Electronic device with camera status indicator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11650484-B1
Application number	US-202016943835-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jul 30, 2020
Priority date	Aug 7, 2019
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

An electronic device may have a camera. The camera may capture still and moving images. A camera status indicator may be included in the electronic device. The camera status indicator may emit light to indicate when the camera is in use capturing video or other images. The camera status indicator may have multiple light-emitting devices such as light-emitting diodes or lasers. The light-emitting devices may have different colors. Clear encapsulant may cover the light-emitting devices. A white polymer wall or other light recycling structure may run along an outer peripheral edge of the encapsulant. A light diffusing coating layer may coat an outer surface of the clear encapsulant. Light reflections from the status indicator may be reduced in captured images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a camera;
a camera status indicator that is configured to emit light to indicate when the camera is capturing an image; and
control circuitry configured to identify a reflection of the emitted light in the captured image and to temporarily turn off the camera status indicator, in response to identifying the reflection of the emitted light in the captured image, when the camera is capturing subsequent images.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the camera status indicator has multiple light-emitting devices.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the electronic device comprises a transparent member, the camera status indicator is configured to emit the light through the transparent member, the camera is configured to capture the image through the transparent member, and the light-emitting devices comprise light-emitting devices selected from the group consisting of: lasers and light-emitting diodes.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the control circuitry is configured to perform image processing operations on the captured image that remove the reflection from the captured image.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the camera status indicator has a light-diffusing coating.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the camera status indicator has an octagonal package.

7. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
a camera in the housing that is configured to capture video; and
a camera status indicator configured to emit light to indicate when the camera is capturing the video, wherein the camera status indicator includes:
light-emitting devices,
a light diffuser formed from a diffusive coating that overlaps the light-emitting devices,
a light recycling wall surrounding the light emitting devices, and
a black wall running along a peripheral edge of the light recycling wall.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the light-emitting devices comprise light-emitting devices of different colors.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the camera status indicator comprises encapsulant that covers the light-emitting devices of different colors and wherein the diffusive coating coats a surface of the encapsulant.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the light recycling wall surrounds a peripheral edge of the encapsulant and wherein the light recycling wall is configured to recycle the emitted light.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 8 further comprising control circuitry configured to synchronize operation of the camera status indicator with the camera so that the emitted light indicating that the camera is capturing video is emitted during periods in which the camera is momentarily insensitive to light.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the light-emitting devices are arranged in a pattern where no straight peripheral edge of the light-emitting devices has light-emitting devices of only a single color.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the camera status indicator has an octagonal package, the electronic device has a transparent member, and the transparent member has a cylindrical recess that receives the octagonal package.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 further comprising a non-light-emitting electrical component in the octagonal package.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the light-emitting devices are arranged in an array and wherein the non-light-emitting electrical component is a sensor located in the array.

16. An electronic device, comprising:
a camera; and
a status indicator including:
a printed circuit;
light-emitting devices on the printed circuit, wherein the light-emitting devices comprise red devices, blue devices, and green devices and wherein no peripheral edge of the light-emitting devices contains only light-emitting devices of a single color;
a non-light-emitting electrical component on the printed circuit and interspersed between the light-emitting devices;
clear encapsulant covering the light-emitting devices and the non-light-emitting electrical component;
a light diffusing coating on the clear encapsulant;
a light recycling wall surrounding the clear encapsulant and comprising a white wall; and
a black wall running along a peripheral edge of the white wall.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the light diffusing coating comprises silicone containing light-scattering particles.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the status indicator further includes a thermistor on the printed circuit.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the printed circuit is coupled to an octagonal package.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 16 , wherein the non-light-emitting electrical component comprises a sensor on the printed circuit and interspersed between the light-emitting devices.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Liu Rong
• Oztalay Benjamin M
• You Chenhua
• Provencher Corey S
• Ow Florence W
• Britt Jeremy L
• Spechler Joshua A
• Qi Jun
• Han Ling
• Liu Shaofeng
• Cao Sherry
• Ashcroft Tavys Q
• Yin Victor H
• Zhu Wenyong
• Hong Ziruo
• Keresztes Janos C
• Lin Hung Sheng

Classifications

• H04N23/80

  Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof · CPC title

• F21Y2113/17

  forming a single encapsulated light source · CPC title

• F21Y2115/30

  Semiconductor lasers · CPC title

• F21W2111/00

  Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00 · CPC title

• G03B17/18 Primary

  Signals indicating condition of a camera member or suitability of light (indicating depth of field G03B13/30) · CPC title