IMAGING DEVICE, IMAGING SYSTEM, AND IMAGING METHOD

• US 20150288886A1
• Filed: 06/19/2015
• Published: 10/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Oba, Eiji
• Granted Patent: US 10,110,820 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

An imaging device includes: an image sensor that photoelectrically converts subject light to generate image signals; a storage portion that sets a second area within a first area so as to correspond to a specific area specified by a setting value for setting an extracting range of an image based on the image signals; a timing adjustment unit that adjusts the timing at which the image signals are read from the image sensor and written to the storage portion and the timing at which the image signals are read from the storage portion; an image conversion processor that performs predetermined processing on the image based on the image signals read from the image sensor; an output unit that converts processed image signals with continuous scanning timing into image signals of a predetermined format and outputs the image signals to a display unit.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A display control apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

a control unit configured to control a display in a panorama view mode for displaying an entire image and in a multi-image view mode for displaying a left-directional image, a right-directional image and a one-directional image; and

an output unit configured to output image data in the panorama view mode or the multi-image view mode.

12. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 11,

wherein the entire image is captured by a single camera which includes a wide-angle lens.

13. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 12, further comprising

an image conversion unit configured to remove image distortion in the left-directional image and the right-directional image and the one-directional image.

14. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 11,

wherein the control unit is configured to control the display to generate a rectangular image as the one-directional image.

15. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 14,

wherein the rectangular image exhibits a size that is changeable by a user.

16. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 11,

wherein the one-directional image is displayed on an upper portion of the display.

17. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 16,

wherein the one-directional image is displayed as a horizontally expanded image.

18. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 17,

wherein the left-directional image and the right-directional image are displayed in display areas below a display area of the one-directional image and in a scale relatively enlarged with respect to the scale of the display of the one-directional image.

19. The display control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 11,

wherein the display of the panorama view mode and display of the multi-image view mode are switchable by a user.

20. A method for controlling a display for a vehicle, comprising:

controlling the display in a panorama view mode to display an entire image and in a multi-image view mode to display a left-directional image, a right-directional image and a one-directional image; and

outputting image data to the display for the panorama view mode or the multi-image view mode.

21. The method of claim 20, comprising capturing the entire image by a single camera which includes a wide-angle lens.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising removing image distortion in the left-directional image and the right-directional image and the one-directional image.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the one-directional image is displayed as a rectangular image.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the rectangular image exhibits a size that is changeable by a user.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising displaying the one-directional image on an upper portion of the display.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising displaying the one-directional image as a horizontally expanded image.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising displaying the left-directional image and the right-directional image in display areas below a display area of the one-directional image and in a scale relatively enlarged with respect to the scale of the display of the one-directional image.

28. The method of claim 20, further comprising switching, by a user, between the display of the panorama view mode and display of the multi-image view mode.

29. A display control system for a vehicle comprising:

an image pickup device; and

control apparatus, including

a control unit configured to control a display in a panorama view mode for displaying an entire image and in a multi-image view mode for displaying a left-directional image, a right-directional image and a one-directional image; and

an output unit configured to output image data in the panorama view mode or the multi-image view mode.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the image pickup device comprises a single camera which includes a wide-angle lens to capture the entire image.

31. The system of claim 30, further comprising an image conversion unit configured to remove image distortion in the left-directional image and the right-directional image and the one-directional image.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the control unit is configured to control the display to generate a rectangular image as the one-directional image.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the rectangular image exhibits a size that is changeable by a user.

34. The system of claim 29, wherein the one-directional image is displayed on an upper portion of the display.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the one-directional image is displayed as a horizontally expanded image.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the left-directional image and the right-directional image are displayed in display areas below a display area of the one-directional image and in a scale relatively enlarged with respect to the scale of the display of the one-directional image.

37. The system of claim 29, wherein the display of the panorama view mode and display of the multi-image view mode are switchable by a user.