KR102047967B1 - Camera module and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a camera module and a driving method thereof. The camera module irradiates the image sensor, the lens unit irradiating the light input from the outside with the image sensor, the glass located between the image sensor and the lens unit, and the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band during the day with glass. It may include an LED unit that does not irradiate light with glass.

Description

Camera module and its driving method {CAMERA MODULE AND DRIVING METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a camera module and a driving method thereof.

Camera modules are used in various products such as smartphones, video surveillance cameras, black boxes, and car cameras.

In particular, CCTV cameras use Infrared Cut-off Filter Removal (ICR) technology and image processing technology to show clear screens, showing color images during the day and black and white images at night. Since light rays of various wavelengths exist during the day, an optical bandpass filter that passes only visible light is used, and thus accurate color colors can be expressed. An example of an optical passband filter is an IR cut-off filter. And since the visible light is reduced at night, in order to use more light, an optical dummy glass is used, thereby providing a black and white image. In order to use the infrared rejection filter only during the day, an ICR driven motor is used to drive the infrared rejection filter.

Cameras having an IR cut-off filter show strengths in day and night images, but have limitations in miniaturization, and disadvantages of abnormal operation due to poor ICR driving motors.

An object of the present invention is to provide a camera module having a simple optical filter structure and a driving method thereof.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a camera module is provided. The camera module may include an image sensor, a lens unit for irradiating light input from the outside to the image sensor, glass positioned between the image sensor and the lens unit, and light having an ultraviolet wavelength band and an infrared wavelength band during the day. Irradiating with glass, it may include an LED unit that does not irradiate light with the glass at night.

The glass may block light in the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band from the light passing through the lens part during the day through the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band irradiated by the LED unit.

The glass may pass all of the light passing through the lens unit at night.

The LED unit may irradiate the surface of the glass with light in the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band during the day.

The glass may pass light in the visible wavelength range among the light passing through the lens unit during the day.

The LED unit may include a first LED that emits light in the ultraviolet wavelength band, a second LED that emits light in the infrared wavelength band, and a driving unit that drives the first and second LEDs.

The driving unit may turn on the first and second LEDs during the day and turn off the first and second LEDs at night.

The camera module may be used in a CCTV camera, a mobile phone, a black box camera or a vehicle camera.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of driving a camera module including an image sensor and a lens unit for irradiating light input from the outside to the sensor is provided. The driving method may include providing glass between the image sensor and the lens unit, determining whether it is daytime or nighttime, and when the daytime is determined in the determining step, turn on the LED to generate an ultraviolet wavelength band and an infrared wavelength. Irradiating the light of the band to the glass, and when the night in the determining step, it may include the step of turning off the LED, not irradiating the light to the glass.

The driving method may include blocking the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band from the light passing through the lens unit during the day through the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band irradiated with the LED. It may further include.

The driving method may further include passing the light in the visible wavelength band among the light passing through the lens unit during the day.

The LED unit may include a first LED that emits light in the ultraviolet wavelength band and a second LED that emits light in the infrared wavelength band.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by simply implementing the optical filter using the LED and the glass, it is possible to effectively acquire the image even during the day and night.

1 is a view showing a camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing an LED unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3a is a view showing how the LED unit and the glass operating in the day according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3b is a view showing how the LED unit and the glass operating at night according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving a camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is "connected" to another part, this includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another element in between. . In addition, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, which means that it may further include other components, except to exclude other components unless otherwise stated.

The camera module according to the embodiment of the present invention implements an optical filter using glass and a light emitting device (LED) instead of an IR cut-off filter. Camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention can provide an effective image during the day and night using a simple optical filter (glass and LED are used).

Hereinafter, a camera module and a driving method thereof according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a view showing a camera module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the camera module 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an image sensor 110, a glass 120, an LED unit 130, and a lens unit 140.

The image sensor 110 converts an optical signal into an electrical signal to obtain an image signal. The image sensor 110 may be implemented as a chip.

The glass 120 is positioned between the lens unit 140 and the image sensor 110 and receives light from the LED unit 130 to operate as an optical filter.

The LED unit 130 is turned on during the day to irradiate the surface of the glass 120 with ultraviolet wavelength band light and infrared wavelength band light. The glass 120 irradiated with the ultraviolet wavelength band light and the infrared wavelength band light serves as an optical filter. Accordingly, the glass 120 is formed of the ultraviolet wavelength band light and the infrared wavelength band input to the camera module 100. It blocks the light. That is, the glass 120 blocks light in the infrared wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band during the day, and passes only the light in the visible light band.

The LED unit 130 is turned off at night and does not irradiate light to the glass 120. Accordingly, the glass 120 passes the light of the full-band wavelength (ultraviolet, infrared, visible light band wavelength, etc.) input to the camera module 100. A detailed configuration and operation of the LED unit 130 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B below.

As described above, the glass unit 120 and the LED unit 130 operate as an optical filter that blocks infrared and ultraviolet band light during the day and passes the light of the entire band at night.

The lens unit 140 condenses the light input to the camera module 100 to the image sensor 110. The lens unit 140 may include a plurality of lenses, and three lenses, four lenses, five lenses, or the like may be used.

2 is a block diagram showing the LED unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the LED unit 130 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a driving unit 132, a first LED 134, and a second LED 136.

