Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100039546 | CMOS PHOTOGATE 3D CAMERA SYSTEM HAVING IMPROVED CHARGE SENSING CELL AND PIXEL GEOMETRY - A photosurface for receiving and registering light from a scene, the photosurface comprising: a first semiconductor region in which electron-hole pairs are generated responsive to light incident on the photosurface; a single, first conductive region substantially overlaying all of the first semiconductor region; at least one second semiconductor region surrounded by the first semiconductor region; a different second conductive region for each second semiconductor region that surrounds the second semiconductor region and is electrically isolated from the first conductive region; wherein when the second conductive region is electrified positive with respect to the first conductive region, electrons generated by light incident on the first semiconductor region are collected in the second semiconductor region. | 02-18-2010 |
20110310125 | COMPARTMENTALIZING FOCUS AREA WITHIN FIELD OF VIEW - A system and method are disclosed for selectively focusing on certain areas of interest within an imaged scene to gain more image detail within those areas. In general, the present system identifies areas of interest from received image data, which may for example be detected areas of movement within the scene. The system then focuses on those areas by providing more detail in the area of interest. This may be accomplished by a number of methods, including zooming in on the image, increasing pixel density of the image and increasing the amount of light incident on the object in the image. | 12-22-2011 |
20120075427 | WIDE ANGLE FIELD OF VIEW ACTIVE ILLUMINATION IMAGING SYSTEM - An embodiment of the invention provides an active illumination imaging system comprising a first camera and a second camera, each having an optical axis and a field of view (FOV) characterized by a view angle in a plane that contains the optical axis and wherein the optical axes of the cameras intersect at an intersection region common to their FOVs at an angle substantially equal to half a sum of their view angles. | 03-29-2012 |
20120154573 | PLURAL ANODE TIME-OF-FLIGHT SENSOR - A time of flight (TOF) camera comprises a light source for illuminating an object with light and a plurality of light-sensitive pixels for collecting return image light reflected by the object. Further, each light-sensitive pixel of the TOF camera may comprise a photoelectric cathode for generating electrons responsive to return image light incident on the pixel and a plurality of anodes for collecting electrons generated at the photoelectric cathode. | 06-21-2012 |
20120229611 | ILLUMINATOR WITH REFRACTIVE OPTICAL ELEMENT - An illumination system having a refractive optical element that compensates for dependence in irradiance of images of objects captured by a photosensor is provided. The refractive optical element may structure the light such that similar objects in the same spherical surface in the field of view of the camera have the same irradiance on the camera photosensor. The illumination system may have an image sensor, a light source, and a refractive optical element. The image sensor has a photosensor that captures images of objects in a field of view. The irradiance of images of objects having a given exitance that are captured by the photosensor may depend on angular displacement from an optical axis of the image sensor. The refractive optical structures light from the light source to illuminate the field of view to compensate for the dependence of irradiance on angular displacement from the optical axis. | 09-13-2012 |
20120287242 | ADAPTIVE HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE CAMERA - An embodiment of the invention provides a time of flight 3D camera comprising a photosensor having a plurality of pixels that generate and accumulate photoelectrons responsive to incident light, which photosensor is tiled into a plurality of super pixels, each partitioned into a plurality of pixel groups and a controller that provides a measure of an amount of light incident on a super pixel responsive to quantities of photoelectrons from pixel groups in the super pixel that do not saturate a readout pixel comprised in the photosensor. | 11-15-2012 |
20120287646 | LOW INDUCTANCE LIGHT SOURCE MODULE - An embodiment of the invention provides a low inductance light source module comprising a connector having a layer of insulating material sandwiched between first and second conducting layers and a semiconducting light source that seats in a recess extending through the first conducting layer and the insulating later and has first and second electrical contacts for receiving power electrically connected to the first and second conducting layers. | 11-15-2012 |
20130176396 | BROADBAND IMAGER - A broadband imager, which is able to image both IR and visible light, is disclosed. In one embodiment, an IR sensitive region of an IR pixel underlies the R, G, B sensitive regions of R, G, and B visible pixels. Therefore, the IR pixel receives IR light through a same surface area of the photosensor through which the R, G, and B pixels receive visible light. However, the IR light generates electron-hole pairs deeper below the common surface area shared by the RGB and IR pixels, than visible light. The photosensor also has a charge accumulation region for accumulating charges generated in the IR sensitive region and an electrode above the charge accumulation region for providing a voltage to accumulate the charges generated in the IR pixel. | 07-11-2013 |
20130188022 | 3D ZOOM IMAGER - A 3D imager comprising two cameras having fixed wide-angle and narrow angle FOVs respectively that overlap to provide an active space for the imager and a controller that determines distances to features in the active space responsive to distances provided by the cameras and a division of the active space into near, intermediate, and far zones. | 07-25-2013 |
20130208091 | AMBIENT LIGHT ALERT FOR AN IMAGE SENSOR - An image camera component and its method of operation are disclosed. The image camera component detects when ambient light within a field of view of the camera component interferes with operation of the camera component to correctly identify distances to objects within the field of view of the camera component. Upon detecting a problematic ambient light source, the image camera component may cause an alert to be generated so that a user can ameliorate the problematic ambient light source. | 08-15-2013 |
20130235160 | OPTICAL PULSE SHAPING - An embodiment of the invention relates to providing a method of illuminating a scene imaged by a camera, which includes illuminating the scene with a train of light pulses and adjusting exposure times of the camera relative to transmission times of the light pulses so that the light pulses emulate a light pulse having a desired pulse shape. | 09-12-2013 |
20140125766 | ACCUMULATING CHARGE FROM MULTIPLE IMAGING EXPOSURE PERIODS - Embodiments related to accumulating charge during multiple exposure periods in a time-of-flight depth camera are disclosed. For example, one embodiment provides a method including accumulating a first charge on a photodetector during a first exposure period for a first light pulse, transferring the first charge to a charge storage mechanism, accumulating a second charge during a second exposure period for the first light pulse, and transferring the second charge to the charge storage mechanism. The method further includes accumulating an additional first charge during a first exposure period for a second light pulse, adding the additional first charge to the first charge to form an updated first charge, accumulating an additional second charge on the photodetector for a second exposure period for the second light pulse, and adding the additional second charge to the second charge to form an updated second charge. | 05-08-2014 |
20140267613 | PHOTOSENSOR HAVING ENHANCED SENSITIVITY - A method of controlling a photosensor having adjacent light sensitive pixels in which photocharge is generated in depletion zones of the pixels by light incident on the photosensor, comprising applying voltage to gate electrodes of the photopixels so that the depletion zone of one of the pixels extends into and lies under a portion of the depletion region of the other pixel. | 09-18-2014 |
20140347443 | INDIRECT REFLECTION SUPPRESSION IN DEPTH IMAGING - A depth-sensing method for a time-of-flight depth camera includes irradiating a subject with pulsed light of spatially alternating bright and dark features, and receiving the pulsed light reflected back from the subject onto an array of pixels. At each pixel of the array, a signal is presented that depends on distance from the depth camera to the subject locus imaged onto that pixel. In this method, the subject is mapped based on the signal from pixels that image subject loci directly irradiated by the bright features, while omitting or weighting negatively the signal from pixels that image subject loci under the dark features. | 11-27-2014 |