Digital photographing apparatus

• US 8,619,119 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2010
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Hwang, Soon-hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US12/858,628
• Publication Number:
  US 20110043605A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 348/36
• US Class Current: 348/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/00 General purpose image data processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

Provided is a digital photographing apparatus and method for panoramic photographing. The digital photographing apparatus includes an image pickup device that generates data from incident light, an acceleration sensor that detects motion of the digital photographing apparatus in a first direction, and a time interval determiner that determines a continuous photographing time interval for panoramic photographing, according to the motion detected by the acceleration sensor.

Claims

1. A digital photographing apparatus for panoramic photographing, comprising:

an image pickup device that generates data from incident light, by capturing a plurality of images while the apparatus is moved in a first direction;

an acceleration sensor that detects motion of the digital photographing apparatus in the first direction while the image pickup device captures the images; and

a time interval determiner that determines a time interval associated with each captured image that denotes a time delay between the capture of two successive images, wherein the time interval associated with each image is based on the instantaneous motion detected by the acceleration sensor and a size of the captured image, such that each image has a predetermined overlap with an image captured before and/or after it.

2. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the time interval determiner is further configured to determine the time interval associated with each captured image to be inversely proportional to a speed of the detected motion.

3. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the time interval determiner determines the time interval associated with each captured image continuously during the panoramic photographing.

4. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first direction is a horizontal direction with respect to the ground.

5. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the acceleration sensor detects motion in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

6. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a success determiner that determines whether the panoramic photographing has been performed successfully by comparing the amount of the motion in the second direction detected by the acceleration sensor with a predetermined amount.

7. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the success determiner determines that the panoramic photographing has failed, if the amount of the motion in the second direction is greater than the predetermined amount.

8. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 7, wherein, when the success determiner determines that the panoramic photographing has failed, the digital photographing apparatus notifies a user about the failure.

9. A digital photographing apparatus for panoramic photographing, comprising:

an image pickup device that generates data from incident light, by capturing a plurality of images while the apparatus is moved in a first direction;

an acceleration sensor that detects motion in the first direction of the digital photographing apparatus, while the image pickup device captures the images;

a time interval determiner that determines a time interval associated with each captured image that denotes a time delay between the capture of two successive images wherein the time interval associated with each image is based on the instantaneous motion detected by the acceleration sensor and a size of the captured image, such that each image has a predetermined overlap with an image captured before and/or after it; and

a success determiner that determines whether the panoramic photographing has succeeded by comparing the amount of the motion in the first direction detected by the acceleration sensor with a predetermined amount.

10. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the success determiner determines that the panoramic photographing has failed if the amount of the motion in the first direction is larger than the predetermined amount.

11. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 10, wherein, when the success determiner determines failure, the digital photographing apparatus notifies a user about the failure.

12. The digital photographing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first direction is perpendicular to a horizontal direction with respect to the ground.

13. A method of generating panoramic photos, comprising:

providing a digital photographing apparatus including an image pickup device, an acceleration sensor and a time interval determiner;

detecting, by the acceleration sensor, motion of the digital photographing apparatus in a first direction, while the image pickup device captures the images;

determining, by the time interval determiner, a time interval associated with each image to be captured that denotes a time delay between the capture of two successive images, wherein the time interval associated with each image is based on the instantaneous motion detected by the acceleration sensor and a size of the captured image; and

generating data from incident light, by capturing a plurality of images with the apparatus while moving the apparatus in a first direction, wherein each successive image is captured after the corresponding determined time delay such that each image has a predetermined overlap with an image captured before and/or after it.

14. The method of generating panoramic photos according to claim 13, further comprising:

determining the time interval associated with each image to be inversely proportional to a speed of the detected motion.

15. The method of generating panoramic photos according to claim 13, wherein the time interval associated with each image is determined continuously during the panoramic photographing.

16. The method of generating panoramic photos according to claim 13, wherein the first direction is a horizontal direction with respect to the ground.

17. The method of generating panoramic photos according to claim 13, further comprising detecting motion in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

18. The method of generating panoramic photos according to claim 13, further comprising determining whether the panoramic photographing has been performed successfully by comparing the amount of the motion in the second direction detected by the acceleration sensor with a predetermined amount.

19. The method of generating panoramic photos according to claim 13, further comprising determining that the panoramic photographing has failed if the amount of the motion in the second direction is greater than the predetermined amount.

20. The method of generating panoramic photos according to claim 13, further comprising notifying a user when the determining step determines that the panoramic photographing has failed.