Exposure controller having coring value adapted to the discharge pulse count

The present invention relates to an exposure controller, more particularly to an exposure controller for a camera incorporating an electronic iris.

Instead of mechanical exposure control, electronic exposure control has recently been used to meet the needs for miniaturization of electronic cameras.

Conventional electronic exposure control has been disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 5-48975, for example.

A conventional exposure controller is described below. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of this conventional exposure controller. Referring to FIG. 8 , numeral 81 represents a rectifier circuit for receiving an image signal from an image pickup device at an input terminal and for rectifying the image signal, numerals 82 and 83 represent comparator circuits, numerals 84 and 85 represent reference voltage setting circuits, numeral 86 represents a counter circuit, and numeral 87 represents an exposure time control circuit for controlling exposure time.

The operation of the exposure controller having the above-mentioned configuration is described below. First, an image signal from the image pickup device is rectified by the rectifier circuit 81 . A reference voltage, that is, a potential difference corresponding to the amount of change in the output level of the image signal when the amount of input light entering the image pickup device is doubled, is generated by the reference voltage setting circuit 84 . Another reference voltage, that is, a potential difference not less than the above-mentioned potential difference, is generated by the reference voltage setting circuit 85 . The two reference voltages generated by the reference voltage setting circuits 84 , 85 are compared with the output level of the rectified image signal by the comparator circuits 82 , 83 , respectively. The count of the counter circuit 86 is incremented, decremented or stopped depending on the outputs of the comparator circuits 82 , 83 , and the exposure time of the image pickup device is controlled by the exposure time control circuit 87 depending on the output of the counter circuit 86 .

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the level of the picked-up image signal at each exposure time control process changes larger as the exposure time becomes shorter, and the problem of hunting occurs at the convergent point of the image signal level.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an exposure controller free from hunting by using a coring value adapted to the discharge pulse count of a solid-state image pickup device.

A first embodiment of the present invention comprises a lens, a solid-state image pickup device for picking up the image of light having passed through the lens, an AD converter for converting the image picked up by the solid-state image pickup device into a digital signal, a luminance level detector circuit for detecting the luminance level of the image signal digitized by the AD converter, a register having stored the target value of the luminance level, a subtracter for calculating the difference between the luminance level detected by the luminance level detector circuit and the target value of the luminance level, a discharge pulse calculation circuit for calculating a discharge pulse count (hereinafter referred to as sub) to be output to the solid-state image pickup device within one field period on the basis of the polarity of the difference and a discharge pulse hold signal to be output from a coring circuit described later without changing the discharge pulse count when the discharge pulse hold signal is H, or depending on the polarity of the difference between the luminance level and the target value of the luminance level to be output from the subtracter when the discharge pulse hold signal is L, and for outputting sub, an absolute value circuit for calculating the absolute value (hereinafter referred to as a luminance level error) of the difference between the luminance level and the target value of the luminance level to be output from the subtracter, a coring circuit for defining the quotient obtained from sub divided by a predetermined setting value and plus 1 as a coring value, for setting the discharge pulse hold signal at H when the coring value is larger than the luminance level error, or at L in other cases, and for outputting the discharge pulse hold signal, and a drive pulse generator circuit for converting sub into a discharge pulse signal and for outputting the discharge pulse signal to the solid-state image pickup device.

According to this embodiment, when light enters the solid-state image pickup device, the device performs photoelectric conversion, stores charges in a period during which no discharge pulse signal is input, and outputs the charges as an image signal. The luminance level detector circuit assigns weights to the screen center portion of the digitized image signal so as to average luminance levels on the screen, and outputs the average level as the luminance level of the image signal. The subtracter circuit calculates the difference between this luminance level and the target value of the luminance level, which has been stored in a register. The coring circuit defines the value of sub divided by a predetermined value and plus 1 as a coring value, and when

luminance level error>coring value

the discharge pulse hold signal is set at L, or when

luminance level error≦coring value

the discharge pulse hold signal is set at H, and the signal is output to the discharge pulse calculation circuit.

