JP2000078480A - Device and method for picking up image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device capable of achieving efficient production, improvement in picture quality and expansion of the dynamic range. SOLUTION: This device has a control pulse supply part 11b for alternately and continuously generating a first pulse signal and a second pulse signal shorter than the first pulse signal, a signal processing part 11c for generating an image signal S20 by processing a signal fetched by an imaging device 11a, a motion detecting part 12 for generating a motion vector S50 based on the image signal S20 and generating a predictive image signal S30 based on the motion vector S50, a storage part 13 for generating a delay image signal S40 delayed just for fixed time, and an adding part 19 for forming an image by compositing a predictive image signal S31 composed of a long-time image signal and a delay image signal S42 composed of a short-time image signal or compositing a predictive image signal S32 composed of the said short-time image signal and a delay image signal S41 composed of the said long-time image signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup method, and more particularly to an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup method capable of expanding a dynamic range of an image pickup device and improving a generated image quality. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art CCD (Charge Coupled)
An imaging device using a (device) imaging device is generally used for a camera-integrated video tape recorder (VTR) and a vehicle-mounted camera. The CCD image pickup device converts light illuminated by each pixel including a photodiode or the like into a charge signal, and forms image data based on the charge signal. At this time, each pixel accumulates electric charge based on the amount of light emitted, and expresses a highlight of an image by a difference in the amount of accumulation.

As described above, since each pixel is made up of a photodiode, the capacity capable of storing signal charges is fixed. Therefore, when the signal charge exceeds a certain amount, the output signal becomes constant, and the dynamic range with respect to the optical input is narrow. To expand the dynamic range, the size of each pixel should be increased to increase the amount of saturation signal that can be accumulated by the pixel, but not only can the dynamic range be significantly improved but also the size of the image sensor Becomes large. Therefore, various attempts have been made to expand the dynamic range of the image sensor. As an example, a method of outputting video signals of two different exposure times and generating a video based on the two video signals is known.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of an image pickup device in a conventional image pickup apparatus. The image pickup device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The image sensor 1 shown in FIG.
Vertical CCD registers 3, 4, Horizontal CCD registers 5, 6
And so on. Each pixel 2 is arranged in a matrix and is electrically connected to the vertical CCD registers 5 and 6. The vertical CCD registers 3 and 4 define, of the signals stored in each pixel 2, an area for storing the charge signal S <b> 1 when exposed for a long time and an area for storing the charge signal S <b> 2 when exposed for a short time. Have. Vertical CCD register 3,
4 is electrically connected to the horizontal CCD registers 5 and 6. The horizontal CCD register 5 outputs a short-time exposed charge signal S2, and the horizontal CCD register 6 outputs a long-time exposed charge signal S1.

Next, an operation example of the image pickup device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the light emitted from the pixel 2 is converted into an electric signal and transferred to the vertical CCD registers 3 and 4.
Here, the image 2 has a long-time exposed charge signal S1 having an accumulation time of, for example, 1/60 second and a short-time exposed charge signal S2 having an accumulation time of, for example, 1/1000 second.
To the vertical CCD registers 3 and 4. The vertical CCD registers 3 and 4 store the long-exposure charge signal S1 and the short-time exposure charge signal S2 in separate areas, and store the long-exposure charge signal S1 in the horizontal CCD register 6 for a short time. The exposed charge signal S2 is transferred to the horizontal CCD register 5, respectively.

The horizontal CCD registers 5 and 6 output a short-time accumulated charge signal S2 and a long-time exposed charge signal S1 from the same pixel 2. Thereafter, an image is generated by combining the charge signal S1 exposed for a long time and the charge signal S2 exposed for a short time. Thereby, the dynamic range of the image sensor 1 can be expanded.
That is, when an image is formed, the charge capacity S1 exposed for a long time and the charge signal S2 exposed for a short time in each pixel 2 are separately transferred to increase the apparent capacitance of the photodiode. Thus, the dynamic range can be expanded.

