Image processing apparatus, image-capturing apparatus, and storage medium having image processing program stored thereon

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9727985-B2
Application number	US-201414485253-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 12, 2014
Priority date	Mar 16, 2012
Publication date	Aug 8, 2017
Grant date	Aug 8, 2017

Abstract

A technique is disclosed to calculate a new pixel value of a particular color of second-viewpoint color image data in such a manner that a difference between the new pixel value of the particular color of the second viewpoint and the pixel value of the particular color of the first-viewpoint color image data maintains correlation with a sum of a difference between the pixel value of a first color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the first color component of third-viewpoint color image data and a difference between the pixel value of a second color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the second color component of the third-viewpoint color image data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to:
from first-viewpoint color image data corresponding to a first viewpoint, extract a pixel value of a particular color at a target pixel position of the first-viewpoint color image data, the particular color corresponding to one of n (n≧2) color components forming a color of a subject image, the first viewpoint being one of a plurality of viewpoints from which the subject image is captured,
from second-viewpoint color image data corresponding to a second viewpoint different from the first viewpoint and third-viewpoint color image data corresponding to a third viewpoint different from the first viewpoint, extract pixel values of at least first and second color components at the target pixel position of the second-viewpoint color image data and extract pixel values of at least the first and second color components at the target pixel position of the third-viewpoint color image data, and
calculate a new pixel value of the particular color of the second-viewpoint color image data in such a manner that a difference between the new pixel value of the particular color of the second viewpoint and the pixel value of the particular color of the first-viewpoint color image data maintains correlation with a sum of at least (i) a difference between the pixel value of the first color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the first color component of the third-viewpoint color image data and (ii) a difference between the pixel value of the second color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the second color component of the third-viewpoint color image data.

2. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to
calculate the new pixel value of the particular color of the second-viewpoint color image data in such a manner that the difference between the new pixel value of the particular color of the second viewpoint and the pixel value of the particular color of the first-viewpoint color image data is in proportion to a sum of at least (i) the difference between the pixel value of the first color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the first color component of the third-viewpoint color image data and (ii) the difference between the pixel value of the second color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the second color component of the third-viewpoint color image data.

3. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
the first viewpoint is a viewpoint between the second viewpoint and the third viewpoint.

4. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein
each of the pixel values of the first-, second- and third-viewpoint color image data is a value resulting from gamma transformation.

5. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to
produce new color image data of the second viewpoint while sequentially changing the particular color so that the new color image data of the second viewpoint is prepared for all of the n color components.

6. An image processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to:
from first-viewpoint color image data corresponding to a first viewpoint, extract a pixel value of a particular color at a target pixel position of the first-viewpoint color image data, the particular color corresponding to one of n (n≧2) color components forming a color of a subject image, the first viewpoint being one of a plurality of viewpoints from which the subject image is captured;
from second-viewpoint color image data corresponding to a second viewpoint different from the first viewpoint and third-viewpoint color image data corresponding to a third viewpoint different from the first viewpoint, extract pixel values of at least first and second color components at the target pixel position of the second-viewpoint color image data and extract pixel values of at least the first and second color components at the target pixel position of the third-viewpoint color image data; and
calculate a new pixel value of the particular color of the second-viewpoint color image data in such a manner that a ratio between the new pixel value of the particular color of the second viewpoint and the pixel value of the particular color of the first-viewpoint color image data maintains correlation with a product of at least two ratios of (i) a ratio defined by the pixel value of the first color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the first color component of the third-viewpoint color image data and (ii) a ratio defined by the pixel value of the second color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the second color component of the third-viewpoint color image data.

7. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to
calculate the new pixel value of the particular color of the second-viewpoint color image data in such a manner that the ratio between the new pixel value of the particular color of the second viewpoint and the pixel value of the particular color of the first-viewpoint color image data is in proportion to a product of at least (i) a square root of the ratio between the pixel value of the first color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the first color component of the third-viewpoint color image data and (ii) a square root of the ratio between the pixel value of the second color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the second color component of the third-viewpoint color image data.

8. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to
calculate the new pixel value of the particular color of the second-viewpoint color image data in such a manner that the ratio between the new pixel value of the particular color of the second viewpoint and the pixel value of the particular color of the first-viewpoint color image data is in proportion to a product of at least (i) a ratio between the pixel value of the first color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and a sum of the pixel value of the first color component of the third-viewpoint color image data and a pixel value of the first color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and (ii) a ratio between the pixel value of the second color component of the second-viewpoint color image data and a sum of the pixel value of the second color component of the third-viewpoint color image data and the pixel value of the second color component of the second-viewpoint color image data.

9. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 6 , wherein
each of the pixel values of the first-, second- and third-viewpoint color image data is a linear gray level value in proportion to an amount of received light.

10. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:
an image sensor configured to capture a subject image; and
the image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further configured to:
extract a pixel value of the particular color from color image data that is output from the image sensor and has a pixel value of the particular color corresponding to the first viewpoint, and
extract pixel values of the first color component and pixel values of the second color component from color image data that is output from the image sensor and has pixel values of the first color component and pixel values of the second color com

Assignees

• Nikon Corp

Inventors

• Ishiga Kenichi
• Shibazaki Kiyoshige
• Hamashima Muneki
• Mori Susumu

Classifications

• G06T11/10 Primary

  Texturing; Colouring; Generation of textures or colours (retouching, inpainting or scratch removal G06T5/77) · CPC title

• H04N25/134

  based on three different wavelength filter elements · CPC title

• H04N23/843

  Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values · CPC title

• H04N23/672

  based on the phase difference signals · CPC title

• H04N13/218 Primary

  using spatial multiplexing · CPC title