Image pickup system and vehicle-mounted-type sensor system

• US 6,972,796 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2001
• Issued: 12/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawata, Hirotsugu, Mizuguchi, Yuji, Katta, Noboru, Yamamoto, Akihiro, Mori, Toshiaki, Ibaraki, Susumu, Sakai, Takahisa, Kurosaki, Toshihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Moe, Aung
• Application Number:
  US09/793,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20010019363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,743 Days
• Field of Search: 348/333.01, 348/36, 348/37, 348/38, 348/39, 348/207.1, 348/207.11, 348/211.99, 348/211.3, 348/211.6, 348/211.9, 348/211.13, 348/118, 348/148, 348/115, 348/120, 348/584, 348/218.1, 382/284, 382/154
• US Class Current: 348/333.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A control device determines whether an image generated by merging several concurrently picked-up images has consistent image quality on a display device. If determined No, image quality parameters set in each image pickup device are so controlled as to make the image quality of the merged image consistent. Therefore, the merged image can assuredly have consistent image quality. Further, a signal processing device detects, based on positions of nodes and attributes of cameras, a connection indicating which node is connected to which camera and with what attribute. The signal processing device in advance stores every detectable connection and a plurality of image processing programs corresponding to each connection, and selects and carries out one of the image processing programs corresponding to the detected connection.

Claims

1. An image pickup system for concurrently picking up a plurality of images and merging the images into an image for display, said image pickup system comprising:

a plurality of image pickup devices each for performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of a merged image;

a display device for receiving image data from each of said image pickup devices, and merging the image data for display; and

a control device for controlling each of said image pickup devices, wherein

said control device comprises;

determination means for determining whether the image quality of the merged image is consistent on said display device; and

image quality control means for controlling, when said determination means determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of said image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent on said display device, wherein

said image display quality control means selects the image quality parameter as at least one of sensibility and a number of pixels for said image pickup devices, and image cutout size, compression ratio, amplification ratio and color tint for merging in said display device.

2. The image pickup system according to claim 1, wherein said image quality control means previously stores a predetermined common image quality parameter, and changes the image quality parameter set in each of said image pickup devices to agree with the common image quality parameter.

3. The image pickup system according to claim 1, wherein said control device determines a common image quality parameter based on the image quality parameter set in each of said image pickup devices, and changes the image quality parameter to agree with the common image quality parameter.

4. The image pickup system according to claim 3, wherein said image quality control means calculates an average value of the image quality parameter set in each of said image pickup devices, and determines the average value or an approximate value thereof as the common image quality parameter.

5. The image pickup system according to claim 1, wherein

each of said image pickup devices is capable of performing image pickup according to the image quality parameter set therein for every pixel or block comprising several pixels,

said display device merges image data from each of said image pickup devices to generate a panoramic image, and

said image quality control means receives the panoramic image from said display device, and controls the image quality parameter set in each of said image pickup devices on a pixel or a block basis in such manner as to make image quality of a boundary in the panoramic image consistent.

6. The image pickup system according to claim 5, wherein said image quality control means

compares image quality of a pair of pixels or blocks having a boundary in between, and based on a result obtained thereby, determines an image quality parameter for the pixels or blocks, and

along a straight line or a gradual curve which passes through the determined image quality parameter for the boundary and an image quality parameter similarly determined for a next boundary, determines image quality parameters for pixels and blocks located between the boundary and the next boundary.

7. The image pickup system according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for sensing around said image pickup devices, wherein

said image quality control means performs image quality parameter control based on a result sensed by said sensor.

8. The image pickup system according to claim 7, wherein

said sensor senses around said image pickup devices for brightness,

the image quality parameter includes a brightness parameter for defining brightness of an image, and

said image quality control means increases, when said sensor senses the brightness as not being high enough, the brightness parameter of each of said image pickup devices.

9. The image pickup system according to claim 1, wherein

each of said image pickup devices is mounted in a vehicle, and

said image quality control means detects a state of the vehicle, and based on the state, performs image quality parameter control.

10. The image pickup system according to claim 9, wherein

the vehicle is provided with a light,

the image quality parameter includes a brightness parameter for defining brightness of an image, and

said image quality control means increases, when the light is sensed as being ON, the brightness parameter of each of said image pickup devices.

11. The image pickup system according to claim 9, wherein

the vehicle is provided with a windshield wiper,

the image quality parameter includes a brightness parameter for defining brightness of an image, and

said image quality control means increases, when the windshield wiper is sensed as being ON, the brightness parameter of each of said image pickup devices.

