IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM

• US 20080192235A1
• Filed: 04/03/2008
• Published: 08/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: AJITO, Takeyuki, KOMIYA, Yasuhiro, WADA, Toru, KONNO, Osamu, NAKAMURA, Tomoyuki
• Application Number:
  US12/062,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20080192235A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/72
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0013 Medical image data A61B1/00011, A61B6/56, A61B8/56 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0088 for oral or dental tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse, heart rate, blood pressure or blood flow; Combined pulse/heart-rate/blood pressure determination; Evaluating a cardiovascular condition not otherwise provided for, e.g. using combinations of techniques provided for in this group with electrocardiography or electroauscultation; Heart catheters for measuring blood pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 13/082 Cosmetic aspects, e.g. inlays; Determination of the colour A61C19/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0218 using optical fibers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0224 using polarising or depolarising elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0262 Constructional arrangements for removing stray light
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0264 Electrical interface; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0272 Handheld
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0291 Housings; Spectrometer accessories; Spatial arrangement of elements, e.g. folded path arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/10 Arrangements of light sources specially adapted for spectrometry or colorimetry
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/2823 Imaging spectrometer
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/32 Investigating bands of a spectrum in sequence by a single detector
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/463 Colour matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/50 using electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/501 Colorimeters using spectrally-selective light sources, e.g. LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/508 measuring the colour of teeth
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/51 using colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/513 having fixed filter-detector pairs
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/524 : Calibration of colorimeters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/15 : for colour aspects of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/043 : using an alternating colour separation filter, e.g. colour wheel or colour LCD
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/044 : using sequential colour illumination
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 : provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 : by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/651 : for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 : for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 : based on three different wavelength filter elements

Abstract

An image processing system is used for dentistry. Upon creating a false tooth of a patient (59), a plurality of illuminating light of LEDs with different wavelengths emit light and a photographing apparatus (1A) photographs a tooth portion of the patient (59), thereby obtaining image data. The image data is sent to a dentistry filing system (2A) serving as a processing apparatus, and color reproducing data is obtained by calculation. The color reproducing data is sent to a dentistry factory (55) via a public line. Data is searched from a database (56) for calculating a ceramic compounding ratio, compound data of the ceramic false tooth is obtained, matching the color of the tooth portion of the patient (59), and the false tooth approximate to the tooth color of the patient (59) is created.

Claims

1. An image processing system comprising:

an external illuminating unit including a plurality of illuminating light sources with different characteristics of spectroscopic distributions;

an image capturing unit including;

an image pick-up optical system which picks-up an image of a subject, an image pick-up device unit which obtains a subject signal from the subject, a photographing operating unit which performs an image photographing operation, a connecting contact portion for interlocking with the external illuminating unit, and a spectrum detecting unit which detects a spectrum of light from the external illuminating unit, wherein the image capturing unit interlocks the plurality of illuminating light sources with an exposure timing of the image pickup device unit, selectively lights-on the plurality of illuminating light sources, and obtains a plurality of subject spectroscopic images; and

an image processing unit including an image memory unit which stores the subject spectroscopic images photographed by the image pick-up unit, wherein the image processing unit calculates a desired image memory unit which stores the subject spectroscopic images photographed by the image pick-up unit, and calculates a desired image based on the image signal stored in the image memory unit and spectroscopic spectrum data obtained by the spectrum detecting unit;

wherein the external illuminating unit is detachably attached to the image capturing unit.

2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the spectrum detecting unit further detects a spectrum of an ambient light.

3. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image capturing unit further includes a camera characteristic memory unit which stores a camera characteristic of the image capturing unit, and

wherein when the external illuminating unit is attached to the image capturing unit, the image capturing unit detects an identification code of the external illuminating unit and updates the camera characteristic stored in the camera characteristic memory unit in accordance with the identification code.

4. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the image capturing unit further includes a camera characteristic memory unit which stores a camera characteristic of the image capturing unit, and

wherein when the external illuminating unit is attached to the image capturing unit, the image capturing unit detects an identification code of the external illuminating unit and updates the camera characteristic stored in the camera characteristic memory unit in accordance with the identification code.

5. The image processing according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit further includes an image identification calculating unit which calculates classification data of a color of the subject based on the subject spectroscopic images stored in the image memory unit.

6. The image processing according to claim 2, wherein the image processing unit further includes an image identification calculating unit which calculates classification data of a color of the subject based on the subject spectroscopic images stored in the image memory unit.

7. The image processing according to claim 3, wherein the image processing unit further includes an image identification calculating unit which calculates classification data of a color of the subject based on the subject spectroscopic images stored in the image memory unit.

8. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image capturing unit comprises a portable terminal device having a photographing function, and the external illuminating unit is attachable to the portable terminal device.

9. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the image capturing unit comprises a portable terminal device having a photographing function, and the external illuminating unit is attachable to the portable terminal device.

10. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein the image capturing unit comprises a portable terminal device having a photographing function, and the external illuminating unit is attachable to the portable terminal device.

11. The image processing system according to claim 5, wherein the image capturing unit comprises a portable terminal device having a photographing function, and the external illuminating unit is attachable to the portable terminal device.

12. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image capturing unit further comprises distance measuring means which manages a size of the subject in the photographed image.

13. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the image capturing unit further comprises distance measuring means which manages a size of the subject in the photographed image.

14. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein the image capturing unit further comprises distance measuring means which manages a size of the subject in the photographed image.

15. The image processing system according to claim 5, wherein the image capturing unit further comprises distance measuring means which manages a size of the subject in the photographed image.

16. The image processing system according to claim 8, wherein the image capturing unit further comprises distance measuring means which manages a size of the subject in the photographed image.

17. The image processing system according to claim 12, wherein the image capturing unit includes a monitor which displays an image of the subject, and controls the monitor to display a difference between a photographing distance measured by the distance measuring means and a target photographing distance.

18. The image processing system according to claim 12, wherein the image capturing unit includes a monitor which displays an image of the subject, and controls the monitor to indicate that a photographing distance measured by the distance measuring means matches a target photographing distance.

19. The image processing system according to claim 12, wherein the image capturing unit includes a monitor which displays an image of the subject, and wherein the image capturing unit obtains information of a desired photographing distance from image data previously picked up, calculates a magnification correcting coefficient based on information of an actual photographing distance measured by the distance measuring means and the information of the desired photographing distance, and controls the monitor to display an actual captured image with a magnification corrected based on the magnification correcting coefficient.