US 12,457,426 B2
Apparatus and method for obtaining image employing color separation lens array
Soongeun Jang, Suwon-si (KR); Woo-Shik Kim, Suwon-si (KR); Haim Azaria, Tivo'n (IL); Gal Bitan, Shoham (IL); Igal Avishai, Hertzlia (IL); and Lena Grechikhin, Giva'tayim (IL)
Assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed by SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed on Jan. 16, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/414,132.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2023-0006980 (KR), filed on Jan. 17, 2023; and application No. 10-2023-0021591 (KR), filed on Feb. 17, 2023.
Prior Publication US 2024/0244333 A1, Jul. 18, 2024
Int. Cl. H04N 23/84 (2023.01); H04N 23/16 (2023.01); H04N 23/68 (2023.01); H04N 23/88 (2023.01)
CPC H04N 23/843 (2023.01) [H04N 23/16 (2023.01); H04N 23/683 (2023.01); H04N 23/88 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for obtaining an image, comprising:
an image sensor comprising a color separation lens array configured to separate and concentrate incident light based on a color of the incident light; and
a signal processor configured to process an input image obtained by the image sensor,
wherein the signal processor configured to be implemented as:
a demosaicing unit configured to reconstruct a green signal to have a full pixel resolution based on the input image;
a sharpening filter unit configured to generate a first image by sharpening the reconstructed green signal for each preset direction;
a direction image generation unit configured to perform white balance processing on the input image, and generate a second image by removing a base band and extracting a detail band from the white balance-processed input image for each preset direction based on an unsharpening filtering algorithm;
a gray detection unit configured to perform white balance processing on the input image and detect a gray region of the white balance-processed input image;
an edge detection unit configured to perform white balance processing on the input image and detect an edge direction of the white balance-processed input image; and
a selection unit configured to generate a third image by blending the first image and the second image based on the detected gray region and the detected edge direction.