Electronic device and focusing photography method thereof

Abstract

An electronic device and a zooming photography method thereof are provided. The method is adapted to the electronic device including a touch screen and a camera module and includes the following steps. A focus command performed on a photo preview screen is received via the touch screen. Based on the focus command, a focusing process is executed, and a countdown is initiated according to a delay time. During the countdown, whether a user operation command is received via the touch screen is determined. If the user operation command is not received during the countdown, the camera module is controlled to photograph a target photo based on a focus parameter of the focusing process upon expiration of the countdown.

Description

Electronic devices and their focusing and photography methods This disclosure relates to a focusing and photographing method and an electronic device using this method. With the advancement of technology, photography has become one of the basic functions of mobile phones. In current mobile phone photography technology, users typically need to perform two consecutive operations to take a picture. First, the user needs to tap a specific area on the screen to focus, and then tap the shutter button or other buttons to capture the image. This operation method has several problems, mainly including the following two aspects. First, the second tap after focusing can easily cause hand shake, resulting in a decrease in image sharpness. Second, manually tapping the shutter button delays the shooting time, and users may miss capturing crucial moments due to the delay. Traditional technologies, such as allowing tapping any location on the screen to trigger shooting or voice-activated shooting, still cannot fundamentally solve the problem of hand shake. Furthermore, while burst shooting improves the success rate of capturing snapshots, it still requires manual operation, affecting immediacy. This disclosure provides a focusing and photography method for an electronic device including a touch screen and a camera module. The method includes the following steps: receiving a focusing command applied to a photo preview screen via the touch screen; executing a focusing procedure according to the focusing command and starting a countdown timer based on a delay time; determining whether a user operation command has been received via the touch screen during the countdown; if no user operation command has been received during the countdown, reacting by controlling the camera module to capture a target photo based on the focusing parameters of the focusing procedure upon the end of the countdown. This disclosure also provides an electronic device including a touch screen, a camera module, and a processor. The processor is coupled to the camera module and the touch screen. The processor is configured to perform the following operations: receiving a focus command applied to a photo preview screen via the touch screen; executing a focus procedure according to the focus command and starting a countdown timer based on a delay time; determining whether a user operation command has been received via the touch screen during the countdown; if no user operation command has been received during the countdown, responding by controlling the camera module to capture a target photo based on the focus parameters of the focus procedure upon the end of the countdown. Based on the above, in this disclosed embodiment, a focus command can be received via a touchscreen to trigger the execution of the focus program and initiate a countdown. If no user operation command is received via the touchscreen before the countdown ends, the camera module can be automatically controlled to capture the target photo based on the focus parameters. This effectively reduces camera shake caused by click operations at the moment of taking the photo. Furthermore, users can complete focusing and taking photos with simple operations, thereby speeding up the shooting process and improving the user experience. Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same component reference numerals are used in the drawings and description to denote the same or similar parts. These embodiments are only a part of the present disclosure and do not reveal all possible implementations of the present disclosure. Rather, these embodiments are merely examples of apparatuses and methods within the scope of the patent applications disclosed herein. Referring to Figure 1, the electronic device 100 may include a camera module 110, a touch screen 120, a storage device 130, and a processor 140. The electronic device 100 may be, for example, a smartphone, a digital camera, a tablet computer, a game console, a wearable electronic device, or a photographic device, or other electronic devices with image capture capabilities, and the type of electronic device 100 is not limited to these. The camera module 110 is used to capture images and may include a lens, an image sensor, and other components. The lens may include an optical lens for optical path control. The image sensor provides image sensing functionality. The image sensing element of the image sensor may include a photosensitive element, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD), a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) element, or other elements, which are not limited herein. The lens can converge imaging light onto the image sensor to achieve image capture. The touchscreen 120 is a display device integrating touch detection elements, providing both display and input functions. This display device can be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, a field emission display (FED), or other types of displays, but is not limited