Low Light Activated Patents (Class 396/69)
  • Patent number: 11140333
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus that improves flash-exposure accuracy by adjusting a light amount suitably depending on a situation so that variation decision of the object distance based on a distance map will be possible. An image sensor outputs an image signal. A memory device stores a set of instructions. At least one processor executes the set of instructions to calculate a main emission amount using luminance of a pre-emission image corresponding to the image signal, divide a picked-up image frame corresponding to the image signal into a plurality of blocks, obtain distance information for each of the blocks, adjust luminance of the image signal for each of the blocks, and determine whether distance continuously varies in a same direction between adjacent blocks within a region corresponding to a same object based on the distance information obtained using the image signal of which luminance is adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasuyoshi Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 8724887
    Abstract: A method of depth imaging includes acquiring a depth image from a depth camera, identifying an environmental factor invalidating depth information in one or more portions of the depth image, and outputting an environmental modification to mitigate the environmental factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Prafulla Masalkar, Alan Leach
  • Patent number: 7889990
    Abstract: In a GPON system conforming to ITU-T Recommendations G.984.3, an optical line terminal is provided which has an active bandwidth allocation function that preferentially puts small bandwidth signals in a particular segment of a frame, e.g., at a head of the frame, to prevent fragmentations that may occur particularly when allocating small bandwidths of about 100 kbits/s.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tohru Kazawa, Kenichi Sakamoto, Ryosuke Nishino
  • Patent number: 7522824
    Abstract: An image taking device (1), which takes an image of an object by focusing reflected light from the object on an image sensor (212), is provided with a distance measuring sensor (27) for measuring a distance between the object and the image taking device (1), and means for controlling exposure time of the image sensor (212) upon taking an image in accordance with a measurement result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2009
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Satoshi Fukui, Takayuki Sugiura, Atsushi Miki, Shuji Kimura, Kiyoshi Chinzei, Mieko Nakano, Naoyuki Fujimoto, Mitsuhiro Gotoh, Toshio Endoh, Takahiro Aoki, Mitsuaki Fukuda, Masaki Watanabe, Shigeru Sasaki
  • Patent number: 7370975
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus which includes: an imaging device; a reference luminance property storage device that stores a predetermined reference luminance property; a luminance property calculating device that calculates a luminance property of the imaging device from an image obtained by the imaging device; a comparing device that compares the reference luminance property and the luminance property; a displacement determining device that determines whether or not the luminance property has relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property based on a comparison result of the comparing device; and a luminance property correcting device that corrects the luminance property, wherein, when the luminance property is determined by the displacement determining device to have relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property, the luminance property correcting device corrects the luminance property so as to become equivalent to the reference luminance property.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Fuminori Taniguchi, Nobuharu Nagaoka
  • Patent number: 7283171
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus including an image pickup device configured to convert a monitored object image into an electrical image signal and to output the image signal, a clock generator configured to generate a constant cyclic drive frequency to drive the image pickup device, and an external device configured to output a brightness signal based on a brightness of the monitored object. Further, a sensitivity to light of the external device is higher than that of the image pickup device. Also included is an image signal reading unit configured to synchronize the image signal with a frequency based on the drive frequency and to read the image signal in a constant read frequency, a brightness signal obtaining unit configured to obtain the brightness signal of the object from the external device, and a read frequency changing unit configured to change the read frequency based on corresponding to the obtained brightness signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Norihiro Sakaguchi
  • Patent number: 6792203
    Abstract: In a camera a pickup element images an object image. An A/D converter A/D converts an output of the pickup element. A processing section includes a night scene judging section for judging whether or not the scene to be photographed is the night scene on the basis of a digital image signal output from the A/D converter. In a distance measuring apparatus of the camera. An area sensor is used for an auto-focus. A first judging section judges that the scene to be photographed is a night scene on the basis of an output of the area sensor. In the case where the first judging section judges that the photography scene is not the night scene, a second judging section judges whether or not the scene to be photographed is the reverse light scene. A main object specifying section specifies the main object in the case where either the first judging section or the second judging section judges the scene to be photographed is either the night scene or the reverse light scene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masataka Ide, Osamu Nonaka