Zoom related methods and apparatus

• US 9,736,365 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2014
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue River Technology Inc. (Deere & Company)
• Original Assignee: Light Labs Inc.
• Inventors: Laroia, Rajiv
• Primary Examiner(s): Hogue, Dennis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Morehead, III, John H
• Application Number:
  US14/523,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20150172543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,024 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/0065 having a beam-folding prism or mirror
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/009 having zoom function
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 15/04 by changing a part
• 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 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for supporting zoom operations using a plurality of optical chain modules, e.g., camera modules, are described. Switching between use of groups of optical chains with different focal lengths is used to support zoom operations. Digital zoom is used in some cases to support zoom levels corresponding to levels between the zoom levels of different optical chain groups or discrete focal lengths to which optical chains may be switched. In some embodiments optical chains have adjustable focal lengths and are switched between different focal lengths. In other embodiments optical chains have fixed focal lengths with different optical chain groups corresponding to different fixed focal lengths. Composite images are generate from images captured by multiple optical chains of the same group and/or different groups. Composite image is in accordance with a user zoom control setting. Individual composite images may be generated and/or a video sequence.

Claims

1. A method, the method comprising:

operating a camera device during at least a first period of time and a second period of time, the camera device including a plurality of optical chains, said plurality of optical chains including at least a first group of optical chains and a second group of optical chains, said first group of optical chains including multiple optical chains, each optical chain in said first group of optical chains including a lens and a sensor, the second group of optical chains including multiple optical chains, each optical chain in the second group of optical chains including a lens and a sensor,

operating the camera device during the first period of time including;

i) capturing images using the multiple optical chains in the second group of optical chains; and

operating the camera device during the second period of time including;

i) transitioning the multiple optical chains in the second group of optical chains from a first focal length to a second focal length; and

ii) capturing images using the multiple optical chains in the first group of optical chains, said first group of optical chains having the first focal length during said second period of time, optical chains in said first group of optical chains having a different focal length than optical chains in said second group of optical chains during at least a portion of said second period of time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a combined image corresponding to the second period of time from image data captured by the multiple optical chains in said first group of optical chains during said second time period; and

wherein operating the camera device further includes operating the camera device during a third period of time which immediately precedes said first period of time to capture images using optical chains in both said first and second groups of optical chains, said optical chains in both said first and second groups of optical chains having the first focal length during said first period of time;

and

wherein the method further includes generating a combined image corresponding to the third period of time from image data captured by optical chains in both said first and second optical chains during said third period of time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein operating the camera device during the first period of time further includes:

transitioning the multiple optical chains in the first group of optical chains from the first focal length to the second focal length during the first period of time.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the focal length of optical chains in the second group of optical chains remains fixed and does not change during said first period of time;

and

wherein the focal length of optical chains in the first group of optical chains remains fixed and does not change during said second period of time.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein said first group of optical chains includes optical chains which do not change with respect to time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a composite image corresponding to a first zoom setting from images captured by said second group of optical chains during said first period of time, said first zoom setting corresponding to a focal length of the second group of optical chains during said first period of time; and

generating a composite image corresponding to a second zoom setting from images captured by said first group of optical chains during said second period of time, said second zoom setting being different from said first zoom setting and corresponding to a focal length of the first group of optical chains during said second period of time.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said first group of optical chains includes at least 3 optical chains and wherein aid second group of optical chains includes at least 3 optical chains.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

excluding from use in generating a composite image, image data captured by the first group of optical chains, or not capturing image data from the first group of optical chains during said first period of time.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

excluding from use in generating a composite image, image data captured by the second group of optical chains, or not capturing image data from the second group of optical chains during said second period of time.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

during a third period of time which precedes said first period of time capturing image data using at least some of said plurality of optical chains; and

combining the image data captured using at least some of said plurality of optical chains during the third time period to form a video image stream including composite images generated by combining images from multiple optical chains, said multiple optical chains including at least one optical chain from each of the first and second groups of optical chains.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

combining image data captured during said first time period by at least said second group of optical chains, without using any image data from said first group of optical chains, to form a video image stream, said combining including performing a first digital zoom operation which simulates a continuous zoom during said first period of time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first digital zoom during said first period of time begins with a first simulated focal length and ends with a second simulated focal length which is different from the first simulated focal length.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

combining image data captured during said second time period by at least said first group of optical chains, without using any image data from said second group of optical chains, to form a video image stream, said combining including performing a second digital zoom operation which simulates a continuous zoom during said second period of time.

