KR100697626B1 - A mobile terminal having two camera modules and a continuous shooting method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable terminal having two camera modules and a continuous shooting method using the same. According to the present invention, after displaying the image data of the subject as a preview in the continuous shooting mode, if there is a photographing key input, each camera module is controlled alternately to shoot the subject continuously. In the continuous shooting step, the shutters of the respective camera modules are driven such that their operating times are staggered according to the continuous shooting command. For example, when each camera module has a frame interval of t seconds, the operation time of the shutter is controlled to have an interval of t / 2 seconds. In addition, when each camera module has m recordable frames, the continuous shooting step of the subject all shoots 2m frames continuously. As described above, the present invention can double the number of recordable frames and reduce the frame interval by half when performing continuous shooting in the portable terminal. Therefore, even a very fast moving subject can be shot at high speed to easily obtain a desired still image in high quality.

Description

A mobile terminal having two camera modules and a continuous shooting method using the same {mobile device with dual camera module and method of taking serial photographs using the same}

1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a portable terminal having two camera modules according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flow chart of a continuous shooting method using a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the main parts of the drawing

100: mobile terminal 110, 120: camera module

111, 121: lens 112, 122: shutter

113, 123: camera sensor 114, 124: shutter drive unit

115, 125: image processor 120: controller

121: continuous shooting command unit 130: key input unit

140: storage unit 150: display unit

The present invention relates to a continuous shooting technique in a portable terminal, and more particularly, to a portable terminal having two camera modules and a continuous shooting method using the same.

Mobile terminals, such as mobile phones and PDAs, which have recently undergone remarkable developments, are now firmly established as necessities of modern life. Moreover, as the demands of users vary and the competition among manufacturers to meet them increases, portable terminals are equipped with various additional functions in addition to their basic functions. Taking a picture with a mobile terminal by employing a camera function is a good example.

Camera functions employed by mobile terminals often include continuous shooting functions. Continuous shooting is a function that takes a series of pictures at very short time intervals. The continuous shooting function is useful when you want to capture a moment by shooting a dynamic subject.

However, in the conventional continuous shooting method using a mobile terminal, the number of frames that can be photographed is limited (for example, 30 frames per second). Therefore, it is very difficult to shoot a fast moving subject and obtain a desired still image. In addition, if the moving speed of the subject is high, there may be a problem in image quality even if a still image is obtained by continuous shooting.

In order to increase the number of frames in the prior art, the processing power of image data must be supported. The processing capability of the image data is related to the clock speed of the portable terminal. Increasing the clock speed in the portable terminal not only increases power consumption but also may cause unstable operation of the portable terminal. Because of this, it is difficult to increase the clock speed beyond a certain level, and thus the processing power of the image data is also limited. After all, in view of these points, it is difficult for the current technology level to record more than 30 frames per second.

An object of the present invention is to increase the number of recordable frames without increasing the clock speed when performing continuous shooting in a portable terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to capture a very fast moving subject at high speed so that a desired still image can be easily obtained.

Still another object of the present invention is to improve the image quality of still images obtained by performing continuous shooting.

In order to achieve these objects, the portable terminal according to the present invention includes two camera modules disposed adjacent to each other and independently photographing a subject, and a controller for controlling each camera module to alternately photograph the subject in the continuous shooting mode. It is configured by.

In the portable terminal of the present invention, each camera module includes a camera sensor for converting an optical signal of the subject into image data, a lens for focusing the subject on the camera sensor, a shutter for opening and closing the subject for shooting the subject, and a shutter. The shutter driver for driving the image and the image processing unit for processing the image data, each shutter driver may drive the respective shutters so that the operation time is staggered in the continuous shooting mode.

In this case, when the frame interval of each camera module is t seconds, the shutter driver may drive the shutter so that the operation time of the shutter has an interval of t / 2 seconds in the continuous shooting mode. The controller may include a continuous shooting command unit that generates a continuous shooting command and operates the shutter driver.

In the portable terminal of the present invention, it is preferable that the two camera modules have the same number of frames and frame intervals that can be photographed in the continuous shooting mode.

In this case, when the number of frames of each camera module is m, the two camera modules may continuously shoot 2m frames in the continuous shooting mode. Also, when the frame interval of each camera module is t seconds, the two camera modules may photograph the subject at intervals of t / 2 seconds in the continuous shooting mode.

On the other hand, the continuous shooting method according to the present invention is a continuous shooting method of a mobile terminal having two camera modules, in the continuous shooting mode to display the image data of the subject as a preview, and to check whether there is a picture taking key input And photographing a subject continuously by controlling each camera module alternately when there is a photographing key input.

In the continuous shooting method of the present invention, if there is no photographing key input, it is preferable to return to the preview display step.

In the continuous shooting method of the present invention, the continuous shooting step of the subject may include generating a continuous shooting command, and driving the shutter of each camera module so that the operation time is staggered according to the continuous shooting command.

In this case, when each camera module has a frame interval of t seconds, the shutter driving step is preferably a step of driving the shutter so that the operation time of the shutter has an interval of t / 2 seconds.

In the continuous shooting method of the present invention, when each camera module has m recordable frames, the continuous shooting step of the subject may be a step of continuously shooting 2m frames. In addition, when each camera module has a frame interval of t seconds, the continuous photographing step of the subject may be a step in which photographing is performed at an interval of t / 2 seconds.

Example

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of the present invention.

In describing the embodiments, descriptions of technical contents which are well known in the technical field to which the present invention belongs and are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted. This is to more clearly communicate without obscure the subject matter of the present invention by omitting unnecessary description.

1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a portable terminal having two camera modules according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portable terminal 100 includes two camera modules (hereinafter, referred to as a first camera module 110 and a second camera module 120), and includes a control unit 120 and a key input unit ( 130, a storage 140, and a display 150.

The first camera module 110 includes a first lens 111, a first shutter 112, a first camera sensor 113, a first shutter driver 114, and a first image processor 115. Similarly, the second camera module 120 includes a second lens 121, a second shutter 122, a second camera sensor 123, a second shutter driver 124, and a second image processor 125. As described above, the first and second camera modules 110 and 120 are formed of the same components and disposed adjacent to each other.

The first and second lenses 111 and 121 focus the subjects on the respective camera sensors 113 and 123. In particular, in the continuous shooting mode, each lens 111 and 121 is controlled to face the same subject.

The first and second shutters 112 and 122 perform an opening and closing operation for photographing a subject independently under the control of the shutter driving units 114 and 124.

The first and second shutter drivers 114 and 124 independently drive the shutters 112 and 122 under the control of the controller 120. In particular, in the continuous shooting mode, each of the shutter drivers 114 and 124 drives the operation time of the shutters 112 and 122 to be staggered under the control of the continuous shooting command unit 121. However, it is preferable to drive so that the remaining shooting conditions, for example, the number of frames, the frame interval, the shutter speed, etc., except for the operation time of the shutters 112 and 122 are all the same.

The first and second camera sensors 113 and 123 convert the optical signals of the subjects passing through the respective lenses 111 and 121 into image data and send them to the image processing units 115 and 125 or the control unit 120. . In detail, the camera sensors 113 and 123 include an image sensor for converting an optical signal into an analog electric signal and a signal processor for converting the analog signal into image data in the form of a digital signal. For example, the image sensor is a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor, and the signal processing unit is a DSP. Alternatively, the signal processor may be included in the image processor 115 or 125 or may be configured independently.

The first and second image processing units 115 and 125 perform a process of outputting the image data converted by the camera sensors 113 and 123 to the display unit 150 or storing the image data in the storage unit 140. Specifically, each of the image processing units 115 and 125 includes, for example, a scaler, a color converter, and an image codec. The scaler adjusts the image data to match the size of the display unit 150, and the color converter converts the image data to match the color standard of the display unit 150. The image codec is, for example, a JPEG codec, which compresses image data or restores compressed image data. The image codec may be included in the controller 120 or may be configured independently.

