Dual aperture zoom digital camera

• US 10,841,500 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2019
• Issued: 11/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corephotonics Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Corephotonics Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shabtay, Gal, Goldenberg, Ephraim, Gigushinski, Oded, Cohen, Noy
• Primary Examiner(s): Segura, Cynthia
• Application Number:
  US16/368,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20190230291A1
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/0015 characterised by the lens design
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/009 having zoom function
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0075 with means for altering, e.g. increasing, the depth of field or depth of focus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• 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 23/58 Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors
• 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 23/67 Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/958 for extended depth of field imaging

Abstract

A dual-aperture zoom digital camera operable in both still and video modes. The camera includes Wide and Tele imaging sections with respective lens/sensor combinations and image signal processors and a camera controller operatively coupled to the Wide and Tele imaging sections. The Wide and Tele imaging sections provide respective image data. The controller is configured to combine in still mode at least some of the Wide and Tele image data to provide a fused output image from a particular point of view, and to provide without fusion continuous zoom video mode output images, each output image having a given output resolution, wherein the video mode output images are provided with a smooth transition when switching between a lower zoom factor (ZF) value and a higher ZF value or vice versa, and wherein at the lower ZF the output resolution is determined by the Wide sensor while at the higher ZF value the output resolution is determined by the Tele sensor.

Claims

1. A multi-aperture imaging system, comprising:

a) a first camera that provides a first image, the first camera having a first field of view (FOV1) and a first sensor with a first pixel size; and

b) a second camera that provides a second image, the second camera having a second field of view (FOV2) such that FOV2<

FOV1 and a second sensor with a second pixel size different from the first pixel size, the second camera comprising a lens block, the lens block only including, along an optical axis starting with an object, a first lens element with positive power, a second lens element with negative power, a third lens element with negative power, a fourth lens element and a fifth lens element,

wherein the second camera has a total track length (TTL), an effective focal length (EFL) and a TTL/EFL ratio smaller than 1.

2. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 1, wherein the second camera has an optical path of less than 9 mm.

3. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 2, wherein the second camera has a fixed focal length.

4. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 3, wherein the first camera has a fixed focal length.

5. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 2, wherein the multi-aperture imaging system has a still mode and a video mode.

6. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 1, further comprising a camera controller connected to the first camera and to the second camera, the camera controller configured to output a fused image using the first image and the second image.

7. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 6, wherein the fused image is generated by registering pixels within the second sensor to pixels within the first sensor.

8. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 6, wherein the fused image is generated by registering pixels within the first sensor to pixels within the second sensor.

9. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 1, wherein the second camera has an EFL smaller than 7.14 mm.

10. A multi-aperture imaging system, comprising:

a) a first camera that provides a first image, the first camera having a first field of view (FOV1) and a first sensor with a first pixel size; and

b) a second camera that provides a second image, the second camera having a second field of view (FOV2) such that FOV2<

FOV1 and a second sensor having the first pixel size, the second camera comprising a lens block, the lens block only including, along an optical axis starting with an object, a first lens element with positive power, a second lens element with negative power, a third lens element with negative power, a fourth lens element and a fifth lens element,

wherein the second camera has a total track length (TTL), an effective focal length (EFL), and a TTL/EFL ratio smaller than 1.

11. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 10, wherein the second camera has an optical path of less than 9 mm.

12. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 11, wherein the second camera has a fixed focal length.

13. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 12, wherein the first camera has a fixed focal length.

14. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 11, wherein the multi-aperture imaging system has a still mode and a video mode.

15. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 10, further comprising a camera controller connected to the first camera and to the second camera, the camera controller configured to output a fused image using the first image and the second image.

16. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 15, wherein the fused image is generated by registering pixels within the second sensor to pixels within the first sensor.

17. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 15, wherein the fused image is generated by registering pixels within the first sensor to pixels within the second sensor.

18. The multi-aperture imaging system of claim 10, wherein the second camera has an EFL smaller than 7.14 mm.