Electronic device comprising image sensor for identifying an operation setting and an external environmental condition and method of operation thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11626447-B2
Application number	US-202017130778-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2020
Priority date	Dec 23, 2019
Publication date	Apr 11, 2023
Grant date	Apr 11, 2023

Abstract

An electronic device is provided and includes an image sensor including a first unit pixel including a first micro-lens and a plurality of first photodiodes facing each other with a first color filter interposed between the plurality of first photodiodes, and a second unit pixel including a second micro-lens and a plurality of second photodiodes facing each other with a second color filter interposed between the plurality of second photodiodes, a camera module including the image sensor, and a processor operatively connected with the image sensor. The first unit pixel includes a first photodiode, a second photodiode, a third photodiode, and a fourth photodiode, which are disposed in a square shape such that a horizontal number of photodiodes is identical to a vertical number of photodiodes. The second unit pixel includes a fifth photodiode, a sixth photodiode, a seventh photodiode, and an eighth photodiode, which are disposed in a square shape such that a horizontal number of photodiodes is identical to a vertical number of photodiodes. The image sensor identifies an operation setting and an external environmental condition of the camera module and, upon identifying that the operation setting is a preview mode and the external environmental condition is a high luminous environment, identifies a first area signal corresponding to a signal of the first photodiode and the second photodiode, which are concatenated with each other and included in the first unit pixel, and identifies a second area signal that corresponds to a signal of the fifth photodiode, included in the second unit pixel, corresponding to a location of the first photodiode and the sixth photodiode, included in the second unit pixel, corresponding to a location of the second photodiode, and forms first auto focus (AF) information based on the first area signal and the second area signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
an image sensor including a first unit pixel including a first micro-lens and a plurality of first photodiodes facing each other with a first color filter interposed between the plurality of first photodiodes, and a second unit pixel including a second micro-lens and a plurality of second photodiodes facing each other with a second color filter interposed between the plurality of second photodiodes;
a camera module including the image sensor; and
a processor operatively connected with the image sensor,
wherein the first unit pixel includes a first photodiode, a second photodiode, a third photodiode, and a fourth photodiode, which are disposed in a square shape such that a horizontal number of photodiodes is identical to a vertical number of photodiodes,
wherein the second unit pixel includes a fifth photodiode, a sixth photodiode, a seventh photodiode, and an eighth photodiode, which are disposed in a square shape such that a horizontal number of photodiodes is identical to a vertical number of photodiodes, and
wherein the image sensor identifies an operation setting and an external environmental condition of the camera module and, upon identifying that the operation setting is a preview mode and the external environmental condition is a high luminous environment, the image sensor identifies a first area signal corresponding to a signal of the first photodiode and the second photodiode, which are concatenated with each other and included in the first unit pixel, and the image sensor identifies a second area signal that corresponds to a signal of the fifth photodiode, included in the second unit pixel, corresponding to a location of the first photodiode and the sixth photodiode, included in the second unit pixel, corresponding to a location of the second photodiode, and forms first auto focus (AF) information based on the first area signal and the second area signal.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein upon identifying that the operation setting is the preview mode and the external environmental condition is the high luminous environment, the image sensor identifies a third area signal corresponding to a signal of the third photodiode and the fourth photodiode, which are concatenated with each other and included in the first unit pixel, identifies a fourth area signal that corresponds to a signal of the seventh photodiode and the eighth photodiode in the second unit pixel, forms second AF information based on the third area signal and the fourth area signal, and outputs the formed first AF information and the formed second AF information to the processor.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the image sensor outputs an image signal for a preview image to the processor, and
wherein the image signal includes a signal obtained by synthesizing the first area signal and the second area signal, and a signal obtained by synthesizing the third area signal and the fourth area signal.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein upon identifying that the operation setting is the preview mode and the external environmental condition is a low luminous environment, the image sensor forms the first AF information based on a first pixel signal of the first photodiode, a second pixel signal of the second photodiode, a fifth pixel signal of the fifth photodiode, and a sixth pixel signal of the sixth photodiode; forms second AF information based on a third pixel signal of the third photodiode, a fourth pixel signal of the fourth photodiode, a seventh pixel signal of the seventh photodiode, and an eighth pixel signal of the eighth photodiode; forms third AF information based on the first pixel signal of the first photodiode, the third pixel signal of the third photodiode, the fifth pixel signal of the fifth photodiode, and the seventh pixel signal of the seventh photodiode; forms fourth AF information based on the second pixel signal of the second photodiode, the fourth pixel signal of the fourth photodiode, the sixth pixel signal of the sixth photodiode, and the eighth pixel signal of the eighth photodiode; outputs the formed first AF information and the formed second AF information to the processor; and outputs the formed third AF information and the formed fourth AF information to the processor.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the image sensor outputs an image signal for a preview image to the processor, and
wherein the image signal includes a signal obtained by synthesizing the first pixel signal, the second pixel signal, the third pixel signal, and the fourth pixel signal, and a signal obtained by synthesizing the fifth pixel signal, the sixth pixel signal, the seventh pixel signal, and the eighth pixel signal.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein upon identifying that the operation setting is a video mode and the external environmental condition is the high luminous environment, the image sensor identifies a first pixel signal of the first photodiode, a second pixel signal of the second photodiode, a third pixel signal of the third photodiode, a fourth pixel signal of the fourth photodiode, a fifth pixel signal of the fifth photodiode, a sixth pixel signal of the sixth photodiode, a seventh pixel signal of the seventh photodiode, and an eighth pixel signal of the eighth photodiode; forms a Bayer-patterned image by applying a remosaic algorithm to the first pixel signal, the second pixel signal, the third pixel signal, the fourth pixel signal, the fifth pixel signal, the sixth pixel signal, the seventh pixel signal, and the eighth pixel signal; and outputs the Bayer-patterned image as an image signal to the processor.

