Method of Controlling an Image Capturing System, Image Capturing System and Digital Camera
First Claim
6. Image capturing system comprising an interface for receiving an external trigger to capture an image, an image capturing device provided with a photosensitive area and an array of pixel cells, each pixel cell including a device for generating a signal indicative of the intensity of light falling on an associated part of the photosensitive area, which image capturing device is further provided with readout circuitry for generating an array of pixel values to capture an image frame at a set spatial resolution, such that each pixel value represents an integral of the signal or signals generated in at least one of the pixel cells in an associated one of a number of areas over an exposure time interval, the number of areas being determined by the set spatial resolution, the areas together covering a region of the photosensitive area corresponding to a region in the image, which image capturing system comprises a control system for controlling the operation of the image capturing device and for processing commands received through the interface, wherein the control system is configured to, in response to the external trigger, direct the image capturing device to capture at least two image frames by generating respective arrays of pixel values representing integrals over respective consecutive exposure time intervals, wherein the control system is further configured to set the spatial resolutions of at least two of the captured image frames to different values.
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Abstract
A method of controlling an image capturing system comprising an interface for receiving an external trigger to capture an image, and an image capturing device provided with a photosensitive area and an array of pixel cells, each pixel cell including a device for generating a signal indicative of the intensity of light falling on an associated part of the photosensitive area, which image capturing device is further provided with readout circuitry for generating an array of pixel values to capture an image frame at a set spatial resolution, such that each pixel value represents an integral of the signal or signals generated in at least one of the pixel cells in an associated one of a number of areas over an exposure time interval, the number of areas being determined by the set spatial resolution, the areas together covering a region of the photosensitive area corresponding to a region in the image, comprises receiving an external trigger to capture an image, and, in response to the external trigger, directing the image capturing device to capture at least two image frames by generating respective arrays of pixel values representing integrals over respective consecutive exposure time intervals. The spatial resolutions of at least two of the captured image frames are set to different values.
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Citations
19 Claims
- 6. Image capturing system comprising an interface for receiving an external trigger to capture an image, an image capturing device provided with a photosensitive area and an array of pixel cells, each pixel cell including a device for generating a signal indicative of the intensity of light falling on an associated part of the photosensitive area, which image capturing device is further provided with readout circuitry for generating an array of pixel values to capture an image frame at a set spatial resolution, such that each pixel value represents an integral of the signal or signals generated in at least one of the pixel cells in an associated one of a number of areas over an exposure time interval, the number of areas being determined by the set spatial resolution, the areas together covering a region of the photosensitive area corresponding to a region in the image, which image capturing system comprises a control system for controlling the operation of the image capturing device and for processing commands received through the interface, wherein the control system is configured to, in response to the external trigger, direct the image capturing device to capture at least two image frames by generating respective arrays of pixel values representing integrals over respective consecutive exposure time intervals, wherein the control system is further configured to set the spatial resolutions of at least two of the captured image frames to different values.
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8. Method of forming a combined final image from a plurality of image frames, including the steps of:
- obtaining a first and at least one further array of intensity values, each array of intensity values encoding light intensity levels at each of a respective number of pixel positions in the respective image frame, the number determining the spatial resolution of the image frame concerned, generating a set of derived arrays of intensity values, each derived array being based on a respective one of the obtained arrays of intensity levels and encoding light intensity levels at each of a common number of pixel positions in at least a region of overlap of the respective image frames, generating an array of combined intensity values, each element in the array based on a sum of intensity values represented by the corresponding element in each of the respective derived arrays of intensity values, and providing an array of intensity values encoding the combined final image, the array being based on the array of combined intensity values, wherein a first array of intensity values encoding at least the region of overlap at a higher resolution than the further arrays of intensity values is obtained, an array of intensity values encoding at least the region of overlap in the combined final image at a higher spatial resolution than the further arrays of intensity values is provided, and the array of intensity values encoding the combined final image is based on a sufficient number of intensity values in the first array of intensity values to encode the region of overlap at a higher resolution than the further arrays of intensity values.
- View Dependent Claims (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 18)
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10-1. Method according to claim 8, wherein each derived array of intensity values is generated by transforming an image frame encoded by an array of intensity values based on one of the obtained arrays of intensity values and in which each intensity value represents a light level in an area surrounding a pixel position in an image frame, into the spatial frequency domain, such that each intensity value in a derived array of intensity values represents an intensity of a spatial frequency component of the image frame.
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12. Method according to claim 11, wherein the step of providing the array of intensity values encoding the combined final image includes replacing at least one intensity value representing a low spatial frequency component in the derived array of intensity values based on the first obtained array of intensity values by an intensity value based at least partly on the intensity value representing the corresponding spatial frequency component in the array of combined intensity values.
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13. Method according to claim 11, wherein the transformation is carried out by a co-processor comprising at least a partial implementation in hardware of an image compression algorithm, or by a digital signal processor programmed to implement an image compression algorithm.
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16. Image processing system for forming a combined final image from a plurality of image frames, which image processing system includes an arrangement for loading a first and at least one further array of intensity values,
each array of intensity values encoding light intensity levels at each of a respective number of pixel positions in the respective image frame, the number determining the spatial resolution of the image frame concerned, and a data processing arrangement for processing the intensity values, wherein the system is configured to direct the data processing arrangement to perform the steps of generating a set of derived arrays of intensity values, each derived array being based on a respective one of the obtained arrays of intensity levels and encoding light intensity levels at each of a common number of pixel positions in at least a region of overlap of the respective image frames, generating an array of combined intensity values, each element in the array based on a sum of intensity values represented by the corresponding element in each of the respective derived arrays of intensity values, and providing an array of intensity values encoding the combined final image, the array being based on the array of combined intensity values, wherein the system is configured to load a first array of intensity values encoding at least the region of overlap at a higher resolution than the further arrays of intensity values, to provide an array of intensity values encoding at least the region of overlap in the combined final image at a higher spatial resolution than the further arrays of intensity values, and to base the array of intensity values encoding the combined final image on a sufficient number of intensity values in the first array of intensity values to encode the region of overlap at a higher resolution than the further arrays of intensity values.
Specification