[0007]

However, according to the image pickup device 1 described above, two horizontal CCD registers 3 and 4 are required as shown in FIG. 5, and two areas are provided in the vertical CCD registers 5 and 6. Must be provided. On the other hand, since the manufacturing of the horizontal CCD registers 3 and 4 and the vertical CCD registers 5 and 6 requires accuracy, if the number increases, the efficiency of the manufacturing operation decreases and the cost of the imaging device 1 increases. There is a problem that it becomes. In the image sensor 1 shown in FIG. 5, the charge signal S1 that has been exposed for a long time and the charge signal S2 that has been exposed for a short time have different exposure timings. Therefore, a field shift occurs between the charge signal S1 exposed for a long time and the charge signal S2 exposed for a short time. There is a problem that an image obtained by combining the charge signal S1 exposed for a long time and the charge signal S2 exposed for a short time in different fields becomes blurred, which causes a deterioration in image quality.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an imaging apparatus which can be manufactured efficiently, can improve image quality, and can expand a dynamic range.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charge coupled device for supplying an image pickup device for capturing an image and a drive voltage for driving the image pickup device. A first pulse signal and a first pulse signal.
A drive voltage supply unit for alternately and continuously generating a second pulse signal shorter than a pulse signal, and a long-term image when the image sensor is driven by the first pulse signal by processing a signal captured by the image sensor. A signal processing unit that generates an image signal including a signal and a short-time image signal when the image sensor is driven by the second pulse signal; and a motion detection unit that performs motion based on the image signal sent from the signal processing unit. A motion detecting unit that generates a vector, and generates a predicted image signal based on the motion vector, and a storage unit that generates a delayed image signal obtained by delaying the image signal sent from the signal processing unit by a certain time, The predicted image signal generated from the long-time image signal, the delayed image signal generated from the short-time image signal, or the predicted image signal generated from the short-time image signal By combining with the delayed image signal generated from the signal and the long-time picture signal by an imaging device and an addition unit for forming an image is achieved.

According to the first aspect, when taking in an image, it takes in a long time image signal and a short time image signal separately. Then, a predicted image signal is fetched based on the fetched image signal. On the other hand, since the image signal is output to the adding unit at the same timing as the predicted image signal, the captured image signal is stored for a certain period of time, and a delayed image signal is generated. And
The predicted image signal and the delayed image signal are combined to form an image. When the image is captured, the saturation capacity of each pixel in the image sensor can be apparently increased by dividing the image signal into the long-time image signal and the short-time image signal, and the image quality can be improved. In addition, by generating the predicted image signal and the delayed image signal, the fields of the long-time image signal and the short-time image signal can be matched, and blurring at the time of synthesis can be eliminated, and the image quality can be improved. . At the same time, the long-time image signal and the short-time image signal can be output from one output terminal of the image sensor, so that the structure of the image sensor can be simplified.

[0011] The above object is achieved according to claim 2 by claim 1.
In the configuration described above, when the long-time image signal is transferred to the adding unit, this is achieved by an imaging device that removes a luminance level of a certain amount or more in the long-time image signal. Since the long-time image signal is generated by long-time exposure by the image sensor, the luminance level becomes high in a certain area of the image sensor, and the generated image may be difficult to see. Therefore, the image quality of the generated image can be improved by removing a certain level or more of the luminance level.

The above object is achieved according to claim 3 by claim 1.
In the configuration described above, the transfer of the short-time image signal to the adding unit is achieved by an imaging device that increases the luminance level of the short-time image signal. The short-time image signal is
Since the image is generated by short-time exposure by the image sensor, the contrast is lowered as a whole, and the image quality is reduced. Therefore, by increasing the contrast of the image signal for a short time, it is possible to prevent the image quality from lowering.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging method for capturing an image by using an imaging element including a charge-coupled device, wherein a long-time image signal generated when the imaging element is exposed for a long time; A short-time image signal generated when the image sensor is short-time exposed is generated alternately and continuously to generate an image signal, a motion vector is generated from the image signal, and a predicted image is generated based on the motion vector. Forming a signal, storing the image signal for a certain period of time, the predicted image signal generated from the long-time image signal and the delay signal generated from the short-time image signal, or the short-time image This is achieved by an imaging method for forming an image by combining the predicted image signal generated from a signal and the delayed image signal generated from the long-time image signal.

According to the fourth aspect, when taking in an image, it takes in a long-time image signal and a short-time image signal separately. Then, a predicted image signal is fetched based on the fetched image signal. On the other hand, since the image signal is output to the adding unit at the same timing as the predicted image signal, the captured image signal is stored for a certain period of time, and a delayed image signal is generated. And
The predicted image signal and the delayed image signal are combined to form an image. When the image is captured, the saturation capacity of each pixel in the image sensor can be apparently increased by dividing the image signal into the long-time image signal and the short-time image signal, and the image quality can be improved. In addition, by generating the predicted image signal and the delayed image signal, the fields of the long-time image signal and the short-time image signal can be matched, and blurring at the time of synthesis can be eliminated, and the image quality can be improved. . At the same time, the long-time image signal and the short-time image signal can be output from one output terminal of the image sensor, so that the structure of the image sensor can be simplified.

