Imaging device and recording medium storing and imaging program

• US 20020145667A1
• Filed: 04/02/2002
• Published: 10/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Horiuchi, Kazuhito
• Application Number:
  US10/114,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20020145667A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.99
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20104 Interactive definition of region of interest [ROI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/009 Global, i.e. based on properties of the image as a whole applied in cameras using an electronic image sensor H04N23/80, H04N23/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 using histogram techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/92 based on global image properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/12 Edge-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/215 Motion-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/741 by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/589 with different integration times, e.g. short and long exposures

Abstract

An imaging device capable of processing an image as a dynamic image, including an area on attention setter to determine an area on attention in an image detected as a dynamic image from the movement of the dynamic image, a tone characteristic creator to create the tone characteristic of said image on the area on attention determined by said area on attention setter, and an image creator to create a given image on the tone characteristic created at said tone characteristic creator.

Claims

1. An imaging device capable of processing an image as a dynamic image, comprising:

an area on attention setter to determine an area on attention in an image detected as a dynamic image from the movement of the dynamic image,

a tone characteristic creator to create the tone characteristic of said image on said area on attention determined by said area on attention setter, and

an image creator to create a given image on said tone characteristic created at said tone characteristic creator.

2. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein said image detected as a dynamic image is composed of plural images obtained by different exposure degrees per field unit or frame unit for a given period of time.

3. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein said area on attention setter includes a characteristic extractor to extract a characteristic from said image detected as a dynamic image, and said area on attention is determined on said characteristic extracted.

4. An imaging device as defined in claim 3, wherein at said characteristic extractor, said image detected as a dynamic image is divided into blocks, and said characteristic is extracted at every block.

5. An imaging device as defined in claim 3, wherein said characteristic extracted includes a characteristic relating to the movement of said image detected as a dynamic image.

6. An imaging device as defined in claim 5, wherein said characteristic relating to said movement is a movement vector relating to an information incorporated in said image detected as a dynamic image for a given period of time.

7. An imaging device as defined in claim 3, wherein said characteristic extracted includes a characteristic extracted on the difference between the images at the past and at the present.

8. An imaging device as defined in claim 3, wherein said characteristic extracted includes a characteristic extracted through a filtering process.

9. An imaging device as defined in claim 3, wherein at said area on attention setter, a different region from the surrounding region in characteristic is determined as said area on attention through the analysis using one or more characteristics extracted.

10. An imaging device as defined in claim 4, wherein said characteristic extracted includes a characteristic relating to the movement of said image detected as a dynamic image.

11. An imaging device as defined in claim 10, wherein said characteristic relating to said movement is a movement vector relating to an information incorporated in said image detected as a dynamic image for a given period of time.

12. An imaging device as defined in claim 4, wherein said characteristic extracted includes a characteristic extracted on the difference between the images at the past and at the present.

13. An imaging device as defined in claim 4, wherein said characteristic extracted includes a characteristic extracted through a filtering process.

14. An imaging device as defined in claim 4, wherein at said area on attention setter, said area on attention is determined on the blocks of which the characteristics are determined at said characteristic extractor.

15. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein at said area on attention setter, said area on attention is determined on an information required in detecting said image as a dynamic image.

16. An imaging device as defined in claim 15, wherein said required information is at least one selected from the group consisting of a focus information, a photometry information, a zooming position information, a multi-spot photometry information and an eyes input information.

17. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein at said area on attention setter, three kinds of focus position, which are scenery photograph, person photograph and close-up photograph, are estimated from a focus information, and three kinds of object distribution, which are the whole, main region and center region, are estimated from a photometry information, to determine said area on attention from the combined estimation of said focus positions and said object distributions.

18. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein at said area on attention setter, a given image analysis is performed, and said area on attention is not determined if a scene switching is detected on said image analysis.

19. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein at said tone characteristic creator, a weighted pattern is set on said area on attention so that said area on attention is weighted larger than any other areas if said area on attention is determined at said area on attention setter, and a weighted pattern is set over the image plane of said image detected as a dynamic image so that said image plane is weighted entirely if said area on attention is not determined at said area on attention setter, and thus, said tone characteristic is created on said weighted pattern.

20. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein at said tone characteristic creator, a histogram relating to the luminance signal of said image detected as a dynamic image is determined from a characteristic extracted at said characteristic extractor and said weighted pattern, and said tone characteristic is created on said histogram.

21. An imaging device as defined in claim 1, wherein at said image creator, the luminance signal of said image detected as a dynamic image is converted on said tone characteristic created at said tone characteristic creator, and the color difference signal of said image detected as a dynamic image is converted on the theoretical limit characteristics of said luminance signal and the color reproduction of said image detected as a dynamic image before and after conversion, and thus, a given image is created on said luminance signal and said color difference signal which are converted.

22. An imaging device as defined in claim 18, wherein at said tone characteristic creator, a weighted pattern is set on said area on attention so that said area on attention is weighted larger than any other areas if said area on attention is determined at said area on attention setter, and a weighted pattern is set over the image plane of said image detected as a dynamic image so that said image plane is weighted entirely if said area on attention is not determined at said area on attention setter, and thus, said tone characteristic is created on said weighted pattern.

23. An imaging device as defined in claim 18, wherein at said tone characteristic creator, a histogram relating to the luminance signal of said image detected as a dynamic image is determined from said characteristic extracted at said characteristic extractor and said weighted pattern, and said tone characteristic is created on said histogram.

24. A recording medium comprising an imaging program to provide for a computer to control the operation of an imaging device capable of processing an image as a dynamic image,

an area on attention setting function to determine an area on attention for said image,

a tone characteristic-creating function to create a tone characteristic for said image on said area on attention determined, and

an image-creating function to create a given image on said tone characteristic created.