Array cameras incorporating independently aligned lens stacks

• US 9,426,343 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2014
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FotoNation Limited (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pelican Imaging Corporation
• Inventors: Rodda, Errol Mark, Duparr, Jacques
• Primary Examiner(s): DAGNEW, MEKONNEN D
• Application Number:
  US14/536,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20150124113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/001 Miniaturised objectives for electronic devices, e.g. portable telephones, webcams, PDAs, small digital cameras G02B23/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/62 Optical apparatus specially adapted for adjusting optical elements during the assembly of optical systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0056 arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/201 in the form of arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/02 for lenses supports for magnifying lenses G02B25/002
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/021 for more than one lens
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/023 permitting adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/55 from multiple images
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/042 the devices being arranged next to each other solar cells H01L31/042
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14618 Containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14621 Colour filter arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14625 Optical elements or arrangements associated with the device
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/10 for generating image signals from different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/16 Optical arrangements associated therewith, e.g. for beam-splitting or for colour correction
• 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 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/57 Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/741 : by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 : for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 : Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 : by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 : based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1056 : Perforating lamina
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1062 : Prior to assembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1304 : Means making hole or aperture in part to be laminated
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1309 : and securing separate part over hole or aperture
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 : Assembling or joining

Abstract

Array cameras, and array camera modules incorporating independently aligned lens stacks are disclosed. Processes for manufacturing array camera modules including independently aligned lens stacks can include: forming at least one hole in at least one carrier; mounting the at least one carrier relative to at least one sensor so that light passing through the at least one hole in the at least one carrier is incident on a plurality of focal planes formed by arrays of pixels on the at least one sensor; and independently mounting a plurality of lens barrels to the at least one carrier, so that a lens stack in each lens barrel directs light through the at least one hole in the at least one carrier and focuses the light onto one of the plurality of focal planes.

Claims

1. An array camera, comprising:

a processor;

memory containing an image capture application;

an array camera module, comprising;

at least one carrier in which at least one window is formed;

at least one sensor mounted relative to the at least one carrier so that light passing through the at least one window in the at least one carrier is incident on a plurality of focal planes formed by at least one array of pixels on the at least one sensor;

a plurality of lens barrels mounted to the at least one carrier, so that a lens stack in each lens barrel directs light through the at least one window in the at least one carrier and focuses the light onto one of the plurality of focal planes; and

a module cap mounted over the lens barrels, where the module cap includes at least one opening that admits light into the lens stacks contained within the plurality of lens barrels;

wherein the image capture application directs the processor to;

trigger the capture of image data by the array camera module;

obtain and store image data captured by the array camera module, where the image data forms a set of images captured from different viewpoints;

select a reference viewpoint relative to the viewpoints of the set of images captured from different viewpoints;

normalize the set of images to increase a similarity of corresponding pixels within the set of images;

determine depth estimates for pixel locations in an image from the reference viewpoint using at least a subset of the set of images, wherein generating a depth estimate for a given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint comprises;

identifying pixels in the at least a subset of the set of images that correspond to the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint based upon expected disparity at a plurality of depths;

comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels identified at each of the plurality of depths; and

selecting the depth from the plurality of depths at which the identified corresponding pixels have the highest degree of similarity as a depth estimate for the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint.

2. The array camera of claim 1, wherein the at least one carrier is a single carrier.

3. The array camera of claim 2, wherein:

each of the plurality of sensors is mounted to a first side of the single carrier;

each of the plurality of lens barrels is mounted to a second opposite side of the single carrier; and

the plurality of sensors comprises a separate sensor for each of the plurality of lens barrels.

4. The array camera of claim 2, wherein:

the plurality of sensors is mounted to a substrate and the single carrier is mounted in a fixed location relative to the substrate; and

the plurality of sensors is positioned proximate a first side of the single carrier and each of the plurality of lens barrels is mounted to a second opposite side of the single carrier.

5. The array camera of claim 2, wherein the at least one sensor is a single sensor.

6. The array camera of claim 5, wherein:

the single sensor is mounted to a first side of the single carrier; and

each of the plurality of lens barrels is mounted to a second opposite side of the single carrier.

7. The array camera of claim 5, wherein:

the single sensor is mounted to a substrate and the single carrier is mounted in a fixed location relative to the substrate; and

the single sensor is positioned proximate a first side of the single carrier and each of the plurality of lens barrels is mounted to a second opposite side of the single carrier.

8. The array camera of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one sensor is mounted to a substrate and each of a plurality of carriers is mounted in a fixed location relative to the substrate; and

each of the plurality of lens barrels is mounted to a separate carrier.

9. The array camera of claim 1, wherein:

each lens barrel and corresponding focal plane forms a camera;

different cameras within the array camera module image different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum; and

the lens stacks contained within the lens barrels differ depending upon the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum imaged by the camera to which the lens barrel belongs.

10. The array camera of claim 1, wherein each lens stack in the lens barrels has a field of view that focuses light so that the plurality of arrays of pixels that form the focal planes sample the same object space within a scene.

11. The array camera of claim 10, wherein:

the pixel arrays of the focal planes define spatial resolutions for each pixel array;

the lens stacks focus light onto the focal planes so that the plurality of arrays of pixels that form the focal planes sample the same object space within a scene with sub-pixel offsets that provide sampling diversity; and

the lens stacks have modulation transfer functions that enable contrast to be resolved at a spatial frequency corresponding to a higher resolution than the spatial resolutions of the pixel arrays.

12. The array camera of claim 11, wherein the image capture application further directs the processor to fuse pixels from the set of images using the depth estimates to create a fused image having a resolution that is greater than the resolutions of the images in the set of images by:

determining the visibility of the pixels in the set of images from the reference viewpoint by;

identifying corresponding pixels in the set of images using the depth estimates; and

determining that a pixel in a given image is not visible in the reference viewpoint when the pixel fails a photometric similarity criterion determined based upon a comparison of corresponding pixels; and

applying scene dependent geometric shifts to the pixels from the set of images that are visible in an image from the reference viewpoint to shift the pixels into the reference viewpoint, where the scene dependent geometric shifts are determined using the current depth estimates; and

fusing the shifted pixels from the set of images to create a fused image from the reference viewpoint having a resolution that is greater than the resolutions of the images in the set of images.

13. The array camera of claim 12, wherein the image capture application further directs the processor to synthesize an image from the reference viewpoint by performing a super-resolution process based upon the fused image from the reference viewpoint, the set of images captured from different viewpoints, the current depth estimates, and visibility information.

14. The array camera of claim 1, wherein at least one spectral filter is mounted within at least one window in the at least one carrier.

15. The array camera of claim 14, wherein the at least one spectral filter is selected from the group consisting of a color filter and an IR-cut filter.

16. The array camera of claim 1, wherein at least one spectral filter is applied to an array of pixels forming a focal plane on at least one of the sensors.

17. The array camera of claim 1, wherein at least one lens stack includes at least one spectral filter.

18. The array camera of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of images comprises image data in multiple color channels; and

the image capture application directs the processor to compare the similarity of pixels that are identified as corresponding at each of the plurality of depths by comparing the similarity of the pixels that are identified as corresponding in each of a plurality of color channels at each of the plurality of depths.

19. The array camera of claim 1, wherein the plurality of lens barrels and the plurality of focal planes form an M×

N array of cameras.

20. The array camera of claim 19, wherein the plurality of lens barrels and the plurality of focal planes form a 3×

3 array of cameras.

21. The array camera of claim 19, wherein the M×

N array of cameras comprises a 3×

3 group of cameras comprising;

a central reference camera;

four cameras that capture image data in a first color channel located in the four corners of the 3×

3 group of cameras;

a pair of cameras that capture image data in a second color channel located on either side of the central reference camera; and

a pair of cameras that capture image data in a third color channel located on either side of the central reference camera.

22. The array camera of claim 21, wherein the reference camera is selected from the group consisting of:

a camera including a Bayer filter; and

a camera that captures image data in the first color channel.

23. The array camera of claim 1, wherein the array camera module further comprises an interface device in communication with the at least one sensor, where the interface device multiplexes data received from the sensors and provides an interface via which the processor reads multiplexed data and via which the processor controls the imaging parameters of the focal planes formed by the plurality of pixel arrays.

24. The array camera of claim 23, wherein:

the interface device is mounted to the carrier and the carrier includes circuit traces that carry signals between the interface device and the at least one sensor; and

a common clock signal coordinates the capture of image data by the at least one sensor and readout of the image data from the at least one sensor via the interface device.

25. The array camera of claim 23, wherein:

the at least one sensor and the interface device are mounted to a substrate, which includes circuit traces that carry signals between the interface device and the at least one sensor;

the at least one carrier is mounted in a fixed location relative to the at least one sensor; and

a common clock signal coordinates the capture of image data by the at least one sensor and readout of the image data from the at least one sensor via the interface device.

26. The array camera of claim 1, wherein the module cap is mounted to the at least one carrier so that a small air gap exists between the module cap and the top of the lens barrels and a small bead of adhesive seals the air gaps between the module cap and the lens barrels.

27. The array camera of claim 1, wherein the carrier is constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of ceramic and glass.

28. A array camera, comprising:

a processor;

memory containing an image capture application;

an array camera module, comprising;

a carrier in which a plurality of windows are formed;

a plurality of sensors each including an array of pixels, where the plurality of sensors are mounted relative to the carrier so that light passing through the plurality of windows is incident on a plurality of focal planes formed by the arrays of pixels;

a plurality of lens barrels mounted to the at least one carrier so that a lens stack in each lens barrel directs light through the at least one window in the at least one carrier and focuses the light onto one of the plurality of focal planes; and

a module cap mounted over the lens barrels, where the module cap includes at least one opening that admits light into the lens stacks contained within the plurality of lens barrels;

wherein the image capture application directs the processor to;

trigger the capture of image data by the array camera module;

obtain and store image data captured by the array camera module, where the image data forms a set of images captured from different viewpoints;

select a reference viewpoint relative to the viewpoints of the set of images captured from different viewpoints;

normalize the set of images to increase a similarity of corresponding pixels within the set of images;

determine depth estimates for pixel locations in an image from the reference viewpoint using at least a subset of the set of images, wherein generating a depth estimate for a given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint comprises;

identifying pixels in the at least a subset of the set of images that correspond to the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint based upon expected disparity at a plurality of depths;

comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels identified at each of the plurality of depths; and

selecting the depth from the plurality of depths at which the identified corresponding pixels have the highest degree of similarity as a depth estimate for the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint.

29. The array camera of claim 28, wherein:

the pixel arrays of the focal planes define spatial resolutions for each pixel array;

the lens stacks focus light onto the focal planes so that the plurality of arrays of pixels that form the focal planes sample the same object space within a scene with sub-pixel offsets that provide sampling diversity; and

the lens stacks have modulation transfer functions that enable contrast to be resolved at a spatial frequency corresponding to a higher resolution than the spatial resolutions of the pixel arrays; and

the image capture application further directs the processor to fuse pixels from the set of images using the depth estimates to create a fused image having a resolution that is greater than the resolutions of the images in the set of images by;

determining the visibility of the pixels in the set of images from the reference viewpoint by;

identifying corresponding pixels in the set of images using the depth estimates; and

determining that a pixel in a given image is not visible in the reference viewpoint when the pixel fails a photometric similarity criterion determined based upon a comparison of corresponding pixels; and

applying scene dependent geometric shifts to the pixels from the set of images that are visible in an image from the reference viewpoint to shift the pixels into the reference viewpoint, where the scene dependent geometric shifts are determined using the current depth estimates; and

fusing the shifted pixels from the set of images to create a fused image from the reference viewpoint having a resolution that is greater than the resolutions of the images in the set of images.