IP Library Granted Patent US 9,319,581
Granted Patent B2
US 9,319,581 · App. 14/250,981 · Granted Apr 19, 2016

Image editing method and associated apparatus

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,319,581
App. No.
14/250,981
Granted
Apr 19, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

An image editing method for editing an original image is provided. The original image has a distinct figure and an indistinct figure, which correspond to an in-focus object and an out-of-focus object, respectively. The image editing method includes: obtaining an out-of-focus object distance from the out-of-focus object to a lens; performing an inverse blurring process on the indistinct figure according to the out-of-focus object distance and an optical parameter to obtain a processed figure; and forming a processed image according to the processed figure and the distinct figure.

Claims (88)

1. An image editing method, for editing an original image derived from an image capture apparatus comprising an aperture, a lens, and an optical sensor, the original image at least having a distinct figure and an indistinct figure respectively corresponding to an in-focus object and an out-of-focus object, the image editing method comprising:

obtaining an out-of-focus object distance from the out-of-focus object to the lens;

performing an inverse blurring process on the indistinct figure according to the out-of-focus object distance and an optical parameter to obtain a processed figure, said performing the inverse blurring process comprising:

obtaining a blurring convolution function according to a focal length of the lens, the aperture, the out-of-focus object distance and the position of the optical sensor;

deducing an inverse blurring function according to the blurring convolution function; and

processing the indistinct figure according to the inverse blurring function to obtain the processed figure; and

forming a processed image according to the processed figure and the distinct figure, comprising:

forming said processed image containing the processed figure and the distinct figure by replacing the indistinct figure in the original image with the processed figure.

2. The image editing method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of obtaining the inverse function comprises:

providing a plurality of reference blurring functions; and

selecting one reference blurring function from the reference blurring functions according to the out-of-focus object and the optical parameter, and accordingly determining the blurring function.

3. The image editing method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of performing the inverse blurring process on the indistinct figure to obtain the processed figure comprises:

determining a blurring function according to the out-of-focus object distance and the optical parameter;

providing an initial figure;

performing a blurring process on the initial figure according to the blurring function to obtain a result figure;

adjusting the initial figure to render the result figure to be similar to the indistinct figure; and

utilizing the initial figure as the processed figure.

4. The image editing method according to claim 3 , wherein the blurring process is an inverse function of the inverse blurring process.

5. The image editing method according to claim 1 , wherein the original image is a first original image, and the step of obtaining the out-of-focus object distance comprises:

obtaining a second original image; and

obtaining the out-of-focus object distance according to the first and second original images.

6. The image editing method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of obtaining the out-of-focus object distance comprises:

transmitting electromagnetic waves to the out-of-focus object by a distance detecting unit to detect the out-of-focus object distance.

7. The image editing method according to claim 1 , wherein the processed image is a first processed image, the image editing method further comprising:

obtaining an in-focus object distance from the in-focus object to the lens; and

performing a blurring process on at least a part of the processed image according to the in-focus object distance and another optical parameter to obtain a second processed image.

8. An image processing apparatus, configured to process an original image generated by photographing, comprising:

an image capture apparatus, comprising:

an aperture;

a lens; and

an optical sensor;

a processor, configured to identify a distinct figure and an indistinct figure from the original image, the distinct figure and the indistinct figure respectively corresponding to an in-focus object and an out-of-focus object photographed; and

a distance detecting unit, configured to obtain an out-of-focus object distance from the out-of-focus object to the lens;

wherein the processor is configured to perform an inverse blurring process on the indistinct figure according to the out-of-focus object distance and an optical parameter of the lens to obtain a processed figure, said performing the inverse blurring process comprises obtaining a blurring convolution function according to a focal length of the lens, the aperture, the out-of-focus object distance and the position of the optical sensor; deducing an inverse blurring function according to the blurring convolution function; and processing the indistinct figure according to the inverse blurring function to obtain the processed figure, and the processor is configured to form a processed image according to the processed figure and the distinct figure, comprising: forming said processed image containing the processed figure and the distinct figure by replacing the indistinct figure in the original image with the processed figure.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a memory storing a plurality of reference blurring functions; wherein, the processor selects a reference blurring function from the reference blurring functions according to the out-of-focus object distance and the optical parameter, and accordingly determines a blurring function.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the processor deduces an inverse blurring function according to the blurring function, and performs the inverse blurring process on the indistinct figure according to the inverse blurring function to obtain the processed figure.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the processor provides and adjusts an initial figure, and renders a result figure obtained from processing the initial figure by the blurring function to be similar to the indistinct figure, and utilizes the initial figure as the simulated figure.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a memory storing a plurality of reference blurring functions; wherein, the processor performs the inverse blurring process on the indistinct figure according to one of the reference inverse blurring functions, the optical parameter and the out-of-focus object distance to obtain the processed figure.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the distance detecting unit renders the processor to obtain another original image, and the processor obtains the out-of-focus object distance according to the another original image.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a displacement sensor configured to provide a shift amount of the lens.

15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the processor performs the inverse blurring process on the indistinct figure according to the out-of-focus object distance, the optical parameter and the shift amount to obtain the processed figure.

16. The image editing method according to claim 1 , wherein said blurring convolution function is

H

(

f

,

A

,

S

p

,

S

sharp

)

=

1

/

29

×

[

0

0

1

0

0

0

2

3

2

0

1

3

5

3

1

0

2

3

2

0

0

0

1

0

0

]

where f, A, S p and S sharp represent the focal length, the aperture, the position of the dot light source, and the position of optical sensor, respectively.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 18, 2021
From: MEDIATEK INC.
To: XUESHAN TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Reel/Frame 056593/0167 →
MERGER Recorded Apr 13, 2020
From: MSTAR SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
To: MEDIATEK INC.
Reel/Frame 052381/0368 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 11, 2014
From: CHENG, KUN-NAN; SHEN, YU-CHUAN
To: MSTAR SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
Reel/Frame 032657/0833 →