The application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Applications No. 2004-299 filed on Jan. 5, 2004 which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an image pickup device, and in particular, it relates to an aperture stop of an image pickup device mounted with an imaging sensor in which rectangular pixels are set.
Heretofore, in general, an image pickup device such as an electronic endoscope, a compact camera, a digital camera, a video camera, and the like has performed the imaging of an observed object and an object by a solid state imaging sensor such as CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and the like. For example, the electronic endoscope is provided with an objective optical system having an aperture stop (fixed aperture) and a CCD at its top end portion, and by illumination of a light source light guided by a light guide, the observed object is imaged by the CCD through the objective optical system. By subjecting imaging signals outputted from this CCD to various signal processings by a processor device and the like, the observed object can be observed on a monitor screen.
In
Now, in recent years, due to urging wishes for the small diameter in an electronic endoscope, and urging wishes for the miniaturization in other image pickup devices also, the miniaturization of a CCD has been started, and moreover, to enhance the resolution of an image (projected image), as described above, incorporation of a high number of pixels of the CCD has been promoted, and therefore, a light quantity and brightness obtained in an pixel unit have been apt to come down. Hence, in the conventional electronic endoscope, a xenon lamp having a high light-intensity or the like has been often used as a light source, but, in consideration of an influence over a human body which is an observed object, there is a limit to the light intensity which is illumined.
In the meantime, to improve the brightness which is in short supply in the image, a method of amplifying and processing signals obtained by the CCD is adopted, but, according to this method of signal amplification, there is a problem that an image quality deteriorates because of a lowering of S/N ratio.
The present invention has been made in view of the above described problems, and an object of the invention is to provide an image pickup device capable of increasing a light quantity and brightness to be obtained in a pixel unit and promoting the miniaturization and high quality image of an imaging sensor without lowering the S/N ratio and the resolution.
To achieve the above described object, the image pickup device according to the present invention includes an imaging sensor provided with pixels constituting the image, and an aperture portion which is provided for narrowing down a light flux incident on this imaging sensor and in which an aperture opening is shaped approximately similar to the pixel shape of the imaging sensor. As for the pixel shape of this imaging sensor, there are a longitudinally rectangular shape, a hook-shape, and the like.
Further, an image pickup device according to other inventions includes an imaging sensor provided with pixels constituting an image, and an aperture portion which is provided for narrowing down a light flux incident on this imaging sensor and in which an aperture opening is shaped approximately similar to the pixel shape of the imaging sensor, and moreover, in which the angle portion is circular-arc shaped. Here, in case the pixel shape of the imaging sensor is longitudinally rectangular, an opening of the aperture is made oval with a length to width ratio thereof made approximately the same as the rectangular shape.
According to the above described constitution, in case the pixel shape of the imaging sensor is rectangular, the opening shape of the aperture is similarly rectangular, and in case it is hook-shaped, the opening shape of the aperture is also similarly hook-shaped. As a result, a confused shape (an image shape of a point light source equivalent to a circle of confusion) of the aperture opening matches the pixel shape, and the maximum quantity of a light (light flux) incident from the aperture can be allowed to enter in a pixel unit. That is, the opening of the aperture generally used in the conventional image pickup device is circular, and in the case of this circular opening, as shown in
Further, the shape of the aperture opening approximately similar to the pixel shape as described above may be circular-arc shaped in its angle portion, and for example, in case the pixel is rectangular, the shape of the aperture opening may be made oval with a length to width ratio thereof made approximately the same as the rectangular shape. In both of these cases, similarly as described above, the light quantity incident on the pixel is increased.
According to the image pickup device according to the present invention, by making the aperture opening approximately similar to the pixel shape of the imaging sensor or circular-arc shaped in its angle portion, the light quantity and brightness obtained in a pixel unit can be increased without lowering the resolution, and moreover, the lowering of the S/N ratio can be prevented by avoidance of brightness adjustment by a signal amplifying processing, thereby the miniaturization and high image quality of the imaging sensor can be promoted.
FIGS. 4(A) to 4(C) are graphical representations showing PSF (point spread function) in the aperture of a rectangular opening of the embodiment and the aperture of a conventional circular opening;
In
Behind this objective optical system (20 to 22), there is provided a CCD 24 which is a solid state imaging sensor, and an imaging surface of this CCD 24 is disposed at the position where an image is formed by the objective optical system including the fixed aperture 22. This CCD 24 storage-controls a charge of a pixel unit, and is connected to a signal processor circuit 25 for processing various screen images by taking an outputted charge-storage signal as an image signal (screen image), and the output of this signal processor circuit 25 is supplied to a processor device.
In
In
According to the objective optical system having the apertures 22A to 22C of such similar shaped openings R1 to R3, the confused shapes (equivalent to the circle of confusion) of the openings R1 to R3 in the image forming surface (imaging surface) on the CCD 24 match the shapes of the pixels K1 to K3. That is, in the case of the aperture 22A having the rectangular opening R1, its confused rectangular shape matches (superposes on) the rectangular shape of the pixel K1, and in the case of the aperture 22B having the hook-shaped opening R2, its confused hooked shape matches the hooked shape of the pixel K2, and also in the case of the aperture 22C, its confused shape matches the shape of the pixel K3. Consequently, according to these similar openings R1 to R3, when compared with the conventional circular openings of
In
Further, the openings of the apertures 22A to 22C may be circular-shaped (circular-arc shaped) in the angle portions. That is, as shown in
Further, in the case of the imaging sensor such as the CCD and the like, there are sometimes the cases where a micro lens (on chip lens) is provided on its upper surface side in a pixel unit, and when a shape of this micro lens and a pixel shape are different, an aperture shape is preferably set in consideration of the shape of this micro lens. For example, as shown in
In the above described embodiment, though an example using the fixed apertures 22A to 22C as the aperture stops is shown, the present invention can be also applied to a variable aperture, and as for this variable aperture, for example, in the apertures 22A to 22C of
Further, though the embodiment has been described by the electronic endoscope, it can be similarly applied to others such as a compact camera, a digital camera, a video camera and the like.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2004-299 | Jan 2004 | JP | national |