Image processor, 3D image capture device, image processing method, and image processing program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9438890-B2
Application number	US-201213816748-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 4, 2012
Priority date	Aug 25, 2011
Publication date	Sep 6, 2016
Grant date	Sep 6, 2016

Abstract

An image processor 7 includes: an in-focus area extracting section 72 that extracts an in-focus area of two images with parallax; a color conversion matrix calculating section 73 that obtains a color conversion matrix between the two images by reference to information about the colors of pixels that are included in the in-focus area of the two images; and a color conversion section 74 that converts the color of one of the two images by using the color conversion matrix.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image processor that matches the colors of two images with parallax to each other, the two images having been captured by a device comprising a light transmitting section that has two transmitting areas with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics; and an image sensor that is arranged to receive the light that has been transmitted through the light transmitting section and that includes two kinds of pixels with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics, both of the two kinds of pixels configured to detect at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through one of the two transmitting areas and at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through the other of the two transmitting areas, the processor comprising:
an in-focus area extracting section that extracts an in-focus area of the two images;
a color conversion matrix calculating section that obtains a color conversion matrix between the two images by reference to information about the colors of pixels that are only included in the in-focus area of the two images; and
a color conversion section that converts the color of one of the two images by using the color conversion matrix.

2. The image processor of claim 1 , further comprising a high frequency component calculating section that calculates the high frequency components of at least one of the two images,
wherein the in-focus area extracting section extracts the in-focus areas based on the high frequency components that have been calculated.

3. The image processor of claim 2 , wherein the in-focus area extracting section extracts, as the in-focus area, the vicinity of high frequency pixels in which the quantity of the high frequency components is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

4. The image processor of claim 3 , wherein the in-focus area extracting section extracts, as the in-focus area, a rectangular area comprised of n pixels×m pixels (where n and m are integers that are equal to or greater than one) including the high frequency pixels.

5. The image processor of claim 3 , wherein the in-focus area extracting section extracts, as the in-focus area, a rectangular area comprised of n pixels×m pixels (where n and m are integers that are equal to or greater than one) surrounding the high frequency pixels.

6. The image processor of claim 1 , wherein the color conversion matrix calculating section obtains the color conversion matrix by linear computations by the minimum square method, the M estimation method or the RANSAC method.

7. A 3D image capture device comprising:
a light transmitting section that has two transmitting areas with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics;
an image sensor that is arranged to receive the light that has been transmitted through the light transmitting section and that includes two kinds of pixels with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics, wherein both of the two kinds of pixels are configured to detect at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through one of the two transmitting areas and at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through the other of the two transmitting areas; and
an image processing section that generates two images with parallax based on pixel signals supplied from the image sensor, and
wherein the image processing section includes:
an in-focus area extracting section that extracts an in-focus area of the two images;
a color conversion matrix calculating section that obtains a color conversion matrix between the two images by reference to information about the colors of pixels that are only included in the in-focus area of the two images; and
a color conversion section that converts the color of one of the two images by using the color conversion matrix.

8. An image processing method for matching the colors of two images with parallax to each other, the two images having been captured by a device comprising a light transmitting section that has two transmitting areas with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics; and an image sensor that is arranged to receive the light that has been transmitted through the light transmitting section and that includes two kinds of pixels with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics, both of the two kinds of pixels configured to detect at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through one of the two transmitting areas and at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through the other of the two transmitting areas, the method comprising the steps of:
extracting an in-focus area of the two images;
obtaining a color conversion matrix between the two images by reference to information about the colors of pixels that are only included in the in-focus area of the two images; and
converting the color of one of the two images by using the color conversion matrix.

9. An image processing program stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium for matching the colors of two images with parallax to each other, the two images having been captured by a device comprising a light transmitting section that has two transmitting areas with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics; and an image sensor that is arranged to receive the light that has been transmitted through the light transmitting section and that includes two kinds of pixels with mutually different spectral transmittance characteristics, both of the two kinds of pixels configured to detect at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through one of the two transmitting areas and at least a part of light rays that have been transmitted through the other of the two transmitting areas, the program, when executed by a processor of a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of:
extracting an in-focus area of the two images;
obtaining a color conversion matrix between the two images by reference to information about the colors of pixels that are only included in the in-focus area of the two images; and
converting the color of one of the two images by using the color conversion matrix.

Assignees

• Ishii Yasunori
• Hiramoto Masao
• Panasonic Ip Corp America

Inventors

• Ishii Yasunori
• Hiramoto Masao

Classifications

• H04N23/673

  based on contrast or high frequency components of image signals, e.g. hill climbing method · CPC title

• H04N25/134

  based on three different wavelength filter elements · CPC title

• H04N13/0257 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N5/3696

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N13/0025

  Electricity · mapped topic