Image Number 5 for United States Patent #5329312.
There are disclosed electronic imaging systems employing CCD imaging units and one or more unique analog signal processors (ASP's). Each ASP receives color-component image signals from the CCD unit and provides respective output image signals, such as red, green and blue color components, having proper white balance for combining into a full color image. The dark background or zero level of the output image signals is referenced to a common "dark" reference voltage to minimize dark background variations in the combined color image regardless of the gain setting of the ASP or ASP's. Each ASP is substantially identical and has a unique architecture which facilitates its implementation as an integrated circuit. The ASP has a dynamic range of substantially better than 8-bits and provides for a wide range of signal sample rates (e.g., 1 to 40 MHz).
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