By Influencing The Optical Part Of The Camera (epo) Patents (Class 348/E5.04)
  • Patent number: 12143700
    Abstract: A camera motor includes a motor housing, a lens bearing apparatus, a cushioning part, and a drive apparatus. The motor housing has an accommodating cavity, and the lens bearing apparatus is accommodated in the accommodating cavity and is spaced apart from an inner wall of the accommodating cavity. The cushioning part is disposed on an outer surface of the lens bearing apparatus. The drive apparatus is accommodated in the accommodating cavity, and the drive apparatus can drive the lens bearing apparatus to move in the accommodating cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zhangcheng Li, Jing Chu, Lei Jiang, Zhezhu Huang, Yingfei Shu, Yingyong He
  • Patent number: 12114053
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging element including an imaging surface; a first filter unit including a first optical filter; and a drive mechanism configured to move the first filter unit in parallel in a second direction intersecting a first direction being a normal direction of the imaging surface and between a first filtering position and a first retraction position. The first filtering position is a position at which the first optical filter is present in front of the imaging surface, and the first retraction position is a position at which the first optical filter is deviated from a front of the imaging surface. The drive mechanism includes a belt member coupled to the first filter unit, and a belt drive member configured to rotate in a state where the belt member is partially wound, the belt drive member configured to move a first portion of the belt member to which the first filter unit is coupled in the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2024
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Kuroki
  • Patent number: 12093453
    Abstract: Disclosure herein concerns a method that includes illuminating a user's eye with an illumination source in a head-worn display, capturing an image of the user's eye with an eye camera in the head-worn display, wherein the image includes an eye glint produced by light from the illumination source that is reflected from a surface of the user's eye, determining a size of an eye glint in the captured image, and identifying a change in focus distance for the user's eye in correspondence with a change in the size of the eye glint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Mentor Acquisition One, LLC
    Inventor: John N. Border
  • Patent number: 12067949
    Abstract: In order to provide an optical apparatus capable of adjusting a light amount in each of a plurality of optical systems with a simple structure, the optical apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of optical systems each of which includes a stop, a storing unit configured to store information indicating a relationship between target aperture diameters of the stop and target light amounts in the respective optical systems, and a controller configured to adjust a light amount by changing an aperture diameter of the stop in the respective optical systems based on the information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Katsuhiko Sato
  • Patent number: 12019347
    Abstract: An example electrophoretic display assembly includes: an outer substrate; an inner substrate; a first electrode and a second electrode disposed between the inner substrate and the outer substrate in a spaced apart relationship; and at least one substantially planar microstructure between the first and second electrodes, the microstructure containing an electrophoretic media. For example, the planar microstructures may be parallel to or perpendicular to the outer substrate. Also provided are example methods of fabricating electrophoretic display assemblies. A plurality of electrophoretic display assemblies may be combined to form an electrophoretic display, wherein each display assembly represents a pixel of the display device. The planar microstructures may increase the display quality, including the contrast or color capabilities of electrophoretic displays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Assignee: HALION DISPLAYS INC.
