Image pickup devices and image pickup tubes utilized therein

Claim 2

An imagge pickup device comprising at least one image pickup tube including a photoelectric converting section, an optical system for projecting the light beam containing the image information of an object upon said image pickup tube and at least one transparent bias light source arranged between the photoelectric converting section of said image pickup tube and said object on the optical axis of said optical system and said image pickup tube for transmitting said light beam and for superposing thereon uniform bias light.

Claim 3

An image pickup device according to claim 1 wherein said bias light source is disposed on the optical axis of said optical system.

Claim 4

An image pickup device according to claim 1 wherein said bias light source is mounted in front of the photoelectric converting section of said image pickup tube.

Claim 5

An image pickup device according to claim 3 wherein said image pickup tube comprises an envelope containing the electron gun assembly generating an electron beam and a photoelectric converting section arranged to receive said electron beam and a bias light source mounted on said photoelectric converting section.

Claim 6

An image pickup device according to claim 4 wherein said bias light source takes the form of a thin flat sheet including a flat transparent luminescent layer composed of electroluminescent material, a transparent insulator layer embedding said luminescent layer, and a pair of transparent electrode layers formed on the opposite surfaces of said insulator layer for applying a voltage across said luminescent layer through said insulator layer, said photoelectric converting section being laminated on said layers of the bias light source and one of said electrode layers contiguous to said photoelectric converting section receiving electric charge therefrom thus acting as the signal plate of said image pickup tube.

Claim 7

An image pickup device according to claim 4 wherein said image pickup tube further comprises a signal plate composed of a transparent conductive layer which is formed on the light incident surface of said photoelectric converting section for receiving electric charge therefrom and a face plate mounted on the light incident surface of said signal plate, and wherein said bias light source is mounted on said face plate, said bias light source comprising a flat transparent luminescent layer composed of electroluminescent material, a transparent insulator embedding said luminescent layer and a pair of transparent electrode layers formed on the opposite outer-surface of said insulator for applying a voltage across said luminescent layer through said insulator.

Claim 8

An image pickup device according to claim 4 wherein said image pickup tube comprises a vidicon.

Claim 9

The image pickup device according to claim 1 wherein said bias light source comprises a plain light source having a flat and transparent luminescent layer.

Claim 10

An image pickup device according to claim 8 wherein said plain bias light source comprises a pair of transparent insulative layers, a flat and transparent layer composed of electroluminescent material and sandwiched between said insulative layers, and a pair of transparent electrode layers on the outersurface of said insulative layers for applying voltage across said luminescent layer through said insulative layers.

Claim 11

An image pickup device according to claim 8 wherein said plain bias light source comprises a flat and transparent luminescent layer composed of electroluminescent material.

Claim 12

An image pickup device according to claim 1 wherein said optical system comprises at least one light beam spliter for splitting said light beam containing the image information of the object into a plurality of different light components and said image pickup tubes are provided at a number associated with the number of said light components and a single bias light source is disposed in front of said light beam spliter on the optical axis thereof.

Claim 13

An image pickup device according to claim 1 wherein said optical system comprises a light beam spliter for splitting the light beam containing the image information of the object into a plurality of light components, and said device further comprises a plurality of image pickup tubes of the number equal to the number of said split light components and a plurality of bias light sources respectively disposed between said light beam spliters and respective image pickup tubes on the optical axes thereof.

Claim 14

In an image pickup tube of the type including an envelope containing the electron gun assembly generating an electron beam, and a photoelectric converting section disposed in said envelope to receive said electron beam, the improvement wherein said image pickup tube further comprises at least one transparent bias light source mounted on the light incident surface of said photoelectric converting section, and said bias light source transmits a light beam containing the image information of an object and superposes uniform bias light upon said light beam.

Claim 15

In an image pickup tube of the type including an envelope containing the electron gun assembly generating an electron beam, and a photoelectric converting section disposed in said envelope to receive said electron beam, the improvement wherein said image pickup tube further comprises at least one transparent bias light source mounted on the light incident surface of said photoelectric converting section, and said bias light source transmits a light beam containing the image information of an object and superposes uniform bias light upon said light beam.

Claim 16

An image pickup tube according to claim 13 wherein said bias light source takes the form of a thin flat sheet which comprises a flat transparent luminescent layer composed of electroluminescent material, a transparent insulator layer embedding said luminescent layer, and a pair of transparent electrode layers formed on the opposite outer surfaces of said insulator layer for applying a voltage across said luminescent layer through said insulator layer, said photoelectric converting section formed on the layers of said bias light source being successively, and one of said electrode layers contiguous to said photoelectric converting section acting as a signal plate of the image pickup tube for receiving electric charge therefrom.

Claim 17

An image pickup tube according to claim 13 wherein said image pickup tube further comprises a signal plate composed of a transparent electroconductive layer mounted on the light incident surface of said photoconductive section to receive electric charge therefrom, and a face plate provided on the light incident surface of said signal plate, and wherein said bias light source comprises a flat transparent luminescent layer composed of electroluminescent material, a transparent insulator layer embedding said luminescent layer, and a pair of transparent electrode layers formed on the opposite surface of said insulator layer for applying a voltage across said luminescent layer through said insulator layer, the respective layers of said bias light source being successively formed on said face plate whereby said bias light source is integrally mounted on the light incident surface of said photoelectric converting section through said signal plate and said face plate.

Claim 18

An image pickup tube according to claim 13 which is a vidicon.