Electronic device with adjustable illumination

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11219107-B2
Application number	US-201916552748-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 27, 2019
Priority date	May 27, 2015
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

This application discloses an electronic device (e.g., a camera) that a plurality of light sources and a light source driver. The light sources are configurable to a plurality of light source subsets to illuminate a field of view. At least two of the light source subsets include distinct light source members and are configured to illuminate different regions of the field of view. The light source driver is coupled to the plurality of light sources and configured to drive the plurality of light source subsets. In some embodiments, the electronic device includes or is coupled to a camera module configured to capture visual data of the field of view, and the plurality of light sources is configured to provide illumination for the camera module.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An illumination system, comprising:
a plurality of light sources configured to illuminate a field of view, wherein:
the plurality of light sources is configurable to four subsets of light sources that are configured to illuminate four quadrants of the field of view, respectively; and
at least two of the four subsets of light sources include two distinct light source members and are configured to illuminate different quadrants of the field of view; and

a light source driver coupled to the plurality of light sources and configured to drive the four subsets of light sources with a first drive voltage in a first mode and with a second drive voltage in a second mode.

2. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of light sources are electrically coupled to each other and driven by the first drive voltage.

3. The illumination system of claim 2 , wherein in the first mode, the plurality of light sources is electrically coupled in series to form a string that is driven by the first drive voltage.

4. The illumination system of claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of light source subsets is driven with the second drive voltage, and the second drive voltage is less than the first drive voltage.

5. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein each of the four subsets of light sources includes two light source members, further comprising:
a bypass circuit coupled to the plurality of light sources and configured to enable each of the four subsets of light sources by bypassing a respective set of light sources that is distinct from the respective two light source members of the respective light source subset, allowing the respective two light source members to be electrically coupled in series and form the respective light source subset.

6. The illumination system of claim 5 , wherein the bypass circuit includes a plurality of bypass elements, and each of the plurality of light sources is coupled in parallel with one of the plurality of bypass elements configurable to bypass the respective light source to form the plurality of light source subsets.

7. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the illumination system is coupled to a camera module that is configured to capture visual data of the field of view, and is configured to provide illumination to the camera module.

8. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light sources includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed to surround a camera lens.

9. The illumination system of claim 8 , wherein each LED is tilted with an angle with respect to an optical axis of the camera lens.

10. The illumination system of claim 9 , wherein each LED is tilted away from the optical axis of the camera with the angle in a range of 20-40 degrees.

11. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light sources is disposed symmetrically with respect to a camera lens.

12. An electronic device, comprising:
a plurality of light sources configured to illuminate a field of view, wherein:
the plurality of light sources is configurable to four subsets of light sources that are configured to illuminate four quadrants of the field of view, respectively; and
at least two of the four subsets of light sources include two distinct light source members and are configured to illuminate different quadrants of the field of view of the electronic device; and

a light source driver coupled to the plurality of light sources and configured to drive the four subsets of light sources with a first drive voltage in a first mode and with a second drive voltage in a second mode.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein a first group of light source subsets comprises one or more of the four subsets of light sources and a second group of light source subsets comprises a different one or more of the four subsets of light sources.

14. The electronic device of claim 12 , further comprising:
a microcontroller configured to control selection of one of the plurality of light source sub sets.

15. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of light sources includes a plurality of infrared LEDs.

16. The electronic device of claim 15 , further comprising:
a dark-colored infrared-transparent cover enclosing the plurality of infrared LEDs, wherein the plurality of infrared LEDs is not visible from an exterior of the electronic device.

17. The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein in a night mode, one or more of the plurality of infrared LEDs is driven to illuminate at least part of the field of view with infrared light.

18. The electronic device of claim 12 , further comprising:
a camera lens and image sensors configured to capture visual data of the field of view; and
one or more of a microphone, a speaker, and one or more antennas;
wherein the electronic device is configured to communicate the visual data to a client device via a remote surveillance server in real time while capturing the visual data.

19. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein depth information of the field of view is recovered at night time according to a variation of the field of view illuminated by the four subsets of light sources.

Assignees

• Google Llc

Inventors

• Dorai Arvind
• Nelson Anders
• Conner Brian Jonathan

Classifications

• H04N23/74

  by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means · CPC title

• H04N23/56

  provided with illuminating means · CPC title

• H04N23/667

  Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes · CPC title

• H04N23/20

  for generating image signals from infrared radiation only · CPC title

• H05B45/10

  Controlling the intensity of the light · CPC title