IMAGING DEVICES HAVING ARRAYS OF IMAGE SENSORS AND PRECISION OFFSET LENSES
First Claim
1. A camera module, comprising:
- an array of lenses each having a center;
an array of color filters; and
an array of images sensors each of which receives image light from a corresponding one of the lenses through a corresponding one of the color filters, wherein each image sensor has a center and a plurality of image pixels having a common maximum lateral image pixel dimension, wherein the center of at least one of the lenses in the array of lenses is laterally offset from the center of the corresponding image sensor that receives the image light from that lens, wherein the lateral offset of the at least one of the lenses has a magnitude and a direction, and wherein the magnitude of the lateral offset is smaller than the common maximum lateral image pixel dimension.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Electronic devices may include array cameras having lens arrays, an corresponding color filter arrays, and corresponding image sensor arrays. Lenses in lens arrays may be aligned with positions on associated image sensors other than the centers of the associated image sensors. Lens arrays may include one or more layers of lenses formed by compression molding of transparent materials such as plastic. Lens arrays may be mounted directly onto integrated circuit dies on which the image sensor arrays are formed. Color filter arrays may include one or more red filters, one or more green filters and one or more blue filters. Offsetting the centers of lenses with respect to the centers of associated image sensors may allow capture of spatially offset single-color images by the image sensors. Spatially offset single-color images may be combined into super-resolution images using the processing circuitry.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A camera module, comprising:
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an array of lenses each having a center; an array of color filters; and an array of images sensors each of which receives image light from a corresponding one of the lenses through a corresponding one of the color filters, wherein each image sensor has a center and a plurality of image pixels having a common maximum lateral image pixel dimension, wherein the center of at least one of the lenses in the array of lenses is laterally offset from the center of the corresponding image sensor that receives the image light from that lens, wherein the lateral offset of the at least one of the lenses has a magnitude and a direction, and wherein the magnitude of the lateral offset is smaller than the common maximum lateral image pixel dimension. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A camera module, comprising:
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an array of image sensors formed on a common integrated circuit die; and a first layer of lenses mounted to the common integrated circuit die using a plurality of housing structures and a spacer-buffer structure, wherein the spacer-buffer structure separates the image sensors of the array of image sensors from each other. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for capturing super-resolution images with an electronic device having processing circuitry and a camera module with an array of image sensors each of which has a corresponding offset lens stack and a corresponding color filter comprising:
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with each image sensor, capturing a single-color, spatially-offset image having a common pixel size; and with the processing circuitry, combining the single-color, spatially-offset images to form a super-resolution image having a pixel size that is smaller than the common pixel size of the single-color, spatially-offset images. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification