Patent US7639284B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US7639284B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method for determining photographic environment and imaging apparatus
Assignee: Sony Corp
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Filing: 2004-09-07
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Granted: 2009-12-29
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Expires: 2024-09-07
Abstract
Abstract An NTSC imaging apparatus, in which the shutter speed is set to a first value other than N/120 second, and a flicker detecting process is performed on a video signal obtained at the first shutter speed to extract a particular frequency component. When the level of this frequency component is higher than a threshold value, photographing is conducted under fluorescent light with a power supply frequency of 50 Hz. When the level is not higher than the threshold value, the shutter speed is set to a second value other than N/100 second, and a flicker detecting process is performed on a video signal obtained at the second shutter speed to extract a particular frequency component. When the level of this frequency component is higher than a threshold value, photographing is conducted under fluorescent light with a power supply frequency of 60 Hz.
Inventors
- 👤 Masaya Kinoshita
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 15:44
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N23/00; H04N23/70; H04N23/73; H04N23/745; H04N23/76; H04N23/80; H04N23/81
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
305 words
A method for determining a photographic environment when an object is photographed by an imaging apparatus including an XY-address-scanning imaging device, the method comprising: a first step of setting a shutter speed of the imaging device to a first shutter speed according to a vertical sync frequency of the imaging device; a second step of integrating a video signal obtained from the imaging device at the first shutter speed within a screen area to determine an integration value, and normalizing the determined integration value by an average value of a plurality of integration values to determine a first normalized integration value, the plurality of integration values being obtained in a plurality of successive vertical sync periods; a third step of extracting a first frequency component from the first normalized integration value, and determining whether the first frequency component has a higher level than a first threshold value, the first frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the first normalized integration value; a fourth step of setting the shutter speed of the imaging device to a second shutter speed different from the first shutter speed under a condition that the level of the first frequency component is equal to or lower than the first threshold value, independent of any other condition; a fifth step of integrating a video signal obtained from the imaging device at the second shutter speed within a screen area to determine an integration value, and normalizing the determined integration value by the average value used in the second step to determine a second normalized integration value; and a sixth step of extracting a second frequency component from the second normalized integration value to determine whether the second frequency component has a higher level than a second threshold value, the second frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the second normalized integration value.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
305 words
A method for determining a photographic environment when an object is photographed by an imaging apparatus including an XY-address-scanning imaging device, the method comprising: a first step of setting a shutter speed of the imaging device to a first shutter speed according to a vertical sync frequency of the imaging device; a second step of integrating a video signal obtained from the imaging device at the first shutter speed within a screen area to determine an integration value, and normalizing the determined integration value by an average value of a plurality of integration values to determine a first normalized integration value, the plurality of integration values being obtained in a plurality of successive vertical sync periods; a third step of extracting a first frequency component from the first normalized integration value, and determining whether the first frequency component has a higher level than a first threshold value, the first frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the first normalized integration value; a fourth step of setting the shutter speed of the imaging device to a second shutter speed different from the first shutter speed under a condition that the level of the first frequency component is equal to or lower than the first threshold value, independent of any other condition; a fifth step of integrating a video signal obtained from the imaging device at the second shutter speed within a screen area to determine an integration value, and normalizing the determined integration value by the average value used in the second step to determine a second normalized integration value; and a sixth step of extracting a second frequency component from the second normalized integration value to determine whether the second frequency component has a higher level than a second threshold value, the second frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the second normalized integration value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining the vertical sync frequency of the imaging device.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
77 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the vertical sync frequency of the imaging device is 120/J Hz, where J is a positive integer, in the first step, the first shutter speed is set to a value other than N/100 second, where N is a positive integer, and in the fourth step, the second shutter speed is set to a value other than N/120 second, which is different from the value of the first shutter speed.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 3 , wherein the first shutter speed is set to N/120 second.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 3 , wherein the second shutter speed is set to N/100 second.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 3 , wherein when the level of the first frequency component is higher than the first threshold value, the shutter speed of the imaging device is set to N/100 second.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 3 , wherein when the level of the second frequency component is higher than the second threshold value, the shutter speed of the imaging device is set to N/120 second.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
76 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the vertical sync frequency of the imaging device is 100/J Hz, where J is a positive integer, in the first step, the first shutter speed is set to a value other than N/120 second, where N is a positive integer, and in the fourth step, the second shutter speed is set to a value other than N/100, which is different from the value of the first shutter speed.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 8 , wherein the first shutter speed is set to N/100 second.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 8 , wherein the second shutter speed is set to N/120 second.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 8 , wherein when the level of the first frequency component is higher than the first threshold value, the shutter speed of the imaging device is set to N/120 second.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein when the level of the second frequency component is higher than the second threshold value, the shutter speed of the imaging device is set to N/100 second.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first threshold value and the second threshold value are different.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
