Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Tetsuya Kuno

Hiroaki Sugiura

Narihiro Matoba

Koichi Yamashita

Takashi Itow

Kozo Ishida

Naoyuki Fujiyama

Takeshi Yamada

Masashi Tamura

Junko Makita

Kazuaki Kojima

Yoshiko Hatano

Junko Shinohara

Tomonori Fukuta

Hiroyuki Miyake

Noriyuki Komori

Kiyotaka Yamamoto

Junichiro Hayashi

Yoshikuni Nishimura

Kazuhiro Sugiyama

Atsushi Michimori

Takeo Fujita

Shotaro Moriya

Tadashi Minobe

Hideki Kunishio

Hidetada Nagaoka

Shoutarou Moriya

Katsutoshi Sugiyama

Provision is made for obtaining a high-quality image with noise, such as ringing, reduced. An image processing device includes an image correction means for applying image-shake correction processing to an input image; a correction-image characteristic detection means for detecting a characteristic of a correction image obtained through the image-shake correction processing; a first characteristic-determination means for outputting selection information, based on a characteristic-detected correction image obtained through detection of the characteristic of the correction image; and an image outputting means for outputting the input image or the correction image, based on the selection information. As a result, it is made possible to obtain a high-quality image with noise reduced.

Image processing device, image processing method, and information terminal apparatus

An image processing apparatus () that corrects an input image signal (Xin) pixel by pixel to generate a corrected image signal (Xout), having a filtering means () that determines a luminance distribution of a pixel to be corrected and pixels neighboring the pixel to be corrected, a correction gain calculation means () that determines the correction gain of the pixel to be corrected, and an operation means () that uses the correction gain determined by the correction gain calculation means to perform an operation on the input image signal pixel by pixel. With this simple configuration, the dynamic range of the input image can be appropriately improved.

Image processing apparatus and imaging apparatus and method

An image processing device includes a first calculation means for calculating a non-capture color signal corresponding to an H-th interpolation color for a pixel of interest, a second calculation means for calculating a non-capture color signal by multiplying a J-th capture color signal corresponding to the capture color for the pixel of interest by the ratio of the H-th two-dimensional low-pass filter output to the J-th two-dimensional low-pass filter output, and a third calculation means for calculating a non-capture color signal corresponding to the H-th interpolation color for the pixel of interest using the calculation result according to the first calculation means and the calculation result according to the second calculation means.

Image processing device, non-capture color signal calculating device, and image processing method

The present invention provides a control device capable of improving hysteresis characteristics of a voice coil motor () and attaining a suitable lens position without complicating the structure of the control device. As solving means of the invention, a voice coil motor control device () includes a driving current control part () that controls a driving current supplied to the voice coil motor () in accordance with a driving pulse subjected to pulse width modulation, and a driving pulse control part () that divides a drive period of the voice coil motor () into a movement period and a holding period, and controls the driving pulse by changing the duty ratio of the driving pulse during the movement period in accordance with a duty setting value and fixing the duty ratio of the driving pulse during the holding period to the duty setting value.

Voice coil motor control device and method of driving the same, image pickup device

A regression analysis is carried out () using pixel signals having a K-th spectral characteristic as the explanatory variable and pixel signals having an L-th spectral characteristic as the purpose variable in a plurality of pixel positions in an area neighboring a pixel of interest to obtain a pixel signal having the L-th spectral characteristic (). Pixel signals obtained by low-pass filtering (-) of the output signals of an imaging device may be used as the explanatory variable and the purpose variable. The occurrence of false colors is thereby reduced when, in a group of pixel signals from pixels arrayed on a two-dimensional plane, each pixel having one of a plurality of spectral characteristics, the missing colors at each pixel position are obtained by interpolation.

Pixel signal processing apparatus and pixel signal processing method

An imaging device has color signal generating means () for outputting first color signals (R, G, B) corresponding to incident light, and matrix operation means () for performing a matrix calculation including multiplication of the first color signals, color signals obtained by raising the first color signals to a power with a first constant (i) as an exponent, color signals obtained by raising the first color signals to a power with a second constant (j) as an exponent, and corresponding matrix coefficients to obtain second color signals (R, G, B). The first and second constants and the matrix coefficients are determined so that the total characteristics of the color signal generating means and the spectral sensitivity characteristic correction means () approximate human chromatic curves or spectral sensitivity curves obtained by a linear transformation thereof. Good color reproducibility can be obtained without the use of an infrared cut filter for chromatic correction in the imaging device, and high-sensitivity imaging can be performed under dark conditions.

Imaging device

In a digital still camera, the amount of blur when a picture is taken is calculated from a first picture captured with a high-speed electronic shutter and a second picture captured with a normal shutter speed (), and the blur in the picture captured with the normal shutter speed, which is degraded by the blur, is corrected through digital signal processing, by applying a picture restoration algorithm (). Blur can be corrected by a simple device, without requiring an angular velocity sensor or a circuit to process its output in order to reduce the effect of camera shake.

Picture taking device and picture restoration method

The difference between the output of a k-signal nonlinear low-pass filter () and the output of an h-signal nonlinear low-pass filter () is added () to the value of the h-th pixel signal (h(i, j)) at the pixel position of interest to obtain the k-th pixel signal (k(i, j)) at the pixel position of interest. Accurate pixel interpolation can be performed with good noise immunity, even at locations where the color signals are uncorrelated.

A pixel signal having a k-th spectral characteristic at a pixel interpolation position occupied by a pixel signal having an h-th spectral characteristic is generated from a set of pixel signals arrayed in a two-dimensional plane, each having one of a plurality of spectral characteristics, by calculating a difference between low-frequency components, corresponding to a degree of correlation between pixel signals having the k-th and h-th spectral characteristics in a neighborhood of the pixel interpolation position (), calculating a non-correlation value corresponding to a degree of non-correlation between the pixel signals having the k-th and h-th spectral characteristics in the neighborhood of the pixel interpolation position (), and obtaining the pixel signal having the k-th spectral characteristic at the pixel interpolation position by using the calculated difference and the non-correlation value (). Accurate interpolation can be performed despite various different correlation relationships between color component values.

Pixel signal processor and pixel signal processing method

An imaging system controller () outputs a control signal (VC). The control signal (VC) gives a command to output driving clocks (&#x3c6;Vn, &#x3c6;Hm) of an imaging element () in a signal transmission period, and a command to suspend output of the clocks (&#x3c6;Vn, &#x3c6;Hm) in an idle period subsequent to the signal transmission period. The length of the idle period is a multiple of the length of the signal transmission period by a natural number. The imaging system controller () periodically repeats output of the control signal (VC) giving these commands a number of times corresponding to the number of horizontal lines of the imaging element (). In response to the commands of the control signal (VC), a timing generator () generates and outputs the clocks (&#x3c6;Vn, &#x3c6;Hm), and suspends generation and output of the same. An imaging device () thereby intermittently drives the imaging element (), to generate and output a picked-up image signal (V).

Intermittent driving type imaging device for portable terminal

An image capture apparatus which is compact and structurally simple and allows for prevention of a flicker noise, a method of capturing an image which allows for prevention of a flicker noise, and a mobile terminal using the apparatus and the method, are provided. In the image capture apparatus, a vertical cycle is adjusted so as to maintain 20 fps or 20/2m (m is an integer) fps, thereby to prevent a flicker noise in an image as obtained. To this end, in the image capture apparatus, a frequency of a horizontal transfer clock, a horizontal count level and a vertical line count level may be adjusted. Further, a fraction count is provided to adjust the length of one vertical cycle. Moreover, the image capture apparatus may be incorporated in a mobile terminal.

Image capturing apparatus and method for reducing a flicker effect

An image pickup apparatus includes a solid-state imaging device, an accumulating section, first and second imaging parameter setting sections, a calculating section, a flicker detecting section, and a switching section. The accumulating section calculates a projection output value of a predetermined line in a frame. The calculating section calculates inter-frame variations of the projection output values, and calculates a flicker index from the variations of a predetermined number of frames. The flicker detecting section detects the flicker from the index, and controls the switching section in response to the detection result of the flicker, so that the switching section selects either the setting signals from the first imaging parameter setting section or the setting signals from the second imaging parameter setting section. Thus, the charge storage time of the solid-state imaging device is set at either an integer multiple of 1/100 second or an integer multiple of 1/120 second in response to the frequency (50 Hz or 60 Hz) of a power supply of the fluorescent lighting. The image pickup apparatus can solve a problem of a conventional apparatus in that it is difficult for the conventional apparatus to suppress the flicker in regions where the frequency of the power supply differ from each other.

Image pickup apparatus with reduced flicker and automatic level adjusting method of the same

The image pick-up apparatus is one in which a first image forming lens for forming as an image on a light-receiving surface a light entering from a first direction toward the light-receiving surface of an image pick-up device and a second image forming lens for forming as an image on the light-receiving surface a light entering from a second direction different from the first direction are mounted on a lens mount, and in which optical means for changing a direction of travel of at least one of the lights entering from these different directions to a direction perpendicular to the light-receiving surface is held in the lens mount.

Image pick-up apparatus and portable telephone utilizing the same

An imaging apparatus includes an imaging device having a square row-column pixel matrix, and having units for transferring pixel signals in the row direction and the column direction of the matrix. The rows and columns of the pixel matrix are oriented at angles of forty-five degrees with respect to the vertical axis of the imaging apparatus. After being read from the imaging apparatus in row-column order, the pixel signals are reordered to conform to a scanning sequence with horizontal or vertical scanning lines. Alternatively, the pixel signals are read from the imaging device in this scanning sequence. Improved horizontal and vertical resolution is thereby obtained from an imaging apparatus with a conventional square pixel matrix.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tetsuya Kuno