    Inventors: Matthew Thomas Lavrisa, Ryan Phillip Marchewka, Bo Cui, Ripon Kumar Dey
  • Patent number: 12015856
    Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods, and devices for image signal processing that support variable aperture (VA) camera operation. In a first aspect, a method of image processing includes receiving first image data from a variable aperture (VA) camera acquired at a first aperture size; determining a first set of output image frames based on the first image data; receiving second image data from the VA camera acquired during an aperture size transition; and determining a second set of output image frames based on the first image data and the second image data, wherein determining the second set of output image frames comprises adjusting a characteristic of the second image data based on the first image data. Other aspects and features are also claimed and described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2024
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventor: Micha Galor Gluskin
  • Patent number: 11977318
    Abstract: A portable electronic device and a movable lens-shutting module thereof are provided. The lens-shutting module includes a first magnetic assembly, a second magnetic assembly and a movable shielding assembly. The first magnetic assembly includes a fixed magnetic field generator and a movable magnetic structure including a matching portion. The second magnetic assembly includes a fixed magnetic structure, a flexible structure and a movable magnetic field generator including a limiting portion. The movable shielding assembly includes a lens shielding portion corresponding to a lens module, a matching opening matching with the matching portion, and a limiting opening corresponding to the limiting portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: AZUREWAVE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Kung-An Lin, Chien-Che Ting
  • Patent number: 11960077
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a system having an element capable of changing a radius at which a normalized transmittance becomes 0.25 by 20% or more of a maximum effective radius and a stop capable of changing an aperture radius, and a control unit for controlling a transmittance distribution of the element and the aperture radius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuma Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11917300
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus capable of performing an appropriate correction processing that suppresses an influence of high luminance light is provided. The image pickup apparatus comprising at least one processor and/or circuit configured to function as inferring a luminance of a high luminance subject having a pixel signal saturation level or higher based on image signals generated from a plurality of pixels, and determining an area for obtaining a correction value used when correcting the image signals based on the inferred luminance of the high luminance subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hideki Ikedo
  • Patent number: 11906809
    Abstract: An exemplary embodiment of the present invention a rotor including a lens and formed with a first driving unit, a stator formed with a second driving unit driving the rotor in response to electromagnetic interaction with the first driving unit, and a base on which the stator is fixed, wherein the rotor is brought into contact with the base, in a case the lens is in a UP posture, and the rotor is distanced from the base, in a case the lens is in a DOWN posture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: LG INNOTEK CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sang Ok Park, Hyun Rae Cho, Seong Min Lee, Jun Taek Lee
  • Patent number: 11831996
    Abstract: A system for generating high dynamic range (HDR) imagery obtains a history frame associated with a first timepoint and with a first set of image capture parameters. The system obtains an image frame associated with a particular set of image capture parameters and captured at a second timepoint that is subsequent to the first timepoint, and the particular set of image capture parameters comprises the first set of image capture parameters or a second set of image capture parameters. The system generates a normalized image frame by applying a normalization operation to the image frame. The normalization operation may be determined based upon the particular set of image capture parameters. The system generates a weight map based upon at least the normalized image frame and generate an HDR image frame based upon the normalized image frame, the history frame, and the weight map.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Christian Markus Maekelae, Michael Bleyer
  • Patent number: 11812156
    Abstract: A device and a method reduce a backlight effect on a camera of a robot in consideration of a situation of the robot. The device acquires a surrounding image, communicates with a system of the robot to obtain a current state value of the robot, and calculates a parameter value of the camera based on the current state value of the robot. Thus, the device precisely corrects the parameter of the camera based on an environment where the robot is actually located, thereby reducing the backlight effect on the camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Seung Yong Lee, Jae Ho Lee
  • Patent number: 11729502
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a device that acquires an image signal by photoelectrically converting a light beam of a subject that has entered via an optical system including a focus lens, a setting unit that sets a first region in the image signal, a focus detection unit that detects a defocus amount for each divided region of a region in the image signal, a detection unit that detects a second region as a region of a specific subject, based on the image signal, and a control unit that controls the focus lens based on the defocus amount of the divided region included in the second region if the first region and the second region overlap, and controls the focus lens based on the defocus amount of the divided region included in the first region if the first region and the second region do not overlap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shun Nishikawa, Takayuki Akaguma
  • Patent number: 11719991
    Abstract: An optical panel includes a first transparent substrate, a second transparent substrate, an electrochromic assembly, a first transparent electrode layer, and a second transparent electrode layer. The second transparent substrate is arranged opposite the first transparent substrate. The electrochromic assembly is located between the first transparent substrate and the second transparent substrate and includes a plurality of electrochromic pixel-units that are arranged in an array. A shielding and spacing wall is arranged between two adjacent of the plurality of electrochromic pixel-units. The first transparent electrode layer is arranged between the electrochromic assembly and the first transparent substrate. The second transparent electrode layer is arranged between the electrochromic assembly and the second transparent substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: LENOVO (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Lei Liu
  • Patent number: 11700349
    Abstract: A camera system and method provide a trailing motion blur effect without the use of a flash. In one embodiment, a variable light-transmissive filter is positioned in front of an image sensor. While the light-transmissive property of the filter is lower, the blurred image of the object in motion is produced. The light-transmissive property of the filter is increased during the exposure in order to produce a clearer image of the object. In a method, a plurality of images taken in rapid succession are combined to produce a clear image of the object with a trailing blurred image of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Inventors: Kyle L. Baltz, John E. Carlson
  • Patent number: 11678061
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus capable of suppressing occurrence of a delay in an exposure control when the exposure control is performed by selectively changing an exposure condition among a plurality of exposure conditions. In a transition period from when the exposure control for changing a first exposure condition according to a target exposure at a time of image pickup of the subject is started until the exposure reaches the target exposure, another exposure condition other than the first exposure condition is changed so that an exposure changing speed of the first exposure condition is compensated for. When the exposure is changeable based on a program diagram and when the first exposure condition is changed, control is provided so that a second exposure condition to be changed immediately after changing the first exposure condition is used to compensate for the exposure changing speed of the first exposure condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takumi Tosaki, Keisuke Matsuno
  • Patent number: 11628047
    Abstract: A method of operating an intraoral scanner. The intraoral scanner includes an image capturing device and a processor. The method includes the image capturing device sequentially capturing M images along a first dental arch, the processor establishing a first arch model of the first dental arch according to the M images, the image capturing device sequentially capturing N images along a straight-line path from a first anchor to a second anchor on the first dental arch, the processor generating first coordinates of the first anchor and second coordinates of the second anchor according to the N images, and the processor calibrating the first arch model according to the first coordinates and the second coordinates. The first anchor is located at one side of a dental midline of the first dental arch. The second anchor is located at the other side of the dental midline of the first dental arch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Qisda Corporation
    Inventors: Chuang-Wei Wu, Hung-Chih Chan
  • Patent number: 11616912
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a camera, a primary display panel including a pixel array and an aperture adjacent the pixel array, an auxiliary display, and an optical assembly including a reflecting optical element and an actuator coupled to the reflecting optical element. The actuator is configured to switch the reflecting optical element between a first arrangement and a second arrangement. The first arrangement defines an optical path from the aperture to the camera and the second arrangement defines an optical path from the aperture to the auxiliary display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Ping Tong Chu, Chung Chun Wan
  • Patent number: 11523065
    Abstract: To suppress a difference in brightness and darkness in a captured image caused by a difference in an exposure start time by a rolling shutter even if the exposure period is not changed. Provided is an imaging device including a gain setting unit configured to set a gain for each line in which a plurality of pixels is arrayed, the plurality of pixels being two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix in an image sensor, on the basis of diaphragm drive information regarding a diaphragm drive locus representing a time-series change in a diaphragm value. Thereby, the difference in brightness and darkness in a captured image caused by the difference in an exposure start time by a rolling shutter can be suppressed even if the exposure period is not changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoomi Ito, Nobuhiro Doi, Syohei Uchida, Yusuke Mimura
  • Patent number: 11483471
    Abstract: An inspection system is presented for use in monitoring plants' conditions in a plant growing area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Viewnetic Ltd.
    Inventors: David Scheiner, Eilat Tal, Hai Benron
  • Patent number: 11425305
    Abstract: A control method includes: a preview image is displayed; a user input acting on the preview image is received, in which the user input includes an adjustment of a display position of a target object in the preview image from a first position to a second position; and in response to the user input, a shooting angle of the camera is adjusted according to the adjustment of the display position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chihyi Cheng, Kuangyen Lin
  • Patent number: 11412154
    Abstract: An auto exposure method for a spatially-multiplexed-exposure (SME) high-dynamic-range (HDR) image sensor includes (a) retrieving raw image data from an exposure of the spatially-multiplexed-exposure high-dynamic-range image sensor, (b) preprocessing long-exposure pixel values and short-exposure pixel values of the raw image data to remove therefrom long-exposure pixel values and short-exposure pixel values failing to meet one or more quality requirements, (c) synthesizing, into an high-dynamic-range histogram, the long-exposure pixel values remaining after the step of preprocessing and the short-exposure pixel values remaining after the step of preprocessing, (d) deriving a goodness metric from the high-dynamic-range histogram, (e) adjusting at least one of the long exposure time and the short exposure time, based at least in part upon the goodness metric, and (f) outputting the at least one of the long exposure time and the short exposure time, as adjusted, to the spatially-multiplexed-exposure high-dynamic-
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: Jon S. McElvain, Walter C. Gish, Jonathan Robert Miller, Gregory John Ward, Robin Atkins
  • Patent number: 11403740
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for image processing are provided. An original image is captured. At least one reference image is generated by adjusting brightness of the original image. Multiple denoised images are generated by performing artificial intelligence based denoising on the original image and the at least one reference image respectively. A target image is generated by performing HDR synthesis on the multiple denoised images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.