The controller 120 controls the overall operation of each component of the mobile terminal 100. In particular, the controller 120 sets the continuous shooting mode and receives a picture taking command from the key input unit 130. The continuous shooting command unit 121 of the control unit 120 generates a continuous shooting command according to the received picture taking command, thereby operating the first and second shutter drivers 114 and 124. In particular, the continuous shooting command generated by the continuous shooting command unit 121 is a command to alternately drive the first and second shutters 112 and 122.

The controller 120 also controls the scalers and color converters of the first and second image processing units 115 and 125 to transmit the image data to the display unit 150. In addition, the controller 120 receives raw data from the first and second camera sensors 113 and 123 before processing by the image processor 115 and 125 and temporarily stores the data in the storage 140. Then, the temporarily stored image data is compressed in the image codec of the image processor 115 and 125 and stored in the storage 140.

The key input unit 130 receives a user's operation signal for controlling the operation of the portable terminal 100. In particular, the key input unit 130 includes keys for performing a function of selecting a continuous shooting mode, taking a picture, and storing the picture.

The storage 140 stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the portable terminal 100. In particular, the storage unit 140 receives image data from the camera sensors 113 and 123 in the form of data before processing by the image processing units 115 and 125 and temporarily stores the image data or images of the image processing units 115 and 125. Receives and saves image data after processing by codec.

The display unit 150 receives the real-time image data of the subject from the first image processor 115 or the second image processor 125 and displays them in a preview, or sequentially or continuously captures the image data of the first and second images. It is received from the processing unit 115 or 125 or the storage unit 140 and displayed on the screen. The display unit 150 uses, for example, an LCD.

Next, a continuous photographing method of the portable terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following embodiments. The configuration of the above-described portable terminal will also be clearer from the following description of the continuous picture taking method.

2 is a flowchart of a continuous shooting method using a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, first, the controller 120 receives a signal input to the key input unit 130 and checks whether a continuous shooting mode is selected (201).

In the continuous shooting mode, the controller 120 controls the first camera sensor 113 and the first image processor 115 to display the real-time image data of the subject on the display unit 150 as a preview (202). In this case, the controller 120 may control the second camera sensor 123 and the second image processor 125 instead of the first camera sensor 113 and the first image processor 115 to perform a preview display. .

Subsequently, the controller 120 checks whether there is a key input for taking a picture command from the key input unit 130 (203). If a picture taking command is not received, the control unit 120 continues to perform a preview display function (202).

If there is a picture taking command, the continuous shooting command unit 121 of the control unit 120 generates a continuous shooting command and transmits the continuous shooting command to the first and second shutter drivers 114 and 124, respectively (204). The continuous shooting command generated at this time is a command to alternately drive the first shutter 112 and the second shutter 122. That is, the continuous shooting command is set so that the operation times of the shutters 112 and 122 are staggered.

For example, the number of frames that can be continuously photographed in each camera module 110 and 120 is m, and the operating times of the first shutter 112 are T _{1_1} , T _{2_1} , T _{3_1,.} , T _{m_1} , operation time of the second shutter 122 is T _{1_2} , T _{2_2} , T _{3_2,.} Let T _{m_2} . If the frame interval is t seconds, the time interval between T _{n_1} and T _{(n + 1) _1} and the time interval between T _{n_2} and T _{(n + 1) _2} are each t seconds (where n is 1). , 2,…, m-1). However, the time interval between T _{n_1} and T _{n_2} and the time interval between T _{n_2} and T _{(n + 1) _1 become} t / 2 seconds, respectively.

Therefore, the number of frames is substantially increased to 2m, and the frame interval is reduced by half, so that still images of very fast moving subjects can be easily captured in high quality.

The first and second shutter drivers 114 and 124 that receive the continuous shooting command alternately drive the first shutter 112 and the second shutter 122 (205). Accordingly, the first shutter 112 and the second shutter 122 are alternately opened to continuously photograph the subject. In this case, the first and second lenses 111 and 121 face the same subject and focus the subject on the respective camera sensors 113 and 123.

