Patent · US Expired

Panoramic imaging and display system with canonical magnifier

US7274381B2 · kind B2 · utility

47Cited by
17References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 20, 2004
Grant dateSep 25, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 20, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N23/58
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention provides an image acquisition and viewing system that employs a fish-eye lens and an imager, such as, a CCD array, to obtain a wide angle image, e.g., an image of a hemispherical field of view. The system of the invention further includes a primary display for displaying the image, and a secondary display for presenting a perspective-corrected view of a selected portion of the image. A processor effects correction of a selected portion of the image for distortions introduced by the fish-eye lens by utilizing methods according to the teachings of the invention. The processor further effects the display of the image and its perspective-corrected portion thereof on the primary and the secondary displays, respectively. Moreover, the processor effects the display of a graphical object on the first display to delineate the portion that is presented on the secondary display. This allows a viewer to view simultaneously the image and the perspective-corrected portion, thereby gleaning information regarding the context of the perspective-corrected portion within the entire image while viewing it.

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