Image pickup apparatus, image pickup method, and program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9690126-B2
Application number	US-201514840938-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2015
Priority date	Jul 25, 2013
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus includes: a polarization removing element layer including a plurality of polarization removing elements, each of the plurality of polarization removing elements being configured to polarize an incident light to thereby obtain light having a polarization axis in a predetermined direction and to transmit the polarized light; a polarizer layer provided in front of the polarization removing element layer, the polarizer layer being configured to twist polarization axes of light having a plurality of polarization axes by predetermined angles, respectively, and to transmit the light; an inclination detecting device configured to detect inclination of the incident light to an optical axis; a controller configured to control and drive the polarizer layer such that the polarizer layer twists the polarization axis of light depending on the inclination detected by the inclination detecting device and transmits the light; and an image pickup device configured to detect the light.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image pickup apparatus, comprising:
a polarizer layer configured to twist polarization axes of light having a plurality of polarization axes by predetermined angles, respectively, and to transmit the light;
an inclination detecting device configured to detect inclination of the incident light to an optical axis;
a controller configured to control and drive the polarizer layer such that the polarizer layer twists the polarization axis of light depending on the inclination detected by the inclination detecting device and transmits the light; and
an image pickup device configured to detect the light passing through the polarizer layer.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the polarizer layer includes a twisted nematic liquid crystal layer.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control a twist angle of nematic liquid crystal molecules in the twisted nematic liquid crystal layer between about 0 degrees to 270 degrees depending on the inclination detected by the inclination detecting device.

4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising: matrix wiring configured to apply voltage to the twisted nematic liquid crystal layer.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the twisted nematic liquid crystal layer is divided into a plurality of areas, each of the plurality of areas corresponding to at least one pixel, the wiring being arranged in the matrix form such that the wiring corresponds to the plurality of areas.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a polarization removing element layer; and
an optimizer processor configured to apply subtraction, enhancement, and correction processing to an image detected by the image pickup device, wherein
a pixel array includes a pixel of at least one color having a great effect on brightness, and includes pixels having color combination of at least three colors,
the controller is configured to drive the polarization removing element layer and the polarizer layer corresponding to a pixel area of the color having a great effect on brightness, and
the optimizer processor is configured to
compare activity of each pixel of a polarized image with activity of the corresponding pixel of a normal image, the polarized image being taken under a state where the polarizer layer is driven and including a pixel of a color having a great effect on brightness, the normal image being taken and including pixels excluding the pixel of the color having a great effect on brightness out of the pixels having color combination of at least three colors, and
to generate a processed image including pixels each having higher activity.

7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the pixel array is checkered, the pixel array including two pixels in a horizontal direction and two pixels in a perpendicular direction for each unit, a red pixel and a blue pixel being arranged on one diagonal line, a first green pixel and a second green pixel being arranged on the other diagonal line different from the one diagonal line,
the controller is configured to drive the polarization removing element layer and the polarizer layer corresponding to the pixel area of the second green pixel, and
the optimizer processor is configured
to compare activity of each pixel of a polarized image with activity of the corresponding pixel of a normal image, the polarized image being taken under a state where the polarizer layer is driven and including the second green pixel, the normal image being taken and including the red pixel, the blue pixel, and the first green pixel, and
to generate a processed image including pixels each having higher activity.

8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the pixel array includes two pixels in a horizontal direction and two pixels in a perpendicular direction for each unit, the pixel array including a red pixel, a blue pixel, a green pixel, and a white pixel,
the controller is configured to drive the polarization removing element layer and the polarizer layer corresponding to the pixel area of the white pixel, and
the optimizer processor is configured
to compare activity of each pixel of a polarized image with activity of the corresponding pixel of a normal image, the polarized image being taken under a state where the polarizer layer is driven and including the white pixel, the normal image being taken and including the red pixel, the blue pixel, and the green pixel, and
to generate a processed image including pixels each having higher activity.

9. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the pixel array is checkered, the pixel array including two pixels in a horizontal direction and two pixels in a perpendicular direction for each unit, a red pixel and a blue pixel being arranged on one diagonal line, a first green pixel and a second green pixel being arranged on the other diagonal line different from the one diagonal line,
the controller is configured
to drive the polarization removing element layer corresponding to the pixel area of the first green pixel in one direction, and the polarization removing element layer corresponding to the pixel area of the second green pixel in a direction orthogonal to the one direction, and
to drive the polarizer layer, and

the optimizer processor is configured
to compare activity of each pixel of a first polarized image with activity of the corresponding pixel of a second polarized image, the first polarized image including the first green pixel, the red pixel, and the blue pixel, the second polarized image including the second green pixel, the red pixel, and the blue pixel, and
to generate a processed image including pixels each having higher activity.

10. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a polarization removing element layer including a plurality of polarization removing elements,
wherein each of the polarization removing elements includes a Guest-Host liquid crystal.

11. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to drive at least one Guest-Host liquid crystal out of the plurality of Guest-Host liquid crystals being the plurality of polarization removing elements.

12. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a polarization removing element layer including two polarization removing elements, a polarization axis of one polarization removing element being orthogonal to a polarization axis of the other polarization removing element.

13. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: an optimizer processor configured to apply subtraction, enhancement, and correction processing to an image detected by the image pickup device.

14. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a transparent layer is provided on an image pickup device, a refractive index of the transparent layer being lower than a refractive index of an on-chip lens, the on-chip lens being structured on a pixel of the image pickup device, the polarizer being arranged in front of the transparent layer having the lower refractive index.

15. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the polarizer layer includes a wire-grid polarizer.

16. An image pickup method, executed by an image pickup apparatus including a polarizer layer configured to twist polarization axes of light having a plurality of polarization axes by predetermined angles, respectively, and

Assignees

• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Iwasaki Masanori

Classifications

• G02B27/28 Primary

  for polarising (used in stereoscopes G02B30/25) · CPC title

• H04N25/133

  including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light · CPC title

• H04N25/135

  based on four or more different wavelength filter elements · CPC title

• H04N25/134

  based on three different wavelength filter elements · CPC title

• H04N23/741

  by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors · CPC title