Image capturing device and image capturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9692966-B2
Application number	US-201214402627-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2012
Priority date	Jun 11, 2012
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

A bus interface/camera control interface connects a processor and a plurality of imaging units. A control data pass-through logic exchanges data between the bus interface/camera control interface and the plurality of imaging units. A pass-through mask register includes: a write register used to specify, of the plurality of imaging units, one or more imaging units to be selected so as to selectively supply write data to the one or more imaging units; and a read register used to specify, of the plurality of imaging units, a single imaging unit to be selected so as to selectively receive read data from the single imaging unit. The control data pass-through logic can use the pass-through mask register to switch between input and output operations.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image capturing device comprising:
a plurality of imaging units;
an interface section adapted to connect the plurality of imaging units and a processor;
a logic circuit adapted to exchange data between the interface section and the plurality of imaging units;
a write register used to specify, of the plurality of imaging units, one or more imaging units to be selected so as to selectively supply write data to the one or more imaging units; and
a read register used to specify, of the plurality of imaging units, a single imaging unit to be selected so as to selectively receive read data from the single imaging unit,
wherein the logic circuit is switched between input and output operations by the write register and the read register.

2. The image capturing device of claim 1 ,
wherein each of the write register and the read register is a mask register that corresponds to the number of the plurality of imaging units, and
a significant value is set in each of corresponding bits of the mask register to specify the imaging unit or units to be selected.

3. The image capturing device of claim 2 ,
wherein the logic circuit includes
a plurality of switches each adapted to functionally turn ON or OFF channels of write data supplied to each of the plurality of imaging units, and
a multiplexer adapted to select, as an output stream, one input stream from among a plurality of input streams from the plurality of imaging units in a channel of read data received from the plurality of imaging units, and
wherein the write register is a mask register that switches between ON and OFF states of the plurality of switches, and the read register is a mask register that selects one input stream from among the plurality of input streams to the multiplexer.

4. The image capturing device of claim 1 , wherein, when a specific imaging unit is selected as a reference to set shooting parameters, the read register is set to a value that specifies the specific imaging unit as an imaging unit to be selected so as to read the shooting parameters from the specific imaging unit, and the write register is set to a value that specifies the remaining imaging units other than the specific imaging unit as imaging units to be selected so as to write the shooting parameters read from the specific imaging unit to the remaining imaging units.

5. The image capturing device of claim 1 , wherein, when one or more imaging units are selected as a group from among the plurality of imaging units, the read register is set to a value that specifies a specific imaging unit in the group as an imaging unit to be selected so as to read shooting parameters from the specific imaging unit in the group, and the write register is set to a value that specifies the remaining imaging units other than the specific imaging unit in the group as imaging units to be selected so as to write the shooting parameters read from the specific imaging unit to the remaining imaging units.

6. An image capturing method comprising:
providing a plurality of imaging units;
connecting the plurality of imaging units and a processor via an interface;
exchanging data between the interface and the plurality of imaging units via a logic circuit:
specifying, of the plurality of imaging units, one or more imaging units to be selected via a write register so as to selectively supply write data to the one or more imaging units; and
specifying, of the plurality of imaging units, a single imaging unit to be selected via a read register so as to selectively receive read data from the single imaging unit,
wherein the logic circuit is switched between input and output operations by the write register and the read register.

7. The image capturing method of claim 6 further comprising selecting, from among the plurality of imaging units, one or more imaging units as a group,
wherein, as a reference camera used to set shooting parameters, a specific imaging unit is selected from among the imaging units in the group,
the shooting parameters are read from the specific imaging unit in the group, and
the shooting parameters read from the specific imaging unit in the group are written to the remaining imaging units other than the specific imaging unit in the group.

8. A non-transitory, computer-readable recording medium storing a program for a computer, the program causing the computer to carry out actions, comprising:
providing a plurality of imaging units;
connecting the plurality of imaging units and a processor via an interface;
exchanging data between the interface and the plurality of imaging units via a logic circuit;
specifying, of the plurality of imaging units, one or more imaging units to be selected via a write register so as to selectively supply write data to the one or more imaging units; and
specifying, of the plurality of imaging units, a single imaging unit to be selected via a read register so as to selectively receive read data from the single imaging unit,
wherein the logic circuit is switched between input and output operations by the write register and the read register.

Assignees

• Hirata Shinichi
• Osawa Hiroshi
• Furumura Kyoko
• Sony Corp
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc

Inventors

• Hirata Shinichi
• Osawa Hiroshi
• Furumura Kyoko

Classifications

• H04N23/695

  Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects · CPC title

• H04N23/651

  for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera · CPC title

• H04N23/698 Primary

  for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture · CPC title

• H04N23/631

  Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters · CPC title

• H04N23/45

  for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images · CPC title