Patent Application
20210209728
Modern information handling devices (“devices”), for example smart phones, tablets, laptop and personal computers, other electronic devices, and the like, comprise a front-facing camera integrated into the device that is capable of capturing images, videos, etc. Conventionally, most front-facing cameras are integrated into a top portion of the bezel that surrounds a display screen of the device. Advances in technology have led to near bezel-less displays, where the display screen occupies nearly the entire front area of the device. In these configurations, many bezel-less, or near bezel-less, devices integrate the front-facing camera into a notch that protrudes down from the top of the device into an upper portion of the display screen area. Additionally or alternatively, other bezel-less models adopt a “hole-punch” configuration in which the front-facing camera is resident in a hole that is itself completely surrounded by the display screen.
In summary, one aspect provides a method, comprising: receiving, at an information handling device having a display, an indication to capture an image of a scene using a camera sensor positioned underneath the display; capturing, responsive to the receiving, a plurality of partial images of the scene, wherein the capturing comprises adjusting, using an adjustment mechanism, a physical position of the camera sensor after each of the plurality of partial images of the scene are captured; and stitching, subsequent to the capturing, the plurality of partial images together to form the image of the scene.
Another aspect provides an information handling device, comprising: a display; a camera sensor positioned underneath the display; an adjustment mechanism operatively coupled to the camera sensor; a processor; a memory device that stores instructions executable by the processor to: receive an indication to capture an image of a scene using the camera sensor; capture, responsive to the receiving, a plurality of partial images of the scene, wherein the capturing comprises adjusting, using the adjustment mechanism, a physical position of the camera sensor after each of the plurality of partial images of the scene are captured; and stitch, subsequent to the capturing, the plurality of partial images together to form the image of the scene.
A further aspect provides a method, comprising: receiving, at an information handling device, an indication to activate a camera sensor positioned underneath a display of the information handling device; directing, using a mirror array positioned underneath the display, light to the camera sensor; and capturing, responsive to the directing, an image using the activated camera sensor.
The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.
For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.
It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following more detailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, as claimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obfuscation.
Many devices, smart phones in particular, are moving toward a bezel-less display. Such a design may not only be aesthetically pleasing to a user but may also allow applications to leverage their utility across a greater surface area. Another advantage may be that a user may be provided with a larger screen in a smaller package. However, the current trend of integrating the front-facing camera (“camera”) into a notch (i.e., an area that extends down from the top of the device into a portion of the display area) prevents a full bezel-less display from being achieved.
One potential method of removing the notch is to situate the camera underneath the display area. This configuration may allow the display area to be fully extended up to the top of the device, thereby allowing the display area to occupy all, or nearly all, of the front region of the device. However, one issue with this solution is that the light capturing abilities of the camera are degraded by the pixels situated in front it.
Accordingly, an embodiment provides a method for capturing an image of a scene using a camera sensor positioned beneath a display screen of a device. In an embodiment, an indication may be received at a device to capture an image of a scene using a camera sensor positioned underneath a display of the device. Responsive to receiving this indication, an embodiment may capture a plurality of “partial” images of the scene using the camera sensor. More particularly, an embodiment may capture a first image of the scene when the camera sensor is positioned at a first position and then, using an adjustment mechanism, adjust a position of the camera sensor to a second position and thereafter capture a second image. The adjustment of the physical position of the camera sensor correspondingly adjusts the positions of the camera sensor pixels, thereby allowing certain columned groups of camera sensor pixels to be positioned, at least partially, within a transparent portion that exists between subpixel color elements, which allows for unobstructed image capture on these camera sensor pixels. Such a process may be repeated a predetermined number of times (e.g., until each columned group of camera sensor pixels is able to capture image data while being situated in the transparent portion, etc.). Once the capturing process is complete, an embodiment may stitch the plurality of partial images of the scene together to form a completed image. Such a method may therefore be utilized to capture an image of a scene using a submerged camera without degrading the amount of light that will be captured by the camera subsystem.
In another embodiment, an indication to activate a camera sensor positioned underneath a display of a device may be received. The camera sensor may thereafter capture an image a scene using a mirror array that is also positioned underneath the display. More particularly, the mirror array may guide light traveling through the display to the camera sensor. Such a method may therefore also capture an image of a scene using a submerged camera without succumbing to light degradation resulting from the foreground pixels.
The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by reference to the figures. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.
While various other circuits, circuitry or components may be utilized in information handling devices, with regard to smart phone and/or tablet circuitry 100, an example illustrated in
There are power management chip(s) 130, e.g., a battery management unit, BMU, which manage power as supplied, for example, via a rechargeable battery 140, which may be recharged by a connection to a power source (not shown). In at least one design, a single chip, such as 110, is used to supply BIOS like functionality and DRAM memory.
System 100 typically includes one or more of a WWAN transceiver 150 and a WLAN transceiver 160 for connecting to various networks, such as telecommunications networks and wireless Internet devices, e.g., access points. Additionally, devices 120 are commonly included, e.g., an image sensor such as a camera, audio capture device such as a microphone, etc. System 100 often includes one or more touch screens 170 for data input and display/rendering. System 100 also typically includes various memory devices, for example flash memory 180 and SDRAM 190.
The example of
In
In
The system, upon power on, may be configured to execute boot code 290 for the BIOS 268, as stored within the SPI Flash 266, and thereafter processes data under the control of one or more operating systems and application software (for example, stored in system memory 240). An operating system may be stored in any of a variety of locations and accessed, for example, according to instructions of the BIOS 268. As described herein, a device may include fewer or more features than shown in the system of
Information handling device circuitry, as for example outlined in
Referring now to
In an embodiment, the indication may be derived from a user-command to activate the camera. In one non-limiting example, a user may provide touch input to a camera application icon displayed on the display screen. As another non-limiting example, a user may provide a voice command (e.g., to an audio capture device operatively coupled to the device, etc.) to activate the camera. Alternatively, an embodiment may derive this indication dynamically from context analysis. For example, an embodiment may automatically activate a camera responsive to detecting that a user is within a predetermined threshold distance from the device (e.g., using one or more proximity sensors, using data gathered by other devices and transmitted to the device, etc.). In another non-limiting example, an embodiment may automatically activate a camera responsive to detecting that the device is in a camera-activating orientation (e.g., a user has raised their device from a horizontal position to a vertical position, etc.).
