Patent Document ID: 9438866
Application ID: 14259567
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An apparatus comprising: a pixel array including a plurality of individual pixels grouped into pixel kernels having two or more individual pixels, wherein each pixel kernel includes a floating diffusion that is electrically coupled to all individual pixels in the kernel; a color filter array positioned over and optically coupled to the pixel array, the color filter array comprising a plurality of tiled minimal repeating units, each minimal repeating unit including a plurality of scaled filters, each scaled filter having a photoresponse selected from among two or more different photoresponses, wherein the individual pixels within each pixel kernel are optically coupled to a corresponding scaled filter; and circuitry and logic coupled to the pixel array to cause the apparatus to operate in multiple image-capture modes, including: a first mode wherein signals from individual pixels within the pixel array are individually transferred to their floating diffusion and read, resulting in a high-resolution, low-sensitivity image, and a second mode wherein signals from all individual pixels in a pixel kernel are binned into the floating diffusion of the kernel and read, resulting in a low-resolution, high-sensitivity image; wherein the circuitry and logic further operate the first mode and the second mode in a first sequence or a second sequence, the first sequence comprising: using the first mode to capture the high-resolution, low-sensitivity image, identifying a feature of interest in the high-resolution, low-sensitivity image, processing only a subset of pixels from the high-resolution, low-sensitivity image that include at least the feature of interest to create a high-resolution, low-sensitivity sub-image, and using the second mode to capture a low-resolution, high-sensitivity sub-image of the subset of pixels that include at least the feature of interest.