Thin Color Camera Sub-Pixel Resolution via Multi-Subcamera Shifting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cameras are thick and struggle to achieve high resolution color imaging due to the limitations of compound eye image capturing systems, which are computationally intensive and difficult to achieve resolution equal to the number of pixels in the sensor array.
Innovation Solution
A thin color camera design incorporating at least three sub-cameras with imaging lenses, color filters, and detector arrays, where images from multiple sub-cameras are combined to form a composite multi-color image, utilizing shifting mechanisms such as apertures and voltage-controlled liquid lenses to enhance resolution, particularly for green light or luminance information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If compound eye image capturing is used to reduce camera thickness, then camera thickness is reduced, but resolution and computational complexity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The camera is divided into multiple sub-cameras, each with its own imaging lens and detector array. Each sub-camera captures a portion of the image, and the results are combined to form the complete high-resolution image. This segmentation allows the camera to maintain thinness while achieving high resolution through computational combination of multiple lower-resolution sub-images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension by sequentially capturing images at different time points with the same optical path. Multiple images are taken in sequence rather than simultaneously, allowing the system to accumulate information over time and achieve high resolution without requiring multiple parallel optical paths that would increase thickness.
2Length of moving object
If compound eye image capturing is used to reduce camera thickness, then camera thickness is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic focusing and sequential image capture rather than static simultaneous capture. The imaging lens dynamically adjusts focus for each sub-camera, and images are captured in a sequential manner. This dynamic approach simplifies the optical design compared to static compound eye systems while maintaining the ability to combine multiple images computationally.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sub-cameras are used to increase resolution, then resolution is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sub-cameras are merged into a single integrated system sharing common structural components such as the housing, control circuitry, and image processing unit. The detector arrays from multiple sub-cameras are combined to form the final high-resolution image. This merging approach achieves high resolution while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity through shared infrastructure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution achieves a composite image resolution greater than individual sub-camera resolution, with increased resolution for green or luminance information, while maintaining the same field of view as conventional cameras, and is computationally more straightforward than compound eye systems.
Implementation Method 1
The means for sequentially shifting may include a voltage controlled liquid lens.
Data Source
AI summary
A color camera includes at least three sub-cameras, each sub-camera having an imaging lens, a color filter, and an array of detectors, The color camera combines images from the three sub-cameras to form a composite multi-color image, wherein the three sub-cameras include a total number of detectors N and a total number of different color sets X, wherein a first number of signals of a first color set is less than N/X and a second number of signals of a second color set is greater than N/X, signals of the second color set being output from at least two of the three sub-cameras, wherein resolution of a composite image of the second color set is greater than resolution of an individual sub-camera and a resolution of the composite image. Corresponding images of the same color set may be shifted, either sequentially or simultaneously, relative to one another.