thereto. Touch detection elements are arranged in rows and columns on the display device to detect touches from a user's finger, palm, or other object on the touchscreen 120. The touch detection elements can be, for example, capacitive touch detection elements, surface acoustic wave touch detection elements, electromagnetic touch detection elements, or near-field imaging touch detection elements, but are not limited thereto. Storage device 130 is used to store data such as files, images, instructions, code, software modules, etc., and can be, for example, any type of fixed or removable random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk or other similar device, integrated circuit or combination thereof. Processor 140 is coupled to camera module 110, touch screen 120, and storage device 130. It may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), application processor (AP), or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), image signal processor (ISP), graphics processing unit (GPU), or other similar devices, integrated circuits, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, processor 140 may execute instructions or program code in storage device 130 to implement the steps of the focusing and imaging method in this disclosed embodiment. Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a focusing and photographing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 2, the method of this embodiment can be executed by the electronic device 100 of Figure 1. The details of each step in Figure 2 are explained below with reference to the components shown in Figure 1. In step S210, the processor 140 receives a focus command applied to the photo preview screen via the touch screen 120. Specifically, when the processor 140 activates the photo-taking function, it controls the touch screen 120 to display the photo preview screen. The processor 140 detects touch operations applied to the photo preview screen via the touch screen 120 to obtain the focus command. The touch location of the focus command can be used to specify the target focus area, thereby guiding the processor 140 to initiate subsequent focusing procedures to ensure accurate focusing on the target area. In step S220, the processor 140 executes a focusing procedure according to the focusing command and starts a countdown based on a delay time. Specifically, when the processor 140 receives a focusing command applied to the photo preview screen via the touch screen 120, the processor 140 can execute the focusing procedure. The processor 140 can determine the focus area based on the touch position in the photo preview screen according to the focusing command. Furthermore, when the user performs a touch operation such as clicking or pressing on the photo preview screen, the processor 140 will detect the touch position and set a focus area of ​​a predetermined size centered on the touch position. Then, the processor 140 can execute the focusing procedure based on the focus area. The focusing procedure may include adjusting the lens position in the camera module 110 to optically focus on the user-selected focus area. For example, the processor 140 can use focusing techniques such as hill climbing to control the lens to move to the focus position to obtain image content with maximum clarity in the focus area. Alternatively, the focusing process may include driving the image processing unit (ISP) to enhance image sharpness within the focusing area. In some embodiments, when the focusing procedure is completed, the processor 140 may start a countdown timer based on a delay time. Specifically, after completing the focusing procedure, the processor 140 may start a countdown timer based on a delay time. In different embodiments, the delay time may be set according to user needs or scene content to meet the shooting requirements of different scenarios. For example, the delay time may be 2 seconds, 5 seconds, or other durations. Alternatively, the delay time may be 0 seconds. The processor 140 starts a delay timer to count down from the number of seconds corresponding to the delay time in response to the completion of the focusing procedure. In step S230, during the countdown, the processor 140 determines whether a user operation command has been received through the touch screen 120. Specifically, during the countdown, the processor 140 determines whether the touch screen 120 has received any touch operation from the user. In some embodiments, the user operation command may be another focus command applied to the photo preview screen. In some embodiments, the user operation command may be a zoom command, a brightness adjustment command, a flash setting command, or other shooting setting command applied to the photo application interface including the photo preview screen. In step S240, if no user operation command is received during the countdown period (determined as no in step S230), the processor 140 reacts by controlling the camera module 110 to capture a target photo based on the focusing parameters of the focusing program (e.g., the lens's focus position) after the countdown ends. That is, during the countdown, the processor 140 can detect user operation commands on the touchscreen 120. If no user operation command is received during the countdown, it means the user is satisfied with the settings of the various shooting parameters, the overall composition, and the focus result; therefore, the processor 140 continues the countdown. When the processor 140 counts down from the number of seconds corresponding to the delay time to zero, the processor 140 can trigger the camera module 110 to capture the target photo. In some embodiments, the processor 140 can set a delay time according to a user-defined instruction. Specifically, the processor 140 can provide an interface for setting the delay time via a touchscreen 120. This interface may include intuitive interactive UI elements such as sliders, numeric input fields, or preset option buttons. Users can adjust or specify the desired delay time value by sliding, clicking, or inputting data through the touchscreen 120. In some embodiments, the processor 140 can set the delay time according to the scene content. More specifically, the processor 140 can identify whether the shooting scene is static or dynamic based on the preview image. When the shooting scene is static, the processor 140 can delay for a first time length. When the shooting scene is dynamic, the processor 140 can delay for a second time length. The first time length is greater than the second time length. Therefore, in static scenes, the user can prepare adequately with a longer delay time, while in dynamic scenes, a 0-second delay can be selected to speed up the shooting process, thereby improving the overall user experience and shooting efficiency. For example, please refer to FIG3A, which is a schematic diagram of a photo preview screen according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The touch screen 120 can display a photo preview screen P31. When the user's finger taps the photo preview screen P31, the processor 140 can recognize this tap operation as a focus command and determine the focus area F31 based on the touch position of this tap operation. Then, the processor 140 can perform a focusing procedure based on the focus area F31. Next, please refer to FIG3B, which is a schematic diagram of a photo preview screen according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. When the processor 140 receives a focus command applied to the photo preview screen P31 via the touch screen 120 or completes the focusing procedure, the processor 140 starts a countdown timer according to the delay time and displays the countdown timer in seconds in the photo preview screen P31. As shown in FIG3B, the countdown timer in seconds T31 can be displayed in the photo preview screen P31. On the other hand, in step S250, if a user operation command is received during the countdown (determined as yes in step S230), the processor 140 stops the countdown. Specifically, if the processor 140 receives a user operation command during the countdown, it means the user is not yet satisfied with the settings of the shooting parameters, the overall composition, or the focus result; therefore, the processor 140 stops the countdown. Simultaneously, the processor 140 can execute operations corresponding to the user operation command. For example, the processor 140 can adjust the zoom ratio of the camera module 110 according to a shooting zoom command. Alternatively, the processor 140 can adjust various shooting parameters according to other shooting setting commands, such as exposure compensation commands, filter setting commands, or flash setting commands. Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a focusing and photographing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 4, the method of this embodiment can be executed by the electronic device 100 of Figure 1. The details of each step in Figure 4 are explained below with reference to the components shown in Figure 1. In step S410, the processor 140 receives a focus command applied to the camera preview screen via the touch screen 120. In step S420, the processor 140 executes the focus procedure according to the focus command and starts a countdown timer based on a delay time. In step S430, during the countdown timer, the processor 140 determines whether it receives a user operation command via the touch screen 120. The implementation methods of steps S410 to S430 can be referred to the foregoing embodiments for description, and will not be repeated here. In step S440, if a user operation command is received via the touch screen 120 during the countdown period (determined as yes in step S430), the processor 140 can determine whether the user operation command is another focus command. That is, when a touch operation is received during the countdown period, the processor 140 can determine whether this touch operation is a focus command or other shooting setting command. In step S450, if the user's operation command is not another focus command (determined as no in step S440), the processor 140 stops the countdown and executes the operation corresponding to the user's operation command. In step S460, if another focus command is received via the touch screen 120 during the countdown (determined as yes in step S440), the processor 140 starts the next countdown based on the delay time and returns to step S430. That is, if the user issues another focus command again during the countdown, the processor 140 can execute the focus procedure again and restart the countdown. In step S470, if no user operation command is received during the countdown period (if determined as no in step S430), processor 140 can determine whether the countdown has ended. In step S480, if no user operation command is received during the countdown period and the countdown has ended (if determined as yes in step S470), processor 140 reacts to the end of the countdown by controlling camera module 110 to capture a target photo based on the focus parameters of the focus program. In this way, the processor 140 can respond to user operation commands received during the countdown by stopping the countdown, thus avoiding taking unwanted photos. Furthermore, depending on the type of user operation command received during the countdown, the processor 140 can restart the next countdown or perform other corresponding operations. Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a focusing and photographing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 5, the method of this embodiment can be executed by the electronic device 100 of Figure 1. The details of each step in Figure 5 are explained below with reference to the components shown in Figure 1. In step S502, the processor 140 receives a focus command applied to the camera preview screen via the touch screen 120. In step S504, the processor 140 executes the focus procedure according to the focus command and starts a countdown timer based on a delay time. The implementation methods of steps S502 to S504 can be referred to the foregoing embodiments for description, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that in step S506, the processor 140 controls the camera module 110 to capture a reference image before the countdown ends. In some embodiments, the reference image may be captured after the focusing procedure has been completed. In step S508, during the countdown period, the processor 140 determines whether a user operation command has been received through the touch screen 120. In step S510, if no user operation command is received during the countdown period (if determined as no in step S508), the processor 140 can determine whether the countdown has ended. In step S512, if no user operation command is received during the countdown period and the countdown has ended (if determined as yes in step S510), the processor 140 reacts to the end of the countdown by controlling the camera module 110 to capture a target photo based on the focus parameters of the focus program. In this embodiment, step S512 can be implemented as steps S5121 to S5123. In step S5121, the processor 140 may respond to the end of the countdown by controlling the camera module 110 to capture a target image based on the focus parameters of the focusing program. Specifically, the processor 140 will use the target focus area and related focus parameters determined in the focusing program to drive the camera module 110 to capture the target image. Please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram illustrating the acquisition time of the target image and the reference image according to the embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the processor 140 may complete the focusing process at time point t1 and begin a countdown, and complete the focusing process at time point t1 to control the camera module 110 to acquire the reference image. Subsequently, when the countdown ends, that is, after a delay time, the processor 140 may control the camera module 110 to acquire the target image. In step S5122, the processor 140 can determine whether the similarity between the reference image and the target image meets the similarity criteria. Specifically, by utilizing the Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), feature point matching algorithms (such as SIFT or ORB), or other statistical models, the processor 140 can compare the similarity between the texture, color, and geometric features of the reference image and the target image. The processor 140 can obtain the similarity between the reference image and the target image based on an image similarity evaluation algorithm. The processor 140 can determine whether the similarity is higher than a preset threshold. When the similarity is higher than the preset threshold, the processor 140 can determine that the similarity between the reference image and the target image meets the similarity criteria. Otherwise, when the similarity is not higher than the preset threshold, the processor 140 can determine that the similarity between the reference image and the target image does not meet the similarity criteria. In step S5123, when the similarity between the reference image and the target image meets the similarity condition, the processor 140 stores the target image as a target photograph. When the similarity between the reference image and the target image meets the similarity condition, it means the user maintained the shooting scene during the countdown, therefore the target image matches the user's initial shooting intention. Thus, the processor 140 can generate a target photograph including metadata based on the target image and record this target photograph to the storage device 130. The aforementioned metadata includes, for example, the shooting time, location, and shooting parameters, for subsequent retrieval and management by the user. In step S514, if the similarity between the reference image and the target image does not meet the similarity condition, the processor 140 discards the target image and does not store the target photo. Specifically, if the similarity between the reference image and the target image does not meet the similarity condition, it means that the user has significantly changed the shooting scene during the countdown period, such as readjusting the composition, moving the device, or changing the subject. Therefore, the target image no longer matches the user's initial shooting intention. Based on this judgment, the processor 140 chooses to discard the target image to avoid storing a photo that may not meet the user's needs. Furthermore, in step S516, if a user operation command is received via the touch screen 120 during the countdown period (determined as yes in step S508), the processor 140 can determine whether the user operation command is another focus command. In step S520, if the user operation command is not another focus command (determined as no in step S516), the processor 140 stops the countdown and executes the operation corresponding to the user operation command. In step S518, if another focus command is received via the touch screen 120 during the countdown period (determined as yes in step S516), the processor 140 starts the next countdown based on the delay time and returns to step S508. The implementation methods of steps S516 to S520 can be referred to the foregoing embodiments for description, and will not be repeated here. In summary, in the embodiments disclosed herein, focusing commands can be received via a touchscreen to trigger the execution of the focusing process and initiate a countdown. If no user operation command is received via the touchscreen before the countdown ends, the camera module can be automatically controlled to capture the target photo based on the focusing parameters. This effectively reduces camera shake caused by click operations at the moment of taking the photo. Furthermore, users can complete focusing and taking photos with simple operations, thereby speeding up the shooting process and improving the user experience. In addition, the flexible setting of the delay time allows for more flexible shooting applications, meeting the needs of diverse scenarios. Although the invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Anyone skilled in the art may make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the invention shall be determined by the appended claims. 100: Electronic device; 110: Camera module; 120: Touch screen; 130: Storage device; 140: Processor; F31: Focus area; P31: Shooting preview screen; S210~S250, S410~S480, S502~S520, S5121~S5123: Steps; t1, t2: Time points; T31: Timing seconds. Figure 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is a flowchart of a focusing and photographing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figures 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams of photographing preview screens according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4 is a flowchart of a photographing preview image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 is a flowchart of a photographing preview image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the acquisition time of the target image and the reference image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. S210~S250: Steps

Claims

1. A focusing and photographing method for an electronic device including a camera module and a touch screen, the method comprising: The device receives a focus command applied to the camera preview screen via the touchscreen. The focusing procedure is executed according to the focusing command and a countdown timer is started according to a delay time. During the countdown, it is determined whether a user operation command is received through the touch screen; and if the user operation command is not received during the countdown, the camera module is controlled to take a target photo based on the focus parameters of the focus program when the countdown ends; if the user operation command is received during the countdown, it is determined whether the user operation command is another focus command; if so, the next countdown is started according to the delay time; if not, the countdown is stopped. The focusing and photography method described in claim 1 further includes: Before the countdown ends, the camera module is controlled to capture a reference image; wherein, if the user operation command is not received during the countdown, the step of controlling the camera module to capture the target photo based on the focus parameters of the focus program upon the end of the countdown includes: upon the end of the countdown, controlling the camera module to capture a target image based on the focus parameters of the focus program; and when the similarity between the reference image and the target image meets the similarity condition, storing the target image as the target photo. The focusing and photographing method as described in claim 2, wherein the reference image is captured after the focusing procedure is completed. The focusing and photography method described in claim 2 further includes: If the similarity between the reference image and the target image does not meet the similarity condition, the target image is discarded and the target photo is not stored. The focusing and photographing method as described in claim 1, wherein the steps of executing a focusing procedure according to the focusing command and starting a countdown timer according to the delay time include: The focus area is determined based on the touch position of the focus command in the photo preview screen; And perform the focusing procedure according to the focusing area. The focusing and photographing method as described in claim 5, wherein the steps of executing a focusing procedure according to the focusing command and starting a countdown timer according to the delay time further include: Once the focusing procedure is completed, the countdown timer is started based on the delay time. The focusing and photography method described in claim 1 further includes: The delay time is set according to a user-defined instruction. An electronic device comprising: Camera module, including lens and image sensor; touchscreen; The system includes a processor coupled to the camera module and the touchscreen, configured to: receive a focus command applied to the photo preview screen via the touchscreen; execute a focus procedure according to the focus command and start a countdown based on a delay time; during the countdown, determine whether a user operation command is received via the touchscreen; and if the user operation command is not received during the countdown, responding to the end of the countdown by controlling the camera module to take a target photo based on the focus parameters of the focus procedure; if the user operation command is received during the countdown, determine whether the user operation command is another focus command; if so, start the next countdown based on the delay time; if not, stop the countdown.

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