CN101056357A

CN101056357A - Real time amplification system of hand-held electronic component

Info

Publication number: CN101056357A
Application number: CN 200610072324
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李明烈; 吴穗生
Original assignee: Sanjiang Sci & Tech Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sanjiang Sci & Tech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2006-04-14
Filing date: 2006-04-14
Publication date: 2007-10-17

Abstract

A portable electric module amplification system is especially suitable for application in a digital camera, a photography mobile telephone or personal digital assistant. Said amplification system comprises lens, display screen and scaling key for adjusting amplification times of lens focus or images. Said amplification system comprises further a function key used for controlling electric module switching between other operation mode and amplification mode. When the amplification mode is performed, one user selects the amplification multiple rate through the scaling key, wherein the amplification multiple rate of images can be larger than 1. A charge coupled device (CCD) is adopted to limit images from the lens according to set amplification multiple rate, and the amplification system is adopted to amplifying the images. Said amplified images are stored temporarily in image display internal memory after a signal conversion treatment course, and can be displayed real-time at the image display screen.

Description

Real-time amplification system of handheld electronic component

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly, to a digital camera capable of increasing an image magnification to 1 or more.

Background

The development of electronic technology has made people's lives more convenient, and the traditional film camera has not only the difficulty of viewing the photographed result in real time, but also the relatively high cost of developing the film and the inability to know the quality of the photographed image immediately, and thus has been gradually replaced by the digital camera. Nowadays, digital science and technology are developed, images shot by a digital camera can be watched immediately, and meanwhile, the digital camera can be connected with computer equipment to modify and print photos. Therefore, digital cameras have become an essential item for people to carry with them.

In a conventional camera or a digital camera, the telescopic function is only to pull a distant object into an imaging distance by using a combination of lenses. But without the function of amplification. Therefore, the real object cannot be enlarged, so that many cameras cannot meet the required standard when shooting a tiny object.

For example, the nearby objects photographed by people are characters on books, or insects or plants observed in the field, or other interesting handicraft articles. When people want to shoot the images in detail, the camera only has the effect of zooming the distance of the distant object to form an image, but does not have the function of amplifying the near object, so the shot images are at most only equal to the real objects, and the shot subjects are not obvious enough.

On the other hand, older adults are not very good at seeing, and therefore are very hard to read or view delicate things. Since the conventional digital camera only captures the whole image and then reduces or displays the image with a constant size, it is necessary to wear glasses or other devices to assist in viewing the image on the display screen of the digital camera.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a digital camera capable of magnifying an image by more than 1 and displaying the image in real time, so as to improve the function of the conventional digital camera that only can zoom in the distant object for imaging, but the imaging is still smaller than the real object. Therefore, when the magnification function is started and the magnification is set, the image entered from the lens is sensed on the charge coupled device, and the charge coupled device frames the image to be magnified according to the magnification and magnifies the image.

On the other hand, due to the advances in semiconductor technology and software engineering, portable electronic devices are becoming popular, and thus digital cameras or camera phones are just as a product that is portable and handy. If these portable products can be made to have a magnifying effect, great convenience will be provided to those with poor eyesight.

In summary, the present invention is directed to an amplifying system of a portable electronic device, particularly suitable for a digital camera, a camera phone, or a personal digital assistant; the magnifying system comprises a lens, a display screen and a zooming key for adjusting the focal length of the lens and/or the image magnification; in addition, the electronic component is also provided with a function key for controlling the electronic component to switch between other operation modes and an amplification mode; when executing the magnification mode, the user selects the magnification ratio through the zoom key, and the magnification ratio of the image can be larger than 1; according to the set magnification, the image entering from the lens is framed by a Charge Coupled Device (CCD), and the image is magnified by a magnification system; and after the amplified image is processed by the signal conversion processor, the amplified image is temporarily stored in an image display memory and can be displayed on an image display screen in real time.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a state diagram of the present invention in use with the zoom function;

FIG. 3 is a state diagram of the present invention in use with a digital camera function;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the amplification function circuitry of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flow chart of the amplification function of the present invention.

In the drawings, the components represented by the respective reference numerals are listed below:

.

A zoom key 13

A

13w

A digital signal conversion processor

A charge coupled device 46

The shutter 50

.selecting an activation component 52

53.

54b

56.

58... is displayed on the display screen 59.. is turned off

Finish

Detailed Description

The present invention relates to an electronic component with an amplifying function, and more particularly to an electronic component such as a digital camera, a personal digital assistant, or a camera phone. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention applied to a digital camera, fig. 2 is a state diagram of the present invention in use when using a zoom-in function, fig. 3 is a state diagram of the present invention in use when using a digital camera function, and the following description will be made with reference to the above-mentioned drawings.

