KR101469839B1 - Image sensor and observing system having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an image sensor and a surveillance system including the image sensor, and discloses a technique for reducing chip size and reducing board implementation cost by incorporating an on-screen display function in an image sensor. According to the present invention, if a control signal for changing an on-screen display (OSD) menu is applied, image sensor setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change is outputted, and the OSD image information corresponding to the OSD menu change is outputted as an assembly code An OSD change control unit for calculating an OSD image based on the image signal and outputting the corresponding OSD image, an image array for receiving a video image signal for a subject and converting the image image into digital image data, And an OSD synthesizer for synthesizing the OSD image and the digital image data having the changed image sensor setting information and performing signal processing for display on the outside.

Description

[0001] IMAGE SENSOR AND OBSERVING SYSTEM HAVING THE SAME [0002]

The present invention relates to an image sensor and a surveillance system including the image sensor. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image sensor for converting an external optical image signal into an electrical image signal.

Generally, an image sensor is an apparatus that converts an external optical image signal into an electric image signal. In particular, a CMOS image sensor is an image sensor manufactured using CMOS manufacturing technology. In a CMOS image sensor, each pixel stores a light signal that is copied at a corresponding portion of the subject by using a photodiode, stores the charge, and converts the amount of charge, which is proportional to the number of accumulated electrons, Lt; / RTI >

Image sensors are divided into a CMOS image sensor using complementary-MOS (CMOS) technology and a CCD image sensor using charge coupled device (CCD) technology, all of which are manufactured using semiconductor technology.

Such a CMOS image sensor is a device widely used in various electronic products such as a mobile phone, a camera for a PC (Personal Computer), a video camera, a digital camera, and the like.

The CMOS image sensor is easier to drive than the CCD that was used as an image sensor and can integrate a signal processing circuit on a single chip, thus enabling a system on chip (SoC), which enables miniaturization of the module. . In addition, since there is a lot of advantages such as the fact that the set-up CMOS technology can be used in compatibility with the conventional technology, the demand for the CMOS technology is rapidly increasing.

2. Description of the Related Art A photographing apparatus including an image sensor, such as a digital camera, a camcorder, and a portable terminal having a camera function, captures an image coming through a lens with an image sensor to acquire a video signal. Then, the video signal is converted into digital video data and displayed on a liquid crystal screen as a preview screen. When the user presses the shutter key while the preview image is displayed, the image data is compressed and stored as image data.

1 is a configuration diagram of a surveillance system including a conventional image sensor.

The conventional monitoring system includes a controller 10, an MCU (Micro Control Unit) 20, an image sensor 30, an OSD (On Screen Display) chip 40 and a display unit 50 .

The OSD function is indispensably required when a surveillance system such as CCTV (Closed Circuit TeleVision) is implemented using the image sensor 30. The controller 10 outputs to the MCU 20 a signal for changing the OSD menu. Here, the controller 10 may be a switch or a remote controller.

When a control signal is applied from the controller 10, the MCU 20 outputs OSD menu change information to the OSD chip 40 on the basis of a previously stored assembly code. When the control signal is applied from the controller 10, the MCU 20 calculates the CIS setting information corresponding to the changed OSD menu change signal based on the assembly code, and transmits the calculated CIS setting information to the image sensor 30.

The image sensor 30 photographs a subject and receives a video image signal. When the changed OSD menu information is supplied from the MCU 20, the image sensor 30 processes the image corresponding to the corresponding menu information and outputs the processed image to the display unit 50. The image sensor 30 may be a CIS (CMOS Image Sensor).

Here, the image sensor 30 and the MCU 20 can exchange data using a communication method according to the I 2 C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) protocol. Here, I2C is a serial computer bus developed by Philips that uses two bidirectional open collector lines called a serial clock with a pull-up resistor connected, and is used to connect low-speed peripherals to motherboards, embedded systems and mobile phones .

Such a conventional monitoring apparatus exchanges data and performs communication between the MCU 20, the image sensor 30, and the OSD chip 40. That is, in order to control the OSD, the MCU 20 chip and the OSD chip 40 must be used separately from the image sensor 30 chip. In the case where the MCU 20, the image sensor 30 and the OSD chip 40 are made up of respective individual chips in the surveillance system, the cost of elements for connection between the chips increases and a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) The area is increased.

That is, when the MCU 20 is implemented in a separate chip in the monitoring system, the volume of the system increases and the implementation cost of the monitoring system increases. In addition, the surveillance system can not be easily implemented due to the increase in the number of lines for connecting individual chips and respective chips.

The present invention has the following features.

First, the present invention allows the OSD function to be controlled through an image sensor without using a separate OSD (On Screen Display) chip.

Second, the present invention can reduce the cost and simplify the board design by installing OSD control function in the image sensor in the surveillance system and not installing a separate MCU chip.

Thirdly, the present invention is characterized in that a monitoring system can perform an OSD control function through a simple control block without an MCU and reduce a chip size by reducing a capacity of a storage unit for storing an assembly code.

The image sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention outputs image sensor setting information corresponding to an OSD menu change when a control signal for changing an on-screen display (OSD) menu is applied, An OSD change control unit for reading an OSD image from an external memory unit; An image array for receiving a video image signal for a subject and converting the video image signal into digital image data; An image signal processor for applying image sensor setting information to digital image data and performing signal processing; And an OSD synthesizing unit synthesizing the digital image data and the OSD image having the changed image sensor setting information and performing signal processing so as to be displayed externally, wherein the OSD change control unit comprises: a storage unit for storing the OSD image read from the external memory unit; And an embedded OSD control unit for outputting image sensor setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change, reading the OSD image corresponding to the OSD menu change from the external memory unit, and outputting the read OSD image to the OSD synthesis unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surveillance system including an image sensor, the surveillance system including: a controller for outputting a control signal for changing an on-screen display (OSD) menu; A memory unit for storing an OSD image; An image sensor for changing the image sensor setting information in response to the OSD menu change when the control signal is applied, and for synthesizing the OSD image and the digital image data with the image sensor setting information changed; And a display unit for displaying an output image of the image sensor, wherein the memory unit has a segment including at least one of status change table information, image sensor setting information, and OSD image data position information.

The present invention provides the following effects.

First, the present invention can control an OSD function through an image sensor without using a separate OSD (On Screen Display) chip, thereby reducing a chip size.

Second, the present invention can reduce the cost and simplify the board design by installing OSD control function in the image sensor in the surveillance system and not installing a separate MCU chip.

Third, the present invention provides an effect of reducing the chip size by reducing the capacity of the storage unit for performing the OSD control function through the simple control block without the MCU in the monitoring system and storing the assembly code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, additions, and substitutions may be made to the invention by way of example, without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. As shown in Fig.

1 is a configuration diagram of a surveillance system including a conventional image sensor.
2 is a configuration diagram of a surveillance system including an image sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block diagram of a surveillance system including an image sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing an example of an on-screen display screen displayed on the display unit;
5 is a detailed configuration diagram of a memory unit according to another embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a view for explaining a data storage area of a memory unit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a configuration diagram of a surveillance system including an image sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a controller 100, an image sensor 200, a memory unit 300, and a display unit 310. Here, the image sensor 200 includes an OSD (On Screen Display) change control unit 210, an image signal processor 220, an image array 230, an OSD (On Screen Display) Screen display) control unit 240 and an OSD combining unit 250. [ The OSD change control unit 210 includes an MCU (Micro Control Unit) 211 and an assembly (Assembly) unit 212.

Here, the controller 100 is controlled by the user and outputs a control signal for changing the OSD menu or settings to the OSD change control unit 210. [ The controller 100 may be a switch or a remote controller.

A user interface (UI) enables communication between a person (user) and various electric or electronic devices, allowing a user to easily control the device as desired. Representative examples of such a user interface include a keypad, a keyboard, a mouse, an on screen display (OSD), a remote controller having infrared communication or radio frequency (RF) communication function, and the like. User interface technology has been developed to enhance the user's sensibility and ease of operation. Recently, the user interface has evolved into a touch UI, a voice recognition UI, a 3D UI, and the like.

When a control signal is applied from the controller 100, the MCU 211 outputs the image sensor setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change to the image signal processing unit 220 based on the assembly code stored in the assembly 212. When a control signal is applied from the controller 100, the MCU 211 calculates OSD image information corresponding to the changed OSD menu change based on the assembly code, and transmits the calculated OSD image information to the OSD control unit 240.

