# US 2016/0366325 A1 · Image pickup apparatus capable of inserting and extracting filter > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0366325 A1 - Document ID: US20160366325A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/177,633 - Filed: 2016-06-09 - Published: 2016-12-15 - Earliest claimed: 2015-06-11 - Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Shunsuke Chino; Minoru Haga; Seiya Ohta - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160366325A1 ## CPC - G02B 5/208: {for use with infrared or ultraviolet radiation, e.g. for separating visible light from infrared and/or ultraviolet radiation} - G02B 7/282: {Autofocusing of zoom lenses} - G06T 5/40: using histogram techniques - G06T 5/73: Deblurring; Sharpening - G06T 7/0002: {Inspection of images, e.g. flaw detection} - G06V 10/143: Sensing or illuminating at different wavelengths - G06V 10/507: {Summing image-intensity values; Histogram projection analysis} - H04N 23/55: Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof - H04N 23/67: Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals - H04N 25/60: Noise processing, e.g. detecting, correcting, reducing or removing noise - G06T 2207/10048: Infrared image - G06T 2207/20021: Dividing image into blocks, subimages or windows - G06T 2207/30168: Image quality inspection - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract An image pickup apparatus that is capable of preventing degradation of quality of an image obtained. An insertion-extraction unit inserts and extracts a filter of which transmittance for infrared light is higher than the transmittance for visible light. A computation unit computes an object distance between the image pickup apparatus and an object. An evaluation unit evaluates an image quality based on at least a sharpness in an image including a picked up object image. A control unit controls the insertion-extraction unit so as to insert or extract the filter based on at least one of the image quality and the object distance. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image pickup apparatus comprising: an insertion-extraction unit configured to insert and extract a filter of which transmittance for infrared light is higher than the transmittance for visible light; a computation unit configured to compute an object distance between the image pickup apparatus and an object; an evaluation unit configured to evaluate an image quality based on at least a sharpness in an image including a picked up object image; and a control unit configured to control said insertion-extraction unit so as to insert or extract the filter based on at least one of the image quality and the object distance. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether the object distance is equal to or more than a predetermined distance, wherein said evaluation unit evaluates the image quality when the object distance is equal to or more than the predetermined distance, and wherein said control unit controls said insertion-extraction unit so as to insert the filter when the evaluated image quality is less than a predetermined threshold and to extract the filter when the evaluated image quality is equal to or more than the predetermined threshold or when the object distance is less than the predetermined distance. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said evaluation unit evaluates the image quality based on a sharpness and a luminance dispersion value. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined distance is infinity. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said determination unit determines whether the object distance is infinity according to a field angle at a time of picking up an image of the object. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sharpness is calculated based on a luminance difference at an edge of an object image. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the sharpness is calculated based on an image obtained by applying a filtering process at a predetermined frequency to the object image. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a division unit configured to divide the image into a plurality of areas, wherein the sharpness is calculated for every divided area. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said control unit compares the sharpness calculated for every divided area with the predetermined threshold, counts the number of divided areas of which the sharpness is less than the predetermined threshold, and controls said insertion-extraction unit so as to insert the filter when the counted number is more than a predetermined number. ### Claim 10 (depends on 3) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the luminance dispersion value is calculated based on luminance distribution of the image including the picked-up object image. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a change unit configured to change the predetermined threshold based on one of a field angle and the object distance at a time of picking up the image of the object. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an obtaining unit configured to obtain a gain value set up when brightness of the image is adjusted, and a gain value determination unit configured to determine whether the obtained gain value is equal to or more than a predetermined gain threshold, wherein said control unit controls said insertion-extraction unit so as to extract the filter when the obtained gain value is equal to or more than the predetermined gain threshold. ### Claim 13 An image pickup apparatus comprising: an insertion-extraction unit configured to insert and extract a filter of which transmittance for infrared light is higher than the transmittance for visible light; an obtaining unit configured to obtain a gain value set up when brightness of an image including a picked-up object image is adjusted; a gain value determination unit configured to determine whether the obtained gain value is equal to or more than a predetermined gain threshold; and a control unit configured to control said insertion-extraction unit so as to extract the filter when the obtained gain value is equal to or more than the predetermined threshold and to insert the filter when the obtained gain value is less than the predetermined threshold. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising an execution unit configured to apply an image process to an image picked up when the filter is extracted or to an image picked up when the filter is inserted, wherein a processing level of the image process applied to the image picked up when the filter is extracted is stronger than the processing level of the image process applied to the image picked up when the filter is inserted. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the image process is a gamma process that corrects a luminance level and a color difference level of an output image based on a luminance level and a color difference level of an input image, a sharpness process that emphasizes an edge of an object image included in the image, or a noise reduction process that reduces noise included in the image. ### Claim 16 An image pickup apparatus comprising: an insertion-extraction unit configured to insert or extract a first filter of which transmittance for infrared light is higher than the transmittance for visible light, a second filter of which a wavelength band of transmitting infrared light is narrower than that of the first filter, or a third filter of which a wavelength band of transmitting infrared light is narrower than that of the second filter; a computation unit configured to compute an object distance between the image pickup apparatus and an object; an obtaining unit configured to obtain a focal length of the image pickup apparatus; and a control unit configured to control said insertion-extraction unit so as to insert the first filter, the second filter, or the third filter according to the computed object distance and the obtained focal length. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 16, wherein an aberration amount occurs in the focal length when the first filter, the second filter, or the third filter is inserted is below a predetermined aberration amount. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The image pickup apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the second filter and the third filter permit transmission of light of a wavelength range in which sensitivity of an image pickup device included in the image pickup apparatus is high.