LIGHT SENSITIVE, LOW HEIGHT, AND HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE CAMERA

• US 20140232900A1
• Filed: 11/25/2011
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Wernersson, Mats
• Granted Patent: US 9,143,749 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/223.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/15 Image signal generation with circuitry for avoiding or correcting image misregistration
• 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 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/77 Circuits for processing the brightness signal and the chrominance signal relative to each other, e.g. adjusting the phase of the brightness signal relative to the colour signal, correcting differential gain or differential phase circuits for matrixing H04N9/67

Abstract

A user device includes a dual array camera in which a first camera includes a first image sensor without a color filter array to capture luminance, and a second camera includes a second image sensor with a color filter array to capture chrominance.

Claims

1. A user device comprising:

a dual camera including a first camera and a second camera, wherein the first camera includes a first image sensor to capture luminance, and wherein the first image sensor does not include a color filter array, and the second camera includes a second image sensor to capture chrominance, wherein the second image sensor includes a color filter array.

2. The user device of claim 1, wherein the first camera and the second camera are separated by a distance approximately between 25 millimeters and 35 millimeters.

3. The user device of claim 1, wherein the first image sensor includes a filter that corrects a difference between the first image sensor'"'"'s spectral sensitivity and a photopic luminosity function.

4. The user device of claim 1, comprising:

an image processor comprising;

a memory storing instructions; and

a processor to execute the instructions to;

correlate a luminance image captured by the first camera to a luminance image captured by the second camera;

calculate a misalignment between the luminance images; and

adjust chrominance data of an image captured by the second camera to correct a parallax.

5. The user device of claim 4, wherein the processor further executes instructions to:

identify an occluded area of an image captured by the second camera;

identify an area neighboring the occluded area of the image; and

use chrominance data of the area neighboring the occluded area to correct for the occluded area.

6. The user device of claim 4, wherein the processor further executes instructions to:

apply edge detection to a first image captured by the first camera;

identify an obstructed portion of an object in a second image captured by the second camera based on edge detection of the object in the first image; and

use chrominance data associated with an unobstructed portion of the object as chrominance data for the obstructed portion of the object.

7. The user device of claim 6, wherein the processor further executes instructions to:

identify the unobstructed portion of the object; and

use average values of the chrominance data associated with the unobstructed portion of the object.

8. The user device of claim 1, wherein the first camera and the second camera are separated by a distance of 10 millimeters or less.

9. The user device of claim 1, wherein the user device includes a wireless telephone.

10. The user device of claim 1, wherein the color filter array is a Bayer filter.

11. A method comprising:

capturing luminance of an image by a first camera that does not include a color filter array; and

capturing chrominance of the image by a second camera that includes a color filter array, wherein a dual camera comprises the first camera and the second camera.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

correlating a first luminance image to a second luminance image;

calculating a misalignment between the first and second luminance images; and

adjusting chrominance data of the image captured by the second camera based on the calculating.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

identifying an occluded area of an image captured by the second camera;

identifying an area neighboring the occluded area of the image; and

using chrominance data of the area neighboring the occluded area to correct the occluded area.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

applying edge detection to a first image captured by the first camera;

identifying an obstructed portion of an object in a second image captured by the second camera based on edge detection of the object in the first image; and

using chrominance data associated with an unobstructed portion of the object as chrominance data for the obstructed portion of the object.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying the unobstructed portion of the object; and

using average values of the chrominance data associated with the unobstructed portion of the object.