Electronic device, image acquisition equipment and image acquisition control method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9749531-B2
Application number	US-201113577849-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2011
Priority date	Feb 8, 2010
Publication date	Aug 29, 2017
Grant date	Aug 29, 2017

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide an electronic device, image acquisition equipment, and image acquisition control method. The electronic device includes a main board, and an image acquisition equipment and a processor which are connected with the main board, wherein the image acquisition equipment has a first mode and a second mode, the image acquisition equipment including: a first imaging unit array for image acquisition in the first mode; and a second imaging unit array for image acquisition in the second mode; the first imaging unit array and the second imaging unit array are different; an image acquisition control module is set in the processor, and is used for controlling the image acquisition equipment to switch to the first mode or the second mode according to a mode switching instruction. The embodiments of the present invention can realize optimization of all applications, and provide optimal images for every application with a lower computational complexity, a lower power consumption caused by computation and a higher processing speed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises a main board; an image acquisition equipment; and a processor coupled to the main board, the image acquisition equipment has a first mode and a second mode, and the image acquisition equipment comprises:
a first imaging unit array for image acquisition in the first mode; and
a second imaging unit array for image acquisition in the second mode, the first imaging unit array and the second imaging unit array being different;
an image acquisition control module is configured to control the image acquisition equipment and switch to the first mode or the second mode according to a mode switching instruction, and
at least one light-emitting device connected with the main board;
wherein in the first mode, the image acquisition equipment acquires images used for face recognition,
in the second mode, the image acquisition equipment acquires images used to calculate a track of a finger on the electronic device; and
the at least one light-emitting device is used for illuminating a light to space,
wherein in the first mode, the light is used for acquiring images used for face recognition,
in the second mode, the light is used for tracking the finger on the electronic device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the types, parameters, numbers, distribution densities, and distribution areas of the imaging units in the first imaging unit array and the second imaging unit array are different.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second imaging unit array is to part of the first imaging unit array, and when the image acquisition equipment is in the second mode, the imaging units other than the second imaging unit array in the first imaging unit array are in a closed state.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the image acquisition equipment further comprises:
a transparent window set on an image acquisition channel of the second imaging unit array, the transparent window being spaced from the second imaging unit array by a certain distance, so that there is formed a space; and
the light-emitting device and the second imaging unit array are located on the same side of the first surface.

5. An image acquisition equipment, wherein the image acquisition equipment has a first mode and a second mode, and the image acquisition equipment comprises:
a first imaging unit array for image acquisition in the first mode; and
a second imaging unit array for image acquisition in the second mode, the first imaging unit array and the second imaging unit array being different, and

at least one light-emitting device connected with the main board;
wherein in the first mode, the image acquisition equipment acquires images used for face recognition,
in the second mode, the image acquisition equipment acquires images used to calculate a track of a finger on the electronic device; and
the at least one light-emitting device is used for illuminating a light to space,
wherein in the first mode, the light is used for acquiring images used for face recognition,
in the second mode, the light is used for tracking the finger on the electronic device.

6. The image acquisition equipment of claim 5 , wherein at least one of the types, numbers, distribution densities, and distribution areas of the imaging units in the first imaging unit array and the second imaging unit array are different.

7. The image acquisition equipment of claim 5 , wherein the second imaging unit array comprises a plurality of subarrays that are independent of each other in physical positions.

8. The image acquisition equipment of claim 5 , wherein the second imaging unit array comprises a plurality of subarrays that are independent of each other in physical positions and surround subarrays in the first imaging unit array.

9. The image acquisition equipment of claim 5 , wherein the second imaging unit array is a part of the first imaging unit array, and when the image acquisition equipment is in the second mode, the imaging units other than the second imaging unit array in the first imaging unit array are in a closed state.

10. The image acquisition equipment of claim 5 , further comprises:
a transparent window set on an image acquisition channel of the second imaging unit array, the transparent window being spaced from the second imaging unit array by a certain distance, so that there is formed a space; and
the light-emitting device and the second imaging unit array are located on the same side of the first surface.

11. An image acquisition control method of an electronic device having an image acquisition equipment, wherein the image acquisition control method comprises:
receiving a mode switching instruction;
controlling the image acquisition equipment to carry out image acquisition by a first imaging unit array in the image acquisition equipment when the mode switching instruction indicates that the image acquisition equipment is switched to a first mode;
controlling the image acquisition equipment to cam out the image acquisition by a second imaging unit array in the image acquisition equipment when the mode switching instruction indicates that the image acquisition equipment is switched to a second mode;
wherein,
the first imaging unit array and the second imaging unit array are different, and
in the first mode, the image acquisition equipment acquires images used for face recognition,
in the second mode, the image acquisition equipment acquires images used to calculate a track of a finger on the electronic device; and
the at least one light-emitting device is used for illuminating a light to space,
wherein in the first mode, the light is used for acquiring images used for face recognition,
in the second mode, the light is used for tracking the finger on the electronic device.

12. The image acquisition control method of claim 11 , wherein the mode switching instruction is generated by the electronic device according to an acquired switching parameter.

Assignees

• Liu Junfeng
• Beijing Lenovo Software Ltd
• Lenovo Beijing Co Ltd

Inventors

• Liu Junfeng

Classifications

• H04N23/60

  Control of cameras or camera modules · CPC title

• H04N23/667 Primary

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

• H04N23/45 Primary

  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

• H04N5/2258

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N5/23241

  Electricity · mapped topic