Imaging controller and imaging control method and program

• US 9,756,243 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2013
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Shohara, Makoto, Irino, Yoshiaki, Tanaka, Tomonori, Imae, Nozomi, Takenaka, Hirokazu, Yamamoto, Hideaki, Masuda, Kensuke, Ito, Yoichi, Sawaguchi, Satoshi, Bessho, Daisuke, Satoh, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Jr., Howard D
• Application Number:
  US14/419,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20150222816A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,463 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/08 Control effected solely on the basis of the response, to the intensity of the light received by the camera, of a built-in light-sensitive device
• 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 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/60 Noise processing, e.g. detecting, correcting, reducing or removing noise

Abstract

An imaging controller includes an index calculator to calculate an index value for each of divided areas of images captured by a plurality of imaging units, the index value for evaluating a photographic state of each of the divided areas, an evaluation value calculator to evaluate the images and an overlapping area between the images on the basis of the index value of each divided area calculated by the index calculator and calculate an overall evaluation value, and a condition determiner to determine an imaging condition for each of the imaging units on the basis of the overall evaluation value calculated by the evaluation value calculator.

Claims

1. An imaging controller comprising:

an index calculator to calculate an index value, which is a brightness level to evaluate a brightness, for each of divided areas of images captured by a plurality of imaging units, the index value for evaluating a photographic state of each of the divided areas;

an evaluation value calculator to evaluate the images and an overlapping area between the images on the basis of the index value of each divided area calculated by the index calculator and to calculate brightness level for each of the imaging units to evaluate a total brightness of the images by applying weighting to the overlapping area; and

a condition determiner to determine an imaging condition including an exposure condition for each of the imaging units on the basis of the brightness level for each of the imaging units calculated by the evaluation value calculator.

2. The imaging controller according to claim 1, further comprising a setter to set, for each of the imaging units, a set of weighted values for the divided areas according to a relation of brightness between the images captured by the imaging units.

3. The imaging controller according to claim 1, further comprising a weighting setter to apply weighting to a certain divided area in accordance with the index value calculated for the certain divided area.

4. The imaging controller according to claim 3, wherein the weighting setter is configured to apply weighting to the divided areas such that in a dark scene a divided area for which a larger index value is calculated is given a larger weighting.

5. The imaging controller according to claim 3, wherein the weighting setter is configured to apply weighting to the divided areas such that in a bright scene a divided area for which a smaller index value is calculated is given a larger weighting.

6. The imaging controller according to claim 3, wherein the weighting setter is configured to apply weighting to the divided areas such that a divided area for which the index value as an upper limit threshold or more or a lower limit threshold or less is calculated is given a smaller weighting or zero.

7. The imaging controller according to claim 1, wherein the imaging condition includes at least one of an aperture, an exposure time and a gain.

8. An imaging control method comprising the steps of:

calculating an index value, which is as brightness level to evaluate a brightness, for each of divided areas of images captured by a plurality of imaging units, the index value for evaluating a photographic state of each of the divided areas;

evaluating the images and an overlapping area between the images on the basis of the index value of each divided area calculated in the calculating step;

calculating a brightness level for each of the imaging units to evaluate a total brightness of the images by applying weighting to the overlapping area; and

determining an imaging condition including an exposure condition for each of the imaging units on the basis of the brightness level for each of the imaging units calculated in the evaluating step.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

calculate an index value, which is as brightness level to evaluate a brightness, for each of divided areas of images captured by a plurality of imaging units, the index value for evaluating a photographic state of each of the divided areas;

evaluate the images and an overlapping area between the images on the basis of the index value of each divided area;

calculate a brightness level for each of the imaging units to evaluate a total brightness of the images by applying weighting to the overlapping area; and

determine an imaging condition including an exposure condition for each of the imaging units on the basis of the brightness level for each of the imaging units.