KR101997358B1 - Apparatus And Method For Generating A Composite Focus Image Using Stacked Image Set From Vari-Focus Type Scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and method for generating a composite focus image using focus planes of an optical scanner are disclosed. A method of generating a composite focus image includes: identifying focal planes obtained by varying a focus of a camera according to depth; Extracting pixels focused on an object at each of said focal planes; Assigning an index of focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object; And combining the pixels focused on the object to generate a composite focus image.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for generating a composite focus image using focus points of an optical scanner,

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for reducing the size of scan result data of a focus adjustment type optical scanner.

Focusing type The optical scanner sequentially changes the focus and performs Z-depth scanning and can be used in devices such as confocal microscopy.

Focusing mode The optical scanner generates dozens to hundreds of focal plane images according to the depth of each Z-depth scanning, and a stacked image set that combines the focal plane images into one volume is used as scan result data Can be output.

Focus adjustment method As the number of focal planes generated by the optical scanner increases, the resolution increases, but the bandwidth required to transmit the scan result data and the algorithm for processing scan result data and the minimum performance of the processor module also increase, There is a limitation that it increases.

Therefore, there is a demand for a method of reducing the size of the scan result data of the focus adjustment type optical scanner without reducing the resolution.
[Prior Art]
Korean Patent No. 1824328

The present invention can provide an apparatus and a method for reducing a bandwidth required for transmission of a scan result without reducing resolution by converting a plurality of focal planes generated in an optical scanner into a single composite focal image.

A method of generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: identifying focal planes obtained by changing a focus of a camera according to depth; Extracting pixels focused on an object at each of said focal planes; Assigning an index of focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object; And combining the pixels focused on the object to generate a composite focus image.

The assigning of the method of generating a composite focus image according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be such that the pixels focused on the object exist at the same position on a plurality of focal planes. An index of a focal plane including a pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object may be assigned to the pixel.

The step of identifying the focal planes of the method of generating a composite focal image according to an embodiment of the present invention may store the direction of the camera when acquiring each of the focal planes in an edge area of each of the focal planes.

In the method of generating a composite focus image according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a direction of a camera stored in an edge region of each of the focus planes may be stored in an edge region of the composite focus image.

A focal plane reconstruction method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: identifying an index of a focal plane stored in each of pixels of a composite focus image in which a plurality of focal planes are combined; Identifying a focal plane corresponding to the index among the plurality of focal planes; And applying color information of the pixels to each of the pixels included in the focal planes, wherein the focal plane is obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth, Pixel.

The step of identifying the index of the focal plane reconstruction method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may identify the direction of the camera stored in the edge region of the basic composite image.

The step of applying the color information of the focal plane restoration method according to an embodiment of the present invention may store the direction of the camera stored in the edge area of the composite focus image in the edge area of each of the focal planes.

The focal plane restoration method according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a step of outputting the combined focal planes obtained by applying the color information of the pixels to the optical scanner in a stacking order according to the order of acquisition .

The apparatus for generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a focal plane identification unit for identifying focal planes obtained by changing a focus of a camera according to depth; A focused pixel extracting unit for extracting pixels focused on an object at each of the focal planes; An index assigning unit assigning an index of focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object; And a compound focus image generating unit for generating a compound focus image by combining the pixels focused on the object.

The index assigning unit of the apparatus for generating a compound focus image according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a case where pixels focused on the object exist at the same position on a plurality of focal planes. An index of a focal plane including a pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object may be assigned to the pixel.

The focal plane identification unit of the apparatus for generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention may store the direction of the camera when acquiring each of the focal planes in an edge area of each of the focal planes.

The compound focus image generating unit of the compound focus image generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may store the direction of the camera stored in the edge region of each of the focal planes in the edge region of the compound focus image.

