Night vision imaging apparatus

• US 10,652,477 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2018
• Issued: 05/12/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Norikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Jeffery A
• Application Number:
  US16/128,448
• Publication Number:
  US 20190089889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• Field of Search: 348164
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means

Abstract

A night vision imaging apparatus includes a light projecting section, a light amount controller, an imaging section, and a recording section. The light projecting section casts a near infrared ray as illumination light on an illumination area. The light amount controller controls an amount of the illumination light on each one of sub-areas forming the illumination area. The imaging section images the illumination area, and generates image data. The recording section records the image data generated by the imaging section. The light amount controller divides an image shown in the image data into a plurality of divided portions, and determines a light intensity of each one of the plurality of divided portion, and then controls an amount of the illumination light to be casted on a sub-area corresponding to each one of the plurality of divided portions among the sub-areas of the illumination area based on the determined light intensity.

Claims

1. A night vision imaging apparatus comprising:

a light projecting section including a light source element emitting a near infrared ray, a digital micro device (DMD), and a projection optical system, and casting the near infrared ray as illumination light on an illumination area, the near infrared ray being casted through the projection optical system;

a light amount controller controlling an amount of the illumination light on each one of sub-areas forming the illumination area by the DMD, the DMD modulating light based on a modulation signal supplied from a light modulator;

an imaging section imaging the illumination area, and generating image data; and

a recording section recording the image data generated by the imaging section,

wherein the light amount controller divides an image shown in the image data into a plurality of divided portions, and determines a light intensity of each one of the plurality of divided portions, and then controls an amount of the illumination light to be casted on a sub-area corresponding to each one of the plurality of divided portions among the sub-areas of the illumination area based on the determined light intensity by the DMD, and

wherein the light amount controller sets an amount of the illumination light to be casted on a predetermined sub-area of the sub-areas in the illumination area to a fixed value.

2. The night vision imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source element includes semiconductor laser diodes configured to emit the near infrared ray.

3. The night vision imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light amount controller determines the light intensity based on brightness information of the image shown in the image data.

4. The night vision imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light amount controller further includes a function of recognizing a feature of an object in the illumination area from the image data, and controls an amount of the illumination light to be casted on each of the sub-areas in response to the determined light intensity and the recognized features of the object.

5. The night vision imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light projecting section stops casting the illumination light at a predetermined timing, and the light amount controller distinguishes the illumination light between reflection light reflected from the object and object light given off from the illumination area based on the image data generated when the casting of the illumination light is stopped.

6. The night vision imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light amount controller excludes a divided portion having a light intensity equal to or greater than a predetermined value among the plurality of divided portions from a result of the determined light intensity.

7. The night vision imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light amount controller changes a number of the plurality of divided portions in response to brightness information of the image shown in the image data.

8. The night vision imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light amount controller changes a number of the plurality of divided portions in response to a size of the illumination area.

9. A night vision imaging apparatus comprising:

a light projecting section including a light source element emitting a near infrared ray, and casting the near infrared ray as illumination light on an illumination area;

a light amount controller controlling an amount of the illumination light on each one of sub-areas forming the illumination area;

an imaging section imaging the illumination area, and generating image data; and

a recording section recording the image data generated by the imaging section,

wherein the light amount controller divides an image shown in the image data into a plurality of divided portions, and determines a light intensity of each one of the plurality of divided portions, and then controls an amount of the illumination light to be casted on a sub-area corresponding to each one of the plurality of divided portions among the sub-areas of the illumination area based on the determined light intensity, and

wherein the light amount controller sets an amount of the illumination light to be casted on a predetermined sub-area of the sub-areas in the illumination area to a fixed value.