Image synthesization method

• US 20060188175A1
• Filed: 04/20/2006
• Published: 08/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Hatori, Kenji, Yano, Kotaro, Takahashi, Fumiaki, Katayama, Tatsushi, Takiguchi, Hideo, Hatanaka, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 7,366,360 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/284
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3876 Recombination of partial images to recreate the original image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

An image synthesization method, whereby a plurality of images, each of which has a partially overlapping image area, are synthesized to create a single synthetic image, comprises a determination step of inputting a plurality of image data sets that correspond to the plurality of images that are input, and of determining whether or not an image in the partially overlapping image area of each of images that are indicated by the plurality of image data sets includes mainly characters an image processing step of performing, for the plurality of image data sets that are input, image processing in consonance with a result of a determination performed at the determination step and an image synthesization step of synthesizing images that are indicated by the resultant plurality of image data, for which the image processing has been performed at the image processing step. With this arrangement, a plurality of images can be easily and effectively synthesized.

Claims

1-50. -50. (canceled)

51. A panoramic image synthesizing system which generates one panoramic image by synthesizing plural images which partially overlap as areas, said system comprising:

a storage unit adapted to store plural images;

a synthesis unit adapted to synthesize the plural images stored by said storage unit; and

a display control unit adapted to display, on a display device, the synthesized image generated by said synthesis unit,

wherein said display control unit executes control so as to display, together with the synthesized image, a designated area to be extracted from the synthesized image.

52. A panoramic image synthesizing system according to claim 51, wherein an arbitrary pattern can be selected from plural patterns so as to designate the area to be extracted from the image acquired by synthesizing the plural images.

53. A panoramic image synthesizing system according to claim 52, wherein the pattern is automatically determined based on the shape of the synthesized image.

54. A panoramic image synthesizing system according to claim 53, wherein the plural patterns include rectangular patterns generated by making rotation angles of a rectangle to be extracted different from others.

55. A panoramic image synthesizing method which generates one panoramic image by synthesizing plural images which partially overlap as areas, said method comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of images;

synthesizing the plurality of images stored in said storage step; and

a display control step of displaying, on a display device, the synthesized image generated in said synthesis step,

wherein said display control step executes control so as to display, together with the synthesized image, a designated area to be extracted from the synthesized image.

56. A panoramic image synthesizing method according to claim 55, wherein an arbitrary pattern can be selected from a plurality of patterns so as to designated the area to be extracted from the image acquired by synthesizing the plural images.

57. A panoramic image synthesizing method according to claim 56, wherein the pattern is automatically determined based on the shape of the synthesized image.

58. A panoramic image synthesizing method according to claim 57, wherein the plurality of patterns include rectangular patterns generated by making rotation angles of a rectangle to be extracted different from others.