The focal plane reconstruction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an index identification unit for identifying an index of a focal plane stored in each of pixels of a composite focus image in which a plurality of focal planes are combined; A focal plane identification unit for identifying a focal plane corresponding to the index among the plurality of focal planes; And a color information application unit for applying color information of the pixels to each of the pixels included in the focal planes, wherein the focal plane is obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth, May be a focused pixel.

The index identifying unit of the focal plane restoration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can identify the direction of the camera stored in the edge region of the composite focus image.

The color information application unit of the focal plane restoration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may store the direction of the camera stored in the edge area of the composite focus image in the edge area of each of the focal planes.

The color information application unit of the focal plane reconstruction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may combine the reconstructed focal planes obtained by applying the color information of the pixels in a stacked manner according to the order obtained by the camera of the optical scanner, .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of focal planes generated by an optical scanner are converted into a single composite focal image and transmitted, thereby reducing a bandwidth required for transmission of a scanned result without reducing the resolution, The cost of the product can also be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a compound focus image generating apparatus and a focal plane restoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
2 is a view illustrating an apparatus for generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is an example of the focal planes used in an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an example of a process of acquiring focal planes according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an example of a process of assigning indexes of a focal plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 is an example of a focal plane identified in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 is a structure of a pixel included in the acquired composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 is an example of an acquired composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is an example of a composite focus image per object according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a view illustrating a focal plane restoration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is an example of adding camera direction information in an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a flowchart illustrating a focal plane restoration method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The method of generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention may be performed by a composite focus image generating apparatus. Also, the focal plane reconstruction method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be performed by a focal plane reconstruction apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a compound focus image generating apparatus and a focal plane restoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

The optical scanner 110 sequentially changes the focus in the depth direction, and can take an object. The optical scanner 110 may extract the focused pixels from the images taken by the focus position to generate a focal plane. In addition, the optical scanner 110 may be a focusing type optical scanner that stacks the focal planes in the depth direction and reinterpolates them into three-dimensional data.

The compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may convert a plurality of focal planes generated by the optical scanner 110 into a single-image composite focus image based on the characteristics of the focused pixel. Then, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may transmit the compound focus image to the focal plane restoration apparatus 130. The compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may reduce the bandwidth required for image transmission by converting a plurality of focal planes generated by the optical scanner 110 into a composite focus image.

At this time, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may expand the structure of the pixels included in the compound focus image so that a set of stacked images composed of a plurality of focal planes can be restored using the pixels included in the compound focus image .

For example, if a 1000 x 1000 pixel color (RGB) image is composed of 100 focal planes, 300 MB of data may be generated each time the optical scanner 110 scans an object. If the optical scanner 110 is a real-time scanner of a video type such as an oral scanner, it can scan at least 10 times per second. Thus, the bandwidth required to transmit the set of stack images, which is the result of scanning the optical scanner 110 directly, may be 3 GByte / s.

At this time, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 converts a stack image set composed of 100 focal planes into a composite focus image, which is one image, and transmits the combined focus image. That is, since the sum of the data to be transmitted is reduced to 1/100, the bandwidth required for the composite-image generation apparatus 120 to transmit the scan result is 1 (one) of the bandwidth required for transmitting the scan result directly from the optical scanner 110 / 100 < / RTI > size. In addition, the bandwidth reduced by the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may further increase depending on the image resolution, depth, scan range, and speed of the optical scanner 110. For example, as the number of focal planes generated by the optical scanner 110 in one scan and the size of each of the focal planes increases, the effect of bandwidth reduction using the complex focus image generator 120 may also increase .

Also, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may support reconstruction of three-dimensional information using focal planes of the restored stack image set by further adding additional information such as camera attitude information.

The composite focus image may be point data such as PCD (Point Cloud Data) or mesh data, and the color image of the object scanned by the optical scanner 110 may be used as a texture. Also, since the composite focus image is generated by collecting the focused pixels on a plurality of focal planes, the focus of all portions of the texture may be correctly aligned. Therefore, the composite focus image has a very low depth of focus, which can solve the problem of carefully adjusting the distance between the objective lens and the specimen.

