Patents by Inventor Atsuro Okazawa

Atsuro Okazawa has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11948328
    Abstract: An image-processing device that includes at least one processor which is configured to: set discrete measurement regions in a standard image and a reference image selected from images acquired in a time series manner and calculate motion vectors in the respective measurement regions; set a region of interest in the standard image; select, from the calculated motion vectors, the motion vectors in the set region of interest; estimate a homographic-transformation matrix that represents a motion in the region of interest by using the selected motion vectors; evaluate an error in the homographic-transformation matrix on the basis of the estimated homographic-transformation matrix and the calculated motion vectors; and set, on the basis of the evaluation result for the homographic-transformation matrix estimated on the basis of a first region of interest, a second region of interest a size of which is increased as compared with that of the first region of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kosuke Kajimura, Atsuro Okazawa
  • Patent number: 11164320
    Abstract: A corresponding region movement amount calculation unit calculates the amount of movement of each of a plurality of corresponding characteristic regions between a reference image and a base image. A clustering processing unit groups one or more characteristic regions exhibiting a substantially identical tendency in the calculated amounts of movement as belonging to a plane group located on the same plane, and classifies the plurality of characteristic regions in one or more plane groups. A projection transform matrix calculation unit calculates one or more projection transform matrices, by using the amounts of movement of the characteristic regions and the result of the grouping performed by the clustering processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro Okazawa
  • Publication number: 20210335001
    Abstract: An image-processing device that includes at least one processor which is configured to: set discrete measurement regions in a standard image and a reference image selected from images acquired in a time series manner and calculate motion vectors in the respective measurement regions; set a region of interest in the standard image; select, from the calculated motion vectors, the motion vectors in the set region of interest; estimate a homographic-transformation matrix that represents a motion in the region of interest by using the selected motion vectors; evaluate an error in the homographic-transformation matrix on the basis of the estimated homographic-transformation matrix and the calculated motion vectors; and set, on the basis of the evaluation result for the homographic-transformation matrix estimated on the basis of a first region of interest, a second region of interest a size of which is increased as compared with that of the first region of interest.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2021
    Publication date: October 28, 2021
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kosuke KAJIMURA, Atsuro OKAZAWA
  • Publication number: 20210201533
    Abstract: An information processing device includes an acquisition interface and a processor. The acquisition interface acquires a first detection image obtained by capturing an image of a plurality of target objects including a first target object and a second target object, which is more transparent to visible light than the first target object, using the visible light, and a second detection image obtained by capturing an image of the plurality of target objects using infrared light. The processor obtains a first feature amount based on the first detection image, obtains a second feature amount based on the second detection image, and calculates a third feature amount corresponding to a difference between the first feature amount and the second feature amount. The processor detects a position of the second target object in at least one of the first detection image and the second detection image, based on the third feature amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Publication date: July 1, 2021
    Applicants: OLYMPUS CORPORATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
    Inventors: Atsuro Okazawa, Tomoyuki Takahata, Tatsuya Harada
  • Patent number: 11037310
    Abstract: An image processing device includes circuitry configured to: calculate a displacement of each of a plurality of corresponding feature regions between a reference image and a base image; calculate, as a evaluation score, difference value between displacements of two feature regions adjacent to each other in at least one of the up/down direction, the left/right direction, and the oblique 45° direction; determine an abnormal region on the basis of the score; classify other feature regions excluding the abnormal feature region; calculate a projection conversion matrix by using the displacement of the other feature regions and the result of the classification; calculate a degree of alignment of each pixel of the reference image with respect to each pixel of the base image by using the matrix; and generate a combined image by combining the reference image converted based on the degree of alignment with the base image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuro Okazawa, Kosuke Kajimura
  • Publication number: 20200311949
    Abstract: A corresponding region movement amount calculation unit calculates the amount of movement of each of a plurality of corresponding characteristic regions between a reference image and a base image. A clustering processing unit groups one or more characteristic regions exhibiting a substantially identical tendency in the calculated amounts of movement as belonging to a plane group located on the same plane, and classifies the plurality of characteristic regions in one or more plane groups. A projection transform matrix calculation unit calculates one or more projection transform matrices, by using the amounts of movement of the characteristic regions and the result of the grouping performed by the clustering processing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2020
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro OKAZAWA
  • Patent number: 10715723
