Abstract:
An image capture method for capturing an image with a single lens is provided. The method includes: (a) sequentially moving an image capture unit to predetermined positions; (b) sequentially capturing a plurality of frames of images by the image capture unit at the predetermined positions, wherein at least one image distance difference exists among the images; and (c) generating at least one image file by a processing unit according to the images.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 097106250, filed on Feb. 22, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to an image capture method and system, and more particularly to an image processing method and a system capable of processing a plurality of images. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Driven by advanced developments in image capture technology, users are demanding more vivid colors and perceptual gradation of color of digital still images and motion images. Therefore, one challenge for designers in the field is to develop an image capture and processing method for a digital image capture system that provides vivid and lively three-dimensional image files. 
         [0006]    For three-dimensional objects, the viewing angle of a persons&#39; left eye is different from the persons&#39; right eye due to different specific distances. Thus, when one three-dimensional object light beam image sensed by the left eye and right eye is received, an image distance difference is generated. When the brain combines the images sensed by the left eye and right eye, the brain determines whether the combined image is a three-dimensional image or a two-dimensional image according to the image distance difference. 
         [0007]    Therefore, in conventional technology, to present three-dimensional images, two image capture devices are set at a predetermined distance to simulate the left eye and right eye of humans and then the image capture devices simultaneously captures a pair of images to determine whether an image distance difference exists among each pair of images. 
         [0008]    When a user views image data, the pair of images, i.e. two frames of images, is simultaneously presented on one plane. Thus, a user must wear a specific pair of glasses to adjust the image data when entering the left eye and the right eye. The brain then determines whether an image distance difference exists among the received pair of images. If yes, the brain processes the image data more like a vivid three-dimensional image versus a two-dimensional image. 
         [0009]    Therefore, producing more vivid and brighter colors for the user. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    According to the aforementioned description, an embodiment of the invention provides a two image capture method and an image capture system, using a single image-capturing lens. 
         [0011]    An embodiment of the invention provides an image capture method comprising: (a) sequentially capturing a plurality of frames of images by an image capture unit, wherein an image distance difference exists among each pair of images; and (b) processing the images by a processing unit to provide at least one image file. 
         [0012]    Another embodiment of the invention provides an image capture method comprising: (a) sequentially moving an image capture unit to predetermined positions to capture a plurality of the frames of images; and (b) generating at least one image file by a processing unit according to the images. 
         [0013]    Another embodiment of the invention provides an image capture system. The system comprises an image capture unit and a processing unit. The image capture unit sequentially captures a plurality of the frames of images. The processing unit generates at least one image file according to the images. 
         [0014]    A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an image capture system according to the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of an embodiment of an image file generation method according to the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of another embodiment of an image file generation method according to the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an embodiment of a motion image file generation method according to the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of another embodiment of a motion image file generation method according to the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an image capture system according to the invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the image capture system  100  comprises an image capture module  10 , a driving mechanism  20  and a processing unit  30 , wherein the image capture module  10  can execute different image capture modes, such as a still image capture mode and a motion image capture mode, but the invention is not limited thereto. 
         [0023]    The image capture module  10  comprises an image capture unit and an image-capturing lens for capturing images. The image capture module  10  uses a single image-capturing lens to capture images. The image capture unit may be a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device. 
         [0024]    The driving mechanism  20  comprises a socket and a driving part, wherein the image capture unit is disposed on the socket and the driving part is connected to the socket to move the image capture unit to predetermined positions to capture corresponding images. 
         [0025]    The processing unit  30  processes the image captured by the image capture module to generate a still image file or a motion image file with high perceptual gradation of color. 
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of an embodiment of an image file generation method according to the invention. In step S 210 , the image capture system  100  starts an image capture procedure. In step S 220 , the image-capturing lens of the image capture system  100  receives the light signal SL and the image capture unit senses the light signal SL in a specific order to acquire a plurality of frames of corresponding images, wherein the images comprises at least two images with an image distance difference. 
         [0027]    In step S 230 , the processing unit  30  provides a corresponding image file according to the pixel parameters or by merging the captured images. In one embodiment, the processing unit  30  merges the overlapped areas of the images and removes the non-overlapped areas of the images to generate at least one initial image frame. Then, the processing unit  30  processes the initial image according to the pixel parameters thereof to generate the still image file, wherein the image parameters is a pixel data, for example a value of pixel in the image or a value of pixel generated by the image capture module  10 . In another embodiment, the processing unit  30  compares the corresponding images and estimates the pixel parameters of the still image file according to the pixel parameters of the corresponding images. 
         [0028]    In one embodiment of the present application, the processing may be accomplished by a microprocessor, a microcontroller or a control unit, but the invention is not limited thereto. Furthermore, the image capture system  100  can be applied in a digital camera, a digital camcorder, a cell phone, a personal digital assistance (PDA) or other electronic devices capable of photographer or film-shooting, but the invention is not limited thereto. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of another embodiment of an image file generation method according to the invention. The flowchart of  FIG. 3  is the typical implementation steps of the flowchart of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0030]    In step S 310 , the image capture system  100  enters a still image capture mode. In step S 320 , the driving part of the driving mechanism  20  moves the image capture unit to a first position. In step S 330 , the image-capturing lens of the image capture module  10  receives the light signal SL, and the image capture unit then senses the light signal SL to output a first image, and the first image is then transmitted to the processing unit  30 . In step S 340 , the driving part of the driving mechanism  20  moves the image capture unit to a second position. In step S 330 , the image-capturing lens of the image capture module  10  receives the light signal SL, and the image capture unit then senses the light signal SL to output a second image, and the second image is then transmitted to the processing unit  30 . The first image and the second image are defined as a pair of corresponding images and an image distance difference exists between the first image and the second image. 
         [0031]    In step S 360 , the processing unit  30  merges the first image and the second image to provide a still image file. In another embodiment, the still image file is generated based on the pixel parameters of the acquired images. In one embodiment, the processing unit  30  merges the overlapped areas of the images and removes the non-overlapped areas of the images to generate at least one initial image frame. Then, the processing unit  30  processes the initial image according to the pixel parameters thereof to generate the still image file. In another embodiment, the processing unit  30  compares the corresponding images and estimates the pixel parameters of the still image file according to the pixel parameters of the corresponding images. 
         [0032]    In the described methods, in order to acquire a pair of images with an image distance difference, the image capture unit captures the first image and the second image at the first position and the second position and then the processing unit  30  processes the first image and the second image to generate a still image file. It is noted that those skilled in the art can use more than two images with image distance differences to generate the still image file via the processing unit  30 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an embodiment of a motion image file generation method according to the invention. In step S 410 , the driving part of the driving mechanism  20  moves the image capture unit to a first position S 1  for a first period of time, t 1 . In step S 430 , the image-capturing lens of the image capture module  10  receives the light signal SL, and the image capture unit then senses the light signal SL to output a first image n(t 1 , S 1 ), and the first image n(t 1 , S 1 ) is then transmitted to the processing unit  30 . In step S 440 , the driving part of the driving mechanism  20  moves the image capture unit to a second position for a second period of time, t 2 . In step S 450 , the image-capturing lens of the image capture module  10  receives the light signal SL, and the image capture unit then senses the light signal SL to output a second image n(t 1 , S 2 ), and the second image n(t 2 , S 2 ) is then transmitted to the processing unit  30 . In step S 460 , the processing unit  30  generates and stores a still image file Ft 1  in a temporal storage device according to the first image n(t 1 , S 1 ) and the second image n(t 2 , S 2 ). 
         [0034]    In step S 470 , the image capture system  100  determines whether a stop instruction to stop the film-shooting is received. If not, the image capture system  100  repeats the steps S 420  to S 470  to acquire a first image n(ti, S 1 ) and second image (ti, S 2 ) at the i th  period of time, ti. The processing unit  30  generates and stores a still image file Fti in the temporal storage device according to the first image n(ti, S 1 ) and the second image n(ti, S 2 ), where I is a positive integer number. 
         [0035]    If the stop instruction has been received in the step S 470 , the processing unit  30  combines the image files Ft 1  to Fti to generate the motion image file (step S 480 ). 
         [0036]    The first image n(ti,S 1 ) and the second image n(ti,S 2 ) are defined as a pair of corresponding images and an image distance difference exists between the first image and the second image. It is noted that those skilled in the art can use more than two images with image distance differences to generate the still image file via the processing unit  30 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of another embodiment of a motion image file generation method according to the invention. In step S 510 , the image capture system  100  enters a motion image capture mode. In step S 520 , the driving part of the driving mechanism  20  moves the image capture unit to a first position to capture and transmit the image n 1  to the processing unit  30 . In step S 530 , the driving part of the driving mechanism  20  moves the image capture unit to a second position to capture and transmit the image n 2  to the processing unit  30 . In step S 540 , the processing unit  30  combines the last two captured images to generate and store a still image file in a temporal storage device. In this embodiment, the last two images are the images n 1  and n 2 , thus, the processing unit  30  combines the images n 1  and n 2  to generate and stores a still image file in a temporal storage device. 
         [0038]    In step S 550 , the image capture system  100  determines whether a stop instruction for stopping the film-shooting has been received. If not, the step S 560  is executed. In step S 560 , the image capture unit is moved to a third position, wherein the third position may be the first position or a specific position pre-set by the image capture system  100 . In step S 570 , the image ni is acquired and transmitted to the processing unit  30  and the step S 540  is executed again. In step S 540 , the processing unit  30  combines the last two captured images, n(i−1) and ni, to generate and store a still image file in a temporal storage device, wherein i is a positive integer number and larger than two. 
         [0039]    The steps S 540  to S 570  are executed repeatedly until a stop instruction to stop the film-shooting is received by the image capture system  100  in step S 550 . When the image capture system  100  receives the stop instruction, the processing unit  30  combines the still image files to generate a motion image file (step S 580 ). 
         [0040]    In other words, if the image capture system  100  does not receive the stop instruction, the image capture unit captures images with different image distance difference at different positions, and the processing unit  30  generates a still image file according to the last two captured images. In other words, the first still image file is generated according to the images n 1  and n 2 , the second still image file is generated according to the images n 2  and n 3 , and so on. It is noted that those skilled in the art can use three images with different image distance differences to generate the still image file. Furthermore, the image capture unit can captures images with image distance difference between each two images sequentially or randomly at two or more than two different positions. 
         [0041]    The embodiment of the present invention discloses a still image generation method according to the image distance difference at the captured images. The still image is generated by blending the images or according to the pixel parameters of the captured images. As to the motion image file, the motion image file is generated by combining a plurality of still image files which are generated according to the image distance difference between the captured images. 
         [0042]    While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.