CN218456501U - Camera and terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a camera and terminal equipment, this camera includes the image sensor and the image processing chip of a plurality of different grade types, the image processing chip is including electric connection's data receiving circuit in proper order, data processing circuit and the multiplexing transmission circuit of timesharing, the image sensor of a plurality of different grade types is respectively through the data transmission interface and the data receiving circuit electric connection of different grade type, the data processing circuit is including a plurality of data processing modules that correspond to different grade type image data respectively, the multiplexing transmission circuit of timesharing is used for exporting multichannel image data timesharing. Through the utility model discloses an implement, pass through the multichannel data that a plurality of data processing module handled the completion and export to application system through the time sharing of single-channel transmission circuit, simplified the design of data transmission framework to development and maintenance cost have been reduced.

Description

Camera and terminal equipment

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the field of electronic technology, especially, relate to a camera and terminal equipment.

Background

The camera may be applied to various types of electronic apparatuses, such as a smart phone, a personal computer, a monitoring device, etc., or may be a stand-alone electronic apparatus.

With the continuous development of science and technology, especially the rise of artificial intelligence, a camera equipped with a single image sensor cannot meet the actual requirements of users, and therefore, a camera equipped with multiple image sensors is produced. For different types of image sensors, a plurality of independent data transmission channels matched with the image sensors are usually arranged in the related technology for outputting image data, errors are easy to occur in engineering design, and development and maintenance costs are high.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides a main aim at provides a camera and terminal equipment, can solve the data transmission framework of the camera that provides in the correlation technique at least and make mistakes comparatively easily on engineering design, and the higher problem of cost of development and maintenance.

To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a camera, including: the image processing chip comprises a data receiving circuit, a data processing circuit and a time-sharing multiplexing transmission circuit which are electrically connected in sequence, the image sensors of different types are respectively electrically connected with the data receiving circuit through data transmission interfaces of different types, the data processing circuit comprises a plurality of data processing modules corresponding to image data of different types, and the time-sharing multiplexing transmission circuit is used for outputting multi-path image data in a time-sharing mode.

Optionally, the plurality of different types of image sensors comprises any of: EVS image sensor, TOF image sensor, CMOS image sensor, CCD image sensor.

Optionally, the plurality of different types of data transmission interfaces includes any of: LVDS interface, DCMI interface, MIPI interface, eDP interface.

Optionally, the image processing chip further includes a buffer, where the buffer includes an input buffer and an output buffer, the input buffer is electrically connected between the data receiving circuit and the data processing module, and the output buffer is electrically connected between the data processing module and the time division multiplexing transmission circuit.

Optionally, the image processing chip further includes an encoding circuit, and the encoding circuit is electrically connected between the data processing module and the time division multiplexing transmission circuit.

Optionally, each of the data processing modules includes one or more of an adder, a subtractor, a multiplier, a divider, a comparator, and a shifter.

Optionally, a plurality of different types of the image sensors are separately disposed on the same lens holder.

Optionally, the plurality of different types of image sensors are integrated image sensors, an overall photosensitive area of the integrated image sensor is divided into a plurality of sub-photosensitive areas, and pixel arrays of the plurality of sub-photosensitive areas respectively correspond to the plurality of different types of image sensors.

In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a terminal device, where the terminal device includes the camera provided by the first aspect.

Optionally, the terminal device further includes a light source controller and a plurality of light sources that are lit up in a time-sharing manner, and the light source controller is electrically connected to the plurality of light sources, respectively.

According to the embodiment of the utility model provides a camera and terminal equipment, this camera includes the image sensor and the image processing chip of a plurality of different grade types, the image processing chip is including electric connection's data receiving circuit in proper order, data processing circuit and the multiplexing transmission circuit of timesharing, the image sensor of a plurality of different grade types is respectively through the data transmission interface and the data receiving circuit electric connection of different grade type, the data processing circuit is including a plurality of data processing modules that are corresponding to different grade type image data respectively, the multiplexing transmission circuit of timesharing is used for exporting multichannel image data timesharing. Through the utility model discloses an implement, export the multichannel data that a plurality of data processing module handled the completion to application system through the time sharing of one-way transmission circuit, simplified the design of data transmission framework to development and maintenance cost have been reduced.

Other features and corresponding effects of the invention are set forth in the following part of the specification, and it should be understood that at least part of the effects becomes apparent from the description of the invention.

Drawings

In order to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art more clearly, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another camera according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an entire pixel array of an integrated image sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and understandable, the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings, and obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments, not all embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by the skilled in the art without creative work belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the related art, since different types of image sensors, such as event-type vision sensor, CMOS image sensor, depth image sensor, etc., often have different interfaces, when these different types of cameras need to be connected to the same application system, it is often necessary to design a matched number of data transmission channels. Therefore, the interface is complicated, the design difficulty is improved, and the development and maintenance cost is increased.

Based on this, in order to solve the problems that the data transmission architecture of the camera provided in the related art is prone to errors in engineering design and the development and maintenance costs are high, the present embodiment provides a camera, as shown in fig. 1, which is a schematic structural diagram of a camera provided in the present embodiment, the camera includes a plurality of image sensors 10 of different types and an image processing chip 20, the image processing chip 20 includes a data receiving circuit 201, a data processing circuit 202, and a time division multiplexing transmission circuit 203 that are electrically connected in sequence, the plurality of image sensors 10 of different types are respectively electrically connected to the data receiving circuit 201 through different types of data transmission interfaces, the data processing circuit 202 includes a plurality of data processing modules respectively corresponding to different types of image data, and the time division multiplexing transmission circuit 203 is configured to output a plurality of pieces of image data in a time division manner.

In the present embodiment, for an image sensor, a photosensitive pixel array is used to perform photoelectric conversion in an operating state, convert an optical signal into an electrical signal, generate image data, and then the image data is input to an image processing chip for processing, wherein the image processing chip receives the image data from the image sensor through a data receiving circuit, the image processing chip of the present embodiment includes, but is not limited to, cortex M0+, riscv, an embedded CPU with comparable calculation capability, and the like. It should be noted that the time-division multiplexing transmission circuit of the present embodiment uses the same physical connection at different time intervals to transmit different signals, and is relatively simple in design and maintenance compared to a multi-output channel.

Based on fig. 1, the present embodiment provides another camera, and as shown in fig. 2, the image processing chip 20 of the camera further includes a buffer, where the buffer includes an input buffer 204 and an output buffer 205, the input buffer 204 is electrically connected between the data receiving circuit 201 and the data processing module, and the output buffer 205 is electrically connected between the data processing module and the time division multiplexing transmission circuit 203. It should be noted that the number of buffers of the present embodiment may correspond to the number of image sensors, that is, the buffers are respectively configured corresponding to the image data of each image sensor.

Furthermore, as shown in fig. 2, the image processing chip 20 further includes an encoding circuit 206, and the encoding circuit 206 is electrically connected between the data processing module and the time division multiplexing transmission circuit 203.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the input buffer is configured to temporarily store input data for subsequent processing by the data processing module, and the output buffer is configured to temporarily store data processed by the data processing module for output by the time division multiplexing transmission circuit. Certainly, in practical applications, the buffer may further include an intermediate buffer or other types of buffers, which is not limited in this embodiment, and the intermediate buffer is used for buffering intermediate data processed by the data processing module in a complex data processing scenario. The encoding circuit is configured to perform compression processing of image data, and to express information included in an image with a small number of bits on the premise that the image quality is expected, thereby reducing the amount of image data and improving the output performance of the image data.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the time division multiplexing circuit may perform output of different types of data in compliance with a certain time division transmission policy. In a preferred embodiment of this embodiment, the data transmission timing sequence may be arbitrated according to the buffer amount of different image data, and image data with a large data buffer amount may be preferentially output; in another preferred embodiment of this embodiment, the transmission timing of the image data can be intelligently adjusted according to the transmission speeds of the image data corresponding to the different types of image sensors, so as to ensure the real-time frame rates of the different image sensors.

