Imaging Apparatus with Regional Electronic Color Filtering
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing imaging technologies struggle to adjust colors in an image accurately and naturally, especially when dealing with scenes where certain colors need enhancement, leading to unnatural color tones and blown-out highlights.
Innovation Solution
An imaging apparatus with an electronic color filter that adjusts light reception rates for each color independently, allowing for precise control over color density through an electronic color filter integrated with the image sensor, controlled by a controller to selectively enhance specific colors based on user input or subject recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional imaging technologies are used to adjust colors in an image, then color adjustment is possible, but the color tones become unnatural and highlights are blown out
Solution Approach 1:
The image sensor is divided into multiple regions, each with independent color filter adjustments. The adjuster separately controls light reception rates for different colors in different regions, allowing precise local color tuning without affecting the entire image uniformly, thus avoiding unnatural color tones and blown-out highlights.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the image sensor are assigned different light reception rates for specific colors based on local requirements. The controller identifies regions requiring color enhancement and applies targeted adjustments only to those areas, maintaining natural color tones in other regions while achieving the desired color enhancement locally.
2Illumination intensity
If light reception rate is increased for specific colors to enhance them, then color enhancement is achieved, but highlights become blown out
Solution Approach 1:
The adjuster applies different light reception rate adjustments to different colors in different regions. When enhancing a specific color in a particular region, the system carefully controls the adjustment magnitude to increase color intensity without exceeding the dynamic range, thereby preventing highlight clipping and blown-out effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies color enhancement adjustments selectively only to regions and colors that require it, rather than uniformly across the entire image. This partial action approach enhances desired colors in specific areas while leaving other regions unchanged, avoiding overall overexposure and blown-out highlights.
3Stability of the object's composition
If uniform color adjustment is applied across the entire image, then color consistency is maintained, but local color enhancements cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The image sensor is segmented into multiple independently controllable regions, each capable of receiving different light reception rate adjustments for specific colors. This segmentation enables the system to maintain color consistency in regions where it is desired while simultaneously applying local color enhancements in regions where needed, achieving both uniformity and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The light reception rates for different colors in different regions are dynamically adjustable based on the imaging requirements. The controller can adaptively modify the color filter characteristics in real-time, allowing the system to switch between maintaining overall color consistency and applying local color enhancements as needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy and natural adjustment of colors in images, maintaining desired color tones across the entire image while utilizing the camera's dynamic range to avoid blown-out highlights and achieve user-defined color enhancements.
Implementation Method 1
a condenser lens unit that is formed on the color filter layer and that has a liquid-crystal layer whose alignment changes upon application of a voltage
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging apparatus includes: an image sensor that captures a subject image by receiving light of a plurality of colors, to generate image data; a controller that controls the image sensor; and an adjuster that adjusts a light reception rate, in each position on an incident surface, the light reception rate allowing the image sensor to receive the light color by color, the incident surface being entered by the light corresponding to an image represented by the image data. The controller controls the adjuster to render the light reception rate of a specific first color in a position corresponding to part of the image on the incident surface different from the light reception rate of a first color in other positions, and causes the image sensor to capture the image with the light reception rate of the first color rendered different by the adjuster, generating image data representing the image.