    Inventor: Quanyou Lin
  • Patent number: 10983304
    Abstract: An imaging device includes: a lens including a focus lens capable of moving in an optical axis direction; an imaging element imaging a subject through the focus lens; and a processor controlling the focus lens and the imaging element and selectively performing one of acceleration and deceleration control such that a movement speed of the focus lens is decelerated after the movement speed is accelerated and constant speed control such that the movement speed of the focus lens is constant by controlling the movement speed based on evaluation values, lens performance information, and first imaging performance information so as to move the target lens to a target position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Yi Pan
  • Patent number: 10578832
    Abstract: An imaging device to which a lens device including a focus lens capable of moving in an optical axis direction is detachably attached, includes: an imaging element; a search control unit; an evaluation value calculation unit; a target position determination unit; a focusing control unit; a storage unit; and a lens information acquisition unit, as defined herein, and the search control unit selectively performs one of acceleration and deceleration control such that a movement speed of the focus lens is decelerated after the movement speed is accelerated and constant speed control such that the movement speed of the focus lens is constant by controlling the movement speed based on the evaluation values, based on the lens performance information and the first imaging performance information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Yi Pan
  • Patent number: 10544921
    Abstract: A luminaire includes multiple light emitting cells. Each light emitting cell has a light source, and a focus-tunable lens (e.g., a liquid lens) associated with the light source. Each respective one of the light emitting cells is independently controllable relative to the one or more other light emitting cells. In a typical implementation, the control of each light emitting cell may involve, for example, controlling a surface of liquid in the corresponding liquid lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: Excelitas Technologies Corp.
    Inventor: Wei Li
  • Patent number: 10197683
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus for an image intensifier (II) X-ray system includes a camera lens assembly (CLA) configured to cooperate with the II to create an X-ray image, the CLA including an image sensor and a lens. The image sensor is configured to convert received light and generate a digital image. The lens is configured to guide the light from the output surface to the image sensor, the lens having a fixed diaphragm. The CLA includes a diaphragm and/or neutral density filter with a fixed attenuation. A controller is configured to control an amount of amplification of the electric signals or the digital image. The sensor, e.g. CMOS sensor, is configured to amplify the analog electric signals before conversion into the digital image according to an analog gain, and the controller is configured to control the amount of amplification by controlling the analog gain applied by the image sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: ADIMEC ADVANCED IMAGE SYSTEMS B.V.
    Inventor: Reinder Gerrit Aartsen
  • Patent number: 8782126
    Abstract: An end user is provided with an environment to easily remote-control a video camera via a general network such as the Internet. For this purpose, on a client side, the content of camera control is described in file-transfer protocol description, and the description is transferred to a camera server on the Internet via a browser. The camera server interprets the description, controls a camera in accordance with the designated content, to perform image sensing, and returns the obtained video image as the content of a file to the client. The client performs various controls while observing the video image. When a desired angle has been found, the client instructs to register the angle in a bookmark, then angle information displayed at that time is registered. Thereafter, when the user of the client can see the video image obtained on the same image-sensing conditions by merely select-designating the angle information registered in the bookmark.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Ohi, Yasutomo Suzuki, Tadashi Yamakawa, Mamoru Sato, Yasuhiro Okuno