Management method of control chip, electronic device and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

This application relates to the field of electronic technology and provides a control method for an electronic device. The electronic device includes a front-facing camera and a rear-facing camera, and the control chips for both the front-facing and rear-facing cameras are connected to the same power port. The method includes: acquiring a shooting command, which instructs the front-facing camera to take a picture; and responding to the shooting command by sending a sleep command to the control chip of the rear-facing camera, which instructs the control chip of the rear-facing camera to enter a sleep state. This method can save power consumption of the electronic device.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 202311271728.3 submitted to the China Patent Office, application date September 28, 2023, and invention name "Management method of control chip, electronic device and computer-readable storage medium". Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of electronic technology, and in particular to a management method for a control chip, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0003] In order to enrich the shooting functions of terminal devices and improve the shooting effects, the functions and scenes that the cameras of terminal devices can support are increasing.

[0004] In some scenarios, such as supporting functions such as air gestures and face detection, the front camera is often required to be always on to ensure that external gestures or faces can be recognized at any time. The front camera is often also equipped with an auto-focus chip (auto-focus integrated circuit, AF IC) to realize the auto-focus function of the front camera, thereby improving the shooting effect of the front camera. Specifically, when the front camera is always on, the terminal device needs to power the AF IC of the front camera and drive the motor of the front camera through the AF IC to achieve auto-focus. In current terminal devices, the AF IC of the front camera is powered by a power management unit (power management unit, PMU). For example, the power port of the AF IC of the front camera is connected to a low dropout regulator (LDO) power port of the PUM for power supply. Usually, the camera on the terminal device is not only a front camera, but also one or more rear cameras. The rear cameras will also achieve auto-focus under the control of their corresponding AF ICs. Some rear cameras are often equipped with an optical image stabilizer (OIS) to prevent shaking. In current terminal devices, in order to save costs, the same LDO power supply is usually used to power all camera AF ICs, OIS and other devices.

[0005] For terminal devices that use the same power supply for AF ICs, OIS and other devices of multiple cameras, when the AF IC of the front camera is powered on, the AF IC, OIS and other devices of the rear camera will also be powered on. These AF ICs, OIS and other devices of the rear camera that are not needed will generate a certain amount of base power consumption after being powered on, resulting in power waste. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application provides a management method, device, electronic device, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product for a control chip, which can save power consumption.

[0007] In a first aspect, a control chip management method is provided, which is applied to an electronic device. The electronic device includes at least a target camera and other cameras. The target camera is different from the other cameras. The control chips of the target camera and the other cameras are connected to the same power port, including: obtaining a shooting instruction, the shooting instruction is used to instruct the target camera to shoot; in response to the shooting instruction, sending a sleep instruction to the control chips of other cameras, the sleep instruction is used to instruct the control chips of other cameras to enter a sleep state.

[0008] Usually, multiple cameras are provided on an electronic device, the one provided on one side of the screen is the front camera, and the one provided on one side of the back cover is the rear camera. Usually, the front camera can be used to detect faces, gestures, etc., and needs to be kept in an open state. The rear camera usually includes a main camera, and may also include cameras that support other shooting functions, such as a wide-angle camera for shooting a wide range of scenes, a telephoto camera for shooting distant scenes, etc. Sometimes, the rear camera may also include a macro camera for shooting close objects. These cameras are all provided with corresponding autofocus chips for autofocus, and some cameras are also provided with OIS for anti-shake.

[0009] In order to save costs, the same LDO power supply of the PMU is usually used to power all camera AF ICs, OIS and other devices.

[0010] For electronic devices that use the same power supply for AF IC, OIS and other devices of multiple cameras, when the AF IC of the front camera needs to be powered on (referred to as powering on), the AF IC, OIS and other devices of the rear camera will also be powered on together. The AF IC, OIS and other devices of the rear camera that are not needed in the current state will generate a certain amount of base power consumption after power is loaded, resulting in power waste. For example, after the OIS is powered on, it will enter standby mode (i.e., standby mode). In standby mode, the OIS will generate a base current of 3-5mA even when the screen is off, so there is a certain amount of power consumption.

[0011] When the PMU loads power to the control chip of the target camera, since the control chips of other cameras and the control chip of the target camera share the same power port of the PMU, the PMU will load power to the control chips of other cameras at the same time. At this time, the control chips of other cameras enter the standby state. In response to the shooting instruction, the electronic device can send a sleep instruction to the control chips of other cameras other than the target camera. The sleep instruction can be transmitted in the form of an I2C signal. The sleep instruction can be input through a mode port on the control chip that is different from the power port, instructing the control chip to enter the sleep state from the standby state. The control chip that enters the sleep state no longer has additional power consumption.

[0012] The above-mentioned shooting instruction can be an instruction input by the user manually clicking the screen of the electronic device to open the camera APP and enter the shooting state, or it can be an instruction for opening the camera APP input by the user's voice, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Optionally, the shooting instruction can also be an instruction to turn on the front camera to a normally open state, such as an instruction for the user to turn on the function of real-time detection of gestures or real-time detection of faces. Optionally, the shooting instruction can also be an instruction input by the user to turn on the camera's real-time online (always-on camera, AON) mode. If the front camera is turned on in AON mode by default when the electronic device is turned on, the shooting instruction is an instruction to load the camera after the electronic device is turned on. The specific form of the shooting instruction is not limited in this application.

