Patents Examined by Yih-Sien Kao
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Patent number: 8823827Abstract: An imaging device and an image crosstalk analysis device are described that may be used to reduce optical crosstalk and radial fall-off in image data. The imaging device may include an image processing unit that applies corrections to the raw image data using newly developed correction algorithms and correction parameters that are generated for the imaging device by the image crosstalk analysis device based on an analysis of uncorrected image data generated by the imaging device. The correction parameters generated for a single imaging device may be loaded to imaging devices of the same make and model as part of the imaging device manufacturing process. Due to the flexible nature of the described processing techniques in which the control parameters are used, improved image quality may be achieved in every image generated by the respective manufactured cameras.Type: GrantFiled: June 19, 2013Date of Patent: September 2, 2014Assignee: Marvell International Ltd.Inventor: Hongxin Li
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Patent number: 8817163Abstract: A measuring unit measures an amount of a detected phase difference from an output of a vibration detection signal from a first detection electrode until an output of a vibration detection signal from a second detection electrode. A setting unit sets a second driving phase difference amount based on the detected phase difference amount measured by the measuring unit when the setting unit sets a first driving phase difference amount set in advance. A first voltage applied by a drive unit to the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode when the setting unit sets the first driving phase difference amount, is lower than a second voltage applied by the drive unit to the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode when the setting unit sets the second driving phase difference amount.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2012Date of Patent: August 26, 2014Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Shinichi Hagiwara
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Patent number: 8817122Abstract: An image pickup apparatus includes a face area selecting unit configured to select at least a face area situated at a first object distance and a face area situated at a second object distance, and to select a face area occupying the smallest area in a picked-up image among two or more face areas in a case where the two or more face areas are situated at the first object distance or at the second object distance.Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2011Date of Patent: August 26, 2014Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Satoshi Okamura
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Patent number: 8804011Abstract: An imaging device includes an imaging unit having an imaging element to conduct photoelectric conversion on incident light from a subject and output an electric signal, a signal gain control unit for controlling an output signal level of the imaging unit, a plurality of defective pixel correction units for correcting defective pixels contained in a signal output from the signal gain control unit, an image signal processing unit for generating an image signal from a signal which is output from the defective pixel correction units, a temperature measurement unit for measuring temperature in the vicinity of the imaging element, and a system control unit for generally controlling the imaging unit, the signal gain control unit, the correction units, and the image signal processing unit. The system control unit uses the plurality of defective pixel correction units jointly and causes them to operate according to occurrence causes of defective pixels.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2011Date of Patent: August 12, 2014Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hirotomo Sai, Shinichi Nonaka, Akira Irinouchi
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Patent number: 8804008Abstract: In a data processing apparatus having a plurality of card slots in which memory cards are removably inserted, it is determined, with regard to each of the plurality of card slots, whether a memory card that has been inserted into the slot is a wireless card having a wireless communication function. In a case where it is determined that a memory card that has been inserted into a first card slot among the plurality of card slots is the wireless card, the wireless communication function of the wireless card is enabled. In a case where it is determined that a memory card that has been inserted into a card slot other than the first card slot is the wireless card, the wireless communication function of the wireless card is disabled.Type: GrantFiled: December 6, 2010Date of Patent: August 12, 2014Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Hideaki Tsujii
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Patent number: 8797415Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for capturing an image using an image capture device equipped with a processor. The method includes receiving an electromagnetic signal transmitted from a remote station, determining a location of the image capture device based on the received electromagnetic signal, establishing communication over a network between the image capture device and a remote server, transmitting a request to the remote server for weather information pertaining to the determined location; receiving the weather information, determining an ambient lighting value based on the weather information, capturing an image using the image capture device, and processing the captured image using the determined ambient lighting value.Type: GrantFiled: September 26, 2011Date of Patent: August 5, 2014Assignee: Google Inc.Inventor: Baron Arnold
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Patent number: 8797462Abstract: A band processing circuit which generates image signals corresponding to different frequency bands from an image signal in which signals corresponding to different colors are arranged and which suppresses noise by synthesizing the image signals of the different frequency bands, a sampling circuit which generates image signal corresponding to the colors by sampling the image signal input from the band processing circuit in accordance with a predetermined arrangement, and a luminance/color generation circuit which generates a luminance signal in which aliasing is suppressed using an image signal output from the sampling circuit.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 2011Date of Patent: August 5, 2014Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Shinya Hirai
