Multiple frame grabber

• US 8,681,274 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2011
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Youliza Gehts BV LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Knoedgen, Horst, Huettmann, Dirk
• Primary Examiner(s): KOSTAK, VICTOR R
• Application Number:
  US13/280,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20120038779A1
• Time in Patent Office: 883 Days
• Field of Search: 348/218.1, 348/153, 348/159, 348/572, 348/714, 348/187, 348/35, 348/36, 348/716, 348/718, 348/383, 348/231.99
• US Class Current: 348/714
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/002 for television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/4448 for frame-grabbing

Abstract

A system is presented that applies M×N×K computational units to calculating image parameters on N picture images captured simultaneously by N digital camera devices, where there are N groups of frame grabber units, each containing M frame grabbers in which there are K computational units. The data operated on by a computational unit is separate and independent from the image data operated on by the other computational units. This results in a performance speedup of M×N×K compared to one computational unit making the same computations. A master frame grabber unit controls the illumination of the N digital camera devices, and synchronizes the illumination with the clocks of the N digital camera devices.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first processing device configured to receive a first portion of an image from an image capture device under test, wherein the first portion of the image comprises a first group of pixel columns and/or pixel rows generated by the image capture device under test in response to illumination; and

a second processing device configured to receive a second portion of the same image from the image capture device under test, wherein the second portion of the image comprises a second separate group of pixel columns and/or pixel rows generated by the image capture device under test in response to the illumination, and wherein the first processing device and the second processing device are configured to process the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image, respectively, in parallel.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first processing device is configured to divide the first portion into sub-portions, and wherein the first processing device includes multiple computational units configured to process corresponding sub-portions in parallel.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the second processing device is configured to divide the second portion into sub-portions, and wherein the second processing device includes multiple computational units configured to process corresponding sub-portions in parallel.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first processing device and the second processing device are located in a frame grabber device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first processing device and the second processing device are located in different frame grabber devices.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first processing device and the second processing device are configured to output the processed first and second portions of the image to a host computer.

7. A method comprising:

receiving an image generated by a device under test;

dividing, by a frame grabber device, a portion of the image into physically separate sub-portions of rows and/or columns;

processing the sub-portions of rows and/or columns for the image in parallel with corresponding computational units in the frame grabber device; and

outputting, by the frame grabber device, the processed sub-portions of the image to a host computer.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the device under test comprises an image capture device and further comprising controlling the image capture device to capture the image.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the controlling of the image capture device further comprises prompting illumination of the image capture device by a light source.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the controlling of the image capture device further comprises synchronizing a capture of the image by the image capture device with the illumination of the image capture device by the light source.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising dividing, by the frame grabber device, the image into multiple portions including the portion of the image divided in the sub-portions.

12. A method comprising:

dividing, by a frame grabber device, a portion of an image into sub-portions;

processing the sub-portions of the image in parallel with corresponding computational units in the frame grabber device; and

outputting, by the frame grabber device, the processed sub-portions of the image to a host computer, wherein the sub-portions include groups of pixels of the image that at least correspond to rows of pixels of the image, columns of pixels of the image, or clusters of pixels in a checkerboard configuration in the image.

13. A device comprising:

a first frame grabber device configured to;

receive a stream of pixels for an image generated by a device under test;

divide a first portion of the stream of pixels for the image by rows and/or columns into sub-portions; and

multiple processing devices operating within the first frame grabber configured to separately process the sub-portions of the image in parallel, respectively.

14. The device of claim 13 further comprising a second frame grabber device configured to divide a second portion of an image into sub-portions, wherein the frame grabber device includes multiple processing devices configured to process the sub-portions of the image in parallel.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the first frame grabber device is configured to divide the image into the first portion and the second portion.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein the first frame grabber device is configured to output the processed sub-portions to a host computer.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein the sub-portions include groups of pixels of the image.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the groups of pixels correspond to rows of pixels of the image.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the groups of pixels correspond to columns of pixels of the image.

20. A device comprising:

a first frame grabber device configured to divide a first portion of an image into sub-portions, wherein the frame grabber device includes multiple processing devices configured to process the sub-portions of the image in parallel, wherein the sub-portions include groups of pixels of the image and the groups of pixel correspond to clusters of pixels in a checkerboard configuration in the image.