Sony patents camera pixels that only report when light changes
Sony describes a camera pixel design that converts light into an electrical signal and monitors it for specific changes. Instead of recording every frame, the pixel only sends a digital signal when the light level shifts by a set amount.
In the filing’s own words
A pixel circuit includes a photoelectric conversion element configured to convert incident radiation into a photoreceptor current IPC. A photoreceptor circuit converts the photoreceptor current IPC into a photoreceptor voltage VPR in a conversion period, wherein an operating point of the photoreceptor circuit is set in an initialization period in response to an active initialization signal INIT. An event detection circuit outputs a digital event signal in response to a predefined change of the photoreceptor voltage VPR.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A pixel circuit, comprising: a photoelectric conversion element configured to convert incident radiation into a photoreceptor current IPC; a photoreceptor circuit configured to convert the photoreceptor current IPC into a photoreceptor voltage VPR in a conversion period, wherein an operating point of the photoreceptor circuit is set in an initialization period in response to an active initialization signal INIT; and an event detection circuit configured to output a digital event signal in response to a predefined change of the photoreceptor voltage VPR.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
- Official title
- PIXEL CIRCUIT WITH PHOTORECEPTOR CIRCUIT AND SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE FOR EVENT DETECTION
- Publication number
- US20260270573A1
- Application number
- 19165159
- Filed
- Mar 13, 2024
- Published
- Sep 10, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 15
Classified under
H04N 25/47 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/77 Electricity & electronicsMore from Sony in Cameras & imaging
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.