Dual aperture zoom camera with video support and switching / non-switching dynamic control

• US 10,567,666 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2019
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corephotonics Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Corephotonics Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Cohen, Noy, Gigushinski, Oded, Geva, Nadav, Shabtay, Gal, Ashkenazi, Ester, Katz, Ruthy, Goldenberg, Ephraim
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Nhan T
• Application Number:
  US16/434,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20190313029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 256 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/45 for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming

Abstract

A dual-aperture zoom digital camera operable in both still and video modes. The camera includes Wide and Tele imaging sections with respective lens/sensor combinations and image signal processors and a camera controller operatively coupled to the Wide and Tele imaging sections. The Wide and Tele imaging sections provide respective image data. The controller is configured to output, in a zoom-in operation between a lower zoom factor (ZF) value and a higher ZF value, a zoom video output image that includes only Wide image data or only Tele image data, depending on whether a no-switching criterion is fulfilled or not.

Claims

1. A zoom digital camera comprising:

a) a Wide imaging section that includes a fixed focal length Wide lens with a Wide field of view (FOV) and a Wide sensor, the Wide imaging section operative to provide Wide image data of an object or scene;

b) a Tele imaging section that includes a fixed focal length Tele lens with a Tele FOV that is narrower than the Wide FOV and a Tele sensor, the Tele imaging section operative to provide Tele image data of the object or scene; and

c) a camera controller operatively coupled to the Wide and Tele imaging sections, wherein in one operation mode, the camera controller is configured to evaluate if a no-switching criterion is fulfilled or not fulfilled,

wherein if the no-switching criterion is fulfilled in a zoom-in operation between a lower zoom factor value (ZF) and a higher ZF, then at zoom factor value (ZF) higher than an up-transfer ZF the camera controller is further configured to output a zoom video image that includes only Wide image data,

wherein if the no-switching criterion is not fulfilled in the zoom-in operation, then the camera controller is further configured to output at the same ZF higher than the up-transfer ZF a zoom video output image that includes only transformed, digitally zoomed Tele image data,

and wherein in another operation mode, the camera controller is configured to register Tele image pixels to a matching pixel set within Wide image pixels to obtain a fused image and to output the fused image from a point of view of the Wide imaging section.

2. The camera of claim 1, wherein the no-switching criterion includes a shift between the Wide and Tele images calculated by global registration, the shift being greater than a first threshold.

3. The camera of claim 1, wherein the no-switching criterion includes a disparity range calculated by global registration, the disparity range being greater than a second threshold.

4. The camera of claim 1, wherein the no-switching criterion includes an effective resolution of the Tele image being lower than an effective resolution of the Wide image.

5. The camera of claim 1, wherein the no-switching criterion includes a number of corresponding features in the Wide and Tele images being smaller than a third threshold.

6. The camera of claim 1, wherein the no-switching criterion includes a majority of objects imaged in an overlap area of the Wide and Tele images being calculated to be closer to the camera than a first threshold distance.

7. The camera of claim 1, wherein the no-switching criterion includes some objects imaged in an overlap area of the Wide and Tele images being calculated to be closer than a second threshold distance while other objects imaged in the overlap area of the Wide and Tele images being calculated to be farther than a third distance threshold.

8. The camera of claim 1, wherein the camera controller includes a user control module for receiving user inputs and a sensor control module for configuring each sensor to acquire the Wide and Tele image data based on the user inputs.

9. The camera of claim 8, wherein the user inputs include a zoom factor, a camera mode and a region of interest.

10. The camera of claim 1, wherein the Tele lens includes a ratio of total track length (TTL)/effective focal length (EFL) smaller than 1.

11. The camera of claim 1, wherein the another operational mode is a preview mode.

12. The camera of claim 1, wherein the another operational mode is a still mode.

13. A zoom digital camera comprising:

a) a Wide imaging section that includes a fixed focal length Wide lens with a Wide field of view (FOV) and a Wide sensor, the Wide imaging section operative to provide Wide image data of an object or scene;

b) a Tele imaging section that includes a fixed focal length Tele lens with a Tele FOV that is narrower than the Wide FOV and a Tele sensor, the Tele imaging section operative to provide Tele image data of the object or scene; and

c) a camera controller operatively coupled to the Wide and Tele imaging sections, wherein in one operation mode, the camera controller is configured to evaluate if a no-switching criterion is fulfilled or not fulfilled,

wherein if the no-switching criterion is fulfilled in a zoom-in operation between a lower zoom factor value (ZF) and a higher ZF, then at zoom factor value (ZF) higher than an up-transfer ZF the camera controller is further configured to output a zoom video image that includes only Wide image data,

wherein if the no-switching criterion is not fulfilled in the zoom-in operation, then the camera controller is further configured to output at the same ZF higher than the up-transfer ZF a zoom video output image that includes only transformed, digitally zoomed Tele image data,

and wherein in another operation mode, the camera controller is configured to register Wide image pixels to a matching pixel set within Tele image pixels to obtain a fused image and to output the fused image from a point of view of the Tele imaging section.

14. A method for obtaining zoom images of an object or scene using a digital camera, comprising the steps of:

a) providing in the digital camera a Wide imaging section having a Wide lens with a Wide field of view (FOV) and a Wide sensor, a Tele imaging section having a Tele lens with a Tele FOV that is narrower than the Wide FOV and a Tele sensor, and a camera controller operatively coupled to the Wide and Tele imaging sections;

b) configuring the camera controller in one operational mode to evaluate if a no-switching criterion is fulfilled or not fulfilled, and, if the no-switching criterion is fulfilled, wherein if the no-switching criterion is fulfilled in a zoom-in operation between a lower zoom factor value (ZF) and a higher ZF, then at a ZF higher than an up-transfer ZF, the camera controller is further configured to output a zoom video image that includes only Wide image data, and wherein if the no-switching criterion is not fulfilled in the zoom-in operation, the camera controller is further configured to output at the same ZF higher than the up-transfer ZF a zoom video output image that includes only transformed, digitally zoomed Tele image data; and

c) configuring the camera controller in another operational mode to register Tele image pixels to a matching pixel set within the Wide image pixels to obtain a fused image and to output the fused image from a point of view of the Wide imaging section.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the no-switching criterion includes a shift between the Wide and Tele images calculated by global registration, the shift being greater than a first threshold.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the no-switching criterion includes a disparity range calculated by global registration, the disparity range being greater than a second threshold.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the no-switching criterion includes an effective resolution of the Tele image being lower than an effective resolution of the Wide image.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the no-switching criterion includes a number of corresponding features in the Wide and Tele images being smaller than a third threshold.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the configuring the camera controller in another operational mode includes configuring the camera controller in a preview mode.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the configuring the camera controller in another operational mode includes configuring the camera controller in a still mode.