JP2007194971A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve both a high ratio of signal to noise (S/N) of an output video signal and a wide dynamic range in a single-chip color television camera. <P>SOLUTION: In an imaging apparatus using a solid imaging device wherein a plurality of different color filters are arranged, this image signal processor includes a separation means for separating a plurality of color signals outputted from the solid imaging device into an individual color signal, a white balance adjustment means for subjecting the plurality of separated color signals to white balance adjustment, a level detection means for detecting a saturation level from the plurality of color signals subjected to white balance adjustment, a correction signal generation means for generating a correction signal from color signals other than color signals from which the saturation level has been detected by the level detection means, and a first addition means for adding the correction signal generated by the correction signal generation means to the plurality of color signals subjected to white balance adjustment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus such as a single-panel color television camera using one solid-state image pickup device, and more particularly to an improvement in dynamic range when sensitivity is set with an emphasis on signal-to-noise ratio (S / N). .

Conventionally, in a three-plate color television camera using three solid-state imaging devices, the luminance signal synthesis ratio is changed without using an infrared cut optical filter in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N). It was. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-282451 A

  A three-panel color television camera using three solid-state image sensors described above improves the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N) by not using an infrared cut optical filter and changing the composition ratio of the luminance signal. Was. However, no particular signal processing was performed for the color signal.

  An object of the present invention is to realize both a high signal-to-noise ratio (S / N) of an output video signal and a wide dynamic range in a single-panel color television camera.

  An image signal processing apparatus according to the present invention is an image pickup apparatus using a solid-state image pickup device in which a plurality of different color filters are arranged. Separation means for separating a plurality of color signals output from the solid-state image pickup device for each color signal; White balance adjusting means for performing white balance adjustment on a plurality of separated color signals, level detecting means for detecting a saturation level from the plurality of color signals subjected to white balance adjustment, and color for which the saturation level is detected by the level detecting means Correction signal generation means for generating a correction signal from other color signals different from the signal, and first addition means for adding the correction signal generated by the correction signal generation means to a plurality of color signals subjected to white balance adjustment. .

  The image signal processing apparatus further includes a contour emphasizing unit and a second adding unit, and the contour emphasizing unit generates a contour emphasizing signal from another color signal different from the color signal detected by the saturation level detecting unit, The contour enhancement signal is added to the plurality of color signals by the second addition means.

  Furthermore, the image signal processing method of the present invention separates a plurality of color signals output from the solid-state image sensor for each color signal in an imaging apparatus using a solid-state image sensor in which a plurality of different color filters are arranged. Perform white balance adjustment on multiple color signals, detect the saturation level from multiple color signals that have been subjected to white balance adjustment, generate a correction signal from another color signal different from the color signal from which the saturation level was detected, and The correction signal is added to a plurality of color signals subjected to balance adjustment.

  Furthermore, the image signal processing method described above further generates an edge enhancement signal from another color signal different from the color signal whose saturation level is detected, and adds the edge enhancement signal to a plurality of color signals.

  According to the present invention, in a single-panel color television camera, it is possible to realize both a high signal-to-noise ratio (S / N) of an output video signal and a wide dynamic range.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, 1 is an imaging device, 2 is a lens unit that forms an incident light, 3 is a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) imaging device that converts light incident from the lens unit 2 into an electrical signal, and 4 is a CCD imaging device 3. A CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) unit that removes noise from the signal output from 5, an amplifier unit that adjusts the level of the signal output from the CDS unit 4, and an analog signal output from the amplifier unit 5 as a digital signal An A / D conversion (Analog Digital Converter) unit 7 for converting the signal A into a digital signal output from the A / D conversion unit 6 is separated into red, green and blue digital video signals. . 8 is an amplifier that adjusts the level of the red digital video signal (r signal) separated by the color separation unit 7 and outputs an R (Red) signal, and 9 is a green digital video signal (g) separated by the color separation unit 7. The amplifier unit 10 adjusts the level of the signal) and outputs the G (Green) signal. The amplifier 10 adjusts the level of the blue digital video signal (b signal) separated by the color separation unit 7 and outputs the B (Blue) signal. The amplifier units 8 to 10 perform white vance adjustment. Reference numeral 11 denotes a level correction unit that performs level correction described later on the input R, G, and B signals, and outputs R ′, G ′, and B ′ signals. Reference numeral 12 denotes a contour emphasizing unit that performs contour emphasis to be described later on the input R ′ signal, G ′ signal, and B ′ signal, and outputs an R ″ signal, a G ″ signal, and a B ″ signal. A video signal output unit that converts the "signal, G" signal, and B "signal into a predetermined video signal and outputs it, 14 is a CCD drive unit for driving the CCD image pickup device 3, and 15 is an amplifier unit 8-10. A level comparison unit 16 that compares the levels of the output red, green, and blue digital video signals, and 16 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each unit in the imaging apparatus 1. The CPU 16 controls the level correction unit 11 with a signal A and controls the contour emphasizing unit 12 with a signal C.

  The video signal of a predetermined system output from the video signal output unit 13 is, for example, a moving image such as an RGB signal, an NTSC (National Television System Committee) system, a PAL (Phase Alternating by Line) system, or an HDTV (High Definition TeleVision) system. It is an image or a still image.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The CCD image pickup device 3 of the image pickup apparatus 1 photoelectrically converts incident light imaged on the photoelectric conversion unit by the lens unit 2 and outputs the incident light to the CDS unit 4. The CDS unit 4 removes noise from the signal output from the CCD image pickup device 3 and outputs it to the amplifier unit 5. The amplifier unit 5 amplifies the signal output from the CDS 4 according to the gain control signal output from the CPU 16 and outputs the amplified signal to the A / D conversion unit 6. The A / D conversion unit 6 converts the analog signal output from the amplifier unit 5 into, for example, a 12-bit digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the color separation unit 7. The color separation unit 7 separates the digital signal output from the A / D conversion unit 6 into red, green, and blue digital video signals according to the control signal output from the CPU 16, and the red digital video signal (r signal) is The green digital video signal (g signal) is output to the amplifier unit 9 and the blue digital video signal (b signal) is output to the amplifier unit 10. The amplifier unit 8 adjusts the level of the red digital video signal (r signal) separated by the color separation unit 7 and outputs an R (Red) signal. The amplifier unit 9 outputs the green digital video signal separated by the color separation unit 7 The amplifier unit 10 adjusts the level of the blue digital video signal (b signal) separated by the color separation unit 7 and outputs the B (Blue) signal by adjusting the level of the (g signal) and outputting the G (Green) signal. The amplifiers 8 to 10 adjust the level of the input digital video signals of red, green and blue according to the gain adjustment signal output from the CPU 16, that is, perform white balance adjustment, and output to the level correction unit 11. The level correction unit 11 performs level correction described later on the input R signal, G signal, and B signal, and outputs the R ′ signal, the G ′ signal, and the B ′ signal to the contour enhancement unit 12. The contour emphasizing unit 12 performs contour emphasis described later on the input R ′ signal, G ′ signal, and B ′ signal, and outputs the R ″ signal, G ″ signal, and B ″ signal to the video signal output unit 13. The output unit 13 converts the input R "signal, G" signal, and B "signal into video signals of a predetermined format and outputs them. The CCD drive unit 14 outputs a signal for driving the CCD image pickup device 3 in accordance with a control signal output from the CPU 16. The level comparison unit 15 compares the levels of the R, G, and B digital video signals output from the amplifier units 8 to 10 and outputs a comparison result signal to the CPU 16. The CPU 16 controls the amplifier units 8 to 10 according to the control signal D input from the outside and the comparison result signal output from the level comparison unit 15. The CPU 16 controls the level correction unit 11 with a signal A and controls the contour emphasizing unit 12 with a signal C.

Sensitivity setting according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The leftmost diagram in FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining the sensitivity setting with an emphasis on the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N). Sensitivity is set mainly by gain control of the amplifier unit 5.