In an embodiment, the display of the device may be composed of a grid of pixels. More particularly, and with reference to
In an embodiment, the camera sensor may be composed of a plurality of camera sensor pixels grouped into a plurality of columned groups. The camera sensor pixels may be smaller than the subpixel color elements and one or more of the columned groups may, at any given time, be situated at least partially underneath the black area separating the subpixel color elements, as described above. For example, referring now to
At 302, an embodiment may capture a plurality of partial images of the scene. In the context of this application, a partial image may refer to an actual image captured by the camera sensor that is not the final image. Stated differently, the capturing of the partial images is a backend process and the partial images are not presented to the user or displayed on the display.
In an embodiment, the capturing of the partial images may involve adjusting a physical position of the camera sensor after each of the partial images is taken. In an embodiment, the adjusting may be facilitated by an adjustment mechanism operatively coupled to the camera sensor. For example, the adjustment mechanism may be a movable object that the camera sensor is placed upon. Additionally or alternatively, the adjustment mechanism may be an object that facilitates physical movement of the camera sensor by contacting the camera sensor in a particular way. In an embodiment, adjusting the physical position of the camera sensor may involve translating the camera sensor, rotating the camera sensor, moving the camera sensor in some other manner, a combination of the foregoing, and the like.
In an embodiment, the adjustment of the physical position of the camera sensor may correspondingly adjust a positioning of the columned groups of camera sensor pixels. More particularly, as an example and with reference to
Accordingly, to summarize the foregoing processes, responsive to receiving a request to capture an image, an embodiment may capture a first partial image at a first physical position of the camera sensor (i.e., the original position). Thereafter, the physical position of the camera sensor may be adjusted (i.e., by the adjustment mechanism) to a second position, different than the original position, and a second partial image may then be taken. This process may be repeated a predetermined number of times (e.g., until each columned group of camera sensor pixels is positioned at least partially in the transparent area during an instance of partial image capture, a predetermined number of times as established by a manufacturer, etc.).
At 303, an embodiment may stitch the plurality of partial images together to form the completed image of the scene. The image stitching and/or editing may be facilitated using one or more stitching and/or editing techniques known in the art. In an embodiment, the stitching processes may identify and remove the degraded portions of the partial images (i.e., where a camera sensor pixel was positioned underneath a subpixel color element) and maintain and combine the quality portions (i.e., where a camera sensor pixel was positioned underneath a transparent area portion).
In an embodiment, the image stitching may occur automatically and may not require any additional user input. In an embodiment, after the plurality of partial images are stitched together, the final image may be presented to the user (e.g., on the display, etc.). After the capturing of the partial images is complete and/or once the image stitching is complete, an embodiment may reset the position of the camera sensor (e.g., return the camera sensor to its original physical position, etc.).
Referring now to
Referring now to
The various embodiments described herein thus represent a technical improvement to conventional camera utilization techniques. Using the techniques described herein, an embodiment may allow for a substantially bezel-less display area while simultaneously preserving the functionality of a front-facing camera. In an embodiment, the camera may be positioned at a location underneath the display area. When an indication is received to capture an image using the camera, an embodiment may take a plurality of partial images during which a physical position of the camera sensor is adjusted after each partial image capture. An embodiment may then stitch the partial images together to derive a completed final image. Alternatively to the foregoing, an embodiment may utilize a mirror array configuration to direct light passing through the display to a buried camera sensor. After obtaining the appropriate amount of light, an embodiment may capture an image using this buried camera sensor. Such methods may preserve the functionality of a camera positioned beneath a display area and also may prevent the degradation of camera image quality when the camera is in use.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, various aspects may be embodied as a system, method or device program product. Accordingly, aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment including software that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects may take the form of a device program product embodied in one or more device readable medium(s) having device readable program code embodied therewith.
It should be noted that the various functions described herein may be implemented using instructions stored on a device readable storage medium such as a non-signal storage device that are executed by a processor. A storage device may be, for example, a system, apparatus, or device (e.g., an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device) or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a storage device/medium include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a storage device is not a signal and “non-transitory” includes all media except signal media.
Program code embodied on a storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, et cetera, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
Program code for carrying out operations may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a single device, partly on a single device, as a stand-alone software package, partly on single device and partly on another device, or entirely on the other device. In some cases, the devices may be connected through any type of connection or network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made through other devices (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider), through wireless connections, e.g., near-field communication, or through a hard wire connection, such as over a USB connection.
Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the figures, which illustrate example methods, devices and program products according to various example embodiments. It will be understood that the actions and functionality may be implemented at least in part by program instructions. These program instructions may be provided to a processor of a device, a special purpose information handling device, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via a processor of the device implement the functions/acts specified.
It is worth noting that while specific blocks are used in the figures, and a particular ordering of blocks has been illustrated, these are non-limiting examples. In certain contexts, two or more blocks may be combined, a block may be split into two or more blocks, or certain blocks may be re-ordered or re-organized as appropriate, as the explicit illustrated examples are used only for descriptive purposes and are not to be construed as limiting.
As used herein, the singular “a” and “an” may be construed as including the plural “one or more” unless clearly indicated otherwise.
This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Thus, although illustrative example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that this description is not limiting and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.
