Patent Document ID: 10148875
Application ID: 15156611
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer implemented method of multiplexing a set of video signal inputs captured by a set of cameras in a panoramic imaging system into a single video signal output, the method comprising: disposing the set of cameras evenly across on a frame of a protective housing, wherein one camera's field of view overlaps with that of at least one other camera, thereby enabling the panoramic imaging system to capture a total field of view, and wherein a horizontal angle of view of each of the set of cameras capturing 360-degree panoramic image data is 360 degrees divided by the number of the set of cameras and a vertical angle of view of the each of the set of cameras capturing the 360-degree panoramic image data is the 360 degrees divided by the number of the set of cameras: capturing the set of video signal inputs by the set of cameras to produce wide to entire 360-degree panoramas; receiving, by a processor implemented by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a set of input image frames associated with the set of video signal inputs; temporarily storing the set of input image frames in a memory; for a first pair of image frames in the set of input image frames, iteratively processing, by the processor, each line in the first pair of image frames to construct a first portion of a video signal output frame, the iteratively processing each line in the first pair of image frames to construct the first portion of the video signal output frame comprising the following steps: reading, by the processor, lines of image data of a first image frame of the first pair of image frames from the memory unit; outputting, by the processor, the read lines of image data of the first image frame to an output video buffer; reading, by the processor, lines of image data of a second image frame of the first pair of image frames from the memory unit; outputting, by the processor, the read lines of image data of the second image frame to the output video buffer; and combining, by the processor, the read lines of image data of the first image frame with the read lines of image data of the second image frame in the video buffer horizontally to form one line of combined image data of the first portion of the video signal output frame; for a second pair of image frames in the set of input image frames, iteratively processing, by the processor, each line in the second pair of image frames to construct a second portion of the video signal output frame, iteratively processing each line in the second pair of image frames to construct the second portion of the video signal output frame comprising the following steps: reading, by the processor, lines of image data of a third image frame of the second pair of image frames from the memory unit; outputting, by the processor, the read lines of image data of the third image frame to the output video buffer; reading, by the processor, lines of image data of a fourth image frame of the second pair of image frames from the memory unit; outputting, by the processor, the read lines of image data of the fourth image frame to the output video buffer; and combining, by the processor, the read lines of image data of the third image frame with the read lines of image data of the fourth image frame in the video buffer horizontally to form one line of combined image data of the second portion of the video signal output frame, wherein the sizes of the first pair of image frames are mi×n and m2×n, respectively, and the sizes of the second pair of image frames are m3×n and ma×n, respectively, each of the mi, m2, m3 and ma being at least 720; and combining by the processor, the first portion of the video signal output frame and the second portion of the video signal output frame vertically to form a single composite output frame containing the image data of the set of input image frames, thereby providing a solution for multiplexing multiple channels of high-definition videos into a single input channel.