Patent · US Expired

Method of creating a high resolution still image using a plurality of images and apparatus for practice of the method

US5920657A · kind A · utility

113Cited by
24References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 8, 1997
Grant dateJul 6, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 8, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N23/698
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The invention is a method for generating a still image, comprising the steps of producing a plurality of images, each of the plurality having been produced at a distinct focal length, scaling each of the images to a common focal length and combining each of the scaled images to a final image of a single focal length, portions of which are of a relatively high resolution, as compared to the images of the original sequence. The invention also includes combining a sequence of still images of varying fields of view into a panoramic image of an overall field of view, which overall field of view includes all of the fields of view of the sequence. In addition to combining images generated at different fields of view, the method of the invention can be used to combine images generated with respect to different fields of view of an overall scene, such as a panoramic scene into a combined panoramic field of view. This aspect of the invention may also be combined with the varying focal length aspect. Even without varying the focal length or the field of view, the invention can be used to produce a composite image of enhanced resolution relative to the resolution of any of the images of the or…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.