Dual-mode camera
First Claim
1. A camera, comprising:
- a single lens system adapted to direct a beam;
a mirror adapted to receive and distribute the directed beam;
a first image sensor adapted to receive a portion of the distributed beam;
a second image sensor adapted to receive a portion of the distributed beam;
a first iris adapted to limit an amount of the directed beam;
an image intensifier adapted to intensify the limited amount of the directed beam;
a second iris adapted to limit an amount of the intensified directed beam reaching at least one of the sensors;
at least one first module adapted to sample an output from at least one of the sensors;
at least one second module adapted to filter the sampled output;
at least one third module adapted to provide a time constant to the filtered output;
at least one iris driver adapted to;
receive the output from the at least one third module; and
drive at least one iris actuator to operate at least one of the first iris and the second iris to limit the output if the output increases to a threshold level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A dual camera system uses a single lens and no moving parts in the optical path. A single lens directs a desired scene to a partially reflective beamsplitting mirror, thence to a pair of image sensors. For day/night operation, one sensor may be optimized for nighttime sensitivity, while the other is optimized for daytime operation. Alternatively, one optical path may have greater magnification, thus allowing electronic zooming with no resolution loss. The system may be enhanced with an image intensifier for nighttime operation; digital sensors for improved resolution, or orthogonal gyroscopic accelerometers for image stabilization. Additionally, the monochrome and color images may be produced simultaneously and ‘fused’ algorithmically, yielding an improvement in sensitivity and color resolution compared with a conventional color camera.
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Citations
2 Claims
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1. A camera, comprising:
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a single lens system adapted to direct a beam; a mirror adapted to receive and distribute the directed beam; a first image sensor adapted to receive a portion of the distributed beam; a second image sensor adapted to receive a portion of the distributed beam; a first iris adapted to limit an amount of the directed beam; an image intensifier adapted to intensify the limited amount of the directed beam; a second iris adapted to limit an amount of the intensified directed beam reaching at least one of the sensors; at least one first module adapted to sample an output from at least one of the sensors; at least one second module adapted to filter the sampled output; at least one third module adapted to provide a time constant to the filtered output; at least one iris driver adapted to; receive the output from the at least one third module; and drive at least one iris actuator to operate at least one of the first iris and the second iris to limit the output if the output increases to a threshold level.
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2. A camera, comprising:
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a single primary lens system adapted to direct a beam; a beam-splitting mirror adapted to receive and distribute the directed beam; a first image sensor adapted to receive a portion of the distributed beam; a second image sensor adapted to receive a portion of the distributed beam; a first iris associated with the single primary lens, whereby said first iris is adapted to limit an amount of the directed beam; an image intensifier adapted to intensify the limited amount of the directed beam; and a second iris associated with the image intensifier, whereby said second iris is adapted to limit an amount of the intensified directed beam reaching the first image sensor; a processor adapted to control scanning of the image sensors, the processor providing an output based on the scanning; a first actuator operably connected to the first iris, the first actuator being selectively operable to operate the first iris; a second actuator operably connected to the second iris, the second actuator being selectively operable to operate the second iris; wherein incident light reaching the first image sensor is controlled by the second iris, as driven by the second actuator, under control of the processor, thereby preventing the first image sensor from saturation or overload; and wherein incident light reaching the image intensifier is controlled by the first iris, as driven by the first actuator, under control of the processor, thereby protecting the image intensifier from excessive illumination.
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Specification