Method and device for correcting an image, particularly for occupant protection

• US 7,304,680 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2002
• Issued: 12/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Wagner, Ulrich, Kohler, Thorsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Villecco; John M.
• Application Number:
  US10/469,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20040202380A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,888 Days
• Field of Search: 348/36, 348/65, 348/148, 348/335, 348/231.6, 348/716, 382/275, 382/285, 382/293, 382/295, 382/298, 359/470, 353/5
• US Class Current: 348/335
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/80 Geometric correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/58 Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/81 for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/61 the noise originating only from the lens unit, e.g. flare, shading, vignetting or "cos4"
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation

Abstract

A source image (S) that is distorted by camera optics is transformed into a corrected image (T) by using a tabular imaging rule. This transformation occurs directly during the reading out from the image sensor and in real-time. No, one or several target pixels in the target image (T) are assigned to each source pixel of the source image.

Claims

1. A method for correcting an image, comprising:

selecting at least one predefined source pixel of a source image, the gray scale value of which predefined source pixel can be read under a predefined source pixel address;

mapping the predefined source pixel, using a predefined imaging rule, to at least one target pixel arranged in a target image under a predefined target pixel address; and

storing the gray scale value read under the predefined source pixel address in a memory under the predefined target pixel address, wherein

the source pixel address of a selected source pixel and a target pixel address allocated to the source pixel address are present in at least one table,

a source pixel address is selected using a synchronously clocked source counter and an associated gray scale value is read,

a table address of the at least one table is selected using a target counter, as a result of which a selected source pixel address and the associated target pixel address are output,

the source pixel address selected by the source counter is compared with the source pixel address output by the at least one table, and if the comparison finds the two addresses to be identical,

the gray scale value of the source pixel address is stored under the target pixel address output by the at least one table, and

the target counter is incremented.

2. A method for correcting an image, comprising:

selecting at least one predefined source pixel of a source image, the gray scale value of which predefined source pixel can be read under a predefined source pixel address;

mapping the predefined source pixel, using a predefined imaging rule, to at least one target pixel arranged in a target image under a predefined target pixel address; and

storing the gray scale value read under the predefined source pixel address in a memory under the predefined target pixel address, wherein

at least one selected or predefined source pixel is mapped to more than one target pixel,

at least one of the target pixel addresses of the target pixel is determined from the source pixel address of the selected source pixel using at least one table,

the gray scale value of the selected source pixel address is stored under one of the target pixel addresses, and

the gray scale value of the selected source pixel address is stored under another of the target pixel addresses while at least one or more additional unselected source pixels are being read.

3. A method for correcting an image, comprising:

selecting at least one predefined source pixel of a source image, the gray scale value of which predefined source pixel can be read under a predefined source pixel address;

mapping the predefined source pixel, using a predefined imaging rule, to at least one target pixel arranged in a target image under a predefined target pixel address; and

storing the gray scale value read under the predefined source pixel address in a memory under the predefined target pixel address, wherein

a time interval is available in which at least one additional source pixel that is not mapped to a target pixel is read from the source image, where two or more of the time intervals to be arranged either with one immediately after the other or with each separated from the next, and

during one or more time intervals

the corresponding target pixel address of another target pixel or pixels is determined using the at least one table or an additional table, and

the gray scale value stored under a target pixel address is read and stored by the another of the target pixel addresses.

4. A method for correcting an image, comprising:

selecting at least one predefined source pixel of a source image, the gray scale value of which predefined source pixel can be read under a predefined source pixel address;

mapping the predefined source pixel, using a predefined imaging rule, to at least one target pixel arranged in a target image under a predefined target pixel address; and

storing the gray scale value read under the predefined source pixel address in a memory under the predefined target pixel address, wherein

the source image has source pixels arranged in a matrix,

the address space of the at least one table is essentially the same size as the address space of the target image,

the number of target pixels is smaller than the number of source pixels, and

at least one table has table addresses, each of which indicates a source pixel address and a target pixel address.