[0013] When the target camera is a front camera in real-time online mode, the electronic device can send a sleep command to each control chip of the front and rear cameras, so that the AF IC, OIS and other control chips corresponding to the rear camera all enter a sleep state, thereby avoiding additional power consumption.

[0014] Optionally, the target camera may also be one of the rear cameras. For example, when the rear main camera is in AON mode, the electronic device may output a sleep instruction to the control chips of the cameras other than the main camera in the rear camera and the AFIC of the front camera to instruct these control chips to enter a sleep state, thereby avoiding extra power consumption.

[0015] When all the camera control chips are powered on, the electronic device sends a sleep command to the AF IC, OIS and other control chips of other cameras that are not needed, instructing the control chips of other unused cameras to enter a sleep state, thereby saving power consumption. This method does not require redesigning the power supply method of the control chips of each camera, nor does it require introducing new power ports to power different control chips separately, so it can ensure that the production and design costs are not increased. At the same time, it avoids the control chips of other cameras from generating additional power consumption when not in use, reduces the power consumption of the entire machine, and thus extends the standby time.

[0016] In some possible implementations, the target camera is a front-facing camera, and the other cameras are rear-facing cameras.

[0017] Usually, the front camera needs to monitor faces or gestures in real time and can be set to always on. The rear camera can be turned on or off as needed.

[0018] In some possible implementations, when the front camera is in real-time online AON mode, a sleep instruction is sent to the control chips corresponding to other cameras, including: sending a sleep instruction to the control chips corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer; the method also includes: controlling the front camera to shoot through an intelligent sensor hub.

[0019] It should be noted that in current electronic devices, there are two strategies for camera image output. One is the AP side image output in non-AON mode, and the other is the Sensor Hub side image output in AON mode. When the front camera is in AON mode and other cameras are not in use, the electronic device sends a sleep command to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer, instructing the control chip of the unused camera to enter a sleep state to save power consumption.

[0020] In some possible implementations, when the front camera is not in AON mode, a sleep instruction is sent to the control chips corresponding to other cameras, including: sending a sleep instruction to the control chips corresponding to other cameras through the camera hardware abstraction layer; the method also includes: controlling the front camera to shoot through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0021] When the front camera is in AON mode and other cameras are not in use, the image output strategy of the electronic device is executed on the AP side. The electronic device sends a sleep command to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer, instructing the control chip of the unused camera to enter the sleep state to save power consumption. At the same time, the electronic device controls the front camera to output images through the Sensor Hub.

[0022] In some possible implementations, the target camera includes a main camera in the front camera and the rear camera. When the front camera is in AON mode, a sleep instruction is sent to the control chips corresponding to other cameras, including: sending a sleep instruction to the control chips corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer; the method also includes: controlling the smart sensor hub through the AON interface to control the front camera to shoot.

[0023] When the user turns on the main camera in the rear camera to shoot, and the front camera is in the normally open state, the target cameras include the front camera and the main camera. If the front camera is in AON mode, the electronic device can send a sleep instruction to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer, instructing the control chip of the unused camera to enter the sleep state to save power consumption. At the same time, the electronic device controls the front camera to output images through the Sensor Hub, and the electronic device also controls the main camera to output images through the main camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0024] In some possible implementations, the target camera includes a main camera in the front camera and the rear camera. When the front camera is not in AON mode, a sleep instruction is sent to the control chips corresponding to other cameras, including: sending a sleep instruction to the control chips corresponding to other cameras through the camera hardware abstraction layer; the method also includes: controlling the front camera to shoot through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0025] When the user turns on the main camera in the rear camera to shoot, and the front camera is in the normally open state, the target cameras include the front camera and the main camera. If the front camera is not in AON mode, the electronic device can send a sleep instruction to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the camera hardware abstraction layer, instructing the control chip of the unused camera to enter the sleep state to save power consumption. At the same time, the electronic device controls the main camera to output the image through the main camera driver of the kernel layer, and controls the front camera to output the image through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the target camera is the main camera in the rear camera, the main camera is in AON mode, and a sleep instruction is sent to the control chips corresponding to other cameras, including: sending a sleep instruction to the control chips corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer; the method also includes: controlling the smart sensor hub through the AON interface to control the main camera to shoot.

[0027] When the user turns on the main camera in the rear camera to shoot, and the front camera is not turned on, if the main camera is in AON mode, the electronic device can send a sleep command to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer, instructing the control chip of the unused camera to enter the sleep state to save power consumption. At the same time, the electronic device controls the main camera to output images through the Sensor Hub.

[0028] In some possible implementations, the target camera is the main camera in the rear camera, the main camera is in AON mode, and a sleep instruction is sent to the control chips corresponding to other cameras, including: sending a sleep instruction to the control chips corresponding to other cameras in the rear camera except the main camera through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer; the method also includes: controlling the smart sensor hub through the AON interface to control the main camera to shoot, and controlling the front camera to shoot through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0029] When the user turns on the main camera in the rear camera to shoot, and the front camera is in the normally open state by default, if the main camera is in AON mode, the electronic device can send a sleep instruction to the control chip corresponding to other cameras other than the main camera and the front camera through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer, instructing the control chips corresponding to other cameras other than the main camera and the front camera that are not in use to enter the sleep state to save power consumption. At the same time, the electronic device controls the main camera to output images through the Sensor Hub, and controls the front camera to output images through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0030] In some possible implementations, the control chip includes an autofocus chip and / or an image stabilizer.

[0031] Usually, the main camera is equipped with an image stabilizer OIS. Each camera is equipped with an autofocus chip to implement the autofocus chip. These control chips consume a certain amount of power in standby mode. When the control chip enters the sleep mode under the instruction of the sleep command, it can save power.

[0032] In some possible implementations, the shooting instruction is an instruction input by a user when opening a camera APP.

[0033] The shooting instruction can be an instruction input by the user manually clicking the screen of the electronic device to open the camera APP and enter the shooting state, or it can be an instruction to open the camera APP input by the user's voice, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Optionally, the shooting instruction can also be an instruction to turn on the front camera to a normally open state, such as an instruction for the user to turn on the real-time detection of gestures or real-time detection of faces. Optionally, the shooting instruction can also be an instruction input by the user to turn on the camera AON mode. If the front camera is turned on in AON mode by default when the electronic device is turned on, the shooting instruction is an instruction to load the camera after the electronic device is turned on. The specific form of the shooting instruction is not limited in this application.

[0034] In a second aspect, a management device for a control chip is provided, comprising a unit composed of software and / or hardware, and the unit is used to execute any one of the methods in the technical solution of the first aspect.

[0035] In a third aspect, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor, a memory and an interface; the processor, the memory and the interface cooperate with each other so that the electronic device executes any one of the methods in the technical solution of the first aspect.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the processor executes any one of the methods in the technical solution of the first aspect.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program code, when the computer program code runs on an electronic device, the electronic device executes any one of the methods in the technical solution of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 2 is a software structure block diagram of the terminal device 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a method for managing a control chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 4 This is a software architecture diagram of a method for managing a control chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 5 is a flowchart of another example of a method for managing a control chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 6 is a flowchart of another example of a method for managing a control chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a management device for a control chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means or, for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" means two or more than two.

[0046] In the following, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first", "second", and "third" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0047] The control chip management method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to terminal devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) devices, laptop computers, ultra-mobile personal computers (UMPC), netbooks, personal digital assistants (PDA), etc. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the specific type of terminal devices.

[0048] For example, Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an example of a terminal device 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 100 may include a processor 110, an external memory interface 120, an internal memory 121, a universal serial bus (USB) interface 130, a charging management module 140, a power management module 141, a battery 142, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 150, a wireless communication module 160, an audio module 170, a speaker 170A, a receiver 170B, a microphone 170C, an earphone interface 170D, a sensor module 180, a button 190, a motor 191, an indicator 192, a camera 193, a display screen 194, and a subscriber identification module (SIM) card interface 195, etc. The sensor module 180 may include a pressure sensor 180A, a gyroscope sensor 180B, an air pressure sensor 180C, a magnetic sensor 180D, an acceleration sensor 180E, a distance sensor 180F, a proximity light sensor 180G, a fingerprint sensor 180H, a temperature sensor 180J, a touch sensor 180K, an ambient light sensor 180L, a bone conduction sensor 180M, etc.

[0049] It is understood that the structure illustrated in the embodiment of the present application does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device 100. In other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 100 may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0050] The software system of the terminal device 100 may adopt a layered architecture, an event-driven architecture, a micro-core architecture, a micro-service architecture, or a cloud architecture. The present application embodiment takes the Android system of the layered architecture as an example to exemplify the software structure of the terminal device 100.

[0051] Figure 2 1 is a software structure diagram of the terminal device 100 of the embodiment of the present application. The layered architecture divides the software into several layers, each layer has a clear role and division of labor. The layers communicate with each other through software interfaces. In some embodiments, the Android system is divided into four layers, from top to bottom, namely, the application layer, the application framework layer, the Android runtime (Android runtime) and the system library, and the kernel layer. The application layer can include a series of application packages.

[0052] like Figure 2 As shown, the application package may include camera, gallery, calendar, call, map, navigation, WLAN, Bluetooth, music, video, short message and other applications.

[0053] The application framework layer provides an application programming interface (API) and a programming framework for the applications in the application layer. The application framework layer includes some predefined functions.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, the application framework layer may include a window manager, a content provider, a view system, a phone manager, a resource manager, a notification manager, and the like.

[0055] The window manager is used to manage window programs. The window manager can obtain the display screen size, determine whether there is a status bar, lock the screen, capture the screen, etc.

[0056] Content providers are used to store and retrieve data and make it accessible to applications. The data may include videos, images, audio, calls made and received, browsing history and bookmarks, phone books, etc.

[0057] The view system includes visual controls, such as controls for displaying text, controls for displaying images, etc. The view system can be used to build applications. A display interface can be composed of one or more views. For example, a display interface including a text notification icon can include a view for displaying text and a view for displaying images.

[0058] The phone manager is used to provide communication functions of the terminal device 100, such as management of call status (including connection, disconnection, etc.).

[0059] The resource manager provides various resources for applications, such as localized strings, icons, images, layout files, video files, and so on.

[0060] The notification manager enables applications to display notification information in the status bar, which can be used to convey notification-type messages and disappear automatically after a short stay without user interaction.

[0061] Android runtime includes core libraries and virtual machines. Android runtime is responsible for scheduling and management of the Android system.

[0062] The core library consists of two parts: one part is the function that needs to be called by the Java language, and the other part is the Android core library.

