IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS CAPABLE OF CAPTURING PANORAMIC IMAGE

• US 20120075412A1
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Published: 03/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: MIYAMOTO, Naotomo, MATSUMOTO, Kosuke, MATSUNAGA, Kazuhisa, NISHIZAKA, Nobuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,957,945 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/36
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/00 Stereoscopic photography
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2625 for obtaining an image which is composed of images from a temporal image sequence, e.g. for a stroboscopic effect sequence generated by event triggered capturing H04N7/188
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay

Abstract

A digital camera 1 includes an image capturing unit 16, an image composition unit 52, and a display control unit 54. The image capturing unit 16 captures frames at predetermined time intervals. The image composition unit 52 sequentially combines at least a part of image data from image data of a plurality of frames sequentially captured by the image capturing unit 16 at predetermined time intervals. The display control unit 54 performs control to sequentially display image data combined by the image composition unit 52 while the image data of the frames are captured by the image capturing unit 16 at predetermined time intervals.

Claims

1. An image capturing apparatus, comprising:

an image capturing unit that capture frames at predetermined time intervals,

an image composition unit that sequentially combines at least a part of image data from image data of a plurality of frames sequentially captured by the image capturing unit at predetermined time intervals; and

a display control unit that performs control to sequentially display image data combined by the image composition unit while the image data of the frames are captured by the image capturing unit at predetermined time intervals.

2. An image capturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the display control unit causes a sequential display of the image data captured by the image capturing unit along with the image data thus combined.

3. An image capturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a first reduction unit that reduces the image data of frames captured by the image capturing unit at predetermined time intervals, respectively, wherein

the image composition unit sequentially combines image data of frames respectively reduced by the first reduction unit.

4. An image capturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a second reduction unit that reduces the image data sequentially combined by the image composition unit, wherein

the display control unit performs control to cause the image data reduced by the second reduction unit to be displayed.

5. An image capturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

an acquiring unit that acquires image data sequentially combined as image data to be recorded if a predetermined condition is satisfied, and

a recording control unit that performs control to record the sequentially combined image data that is acquired by the acquiring unit as image data to be recorded.

6. An image capturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the display control unit performs control to cause the sequentially combined image data to be displayed by being superimposed on image data of frames captured by the image capturing unit.

7. An image displaying method performed by an image capturing apparatus provided with an image capturing unit that captures frames at predetermined time intervals, the image displaying method comprising:

an image composition step of sequentially combining at least a part of image data from image data of a plurality of the frames captured by the image capturing unit at predetermined time intervals; and

a display control unit step of performing control to sequentially display image data combined in the image composition step while the image data of the frames are being captured by the image capturing unit at predetermined time intervals.

8. A storage medium of a computer in an image capturing apparatus provided with an image capturing unit that capture frames at predetermined time intervals, the storage medium having stored therein a program to make the computer function as:

an image composition unit that sequentially combines at least a part of image data from image data of a plurality of frames sequentially captured by the image capturing unit at predetermined time intervals; and

a display control unit that performs control to sequentially display image data combined by the image composition unit while the image data of the frames are being captured by the image capturing unit at predetermined time intervals.