PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11409078-B2
Application Number: US-201916548750-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Reflection interface for camera module

Abstract:
Various embodiments disclosed herein include camera equipment having a refractive index layer that causes internal reflection close to an image sensor of the camera. In some examples, internal reflection may occur at a boundary formed with the refractive index layer and located between an image sensor and an upper surface of a lens of the camera. The boundary may be formed between the refractive index layer and another material located between the refractive index layer and the image sensor, wherein the refractive index layer has a lower index of refraction than other material between the refractive index layer and the image sensor. The boundary formed with the refractive index layer may cause light to be reflected back toward the image sensor to improve image quality of images captured by the image sensor.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A device, comprising:
 a lens; 
 an image sensor; and 
 a refractive index layer located between the image sensor and the lens; and 
 an additional layer located between the image sensor and the refractive index layer; 
 the refractive index layer comprising:
 a vacuum layer, 
 a gas other than air, or 
 beads; 
 
 wherein at least a portion of light directed to a focus position on the sensor and reflected off of the image sensor enters the additional layer and is internally reflected within the additional layer back toward the image sensor by a boundary between the refractive index layer and the additional layer, wherein the light reflected back toward the image sensor is not internally reflected within the additional layer by another boundary of the additional layer facing the image sensor so that the light reflected back is limited to an area of the image sensor closer to the focus position than if the light had been reflected back to the image sensor by another boundary on a side of the lens opposite from the refractive index layer. 
 
     
     
       2. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device comprises more than one lens, wherein the boundary formed with the refractive index layer is located proximate to the image sensor such that a distance between the image sensor and the boundary is less than a distance between an outer surface of any of the lens of the device and the image sensor. 
     
     
       3. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the refractive index layer is a flat layer applied to a surface of the lens closest to the image sensor. 
     
     
       4. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the refractive index layer comprises:
 silica beads comprising air therein; and 
 binding material surrounding one or more of the silica beads. 
 
     
     
       5. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the index of refraction of the refractive index layer is less than 1.3. 
     
     
       6. The device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the device comprises:
 a lower lens assembly comprising one or more lower lenses; and 
 an upper lens assembly comprising one or more upper lenses held by a lens holder, wherein: 
 the lower lens assembly is located between the lens holder of the upper lens assembly and the image sensor, and 
 the lens is included as one of the one or more lower lenses of the lower lens assembly. 
 
 
     
     
       7. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the refractive index layer comprises air within the beads. 
     
     
       8. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the lens is a concave lens or a field flattener lens. 
     
     
       9. The device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the lens is located proximate to the image sensor; and 
 the refractive index layer is on a side of the lens closest to the image sensor. 
 
     
     
       10. A camera module, comprising:
 a lens; 
 an image sensor configured to capture light that has passed through the lens; 
 a refractive index layer that forms a boundary between the lens and the image sensor; and 
 an additional layer located between the image sensor and the refractive index layer; 
 the refractive index layer comprising:
 a vacuum layer, 
 a gas other than air, 
 or beads, 
 
 wherein:
 at least a portion of light directed to a focus position on the image sensor and reflected off of the image sensor enters the additional layer and is internally reflected back toward the image sensor by a boundary between the refractive index layer and the additional layer, wherein the light reflected back toward the image sensor is not internally reflected within the additional layer by another boundary of the additional layer facing the image sensor so that the light reflected back is limited to an area of the image sensor closer to the focus position than if the light had been reflected back to the image sensor by another boundary located at a side of the lens opposite from the refractive index layer. 
 
 
     
     
       11. The camera module of  claim 10 , wherein the refractive index layer is a layer applied to the lens on a side of the lens facing the image sensor. 
     
     
       12. The camera module of  claim 11 , wherein the refractive index layer comprises:
 silica beads comprising air therein; and 
 binding material surrounding one or more of the silica beads. 
 
     
     
       13. The camera module of  claim 10 , wherein the lens is a concave lens. 
     
     
       14. The camera module of  claim 10 , wherein:
 an index of refraction of a material on a side of the boundary closest to the image sensor is greater than 1.4; and 
 an index of refraction of a material on an opposite side of the boundary is less than 1.3. 
 
     
     
       15. The camera module of  claim 10 , wherein:
 a glass layer is attached to the image sensor between the refractive index layer and the image sensor; and 
 the refractive index layer further comprises a gap portion between the glass layer and the lens. 
 
     
     
       16. An image sensor package, comprising:
 a lens; 
 a refractive index layer comprising:
 a vacuum layer, 
 a gas other than air, or 
 beads; 
 
 an image sensor configured to capture light that has passed through the lens; and 
 an additional layer located between the image sensor and the refractive index layer; 
 wherein at least a portion of light directed to a focus position on the image sensor and reflected off of the image sensor enters the additional layer and is internally reflected within the additional layer back toward the image sensor by a boundary between the refractive index layer and the additional layer, wherein the light reflected back toward the image sensor is not internally reflected within the additional layer by another boundary of the additional layer facing the image sensor so that the light reflected back is limited to an area of the image sensor closer to the focus position than if the light had been reflected back to the image sensor by another boundary on an opposite side of the lens from the refractive index layer. 
 
     
     
       17. The image sensor package of  claim 16 , wherein the refractive index layer comprises:
 silica beads comprising air therein; and 
 binding material surrounding one or more of the silica beads. 
 
     
     
       18. The image sensor package of  claim 16 , wherein a glass layer is attached to the image sensor between the refractive index layer and the image sensor via an adhesive. 
     
     
       19. The image sensor package of  claim 18 , wherein the lens is a concave lens. 
     
     
       20. The image sensor package of  claim 18 , wherein the lens is a field flattener lens.

Description:
This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/729,379, filed Sep. 10, 2018, titled “Reflection Interface for Camera Module”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     This disclosure relates generally to a refractive index layer used with a lens or collection of lens that reduces artifacts in images caused by reflection of light within a camera. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     The advent of small, mobile multipurpose devices such as smartphones and tablet or pad devices has resulted in a need for high-resolution, small form factor cameras for integration in the devices. Some small form factor cameras may include one or more lenses located on top of an image sensor. In some small form factor cameras, a set of one or more lenses with a small z-dimension may include a concave lens that reduces field curvature of images captured using the camera. However, such a set of lenses may produce an undesirable artifact in a captured image, such as a ghost ring (or lens flare) that surrounds a light source in the captured image. For example, a light source such as a streetlight, a headlight, or even a reflective object in a field of view of a camera may direct light to a focused portion of an image sensor of the camera, wherein the light directed at the focused portion of the image sensor reflects off of the image sensor and is then reflected back towards the image sensor creating an undesirable artifact, such as a ghost ring or lens flare, in an image captured by the image sensor. The undesirable artifact may be caused by internal reflection of light off of the image sensor and within the set of lenses. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1A-1B  each illustrates a respective example of internal reflection within a camera, in accordance with some embodiments.  FIG. 1A  shows an example of internal reflection that produces a ghost ring effect surrounding a light source in an image.  FIG. 1B  shows a reflection interface at a boundary formed with a refractive index layer, wherein the refractive index layer is located proximate to an image sensor and reduces or eliminates a ghost ring effect as compared to the camera illustrated in  FIG. 1A  that does not include a refractive index layer proximate to the image sensor. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example of how internal reflection within a camera may affect ghost ring size and location, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of an example camera that includes a reflection interface at boundary formed with a refractive index layer, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example refractive index layer, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of an example camera comprising an upper lens assembly and a lower lens assembly, wherein the lower lens assembly includes a refractive index layer, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of another example camera, wherein a reflection interface is formed at a boundary with a refractive index layer, wherein the refractive index layer is an air gap, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a block diagram of an example portable multifunction device that may include a camera comprising a lens and one more refractive index layers, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 8  depicts an example portable multifunction device that may include a camera comprising a lens and one more refractive index layers, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an example computer system that may include a camera comprising a lens and one more refractive index layers, in accordance with some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     This specification includes references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment.” The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner consistent with this disclosure. 
     “Comprising.” This term is open-ended. As used in the appended claims, this term does not foreclose additional structure or steps. Consider a claim that recites: “An apparatus comprising one or more processor units . . . .” Such a claim does not foreclose the apparatus from including additional components (e.g., a network interface unit, graphics circuitry, etc.). 
     “Configured To.” Various units, circuits, or other components may be described or claimed as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is used to connote structure by indicating that the units/circuits/components include structure (e.g., circuitry) that performs those task or tasks during operation. As such, the unit/circuit/component can be said to be configured to perform the task even when the specified unit/circuit/component is not currently operational (e.g., is not on). The units/circuits/components used with the “configured to” language include hardware—for example, circuits, memory storing program instructions executable to implement the operation, etc. Reciting that a unit/circuit/component is “configured to” perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, for that unit/circuit/component. Additionally, “configured to” can include generic structure (e.g., generic circuitry) that is manipulated by software and/or firmware (e.g., an FPGA or a general-purpose processor executing software) to operate in manner that is capable of performing the task(s) at issue. “Configure to” may also include adapting a manufacturing process (e.g., a semiconductor fabrication facility) to fabricate devices (e.g., integrated circuits) that are adapted to implement or perform one or more tasks. 
     “First,” “Second,” etc. As used herein, these terms are used as labels for nouns that they precede, and do not imply any type of ordering (e.g., spatial, temporal, logical, etc.). For example, a buffer circuit may be described herein as performing write operations for “first” and “second” values. The terms “first” and “second” do not necessarily imply that the first value must be written before the second value. 
     “Based On.” As used herein, this term is used to describe one or more factors that affect a determination. This term does not foreclose additional factors that may affect a determination. That is, a determination may be solely based on those factors or based, at least in part, on those factors. Consider the phrase “determine A based on B.” While in this case, B is a factor that affects the determination of A, such a phrase does not foreclose the determination of A from also being based on C. In other instances, A may be determined based solely on B. 
     It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the intended scope. The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact. 
     The terminology used in the description herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments disclosed herein include camera equipment including a camera comprising one or more lenses that includes a reflection interface at a boundary formed with a refractive index layer. The reflection interface formed with the refractive index layer is located proximate to an image sensor of the camera and reduces propagation of reflected light within the camera. The reflection interface may be an interface at a boundary between the refractive index layer and another material, such as a glass covering of an image sensor, wherein the refractive index layer has a lower index of refraction than the other material. The reduction of the propagation of reflected light within the camera may reduce or eliminate artifacts caused by light reflected within the camera, such as ghost rings, in images captured by the camera. 
     In some embodiments, a camera includes a lens, a refractive index layer, and an image sensor. In some embodiments, the image sensor may be coupled to glass covering and the refractive index layer may be located between the glass covering of the image sensor and the lens. In some embodiments, the camera may include a set of one or more lenses, wherein the set of lenses comprises a field flattener lens (e.g., a lens configured to reduce field curvature of an image captured via the image sensor). In some embodiments, a field flattener lens may be a concave lens that is an outer most lens of the set of lens. In some embodiments, a refractive index layer may form a boundary with one of the lenses of the set of lenses (the boundary formed with the refractive index layer may also be referred to herein as a “reflection interface”). Respective materials on either side of a boundary formed with a refractive index layer may have different optical properties, such as different refractive indexes, and the change in refractive indexes at the boundary may cause light to reflect off of the reflection interface. For example, the refractive index layer may be a layer applied to a surface of a lens on a side of the lens facing an image sensor. Also, the refractive index layer may have a lower index of refraction than another material disposed between the refractive index layer and the image sensor, such as a glass covering of the image sensor. The change in refractive indexes at the boundary formed with the refractive index layer may form a reflection interface that reflects at least some light back towards the images sensor before the light is reflected back into the lens. 
     Note that a refractive index of a material is a measure of how fast light propagates through the medium as compared to a speed at which light propagates through a vacuum, e.g. the speed of light in a vacuum. Thus at a boundary between two mediums having different refractive indexes, some light may bounce back at the boundary, e.g. (reflect) as opposed to changing propagation speed and refracting into the other medium on the other side of the boundary. Furthermore in some embodiments, the refractive index layer may be located between the image sensor and a lens. Thus, a reflection interface formed at the boundary between the refractive index layer and the lens may bounce back (e.g. reflect) light reflected off of the image sensor, such that the reflected light does not further propagate through the lens or additional portions of the camera. Because reflection of light off of the image sensor may be at least partially limited to a space between the image sensor and the refractive index layer that is proximate to the image sensor, a width and location of an artifact caused by the reflected light in an image captured by the image sensor may be limited. For example the size and location of the artifact may be limited such that the size and location of the artifact coincide with a light source shown in the image (such as street light), wherein the artifact does not extend significantly beyond the footprint of the light source in the captured image. 
     In various embodiments, a reflection interface formed with a refractive index layer may reflect at least a portion of light that has been reflected by an image sensor back towards the image sensor. For instance, a reflection interface formed with a refractive index layer may reflect a portion of light based at least in part on a difference between an index of refraction of the refractive index layer and an index of refraction of a material or medium disposed between the refractive index layer and the image sensor, such as glass covering of the image sensor. The light reflected back to the image sensor may be prevented from reaching any additional interfaces of the lens or other lens of the camera. For example, the reflection interface formed with the refractive index layer may be located such that concentrated light that is directed at a limited portion of the image sensor and reflected off of the image sensor is further reflected, by the reflection interface, back towards the limited portion of the image sensor, preventing the concreated light that is reflected off of the image sensor from being reflected back towards a larger portion of the image sensor. Said another way, at least a portion of light directed to a focus position on an image sensor and reflected off of the image sensor may be reflected back to the image sensor by a reflection boundary between a refractive index layer and another material or medium disposed between the refractive index layer and the image sensor, wherein the light reflected back to the image sensor is limited to an area of the image sensor closer to the focus position than if the light had been reflected back to the image sensor by another boundary in the camera located at a side of the lens opposite the refractive index layer. 
     In some embodiments, the refractive index layer may include silica beads. The silica beads may have air inside of them. Furthermore, the refractive index layer may include a binding material surrounding one or more of the silica beads. 
     In some embodiments, a camera may be part of a device (e.g., a mobile multifunction device). For instance, the device may further include a display and one or more processors. In some instances, the processor(s) may be configured to cause the display to present one or more images, e.g., images captured at least partly via an image sensor of the camera. 
     According to some examples, a camera may include an upper and lower lens assembly. The upper lens assembly may include one or more lenses held by a lens holder. In some embodiments, the lower lens assembly may be located between the lens holder of the upper lens assembly and the image sensor and may include a reflection interface at a boundary between a refractive index layer and another material, such as a glass covering of the image sensor. 
     In some embodiments, an image sensor of a camera may be configured to capture light that has passed through one or more lenses of the camera. In various embodiments, one or more lenses of the camera may be coupled to the image sensor. For instance, a lens may be attached to the image sensor via an adhesive. In some embodiments, the one or more lenses of the camera may include a field flattener lens (e.g., a lens configured to reduce field curvature of an image captured via the image sensor, such as a concave lens). 
     According to various embodiments, a camera may include a reflection interface formed with a refractive index layer and another medium of the camera, such as a lens, or glass covering of the image sensor, etc. The other medium may have a first index of refraction, and the refractive index layer may have a second index of refraction that is lower than the first index of refraction of the other medium. The reflection interface may reflect (e.g., at a location between the image sensor and an upper surface of a lens of the camera), at least a portion of light that has been reflected off of the image sensor, such that the portion of light is reflected by the reflection interface back to the image sensor. Thus, in some embodiments, light initially reflected off of the image sensor and reflected back toward the image sensor may be at least partially contained to a limited region of the image sensor, thereby reducing the size of artifacts caused by the reflected light. In some embodiments, the refractive index layer may be an air gap, wherein a first layer (e.g., a glass layer) that is attached to the image sensor, and a boundary with the air gap (e.g. the refractive index layer) on another side of the first layer may form a reflection interface at the boundary of the first layer and the air gap. 
     In some embodiments, a lens may be coupled to an image sensor. For instance, the lens may be adhered to the image sensor. In some embodiments, the lens may comprise a field flattener layer (e.g., a lens configured to reduce field curvature of an image captured via the image sensor, such as a concave lens). Additionally, a refractive index layer may be positioned between the lens adhered to the image sensor and another lens of the camera, wherein the refractive index layer forms a reflection interface that prevents reflected light from passing into the other lens. 
     In various embodiments, an interface (e.g., a reflection interface) at a boundary formed with a refractive index layer may reflect at least a portion of light that has been reflected by the image sensor, such that the portion of light is reflected by the reflection interface back to the image sensor. For instance, the reflection interface may reflect the portion of light based at least in part on a difference between an index of refraction of the refractive index layer and an index of refraction of a material that forms the boundary with the refractive index layer. 
     Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that some embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments. 
       FIGS. 1A-1B  each illustrates a respective example of internal reflection within a camera, in accordance with some embodiments.  FIG. 1A  shows an example  100   a  of internal reflection within a camera that produces a ghost ring effect surrounding a light source in an image.  FIG. 1B  shows an example  100   b  of internal reflection within a camera, wherein a reflection interface located proximate to an image sensor reduces or eliminates the ghost ring effect, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, example  100   a  and/or example  100   b  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 2-9 . 
     In the example  100   a  shown in  FIG. 1A , the camera  100  may include an outer lens  102  and an image sensor  104 . The image sensor  104  may be configured to capture light  106  that has passed through the outer lens  102 . In some embodiments, the camera  100  may include a substrate  108  (e.g., an image sensor substrate) that is part of the image sensor  104 . 
     At least a portion of light  106  that passes through the outer lens  102  may be reflected by the image sensor  104  back through the outer lens  102  to upper surface  110  of the outer lens  102 . In some instances, light  106  that has been reflected by the image sensor  104  may further be reflected by a portion (e.g., an upper surface  110 ) of the outer lens  102  back to the image sensor  104 , e.g., as indicated in  FIG. 1A  (shown as reflected portion  130 ). Such reflection of reflected portion  130  by the portion (e.g. upper surface  110 ) of the outer lens  102  back to the image sensor  104  may cause artifacts to appear in images captured by image sensor  104 . For example, the reflected portion  130  of the light  106  reflected off of upper surface  110  of outer lens  102  may be reflected at an angle that increases a radius of a ring (e.g. ghost ring  112 ) formed by the reflected light. In some situations, light  106  may emanate from a light source in a field of view for an image being captured by camera  100  via image sensor  104 . 
