Abstract:
An image apparatus ( 10 ) includes an apparatus frame ( 224 ), a capturing system ( 228 ), a control feature, an inertial sensor assembly ( 218 ), and a control system ( 216 ). The control feature influences the image ( 258 ) captured by the capturing system ( 228 ). The inertial sensor assembly senses motion of the image apparatus. The control system adjusts the control feature based on the sensed motion from the sensor assembly. Thus, the control feature can be easily controlled by the controlled movement of the image apparatus. For example, the inertial sensor assembly can include one or more angular inertial sensors; one or more gyroscopes; and/or one or more accelerometers.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Cameras are commonly used to capture an image of a scene. Camera designers are constantly searching for easier and quicker ways to control one or more of the control functions of the camera. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to an image apparatus for capturing an image of a scene. The image apparatus includes an apparatus frame, a capturing system, a control feature, an inertial sensor assembly, and a control system. The capturing system captures a captured image. The control feature influences the image captured by the capturing system. The inertial sensor assembly senses motion of the image apparatus. The control system adjusts the control feature based on the sensed motion from the sensor assembly. With this design, the control feature can be easily controlled by the controlled movement of the image apparatus. Stated in another fashion, the inertial sensor assembly can be used as a human interface so that the user can control the image apparatus by moving the image apparatus. 
     In one embodiment, the inertial sensor assembly includes (i) one or more angular velocity sensors that monitor pitching and/or yawing of the image apparatus; (ii) one or more gyroscopes that monitor rotation of the image apparatus; and/or (iii) one or more accelerometers that monitor acceleration of the image apparatus in one or more directions. For example, the inertial sensor assembly can also be used in a vibration reduction system for lens correction. 
     The one or more control features that can be controlled by the movement of the image apparatus can vary pursuant to the teachings provided herein. As used herein, the term “control feature” shall mean any camera related feature that is commonly adjusted or controlled on an image apparatus such as a camera, and that influences the image captured by the capturing system or the image displayed by the camera. Non-exclusive examples of possible control features that can be controlled by movement of the image apparatus includes (i) activate and deactivate white balance adjustment; (ii) activate and deactivate red eye reduction; (iii) playback captured images; (iv) shuttle through captured images; (v) activate and deactivate the flash; (vii) activate and deactivate vibration reduction; (viii) turn the image apparatus off or on; (ix) control the zoom function on the lens prior to capturing the image; (x) delete a captured image; (xi) activate and deactivate movie mode; (xii) to control the orientation of the image that is displayed; (xiii) control the autofocus on the image apparatus; (xiv) control the zooming of the image during play back mode on the camera (e.g. in a zoomed picture in play back mode, the image can be moved by moving the camera, pan mode in play back). In one embodiment, in play back mode, the camera can be shaken to get a random image playback on the camera. During playback, the camera can be programmed to advance one picture for one short shake, or several pictures, in proportion to the length of the shake. As provided herein, length of shake, direction of shake, force of shake can all be used to control different control features. 
     The present invention is also directed to a method for controlling an image apparatus. For example, method can include the step of moving the image apparatus in a controlled fashion to control a control feature of the image apparatus. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself, both as to its structure and its operation, will be best understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified side view of a scene, and an image apparatus having features of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is a simplified front perspective view of the image apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2B  is a simplified rear perspective view of the image apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart that further illustrates the features of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart that additionally illustrates the features of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a simplified side view of an image apparatus  10  having features of the present invention that captures an image  12  (illustrated away from the image apparatus  10 ), e.g. a picture or a series of images e.g. a video, of a scene  14 . As an overview, in certain embodiments, the image apparatus  10  includes a control system  16  (illustrated in phantom) that utilizes information from an inertial sensor assembly  18  (illustrated in phantom) to control one or more control features of the image apparatus  10 . With this design, the controlled movement of the image apparatus  10  by a user  20  (fingers are sketched in  FIG. 1 ) can be used to selectively operate one or more of the control features of the image apparatus  10 . This simplifies the operation of the one or more control features of the image apparatus  10 . 
     The type of scene  14  captured by the image apparatus  10  can vary. For example, the scene  14  can include one or more animals, plants, mammals, fish, objects, and/or environments. In  FIG. 1 , the scene  14  includes a single object  22  (illustrated as a square) that is the subject of the scene  14 . Alternatively, for example, the scene  14  can include more objects. 
