CN117956302A - Method, image sensor and system for local imaging - Google Patents
Method, image sensor and system for local imaging Download PDFInfo
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- CN117956302A CN117956302A CN202311819481.4A CN202311819481A CN117956302A CN 117956302 A CN117956302 A CN 117956302A CN 202311819481 A CN202311819481 A CN 202311819481A CN 117956302 A CN117956302 A CN 117956302A
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- 238000003384 imaging method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 124
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- 206010070834 Sensitisation Diseases 0.000 claims 3
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- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 13
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 6
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Abstract
The invention discloses a method, an image sensor and a system for local imaging, comprising the following steps: the image sensor determines an area needing imaging; the image sensor determines an operation instruction of the imaging area according to the area needing imaging, wherein the operation instruction of the imaging area comprises a row instruction of the imaging area needing exposure and a column instruction needing reading so as to form at least one exposure area instruction of interest; and the image sensor performs exposure imaging according to the obtained imaging region indication mask, reads out pixel data on all row and column intersections of the imaging region after exposure is finished, and forms imaging of the region of interest. The invention can efficiently and flexibly realize imaging of any position area, only images and reads the interested area, the imaging frame rate can be greatly improved, and the high-speed imaging of the interested target on the large-pixel scale sensor is realized.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for local imaging, an image sensor and a system, and belongs to the technical field of image sensors.
Background
The image sensor is a photoelectric imaging device widely applied to machine vision, target reconnaissance, security monitoring and medical detection, and has the advantages of low cost and high integration level, and the image sensor chip can integrate more camera system functions, so that peripheral circuits of a camera are reduced, and the miniaturization of the camera volume and functional diversification are realized.
The pixel scale of the image sensor is increasingly larger along with the development of technology, the number of pixels contained in the image sensor can reach tens of millions of pixels or even hundreds of millions of pixels, and meanwhile, high frame rate and low power consumption are required to be simultaneously considered. When the bandwidth of the external data transmission interface of the image sensor is fixed, the large pixel scale and the high frame rate are a pair of contradictory relations. In many application scenarios, for large-pixel-scale image sensors, it is not actually necessary to output all pixel data, but only output images at a high frame rate for a specific area of interest, which requires that the control logic of the sensor can flexibly image a specific area at a high speed, and at the same time, it is necessary to reduce the resources occupied by the digital logic portion as much as possible, reduce the complexity of the circuit and reduce the power consumption.
Accordingly, a new method, image sensor and system for local imaging are needed to address the above-described problems.
Disclosure of Invention
The present invention aims to provide a method for local imaging to solve the above-mentioned problems set forth in the background art.
A method for local imaging for imaging one or more regions of interest, comprising:
1) The image sensor determines an area needing imaging;
2) The image sensor determines an operation instruction for the imaging area according to the area needing imaging, wherein the operation instruction for the imaging area comprises a row instruction for exposing the imaging area and a column instruction needing reading so as to form at least one exposure area instruction of interest;
3) And 3) the image sensor performs exposure imaging according to the imaging region indication mask obtained in the step 2), and reads out pixel data on all row and column intersections of the imaging region after exposure is finished to form imaging of the region of interest.
The image sensor used in the present invention is exposed from one direction and reads a signal from the other direction. We will refer to the control direction of exposure as the row direction and the read direction of the signal as the column direction.
Still further, the determining of the area to be imaged in step 1) includes: receiving an indication of a desired imaging area from the outside and/or operating according to a built-in indication of the desired imaging area, the indication of the desired imaging area comprising a description of the location and shape of the area.
Furthermore, in addition to setting at least one random area of interest, and imaging the random area of interest in each imaging period, the remaining photosensitive capacity is utilized to perform photosensitive scanning on a wide area which needs to be scanned for completing photosensitive for multiple times, wherein at least one sub-area is scanned each time, so that after multiple periods of scanning, photosensitive scanning on the wide area is completed, and accordingly, a full-frame and slow photosensitive image is restored on the wide area.
The beneficial effects are that: the method for local imaging is efficient and flexible in realizing imaging of any position area, only the interested area is imaged and read, the imaging frame rate can be greatly improved, and high-speed imaging of the interested target on a large-pixel-scale sensor is realized.
The invention also discloses an image sensor for local imaging, which is used for imaging one or more local areas of interest, and comprises an exposure control unit and a reading circuit,
The exposure control unit comprises a receiver and/or a memory, the receiver being arranged to receive one or more target areas of interest from the outside world; the memory is arranged to store information received from the outside or built-in about the target area of interest,
The image sensor is configured to determine an indication of operation of the imaging region according to a region to be imaged, the indication of operation of the imaging region comprising: the exposure control unit is used for forming a row indication of an imaging area to be exposed and a column indication which is read by the reading circuit according to the column indication to be read, forming at least one column indication of an interested exposure area and forming an indication of the whole exposure sub-area;
The exposure control unit is configured to control exposure imaging of the imaging chip according to the imaging region indication, read out pixel data at all row and column intersections of the imaging region by the readout circuit after the exposure is finished, and finally form imaging of the region of interest.
Further, in addition to being configured to image at least one sub-area of interest, to image the sub-area of interest in each imaging cycle, the exposure control unit is further configured to utilize the remaining light sensing capability to perform a light sensing scan of a wide area requiring multiple scans to complete light sensing, wherein at least one sub-area is scanned each time, such that after multiple cycles of scanning, light sensing scanning of the wide area is completed, and a full-frame, slow speed light sensing image is restored to the wide area accordingly.
The beneficial effects are that: the image sensor for local imaging can efficiently and flexibly image any position area, only images and reads the interested area, the imaging frame rate can be greatly improved, and the high-speed imaging of the interested target on the large-pixel-scale sensor is realized.
The invention also discloses a system for local imaging, which comprises the image sensor for local imaging.
The beneficial effects are that: the system for local imaging, provided by the invention, can be used for efficiently and flexibly imaging any position area by utilizing the image sensor capable of local imaging, and only the interested area is imaged and read, so that the frame rate of imaging can be greatly improved, and the high-speed imaging of an interested target on a large-pixel-scale sensor is realized.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of image sensor pixel array control and organization;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an image sensor shutter exposure timing;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a random multi-region imaging data processing according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a typical data processing mode of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a data processing system with multiple combined data processing modes according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a data processing scheme of the random plus scan data processing mode of the present invention.
Description of the embodiments
The present application is further illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed description which are to be understood as being merely illustrative of the application and not limiting of its scope, and various modifications of the application, which are equivalent to those skilled in the art upon reading the application, will fall within the scope of the application as defined in the appended claims.
The following describes the technical scheme of the invention in detail by using a roller shutter exposure mode as an example.
Referring to fig. 1, the image sensor includes a pixel array, an exposure control unit, a readout circuit, a data processing module, a system control unit, a configuration interface, and an output interface.
The method for local imaging of the present invention comprises the steps of:
Step 1, an image sensor receives the position and the size of an area to be imaged from the outside;
Specifically, the region to be imaged in step 1 includes one or more random imaging regions. Preferably, the image sensor includes a configuration interface, and the image sensor receives the position and the size of the region to be imaged from the outside through the configuration interface in step 1.
In the present invention, the mask of the imaging region is an indication of the imaging region by the method and apparatus of the present invention, including the position and size of the imaging region, i.e., the starting coordinate point and length and width of the imaging region.
Step 2, converting a region to be imaged into an imaging region mask in the image sensor, wherein the imaging region mask comprises a mask in the row direction and a mask in the column direction of the imaging region;
Step 3, the image sensor performs exposure imaging according to the imaging area mask obtained in the step 2, and pixel data on all row and column crossing points of the imaging area are read out after exposure is finished; wherein the exposure imaging is global exposure or rolling exposure.
Preferably, the image sensor comprises an exposure control unit and a readout circuit, wherein in step 3, the exposure control unit controls the exposure imaging of the chip according to the imaging area mask obtained in step 2, and after the exposure is finished, the readout circuit is used for reading out pixel data on all row and column intersections of the imaging area. The image sensor used in the present invention is exposed from one direction and reads a signal from the other direction. We will refer to the control direction of exposure as the row direction and the read direction of the signal as the column direction.
And 4, reorganizing the pixel data read out in the step 3, and removing invalid data to obtain an area needing imaging. The image sensor comprises a data processing module, and the pixel data read out in the step 3 are recombined by the data processing module in the step 4.
The method for local imaging can efficiently and flexibly realize imaging of any position area, only images and reads the interested area, the imaging frame rate can be greatly improved, and the high-speed imaging of the interested target on a large-pixel-scale sensor is realized.
A typical shutter exposure sequence is shown in fig. 2, with each pixel imaged in three phases: reset, expose, and read out (readout). The whole pixel array is exposed row by row in units of rows, and after each row exposure is finished, all pixels of the row are read at the same time.
Referring to fig. 2, the exposure time sequence is generated in the pixel array control unit, and each row (R1 to Ry rows) generates reset, exposure and readout signals to the pixel array according to the time sequence, wherein the signals of each row readout are not overlapped, the exposure time is t_exposure, and the reading time of each row is t_row.
The pixel data reading is controlled by a reading circuit, and is composed of a plurality of ADCs in the column direction, wherein each column can correspond to one ADC, each column can also correspond to one ADC, and all the ADCs can be read simultaneously.
