Picture processing apparatus

• US 6,215,914 B1
• Filed: 06/24/1998
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Mituaki, Akagi, Hiroshi, Nako, Kazuyuki, Hirosawa, Masashi, Nakamura, Yasuhisa, Kitamura, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Phuoc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mariam, Daniel G.
• Application Number:
  US09/103,877
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 382/181, 382/190, 382/282, 382/284, 382/167, 382/275, 382/254, 382/255, 382/274, 348/584, 348/598, 358/450
• US Class Current: 382/284
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3876 Recombination of partial images to recreate the original image

Abstract

A picture processing apparatus which can reduce matching errors and shorten a processing time for matching. In the picture processing apparatus, a binarization circuit individually binarizes a pair of object picture signals to generate line picture signals. A feature point extract circuit extracts a plurality of feature point pixels for each reference area in the reference side line picture. A transforming circuit widens a line width of the search side line picture. A correlation computation circuit, for each reference area, finds a correlation between each pixel within a search area in the line picture whose line width has been widened and the feature point pixels. A composition processing section composites the pair of object picture signals based on the correlations. A picture processing apparatus which can adjust density and color tone of two pictures to be composited. At first, the picture processing apparatus finds overlapping areas of the two pictures to be processed and finds typical values typifying distributions of density values of pixels in the overlapping area of each picture, respectively. Next, it adjusts overall lightness of the two pictures by multiplying the density value of each pixel of one picture by a ratio of the typical value of the other picture to the typical value of one picture.

Claims

1. A picture processing apparatus comprising:

overlapping area deciding means for finding overlapping areas where two pictures composed of a plurality of pixels overlap each other;

density value statistic means for finding typical values typifying a distribution of density values of the pixels in the overlapping area of each picture; and

density value compensating means for multiplying the density value of each pixel of one picture by a ratio of the typical value of the other picture to the typical value of one picture.

2. The picture processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein each typical value is an average value of the density values of the pixels in the overlapping area of each picture.

3. The picture processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the overlapping area deciding means finds a mismatch of origins of coordinate systems of the respective pictures when parts having the same distribution of the density values within the two pictures are overlapped with each other and regards all areas that overlap when the two pictures are overlapped with each other by shifting the origins of the coordinate systems by the found mismatch, as overlapping areas, and

the density value statistic means finds typical values of density values of pixels in areas further inside of the overlapping areas.

4. The picture processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the density value statistic means finds the typical value of the density values of pixels a number of which is smaller than that of all pixels in the overlapping area.

5. The picture processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the density value is composed of predefined three color components, and the density value statistic means and the density value compensating means perform processing for each component of the density value.

6. A picture processing apparatus comprising:

overlapping area deciding means for finding overlapping areas in successive pairs of pictures where said successive pairs are selected from among a plurality of pictures each composed of a plurality of pixels and with one picture in each pair being a reference picture and the other being a search picture;

density value statistic means for finding typical values typifying a distribution of density values of pixels in the overlapping areas of said successive pairs of pictures;

compensation factor computing means for finding ratios of a density value of each pixel in each search picture in each of said pair of pictures from among the plurality of pictures in which one of said reference and search pictures out of the plurality of pictures is set to be standard, based on a ratio of the typical values of said each pair of pictures;

correction factor computing means for finding correction factors of each said ratio based on the distribution of a plurality of said ratios; and

density value compensating means for compensating the density value of each pixel for each said search picture, based on the ratio of each said search picture and each said correction factor.

7. The picture processing apparatus of claim 6, the picture processing apparatus further comprising:

a table for storing the plurality of ratios; and

correcting means for correcting each ratio stored in the table based on the each correction factor,

wherein the density value compensating means compensates the density value of each pixel based on the corrected ratio stored in the table for each picture.

8. The picture processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the correction factor computing means approximates a relationship between an arrangement order of the pictures when arranged by sequentially overlapping the overlapping areas and a ratio of each picture, by a predefined approximate expression, and defines each correction factor based on a constant of the approximate expression and the arrangement order.

9. The picture processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the approximate expression is an exponential function (y=a^x) and the constant is a base a of the exponential function.

10. The picture processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the density value is composed of predefined three color components, and the density value statistic means, the compensation factor computing means, the correction factor computing means and the density value compensating means perform processing for each component of the density value.

11. The picture processing apparatus of claim 6, the picture processing apparatus further comprising compositing means for compositing the pictures in which the density value of each pixel is compensated, by sequentially overlapping the overlapping areas.

12. The picture processing apparatus of claim 11, the picture processing apparatus further comprising white balance compensating means for compensating white balance of the composited picture.

13. A picture processing apparatus comprising:

overlapping area deciding means for finding overlapping areas in successive pairs of pictures where said successive pairs are selected from among a plurality of pictures each composed of a plurality of pixels and with one picture in each pair being a reference picture and the other being a search picture;

density value statistic means for finding typical values typifying a distribution of density values of pixels in the overlapping areas of said successive pairs of pictures;

compensation factor computing means for finding ratios of a density value of each pixel in each search picture in each of said pair of pictures from among the plurality of pictures in which one of said reference and search pictures out of the plurality of pictures is set to be standard, based on a ratio of the typical values of said each pair of pictures;

correction factor computing means for finding correction factors of each said ratio based on the distribution of a plurality of said ratios wherein the correction factor computing means approximates a relationship between an arrangement order of the pictures when arranged by sequentially overlapping the overlapping areas and a ratio of each picture, by a predefined approximate expression, and defines each correction factor based on a constant of the approximate expression and the arrangement order, and wherein the approximate expression is an exponential function (y=a^x) and the constant is a base a of the exponential function; and

density value compensating means for compensating the density value of each pixel for each said search picture, based on the ratio of each said search picture and each said correction factor.

14. The picture processing apparatus of claim 13, wherein each typical value is an average value of the density values of the pixels in the overlapping area of each picture.

15. The picture processing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the overlapping area deciding means finds a mismatch of origins of coordinate systems of the respective pictures when parts having the same distribution of the density values within the two pictures are overlapped with each other and regards all areas that overlap when the two pictures are overlapped with each other by shifting the origins of the coordinate systems by the found mismatch, as overlapping areas, and

the density value statistic means finds typical values of density values of pixels in areas further inside of the overlapping areas.

16. The picture processing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the density value statistic means finds the typical value of the density values of pixels a number of which is smaller than that of all pixels in the overlapping area.