External camera module and electronic device

Abstract

An external camera module and an electronic device. The external camera module comprises a camera, a first image processing module, a second image processing module, a storage module, a power supply conversion circuit module, and a plug-in port for connecting to an electronic device. The storage module is configured with a first firmware data unit and a second firmware data unit for respectively processing data of the first image processing module and data of the second image processing module. The power supply conversion circuit module can identify forward and reverse plug-in states of the plug-in port, and the two image processing modules can be separately powered on to operate in both forward and reverse plug-in states. The invention solves the technical problem, in existing electronic devices having an external camera that rely on the combination of hardware, software and drivers of the external camera unit to implement different mirror settings for forward and reverse plug-in scenarios, of affecting the user experience due to prolonged connection time and probabilistic device occupation resulting from the necessity for processing a video stream by a local system end of an electronic device, and due to the failure of mirror settings resulting from the software or drivers being impacted by user-initiated uninstallation or system reinstallation.

Description

An external camera module and electronic device

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411388655.0, filed on October 8, 2024, entitled "An External Camera Module and Electronic Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates to the field of electronic device technology, and more particularly to an external camera module and electronic device. Background Technology

[0003] Traditional electronic devices with built-in cameras suffer from reduced screen-to-body ratios. To meet the demands for higher screen-to-body ratios, devices with built-in cameras are being replaced with external cameras. Existing external camera devices rely on a combination of hardware, software, and drivers to achieve different mirroring settings for reversible insertion. The video stream needs to be processed by the device's own system, leading to long connection times and potential device occupancy issues. Furthermore, software or drivers can be affected by user uninstallation or system reinstallation, causing mirroring settings to malfunction and impacting user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides an external camera module and electronic device to solve the technical problems of existing external camera electronic devices that rely on the hardware, software and drivers of the external camera to achieve different mirror settings under forward and reverse insertion. The video stream needs to be processed by the local system of the electronic device, which leads to long connection time and probability of device occupancy. The software or driver may be affected by the user uninstalling or reinstalling the system, which can cause the mirror settings to fail and affect the user experience.

[0005] In view of this, the first aspect of the present invention provides an external camera module and an electronic device, including a camera, a first image processing module, a second image processing module, a storage module, a power conversion circuit module, and a connector port for connecting to the electronic device, wherein the connector port supports both positive and negative connection to the electronic device;

[0006] The camera is connected to the first image processing module and the second image processing module respectively;

[0007] The storage module is configured with a first firmware data unit and a second firmware data unit. The first firmware data unit is connected to the first image processing module, and the second firmware data unit is connected to the second image processing module.

[0008] The power conversion circuit module is connected to the first image processing module, the second image processing module and the camera respectively;

[0009] The power conversion circuit module is connected to the connector port. The power conversion circuit module is used to identify the connection status of the connector port and supply power to the first image processing module or the second image processing module according to the connection status. When the connection status is positive, the power conversion circuit module supplies power to the first image processing module. When the connection status is reverse, the power conversion circuit module supplies power to the second image processing module.

[0010] Optionally, the storage module is a Flash memory.

[0011] Optionally, the storage module is a Flash chip that integrates the first firmware data unit and the second firmware data unit.

[0012] Optionally, the storage module includes a first Flash chip and a second Flash chip, wherein the first firmware data unit is configured in the first Flash chip and the second firmware data unit is configured in the second Flash chip.

[0013] Optionally, the first image processing module and the second image processing module are ISP chips.

[0014] Optionally, it also includes a first power supply voltage divider module, a second power supply voltage divider module, and a third power supply voltage divider module;

[0015] The input terminals of the first power supply voltage divider module, the second power supply voltage divider module, and the third power supply voltage divider module are connected to the power conversion circuit module. The output terminal of the first power supply voltage divider module is connected to the first image processing module, the output terminal of the second power supply voltage divider module is connected to the second image processing module, and the output terminal of the third power supply voltage divider module is connected to the camera.

[0016] Optionally, it also includes a signal switch;

[0017] The first data signal input pin of the signal switch is connected to the first image processing module, the second data signal input pin of the signal switch is connected to the second image processing module, the first data signal output pin and the second data signal output pin of the signal switch are left floating, and the sel pin of the signal switch is connected to the input terminal of the first power supply voltage divider module.

[0018] Optionally, the camera is a MIPI camera.

[0019] Optionally, the first power supply voltage divider module and the second power supply voltage divider module are LDO linear buck circuits.