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes at least one processor configured to execute processes including: calculating a misalignment amount of each pixel of a reference image relative to a standard image; and combining the reference image converted based on the calculated amount with the standard image. The calculating includes: calculating a projection conversion matrix for each of planes with different misalignment amounts in the reference image; generating a plane map in which the plane to which each pixel of the reference image belongs and the matrix to be applied to each plane are selected based on a difference value between the standard image and each of the alignment images converted from the reference image by using each calculated matrix; suppressing a selection error of the matrix; and calculating the misalignment amount for each of the planes based on the plane map in which the selection error of the matrix is suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro Okazawa
  • Publication number: 20200098119
    Abstract: An image processing device includes circuitry configured to: calculate a displacement of each of a plurality of corresponding feature regions between a reference image and a base image; calculate, as a evaluation score, difference value between displacements of two feature regions adjacent to each other in at least one of the up/down direction, the left/right direction, and the oblique 45° direction; determine an abnormal region on the basis of the score; classify other feature regions excluding the abnormal feature region; calculate a projection conversion matrix by using the displacement of the other feature regions and the result of the classification; calculate a degree of alignment of each pixel of the reference image with respect to each pixel of the base image by using the matrix; and generate a combined image by combining the reference image converted based on the degree of alignment with the base image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2019
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuro OKAZAWA, Kosuke KAJIMURA
  • Patent number: 10491815
    Abstract: An image-processing apparatus includes a computer configured to: detect a positional-displacement amount between low-resolution images including a standard image and at least one reference image that are acquired in a time series; generate a high-resolution combined image by positioning, based on the positional-displacement amount detected, pixel information of the reference image at a standard-image position and by performing combining thereof in a high-resolution image space; evaluate a positioning error caused by a resolution-enhancement magnification used when positioning the reference image in the high-resolution image space when generating the high-resolution combined image; and correct the high-resolution combined image based on the evaluation result, wherein the correcting of the high-resolution combined image combines a high-resolution correction image generated by applying a filter to the high-resolution combined image based on the evaluation result obtained, and the high-resolution combined image i
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kosuke Kajimura, Atsuro Okazawa, Takeshi Fukutomi
  • Patent number: 10491840
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus of the present invention includes: an image pickup optical system configured to form a subject image; an image pickup device configured to photoelectrically convert the subject image formed by the image pickup optical system, wherein part of pixels in a region provided with image formation pixels arranged in a matrix are arranged as focus detection pixels; an optical influence estimation unit configured to use output signals from the image formation pixels, output signals from the focus detection pixels, and two-dimensional pixel position information of the focus detection pixels to estimate a level of influence of vignetting caused by the image optical system according to an image height; and an optical influence correction unit configured to execute image processing with different details that vary according to an estimation result of the optical influence estimation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro Okazawa
  • Publication number: 20190208122
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes at least one processor configured to execute processes including: calculating a misalignment amount of each pixel of a reference image relative to a standard image; and combining the reference image converted based on the calculated amount with the standard image. The calculating includes: calculating a projection conversion matrix for each of planes with different misalignment amounts in the reference image; generating a plane map in which the plane to which each pixel of the reference image belongs and the matrix to be applied to each plane are selected based on a difference value between the standard image and each of the alignment images converted from the reference image by using each calculated matrix; suppressing a selection error of the matrix; and calculating the misalignment amount for each of the planes based on the plane map in which the selection error of the matrix is suppressed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2019
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro OKAZAWA
  • Publication number: 20190149728
    Abstract: An image-processing apparatus includes a computer configured to: detect a positional-displacement amount between low-resolution images including a standard image and at least one reference image that are acquired in a time series; generate a high-resolution combined image by positioning, based on the positional-displacement amount detected, pixel information of the reference image at a standard-image position and by performing combining thereof in a high-resolution image space; evaluate a positioning error caused by a resolution-enhancement magnification used when positioning the reference image in the high-resolution image space when generating the high-resolution combined image; and correct the high-resolution combined image based on the evaluation result, wherein the correcting of the high-resolution combined image combines a high-resolution correction image generated by applying a filter to the high-resolution combined image based on the evaluation result obtained, and the high-resolution combined image i
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2018
    Publication date: May 16, 2019
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kosuke KAJIMURA, Atsuro OKAZAWA, Takeshi FUKUTOMI
  • Patent number: 10178333
    Abstract: An image sensor comprising a plurality of imaging pixels, a plurality of focus detecting pixels in which opening positions of light receiving sections are shifted from those of the imaging pixels, and a plurality of color filters arranged corresponding to the imaging pixels and the focus detecting pixels, wherein first focus detecting pixels in which opening positions are shifted in a first direction are arranged at positions corresponding to first color filters of the imaging pixels, and second focus detecting pixels in which opening positions are shifted in the first direction and which have opening ratios different from those of the first focus detecting pixels are arranged at positions corresponding to the first color filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Atsuro Okazawa
