PANORAMIC CAMERA WITH A PLURALITY OF CAMERA MODULES
First Claim
1. A panoramic camera comprising:
- a housing;
a plurality of camera modules received in the housing, each camera module comprising a lens, a reflective mirror, and an image sensor arranged in an order written from an object side to an image side, the camera modules configured for cooperatively forming a 360 degrees view image of the surrounding scene;
a plurality of viewfinders each corresponding to each camera module; and
an image processor, wherein an angle is defined between the plane of the reflective mirror and a light sensing surface of the image sensor in each camera module, and each reflective mirror is rotatable between a first position where the angle is an acute angle, light is reflected by the reflective mirror to the corresponding viewfinder, and a second position where the angle is about 90 degrees, light is incident upon the light sensing surface of the image sensor, and the image processor stitches together the images captured by the camera modules into a single panoramic image of the surrounding scene.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An exemplary panoramic camera includes a housing, camera modules received in the housing, viewfinders, and an image processor. Each camera module includes a lens, a reflective mirror, and an image sensor in an order written from an object side to an image side. The camera modules cooperatively form a 360 degrees view image of the surrounding scene. An angle is defined between the plane of the reflective mirror and a light sensing surface of the image sensor. Each reflective mirror is rotatable between a first position where the angle is an acute angle, light is reflected by the reflective mirror to the corresponding viewfinder, and a second position where the angle is about 90 degrees, light is incident upon the light sensing surface of the image sensor. The image processor stitches together the images captured by the camera modules into a single panoramic image of the surrounding scene.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A panoramic camera comprising:
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a housing; a plurality of camera modules received in the housing, each camera module comprising a lens, a reflective mirror, and an image sensor arranged in an order written from an object side to an image side, the camera modules configured for cooperatively forming a 360 degrees view image of the surrounding scene; a plurality of viewfinders each corresponding to each camera module; and an image processor, wherein an angle is defined between the plane of the reflective mirror and a light sensing surface of the image sensor in each camera module, and each reflective mirror is rotatable between a first position where the angle is an acute angle, light is reflected by the reflective mirror to the corresponding viewfinder, and a second position where the angle is about 90 degrees, light is incident upon the light sensing surface of the image sensor, and the image processor stitches together the images captured by the camera modules into a single panoramic image of the surrounding scene. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A panoramic camera comprising:
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a housing having an axis; a plurality of camera modules received in the housing, each camera module comprising a lens, a reflective mirror, and an image sensor, the lenses of the camera modules each having an optical axis perpendicular to and coplanar with the axis, the camera modules configured for cooperatively forming a 360 degrees view image of the surrounding scene; a plurality of viewfinders associated with the respective camera modules, the viewfinders facing a common direction parallel to the axis; and an image processor, wherein, an angle is defined between the plane of the reflective mirror and a light sensing surface of the image sensor in each camera module, and each reflective mirror is rotatable between a first position where the angle is an acute angle, light is reflected by the reflective mirror to the corresponding viewfinder, and a second position where the angle is about 90 degrees, light is incident upon the light sensing surface of the image sensor without being reflected by the reflective mirror, and the image processor stitches together the individual images captured by the camera modules into a single panoramic image of the surrounding scene.
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Specification