Method and apparatus for image blur correction

• US 7,542,666 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2006
• Issued: 06/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakagomi, Kouichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Perkey; W. B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fenwick; Warren K
• Application Number:
  US11/500,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20070036530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,029 Days
• Field of Search: 396/52, 396/54, 33/1.M, 348/208.1, 348/208.4, 348/208.6, 348/208.99
• US Class Current: 396/54
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/00 Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor lens hoods or caps G03B11/04
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2217/005 Blur detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6811 based on the image signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/683 performed by a processor, e.g. controlling the readout of an image memory

Abstract

An image-capturing apparatus includes a first image pickup element which picks up an actual image of a subject, a second image pickup element which detects a displacement and has sensitivity that is higher than that of the first image pickup element, an image pickup unit for picking up an image of the subject by driving the first image pickup element and the second image pickup element simultaneously, a displacement detecting unit for computing an amount of displacement between images due to a camera shake using image data obtained from the second image pickup element when the image of the subject is picked up by the image pickup unit, and a position correcting unit for correcting a position of image data obtained from the first image pickup element, based on the amount of displacement computed by the displacement detecting unit.

Claims

1. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

a first image pickup element which picks up an actual image of a subject;

a second image pickup element which detects a displacement and has sensitivity that is higher than that of the first image pickup element;

an image pickup unit which picks up an image of the subject by driving the first image pickup element and the second image pickup element simultaneously;

a displacement detecting unit which computes an amount of displacement between images due to a camera shake using image data obtained from the second image pickup element when the image of the subject is picked up by the image pickup unit; and

a position correcting unit which corrects a position of image data obtained from the first image pickup element, based on the amount of displacement computed by the displacement detecting unit.

2. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displacement detecting unit computes an amount of displacement by comparing at least two image data items that are continuously obtained from the second image pickup element.

3. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising optical difference correcting unit which makes the amount of displacement computed by the displacement detecting unit correspondent with a coordinate system of image data obtained from the first image pickup element in consideration of a difference between the image data obtained from the first image pickup element and the image data obtained from the second image pickup element,

wherein the position correcting unit corrects the position of the image data obtained from the first image pickup element, based on the amount of displacement corrected by the optical difference correcting unit.

4. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the first image pickup element is an image pickup element having a color filter; and

the second image pickup element is an image pickup element having no color filter but used for picking up an image in monochrome.

5. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the first image pickup element has sensitivity within a visible-light region; and

the second image pickup element has sensitivity outside the visible-light region.

6. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first lens provided in a main body of the image-capturing apparatus; and

a second lens arranged in parallel with the first lens,

wherein the first image pickup element receives light through the first lens, and the second image pickup element receives light through the second lens.

7. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a lens provided in a main body of the image-capturing apparatus; and

a splitting unit which splits light incident through the lens into a first wavelength range and a second wavelength range,

wherein the first image pickup element receives light of the first wavelength range split by the splitting unit, and the second image pickup element receives light of the second wavelength range split by the splitting unit.

8. The image-capturing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:

the splitting unit splits light incident through the lens into a wavelength range of a visible-light region and a wavelength range of an infrared region;

the first image pickup element has sensitivity within the light-visible region; and

the second image pickup element has sensitivity within the infrared region.

9. An image processing method applied to an image-capturing apparatus including a first image pickup element which picks up an actual image of a subject and a second image pickup element which detects a displacement and has sensitivity that is higher than that of the first image pickup element, comprising:

picking up an image of the subject by driving the first image pickup element and the second image pickup element simultaneously;

computing an amount of displacement between images due to a camera shake using image data obtained from the second image pickup element when the image of the subject is picked up; and

correcting a position of image data obtained from the first image pickup element, based on the amount of displacement computed.

10. A program product recorded in a computer-readable recording medium and executed by a computer for controlling an image-capturing apparatus including a first image pickup element which picks up an actual image of a subject and a second image pickup element which detects a displacement and has sensitivity that is higher than that of the first image pickup element, comprising:

causing the computer to perform a first function of picking up an image of the subject by driving the first image pickup element and the second image pickup element simultaneously;

causing the computer to perform a second function of computing an amount of displacement between images due to a camera shake using image data obtained from the second image pickup element when the image of the subject is picked up by the first function; and

causing the computer to perform a third function of correcting a position of image data obtained from the first image pickup element, based on the amount of displacement computed by the second function.