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US 9,851,483 B2Granted
Stereoscopic imaging method and system that divides a pixel matrix into subgroups
AssigneeSony Corporation
InventorsShuzo Sato, Eiji Otani, Ken Ozawa, Seiji Kobayashi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A stereoscopic imaging method where a pixel matrix is divided into groups such that parallax information is received by one pixel group and original information is received by another pixel group. The parallax information may, specifically, be based on polarized information received by subgroups of the one pixel, group and by processing all of the information received multiple images are rendered by the method.
Claims25
A parallax imaging method comprising:
- receiving, with a first pixel grow of a pixel matrix, a first polarized light of a subject output from a first polarizer and an imaging lens;
- outputting, with the first pixel group, first electrical signals based on the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens;
- further polarizing, with a second polarizer, the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens, the second polarizer including a first polarization area and a second polarization area different from the first polarization area, the first polarization area is configured to further polarize the first polarized light in a first direction, the second polarization area is configured to further polarize the first polarized light in a second direction different from the first direction;
- receiving, with a second pixel group of the pixel matrix, the first polarized light that is further polarized in the first direction by the first polarization area and the first polarized light that is further polarized in the second direction by the second polarization area;
- outputting, with the second pixel group, second electrical signals based on the polarized light that is further polarized in the first direction and the first polarized light that is further polarized in the second direction;
- receiving, with an imaging processor, the first electrical signals and the second electrical signals;
- generating, with the imaging processor, parallax information based on the first electrical signals;
- generating, with the imaging processor, image information based on the second electrical signals;
- and
- generating, with the imaging processor, one or more stereoscopic images based at least in part on the parallax information and the image information.
7 more elements
A parallax imaging apparatus comprising:
- a pixel matrix including a first pixel group and a second pixel group different from the first pixel group,
- wherein the first pixel group is configured to
- receive a first polarized light of a subject output from a first polarizer and an imaging lens, and
- output first electrical signals based on the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens;
- a second polarizer including a first polarization area and a second polarization area different from the first polarization area, the first polarization area is configured to further polarize the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens in a first direction, the second polarization area is configured to further polarize the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens in a second direction different from the first direction,
- wherein the second pixel group is configured to
- receive the first polarized light that is further polarized in the first direction by the first polarization area and the first polarized light that is further polarized in the second direction by the second polarization area, and
- output second electrical signals based on the first polarized light that is further polarized in the first direction and the first polarized light that is further polarized in the second direction;
- and
- an imaging processor configured to
- receive the first electrical signals and the second electrical signals,
- generate parallax information based on the first electrical signals,
- generate image information based on the second electrical signals, and
- generate one or more stereoscopic images based at least in part on the parallax information and the image information.
11 more elements
A parallax imaging system comprising:
- a pixel matrix including a first pixel group and a second pixel group different from the first pixel group, the first pixel group is configured to
- receive a first polarized light of a subject output from a first polarizer and an imaging lens, and
- output first electrical signals based on the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens;
- and
- a second polarizer including a first polarization area and a second polarization area different from the first polarization area, the first polarization area is configured to further polarize the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens in a first direction, the second polarization area is configured to further polarize the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens in a second direction different from the first direction;
- wherein the second pixel group is configured to output second electrical signals based on the first polarized light that is further polarized in the first direction by the first polarization area and the first polarized light that is further polarized in the second direction by the second polarization area,
- an imaging processor configured to
- receive the first electrical signals and the second electrical signals,
- generate parallax information based on the first electrical signals,
- generate image information based on the second electrical signals, and
- generate one or more stereoscopic images based at least in part on the parallax information and the image information.
8 more elements
A parallax imaging apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of pixels including a first pixel group and a second pixel group different from the first pixel group, the first pixel group is configured to
- receive a first polarized light of a subject output from a first polarizer and an imaging lens, and
- output first electrical signals based on the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens;
- and
- a second polarizer including a first polarization area and a second polarization area different from the first polarization area, the first polarization area is configured to further polarize a polarized light the first polarized light of a subject the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens in a first direction, the second polarization-area is configured to further polarize the first polarized light of the subject output from the—first polarizer and the imaging lens in a second direction different from the first direction;
- wherein the second pixel group is configured to
- receive the first polarized light that is further polarized in the first direction from the second polarizer,
- receive the first polarized light that is further polarized in the second direction from the second polarizer, and
- output second electrical signals based on the first polarized light that is further polarized in the first direction and the first polarized light that is further polarized in the second direction.
6 more elements
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program code for a parallax imaging process, the program code being executable by an imaging processor to perform operations comprising:
- receiving first electrical signals from a first pixel group of a pixel matrix, the first electrical signals are based on a first polarized light of a subject output from a first polarizer and an imaging lens;
- receiving first second electrical signals from a first second pixel group of the pixel matrix, the first second electrical signals are based on a further polarization of a polarized the first polarized light of a subject the subject output from an imaging the first polarizer and the imaging lens in a first direction and a second further polarization the first polarized light of the subject output from the first polarizer and the imaging lens in a second direction different from the first direction;
- generating parallax information based on the first electrical signals;
- generating image information based on the second electrical signals;
- and
- generating one or more stereoscopic images based at least in part on the parallax information and the image information.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.