초록 ▼

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for tiltable camera modules. In one aspect, the tiltable camera module may be sequentially tilted through a range of positions to capture multiple images in different orientations. The images may then be combined to form a single composite imag

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for tiltable camera modules. In one aspect, the tiltable camera module may be sequentially tilted through a range of positions to capture multiple images in different orientations. The images may then be combined to form a single composite image with a higher resolution and wider field of view than the individual images captured by the camera module. By including components which tilt a sensor assembly within a camera module, a simple camera module having a fixed field of view can be operated in a way that approximates features of a more complex camera module, and the operation of more complex camera modules can be further enhanced.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An electronic device including a tiltable camera module, comprising: an image sensor;camera optics spaced apart from the image sensor;at least one actuator component configured to tilt the image sensor and camera optics together, wherein the at least one actuator component includes at least one l

1. An electronic device including a tiltable camera module, comprising: an image sensor;camera optics spaced apart from the image sensor;at least one actuator component configured to tilt the image sensor and camera optics together, wherein the at least one actuator component includes at least one linear motor configured to translate at least a first cam structure relative to at least a second cam structure to cause tilting of the image sensor and camera optics; andcontrol circuitry configured to control the at least one actuator component to tilt the image sensor and camera optics through a plurality of discrete tilted positions. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is additionally configured to initiate the capture of at least one image after the image sensor and camera optics are moved to each of the plurality of discrete positions. 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the control circuitry is configured to initiate the capture of video during movement of the image sensor and camera optics to each of the plurality of discrete positions. 4. The device of claim 2, additionally including a software module configured to combine the images captured at a plurality of discrete tilted positions into a single composite image. 5. The device of claim 2, additionally including a hardware module configured to combine the images captured at a plurality of discrete tilted positions into a single composite image. 6. The device of claim 2, wherein the control circuitry is configured to tilt the image sensor and camera optics to four discrete tilted positions and initiate the capture of at least one image while the image sensor and camera optics are in each of the four discrete tilted positions. 7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a housing containing the image sensor and the camera optics, wherein tilting the image sensor and camera optics together includes tilting the housing. 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the device includes: a printed circuit board (PCB) underlying the housing; andat least one support structure supported by the PCB and supporting the housing in a tiltable manner. 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the at least one support structure includes a plurality of pins extending through a portion of the housing, and wherein the at least one actuator component includes a magnet and a coil disposed adjacent each of the plurality of pins. 10. The device of claim 7, wherein the at least a second cam structure is attached to the housing, and wherein the at least one linear motor is configured to translate the at least a first cam structure relative to the at least a second cam structure attached to the housing to cause tilting of the image sensor and camera optics. 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the housing includes two support arms located on opposite sides of the housing, each support arm including two cam structures, and the at least one actuator component includes two linear motors, each linear motor including an outwardly extending arm extending parallel to a support arm, each outwardly extending arm including two cam structures configured to interact with the cam structures on the support arms. 12. The device of claim 7, wherein the at least one actuator component includes an asymmetrical rotatable structure. 13. The device of claim 1, wherein the camera optics are disposed at a fixed distance from the image sensor. 14. The device of claim 1, wherein the camera optics are movable relative to the image sensor to vary the field of view of the sensor assembly. 15. An electronic device including a tiltable camera module, comprising: a sensor assembly including: an image sensor; andcamera optics spaced apart from the image sensor, the camera optics configured to tilt together with the image sensor;one or more actuator components capable of tilting the sensor assembly to a plurality of discrete tilted positions by using an actuator including at least one linear motor to translate at least a first cam structure relative to at least a second cam structure attached to the sensor assembly; anda software module configured to combine images captured at each of the plurality of tilted positions into a single composite image. 16. The device of claim 15, wherein the composite image formed by the software module has an effective field of view which is larger than the fields of view of the images captured by the sensor assembly. 17. The device of claim 15, additionally including control circuitry for tilting the sensor assembly through a plurality of discrete tilted positions. 18. The device of claim 15, wherein the software module is executed on a processor of the electronic device. 19. The device of claim 15, wherein the electronic device includes a discrete sensor module including the sensor assembly and the one or more actuator components, and wherein the software module is executed on a processor or circuitry within the discrete camera module. 20. The device of claim 15, wherein the software module is configured to interpolate pixels within overlapping sections of the images captured by the sensor assembly. 21. A method of capturing a composite image, including: sequentially tilting a sensor assembly to a plurality of discrete tilted positions, the sensor assembly including an image sensor and camera optics spaced apart from the image sensor and tiltable together with the image sensor, by translating at least a first cam structure relative to at least a second cam structure attached to the sensor assembly using at least one linear motor to cause sequential tilting of the sensor assembly, the sensor assembly having an associated field of view;capturing at least one image using the sensor assembly at each of the plurality of discrete tilted positions; andforming a composite image by combining the images captured by the sensor assembly at each of the plurality of discrete tilted positions. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein forming a composite image includes interpolating pixels within overlapping sections of the images captured by the sensor assembly. 23. The method of claim 21, wherein an effective field of view of the composite image is wider than the field of view of the sensor assembly. 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the method is performed in response to a single user input. 25. The method of claim 21, wherein capturing at least one image using the sensor assembly at each of the plurality of tilted positions includes capturing video during the tilting of the sensor assembly to the plurality of tilted positions. 26. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform a method of capturing a composite image, the method including: sequentially tilting a sensor assembly to a plurality of discrete tilted positions, the sensor assembly including an image sensor and camera optics spaced apart from the image sensor and tiltable together with the image sensor, by translating at least a first cam structure relative to at least a second cam structure attached to the sensor assembly using at least one linear motor to cause sequential tilting of the sensor assembly, the sensor assembly having an associated field of view;capturing at least one image using the sensor assembly at each of the plurality of discrete tilted positions; andforming a composite image by combining the images captured by the sensor assembly at each of the plurality of discrete tilted positions. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein forming a composite image includes interpolating pixels within overlapping sections of the images captured by the sensor assembly. 28. The method of claim 26, wherein an effective field of view of the composite image is wider than the field of view of the sensor assembly. 29. The method of claim 26, wherein the method is performed in response to a single user input. 30. The method of claim 26, wherein capturing at least one image using the sensor assembly at each of the plurality of tilted positions includes capturing video during the tilting of the sensor assembly to the plurality of tilted positions.