272 words
An imaging apparatus including an XY-address-scanning imaging device, the imaging apparatus comprising: a control unit that sets a shutter speed of the imaging device; an integrating unit that integrates a video signal obtained by the imaging device within a screen area to determine an integration value; an average determining unit that determines an average value of a plurality of integration values obtained in a plurality of successive vertical sync periods; a normalizing unit that normalizes the integration value by the average value determined by the average determining unit to determine a normalized integration value; and an extracting unit that extracts a particular frequency component from the normalized integration value, the particular frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the normalized integration value, wherein the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to a first shutter speed according to a vertical sync frequency of the imaging device, the control unit determines whether a first frequency component extracted based on a video signal obtained at the first shutter speed has a higher level than a first threshold value, under a condition that the level of the first frequency component is equal to or lower than the first threshold value, the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to a second shutter speed different from the first shutter speed, independent of any other condition; and the control unit determines whether a second frequency component extracted based on a video signal obtained at the second shutter speed has a higher level than a second threshold value, the second frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the second normalized integration value.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
272 words
An imaging apparatus including an XY-address-scanning imaging device, the imaging apparatus comprising: a control unit that sets a shutter speed of the imaging device; an integrating unit that integrates a video signal obtained by the imaging device within a screen area to determine an integration value; an average determining unit that determines an average value of a plurality of integration values obtained in a plurality of successive vertical sync periods; a normalizing unit that normalizes the integration value by the average value determined by the average determining unit to determine a normalized integration value; and an extracting unit that extracts a particular frequency component from the normalized integration value, the particular frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the normalized integration value, wherein the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to a first shutter speed according to a vertical sync frequency of the imaging device, the control unit determines whether a first frequency component extracted based on a video signal obtained at the first shutter speed has a higher level than a first threshold value, under a condition that the level of the first frequency component is equal to or lower than the first threshold value, the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to a second shutter speed different from the first shutter speed, independent of any other condition; and the control unit determines whether a second frequency component extracted based on a video signal obtained at the second shutter speed has a higher level than a second threshold value, the second frequency component being a first-order spectrum of the second normalized integration value.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
77 words
The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the vertical sync frequency of the imaging device is 120/J Hz, where J is a positive integer, and the control unit sets the first shutter speed to a value other than N/100 second, and sets the second shutter speed to a value other than N/120 second, the value of the second shutter speed being different from the value of the first shutter speed, where N is a positive integer.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the control unit sets the first shutter speed to N/120 second.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the control unit sets the second shutter speed to N/100 second.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein, when the level of the first frequency component is higher than the first threshold value, the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to N/100 second.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein when the level of the second frequency component is higher than the second threshold value, the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to N/120 second.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
77 words
The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the vertical sync frequency of the imaging device is 100/J Hz, where J is a positive integer, and the control unit sets the first shutter speed to a value other than N/120 second, and sets the second shutter speed to a value other than N/100 second, the value of the second shutter speed being different from the value of the first shutter speed, where N is a positive integer.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the control unit sets the first shutter speed to N/100 second.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the control unit sets the second shutter speed to N/120 second.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein when the level of the first frequency component is higher than the first threshold value, the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to N/120 second.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein when the level of the second frequency component is higher than the second threshold value, the control unit sets the shutter speed of the imaging device to N/100 second.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the first threshold value and the second threshold value are different.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
77 words
The apparatus according to claim 14 , further comprising an average value storing unit, wherein the average value storing unit stores the average value determined by the average determining unit based on the video signal obtained at the first shutter speed, and the normalizing unit normalizes the integration value by the average value stored in the average value storing unit to determine a normalized integration value based on the video signal obtained at the second shutter speed.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the average determining unit determines an average value of a plurality of integration values obtained in three successive vertical periods.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the average determining unit determines an average value of a plurality of integration values obtained in five continuous vertical periods.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2012-12-28 | 2013-06-29 | 2013-12-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2016-12-28 | 2017-06-29 | 2017-12-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2020-12-28 | 2021-06-29 | 2021-12-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |