Motorola Mobility LLC

Cole Preston Sheldon

John Christopher Pincenti

David T Platner

Zetong Gu

Alberto R Cavallaro

Emily Yang

Corey Wood

An electronic device, method and computer program product provide an image capturing device having a lens assembly including a lens and lens housing that supports the lens. The lens housing has an opening that exposes the lens. A planar exterior surface of the electronic device extends across the lens assembly and includes a slit aperture that is smaller than the opening in the lens housing of the image capturing device. The slit aperture directs only a corresponding portion of light from in front of the planar exterior surface through the opening to the lens. The slit aperture enables at least one of: (i) reducing noticeability of the image capturing device; and (ii) use of an adjacent portion of the planar exterior surface for an aesthetic or functional component. An image from the image capturing device is sharpened along a longer dimension of the slit aperture to remove asymmetric blur.

Slit aperture image capturing device with depth of field compensation

A camera system lens or image sensor is moved to change the distance between the image sensor the lens in order for the image sensor to capture an-focus of an object. The camera system includes one or more calibration values indicating distances between the lens and the image sensor for different distances to objects, such as a macro calibration value and an infinity calibration value. These one or more calibration values are used by the camera system when manually focusing the camera system (e.g., a user manually sets the camera system to a macro setting or an infinity setting) or when automatically focusing the camera system on an object. These one or more calibration values are dynamically updated during use of the camera system, allowing the camera system to adapt to various factors such as changes in environment, pressure applied to the camera system, and so forth.

Updating lens focus calibration values

An electronic device includes a gimbal driver and a digital camera. The digital camera includes suspension member(s) attached to a base. The digital camera includes a camera module supported by the suspension member(s). The camera module includes: (i) a lens that focuses an image; and (ii) a sensor attached to the lens and that detects the focused image. Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator(s) are attached between the base and the camera module. The gimbal driver generates actuating signal(s) in response to movement of the base to stabilize the image. An electrical interconnect directs the actuating signal(s) from the gimbal driver to the SMA actuator(s) to rotate the camera module.

Miniature camera device for stabilized video using shape memory alloy actuators

In aspects of automated polarizer filter positioning, a device includes a polarizer integrated with the device and auto-positioned to filter lighting of a camera scene. The device includes a camera device to capture a digital image of the camera scene using the polarizer at a rotation angle of the polarizer. The device implements an imaging manager to determine an orientation of the device relative to a position of the sun. The imaging manager can also determine the lighting of the camera scene as viewable with the camera device, and position the polarizer at the rotation angle based on the orientation of the device and the lighting of the camera scene to filter the lighting. The imaging manager can then initiate the camera device to capture the digital image of the camera scene with an imager of the camera device at the rotation angle of the polarizer.

Automated polarizer positioning

In implementations of automated bounce flash, a camera device includes a camera to capture an image of a subject in an environment, and includes a flash device to illuminate the subject for image capture. A memory and processor of the camera device implements an image exposure application to select a surface in the environment from which to bounce light emitted from the flash device toward the subject during the image capture. The image exposure application is also implemented to control a direction of the light emitted from the flash device onto the selected surface during the image capture.

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Grayslake, IL, United States of America

Cole Preston Sheldon