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EP0467685A2
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Automatic white-balance controlling apparatus
Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
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Filing: 1991-07-17
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-07-17
Abstract
Abstract An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus for controlling the white-balance of an imaged screen, by controlling the color signal level in accordance with the up-down counting result in a microcomputer. A limited area is established within a VB-VR plane, and the level adjusting operation of the color signals corresponding to the area is limeted so as to render a stable white-balance adjusted operation. Judged from data in time series, the accuracy of the white-balance controlling operation can be assured executing somewhat redundant processing.
Inventors
- 👤 Hiroaki c/o Mitsubishi Denki K.K. Sugiura
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 10:50
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N23/00; H04N23/80; H04N23/84; H04N23/88
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
144 words
An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus, comprising: (a) an integrating means for integrating two types of color difference signals in screen units respectively; (b) a comparing means for comparing each of the integrated values obtained from the integrating means to a reference value representing an achromatic color; (c) a command means for: repeatedly executing an up-down count for each color difference signal at each screen based on the compared result respectively; establishing a limited area in a two-dimensional space defined to represent the two types of up-down count results in coordinates; cancelling the newest counting operation in respect of at least one type of the up-down counting result; commanding the gain based on the up-down counting result; and (d) an adjusting means for adjusting the levels of the three color signals forming an image taken in accordance with the ordered gain from the command means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
111 words
An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises: (a) a means for selecting either a chasing mode or a storing mode; (b) a means for generating a trigger to command the maintainance of the white balance controlled state; and said command means sets the limited area as a first limited area when the chasing mode is selected, while it sets the limited area as a second limited area when the storing mode is selected, the first limited area being included within the second limited area; and said command means executes the up-down counting only when the trigger is generated when the storing mode is selected.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
68 words
An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said apparatus further comprises a high-frequency component extracting means for extracting the high-frequency component of a brightness signal from three color signals, and said command means sets the limited area to be larger when the high-frequency component quantity is large while it sets the limited area to be narrower when the high-frequency component quantity is small.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
145 words
An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus comprising: (a) an integrating means for integrating two types of color difference signals in screen units respectively; (b) a comparing means for comparing each of the integrated values obtained from the integrating means to a reference value representing an achromatic color; (c) a command means for: repeatedly executing an up-down count for each color difference signal at each screen based on the compared result respectively; storing the compared result data for several events in time series; judging if the stored result data are completely accorded with each of the color difference signals, and executing the up-down counting only when in accordance; and commanding the gain based on the result of the up-down counting; and (d) an adjusting means for adjusting the levels of three color signals forming an image taken in accordance with the ordered gain from the command means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said apparatus further comprises a zoom position detecting means for detecting the zoom position of the lens, and the number of points to be stored in time series in said command means is set in accordance with the position of the zoom position.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
43 words
An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said apparatus further comprises a zooming position detecting means for detecting the zooming position, and the number of the time-series storing points in the command means are set depending on the zooming position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
82 words
An automatic white-balance controlling apparatus according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein said command means comprises means for: storing a compared result at a time point proceeding to the compared result stored in time series; judging if the compared result stored in time series has been changed in view of the compared result at a time proceeding thereto; increasing the number of storing time points in the storing operation in series when there is any change, while decreasing it when unchanged.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
60 words
An automatic white-color balance controlling apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein said apparatus further comprises a level controlling means capable of variably adjusting the level of a signal from which the color signal generates, and the number of storing time points in time series of the command means is set through said level controlling means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
61 words
An automatic white-color balance controlling apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein said apparatus further comprises a high-frequency component extracting means for extracting the high-frequency component of the brightness signal from the three color signals, and the number of the storing time points in time series of said command means is set through said level controlling means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
A video camera including a white-color balance controlling apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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