Digital Camera Composite Image Acquisition via Area Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image capturing apparatuses are inefficient in acquiring composite image data quickly, as they perform auto focus processes for each sensing area, leading to slower data acquisition and composition times.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus divides the capture field into multiple areas, associates lens positions with focused objects, and moves the lens to these positions to acquire and compose image data, allowing for faster data acquisition and composition by focusing only on areas in focus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the apparatus performs auto focus processes for each sensing area to ensure accurate focus, then the focusing precision is improved, but the time required for data acquisition and composition increases
Solution Approach 1:
The capture field is divided into multiple sensing areas, and the apparatus performs auto focus processes selectively for each area rather than uniformly across the entire field. This segmentation allows the system to identify and focus only on areas containing objects of interest, thereby maintaining focusing precision while reducing the overall time required for data acquisition and composition.
2Manufacturing precision
If the apparatus performs auto focus processes for each sensing area to ensure accurate focus, then the image quality is improved, but the productivity of image capturing decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The capture field is divided into multiple sensing areas, and the apparatus performs auto focus processes selectively for each area rather than uniformly across the entire field. This segmentation allows the system to identify and focus only on areas containing objects of interest, thereby maintaining image quality while reducing the overall time required for data acquisition and composition.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of performing auto focus processes on all sensing areas uniformly, the apparatus applies partial action by selectively focusing only on areas where objects are detected. This approach maintains high image quality for relevant areas while avoiding unnecessary processing in empty or irrelevant areas, thus improving overall capturing speed.
3Reliability
If the apparatus performs comprehensive auto focus processes across all sensing areas to ensure complete coverage, then the reliability of focus acquisition is improved, but the complexity of the control process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The capture field is divided into multiple sensing areas, allowing the control process to manage focus operations in smaller, more manageable units. This segmentation maintains focus acquisition reliability by ensuring each area is properly evaluated, while reducing overall control complexity through localized processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus performs preliminary detection to identify areas containing objects before executing the auto focus process. This preliminary action allows the system to pre-select which sensing areas require focus processing, thereby maintaining reliable focus acquisition for all relevant areas while simplifying the control process by eliminating unnecessary operations in empty areas.
Data Source
AI summary
In a digital camera 1, when the halfway depression operation of the shutter button is detected, the lens position which is in focus for each capture area is detected and stored. On the other hand, when instruction to record is detected, intensity of light is sequentially read out at the stored lens position from the capture area associated with the lens position and the image data is generated. Accordingly, it is possible to acquire image data which is in focus on all objects that have been imaged by the CMOS sensor 4.