     For example, a field of view of a camera  100  may include a light source, such as a street light, candle, flashlight, stadium light, or any other type of light source. In some situations a light source may be a light colored object or reflective object in a field of view of a camera  100  and may have any one of various shapes. Light from the light source may be focused on a focus position on the image sensor and when internally reflected within a camera may cause artifacts, such as ghost rings to appear in images captured of a scene that includes the light source. However, if the reflected light is reflected to a portion of the image sensor that captures the portion of the field of view that corresponds to the light source (as shown by light source  114 ), the effects of the reflected light may overlap with the light source  114  in a captured image such that ghost rings are not perceptible or minimized in the captured image. Thus the image quality may be improved by causing any “ghost rings” to at least partially overlap with, or not extend significantly beyond, the light source (e.g. the street light, the candle, the flashlight, the stadium light, etc.) in the image such that the “ghost rings” are not perceptible in the captured image. Thus, the reflected light may be limited to an area of the image sensor closer to a focus position of the light source on the image sensor than if the light had been reflected back to the image sensor by another boundary in the camera located further away from the image sensor. 
     In the example  100   b  shown in  FIG. 1B , the camera  150  may include an outer lens  116 , refractive index layer  122 , and additional layer  120 . The camera  150  also includes an image sensor  104 . The image sensor  104  may be configured to capture light  118  in a field of view of the camera  150 , wherein the light  118  has passed through the outer lens  116 , the refractive index layer  122 , and the additional layer  120 . The additional layer  120  may be a glass or plastic covering of the image sensor and may have a first index of refraction, and the refractive index layer  122  may have a second index of refraction that is different than the first index of refraction. According to various examples, the second index of refraction of the refractive index layer  122  may be lower than the first index of refraction of the additional layer  120 . In some examples, the first index of refraction of the additional layer  120  may be greater than 1.4. Furthermore, in some examples, the second index of refraction of the refractive index layer  122  may be less than 1.3. The refractive index layer  122  may be considered a “low index layer” as compared to the additional layer  120  because the refractive index layer  122  may have a lower index of refraction than the additional layer  120 . 
     According to various embodiments, the additional layer  120  and the refractive index layer  122  may form a reflection interface  124  at a boundary between the additional layer  120  and the refractive index layer  122 . For example, the additional layer  120  may be a glass or plastic layer adjacent to the refractive index layer  122  such that the two layers meet at a boundary between the two layers that forms a reflection interface  124 . The reflection interface  124  may be configured to reflect at least a portion of light  118  (shown as reflected portion  128 ) that has been reflected by the image sensor  104 , such that the reflected portion  128  is reflected by the reflection interface  124  back to the image sensor  104 , e.g., as indicated in  FIG. 1B . For instance, the reflection interface  124  may reflect the reflected portion  128  of light  118  based at least in part on a difference between the first index of refraction of the additional layer  120  and the second index of refraction of the refractive index layer  122 . Such reflection by the reflection interface  124  back to the image sensor  104  may be an internal reflection that produces little to no ghost ring. For instance, the ghost ring produced by the reflected light  128  in example  100   b  ( FIG. 1B ) may be less than the ghost ring produced by the reflected light  130  in example  100   a  ( FIG. 1A ). In various embodiments, the reflection interface  124  between the additional layer  120  and the refractive index layer  122  may be located proximate to the image sensor  104 . As such, the size of the ghost ring produced by the reflected light  128  in example  100   b  may not be significantly larger than the size of the light source  126  in the image captured via the image sensor  104 , and thus the ghost ring may appear as part of the light source  126  in the image. 
     In some embodiments, the materials of the additional layer  120  and the refractive index layer  122  may be configured such that the difference in refractive indexes of the two layers at the boundary between the two layers, e.g. the reflection interface  124 , causes total internal reflection (TIR) of reflected light. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an example  200  of how internal reflection within may affect ghost ring size, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, example  200  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 3-9 . 
     In some embodiments, a camera may include a glass layer  202  and an image sensor  204  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The image sensor  204  may be configured to capture light  206  that has passed through the glass layer  202 . In some embodiments, a glass layer  202  may have a first index of refraction (“Index 1 ”)  208 . Another portion of the camera above the glass layer  202 , such as a refractive index layer, may have a second index of refraction (“Index 2 ”)  210 . For instance, the portion above glass layer  202  may be an air gap  216  comprising air (or in some embodiments another gas other than air) that has a different index of refraction than the glass layer  202 . The air gap may function as a refractive index layer and form a boundary with the glass layer  202  that function as a reflection interface. In some examples, the second index of refraction  210  of the air gap  216  may be lower than the first index of refraction  208  of the glass layer  202 . 
     Total internal reflection (TIR) may occur when a propagated wave (such as light passing through glass layer  202 ) strikes a boundary (such as a boundary between glass layer  202  and air gap  216 , e.g. a reflection interface) at an angle larger than a TIR angle. As shown in  FIG. 2 , when reflected light portion  218  strikes the reflection interface formed by the boundary of glass layer  202  and air gap  216  at an angle equal to or greater than the TIR angle  212 , the reflected light portion  218  is reflected off of the boundary between the glass layer  202  and air gap  216 . In comparison, as shown in  FIG. 1B  some of internally reflected light  128  that strikes reflection interface  124  at an angle less than a TIR angle may pass through the reflection interface  124 . However, such reflected light that passes through the reflection interface  124  in  FIG. 1B  may exit the camera  150 , or if reflected at the interface of outer lens  116  and air surrounding outer lens  116 , the amount of reflected light may be negligible. 
     In some examples, the TIR angle  212  may be characterized as: 
     TIR angle=sin −1 (Index 2 /Index 1 ), where index 1 is a refractive index of a first layer and index 2 is a refractive index of a second layer, wherein the first layer and the second layer form a reflective interface at a boundary between the layers. For example, index 1 may be first index of refraction  208  and index 2 may be second index of refraction  210 . 
     Furthermore, in some examples, the ring diameter  214  of a ghost ring produced by the TIR of reflected light portion  218  may be characterized as: 
     ring diameter=tan{sin −1 (Index 2 /Index 1 )}●thickness●4, where 
     “thickness” is the thickness  220  of the glass layer  202  in  FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, the thickness  220  may be a vertical distance from the image sensor  204  to the interface between the layer having the first index of refraction  208  and the air gap or other type of refractive index layer having the second index of refraction  210 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of an example image sensor package  300  that includes a refractive index layer that forms a reflection interface, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the image sensor package  300  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1A-2 and 4-9 . 
     In some embodiments, the image sensor package  300  may include an image sensor  304 , a refractive index layer  310  and a glass (or plastic) layer  312 . The image sensor  304  may be configured to capture light that has passed through the glass layer  312 . An adhesive  308  may attach the glass layer  312  with attached refractive index layer  310  to the image sensor  304 . In some embodiments, the image sensor package  300  may comprise field flattener lens (e.g., a lens configured to reduce field curvature of an image captured via the image sensor  304 , such as a concave lens). However, the sensor package  300  may include other types of lens in other embodiments. The image sensor package  300  may include a refractive index layer  310  that has a first index of refraction. Furthermore, the image sensor package  300  may include an additional layer, such as a glass layer  312 , that has a second index of refraction that is lower than the first index of refraction of the refractive index layer  310 . 
     According to various embodiments, the refractive index layer  310  and the glass layer  312  may interface at a reflection interface  314 . In various embodiments, the reflection interface  314  may reflect at least a portion of light that has been reflected by the image sensor  304 , such that the portion of light is reflected by the reflection interface  314  back to the image sensor  304 . For instance, the reflection interface  314  may reflect the portion of light based at least in part on a difference between the first index of refraction of the refractive index layer  310  and a second index of refraction of the glass layer  312 . 
     In some examples, the refractive index layer  310 , the glass layer  312 , and/or the reflection interface  314  may be located proximate to the image sensor  304 . For example, the reflection interface  314  may be located closer to the image sensor  304  than to an upper surface of the glass layer  312 . 
     In some embodiments, at least a portion of the refractive index layer  310  that has the first index of refraction may extend along a first plane, and at least a portion of the additional layer, e.g. the glass layer  312  that has the second index of refraction, may extend along a second plane that is substantially parallel to the first plane. The first plane may be located between the image sensor  304  and the second plane. Furthermore, the second plane may be located between the first plane and an upper surface of the glass layer  312 . In various embodiments, the image sensor may define a plane that is substantially parallel to the first plane and/or the second plane. 
     In some embodiments, an image sensor, such as image sensor  304 , may include one or more on chip mounted lenses  306 . In some embodiments, an adhesive  308  may attach the glass layer  312  with attached refractive index layer  310  to the on chip lenses  306  of the image sensor  304 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example low refractive index layer  400  that may be used in a camera having a reflection interface, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the low refractive index layer  400  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1A-3 and 5-9 . 
     In some embodiments, the low refractive index layer  400  may include one or more beads  402  (e.g., silica beads). According to some examples, the beads  402  may be hollow and/or have air  404  inside of them. The low index layer  400  may have a low index of refraction as compared to another layer of a camera, such as a glass layer of an image sensor, based at least in part on air  404  within the beads  402 . For example, air may have a refractive index of approximately 1, whereas glass may have a refractive index greater than air, such as 1.3-1.5, as an example. In some embodiments, one or more of the beads  402  may be surrounded by a binding material  406 . 
     In some non-limiting examples, the low index layer  400  may form at least part of refractive index layer  122  ( FIG. 1B ), refractive index layer  310  ( FIG. 3 ), and/or refractive index layer  510  ( FIG. 5 ). 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of an example camera  500  that includes a reflection interface, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the camera  500  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1A-4 and 6-9 . 
     In some embodiments, the camera  500  may include an upper lens assembly  520 , a lower lens assembly  530 , and an image sensor  506 . The image sensor  506  may be configured to capture light that has passed through the upper lens assembly  520  and the lower lens assembly  530 . The upper lens assembly  520  may include one or more lenses  502  that are held by a lens holder  508  in some embodiments. The lower lens assembly  530  may include a lens  504  located between the image sensor  506  and the upper lens assembly  520 , and/or between the image sensor  506  and the lens holder  508 . In some examples, the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530  may be coupled to the image sensor  506 . For instance, the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530  may be attached to the image sensor  506  via an adhesive, e.g., as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
     In some cases, the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530  may be a concave lens, e.g., as indicated in  FIG. 5 . Additionally, or alternatively, the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530  may be a field flattener lens that is configured to reduce field curvature of an image captured via the image sensor  506 . 
     According to various embodiments, the camera and lens system  500  may include a reflection interface  510 . For instance, the reflection interface  510  may be an interface between a glass layer  512  of the lower lens assembly  530  and a refractive index layer  514 . The glass layer  512  may have a first index of refraction. The refractive index layer  514  may have a second index of refraction. In some embodiments, the refractive layer  514  may have a lower index of refraction than the glass layer  512 . In some examples, the first index of refraction of the glass layer  512  may be greater than 1.4, and the second index of refraction of the refractive index layer  514  may be less than 1.3. 
     In some examples, the reflection interface  510  may reflect at least a portion of light that has been reflected by the image sensor  506 , such that the portion of light is reflected by the reflection interface  510  back to the image sensor  506 . Also, in some embodiments, the reflection interface  510  may produce total internal reflection (TIR). For instance, total internal reflection may occur at a location between the image sensor  506  and an upper surface of the lens  504 . 
     In some embodiments, the glass layer  512  and the refractive index layer  514  may be coupled with lens  504 , e.g., as indicated in  FIG. 5 . However, in some embodiments, the glass layer  512  and/or the refractive index layer  514  may be separated from an additional lens layer. For instance, as discussed below with reference to  FIG. 6 , the glass layer  512  may be attached to the image sensor  504 , and a reflection interface may be formed at a boundary between the glass layer  512  and an air gap. 
     In some embodiments, an image sensor assembly may include a substrate  516  (e.g., an image sensor substrate) that is part of the image sensor, wherein the image sensor includes a light receiving part and a logic area, wherein the substrate  516  is coupled to the logic area of the image sensor and the portion of the image sensor labeled as  506  comprises the light receiving portion. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the camera  500  may include a filter  518  (e.g., an infrared filter). The filter  518  may be located between the one or more lenses  502  of the upper lens assembly  520  and the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530 , in some embodiments. As such, in some instances, light may pass through the one or more lenses  502  of the upper lens assembly  520 , then through the filter  518 , then through the components of the lower lens assembly  530 , and to the image sensor  506 . It should be understood, however, that the filter  518  may be located differently in other embodiments. As an example, the filter  518  may be located above the one or more lenses  502  of the upper lens assembly  520 . As another example, the filter  518  may be located below the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530 . 
     According to some embodiments, the camera module  500  may include one or more actuators (not shown) to move the one or more lenses  502  of the upper lens assembly  520 , one or more actuators (not shown) to move the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530 , and/or one or more actuators (not shown) to move the image sensor  506 . The actuator(s) may be used to provide autofocus (AF) and/or optical image stabilization (OIS) functionality. In some cases, the actuator(s) may include one or more voice coil motor (VCM) actuators that include one or more magnets and one or more coils. The magnet(s) and coil(s) may magnetically interact to produce Lorentz forces that move the one or more lenses  502  of the upper lens assembly  520 , the lens  504  of the lower lens assembly  530 , and/or the image sensor  506 . As an example, the camera and lens system  500  may include a VCM actuator to move the one or more lenses  502  of the upper lens assembly  520 , relative to the lower lens assembly  530  and/or the image sensor  506 , along an optical axis to provide AF movement. As another example, the VCM actuator may be configured to move the one or more lenses  502  of the upper lens assembly, relative to the lower lens assembly  530  and/or the image sensor  506 , in directions orthogonal to the optical axis to provide OIS movement. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of another example camera  600  that includes a reflection interface, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the camera  600  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1A-5 and 7-9 . 
     In some embodiments, the camera  600  may include a lens  602  and an image sensor  604 . The image sensor  604  may be configured to capture light that has passed through the lens  602 . In some embodiments, the lens  602  may be a concave lens or other type of field flattening lens that is configured to reduce field curvature of an image captured via the image sensor  604 . 
     According to some embodiments, the camera  600  may include a reflection interface  606  at a boundary between a first layer  608  and a gap layer  610 , e.g. an air gap. For instance, the reflection interface  606  may be an interface between a first layer  608  and a gap portion  610 . The gap portion, such as gap portion  610 , may function as a refractive index layer. The first layer  608  may have a first index of refraction, and the gap portion  610  may have a second index of refraction that is lower than the first index of refraction. For instance, the first layer  608  may be a glass layer attached to the image sensor  604 , and the gap portion  610  may be a gap located between the first layer  608  and the lens  602 . In some embodiments, the gap portion may comprise air, or other gasses, such as nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, etc. In some embodiments, a gap portion may be a vacuum layer. In some embodiments, a lower surface of a glass layer (first layer  608 ) may be attached to the image sensor  604 . An upper surface of the glass layer may be spaced apart from a lower surface of the lens  602  via one or more spacers  612  to form the gap layer (gap portion  610 ). A portion of the upper surface of the glass layer may be coupled to a portion of the lower surface of the lens  602  via the spacer(s)  612 . 
     In some embodiments, the image sensor  604  may include a substrate  614  (e.g., an image sensor substrate) that is part of the image sensor  604 . In some cases, the camera  600  may include a filter (e.g., an infrared filter). For instance, the filter may be the first layer  608  in some embodiments. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a block diagram of an example portable multifunction device  700  that may include a camera having a reflection interface, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the portable multifunction device  700  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1-6, 8, and 9 . 
     Camera(s)  764  is sometimes called an “optical sensor” for convenience, and may also be known as or called an optical sensor system. Device  700  may include memory  702  (which may include one or more computer readable storage mediums), memory controller  722 , one or more processing units (CPUs)  720 , peripherals interface  718 , RF circuitry  708 , audio circuitry  710 , speaker  711 , touch-sensitive display system  712 , microphone  713 , input/output (I/O) subsystem  706 , other input or control devices  716 , and external port  724 . Device  700  may include one or more optical sensors  764 . These components may communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines  703 . 
     It should be appreciated that device  700  is only one example of a portable multifunction device, and that device  700  may have more or fewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. The various components shown in  FIG. 7  may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits. 
     Memory  702  may include high-speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Access to memory  702  by other components of device  700 , such as CPU  720  and the peripherals interface  718 , may be controlled by memory controller  722 . 
     Peripherals interface  718  can be used to couple input and output peripherals of the device to CPU  720  and memory  702 . The one or more processors  720  run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in memory  702  to perform various functions for device  700  and to process data. 
     In some embodiments, peripherals interface  718 , CPU  720 , and memory controller  722  may be implemented on a single chip, such as chip  704 . In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips. 
     RF (radio frequency) circuitry  708  receives and sends RF signals, also called electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry  708  converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry  708  may include well-known circuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RF circuitry  708  may communicate with networks, such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any of a variety of communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. 
     Audio circuitry  710 , speaker  711 , and microphone  713  provide an audio interface between a user and device  700 . Audio circuitry  710  receives audio data from peripherals interface  718 , converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker  711 . Speaker  711  converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves. Audio circuitry  710  also receives electrical signals converted by microphone  713  from sound waves. Audio circuitry  710  converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to peripherals interface  718  for processing. Audio data may be retrieved from and/or transmitted to memory  702  and/or RF circuitry  708  by peripherals interface  718 . In some embodiments, audio circuitry  710  also includes a headset jack (e.g.,  812 ,  FIG. 8 ). The headset jack provides an interface between audio circuitry  710  and removable audio input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., a microphone). 
     I/O subsystem  706  couples input/output peripherals on device  700 , such as touch screen  712  and other input control devices  716 , to peripherals interface  718 . I/O subsystem  706  may include display controller  756  and one or more input controllers  760  for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers  760  receive/send electrical signals from/to other input or control devices  716 . The other input control devices  716  may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s)  760  may be coupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g.,  808 ,  FIG. 8 ) may include an up/down button for volume control of speaker  711  and/or microphone  713 . The one or more buttons may include a push button (e.g.,  806 ,  FIG. 8 ). 
     Touch-sensitive display  712  provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and a user. Display controller  756  receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen  712 . Touch screen  712  displays visual output to the user. The visual output may include graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output may correspond to user-interface objects. 
     Touch screen  712  has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact. Touch screen  712  and display controller  756  (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory  702 ) detect contact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen  712  and converts the detected contact into interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) that are displayed on touch screen  712 . In an example embodiment, a point of contact between touch screen  712  and the user corresponds to a finger of the user. 
     Touch screen  712  may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. Touch screen  712  and display controller  756  may detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a variety of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with touch screen  712 . In an example embodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used. 
     Touch screen  712  may have a video resolution in excess of 800 dpi. In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution of approximately 860 dpi. The user may make contact with touch screen  712  using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translates the rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired by the user. 
     In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device  700  may include a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch screen  712  or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen. 
     Device  700  also includes power system  762  for powering the various components. Power system  762  may include a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices. 
     Device  700  may also include one or more optical sensors or cameras  764 .  FIG. 7  shows an optical sensor  764  coupled to optical sensor controller  758  in I/O subsystem  706 . Optical sensor  764  may include charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors. Optical sensor  764  receives light from the environment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the light to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module  743  (also called a camera module), optical sensor  764  may capture still images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor  764  is located on the back of device  700 , opposite touch screen display  712  on the front of the device, so that the touch screen display  712  may be used as a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, another optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the user&#39;s image may be obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conference participants on the touch screen display. 