The CCD image pickup device 3 in FIG. 1 is, for example, a single plate color image pickup device in which pixels are covered with red (Red), green (Green), and blue (Blue) color filters. Since the CCD image pickup device 3 is covered with three color filters, the transmittance differs for each color filter. In addition, since the image sensor has a different photoelectric change rate depending on the wavelength, a sensitivity difference occurs between the red video signal, the green video signal, and the blue video signal output from the CCD image sensor 3. For example, when the difference in sensitivity is set to 1 for the green video signal, the red video signal is set to 0.5 and the blue video signal is set to 0.625. This is illustrated at the left end of FIG. One bar in the bar graph represents one pixel level of the CCD image pickup device 3 or one sampling level of the A / D converter 6.
In order to perform sensitivity setting with an emphasis on S / N, it is necessary to set the first saturated signal among the signals output from the CCD image sensor 3, that is, the saturation level of the green video signal in this embodiment. For setting the saturation level of the green image signal, the amount of light exceeding the maximum photoelectric conversion value is incident on the CCD image pickup device 3 and the green image signal output from the CCD image pickup device 3 is set to the saturation level. Next, the gain of the amplifier unit 5 is controlled from the CPU 16 so that the g signal at the output of the color separation unit 7 becomes (FFF) _h . The saturation level is the maximum photoelectric conversion value of the CCD image sensor 3, and when it reaches the maximum value, the output electrical signal does not increase no matter how much the amount of incident light is increased.

Level correction according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detailed contents of the level correction unit 11 of FIG.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 104 denotes a level detection unit that detects whether the input R signal, G signal, and B signal are saturated, and 105 denotes a correction signal for the signal that has reached the saturation level in the level detection unit 104. The correction signal generation units 105 and 101 to 103 for generating the correction signal are addition units for adding the correction signals output from the correction signal generation unit 105, and the control unit 106 outputs the signals a and b according to the signal A output from the CPU 16. It is.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining level correction according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, level correction when the g signal reaches the saturation level, that is, the maximum output level of the A / D converter 6 will be described. The same processing may be performed when the r signal or b signal is more sensitive than the g signal and the r signal or b signal first reaches the saturation level.

The leftmost diagram of FIG. 3A represents an output signal of the color separation unit 7 when a white or achromatic subject is photographed and a diaphragm (not shown) of the lens unit 2 is adjusted as an example. It is. When the g signal is 1 at the output of the color separation unit 7, the r signal is 0.5 and the b signal is 0.625. Here, it is assumed that only the g signal has reached the maximum output level of the A / D converter 6. Since the maximum output level of the A / D converter 6 has a resolution of 12 bits, the g signal level is expressed as (FFF) _h in hexadecimal. The r signal output of the color separation unit 7 is (A00) _h , and the b signal output is (C80) _h .

In order to correct the sensitivity difference between signals output from the CCD image sensor 3, white balance adjustment is performed. White balance adjustment is performed by adjusting the gain of the amplifier units 8 to 10. Since the ratio of the g signal is 1, the gain of the amplifier unit 9 is 1. Since the ratio of the r signal is 0.5, the gain of the amplifier unit 8 is 2 which is the reciprocal number. The r signal is amplified by the amplifier unit 8 (1400) and _h is output as the R signal. Since the gain of the amplifier unit 9 is 1 for the g signal, the same (FFF) _h as the input is output as the G signal. Since the ratio of the b signal is 0.625, the gain of the amplifier unit 10 is the reciprocal 1.6. The b signal is amplified by the amplifier 10 (1400) and _h is output as the B signal. This is illustrated in the second diagram from the left in FIG. The reason why there is a level difference even when white balance adjustment is performed in the figure is that the saturation level of the g signal has reached the maximum output level of the A / D converter 6.

Next, the operation of the level correction unit 11 in FIG. 2 will be described.
The R signal, the G signal, and the B signal are input to the level correction unit 11. The level detection unit 104 detects whether the input G signal is the maximum output level (FFF) _h of the A / D conversion unit 6. As a result of detection, when the input G signal is less than (FFF) _h , the correction signal generation unit 105 outputs a 0 (zero) correction signal. The level detection unit 104 detects that the G signal level is (FFF) _h from the second diagram from the left in FIG. 3A, and the correction signal generation unit 105 generates a correction signal. The correction signal is generated based on the luminance signal YH. Assuming that the maximum level of the G signal is Lmax, the red signal coefficient is Kr, and the blue signal coefficient is Kb, the equation for calculating YH (Equation 1) is as follows.

YH = Kr × (R−Lmax) + Kb × (B−Lmax) (Formula 1)
When R-Lmax and B-Lmax are calculated, the result is as follows.
R−Lmax = (1400) _h − (FFF) _h = (401) _h (Expression 2)
B−Lmax = (1400) _h − (FFF) _h = (401) _h (Expression 3)
If the red signal coefficient is Kr and the blue signal coefficient is 0.3, YH = 0.3 × (401) _h + 0.3 × (401) _h = (267) _h (Expression 4)
When the R ′ signal, the G ′ signal, and the B ′ signal are generated from the calculated YH, the following is obtained.

R ′ = R−Lmax + YH = (1266) _h (Formula 5)
G ′ = G + YH = (1266) _h (Expression 6)
B ′ = B−Lmax + YH = (1266) _h (Expression 7)
From the above calculation results, the correction signals e, d, and c are as follows, and the third diagram from the left in FIG.

e = R′−R = (1266) _h− (1400) _h = − (19A) _h (Expression 8)
d = G′−G = (1266) _h− (FFF) _h = (267) _h (Equation 9)
c = B′−B = (1266) _h− (1400) _h = − (19A) _h (Expression 10)
The R signal is added to the correction signal e by the adder 101 to become an R ′ signal. The G signal is added to the correction signal d by the adder 102 to become a G ′ signal. The B signal is added to the correction signal c by the adder 103 to become a B ′ signal. This is illustrated at the right end of FIG. 3A, and the calculation formulas are (Formula 11) to (Formula 13).

R ′ = R + e = (1266) _h (Expression 11)
G ′ = G + d = (1266) _h (Expression 12)
B ′ = B + c = (1266) _h (Expression 13)
As the next embodiment, the leftmost diagram of FIG. 3 (2) shows an output signal of the color separation unit 7 when a colored subject is photographed and a diaphragm (not shown) of the lens unit 2 is adjusted. FIG. Here, it is assumed that only the g signal reaches the saturation level. The r signal output of the color separation unit 7 is (700) _h , the g signal level is (FFF) _h , and the b signal output is (FFF) _h .

Next, white balance adjustment is performed to correct a difference in sensitivity of signals output from the CCD image sensor 3. White balance adjustment is performed by adjusting the gain of the amplifier units 8 to 10. Since the ratio of the g signal is 1, the gain of the amplifier unit 9 is 1. Since the ratio of the r signal is 0.5, the gain of the amplifier unit 8 is 2 which is the reciprocal number. The r signal is amplified by the amplifier unit 8 (E00) _h is output as the R signal. Since the gain of the amplifier unit 9 is 1 for the g signal, the same (FFF) _h as the input is output as the G signal. Since the ratio of the b signal is 0.625, the gain of the amplifier unit 10 is the reciprocal 1.6. The b signal is amplified by the amplifier 10 (1998) _h is output as the B signal. This is illustrated in the second diagram from the left in FIG.

Next, the operation of the level correction unit 11 in FIG. 2 will be described.
The R signal, the G signal, and the B signal are input to the level correction unit 11. The level detection unit 104 detects whether the input G signal is the maximum output level (FFF) _h of the A / D conversion unit 6. As a result of detection, when the input G signal is less than (FFF) _h , the correction signal generation unit 105 outputs a 0 (zero) correction signal. The level detection unit 104 detects that the G signal level is (FFF) _h from the second diagram from the left in FIG. 3B, and the correction signal generation unit 105 generates a correction signal. As the correction signal, the luminance signal YH is generated based on (Equation 1).
When R-Lmax and B-Lmax are calculated, the result is as follows.

R−Lmax = (E00) _h − (FFF) _h = − (1FF) _h (Expression 14)
B−Lmax = (1998) _h − (FFF) _h = (999) _h (Expression 15)
Since the calculation result of (Expression 14) is a negative value, it is replaced with 0 (zero).
When the red signal coefficient is Kr and the blue signal coefficient is 0.3, YH = 0.3 × (0) _h + 0.3 × (999) _h = (2E1) _h (Equation 16)
When the R ′ signal, the G ′ signal, and the B ′ signal are generated from the calculated YH, the following is obtained.

