WO2015120816A1

WO2015120816A1 - Camera shooting assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2015120816A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/073147
Authority: WO
Inventors: 刘焱
Original assignee: 刘焱
Priority date: 2014-02-17
Filing date: 2015-02-15
Publication date: 2015-08-20
Also published as: CN103780817B; CN103780817A

Abstract

An embodiment of a camera shooting assembly in the present invention comprises a first camera shooting unit and a second camera shooting unit. The first camera shooting unit comprises a first lens assembly and a first image sensor, and the first lens assembly presents a real image on the first image sensor; the second camera shooting unit comprises a second lens assembly and a second image sensor, and the second lens assembly presents a real image on the second image sensor; a sharing area exists between a light path from the first lens assembly to the first image sensor and a light path from the second lens assembly to the second image sensor. The beneficial effect of the present embodiment is that the total size is reduced.

Description

Camera component

Technical field

The invention relates to a camera assembly, in particular a space-saving, compact camera assembly.

Background technique

Patent US20120053407 (named: Multi-camera endoscope) describes a multi-camera human endoscope. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art endoscope in which the main optical axes of the three cameras 101 are 90° apart from each other, and the field of view is enlarged by adding cameras on both sides. However, the three cameras are integrated at the front end of the endoscope, making it difficult to reduce the volume of the endoscope space. The larger the size of the endoscope used for the human body, the greater the possibility of damage to the human body. It has long been desired that the function of the endoscope is stronger but the volume is smaller. In addition to endoscopes for human bodies, portable devices and compact electronic devices are also sensitive to the size of the imaging device.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an image pickup assembly that saves volume while integrating two or more image pickup units.

An imaging assembly embodiment includes a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit: the first imaging unit includes a first lens assembly and a first image sensor, and the first lens assembly is on the first image sensor a second image unit including a second lens assembly and a second image sensor, the second lens assembly being a real image on the second image sensor; the first lens assembly to the first image sensor The optical path and the optical path of the second lens component to the second image sensor have a shared area. The beneficial effect of this embodiment is to reduce the total volume.

Based on the first embodiment, another embodiment further includes: an angle of 90° between the main optical axis vectors of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit; and a third imaging unit. The main optical axis vector is at an angle of 90° with the main optical axis vector of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit. The beneficial effect of this embodiment is that the total volume is reduced, and a panoramic image within a cuboid apex angle can be captured.

Based on the first embodiment, still another embodiment further includes: the first camera unit and the The main optical axis vector of the second imaging unit is at an angle of 120°; further comprising a third imaging unit, the main optical axis vector and the main optical axis of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit The amount is at an angle of 120 °. The beneficial effect of this embodiment is that the total volume is reduced, and a 360° circular panoramic image can be taken.

Based on the first embodiment, the further embodiment further includes: forming an angle of about 109.5° between the main optical axis vectors of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit; further comprising a third imaging unit, In the fourth imaging unit, the main optical axis vectors between the two camera units are at an angle of about 109.5°. The beneficial effect of this embodiment is that the total volume is reduced, and a 360° stereo panoramic image can be taken.

The above is a summary of the invention, and other details of the invention can be found in the Detailed Description section.

DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic view of an endoscope of the prior patent;

2 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a camera assembly of the present invention;

3 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the camera assembly of the present invention;

4 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of the camera assembly of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a hexagonal prism mirror of a third embodiment;

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of the main optical axes of the four imaging units of the fourth embodiment;

7 is a schematic layout view of one of the image pickup units of the fourth embodiment;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the lens layout of four imaging units of the fourth embodiment.

detailed description

The method for carrying out the invention will be described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments.

2 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of the image pickup assembly of the present invention. The first imaging unit includes a first image sensor 201 and a first lens assembly, and is distributed at 203 as a common optical axis. The photographing direction of the first imaging unit is oriented in the direction of the arrow of 203, and the main optical axis with the photographing direction is referred to herein as the main optical axis vector. The image sensor is an electronic image sensor such as a CCD (Charge-coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor. The first lens assembly is a real image on the first image sensor. The second camera unit includes a second image sensor 202 and a second lens assembly distributed along a main optical axis vector 204, the second lens assembly being a solid image on the second image sensor. Part of the optical paths of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit overlap each other, thereby making the total space of the two imaging units The volume becomes smaller. There is also a prism square 205 in the shared area of the two camera units in FIG. The first imaging unit is adjusted by using the upper and lower surfaces of the quadrangular prism mirror 205 facing the optical path, and the second imaging unit is adjusted by using the left and right sides of the quadrangular prism mirror 205 facing the optical path. The four faces of the quadrangular prism 205 can be ground into a desired curved surface. Or according to different optical designs, there is no prism in the shared area of the two camera units.