[0063] The application layer and the application framework layer run in a virtual machine. The virtual machine executes the Java files of the application layer and the application framework layer as binary files. The virtual machine is used to perform functions such as object life cycle management, stack management, thread management, security and exception management, and garbage collection.

[0064] The system library may include multiple functional modules, such as surface manager, media libraries, 3D graphics processing library (such as OpenGL ES), 2D graphics engine (such as SGL), etc.

[0065] The surface manager is used to manage the display subsystem and provide the fusion of 2D and 3D layers for multiple applications.

[0066] The media library supports playback and recording of a variety of commonly used audio and video formats, as well as static image files, etc. The media library can support a variety of audio and video encoding formats, such as: MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, etc.

[0067] The 3D graphics processing library is used to implement 3D graphics drawing, image rendering, compositing, and layer processing.

[0068] A 2D graphics engine is a drawing engine for 2D drawings.

[0069] The kernel layer is the layer between hardware and software. The kernel layer contains at least display driver, camera driver, audio driver, and sensor driver.

[0070] For ease of understanding, the following embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with Figure 1 and Figure 2 Taking the terminal device of the shown structure as an example, the management method of the control chip provided in the embodiment of the present application is specifically explained in combination with the accompanying drawings and application scenarios.

[0071] In order to enrich the shooting functions of terminal devices and improve the shooting effects, the functions and scenarios that the cameras of terminal devices can support are also increasing. In some scenarios, such as supporting functions such as air gestures and face detection, the front camera is often required to be always on to ensure that external gestures or faces can be recognized at any time. The front camera is often also configured with AF IC to realize the autofocus function of the front camera, thereby improving the shooting effect of the front camera. Specifically, when the front camera is always on, the terminal device needs to power the AF IC of the front camera and drive the motor of the front camera to move through the AF IC to achieve autofocus. In current terminal devices, the AF IC of the front camera is powered by the power port of the PMU. For example, the power port of the AF IC of the front camera is connected to a LDO power port of the PUM for power supply. Usually, the camera on the terminal device is not only a front camera, but also one or more rear cameras. The rear camera will also achieve autofocus under the control of its corresponding AF IC. Some rear cameras are often configured with OIS for anti-shake. In order to save costs, the same LDO power supply is usually used to power all camera AF ICs, OIS and other devices.

[0072] For terminal devices that use the same power supply for AF IC, OIS and other devices of multiple cameras, when the AF IC of the front camera needs to be powered on (referred to as powering on), the AF IC, OIS and other devices of the rear camera will also be powered on together. The AF IC, OIS and other devices of the rear camera that are not needed in the current state will generate a certain amount of base power consumption after power is loaded, resulting in power waste. For example, after the OIS is powered on, it will enter standby mode (i.e., standby mode). In standby mode, the OIS will generate a base current of 3-5mA even when the screen is off, so there is a certain amount of power consumption.

[0073] The embodiment of the present application provides a management method for a control chip. When one of the cameras is turned on, the terminal device sends a sleep instruction to the AF IC, OIS and other devices of other unused cameras, instructing the AF IC, OIS and other devices of these unused cameras to enter a sleep state (sleep mode). The power consumption of the device in the sleep state is lower than that in the standby mode after power-on, so power consumption can be saved.

[0074] The management method of the control chip provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a terminal device including multiple cameras. Usually, the camera arranged on the screen side of the terminal device is called the front camera, and the camera arranged on the side of the back shell of the terminal device is called the rear camera. Usually the latter camera usually includes more than one camera, for example, including a main camera, and can also include one or more of a telephoto camera, a wide-angle camera and a macro camera. The terminal device can choose to call different cameras or a combination of different cameras for shooting under different shooting modes or shooting requirements. Each camera is provided with a corresponding control chip, and various shooting functions are implemented under the control of the corresponding control chip. For example, the camera can realize autofocus under the control of the corresponding AF IC, and realize optical image stabilization under the control of OIS.

[0075] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a management process of a control chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, it may include:

[0076] S301, obtaining a shooting instruction, where the shooting instruction is used to instruct a target camera to shoot.

[0077] When the user wants to use the terminal device to take pictures, he can open an application such as the camera APP to turn on the camera to take pictures. At this time, the terminal device can receive and recognize the shooting instruction input by the user to open the camera APP or turn on a certain shooting mode. In response to the shooting instruction, the terminal device turns on the target camera corresponding to the current shooting mode, and powers the control chip of the target camera for shooting. For example, when the user opens the camera APP application and adjusts it to the selfie mode, the terminal device can turn on the front camera. The shooting instruction can be a command input by the user manually clicking on the screen of the terminal device, or it can be a command input by the user's voice, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0078] Optionally, the shooting instruction may also be an instruction to turn on the front camera to a normally open state, such as an instruction for the user to turn on the real-time detection of gestures or real-time detection of faces. Optionally, the shooting instruction may also be an instruction input by the user to turn on the camera's always-on (AON) mode. If the front camera is in AON mode when the terminal device is turned on by default, the shooting instruction is an instruction to load the camera after the terminal device is turned on. This application does not limit the specific form of the shooting instruction.

[0079] S302, in response to the shooting instruction, sending a sleep instruction to the control chips of other cameras to instruct the control chips of other cameras to enter a sleep state, and the target camera is different from the other cameras.

