Image capturing device and method for image capturing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10200629-B2
Application number	US-201515504157-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 27, 2015
Priority date	Aug 29, 2014
Publication date	Feb 5, 2019
Grant date	Feb 5, 2019

Abstract

For image recording purposes, an object is illuminated at a plurality of illumination angles. A detector captures a plurality of images (41-43) of the object for the plurality of illumination angles. An electronic evaluating device applies an image correction to the plurality of images (41-43), said image correction comprising a rectification (T1, T2, T3), wherein the rectification (T1, T2, T3) depends on the illumination angle used when recording the respective image (41-43). The corrected images (44-46) may be combined.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image-recording apparatus, comprising:
an illuminating device which is controllable in order to set a plurality of illumination angles for illuminating an object;
a detector comprising an image sensor , configured to capture a plurality of images of the object for the plurality of illumination angles;
an electronic evaluating device for processing the plurality of images , coupled to the image sensor, wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to
apply an image correction to each image of the plurality of images, said image correction comprising a rectification, wherein the rectification depends on the illumination angle used when recording the respective image, wherein the rectification corrects field-point-dependent defocusing, and wherein a vector field defining the rectification depends both on the illumination angle when recording the image to which the image correction is applied and on the field-point-dependent defocusing; and
combine the images corrected by the image correction.

2. The image-recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to correct a field curvature by way of the rectification.

3. The image-recording apparatus as claimed in claim 2 ,
wherein the rectification depends on an object field curvature assigned to the field curvature.

4. The image-recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein, for the plurality of illumination angles, information about the rectification to be applied is respectively stored in non-volatile fashion in a storage medium of the image-recording apparatus.

5. The image-recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to add the images corrected by the image correction in order to calculate a results image.

6. The image-recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to apply the image correction onto an image which was captured for one illumination angle while the detector captures a further image for a further illumination angle.

7. The image-recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the image-recording apparatus is a microscope system.

8. A method for recording images, comprising:
capturing a plurality of images when an object is illuminated at a plurality of illumination angles; and
processing the plurality of images, wherein the processing comprises:
applying an image correction to each image of the plurality of images, wherein the image correction comprises a rectification which depends on the illumination angle when recording the respective image, the rectification comprising correcting field-point-dependent defocusing, wherein a vector field defining the rectification depends both on the illumination angle when recording the image to which the image correction is applied and on the field-point-dependent defocusing, and
combining the plurality of images after applying the image correction.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8 , further comprising correcting a field curvature by way of the rectification.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the rectification which is applied to an image depends on a field-point-dependent offset of a point of an object plane, said point experiencing said offset if it is projected onto a curved surface, which is imaged onto a plane of the image sensor by an optical system of the image-recording apparatus, at the illumination angle.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8 , further comprising calculating a vector field defining the rectification depending on the illumination angle used when recording the respective image.

12. An image-recording apparatus, comprising:
an illuminating device which is controllable in order to set a plurality of illumination angles for illuminating an object;
a detector comprising an image sensor , configured to capture a plurality of images of the object for the plurality of illumination angles;
an electronic evaluating device for processing the plurality of images , coupled to the image sensor, wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to
apply an image correction to each image of the plurality of images, said image correction comprising a rectification, wherein the rectification depends on the illumination angle used when recording the respective image, wherein the rectification corrects a field curvature, and wherein the rectification which is applied to an image depends on a field-point-dependent offset of a point of an object plane, said point experiencing said offset if it is projected onto a curved surface, which is imaged onto a plane of the image sensor by an optical system of the image-recording apparatus, at the illumination angle; and
combine the images corrected by the image correction.

13. An image-recording apparatus, comprising:
an illuminating device which is controllable in order to set a plurality of illumination angles for illuminating an object;
a detector comprising an image sensor , configured to capture a plurality of images of the object for the plurality of illumination angles;
an electronic evaluating device for processing the plurality of images , coupled to the image sensor, wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to
apply an image correction to each image of the plurality of images, said image correction comprising a rectification, wherein the rectification depends on the illumination angle used when recording the respective image, wherein the rectification corrects a field curvature, and wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to calculate a vector field defining the rectification depending on the illumination angle used when recording the respective image; and
combine the images corrected by the image correction.

14. An image-recording apparatus, comprising:
an illuminating device which is controllable in order to set a plurality of illumination angles for illuminating an object;
a detector comprising an image sensor , configured to capture a plurality of images of the object for the plurality of illumination angles;
an electronic evaluating device for processing the plurality of images , coupled to the image sensor, wherein the electronic evaluating device is configured to
apply an image correction to each image of the plurality of images, said image correction comprising a rectification, wherein the rectification depends on the illumination angle used when recording the respective image, wherein the rectification corrects an astigmatism; and
combine the images corrected by the image correction.

15. The image-recording apparatus as claimed in claim 14 ,
wherein the rectification which is applied to an image depends on a position of a beam, incident at the illumination angle, in relation to at least two planes of the astigmatism.

16. A method for recording images, comprising:
capturing a plurality of images when an object is illuminated at a plurality of illumination angles; and
processing the plurality of images, wherein the processing comprises:
applying an image correction to each image of the plurality of images, wherein the image correction comprises a rectification which depends on the illumination angle when recording the respective image, and the rectification is correcting an astigmatism wherein the rectification which is applied to an image depends on a position of a beam, incident at the illumination angle, in relation to at least two planes of the astigmatism, and
combining the plurality of images after applying the image correction.

Assignees

• Zeiss Carl Microscopy Gmbh

Inventors

• Stoppe Lars
• Milde Thomas
• Hanft Marco

Classifications

• G06T5/50

  using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction · CPC title

• H04N1/00127

  Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture · CPC title

• H04N5/2621

  Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects during image pickup, e.g. digital cameras, camcorders, video cameras having integrated special effects capability · CPC title

• G06T2207/20221

  Image fusion; Image merging · CPC title

• H04N23/74 Primary

  by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means · CPC title