When the OSD image information is received from the OSD change control unit 210, the OSD control unit 240 reads the corresponding OSD image from the memory unit 300 and outputs the read OSD image to the OSD combining unit 250. [

A separate memory unit 300 is connected to the image sensor 200 to reduce loads related to OSD fonts. Here, the memory unit 300 stores OSD image data, and may be a serial peripheral interface (SPI) flash ROM (Read Only Memory).

The present invention is not limited to this, and the memory unit 300 may be a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, an erasable (EPROM) A programmable ROM, an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a memory card, a USB memory, and the like.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the memory unit 300 is composed of an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), which is an interface for exchanging data through serial communication between two devices. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be a serial communication interface such as an I2C, which is a bi-directional serial bus, and may exchange data with the OSD control unit 240.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the memory unit 300 is disposed outside the image sensor 200 to reduce the chip size. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in some cases, the memory unit 300 may be disposed inside the image sensor 200. For example, if the memory unit 300 is a ROM-type storage device, writing is possible and data can be stored even when power is not applied, so that the image sensor 200 can be implemented.

The image array 230 photographs a subject through a lens, receives a video image signal, and converts the image signal into an electrical signal. The image array 230 outputs the input image signal to the image signal processing unit 220. That is, the image array 230 converts light into electric signals to generate digital image data, and outputs the digital image data to the image signal processing unit 220.

The image signal processing unit 220 processes the digital image data applied from the image array 230 and outputs the signal to the OSD combining unit 250. The image signal processing unit 220 applies the image sensor setting information applied from the OSD change control unit 210 to the digital image data, and outputs the digital image data to the OSD combining unit 250.

The image signal processing unit 220 corrects the digital image data applied from the image array 230 and converts the digital image data into image data of a clear image quality. The image signal processing unit 220 corrects luminance and color processing and performs special processing such as Auto White Balance (AWB), Auto Exposure (AE), Gamma Correction, Color Correction, Interpolation, Mirror, Function.

The OSD synthesis unit 250 receives digital image data from the image signal processing unit 220 to which image sensor setting information corresponding to a menu change is applied. Then, the OSD combining unit 250 receives the OSD image from the OSD controlling unit 240.

Accordingly, the OSD combining unit 250 combines and processes the digital image data and the OSD image to which the changed image sensor setting information is applied. That is, the OSD combining unit 250 combines the digital image data with the changed image sensor setting information and the OSD image, and outputs the synthesized digital image data to the display unit 310.

Here, the image sensor 200 may be a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, And a CMOS image sensor (CIS) will be described as an example.

3 is a configuration diagram of a surveillance system including an image sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The monitoring system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a controller 400, an image sensor 500, a memory unit 600, and a display unit 610. Here, the image sensor 500 includes an OSD (On Screen Display) change control unit 510, an image signal processor (ISP) 520, an image array 530, and an OSD combining unit 540 . The OSD change control unit 510 includes an embedded OSD control unit 511 and a storage unit 512.

Here, the controller 400 is controlled by the user and outputs a control signal for changing the OSD menu or setting to the OSD change control unit 510. [ The controller 400 may be a switch or a remote controller.

When a control signal is applied from the controller 400, the embedded OSD control unit 511 transmits image sensor setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change to the image signal processing unit 520 based on the data stored in the memory unit 600 Output. When a control signal is applied from the controller 400, the embedded OSD control unit 511 calculates the OSD image information corresponding to the OSD menu change based on the data stored in the memory unit 600.

The embedded OSD control unit 511 reads the OSD image corresponding to the calculated OSD image information from the memory unit 600 and outputs the read OSD image to the OSD combining unit 540. When a control signal is applied from the controller 400, the embedded OSD control unit 511 reads data of a specific position in the memory unit 600 and outputs the corresponding OSD image to the OSD combining unit 540.

Here, the storage unit 512 may be formed of SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The storage unit 512 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), or a programmable read-only memory (ROM) Magnetic disk, magnetic disk, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

A separate memory unit 600 is connected to the image sensor 500 to reduce loads related to OSD fonts. Here, the memory unit 600 stores OSD image data, and may be a SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) flash ROM (Read Only Memory).

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the memory unit 600 is composed of an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), which is an interface that allows data to be exchanged through serial communication between two devices. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be a serial communication interface such as a bi-directional serial bus such as I2C, and may exchange data with an embedded OSD control unit 511. [

In the embodiment of the present invention, the memory unit 600 is disposed outside the image sensor 500, for example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In some cases, the memory unit 600 may be disposed inside the image sensor 500.

