Image processor and face detector using the same

• US 7,948,524 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2005
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Furukawa, Satoshi, Endo, Junpei, Ikari, Motoo, Hagio, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vieaux; Gary C
• Application Number:
  US11/097,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20050265626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,241 Days
• Field of Search: 348/208.14, 348/154, 348/155, 348/86, 348/125, 348/152, 348/223.1, 348/222.1, 348/229.1, 382/115, 382/112
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals

Abstract

An image processor is provided, which has the capability of detecting an object such as a human face from an image taken against the sun with high accuracy. An image signal provided from an image pickup unit is adjusted at an analog gain by an image adjuster. An out of the image adjuster is converted into a digital, and store in a memory. A feature of the object is extracted from this digital image data to detect an object area in the image. When the object area is not detected, an analog-gain controller sends that the image signal provided from the image pickup unit is adjusted at a different analog gain. Thus, the treatment of detecting the object area is repeated at different analog gains.

Claims

1. An image processor comprising:

image pickup means configured to take an image of an object;

an image adjuster configured to adjust an image signal provided from said image pickup means at an adjustment level;

an A/D converter configured to convert an output of said image adjuster into a digital image data;

an object detector configured to extract a feature of said object from said digital image data to detect an object area in the image;

an adjustment-level controller for sending an adjustment-level control signal to said image adjuster in a feedback manner such that the image signal provided from said image pickup means is adjusted at a different adjustment level when the object area is not detected by said object detector; and

a brightness detector for detecting a brightness of an entire image pickup area taken by said image pickup unit,

wherein said adjustment-level controller determines a change amount of the adjustment-level control signal according to the brightness detected by said brightness detector, wherein

said adjustment-level controller is configured to make the change amount of the adjustment level smaller when said brightness detected by said brightness detector is above a predetermined value than when the detected brightness level is below the predetermined value, wherein

said adjustment-level controller sends to said image adjuster an initial adjustment-level control signal such that the image signal provide from said image pickup means is initially adjusted at an initial adjustment level that is a maximum value of a changeable range of said adjustment level, and

wherein said adjustment-level controller determines the adjustment level control signal such that the adjustment level changes from the maximum value toward a minimum value of the changeable range in a step-by-step manner.

2. The image processor as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a brightness adjuster for determining a brightness of the object area detected by said object detector, and allowing said adjustment-level controller to send to said image adjuster the adjustment-level control signal determined such that the brightness becomes a predetermined brightness.

3. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, wherein the adjustment level is provided by an analog gain.

4. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, wherein the adjustment level is provided by a speed of an electronic shutter of said image pickup means.

5. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, wherein said adjustment-level controller determines the adjustment-level control signal by switching a first control period where the adjustment level is provided by a speed of an electronic shutter of said image pickup means, and a second control period where the adjustment level is provided by an analog gain.

6. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, wherein said object detector extracts a face as the feature of said object from said digital image signal to detect a face area as said object area.

7. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, wherein said object detector comprises a reference-data memory for storing a template image of said object, and an object-area detecting portion for comparing said digital image data with said template image to calculate a degree of correlation therebetween, and determining an area having a higher degree of correlation than a threshold value as said object area.

8. The image processor as set forth in claim 1 further comprising outline extracting means for extracting an outline of said object, and wherein said object detector detects the object area when the outline of said object is extracted by said outline extracting means.

9. The image processor as set forth in claim 1 further comprising light-source determining means for determining whether a light source illuminating said object is the sun, and said object detector detects the object area when the light source is determined as the sun by said light-source determining means.

10. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, further comprising illumination-intensity measuring means for determining an illumination intensity of an image pickup area taken by said image pickup means, and light irradiating means for irradiating an auxiliary light to the image pickup area when the illumination intensity is smaller than a predetermined value.

11. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, wherein said adjustment-level controller sends to said image adjuster an initial adjustment-level control signal such that the image signal provided from said image pickup means is initially adjusted at an initial adjustment level that is an intermediate value between maximum and minimum values of a changeable range of said adjustment level, and wherein said adjustment-level controller determines the adjustment-level control signal from an adjustment-level control range set according to an average brightness of an entire area of the image adjusted at the initial adjustment level.

12. The image processor as set forth in claim 1, wherein said brightness detector is configured to give an average brightness of the entire image pickup area.

13. An image processor comprising:

image pickup means being configured to take an image pickup area in order to take an image of an object of the image pickup area, and to generate an image signal from the image pickup area;

an image adjuster configured to adjust the image signal provided from said image pickup means at an adjustment level;

an A/D converter configured to convert an output of said image adjuster into a digital image data;

an object detector configured to perform an object detecting treatment of extracting a feature of said object from the digital image data in order to detect an object area in the digital image data;

a brightness adjuster configured to determine a brightness of the object area detected by said object detector when said object detector detects the object area;

an adjustment-level controller configured to determine a first adjustment level control signal on the basis of the brightness of the object area, and configured to send the first adjustment level control signal to said image adjuster in a feedback manner so that the image adjuster adjusts the image signal at a first adjustment level determined by the first adjustment level control signal;

a brightness detector configured to detect a brightness of an entire the image pickup area taken by said image pickup means,

wherein

the image processor further comprises a decision unit, said decision unit being configured to check whether the object detector satisfies a completed condition or an uncompleted condition when the object detector detects no object area in the digital image data, said completed condition being defined by a condition where the object detecting treatment is completed, said uncompleted condition being defined by a condition where the object detecting treatment is not completed,

said adjustment-level controller being configured to generate a predetermined adjustment level control signal when the decision unit detects the uncompleted condition, said adjustment-level controller being configured to send the predetermined adjustment level control signal to said image adjuster, said image adjuster being configured to adjust the image signal at a predetermined adjustment level which is determined by the predetermined adjustment level control signal,

said brightness detector being configured to calculate an average brightness of the entire the image pickup area when the decision unit detects the completed condition, said adjustment-level controller being configured to generate a second adjustment level control signal, and to send the second adjustment level control signal to said image adjuster, said image adjuster being configured to adjust the image signal at a second adjustment level which is determined by the second adjustment level control signal.