Image sensing apparatus, and control method, program, and storage medium of image sensing apparatus

• US 7,671,892 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2007
• Issued: 03/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Yoshinori, Sato, Yoshinobu, Kosugi, Masato, Honma, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Sinh
• Assistant Examiner(s): MONK, MARK T
• Application Number:
  US11/750,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20070285521A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: 34820899-2087, 396 52- 55, 382/236
• US Class Current: 348/208.6
• 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 23/6812 based on additional sensors, e.g. acceleration sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/683 performed by a processor, e.g. controlling the readout of an image memory

Abstract

An image sensing apparatus according to the present invention includes: an image sensing unit configured to sense an object image and output image signals; a shift amount detecting unit configured to detect a shift amount between two image signals, from the image signals that are sequentially output by the image sensing unit; an image signal synthesizing unit configured to sequentially synthesize the image signals based on detection results of the shift amount detecting unit, and generate a synthesized image signal that has been corrected by the shift amount; and a memory unit configured to accumulate the synthesized image signal, wherein the image signal synthesizing unit performs level adjustment of a signal level, the level adjustment varying for each area of the two image signals that are to be synthesized, and generates the synthesized image signal.

Claims

1. An image sensing apparatus, comprising:

an image sensing unit configured to sense an object image and output image signals;

a shift amount detecting unit configured to detect a shift amount between two image signals, from said image signals that are sequentially output by said image sensing unit;

an image signal synthesizing unit configured to perform a level adjustment varying for each area of said two image signals that are to be synthesized and sequentially synthesize said two image signals based on detection results of said shift amount detecting unit, and generate a synthesized image signal that has been corrected by said shift amount;

a memory unit configured to accumulate said synthesized image signal; and

an area information generating unit configured to generate, in said memory unit, first area information indicating an area on which said image signal output from said image sensing unit is to be superimposed, and second area information indicating the entire area of said synthesized image signal in said memory unit, based on the detection results of said shift amount detecting unit,

wherein when the number of shootings is taken as N (where N is a positive integer), said image signal synthesizing unit;

performs said level adjustment in which said synthesized image signal accumulated in said memory unit is multiplied by N/(N−

1), in an area that is inside the area indicated by said second area information and outside the area indicated by said first area information;

performs said level adjustment in which said image signal output from said image sensing unit is multiplied by N, in an area that is inside the area indicated by said first area information and does not overlap with said synthesized image signal accumulated in said memory unit; and

synthesizes said image signal output from said image sensing unit and said synthesized image signal, in an area that is inside the area indicated by said first area information and overlaps with said synthesized image signal accumulated in said memory unit.

2. A control method of an image sensing apparatus, comprising:

an image sensing step adapted to sense an object image and output image signals;

a shift amount detecting step adapted to detect a shift amount between two image signals, from said image signals that are sequentially output in said image sensing step;

an image signal synthesizing step adapted to perform a level adjustment varying for each area of said two image signals that are to be synthesized and sequentially synthesize said two image signals based on detection results in said shift amount detecting step, and generate a synthesized image signal that has been corrected by said shift amount;

an accumulating step adapted to accumulate said synthesized image signal in a memory unit;

an area information generating step adapted to generate, in said memory unit, first area information indicating an area on which said image signal output in said image sensing step is to be superimposed, and second area information indicating the entire area of said synthesized image signal accumulated in said accumulating step, based on the detection results in said shift amount detecting step,

wherein when the number of shootings is taken as N, in said image signal synthesizing step;

said level adjustment is performed in which said synthesized image signal accumulated in said accumulating step is multiplied by N/(N−

1), in an area that is inside the area indicated by said second area information and outside the area indicated by said first area information;

said level adjustment is performed in which said image signal output in said image sensing step is multiplied by N, in an area that is inside the area indicated by said first area information and does not overlap with said synthesized image signal accumulated in said memory unit; and

said image signal output in said image sensing step and said synthesized image signal are synthesized, in an area that is inside the area indicated by said first area information and overlaps with said synthesized image signal accumulated in said memory unit.