The image array 530 photographs a subject through a lens, receives a video image signal, and converts it into an electrical signal. The image array 530 outputs the input image signal to the image signal processing unit 520. That is, the image array 530 converts light into electrical signals to generate digital image data, and outputs the digital image data to the image signal processing unit 520.

The image signal processing unit 520 processes the digital image data applied from the image array 530 and outputs the signal to the OSD combining unit 540. The image signal processing unit 520 applies the image sensor setting information applied from the OSD change control unit 510 to the digital image data, and outputs the digital image data to the OSD combining unit 540.

Here, the image signal processor 520 corrects the digital image data applied from the image array 530 and converts the digital image data into image data of a clear image quality. Here, the image signal processing unit 520 corrects luminance and color processing and performs special processing such as auto white balance (AWB), auto exposure (AE), gamma correction, color correction, interpolation, mirror, Function.

The OSD combining unit 540 receives digital image data from the image signal processing unit 520 to which the image sensor setting information corresponding to the menu change is applied. The OSD combining unit 540 receives the OSD image from the OSD change control unit 510.

Accordingly, the OSD combining unit 540 combines and processes the digital image data and the OSD image using the changed image sensor setting information. That is, the OSD combining unit 540 combines the digital image data and the OSD image with the set information, and outputs the combined OSD image to the display unit 610.

Here, the image sensor 500 may be a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) image sensor and a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. In the embodiment of the present invention, And a CMOS image sensor (CIS) will be described as an example.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an on-screen display (OSD) screen displayed on the display unit 610. Referring to FIG.

The on-screen display (OSD) can be represented by each menu and submenu, and image sensor setting information and OSD information are displayed in the corresponding menu or submenu. Here, the submenu may display saturation, brightness, contrast, and the like.

5 is a detailed configuration diagram of a memory unit 600 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The present invention may include the memory unit 300 shown in the first embodiment of FIG. 2 and the memory unit 600 shown in the second embodiment of FIG. 3, but in the following description, The configuration of the unit 600 will be described as an example thereof.

In the memory unit 600 of FIG. 5, a menu segment and a submenu segment include state transition table information, image sensor setting information, and OSD image data position information .

Here, the state change table indicates a state (next menu, submenu) that can be changed each time the control signal or the switch signal of the controller 400 is input in the current state (current menu, submenu). The size of each state change table can be changed according to the number of switch keys of the controller 400. [

In addition, a menu segment start address exists so that the starting point of each menu can be easily found even if the submenus of the respective menus are not the same number.

An operation in which the control signal is applied from the controller 400 to change the image sensor setting information and the OSD image will now be described.

In the embedded OSD control unit 511, the current state (menu current, submenu current) is initially (0, 0), and when the control signal is applied from the controller 400, Update. The memory unit 600 includes a current menu segment start point, a state transition table, and a setting start / stop (Setting s / p).

When a control signal is applied from the controller 400, the embedded OSD control unit 511 reads the current menu segment start from the address of the memory unit 600 of (Equation 1).

(Equation 1)

Base address + (Rom address width * current menu)

A method of calculating the position of the state transition table in the embedded OSD control unit 511 is as follows.

(Equation 2)

The current menu segment start point + ((current submenu-1) * (size of state transition table + size of setting s / p)) +

In the above Equation 2, the state transition table size and setting s / p address size are fixed to a constant value when the number of switch keys is determined and the ROM address width of the memory unit 600 is determined. As a result, in hardware implementation, multiplication can be replaced with addition and shifting.

The embedded OSD control unit 511 loads the next menu and submenu set from the memory unit 600 based on the calculated state transition table position and sends the next menu and submenu set to the internal storage unit 512 . At this time, the next menu value indicates the address of the memory unit 600, and the next submenu value is a value stored in the address of the memory unit 600.

Thereafter, the embedded OSD control unit 511 reads the next menu segment start in the memory unit 600.

(Equation 3)

Next menu segment start address = Base address + (Rom address width * next menu)

In the above equation (3), since the base address and the ROM address width are constants, the multiplication can be replaced by addition and shifter in hardware implementation.

