Patents Examined by Trung Diep
  • Patent number: 9363443
    Abstract: A processing control apparatus controls mask processing for an image sensed by an image sensing unit with a variable image sensing position. A storage unit stores a mask setting. A control unit controls the image sensing unit. An obtaining unit obtains, from the control unit, exposure time information representing a progression of exposure by the image sensing unit, and obtains an image sensing position of the image sensing unit. A determination unit determines whether the exposure time information reaches a predetermined value, and determines a position on the image to which the mask processing is performed, based on (i) the image sensing position of the image sensing unit obtained by the obtaining unit and (ii) the mask setting, when the exposure time information reaches the predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Ryuuji Nagaike
  • Patent number: 9354486
    Abstract: An auto focus camera module includes a camera module housing defining an aperture and an internal cavity to accommodate camera module components, an image sensor coupled to or within the housing, a lens barrel within the housing that contains an optical train including at least one movable lens disposed relative to the aperture and image sensor to focus images of scenes onto the image sensor along an optical path, and a fast focus MEMS actuator coupled to one or more lenses of the optical train including the at least one movable lens and configured to rapidly move said at least one movable lens relative to the image sensor to provide autofocus for the camera module in each frame of a preview or video sequence or both.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: DIGITALOPTICS CORPORATION MEMS
    Inventors: Petronel Bigioi, Peter Corcoran, Takanori Miki
  • Patent number: 9357143
    Abstract: An image pickup unit includes: a plurality of pixels each including a photoelectric conversion device and a field-effect transistor. Each of the pixels includes a light-blocking layer in a peripheral region of the photoelectric conversion device, and the light-blocking layer is maintained to a predetermined electric potential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Yamada
  • Patent number: 9350920
    Abstract: An image generating method of an image generating apparatus is provided. The method includes displaying a live view image on a screen of an image generating apparatus, comparing a shutter speed with a frame rate of the live view image when there is a command to image a still image during the displaying of the live view image, adding current frame data of the live view image to next frame data of the live view image to generate added next frame data when the shutter speed is smaller than the frame rate of the live view image, and reading out the added next frame data of the live view image to generate the still image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jae-young Jang, Shuichi Shimokawa, Seung-sik Kim
  • Patent number: 9344627
    Abstract: An image sensor includes a pixel array and an analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion unit. The pixel array generates an analog signal by sensing an incident light. The A/D conversion unit generates a digital signal in a first operation mode by performing a sigma-delta A/D conversion and a cyclic A/D conversion with respect to the analog signal and generates the digital signal in a second operation mode by performing a single-slope A/D conversion with respect to the analog signal. The image sensor provides a high-quality image in a still image photography mode and a dynamic image video mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kwi-Sung Yoo, Yu-Jin Park, Jae-Hong Kim, Jin-Ho Seo, Wun-Ki Jung, Han-Kook Cho, Seog-Heon Ham, Min-Ji Hwang
  • Patent number: 9338368
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging device configured to convert light into an electric signal and to output the electric signal; an exposure control section configured to variably control an exposure period of the imaging device with use of an electronic shutter; and a flicker detection section configured to detect a flicker based on variation in an output signal from the imaging device when speed of the electronic shutter is varied from relatively-high speed to relatively-low speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Daisuke Kasai
  • Patent number: 9332178
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of image acquiring and an electronic device. The method comprises: obtaining first image purpose information, wherein the first image purpose information corresponds to a first application; determining a first algorithm corresponding to the first image purpose information from at least two algorithms which are different from each other, based on the first image purpose information; and acquiring a first image data for the use of the first application based on the first algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: LENOVO (BEIJING) LIMITED
    Inventor: Zhou Yu
  • Patent number: 9319548
    Abstract: Devices, methods, and software are disclosed for an interactive user interface for capturing a frame of image data having a representation of a feature. In an illustrative embodiment, a device includes an imaging subsystem, one or more memory components, and one or more processors. The imaging subsystem is capable of providing image data representative of light incident on said imaging subsystem. The one or more memory components include at least a first memory component operatively capable of storing an input frame of the image data. The one or more processors may be enabled for performing various steps. One step may include receiving the image data from the first memory component. Another step may include attempting to identify linear features defining a candidate quadrilateral form in the image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Hand Held Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Edward Showering, Eize Oosting
  • Patent number: 9313388
    Abstract: Provided is a fluorescence observation device comprising an illuminating section that emits excitation light and illumination light onto a subject; a fluorescence-image capturing section that acquires a fluorescence image by image-capturing fluorescence generated in the subject by irradiation with the excitation light from the illuminating section; a return-light-image capturing section that acquires a return-light image by image-capturing return light that returns from the subject by irradiation with the illumination light from the illuminating section; a region extracting section that extracts a high-luminance region in which the fluorescence image acquired by the fluorescence-image capturing section has a gradation level higher than or equal to a set threshold value; and a threshold setting section that sets the threshold value higher as the gradation level of the return-light image acquired by the return-light-image capturing section increases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiromi Shida
  • Patent number: 9313401
    Abstract: A method comprising receiving video information from a camera module such that the video information has a first frame rate, determining that at least a part of an object of interest is represented in the video information within a frame rate designation region of the video information, causing configuration of the camera module to capture the video information at a second frame rate, receiving the video information from the camera module such that the video information has the second frame rate, determining that at least a part of the object of interest is unrepresented in the video information within the frame rate designation region of the video information, causing configuration of the camera module to capture the video information at the first frame rate, and receiving the video information from the camera module such that the video information has the first frame rate is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: HERE Global B.V.
    Inventors: Sebastian Frey, Vidyut Samanta, Charlie Sutton
  • Patent number: 9313376
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods to control the power consumption of a battery powered platform comprising at least one depth camera. The battery powered platform may adjust the consumption of one or more systems of the depth camera, or other systems on the battery powered platform to alter the power consumption of the battery powered platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Joseph Bertolami, John Allen Tardif
  • Patent number: 9307123
    Abstract: A noise reduction apparatus includes an input unit to input a captured image signal from a capturing unit. An acquisition unit acquires, according to a user operation, a temporal noise signal of the capturing unit based on the captured image signal. An estimation unit estimates an ideal image signal that has no noise, based on the captured image signal and the temporal noise signal. A removing unit removes a temporal frequency component higher than a predetermined threshold from each of the estimated ideal image signal and the acquired temporal noise signal. A generating unit generates a filter used for temporal noise reduction for a captured image signal in accordance with an added signal obtained by adding the ideal image signal from which the temporal frequency component has been removed by the removing unit and the noise signal from which the temporal frequency component has been removed by the removing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Satoshi Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9300856
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for adjusting compression rate based on the image size analysis in a camera device are provided. The image processing apparatus includes a compression rate determiner which determines a compression rate according to complexity of an image by extracting auto focus filter values of the image acquired from the camera, a processor which processes the image acquired from the camera in a unit of the line, and a still image codec which compresses line images output from the processor at the compression rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sungjun Yim, Myoungwon Kim, Moonsoo Kim, Jaedong Kim, Kangmin Lee, Jongheum Han
  • Patent number: 9285868
    Abstract: An example camera device includes an image capturing unit configured to capture an image, and a storage unit configured to store first attribute information of a target object used for identifying the target object from the image. The camera device also includes an identification unit, a requesting unit, and a storage control unit. The identification unit is configured to identify the target object in the image captured by the image capturing unit based on the first attribute information. The requesting unit is configured to request an external device to identify the target object when the identification unit is not able to identify the target object. The storage control unit is configured to receive second attribute information of the target object from the external device that is requested to identify the target object, and control the storage unit to store the second received attribute information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tomoki Watanabe, Ryuzo Okada
  • Patent number: 9282265
    Abstract: A camera device includes a single imaging sensor, a plurality of imaging objectives associated with the single imaging sensor, and a plurality of dedicated image areas within the single imaging sensor, each of the plurality of dedicated image areas corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of imaging objectives, such that images formed by each of the plurality of imaging objectives may be recorded by the single imaging sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin Ka Kei Leung, Wen Hua Lin
  • Patent number: 9282234
    Abstract: A focus adjustment apparatus comprises: a focus adjustment unit configured to execute focus adjustment processing by driving a focus lens based on focus evaluation values calculated respectively for periodically sensed images while scanning the focus lens within a predetermined scan range; a first processing unit configured to execute processing, an operation of which is affected by driving of the focus lens; a second processing unit configured to execute processing, an operation of which is not affected by driving of the focus lens; a determination unit configured to determine a start position of the scan range; and a control unit configured to control the first processing unit to execute the processing before the focus lens is scanned to the start position, and controls the second processing unit to execute the processing during the scan of the focus lens to the start position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masaaki Uenishi
  • Patent number: 9277137
    Abstract: Two or more imagers having associated frame rates are each configured with a global shutter having an exposure interval less than a frame interval. The exposure interval for a first imager is offset from the exposure interval of a second imager such that the first imager is exposed while the second imager is not exposed. When interleaved, an effective frame rate exceeds the individual frame rates provided by the individual imagers. This interleaved imaging system may be used to recover, at high frame rates, images that are projected from spatial light modulators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher David Coley, William Thomas Weatherford, Robert Allan Yuan, Eric Gifford Marason
  • Patent number: 9277126
    Abstract: A single user input element in an image capture device is used for both photo and video capture. Based on a first user interface activity, a timing reference is engaged at a first reference time. In a first case, photo capture is performed. In the first case, a second reference time is based on a second user interface activity, and the timing reference indicates a passage of time between the two reference times is shorter than a particular time interval. In a second case, video capture is performed. In the second case, the timing reference indicates a passage of time since the first reference time is equal to or longer than the particular time interval. Video capture is stopped based on a subsequent user interface activity. The user interface activities may comprise detecting actions based on the same type of physical manipulation of the single user input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: Snapchat, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard E. Marlin, Michael J. Mathias, Kristian D. Diakov
  • Patent number: 9277116
    Abstract: An imaging device includes an imaging unit that receives light coming from a subject and thus generates electronic image data; a display unit that displays an image corresponding to the image data; an angle-of-view setting unit that an angle of view to be changed for the image displayed by the display unit according to a first signal input from the outside; and a control unit that starts control of change to a predetermined angle of view set by the angle-of-view setting unit according to a second signal different from the first signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinori Matsuzawa, Tsuyoshi Yaji, Osamu Nonaka
  • Patent number: 9270897
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a correction parameter calculation unit for calculating a motion blur correction parameter for motion blur correction on the basis of motion information indicating a motion of an image between unit images, the unit images forming image data, and shutter speed information obtained at the image capturing of the image data, and a motion blur correction processing unit for correcting a motion blur quantity contained in the image data by performing at least a process of reducing a motion blur in accordance with the motion blur correction parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ito, Seiji Kobayashi