Horizontal line interpolation circuit and image pickup apparatus including it

Claim 2

A horizontal line interpolation circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein a vertical aperture correction circuit (13) is disposed behind the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11), the vertical aperture correction circuit (13) performing vertical aperture correction by controlling the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on the interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.

Claim 3

A horizontal line interpolation circuit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a vertical aperture correction circuit (33) for performing vertical aperture correction of an input image signal, and wherein said interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing of horizontal lines of an output signal of the vertical aperture correction circuit (33), and wherein said vertical aperture correction circuit (33) controls the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on an interpolation coefficient for interpolation processing of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11).

Claim 4

An image pickup apparatus comprising: an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of an image sensor; and a control circuit (17) for controlling gain of vertical aperture correction depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.

Claim 5

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein a vertical aperture correction circuit (13) is disposed behind the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11), the vertical aperture correction circuit (13) performing vertical aperture correction by controlling the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on the interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.

Claim 6

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising: a vertical aperture correction circuit (33) for performing vertical aperture correction of an output signal of the image sensor, and wherein said interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) performs interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the vertical aperture correction circuit (33), and wherein said vertical aperture correction circuit (33) controls the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11).

Claim 7

An image pickup apparatus comprising: a color image sensor being structured to output two different chrominance signals in line sequential; a delay circuit (37) for delaying an output signal of the color image sensor by at least one horizontal-period; a vertical aperture correction signal generator (15) for generating a vertical aperture correction signal from an output signal of the delay circuit (37) and an output signal of the color image sensor; a chrominance signal separating circuit (44) for separating a chrominance signal out of an output signal of the delay circuit and an output signal of the color image sensor; a luminance signal separating circuit (42) for separating a luminance signal out of an output signal of the delay circuit (37) or an output signal of the color image sensor; a control circuit (17) for controlling gain of the vertical aperture correction signal; an adder (43) for adding together output of the control circuit and the luminance signal; and an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the adder, wherein said control circuit (17) controls the gain of a vertical aperture correction signal depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11).

Claim 8

An image pickup apparatus comprising: an image sensor (1) for simultaneously reading signals of two adjoining horizontal pixel rows by one-time scan; an electronic zoom circuit (60) for enlargement-processing an output signal of the image sensor (1); an operation switch (52) for giving an instruction for on/off control of electronic zoom operation; and a scan method switching circuit (51) for controlling scan method of the image sensor (1) in accordance with an instruction from the operation switch (52), wherein said scan method switching circuit (51) exerts control so that, when the electronic zoom operation is instructed for on-control, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in odd and even fields are made identical, and that when the electronic zoom operation is instructed for off-control, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in the odd and even fields are shifted by one row in the vertical direction.

Claim 9

An image pickup apparatus comprising: an image sensor (1) for simultaneously reading signals of two adjoining horizontal pixel rows by one-time horizontal scan; an electronic zoom circuit (60) for enlargement-processing an output signal of the image sensor; an operation switch (52) for giving an instruction for on/off control of electronic zoom operation and an instruction for zoom multiplying factor; and a scan method switching circuit (63) for controlling scan method of the image sensor (1) in accordance with an instruction from the operation switch (52), wherein said scan method switching circuit (63) exerts control so that, when the electronic zoom operation is on and the zoom multiplying factor is over a specified value, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in odd and even fields are made identical, and otherwise a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in the odd and even fields are shifted by one row in the vertical direction.

Claim 10

An image pickup apparatus comprising: an image sensor (1) for simultaneously reading signals of two adjoining horizontal pixel rows by one-time horizontal scan; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the image sensor (1); a control circuit (17) for controlling gain of vertical aperture correction depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing; an operation switch (52) for giving an instruction for on/off control for operation of interpolation processing of horizontal lines; a scan method switching circuit (51) for controlling scan method of the image sensor (1) in accordance with an instruction from the operation switch (52), wherein said scan method switching circuit (51) controls so that, when electronic zoom operation is instructed for on-control, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in odd and even fields are made identical, and when the electronic zoom operation is instructed for off-control, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in the odd and even fields are shifted by one row in the vertical direction.

Claim 11

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein a vertical aperture correction circuit (13) is disposed behind the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11), the vertical aperture correction circuit (13) performing vertical aperture correction by controlling the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on the interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.

Claim 12

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising: a vertical aperture correction circuit (67) for performing vertical aperture correction of an output signal of the image sensor; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the vertical aperture correction circuit (67), wherein said vertical aperture correction circuit (67) controls the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on the interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11).

Claim 13

An image pickup apparatus comprising: an image sensor (1) for simultaneously reading signals of two adjoining horizontal pixel rows by one-time horizontal scan; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the image sensor (1); a control circuit (17) for controlling gain of vertical aperture correction depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing; an operation switch (52) for giving an instruction for on/off control for interpolation processing operation of horizontal lines and an instruction for a zoom multiplying factor; a scan method switching circuit (67) for controlling scan method of the image sensor (1) in accordance with an instruction from the operation switch (52), wherein said scan method switching circuit (67) controls so that, when the electronic zoom operation is on and the zoom multiplying factor is over a specified value, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in odd and even fields are made identical, and otherwise a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in the odd and even fields are shifted by one row in the vertical direction.