12. The image pickup system according to claim 9, wherein

said image pickup devices are mounted on a front, a rear, a right side, and a left side of the vehicle,

the image quality parameter includes resolution, and

said image quality control means lowers, when the vehicle is sensed as making a left turn, a resolution of said image pickup device mounted on the right side of the vehicle.

13. The image pickup system according to claim 9, wherein

said image pickup devices are mounted on a front, a rear, a right side, and a left side of the vehicle,

the image quality parameter includes resolution, and

said image quality control means lowers, when the vehicle is sensed as making a right turn, a resolution of said image pickup device mounted on the left side of the vehicle.

14. An image pickup system for concurrently picking up a plurality of images and merging the images into an image for display, said image pickup system comprising:

a plurality of image pickup devices each for performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of a merged image;

a display device for receiving image data from each of said image pickup devices, and merging the image data for display; and

a control device for controlling each of said image pickup devices, wherein

said control device comprises;

determination means for determining whether the image quality of the merged image is consistent on said display device; and

image quality control means for controlling, when said determination means determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of said image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent on said display device, wherein

each of said image pickup devices is capable of performing image pickup according to the image quality parameter set therein for every block comprising a plurality of pixels, and

said image quality control means controls the image quality parameter set in each of said image pickup devices on a block basis.

15. A control device for controlling a plurality of image pickup devices provided in an image pickup system in which a plurality of images are concurrently picked up and a display device merges the images into an image for display, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is provided with a function of performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of an image,

said control device comprising:

determination means for determining whether image quality of a merged image is consistent on the display device; and

image quality control means for controlling, when said determination means determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent on the display device, wherein

said image quality control means selects the image quality parameter as at least one of sensibility and a number of pixels for the image pickup devices, and image cutout size, compression ratio, amplification ratio and color tint for merging in the display device.

16. A control method for controlling a plurality of image pickup devices provided in an image pickup system in which a plurality of images are concurrently picked up and a display device merges the images into an image for display, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is provided with a function of performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of an image,

said control method comprising:

determining whether image quality of a merged image is consistent on the display device; and

controlling, when said determining determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent the said display device, wherein

said controlling comprises selecting the image quality parameter as at least one of sensibility and a number of pixels from the image pickup devices, and image cutout size, compression ratio, amplification ratio and color tint for merging in the display device.

17. A signal operable to instruct a computer included in a control device to perform a method for controlling a plurality of image pickup devices in an image pickup system in which a plurality of images are concurrently picked up and a display device merges the images into an image for display, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is provided with a function of performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of an image,

said method comprising:

a determination operation of determining whether image quality of a merged image is consistent on the display device; and

an image quality control operation of controlling, when said determination operation determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent on the display device, wherein

said image quality control operation selects the image quality parameter as at least one of sensibility and a number of pixels for the image pickup devices, and cutout size, compression ratio, amplification ratio and color tint for merging in the display device.

18. A control device for controlling a plurality of image pickup devices provided in an image pickup system in which a plurality of images are concurrently picked up and a display device merges the images into an image for display, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is provided with a function of performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of an image,

said control device comprising:

determination means for determining whether image quality of a merged image is consistent on the display device; and

image quality control means for controlling, when said determination means determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent on the display device, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is capable of performing image pickup according to the image quality parameter set therein for every block comprising a plurality of pixels, and

said image quality control means controls the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices on a block basis.

19. A control method for controlling a plurality of image pickup devices provided in an image pick up system in which a plurality of image are concurrently picked up and a display device merges the images into an image for display, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is provided with a function of performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of an image,

said control method comprising:

determining whether image quality of a merged image is consistent on the display device; and

controlling, when said determining determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent on the display device, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is capable of performing image pickup according to the image quality parameter set therein for every block comprising a plurality of pixels, and

said controlling comprises controlling the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices on a block basis.

20. A signal operable to instruct a computer included in a control device to perform a method for controlling a plurality of image pickup devices in an image pickup system in which a plurality of images are concurrently picked up and a display device merges the images into an image for display, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is provided with a function of performing image pickup according to an image quality parameter set therein to define image quality of an image,

said method comprising:

a determination operation of determining whether image quality of a merged image is consistent on the display device; and

an image quality control operation of controlling, when said determination operation determines the image quality is not consistent, the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices so that the image quality of the merged image becomes consistent on the display device, wherein

each of the image pickup devices is capable of performing image pickup according to the image quality parameter set therein for every block comprising a plurality of pixels, and

said image quality control operation controls the image quality parameter set in each of the image pickup devices on a block basis.