Generation of images based on orientation

• US 9,210,339 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2011
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Atkinson, Lee Warren
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US14/351,270
• Publication Number:
  US 20140285613A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/427, 345/101, 345/419, 345/659, 345/690, 348/14.01, 348/54, 348/220.1, 348/135, 348/22.1, 348/332, 353/69, 455/39, 455/557, 455/566, 715/801, 382/154, 463/37, 702/85
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/40 Extracting pixel data from image sensors by controlling scanning circuits, e.g. by modifying the number of pixels sampled or to be sampled
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass

Abstract

An image sensor can have a first orientation. If the first orientation differs from a second orientation, values can be read from the image sensor in a manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a camera comprising a sensor matrix to sense an image;

an orientation determiner to determine a first orientation of the camera;

a communication interface to receive, from a second computing device, a second orientation that the second computing device displays image data received from the computing device; and

a controller to read values from the sensor matrix in a manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation if the second orientation is different from the first orientation.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein reading values from the sensor matrix in the manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation comprises changing an order in which the sensor matrix is scanned.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein reading values from the sensor matrix in the manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation comprises changing how a location of each sensor element of the sensor matrix is represented.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein reading values from the sensor matrix in the manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation comprises reading values from only a subset of sensor elements of the sensor matrix.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the generated image data has a different aspect ratio than would have been generated by the camera in the first orientation.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit the generated image data to the second computing device.

7. A method comprising:

sensing an image using an image sensor of a device;

comparing a first orientation of the image sensor to a second orientation that a second device displays image data received from the device;

if the first orientation is the same as the second orientation, reading values from the image sensor in a first manner so as to generate image data having the first orientation; and

if the first orientation differs from the second orientation, reading values from the image sensor in a second manner different from the first manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising setting the second orientation at a beginning of a communication session between the device and the second device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving an indication from the second device that an orientation of a display of the second device corresponds to a third orientation; and

setting the second orientation to be equal to the third orientation.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein reading values from the image sensor in the second manner different from the first manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation comprises changing a scan direction of the image sensor.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein reading values from the image sensor in the second manner different from the first manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation comprises reading fewer values than would be read according to the first manner.

12. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor of a first computing device, the machine-readable medium comprising:

instructions to determine a first orientation of the first computing device using an orientation sensor;

instructions to compare the first orientation to a second orientation that a second computing device displays image data received from the first computing device; and

instructions to read values from an image sensor in a manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation if the first orientation differs from the second orientation.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the first orientation is associated with a first aspect ratio different from a second aspect ratio associated with the second orientation.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 13,

wherein the image sensor comprises a matrix of sensor elements, the matrix comprising a longer dimension and a shorter dimension, and

wherein values are read from the image sensor in the manner so as to generate image data having the second orientation by reading only sensor elements that are within an area of the matrix defined by the shorter dimension and a portion of the longer dimension.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the portion of the longer dimension is determined based on the shorter dimension and the second aspect ratio.