The discharge pulse calculation circuit determines the magnitude relationship between the luminance level and the target value depending on the polarity of the luminance input signal, and when

luminance level>target value

the discharge pulse calculation circuit increments sub so as to shorten the charge time of the solid-state image pickup device and to lower the luminance level, and then outputs sub, or when

luminance level≦target value

the discharge pulse calculation circuit decrements sub so as to lengthen the charge time of the solid-state image pickup device and to raise the luminance level, and then outputs sub. In case the discharge pulse hold signal is H at this time, sub remains unchanged and is output. The drive pulse generator circuit outputs the discharge pulse signal having the same number of pulses as the value of sub to the solid-state image pickup device.

Since the exposure controller is provided with the coring circuit as described above, this exposure controller can be embodied as an exposure controller free from hunting by using a coring value adapted to the value of the discharge pulse count.

A second embodiment of the present invention, having a coring circuit different from that of the first embodiment, comprises a lens, a solid-state image pickup device for picking up the image of light having passed through the lens, an AD converter for converting the image picked up by the solid-state image pickup device into a digital signal, a luminance level detector circuit for detecting the luminance level of the image signal digitized by the AD converter, a register having stored the target value of the luminance level, a subtracter for calculating the difference between the luminance level detected by the luminance level detector circuit and the target value of the luminance level, a discharge pulse calculation circuit for calculating a discharge pulse count (hereinafter referred to as sub) to be output to the solid-state image pickup device within one field period on the basis of the polarity of the difference and a discharge pulse hold signal to be output from a coring circuit described later without changing sub when the discharge pulse hold signal is H, or depending on the polarity of the difference between the luminance level and the target value of the luminance level to be output by the subtracter when the discharge pulse hold signal is L, and for outputting sub, an absolute value circuit for calculating the absolute value (hereinafter referred to as a luminance level error) of the difference between the luminance level and the target value of the luminance level to be output from the subtracter, a coring circuit for defining the value of a second register as a coring value when sub is not more than the value stored in a first register or for defining the value of a third register as the coring value when sub is more than the value stored in the first register, for setting the discharge pulse hold signal at H when the coring value is larger than the luminance level error, or at L in other cases, and for outputting the discharge pulse hold signal, and a drive pulse generator circuit for converting sub into a discharge pulse signal and for outputting the discharge pulse signal to the solid-state image pickup device.

A third embodiment of the present invention, having a coring circuit different from that of the first embodiment, comprises a lens, a solid-state image pickup device for picking up the image of light having passed through the lens, an AD converter for converting the image picked up by the solid-state image pickup device into a digital signal, a luminance level detector circuit for detecting the luminance level of the image signal digitized by the AD converter, a register having stored the target value of the luminance level, a subtracter for calculating the difference between the luminance level detected by the luminance level detector circuit and the target value of the luminance level, a discharge pulse calculation circuit for calculating a discharge pulse count (hereinafter referred to as sub) to be output to the solid-state image pickup device within one field period on the basis of the polarity of the difference and a discharge pulse hold signal to be output from a coring circuit described later without changing sub when the discharge pulse hold signal is H, or depending on the polarity of the difference between the luminance level and the target value of the luminance level to be output by the subtracter when the discharge pulse hold signal is L, and for outputting sub, an absolute value circuit for calculating the absolute value (hereinafter referred to as a luminance level error) of the difference between the luminance level and the target value of the luminance level to be output from the subtracter, a coring circuit for defining the value obtained by multiplying the target value by the reciprocal of the difference between the number of scanning lines in one field and sub and plus 1 as a coring value, for setting the discharge pulse hold signal at H when the coring value is larger than the luminance level error, or at L in other cases, and for outputting the discharge pulse hold signal, and a drive pulse generator circuit for converting sub into a discharge pulse signal and for outputting the discharge pulse signal to the solid-state image pickup device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exposure controller in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a coring circuit in accordance with the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exposure controller in accordance with a second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a coring circuit in accordance with the second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exposure controller in accordance with a third embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a coring circuit in accordance with the third embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the output timing of drive pulses at a drive pulse generator circuit; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a conventional exposure controller.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below referring to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an entire exposure controller in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , numeral 10 represents a lens, numeral 11 represents a solid-state image pickup device for picking up the image of light s 10 having passed through the lens 10 and for outputting the image as an image signal s 11 . Numeral 12 represents an A/D converter for converting the image signal s 11 into a digital signal s 12 . Numeral 13 represents a luminance level detector circuit for detecting the luminance level s 13 of the digitized image signal s 12 . Numeral 14 represents a register having stored the target value s 14 of the luminance level s 13 . Numeral 15 represents a subtracter for calculating the difference s 15 between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 and for outputting the difference s 15 . Numeral 16 represents a discharge pulse calculation circuit for outputting a discharge pulse count (hereinafter referred to as sub) s 16 to the solid-state image pickup device 11 within one field period on the basis of the polarity of the difference s 15 and a discharge pulse hold signal s 18 to be output from a coring circuit 18 described later. Numeral 17 represents an absolute value circuit for calculating the absolute value (hereinafter referred to as a luminance level error) s 17 of the difference s 15 between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 . Numeral 18 represents a coring circuit for setting the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 on the basis of sub s 16 and the luminance level error s 17 and for outputting the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 . Numeral 19 represents a drive pulse generator circuit for converting sub s 16 into a discharge pulse signal s 19 and for outputting the discharge pulse signal s 19 to the solid-state image pickup device 11 .

The operation of the exposure controller of this embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration is described below. When the light s 10 enters the solid-state image pickup device 11 , the solid-state image pickup device 11 performs photoelectric conversion, stores charges in a period during which the discharge pulse signal s 19 is not input, and outputs the charges as the image signal s 11 . The luminance level detector signal 13 obtains the average luminance of the digitized image signal s 12 and outputs the average luminance as the luminance level s 13 of the image signal s 12 . The subtracter 15 calculates the difference s 15 between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 of the luminance level s 13 , which has been stored in the register 14 . The coring circuit 18 defines the value of sub s 16 divided by integer 64 and plus 1 as a coring value, and when

luminance level error s 17 >coring value

the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 is set at L, or when

luminance level error s 17 ≦coring value

the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 is set at H, and the signal is output to the discharge pulse calculation circuit 16 .

The discharge pulse calculation circuit 16 determines the magnitude relationship between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 depending on the polarity of the luminance input signal s 15 , and when

luminance level s 13 >target value s 14

the discharge pulse calculation circuit 16 increments sub s 16 so as to shorten the charge time of the solid-state image pickup device 11 and to lower the luminance level, and then outputs sub s 16 , or when

luminance level s 13 ≦target value s 14

the discharge pulse calculation circuit 16 decrements sub s 16 so as to lengthen the charge time of the solid-state image pickup device 11 and to raise the luminance level, and then outputs sub s 16 . In case the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 is H at this time, sub s 16 remains unchanged and is output.

The drive pulse generator circuit 19 outputs the discharge pulse signal s 19 having the same number of pulses as the value of sub s 16 to the solid-state image pickup device 11 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the coring circuit 18 of the exposure controller of the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2 , numeral 21 represents a bit shifter for shifting sub s 16 to its LSB side by 6 bits, numeral 22 represents an adder for adding 1 to the value s 21 bit-shifted by the bit shifter 21 , and numeral 23 represents a comparator for comparing the added value (hereinafter referred to as a coring value) s 22 with the luminance level error s 17 .

The operation of the coring circuit of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration is described below. By the bit shifter 21 , sub s 16 is shifted by 6 bits to its LSB side, and 1 is added to s 21 by the adder 22 . As a result, the following equation is established:

coring value s 22 =sub s 16 / 64 +1.

The comparator 23 compares the coring value s 22 with the luminance level error s 17 , and when

luminance level error s 17 >coring value s 22

the comparator 23 outputs 0, or when

luminance level error s 17 ≦coring value s 22

the comparator 23 outputs 1, and this output value is output as the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 .

As described above, the electronic-iris type exposure controller of the first embodiment, having the drive pulse generator circuit 19 which outputs the discharge pulse signal to the solid-state image pickup device 11 at a rate of an effective scanning period divided by 16 in a vertical blanking period, is provided with the coring circuit 18 which defines sub s 16 divided by integer 16 and plus 1 as the coring value s 22 . This exposure controller can be embodied as an exposure controller free from hunting by using a coring value adapted to the value of sub s 16 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an entire exposure controller in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3 , numeral 10 represents a lens, numeral 11 represents a solid-state image pickup device for picking up the image of light s 10 having passed through the lens 10 and for outputting the image as an image signal s 11 . Numeral 12 represents an A/D converter for converting the image signal s 11 into a digital signal s 12 . Numeral 13 represents a luminance level detector circuit for detecting the luminance level s 13 of the digitized image signal s 12 . Numeral 14 represents a register having stored the target value s 14 of the luminance level s 13 . Numeral 15 represents a subtracter for calculating the difference s 15 between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 and for outputting the difference s 15 . Numeral 36 represents a discharge pulse calculation circuit for outputting a discharge pulse count (hereinafter referred to as sub) s 16 to the solid-state image pickup device 11 within one field period on the basis of the polarity of the difference s 15 and a discharge pulse hold signal s 18 to be output from a coring circuit 38 described later. Numeral 17 represents an absolute value circuit for calculating the absolute value (hereinafter referred to as a luminance level error) s 17 of the difference s 15 between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 . The configuration described above is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 . The configuration of the second embodiment only differs from that shown in FIG. 1 in the following two points: the process by the coring circuit 38 differs from the process by the coring circuit 18 , and a drive pulse generator circuit 39 converts sub s 16 into a discharge pulse signal s 19 and outputs the discharge pulse signal s 19 to the solid-state image pickup device 11 .

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the coring circuit 38 of the exposure controller in accordance with the second embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4 , numerals 40 , 42 and 43 represent registers, numeral 41 represents a comparator for comparing sub s 16 with the value s 41 of the register 40 , numeral 44 represents a selector for outputting the value s 43 of the register 42 or the value s 44 of the register 43 depending on the output value s 42 of the comparator 41 , and numeral 45 represents a comparator for comparing the output value (hereinafter referred to as a coring value) s 45 of the selector 44 with the luminance level error s 17 .

The operation of the coring circuit 38 having the above-mentioned configuration is described below. The comparator 41 compares sub s 16 with the value s 41 of the register 40 , and when the result is represented as follows:

sub s 16 >value s 41 of the register 40 ,

the comparator 41 outputs 1, and in other cases, the comparator 41 outputs 0. If the output value s 42 of the comparator 41 is 1, the selector 44 outputs the value s 43 of the register 42 as the coring value s 45 . If the output value s 42 is 0, the selector 44 outputs the value s 44 of the register 43 as the coring value s 45 . The comparator 45 compares the luminance level error s 17 with the coring value 45 , and when

luminance level error s 17 >coring value s 45

the comparator 45 outputs 0, or when

luminance level error s 17 ≦coring value s 45

the comparator 45 outputs 1. This output value is output as the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 .

As described above, the electronic-iris type exposure controller of the second embodiment is provided with the coring circuit 38 which changes the coring value s 45 depending on whether the value of sub s 16 is larger than the value s 41 of the register 40 or not. This exposure controller can be embodied as an exposure controller free from hunting by using a coring value adapted to the value of sub s 16 .

