Patents by Inventor Norikazu Tsunekawa

Norikazu Tsunekawa 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: 8488840
    Abstract: A clipping processing portion is provided with: a subject detection portion that detects a main subject and a sub-subject from an input image; a degree-of-relationship calculation portion that calculates the degree of relationship between the main subject and the sub-subject; a clip region setting portion that sets a clip region based on the positions of the main subject and the sub-subject in the input image and the degree of relationship; a clipping portion that clips the clip region from the input image. The clip region setting portion sets the clip region so as to include the main subject and the sub-subject having the high degree of relationship thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinpei Fukumoto, Satoru Takeuchi, Kazuhiro Kojima, Norikazu Tsunekawa
  • Publication number: 20120229667
    Abstract: An image-shooting device has an image sensor having a plurality of photoreceptive pixels, and a signal processing section which generates the image data of an output image from the photoreceptive pixel signals within an extraction region on the image sensor. The signal processing section controls the spatial frequency characteristic of the output image according to an input pixel number, which is the number of photoreceptive pixels within the extraction region, and an output pixel number, which is the number of pixels of the output image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2012
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Norikazu TSUNEKAWA
  • Patent number: 8139123
    Abstract: Provided is an imaging device comprising means for binning by adding up and reading out pixel signals from a plurality of pixels arranged in a first direction and a second direction of a pixel arrangement of an imaging element. The imaging device is provided with first means for changing a combination pattern of added pixel signals on a per-frame basis, and second means for generating image signals for one frame based on added signals from plural frames having different combination patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Norikazu Tsunekawa, Seiji Okada, Akihiro Maenaka
  • Patent number: 8068700
    Abstract: In an image processing apparatus, the amount of motion between a low-resolution image as a datum image and each of N low-resolution images is detected and, based on the detected amounts of motion, the datum image, and M consulted images (N>M?1) selected out of the N low-resolution images, a high-resolution image is generated. An image evaluator, which selects the consulted images, takes each of the N low-resolution images as an evaluated image and arranges, based on the amounts of motion, the datum image and the evaluated images in a common coordinate system. Based on a pixel position on the datum image in the common coordinate system, a datum position in the common coordinate system is set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Norikazu Tsunekawa, Seiji Okada, Akihiro Naenaka
  • Patent number: 7929611
    Abstract: A frame rate converting apparatus includes a pan/tilt determining unit which determines whether an image is in a pan/tilt state on the basis of information related to motion of the image detected by a motion detecting unit for each frame of a moving image, a moving distance setting unit which sets 0 as a moving distance of an image with respect to a frame the image of which is not determined as an image in a pan/tilt state by the pan/tilt determining unit, which calculates a moving distance of an image from the information related to the motion of the image detected by the motion detecting unit with respect to a frame the image of which is determined as an image in a pan/tilt state, and which sets the obtained moving distance as a moving distance of the image, and a prediction image generating unit which generates a prediction image necessary for frame rate conversion on the basis of the moving distance of the image set for each frame by the moving distance setting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Norikazu Tsunekawa, Akihiro Maenaka, Yukio Mori
  • Publication number: 20110063473
    Abstract: A color interpolation process unit (51) successively acquires from an AFE (12), a plurality of original images in which the pixel positions having pixel signals are different and executes a color interpolation process on the original images to generate a color-interpolated image. An image synthesis unit (54) combines the color-interpolated image (current frame) to be generated and a synthesis image (previous frame) outputted previously so as to generate a synthesis image. The synthesis image is inputted to a color synchronization process unit (55) to output a video signal and stored in a frame memory (52) so as to be used for synthesis of the next frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2009
    Publication date: March 17, 2011
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Norikazu Tsunekawa, Seiji Okada, Akihiro Maenaka
  • Publication number: 20100141823
    Abstract: An output-image processing portion outputs an output image for display that contains a super-resolution-effect image indicating super-resolution effect—effect obtained when super-resolution processing is applied to an input image. Thus, having checked the output image for display, the user can recognize the degree of super-resolution effect. Accordingly, it is possible to easily judge whether or not the super-resolution processing is required.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Norikazu TSUNEKAWA, Seiji OKADA, Akihiro MAENAKA
  • Publication number: 20100103192
    Abstract: A clipping processing portion is provided with: a subject detection portion that detects a main subject and a sub-subject from an input image; a degree-of-relationship calculation portion that calculates the degree of relationship between the main subject and the sub-subject; a clip region setting portion that sets a clip region based on the positions of the main subject and the sub-subject in the input image and the degree of relationship; a clipping portion that clips the clip region from the input image. The clip region setting portion sets the clip region so as to include the main subject and the sub-subject having the high degree of relationship thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2009