[0080] When the PMU loads power to the control chip of the target camera, since the control chips of other cameras and the control chip of the target camera share the same power port of the PMU, the PMU will load power to the control chips of other cameras at the same time. At this time, the control chips of other cameras enter the standby state. In response to the shooting instruction, the terminal device can send a sleep instruction to the control chips of other cameras other than the target camera. The sleep instruction can be transmitted in the form of an I2C signal. The sleep instruction can be input through a mode port on the control chip that is different from the power port, instructing the control chip to enter the sleep state from the standby state. The control chip that enters the sleep state no longer consumes additional power.

[0081] When the target camera is a front camera in real-time online mode, the terminal device can send a sleep command to each control chip of the front and rear cameras, so that the AF IC, OIS and other control chips corresponding to the rear camera enter a sleep state, thereby avoiding additional power consumption.

[0082] Optionally, the target camera may also be one of the rear cameras. For example, when the rear main camera is in AON mode, the terminal device may output a sleep instruction to the control chips of the cameras other than the main camera in the rear cameras and the AFIC of the front camera to instruct these control chips to enter a sleep state, thereby avoiding extra power consumption.

[0083] Above Figure 3 In the embodiment shown, when the control chips of all cameras are powered on, the terminal device sends a sleep instruction to the control chips of other cameras that are not needed, such as the AF IC and OIS, to instruct the control chips of other unused cameras to enter a sleep state, thereby saving power consumption. This method does not require redesigning the power supply method of the control chips of each camera, nor does it require introducing new power ports to supply power to different control chips separately, thereby ensuring that the production and design costs are not increased. At the same time, it avoids the control chips of other cameras from generating additional power consumption when not in use, reduces the power consumption of the entire machine, and thus extends the standby time.

[0084] It should be noted that in current terminal devices, there are two strategies for camera image output.

[0085] One is the common output mode (output mode in non-AON mode), and the execution process is on the AP (application process, the application processor CPU of the terminal device). For details, please refer to Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4In the example, the camera output process is described by taking the currently opened camera as the front camera and the front camera in the normally open mode to detect gestures or faces. When the user turns on the front camera in the normally open mode by operating the camera APP of the APP layer of the terminal device, the camera APP responds to the user's operation and transmits the output instruction of the front camera to the lower layer layer by layer. Specifically, the camera APP transmits the output instruction to the camera system library layer (also called the hardware abstraction layer, camera hardware abstraction layer, camera HAL for short) through the Java native interface (java native interface, JNI) of the application framework (framework, FWK) layer. The Camera HAL then passes the output instruction down to the front camera driver (such as AON camera driver, also known as V4L2 node) of the kernel layer (Kernel) through the camera service layer interface (cameraservice layer interface, CSL Interface). The front camera driver instructs the front camera to capture images and shoot pictures under the instruction of the output instruction. Optionally, the output instruction can be described as: msgid-AON_camera_is_work. At the same time, in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the kernel layer also adds nodes corresponding to the control chips of other non-front cameras. Taking the newly added node as the node of the OIS of the rear main camera (denoted as / dev / hicam_ois / ) as an example, the node of the OIS of the main camera is called the main camera OIS driver. While the camera HAL passes the image output instruction downward, it also uses the input / output control (input / output contrl, I / O CTL) instruction to send a sleep instruction to the node / dev / hicam_ois / . For example, the sleep instruction can be described as: HICAM_OIS_SLEEP. The node of the OIS can be described as the main camera OIS driver (for example, denoted as custom camera OISDriver) in the kernel layer, and the main camera OIS driver controls the corresponding OIS to enter the sleep state under the instruction of the sleep instruction. The OIS in the sleep state no longer has additional power consumption.

[0086] Usually, a corresponding AF IC is also set in the terminal device for the main camera to realize the auto focus of the main camera. When the terminal device turns on the front camera in the normally open state, it can also send a sleep command to the driver (referred to as driver) of the AF IC of the main camera added to the kernel layer, so that the AF IC of the main camera also enters the sleep state.

[0087] The second strategy for camera image output is applied in AON mode. Here we first introduce AON mode: AON mode is a high-efficiency real-time operating system that runs with ultra-low power consumption. This operating system runs on the Sensor Hub side of the smart sensor hub (relative to the AP side). Usually, the hardware layer of the terminal device will set up a Sensor Hub. The Sensor Hub can connect to sensors such as ambient light and proximity light sensors to implement a low-power strategy. AON mode is a low-power strategy for real-time online cameras. The Sensor Hub is equipped with an AON control module and AON function-related firmware (AON firmware, AONFW). Continue to describe the camera's image output process by taking the currently opened camera as the front camera and the front camera in AON mode to detect gestures or faces as an example. Continue to see Figure 4 The process shown, when the user opens the front camera by operating the camera APP of the APP layer of the terminal device and the front camera is in AON mode, the camera APP responds to the user's operation and transmits the front camera's output instructions in accordance with the AON mode to the lower layer layer by layer. Specifically, the camera APP passes the output instruction to the AON interface (AON interface description language, AON HIDL) of the system library through the Java local interface of the application framework layer. The AON service receives the output instruction through AON HIDL, and with the support of the AON service (AON service), the output instruction is passed down to the Sensor Hub through the AON interface (HSEEAON interface) facing the lower layer of the system library. The msgid message identity document (msgid) of the output instruction can be described as: msgid-AON_camera_is_work. The output instruction is received by the AON control module (AON control) in the Sensor Hub, and then, with the support of the AON FW, the AON camera (that is, the front camera) is controlled to output the image in AON mode. At the same time, in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the corresponding node of the kernel layer is operated through the HSEEAON interface of the system library, for example, a sleep command is sent to the OIS node / dev / hicam_ois / of the main camera. For example, the sleep command can be described as: HICAM_OIS_SLEEP. In the process of passing the output command downward, the lower-level module can reply to the upper-level message after receiving the output command to indicate that the output command has been successfully passed.

