Image monitoring device, image monitoring method, and recording medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10701352-B2
Application number	US-201916656205-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2019
Priority date	Aug 3, 2017
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

An image monitoring device includes a maximum value and minimum value calculator, a small-luminance-difference determiner, a small-luminance-difference-block counter, and a dirt adherence determiner. The maximum value and minimum value calculator calculates, for each of a plurality of blocks set in one frame of a video signal obtained through a lens, a maximum luminance value and a minimum luminance value of a plurality of pixels forming each of the plurality of blocks. The small-luminance-difference determiner determines whether or not each of the blocks has a small luminance difference, by comparing a difference between the maximum luminance value and the minimum luminance value with a first threshold. The small-luminance-difference-block counter counts a number of blocks having the small luminance difference in the one frame. The dirt adherence determiner determines whether or not dirt is adherent to the lens, based on the number of blocks having the small luminance difference.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image monitoring device comprising:
a maximum value and minimum value calculator configured to calculate, for each of a plurality of blocks set in one frame of a video signal obtained through a lens, a maximum luminance value and a minimum luminance value of a plurality of pixels forming each of the plurality of blocks;
a small-luminance-difference determiner configured to determine whether or not each of the plurality of blocks has a small luminance difference, by comparing a difference between the maximum luminance value and the minimum luminance value with a first threshold;
a small-luminance-difference-block counter configured to count a number of blocks having the small luminance difference in the one frame; and
a dirt adherence determiner configured to determine whether or not dirt is adherent to the lens, based on the number of blocks having the small luminance difference.

2. The image monitoring device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the video signal has been subjected to exposure control.

3. The image monitoring device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the dirt adherence determiner is configured to determine whether or not the dirt is adherent to the lens, by comparing the number of blocks having the small luminance difference with a second threshold.

4. An image monitoring method comprising:
calculating, for each of a plurality of blocks set in one frame of a video signal obtained through a lens, a maximum luminance value and a minimum luminance value of a plurality of pixels forming each of the plurality of blocks;
determining whether or not each of the plurality of blocks has a small luminance difference, by comparing a difference between the maximum luminance value and the minimum luminance value with a first threshold;
counting a number of blocks having the small luminance difference in the one frame; and
determining whether or not dirt is adherent to the lens, based on the number of blocks having the small luminance difference.

5. A non-transitory recording medium on which a computer-readable image monitoring program is stored, the computer-readable image monitoring program causing a computer to function as:
a maximum value and minimum value calculator configured to calculate, for each of a plurality of blocks set in one frame of a video signal obtained through a lens, a maximum luminance value and a minimum luminance value of a plurality of pixels forming each of plurality of the blocks;
a small-luminance-difference determiner configured to determine whether or not each of the plurality of blocks has a small luminance difference, by comparing a difference between the maximum luminance value and the minimum luminance value with a first threshold;
a small-luminance-difference-block counter configured to count the number of blocks having the small luminance difference in the one frame; and
a dirt adherence determiner configured to determine whether or not dirt is adherent to the lens, based on the number of blocks having the small luminance difference.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tsurube Tomoyuki

Classifications

• H04N23/71

  Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation · CPC title

• H04N23/80

  Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof · CPC title

• H04N17/002 Primary

  for television cameras · CPC title

• G03B7/28

  Circuitry to measure or to take account of the object contrast · CPC title

• G06T2207/30168

  Image quality inspection · CPC title