14. The method of claim 13,

wherein the digital zoom during said second period of time begins with the second simulated focal length and ends with a third simulated focal length which is different from the second simulated focal length;

and

wherein said second digital zoom is accomplished by taking the entire images or performing image cropping operations to select a portion of said images.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a composite image corresponding to a first zoom setting from images captured by said second group of optical chains during said first period of time, said first zoom setting corresponding to a focal length of the second group of optical chains during said first period of time; and

generating a composite image corresponding to a second zoom setting from images captured by said first group of optical chains during said second period of time, said second zoom being different from said first zoom setting and corresponding to a focal length of the first group of optical chains during said second period of time.

22. The method of claim 21,

wherein at the start of said first time period the first set of optical chains has said first focal length;

wherein said second time period immediately follows said first time period and wherein said second set of optical chains has said first focal length at the start of said second time period in which said step of transitioning the second group of optical chains from a first focal length to a second focal length during the second period of time is performed.

23. The method of claim 22,

wherein each of the first and second groups of optical chains include more than two optical chains;

and

wherein said additional time period immediately follows said second time period.

15. A camera device comprising:

a plurality of optical chains, said plurality of optical chains including at least a first group of optical chains and a second group of optical chains, each optical chain in the first group of optical chains and the second group of optical chains including a lens and a sensor, said first group of optical chains including multiple optical chains, said second group of optical chains including multiple optical chains;

a first image capture module configured to capture images using the second group of optical chains during a first period of time; and

a second image capture module configured to capture images using the first group of optical chains during a second period of time, optical chains in said first group of optical chains have a different focal length than optical chains in said second group of optical chains during at least a portion of said second period of time; and

a first transition control module configured to transition the second group of optical chains from a first focal length to a second focal length during the second period of time.

16. The camera device of claim 15,

wherein the first group of optical chains includes at least 3 optical chains;

and

wherein the second group of optical chains includes at least 3 optical chains.

17. The camera device of claim 16, further comprising:

a second transition control module configured to transition the first group of optical chains from a first focal length to a second focal length during the first period of time.

18. The camera device of claim 15, wherein said first group of optical chains includes optical chains with fixed focal lengths which do not change with respect to time.

19. The camera device of claim 15, further comprising:

a first image data exclusion module configured to exclude from use in generating a composite image, image data captured by the first group of optical chains, or not capture image data from the first group of optical chains during said first period of time;

a third image capture module configured to capture image data using at least some of said plurality of optical chains during a third period of time which precedes said first period of time; and

a third time period image combining module configured to combine the image data captured using at least some of said plurality of optical chains during the third time period to form a video image stream including composite images generated by combining images from multiple optical chains, said multiple optical chains including at least one optical chain from each of the first and second groups of optical chains.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having processor executable instructions stored thereon, which, executed by a processor of a camera device, control said camera device to perform the steps of:

capturing images using a second group of optical chains during a first period of time, said second group of optical chains including multiple optical chains, each optical chain in said second group of optical chains including a lens and a sensor; and

capturing images using a first group of optical chains during a second period of time, optical chains in said first group of optical chains have a different focal length than optical chains in said second group of optical chains during at least a portion of said second period of time, said first group of optical chains including multiple optical chains, each optical chain in the first group of optical chains including a lens and a sensor; and

transitioning the multiple optical chains in the second group of optical chains from a first focal length to a second focal length during said second period of time.