R ′ = R + YH = (10E1) _h (Expression 17)
G ′ = G + YH = (12E0) _h (Expression 18)
B ′ = B−Lmax + YH = (12E0) _h (Equation 19)
From the above calculation results, the correction signals e, d, and c are as follows, and the third diagram from the left in FIG.

e = R′−R = (10E1) _h− (E00) _h = (2E1) _h (Equation 20)
d = G′−G = (12E0) _h− (FFF) _h = (2E1) _h (Expression 21)
c = B′−B = (1998) _h− (12E0) _h = − (6B8) _h (Expression 22)
The R signal is added to the correction signal e by the adder 101 to become an R ′ signal. The G signal is added to the correction signal d by the adder 102 to become a G ′ signal. The B signal is added to the correction signal c by the adder 103 to become a B ′ signal. This is illustrated at the right end of FIG. 3B, and the calculation formulas are (Formula 23) to (Formula 25).

R ′ = R + e = (10E1) _h (Expression 23)
G ′ = G + d = (12E0) _h (Expression 24)
B ′ = B + c = (12E0) _h (Expression 25)
When a colored subject is photographed, the hue may be slightly shifted. However, since the level correction is applied to the high-luminance portion, there is no practical problem.

The level correction of the level correction unit 11 may be corrected using a computer such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).
Since the level correction of the level correction unit 11 is performed on a high luminance part exceeding the rated level, the apparent dynamic range is expanded.

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Outline enhancement will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 5. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the detailed contents of the contour emphasizing unit 12 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of contour emphasis according to another embodiment of the present invention. is there.

  In FIG. 5, 201 to 203 and 207 to 209 are delay units for delaying one scanning line, 204 to 206 are addition units for adding a video signal and a contour signal, and 210 generates a vertical contour signal from the R ′ signal. A vertical contour signal generating unit 211 is a vertical contour signal generating unit that generates a vertical contour signal from the G ′ signal, 212 is a vertical contour signal generating unit that generates a vertical contour signal from the B ′ signal, and 213 is a horizontal contour signal The horizontal contour signal generating unit 214 generates a level detection unit 214 that detects the levels of the R ′ signal, G ′ signal, and B ′ signal obtained by delaying one scanning line, and 215 includes vertical contour signal generating units 210 to 212. A contour signal mixing unit that selects or mixes the contour signals generated by the horizontal contour signal generation unit 213 at a predetermined ratio, and 216 controls the level detection unit 214 from the control signal C output from the CPU 16. The control unit outputs a control signal f to be controlled and a control signal h to control the contour signal mixing unit 215.

Next, the operation of the contour emphasizing unit 12 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In step S1 of FIG. 5, the control unit 216 performs initial setting of the saturation level of the G ′ signal and the delay time for enhancing the horizontal contour. In step S2, R ′ signal, G ′ signal, and B ′ signal are input to the contour emphasizing unit 12. In step S3, it is determined whether the G ′ signal input in the level detection unit 214 is at a saturation level. If the G ′ signal is at the saturation level, the process proceeds to step S4. If the G ′ signal is less than the saturation level, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S4, R ′ vertical contour signal output from the vertical contour signal generation unit 210, B ′ vertical contour signal output from the vertical contour signal generation unit 212, and R ′ horizontal output from the horizontal contour signal generation unit 213. The contour signal and the B ′ horizontal contour signal are input to the contour signal mixing unit 215, and the contour signal mixing unit 215 generates horizontal and vertical contour signals j, and the process proceeds to step S6. In step S5, the G ′ vertical contour signal and the G ′ horizontal contour signal output from the vertical contour signal generation unit 211 are input to the contour signal mixing unit 215, and the contour signal mixing unit 215 generates horizontal and vertical contour signals j. Then, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the contour signal j is input to the adders 204 to 206, and the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, the adding unit 204 adds the R ′ signal obtained by delaying one scanning line and the contour signal j and outputs the result as an R ″ signal. The adding unit 205 outputs the G ′ signal and contour obtained by delaying one scanning line. The signal j is added and output as a G ″ signal. The adder 206 adds the B ′ signal obtained by delaying one scanning line and the contour signal j, and outputs the result as a B ″ signal.