[0020] A second aspect of the present invention provides an electronic device for use in conjunction with any of the external camera modules provided in the first aspect of the present invention;

[0021] The ACPI_PLD in the BIOS program of the electronic device stores the mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of the first firmware data unit and the second firmware data unit and the image setting. The mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of the first firmware data unit and the image setting is in image mode, and the mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of the second firmware data unit and the image setting is in non-image mode.

[0022] Optionally, the electronic device is a laptop computer.

[0023] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the external camera module and electronic device provided by the present invention have the following advantages:

[0024] The external camera module and electronic device provided by this invention include a camera, a first image processing module, a second image processing module, a storage module, a power conversion circuit module, and a connector port for connecting to the electronic device. The storage module is configured with a first firmware data unit and a second firmware data unit to process data from the first and second image processing modules, respectively. The power conversion circuit module can identify the forward and reverse connection state of the connector port. Both image processing modules can be powered on and process video streams independently in both forward and reverse connection states. The video stream does not need to be processed by the electronic device's own system, avoiding the problems of long connection time and probabilistic device occupancy. It does not rely on software or drivers, and the mirror settings will not be invalidated due to user uninstallation or system reinstallation of software or drivers. This solves the technical problems of existing external camera electronic devices that rely on the external camera's hardware + software + drivers to achieve different mirror settings under forward and reverse connection states, require video stream processing by the electronic device's own system, leading to long connection time and probabilistic device occupancy, and cause mirror settings to be invalidated due to user uninstallation or system reinstallation of software or drivers, thus affecting user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an external camera module provided in this invention;

[0027] Figure 2 is a pin diagram showing the connection port provided in this invention when it is connected to an electronic device in the correct orientation and in the reverse orientation.

[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an external camera module provided in this invention when it is connected to an electronic device.

[0029] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the external camera module provided in this invention when it is reverse-connected to an electronic device;

[0030] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the external camera module when the storage module provided in this invention consists of two Flash chips.

[0031] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the external camera module shown in Figure 5 when it is connected to an electronic device.

[0032] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the external camera module shown in Figure 5 when it is reverse-connected to an electronic device;

[0033] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the positive connection of the external camera module (without storage module) including the signal switch provided in this invention;

[0034] Figure 9 is a reverse connection diagram of the external camera module (without storage module) including a signal switch provided in this invention;

[0035] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the connection between the electronic device and the external camera module provided in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0036] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 1. This invention provides an embodiment of an external camera module, including a camera, a first image processing module, a second image processing module, a storage module, a power conversion circuit module, and a connector port for connecting to an electronic device. The connector port supports both normal and reverse connection to the electronic device. The camera is connected to both the first and second image processing modules. The storage module is configured with a first firmware data unit and a second firmware data unit. The first firmware data unit is connected to the first image processing module, and the second firmware data unit is connected to the second image processing module. The power conversion circuit module is connected to the first image processing module, the second image processing module, and the camera. The power conversion circuit module is connected to the connector port and is used to identify the connection status of the connector port. Based on the connection status, the power conversion circuit module supplies power to either the first or second image processing module. When the connection status is normal, the power conversion circuit module supplies power to the first image processing module; when the connection status is reverse, the power conversion circuit module supplies power to the second image processing module.

[0038] It should be noted that, as shown in Figure 1, the external camera module provided in this embodiment of the invention consists of a camera, two image processing modules, a storage module, a power conversion module, and a connector port for connecting to an electronic device. The camera can be a MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) camera. The first and second image processing modules can be ISP (Image Signal Processing) chips. The connector port serves as the power supply and communication port for the external camera module, connecting to the power supply and communication interface of the electronic device to provide power to the external camera module and facilitate communication between the external camera module and the electronic device. The connector port supports both normal and reverse connection to the electronic device; that is, when the connector port is normally connected to the electronic device, the external camera module can be connected and powered; when the connector port is reverse connected to the electronic device, the external camera module can also be connected and powered. Schematic diagrams of the connector port when normally and reverse connected to the electronic device are shown in Figure 2. When the connector is correctly connected to the electronic device, the power conversion circuit module recognizes the connection as correct and supplies power to the first image processing module. The first image processing module then calls the first firmware data (FW) unit of the storage module to process the video stream. When the connector is reversed, the power conversion circuit module recognizes the connection as reversed and supplies power to the second image processing module. The second image processing module then calls the second firmware data (FW) unit of the storage module to process the video stream. This reversible connection identification does not require intervention from the electronic device's system-wide interface, preventing incorrect reversible connection identification at the system-wide level from causing mirroring errors. Both the first and second firmware data units have independent hardware identifiers (HWIDs) and mirroring settings. The first firmware data (FW) unit is set to non-mirror mode, and the second firmware data (FW) unit is also set to non-mirror mode.

[0039] When using an external camera module, the ACPI_PLD (Physical Device Position) setting in the electronic device's BIOS program corresponds to the actual position of the camera within the device. The ACPI_PLD in the BIOS program stores the mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of the first and second firmware data units and the mirroring settings. The mapping relationship for the first firmware data unit is mirror mode; that is, when the camera is connected correctly, the HWID is set to Front, indicating that the camera is facing the user, and the image output is mirrored. The mapping relationship for the second firmware data unit is non-mirror mode; that is, when the camera is connected in reverse, the HWID is set to Back, indicating that the camera is facing away from the user, and the image output is non-mirror. This allows for mirrored previewing and non-mirrored recording when the connector is connected correctly to the electronic device, and non-mirrored previewing and recording when the connector is connected in reverse.

[0040] In one embodiment, the external camera module provided in this invention further includes a first power supply voltage divider module, a second power supply voltage divider module, and a third power supply voltage divider module. The input terminals of the first, second, and third power supply voltage divider modules are connected to a power conversion circuit module. The output terminal of the first power supply voltage divider module is connected to a first image processing module, supplying power to the first image processing module. The output terminal of the second power supply voltage divider module is connected to the second image processing module, supplying power to the second image processing module. The output terminal of the third power supply voltage divider module is connected to the camera, supplying power to the camera. The first and second power supply voltage divider modules are LDO (Low Dropout Regulator) linear buck circuits.

[0041] In one embodiment, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the storage module of the external camera module provided in this invention is a Flash memory. The storage module is a Flash chip with a built-in first firmware data unit (FW1) and a second firmware data unit (FW2). When the connector is correctly connected to the electronic device, the power conversion circuit module recognizes the connection state as correct and supplies power to the first image processing module. The first image processing module then calls the first firmware data unit (FW1) of the Flash chip to process the video stream. When the connector is reversed connected to the electronic device, the power conversion circuit module recognizes the connection state as reversed and supplies power to the second image processing module. The second image processing module then calls the second firmware data unit (FW2) of the Flash chip to process the video stream.

[0042] In one embodiment, as shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7, the storage module of the external camera module provided in this invention includes a first Flash chip (Flash1) and a second Flash chip (Flash2). A first firmware data unit (FW1) is configured in the first Flash chip (Flash1), and a second firmware data unit (FW2) is configured in the second Flash chip (Flash2). When the connector is correctly connected to the electronic device, the power conversion circuit module recognizes the connection state of the connector as correctly connected and supplies power to the first image processing module. The first image processing module then calls the first firmware data unit (FW1) of the first Flash chip (Flash1) to process the video stream. When the connector is reversed connected to the electronic device, the power conversion circuit module recognizes the connection state of the connector as reversed and supplies power to the second image processing module. The second image processing module then calls the second firmware data unit (FW2) of the second Flash chip (Flash2) to process the video stream.

[0043] In one embodiment, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, the external camera module provided in this invention further includes a signal switch. The first data signal input pin IN1 of the signal switch (corresponding to the D+ pin of the electronic device system interface) is connected to the first image processing module, the second data signal input pin IN2 (corresponding to the D- pin of the electronic device system interface) is connected to the second image processing module, the first data signal output pin OUT1 and the second data signal output pin OUT2 are left floating, and the sel pin is connected to the input terminal of the first power supply voltage divider module. The sel pin controls the signal output of the signal switch through its high and low level states. When the connector is connected to the electronic device in the correct orientation, PIN1 of the connector is powered on, which causes the first image processing module to enter the powered-on working state, while the second image processing module will not power on. This is because the sel pin of the signal switch is connected to PIN1 of the connector, and at this time, the sel pin is in a high level state. In this case, the signal switch outputs the D+ / D- signal of the first image processing module. When the connector is connected to the electronic device in reverse orientation, PINN of the connector is powered on, which causes the second image processing module to enter the working state, while the first image processing module will not work. At this point, the sel pin of the signal switch is still connected to PIN1 of the connector port, but due to the reverse connection, the sel pin goes low. Therefore, the signal switch outputs the D+ / D- signal of the second image processing module. This design controls the operating state of the first and second image processing modules and selects the corresponding D+ / D- signal output by controlling the power-on state of PIN1 of the connector port and the high / low level of the sel pin of the signal switch. Thus, regardless of the connection orientation, the corresponding first or second image processing module can be activated to achieve different functions or data transmissions.

[0044] The external camera module and electronic device provided by this invention include a camera, a first image processing module, a second image processing module, a storage module, a power conversion circuit module, and a connector port for connecting to the electronic device. The storage module is configured with a first firmware data unit and a second firmware data unit to process data from the first and second image processing modules, respectively. The power conversion circuit module can identify the forward and reverse connection state of the connector port. Both image processing modules can be powered on and process video streams independently in both forward and reverse connection states. The video stream does not need to be processed by the electronic device's own system, avoiding the problems of long connection time and probabilistic device occupancy. It does not rely on software or drivers, and the mirror settings will not be invalidated due to user uninstallation or system reinstallation of software or drivers. This solves the technical problems of existing external camera electronic devices that rely on the external camera's hardware + software + drivers to achieve different mirror settings under forward and reverse connection states, require video stream processing by the electronic device's own system, leading to long connection time and probabilistic device occupancy, and cause mirror settings to be invalidated due to user uninstallation or system reinstallation of software or drivers, thus affecting user experience.

[0045] For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 10. This invention provides an embodiment of an electronic device for use with the external camera module provided in this invention. The ACPI_PLD in the BIOS program of this electronic device stores a mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of a first firmware data unit and a second firmware data unit and a mirror setting. The mapping relationship between the hardware identifier of the first firmware data unit and the mirror setting is in mirror mode, while the mapping relationship between the hardware identifier of the second firmware data unit and the mirror setting is in non-mirror mode.

[0046] The electronic device is a laptop computer.

[0047] The electronic device provided in this invention consists of an electronic device and an external camera module provided in this invention. Its principle has been explained in the embodiments of the external camera module provided in this invention, and it has the same technical effect as the external camera module provided in this invention.

[0048] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An external camera module, characterized in that, It includes a camera, a first image processing module, a second image processing module, a storage module, a power conversion circuit module, and a connector port for connecting to an electronic device, wherein the connector port supports both normal and reverse connection to the electronic device; The camera is connected to the first image processing module and the second image processing module respectively; The storage module is configured with a first firmware data unit and a second firmware data unit. The first firmware data unit is connected to the first image processing module, and the second firmware data unit is connected to the second image processing module. The power conversion circuit module is connected to the first image processing module, the second image processing module and the camera respectively; The power conversion circuit module is connected to the connector port. The power conversion circuit module is used to identify the connection status of the connector port and supply power to the first image processing module or the second image processing module according to the connection status. When the connection status is positive, the power conversion circuit module supplies power to the first image processing module. When the connection status is reverse, the power conversion circuit module supplies power to the second image processing module.

2. The external camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The storage module is a Flash memory.

3. The external camera module according to claim 2, characterized in that, The storage module is a Flash chip that integrates the first firmware data unit and the second firmware data unit.

4. The external camera module according to claim 2, characterized in that, The storage module includes a first Flash chip and a second Flash chip, with the first firmware data unit configured in the first Flash chip and the second firmware data unit configured in the second Flash chip.

5. The external camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first image processing module and the second image processing module are ISP chips.

6. The external camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a first power supply voltage divider module, a second power supply voltage divider module, and a third power supply voltage divider module; The input terminals of the first power supply voltage divider module, the second power supply voltage divider module, and the third power supply voltage divider module are connected to the power conversion circuit module. The output terminal of the first power supply voltage divider module is connected to the first image processing module, the output terminal of the second power supply voltage divider module is connected to the second image processing module, and the output terminal of the third power supply voltage divider module is connected to the camera.

7. The external camera module according to claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes signal switches; The first data signal input pin of the signal switch is connected to the first image processing module, the second data signal input pin of the signal switch is connected to the second image processing module, the first data signal output pin and the second data signal output pin of the signal switch are left floating, and the sel pin of the signal switch is connected to the input terminal of the first power supply voltage divider module.

8. The external camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The camera is a MIPI camera.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, The electronic device is used in conjunction with the external camera module as described in any one of claims 1-8; The ACPI_PLD in the BIOS program of the electronic device stores the mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of the first firmware data unit and the second firmware data unit and the image setting. The mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of the first firmware data unit and the image setting is in image mode, and the mapping relationship between the hardware identifiers of the second firmware data unit and the image setting is in non-image mode.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, characterized in that, The electronic device is a laptop computer.

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