Camera that combines images of different scene depths

• US 8,675,085 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2010
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: James Randall Beckers, William Guthrie
• Original Assignee: James Randall Beckers, William Guthrie
• Inventors: Beckers, James Randall, Culver, William H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye, Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): COWAN, EUEL K
• Application Number:
  US12/835,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20120013757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,343 Days
• Field of Search: 348/211.13, 348/345, 348/346, 348/354, 348/211.11, 348/218.1, 348/222.1, 348/356
• US Class Current: 348/218.1
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/06 with axial movement of lens or gate between exposures
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/08 by simultaneous recording
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/503 Blending, e.g. for anti-aliasing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/45 for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/676 Bracketing for image capture at varying focusing conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2622 Signal amplitude transition in the zone between image portions, e.g. soft edges
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/265 Mixing

Abstract

A camera system capturing two parts of a same scene each at a different focus so that objects at different distances from the camera can be captured in focus. The camera system splits the image into two paths using a splitter and focuses the image of each path separately. The focus for each path can be manual or by autofocus. The parts of the images of the two paths can be combined by abutting them at a boundary or in a zone essentially located between the two parts. The image parts in the zone can be combined by blending using a linear function or a non linear function such as a frequency based function.

Claims

1. A camera, comprising:

a common image lens through which a scene image passes;

a first visible image capture path having a first lens to focus a visible first part of the scene image at a first focus on a first focal plane at a magnification by moving the first lens and capture the first part of the scene using a first visible image sensor;

a second visible image capture path at least in part separate from the first image capture path and having a second lens to focus a second visible part of the scene image adjacent (horizontally side by side) to the first part at a second focus on a second focal plane at a different distance from the camera than the first focal plane at the magnification by moving the second lens at a same time as the first lens focuses on the first part and capture the second part of the scene using a second visible image sensor at a same time as the first part of the scene is captured; and

a combiner combining the first part of the scene at the first focus at an adjacent (horizontally side-by-side) position with the second part of the scene at the second focus to produce a visible output image with adjacent (horizontally side-by-side) first and second parts.

2. A camera as recited in claim 1, wherein a camera view of the scene includes a vertically oriented boundary between the first part and the second part and pixels on a first side of the boundary are placed on a first side of the output image and pixels on a second side of the boundary are placed on a second side of the output image.

3. A camera as recited in claim 2, wherein the boundary is non-linear.

4. A camera as recited on claim 1, wherein a camera view of the scene includes a boundary zone of the first part and the second part and pixels in the zone from the first part are blended with pixels in the zone from the second part.

5. A camera as recited in claim 4, wherein the blending is linear perpendicular to the boundary.

6. A camera as recited in claim 4, wherein the blending is based on edge frequency.

7. A camera as recited in claim 4, wherein the blending is based a distance from an abutting boundary edge.

8. A camera as recited in claim 1, further comprising a visible image splitter splitting an image path of a view of the scene into the first and second paths.

9. A camera as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a first autofocus system to focus on a first autofocus position in the first part of the scene for the first image capture path; and

a second autofocus system to focus on a second autofocus position in the second part of the scene for the second image capture path at a same time as the first autofocus system focuses on the first part.

10. A camera as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a third image capture path having third lens to focus a third visible part of the scene at a third focus; and

the combiner combining the first, second and third parts of the scene at the first, second and third focuses to produce an image.

11. A camera, comprising:

a scene lens capturing a view of a visible light scene;

a splitter splitting the view of the scene through the scene lens into first and second paths;

a first autofocus system determining a first focus on a first focal plane at an apparent magnification for a first part of the view;

a second autofocus system determining a second focus on a second focal plane at a different distance from the camera than the first focal plane at the magnification for a second part of the view (horizontally side-by-side with the first part);

a first lens focusing the first part of the view of the first path responsive to the first focus by moving the first lens;

a second lens focusing the second part of the view of the second path responsive to the second focus by moving the second lens;

a first visible image sensor capturing a first visible image of the scene through the first lens;

a second visible image sensor capturing a second visible image of the scene through the second lens at a same time as the capturing of the first visible image;

a combiner combining the first and second parts of the first and second images into an output image with the images abutting (horizontally side-by-side) responsive to blending the first and second parts in a predetermined pixel width zone abutting boundary using a frequency blending function; and

a display displaying the output image.

12. A camera as recited in claim 11, wherein the first and second parts are normalized responsive to the splitting.

13. A camera, comprising:

a common image lens through which a scene image passes;

a first visible image capture path having a first lens to focus a visible first part of the scene image at a first focus on a first focal plane at a magnification by moving the first lens and capture the first part of the scene using a first visible image sensor;

a second visible image capture path at least in part separate from the first image capture path and having a second lens to focus a second visible part of the scene image adjacent (horizontally side-by-side) to the first part at a second focus on a second focal plane at a different distance from the camera than the first focal plane at the magnification by moving the second lens and capture the second part of the scene using a second visible image sensor at a same time as the first part of the scene is captured;

a combiner combining the first part of the scene at the first focus at an adjacent (horizontally side-by-side) position with the second part of the scene at the second focus to produce a visible output image with adjacent (horizontally side-by-side) first and second parts;

a first autofocus system to focus on a first user adjustable autofocus position in the first part of the scene for the first image capture path; and

a second autofocus system to focus on a second user adjustable autofocus position in the second part of the scene for the second image capture path.