  The contour emphasis of another embodiment of the present invention changes the color signal that generates the contour emphasis signal depending on whether or not the green signal has reached the saturation level. As a result, more contour enhancement is applied to the high luminance portions of the red video signal, the green video signal, and the blue video signal that exceed the rated level, so that the apparent dynamic range is expanded.

In the edge enhancement according to another embodiment of the present invention, the level correction unit 11 may not perform level correction.
Further, contour emphasis according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an imaging apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the detailed contents of the contour emphasis signal generating unit 30 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. .
In FIG. 6, 30 is an edge enhancement signal generator that generates an edge enhancement signal DTL from the digital signal AD output from the A / D converter 6, and 17 is an edge enhancement signal as an R ′ signal output from the level correction unit 11. An addition unit that adds the outline enhancement signal DTL output from the generation unit to output an R ″ signal, and 18 is an outline enhancement signal DTL output from the outline enhancement signal generation unit to the G ′ signal output from the level correction unit 11. Is added to output the G ″ signal, and 19 adds the contour enhancement signal DTL output from the contour enhancement signal generator to the B ′ signal output from the level correction unit 11 and outputs the B ″ signal. The other blocks operate in the same manner as in FIG.

  In FIG. 7, 31 is an edge enhancement luminance signal unit that generates horizontal and vertical edge enhancement luminance signals from the digital signal AD output from the A / D conversion unit 6, and 32 is output from the edge enhancement luminance signal unit 31. A horizontal signal BPF (Band Pass Filter) 33 for generating a horizontal contour signal by passing a signal of a predetermined frequency band from the horizontal contour emphasizing luminance signal, and 33 is a vertical contour emphasizing luminance signal output from the contour emphasizing luminance signal unit 31. A vertical signal BPF (Band Pass Filter) 34 that generates a vertical contour signal by passing a signal of a predetermined frequency band from the horizontal signal BPF, and a horizontal contour signal output from the horizontal signal BPF and a vertical contour signal output from the vertical signal BPF are mixed. A contour signal mixing unit that outputs a contour enhancement signal DTL, 35 is a level detection unit that detects the level of the digital signal AD, and 36 is output from the CPU 16. Enter the control signal C is a controller for controlling the contour enhancement signal in generator 30.

Next, the operation of the contour emphasis signal generation unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The digital signal AD output from the A / D conversion unit 6 in FIG. 6 is input to the edge enhancement luminance signal unit 31 and the level detection unit 35. The level detection unit 35 determines whether the green signal in the input digital signal AD is at a saturation level and outputs the determination result to the contour enhancement luminance signal unit 31. Based on the determination result of the level detection unit 35, the contour enhancement luminance signal unit 31 generates a horizontal contour enhancement luminance signal and a vertical contour enhancement luminance signal based on the green signal when the green signal is less than the saturation level. The edge enhancement luminance signal is output to the horizontal signal BPF 32, and the vertical edge enhancement luminance signal is output to the vertical signal BPF 33. The edge enhancement luminance signal unit 31 is a determination result of the level detection unit 35. When the green signal is at the saturation level, the edge enhancement luminance signal and the vertical edge enhancement luminance signal are generated based on the red signal and the blue signal. The horizontal contour emphasizing luminance signal is output to the horizontal signal BPF 32, and the vertical contour emphasizing luminance signal is output to the vertical signal BPF 33. The saturation level value of the green signal is stored in the CPU 16 in advance in the level detection unit 35, and the saturation level value is superimposed on the control signal C output from the CPU 16 and set via the control unit 36. The horizontal signal BPF 32 passes only the signal in the frequency band set by the control unit 36 from the input horizontal contour emphasizing luminance signal, generates a horizontal contour signal, and outputs it to the contour signal mixing unit 34. The vertical signal BPF 33 passes only the signal in the frequency band set by the control unit 36 from the input vertical contour emphasizing luminance signal, generates a vertical contour signal, and outputs it to the contour signal mixing unit 34. The contour signal mixing unit 34 outputs a contour enhancement signal DTL generated by mixing and amplifying the input horizontal contour signal and vertical contour signal with the mixing ratio and amplification factor set by the control unit 36. 6 adds the R ′ signal and the contour enhancement signal DTL and outputs the R ″ signal. The adder 18 adds the G ′ signal and the contour enhancement signal DTL and outputs the G ″ signal. . The adder 19 adds the B ′ signal and the contour enhancement signal DTL and outputs a B ″ signal.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the edge enhancement changes the color signal that generates the edge enhancement signal depending on whether or not the green signal has reached the saturation level. As a result, more contour enhancement is applied to the high luminance portions of the red video signal, the green video signal, and the blue video signal that exceed the rated level, so that the apparent dynamic range is expanded.

