Patents Examined by Selam T Gebriel
  • Patent number: 9429688
    Abstract: An image-capturing lens is disclosed in the disclosure. The image-capturing lens includes a central portion and a periphery portion. The central portion includes a plurality of optical elements arranged in a circular fashion, and each of the optical elements differs in thickness. The periphery portion extends peripherally from the central portion and has a constant thickness. The thickness of the periphery portion is smaller than a thickness of one of the plurality of optical elements that is approximate to the periphery portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: HIMAX TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
    Inventors: Yin-Dong Lu, Chuan-Hui Yang
  • Patent number: 9426348
    Abstract: An autofocus camera is provided which restrains and corrects any tilt that may occur in the optical axis direction without the need of providing any additional new sensors for that purpose. The autofocus camera includes an image sensor for receiving light from an object and converting the light into corresponding electrical signals, a lens driving device having a lens for focusing the light from the object upon said image sensor, and a control portion for causing said lens driving device to adjust any tilt that may occur in the optical axis in response to the electrical signals received from said image sensor. The control portion is operated to cause the lens driving device to adjust any tilts of the optical axis with respect to the image sensor in the orthogonal directions with each other, so that the resolution signals at the predetermined positions of said image sensor can be maximized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: New Shicoh Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Junichi Tada, Hiroshi Sato, Manabu Shiraki
  • Patent number: 9420175
    Abstract: To improve the resolution of a stationary region while suppressing artifacts in a moving region, an image processing system includes a misalignment-detecting circuit that detects an amount of misalignment between a plurality of time-series images; a high-resolution combining circuit that, based on the amount of misalignment, combines the plurality of images in a high-resolution space having a higher resolution than the plurality of images to generate a high-resolution combined image; an image-converting circuit that reduces the size of the high-resolution combined image by resampling to generate a converted image; a correlation-calculating circuit that calculates the correlation between a standard image serving as a standard among the plurality of images and the converted image for each region; and an image-correcting circuit that corrects the high-resolution combined image such that the combining ratio of the standard image becomes lower as the correlation calculated by the correlation-calculating circuit be
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Eiji Furukawa
  • Patent number: 9407813
    Abstract: An image capturing apparatus comprises a focus detection unit configured to detect, based on a signal output from an image sensor, a focus evaluation value using one of a plurality of different focus detection methods, a correction unit configured to correct the focus evaluation value in accordance with the focus detection method used for the detection, and a storage unit configured to store information for calculating a reference correction value for correcting a focus evaluation value detected using a predetermined one of the focus detection methods, and information for calculating, from the reference correction value, a correction value for correcting a focus evaluation value detected using another of the focus detection methods. The correction unit calculates a correction value using the information stored in the storage unit, and corrects the focus evaluation value using the calculated correction value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideyuki Hamano, Yumi Takao
  • Patent number: 9402063
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus capable of properly performing white balance control on an image. A photographed image is divided into areas and a color evaluation value is acquired from each area. Infrared light is detected from each of areas of an object defined in association with the areas of the image. White balance correction is performed on the image using a mixed WB correction value calculated by mixing a first WB correction value calculated using the color evaluation values included in a white detection range set in a color space and a second WB correction value calculated using the color evaluation values acquired from areas each having an infrared light amount larger than a predetermined amount and included in a detection range of a predetermined color other than white, set in the color space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hiroaki Kuchiki
  • Patent number: 9392152
    Abstract: An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a PCB mounted with an image sensor, a base installed at an upper surface of the PCB to centrally form an optical path, a lens holder coupled to an upper surface of the base to form an optical path by being mounted with at least one or more sheets of lenses, a variable lens arranged on the optical path centrally formed at the base to control a refractive index of passing light, and an infrared cut-off coating layer provided on a surface of the variable lens to filter an infrared component from the optical path-passing light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: LG INNOTEK CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Min Soo Kim
  • Patent number: 9386194
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises a receptacle configured to receive a mobile computing device that has an integrated image capture component. Further, the apparatus comprises a plurality of handles such that each handle is operably connected to the receptacle. Another apparatus comprises a receptacle configured to receive a mobile computing device that has an integrated image capture component. Further, the apparatus comprises a handle such that the handle is operably connected to the receptacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: iOgrapher, LLC
    Inventor: David Basulto
  • Patent number: 9363435
    Abstract: An image reduction processing section 16 includes a data acquisition section 70 that acquires whether shooting condition data is included in image capture data (including image pickup data) 30 and contents of the shooting condition data, and reduction processing discrimination unit for discriminating at least any of whether reduction association processing (such as low-pass filter processing) associated with reduction processing of generating reduced image data from the image pickup data is executed, a processing parameter (such as a cutoff frequency of low-pass filter processing) of the reduction association processing, and a processing parameter (such as a reduction ratio) of the reduction processing, on the basis of an acquisition result of the shooting condition data. The shooting condition data includes information on the presence or absence of the optical low-pass filter and information on the array of the color filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Akiyoshi Tsuchita
  • Patent number: 9357049
    Abstract: A method of operating a camera including an information supplement function which supports to write a specific type of information desired by a user during a camera operation, and a terminal for supporting the same are provided. The method includes activating the camera module, and outputting to a display unit, an information editing area having an information supplement function together with at least one of a preview area for outputting the preview image, a photographed image area according to completion of photographing, and an on-photographing area according to a state of on-photographing of at least one of time points when a preview image of an object for photographing at least one of a picture and a moving picture by the activated camera module is output, when a photographing for one of a picture and a moving picture is complete, and when a moving picture is being photographed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jaebyeong Han