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an entire exposure controller in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5 , numeral 10 represents a lens, numeral 11 represents a solid-state image pickup device for picking up the image of light s 10 having passed through the lens 10 and for outputting the image as an image signal s 11 . Numeral 12 represents an A/D converter for converting the image signal s 11 into a digital signal s 12 . Numeral 13 represents a luminance level detector circuit for detecting the luminance level s 13 of the digitized image signal s 12 . Numeral 14 represents a register having stored the target value s 14 of the luminance level s 13 . Numeral 15 represents a subtracter for calculating the difference s 15 between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 and for outputting the difference s 15 . Numeral 56 represents a discharge pulse calculation circuit for outputting a discharge pulse count (hereinafter referred to as sub) s 16 to the solid-state image pickup device 11 within one field period on the basis of the polarity of the difference s 15 and a discharge pulse hold signal s 18 to be output from a coring circuit 58 described later. Numeral 17 represents an absolute value circuit for calculating the absolute value (hereinafter referred to as a luminance level error) s 17 of the difference s 15 between the luminance level s 13 and the target value s 14 . Numeral 39 represents a drive pulse generator circuit for converting sub s 16 into a discharge pulse signal s 19 and for outputting the discharge pulse signal s 19 to the solid-state image pickup device 11 . The configuration described above is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 or 3 . The configuration of the third embodiment only differs from that shown in FIG. 1 or 3 in that the process by the coring circuit 58 differs from the process by the coring circuit 18 or 38 .

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the coring circuit 58 of the exposure controller in accordance with the third embodiment. Referring to FIG. 6 , numeral 61 represents a register, numeral 62 represents a subtracter for subtracting sub s 16 from the value of the register 61 , numeral 63 represents a divider for dividing the target value s 14 by the output s 62 of the subtracter 62 , numeral 64 represents an adder for adding 1 to the value s 63 obtained by the divider, and numeral 65 represents a comparator for comparing this added value (hereinafter referred to as a coring value) s 64 with the luminance level error s 17 .

The operation of the coring circuit of the third embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration is described below. The register 61 has stored the number of scanning lines per field. The subtracter 62 subtracts sub s 16 from the value s 61 of the register 61 . By dividing the target value s 14 by the result s 62 of the subtraction, the following equation can be established:

target value s 14 /(the number of scanning lines per field−sub s 16 )  (Equation 61)

Equation 61 indicates the amount of change in the luminance level s 13 when sub s 16 is changed by 1, and 1 is added to the amount by the adder 64 , and then the following equation can be established:

target value s 14 /(the number of scanning lines per field−sub s 16 )+1   (Equation 62)

the value represented by this equation is defined as a coring value s 64 . The comparator 65 compares the luminance level error s 17 with the coring value s 64 , and when

luminance level error s 17 >coring value s 64

the comparator 65 outputs 0, or when

luminance level error s 17 ≦coring value s 64

the comparator 65 outputs 1, and this output value is output as the discharge pulse hold signal s 18 .

As described above, the electronic-iris type exposure controller of the third embodiment is provided with the coring circuit 64 which obtains the amount of change in the luminance level s 13 when sub s 16 is changed by 1, adds 1 to this amount and defines the result of the addition as the coring value s 64 . This exposure controller can be embodied as an exposure controller free from hunting by using a coring value adapted to the value of sub s 16 .

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the output timing of drive pulses at the drive pulse generator circuits 19 , 39 of the exposure controller in accordance with the first, second and third embodiments. As shown in FIG. 7 , outside a vertical blanking period, the drive pulse generator circuits 19 , 39 output one discharge pulse during each horizontal blanking period. Within the vertical blanking period, the drive pulse generator circuits 19 , 39 output discharge pulses during effective scanning periods, as well as during the horizontal blanking periods. Because of these characteristics, even when exposure is controlled in a very high electronic shutter speed condition wherein discharge pulses are output within the vertical blanking period, the change rate of the luminance level of the pickup image in accordance with the change in the number of the discharge pulses can be decreased, whereby exposure can be controlled by using fewer coring values.

FIG. 1

11 solid-state image pickup device

12 ad converter

13 luminance level detector circuit

14 target value

15 subtracter

17 absolute value circuit

18 core ring circuit

16 discharge pulse calculation circuit

19 drive pulse generator circuit

FIG. 2

21 6-bit shifter

22 adder

23 comparator

FIG. 4

40 register

44 selector

FIG. 7

1 vertical blanking

2 horizontal blanking

3 discharge pulse

4 vertical blanking period

5 time

FIG. 8

1 input terminal

2 output terminal

81 rectifier circuit

82 comparator circuit a

86 counter circuit

87 exposure time control circuit