Electric camera
View Patent ↗An electric camera includes an image sensing device with a light receiving surface having N vertically arranged pixels and an arbitrary number of pixels arranged horizontally, N being equal to or more than three times the number of effective scanning lines M of a display screen of a television system, a driver to drive the image sensing device to vertically mix or cull signal charges accumulated in individual pixels of K pixels to produce, during a vertical effective scanning period of the television system, a number of lines of output signals which corresponds to 1/K the number of vertically arranged pixels N of the image sensing device, K being an integer equal to or less than an integral part of a quotient of N divided by M, and a signal processing unit having a function of generating image signals by using the output signals of the image sensing device.
1. An electric camera comprising:
an image sensing device with a light receiving sensor having an array of pixels arranged vertically and horizontally in a grid pattern, in an N number of vertically arranged pixel lines, wherein N is equal to or greater than three times a number of effective scanning lines M of a display screen;
a signal processing unit, that generates image signals by using the output signals of the image sensing device; and
a display unit with the display screen, to display an image corresponding to the image signals;
wherein during monitoring in a static image mode, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by mixing or culling signal charges accumulated in the N number of vertically arranged pixel lines to provide pixel lines only at pixel intervals of K1 pixels;
wherein during recording in a moving video mode, the signal processing unit generates image signals by mixing or culling signal charges accumulated in the N number of vertically arranged pixel lines to provide pixel lines only at pixel intervals of K2 pixels, a value of K1 being different from a value of K2; and
wherein during recording in the static image mode, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by using all signal charges accumulated in the N number of vertically arranged pixel lines, to provide N pixel lines.
2. An electric camera according to the claim 1 , wherein the value K1 is larger than the value K2.
3. An electric camera according to the claim 1 , wherein during the moving video mode, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by using the signal charges mixed or culled at pixel intervals of K2 pixels.
4. An electric camera according to the claim 3 , comprising:
an image-instability detector which detects an image-instability of the electric camera;
wherein the signal processing unit generates image signals by using the part of signal charges mixed or culled at pixel intervals of K2 pixels, the part being changed according to an amount of image-instability detected by the instability detector to correct the image-instability, during the moving video mode.
5. An electric camera comprising:
an image sensing device with a light receiving sensor having an array of pixels arranged vertically and horizontally in a grid pattern, in an N number of vertically arranged pixel lines;
a signal processing unit that generates image signals by processing the output signals of the image sensing device; and
a display unit with a display screen, that displays an image corresponding to the image signals;
wherein when recording an image in a static image mode, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by using all signal charges accumulated in all N number of vertically arranged pixel lines of the image sensing device, to provide N pixel lines;
wherein when monitoring the image in the static image mode, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by using pixel lines that have been mixed or culled from the N number of vertically arranged pixel lines to only include pixel lines separated from one another by intervals of a first distance; and
wherein when recording the image in a moving video mode, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by using a portion of, or the entirety of, pixel lines which have been mixed or culled from the N number of vertically arranged pixel lines to only include pixel lines separated from one another by intervals of a second distance, where the second distance is different from the first distance.
6. An electric camera according to the claim 5 , further comprising:
an image-instability detector which detects an image-instability of the electric camera; and
wherein when recording in the moving video mode, in order to correct the image-instability, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by changing the pixel lines used, and the portion of the pixel lines used, according to an amount of image-instability detected by the instability detector.
7. An electric camera according to the claim 5 , wherein a value of the first distance is larger than a value of the second distance.
8. An electric camera according to the claim 5 , wherein N is equal to or greater than a product of a fixed parameter multiplied by a number of effective scanning lines M of the display screen.
9. An electric camera according to the claim 8 , wherein the fixed parameter is equal to three.
10. A method for operating an electric camera, wherein the electric camera includes the features of
an image sensing device with a light receiving surface having an array of pixels arranged vertically and horizontally in a grid pattern with an N number of vertically arranged pixel lines,
a signal processing unit that generates image signals by processing the output signals of the image sensing device, and
a display unit with a display screen that displays an image corresponding to the image signals, the method comprising:
selecting between a static image mode and a moving video mode, and when in the static image mode, selecting an operation from a list including (1) recording the image in the static image mode, and (2) monitoring the image in the static image mode;
upon selecting the operation of recording the image in the static image mode, using the signal processing unit to generate the image signals by using all signal charges accumulated in all N number of vertically arranged pixel lines of the image sensing device, to provide N pixel lines;
upon selecting the operation of monitoring the image in the static image mode, using the signal processing unit to generate the image signals by using pixel lines which have been mixed or culled from the N number of vertically arranged pixel lines of the image sensing device to provide only pixel lines separated from one another by intervals of a given distance; and
upon selecting the operation of recording the image in the moving video mode, using the signal processing unit to generate the image signals by using a portion of, or the entirety of, the N number of vertically arranged pixel lines which have been mixed or culled to provide only pixel lines separated from one another by intervals of a second distance, wherein a value of the second distance is different from a value of the first distance.
11. A method for operating an electric camera of claim 10 ,
wherein when recording in the moving video mode, in order to correct image-instability, the signal processing unit generates the image signals by changing the pixel lines used, and the portion of the pixel lines used, according to an amount of image-instability detected by a instability detector which detects an image-instability of the electric camera.
12. A method for operating an electric camera of claim 10 , wherein the value of the first distance is larger than the value of the second distance.
13. A method for operating an electric camera of claim 10 , wherein N is equal to or greater than a product of a fixed parameter multiplied by a number of effective scanning lines M of the display screen.
14. A method for operating an electric camera of claim 13 , wherein the fixed parameter is equal to three.