Image-capturing apparatus having multiple image capturing units
First Claim
1. An image-capturing apparatus, comprising:
- a first image-capturing unit having a first image-capturing optical system; and
a second image-capturing unit having a second image-capturing optical system, the second image-capturing unit being detachably connected to the first image-capturing unit in a multi-lens camera mode;
wherein the first image-capturing unit is an electronic camera, said first image-capturing unit comprising;
joint holes for connecting with joints of the second image-capturing unit, andan interface for transmitting data between the first image-capturing unit and the second image-capturing unit, wherein the interface can also accommodate writing and reading data to and from an external storage device detachably connected to the electronic camera when the image capturing apparatus is not in a multi-lens camera mode,wherein each of the first and second image-capturing optical systems comprises a zoom lens; and
the image-capturing apparatus further comprises a lens controller for driving the zoom lenses of the first and second image-capturing optical systems to equalize zooming magnifications of the first and second image-capturing optical systems,wherein said first and second image-capturing units cooperatively provide at least one of a panoramic imaging mode and a three-dimensional imaging mode when operatively connected in the multi-lens camera mode, andwherein full image data from both the first and second image-capturing units are captured simultaneously and the simultaneously captured image data are stored while in the multi-lens camera mode.
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Abstract
An image-capturing apparatus is capable of capturing a three-dimensional image and a high quality panoramic image as the need arises, and is portable if it is used as a single lens camera that captures a normal two-dimensional image. A second image-capturing unit having an image-capturing optical system is detachably connected to a first image-capturing unit, which is capable of functioning as an image-capturing apparatus by itself, through joints and a connector. The second image-capturing unit can extensively connect to other units, which have the similar connecting structure. Information is transmitted between the units through a slot for an external storage device. The positions of images captured by the second and subsequent image-capturing units can be adjusted with respect to an image captured by the first image-capturing unit. In synchronism with release signals from the first image-capturing unit, the other units are driven to capture the images at the same time or continuously.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. An image-capturing apparatus, comprising:
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a first image-capturing unit having a first image-capturing optical system; and a second image-capturing unit having a second image-capturing optical system, the second image-capturing unit being detachably connected to the first image-capturing unit in a multi-lens camera mode; wherein the first image-capturing unit is an electronic camera, said first image-capturing unit comprising; joint holes for connecting with joints of the second image-capturing unit, and an interface for transmitting data between the first image-capturing unit and the second image-capturing unit, wherein the interface can also accommodate writing and reading data to and from an external storage device detachably connected to the electronic camera when the image capturing apparatus is not in a multi-lens camera mode, wherein each of the first and second image-capturing optical systems comprises a zoom lens; and the image-capturing apparatus further comprises a lens controller for driving the zoom lenses of the first and second image-capturing optical systems to equalize zooming magnifications of the first and second image-capturing optical systems, wherein said first and second image-capturing units cooperatively provide at least one of a panoramic imaging mode and a three-dimensional imaging mode when operatively connected in the multi-lens camera mode, and wherein full image data from both the first and second image-capturing units are captured simultaneously and the simultaneously captured image data are stored while in the multi-lens camera mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An image-capturing apparatus, comprising:
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a first image-capturing unit having a first image-capturing optical system; and a second image-capturing unit having a second image-capturing optical system, the second image-capturing unit being detachably connected to the first image-capturing unit in a multi-lens camera mode; wherein the second image-capturing unit is connected with the first image-capturing unit, so that the first image-capturing unit and the second image-capturing unit are controlled in accordance with image information obtained by the first image-capturing unit and the second image-capturing unit, wherein the first image-capturing unit comprises a first connecting part that mechanically and directly connects a second connecting part of the second image-capturing unit so as to form a single unit, wherein the first connecting part is such that an external storage device can be detachably connected to the first image-capturing unit when the second image-capturing unit is not connected to the first image-capturing unit, wherein said first and second image-capturing units cooperatively provide at least one of a panoramic imaging mode and a three-dimensional imaging mode when operatively connected in the multi-lens camera mode, and wherein full image data from both the first and second image-capturing units are captured simultaneously and the simultaneously captured image data are stored while in the multi-lens camera mode. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification