Panoramic Imaging Device

• US 20080068452A1
• Filed: 08/29/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: NAKAO, Yoshizumi, Toyoda, Takashi, Masaki, Yasuo
• Application Number:
  US11/846,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20080068452A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/36
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0028 refractive and reflective surfaces, e.g. non-imaging catadioptric systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/008 adapted to collect light from a complete hemisphere or a plane extending 360 degrees around the detector
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0006 Arrays G02B3/02, G02B5/188 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0075 characterized by non-optical structures, e.g. having integrated holding or alignment means
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/045 Prism arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/70 SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith

Abstract

A panoramic imaging device comprises: a lens array with lenses in a matrix; an imaging element; and prisms for mirror-reflecting lights entering in left/right ranges in a capture range to guide them to side lenses in left/right columns. Light in a front range is inverted up/down by center lenses and formed as up/down inverted images on the imaging element. Lights in the left/right ranges are inverted up/down and left/right by the prisms with the side lenses and formed as up/down and left/right inverted images on the imaging element. The images in the left/right ranges are read in one direction. The images in the front range are read in an opposite direction. The read images are combined as is, without inverting the images, to reproduce a panoramic image. This can prevent the entire device from becoming large in volume, and imaging processing from becoming complex.

Claims

1. A panoramic imaging device comprising:

an optical lens system for collecting lights entering in multiple predetermined successive capture ranges in a capture angle so as to form corresponding multiple images on a predetermined focal plane;

imaging means placed at the focal plane for converting the multiple images formed by the optical lens system to electronic image information; and

image reproducing means for combining the electronic image information of the multiple images from the imaging means so as to reproduce a panoramic image,

wherein the optical lens system comprises;

an optical lens array having a center lens for receiving light entering in a front range in the capture angle as well as left and right side lenses which are formed on a plane having the center lens formed thereon and on left and right sides of the center lens, respectively, and which have optical axes parallel to that of the center lens, so as to respectively receive lights entering in left and right ranges in the capture angle; and

left and right optical elements placed on a light entrance side of the optical lens array for mirror-reflecting and guiding the lights entering in the left and right ranges in the capture angle to the left and right side lenses, directing each light entering each side lens along the optical axis of the each side lens,

wherein the imaging means comprises;

an XY address type solid-state imaging element with unit pixels arranged in a matrix of rows and columns, in which an image (hereafter referred to as “

front range image”

) formed by the center lens in the front range in the capture angle and images (hereafter referred to as “

left and right range images”

) formed by the left and right side lenses in the left and right ranges in the capture angle are formed in order in a row of the unit pixels of the solid-state imaging element; and

reading means for reading the image information of the left and right range images in one direction in the row of the unit pixels of the solid-state imaging element and for reading the image information of the front range image in a direction opposite to the one direction in the row of the unit pixels of the solid-state imaging element, so as to eliminate effects of mirror-reflection of the left and right range images that are caused by the left and right optical elements, and

wherein the image reproducing means combines the front range image and the left and right range images read by the reading means as is, so as to reproduce the panoramic image.

2. The panoramic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the reading means reads the unit pixels from the lowermost row to the uppermost row in the solid-state imaging element so as to eliminate up/down inversion of the single-eye images therein.

3. The panoramic imaging device according to claim 2, wherein each of the left and right optical elements is a right-angle prism.

4. The panoramic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein each of the left and right optical elements is a right-angle prism.