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Patent number: 8780228Abstract: An image capture apparatus includes an image sensor of a line-sequential scanning type, an optical database which stores optical characteristics of the optical system in advance, a calculation unit which calculates optical parameters including at least information of a focal length of the optical system for each area of the image sensor based on drive information of the image sensor and drive information of the optical system, a referring unit which refers to optical characteristics corresponding to the optical parameters calculated by the calculation unit of the optical characteristics stored in the optical database, a correction value generation unit which generates correction values used to correct the image signal based on the optical characteristics referred to by the referring unit, and a correction unit which corrects the image signal using the correction values generated by the correction value generation unit.Type: GrantFiled: April 19, 2011Date of Patent: July 15, 2014Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Hiroshi Nakaoka
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Patent number: 8760558Abstract: An imaging device includes a lens array including multiple lenses facing a subject; an image sensor obtaining a compound-eye image including single-eye images of the subject formed by the lenses; and a computing unit processing the compound-eye image obtained by the image sensor. The lenses have different radii of curvature and substantially the same back focal length, and the computing unit extracts an in-focus image from the compound-eye image.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 2010Date of Patent: June 24, 2014Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Nobuhiro Morita, Go Maruyama, Sadao Takahashi, Jun Watanabe, Toshimichi Hagiya, Shin Aoki, Ikuo Maeda
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Patent number: 8749637Abstract: An image recognition device includes: an image sensor that captures an image via an image forming optical system and outputs image information repeatedly; a detector that detects differences between reference image information related to a reference image and a plurality of sets of partial information included in the image information; a recognition circuit that includes a microprocessor and recognizes a set of partial information, for which a smallest difference value among a plurality of differences detected in correspondence to the plurality of sets of partial information is calculated, as information matching the reference image information if the smallest value is smaller than a threshold value; and a controller that includes a microprocessor and sets the threshold value in correspondence to a color indicated in the reference image information.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2012Date of Patent: June 10, 2014Assignee: Nikon CorporationInventor: Keiko Muramatsu
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Patent number: 8743223Abstract: Methods and apparatus for linking captured images using short range communications or a personal area network are described. In an embodiment, an image capture device is described which detects devices in proximity to the device and stores data identifying the devices and the times when they were in proximity. In another embodiment, a computing-based device is described which uses the data stored by an image capture device to identify sequences of images which were captured by a group of devices in proximity to each other and to present these sequences to a viewer concurrently and in temporal alignment.Type: GrantFiled: February 21, 2008Date of Patent: June 3, 2014Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Richard Harper, Philip Gosset, Richard M. Banks
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Patent number: 8736682Abstract: There is provided an image processing apparatus. The apparatus includes a moving image data acquisition unit configured to acquire moving image data representing a moving image, a notable-region specification unit configured to specify, as a notable region, a motion region among a plurality of still images forming the moving image represented by the moving image data acquired by the moving image data acquisition unit, for each still image, and an image processing unit configured to perform image processing of changing a style of each still image, in which the notable region is specified by the notable-region specification unit, into a pictorial image, by using different processes between the notable region in the still image specified by the notable-region specification unit and the rest of the still image.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 2011Date of Patent: May 27, 2014Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.Inventor: Atsushi Sukenori
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Patent number: 8723969Abstract: An image processor in an image capture device compensates for the effects of undesirable camera shakes occurring during video capture The image processor receives a pair of source frames representing images of a scene, generates a pair of subsampled frames from the source frames, and computes a coarse displacement of the captured image due to camera shakes by comparing the two subsampled frames. The image processor may then refine the determined coarse displacement by comparing the two source frames and a bound determined by an extent of subsampling, and compensate for the displacement accordingly. Display aberrations such as blank spaces caused due to shifting are also avoided by displaying only a portion of the captured image and shifting the displayed portion to compensate for camera shake. The image processor also recognizes displacements due to intentional camera movement, and does not correct for such displacements.Type: GrantFiled: March 20, 2007Date of Patent: May 13, 2014Assignee: Nvidia CorporationInventors: Shashank Garg, Vinayak Pore, Ashish Thakur, Shang-Hung Lin
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Patent number: 8692903Abstract: An imaging device includes an imaging element configured to convert light that has entered from an optical system into an electric signal, and to output the electric signal as an imaging signal, a macro shooting determination section configured to determine whether shooting is macro shooting or not, a low color temperature light source determination section configured to determine whether or not the shooting is performed in a lower color temperature light source based on color information, a first white balance correction coefficient calculator configured to calculate a white balance correction coefficient so as to obtain an image in which a color of the low color temperature light source is added, and a second white balance correction coefficient calculator configured to calculate a white balance correction coefficient so as to obtain an image in which the color of the low color temperature light source is not added in the lower color temperature light source and in the macro shooting.Type: GrantFiled: February 11, 2011Date of Patent: April 8, 2014Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventor: Kenichiroh Nomura
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Patent number: 8687096Abstract: A piecewise linear processing device applies different amplification rates according to a general environment and a low luminance environment where much noise exists. The piecewise linear processing device includes a knee point storing unit configured to store a user's default setting value and low luminance setting value; a luminance detecting unit configured to detect a noisy environment to output a current luminance information signal and a maximum luminance information signal; an adaptive knee point supply unit configured to receive the default setting value, the low luminance setting value, the current luminance information signal, and the maximum luminance information signal to supply a adjusted adaptive knee point according to a degree of noise; and a piecewise linear processing unit configured to apply a section amplification rate to an input data on the basis of a region corresponding to the adaptive knee point.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2011Date of Patent: April 1, 2014Assignee: Intellectual Ventures II LLCInventor: Pyeong-Woo Lee
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Patent number: 8681238Abstract: An image processing device includes a recording control unit that controls recording of an image of a predetermined frame among images of a plurality of consecutive frames, a trim box setting unit that sets a plurality of trim boxes containing a subject area which is an area of a subject of interest in the image of the predetermined frame recorded by the recording control unit, and a generation control unit that controls generation of the plurality of trim images from the image of the predetermined frame recorded by the recording control unit, based on the plurality of trim boxes set by the trim box setting unit.Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2011Date of Patent: March 25, 2014Assignee: Sony CorporationInventor: Masaya Kinoshita
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Patent number: 8654230Abstract: Disclosed herein is an image pickup circuit including: amplifying means for amplifying a charge corresponding to an amount of light received by a photodetector, and outputting a pixel signal; ramp signal generating means for generating a ramp signal whose voltage drops with a fixed slope from a predetermined initial voltage; and comparing means for comparing the pixel signal output by the amplifying means with the ramp signal output by the ramp signal generating means. A reference potential of the pixel signal output by the amplifying means and a reference potential of the ramp signal output by the ramp signal generating means are at a same level.Type: GrantFiled: April 24, 2008Date of Patent: February 18, 2014Assignee: Sony CorporationInventors: Hayato Wakabayashi, Yoshiaki Inada, Ken Koseki
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Patent number: 8654207Abstract: An image pickup apparatus includes a color component acquiring unit that acquires picked-up-image color-component signals representing color components of a picked-up image, a face detecting unit that detects a face, a skin-color-region color-component acquiring unit that, when the picked-up image includes a face, acquires skin-color-region color-component signals based on a face detection result, a skin-color-eliminated-component-signal-information creating unit that creates skin-color-eliminated component-signal information obtained by eliminating the skin-color-region color-component signals, obtained by the skin-color-region color-component acquiring unit, from the picked-up-image color-component signals obtained by the color component acquiring unit, a white-balance-gain setting unit that sets a white balance gain by using the skin-color-eliminated component-signal information, and a white balance control unit that performs white balance adjustment of the color components of the picked-up image by usingType: GrantFiled: October 11, 2007Date of Patent: February 18, 2014Assignee: Sony CorporationInventor: Huakun Huang
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Patent number: 8654217Abstract: A system and method for detecting dust (18) on an image sensor (20) from a single captured image (14) of an actual scene (12) includes a control system (22) that evaluates at least one of a hue channel (466), a value channel (470), and a saturation channel (468) of the captured image (14) to determine if there is dust (18) on the image sensor (20). For example, the control system (22) can evaluate the hue channel (466) and the value channel (470) of the captured image (14) to determine if there is dust (18) on the image sensor (20). With information from the hue channel (466) and the value channel (470), the control system (22) can compute a computed probability (572) of dust (18) for a plurality of pixels (362) of the captured image (14).Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 2008Date of Patent: February 18, 2014Assignee: Nikon CorporationInventor: Hany Farid
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Patent number: 8643753Abstract: An image pickup apparatus and a method thereof are provided. The apparatus includes a sensor array and an ADC array. The sensor array includes M×N sensor blocks SB(i,j). The sensor block includes P×Q image sensing elements Se(x,y). The ADC array is located at another side of the illuminated side of the sensor array. The ADC array includes M×N ADCs ADC(i,j). The ADC(i,j) coupled to the sensor block SB(i,j) obtains the image data Data(x,y) from the image sensing element Se(x,y) of the sensor block SB(i,j). The ADC(i,j) evaluates the gain G(x,y) based on the position of the image sensing element Se(x,y). The compensated image data Datacom(x,y) can be outputted and Datacom(x,y)=Data(x,y)×G(x,y). The image pickup apparatus could improve the optical shading problem.Type: GrantFiled: February 11, 2011Date of Patent: February 4, 2014Assignee: Industrial Technology Research InstituteInventors: Chung-Chi Li, Ka-Yi Yeh