Camera Accessory for Angled Camera Viewing

• US 20140078389A1
• Filed: 09/20/2012
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Merz, Nicholas G. L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,154,677 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/375
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/17 with reflectors arranged in beam forming the photographic image, e.g. for reducing dimensions of camera
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/565 Optical accessories, e.g. converters for close-up photography, tele-convertors, wide-angle convertors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings

Abstract

An electronic device may have front and rear surfaces. A front-facing camera may be formed on the front surface and a rear-facing camera may be formed on the rear surface. A display may be mounted on the front face of the electronic device. The cameras may nominally point along axes that run parallel to surface normals for the front and rear surfaces. A removable camera accessory with reflector structures may be mounted over a camera to deflect light and thereby point the camera in an off-axis direction. The removable camera accessory may be supported in a stand or other support structure. Magnetic structures and other structures may be used in coupling the electronic device to the support structures and may be used in coupling the camera accessory to the electronic device.

Claims

1. A camera accessory configured to be mounted over a camera in an electronic device having an electronic device housing, comprising:

a camera accessory housing;

a reflector in the camera accessory housing that is configured to reflect light for the camera to point the camera in a direction; and

structures that are configured to attach the camera accessory to the electronic device housing.

2. The camera accessory defined in claim 1 wherein the structures comprises magnetic structures.

3. The camera accessory defined in claim 2 wherein the electronic device includes a speaker magnet and wherein the magnetic structures are configured to magnetically couple with the speaker magnet.

4. The camera accessory defined in claim 3 wherein the camera accessory housing has a portion that is received in a speaker port recess in the electronic device that is adjacent to the speaker magnet.

5. The camera accessory defined in claim 2 wherein the magnetic structures comprise at least two pairs of magnets and wherein the two pairs of magnets are configured to selectively couple to a pair of magnetic structures in the electronic device housing to mount the camera accessory in a selected one of two respective different rotational orientations relative to the electronic device housing.

6. The camera accessory defined in claim 1 wherein the camera accessory housing has rotational detents.

7. The camera accessory defined in claim 1 further comprising first and second transparent windows, wherein the first window in the camera accessory housing overlaps the camera.

8. The camera accessory defined in claim 1 wherein the structures comprise clamp structures.

9. The camera accessory defined in claim 1 wherein the structures comprise elastomeric structures.

10. The camera accessory defined in claim 1 wherein the structures comprise reusable adhesive.

11. Apparatus for use with an electronic device that has a camera and an associated camera accessory, comprising:

support structures that are configured to hold the electronic device in a desired position while a camera accessory points the camera in an off-axis direction; and

coupling structures that couple the electronic device to the support structures.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 11 wherein the coupling structures comprise magnets.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 wherein the support structures comprise a rotatable joint that allows the coupling structures to rotate with the electronic device.

14. The apparatus defined in claim 13 wherein the support structures comprise a counterweight that balances the electronic device relative to the rotatable joint.

15. A method, comprising:

capturing image data with a camera in an electronic device that that has a planar surface to which a camera accessory with reflector structures is coupled to reflect light for the camera; and

displaying the image data on a display that is mounted on the planar surface.

16. The method defined in claim 15 wherein the planar surface comprises a front face of the electronic device, wherein the camera is mounted on a rear face of the electronic device, and wherein capturing the image data comprises using the camera mounted on the rear face of the electronic device and the camera accessory to capture the image data while displaying the image data on the display on the front face of the electronic device.

17. The method defined in claim 15 further comprising:

with support structures, holding the electronic device so that the planar surface extends vertically, wherein capturing the image data comprises capturing image data while the camera accessory is pointing the camera vertically downward.

18. The method defined in claim 15 wherein the camera comprises a first camera, wherein the electronic device comprises a second camera, and wherein capturing the image data comprises simultaneously capturing image data with both the first and second cameras using light that has reflected off of the reflector structures.

19. The method defined in claim 15 wherein the camera comprises a first camera, wherein the electronic device comprises a second camera, and wherein capturing the image data comprises simultaneously capturing image data with both the first and second cameras, the method further comprising:

with control circuitry in the electronic device, displaying image data from the first and second cameras using a split screen format on the display.

20. The method defined in claim 15 wherein the camera comprises a first camera, wherein the electronic device comprises a second camera, and wherein capturing the image data comprises simultaneously capturing image data with both the first and second cameras while the reflector points the first camera in an off-axis direction relative to a surface normal for the planar surface, the method further comprising:

with control circuitry in the electronic device, simultaneously displaying image data from both the first and second cameras on the display.

21. The method defined in claim 15 further comprising:

holding the electronic device with a stand so that the planar surface extends vertically, wherein capturing the image data comprises capturing image data while the camera accessory is pointing the camera in an off-axis direction.

22. The method defined in claim 21 further comprising:

creating a virtual keyboard on a surface using equipment in the stand.