Digital image with reduced object motion blur

• US 7,602,418 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2006
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Deever, Aaron T., Border, John N., Morales, Efrain O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Misleh; Justin P
• Application Number:
  US11/548,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20080088711A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/208.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10144 Varying exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20201 Motion blur correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/194 involving foreground-background segmentation
• 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 23/684 performed by controlling the image sensor readout, e.g. by controlling the integration time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof

Abstract

A method of producing a digital image with reduced object motion blur, includes capturing at least a first and second digital image of a scene using an exposure time that reduces image blur; combining pixels of the first digital image to produce a third digital image which is brighter than the first and second digital images and has a lower resolution than either the first or second digital images; identifying static and moving regions between the first and second digital images; operating on the first and second digital images to produce a fourth digital image which is brighter than the first and second digital images and has object motion blur; and replacing the moving regions in the fourth digital image with corresponding regions from the third digital image to thereby provide a fifth digital image with reduced object motion blur and increased brightness.

Claims

1. A method of producing a digital image with reduced object motion blur, comprising:

a. capturing at least a first and second digital image of a scene using an exposure time that reduces image blur;

b. combining pixels of the first digital image to produce a third digital image which is brighter than the first and second digital images and has a lower resolution than either the first or second digital images;

c. identifying static and moving regions between the first and second digital images;

d. operating on the first and second digital images to produce a fourth digital image which is brighter than the first and second digital images and has object motion blur; and

e. replacing the moving regions in the fourth digital image with corresponding regions from the third digital image to thereby provide a fifth digital image with reduced object motion blur and increased brightness.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first digital image is captured by an electronic image sensor and the second digital image is provided from a second capture of the scene with combined pixels.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein pixels are combined by binning the charge from the pixels, by averaging the voltages produced by the pixels, or by first converting the pixel values to digital numbers and then combining the digital numbers, or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the voltages are averaged by first charging capacitors to the voltages produced by the pixels and then connecting the capacitors together to average the voltages, with the capacitors being of equal sizes to perform a simple average or of differing sizes to perform a weighted average.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the third digital image is formed by applying a spatial filter to the pixel values of the first digital image to increase the brightness of the third digital image.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second digital images are summed but are aligned prior to being summed to form the fourth digital image.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the alignment of the first and second digital images includes comparing pixel values between the first and second digital images and the pixel values are shifted.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein a gyroscopic device is used to measure the motion of the image capture device and the first and second digital images are at least partially aligned based on the measured motion of the image capture device.