# US 10,375,319 B2 · Capturing and processing of images including occlusions focused on an image sensor by a lens stack array

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 10,375,319 B2
- Document ID: US10375319B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/199,566
- Filed: 2018-11-26
- Published: 2019-04-11
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2008-05-20
- Assignees: FotoNation Limited
- Applicants: FotoNation Limited
- Inventors: Kartik Venkataraman; Amandeep S. Jabbi; Robert H. Mullis; Jacques Duparre; Shane Ching-Feng Hu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10375319B2

## CPC

- G06T 7/557: from light fields, e.g. from plenoptic cameras
- G02B 3/0056: {arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses (G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085)}
- G02B 3/0062: {Stacked lens arrays, i.e. refractive surfaces arranged in at least two planes, without structurally separate optical elements in-between}
- G02B 5/20: Filters (polarising elements G02B5/30)
- G02B 5/201: {in the form of arrays}
- G02B 13/0015: {characterised by the lens design}
- G06T 7/50: Depth or shape recovery
- G06T 11/60: Creating or editing images; Combining images with text
- G06T 19/20: Editing of three-dimensional [3D] images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
- H04N 5/262: Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects {; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects}
- H04N 5/265: Mixing
- H04N 13/128: Adjusting depth or disparity
- H04N 13/239: using two two-dimensional [2D] image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance (H04N13/243 takes precedence)
- H04N 23/11: for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
- H04N 23/13: with multiple sensors
- H04N 23/16: Optical arrangements associated therewith, e.g. for beam-splitting or for colour correction
- H04N 23/45: for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images
- H04N 23/54: Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
- H04N 23/55: Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
- H04N 23/60: Control of cameras or camera modules
- H04N 23/69: Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
- H04N 23/698: for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
- H04N 23/88: for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control
- H04N 23/90: Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
- H04N 23/951: by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
- H04N 25/41: {Extracting pixel data from a plurality of image sensors simultaneously picking up an image, e.g. for increasing the field of view by combining the outputs of a plurality of sensors}
- H04N 25/48: Increasing resolution by shifting the sensor relative to the scene
- H04N 25/581: acquired simultaneously
- H04N 25/6153: {for colour signals}
- H04N 25/705: Pixels for depth measurement, e.g. RGBZ
- H04N 25/79: Arrangements of circuitry being divided between different or multiple substrates, chips or circuit boards, e.g. stacked image sensors
- G06T 2200/04: involving 3D image data
- G06T 2207/10028: Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
- G06T 2207/10052: Images from lightfield camera
- G06T 2207/20221: Image fusion; Image merging
- H04N 13/257: Colour aspects
- H04N 25/131: including elements passing infrared wavelengths
- H04N 25/133: including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light
- H04N 25/135: {based on four or more different wavelength filter elements}
- H04N 2013/0081: {Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals}
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

Systems and methods for implementing array cameras configured to perform super-resolution processing to generate higher resolution super-resolved images using a plurality of captured images and lens stack arrays that can be utilized in array cameras are disclosed. An imaging device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention includes at least one imager array, and each imager in the array comprises a plurality of light sensing elements and a lens stack including at least one lens surface, where the lens stack is configured to form an image on the light sensing elements, control circuitry configured to capture images formed on the light sensing elements of each of the imagers, and a super-resolution processing module configured to generate at least one higher resolution super-resolved image using a plurality of the captured images.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A camera array, comprising:
a plurality of cameras configured to capture images of a scene;
an image processor configured to process at least a subset of images captured by the plurality of cameras;
wherein the plurality of cameras comprises at least three cameras, wherein a first camera is equipped with a lens at a first zoom level providing a widest-angle view, a second camera is equipped with a lens at a second zoom level, and a third camera is equipped with a lens at a third zoom level providing a greatest magnification view to provide at least three distinct zoom magnifications;
wherein cameras in the plurality of cameras are configured to operate with at least one difference in operating parameters;
wherein the image processor is configured to:
measure parallax within the processed images by detecting parallax- induced changes taking into account the position of the cameras that captured the images;
generate a depth map using the measured parallax;
synthesize images having different levels of zoom; and
synthesize an image at a zoom level between the zoom level of the first camera and the zoom level of the third camera using the images captured by the plurality of cameras and the depth map.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the second camera provides a zoom level between the widest-angle view and the greatest magnification view.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The camera array of claim 2, wherein the third camera includes a telephoto lens.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, further comprising:
a display;
wherein the image processor is configured to synthesize images that smoothly transition from one zoom level to another zoom level when displayed.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The camera array of claim 4, wherein the transition is from the first zoom level corresponding to the widest-angle view to the third zoom level corresponding to the greatest-magnification view.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the image processor is configured to synthesize an image using the images captured by the plurality of cameras and the depth map by mapping pixels from the images captured by the plurality of cameras onto an output image with a size and resolution corresponding to a specific amount of zoom.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the image processor is configured to select at least one distance as an “in best focus” distance and blur an image produced by the camera array based upon estimated distance information.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein each camera comprises:
optics comprising at least one lens element and at least one aperture; and
a sensor comprising a two dimensional array of pixels and control circuitry for controlling imaging parameters.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras comprises at least three cameras having different imaging characteristics including different resolutions.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras comprises an array of camera arrays.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the cameras having different imaging characteristics are configured to operate with at least one difference in operating parameters selected from the group consisting of exposure time, gain, and black level offset.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the camera array is a monolithic camera array assembly comprising:
a lens element array forming the optics of each camera; and
a single semiconductor substrate on which pixels and control circuitry for each camera are formed.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein at least one camera from the plurality of cameras having a higher magnification lens is configured with the same center of view as at least one camera from the plurality of cameras having a lower magnification lens such that a center area of the image synthesized by the image processor has a higher resolution than an outer area.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the image processor is further configured to perform zooming by discarding pixels at the periphery of an image and increasing the sampling of the pixels nearest the center of the image.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the image processor is configured to synthesize images having different levels of zoom by smoothly interpolating pixel information in lower resolution regions of images captured by the first camera providing the widest-angle view across a larger number of pixels in the synthesized image.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cameras includes a spectral filter configured to pass a specific spectral band of light selected from the group consisting of a Bayer filter, one or more Blue filters, one or more Green filters, one or more Red filters, one or more shifted spectral filters, one or more near-IR filters, and one or more hyper-spectral filters.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the image processor is configured to measure parallax for pixels within the processed images by calculating a parallax difference that yields the highest pixel correlation.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The camera array of claim 17, wherein the parallax difference that yields the highest pixel correlation is determined by keeping track of various pair-wise measurements.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the measured parallax is measured with sub-pixel precision.

### Claim 20 (depends on 1)

The camera array of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras are formed on separate semiconductor substrates.