GB2619872A - Multi-chip camera controller system with inter-chip communication - Google Patents

Multi-chip camera controller system with inter-chip communication Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2619872A
GB2619872A GB2314953.7A GB202314953A GB2619872A GB 2619872 A GB2619872 A GB 2619872A GB 202314953 A GB202314953 A GB 202314953A GB 2619872 A GB2619872 A GB 2619872A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
camera controller
controller device
primary
communication link
secondary camera
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
GB2314953.7A
Other versions
GB202314953D0 (en
Inventor
Djadi Younes
D Hemkumar Nariankadu
Deo Sachin
T Bogard Daniel
Daniel Pozniak Buchanan Nathan
B Smith Eric
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Cirrus Logic International Semiconductor Ltd
Original Assignee
Cirrus Logic International Semiconductor Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US17/320,528 external-priority patent/US20210356843A1/en
Application filed by Cirrus Logic International Semiconductor Ltd filed Critical Cirrus Logic International Semiconductor Ltd
Priority claimed from PCT/US2022/027863 external-priority patent/WO2022235928A1/en
Publication of GB202314953D0 publication Critical patent/GB202314953D0/en
Publication of GB2619872A publication Critical patent/GB2619872A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
    • H04N23/67—Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
    • H04N23/68—Control of cameras or camera modules for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
    • H04N23/68—Control of cameras or camera modules for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
    • H04N23/681—Motion detection
    • H04N23/6812—Motion detection based on additional sensors, e.g. acceleration sensors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
    • H04N23/68—Control of cameras or camera modules for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
    • H04N23/682—Vibration or motion blur correction
    • H04N23/685—Vibration or motion blur correction performed by mechanical compensation
    • H04N23/687—Vibration or motion blur correction performed by mechanical compensation by shifting the lens or sensor position

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Structure And Mechanism Of Cameras (AREA)
  • Lens Barrels (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Studio Devices (AREA)

Abstract

A system for using actuators to control an image sensor and/or lens based on sensor data received from position sensors and position information for the image sensor and/or lens received from a host processor includes a primary camera controller device, at least one secondary camera controller device, and at least one communication link connecting the primary camera controller device and the secondary camera controller device. The primary camera controller device processes the received sensor data and the received position information to generate control data, sends a secondary portion of the control data to the secondary camera controller device via the communication link, and drives a primary portion of the control data to the actuators. The secondary camera controller device drives the received secondary portion of the control data to the actuators concurrently with the primary camera controller device driving the primary portion of the control data to the actuators. A system for using actuators to control an image sensor and/or lens based on sensor data received from position sensors and based on position information for the image sensor and/or lens received from a host processor includes a primary camera controller device, at least one secondary camera controller device, and at least one communication link connecting the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device. The primary and secondary camera controller devices receive respective primary and secondary sensor data from the position sensors, send the respective primary and secondary sensor data to the other camera controller device via the communication link, process the primary and secondary sensor data and the position information to generate respective primary and secondary control data, and drive the respective primary and secondary control data to the actuators concurrently.

Claims (46)

1. A system for using actuators to control an image sensor and/or lens based on sensor data received from position sensors and based on position information for the image sensor and/or lens received from a host processor, comprising: a primary camera controller device; at least one secondary camera controller device; and at least one communication link connecting the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device; wherein the primary camera controller device is configured to: process the received sensor data and the received position information to generate control data; send a secondary portion of the control data to the secondary camera controller device via the communication link; and drive a primary portion of the control data to the actuators; and wherein the secondary camera controller device is configured to drive the received secondary portion of the control data to the actuators concurrently with the primary camera controller device driving the primary portion of the control data to the actuators.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the secondary camera controller device is further configured to: receive secondary sensor data from the position sensors; and send the received secondary sensor data to the primary camera controller device via the communication link; and wherein the primary camera controller device is further configured to: process the received primary and secondary sensor data and the received position information to generate the control data.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the primary and secondary camera controller devices includes a respective transmit pad that drives the communication link; and wherein each of the primary and secondary camera controller devices is configured to: monitor the respective transmit pad for contention caused when the primary and secondary camera controller devices concurrently drive the respective transmit pad in a half-duplex mode; and disable the transmit pad in response to detecting the contention.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein each of the primary and secondary camera controller devices is configured to monitor the respective transmit pad for contention by comparing an input signal received on the transmit pad from the other camera controller device with a looped- back version of an output signal driven on the transmit pad by the respective camera controller device.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the primary and secondary camera controller devices is configured to disable the communication link in response to detecting an over temperature condition or an expiration of a watch dog timer with respect to the communication link.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the primary camera controller device is configured to periodically request status information from the secondary camera controller device via the communication link comprising one or more of: status of the secondary camera controller device; status of the communication link; and temperature and/or voltage measurements of the secondary camera controller device.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the secondary camera controller device is configured to check for one or more of: a parity error on data received from the primary camera controller device; and a packet sequence error on packets received from the primary camera controller device.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the primary camera controller device is configured to report to the host processor that a packet expected from the secondary camera controller device timed out.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the primary camera controller device is configured to report to the host processor that a packet received from the secondary camera controller device has a parity error.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the primary camera controller device is configured to report to the host processor that the secondary camera controller device indicated a packet sequence error with respect to packets sent by the primary camera controller device to the secondary camera controller device.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the primary camera controller device is configured to report to the host processor a count of valid status packets received from the secondary camera controller device.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the primary camera controller device is configured to report to the host processor a count of: missed packets from the secondary camera controller device to the primary camera controller device; dropped packets from the secondary camera controller device to the primary camera controller device; and negative acknowledgement (NACK) status packets.
13. A method for using actuators to control an image sensor and/or lens based on sensor data received from position sensors and based on position information for the image sensor and/or lens received from a host processor, comprising: processing, by a primary camera controller device, the received sensor data and the received position information to generate control data; sending, by the primary camera controller device, a secondary portion of the control data to at least one secondary camera controller device via at least one communication link connecting the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device; driving, by the primary camera controller device, a primary portion of the control data to the actuators; and driving, by the secondary camera controller device, the received secondary portion of the control data to the actuators concurrently with the primary camera controller device driving the primary portion of the control data to the actuators.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the secondary camera controller device, secondary sensor data from the position sensors; sending, by the secondary camera controller device, the received secondary sensor data to the primary camera controller device via the communication link; and processing, by the primary camera controller device, the received primary and secondary sensor data and the received position information to generate the control data.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: wherein each of the primary and secondary camera controller devices includes a respective transmit pad that drives the communication link; and by each of the primary and secondary camera controller devices: monitoring the respective transmit pad for contention caused when the primary and secondary camera controller devices concurrently drive the respective transmit pad in a half-duplex mode; and disabling the transmit pad in response to detecting the contention.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein said monitoring the respective transmit pad for contention comprises: comparing an input signal received on the transmit pad from the other camera controller device with a looped-back version of an output signal driven on the transmit pad by the respective camera controller device.
17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: by each of the primary and secondary camera controller devices: disabling the communication link in response to detecting an over temperature condition or an expiration of a watch dog timer with respect to the communication link.
18. The method of claim 13, further comprising: periodically requesting, by the primary camera controller device, status information from the secondary camera controller device via the communication link comprising one or more of: status of the secondary camera controller device; status of the communication link; and temperature and/or voltage measurements of the secondary camera controller device.
19. The method of claim 13, further comprising: checking, by the secondary camera controller device, for one or more of: a parity error on data received from the primary camera controller device; and a packet sequence error on packets received from the primary camera controller device.
20. The method of claim 13, further comprising: reporting, by the primary camera controller device, to the host processor that a packet expected from the secondary camera controller device timed out.
21. The method of claim 13, further comprising: reporting, by the primary camera controller device, to the host processor that a packet received from the secondary camera controller device has a parity error.
22. The method of claim 13, further comprising: reporting, by the primary camera controller device, to the host processor that the secondary camera controller device indicated a packet sequence error with respect to packets sent by the primary camera controller device to the secondary camera controller device.
23. The method of claim 13, further comprising: reporting, by the primary camera controller device, to the host processor a count of valid status packets received from the secondary camera controller device.
24. The method of claim 13, further comprising: reporting, by the primary camera controller device, to the host processor a count of: missed packets from the secondary camera controller device to the primary camera controller device; dropped packets from the secondary camera controller device to the primary camera controller device; and negative acknowledgement (NACK) status packets.
25. A system for using actuators to control an image sensor and/or lens based on sensor data received from position sensors and based on position information for the image sensor and/or lens received from a host processor, comprising: a primary camera controller device; at least one secondary camera controller device; and at least one communication link connecting the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device; wherein the primary and secondary camera controller devices are configured to: receive respective primary and secondary sensor data from the position sensors; send the respective primary and secondary sensor data to the other camera controller device via the communication link; process the primary and secondary sensor data and the position information to generate respective primary and secondary control data; and drive the respective primary and secondary control data to the actuators concurrently.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein the primary camera controller device is further configured to: receive the position information from the host controller; and send the position information to the secondary camera controller device via the communication link.
27. The system of claim 25, wherein the primary and secondary camera controller devices are configured to synchronize a digital signal processor (DSP) frame of the secondary camera controller device to a DSP frame of the primary camera controller device.
28. The system of claim 27, wherein each of the primary camera controller device and the secondary camera controller device comprises a DSP and a clock source that provides a clock signal to the DSP; wherein the secondary camera controller device comprises a free running counter that counts cycles of the clock source; and wherein to synchronize the DSP frame of the secondary camera controller device to the DSP frame of the primary camera controller device, the secondary camera controller device is configured to: use the free running counter to determine a frequency error between frequencies of the clock sources of the primary and secondary camera controller devices; and use the frequency error to adjust the frequency of the clock source of the secondary camera controller device.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein each DSP frame, the primary camera controller device is configured to send a packet over the communication link to the secondary camera controller device at a predetermined delay relative to a start of the DSP frame; and wherein to use the free running counter to determine the frequency error between the frequencies of the clock sources of the primary and secondary camera controller devices, the secondary camera controller device is configured to: latch a value of the free running counter in response to detection of the packet received from the primary camera controller device on the communication link; subtract the latched value associated with the DSP frame from the latched value associated with an immediately previous DSP frame to produce a measured DSP frame period; and subtract the measured DSP frame period from a predetermined expected DSP frame period to produce the frequency error.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the secondary camera controller device is configured to average the frequency error produced over a plurality of DSP frames; and use the average frequency error to adjust the frequency of the clock source of the secondary camera controller device.
31. The system of claim 25, wherein the communication link is a point-to-point serial communication link; and wherein the primary and secondary camera controller devices are configured to enable the primary camera controller device to configure and control the secondary device through the point-to-point serial communication link.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the primary and secondary camera controller devices are configured to enable the primary camera controller device to configure and control the secondary device through the point-to-point serial communication link by accessing memories and/or registers of the secondary camera controller device by sending memory and/or register read and write command packets over the point-to-point serial communication link.
33. The system of claim 25, wherein communication link is a full-duplex communication link.
34. The system of claim 25, wherein the sensor data processed to generate the control data further comprises temperature data received from temperature sensors and/or voltage data received from power supply voltage sensors.
35. The system of claim 25, wherein the primary and secondary camera controller devices are configured to use the communication link to enable the primary camera controller device to monitor errors of the secondary camera controller device.
36. A method for using actuators to control an image sensor and/or lens based on sensor data received from position sensors and based on position information for the image sensor and/or lens received from a host processor, comprising: receiving, by a primary camera controller device and at least one secondary camera controller device, respective primary and secondary sensor data from the position sensors; sending, by the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device, the respective primary and secondary sensor data to the other camera controller device via at least one communication link connecting the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device; processing, by the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device, the primary and secondary sensor data and the position information to generate respective primary and secondary control data; and driving, by the primary camera controller device and the at least one secondary camera controller device, the respective primary and secondary control data to the actuators concurrently.
37. The method of claim 36, further comprising: receiving, by the primary camera controller device, the position information from the host controller; and sending, by the primary camera controller device, the position information to the secondary camera controller device via the communication link.
38. The method of claim 36, further comprising: synchronizing, by the primary and secondary camera controller devices, a digital signal processor (DSP) frame of the secondary camera controller device to a DSP frame of the primary camera controller device.
39. The method of claim 38, further comprising: wherein each of the primary camera controller device and the secondary camera controller device comprises a DSP and a clock source that provides a clock signal to the DSP; wherein the secondary camera controller device comprises a free running counter that counts cycles of the clock source; and wherein said synchronizing the DSP frame of the secondary camera controller device to the DSP frame of the primary camera controller device comprises: using, by the secondary camera controller device, the free running counter to determine a frequency error between frequencies of the clock sources of the primary and secondary camera controller devices; and using, by the secondary camera controller device, the frequency error to adjust the frequency of the clock source of the secondary camera controller device.
40. The method of claim 39, further comprising: each DSP frame: sending, by the primary camera controller device, a packet over the communication link to the secondary camera controller device at a predetermined delay relative to a start of the DSP frame; and wherein said using the free running counter to determine the frequency error between the frequencies of the clock sources of the primary and secondary camera controller devices comprises: latching, by the secondary camera controller device, a value of the free running counter in response to detection of the packet received from the primary camera controller device on the communication link; subtracting, by the secondary camera controller device, the latched value associated with the DSP frame from the latched value associated with an immediately previous DSP frame to produce a measured DSP frame period; and subtracting, by the secondary camera controller device, the measured DSP frame period from a predetermined expected DSP frame period to produce the frequency error.
41. The method of claim 40, further comprising: averaging, by the secondary camera controller device, the frequency error produced over a plurality of DSP frames; and using, by the secondary camera controller device, the average frequency error to adjust the frequency of the clock source of the secondary camera controller device.
42. The method of claim 36, further comprising: wherein the communication link is a point-to-point serial communication link; and enabling, by the primary and secondary camera controller devices, the primary camera controller device to configure and control the secondary device through the point-to- point serial communication link.
43. The method of claim 42, wherein said enabling, by the primary and secondary camera controller devices, the primary camera controller device to configure and control the secondary device through the point-to-point serial communication link comprises: accessing, by the primary camera controller device, memories and/or registers of the secondary camera controller device by sending memory and/or register read and write command packets over the point-to-point serial communication link.
44. The method of claim 36, wherein communication link is a full-duplex communication link.
45. The method of claim 36, wherein the sensor data processed to generate the control data further comprises temperature data received from temperature sensors and/or voltage data received from power supply voltage sensors.
46. The method of claim 36, further comprising: using, by the primary and secondary camera controller devices, the communication link to enable the primary camera controller device to monitor errors of the secondary camera controller device.
GB2314953.7A 2021-05-07 2022-05-05 Multi-chip camera controller system with inter-chip communication Pending GB2619872A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US202163186022P 2021-05-07 2021-05-07
US17/320,528 US20210356843A1 (en) 2020-05-14 2021-05-14 System and method for providing increased number of time synchronized outputs by using communicating primary and secondary devices
PCT/US2022/027863 WO2022235928A1 (en) 2021-05-07 2022-05-05 Multi-chip camera controller system with inter-chip communication

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GB202314953D0 GB202314953D0 (en) 2023-11-15
GB2619872A true GB2619872A (en) 2023-12-20

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Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4599719A (en) * 1984-06-18 1986-07-08 At&T Information Systems Inc. Full duplex data set with half-duplex emulation
US20100290769A1 (en) * 2009-05-18 2010-11-18 Invensense, Inc. Optical image stabilization in a digital still camera or handset

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4599719A (en) * 1984-06-18 1986-07-08 At&T Information Systems Inc. Full duplex data set with half-duplex emulation
US20100290769A1 (en) * 2009-05-18 2010-11-18 Invensense, Inc. Optical image stabilization in a digital still camera or handset

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GB202314953D0 (en) 2023-11-15

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