Patent Document ID: 20170374302
Application ID: 15195344
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. In a digital camera having an imaging array including a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns, the digital camera further having a mechanical shutter having an open position allowing light to illuminate the imaging array and a closed position blocking light from illuminating the imaging array, a method for performing neutral density filtering of images captured by the imaging array, the method comprising: opening the mechanical shutter; operating each row in the array by: resetting all of the pixel sensors in the row; starting exposure for all of the pixel sensors in the row; closing the mechanical shutter; reading pixel values from the plurality of pixels in the pixel array at a time after the mechanical shutter has closed, the time being unrelated to a time at which any pixel-select signal was de-asserted; and wherein the interval of time between starting exposure for all of the pixel sensors in the row and closing the mechanical shutter for each individual row is a function of a neutral-density-filter function applied to an image to be captured.