Image merging apparatus

• US 20020163530A1
• Filed: 09/26/2001
• Published: 11/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Noda, Tsugio, Sakai, Kenichiro, Yamaguchi, Nobuyasu, Takakura, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 6,885,776 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/629
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/32 using correlation-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/107 with manual scanning
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/19 using multi-element arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1903 Arrangements for enabling electronic abutment of lines or areas independently scanned by different elements of an array or by different arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0414 Scanning an image in a series of overlapping zones

Abstract

In the first stage, a merging position relationship (a rotation angle, and/or presence/absence of mirror image flipping) between two images is identified by using reduced images, and a rough overlapping region is detected. In the second stage, an exact overlapping position, an inclination, etc. are detected. In the third stage, the two images are merged by using the process results of the first and the second stages.

Claims

1. An apparatus merging input images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device, comprising:

a first overlapping position detecting unit generating image data whose data amounts are made smaller than the plurality of pieces of read input image data, and detecting a merging position relationship and a rough overlapping region of the plurality of input images by using the generated image data; and

an image merging unit merging the plurality of input images based on the merging position relationship and the rough overlapping region, which are detected by said first overlapping position detecting unit.

4. The image merging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image data whose data amounts are made smaller are reduced images that are obtained by geometrically reducing grayscale images having a single color component after the input image data are converted into the grayscale images having the single color component.

5. The image merging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the merging position relationship is presence/absence of mirror image flipping of one input image with respect to another input image among the plurality of input images, and/or a rotation angle.

2. An apparatus merging input images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device, comprising:

a first overlapping position detecting unit detecting a rough overlapping region of the plurality of pieces of read input image data;

a second overlapping position detecting unit dividing the rough overlapping region detected by said first overlapping position detecting unit into a plurality of rectangular regions, and extracting a rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, and a rectangular region used as a merging plane from the plurality of divided rectangular regions; and

an image merging unit determining the exact overlapping position of the plurality of input images by using the rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, which is detected by said second overlapping position detecting unit, and merging the plurality of input images by performing a synthesis process for the plurality of input images in the rectangular region used as the merging plane.

6. The image merging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position is a rectangular region selected from among rectangular regions including many density components having a large color difference; and

the rectangular region used as the merging plane of the images is a rectangular region selected from among rectangular regions including many density components having a small color difference.

8. The image merging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

said second overlapping position detecting unit calculates a relative inclination of the plurality of input images with a regression analysis method based on a deviation between the rough overlapping position and the exact overlapping position obtained by using the rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position.

3. An apparatus merging input images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device, comprising:

a first overlapping position detecting unit temporarily storing the plurality of pieces of read input image data, generating image data whose data amounts are made smaller than the plurality of pieces of input image data, and detecting a merging position relationship and a rough overlapping region of the plurality of input images;

a second overlapping position detecting unit dividing, into a plurality of rectangular regions, a region corresponding to the rough overlapping region detected by said first overlapping position detecting unit in grayscale image data having a single color component by using the grayscale image data into which each of the plurality of pieces of read input image data is converted, and extracting a rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position and a rectangular region used as a merging plane of the images from among the plurality of rectangular regions; and

an image merging unit determining the exact overlapping position of the plurality of input images by using the rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, which is detected by said second overlapping position detecting unit, and merging the plurality of input images by performing a synthesis process for the plurality of input images in the rectangular region used as the merging plane of the images.

7. The image merging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position is a rectangular region selected from among rectangular regions including many density components having a large color difference; and

the rectangular region used as the merging plane of the images is a rectangular region selected from among rectangular regions including many density components having a small color difference.

9. The image merging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

said second overlapping position detecting unit calculates a relative inclination of the plurality of input images with a regression analysis method based on a deviation between the rough overlapping position and the exact overlapping position obtained by using the rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position.

10. A method merging input images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device, comprising:

generating image data whose data amounts are made smaller than the plurality of pieces of read input image data, and detecting a merging position relationship and a rough overlapping region of the plurality of input images by using the generated image data; and

merging the plurality of input images based on the detected merging position relationship and rough overlapping position.

11. A method merging input images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device, comprising:

detecting a rough overlapping region of the plurality of pieces of read input image data;

dividing the detected rough overlapping region into a plurality of rectangular regions, and extracting a rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, and a rectangular region used as a merging plane from among the plurality of divided rectangular regions; and

determining the exact overlapping position of the plurality of input images by using the extracted rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, and merging the plurality of input images by performing a synthesis process for the plurality of input images in the rectangular region used as the merging plane.

12. A method merging input images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device, comprising:

temporarily storing the plurality of pieces of read input image data, generating image data whose data amounts are made smaller than the plurality of pieces of input image data, and detecting a merging position relationship and a rough overlapping region of the plurality of input images by using the generated image data;

dividing, into a plurality of rectangular regions, a region corresponding to the detected rough overlapping region in grayscale image data having a single color component by using the grayscale image data into which each of the plurality of pieces of read input image data is converted, and extracting a rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, and a rectangular region used as a merging plane of the images from among the plurality of rectangular regions; and

determining the exact overlapping position of the plurality of input images by using the plurality of pieces of read input image data and the extracted rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, and merging the plurality of input images by performing a synthesis process for the plurality of input images in the rectangular region used as the merging plane of the images.

13. A computer-readable storage medium on which is recorded a program for causing a computer to execute a process when being used by the computer, the process comprising:

inputting images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device;

generating image data whose data amounts are made smaller than the plurality of pieces of read input image data, and detecting a merging position relationship and a rough overlapping region of the plurality of input images by using the generated image data; and

merging the plurality of input images based on the detected merging position relationship and rough overlapping region.

14. A computer-readable storage medium on which is recorded a program for causing a computer to execute a process when being used by the computer, the process comprising:

inputting images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device;

detecting a rough overlapping region of the plurality of pieces of read input image data;

dividing the detected rough overlapping region into a plurality of rectangular regions, and extracting a rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position and a rectangular region used as a merging plane from among the plurality of divided rectangular regions; and

determining the exact overlapping position of the plurality of input images by using the extracted rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, and merging the plurality of input images by performing a synthesis process for the plurality of input images in the rectangular region used as the merging plane.

15. A computer-readable storage medium on which is recorded a program for causing a computer to execute a process when being used by the computer, the process comprising:

inputting images that are dividedly read a plurality of times from an input device;

temporarily storing the plurality of pieces of read input image data, generating image data whose data amounts are made smaller than the plurality of pieces of input image data, and detecting a merging position relationship and a rough overlapping region of the plurality of input images by using the generated image data;

dividing, into a plurality of rectangular regions, a region corresponding to the detected rough overlapping region in grayscale image data having a single color component by using the grayscale image data into which each of the plurality of read input image data is converted, and extracting a rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position and a rectangular region used as a merging plane of the images from among the plurality of rectangular regions; and

determining the exact overlapping position of the plurality of input images by using the plurality of read input image data and the extracted rectangular region used to detect an exact overlapping position, and merging the plurality of input images by performing a synthesis process for the plurality of input images in the rectangular region used as the merging plane of the images.