In an alternative embodiment of this embodiment, the plurality of different types of image sensors includes any of the following: EVS image sensor, TOF image sensor, CMOS image sensor, CCD image sensor. And, the plurality of different types of data transmission interfaces includes any of: LVDS interface, DCMI interface, MIPI interface, eDP interface.

The camera of this embodiment may be preferably configured with an EVS image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, and a TOF image sensor, wherein the EVS image sensor is communicatively connected to the image processing chip by using an LVDS interface, the CMOS image sensor is communicatively connected to the image processing chip by using an MIPI interface, and the TOF image sensor is communicatively connected to the image processing chip by using a DCMI interface.

In addition, the embodiment preferably uses the time division multiplexing transmission circuit to connect with the application system by using the MIPI interface.

In an optional implementation manner of this embodiment, each data processing module includes one or more of an adder, a subtractor, a multiplier, a divider, a comparator, and a shifter.

Specifically, the data processing module is a component that performs various arithmetic and logical operations, and may also be referred to as an arithmetic logic component, the data processing module generally includes three parts, namely a register, an execution component, and a control circuit, and the basic operations of the data processing module include: arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and the like, logical operations such as AND, OR, NOT, XOR, and the like, and operations such as shifting, comparing, and transferring. According to different representation methods of data to be processed, the data processing module can be divided into a binary arithmetic unit, a decimal arithmetic unit, a hexadecimal arithmetic unit, a fixed point integer arithmetic unit, a fixed point decimal arithmetic unit, a floating point arithmetic unit and the like; the data processing module can also be divided into an address operator, a character operator, etc. according to the property of the data to be processed. It should be understood that the foregoing arithmetic units recited in the present embodiment are only exemplary and should not be construed as limiting.

In an alternative embodiment of this embodiment, a plurality of image sensors of different types are separately disposed on the same lens holder.

Specifically, the lens Holder, that is, holder, is used for mounting the image sensor, in order to compress the device volume of the sensor module, the present embodiment designs a plurality of image sensors in common Holder to obtain an integrated sensor module, and realizes the miniaturization of the hardware architecture with respect to a plurality of sensor modules which are separately arranged.

In another alternative embodiment of this embodiment, the plurality of different types of image sensors are integrated image sensors, an overall photosensitive area of the integrated image sensor is divided into a plurality of sub-photosensitive areas, and pixel arrays of the plurality of sub-photosensitive areas correspond to the plurality of different types of image sensors, respectively.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an entire pixel array of an integrated image sensor provided in this embodiment, which is exemplarily implemented by a 10 × 6 entire pixel array and does not represent an actual pixel array size. The pixel array size represents the resolution of the sensor, and in practical applications, the size of the pixel array includes, but is not limited to, 480 × 640, etc., each box in the figure represents one pixel, the pixel labeled "E" is an EVS pixel, the pixel labeled "T" is a TOF pixel, and the pixel labeled "C" is a CMOS pixel.

It should be understood that the whole pixel array is the whole photosensitive area of the integrated image sensor, and the plurality of sub-photosensitive areas corresponding to the photosensitive area are the sub-pixel arrays in the whole pixel array. The division unit of the sub-photosensitive area can be flexibly selected based on the actual application scenario, and the division manner shown in fig. 3 is to configure two rows of pixel arrays as one type of image sensor. Since the multiple image sensors are designed on the same photosensitive target surface, on one hand, the device volume of the sensor module is effectively reduced; on the other hand, different types of pixel confocal planes are realized, and image registration is performed subsequently without a complex algorithm, so that the image output frame rate is effectively improved, and the data processing power consumption is reduced.