     Device  700  may also include one or more proximity sensors  766 .  FIG. 7  shows proximity sensor  766  coupled to peripherals interface  718 . Alternately, proximity sensor  766  may be coupled to input controller  760  in I/O subsystem  706 . In some embodiments, the proximity sensor  766  turns off and disables touch screen  712  when the multifunction device  700  is placed near the user&#39;s ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call). 
     Device  700  includes one or more orientation sensors  768 . In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors  768  include one or more accelerometers (e.g., one or more linear accelerometers and/or one or more rotational accelerometers). In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors  768  include one or more gyroscopes. In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors  768  include one or more magnetometers. In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors  768  include one or more of global positioning system (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), and/or other global navigation system receivers. The GPS, GLONASS, and/or other global navigation system receivers may be used for obtaining information concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device  700 . In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors  768  include any combination of orientation/rotation sensors.  FIG. 7  shows the one or more orientation sensors  768  coupled to peripherals interface  718 . Alternately, the one or more orientation sensors  768  may be coupled to an input controller  760  in I/O subsystem  706 . In some embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen display  712  in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one or more orientation sensors  768 . 
     In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory  702  include operating system  726 , communication module (or set of instructions)  728 , contact/motion module (or set of instructions)  730 , graphics module (or set of instructions)  732 , text input module (or set of instructions)  734 , Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set of instructions)  735 , arbiter module  758  and applications (or sets of instructions)  736 . Furthermore, in some embodiments memory  702  stores device/global internal state  757 . Device/global internal state  757  includes one or more of: active application state, indicating which applications, if any, are currently active; display state, indicating what applications, views or other information occupy various regions of touch screen display  712 ; sensor state, including information obtained from the device&#39;s various sensors and input control devices  716 ; and location information concerning the device&#39;s location and/or attitude. 
     Operating system  726  (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components. 
     Communication module  728  facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports  724  and also includes various software components for handling data received by RF circuitry  708  and/or external port  724 . External port  724  (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connector. 
     Contact/motion module  730  may detect contact with touch screen  712  (in conjunction with display controller  756 ) and other touch sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). In some embodiments, contact/motion module  730  and display controller  756  detect contact on a touchpad. Contact/motion module  730  may detect a gesture input by a user. Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contact patterns. Graphics module  732  includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on touch screen  712  or other display, including components for changing the intensity of graphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations and the like. Text input module  734 , which may be a component of graphics module  732 , provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g., contacts, e-mail, and any other application that needs text input). GPS module  735  determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications  736  (e.g., to a camera application as picture/video metadata). 
     Applications  736  may include one or more modules (e.g., a contacts module, an email client module, a camera module for still and/or video images, etc.) Examples of other applications  736  that may be stored in memory  702  include other word processing applications, other image editing applications, drawing applications, presentation applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice replication. Each of the modules and applications correspond to a set of executable instructions for performing one or more functions described above and the methods described in this application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory  702  may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory  702  may store additional modules and data structures not described above. 
       FIG. 8  depicts an example portable multifunction device  700  that may include a camera having a reflection interface, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the portable multifunction device  700  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1-7 and 9 . 
     The device  700  may have a touch screen  712 . The touch screen  712  may display one or more graphics within user interface (UI)  800 . In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user may select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on the graphics, for example, with one or more fingers  802  (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more styluses  803  (not drawn to scale in the figure). 
     Device  700  may also include one or more physical buttons, such as “home” or menu button  804 . As described previously, menu button  804  may be used to navigate to any application  736  in a set of applications that may be executed on device  700 . Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button  804  is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen  712 . 
     In one embodiment, device  700  includes touch screen  712 , menu button  804 , push button  806  for powering the device on/off and locking the device, volume adjustment button(s)  808 , Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card slot  810 , head set jack  812 , and docking/charging external port  724 . Push button  806  may be used to turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device  700  also may accept verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone  713 . 
     It should be noted that, although many of the examples herein are given with reference to optical sensor(s)/camera(s)  764  (on the front of a device), one or more rear-facing cameras or optical sensors that are pointed opposite from the display may be used instead of, or in addition to, an optical sensor(s)/camera(s)  764  on the front of a device. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an example computer system  900  that may include a camera having a reflection interface, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the computer system  900  may include one or multiple features, components, and/or functionality of embodiments described herein with reference to  FIGS. 1-8 . 
     The computer system  900  may be configured to execute any or all of the embodiments described above. In different embodiments, computer system  900  may be any of various types of devices, including, but not limited to, a personal computer system, desktop computer, laptop, notebook, tablet, slate, pad, or netbook computer, mainframe computer system, handheld computer, workstation, network computer, a camera, a set top box, a mobile device, a consumer device, video game console, handheld video game device, application server, storage device, a television, a video recording device, a peripheral device such as a switch, modem, router, or in general any type of computing or electronic device. 
     Various embodiments of a camera motion control system as described herein, including embodiments of magnetic position sensing, as described herein may be executed in one or more computer systems  900 , which may interact with various other devices. Note that any component, action, or functionality described above with respect to  FIGS. 1-14  may be implemented on one or more computers configured as computer system  900  of  FIG. 9 , according to various embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, computer system  900  includes one or more processors  910  coupled to a system memory  920  via an input/output (I/O) interface  930 . Computer system  900  further includes a network interface  940  coupled to I/O interface  930 , and one or more input/output devices  950 , such as cursor control device  960 , keyboard  970 , and display(s)  980 . In some cases, it is contemplated that embodiments may be implemented using a single instance of computer system  900 , while in other embodiments multiple such systems, or multiple nodes making up computer system  900 , may be configured to host different portions or instances of embodiments. For example, in one embodiment some elements may be implemented via one or more nodes of computer system  900  that are distinct from those nodes implementing other elements. 
