Imaging apparatus, imaging processing method, image processing device and imaging processing system

• US 10,306,199 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2013
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Group Corp.
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Oba, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Zaihan
• Application Number:
  US13/853,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20130286207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,251 Days
• Field of Search: 348148
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 11/00 Colour television systems details H04N9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/74 for obtaining special effects H04N9/65 - H04N9/73 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/77 Circuits for processing the brightness signal and the chrominance signal relative to each other, e.g. adjusting the phase of the brightness signal relative to the colour signal, correcting differential gain or differential phase circuits for matrixing H04N9/67

Abstract

An imaging apparatus includes: an image sensor; a signal processing unit repeatedly performing processing different from each other in a given number of sequential frames to imaging signals obtained by the image sensor to thereby obtain image data of respective frame; and an image data output unit sequentially outputting the image data of respective frames.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

signal processing circuitry electrically connected to image acquisition circuitry, the image acquisition circuitry is configured to convert a signal of an image into sequential frames of image data,

wherein the signal processing circuitry is configured to;

electronically receive the sequential frames from the image acquisition circuitry,

electronically perform first processing on one of the sequential frames when the signal processing circuitry determines that said one of the sequential frames is from a first category of frames, the first category differs from a second category of frames,

electronically add first identification information to said one of the sequential frames after the signal processing circuitry performs the first processing, the first identification information identifies said one of the sequential frames as being from the first category,

electronically perform second processing on said one of the sequential frames when the signal processing circuitry determines that said one of the sequential frames is from the second category, a field of view of the image after the first processing differs from a field of view of the image after the second processing, and

electronically add second identification information to said one of the sequential frames after the signal processing circuitry performs the second processing, the second identification information identifies said one of the sequential frames as being from the second category.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first category is color image data and the second category is monochrome image data.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first category is frame image data of a whole screen.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first category is visual image data.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second category is either frame image data from a portion of the whole screen or the frame image data of the whole screen that is reduced in size.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second category is image data to which image conversion is performed.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second category is image data to which bird'"'"'s eye-view conversion is performed.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image data to which the bird'"'"'s eye-view conversion is performed is image data obtained by superimposing a chroma edge signal on a luminance signal.

9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first category is an odd-number frame and the second first category is an even-number frame.

10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition circuitry is configured to output a frame from the first category before outputting a frame from the second category.

11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the signal processing circuitry is configured to perform the first processing when said one of the sequential frames is the frame from the first category.

12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the signal processing circuitry is configured to perform the second processing when said one of the sequential frames is the frame from the second category.

13. An image processing device comprising:

an input unit configured to electronically receive sequential frames of image data obtained by image acquisition circuitry, a header is in one of the sequential frames; and

an image signal processor electrically connected to the input unit, the image signal processor is configured to electronically receive the sequential frames from the image acquisition circuitry,

wherein the image signal processor is configured to;

electronically determine whether or not frame information in the header includes either first identification information or second identification information, the first identification information identifies said one of the sequential frames as being from a first category of frames,

electronically perform a first procedure on said one of the sequential frames when the image signal processor determines that the frame information includes the first identification information, a field of view of the image after the first procedure differs from a field of view of the image after a second procedure, and

electronically perform the second procedure on said one of the sequential frames when the image signal processor determines that the frame information includes the second identification information, the second identification information identifies said one of the sequential frames as being from a second category of frames that differs from the first category.

14. The image processing device according to claim 13, wherein the header includes information from a group consisting of sensor electronic shutter information, sensor amplifier gain and lens aperture information, lens filter information, temperature information, image differentiation component adjustment parameter values, image gray-scale adjustment parameters, image resolution adjustment parameters, processing between frames adjustment parameters, illumination estimation information, environment estimation information, camera AE adjustment information, camera WB adjustment information, image conversion presence information, image histogram information, image conversion setting information and image cutout coordinate information.

15. The image processing device according to claim 13, wherein the first category is color image data and the second category is monochrome image data.

16. The image processing device according to claim 13, wherein the first category is frame image data of a whole screen.

17. The image processing device according to claim 16, wherein the first category is visual image data.

18. The image processing device according to claim 16, wherein the second category is either frame image data from a portion of the whole screen or the frame image data of the whole screen that is reduced in size.

19. The image processing device according to claim 16, wherein the second category is image data to which image conversion is performed.

20. The image processing device according to claim 16, wherein the second category is image data to which bird'"'"'s eye-view conversion is performed.

21. The image processing device according to claim 20, wherein the image data to which the bird'"'"'s eye-view conversion is performed is image data obtained by superimposing a chroma edge signal on a luminance signal.

22. The image processing device according to claim 13, wherein the first category is an odd-number frame and the second first category is an even-number frame.

23. An imaging processing system comprising:

the image processing device according to claim 13; and

an imaging apparatus that outputs the sequential frames to the image processing device, the imaging apparatus is configured to;

electronically perform first processing on said one of the sequential frames when signal processing circuitry determines that said one of the sequential frames is from the first category,

electronically add the first identification information to the header in said one of the sequential frames after the signal processing circuitry performs the first processing,

electronically perform second processing on said one of the sequential frames when the signal processing circuitry determines that said one of the sequential frames is from the second category,

electronically add the second identification information to the header in said one of the sequential frames after the signal processing circuitry performs the second processing.

24. An imaging method comprising steps of:

electronically, by image acquisition circuitry, converting a signal of an image into sequential frames of image data, wherein the image acquisition circuitry is electrically connected to signal processing circuitry;

electronically, by the signal processing circuitry, performing first processing on one of the sequential frames when signal processing circuitry determines that said one of the sequential frames is from a first category of frames, wherein the first category differs from a second category of frames;

electronically, by the signal processing circuitry, adding first identification information to said one of the sequential frames after the signal processing circuitry performs the first processing, wherein the first identification information identifies said one of the sequential frames as being from the first category;

electronically, by the signal processing circuitry, performing second processing on said one of the sequential frames when the signal processing circuitry determines that said one of the sequential frames is from the second category, wherein a field of view of the image after the first processing differs from a field of view of the image after the second processing; and

electronically, by the signal processing circuitry, adding second identification information to said one of the sequential frames after the signal processing circuitry performs the second processing, wherein the second identification information identifies said one of the sequential frames as being from the second category.