IMAGING SYSTEM

• US 20140300691A1
• Filed: 03/06/2014
• Published: 10/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: SAITO, Hiroshi, KOBAYASHI, Hideaki, FUKATANI, Masashi
• Application Number:
  US14/199,203
• Publication Number:
  US 20140300691A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums

Abstract

An imaging system is an imaging system for shooting a plurality of images to generate a panoramic image. The imaging system includes a plurality of cameras. Each camera has each of a plurality of sub-regions of a subject region as a shooting region, the sub-regions resulting from dividing the subject region in a first direction. Each camera is arranged adjacent to an other camera in either the first direction or a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the other camera handling a shooting region adjacent to a shooting region handled by each camera. The number of the pairs of cameras adjacent to each other in the first direction is less than the number of the pairs of cameras adjacent to each other in the second direction.

Claims

1. An imaging system for shooting a plurality of images to generate a panoramic image, comprising:

a plurality of cameras, wherein

each camera has each of a plurality of sub-regions of a subject region as a shooting region, the sub-regions resulting from dividing the subject region in a first direction,

each camera is arranged adjacent to an other camera in either the first direction or a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the other camera handling a shooting region adjacent to a shooting region handled by each camera, and

the number of the pairs of cameras adjacent to each other in the first direction is less than the number of the pairs of cameras adjacent to each other in the second direction.

2. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of cameras adjacent to each other in the first direction includes two cameras handling central shooting regions of the subject region.

3. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein

when the sub-regions continuously located from one end to the other end of the subject region are allocated in order to the respective cameras,

the plurality of cameras are arranged so that the trace of positions of the cameras has a U-shape when the cameras are traced in the order of allocation of the sub-regions allocated to the cameras.

4. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein

when the sub-regions continuously located from one end to the other end of the subject region are allocated in order to the respective cameras,

the plurality of cameras are arranged so that the trace of positions of the cameras has a traversable shape when the cameras are traced in the order of allocation of the sub-regions to the cameras.

5. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras include four cameras with two cameras arranged in a lateral direction and two cameras arranged in a vertical direction.

6. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras include nine cameras with three cameras arranged in a lateral direction and three cameras arranged in a vertical direction.