Blackberry Corporation

Apple Inc.

Research in Motion Corporation

Graham Charles Townsend

Robert James Lowles

Qian Wang

Yun Seok Choi

Colin Shiva Ramrattan

Alexander Shpunt

Yakov G Soskind

Sui Tong Tang

Brett Foster

Rayhan Behin

Hassan Daniel Hosseinpor

Gregory William Jacobs

Brett Stuart Foster

An optical transmission device includes a waveguide including a transparent medium having mutually-parallel first and second surfaces arranged so that light propagates within the waveguide by internal reflection between the first and second surfaces. At least one light source is configured to inject coherent light into the waveguide. A first array of diffractive structures is applied to the waveguide and configured to couple respective beams of the coherent light out through the first surface of the waveguide. The device includes a second array of tunable optical phase modulators, which are overlaid on respective ones of the diffractive structures in the first array and are configured to apply different respective phase shifts to the respective beams, thereby modulating a far-field light pattern formed by interference between the beams.

Waveguide-based transmitters with adjustable lighting

An optoelectronic device includes a display configured to emit first optical radiation in a first wavelength band through a front surface of the display. A planar optical waveguide, which is transparent in the first wavelength band, is overlaid on the display and is configured to guide second optical radiation in a second wavelength band along a direction transverse to the front surface. One or more diffractive structures are formed in the planar optical waveguide so as to couple the guided second optical radiation between the planar optical waveguide and a region in front of or behind the display.

Display with overlaid waveguide

A camera unit and method of control are described. The camera unit has a camera flash sub-unit configurable to emit flash light having an adjustable characteristic. A camera sensor sub-unit generates raw color data when exposed to light for processing into a digital image. The camera unit also includes a camera controller for coordinating operation of the camera flash sub-unit and the camera sensor sub-unit. The camera controller monitors one or more ambient light characteristics in a vicinity of the camera unit. Prior to receiving a command instructing the camera unit to generate the digital image, the camera controller repeatedly configures the camera flash sub-unit based on the monitored ambient light characteristics to adjust the characteristics of the emitted flash light. Once the camera controller receives the command, the camera sensor sub-unit is instructed to expose an image sensor using the pre-adjusted camera flash light to increase illumination.

Camera flash for improved color balance

A photography subsystem is configured to be operated in fingerprint scanning mode and a normal mode. An autofocus module may be initialized to control a lens with an initial focal length set according to received instructions indicating one of the modes of operation. An image signal processor associated with the photography subsystem may process images received from the photography subsystem and, if necessary, process the images to form a candidate digital fingerprint for use in an authentication process.

Determining fingerprint scanning mode from capacitive touch sensor proximate to lens

A camera module is provided for an electronic device, such as a wireless mobile station or standalone device. The camera module includes a low F-stop lens assembly that is translatable into a desired position. An image of a subject is provided to an EDOF assembly, including a sensor assembly, and an extended-depth-of-field processor. The extended-depth-of-field processor provides for formation of a resultant, recorded image that exhibits improved depth of field characteristics.

Apparatus, and associated method, for a camera module of electronic device

An optical navigation subsystem may be used when obtaining a candidate fingerprint for a mobile communication device (e.g., for authentication purposes). To accommodate such use of the optical navigation subsystem, the optical navigation subsystem may be adapted to automatically adjust a processed image sensor window from a first set of window dimensions (e.g., suitable for optical navigation) to a second set of window dimensions (e.g., suitable for fingerprint capture). Alternatively, a single, static set of window dimension may be employed in conjunction with stitching algorithms, or other methods suitable for forming candidate fingerprint images by combining a plurality of images obtained using the static set of window dimension.

Fingerprint scanning with optical navigation

A system and method of capturing low-light images on a mobile device include a camera module, an image sensor, an infrared filter, and a visible light filter. The image sensor can detect a color spectrum of ambient light passed through a lens of the camera module. The visible light filter can cover a first portion of the image sensor, and the infrared filter can cover a second portion of the image sensor. A processor can be coupled to the image sensor to receive visible light data and infrared data. Visible light data can be formed from ambient light passed through the visible light filter and image sensor. Infrared data can formed from ambient light passed through the infrared filter and the image sensor. The visible light data and the infrared data are combined to form a low-light image data having enhanced brightness while maintaining color accuracy.

Growing community of inventors

Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

Graham Charles Townsend