Image synthesizing apparatus and image pickup apparatus with a brightness adjusting processing

• US 8,026,962 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2009
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Abe, Yoshito, Kita, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Martinez; Joseph P
• Application Number:
  US12/397,726
• Publication Number:
  US 20090225201A1
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 348/241, 382/255, 382/274, 382/284
• US Class Current: 348/241
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20221 Image fusion; Image merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 using histogram techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/92 based on global image properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals

Abstract

Disclosed is an image synthesizer including an image frames memory which memorizes a plurality of image frames which are produced by continuously taking pictures of a subject, an image synthesizer which synthesizes a plurality of image frames to a summation image, an image brightness adjuster which adjusts brightness of the summation image by synthesizing the image frames with the image synthesizer, and a display which displays the summation image which is being synthesized by the image synthesizing means in the image brightness adjusting processing.

Claims

1. An image synthesizing apparatus, comprising:

an image frames memory which stores a plurality of image frames which are produced by continuously taking pictures of a subject;

an image synthesizer which synthesizes the plurality of image frames to a summation image;

an image brightness adjuster which adjusts a brightness of the summation image by synthesizing the image frames with the image synthesizer;

a display which displays the summation image which is being synthesized by the image synthesizer in image brightness adjusting processing by the image brightness adjuster; and

a tone correcting parameter changer which changes a tone correcting parameter used in the image brightness adjusting processing;

wherein the image brightness adjuster executes the image brightness adjusting processing such that the entire summation image is gradually brightened as a number of the synthesized image frames is increased before the tone correcting parameter is changed by the tone correcting parameter changer, and executes the image brightness adjusting processing such that only a dark portion in the summation image is gradually brightened as the number of the synthesized image frames is increased after the tone correcting parameter is changed by the tone correcting parameter changer.

2. The image synthesizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display renews the displayed summation image whenever a predetermined number of image frames are synthesized.

3. The image synthesizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the number of the synthesized image frames synthesized by the image synthesizer reaches a predetermined number after the tone correcting parameter changer changes the tone correcting parameter, the tone correcting parameter changer further changes the tone correcting parameter into a tone correcting parameter by which the brightness of the summation image becomes substantially constant even when the number of the synthesized image frames is increased.

4. An image synthesizing apparatus, comprising:

an image frames memory which stores a plurality of image frames which are produced by continuously taking pictures of a subject;

an image synthesizer which synthesizes the plurality of image frames to a summation image;

an image brightness adjuster which adjusts a brightness of the summation image by synthesizing the image frames with the image synthesizer;

a display which displays the summation image which is being synthesized by the image synthesizer in image brightness adjusting processing by the image brightness adjuster; and

a tone correcting parameter changer which changes a tone correcting parameter used in the image brightness adjusting processing;

wherein the image brightness adjuster executes the image brightness adjusting processing such that the entire summation image is gradually brightened as a number of the synthesized image frames is increased before the tone correcting parameter is changed by the tone correcting parameter changer, and executes noise reducing processing for reducing noise of the summation image as the number of the synthesized image frames is increased after the tone correcting parameter is changed by the tone correcting parameter changer.