DIGITAL CAMERA FOR CAPTURING AN IMAGE SEQUENCE

• US 20120242853A1
• Filed: 03/25/2011
• Published: 09/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: JASINSKI, DAVID WAYNE, FINTEL, WILLIAM VERNON
• Granted Patent: US 8,736,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• 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 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay

Abstract

A digital camera having a burst image capture mode, comprising: an image sensor; an optical system; a data processing system; an image memory; and a program memory storing instructions configured to implement a method for capturing a sequence of digital images in the burst image capture mode. The instructions include: capturing a sequence of digital images of the scene using the image sensor, each digital image being captured at a different time; identifying a moving object in the captured digital images; automatically determining the position of the moving object in each of the captured digital images; automatically selecting a subset of the captured digital images where the moving object has positions that most nearly correspond to a set of desirable positions; and storing the selected subset of captured digital images in the image memory.

Claims

1. A digital camera having a burst image capture mode, comprising:

an image sensor for capturing a digital image;

an optical system for forming an image of a scene onto the image sensor;

a data processing system;

an image memory for storing captured digital images; and

a program memory communicatively connected to the data processing system and storing instructions configured to cause the data processing system to implement a method for capturing a sequence of digital images in the burst image capture mode, wherein the instructions include;

capturing a sequence of digital images of the scene using the image sensor, each digital image being captured at a different time;

identifying a moving object in the captured digital images;

automatically determining the position of the moving object in each of the captured digital images;

automatically selecting a subset of the captured digital images where the moving object has positions that most nearly correspond to a set of desirable positions; and

storing the selected subset of captured digital images in the image memory.

2. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the identification of the subset of the captured digital images includes:

determining a range of positions for the moving object in the sequence of captured digital images;

determining a desired spacing between the positions of the moving objects responsive to the range of positions and a specified number of digital images to be included in the subset of captured digital images;

determining a set of desirable positions for the moving object responsive to the desired spacing; and

identifying the subset of the captured digital images wherein the positions of the moving object most nearly correspond to the set of desirable positions.

3. The digital camera of claim 2 wherein the specified number of digital images is predefined.

4. The digital camera of claim 2 wherein the specified number of digital images is user-selectable using a user interface control provided on the digital camera.

5. The digital camera of claim 2 wherein the specified number of digital images is determined responsive to a size of the moving object.

6. The digital camera of claim 2 wherein the specified number of digital images is determined such that the image of the moving object in each of the digital images in the subset of the captured digital images will be substantially non-overlapping with the images of the moving object in the other digital images in the subset of the captured digital images.

7. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the sequence of digital images are captured at a predetermined frame rate.

8. The digital camera of claim 7 wherein the predetermined frame rate is user-selectable using a user interface control provided on the digital camera.

9. The digital camera of claim 7 wherein the capture of the sequence of digital image is initiated by a user pressing a shutter button, and wherein digital images are captured at the predetermined frame rate until the user releases the shutter button.

10. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the sequence of digital images includes a predefined number of digital images.

11. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the moving object is a main subject in the scene as determined using a main subject detection algorithm.

12. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the moving object is a foreground object in the scene.

13. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the moving object is an object determined to be the fastest moving object in the scene.

14. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein each of the digital images in the stored set of captured digital images are stored in separate digital image files.

15. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the digital images in the stored set of captured digital images are combined to form a composite image, and wherein the composite image is stored in the image memory.

16. The digital camera of claim 15 wherein the composite image is a montage image including each of the digital images in the stored set of captured digital images.

17. The digital camera of claim 15 wherein the composite image is formed by extracting the moving object from the digital images in the stored set of captured digital images and combining them onto a common background image.

18. The digital camera of claim 17 wherein the common background image corresponds to the background from one of the digital images in the stored set of digital images, or to a combination of the backgrounds from a plurality of the digital images in the stored set of digital images.

19. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the captured digital images not in the identified subset of captured digital images are discarded.

20. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the captured sequence of digital images is a digital video sequence.