Image-Capture Device

• US 20170155852A1
• Filed: 11/30/2016
• Published: 06/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Photopotech, LLC
• Original Assignee: Photopotech, LLC
• Inventors: von Cramon, Benjamin
• Granted Patent: US 10,306,156 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• 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 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means

Abstract

An image-capture device includes an enclosure, a lens arranged in a lens housing, an illumination source and an image sensor. The illumination source has separately energized light emitters adjacent to the lens housing. When a first light emitter is energized, light oscillating in a first orientation is directed away from the image-capture device. When a second light emitter is energized, light oscillating in a second orientation different from the first orientation is directed away from the image-capture device. Alternatively, an image-capture device includes image sensors, a lens and an illumination source. The illumination source directs emitted light away from the device in different orientations. Light reflected from a subject-of-interest is received in optical paths intersected by respective polarizers. Reflected light passing through a first polarizer is substantially orthogonal to reflected light passing through a second polarizer.

Claims

1. An image-capture device, comprising:

an enclosure;

a lens arranged in a lens housing supported by the enclosure;

an illumination source having separately energized light emitters adjacent to the lens housing, wherein when a first light emitter is energized the image-capture device directs light oscillating in a first orientation away from the image-capture device and wherein when a second light emitter is energized the image-capture device directs light oscillating in a second orientation different from the first orientation away from the image-capture device; and

an image sensor supported by the enclosure and arranged to convert reflected light responsive to the respective first and second orientations into respective data assets.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first orientation is approximately orthogonal to the second orientation.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein light oscillating in the first orientation is responsive to a respective feature of the first light emitter.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein light oscillating in the second orientation is responsive to a respective feature of the second light emitter.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein light oscillating in the first orientation is responsive to a first polarizer located between the first light emitter and a subject-of-interest.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein light oscillating in the second orientation is responsive to a second polarizer located between the second light emitter and a subject-of-interest.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein an illumination power produced by at least one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter is controllably adjusted by modifying a bias current.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the first light emitter and the second light emitter are arranged circumferentially about the lens housing.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the illumination source directs light oscillating in two orientations substantially orthogonal to one another away from the device, the light forming an angle of incidence with respect to a longitudinal axis of the lens assembly of less than about 2.5 degrees when reflected by a subject-of-interest separated by at least one meter from the image-capture device.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter comprise semiconductors.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein a distance along a plane substantially orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the lens assembly between nearest neighbors of the semiconductors is determined by a minimum tolerance associated with a semiconductor manufacturing process.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter emit light with a range of different wavelengths from 390 nm to 700 nm.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter emit light with a range of different wavelengths with wavelengths shorter than 390 nm and/or longer than 700 nm.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter are formed from a ring of elements.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the ring of elements is concentrically arranged about the lens housing.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter include elements arranged in more than one ring surrounding a lens.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein a first substrate upon which elements in a first ring are arranged is offset from a second substrate upon which elements in a concentric ring arranged about the first ring are located.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein a depth of the offset keeps a respective emitting surface of the respective elements distributed across the first ring and the concentric ring substantially coplanar.

19. The device of claim 1, wherein the first light emitter and the second light emitter are arranged to prevent emitted light from entering the lens without contacting a surface of a subject-of-interest, are further arranged with a barrier interposed between the first light emitter and the second light emitter to prevent emitted light from a first emitter from passing through a polarizer filter associated with a second light emitter and respectively from a second emitter from passing through a polarizer filter associated with a first light emitter.

20. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a controller in communication with the image sensor and the image-capture device, the controller arranged to coordinate operation of the image-capture device and the illumination source such that an interval between a first exposure of the image sensor to light oscillating in the first orientation away from the image-capture device and reflected by a subject-of-interest and a second exposure of the sensor to light oscillating in the second orientation away from the image-capture device and reflected by the subject-of-interest is controlled.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the image sensor is nonplanar.

22. The device of claim 20, wherein the image sensor includes hyperspectral sensitive semiconductors.

23. The device of claim 20, wherein the interval between the first exposure and the second exposure results in a first raster of image information and a second raster of image information responsive to substantially the same image information.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the image information in the first raster and the image information in the second raster are responsive to substantially the same orientation of the image-capture device.

25. The device of claim 20, further comprising:

a polarizer positioned between the image sensor and a subject of interest, the polarizer configured substantially orthogonal to light oscillating in one of the first orientation or the second orientation and substantially parallel to light oscillating in the remaining one of the first orientation or the second orientation.

26. The device of claim 20, wherein the controller generates a signal that modifies one of the first orientation or the second orientation.

27. An image-capture device, comprising:

an enclosure including at least two image sensors;

a lens in a lens housing supported by the enclosure; and

an illumination source that directs emitted light away from the enclosure, wherein the lens receives reflected light from a subject-of-interest and directs the reflected light in a first optical path having a first polarizer and in a second optical path having a second polarizer such that reflected light that traverses the first polarizer is substantially orthogonal to reflected light that traverses the second polarizer.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein at least one image sensor intersects the first optical path and at least one separate image sensor intersects the second optical path.

29. The device of claim 27, further comprising:

a beamsplitter, wherein the first optical path receives transmitted light that traverses the beamsplitter and the second optical path receives light reflected by the beamsplitter.

30. The device of claim 27, wherein the illumination source and lens are arranged to prevent emitted light from entering the lens without contacting a surface of the subject-of-interest.

31. The device of claim 27, wherein emitted light directed away from the enclosure by the illumination source is orthogonally polarized with respect to a polarization angle of reflected light that intersects at least one image sensor.

32. The device of claim 27, wherein the illumination source comprises semiconductors arranged about the lens housing.

33. The device of claim 27, wherein a first image sensor intersecting the first optical path captures a first image and a second image sensor intersecting the second optical path captures a second image such that the first image and the second image are captured at a first time.

34. An image-capture device, comprising:

an enclosure having a mounting surface;

light emitters supported along the mounting surface, the light emitters directing light in a direction substantially orthogonal to the mounting surface, the light oscillating in a first orientation;

a first set of image sensors arranged along the mounting surface, the first set of image sensors receiving reflected light oscillating in the first orientation;

a second set of image sensors arranged along the mounting surface, the second set of image sensors receiving reflected light oscillating in a second orientation substantially orthogonal to the first orientation.

35. The device of claim 34, wherein the light emitters are offset from the first and second sets of image sensors to prevent light originating at the light emitters from directly contacting the first and second sets of image sensors.

36. The device of claim 34, further comprising:

a third set of image sensors arranged along the mounting surface, the third set of image sensors receiving reflected light oscillating in more than one orientation.