The detailed configuration and operation of the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The focal plane reconstruction device 130 may reconstruct a plurality of focal planes from the composite focus images received from the composite focus image generation device 120. [ The focal plane reconstruction apparatus 130 may output a set of stack images composed of a plurality of reconstructed focal planes.

The detailed configuration and operation of the focal plane restoration device 130 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The combined focus image generation apparatus 120 can reduce the bandwidth required for transmission of the scanned result, thereby reducing the required performance related to data transmission, and thus the cost of the product using the optical scanner 110 can also be reduced.

2 is a view illustrating an apparatus for generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The compound focus image generating apparatus 120 includes a focal plane identifying unit 210, a focused pixel extracting unit 220, an index assigning unit 230, and a composite focus image generating unit 240, as shown in FIG. can do. At this time, the focal plane identifying unit 210, the focused pixel extracting unit 220, the index assigning unit 230, and the composite focus image generating unit 240 may perform different processes or perform programs included in one process Lt; / RTI >

The focal plane identifying section 210 can receive the acquired focal planes by changing the focus of the camera of the optical scanner 110 according to the depth from the optical scanner 110. [ The focal plane identification unit 210 may identify the received focal planes and the index of the received focal planes. If the sweep range scanned by the optical scanner 110 is divided by the depth DOF, the number of indexes of the focal planes can be determined.

Generally, the same depth of field (DOF) is used in one sweep range, but the operation of the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 is not affected if the index of the focal planes is identified even if the depth is not constant within the sweep range.

At this time, the focal plane identifying unit 210 may store the direction of the camera when acquiring each of the focal planes in an edge area of each of the focal planes. In addition, the edge area may be a preset area among the areas that are not overlapped with the object. For example, the edge region may be the edge region such as the top edge or the bottom edge in the focal plane.

The focused pixel extracting unit 220 may extract pixels focused on the object at each of the focal planes identified by the focal plane identifying unit 210. [

The index assigning unit 230 may assign an index of the focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object. At this time, when a pixel focused on an object exists at the same position on a plurality of focal planes. The index allocator 230 may evaluate the contrast of the pixels focused on the object. The index assigning unit 230 may assign the index of the focal plane including the pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object to the pixel focused on the object.

The compound focus image generating unit 240 may combine the pixels focused on the object to generate a compound focal image.

In detail, the compound focus image generating unit 240 may combine the focused pixels of the object extracted from each of all the focal planes into a single composite focus image. At this time, the pixels of the composite focus image may be formed with a structure capable of storing the index of the focal planes together with the color information of the focused pixel. The compound focus image generating unit 240 may store an index of a focal plane assigned to each of the pixels to be focused.

In this case, when the number of indexes is 256 or less, the space in which the indexes of the focal planes in the pixels of the composite focus image are stored may be one byte. Also, when the number of indexes exceeds 256, the space in which the indexes of the focal planes in the pixels of the composite focus image are stored may be two or more bytes.

At this time, the compound focus image generating unit 240 may store the direction of the camera stored in the edge area of each of the focal planes in the edge area of the composite focus image.

Figure 3 is an example of the focal planes used in an embodiment of the present invention.

The optical scanner 110 may generate a stack image set 300 composed of focal planes 310 by changing the focus of the camera of the optical scanner 110 according to the depth. The compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may convert the stack image set 300 into one composite focus image and transmit the same to the focal plane restoration apparatus 130. [

4 is an example of a process of acquiring focal planes according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The optical scanner 110 can take a picture by moving the focus of the camera to the first depth. The optical scanner 110 may then extract the focused pixels 420 on the object in an image taken at a first depth to create a first focal plane 411. [ At this time, the optical scanner 110 can set the index of the first focal plane 411 to zero.