Each of the camera sensors 113 and 123 converts the optical signal of the subject passing through the lenses 111 and 121 into image data, and the display unit 150 displays the image data that has passed through the respective image processing units 115 and 125. (206). At this time, the image processing unit 115 and 125 transmits the frame-specific image data of the continuous shooting according to the standard of the display unit 150, and the control unit 120 stores the image data not passed through the image processing unit 115 and 125. 140) temporarily. The image data displayed on the display unit 150 may be a thumbnail image.

Subsequently, the controller 120 checks whether there is a key input for the storage command from the key input unit 130 (207). If the storage command is not received, the controller 120 controls to return to the preview display step 202 again after a predetermined time elapses.

If there is a storage command, the controller 120 loads the image data temporarily stored in the storage 140, compresses the image data in the image codecs of the image processing units 115 and 125, and stores the image data in the storage 140 again (208). ). The processing of the image data may be performed in parallel while other tasks are performed in the portable terminal.

Subsequently, the controller 120 controls to return to step 201 to confirm whether the continuous shooting mode is selected.

As described above, the present specification and drawings have been described with respect to preferred embodiments of the present invention, although specific terms have been used, these are merely used in a general sense to easily explain the technical contents of the present invention and to help the understanding of the present invention. It is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention can be carried out in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

According to the present invention, when performing continuous shooting in a mobile terminal, the number of recordable frames can be doubled and the frame interval can be reduced by half without increasing the clock speed. Therefore, even a very fast moving subject can be shot at high speed to easily obtain a desired still image in high quality. Even if the technology advances later and the clock speed increases and the number of recordable frames increases, the present invention can take as many frames as twice the number of frames supported in the situation. That is, the present invention can achieve twice as many effects as the number of frames that can be photographed in the portable terminal.

Claims (13)

Two camera modules disposed adjacent to each other and independently photographing a subject; And A control unit for controlling each of the camera modules to take turns photographing the subject in a continuous shooting mode; Mobile terminal comprising a. The method of claim 1, Each camera module includes a camera sensor for converting an optical signal of the subject into image data, a lens for focusing the subject on the camera sensor, a shutter for opening and closing the subject, and a shutter for photographing the subject. A shutter driver for driving and an image processor for processing the image data; And each of the shutter drivers drives the shutters so that their respective operating times are staggered in the continuous shooting mode. The method of claim 2, And the shutter driver drives the shutter so that the operation time of the shutter has an interval of t / 2 seconds in the continuous shooting mode when the frame interval of each camera module is t seconds. The method of claim 2, And the control unit comprises a continuous shooting command unit for generating a continuous shooting command to operate the shutter driver. The method of claim 1, The two camera modules are portable terminals, characterized in that the number of frames that can be taken in the continuous shooting mode and the frame interval is the same. The method of claim 5, And when the number of frames of each camera module is m, the two camera modules continuously photograph 2m frames in the continuous shooting mode. The method of claim 5, And the two camera modules photograph the subject at intervals of t / 2 seconds in the continuous shooting mode when the frame interval of each camera module is t seconds. Continuous shooting method of a mobile terminal having two camera modules, Displaying image data of the subject as a preview in the continuous shooting mode; Checking for a photographic key input; And Taking a photograph of the subject by controlling each camera module alternately when the photographing key is input; Continuous shooting method of a mobile terminal comprising a. The method of claim 8, And returning to the preview display step if there is no input of the photographing key. The method of claim 8, The continuous shooting of the subject may include generating a continuous shooting command and driving the shutters of the camera modules so that the operation time is staggered according to the continuous shooting command. Way. The method of claim 10, And the shutter driving step when the camera module has a frame interval of t seconds, driving the shutter so that an operation time of the shutter has an interval of t / 2 seconds. The method of claim 8, And continuous shooting of the subject when each camera module has m recordable frames, continuously shooting 2m frames. The method of claim 8, And continuous shooting of the subject when each camera module has a frame interval of t seconds.

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