[0015] The above object is achieved according to claim 5 by claim 4.
In the configuration, the long-term image signal, by removing the luminance level signal of a certain amount or more in the long-time image signal, after the imaging method is synthesized with the short-time image signal,
Achieved. Since the long-time image signal is generated by long-time exposure by the image sensor, the luminance level becomes high in a certain area of the image sensor, and the generated image may be difficult to see. Therefore, the image quality of the generated image can be improved by removing a certain level or more of the luminance level.

The above object is achieved according to claim 6 by claim 1.
In the above configuration, the short-time image signal is achieved by an imaging method in which the luminance level of the short-time image signal is increased to a fixed amount, and then combined with the long-time image signal. Since the short-time image signal is generated by short-time exposure by the image sensor, the contrast is reduced as a whole, and the image quality is reduced. Therefore, by increasing the contrast of the image signal for a short time, it is possible to prevent the image quality from lowering.

[0017]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention,
Although various technically preferable limits are given, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these modes unless otherwise specified in the following description.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention. The image pickup apparatus 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 includes a CCD camera 11, a motion detection unit 12, a line memory 13 as a storage unit, an alarm 14, a first switch unit 1.
5, a second switch section 16, a long-time exposure processing section 17, a short-time exposure processing section 18, an addition section 19, and the like.

The CCD camera 11 has an image pickup device 11a and a timing generator 11 as a drive control pulse supply unit.
b, a signal processing unit 11c, etc.
a, timing generator 11b, signal processing unit 11c
Are electrically connected to each other. The imaging element 11a photoelectrically converts the irradiated light, and converts a charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion into a voltage signal. And
The detected voltage signal is sent to the signal processing unit 11c. The timing generator 11b supplies a drive pulse signal S10 to the image sensor 11a.
The CD camera 11 operates according to the drive pulse signal S10. The signal processing unit 11c performs signal processing on the voltage signal sent from the image sensor 11a to generate a video signal S2. Then, the signal processing unit 11c transfers the generated video signal S2 to the motion detection unit 12 and the line memory 13.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the image pickup device 11a. The image pickup device 11a will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The image pickup device 11a in FIG. 2 is an image pickup device called a so-called inter transfer system, and includes a pixel 20, a vertical CCD register 21, a horizontal CCD register 22, and the like. The pixel 20 is formed of, for example, a photodiode, and converts the irradiated light into electric charges to generate signal electric charges. A vertical CCD register 21 is electrically connected to each pixel 20, and the vertical CCD register 21 is connected to a horizontal CCD register 22.

The vertical CCD register 21 transfers signal charges generated in each pixel 20 to the horizontal CCD register 22. The horizontal CCD register 22 is connected to the signal processing unit 11c via a floating gate amplifier FD. The horizontal CCD register 22 transfers the signal charge to the floating gate amplifier FD, and the floating gate amplifier FD converts the transferred signal charge into a voltage signal. Then, the converted voltage signal is transferred to the signal processing unit 11c as image data.

Next, the motion detecting section 12 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In general, a video looks as if it is continuous by displaying slightly different images one after another. For this reason, the images before and after are very similar. Therefore, if the amount of change in each part from the previous image to the current image is determined, the next image can be predicted based on these. That is, the motion detection unit 12 compares the previous image with the current image, and obtains a change amount for each block (for example, one block is 16 * 16 pixels) as a "motion vector". The current image in blocks
By changing according to the motion vector, a predicted image signal S30 is obtained. The signal processing unit 12 supplies the generated predicted image signal S30 to the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16.

The motion detector 12 transfers the motion vector S50 to the alarm generator 14, and the alarm generator 14 issues an alarm based on the motion vector S50. Specifically, for example, it is assumed that the imaging device 10 is provided in a front part of a car. At this time, when the bicycle approaches from the front, the magnitude of the motion vector S50 changes. Specifically, the motion vector S50 increases as the bicycle approaches. Here, the motion vector S5
If an alarm is set so that the value of “0” becomes larger than a certain amount, even if a person overlooks the bicycle, danger can be avoided in advance by generating an alarm.

