer defines a first plurality of openings and a second plurality of openings, and wherein each opening in said first plurality of openings has a first area and each opening in said second plurality of openings has a second area, and wherein said first area is different than said second area, and wherein said first plurality of openings limit the amount of light that can be received by said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements forming a first light acceptance angle for each of said sensor elements in said first plurality of sensor elements, and said second plurality of openings limit the amount of light that can be received by said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements forming a second light acceptance angle for each of said sensor elements in said second plurality of sensor elements, and wherein said signals from said first plurality of sensor elements are combined with said signals from said second plurality of sensor elements to produce a composite image.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.