TWI806226B - Image sensing method and image sensing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An image sensing method and an image sensing device are disclosed. The method includes: sensing an environment light through a first type light sensor and a second type light sensor, wherein a wavelength range of the environment light detected by the first type light sensor is different from a wavelength range of the environment light detected by the second type light sensor; in response to that a signal strength of a sensing signal of the second type light sensor is larger than a default value, closing the second type light sensor; and in a state that the second type light sensor is closed, outputting an environment image according to a sensing signal of the first type light sensor.

Description

Image sensing method and image sensing device

The present invention relates to an image sensing technology, and in particular to an image sensing method and an image sensing device.

In order to increase the versatility of image sensors, some types of image sensors are equipped with three primary color (RGB) color sensors and infrared sensors. In this way, the infrared sensor in the image sensor can be used to detect nighttime images in occasions where light is insufficient, such as at night. In addition, in the general situation where the light source is sufficient, the image signal detected by the infrared sensor can be filtered out from the overall received image sensing signal through the image processing operation at the back end of the image sensor, in order to try to restore to produce the correct image color. However, in practice, even if the image signal sensed by the infrared sensor is filtered out, the restored image often still has serious color shift, which causes troubles in the use of the image sensor.

In view of this, the present invention provides an image sensing method and an image sensing device, which can improve the imaging quality of the hybrid image sensor.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an image sensing method, which includes: detecting ambient light through a first type of light sensor and a second type of light sensor, wherein the light detected by the first type of light sensor The wavelength range of the ambient light is different from the wavelength range of the ambient light detected by the second type of light sensor; the signal strength of the sensing signal in response to the second type of light sensor is higher than By default, the second type of light sensor is turned off; and in the state of turning off the second type of light sensor, an environment image is output according to the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an image sensing device, which includes a first-type light sensor, a second-type light sensor, and a control circuit module. The control circuit module is coupled to the first type light sensor and the second type light sensor. The control circuit module is used to: detect ambient light through the first type light sensor and the second type light sensor, wherein the light detected by the first type light sensor The wavelength range of the ambient light is different from the wavelength range of the ambient light detected by the second type of light sensor; the signal strength of the sensing signal in response to the second type of light sensor is higher than a preset value, turn off the second type of light sensor; and output an environment image according to the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor in the state of turning off the second type of light sensor.

Based on the above, the first type of light sensor and the second type of light sensor can be used to detect ambient light simultaneously or separately, and the wavelength ranges of ambient light detected by different types of light sensors are different. In response to the signal strength of the sensing signal of the second type of light sensor being higher than a preset value, the second type of light sensor can be turned off. In the state of turning off the second type of light sensor, the environment image can be output according to the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor. Thereby, the imaging quality of the hybrid image sensor can be effectively improved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image sensing device according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 1 , the image sensing device 10 can be installed in various electronic devices with image capture functions such as smart phones, tablet computers, notebook computers, desktop computers, game consoles or multimedia business machines (Kiosks). . The image sensing device 10 can be used to detect ambient light 100 and output an ambient image IM according to the ambient light 100 .

The image sensing device 10 includes a light sensing circuit (also known as a hybrid light sensing circuit) 11 and a control circuit module (also known as an image processing circuit module) 12 . The light sensing circuit 11 is coupled to the control circuit module 12 .

The light sensing circuit 11 may include a first type light sensor 101 and a second type light sensor 102 . Both the first type light sensor 101 and the second type light sensor 102 can be used to detect the ambient light 100 . It should be noted that the wavelength range of the ambient light 100 detected by the first type of light sensor 101 is different from the wavelength range of the ambient light 100 detected by the second type of light sensor 102 .

In one embodiment, the first type of light sensor 101 includes a three primary color (RGB) color sensor. For example, the first type of light sensor 101 may include a red color sensor, a green color sensor and a blue color sensor. The red color sensor can be used to sense light (ie, red light) in the wavelength range of approximately 610-780 nanometers (nm) in the ambient light 100 . The green color sensor is used to sense light (ie, green light) in the wavelength range of about 500-570 nm in the ambient light 100 . The blue color sensor is used to sense light (ie, blue light) in the wavelength range of about 435-480 nm in the ambient light 100 . In addition, the wavelength range of light detectable by each photosensor can still be adjusted according to practical requirements, which is not limited by the present invention.

In one embodiment, the second type of light sensor 102 includes an infrared (IR) sensor. The infrared sensor can be used to sense the ambient light 100 which has a wavelength range of about 780-1000 nm (ie infrared light). The number of the first type of light sensors 101 and the number of the second type of light sensors 102 can be multiple. For example, the first-type light sensors 101 and the second-type light sensors 102 can be interleavedly arranged in the light-sensing circuit 11 in the form of a pixel array.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a photo-sensing circuit according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2 , the photo-sensing circuit 11 may include a plurality of photo-sensor arrays 21 arranged repeatedly. The photosensor array 21 may include a first type of photosensor (marked as R, G and B) and a second type of photosensor (marked as IR). The light sensor marked R is a red color sensor. The light sensor marked G is the green color sensor. The light sensor marked B is the blue color sensor. The light sensor labeled IR is an infrared sensor. Different types of photosensors R, G, B and IR can be interleavedly arranged in the photosensor array 21 or the photosensor circuit 11 . In addition, the actual arrangement of different types of photosensors R, G, B, and IR in the photosensor array 21 or the photosensor circuit 11 can be adjusted according to practical needs, which is not limited by the present invention.

Please return to FIG. 1 , the first type of light sensor 101 can generate a sensing signal S1 according to the detected ambient light 100 . For example, the sensing signal S1 can reflect the light intensity of the light in the ambient light 100 conforming to the wavelength range detectable by the first type of light sensor 101 . The second type of light sensor 102 can generate a sensing signal S2 according to the detected ambient light 100 . For example, the sensing signal S2 can reflect the light intensity of the light in the ambient light 100 that meets the wavelength range detectable by the second type of light sensor 102 .

The control circuit module 12 can receive sensing signals S1 and S2 from the light sensing circuit 11 . The control circuit module 12 can determine whether the signal strength of the sensing signal S2 of the second type of light sensor 102 is higher than a preset value. In response to the signal strength of the sensing signal S2 being higher than a preset value, the control circuit module 12 can control the light sensing circuit 11 to turn off the second type of light sensor 102 . For example, the control circuit module 12 can send a control signal SC to control the light sensing circuit 11 to turn off the second type of light sensor 102 .

In the off state of the second-type photosensor 102, the second-type photosensor 102 cannot output the sensing signal S2, and the control circuit module 12 can independently detect the signal according to the first-type photosensor 101 S1 outputs the environment image IM. That is, in the state of turning off the second type of light sensor 102 , the control circuit module 12 can output the environment image IM only according to the sensing signal S1 without considering the sensing signal S2 .

On the other hand, in response to the signal strength of the sensing signal S2 being not higher than the preset value, the control circuit module 12 may not control the light sensing circuit 11 to turn off the second type of light sensor 102 . When the second-type light sensor 102 is not turned off, the second-type light sensor 102 can normally output the sensing signal S2, and the control circuit module 12 can output the environment image IM according to the sensing signals S1 and S2. For example, when the second type of light sensor 102 is not turned off, the control circuit module 12 can reflect the light information carried by the sensing signals S1 and S2 to the environment image IM at the same time, so as to generate the current complete light. state of the environment image IM.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an image sensing device according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3 , the image sensing device 10 may include a light sensing circuit (ie, a hybrid light sensing circuit) 31 and a control circuit module 32 . The control circuit module 32 is coupled to the light sensing circuit 31 . The light sensing circuit 31 may include a first type light sensor 101 and a second type light sensor 102 . The usage and configuration of the first-type light sensor 101 and the second-type light sensor 102 can refer to the description of the embodiment in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , and will not be repeated here.

The light sensing circuit 31 may include a switching element 301 . The switch element 301 is coupled to the second type of light sensor 102 and can be used to control the activation and deactivation of the second type of light sensor 102 . For example, the switching element 301 can be connected in series between the second type photosensor 102 and the control circuit module 32 (or the image output circuit 321 ).

The control circuit module 32 may include an image output circuit 321 and a switch control circuit 322 . When the second type of light sensor 102 is activated, the image output circuit 321 can receive the sensing signals S1 and S2 from the light sensing circuit 31 and output the image signal IM according to the sensing signals S1 and S2. For example, the image output circuit 321 can perform conventional image processing operations on the sensing signals S1 and S2 to output the image signal IM.

When the second type of light sensor 102 is activated, the switch control circuit 322 can continuously determine whether the signal strength of the sensing signal S2 is higher than a preset value. In response to the signal strength of the sensing signal S2 being higher than the preset value, the switch control circuit 322 can send the control signal SC to the switch element 301 . In response to the control signal SC, the switch element 301 can cut off the signal channel of the second type photosensor 102 to turn off the second type photosensor 102 . For example, the signal channel can be used to transmit the sensing signal S2 between the second type photosensor 102 and the control circuit module 32 (or the image output circuit 321 ).

In the state where the second-type light sensor 102 is turned off, the image output circuit 321 may ignore the sensing signal S2 and only output the image signal IM according to the sensing signal S1. Then, in response to the signal strength of the sensing signal S2 not being higher than the preset value, the switch control circuit 322 may stop sending the control signal SC, so that the switch element 301 re-conducts the signal channel of the second type photosensor 102 . At this time, the second type of light sensor 102 can provide the sensing signal S2 to the control circuit module 32 (or the image output circuit 321 ) through the turned-on signal channel.

In one embodiment, the current value of the sensing signal S2 can reflect the signal strength of the sensing signal S2. The switch control circuit 322 can determine whether the current value of the sensing signal S2 is higher than the current threshold. In response to the current value of the sensing signal S2 being higher than the current threshold, the switch control circuit 322 can control the switch element 301 to turn off the second type of light sensor 102 . In addition, if the current value of the sensing signal S2 is not higher than the current threshold value, the switch control circuit 322 may not turn off the second type of light sensor 102 .

In one embodiment, when the second type of light sensor 102 is turned off, the image output circuit 321 can respond to the lack of the sensing signal S2 of the second type of light sensor 102 , and the first type of light sensor The sensing signal S1 of the detector 101 is compensated to output an optimized environment image IM. For example, in the state where the second type photosensor 102 is turned off, the image output circuit 321 can sense output from one or more photosensors adjacent to the turned off second type photosensor 102 The signal S1 is used to adjust the color of at least a part of the environment image IM. Thereby, the color difference and/or color shift in the environment image IM can be reduced as much as possible.

In one embodiment, the signal intensity of the sensing signal S2 of the second type of light sensor 102 is higher than a preset value, which may reflect that the intensity of infrared light in the current ambient light 100 is relatively high (for example, higher than a threshold value). . At this time, by directly turning off the second type of light sensor 102, the color difference and/or color shift generated by the too strong infrared light in the ambient light 100 in the final output environmental image IM can be effectively reduced, thereby improving the quality of the environmental image IM. image quality.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an image sensing method according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 4, in step S401, the ambient light is detected by the first type light sensor and the second type light sensor, wherein the ambient light detected by the first type light sensor is The wavelength range is different from the wavelength range of the ambient light detected by the second type of light sensor. In step S402, it is determined whether the signal strength of the sensing signal of the second type of light sensor is higher than a preset value. In response to the signal strength of the sensing signal of the second type of light sensor being higher than a preset value, in step S403, the second type of light sensor is turned off. In step S404 , when the second type of light sensor is turned off, an environment image is output according to the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor.

However, each step in FIG. 4 has been described in detail above, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that each step in FIG. 4 can be implemented as a plurality of program codes or circuits, which is not limited by the present invention. In addition, the method in FIG. 4 can be used in combination with the above exemplary embodiments, or can be used alone, which is not limited by the present invention.

In summary, the embodiment of the present invention can directly turn off the second type of light sensor when the signal strength of the sensing signal of the second type of light sensor in the hybrid light sensing circuit is higher than the preset value. detector. In addition, when the signal strength of the sensing signal of the second type of light sensor in the hybrid light sensing circuit is not higher than the preset value, the connection between the first type of light sensor and the second type of light sensor is maintained. working normally. In this way, regardless of the intensity of infrared light in the current ambient light, the image quality of the output ambient image can be maintained.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field may make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the scope of the appended patent application.

10: Image sensing device 11, 31: Light sensing circuit (also known as hybrid light sensing circuit) 12, 32: Control circuit module (also known as image processing circuit module) 101: Type 1 light sensor 102: Type 2 light sensor 100: ambient light S1, S2: Sensing signal SC: control signal IM: Environmental Imaging 21: Light Sensor Array 301: switching element 321: Image output circuit 322: Switch control circuit S401~S404: steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image sensing device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a photo-sensing circuit according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an image sensing device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an image sensing method according to an embodiment of the invention.

S401~S404: steps

Claims (10)

An image sensing method, comprising: detecting ambient light via a first type of light sensor and a second type of light sensor, wherein the wavelength range of the ambient light detected by the first type of light sensor is different from The wavelength range of the ambient light detected by the second type of light sensor; in the state of starting the second type of light sensor, the switch control circuit continues to judge the signal strength of the sensing signal; in response to the second type of light sensor The signal strength of the sensing signal of the light sensor is higher than a preset value, turning off the second type of light sensor; and in the state of turning off the second type of light sensor, according to the first type of light The sensing signal of the sensor outputs an environment image. The image sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the first type of light sensors and the second type of light sensors are interleavedly arranged in the light sensing circuit. The image sensing method as claimed in item 1, wherein the second type of light sensor is coupled to a switch element, and the step of turning off the second type of light sensor includes: cutting off the second type of light sensor by the switch element The signal channel of the photosensor is connected to close the second photosensor. The image sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the step of outputting the environment image according to the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor in the state of turning off the second type of light sensor includes: The missing sensing signal of the second type of light sensor is compensated for the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor to output the environment image. The image sensing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first type of light sensor includes a three primary color (RGB) color sensor, and the second type of light sensor includes an infrared sensor. An image sensing device, comprising: a first-type light sensor; a switch control circuit for a second-type light sensor; and a control circuit module, coupled to the first-type light sensor, the second-type light sensor The sensor and the switch control circuit, wherein the control circuit module is used to: detect ambient light through the first type of light sensor and the second type of light sensor, wherein the first type of light sensor The wavelength range of the ambient light detected is different from the wavelength range of the ambient light detected by the second-type light sensor; in the state of starting the second-type light sensor, the switch control circuit continues to judge the sensor detecting the signal strength of the signal; in response to the signal strength of the sensing signal of the second type of light sensor being higher than a preset value, turning off the second type of light sensor; and turning off the second type of light sensor In the state of the detector, the environmental image is output according to the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor. The image sensing device as described in Claim 6, wherein the image sensing device further includes a photo-sensing circuit, and the first-type photo-sensor and the second-type photo-sensor are alternately arranged on the photo-sensor in the circuit. The image sensing device as described in Claim 6, wherein the image sensing device further includes a switching element, the second type light sensor is coupled to the switching element, and the control circuit module turns off the second type light The operation of the sensor includes: cutting off the signal channel of the second type of light sensor through the switch element, so as to turn off the second type of light sensor. The image sensing device according to claim 6, wherein the control circuit module outputs the environment image according to the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor when the second type of light sensor is turned off The operation includes: compensating the sensing signal of the first type of light sensor for the lack of the sensing signal of the second type of light sensor, so as to output the environment image. The image sensing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first type of light sensor includes a three-primary color sensor, and the second type of light sensor includes an infrared sensor.

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