  • Publication number: 20180191976
    Abstract: An image sensor comprising a plurality of imaging pixels, a plurality of focus detecting pixels in which opening positions of light receiving sections are shifted from those of the imaging pixels, and a plurality of color filters arranged corresponding to the imaging pixels and the focus detecting pixels, wherein first focus detecting pixels in which opening positions are shifted in a first direction are arranged at positions corresponding to first color filters of the imaging pixels, and second focus detecting pixels in which opening positions are shifted in the first direction and which have opening ratios different from those of the first focus detecting pixels are arranged at positions corresponding to the first color filters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2018
    Publication date: July 5, 2018
    Inventors: Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Atsuro OKAZAWA
  • Patent number: 10003760
    Abstract: An image sensor comprising a plurality of imaging pixels and a plurality of focus detecting pixels in which opening positions of light receiving parts are shifted from those of the imaging pixels, wherein first focus detecting pixels in which the opening positions are shifted in a first direction are arranged in a first pixel pitch at positions corresponding to first color filters for the imaging pixels, and second focus detecting pixels in which openings are shifted in a second direction different from the first direction are arranged in a second pixel pitch at positions corresponding to second color filters for the imaging pixels different from the first color filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Atsuro Okazawa, Yoshinao Shimada
  • Patent number: 9942500
    Abstract: An image sensor comprising a plurality of imaging pixels, a plurality of focus detecting pixels in which opening positions of light receiving sections are shifted from those of the imaging pixels, and a plurality of color filters arranged corresponding to the imaging pixels and the focus detecting pixels, wherein first focus detecting pixels in which opening positions are shifted in a first direction are arranged at positions corresponding to first color filters of the imaging pixels, and second focus detecting pixels in which opening positions are shifted in the first direction and which have opening ratios different from those of the first focus detecting pixels are arranged at positions corresponding to the first color filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Atsuro Okazawa
  • Publication number: 20180084209
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus of the present invention includes: an image pickup optical system configured to form a subject image; an image pickup device configured to photoelectrically convert the subject image formed by the image pickup optical system, wherein part of pixels in a region provided with image formation pixels arranged in a matrix are arranged as focus detection pixels; an optical influence estimation unit configured to use output signals from the image formation pixels, output signals from the focus detection pixels, and two-dimensional pixel position information of the focus detection pixels to estimate a level of influence of vignetting caused by the image optical system according to an image height; and an optical influence correction unit configured to execute image processing with different details that vary according to an estimation result of the optical influence estimation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro OKAZAWA
  • Patent number: 9843735
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus performs image processing on image data obtained by using an imaging element comprising a plurality of pixels which comprise a first pixel and a second pixel, wherein two different types of exposure times are applied between the first pixel and the second pixel. A blur amount estimation unit estimates an image blur amount. An exposure time difference calculation unit calculates an exposure time difference. A mixing ratio calculation unit determines a first ratio using a light amount detected by the first pixel to be a target and a second ratio using a light amount detected by the second pixel positioned around the first pixel based on the exposure time difference and the image blur amount. A correction unit corrects the image data based on the image blur amount, the exposure time difference, the first ratio, and the second ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Atsuro Okazawa
  • Publication number: 20170339384
    Abstract: An image-capturing device includes: an image-capturing element in which a plurality of pixels, which have different spectral sensitivities, are arrayed in a two-dimensional matrix manner, and phase-difference detection pixels are arranged as some of the pixels; a phase-difference pixel discriminating unit that classifies the phase-difference detection pixels arranged in the image-capturing element as first pixels, which have a spectral sensitivity at which degradation of image quality is more difficult to discern for human eyes than the other spectral sensitivities, and second pixels which are the phase-difference detection pixels other than the first pixels; and a phase-difference pixel value correcting unit that subjects the first pixels classified by the phase-difference pixel discriminating unit to correction processing of a lower precision than that for the second pixels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2017
    Publication date: November 23, 2017
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro OKAZAWA
  • Patent number: 9813687
    Abstract: An image-capturing device includes: an image-capturing element in which a plurality of pixels, which have different spectral sensitivities, are arrayed in a two-dimensional matrix manner, and phase-difference detection pixels are arranged as some of the pixels; a phase-difference pixel discriminating unit that classifies the phase-difference detection pixels arranged in the image-capturing element as first pixels, which have a spectral sensitivity at which degradation of image quality is more difficult to discern for human eyes than the other spectral sensitivities, and second pixels which are the phase-difference detection pixels other than the first pixels; and a phase-difference pixel value correcting unit that subjects the first pixels classified by the phase-difference pixel discriminating unit to correction processing of a lower precision than that for the second pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Atsuro Okazawa