[0088] In the previous article, the process of configuring the OIS of the rear main camera to enter the sleep state is explained by taking the front camera as an example. At the same time, the AF IC of the main camera does not need to be used, so the AF IC of the main camera can also be configured to enter the sleep state at the same time. Of course, if the main camera is equipped with other control chips, and the control chip and the control chip of the front camera share the same power supply, the other control chips of the main camera can also be configured to enter the sleep state.

[0089] It should be noted that even if the control chips of other cameras that are not in use are forced to power on, the terminal device can send a sleep command to the driver corresponding to the control chip of the unused camera, instructing the control chip of the unused camera to enter a sleep state, thereby saving power consumption. The specific method can refer to the method of sending a sleep command to the OIS driver of the main camera, but the sending object of the sleep command is different, which will not be repeated here. After the output command is successfully passed downward, a feedback message of successful transmission will be sent to the upper layer.

[0090] In actual use, the kernel layer can set corresponding drivers (Misc device) for different control chips of each camera, such as the AF IC driver and OIS driver of the control chips of the telephoto camera, wide-angle camera, etc. When a camera is not in use, even if it is forced to power on, the terminal device can send a sleep command to the driver corresponding to the control chip of the unused camera through the image processing module or HSEEAON interface, instructing the control chip of the unused camera to enter a sleep state, thereby saving power consumption. The way in which the terminal device sends a sleep command to the driver of the AF IC and OIS control chips of the unused cameras can be the same as the way in which the terminal device sends a sleep command to the OIS driver of the main camera, which will not be repeated here.

[0091] In one case, when the front camera is in the normally open state or in the AON mode, the rear main camera may also be shooting and displaying the preview interface, that is, the front camera and the rear main camera are both outputting images at the same time. Then the image processing module or HSEEAON interface can send a sleep command to the driver of the control chip of the rear telephoto camera and the wide-angle camera, instructing the control chip of the telephoto camera and the wide-angle camera to enter the sleep state, while ensuring that the camera outputs images normally, reducing invalid power consumption as much as possible, making the power consumption configuration more reasonable.

[0092] The previous article describes how the front camera sends a sleep command during the image output process. Next, the conditions for outputting a sleep command when the user turns on the camera to shoot are introduced.

[0093] Figure 5A flowchart of a method for controlling a chip to enter a sleep state is provided in an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, it includes:

[0094] S501, start the target camera.

[0095] When the user inputs a shooting command and starts the camera APP, the corresponding target camera is started.

[0096] Specifically, the target camera is related to the current shooting scene. For example, when a user opens the camera APP to shoot a landscape, the target camera is one or more of the rear cameras, such as a camera and a telephoto camera; when a user opens the camera APP to take a selfie or detect a face or gesture, the target camera is the front camera. Correspondingly, the shooting instruction is an instruction entered to open the camera APP and enter the shooting scene. Optionally, the shooting instruction can also be an instruction to turn on the front camera to a normally open state, such as an instruction for the user to turn on the function of real-time detection of gestures or real-time detection of faces. Optionally, the shooting instruction can also be an instruction entered by the user to turn on the AON mode of the camera. If the front camera is turned on in AON mode by default when the terminal device is turned on, the shooting instruction is an instruction for the terminal device to turn on and load the front camera. Optionally, the shooting instruction can also be an instruction to turn on the AON mode of the rear camera. This application does not limit the specific form of the shooting instruction.

[0097] S502: Determine whether the current camera is a front camera. If yes, execute S503A; if no, execute S503B.

[0098] The terminal device determines whether the currently activated target camera is the front camera. If the currently activated target camera is the front camera, the terminal device sends a picture instruction to the front camera from the application layer, so that the front camera takes pictures.

[0099] Optionally, the front camera may also be in AON mode. If the front camera is in AON mode, the image output process can be executed on the sensor hub side; optionally, if the front camera is not in AON mode, the image output process can be executed on the AP side. If the currently activated target camera is not the front camera but the rear camera, a picture output command is issued to the rear camera so that the rear camera can take pictures and output pictures. The camera's image output process can be found in Figure 4 The description of the embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0100] S503A, outputting a sleep instruction to the control chips of other cameras other than the front camera.

[0101] If the currently activated target camera is the front camera, it means that other cameras other than the front camera do not need to work. The terminal device can output a sleep command to the control chips of other cameras, such as the rear main camera, telephoto camera and wide-angle camera, so that the control chips of other cameras enter a sleep state to save power consumption.

[0102] If the rear main camera is currently activated, and the front camera needs to remain in a normally open state to detect faces or gestures, the target cameras are the front camera and the main camera. The other cameras are the cameras other than the main camera in the rear cameras. The terminal device outputs a sleep instruction to the control chips of the other cameras other than the front camera and the main camera, so that the control chips of the other cameras enter a sleep state. At the same time, the terminal device can also execute step S504.

[0103] S503B: Determine whether the target camera is a camera operating in AON mode (referred to as AON camera). If yes, execute S505A; if no, execute S505B.

