Multi-module imaging system and image-synchronization method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12495217-B2
Application number	US-202418604975-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2024
Priority date	Sep 27, 2023
Publication date	Dec 9, 2025
Grant date	Dec 9, 2025

Abstract

A multi-module imaging system and an image-synchronization method are provided. The multi-module imaging system includes a photographic component having multiple photosensitive modules, an image signal processor and a data processor. The different photosensitive modules generate multiple sets of motion images respectively. The image signal processor then retrieves continuous frame images from each of the sets of motion images. The data processor obtains multiple frames generated at the same time from the continuous frame images and generates a composite frame that vertically combines the multiple frames by performing a vertical encoding procedure. Therefore, the multiple sets of motion images are encoded to be continuously-outputted multiple composite frames. Accordingly, the multi-module imaging system can synchronously output the frames that are generated by different photosensitive modules.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A multi-module imaging system, comprising:
a camera assembly comprising multiple light-sensing modules; an image signal processor; and a data processor electrically connected with the camera assembly and the image signal processor; wherein the multi-module imaging system performs an image-synchronization method, and the image-synchronization method comprises:
generating multiple sets of motion images by the camera assembly that comprises the multiple light-sensing modules;
extracting, by the image signal processor, a set of continuous frame images from one of the multiple sets of the motion images generated by one of the multiple light-sensing modules of the camera assembly, so that the multiple sets of the motion images are provided to obtain multiple sets of the continuous frame images; and
forming, by the data processor, a composite frame by combining multiple frame images that are captured at a same time from the multiple sets of the continuous frame images, so as to encode the multiple sets of the motion images into continuously-outputted multiple composite frames; wherein:
the composite frame comprises the multiple frame images that are generated by the camera assembly at the same time, so that the multi-module imaging system is capable of synchronously outputting the multiple frame images generated by different ones of the multiple light-sensing modules, and
the continuously-outputted multiple composite frames that are encoded by the data processor are transmitted to an external system according to a time sequence, so as to generate the multiple sets of the continuous frame images that are synchronized by performing a decoding procedure.

2 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the image signal processor performs an image-processing procedure on each of the multiple sets of the motion images, and the image-processing procedure comprises one or any combination of noise reduction, color correction, white balance adjustment, contrast adjustment, saturation adjustment, and sharpness enhancement.

3 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the multi-module imaging system is disposed in a drive recorder, and the drive recorder comprises a communication circuit that is used to transmit the continuously-outputted multiple composite frames to the external system in a wireless or wired connection manner.

4 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the camera assembly comprises an infrared module and at least one visible light module, and the composite frame comprises an infrared image generated by the infrared module and at least one visible light image generated by the at least one visible light module.

5 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 4 , wherein the multi-module imaging system is applied to an automatic license plate recognition system, and the multi-module imaging system acquires a license plate image of a vehicle by the infrared module and an environmental image that comprises the vehicle by the at least one visible light module.

6 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 5 , wherein the automatic license plate recognition system is used to recognize multiple characters that combine English alphabets and numbers in the license plate image.

7 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 6 , wherein the multiple characters recognized from the license plate image by the automatic license plate recognition system are combined into the composite frame.

8 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 4 , wherein the camera assembly adopts a global shutter that allows all light-sensing pixels of light-sensing elements of the infrared module and the at least one visible light module to be synchronously exposed at a specific speed, so as to generate the multiple frame images.

9 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the composite frame formed by the multiple frame images that are obtained at the same time is a stitched frame formed by combining the multiple frame images by the data processor in a stitching manner.

10 . The multi-module imaging system according to claim 9 , wherein the data processor stitches the multiple frame images that are obtained at the same time by a vertical encoding procedure.

11 . An image-synchronization method performed in a drive recorder, comprising:
generating multiple sets of motion images by a camera assembly that comprises multiple light-sensing modules; extracting a set of continuous frame images from one of the multiple sets of the motion images generated by one of the multiple light-sensing modules of the camera assembly, so that the multiple sets of the motion images are provided to obtain multiple sets of the continuous frame images; and forming a composite frame by combining multiple frame images that are captured at a same time from the multiple sets of the continuous frame images, so as to encode the multiple sets of the motion images into continuously-outputted multiple composite frames; wherein the composite frame comprises the multiple frame images that are generated by the camera assembly at the same time, so that the multiple frame images generated by different ones of the multiple light-sensing modules are synchronously outputted; and transmitting the continuously-outputted multiple composite frames to an external system according to a time sequence, so as to generate the multiple sets of the continuous frame images that are synchronized by performing a decoding procedure in the external system.

12 . The image-synchronization method according to claim 11 , wherein, after the multiple sets of the motion images are obtained, the image-synchronization method comprises performing an image-processing procedure on the multiple sets of the motion images; wherein the image-processing procedure comprises one or any combination of noise reduction, color correction, white balance adjustment, contrast adjustment, saturation adjustment, and sharpness enhancement.

13 . The image-synchronization method according to claim 11 , wherein the camera assembly comprises an infrared module and at least one visible light module, and the composite frame comprises an infrared image generated by the infrared module and at least one visible light image generated by the at least one visible light module.

14 . The image-synchronization method according to claim 13 , wherein the image-synchronization method is performed in an automatic license plate recognition system that acquires a license plate image of a vehicle by the infrared module and an environmental image that comprises the vehicle by the at least one visible light module.

15 . The image-synchronization method according to claim 14 , comprising using the automatic license plate recognition system to recognize multiple characters that combine English alphabets and numbers in the license plate image.

16 . The image-synchronization method according to claim 15 , comprising combining the multiple characters recognized from the license plate image by the automatic license plate recognition system into the composite frame.

17 . The image-synchronization method according to claim 13 , wherein the camera assembly adopts a global shutter that allows all light-sensing pixels of light-sensing elements of the infrared module and the at least one visible light module to be synchronously exposed, so as to generate the multiple frame images.

18 . The image-synchronization method according to claim

Assignees

• Getac Technology Corp

Inventors

• Huang Cheng-Liang

Classifications

• H04N7/183

  for receiving images from a single remote source · CPC title

• H04N5/265

  Mixing · CPC title

• H04N23/11

  for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths · CPC title

• G06V20/625

  License plates · CPC title

• G06V20/41

  Higher-level, semantic clustering, classification or understanding of video scenes, e.g. detection, labelling or Markovian modelling of sport events or news items (segmenting video sequences G06V20/49) · CPC title