US 10,120,159 B2Granted

Methods and apparatus for supporting zoom operations

AssigneeLight Labs Inc.

InventorRajiv Laroia

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for performing a zoom operation are described using multiple optical chains in a camera device. At least one optical chain in the camera device includes a moveable light redirection device, said light redirection device being one of a substantially plane mirror or a prism. The moveable light redirection device is moved to a position in accordance with a zoom setting, and a portion of a scene area of interest in captured. Different discrete zoom setting values correspond to different positions of the moveable light redirection device resulting in different capture areas. In some embodiments, multiple optical chains with moveable light redirection devices are used to capture different portions of a scene of interest. A composite image is generated from a plurality of captured images corresponding to different optical chains. A higher zoom setting corresponds to more overlap between captured images of different optical chains.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method, the method comprising:

storing, in memory included in a camera device including multiple optical chains, information mapping different user selectable discrete zoom settings to different light redirection device positions;
receiving user input indicating a first user selected zoom setting;
determining, in the camera device, based on the user selected zoom setting and said information, a first set of light redirection device positions corresponding to said first user selected zoom setting, said first set of light redirection device positions including a first position to which a first light redirection device of a first optical chain is to be set for capturing a first image in accordance with the first user selected zoom setting and a second position to which a second light redirection device of a second optical chain is to be set for capturing a second image in accordance with the first user selected zoom setting;
moving the first light redirection device to the first position;
moving the second light redirection device to the second position;
capturing the first image using said first optical chain while said first light redirection device is at said first position;
and
capturing the second image using said second optical chain while said second light redirection device is at said second position.

5 more elements

A camera device, comprising:

a first optical chain including a first light redirection device;
a second optical chain including a second light redirection device;
memory including information mapping different user selectable discrete zoom settings to different light redirection device positions;
a user input configured to receive a first user selected zoom setting;
and
a processor configured to control said camera device to:
determine, based on the user selected zoom setting and said information mapping different user selectable discrete zoom settings to different light redirection device positions, a first set of light redirection device positions corresponding to said first user selected zoom setting, said first set of light redirection device positions including a first position to which the first light redirection device of the first optical chain is to be set for capturing a first image in accordance with the first user selected zoom setting and a second position to which the second light redirection device of the second optical chain is to be set for capturing a second image in accordance with the first user selected zoom setting;
move the first light redirection device to the first position;
move the second light redirection device to the second position;
capture the first image using said first optical chain while said first light redirection device is at said first position;
and
capture the second image using said second optical chain while said second light redirection device is at said second position.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/225,100Filed 1 Aug 2016 · continuation
Priority: 18 Oct 2013
Published: US 2017/0031138 A12 Feb 2017
Granted: 6 Nov 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification32 codes

G02B 7/04
For lenses: with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification
G02B 7/09
With mechanism for focusing or varying magnification: adapted for automatic focusing or varying magnification
G02B 7/1805
For prisms; for mirrors: for prisms
G02B 7/182
For prisms; for mirrors: for mirrors

Family

Application61/893,100Us provisional application · filed 18 Oct 2013
Application61/896,069Us provisional application · filed 26 Oct 2013
Application61/899,097Us provisional application · filed 1 Nov 2013
Application61/922,801Us provisional application · filed 31 Dec 2013
Application61/943,302Us provisional application · filed 21 Feb 2014
Application61/943,299Us provisional application · filed 21 Feb 2014
Application61/978,818Us provisional application · filed 11 Apr 2014
Application61/981,849Us provisional application · filed 20 Apr 2014
Application62/021,094Us provisional application · filed 4 Jul 2014
Application14/327,524Parent of this continuation · filed 9 Jul 2014
US 2017/0031138 A1Pre-grant publication · published 2 Feb 2017
US 9,423,588 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2015/0293328 A1Published application
US 10,120,159 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

Open elsewhere

Building an agent or pulling many patents? Use the API or MCP server instead of scraping pages. Get an API key