The utility model also provides a terminal equipment is provided with the camera as above embodiment on the terminal equipment, and this terminal equipment includes but not limited to consumer electronics products such as smart mobile phone, panel computer, personal computer, intelligent lock, monitor terminal.

In an optional implementation manner of this embodiment, the terminal device further includes a light source controller and a plurality of light sources that are turned on in a time-sharing manner, and the light source controller is electrically connected to the plurality of light sources, respectively.

Specifically, the light source controller controls the plurality of light sources to be turned on in a time-sharing manner to form different illumination environments, and the optical characteristics of the plurality of light sources may be different. For example, for a TOF image sensor, the plurality of light sources include a floodlight and a speckle light for projecting the floodlight and the speckle light, respectively, so that the TOF image sensor can acquire a clear IR image and a speckle IR image respectively; for the EVS image sensor, by time-sharing lighting of different light sources, a dynamically changing illumination environment can be formed, thereby enabling the EVS image sensor to generate an event image in response to the change of the environment brightness.

According to the camera provided by the embodiment, the camera comprises a plurality of image sensors of different types and an image processing chip, wherein the image processing chip comprises a data receiving circuit, a data processing circuit and a time-sharing multiplexing transmission circuit which are electrically connected in sequence, the plurality of image sensors of different types are respectively and electrically connected with the data receiving circuit through data transmission interfaces of different types, the data processing circuit comprises a plurality of data processing modules respectively corresponding to image data of different types, and the time-sharing multiplexing transmission circuit is used for outputting multiple paths of image data in a time-sharing mode. Through the utility model discloses an implement, pass through the multichannel data that a plurality of data processing module handled the completion and export to application system through the time sharing of single-channel transmission circuit, simplified the design of data transmission framework to development and maintenance cost have been reduced.

The foregoing is a more detailed description of embodiments of the present invention, and the specific embodiments are not to be considered in a limiting sense. To the utility model belongs to the technical field of ordinary technical personnel, do not deviate from the utility model discloses under the prerequisite of design, can also make a plurality of simple deductions or replacement, all should regard as belonging to the utility model discloses a protection scope.

Claims (10)

1. A camera, comprising: the image processing chip comprises a data receiving circuit, a data processing circuit and a time-sharing multiplexing transmission circuit which are electrically connected in sequence, the image sensors of different types are respectively and electrically connected with the data receiving circuit through different types of data transmission interfaces, the data processing circuit comprises a plurality of data processing modules corresponding to different types of image data, and the time-sharing multiplexing transmission circuit is used for outputting multiple paths of image data in a time-sharing mode.

2. The camera of claim 1, wherein the plurality of different types of image sensors includes any of: EVS image sensor, TOF image sensor, CMOS image sensor, CCD image sensor.

3. The camera of claim 1, wherein the plurality of different types of data transmission interfaces comprises any of: LVDS interface, DCMI interface, MIPI interface, eDP interface.

4. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image processing chip further comprises a buffer, the buffer comprises an input buffer and an output buffer, the input buffer is electrically connected between the data receiving circuit and the data processing module, and the output buffer is electrically connected between the data processing module and the time division multiplexing transmission circuit.

5. The camera of claim 1, wherein the image processing chip further comprises an encoding circuit electrically connected between the data processing module and the time-division multiplexing transmission circuit.

6. The camera of claim 1, wherein each of the data processing modules comprises one or more of an adder, a subtractor, a multiplier, a divider, a comparator, and a shifter.

7. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a plurality of different types of the image sensors are separately provided on the same lens holder.

8. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plurality of different types of image sensors are integrated image sensors, an entire photosensitive region of the integrated image sensor is divided into a plurality of sub-photosensitive regions, and pixel arrays of the plurality of sub-photosensitive regions respectively correspond to the plurality of different types of image sensors.

9. A terminal device characterized by comprising a camera according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The terminal device according to claim 9, further comprising a light source controller and a plurality of light sources which are lighted in a time-sharing manner, wherein the light source controller is electrically connected with the plurality of light sources respectively.

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