DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SYSTEM USING DIRECT INPUT TO OUTPUT PIXEL MAPPING AND RESIZING

• US 20030058354A1
• Filed: 03/26/1998
• Published: 03/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: ADAMS, JAMES E., PARULSKI, KENNETH A.
• Granted Patent: US 6,650,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/231.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4007 based on interpolation, e.g. bilinear interpolation image demosaicing G06T3/4015; edge-driven or edge-based scaling G06T3/403
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4015 Image demosaicing, e.g. colour filter arrays [CFA] or Bayer patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/046 Colour interpolation to calculate the missing colour values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

An electronic still imaging system employs an image sensor comprised of discrete light sensitive picture elements overlaid with a color filter array (CFA) pattern to produce color image data corresponding to the CFA pattern, an A/D converter for producing digital CFA image data from the color image data, and a memory for storing the digital CFA image data from the picture elements. A processor enables the processing of the digital CFA image data to produce finished image data, and the digital CFA image data and the finished image data are both stored together in an image file. This enables image processing from raw camera data to final output data to be completed in a single, integrated process to provide improved image quality when printing.

Claims

1. An electronic still imaging system employing a color capture device to capture a color image, said system comprising:

an image sensor comprised of discrete light sensitive picture elements overlaid with a color filter array (CFA) pattern to produce color image data corresponding to the CFA pattern;

an A/D converter for producing digital CFA image data from the color image data;

a memory for storing the digital CFA image data from the picture elements;

a processor for processing the digital CFA image data to produce finished image data; and

means for storing both the digital CFA image data and the finished image data together in an image file.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an electronic camera including at least the image sensor, and wherein the processor is also located within the camera.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising (a) an electronic camera including at least the image sensor and the A/D converter and (b) a computer separate from the camera, wherein the processor is located in the computer and the digital CFA image data is transferred from the camera to the computer prior to processing.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1 further including compression and decompression stages, wherein the digital CFA image data is compressed in the compression stage prior to storage in the memory and decompressed in the decompression stage prior to processing.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the digital CFA image data stored in the memory is contained within an image file that also describes the type of color filter array pattern used on the image sensor.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the memory stores digital CFA image data from a fixed number of picture elements corresponding to a fixed image size, and wherein the system further comprises;

user operated means for selecting at least one output image size different from said fixed image size, said output image having a different number of picture elements than said fixed number of picture elements; and

an interpolation processor for interpolating full color data for each picture element from said different number of picture elements and producing an interpolated output image having said output image size.

7. The system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the interpolation processor also sharpens the output image.

8. An image file format for storing images obtained from a color camera having an image sensor overlaid with a color filter array (CFA) pattern to produce unfinished CFA image data corresponding to the CFA pattern, the CFA image data subject to further processing to form finished image data, said file format comprising:

a first file area for storing the finished image data;

a second file area for storing the unfinished CFA image data; and

a third file area for storing data that describes the type of color filter array pattern used on the image sensor.

9. An image file format for storing images obtained from a color camera having an image sensor overlaid with a color filter array (CFA) pattern to produce unfinished CFA image data corresponding to the CFA pattern, the CFA image data subject to further processing to form finished image data which may thereupon be edited according to predetermined image edits, said file format comprising:

a first area for storing the finished image data;

a second area for storing a first thumbnail image that is modified when image edits are applied; and

a third area for storing meta data that describes the origination of the image data, said meta data including a second thumbnail image that is unmodified when applying image edits.

10. A processor using the format of claim 9, wherein the processor implements a comparison of the first and second thumbnail images to determine if the meta data is still valid.

11. A method for capturing and processing color images, said method comprising the steps of:

capturing an array of picture elements through a color filter array (CFA) pattern to produce color image data corresponding to the CFA pattern;

converting the color image data into digital CFA image data;

processing the digital CFA image data to produce finished image data; and

storing both the digital CFA image data and the finished image data together in an image file.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11 in which (a) an electronic camera includes at least the capturing and converting steps and (b) a computer separate from the camera includes the processing and storing steps, wherein the method further includes the step of transferring the digital CFA image data from the camera to the computer prior to processing in the processing and storing steps.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11 further including (a) the step of storing the digital CFA image data from the picture elements in a memory and (b) the steps of compression and decompression, wherein the digital CFA image data is compressed in the compression step prior to storage in the memory and decompressed in the decompression stage prior to processing in the processing step.