Multi-Camera Focus Control for Smartphone Panoramic Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital image devices, particularly smartphones with cameras, face challenges in creating user-friendly methods for recording and displaying panoramic or stereoscopic images, as existing methods are complex and not suitable for video imaging, and the quality and size of integrated display screens are inadequate for long-term viewing or high-quality image display.
Innovation Solution
A system with multiple lens/sensor units that can generate and process images to create panoramic or stereoscopic images, using a controller to align and combine image data from multiple sensors, allowing for improved image alignment and display on a separate, larger display screen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple cameras are used to capture panoramic or stereoscopic images, then image quality and viewing experience are improved, but device complexity and control difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple camera modules into a single integrated camera assembly, where multiple lenses and image sensors are positioned in a fixed geometric relationship. This merging approach allows the system to capture panoramic or stereoscopic images with high quality while reducing overall device complexity compared to separate camera devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera assembly is designed to perform multiple functions using the same hardware components. The same multiple lenses and sensors can capture both panoramic images (by capturing multiple overlapping fields of view) and stereoscopic images (by capturing images from different viewpoints), eliminating the need for separate specialized camera systems.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple cameras are used for panoramic or stereoscopic imaging, then image quality is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to individual camera settings
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit consolidates control of multiple camera modules into a single integrated control system. Instead of requiring users to individually adjust settings for each camera, the control unit automatically coordinates exposure, focus, and timing across all sensors based on a single set of user-selected parameters, significantly improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates automatic calibration and synchronization mechanisms that self-adjust the multiple camera modules without user intervention. The control unit automatically determines optimal exposure settings, focus points, and timing for each sensor based on scene analysis, eliminating the need for manual configuration of multiple independent camera systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If images are processed and displayed on integrated smartphone screens, then device portability is maintained, but display quality and viewing comfort are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external display device as an intermediary between the camera assembly and the final image presentation. The camera captures high-resolution panoramic or stereoscopic images, which are then transmitted to and displayed on a separate larger display device, achieving high display quality and comfortable viewing without compromising the portability of the camera itself.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus to create and display screen stereoscopic and panoramic images are disclosed. Methods and apparatus are provided to generate multiple images that are combined into a stereoscopic or a panoramic image. An image may be a static image. It may also be a video image. A controller provides correct camera settings for different conditions. A focus sensor is included and determines a focus setting of one lens/sensor unit having a plurality of focus settings. Focus settings of other lens/sensor units are associated with the focus settings determined for the one lens/sensor unit. A focus mechanism controlled by the controller sets the focus settings of the plurality of lens/sensor units based on the focus setting of the one lens/sensor unit determined by the focus sensor.