The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 26, 2017
Filed:
Dec. 16, 2015
Google Llc, Mountain View, CA (US);
Marc Stewart Levoy, Stanford, CA (US);
Roman Lewkow, San Jose, CA (US);
Google LLC, Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to methods and systems that may reduce pixel noise due to defective sensor elements in optical imaging systems. Namely, a camera may capture a burst of images with an image sensor while adjusting a focus distance setting of an optical element. For example, the image burst may be captured during an autofocus process. The plurality of images may be averaged or otherwise merged to provide a single, aggregate image frame. Such an aggregate image frame may appear blurry. In such a scenario, 'hot' pixels, 'dead' pixels, or otherwise defective pixels may be more easily recognized and/or corrected. As an example, a defective pixel may be removed from a target image or otherwise corrected by replacing a value of the defective pixel with an average value of neighboring pixels.