[0104] If the currently started target camera is not the front camera, it means that the target camera is one or more of the rear cameras. For example, if the target camera is the main camera in the rear camera, it means that the other cameras except the main camera in the front camera and the rear camera do not need to work, and the terminal device can output a sleep instruction to the control chips of the other cameras in the front camera and the rear camera, so that the control chips of the front camera and the other cameras enter the sleep state to save power consumption.

[0105] For another example, when the target camera is the main camera and the wide-angle camera in the rear camera, it means that the front camera and the other cameras in the rear camera except the main camera and the wide-angle camera do not need to work. The terminal device can output a sleep instruction to the control chips of the front camera and the other cameras in the rear camera except the main camera and the wide-angle camera, so that the control chips of the front camera and the other cameras enter the sleep state to save power consumption.

[0106] S504, controlling the target camera to execute the image output process.

[0107] The camera's image output process can be found in Figure 4 The description of the embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0108] S505A, sending a sleep instruction to other cameras other than the target camera.

[0109] For example, the currently started target camera is not the front camera but the main camera in the rear camera, and the main camera is in AON mode. The terminal device can send a sleep command to the control chips of other cameras such as the telephoto camera and wide-angle camera that are not the main camera in the rear camera, instructing the control chips of other cameras to enter the sleep state to save power consumption.

[0110] When the target camera is not a front camera but is in AON mode, the terminal device can execute the image output process of the target camera on the sensor hub side.

[0111] S505B, execute the image output process of the target camera.

[0112] When the target camera is neither a front camera nor a camera in AON mode, the terminal device can execute the image output process of the target camera on the AP side.

[0113] The specific implementation process of S505B can also be found in Figure 4 The relevant description of the embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0114] In the above Figure 5 In the embodiment shown, when the currently activated target camera is the front camera, the terminal device outputs a sleep instruction to the control chip of other rear cameras, instructing the control chip of the rear camera that is not in use to enter a sleep state, thereby saving power consumption; when the target camera is not the front camera, the terminal device can output a sleep instruction based on whether the target camera is in AON mode and use a corresponding module to instruct the control chip of the unused camera to enter a sleep state, thereby saving power consumption. This method can flexibly output sleep instructions to different objects according to the use status of the camera, making the way of saving power consumption more reasonable.

[0115] Optionally, if only the front camera on the terminal device supports the AON mode and other cameras do not support the AON mode, the above Figure 5 The specific process of the embodiment shown is: first determine whether the target camera is a front camera; if so, output a sleep instruction to the control chip of other cameras through the image processing module (camX), and execute the image output process of the front camera on the AP side; if not, continue to determine whether the target camera is an AON camera. If the target camera is an AON camera, output a sleep instruction to the control chip of other cameras through the HSEEAON interface, and execute the image output process of the AON camera on the sensorhub side. If the target camera is not an AON camera either, execute the image output process of the target camera on the AP side; at the same time, output a sleep instruction to the control chip of other cameras through the image processing module (camX).

[0116] Optionally, the terminal device can also directly determine whether the currently started target camera is in AON mode to output a sleep command. For details, see Figure 6 The process shown includes:

[0117] S601, start the target camera.

[0118] For S601, reference may be made to the description of S501 in the foregoing text, which will not be repeated here.

[0119] S602: Determine whether the target camera is in AON mode. If yes, execute S603A; if no, execute S603B.

[0120] S603A, the terminal device outputs a sleep instruction to the control chip of other cameras through the HSEEAON interface.

[0121] If the target camera is in AON mode, the terminal device can control the target camera to execute the image output process on the sensor hub side; at the same time, it outputs a sleep command to the control chip of other cameras through the HSEEAON interface.

[0122] S603B: The terminal device outputs a sleep instruction to the control chips of other cameras through the image processing module.

[0123] If the target camera is not in AON mode, the terminal device can control the target camera to execute the image output process on the AP side; at the same time, the sleep command is output to the control chip of other cameras through the image processing module (camX).

[0124] S604, executing the image output process of the target camera.

[0125] The specific process of step S604 can be found in Figure 4 The embodiments shown will not be described in detail here.

[0126] Optionally, when the target camera is not in AON mode, the terminal device can continue to determine whether the target camera is a front camera. If so, the terminal device executes the image output process on the AP side, and sends a sleep command to the control chip of the rear camera through the image processing module (camX); if not, the terminal device executes the image output process on the sensor hub side; at the same time, the sleep command is output to the control chips of the front camera and the unused rear camera through the HSEEAON interface. Optionally, if only the front camera of the terminal device supports the AON mode, when the target camera is not in AON mode and is not the front camera, a sleep command can be sent to the control chip of other rear cameras without sending it to the front camera, so that the front camera can be in a normally open state to ensure the real-time detection function. At the same time, the normal image output of the front camera ensures the normal operation of the face or gesture detection function.

[0127] The above describes in detail an example of the method provided by the present application. It is understandable that, in order to implement the above functions, the corresponding device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present application.

[0128] The present application can divide the functional modules of the management device of the control chip according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into each functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0129] Figure 7 The schematic diagram of the structure of a control chip management device provided by the present application is shown. The device 700 is applied to an electronic device, the electronic device includes at least two cameras, and the control chip of each of the at least two cameras is connected to the same power port, and the device 700 includes:

[0130] An acquisition module 701 is used to acquire a shooting instruction, where the shooting instruction is used to instruct a target camera to shoot;

[0131] The processing module 702 is used to send a sleep instruction to the control chip of other cameras in response to the shooting instruction. The sleep instruction is used to instruct the control chip of other cameras to enter a sleep state. The target camera and the other camera are cameras among at least two cameras, and the target camera and the other camera are different.

