IMAGING DEVICE AND SIGNAL PROCESSING METHOD

• Main Author: UCHIDA MINEO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: 08.12.2016
• Subjects: ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USINGWAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FORPROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging device and signal processing method that enable focus detection on the basis of information on an image pick-up element as suppressing increase in data volume.SOLUTION: An imaging device comprises: an imaging unit that includes a plurality of pixels respectively having a first photoelectric conversion unit, a second photoelectric conversion unit, and a micro lens converging a subject image to the first photoelectric conversion unit and second photoelectric conversion unit, and a first mixture unit mixing an output signal from the first photoelectric conversion unit of the plurality of pixels to create a first signal, and is adapted so as to output the first signal and a second signal based on the output signal from the first photoelectric conversion unit and an output signal from the second photoelectric conversion unit from each of the plurality of pixels; an image processing unit that creates an image on the basis of the second signal; and a focus detection processing unit that implements focus detection on the basis of the first signal and second signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9 【課題】データ量の増加を抑制しつつ撮像素子の情報に基づく焦点検出を可能にし得る撮像装置及び信号処理方法を提供する。【解決手段】第１の光電変換部、第２の光電変換部、及び前記第１の光電変換部及び前記第２の光電変換部に集光するマイクロレンズをそれぞれが含む複数の画素と、前記複数の画素の前記第１光電変換部からの出力信号を混合して第１の信号を生成する第１の混合部とを有し、前記第１の信号、及び、前記複数の画素のそれぞれから、前記第１の光電変換部からの出力信号及び前記第２光電変換部からの出力信号に基づく第２の信号を、出力するように構成された撮像部と、前記第２の信号に基づいて画像を生成する画像処理部と、前記第１の信号及び前記第２の信号に基づいて焦点検出を行う焦点検出処理部とを有する。【選択図】図９