7. The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the image sensor forms the first AF information based on the first pixel signal, the second pixel signal, the fifth pixel signal and the sixth pixel signal; forms second AF information based on the third pixel signal, the fourth pixel signal, the seventh pixel signal and the eighth pixel signal; forms third AF information based on the first pixel signal, the third pixel signal, the fifth pixel signal and the seventh pixel signal; forms fourth AF information based on the second pixel signal, the fourth pixel signal, the sixth pixel signal and the eighth pixel signal; outputs the formed first AF information and the formed second AF information to the processor; and outputs the formed third AF information and the formed fourth AF information to the processor.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein upon identifying that the operation setting is a video mode and the external environmental condition is a low luminous environment, the image sensor identifies the first area signal corresponding to the signal of the first photodiode and the second photodiode, identifies the second area signal corresponding to the signal of the fifth photodiode and the sixth photodiode, forms the first AF information based on the first area signal and the second area signal, identifies a third area signal corresponding to a signal of the third photodiode and the fourth photodiode, identifies a fourth area signal that corresponds to a signal of the seventh photodiode and the eighth photodiode, forms second AF information based on the third area signal and the fourth area signal, and outputs the formed first AF information and the formed second AF information to the processor.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the image sensor outputs an image signal for a video captured with the camera module to the processor, and
wherein the image signal includes a signal obtained by synthesizing the first area signal and the second area signal, and a signal obtained by synthesizing the third area signal and the fourth area signal.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Dongsoo
• Kang Hwayong
• Kim Yeongeun
• Park Minyoung
• Yoon Youngkwon
• Jo Hyeoncheol

Classifications

• H10F39/803 Primary

  Pixels having integrated switching, control, storage or amplification elements · CPC title

• H10F39/18

  Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor [CMOS] image sensors; Photodiode array image sensors · CPC title

• H10F39/8063 Primary

  Microlenses · CPC title

• H10F39/8053

  Colour filters · CPC title

• H10F39/811

  Interconnections · CPC title