     In certain embodiments, the image apparatus  10  can be any device capable of capturing the original image, including (i) a digital camera, (ii) a digital camera in video mode, or (iii) a video recorder, for example. 
       FIG. 2A  illustrates a simplified, front perspective view and  FIG. 2B  is a simplified, rear perspective view of one, non-exclusive embodiment of the image apparatus  210 . In this embodiment, the image apparatus  210  includes an apparatus frame  224 , an optical assembly  226 , a capturing system  228  (illustrated as a box in phantom), a power source  230  (illustrated as a box in phantom), an illumination system  232 , a storage assembly  236  (illustrated as a box in phantom), the inertial sensor assembly  218  (illustrated as a box in phantom), and the control system  216  (illustrated as a box in phantom). The design of these components can be varied to suit the design requirements and type of image apparatus  210 . Further, the image apparatus  210  could be designed without one or more of these components. For example, the image apparatus  210  could be designed without the illumination system  232 . 
     The apparatus frame  224  can be rigid and support at least some of the other components of the image apparatus  210 . In one embodiment, the apparatus frame  224  includes a generally rectangular shaped hollow body that forms a cavity that receives and retains at least a portion of the capturing system  228 , the power source  230 , the illumination system  232 , the storage assembly  236 , and the control system  216 . Further, the optical assembly  226  is fixedly secured to the apparatus frame  224 . 
     The apparatus frame  224  can include an aperture  242  and a shutter mechanism  244  that work together to control the amount of light that reaches the capturing system  228 . The shutter mechanism  244  can include a pair of blinds (sometimes referred to as “blades”) that work in conjunction with each other to allow the light to be focused on the capturing system  228  for a certain amount of time. Alternatively, for example, the shutter mechanism  244  can be all electronic and contain no moving parts. For example, an electronic capturing system  228  can have a capture time controlled electronically to emulate the functionality of the blinds. 
     The time in which the shutter mechanism  244  allows light to be focused on the capturing system  228  is commonly referred to as the capture time or an exposure time. The length of the exposure time can vary. The shutter mechanism  244  can be activated by a shutter button  246 . 
     The optical assembly  226  can include a single lens or a combination of lenses that work in conjunction with each other to focus light onto the capturing system  228 . 
     In one embodiment, the imaging apparatus  210  includes an autofocus assembly including one or more lens movers  247  (illustrated in phantom) that move one or more lenses of the optical assembly  226  in or out to focus the light on the capturing system  228 . Further, one or more of the lens movers  247  can be used to move one or more of the lens for vibration reduction. As provided herein, the autofocus assembly can be an active or passive type system. Further, information from the sensor assembly  218  can be used to control the lens movers  247  to reduce vibration of the lens. 
     The capturing system  228  captures the captured image  212  during the exposure time. The design of the capturing system  228  can vary according to the type of image apparatus  10 . For a digital type camera, the capturing system  228  includes an image sensor  248  (illustrated in phantom), and a filter assembly  250  (illustrated in phantom). 
     The image sensor  248  receives the light that passes through the aperture  242  and converts the light into electricity. One non-exclusive example of an image sensor  248  for digital cameras is known as a charge coupled device (“CCD”). An alternative image sensor  248  that may be employed in digital cameras uses complementary metal oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”) technology. 
     The image sensor  248 , by itself, produces a grayscale image as it only keeps track of the total intensity of the light that strikes the surface of the image sensor  248 . Accordingly, in order to produce a full color image, the filter assembly  250  is necessary to capture the colors of the image. 
     It should be noted that other designs for the capturing system  228  can be utilized. 
     The power source  230  provides electrical power to the electrical components of the image apparatus  210 . For example, the power source  230  can include one or more batteries. 
     The illumination system  232  can provide a generated light beam, e.g. a flash of light that can be used to illuminate at least a portion of the scene (not shown in  FIG. 2A ). 
     The storage assembly  236  stores the various captured images  212 . The storage assembly  236  can be fixedly or removably coupled to the apparatus frame  224 . Non-exclusive examples of suitable storage assemblies  236  include flash memory, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a writeable CD or DVD. 
