Three-dimensional image pickup apparatus, light-transparent unit, image processing apparatus, and program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9544570-B2
Application number	US-201213807059-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 11, 2012
Priority date	Apr 22, 2011
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

A 3D image capture device according to an embodiment includes: a light transmitting section 1 with a transmitting area 1 a , of which the spectral transmittance characteristic varies in a first direction; an image sensor 2 a which is arranged to receive light that has been transmitted through the light transmitting section 1 and which outputs a photoelectrically converted signal representing the light received; and an image processing section which extracts an edge of a subject in the first direction, which is included in an image that has been generated based on the photoelectrically converted signal supplied from the image sensor 2 a , and which estimates information about the depth of the subject based on a lightness or hue pattern of a background in the vicinity of the edge extracted.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A 3D image capture device comprising:
a light transmitting section with a transmitting area, wherein the transmitting area has at least three areas which are arranged in the first direction and which transmit light rays falling within respective different wavelength ranges;
an image sensor which is arranged to receive light that has been transmitted through the light transmitting section and which outputs a photoelectrically converted signal representing the light received;
an optical lens which produces an image on the image capturing plane of the image sensor; and
an image processor configured to:
receive the image that has been generated based on the photoelectrically converted signal supplied from the image sensor;
identify a subject in the image;
identify an edge of the subject, wherein the edge lies along the first direction;
identify a background in the vicinity of the edge and separate from the subject;
determine a magnitude of variation in the first direction of a lightness or hue of the background, wherein the determined magnitude of variation corresponds to a number of levels having a different intensity or a number of different colors of the background, respectively;
estimate a distance between the subject and the background based on the determined magnitude of variation and a predetermined correlation between the magnitude of variation and distance, wherein a larger determined magnitude of variation corresponds to a larger estimated distance.

2. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , wherein the transmission wavelength range of the transmitting area changes into three or more different ones in the first direction.

3. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting area is designed so that when achromatic color light is transmitted through the transmitting area, the sum of transmitted light rays becomes the achromatic color light.

4. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , comprising a motor which rotates the transmitting area on a plane that intersects with an optical axis at right angles,
wherein the image processor identifies the edge of the subject by comparing to each other a plurality of images that have been obtained in mutually different rotation states.

5. The 3D image capture device of claim 4 , wherein the image processor identifies the edge of the subject based on the difference between a first image obtained when the transmitting area was in a first state and a second image obtained when the transmitting area was in a second state, which is defined by rotating the transmitting area in the first state 180 degrees.

6. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , wherein the spectral transmittance characteristic of the transmitting area changes continuously and periodically in the first direction.

7. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting area has six areas which are arranged in the first direction and which transmit light rays falling within the wavelength ranges of the colors blue, cyan, green, yellow, red and magenta, respectively.

8. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , wherein the rest of the light transmitting section other than the transmitting area is transparent.

9. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , wherein the image processor generates a depth image, of which each pixel value is represented by the level of the depth, by reference to information indicating the distance between the subject and the background.

10. The 3D image capture device of claim 1 , wherein the image processor generates a color image based on the photoelectrically converted signal supplied from the image sensor.

11. A light transmitting section to be used by the 3D image capture device of claim 1 .

12. A processor to be used by the 3D image capture device of claim 1 , the processor comprising the image processor of claim 1 .

13. A computer program, stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, to be executed by a computer mounted in the 3D image capture device of claim 1 , the computer program causing the computer to execute the steps of:
identifying a subject in a received image;
identifying an edge of the subject;
identifying an edge of the subject, wherein the edge lies along the first direction identifying a background in the vicinity of the edge and separate from the subject;
determining a magnitude of variation in the first direction of a lightness or hue of the background, wherein the determined magnitude of variation corresponds to a number of levels having a different intensity or a number of different colors of the background, respectively;
estimating a distance between the subject and the background based on the determined magnitude of variation and a predetermined correlation between the magnitude of variation and distance, wherein a larger determined magnitude of variation corresponds to a larger estimated distance.

Assignees

• Hiramoto Masao
• Ishii Yasunori
• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hiramoto Masao
• Ishii Yasunori

Classifications

• H04N13/0214

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N13/0271

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G01C11/30 Primary

  by triangulation · CPC title

• H04N13/0203 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G03B35/10

  having single camera with stereoscopic-base-defining system · CPC title