Image recording apparatus and image reproducing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9451148-B2
Application number	US-201313912689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 7, 2013
Priority date	Jun 15, 2012
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

An image recording unit obtains image data which is obtained by a photographing operation, and can reconstruct a refocus image, and photographing information, generates a parameter used to reconstruct a refocus image in relation to an object included in an image based on the obtained photographing information, and records the generated parameter in a recording medium as meta data of the image data together with the obtained image data. An image reproducing apparatus reads out the recorded image data and parameter from the recording medium, reconstructs a refocus image from the readout image data using the readout parameter, edits the reconstructed refocus image according to an editing instruction, and edits a parameter of the edited refocus image.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image recording apparatus comprising:
at least one processor that functions as:
an obtaining unit configured to obtain image data which can generate a refocus image, and photographing information of the image data, wherein the refocus image is at a refocus plane including a virtual image pickup plane;
a parameter generation unit configured to generate a parameter which is used to calculate a refocus image at the refocus plane, based on the photographing information obtained by the obtaining unit; and
a recording unit configured to record the parameter generated by the parameter generation unit as meta data of the image data in a recording medium together with the image data obtained by the obtaining unit.

2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the photographing information includes an iris value and a defocus map of the image data, and the parameter generation unit generates a conversion matrix, used to convert the image data obtained by the obtaining unit into a refocus image focusing on an object included in the image data, as the parameter based on the defocus map.

3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the photographing information includes an iris value and a defocus map of the image data, and the parameter generation unit generates the parameter indicating a defocus amount of an object included in the image data, based on the defocus map.

4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the parameter generation unit includes an object detection unit configured to detect the object included in the image data, based on the defocus map, and when the object detection unit detects a plurality of the objects, the parameter generation unit generates the conversion matrices used to convert the image data, obtained by the obtaining unit, into the refocus images of each of the plurality of objects, as the parameters in relation to each of the plurality of objects based on the defocus map.

5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the parameter generation unit includes an object detection unit configured to detect the object based on the defocus map, and when the object detection unit detects a plurality of the objects, the parameter generation unit generates the parameters indicating the defocus amounts of each of the plurality of objects included in the image data, based on the defocus map in relation to each of the plurality of objects.

6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the recording unit includes a priority determination unit configured to determine priorities of a plurality of objects included in the image data, and the recording unit records the parameters generated by the parameter generation unit as the meta data according to the priorities of the plurality of objects.

7. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the priority determination unit includes a face detection unit configured to detect a face from the image data, and when the face is detected, the priority determination unit sets a first place of the priority for the object including the face detected by the face detection unit.

8. An image reproducing apparatus for reproducing image data recorded by an image recording apparatus including an obtaining unit configured to obtain image data which can generate a refocus image, and photographing information of the image data, wherein the refocus image is at a refocus plane including a virtual image pickup plane; a parameter generation unit configured to generate a parameter which is used to calculate a refocus image at the refocus plane, based on the photographing information obtained by the obtaining unit; and a recording unit configured to record the parameter generated by the parameter generation unit as meta data of the image data in a recording medium together with the image data obtained by the obtaining unit, the image reproducing apparatus comprising:
a read unit configured to read out the image data recorded by the recording unit and the parameter from the recording medium;
a refocus image generation unit configured to generate the refocus image from the image data readout by the read unit using the parameter readout by the read unit; and
an editing unit configured to edit the refocus image generated by the refocus image generation unit according to an editing instruction, and to edit the parameter of the refocus image edited according to the editing instruction.

9. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the editing unit includes an instruction unit configured to instruct to change a refocus position and an iris value, and the refocus image generation unit generates the refocus image based on a change of the parameter instructed by the instruction unit.

10. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising a display unit configured to display the refocus image generated by the refocus image generation unit, and the instruction unit, wherein when a plurality of the parameters are read out by the read unit, the refocus image generation unit generates a plurality of the refocus images using each of the parameters, and the display unit displays the plurality of refocus images generated by the refocus image generation unit according to priorities of the plurality of parameters readout by the refocus image generation unit.

11. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the display unit displays the refocus image edited based on the changes of the parameters instructed by the instruction unit, together with the instruction unit.

12. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the editing unit includes a unit configured to perform a replacement or a deletion of the refocus image displayed by the display unit, and if the replacement of the deletion is performed, the editing unit changes the priority of the parameter corresponding to the refocus images edited by the editing unit according to the replacement or the deletion.

13. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a recording unit configured to record the parameter edited by the editing unit as the meta data of the image data readout by the read unit, wherein the recording unit includes a priority setting unit configured to set a priority of the parameter of the image data edited by the editing unit, records the image data edited by the editing unit and the parameters according to the priority set by the priority setting unit, and changes the priority of other parameter recorded by the recording unit according to the setting.

14. An image pickup apparatus comprising:
an image pickup unit configured to photograph an image;
an image recording apparatus comprising:
an obtaining unit configured to obtain image data from the image pickup unit which can generate a refocus image, and photographing information of the image data, wherein the refocus image is at a refocus plane including a virtual image pickup plane;
a parameter generation unit configured to generate a parameter which is used to calculate a refocus image at a refocus plane , based on the photographing information obtained by the obtaining unit; and
a recording unit configured to record the parameter generated by the parameter generation unit as meta data of the image data in a recording medium together with the image data obtained by the obtaining unit;

an image reproducing apparatus for reproducing the image data recorded by the image recording apparatus, the image reproducing apparatus comprising:
a read unit configured to read out the image

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Sugawara Atsushi

Classifications

• H04N23/611 Primary

  where the recognised objects include parts of the human body · CPC title

• H04N5/23212 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G06F3/04847

  Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials · CPC title