According to the above-described embodiment, in a single-panel color television camera, it is possible to realize both a high signal-to-noise ratio (S / N) of an output video signal and a wide dynamic range.
Needless to say, the above set values and adjustment values may have predetermined tolerances.

  The CCD image pickup device 3 of the above-described embodiment has been described as an image pickup device in which pixels are covered with red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters, but the primary color green (G ) And complementary colors cyan (Cy), yellow (Ye), and magenta (Mg).

Furthermore, although the CCD solid-state image sensor has been described in the above-described embodiments, the present invention can also be applied to an image sensor other than a CCD and an image pickup tube.
Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the television camera described herein, and can be widely applied to television cameras other than those described above.

  In addition, since the television camera of the present invention has a wide dynamic range, when used in an inspection apparatus, a microscope, or the like, a high-luminance portion of a subject can be made a clear image.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the level correction | amendment part of one Example of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the level correction which is one Example of this invention. The block diagram which shows the outline emphasis part of other one Example of this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of the outline emphasis which is another one Example of this invention. The block diagram which shows the imaging device of other one Example of this invention. The block diagram which shows the outline emphasis signal production | generation part of other one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1: imaging device, 2: lens unit, 3: CCD imaging device, 4: CDS unit, 5, 8, 9, 10: amplifier unit, 6: A / D conversion unit, 7: color separation unit, 11: level correction Unit: 12: contour enhancement unit, 13: video signal output unit, 14: CCD drive unit, 15: level comparison unit, 16: CPU, 30: contour enhancement signal generation unit, 31: luminance signal generation unit for contour enhancement, 32 : Horizontal signal BPF, 33: Vertical signal BPF, 17, 18, 19, 101, 102, 103: Adder, 104: Level detector, 105: Correction signal generator, 106: Controller, 201, 202, 203, 207, 208, 209: delay unit, 204, 205, 206: addition unit, 210, 211, 212: vertical contour signal generation unit, 213: horizontal contour signal generation unit, 35, 214: level detection unit, 34, 215: Contour signal mixing section 36,216: The control unit.

Claims (4)

In an imaging apparatus using a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of different color filters are arranged,
Separating means for separating a plurality of color signals output from the solid-state imaging device for each color signal, white balance adjusting means for adjusting white balance to the plurality of separated color signals, and the white balance adjustment Level detection means for detecting a saturation level from a plurality of color signals, correction signal generation means for generating a correction signal from another color signal different from the color signal whose saturation level is detected by the level detection means, and the white balance adjustment An image signal processing apparatus comprising: a first addition unit that adds the correction signal generated by the correction signal generation unit to a plurality of applied color signals. The image signal processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Further, the image processing apparatus further includes contour enhancement means and second addition means, wherein the contour enhancement means generates a contour enhancement signal from another color signal different from the color signal whose saturation level has been detected by the level detection means, and generates the plurality of color signals. The image signal processing apparatus, wherein the contour enhancement signal is added by the second adding means. In an imaging apparatus using a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of different color filters are arranged,
A plurality of color signals output from the solid-state image sensor are separated for each color signal, white balance adjustment is performed on the separated color signals, and a saturation level is obtained from the plurality of color signals subjected to the white balance adjustment. An image signal that detects, generates a correction signal from another color signal different from the color signal from which the saturation level is detected, and adds the correction signal to the plurality of color signals subjected to the white balance adjustment Processing method. The image signal processing method according to claim 3.
An image signal processing method further comprising: generating an edge enhancement signal from another color signal different from the color signal from which the saturation level is detected, and adding the edge enhancement signal to the plurality of color signals.

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