Patents Examined by Roberto Velez
  • Patent number: 9912851
    Abstract: Provided is an image-capturing device that reduces the effect of direct incident light on an image-capturing element and allows a high contrast image to be obtained. An image-capturing device includes: an image-capturing element; a light emitting element; and an image data correction unit, wherein the light emitting element irradiates a subject with light, the image-capturing element senses the light reflected by the subject and generates an image data, and the image data correction unit corrects the image data by subtracting incident light directly entered into the image-capturing element from the light emitting element without being reflected by the subject from the image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: NEC LIGHTING, LTD.
    Inventor: Shusaku Kon
  • Patent number: 9906711
    Abstract: A telescoping monopod system including an image acquisition module having a field of vision, an attachment member configured to contact the image acquisition module, a body housing a processor, a memory, an electromechanical component, and a plurality of shafts. The body contacts the attachment member. The body comprises a control panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Intellectual Fortress, LLC
    Inventors: Kevin Hwading Chu, Xiran Wang, Yangyang Chen
  • Patent number: 9906700
    Abstract: An array imaging module includes a molded photosensitive assembly which includes a supporting member, at least a circuit board, at least two photosensitive units, at least two lead wires, and a mold sealer. The photosensitive units are coupled at the chip coupling area of the circuit board. The lead wires are electrically connected the photosensitive units at the chip coupling area of the circuit board. The mold sealer includes a main mold body and has two optical windows. When the main mold body is formed, the lead wires, the circuit board and the photosensitive units are sealed and molded by the main mold body of the mold sealer, such that after the main mold body is formed, the main mold body and at least a portion of the circuit board are integrally formed together at a position that the photosensitive units are aligned with the optical windows respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mingzhu Wang, Bojie Zhao, Takehiko Tanaka, Nan Guo, Zhenyu Chen, Heng Jiang, Zhongyu Luan, Fengsheng Xi, Feifan Chen, Liang Ding
  • Patent number: 9906741
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes an optical system, a data storage unit, an imaging unit, and an image processing unit. The optical system is variable in focal distance and varies a size of an image circle by the focal distance. A data storage unit stores data indicating a correspondence between a value of the focal distance and a value of the size of the image circle. The imaging unit obtains image data from the optical image. The image processing unit performs composition processing of image data in multiple frames after dividing each of the image data in multiple frames corresponding to an outside of the image circle into quadrant-by-quadrant regions and aligning the divided image data in multiple frames quadrant by quadrant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Takeyuki Ajito
  • Patent number: 9897895
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a control method for a camera module. The camera module comprises an imaging module, a sleeve module, a lens module which is mounted in the sleeve module and can move along an optical axis direction relative to the sleeve module, at least one coil, at least one magnetic component, and elastic components disposed between the lens module and the sleeve module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: GALAXYCORE SHANGHAI LIMITED CORPORATION
    Inventors: Lixin Zhao, Xinnan Hou
  • Patent number: 9900497
    Abstract: A system and method for recording video that combines video capture, touch-screen and voice-control technologies into an integrated system that produces cleanly edited, short-duration, compliant video files that exactly capture a moment after it has actually occurred The present invention maintains the device in a ready state that is always ready to capture video up to N seconds or minutes in the past (where N depends on available system memory). This enables the user to run the system indefinitely without having to worry about running out of storage. Touch gestures and voice commands actually initiate captures without having to actually monitor the system itself thereby allowing for complete focus on the live action itself. When the user sees something happen, he or she can use an appropriate voice or touch command to cause the system to create a video media file based on time points derived from the user's commands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Fast Model Holdings LLC
    Inventors: Albert Tsai, David Yip
  • Patent number: 9900488
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a flexible screen capable of being folded and/or bent by a user. A first camera is disposed on a first surface of the flexible screen and a second camera is disposed on a second surface of the flexible screen. A detection unit is configured to detect, in a first condition, whether the first camera and/or the second camera is blocked because the user folds and/or bends the flexible screen. A control unit is configured to control an ON/OFF state of the first camera and/or the second camera based on a detection result of the detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: LENOVO (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ben Xu