The line memory 13 temporarily stores the image signal S20 transferred from the signal processing section 11c. That is, the line memory 13 stores the image signal S20 for the time Δt in order to adjust the delay time during which the motion detection unit 12 generates the predicted image signal S30 from the image signal S20.
The line memory 13 transfers the temporarily stored delayed image signal S40 to the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16
Transfer to

Next, referring to FIG.
The 5th and 16th switch part 16 are demonstrated. Each of the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16 has two terminals 15a and 15b and terminals 16a and 16b. The first switch section 15 and the second switch section 16 are terminals 15
a, 16a, the first switch unit 15
The second switch unit 16 transfers the predicted long-time image signal S31 and the delayed long-time image signal S41 to the long-time exposure processing unit 17. On the other hand, when the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16 are connected to the terminals 15b and 16b, the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16 switch the predicted short-time image signal S32 and the delayed short-time image signal S42. Is transferred to the short-time exposure processing section 18.

First switch section 15 and second switch section 1
The switching operation of No. 6 is controlled by the delay pulse signal S100. The delayed pulse signal 100 is transmitted from the timing generator 11b to the
0 is transferred to the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16. Therefore, the delayed pulse signal S100 is composed of the delayed long pulse signal S101 and the delayed short pulse signal S10.
It consists of two. The delay unit 20 transfers the pulse signal S10 to the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16 with a delay of the time Δt. This time Δt coincides with the time Δt during which the line memory 13 temporarily stores the image signal S20.

Next, the long-time exposure signal processing section 17 and the short-time exposure signal processing section 18 in FIG. 1 will be described. The long exposure signal processing section 17 is a long exposure image signal S31 sent from the first switch section 15 and the second switch section.
The image processing of (S41) is performed. In this image processing, when a luminance level signal having a certain threshold value or more is detected from among the luminance levels of the long-time image signal S31 (S41), the signal is removed (cut). This is for the following reason. When a strong light is exposed to each pixel 20 in FIG. 2 for a long time, a so-called overexposure occurs in the generated image, and the image becomes difficult to see. In order to eliminate the overexposure, the long-time image signal S31 (S41) is subjected to image processing for cutting a luminance level equal to or more than a predetermined amount. The long-time exposure processing section 17 of FIG.
(S43) is transferred to the adding unit 19.

The short-time signal processing section 18 performs image processing on the short-time image signal S32 (S42) sent from the first switch section 15 and the second switch section 16. Specifically, the transmitted short-time image signal S32
(S42) Image processing for increasing the overall luminance is performed. This is because the exposure time in each pixel 20 in FIG. 2 is short, and the obtained short-time image signal S32 (S42)
Tend to have low contrast as a whole. Therefore,
The image can be sharpened by increasing the contrast of the short-time image signal S32 (S42) as a whole. The short-time signal processing unit 18 transfers the short-time image signal S32 (S42) subjected to the image processing to the addition unit 19. Adder 1
No. 9 combines the transferred long-time image signal S34 (S44) and short-time image signal S34 (S44) to generate one image signal S60.

FIG. 3 shows a pulse signal S10 and an image signal S2.
0, a predicted image signal S30, a delayed image signal S40, and a waveform diagram of the output signal S60. An example of the operation of the imaging apparatus 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First,
The timing generator 11b shown in FIG.
0, and the pulse signal S10 causes the image sensor 11
a captures an image. Here, as shown in FIG.
In the pulse signal S10, a long-time pulse signal S11 (first pulse signal) and a short-time pulse signal S12 (second pulse signal) are generated alternately and continuously. The time t1 of the long pulse signal S11 is set to, for example, 1/60 seconds, and the time t2 of the short pulse signal S12 is set to, for example, 1/2000 seconds.

The signal processing section 11c processes the voltage signal received by the image pickup device 11a to generate an image signal S20 shown in FIG. The image sensor 11a receives the pulse signal S1
Since the driving is performed based on 0, the long-time image signal S21 and the short-time image signal S22 are continuously and alternately output as the image signal S20. Then, the image signal S20 is transferred to the motion detection unit 12 and the line memory 13.

The motion detector 12 shown in FIG. 1 generates a motion vector S50 based on the image signal S20, and then generates a predicted image signal S30 based on the motion vector S50.
It is sent to the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16. Here, the predicted image signal S40 is as shown in FIG. Since the predicted image signal S3 is generated based on the image signal S20, it outputs a predicted long-time image signal S31 and a predicted short-time image signal S32. Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, since the motion detecting unit 12 needs the time Δt + t1 to generate the predicted image signal S30, the predicted image signal S30 output from the motion detecting unit 12 is the image signal S30.
20 is received and delayed by Δt + t1.

On the other hand, the line memory 13 receiving the image signal S20 temporarily stores the transmitted image,
After the transmitted image signal S20 is delayed by the time Δt, the delayed image signal S40 is transmitted to the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16. The delayed image signal S40 is shown in FIG.
(C). Since the delayed image signal S40 is generated based on the image signal S20, it outputs a delayed long-time image signal S41 and a delayed short-time image signal S42. Here, the delayed image signal S40 is delayed by Δt after receiving the image signal S20. This allows
The predicted image signal S30 and the delayed image signal S40 are added by the adder 1
9, it is possible to match the output timing to the image No. 9 and improve the image blur due to the difference in the acquired timing as in the related art, thereby improving the image quality.

The first switch section 15 and the second switch section 16 in FIG. 1 transfer the transmitted predicted image signal S30 and delayed image signal S40 to the long exposure signal processing section 17 and the short exposure processing section 18, respectively. . Specifically, the first switch unit 1
The switching operation of the fifth switch unit 16 and the second switch unit 16 is performed based on the delay pulse signal S100. That is, the first switch unit 15 and the second switch unit 16 are connected to the terminal 1 while the delayed long pulse signal S101 is being transmitted.
5a and 16a are connected to the terminals 15b and 16b while the delayed short-time pulse signal S102 is being sent.
Connected to each other.

As a result, while the predicted long image signal S31 and the delayed long image signal S41 are being transferred, the predicted long image signal S31 and the delayed long image signal S41 are connected to the terminals 15a and 16a and Exposure processing unit 17
Is forwarded to On the other hand, while the predicted short exposure signal S32 and the delayed short exposure signal S42 are being transferred, the predicted short exposure signal S32 and the delayed short exposure signal S42 are transferred to the short exposure processing unit 18.

The long-time exposure processing section 17 adjusts the luminance level of the predicted long-time image signal S31 or the delayed long-time image signal S41 and transfers the adjusted long-time image signal S31 to the adding section 19. On the other hand, the short-time exposure processing unit 18 increases the contrast of the predicted short-time image signal S32 or the delayed short-time image signal S42, and
Transfer to The adder 19 combines the received predicted long-time image signal S33 and the delayed short-time image signal S44, or the delayed long-time image signal S43 and the predicted short-time image signal S34, and outputs the output image shown in FIG. Generate S60.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the adder 19 combines images. The method of combining images will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 illustrates a case where the imaging device 10 is attached to a car. The image signal of N fields (N is an integer) is a long-time image signal S2
It is assumed that an image signal of 1, N + 1 fields (N is an integer) is a short-time image signal S22. First, the CCD camera 11
When an image of N fields is captured, a long-term predicted image signal S21 _n is generated. This predicted long-time image signal S2
For 1 _n , the motion detection unit 12 generates the predicted long-time image signal S31 _{n + 1} at time Δt + t1.

The motion detecting section 12 detects the predicted long-time image signal S3
While generating 1 _{n + 1} , the CCD camera 11 captures an image of N + 1 fields and outputs a short-time image signal S22 _{n + 1}
Is generated. The short-time image signal S22 _{n + 1} is delayed by the line memory 13 by the time Δt. Then, the predicted long time image signal S31 _{n + 1} is output from the motion detection unit 12, and the delayed short time image signal S42 is output from the line memory 13.
_{n + 1} is output. Thereafter, image processing is performed by the long-time exposure processing unit 17 and the short-time exposure processing unit 18, and the adding unit 19 combines the predicted long-time image signal S31 _n and the delayed short-time image signal S42 _{n + 1} to generate N + 1 fields. Is generated as the image output S60 _{n + 1} .

On the other hand, when the image of the (N + 1) th field is read, the motion detecting section 12 predicts the short-time image signal S
32 _{n + 2} is generated at time Δt + t1. Meanwhile, C
The CD camera 11 receives the long-term image signal S of N + 2 fields
21 _{n + 2} and the time Δt
Only be delayed. Thereafter, the predicted short-time image signal S32
_{n + 1} and the delayed long-time image signal S41 _{n + 2} are synthesized, and N
A +2 field output image S60 _{n + 2} is generated. Thus, the long-time image signal S21 and the short-time image signal S22
Are combined to generate one image.

According to the above embodiment, the structure of the image pickup device 11a of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 is simplified as compared with the image pickup device 1 shown in FIG. That is, the short-time image signal and the long-time image signal are output from one output terminal, and the image quality can be improved. For this reason, the imaging device 10
Can be manufactured efficiently and the cost can be reduced. Then, by generating the output image S60 using the long-time image signal S21 and the short-time image signal S22, the dynamic range can be expanded. In addition, by adjusting the timing at which the predicted image signal S30 and the delayed image signal S40 are output to the adding unit 19, blurring of an image due to a difference in acquired timing as in the related art can be improved, and image quality can be improved. . Further, the long-time image signal S21 and the short-time image signal S22
By adjusting the brightness level and contrast of the image, respectively, the dynamic range can be expanded and the image quality can be improved.

That is, according to the above-described embodiment, the structures of the imaging element 11a and the timing generator 11b can be simplified, and an imaging apparatus having a high dynamic range can be realized. Further, the change of the motion vector S50 is monitored using the motion vector S50 generated by the motion detection unit 12 provided for improving the image quality, and an alarm can be generated when the vector becomes a certain size. . Therefore, even if a person overlooks a bicycle while driving a car, for example, danger can be avoided by generating an alarm.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In FIG. 2, a so-called interline transfer (IT) system is employed. A vertical CCD register has a photoelectric conversion function, a charge exposure function, and a charge transfer function. Of course, a so-called frame interline transfer (FIT) system having an exposure area for storing signal charges between horizontal CCD registers may be employed.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an imaging device that can be efficiently manufactured, can improve image quality, and can expand a dynamic range.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a peripheral portion of an imaging device in the imaging device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing various signals generated in the imaging device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state of image generation in the imaging device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional image sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: imaging device, 11: imaging element, 12:
Motion detection unit, 13 ... line memory (storage unit), 14
... alarm, 15 ... first switch section, 16 ...
A second switch unit, 17 a long-time exposure signal processing unit,
18 ... short-time exposure signal processing unit, 19 ... addition unit,
S10: pulse signal, S11: first pulse signal, S12: second pulse signal, S20: image signal, S21: long-time image signal, S22: short-time image signal, S30: predicted image signal, S40: delayed image signal, S50: motion vector.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup device comprising a charge-coupled device, for driving an image pickup device for taking in an image, and a first pulse signal and a second pulse signal shorter than the first pulse signal. A drive control pulse supply unit that continuously and alternately generates a signal, a long-time image signal when the image sensor is driven by the first pulse signal when the signal captured by the image sensor is processed, and the second pulse signal A signal processing unit that generates an image signal composed of a short-time image signal when the image sensor is driven, and a motion vector based on the image signal sent from the signal processing unit. A motion detection unit that generates a predicted image signal based on the image signal; a storage unit that generates a delayed image signal obtained by delaying the image signal sent from the signal processing unit by a predetermined time; The predicted image signal generated from the image signal and the delayed image signal generated from the short-time image signal, or the predicted image signal generated from the short-time image signal and the long-time image signal And an adder for combining the delayed image signal and the delayed image signal to form an image. 2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the long-time image signal is transferred to the adding unit, a luminance level of a certain amount or more in the long-time image signal is removed. 3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the short-time image signal is transferred to the adding unit, the contrast of the short-time image signal is increased. 4. An imaging method for capturing an image using an imaging device comprising a charge-coupled device, comprising: a long-time image signal generated when the imaging device is exposed for a long time; And generating a motion vector from the image signal, forming a predicted image signal based on the motion vector, and for a certain period of time. The image signal is stored, the predicted image signal generated from the long-time image signal, the delayed image signal generated from the short-time image signal, or the predicted image generated from the short-time image signal An imaging method comprising: synthesizing a signal and the delayed image signal generated from the long-time image signal to form an image. 5. The imaging method according to claim 4, wherein the long-time image signal is combined with the short-time image signal after removing a luminance level of a certain amount or more from the long-time image signal. 6. The imaging method according to claim 4, wherein the short-time image signal is combined with the long-time image signal after increasing the contrast of the short-time image signal to a certain amount.