Claim 14

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein a vertical aperture correction circuit (13) is disposed behind the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11), the vertical aperture correction circuit (13) performing vertical aperture correction by controlling the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on the interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.

Claim 15

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: a vertical aperture correction circuit (67) for performing vertical aperture correction of an output signal of the image sensor; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the vertical aperture correction circuit (67), wherein said vertical aperture correction circuit (67) controls the gain of vertical aperture correction depending on the interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11).

Claim 16

An image pickup apparatus comprising: a color image sensor (1) for simultaneously reading signals of two adjoining horizontal pixel rows by one-time horizontal scan and outputting two different chrominance signals in line sequential; a delay circuit (37) for delaying an output signal of the color image sensor (1) by at least one horizontal-period; a vertical aperture correction signal generator (15) for generating a vertical aperture correction signal from an output signal of the delay circuit and an output signal of the color image sensor (1); a chrominance signal separating circuit (44) for separating a chrominance signal out of an output signal of the delay circuit and an output signal of the color image sensor; a luminance signal separating circuit (42) for separating a luminance signal out of an output signal of the delay circuit (37) or an output signal of the color image sensor (1); a control circuit (17) for controlling gain of the vertical aperture correction signal; an adder (43) for adding together output of the control circuit and the luminance signal; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the adder (43); an operation switch (52) for giving at least an instruction for on/off-control of interpolation processing operation for horizontal lines; and a scan method switching circuit (51) for controlling scan method of the image sensor (1) in accordance with an instruction from the operation switch (52), wherein said control circuit (17) controls the gain of a vertical aperture correction signal depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11), and said scan method switching circuit (51) exerts control so that, when electronic zoom operation is instructed for on-control, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in odd and even fields are made identical, and when the electronic zoom operation is instructed for off-control, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in the odd and even fields are shifted by one row in the vertical direction.

Claim 17

An image pickup apparatus comprising: a color image sensor (1) for simultaneously reading signals of two adjoining horizontal pixel rows by one-time horizontal scan and outputting two different chrominance signals in line sequential; a delay circuit (37) for delaying an output signal of the color image sensor (1) by at least one horizontal-period; a vertical aperture correction signal generator (15) for generating a vertical aperture correction signal from an output signal of the delay circuit (37) and an output signal of the color image sensor (1); a chrominance signal separating circuit (44) for separating a chrominance signal out of an output signal of the delay circuit (37) and an output signal of the color image sensor (1); a luminance signal separating circuit (42) for separating a luminance signal out of an output signal of the delay circuit (37) or an output signal of the color image sensor (1); a control circuit (17) for controlling gain of the vertical aperture correction signal; an adder (43) for adding together output of the control circuit (17) and the luminance signal; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the adder (43); an operation switch (52) for giving at least instructions for on/off-control of interpolation processing operation for horizontal lines and for zoom multiplying factor; and a scan method switching circuit (67) for controlling scan method of the image sensor (1) in accordance with an instruction from the operation switch (52), wherein said control circuit (17) controls the gain of a vertical aperture correction signal depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11), and said scan method switching circuit (51) exerts control so that, when the electronic zoom operation is on and the zoom multiplying factor is over a specified value, a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in odd and even fields are made identical, and otherwise a pair of two horizontal pixel rows to be read simultaneously in the odd and even fields are shifted by one row in the vertical direction.

Claim 18

A horizontal line interpolation circuit comprising: an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an input image signal; and a noise reduction circuit (74) for reducing noise of an output signal of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11).

Claim 19

A horizontal line interpolation circuit as claimed in claim 18, wherein the noise reduction circuit (74) reduces noise of an output signal of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) depending on an interpolation coefficient of interpolation processing.

Claim 20

A horizontal line interpolation circuit as claimed in claim 18, further comprising: a gain control amplifier (72) for amplifying an input image signal; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the gain control amplifier (72); and wherein the noise reduction circuit (74) reduces noise of an output signal of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) depending on amplification degree of the gain control amplifier (72).

Claim 21

A horizontal line interpolation circuit as claimed in claim 18, further comprising: a gain control amplifier (72) for amplifying an input image signal; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the gain control amplifier (72); and wherein the noise reduction circuit (74) reduces noise of an output signal of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) depending on both amplification degree of the gain control amplifier (72) and an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.

Claim 22

An image pickup apparatus comprising: a signal processing circuit (4) for processing an output signal of an image sensor; an interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) for performing interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the signal processing circuit (4); and a noise reduction circuit (74) for reducing noise of an output signal of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11).

Claim 23

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein said noise reduction circuit (74) reduces noise of an output signal of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) depending on an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.

Claim 24

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 22, further comprising: a gain control amplifier (72) for amplifying an output signal of the image sensor (1); and wherein the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) performs interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the gain control amplifier (72), and the noise reduction circuit (74) reduces noise of an output signal of the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) depending on amplification degree of the gain control amplifier (72).

Claim 25

An image pickup apparatus as claimed in claim 22, further comprising: a gain control amplifier (72) for amplifying an output signal of the image sensor (1); and wherein the signal processing circuit (4) processes output of the gain control amplifier (72), and the interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) performs interpolation processing for horizontal lines of an output signal of the gain control amplifier (72), and the noise reduction circuit (74) reduces noise of an output signal of the horizontal line interpolation circuit (7, 8, 9, 11) depending on both amplification degree of the gain control amplifier (72) and an interpolation coefficient of the interpolation processing.