As shown in the figure, the digital camera of the present invention has a rectangular body 10, a lens 12 is disposed on the front surface of the body 10, a display screen 17 is disposed on the back surface of the body, and a shutter 18 and a starting component 11 are disposed on one side of the body; wherein, the image entered through the lens 12 can be played on the display screen 17. In addition, in order to control the focal length of the lens 12, the body 10 is further provided with a zoom key 13, and by selecting the zoom-in key 13T or the zoom-out key 13W of the zoom key 13, the focal length of the lens 12 can be adjusted and different image magnifications can be selected, which is noteworthy that, under the shooting function architecture of the conventional digital camera, these magnifications are all less than or equal to 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the starting component 11 is used for controlling the digital camera to switch between the other camera mode P and the zoom-in mode M. For example, as shown in fig. 3, when the camera is currently set in the other camera mode P mode, the user sets the image size of the display screen 17 by using the zoom key 13 and stores the image 30 in the memory by using the shutter 18. As shown in fig. 2 again, when the starting module 11 is adjusted to the zoom-in mode M, the camera can zoom in the image 20, and the zoom-in magnification of 20 can be selected by the control of the zoom-in key 13.

In general, the zoom key 13 is composed of a zoom key 13T and a zoom key 13W for switching between left and right controls, and therefore allows the user to switch between different magnifications using left and right control buttons. For example, when switching to the zoom mode M, the preset zoom value of the dsp is doubled, if the user presses the zoom key 13T once, the zoom factor is doubled, and presses the zoom key 13T once again, the zoom factor is tripled, and so on. The magnification of the present invention is preferably set to ten times, but may be adjusted as needed. Meanwhile, if the current magnification is three times, the user may press the zoom key 13W once when he/she wants to adjust the magnification to two times. The functional circuit for controlling the amplification mode M will be described in detail below.

As shown in fig. 4, it is a schematic circuit diagram when performing the amplification function. An image sensor array (image sensor array) in the camera, such as a photo chip on the ccd 41, has pixels (pixels), and the photo chip converts incident light into photoelectrons and stores them in each pixel. After the light sensing is finished, the CCD 41 frames the image to be amplified, and the image is amplified by the image amplifier. In other words, if the sensed image of the sensor chip is the same size as the real object, i.e. as shown in fig. 4 at 1x, the ccd 41 will be selected to be smaller due to the different magnification required by the user. Of course, the image sensor array (CMOS) can also be CMOS.

To explain further, as shown in the figure, when the magnification is set to 2 times, the ccd element 41 frames a range of 1/2 with an area of the sensing image from the center point (/ or specific point) of the sensing image, as shown by 2x in the figure; and the image of the frame range 2x is enlarged to the size of 1x for each pixel. In addition, as the magnification is larger, the frame selection range sensed by the ccd 41 should be smaller since the size of each image is fixed. Then, the selected pixel passes through the digital signal conversion processor 45, and the image is displayed in the memory 47.

In addition, an image sensor array (image sensor array) is a component that senses the light source and generates a digital image signal, and those having such a function are within the scope of the present invention. For example, in addition to a Charge Coupled Device (CCD), a complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor array (CMOS sensor array) may be used.

The image enlargement is performed by the image enlargement controller 451 in the digital signal conversion processor 45, and there are two processing methods. One is to directly enlarge and remap (mapping) the pixels of the framed image into the memory 47; the other is to enlarge the respective pixels and then perform interpolation color correction. The method used varies with the magnification and pixel resolution of the camera, for example, for a camera with 500 ten thousand pixels, more than 5 times of magnification needs to be enhanced by the second method. Of course, other image magnification methods are possible and are within the scope of the present invention.

To sum up, when the user selects the zoom-in function and places the lens 12 in front of the object to be zoomed in, the self-focus unit (self-focus unit)20 of the camera automatically focuses and sets the focal length to make the image on the photosensitive chip clear; the user selects the magnification, and the ccd 41 frames a suitable portion of the image with the center point (or specific point) of the image as the center according to the selected magnification, processes and magnifies the image by the digital processor, stores the image in the image display memory 47, and displays the image on the display screen 17.

Furthermore, assuming that the selected magnification is 3 times and the size of the image and the object on the photosensitive chip are equal, the area framed by the CCD 41 should be 1/3 of the image. Finally, since the digital camera is a handheld device, the automatic focusing unit 20 needs to automatically focus continuously during the zooming process, so as to avoid blurring the image due to shaking of the human hand.

Thus, a flow chart of the present invention may be as shown in FIG. 5. First, the user selects the function of the digital camera by using the starting component 11, and if the user selects other functions of the digital camera, the other function circuits of the digital camera, i.e. steps 50 to 53, will be executed, and the description of the function of the digital camera will not be repeated herein. And if the user selects the zoom-in function, as shown in steps 54 to 58.

