Digital camera for capturing an image sequence

• US 8,736,704 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2011
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Jasinski, David Wayne, Fintel, William Vernon
• Primary Examiner(s): BERARDESCA, PAUL M
• Application Number:
  US13/071,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20120242853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• Field of Search: 348/220.1, 348/221.1, 348/222.1, 348/208.1, 382/103, 382/107
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay

Abstract

A digital camera having a burst image capture mode, comprising: an image sensor; an optical system; a data processing system; an image memory; and a program memory storing instructions configured to implement a method for capturing a sequence of digital images in the burst image capture mode. The instructions include: capturing a sequence of digital images of the scene using the image sensor, each digital image being captured at a different time; identifying a moving object in the captured digital images; automatically determining the position of the moving object in each of the captured digital images; automatically selecting a subset of the captured digital images where the moving object has positions that most nearly correspond to a set of desirable positions; and storing the selected subset of captured digital images in the image memory.

Claims

1. A digital camera having a burst image capture mode, comprising:

an image sensor for capturing a digital image;

an optical system for forming an image of a scene onto the image sensor;

a data processing system;

an image memory for storing captured digital images; and

a program memory communicatively connected to the data processing system and storing instructions configured to cause the data processing system to;

capture a sequence of digital images of the scene using the image sensor, each digital image in the sequence of captured digital images being captured at a different time;

identify a moving object in the sequence of captured digital images;

determine, automatically, a position of the moving object in each of the sequence of captured digital images;

select, automatically, a subset of digital images from the sequence of captured digital images wherein the moving object has positions that most nearly correspond to a set of desirable positions by causing the data processing system to;

determine a range of positions for the moving object in the sequence of captured digital images;

determine a desired spacing between the positions of the moving object responsive to the determined range of positions and a specified number of digital images to be included in the subset of digital images;

determine a set of desirable positions for the moving object responsive to the desired spacing; and

identify the subset of digital images wherein the positions of the moving object most nearly correspond to the set of desirable positions; and

store the selected subset of digital images in the image memory.

2. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the specified number of digital images is determined such that the position of the moving object in each of the digital images in the subset of digital images will be substantially non overlapping with the positions of the moving object in the other digital images in the subset of digital images.

3. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the sequence of digital images is captured at a predetermined frame rate.

4. The digital camera of claim 3 wherein the instructions configured to cause the data processing system to capture the sequence of digital images are initiated by activation of a shutter button, and wherein digital images are captured at the predetermined frame rate until deactivation of the shutter button.

5. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the captured sequence of digital images includes a predefined number of digital images.

6. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the moving object is an object determined to be a fastest moving object in the scene.

7. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the digital images in the stored subset of digital images are combined to form a composite image, and wherein the composite image is stored in the image memory.

8. The digital camera of claim 7 wherein the composite image comprises a montage image that includes each of the digital images in the stored subset of digital images.

9. The digital camera of claim 7 wherein the composite image is formed by instructions configured to cause the data processing system to extract the moving object from each of the digital images in the stored subset of digital images and combine each said extracted moving object onto a common background image.

10. The digital camera of claim 9 wherein the common background image corresponds to a background from one of the digital images in the stored subset of digital images, or to a combination of the backgrounds from a plurality of the digital images in the stored subset of digital images.

11. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the captured digital images not in the identified subset of digital images are discarded.

12. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the captured sequence of digital images comprises a digital video sequence.

13. An image capture method, comprising:

capturing a sequence of digital images of a scene using an image sensor, each digital image in the sequence of captured digital images being captured at a different time;

identifying a moving object in the sequence of captured digital images;

automatically determining a position of the moving object in each of the sequence of captured digital images;

automatically selecting a subset of digital images from the sequence of captured digital images wherein the moving object has positions that most nearly correspond to a set of desirable positions by

determining a range of positions for the moving object in the sequence of captured digital images,

determining a desired spacing between the positions of the moving object responsive to the determined range of positions and a specified number of digital images to be included in the subset of digital images,

determining a set of desirable positions for the moving object responsive to the desired spacing, and

identifying the subset of digital images wherein the positions of the moving object most nearly correspond to the set of desirable positions; and

storing the selected subset of digital images in an image memory.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the specified number of digital images is determined such that the position of the moving object in each of the digital images in the subset of digital images will be substantially non-overlapping with the positions of the moving object in the other digital images in the subset of digital images.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the sequence of digital images is captured at a predetermined frame rate.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the digital images in the subset of digital images are combined to form a composite image, and wherein the composite image is stored in the image memory.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the composite image comprises a montage image that includes each of the digital images in the subset of digital images.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the composite image is formed by extracting the moving object from each of the digital images in the subset of digital images and combining each said extracted moving object onto a common background image.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the captured sequence of digital images comprise a digital video sequence.

20. A non-transitory program storage device comprising instructions stored thereon to cause one or more processors to:

capture a sequence of digital images of the scene using the image sensor, each digital image in the sequence of captured digital images being captured at a different time;

identify a moving object in the sequence of captured digital images;

determine, automatically, a position of the moving object in each of the sequence of captured digital images;

select, automatically, a subset of digital images from the sequence of captured digital images wherein the moving object has positions that most nearly correspond to a set of desirable positions by causing the data processing system to -

determine a range of positions for the moving object in the sequence of captured digital images;

determine a desired spacing between the positions of the moving object responsive to the determined range of positions and a specified number of digital images to be included in the subset of digital images;

determine a set of desirable positions for the moving object responsive to the desired spacing; and

identify the subset of digital images wherein the positions of the moving object most nearly correspond to the set of desirable positions; and

store the selected subset of digital images in the image memory.