  • Patent number: 9894287
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a terminal. The terminal includes: a first camera, a second camera, a processor, the processor is connected to both the first camera and the second camera, the first camera and the second camera are located on a same side of the terminal, the first camera is configured to acquire an image in a first region; the processor is configured to: analyze the image acquired by the first camera, determine, according to an analysis result, exposure used when the second camera acquires an image in a second region; the second camera acquires the image in the second region according to the exposure that is determined by the processor and is used when the second camera acquires the image in the second region; the processor is configured to synthesize the images into a high dynamic image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Huawei Device (Dongguan) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kang Qian, Congchao Zhu, Wei Luo, Bin Deng, Yunneng Mo
  • Patent number: 9894257
    Abstract: A light source module includes an array of illumination elements and a light diffusing material. The light source module is configured to receive a control signal for adjusting diffusion of light emitted from the light source module and in response adjust the amount of diffusion of light emitted from the light source module. A light source module may include a segmented light diffusing material where each segment is associated with an illumination element. And individual segments may have light diffusing properties that are different than other segments of the light diffusing material. Some illumination elements may emit light of a different color spectrum than other illumination elements, and a light diffusing material may scatter the different colored light to illuminate a scene with combinations of light of different colors. A light source module may be embedded in a mobile computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Florian R. Fournier, Angelo M. Alaimo, Simon S. Lee, Miodrag Scepanovic, Andreas G. Weber
  • Patent number: 9888164
    Abstract: Focus self-calibration for a digital camera may be performed by moving a lens assembly of the digital camera over its travel range, and detecting travel limits of the lens assembly based on audio signal generated by the lens assembly reaching ends of the travel range. Digital-to-analog converter values corresponding to the lens assembly at the ends of the travel range may be used to create a camera focus profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventor: Chengwu Cui
  • Patent number: 9888180
    Abstract: An easy-to-use online video stabilization system and methods for its use are described. Videos are stabilized after capture, and therefore the stabilization works on all forms of video footage including both legacy video and freshly captured video. In one implementation, the video stabilization system is fully automatic, requiring no input or parameter settings by the user other than the video itself. The video stabilization system uses a cascaded motion model to choose the correction that is applied to different frames of a video. In various implementations, the video stabilization system is capable of detecting and correcting high frequency jitter artifacts, low frequency shake artifacts, rolling shutter artifacts, significant foreground motion, poor lighting, scene cuts, and both long and short videos.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
    Inventors: Matthias Grundmann, Vivek Kwatra, Irfan Essa
  • Patent number: 9888181
    Abstract: Disclosed is a camera module that is compact and has a low manufacturing cost, and is capable of correcting blur in a captured image more favorably. An image capturing lens (103) is configured so that a size of an image that an image capturing lens (103) forms is proportionate to an angle at which a principal ray from an object (200) is incident to the image capturing lens (103).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Norimichi Shigemitsu
  • Patent number: 9888177
    Abstract: An imaging device includes a first image sensor that is placed to intersect the optical axis of an imaging lens, a second image sensor that is placed to intersect the optical axis of the imaging lens so as to be situated at a given distance from the first image sensor, and receives light that has passed through the first image sensor, and a processor including hardware, wherein the processor is configured to implement a brightness correction process that amplifies the pixel value of the second image captured by the second image sensor using a gain set based on the light transmittance of a light-receiving section of the first image sensor, and an object distance calculation process that performs a depth-from-defocus (DFD) process based on the pixel value of the first image and the pixel value of the second image subjected to the brightness correction process to calculate an object distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Akikazu Yachi
  • Patent number: 9883094