The optical scanner 110 can take a picture by moving the focus of the camera to the second depth. The optical scanner 110 may then extract the focused pixels 430 on the object in an image taken at a second depth to produce a second focal plane 412. At this time, the optical scanner 110 can set the index of the second focal plane 412 to 1. Also, the pixels in the second focal plane 412 that are co-located with the pixels 420 may be hidden by the pixels 420 and not extracted as pixels focused on the object.

The optical scanner 110 can take a picture by moving the focus of the camera to the third depth. The optical scanner 110 may then extract the focused pixel 440 to an object in an image taken at a third depth to produce a third focal plane 413. [ At this time, the optical scanner 110 may set the index of the third focal plane 413 to 2. In addition, the pixels 420 and the pixels at the same position as the pixels 430 in the third focal plane 413 may be hidden by the pixels 420 and not extracted as pixels focused on the object.

5 is an example of a process of assigning indexes of a focal plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pixels 511, 521, and 531 focused on the object at the same positions of the focal planes 510, 520, and 530 according to the depth of field of the optical scanner 110, May appear continuously.

At this time, the index assigning unit 230 may select one of the pixels 511, 521, and 531 focused on the object at the same position as an object-focused pixel.

Specifically, the index assigning unit 230 may evaluate the contrast of the pixels 511, 521, and 531 focused on the object. For example, the contrast of pixel 511 may be 30%, the contrast of pixel 521 may be 90%, and the contrast of pixel 531 may be 10%.

At this time, the index assigning unit 230 assigns 1, which is the index of the focal plane including the pixel 521 having the highest contrast among the pixels 511, 521, and 531 focused on the object, to the pixels 511, 521, and 531, respectively.

Figure 6 is an example of a focal plane identified in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

The focal plane identified by the focal plane identifying unit 210 is a pixel 610 focused on an object as shown in FIG. 6, and an edge region 610 in which the direction of the camera when acquiring each of the focal planes is stored 620). In FIG. 6, the edge region 620 is located at the top of the focal plane, but in some embodiments it may be located at the bottom or side of the focal plane.

Figure 7 is a structure of a pixel included in the acquired composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The structure of the pixels included in the composite focus image is similar to that for storing the Red channel 710, Green channel 720, Blue channel 730, and Alpha channel 740 representing the color of a pixel, And a storage space for storing Index (Zi) 750 indicating the index of the focal plane in the storage space.

In the case where the color information of the pixel is RGB (or RGBA), the red, green, blue, and alpha channels each consisting of 1 byte are included in the structure of the pixels included in the composite focus image, If the color information of the pixel is one of YUV, HSL, HSV, and CMYK, the channel of the color information of the pixel included in the structure of the pixel may be changed accordingly.

The structure of the pixels included in the composite focus image may further include a storage space for storing additional information such as a direction vector 760 indicating the direction of the camera as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, only the Direction Vector is included. However, the structure of the pixels included in the composite focus image may further include various additional information in addition to the Direction Vector.

Figure 8 is an example of an acquired composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The compound focal image generated by the compound focus image generating unit 240 may be composed of an edge region 810 in which the direction of the camera is stored and a pixel 820 focused on the object as shown in FIG. have. In this case, the direction of the camera stored in the edge area 810 may be the direction of the camera when acquiring the focal plane from which the pixel 820 focused on the object is obtained. Also, the focused pixel 820 may include an index of the focal plane from which the focused pixel 820 is extracted.

9 is an example of a composite focus image per object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Case 1, the shape of the object may be a quadrangular pyramid shape in which the camera direction is the narrowest and the area becomes wider as the distance from the camera is increased. In this case, in order of the pixels focused on the object extracted from the first focal plane 910, the pixels focused on the object extracted from the second focal plane 920, and the pixels focused on the object extracted from the third focal plane 930, The area of the focused pixel may increase.

Accordingly, the compound focal-image generating apparatus 120 can allocate and store 0, the index of the first focal plane 910, to the innermost pixel 911 of the pixels focused on the object as shown in FIG. 9 have. Next, the compound focal-image generating apparatus 120 may allocate and store an index 1 of the second focal plane 920 in a pixel 921 located in the middle of the pixels focused on the object. Finally, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may allocate and store an index 2 of the third focal plane 930 on a pixel 931 located at an outer periphery of the pixels focused on the object.

As shown in Case 2, the shape of the object may be a shape of an inverted quadrangular pyramid in which the camera direction is the widest, and the area is narrower in the direction away from the camera. In this case, in order of the pixels focused on the object extracted from the first focal plane 910, the pixels focused on the object extracted from the second focal plane 920, and the pixels focused on the object extracted from the third focal plane 930, The area of the focused pixel can be reduced.

Accordingly, the compound focal-image generating apparatus 120 can allocate and store an index 2 of the third focal plane 930 on the innermost pixel 931 of the pixels focused on the object as shown in Fig. 9 have. Next, the compound focal-image generating apparatus 120 may allocate and store an index 1 of the second focal plane 920 in a pixel 921 located in the middle of the pixels focused on the object. Finally, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may allocate and store 0, which is an index of the first focal plane 910, to a pixel 911 located at an outer angle among the pixels focused on the object.

As shown in Case 3, the shape of the object may be a rectangular shape having the smallest depth in the middle of the depth and an area increasing from the middle of the depth. That is, the pixel focused on the object extracted from the second focal plane 920 may be the narrowest. In addition, the area of the focused pixel on the object extracted from the third focal plane 930 may be wider than the pixel focused on the object extracted from the first focal plane 910.

Accordingly, the compound focal-image generating apparatus 120 can allocate and store the index 1 of the second focal plane 920 in the innermost pixel 911 of the pixels focused on the object as shown in FIG. 9 have. Next, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may allocate and store 0, which is the index of the first focal plane 910, to the pixel 911 located in the middle of the pixels focused on the object. Finally, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may allocate and store an index 2 of the third focal plane 930 on a pixel 931 located at an outer periphery of the pixels focused on the object.

That is, the shapes of the pixels focused on the objects included in the compound focus image generated by the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 in correspondence with the three objects described above are the same, but the index assigned to each of the pixels focused on the object is Can be different. Since the focal plane reconstruction apparatus 130 reconstructs the focal planes using the index assigned to each of the pixels focused on the object, the shape of the pixels focused on the object is different from that of the three objects Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > focal < / RTI >

For example, when the focal plane reconstruction apparatus 130 receives a composite focus image, the focal plane reconstruction apparatus 130 identifies the index 1 stored in the pixel 911, and according to the identification result, the second focal plane 920 The pixel 911 can be restored. In addition, the focal plane reconstruction apparatus 130 may identify the index 0 stored in the pixel 921 and reconstruct the pixel 921 in the first focal plane 910 according to the identification result. Finally, the focal plane reconstruction device 130 may identify the index 2 stored in the pixel 931 and reconstruct the pixel 931 in the third focal plane 920 according to the identification result.

10 is a view illustrating a focal plane restoration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10, the focal plane reconstruction apparatus 130 may include an index identification unit 1010, a focal plane identification unit 1020, and a color information application unit 1030. [ Here, the index identifying unit 1010, the focal plane identifying unit 1020, and the color information applying unit 1030 may be different modules for performing different processes or programs included in one process.

The index identifying unit 1010 may receive a composite focus image in which a plurality of focal planes are combined from the composite focus image generating apparatus 120. [ The index identifying unit 1010 may identify the index of the focal plane stored in each of the pixels of the composite focus image. In addition, the index identifying unit 1010 can identify the direction of the camera stored in the edge area of the composite focus image.

The focal plane identifying unit 1020 can identify a focal plane corresponding to the index identified by the index identifying unit 1010 among a plurality of focal planes.

Specifically, the focal plane identifying unit 1020 can set a plurality of focal planes according to the scan start depth and the focus change interval of the optical scanner. At this time, the focal planes set by the focal plane identifying unit 1020 may be generated according to the focal height, and then initialized to not include pixels focused on the object.

The focal plane identifying unit 1020 can search for the focal plane corresponding to the index among the set focal planes.

The color information applying unit 1030 may apply the color information of the pixels of the composite focus image to each of the pixels included in the focal planes identified by the focal plane identifying unit 1020. [ At this time, among the pixels of the compound focus image, the pixel storing the color information may be a pixel focused on the object. That is, the color information applying unit 1030 may apply the color information of the pixels of the composite focus image to the focal plane corresponding to the corresponding pixel, thereby restoring the focused pixel to the focal plane corresponding to the pixel.

In addition, the color information application unit 1030 may store the direction of the camera stored in the edge area of the composite focus image in the edge area of each of the focal planes.

The focal plane restoration device 130 may be configured to detect the index identification portion 1010, the focal plane identification portion 1020, and the color information application portion 1030 may be repeatedly applied to restore the plurality of focal planes transmitted by the optical scanner 110 to the compound focus image generating apparatus 120. [

At this time, the color information application unit 1030 can construct a stack image set by combining the restored focal planes by applying the color information of the pixels in a stacked form according to the order that the camera of the optical scanner acquires. The color information application unit 1030 can output the set of stack images.

11 is an example of adding camera direction information in an embodiment of the present invention.

If the camera can rotate in the optical scanner 110, or if the orientation of the object changes, the position of the focused pixel on the object at the focal planes can also be changed. Accordingly, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may include direction information of the camera in the focal plane and the compound focus image. Also, by including the direction information of the camera in the focal plane and the composite focal image, the compound focal-image generating apparatus 120 can refer to the direction information of the camera even when a focal plane is generated in an instantly shifted image due to camera shake Can be corrected.

For example, the direction information of the camera included in the focal plane and the composite focal image by the compound focal-image generating apparatus 120 may be the angle of the camera of the optical scanner 110 (0 °, 10 °, 45 [deg.]).

In addition, when a plurality of stack image sets are generated by shooting objects in different camera directions, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may merge or combine a plurality of stack image sets into one stack image set, ), And a composite focus image can be generated using the focal planes included in one set of stack images. At this time, the compound focus image generating apparatus 120 may apply the stack image sets by applying the camera direction information included in the focal plane to a matching algorithm such as ICP (Iterative Closest Point).

12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a composite focus image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 1210, the focal plane identification section 210 may receive the focal planes obtained by changing the focus of the camera of the optical scanner 110 according to the depth from the optical scanner 110. [ The focal plane identification unit 210 may identify the received focal planes and the index of the received focal planes.

The focused pixel extracting unit 220 in step 1220 may extract the focused pixels on the object at each of the focal planes identified in step 1210. [

In step 1230, the index assigning unit 230 may assign the indexes of the focal planes corresponding to the pixels extracted in step 1220 to the pixels extracted in step 1220, respectively. At this time, when a pixel focused on an object exists at the same position on a plurality of focal planes. The index assigning unit 230 may assign the index of the focal plane including the pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object to the pixel focused on the object.

In step 1240, the compound focus image generating unit 240 may configure the pixels focused on the object extracted from each of all the focal planes as a single composite focus image. At this time, the pixels of the composite focus image may be formed with a structure capable of storing the index of the focal planes together with the color information of the focused pixel. The compound focus image generating unit 240 may store an index of a focal plane assigned to each of the pixels to be focused.

13 is a flowchart illustrating a focal plane restoration method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 1310, the index identifying unit 1010 may receive a composite focus image in which a plurality of focal planes are combined from the composite focus image generating apparatus 120. [ The index identifying unit 1010 may identify the index of the focal plane stored in each of the pixels of the composite focus image.

In step 1320, the focal plane identifying unit 1020 may identify a focal plane corresponding to the index identified in step 1310 of the plurality of focal planes.

In step 1330, the color information application unit 1030 may apply the color information of the pixels of the composite focus image to each of the pixels included in the focal planes identified in step 1320. In this case, the color information applying unit 1030 may apply the color information of the pixels of the composite focus image to the focal plane corresponding to the corresponding pixel, thereby restoring the focused pixel to the focal plane corresponding to the pixel.

In step 1340, the focal plane reconstruction device 130 may determine whether an index stored in all pixels included in the composite focus image has been identified.

If the index stored in all the pixels included in the compound focus image is identified, the focal plane reconstruction apparatus 130 determines that the plurality of focal planes transmitted to the compound focus image generation apparatus 120 have been restored, and ends the restoration process . If there is a pixel whose index is not identified among the pixels included in the compound focus image, the focal plane decompression apparatus 130 may perform steps 1310 to 1330 for the pixel.

The present invention converts a plurality of focal planes generated by an optical scanner into one composite focal image and transmits the same to reduce the bandwidth required for transmission of the scanned result, thereby reducing the cost of a product using the optical scanner 110 have.

Implementations of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Implementations may be implemented in a computer program product, such as an information carrier, e.g., a machine readable storage device, such as a computer readable storage medium, for example, for processing by a data processing apparatus, May be embodied as a computer program recorded on a device (computer readable medium). A computer program, such as the computer program (s) described above, may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and may be stored as a stand-alone program or in a module, component, subroutine, As other units suitable for use in the present invention. A computer program may be deployed to be processed on one computer or multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communications network.

Processors suitable for processing a computer program include, by way of example, both general purpose and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer may include one or more mass storage devices for storing data, such as magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks, or may receive data from them, transmit data to them, . ≪ / RTI > Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include, for example, semiconductor memory devices, for example, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, compact disk read only memory A magneto-optical medium such as a floppy disk, an optical disk such as a DVD (Digital Video Disk), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM , Random Access Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and the like. The processor and memory may be supplemented or included by special purpose logic circuitry.

In addition, the computer-readable medium can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer, and can include both computer storage media and transmission media.

While the specification contains a number of specific implementation details, it should be understood that they are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or claim, but rather on the description of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment of a particular invention Should be understood. Certain features described herein in the context of separate embodiments may be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments, either individually or in any suitable subcombination. Further, although the features may operate in a particular combination and may be initially described as so claimed, one or more features from the claimed combination may in some cases be excluded from the combination, Or a variant of a subcombination.

Likewise, although the operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, it should be understood that such operations must be performed in that particular order or sequential order shown to achieve the desired result, or that all illustrated operations should be performed. In certain cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, the separation of the various device components of the above-described embodiments should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and the described program components and devices will generally be integrated together into a single software product or packaged into multiple software products It should be understood.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the present specification and drawings are only illustrative of specific examples for the purpose of understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

110: Optical Scanner
120: Composite focus image generating device
130: focal plane restoration device

Claims (16)