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinpei Fukumoto, Satoru Takeuchi, Kazuhiro Kojima, Norikazu Tsunekawa
  • Publication number: 20100053356
    Abstract: Provided is an imaging device comprising means for binning by adding up and reading out pixel signals from a plurality of pixels arranged in a first direction and a second direction of a pixel arrangement of an imaging element. The imaging device is provided with first means for changing a combination pattern of added pixel signals on a per-frame basis, and second means for generating image signals for one frame based on added signals from plural frames having different combination patterns.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2007
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Applicant: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Norikazu Tsunekawa, Seiji Okada, Akihiro Maenaka
  • Publication number: 20100020210
    Abstract: There is provided an image sensing device including: an image acquisition portion that switches between a plurality of reading methods in which pixel signals of a group of light receiving pixels arranged in an image sensor are read and that thereby acquires, from the image sensor, a first image sequence formed such that a plurality of first images having a first resolution are arranged chronologically and a second image sequence formed such that a plurality of second images having a second resolution higher than the first resolution are arranged chronologically; and an output image sequence generation portion that generates, based on the first and second image sequences, an output image sequence formed such that a plurality of output images having the second resolution are arranged chronologically, in which a time interval between sequentially adjacent two output images among the plurality of output images is shorter than a time interval between sequentially adjacent two second images among the plurality of s
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2009
    Publication date: January 28, 2010
    Applicant: Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Norikazu TSUNEKAWA, Seiji OKADA, Akihiro MAENAKA
  • Publication number: 20090033792
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a high resolution processing portion for generating a high-resolution image from a first low-resolution image to be a datum frame and M (M is an integer of one or larger) second low-resolution images, the high-resolution image having a higher resolution than the low-resolution images, and a region cutting out portion for setting a first target region in an image region of the first low-resolution image and for setting a second target region in an image region of the second low-resolution image. The high resolution processing portion calculates a pixel value of a region corresponding to the first target region in an image region of the high-resolution image based on pixel values of the first and the second target regions set by the region cutting out portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2008
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi KANO, Akihiro MAENAKA, Norikazu TSUNEKAWA
  • Publication number: 20080298639
    Abstract: In an image processing apparatus, the amount of motion between a low-resolution image as a datum image and each of N low-resolution images is detected and, based on the detected amounts of motion, the datum image, and M consulted images (N>M?1) selected out of the N low-resolution images, a high-resolution image is generated. An image evaluator, which selects the consulted images, takes each of the N low-resolution images as an evaluated image and arranges, based on the amounts of motion, the datum image and the evaluated images in a common coordinate system. Based on a pixel position on the datum image in the common coordinate system, a datum position in the common coordinate system is set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2008
    Publication date: December 4, 2008
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Norikazu TSUNEKAWA, Seiji OKADA, Akihiro NAENAKA
  • Publication number: 20070076127
    Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to offer an image processing apparatus, or an image processing program which can generate natural images. In the invention, a chroma saturation correction coefficient is determined according to the chroma saturation distribution properties of an input image, and the chroma saturation correction is executed based on the determined coefficient. Therefore, a suitable chroma saturation correction can be performed to various input images. To achieve above objective, in the image processor 100, the chroma saturation distribution properties calculator 101 calculates chroma saturation distribution properties from an input image signal. The chroma saturation correcting gain calculator 102 calculates the standard chroma saturation correcting gain, which is a coefficient used as a standard for calculating the chroma saturation correction quantity based on the properties of the input image signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2006
    Publication date: April 5, 2007
    Applicant: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takaaki Abe, Akihiro Maenaka, Norikazu Tsunekawa
  • Publication number: 20060215037
    Abstract: A frame rate converting apparatus includes a pan/tilt determining unit which determines whether an image is in a pan/tilt state on the basis of information related to motion of the image detected by a motion detecting unit for each frame of a moving image, a moving distance setting unit which sets 0 as a moving distance of an image with respect to a frame the image of which is not determined as an image in a pan/tilt state by the pan/tilt determining unit, which calculates a moving distance of an image from the information related to the motion of the image detected by the motion detecting unit with respect to a frame the image of which is determined as an image in a pan/tilt state, and which sets the obtained moving distance as a moving distance of the image, and a prediction image generating unit which generates a prediction image necessary for frame rate conversion on the basis of the moving distance of the image set for each frame by the moving distance setting unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2006
    Publication date: September 28, 2006
    Applicant: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Norikazu Tsunekawa, Akihiro Maenaka, Yukio Mori