Patent ID: 11937000
Assignee: PHOTONEO S.R.O.
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 14:
15. A camera comprising a set of imaging pixels, wherein, for each particular imaging pixel in the set:
(a) the particular pixel includes a first photodiode, a second photodiode, a first optical filter and a second optical filter;
(b) the first photodiode is configured to perform generation of electrical charge in response to light that passes through the first optical filter and strikes the first photodiode;
(c) the camera is configured to deplete from the first photodiode, at a rate of depletion, a first portion of the electric charge, in such a way that the rate of depletion depends on voltage in a region of a transistor, which transistor is part of the camera;
(d) the camera is configured in such a way that the voltage in a region of the transistor (i) controls amperage of an electrical current that flows from the first photodiode through the transistor during the depletion, and (ii) is controlled by electrical charge that is generated in the second photodiode in response to light that passes through the second optical filter and strikes the second photodiode; and
(e) the camera is configured to read out a remaining portion of the electrical charge, which remaining portion remains after the first portion is depleted;, wherein
(1) the first and second optical filters are configured in such a way that
(i) irradiance of ambient light that has passed through the first optical filter and is incident on the first photodiode differs by less than 25% from irradiance of ambient light that has passed through the second optical filter and is incident on the second photodiode, and
(ii) irradiance of active light that has passed through the second optical filter and is incident on the second photodiode is less than 25% of irradiance of active light that has passed through the first optical filter and is incident on the first photodiode, and

(2) the camera is configured in such a way that the depletion of the first portion of the charge reduces or eliminates an effect that the ambient light would otherwise have on a measurement taken by the particular pixel.