Patent ID: 7567278

Claim:
A circuit for detecting a pixel defect, comprising: a first defect detecting portion configured (a) to receive signals from an imaging device and to detect a possible defective pixel in the imaging device by comparing a level of a target pixel signal on one horizontal pixel signal line of pixel signals received from the imaging device with levels of a plurality of surrounding pixel signals on the same horizontal pixel signal line located on both sides of the target pixel signal, and (b) to determine whether a pixel corresponding to the target pixel signal is a possible defective pixel according to a comparison result; a second defect detecting portion configured to detect a pseudo-defective pixel by calculating a correlation between the detected possible defective pixel signal and the surrounding pixel signals and determining whether or not the possible defective pixel is a pseudo-defective pixel according to the correlation; and a third defect detecting portion configured to detect a true defective pixel by performing the detection of the detected possible defective pixel as a pseudo-defective pixel on pixel signals in a predetermined number of frames and determining that the pseudo-defective pixel is a true defective pixel when the number of times the pseudo-defective pixel has been detected is equal to the predetermined number of frames, wherein, the first defect detecting portion performs the detection of the possible defective pixel on pixel signals in one frame and the second defect detecting portion performs the detection of the pseudo-defective pixel on pixel signals in a different frame, and the first, second and third detector portions share a line memory storing said horizontal pixel signal line.