Patent ID: 7053946

Claim:
A method of supporting an interlace scan mode, a sequential scan mode and a dynamic range-widening scan mode in a single imager for use in a video camera wherein the imager includes a CCD portion, the method comprising the steps of: in response to an interlace scan mode selection signal, causing said CCD portion to generate an interlace scan image signal; in response to a sequential scan mode selection signal, causing said CCD portion to generate a sequential scan image signal, said sequential scan image signal having 2N lines composed of odd lines and even lines, where N is the number of scan lines of an image to be obtained; synchronizing each pair of odd and even lines of the sequential scan image signal; doing ordinary image regulations for said synchronized odd and even lines of the sequential scan image signal to provide a first regulated sequential scan image signal of odd lines and a second regulated sequential scan image signal of even lines; doing the ordinary image regulations for said interlace scan image signal to provide a regulated interlace scan image signal; in response to said sequential scan mode selection signal, generating a new sequential scan image signal from said first and second regulated sequential scan image signals, which are composed of regulated odd and even line signals in the sequential scan mode; causing said CCD portion to generate a dynamic range-widening scan image signal of 2N lines in response to a WS mode selection signal, every other line of the dynamic range-widening scan image signal being exposed longer than adjacent lines of said dynamic range-widening scan image signal; synchronizing each of odd lines of said dynamic range-widening scan image signal with a corresponding even line of said dynamic range-widening scan image signal to provide a first synchronized dynamic range-widening scan image signal of odd lines and a second synchronized dynamic range-widening scan image signal of even lines; generating a dynamic range-widened image signal from said first and second synchronized dynamic range-widening scan image signals; doing the ordinary image regulations for said dynamic range-widened image signal to provide a regulated dynamic range-widened image signal; outputting the regulated interlace scan image signal in said interlace scan mode; outputting said new sequential scan image signal in said sequential scan mode; and outputting said regulated dynamic range-widening image signal in said dynamic range-widening scan mode.