Patent ID: 6822680
Filing Date: 2004-11-23
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A digital color camera comprising:a solid state image sensing circuit in which a photoelectric conversion element corresponding to each pixel is arranged in an array, wherein said image sensing circuit has multiple such photoelectric conversion elements and comprises: a color filter array including a plurality of rectangular filter array subsets in each of which a green filter and first to third complementary color filters are arranged, corresponding to said photoelectric conversion elements, in a mosaic arrangement in a (2Ã—m)-row by (2Ã—n)-column matrix (m and n being natural numbers with n being larger than m) with ones of the color filters being associated with outputs of corresponding ones of the photoelectric conversion elements; and a color separation circuit, responsive to an output of said image sensing circuit, that generates color data corresponding to a center position in the (2Ã—m)-row by (2Ã—n)-column matrix, wherein the color separation circuit comprises: a color interpolation circuit, operative in response to outputs from a plurality of the photoelectric conversion elements that correspond to the (2Ã—m)-row by (2Ã—n)-column matrix of said each filter array subset, that implements a low-pass filter process in at least one of a column direction and a row direction for each color of green and the first, second and third complementary colors, on outputs from those ones of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to one of the green filter and the first to third complementary color filters; and a separation operation circuit that receives outputs from said color interpolation circuit to separate color data therefrom corresponding to said center position.