Subsequently, the setting start / stop (Setting s / p) address stored in the next menu submenu segment is stored in the memory 600 (600) based on the value of the next menu segment start address ).

(Equation 4)

address of next menu & next submenu segment setting s / p = Next menu segment start + (current submenu-1) * (size of state transition table + size of setting s / Size of state transition table

Based on the formula (4), the image sensor setting value and the OSD image address value present in the setting start / stop (Setting s / p) address are read from the memory unit 600.

The OSD menu of the embedded OSD control unit 511 supports a save function that stores changed sub menu values and stores sub menu values that have been changed even if the image sensor 500 chip is reset. The embedded OSD control unit 511 also supports a factory function for returning to the initial image sensor 500 chip state.

In order to support such a function, the memory unit 600 has the ROM data area shown in FIG. 6 as follows.

In the ROM data area of FIG. 6, the sector K exists for performing a save function in the OSD menu. When the power is turned on, the sector K is stored in the memory unit 600 And sets the registers of the image sensor 500 at the same time as storing the submenu values. When a Save command is applied from the OSD menu, the sub menu values stored in the internal storage unit 512 of the image sensor 500 chip are stored in the sector K of the memory unit 600.

When the initialization command is applied, the sub-menu values stored in the sector K + 1 are stored in the internal storage 512 of the sector K and the image sensor 500, / RTI > At the same time, the registers of the image sensor 500 chip are set based on the sub menu values stored.

That is, the sub menu values stored in the sector K + 1 are loaded into the storage unit 512, the initialization setting is performed, and the data stored in the storage unit 512 is stored in the sector K. Here, the initialization command represents one menu, and for example, a factory initialization command can be used for a specific menu (menu x, submenu y).

Claims (13)

When OSD (On Screen Display) menu is changed, OSD image setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change is outputted and OSD image corresponding to the OSD menu change is read from the external memory unit A change control section;
An image array for receiving a video image signal for a subject and converting the video image signal into digital image data;
A video signal processor for applying the image sensor setting information to the digital image data and performing signal processing; And
And an OSD synthesizing unit synthesizing the digital image data with the image sensor setting information changed and the OSD image and performing signal processing to display the synthesized image,
The OSD change control unit
A storage unit for storing an OSD image read from the external memory unit; And
And a built-in OSD control unit for outputting the image sensor setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change, reading the OSD image corresponding to the OSD menu change from the external memory unit, and outputting the read OSD image to the OSD synthesis unit Image sensor. delete The image sensor of claim 1, wherein the storage unit is an SRAM. The image sensor of claim 1, wherein the image sensor comprises a CMOS image sensor. A controller for outputting a control signal for changing an on-screen display (OSD) menu;
A memory unit for storing an OSD image;
An image sensor for modifying image sensor setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change when the control signal is applied and for synthesizing the OSD image and the digital image data with the image sensor setting information changed; And
And a display unit for displaying an output image of the image sensor,
The memory unit
And a segment including at least one or more pieces of information of the state transition table information, the image sensor setting information, and the OSD image data position information. 6. The surveillance system according to claim 5, wherein the image sensor is a CMOS image sensor. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image sensor
The OSD image information corresponding to the OSD menu change is outputted based on the OSD image and the OSD image change corresponding to the OSD menu change is outputted based on the OSD image, A control unit;
An image array for receiving a video image signal for a subject and converting the received video image signal into the digital image data;
A video signal processor for applying the image sensor setting information to the digital image data and performing signal processing; And
And an OSD synthesizer for synthesizing the OSD image with the digital image data in which the image sensor setting information is changed. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the OSD change control unit
A storage unit for storing the OSD image read from the memory; And
And an embedded OSD control unit for outputting the image sensor setting information corresponding to the OSD menu change and reading the OSD image corresponding to the OSD menu change from the external memory unit and outputting the read OSD image to the OSD synthesis unit A surveillance system comprising an image sensor. The surveillance system according to claim 8, wherein the storage unit is an SRAM. 6. The surveillance system according to claim 5, wherein the memory unit includes an SPI flash ROM. delete 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image sensor
Wherein the current state is updated based on the state transition table of the memory unit when the control signal is applied. 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the image sensor
When the control signal is applied, reads the data value stored in an address of the memory unit and an address of the memory unit based on the current menu segment start address in the status change table and stores the read data value in the internal storage unit Surveillance system.

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