Patent ID: 6570613
Filing Date: 2003-05-27
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
Method for resolution enhancement of a still-image of a subject made by a digital imaging device using an array of discrete light-sensitive sensors, said array being oriented on a plane that extends along a first axis and a second axis, said second axis being transverse to said first axis, each of said light-sensitive sensors being a natural pixel having a first-axis dimension along said first axis and a second-axis dimension along said second axis, and said sensors being arranged in said array in a plurality of first-axis rows and a plurality of second-axis rows, said method comprising the steps of:(a) determining a desired order of resolution enhancement and a sequence of positions of said array of said sensors that is required to obtain said desired order of resolution enhancement, said sequence comprising a first position and one or more shifted positions along said first axis and/or said second axis, each shifted position of said one or more shifted positions being displaced from an adjacent position in said sequence by a distance less than said first-axis dimension when displaced along said first axis and less than said second-axis dimension when displaced along said second axis; (b) forming a first image of said subject on said array at said first position and recording a data set of said first image on a data carrier, said data set including data from each sensor of said array, and said data set of said first image being a first data set; (c) shifting said array of said sensors from said first position to said shifted position; (d) forming a shifted-position image of said subject on said array of said sensors at said shifted position and recording a shifted-position data set of said shifted-position image onto said data carrier; (e) convoluting said first data set and said shifted-position data set to obtain a plurality of convoluted first-axis data sets, said plurality of convoluted first-axis data sets corresponding in number to said plurality of first-axis rows, wherein said convoluting comprises the steps of: (e1) forming sub-groups of first-axis-aligned data sets by grouping said convoluted first-axis data sets according to each said shifted position of said array along said first axis; (e2) combining a first first-axis row of data from each one of said sub-groups to obtain a first convoluted first-axis data set, analogously combining a second first-axis row of data from each one of said sub-groups to obtain a subsequent convoluted first-axis data set, and repeating this step until a convoluted first-axis data set has been obtained for each corresponding row of said plurality of first-axis rows of said array; (f) deconvoluting said convoluted first-axis data sets into resolved data sets by applying a first-axis deconvolution expression to said first convoluted first-axis data set to obtain first-deconvoluted first-axis image data that is resolution-enhanced and digitally processable, and repeating this step analogously for each subsequent convoluted first-axis data set of said first-axis-aligned data sets to obtain corresponding subsequent-deconvoluted first-axis image data that is resolution-enhanced and digitally processable; (g) forming new groups of said first-axis-aligned data sets by re-grouping said first data set and said shifted-position data set for each said shifted position of said array to obtain first-convoluted, second axis data sets, said first-axis-aligned data sets now including deconvoluted, digitally processable image data for said first-axis rows; and (h) obtaining fully deconvoluted data sets by first convoluting each second-axis row of data sets from said new groups to obtain a plurality of said first-convoluted, second-axis data sets, then applying a second-axis deconvolution expression to each one of said first-convoluted, second-axis data sets to obtain fully deconvoluted, resolution-enhanced digitally processable image data.