Firstly, the camera needs to be automatically focused at this time, and a user selects the magnification by using a zoom key 13; the image in the selected range is framed by the charge coupling component 41, converted into photoelectrons, amplified by the digital signal conversion processor 45, converted into digital signals and stored in the memory 47; then, the data in the memory 47 is converted into a signal that can be played by a display device (display device) by a decoder (encoder) unit 46, and displayed on the display screen 17. The decoder unit 46 may be an RGB digital signal (RGB digital signal) decoder, or an NTSC/PAL digital decoder.

Claims

1. A real-time amplification system of a handheld electronic component is used for amplifying an image and displaying the amplified image on a display component of the electronic component in real time, and comprises:

(a) the handheld digital image component unit is used for sensing and converting an image signal and comprises an image sensor array to generate a digital image signal; the automatic focusing unit is used for determining the focal length of the image aligned with the lens; wherein,

the image sensor is one of (1) a complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor array and (2) a charge coupled device sensor array;

(b) the digital signal conversion processor is electrically connected with the image sensor array and is used for amplifying the image signals of the image sensor array, and the amplification factor of the image is not less than 1;

(c) a decoder unit electrically connected with the digital signal conversion processor for converting the digital image signal into a signal capable of being played by a display component; wherein,

the decoder unit is one of (1) an RGB digital signal decoder and (2) an NTSC/PAL digital decoder

(d) And the memory is respectively electrically connected with the digital signal conversion processor and the display screen and is used for storing the RGB digital signals and displaying the RGB digital signals on the display screen in real time.

2. The real-time amplification system of handheld electronic device of claim 1, wherein said dsp includes an image amplification controller therein for amplifying said framed image.

3. A hand-held electronic component for real-time image amplification is suitable for electronic components such as a digital camera, a personal digital assistant or a camera mobile phone, and the hand-held electronic component is provided with a lens and a display screen; it further comprises:

(a) the hand-held digital assembly unit is used for sensing and converting image signals and comprises: an image sensor array for generating a digital image signal; the automatic focusing unit is used for determining the focal length of the image aligned with the lens; the starting component is arranged on the handheld digital image component unit; wherein,

the image sensor is one of (1) a CMOS image sensor array and (2) a CCD sensor array

(b) The digital signal conversion processor is electrically connected with the image sensor array and the magnification selection button and is used for amplifying the image signals of the image sensor array according to the magnification, and the magnification of the image is not less than 1;

the decoder unit is one of (1) an RGB digital signal decoder and (2) an NTSC/PAL digital decoder;

4. The hand-held electronic assembly of claim 3, comprising a zoom key for adjusting the magnification of the image, electrically connected to the digital signal converter.

5. The electronic assembly of claim 3, wherein the DSP includes an image magnification controller therein for magnifying the framed image.

6. A real-time amplification unit of a handheld electronic component for amplifying a sensed image and displaying the amplified image on a display component of the handheld electronic component in real time, comprising:

(a) the digital signal conversion processor is respectively electrically connected with the image sensor array and is used for amplifying the image signals of the image sensor array, and the amplification factor of the image is not less than 1;

(b) the decoder unit is electrically connected with the digital signal conversion processor and is used for converting the sensed image into a signal which can be played by a display component; wherein,

(c) And the memory is respectively electrically connected with the digital signal conversion processor and the display screen and is used for storing the RGB digital signals and displaying the RGB digital signals on the display screen in real time.

(d) And the image amplification controller is used for amplifying the framed image.

7. A method for amplifying the image obtained by electronic assembly in real time is suitable for digital camera, camera phone or PDA, the electronic assembly has display screen and lens; the method comprises the following steps:

(a) setting a magnification, wherein the magnification is not less than 1;

(b) determining the focal length of the image aligned with the lens by an automatic focusing unit;

(c) generating a digital image signal by passing an image entering from the lens through an image sensor array;

(d) framing part or all of the image from a specific point of the image by using a digital signal conversion processor, and amplifying the selected area; wherein,

the specific point is one of (1) a point determined in the system and (2) a central point;

(e) transmitting the amplified image to a decoder unit;

(f) converting the amplified image into a signal which can be played on a display screen through a decoder unit;

(g) storing the signal which can be played on the display screen in a memory;

(h) and transmitting the stored signals to the display screen in real time.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the DSP processor includes an image magnification controller therein for magnifying the framed image.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the image is magnified by a process comprising:

(C) directly amplifying the pixels of the framed image;

(D) and directly mapping the enlarged pixels to the memory.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the image is magnified by a process comprising:

(E) amplifying the individual pixels;

(F) correcting the amplified pixels by an interpolation method;

(G) and transmitting the image after the complementary color correction to the memory.