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.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 07, 2026
Filed:
Sep. 17, 2024
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Xiaochun Liu, San Diego, CA (US);
Yingjun Bai, San Jose, CA (US);
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Abstract
This disclosure relates to devices, systems, and methods for passively determining the probability of the presence of a camera lens smudge on an image capture device, e.g., based on an analysis of images captured by the image capture device (and without the need for any reference images). The techniques include: obtaining an image using an image capture device and identifying and analyzing (e.g., in the form of gradient analysis) the regions of interest (ROIs) in high intensity areas of the image. A probability of the presence of a smudge on the image capture devices may then be determined and outputted to a display using any desired modality. According to some aspects, machine learning (ML)-based models may be used in the performance of the passive camera lens smudge detection techniques disclosed herein. According to other aspects, temporal consistency and/or sensor consistency constraints may also be applied to the smudge detection processes.