     Additionally, as illustrated in  FIG. 2B , the image apparatus  210  can include an image display  256  that displays the captured images  212 . 
     Additionally, the image display  256  can display other information such as the time of day, and the date. 
     Moreover, the image apparatus  210  can include one or more control switches  260  electrically connected to the control system  216  that allows the user to control one or more of the control functions of the image apparatus  210 . For example, one or more of the control switches  260  can be used to activate the sensor assembly  218  control described herein. 
     The sensor assembly  218  monitors one or more features related to the motion of at least a portion of the image apparatus  210 . For example, the sensor assembly  218  can monitor and determine velocity, rotation, and/or acceleration of the optical assembly  226 , the capturing system  228  or the entire image apparatus  210 . Further, the sensor assembly  218  can generate motion data that is transferred to the control system  216  to control one or more control functions of the image apparatus  210 . 
     Additionally, the sensor assembly  218  can also be used in a vibration reduction system for the correction of the lens in the optical assembly  226 . 
       FIG. 2A  includes an orientation system that illustrates an X axis, a Y axis that is orthogonal to the X axis and a Z axis that is orthogonal to the X and Y axes. It should be noted that these axes can also be referred to as the first, second and third axes and/or the orientation system can have a different orientation than that illustrated in  FIG. 2A . 
     In one non-exclusive embodiment, the sensor assembly  218  can include (i) one or more inertial sensors  218 A that monitor movement of the image apparatus  210  along the X, Y and/or Z axes; (ii) one or more angular sensors or gyroscopes  218 B that monitor movement of the image apparatus  210  about the X, Y, and/or Z axe axes; and/or (iii) one or more accelerometers  218 C that monitor acceleration of the image apparatus  210  along the X, Y and/or Z axes. In one embodiment, the sensor assembly  216  includes vibrating quartz crystals that function like gyroscopes. Essentially, they measure inertial changes and can be used to measure acceleration. Integrating acceleration gives velocity. Integrating velocity gives acceleration. 
     The location of the sensor assembly  218  can vary. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the sensor assembly  218  is somewhat centrally positioned in the image apparatus  210 . Alternatively, for example, the sensor assembly  218  can be positioned near the edges of the image apparatus  210 . 
     As provided above, the sensor assembly  218  can be used to control one or more control features of the image apparatus  210 . In one non-exclusive example, (i) a first controlled movement of the image apparatus  210  back and forth along the X axis can generate a first sensor signal that is used to control a first control feature of the image apparatus  210 ; (ii) a second controlled movement of the image apparatus  210  back and forth along the Y axis can generate a second sensor signal that is used to control a second control feature of the image apparatus  210 ; (iii) a third controlled movement of the image apparatus  210  back and forth along the Z axis can generate a third sensor signal that is used to control a third control feature of the image apparatus  210 ; (iv) a fourth controlled movement of the image apparatus  210  about the X axis can generate a fourth sensor signal that is used to control a fourth control feature of the image apparatus  210 ; (v) a fifth controlled movement of the image apparatus  210  about the Y axis can generate a fifth sensor signal that is used to control a fifth control feature of the image apparatus  210 ; and/or (vi) a sixth controlled movement of the image apparatus  210  about the Z axis can generate a sixth sensor signal that is used to control a sixth control feature of the image apparatus  210 . With this design, the user  20  (illustrated in  FIG. 1 ) can precisely move the image apparatus  210  to generate the desired sensor signal and control the desired control feature 
     It should be noted that only one or more of the controlled movements described above may actually be used in the image apparatus  210 . Further, one or more of the controlled movements can happen at approximately the same time. This will allow the user to selectively control two or more control functions at approximately the same time. 
     It should be noted that other motions with particular patterns could programmed to actuate other control functions of the image apparatus. 
     In certain embodiments, the motions used to actuate the control functions need to be distinctly different than the motions of normal apparatus shake. For example, the actuation movements are relatively long lived as compared to normal image apparatus  210  shake. Normal vibration motion of the camera is a small amount of motion which happens when a person is trying to hold the camera steady. The deliberate control motions disclosed herein are much longer and have significantly more force. 
     In another implementation, the through frame images (those displayed on the image display prior to capturing the captured image  212 ) could be analyzed to deliver the same type of command inputs. For example, image expansion or image diminishment can be used to detect forward or backward movement. Image rotation can be used to detect rotating movements. Direction image movement can be used to detect directional camera movement. 
