Camera shutter
AssigneeGoogle Inc.
InventorIshan Chatterjee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device includes a housing, a camera coupled to the housing, and a controller. The camera includes a lens, a shutter coaxial with the lens, and an image sensor coaxial with the lens and the shutter, where the image sensor is configured to receive light that passes through the shutter and the lens. The controller detects an amount of light received by the image sensor and controls the shutter by dimming the shutter based on the amount of light detected. In some examples, the shutter is an electrochromic shutter.
Claims28
A device comprising:
- a housing;
- a camera coupled to the housing, the camera including:
- a lens,
- a shutter coaxial with the lens, and
- an image sensor coaxial with the shutter and the lens, the image sensor configured to receive light that passes through the shutter and the lens;
- and
- a controller that:
- detects an amount of light received by the image sensor,
- controls the shutter by dimming the shutter to a dim state based on the amount of light detected,
- captures a plurality of images in a same field of view in the dim state, and combines the plurality of images into a final image, and
- adjusts a tinting of the shutter to blend with a color of the housing.
A method comprising:
- receiving, by an image sensor for a camera or by an ambient light sensor, light that passes through a shutter and a lens of the camera;
- detecting, by a controller, an amount of light received by the image sensor or by the ambient light sensor;
- controlling, by the controller, the shutter by dimming the shutter to a dim state based on the amount of light detected and capturing a plurality of images in a same field of view of the shutter in the dim state;
- combining the plurality of images into a final image;
- and
- adjusting a tinting of the shutter to blend with a color of a housing.
A computer program product, the computer program product being tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and including executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause:
- an image sensor for a camera to receive light that passes through a shutter and a lens of the camera;
- and
- a controller to:
- detect an amount of light received by the image sensor,
- control the shutter by dimming the shutter to a dim state based on the amount of light detected,
- capture a plurality of images in a same field of view of the shutter in the dim state;
- combine the plurality of images into a final image;
- and
- adjust a tinting of the shutter to blend with a color of a housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.