Red eye filter method and apparatus

• US 8,264,575 B1
• Filed: 03/05/2011
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: FotoNation Limited (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DigitalOptics Corporation Europe Limited (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: DeLuca, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jerabek, Kelly L
• Application Number:
  US13/041,392
• Time in Patent Office: 556 Days
• Field of Search: 348/222.1, 348/227.1, 348/229.1, 348/241, 348370-371, 382/117, 396/158, 396/166
• US Class Current: 348/241
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0007 Image acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30201 Face
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30216 Redeye defect
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/005 Retouching; Inpainting; Scratch removal detecting, correction, reducing or removing defects, e.g. non-responsive pixels of solid state image sensors H04N25/68, scratch removal for cinematographic films scanned by electronic image sensor H04N5/253
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/77 Retouching; Inpainting; Scratch removal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0002 Inspection of images, e.g. flaw detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/193 Preprocessing; Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/62 Retouching, i.e. modification of isolated colours only or in isolated picture areas only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/624 Red-eye correction control of camera based on recognised facial parts H04N23/611
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means

Abstract

A digital camera has an integral flash and stores and displays a digital image. Under certain conditions, a flash photograph taken with the camera may result in a red-eye phenomenon due to a reflection within an eye of a subject of the photograph. The digital camera has a red-eye filter which analyzes the stored image for the red-eye phenomenon and modifies the stored image to eliminate the red-eye phenomenon by changing the red area to black. The modification of the image is enabled when a photograph is taken under conditions indicative of the red-eye phenomenon. The modification is subject to anti-falsing analysis which further examines the area around the red-eye area for indicia of the eye of the subject.

Claims

1. A portable digital camera having no photographic film comprising:

an integral flash for providing illumination during recording of an image without photographic film;

a digital image capturing apparatus for recording said image; and

a red-eye filter for detecting a red eye defect and generating and storing on the camera a red eye corrected image.

2. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising an integral image display for displaying the red eye corrected image.

3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the red eye defect has a color and shape indicative of the red-eye phenomenon and the red eye filter modifies the image to change the color to a black color and further wherein:

said integral flash selectively provides illumination during image recording; and

said red-eye filter is enabled to modify the image in response to said integral flash providing illumination during image recording.

4. The camera according to claim 3 further comprising an exposure control means for determining if the image was recorded in a condition conducive to the red-eye phenomenon and for generating a red-eye signal in response thereto, wherein said red-eye filter is further enabled in response to the red-eye signal.

5. The camera according to claim 1, wherein said red-eye filter further includes a falsing avoidance apparatus which enables modification of the red eye defect in response to an absence of color indicative of the red-eye phenomenon within a vicinity of and exclusive to the red eye defect.

6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein said red-eye filter further includes a falsing avoidance apparatus which enables modification of the area in response a substantially white colored region within a vicinity of the red eye defect.

7. The camera according to claim 1, wherein said red-eye filter comprises:

a pixel locator for locating pixels having a color indicative of the red-eye phenomenon;

a shape analyzer for determining if a grouping of at least a portion of the pixels located by said pixel locator comprise a shape indicative of the red-eye phenomenon; and

a pixel modifier for modifying the color of the pixels within the grouping.

8. The camera according to claim 7, further comprising a falsing analyzer for further processing the image in a vicinity of the grouping for details indicative of an eye, and for enabling said pixel modifier in response thereto.

9. The camera according to claim 7, further comprising an exposure analyzer for determining if the image was recorded in a condition indicative of the red-eye phenomenon.

10. A portable digital camera having no photographic film comprising:

an integral flash for providing illumination during recording of an image without photographic film;

a digital image capturing apparatus for recording said image;

a red-eye filter for detecting a red eye defect and generating a red eye corrected image; and

an integral image display for displaying the red eye corrected image.

11. The camera according to claim 10, wherein the red eye defect has a color and shape indicative of the red-eye phenomenon and the image is modified to change the color to a black color and further wherein:

said integral flash selectively provides illumination during image recording; and

said red-eye filter is enabled to modify the image in response to said integral flash providing illumination during image recording.

12. The camera according to claim 11, further comprising an exposure control means for determining if the image was recorded in a condition conducive to the red-eye phenomenon and for generating a red-eye signal in response thereto, wherein said red-eye filter is further enabled in response to the red-eye signal.

13. The camera according to claim 10, wherein said red-eye filter further includes a falsing avoidance apparatus which enables modification of the red eye defect in response to an absence of color indicative of the red-eye phenomenon with in a vicinity of and exclusive to the red eye defect.

14. The camera according to claim 10, wherein said red-eye filter further includes a falsing avoidance apparatus which enables modification of the area in response a substantially white colored region within a vicinity of the red eye defect.

15. The camera according to claim 10, wherein said red-eye filter comprises:

a pixel locator for locating pixels having a color indicative of the red-eye phenomenon;

a shape analyzer for determining if a grouping of at least a portion of the pixels located by said pixel locator comprise a shape indicative of the red-eye phenomenon; and

a pixel modifier for modifying the color of the pixels within the grouping.

16. The camera according to claim 15, further comprising a falsing analyzer for further processing the image in a vicinity of the grouping for details indicative of an eye, and for enabling said pixel modifier in response thereto.

17. The camera according to claim 15, further comprising an exposure analyzer for determining if the image was recorded in a condition indicative of the red-eye phenomenon.

18. A portable digital camera having no photographic film comprising:

an integral flash for providing illumination during acquisition of an image without photographic film;

a digital image capturing apparatus for acquiring said image; and

a red-eye filter for detecting a red eye defect within said image and generating a red eye corrected image.

19. The camera of claim 18, further comprising a processor and memory to generate and store on the camera said red eye corrected image.

20. The camera according to claim 18, further comprising an integral image display for displaying said red eye corrected image.