Dual sensor camera
AssigneeDigitalOptics Corporation
InventorsJohn D. Griffith, Jisoo Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dual sensor camera that uses two aligned sensors each having a separate lens of different focal length but the same f-number. The wider FOV image from one sensor is combined with the narrower FOV image from the other sensor to form a combined image. Up-sampling of the wide FOV image and down-sampling of the narrow FOV image is performed. The longer focal length lens may have certain aberrations introduced so that Extended Depth of Field (EDoF) processing can be used to give the narrow FOV image approximately the same depth of field as the wide FOV image so that a noticeable difference in depth of field is not see in the combined image.
Claims23
A method of generating a combined image with a camera, the method comprising:
- receiving light with a first sensor from a first lens having a first focal length;
- capturing a first image formed on the first sensor with the first sensor;
- receiving light with a second sensor from a second lens having a second focal length that is longer than the first focal length;
- capturing a second image formed on the second sensor with the second sensor, the combination of the first sensor and the first lens and the combination of the second sensor and the second lens being directed toward the same subject;
- and
- combining the first image and the second image together to form a single combined image with the second image forming a central portion of the single combined image and a peripheral portion of the first image forming a peripheral portion of the single combined image;
- and wherein
- the step of combining the first and the second images includes at least one of up-sampling the first image and down-sampling the second image;
- and
- when the first image is up-sampled, the first image is sharpened after the up-sampling.
A method of generating a combined image with a camera, the method comprising:
- receiving light with a first sensor from a first lens having a first focal length;
- capturing a first image formed on the first sensor with the first sensor;
- receiving light with a second sensor from a second lens having a second focal length that is longer than the first focal length;
- capturing a second image formed on the second sensor with the second sensor, the combination of the first sensor and the first lens and the combination of the second sensor and the second lens being directed toward the same subject;
- and
- combining the first image and the second image together to form a single combined image with the second image forming a central portion of the single combined image and a peripheral portion of the first image forming a peripheral portion of the single combined image;
- and wherein
- the step of combining the first and the second images includes at least one of up-sampling the first image with a scaling factor A and down-sampling the second image with a scaling factor B;
- Z is the ratio of the field of view (FOV) of the first sensor to the FOV of the second sensor;
- and
- Z=A×B.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.