US6344893B1
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Super-resolving imaging system
Assignee: Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd
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Filing: 2000-06-19
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Granted: 2002-02-05
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Expires: 2020-06-19
Abstract
Abstract A super-resolving imaging apparatus employs diffractive optical elements placed on the imaging lens. This element, and the use of a modified Scheimpflug arrangement allow the conversion of degrees of freedom in one axis of a field of view to a larger degree of freedom in another axis in order to obtain a high resolution image with a wide depth of focus and large field of view. Replicas created by the diffractive elements are mutually shifted by subpixel amounts, and are combined using a Gabor transform, which is facilitated by a spatial mask placed over the detector array. The apparatus is suitable for performing distance estimation on an object within the field of view.
Inventors
- 👤 David Mendlovic
- 👤 Zeev Zalevsky
- 👤 Naim Konforti
- 👤 Emanuel Marom
- 👤 Gal Shabtay
- 👤 Uriel Levy
- 👤 Sharon Karako
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 12:05
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B27/00; G02B27/42; G02B27/4205; G01; G01C; G01C3/00; G01C3/02; G01C3/06; G01C3/08; G02B27/58; G08; G08G; G08G1/00; G08G1/16; G08G1/166
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 60
Claim 1
Independent Claim
79 words
A method of imaging, comprising the steps of: tilting an image plane with respect to an object plane; defining pixel units on said image plane; defining a field of view on said object plane, wherein a vertical dimension of said field of view differs from a horizontal dimension thereof; forming a plurality of images of said field of view on said image plane, said images being spatially interrelated by sub-pixel shifts; and super-resolving said images into an enhanced image.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
79 words
A method of imaging, comprising the steps of: tilting an image plane with respect to an object plane; defining pixel units on said image plane; defining a field of view on said object plane, wherein a vertical dimension of said field of view differs from a horizontal dimension thereof; forming a plurality of images of said field of view on said image plane, said images being spatially interrelated by sub-pixel shifts; and super-resolving said images into an enhanced image.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of super-resolving is geometrically performed by transforming said images according to a Gabor transform.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 2 , wherein said step of super-resolving further comprises applying a spatial mask to said image plane.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
124 words
The method according to claim 3 , wherein said spatial mask is given by a function m ( x ) = 1 - ∑ i = 1 M rect ( x δ x i ) ⊗ δ ( x - x i ) , wherein M is a total number of slits of said mask, X 1 , X 2 , . . . , X M , are locations of said slits, δx i is a width of an i th slit,and {circle around (x)} denotes convolution; and rect( ) is given by rect ( z ) = { 1 , - 1 / 2 < z < 1 / 2 , 0 , otherwise .
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein said images are oriented according to a larger of said horizontal dimension and said vertical dimension.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising deconvolving out-of-focus point spread functions of said images.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method according to claim 6 , wherein said step of deconvolving is performed by a Wiener filter.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of images are formed by time multiplexing.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of images are formed by wavelength multiplexing.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of images are formed by diffractive gratings.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of transforming said plurality of images according to a Mellin transform to define transformed images, and performing a time-to-impact analysis on said transformed images.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of forming a plurality of images further comprises: spatially transforming coordinates of said plurality of images to establish a panoramic field of view, said panoramic field or view comprising a horizontal field of view and a vertical field of view, wherein a magnitude of said horizontal field of view differs from said magnitude of said vertical field of view.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of imaging comprising the steps of simultaneously viewing a plurality of elongated fields of view on a target, wherein a focus of each of said fields of view has a different optical displacement from an imaging surface; diffracting beams of radiant energy that travel along a path extending between said fields of view and said imaging surface to form elongated replicas of each of said fields of view, said replicas being mutually shifted in a direction of elongation thereof, and being mutually displaced in a direction that is substantially transverse to said direction of elongation; and combining said replicas of each of said fields of view into corresponding enhanced images, each of said enhanced images having a higher resolution than resolutions of its associated replicas.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of imaging comprising the steps of simultaneously viewing a plurality of elongated fields of view on a target, wherein a focus of each of said fields of view has a different optical displacement from an imaging surface; diffracting beams of radiant energy that travel along a path extending between said fields of view and said imaging surface to form elongated replicas of each of said fields of view, said replicas being mutually shifted in a direction of elongation thereof, and being mutually displaced in a direction that is substantially transverse to said direction of elongation; and combining said replicas of each of said fields of view into corresponding enhanced images, each of said enhanced images having a higher resolution than resolutions of its associated replicas.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method according to claim 13 , further comprising the steps of: forming an image plane that is tilted with respect to planes of said fields of view; and determining defocus of said fields of view.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 14 , wherein said step of combining is performed by performing a Gabor transform on said replicas.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method according to claim 14 , wherein said step of combining is performed by performing a Mellin transform on an image comprising all of said replicas.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 14 , further comprising deconvolving out-of-focus point spread functions of said images.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method according to claim 17 , wherein said step of deconvolving is performed by a Wiener filter.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method according to claim 14 , further comprising the step of conducting said beams through a spatial mask that is constructed such that zero values of a Fourier transform of a function representing spatial responsivity of pixels on said image plane are eliminated.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
192 words
A method of imaging, comprising the steps of: tilting an image plane with respect to a first object plane and a second object plane, wherein a displacement of said second object plane from said image plane is greater than a displacement of said first object plane from said image plane; defining pixel units on said image plane; defining a first field of view on said first object plane, and defining a second field of view on said second object plane, wherein vertical dimensions of said first field of view and said second field of view differ from respective horizontal dimensions thereof; forming a plurality of first images of said first field of view on said image plane, said first images being spatially interrelated by sub-pixel shifts; simultaneously forming a plurality of second images of said second field of view on said image plane, said second images being spatially interrelated by sub-pixel shifts; super-resolving said first images into a first enhanced image, and super-resolving said second images into a second enhanced image; and comparing a defocus magnitude of said first field of view with a defocus magnitude of said second field of view.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
192 words
A method of imaging, comprising the steps of: tilting an image plane with respect to a first object plane and a second object plane, wherein a displacement of said second object plane from said image plane is greater than a displacement of said first object plane from said image plane; defining pixel units on said image plane; defining a first field of view on said first object plane, and defining a second field of view on said second object plane, wherein vertical dimensions of said first field of view and said second field of view differ from respective horizontal dimensions thereof; forming a plurality of first images of said first field of view on said image plane, said first images being spatially interrelated by sub-pixel shifts; simultaneously forming a plurality of second images of said second field of view on said image plane, said second images being spatially interrelated by sub-pixel shifts; super-resolving said first images into a first enhanced image, and super-resolving said second images into a second enhanced image; and comparing a defocus magnitude of said first field of view with a defocus magnitude of said second field of view.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method according to claim 20 , wherein said first field of view is obtained through a first region of a lens, and said second field of view is obtained through a second region of said lens.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method according to claim 20 , wherein said step of super-resolving is geometrically performed by transforming said first images and said second images according to a Gabor transform.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 22 , wherein said step of super-resolving further comprises applying a spatial mask to said image plane.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
125 words
The method according to claim 23 , wherein said spatial mask is given by a function m ( x ) = 1 - ∑ i = 1 M rect ( x δ x i ) ⊗ δ ( x - x i ) , wherein M is a total number of slits of said mask, X 1 , X 2 , . . . , X M , are locations of said slits, δx i is a width of an i th slit, and {circle around (x)} denotes convolution; and rect( ) is given by rect ( z ) = { 1 , - 1 / 2 < z < 1 / 2 , 0 , otherwise .
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method according to claim 20 , wherein said plurality of first images and said plurality of second images are oriented according to a larger of said horizontal dimension and said vertical dimension.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 20 , further comprising determining a displacement between said image plane and said target responsive to said step of comparing a defocus magnitude.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 20 , further comprising deconvolving out-of-focus point spread functions of said first images and said second images.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method according to claim 27 , wherein said step of deconvolving is performed by a Wiener filter.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to claim 20 , wherein said first images and said second images are formed by time multiplexing.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to claim 20 , wherein said first images and said second images are formed by wavelength multiplexing.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to claim 20 , wherein said first images and said second images are formed by diffractive gratings.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method according to claim 20 , further comprising the steps of by transforming said first images and said second images according to a Mellin transform to produce a transformed first image and a transformed second image,and performing a time-to-impact analysis on said transformed first image and said transformed second image.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method according to claim 20 , wherein said first images and said second images are spaced apart, and further comprising determining a position of a target with respect to said first images and said second images by triangulation.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
130 words
An imaging apparatus, comprising: a lens having a field of view that includes an object plane, wherein a horizontal dimension of said field of view differs from a vertical dimension thereof; a detector of radiant energy having an image formed thereon by said lens, said detector comprising a plurality of pixel elements; a spatial mask disposed proximate said detector, said mask having a plurality of subpixel apertures formed therein; a diffractive element disposed proximate said lens, wherein a diffracted light beam forms said image on said detector, and said image comprises a plurality of focused replicas of said field of view, said focused replicas being offset from one another by subpixel shifts; and prism disposed between said lens and said detector for refracting radiant energy passing therethrough onto said detector.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
130 words
An imaging apparatus, comprising: a lens having a field of view that includes an object plane, wherein a horizontal dimension of said field of view differs from a vertical dimension thereof; a detector of radiant energy having an image formed thereon by said lens, said detector comprising a plurality of pixel elements; a spatial mask disposed proximate said detector, said mask having a plurality of subpixel apertures formed therein; a diffractive element disposed proximate said lens, wherein a diffracted light beam forms said image on said detector, and said image comprises a plurality of focused replicas of said field of view, said focused replicas being offset from one another by subpixel shifts; and prism disposed between said lens and said detector for refracting radiant energy passing therethrough onto said detector.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus according to claim 34 , wherein said spatial mask is formed so as to eliminate zero values from a Fourier transform of a response function of said pixel elements.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus according to claim 34 , wherein said diffractive element comprises a one dimensional zone plate strip.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus according to claim 34 , wherein said lens comprises means for spatially transforming said plurality of focused replicas to establish said horizontal dimension and said vertical dimension as a panoramic field of view on said detector.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus according to claim 34 , wherein said replicas are mutually shifted in a direction of elongation of said field of view, and are spaced apart from one another in a direction that is substantially transverse to said direction of elongation.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 34 , further comprising a signal processing unit which is responsive to said detector, and is programmed to combine said replicas into a single image having a greater resolution than said replicas.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to claim 39 , wherein said signal processing unit performs a Gabor transform on a signal output of said detector.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to claim 39 , wherein said signal processing unit performs a Mellin transform on a signal output of said detector.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus according to claim 39 , wherein said lens comprises a first lens and a second lens spaced apart therefrom.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus according to claim 42 , wherein said signal processing unit is programmed to determine a displacement by triangulation of a target using a first image thereof obtained from said first lens and a second image thereof obtained from said second lens.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus according to claim 43 , wherein said signal processing unit is responsive to said first image and said second image on said detector.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
65 words
The apparatus according to claim 39 , wherein an aperture of said lens is divided into a first region and a second region, wherein said signal processing unit is programmed to determine a displacement by triangulation of a target, using a first image thereof obtained from said first region of said lens and a second image thereof obtained from said second region of said lens.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
141 words
An imaging apparatus, comprising: a plurality of lenses each having a corresponding field of view that includes an object plane, wherein a horizontal dimension of said field of view differs from a vertical dimension thereof, said lenses having different focal lengths; a detector of radiant energy having a plurality of corresponding images formed thereon by said lenses, said detector comprising a plurality of pixel elements; a spatial mask disposed proximate said detector, said mask having a plurality of subpixel apertures formed therein; a diffractive element disposed proximate each of said lenses, wherein each said corresponding image on said detector comprises a plurality of focused replicas of said corresponding field of view, said focused replicas being offset from one another by subpixel shifts; and a prism disposed between said lens and said detector for refracting radiant energy passing therethrough onto said detector.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
141 words
An imaging apparatus, comprising: a plurality of lenses each having a corresponding field of view that includes an object plane, wherein a horizontal dimension of said field of view differs from a vertical dimension thereof, said lenses having different focal lengths; a detector of radiant energy having a plurality of corresponding images formed thereon by said lenses, said detector comprising a plurality of pixel elements; a spatial mask disposed proximate said detector, said mask having a plurality of subpixel apertures formed therein; a diffractive element disposed proximate each of said lenses, wherein each said corresponding image on said detector comprises a plurality of focused replicas of said corresponding field of view, said focused replicas being offset from one another by subpixel shifts; and a prism disposed between said lens and said detector for refracting radiant energy passing therethrough onto said detector.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus according to claim 46 , wherein said prism comprises a plurality of prisms, each said prism refracting radiant energy that is received from a corresponding said lens.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus according to claim 46 , wherein said spatial mask is formed so as to eliminate zero values from a Fourier transform of a response function of said pixel elements.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus according to claim 46 , wherein said diffractive element comprises a one dimensional zone plate strip.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus according to claim 46 , wherein said replicas are mutually shifted in a direction of elongation of said corresponding field of view, and are spaced apart from one another in a direction that is substantially transverse to said direction of elongation.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus according to claim 46 , further comprising a signal processing unit which is responsive to said detector, and is programmed to combine said replicas of each said field of view into a corresponding single image having a greater resolution than said replicas.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to claim 51 , wherein said signal processing unit performs a Gabor transform on a signal output of said detector.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus according to claim 51 , wherein said signal a processing unit performs a Mellin transform on a signal output of said detector.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus according to claim 51 , wherein said signal processing unit deconvolves out-of-focus point spread functions of said images.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 54 , wherein said signal processing unit employs a Wiener filter for deconvolving said point spread functions.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-02-04 | 2005-08-06 | 2006-02-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-02-04 | 2009-08-06 | 2010-02-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-02-04 | 2013-08-06 | 2014-02-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |