IMAGE INPUT UNIT, WHITE BALANCE ADJUSTING METHOD, AND COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING PROGRAM FOR EXECUTING THE METHOD

• Main Author: IKEDA JUNICHI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 25.01.2002
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image input unit in which white balance can be adjusted accurately even when a white object and a chromatic color object of skin color having characteristic close to that of black body radiation are mixed. SOLUTION: A digital camera shown in Fig.1 comprises a white detection circuit 14 for integrating the image data of respective colors of a pixel within a range of set white detection parameters among color image data subjected to white balance adjustment and outputting the integrated value for each color, and a controller 6 for calculating white detection parameters in narrow range of highest luminance on condition that the integrated value does not become '0' for each color and setting the white detection circuit 14 with the calculated white detection parameters and calculating the R, G gain value of a white balance adjusting circuit 12 based the integrated value for each color outputted when the white detection circuit 14 is set with the white detection parameters in a narrow range of highest luminance on condition that the integrated value does not become '0' for each color and setting the white balance adjusting circuit 12 with the calculated R, G gain values.