Identifying the focal planes obtained by varying the focus of the camera according to the depth;
Extracting pixels focused on an object at each of said focal planes;
Assigning an index of focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object; And
Combining the pixels focused on the object to generate a composite focus image
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the assigning comprises:
And the pixels focused on the object are at the same position on the plurality of focal planes. Wherein an index of a focal plane including a pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object is assigned to the pixel. delete Identifying the focal planes obtained by varying the focus of the camera according to the depth;
Extracting pixels focused on an object at each of said focal planes;
Assigning an index of focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object; And
Combining the pixels focused on the object to generate a composite focus image
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein identifying the focal planes comprises:
Wherein the direction of the camera when acquiring each of the focal planes is stored in an edge area of each of the focal planes. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the generating the composite focus image comprises:
Wherein a direction of a camera stored in an edge area of each of the focal planes is stored in an edge area of the composite focal image. Identifying an index of the focal plane stored in each of the pixels of the composite focus image in which the plurality of focal planes are combined;
Identifying a focal plane corresponding to the index among the plurality of focal planes; And
Applying color information of the pixels to each of the pixels included in the focal planes
Lt; / RTI >
The focal plane is obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth,
The pixels are pixels focused on an object,
Wherein each of the pixels comprises:
And the pixels focused on the object are at the same position on the plurality of focal planes. Wherein an index of a focal plane including a pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object is allocated. Identifying an index of the focal plane stored in each of the pixels of the composite focus image in which the plurality of focal planes are combined;
Identifying a focal plane corresponding to the index among the plurality of focal planes; And
Applying color information of the pixels to each of the pixels included in the focal planes
Lt; / RTI >
The focal plane is obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth,
The pixels are pixels focused on an object,
Wherein identifying the index comprises:
And identifying a direction of a camera stored in an edge area of the compound focus image. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein applying the color information comprises:
Wherein the direction of the camera stored in the edge area of the composite focus image is stored in an edge area of each of the focus faces. 6. The method of claim 5,
Combining the reconstructed focal planes by applying the color information of the pixels in a stacked form according to the order obtained by the camera of the optical scanner and outputting
Wherein the focal plane restoration method further comprises: A focal plane identification unit for identifying the focal planes obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth;
A focused pixel extracting unit for extracting pixels focused on an object at each of the focal planes;
An index assigning unit assigning an index of focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object; And
A composite focus image generating unit for generating a composite focus image by combining the pixels focused on the object,
Lt; / RTI >
The index assigning unit,
And the pixels focused on the object are at the same position on the plurality of focal planes. Wherein an index of a focal plane including a pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object is assigned to the pixel. delete A focal plane identification unit for identifying the focal planes obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth;
A focused pixel extracting unit for extracting pixels focused on an object at each of the focal planes;
An index assigning unit assigning an index of focal planes corresponding to each of the pixels focused on the object to each of the pixels focused on the object; And
A composite focus image generating unit for generating a composite focus image by combining the pixels focused on the object,
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the focal plane identification unit comprises:
Wherein the direction of the camera when acquiring each of the focal planes is stored in an edge area of each of the focal planes. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the composite image generating unit comprises:
Wherein the direction of the camera stored in the edge area of each of the focal planes is stored in an edge area of the composite focal image. An index identification unit for identifying an index of a focal plane stored in each of the pixels of the composite focus image in which a plurality of focal planes are combined;
A focal plane identification unit for identifying a focal plane corresponding to the index among the plurality of focal planes; And
A color information application unit for applying color information of the pixels to each of the pixels included in the focal planes,
Lt; / RTI >
The focal plane is obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth,
The pixels are pixels focused on an object,
Wherein each of the pixels comprises:
And the pixels focused on the object are at the same position on the plurality of focal planes. Wherein an index of a focal plane including a pixel having the highest contrast among the pixels focused on the object is allocated. An index identification unit for identifying an index of a focal plane stored in each of the pixels of the composite focus image in which a plurality of focal planes are combined;
A focal plane identification unit for identifying a focal plane corresponding to the index among the plurality of focal planes; And
A color information application unit for applying color information of the pixels to each of the pixels included in the focal planes,
Lt; / RTI >
The focal plane is obtained by changing the focus of the camera according to the depth,
The pixels are pixels focused on an object,
Wherein the index identifying unit comprises:
And identifies a direction of the camera stored in an edge area of the compound focus image. 15. The method of claim 14,
The color information application unit
And stores the direction of the camera stored in an edge area of the composite focus image in an edge area of each of the focus faces. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the color information application unit comprises:
And reconstructing the focal planes by applying the color information of the pixels in a stacked form according to the order of acquisition of the camera of the optical scanner.

Images