[0132] In some embodiments, the target camera is a front-facing camera and the other cameras are rear-facing cameras.

[0133] In some embodiments, when the front camera is in the real-time online AON mode, the processing module 702 is specifically used to send a sleep instruction to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer;

[0134] The processing module 702 is also used to control the front camera to shoot through the intelligent sensor hub.

[0135] In some embodiments, when the front camera is not in the AON mode, the processing module 702 is specifically used to send a sleep instruction to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the camera hardware abstraction layer;

[0136] The processing module 702 is further configured to control the front camera to shoot through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0137] In some embodiments, the target camera includes a main camera in a front camera and a rear camera, and when the front camera is in AON mode, the processing module 702 is specifically used to send a sleep instruction to a control chip corresponding to other cameras through an AON interface of a hardware abstraction layer;

[0138] The processing module 702 is also used to control the intelligent sensor hub to control the front camera to shoot through the AON interface.

[0139] In some embodiments, the target camera includes a main camera in a front camera and a rear camera, and when the front camera is not in the AON mode, the processing module 702 is specifically used to send a sleep instruction to a control chip corresponding to other cameras through a camera hardware abstraction layer;

[0140] The processing module 702 is further configured to control the front camera to shoot through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0141] In some embodiments, the target camera is a main camera in the rear camera, the main camera is in AON mode, and the processing module 702 is specifically used to send a sleep instruction to the control chip corresponding to other cameras through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer;

[0142] The processing module 702 is also used to control the intelligent sensor hub to control the main camera to shoot through the AON interface.

[0143] In some embodiments, the target camera is a main camera in the rear camera, the main camera is in AON mode, and the processing module 702 is specifically used to send a sleep instruction to the control chip corresponding to other cameras in the rear camera except the main camera through the AON interface of the hardware abstraction layer;

[0144] The processing module 702 is also used to control the main camera to shoot through the AON interface and to control the front camera to shoot through the front camera driver of the kernel layer.

[0145] In some embodiments, the control chip includes an autofocus chip and / or an image stabilizer.

[0146] In some embodiments, the shooting instruction is an instruction input by the user when opening the camera APP.

[0147] The specific manner in which the device 700 executes the management method of the control chip and the beneficial effects produced can be found in the relevant description in the method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0148] The present application also provides an electronic device, including the above processor. The electronic device provided by this embodiment can be Figure 1 The terminal device 100 shown is used to execute the management method of the control chip. In the case of an integrated unit, the terminal device may include a processing module, a storage module and a communication module. The processing module may be used to control and manage the actions of the terminal device, for example, it may be used to support the terminal device to execute the steps performed by the display unit, the detection unit and the processing unit. The storage module may be used to support the terminal device to execute the stored program code and data, etc. The communication module may be used to support the communication between the terminal device and other devices.

[0149] Among them, the processing module can be a processor or a controller. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic boxes, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of digital signal processor (DSP) and a microprocessor, etc. The storage module can be a memory. The communication module can specifically be a device that interacts with other terminal devices, such as a radio frequency circuit, a Bluetooth chip, a Wi-Fi chip, etc.

[0150] In one embodiment, when the processing module is a processor and the storage module is a memory, the terminal device involved in this embodiment may be a Figure 1 Device of the structure shown.

[0151] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the processor executes the management method of the control chip described in any of the above embodiments.

[0152] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the above-mentioned related steps to implement the management method of the control chip in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0153] Among them, the electronic device, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product or chip provided in this embodiment are all used to execute the corresponding methods provided above. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods provided above and will not be repeated here.

[0154] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of modules or units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, the replaced units may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed in multiple different places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment.

[0155] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0156] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to enable a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code.

[0157] The above contents are only specific implementation methods of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A control method for an electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises a front camera and a rear camera, the control chips of the front camera and the rear camera are both connected to the same power port, and the method comprises: Obtaining a shooting instruction, wherein the shooting instruction is used to instruct the front camera to shoot; In response to the shooting instruction, a sleep instruction is sent to the control chip of the rear camera, where the sleep instruction is used to instruct the control chip of the rear camera to enter a sleep state.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of sending a sleep instruction to a control chip of the rear camera in response to the shooting instruction comprises: When the front camera is in AON (Analog Online) mode, in response to the shooting instruction, a sleep instruction is sent to the control chip of the rear camera.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The sending a sleep instruction to the control chip of the rear camera includes: A sleep instruction is sent to the control chip of the rear camera via the AON interface.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The front camera is controlled to shoot via the Sensor Hub (intelligent sensor hub).

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of sending a sleep instruction to a control chip of the rear camera in response to the shooting instruction comprises: When the front camera is not in the AON mode, in response to the shooting instruction, a sleep instruction is sent to the control chip of the rear camera.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: The front camera is controlled by the front camera driver to shoot.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The control chip includes an autofocus chip and / or an image stabilizer.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The shooting instruction is an instruction input by a user when opening a camera application.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: Processors, memory, and interfaces; The processor, the memory and the interface cooperate with each other so that the electronic device executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the processor is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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