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses a method and an apparatus for varying a focal length of a camera device, and a camera device capable of varying a focal length thereof. The method includes: obtaining a position where one finger of a user touches a touch screen of the camera device; obtaining an image zooming multiple according to a distance and a direction that the finger of the user slides on the touch screen of the camera device; and zooming, according to the image zooming multiple and by using the position on the touch screen of the camera device where the finger of the user touches the touch screen of the camera device as a center, an image currently taken by the camera device, so as to vary a focal length of the camera device. The apparatus includes: a first obtaining module, a second obtaining module, and a zooming module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Chen Zhu, Cheng Wang, Cheng Li
  • Patent number: 9883126
    Abstract: In an image pickup device and method using a lens unit in which a plurality of lens arrays, are arranged and a lens holding unit is provided between the lens arrays, light emitted from the area corresponding to the lens holding unit can be detected. A moving mechanism that moves a lens unit or the observation target holding unit and the detection unit, and a moving mechanism control unit are provided. The moving mechanism control unit controls the moving mechanism such that the lens unit or the observation target holding unit and the detection unit are moved to a second position from a first position. The second position is set to a position when the lens array after the movement is disposed at a position facing the detection surface of the detection unit shielded by a lens holding unit when the lens unit is disposed at the first position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Yasutake Tanaka, Hiromi Ishikawa, Yasunori Ohta
  • Patent number: 9874801
    Abstract: A device for adjusting a camera lens, which includes at least one lens ring rotatable about the optical axis of the camera lens for zoom, focus or aperture adjustment, which is connectable with a driving device actuatable by an electronic control unit, includes a retaining device connected with the camera lens, which is adapted to the contour of the camera lens, for accommodating a fastening mechanism of a drive system containing the driving device and the electronic control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss AG
    Inventors: Helmut Lenhof, Benedikt Hartmann, Hannes Buchegger, Wolfgang Parizek, Michael Haubmann
  • Patent number: 9871987
    Abstract: In an image pickup element, a plurality of unit pixels constituted by one micro lens and a photodiode arranged underneath the micro lens are arranged in rows and columns. The image pickup element includes first unit pixels in which a plurality of photodiodes are arranged underneath one micro lens, second unit pixels different from the first unit pixels, m first output lines per column from which signals of the first unit pixels are output, and n second output lines per column from which signals of the second unit pixels are output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshiharu Ueda, Teruyuki Okado
  • Patent number: 9866776
    Abstract: An image sensor in which a first chip and a second chip are stacked comprises: a pixel unit; output lines each configured to output a pixel signal from the pixel unit; and an analog-digital converter provided for each of the output lines. The analog-digital converter comprises a plurality of sets of the following configuration: reference signal generation units configured to generate a reference signal, a comparison unit configured to compare a signal level of a pixel signal output to one of the output lines with a signal level of the reference signal, a counter configured to count until the signal level of the pixel signal coincides with the signal level of the reference signal compared by the comparison unit. The pixel unit is arranged in the first chip and the analog-digital converter is arranged in the second chip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideta Nishizawa
  • Patent number: 9860460
    Abstract: An image sensor can include a pixel array including a plurality of unit pixels and a row driver arranged in a matrix form that includes a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. Respective ones of the unit pixels may convent an incident light to an electric signal and may store the electric signal. The row driver may sequentially scan the plurality of rows and may sequentially perform an electronic shutter operation and read-out operation. The electronic shutter operation may reset the stored electric signal in each unit pixel and the read-out operation may read-out the stored electric signal in each unit pixel. The electric shutter operation can include a preliminary shutter operation and a main shutter operation which are sequentially performed on one row. The row driver may overlap the main shutter operation on a first row and the preliminary shutter operation on a second row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Moo-Young Kim, Kwang-Hyun Lee, Woong Joo, Kyoung-Min Koh
  • Patent number: 9860452
    Abstract: In one aspect, a device includes a processor, a first camera accessible to the processor, a second camera accessible to the processor, and storage accessible to the processor. The storage bears instructions executable by the processor to receive input from the first camera and, based at least in part on the input from the first camera, determine at least one parameter for at least one action associated with the second camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: LENOVO (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: Grigori Zaitsev, Scott Wentao Li