System comprising two lamps and an optical sensor

• US 8,421,873 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Majewicz, Peter, Spears, Kurt E., Melin, Jennifer L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Velez, Roberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): COLEMAN, STEPHEN P
• Application Number:
  US12/847,953
• Publication Number:
  US 20120026353A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 348/262, 348/237, 348/222.1, 348/211.11, 348/159, 348/139, 348/201, 348/47, 348/239, 382/254, 382/276
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/05 Combinations of cameras with electronic flash apparatus; Electronic flash units
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2215/0571 With second light source
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/19594 using a television camera or a still video camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3876 Recombination of partial images to recreate the original image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0414 Scanning an image in a series of overlapping zones

Abstract

A system composed of a housing and an arm coupled to the housing. The arm supports a first lamp, a second lamp, and an optical sensor.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a housing;

an arm coupled to the housing, the arm supports;

a first lamp to illuminate a subject only during a first time period;

a second lamp to illuminate the subject only during a second time period; and

an optical sensor to capture a first image of the subject during the first time period and a second image of the subject during the second time period; and

a processor to, for each pixel in the first image, compute an average of a pixel from the first image and a corresponding pixel from the second image, thereby creating a corrected pixel;

the processor further to bisect, with a dividing line, each of the first and second images;

wherein the average of the pixel from the first image and the corresponding pixel from the second image is a weighted average and a weight value of each pixel varies as a function of the distance of the pixel from the dividing line.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the arm is hinged to the housing and the optical sensor is over a midpoint of the planar surface when the arm is in a deployed position.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the optical sensor is positioned between the first and second lamps.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the housing further comprises a first planar surface having a first side portion and a second side portion;

the first lamp is positioned above the first side portion and is focused at the second side portion; and

the second lamp is positioned above the second side portion and is focused at the first side portion.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a third lamp;

wherein the third lamp is configured to illuminate the subject only during a third time period;

wherein the optical sensor is configured to capture a third image of the subject during the third time period; and

wherein the processor is configured to determine whether to use the third image as the corrected image of the subject.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the weight value of each pixel varies linearly or according to a Gaussian function with the distance of the pixel from the dividing line.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises a printing device configured to print an image of a subject captured by the optical sensor.

8. A method comprising:

illuminating, by a first lamp and not by a second lamp, a subject during a first time period;

capturing, by an optical sensor, a first image of the subject during the first time period;

illuminating, by the second lamp and not by the first lamp, the subject during a second time period;

capturing, by the optical sensor, a second image of the subject during the second time period;

computing an average of a pixel from the first image and a corresponding pixel from the second image, thus creating a corrected pixel;

repeating the computation of the average for all pixels in the first image; and

bisecting with a dividing line, each of the first and second images;

wherein the average of the pixel from the first image and the corresponding pixel from the second image is a weighted average and a weight value of each pixel varies as a function of the distance of the pixel from the dividing line.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

illuminating, by a third lamp and not by the first lamp or the second lamp, the subject during a third time period;

capturing, by the optical sensor, a third image of the subject during the third time period;

determining whether to use the third image as the corrected image of the subject.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the weight value of each pixel varies linearly or according to a Gaussian function with the distance of the pixel from the dividing line.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

cause a first lamp to illuminate a subject only during a first time period;

cause a second lamp to illuminate the subject only during a second time period;

cause an optical sensor to capture a first image of the subject during the second time period; and

compute an average of a pixel from the first image and the corresponding pixel from the second image, thus creating a corrected pixel;

repeat the computation of the average for all pixels in the first image; and

bisect, with a dividing line, each of the first and second images;

wherein the average of the pixel from the first image and the corresponding pixel from the second image is a weighted average and a weight value of each pixel varies as a function of the distance of the pixel from the dividing line.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein said instructions further cause the processor to:

cause a third lamp to illuminate the subject only during a third time period;

cause the optical sensor to capture a third image of the subject during the third time period;

determine whether to use the third image as the corrected image of the subject.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the weight value of each pixel varies linearly or according to a Gaussian function with the distance of the pixel from the dividing line.