The two camera units also have optical

path control switches

206, 207, respectively, which may also be shutters. When the two camera units take an image, the optical path control switch is controlled to open only one optical path at a time, avoiding scattering interference of light in the other optical path, so as to present a clear real image on the

image sensor

201 or 202.

In this embodiment, the angle of the main optical axis vector of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit is 90°. In fact, the smaller the lens assembly and the image sensor, or the larger the spacing thereof, the larger the angle of the main optical axis vector of the first camera unit and the second camera unit may be larger or smaller, for example, between 45° and 135°. Any angle.

3 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the image pickup assembly of the present invention. The body of the figure is an endoscope end 301 having three camera units with a main optical axis vector of 90°. The three image capturing units are respectively: a first image capturing unit, a second image capturing unit, and a third image capturing unit, wherein the lenses are 302, 303, and 304, respectively, and the image sensors thereof are: 305, 306, and 307. As long as the viewing angles of the three camera units are sufficiently wide, for example, the viewing angle exceeds 90°, the present embodiment can take a panoramic image within a rectangular parallelepiped angle, as in an indoor panoramic image seen in a corner of the room. The lens and image sensor enclosing area of the three camera units is a shared area. Therefore, the image pickup assembly of the present embodiment has a smaller total volume than the three independent cameras of the already disclosed patent US20120053407. Similarly, the three imaging units of the embodiment each have an optical path control switch or a shutter to avoid light scattering interference from the optical paths of other imaging units.

In this embodiment, the main optical axis vectors of the first, second, and third imaging units are at an angle of 90° with each other. The angle of the main optical axis vector of the first, second, and third camera units can also be larger or smaller, for example, at any angle between 45° and 105°.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing a third embodiment of the image pickup unit of the present invention. The main optical axis vectors of the three camera units are 401, 402, and 403, respectively, which are in the same plane and are at an angle of 120° to each other. The lens components of the three imaging units are 404, 405, and 406, respectively, and the image sensors of the three imaging units are 407, 408, and 409, respectively. The three lens assemblies are wide-angle lenses, this embodiment The camera assembly can be 360° covered in the plane to capture a circular panoramic image, each camera unit covering at least a 120° viewing angle. The lens assembly and the image sensor enclosing area of the three imaging units are shared areas. The optical path control switches or shutters of the three imaging units are 410, 411, and 412, respectively.

In this embodiment, the angles of the main optical axis vectors of the first, second, and third imaging units are 120° with each other. The angles of the main optical axis vectors of the first, second and third camera units can also be smaller, for example at any angle between 105° and 120°.

In another embodiment, a prism hexagon as shown in FIG. 5 may be placed in the shared area of the embodiment of FIG. 4. The opposite two

faces

501, 502 of the six sides are used for the optical path of one of the camera units. The faces 501, 502 can be ground to a desired curved surface. The other sides of the hexagonal prism are similarly analogized.

In another embodiment, a fourth imaging unit (not shown) may be added in FIG. 4, the main optical axis vector is perpendicular to the paper surface, and the existing three main

optical axis vectors

401, 402, and 403 are opposite. Vertical and meet. The fourth camera unit provides an additional viewing angle. The four camera units also have a shared area, saving the total space volume. In another embodiment, a hexagonal prism mirror as shown in FIG. 5 may be placed in the shared area, and the fourth imaging unit performs optical path adjustment using upper and

lower surfaces

503 and 504 of the hexagonal prism mirror, the

surface

503, 504 can be ground into the desired surface.

Any two or any three of the four image pickup units in the above embodiment may constitute the image pickup assembly of the present invention, which improves the space utilization efficiency and reduces the total volume.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of the main optical axes of the four imaging units of the fourth embodiment of the camera assembly of the present invention. The main

optical axis vectors

601, 602, 603, and 604 of the four imaging units are vectors from the center point of the regular tetrahedron to the respective vertices, and the angle between them is about 109.5° (more precise, 109.4712°).

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the layout of one of the image pickup units of the fourth embodiment of the image pickup assembly of the present invention. The illustrated imaging unit is composed of an image sensor 702 and a lens assembly 701, arranged along a main optical axis vector 601 whose photographing direction is oriented in the direction of the arrow of 601. For convenience of explanation, eight planes perpendicular to the four main

optical axis vectors

601, 602, 603, and 604 are drawn in the regular tetrahedron, and the eight planes are parallel, and the enclosed area constitutes a regular octahedron ABCDEF. The principal planes of the lens assembly 701 are close to and parallel to the face ABC, and the image sensor 702 and the face DEF are close and parallel. The face ABC and the face DEF are both perpendicular to the main optical axis vector 601.

In order to clearly show the position of the lens unit and image sensor of an imaging unit, Three camera units are not shown. They are distributed along the main

optical axis vectors

602, 603, 604, respectively, with their shooting directions facing the direction of the

arrows

602, 603, 604. The main plane and the surface CEF of the lens assembly of one of the imaging units are close and parallel, and the image sensor and the surface ABD are close and parallel; the main plane and the surface BDE of the lens assembly of the other imaging unit are close and parallel, and the image sensor thereof The face ACF is close and parallel; the main plane and face ADF of the lens assembly of the last camera unit are close and parallel, and the image sensor and face BCE are close and parallel. The shared area of the four camera units is substantially within the regular octahedron ABCDEF.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the lens layout of four imaging units of the fourth embodiment. The

lens assemblies

801, 802, 803, 804 of four camera units are shown. Their main optical axis vectors are 601, 602, 603, 604 in Fig. 7, respectively. As long as the viewing angles of the four camera units are sufficiently wide, for example, the viewing angle of view reaches or exceeds 109.5°, the combination of the four camera units can capture a 360° stereoscopic panoramic image. One shot of this embodiment indicates that each of the image pickup units sequentially takes an image within a short time. The images captured at one time by the four imaging units are merged and spliced by digital image processing to generate a panoramic image. You can get an image of either direction or angle of view.

If the wide angles of the four camera units are not enough to obtain a panoramic image in one shot, they spatially cover different directions of four equal angular differences, thereby avoiding a large single dead zone. When the camera assembly captures multiple images in different directions of rotation, digital image processing can be used to combine and supplement the blind spots left in a single shot, thereby increasing the chance of obtaining a panoramic image. In the case that the wide angle of the camera unit is insufficient, the present embodiment is more advantageous for acquiring a panoramic image by moving direction shooting.

The camera assembly of the present invention is particularly suitable for an imaging system that requires miniaturization/miniaturization, for example, an endoscope for a human body, an oral photographic capsule, a portable device, or a compact electronic device. The use of the present invention for human fluoroscopy requires the assistance of a lighting device. More preferably, the illumination device is an LED cold light source. More preferably, the illumination device is a flashing illumination device. More preferably, each camera unit has a separate illumination device. If the illumination device of the camera unit can control most of the light to illuminate in the imaging area of itself, and a small amount of light enters the lens of the other camera unit, the optical path control switch described above may not be set. In this case, the camera unit can use an electronic shutter, which is different from the traditional physical shutter.

Because of the lens design, there will generally be more or less imaging distortion. According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the total volume of the camera assembly is minimized in the lens assembly design, but the imaging distortion may become worse. The imaging distortion is corrected by computer image processing. The present invention can also compromise between reducing the total volume and imaging distortion as long as the resulting image quality meets the requirements.

Any person skilled in the art can easily contemplate variations or substitutions within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

An imaging assembly includes a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit: the first imaging unit includes a first lens assembly and a first image sensor, the first lens assembly being a real image on the first image sensor; The second imaging unit includes a second lens assembly and a second image sensor, the second lens assembly being a real image on the second image sensor;

The feature is that the optical path of the first lens component to the first image sensor and the optical path of the second lens component to the second image sensor have a shared area.
The camera assembly according to claim 1, wherein an angle between the main optical axis vectors of said first imaging unit and said second imaging unit is between 45° and 135°.
The image pickup assembly according to claim 2, further comprising a third image pickup unit, a main light axial direction between the first image pickup unit, the second image pickup unit, and the third image pickup unit The angle of the gauge is between 45° and 120°.
The camera assembly according to claim 3, wherein the angle between the main optical axis vectors of the first imaging unit, the second imaging unit, and the third imaging unit is the following three One of the angle values: 90°, about 109.5°, and 120°.
The camera assembly according to claim 3, wherein the angle between the main optical axis vector between the first imaging unit, the second imaging unit and the third imaging unit is 120°; A fourth imaging unit is further included, the main optical axis vector and the main optical axis vector of the three imaging units are at an angle of 90°.
The camera assembly according to claim 3, wherein an angle of the main optical axis vector between the first camera unit, the second camera unit and the third camera unit is about 109.5° A fourth imaging unit is further included, the main optical axis vector and the main optical axis vectors of the three imaging units are at an angle of about 109.5°.
The image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein said shared area has a prism mirror, and optical paths of said first image pickup unit and said second image pickup unit pass through said prism mirror.
The camera assembly of claims 1-7, wherein each of the camera units has a separate illumination device.
The image pickup assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each of said image pickup units has a separate optical path control switch.
The image pickup unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the optical path of each of the image pickup units passes through the shared area.