The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.

The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.

Date of Patent:
Jun. 04, 2024

Filed:

Mar. 05, 2021
Applicant:

Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);

Inventors:

Blake M. Coughenour, Cupertino, CA (US);

Hossein Nemati, Cupertino, CA (US);

Florian R. Fournier, Cupertino, CA (US);

Assignee:

Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);

Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G03B 15/06 (2021.01); G03B 15/05 (2021.01); H04N 23/74 (2023.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G03B 15/06 (2013.01); G03B 15/05 (2013.01); H04N 23/74 (2023.01); G03B 2215/0528 (2013.01);
Abstract

A light source module includes an illumination element and an adjustable light diffusing material. The light source module is configured to receive or generate a control signal for adjusting diffusion of light emitted from the light source module and accordingly adjust an amount of diffusion of light emitted from the light source module. In some embodiments, an adjustable light diffusing material includes a polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT), a smectic phase liquid crystal, a polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC), or other suitable material. A controller for a light source module may determine a level of diffusion based on a level of inclusion of a wide-angle field of view of a wide-angle lens system or a telephoto field of view of a telephoto lens system in a composite camera field of view that includes a combination of the wide angle field of view and the telephoto field of view. Also, the controller may determine a level of diffusion based or an estimated distance to a scene in a camera field of view that is to be captured.


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