In order to expose and image a plurality of random areas and to increase the frame rate, it is necessary to image only the areas to be imaged. The multi-position local high-speed imaging method of the image sensor comprises the following steps:
step 1: before the start of each frame, the image sensor receives from outside, through the configuration interface, a definition of the region to be imaged, which includes a start coordinate point of each region, such as the (x, y) coordinates of the upper left corner, and the size (length and width) of the region;
Step 2: after the sensor receives the definition of the area to be imaged, the mask of the pixels which need to be exposed and read out in the corresponding pixel array is calculated according to the organization structure and the exposure mode of the pixels. Taking the example shown in fig. 1, the rows and columns are controlled by the exposure control unit and the readout circuit, respectively, where it is necessary to calculate the masks in the row direction (rows to be exposed) and the masks in the column direction (columns to be read out), respectively, and finally the read-out data is imaged as pixels at all the intersections of the rows and columns. As shown in fig. 3, four dark gray areas are areas to be imaged, and all row and column intersections include dark gray and light gray areas, wherein the light gray areas are invalid data;
Step 3: the exposure control unit of the image sensor controls the exposure imaging of the chip according to the mask calculated in the last step, and the reading circuit reads pixel data of all the cross points line by line according to the mask calculated in the last step;
Step 4: the data processing module reorganizes the exposure read data, removes invalid data, reorganizes each imaging area defined in the step 1, and as shown in fig. 4, the data processing module reorganizes four dark gray areas and sends the four dark gray areas to the outside of the chip through an output interface.
In addition to the data processing flow described above, the present invention flexibly supports a variety of other data processing modes to implement more complex imaging procedures:
mode 1: multiple regions can be stitched together to form a larger region and a more complex region shape as shown in fig. 5;
Mode 2: in the random plus scanning mode, one or more random imaging areas can be defined, one or more scanning areas are defined to scan the pixel array of the whole imaging chip in a certain mode, after a plurality of frames, the scanning areas cover the whole pixel array of the imaging chip, and one full-frame image can be restored from the scanning areas. As shown in fig. 6, light gray is a random imaging area, and dark gray is a scanning imaging area. By this mode, the region of interest can be imaged at a high speed while the entire imaging region is refreshed at a low speed.
Claims (6)
1. A method for local imaging for imaging one or more regions of interest, comprising the steps of:
1) The image sensor determines an area needing imaging;
2) The image sensor determines an operation instruction for the imaging area according to the area needing imaging, wherein the operation instruction for the imaging area comprises a row instruction for exposing the imaging area and a column instruction needing reading so as to form at least one exposure area instruction of interest;
3) And 3) the image sensor performs exposure imaging according to the imaging region indication mask obtained in the step 2), and reads out pixel data on all row and column intersections of the imaging region after exposure is finished to form imaging of the region of interest.
2. The method for localized imaging of claim 1, wherein step 1) of determining the region to be imaged comprises: receiving an indication of a desired imaging area from the outside and/or operating according to a built-in indication of the desired imaging area, the indication of the desired imaging area comprising a description of the location and shape of the area.
3. A method for localized imaging as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein in addition to providing at least one random area of interest and imaging said random area of interest in each imaging cycle, a wide area requiring multiple scans to complete sensitization is scanned with the remaining sensitization capacity, wherein at least one sub-area is scanned each time, such that after multiple cycles scanning, the wide area is scanned and a full-frame, slow-speed sensitization image is restored to said wide area accordingly.
4. An image sensor for local imaging for imaging one or more local areas of interest, comprising an exposure control unit and a readout circuit, characterized in that,
The exposure control unit comprises a receiver and/or a memory, the receiver being arranged to receive one or more target areas of interest from the outside world; the memory is configured to store information about a target area of interest received from the outside or built-in;
The image sensor is configured to determine an indication of operation of the imaging region according to a region to be imaged, the indication of operation of the imaging region comprising: the exposure control unit is used for forming a row indication of an imaging area to be exposed and a column indication which is read by the reading circuit according to the column indication to be read, forming at least one column indication of an interested exposure area and forming an indication of the whole exposure sub-area;
The exposure control unit is configured to control exposure imaging of the imaging chip according to the imaging region indication, read out pixel data at all row and column intersections of the imaging region by the readout circuit after the exposure is finished, and finally form imaging of the region of interest.
5. The image sensor for localized imaging of claim 4 wherein said exposure control unit is further configured to utilize the remaining photosensitive capability to perform a photosensitive scan of a wide area requiring multiple scans to complete the photosensitive in addition to being configured to photosensitive at least one sub-area of interest to image said sub-area of interest in each imaging cycle, wherein at least one sub-area is scanned each time such that after multiple cycles scanning the photosensitive scan of said wide area is completed and the full-frame, slow photosensitive image is restored to said wide area accordingly.
6. A system for local imaging comprising the image sensor for local imaging of claim 4 or claim 5.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202311819481.4A CN117956302A (en) | 2023-12-27 | 2023-12-27 | Method, image sensor and system for local imaging |
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| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202311819481.4A CN117956302A (en) | 2023-12-27 | 2023-12-27 | Method, image sensor and system for local imaging |
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| Publication Number | Publication Date |
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| CN117956302A true CN117956302A (en) | 2024-04-30 |
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| CN202311819481.4A Pending CN117956302A (en) | 2023-12-27 | 2023-12-27 | Method, image sensor and system for local imaging |
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- 2023-12-27 CN CN202311819481.4A patent/CN117956302A/en active Pending
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