     In various embodiments, computer system  900  may be a uniprocessor system including one processor  910 , or a multiprocessor system including several processors  910  (e.g., two, four, eight, or another suitable number). Processors  910  may be any suitable processor capable of executing instructions. For example, in various embodiments processors  910  may be general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs), such as the x86, PowerPC, SPARC, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitable ISA. In multiprocessor systems, each of processors  910  may commonly, but not necessarily, implement the same ISA. 
     System memory  920  may be configured to store camera control program instructions  922  and/or camera control data accessible by processor  910 . In various embodiments, system memory  920  may be implemented using any suitable memory technology, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), nonvolatile/Flash-type memory, or any other type of memory. In the illustrated embodiment, program instructions  922  may be configured to implement a lens control application  924  incorporating any of the functionality described above. Additionally, existing camera control data  932  of memory  920  may include any of the information or data structures described above. In some embodiments, program instructions and/or data may be received, sent or stored upon different types of computer-accessible media or on similar media separate from system memory  920  or computer system  900 . While computer system  900  is described as implementing the functionality of functional blocks of previous Figures, any of the functionality described herein may be implemented via such a computer system. 
     In one embodiment, I/O interface  930  may be configured to coordinate I/O traffic between processor  910 , system memory  920 , and any peripheral devices in the device, including network interface  940  or other peripheral interfaces, such as input/output devices  950 . In some embodiments, I/O interface  930  may perform any necessary protocol, timing or other data transformations to convert data signals from one component (e.g., system memory  920 ) into a format suitable for use by another component (e.g., processor  910 ). In some embodiments, I/O interface  930  may include support for devices attached through various types of peripheral buses, such as a variant of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus standard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, for example. In some embodiments, the function of I/O interface  930  may be split into two or more separate components, such as a north bridge and a south bridge, for example. Also, in some embodiments some or all of the functionality of I/O interface  930 , such as an interface to system memory  920 , may be incorporated directly into processor  910 . 
     Network interface  940  may be configured to allow data to be exchanged between computer system  900  and other devices attached to a network  985  (e.g., carrier or agent devices) or between nodes of computer system  900 . Network  985  may in various embodiments include one or more networks including but not limited to Local Area Networks (LANs) (e.g., an Ethernet or corporate network), Wide Area Networks (WANs) (e.g., the Internet), wireless data networks, some other electronic data network, or some combination thereof. In various embodiments, network interface  940  may support communication via wired or wireless general data networks, such as any suitable type of Ethernet network, for example; via telecommunications/telephony networks such as analog voice networks or digital fiber communications networks; via storage area networks such as Fibre Channel SANs, or via any other suitable type of network and/or protocol. 
     Input/output devices  950  may, in some embodiments, include one or more display terminals, keyboards, keypads, touchpads, scanning devices, voice or optical recognition devices, or any other devices suitable for entering or accessing data by one or more computer systems  900 . Multiple input/output devices  950  may be present in computer system  900  or may be distributed on various nodes of computer system  900 . In some embodiments, similar input/output devices may be separate from computer system  900  and may interact with one or more nodes of computer system  900  through a wired or wireless connection, such as over network interface  940 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , memory  920  may include program instructions  922 , which may be processor-executable to implement any element or action described above. In one embodiment, the program instructions may implement the methods described above. In other embodiments, different elements and data may be included. Note that data may include any data or information described above. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system  900  is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of embodiments. In particular, the computer system and devices may include any combination of hardware or software that can perform the indicated functions, including computers, network devices, Internet appliances, PDAs, wireless phones, pagers, etc. Computer system  900  may also be connected to other devices that are not illustrated, or instead may operate as a stand-alone system. In addition, the functionality provided by the illustrated components may in some embodiments be combined in fewer components or distributed in additional components. Similarly, in some embodiments, the functionality of some of the illustrated components may not be provided and/or other additional functionality may be available. 
     Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, while various items are illustrated as being stored in memory or on storage while being used, these items or portions of them may be transferred between memory and other storage devices for purposes of memory management and data integrity. Alternatively, in other embodiments some or all of the software components may execute in memory on another device and communicate with the illustrated computer system via inter-computer communication. Some or all of the system components or data structures may also be stored (e.g., as instructions or structured data) on a computer-accessible medium or a portable article to be read by an appropriate drive, various examples of which are described above. In some embodiments, instructions stored on a computer-accessible medium separate from computer system  900  may be transmitted to computer system  900  via transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link. Various embodiments may further include receiving, sending or storing instructions and/or data implemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon a computer-accessible medium. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium or memory medium such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM, volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc. In some embodiments, a computer-accessible medium may include transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as network and/or a wireless link. 
     The methods described herein may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof, in different embodiments. In addition, the order of the blocks of the methods may be changed, and various elements may be added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. Various modifications and changes may be made as would be obvious to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. The various embodiments described herein are meant to be illustrative and not limiting. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible. Accordingly, plural instances may be provided for components described herein as a single instance. Boundaries between various components, operations and data stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in the context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within the scope of claims that follow. Finally, structures and functionality presented as discrete components in the example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of embodiments as defined in the claims that follow.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20190822
Publication Date: 20220809
Grant Date: 20220809
Priority Date: 20180910
Inventors: SHIGEMITSU, NORIMICHI
FUKUZAKI, RYOZO
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04N23/55", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N23/81", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N23/54", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N23/55", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F39/8067", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B3/0087", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B15/22", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0018", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B5/265", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B13/001", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0018", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B1/06", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N5/2254", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B13/001", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0018", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B15/22", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L27/14629", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B3/0087", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 69719550