Patent ID: 6747693
Filing Date: 2004-06-08
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
An imaging apparatus, comprising:an imaging device operating in different orientations, producing a source image that is right-side up when said imaging device operates in one orientation and upside-down when said imaging device operates in another orientation; a control unit coupled to said imaging device, generating a mode signal designating a first mode when said source image is right-side up and a second mode when said source image is upside down; a memory circuit coupled to said imaging device, storing said source image; and a memory control circuit coupled to said memory circuit and said control unit, reading said source image from said memory circuit in a first order in said first mode and in a second order, different from said first order, in said second mode, thereby generating an output image that is right-side up in both said first mode and said second mode, wherein said first mode transitions to said second mode while generating said output image, wherein said imaging device swivels on a horizontal axis so that the imaging device looks forward, downward, and then backward, and the transition between the first mode and the second mode takes place when the imaging device is looking directly downward.