     The control system  216  is electrically connected to and controls the operation of the electrical components of the image apparatus  210 . The control system  216  can include one or more processors and circuits and the control system  216  can be programmed to perform one or more of the functions described herein. 
     As provided herein, the control system  216  is electrically connected to and receives the one or more sensor signals from the sensor assembly  218 . Subsequently, with the sensor signals, the control system  216  can control one or more control features of the image apparatus  210 . As a result thereof, the movement of the image apparatus  210  can be used to control one or more control features of the image apparatus  210 . 
     Alternatively, or additionally, the control system  216  can include software that evaluates the through images captured by the image apparatus  210  and detects possible camera motion from the through images. With this design, the control system  216  can determine camera motion from the captured through images and this information can be used to control one or more of the control features of the image apparatus  210 . 
     The one or more control features that can be controlled by the movement of the image apparatus  210  can vary pursuant to the teachings provided herein. Non-exclusive examples of possible control functions that can be controlled by movement of the image apparatus  210  includes (i) activate and deactivate white balance adjustment; (ii) activate and deactivate red eye reduction; (iii) playback captured images  212  on the image display  256 ; (iv) shuttle through captured images  212  on the image display  256 ; (v) activate and deactivate the illumination system  232  (flash mode); (vii) activate and deactivate vibration reduction; (viii) turn the image apparatus  210  off or on; (ix) control the zoom function to adjust the size of the image  212 ; (x) delete a captured image  212 ; (xi) activate and deactivate movie mode; (xii) to control the orientation of the image that is displayed; and/or (xiii) control the autofocus on the image apparatus. As provided herein, basically anything that the camera can already be controlled to do, can be controlled by shaking the camera instead of using menus. 
     It should be noted that any of the control functions described above can be referred to as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth control function. It should also be noted that one or more of the control functions described above can be additionally or alternatively controlled by one or more of the control switches  260 . 
     In one non-exclusive example, the sensor assembly  218  can be used to calculate the relative tilt of the image apparatus  210 . This information can used to rotate the captured image  212  on the image display  256  so that captured image  212  approximates a horizontally fixed image. 
       FIG. 3  is a simplified flowchart that illustrates one non-exclusive example of the operation of the image apparatus. First, the image apparatus is aimed toward the scene  310 . Second, the user moves the image apparatus in one or more of the controlled movements described above to control one or more of the control features described above  312 . For example, the image apparatus can be moved back and forth along the X axis to adjust the zoom (e.g. move forward to actuate the forward zoom and move backward to activate rearward zoom. Further, the image apparatus can be moved side to side along the Y axis to activate red eye reduction. Moreover, the image apparatus can be moved up and down along the Z axis to activate white balance adjustment. 
     Next, the user presses lightly on the shutter button to enable the image apparatus to automatically focus on the object(s)  314 . Subsequently, the image apparatus sets the aperture and shutter speed  316 . Next, the user presses the shutter button all the way, which resets the image sensor, opens the first shutter shade thereby exposing the image sensor to light, building up an electrical charge until the second shutter shade closes thereby preventing further light from reaching the image sensor  318 . Simultaneously, the ADC measures the charge at each photosite of the image sensor and creates a digital signal that represents the values of the charge at each photosite  320 . Subsequently, the control system interpolates the data from the different photosites, with assistance from the filtering component, to create the color image  322 . Finally, the captured image can be displayed on the image display  324 . 
       FIG. 4  is a simplified flowchart that illustrates another non-exclusive example of the operation of the image apparatus. First, the user moves the image apparatus in one or more of the controlled movements described above to control one or more of the control features described above. For example, the image apparatus can be rotated about the X axis to cause one of the captured images to be displayed on the image display  410 . Next, the image apparatus can be rotated about the Y axis to cause the captured image that is displayed on the image display to change  412 . Subsequently, the image apparatus can be rotated about the Z axis to cause the currently displayed captured image to be deleted  414 . 
     It should be noted that the examples provided above are merely two, non-exclusive ways that the control features can be controlled with the controlled movement of the image apparatus by the user. 
     While the current invention is disclosed in detail herein, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as described in the appended claims.