US 11,810,273 B2
Image processing method, image processing apparatus and imaging apparatus
Takuya Yasuda, Kyoto (JP)
Assigned to SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., Kyoto (JP)
Filed by SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., Kyoto (JP)
Filed on Aug. 31, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/463,134.
Claims priority of application No. 2020-157369 (JP), filed on Sep. 18, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0092743 A1, Mar. 24, 2022
Int. Cl. G06T 5/00 (2006.01); G06T 5/50 (2006.01)
CPC G06T 5/003 (2013.01) [G06T 5/50 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30024 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30072 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An image processing method for generating an all-in-focus image based on a plurality of captured images, comprising:
(a) obtaining N captured images each constituted by a plurality of pixels by imaging an object while a focus position is changed in N stages along an optical axis, wherein N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2;
(b) obtaining M image reference values and corrective sharpness for each pixel, the image reference value being a number of the captured image to be referred to as a luminance value of each set of coordinates of the all-in-focus image, wherein M is a natural number equal to or greater than 2 and smaller than N;
(c) calculating the luminance value based on the image reference values and the corrective sharpness for each set of coordinates; and
(d) generating the all-in-focus image by combining the calculated luminance values,
wherein the operation (b) includes:
(b-1) obtaining N individual sharpnesses by calculating a sharpness at each focus position; and
(b-2) obtaining the corrective sharpness and the image reference value from the N individual sharpnesses,
wherein top M significant ones of the N individual sharpnesses are extracted as the corrective sharpness and numbers of the captured images respectively corresponding to the M extracted corrective sharpness are set as the M image reference values for each pixel in the operation (b-2).