Multi-mega pixel resolution with small sensor

• US 8,072,502 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2005
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Grip, Stip Martin, Hunt, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye, Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAGNEW, MEKONNEN D
• Application Number:
  US11/298,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20070132857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,185 Days
• Field of Search: 348/218.1, 348/369, 348/219.11, 348 36- 39, 348/293, 348/219, 348/208.7, 348/222, 348/272, 348/219.1, 359/210.1
• US Class Current: 348/218.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/48 Increasing resolution by shifting the sensor relative to the scene

Abstract

A camera device includes optics to produce a projected image, where the projected image has a projected image area. The camera device also includes a moveable sensor to move to a number of positions within the projected image area and capture a portion of the projected image, as an image portion, in each of the positions, and processing logic to combine the image portions together into a final image.

Claims

1. A camera device, comprising:

optics configured to produce a projected image;

a piezoelectric linear actuator configured to move the optics to project a plurality of different portions of the projected image at each of a plurality of locations;

a moveable sensor with a first number of pixels, the sensor is to;

move to the plurality of locations, where the sensor and the optics move independently of each other, and capture the plurality of different portions of the projected image at each of the plurality of locations; and

processing logic configured to combine the captured portions into an image that contains a second number of pixels at least two times greater than the first number of pixels.

2. The camera device of claim 1, further comprising:

a movement mechanism to move the sensor to the plurality of locations.

3. The camera device of claim 2, where the movement mechanism includes a piezoelectric actuator.

4. The camera device of claim 1, where a size of the sensor is smaller than a size of the projected image.

5. The camera device of claim 1, where each of the captured portions overlaps with another one of the captured portions.

6. A camera device, comprising:

optics to;

produce a projected image, and move to project a plurality of different portions of the projected image at a plurality of locations;

a moveable sensor to;

move to the plurality of locations, and

capture a plurality of portions of the projected image, as a plurality of image portions, at each of the plurality of locations,

where, when the sensor is positioned at each of the plurality of locations, a piezoelectric linear actuator moves the optics to project the plurality of different portions of the projected image on the sensor, and where the sensor and the optics move independently of each other; and

processing logic to combine the image portions together into a final image.

7. The camera device of claim 6, where a number of pixels associated with the sensor is less than a number of pixels associated with the final image.

8. The camera device of claim 6, further comprising:

a movement mechanism to move the sensor to each of the plurality of locations.

9. The camera device of claim 8, where the movement mechanism includes a piezoelectric actuator.

10. The camera device of claim 6, where each of the image portions overlaps with another one of the image portions.

11. The camera device of claim 6, wherein the first dimension is an x-direction and the second dimension is a y-direction.

12. A camera device, comprising:

a plurality of lens elements to project an image associated with a field of view;

a sensor to capture a plurality of sub-images associated with the field of view by moving one or more lens elements of the plurality of lens elements and by moving the sensor, where the sensor captures multiple ones of the plurality of sub-images in each of a plurality of positions to which the sensor moves, and where the sensor and the one or more lens elements move independently of each other; and

a movement mechanism configured to move the one or more lens elements in a plurality of directions in multiple dimensions, wherein the movement mechanism includes a piezoelectric linear actuator; and

processing logic to combine the sub-images to obtain a final image associated with the field of view.

13. The camera device of claim 12, where a number of pixels on the sensor is at least two times less than a number of pixels associated with the final image.

14. The camera device of claim 12, where the sensor includes a plurality of sensors.

15. A method performed by a camera device that includes a plurality of lens elements and a sensor, comprising:

using a piezoelectric linear actuator to move one or more of the plurality of lens elements to cause multiple different portions of a field of view to be focused at each of a plurality of locations;

moving the sensor to each of the plurality of locations, where the sensor and the one or more of the plurality of lens elements move independently of each other;

capturing, by the sensor, the multiple different portions of the field of view at each of the plurality of locations to produce multiple sub-images; and

combining the sub-images into a final image.

18. The method of claim 15, where combining the sub-images into a final image includes:

matching edges of the sub-images to detect overlapping sections;

removing the overlapping sections, and

merging the sub-images with the removed overlapping sections to form the final image.

16. A camera device, comprising:

means for projecting an image;

a piezoelectric linear actuator to move a lens element to project a plurality of different portions of the image onto a sensor;

means for moving the sensor to a plurality of locations, where the sensor and the lens element move independently of each other;

means for capturing, by the sensor, a plurality of the different portions of the projected image, as image portions, in each of the plurality of locations; and

means for merging the image portions into a final image.

17. The camera device of claim 16, where a number of pixels on the sensor is at least two times less than a number of pixels associated with the final image.