ELECTRIC HAND-VIBRATION CORRECTION METHOD, ELECTRIC HAND-VIBRATION CORRECTION DEVICE, ELECTRIC HAND-VIBRATION CORRECTION PROGRAM, AND IMAGING APPARATUS

• US 20080174663A1
• Filed: 01/08/2008
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: IWABUCHI, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,903,144 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/208.6
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6811 based on the image signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/683 performed by a processor, e.g. controlling the readout of an image memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects
• 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 5/91 Television signal processing therefor

Abstract

In an electric hand-vibration correction method of dividing each of frame images output from an effective pixel region of an imaging element in frame order into a plurality of segment images, calculating a movement vector of each segment image between the frame images, calculating a movement vector of each entire frame image (hereinafter, referred to as a hand-vibration vector), from the movement vectors for the respective segment images, and determining an image output region that is cut out from each frame image, based on the hand-vibration vector, an infinite point F is calculated based on an intersectional position among the calculated movement vectors of the respective segment images, and the image output region is determined using a vibration vector between the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images as the hand-vibration vector.

Claims

1. An electric hand-vibration correction method comprising:

dividing each of frame images output from an effective pixel region of an imaging element in frame order into a plurality of segment images;

calculating a movement vector of each segment image between the frame images;

calculating a hand-vibration vector that is a movement vector of each entire frame image, from the movement vectors for the respective segment images;

determining an image output region that is cut out from each frame image, based on the hand-vibration vector; and

calculating an infinite point based on an intersectional position among the calculated movement vectors of the respective segment images, wherein

the image output region is determined using a vibration vector between the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images as the hand-vibration vector.

2. The electric hand-vibration correction method according to claim 1, wherein the Image output region is determined so as to fix positions of the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images.

3. The electric hand-vibration correction method according to claim 1, wherein the image output region is determined so that positions of the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images always have the same distance from a fixed point in the frame images.

4. The electric hand-vibration correction method according to claim 1, wherein

a straight line connecting a infinite point calculated for a certain frame image and a central point of the certain frame image is calculated, and

the image output region is determined based on a component, of the vibration vector between the infinite point calculated for the certain frame image and an infinite point calculated for a next frame image, perpendicular to the straight line with a component, of the vibration vector between the infinite point calculated for the certain frame image and the infinite point calculated for the next frame image, along the straight line being ignored.

5. The electric hand-vibration correction method according to claim 1, wherein the image output region is determined so as to correct only components having a variation frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency in the vibration vectors calculated in frame order.

12. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the image output region is determined so as to fix positions of the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images.

6. An electric hand-vibration correction device, wherein each of frame images output from an effective pixel region of an imaging element in frame order is divided into a plurality of segment images, a movement vector of each segment image between the frame images is calculated, a hand-vibration vector that is a movement vector of each entire frame image, is calculated from the movement vectors for the respective segment images, and an image output region that is cut out from each frame image is determined based on the hand-vibration vector, the electric hand-vibration correction device comprising:

a unit that calculates an infinite point based on an intersectional position among the calculated movement vectors of the respective segment images and determines the image output region using a vibration vector between the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images as the hand-vibration vector.

7. The electric hand-vibration correction device according to claim 6, wherein the image output region is determined so as to fix positions of the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images.

8. The electric hand-vibration correction device according to claim 6, wherein the image output region is determined so that positions of the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images always have the same distance from a fixed point in the frame images.

9. The electric hand-vibration correction device according to claim 6, wherein

a straight line connecting a infinite point calculated for a certain frame image and a central point of the certain frame image is calculated, and

the image output region is determined based on a component, of the vibration vector between the infinite point calculated for the certain frame image and an infinite point calculated for a next frame image, perpendicular to the straight line with a component of the vibration vector between the infinite point calculated for the certain frame image and the infinite point calculated for the next frame image, along the straight line being ignored.

10. The electric hand-vibration correction device according to claim 6, wherein the image output region is determined so as to correct only components having a variation frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency in the vibration vectors calculated in frame order.

16. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging element; and

the electric hand-vibration correction device according to claim 6.

11. A computer-readable medium storing a program to cause a computer to execute electric hand-vibration correction, the electric hand-vibration correction comprising:

dividing each of frame images output from an effective pixel region of an imaging element in frame order into a plurality of segment images;

calculating a movement vector of each segment image between the frame images;

calculating a hand-vibration vector that is a movement vector of each entire frame image, from the movement vectors for the respective segment images;

determining an image output region that is cut out from each frame image, based on the hand-vibration vector; and

calculating an infinite point based on an intersectional position among the calculated movement vectors of the respective segment images, wherein

the image output region is determined using a vibration vector between the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images as the hand-vibration vector.

13. The computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the image output region is determined so that positions of the infinite points calculated for the respective frame images always have the same distance from a fixed point in the frame Images.

14. The computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein

a straight line connecting a infinite point calculated for a certain frame image and a central point of the certain frame image is calculated, and

the image output region is determined based on a component, of the vibration vector between the infinite point calculated for the certain frame image and an infinite point calculated for a next frame image, perpendicular to the straight line with a component, of the vibration vector between the infinite point calculated for the certain frame image and the infinite point calculated for the next frame image, along the straight line being ignored.

15. The computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the image output region is determined so as to correct only components having a variation frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency in the vibration vectors calculated in frame order.