Imaging device, imaging system, and imaging method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10136076-B2
Application number	US-201615072690-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2016
Priority date	May 23, 2014
Publication date	Nov 20, 2018
Grant date	Nov 20, 2018

Abstract

An imaging device is provided with a condition designating unit which designates, by time division, imaging conditions for capturing an image, and light emission conditions for emitting auxiliary light, an imaging section which captures an image including a subject according to the imaging conditions, a light emitting unit which emits auxiliary light with respect to the subject according to the light emission conditions, and an image composer which composes a first image that is captured under a first imaging condition during a light emission period in which the auxiliary light is emitted and a second image which is captured under a second imaging condition during a non-light-emission period which is continuous to the light emission period and in which the auxiliary light is not emitted, in which quality of an image which is captured in a low illumination environment is improved.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imaging device comprising:
a condition designating unit which designates, by time division, imaging conditions for capturing an image, and light emission conditions for emitting auxiliary light;
an imaging section which captures an image including a subject according to the imaging conditions;
a light emitting unit which emits the auxiliary light with respect to the subject according to the light emission conditions; and
an image composer which composes a first image that is captured under a first imaging condition during a light emission period in which the auxiliary light is emitted and a second image which is captured under a second imaging condition during a non-light-emission period which is continuous to the light emission period and in which the auxiliary light is not emitted,
wherein in a case of imaging according to a rolling shutter method, the imaging section captures the first image during the light emission period spanning a first frame and a second frame which is continuous to the first frame, and captures the second image during the non-light-emission period spanning a third frame and a fourth frame which is continuous to the third frame, and
the image composer composes the first image and the second image in the fourth frame.

2. The imaging device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an image discarding unit which discards the image which is captured by the imaging section in a frame including the light-emission period and the non-light-emission period.

3. An imaging system comprising:
an imaging device; and
an information processing device,
wherein the imaging device
designates, by time division, imaging conditions for capturing an image, and light emission conditions for emitting auxiliary light,
captures a first image and a second image including a subject according to the imaging conditions,
emits the auxiliary light with respect to the subject according to the light emission conditions, and
transmits the captured first image and second image,

wherein the first image is captured under a first imaging condition during a light emission period in which the auxiliary light is emitted, and the second image is captured under a second imaging condition during a non-light-emission period which is continuous to the light emission period and in which the auxiliary light is not emitted, and
wherein the information processing device
receives the first image and the second image from the imaging device, and
composes the first image and the second image,

wherein, in a case of imaging according to a rolling shutter method, the first image is captured during the light emission period spanning a first frame and a second frame which is continuous to the first frame, and the second image is captured during the non-light-emission period spanning a third frame and a fourth frame which is continuous to the third frame, and
the first image and the second image are composed in the fourth frame.

4. An imaging method in the imaging device, comprising:
designating, by time division, imaging conditions for capturing an image including a subject, and light emission conditions for emitting auxiliary light with respect to the subject;
capturing a first image under a first imaging condition during a light emission period in which the auxiliary light is emitted;
capturing a second image under a second imaging condition during a non-light-emission period which is continuous to the light emission period and in which the auxiliary light is not emitted; and
composing the first image and the second image
wherein, in a case of imaging according to a rolling shutter method, the first image is captured during the light emission period spanning a first frame and a second frame which is continuous to the first frame, and the second image is captured during the non-light-emission period spanning a third frame and a fourth frame which is continuous to the third frame, and
the composing composes the first image and the second image in the fourth frame.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tanaka Shogo
• Tabei Kenji

Classifications

• G03B15/02 Primary

  Illuminating scene · CPC title

• H04N23/71

  Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation · CPC title

• H04N25/134

  based on three different wavelength filter elements · CPC title

• H04N23/667

  Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes · CPC title

• H04N25/131

  including elements passing infrared wavelengths · CPC title