  • Patent number: 9344609
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a housing, an opening-and-closing unit disposed on a side surface of the housing, and configured to be openable and closable to the housing, a hinge unit configured to have a cam groove formed thereon and to openably and closably couple the opening-and-closing unit with the housing, an electronic circuit board arranged inside the housing and having a switch which outputs a signal corresponding to a state of the switch, and a movable member that moves in conjunction with the cam groove formed in the hinge unit, along with the opening and closing of the opening-and-closing unit, the movable member being movable in a direction parallel to the side surface of the housing to change the state of the switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takuo Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 9331122
    Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present invention, a solid-state imaging device is provided. The solid-state imaging device includes a first-conductivity-type semiconductor region and a second-conductivity-type semiconductor region. The first-conductivity-type semiconductor region is disposed for each pixel of a captured image. The second-conductivity-type semiconductor region constitutes a photoelectric conversion element by a PN junction with the first-conductivity-type semiconductor region, and has second-conductivity-type impurity concentration that decreases from the center of the photoelectric conversion element toward a transfer gate side for transferring signal charge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Motohiro Maeda, Nagataka Tanaka
  • Patent number: 7663687
    Abstract: A digital cinema camera includes a plurality of imagers and a plurality of shutters mounted radially on a frame. A beam splitter disposed at a center of the frame rotates to provide an input optical beam sequentially to the plurality of imagers. When the input optical beam is aligned with a particular one of the imagers, a corresponding one of the shutters is triggered to apply the optical beam on the particular one of the imagers. The electrical signals generated by the imagers are first stored in RAM, and then transferred to a hard disk drive disposed in a removable magazine. This way, the magazine can be replaced with a new magazine, and the latent image data can be downloaded out of the removed magazine for post-processing while new image data is being stored in the new magazine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2010
    Inventor: Glenn Neufeld
  • Patent number: 7643060
    Abstract: The image capturing system includes: a fixed image capturing unit fixedly installed at a predetermined position; a three-dimensional image information storage section for storing a three-dimensional image of the region including the fixed image capturing unit; an image comparison section for comparing a portable captured image captured by a portable image capturing section held by a user with the three-dimensional image stored by the three-dimensional image information storage unit; a position determination section for determining the position and the orientation of the user holding the portable image capturing section based on the comparison result by the image comparison section; and a guiding information presentation section for presenting information for guiding the user to set the user in the frame of a fixed captured image captured by the fixed image capturing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Funakura
  • Patent number: 7639288
    Abstract: In a color separation circuit, a camera comprising such a color separation circuit and a color separation method, an adapted luminance signal is recovered from an image sensor signal using an adaptive wide band filter, wherein the adaptive wide band filter is controlled by the amount of a diagonal energy in the image sensor signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Johan Schirris, Paul Biezen
  • Patent number: 7619652
    Abstract: A picture frame input from an electronic camera is stored in an input-end buffer frame, and read therefrom in a CPU, where it is processed, using a reconstruction table defining a pixelwise image reconstruction and using a correction parameter defining a pixelwise brightness correction, having resultant data stored in an output-end frame buffer, where a corresponding picture frame is reconstructed to be output to a display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Ken Oizumi
  • Patent number: 7602422
    Abstract: An interface for a graphics controller enabling communication with a camera module is provided. The interface includes a first port configured to receive serial image data from a camera module and a second port configured to receive a clock signal, wherein the clock signal is utilized to indicate both a horizontal synchronization and a vertical synchronization for frames of image data received from the camera module. An image capture device having the serial interface and methods for reducing a number of signals utilized for an interface receiving image data are also included.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Phil Van Dyke, Barinder Singh Rai
  • Patent number: 7595825
    Abstract: An image pickup system includes a color noise estimation section, which has a local region extraction section that extracts luminance and color difference signals in units of 4×4 pixels from signals of a CCD with a color filter, an average luminance calculation section that calculates an average luminance value from the luminance signals, a temperature estimation section that estimates a temperature T of the CCD from a signal of an OB region, a gain calculation section that calculates a gain G of the signals based on information from a control section, a coefficient and a function calculation sections for estimating a color noise amount from the average luminance value based on a formulation using the temperature and the gain, and a color noise reducing section that reduces color noise in the color difference signals in units of 4×4 pixels based on the estimated color noise amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2009
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Takao Tsuruoka
  • Patent number: 7593049
    Abstract: In the pixel portions of the CMOS image sensor, a plurality of unit cells are arranged in the row and column directions at a predetermined pitch respectively in a two-dimensional plain forming a matrix. Each unit cell includes the first and second photodiodes PDa and PDb, the first and second transfer transistors Ta and Tb for transferring the stored charges of the photodiodes to their common floating junctions FJ, the reset transistors R for resetting the potential of the floating junctions FJ, the driver transistors D whose output potential is controlled by the potential of the floating junctions FJ, and the address transistors A for selectively driving the driver transistors D. With the arrangement of the elements and wires in the pixel portions, the integration can be increased and the resolution in the horizontal and vertical directions can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Hirokazu Sekine
  • Patent number: 7589767
    Abstract: An image-recording device comprises a recording processor that records a common still image on a plurality of recording media, respectively, which are detachably mounted on the image-recording device. A common unique data is recorded together with the still image on the plurality of recording media in a photographing operation, respectively. In a displaying operation for the still image, the unique data is read out from the plurality of recording media. When the read-out unique data coincide with one another, the image-recording device displays record information indicating that the read-out unique data are identical.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: Hoya Corporation
    Inventors: Koichi Ishibashi, Naoki Yamagata
  • Patent number: 7583291
    Abstract: A photographic processing system is disclosed in which subject and other data is stored in a database and such data is automatically linked to photographs taken using either a film or digital camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2009
    Assignee: Lifetouch, Inc.
    Inventor: Jon A. Holmes