Camera with an image sensor that doubles as a motion sensor

• US 20080062285A1
• Filed: 09/11/2006
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Xie, Tong
• Granted Patent: US 8,619,149 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/240.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6811 based on the image signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/683 performed by a processor, e.g. controlling the readout of an image memory

Abstract

A camera includes an image sensor that doubles as a motion sensor. An image sensor in a camera according to the present teachings generates a digital image by sampling light from an image scene and also generates a series of motion frames that enable a determination of a camera motion.

Claims

1. A camera having an image sensor that generates a digital image by sampling light from an image scene and that generates a series of motion frames that enable a determination of a camera motion.

2. The camera of claim 1, wherein the image sensor generates the motion frames by scanning out a set of pixel values contained in a sub-region of the image sensor.

3. The camera of claim 2, further comprising a user interface that enables a user of the camera to select the sub-region.

4. The camera of claim 2, wherein the sub-region corresponds to an auto-focus region of the image sensor.

5. The camera of claim 1, further comprising an image processor that determines the camera motion in response to the motion frames.

6. The camera of claim 5, wherein the image processor generates a blur corrected digital image in response to the digital image and the motion frames.

7. The camera of claim 1, further comprising an image processor that generates an image frame that carries the digital image and a set of information that enables a determination of the camera motion associated the digital image.

8. The camera of claim 7, further comprising an input/output circuit for transferring the image frame to a remote system.

9. The camera of claim 7, wherein the information includes the motion frames.

10. The camera of claim 7, wherein the information includes a set of motion vectors derived from the motion frames.

11. A method for using an image sensor in a camera as a motion sensor for the camera, comprising:

scanning out a digital image from the image sensor;

scanning out a series of motion frames from the image sensor that enable a determination of a camera motion.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein scanning out a series of motion frames comprises scanning out a set of pixel values contained in a sub-region of the image sensor.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising selecting the sub-region.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein scanning out a series of motion frames comprises scanning out a set of pixel values contained in an auto-focus region of the image sensor.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining the camera motion in response to the motion frames.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising generating a blur corrected digital image in response to the digital image and the motion frames.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising generating an image frame that carries the digital image and a set of information that enables a determination of the camera motion associated the digital image.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising transferring the image frame to a remote system.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein generating an image frame comprises generating the image frame with the motion frames in a header.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein generating an image frame comprises generating the image frame with the a set of motion vectors derived from the motion frames in a header.