METHOD AND APPARATUS TO CORRECT BLUR IN ALL OR PART OF A DIGITAL IMAGE BY COMBINING PLURALITY OF IMAGES

• US 20180027184A1
• Filed: 09/25/2017
• Published: 01/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clear Imaging Research, LLC
• Original Assignee: Fatih M. Ozluturk
• Inventors: Ozluturk, Fatih M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,171,740 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/646 compensating for small deviations, e.g. due to vibration or shake movement of one or more optical elements for control of motion blur in cameras, projectors or printers G03B2205/0007; image stabilisation in cameras peculiar to the presence or use of an electronic image sensor H04N23/68
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20024 Filtering details
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20201 Motion blur correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20212 Image combination
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/681 Motion detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6811 based on the image signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6812 based on additional sensors, e.g. acceleration sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/683 performed by a processor, e.g. controlling the readout of an image memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/687 by shifting the lens or sensor position
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/615 involving a transfer function modelling the optical system, e.g. optical transfer function [OTF], phase transfer function [PhTF] or modulation transfer function [MTF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/265 Mixing

Abstract

A method and apparatus for use in a digital imaging device for correcting image blur in digital images by combining plurality of images. The plurality of images that are combined include a main subject that can be selected by user input or automatically by the digital imaging device. Blur correction can be performed to make the main subject blur-free while the rest of the image is blurred. All of the image may be made blur-free or the main subject can be made blur-free at the expense of the rest of the image. Result is a blur corrected image that is recorded in a memory.

Claims

1. A method for use in an imaging device, the method comprising:

displaying an image in a user interface of the device;

receiving a user input in the user interface, wherein the user input designates a first subject in the image;

capturing a plurality of images using an image sensor of the device, wherein the plurality of images include the first subject and a second subject;

combining the plurality of images by a processor of the device to obtain a combined image, such that;

the combined image includes the first subject and the second subject,

the first subject in the combined image is substantially blur free, and

the second subject in the combined image is blurred compared to the first image; and

storing the combined image in a memory of the device.