The driver 132 controls driving of the first LED 134 and the second LED 136. The driving unit 132 according to the embodiment of the present invention drives the first LED 134 and the second LED 136 during the day and does not drive the first LED 134 and the second LED 136 at night. The driving unit 132 may be implemented as a driving circuit, and detailed configurations and operations will be omitted by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

The first LED 134 is turned on during the day under the control of the driver 132 and emits light in the ultraviolet wavelength band. The second LED 136 is turned on during the day by the control of the driver 132 and emits light of the infrared wavelength band. In addition, the first LED 134 and the second LED 136 are turned off at night and do not emit light.

3A is a view illustrating a method of operating the LED unit 130 and the glass 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention during the day.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the first LED 134 is turned on during the day, and the first LED 134 emits light in the ultraviolet wavelength band (about 100 nm to 380 nm) to the surface of the glass 120. Accordingly, the glass 120 blocks the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band from the light input from the lens unit 140.

In the daytime, the second LED 136 is also turned on, and the second LED 134 emits light of an infrared wavelength band (about 770 nm to 1000 nm) to the surface of the glass 120, and the glass 120 includes the lens unit 140. Blocks light in the infrared wavelength band.

As described above, the glass 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention serves to block light in the ultraviolet band and the infrared band and pass only the light in the visible band in the daytime.

3B is a view illustrating a method in which the LED unit 130 and the glass 120 operate at night according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3B, both the first LED 134 and the second LED 136 are turned off at night, and no light enters the surface of the glass 120 from the LED unit 130. Accordingly, the glass 120 passes all the light input from the lens unit 140. That is, the glass 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention serves to pass light of all band wavelengths at night.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving the camera module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the camera module 100 determines whether it is day or night (S410). The camera module 100 may detect the amount of light flowing into the image sensor 110 to determine whether it is day or night. In addition, the method of determining the day / night may be detected through a separate sensor. The method for determining the day / night of the camera module 100 can be understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the camera module 100 is determined to be daytime in step S410, the camera module 100 drives the LED unit 130 (S420). That is, the first and second LEDs 134 and 136 of the LED unit 130 are turned on, and the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band light are emitted from the LED unit 130 to the surface of the glass 120.

When the LED unit 130 is driven, the camera module 100 blocks the light of the ultraviolet and infrared wavelength band from the light flowing from the outside (S430). That is, when the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band light are emitted from the LED unit 130 to the surface of the glass 120, the glass 120 performs a function as a filter, and among the light input from the lens unit 140. Blocks light in the ultraviolet and infrared wavelength bands.

The camera module 100 obtains a color image by blocking light of an ultraviolet wavelength band and an infrared wavelength band during the day and passing only visible light band wavelength light (S440).

On the other hand, the camera module 100 does not drive the LED unit 130 when it is determined at night in step S410 (S450). That is, the first and second LEDs 134 and 136 of the LED unit 130 are turned off, and no light is emitted from the LED unit 130 to the surface of the glass 120.

When the LED unit 130 is not driven, the camera module 100 passes the light of all wavelength bands introduced from the outside (S460). That is, when no light is emitted from the LED unit 130 to the surface of the glass 120, the glass 120 passes all the light input from the lens unit 140.

The camera module 100 obtains a black and white image by passing all bands (ultraviolet band, infrared band, and visible light band) at night (S470).

According to the embodiment of the present invention, by implementing a simple optical filter through the LED and the glass, it is possible to effectively acquire the image even during the day and night. And according to the embodiment of the present invention can be minimized due to the long life of the LED can be miniaturized camera module.

The camera module according to the embodiment of the present invention described above may be applied to all camera modules, such as a CCTV camera, a mobile phone, a black box camera, a vehicle camera.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

Claims (13)

Image sensor,
A lens unit for irradiating light input from the outside to the image sensor;
Glass positioned between the image sensor and the lens unit, and
A camera module for irradiating light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and infrared wavelength band during the day with the glass, the LED module that does not irradiate light with the glass at night. The method of claim 1,
The glass is a camera module to block the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band of the light passing through the lens unit during the day through the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and infrared wavelength band irradiated by the LED unit. The method of claim 2,
The camera module passes all the light passing through the lens portion at night. The method of claim 1,
The LED module is a camera module for irradiating the surface of the glass with light in the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band during the day. The method of claim 2,
The glass is a camera module for passing the light in the visible wavelength range of the light passing through the lens unit during the day. The method of claim 1,
The LED unit,
A first LED emitting light in the ultraviolet wavelength band,
A second LED emitting light in the infrared wavelength band, and
Camera module including a driving unit for driving the first and second LED. The method of claim 6,
The driving module turns on the first and second LEDs during the day and turns off the first and second LEDs at night. The method of claim 1,
The camera module is a camera module used in a CCTV camera, a mobile phone, a black box camera or a vehicle camera. A driving method of a camera module including an image sensor and a lens unit for irradiating light input from the outside to the sensor,
Providing glass between the image sensor and the lens portion,
Determining whether it is day or night,
In the judging step, during the day, turning on the LED, irradiating the glass with light in an ultraviolet wavelength band and an infrared wavelength band, and
The driving method comprising the step of turning off the LED, not irradiating light to the glass when night at the step of determining. The method of claim 9,
The glass may further include blocking the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band from the light passing through the lens unit during the day through the light of the ultraviolet wavelength band and the infrared wavelength band irradiated with the LED. . The method of claim 10,
The glass further comprises the step of passing all the light passing through the lens portion at night. The method of claim 10,
The glass further comprises the step of passing the light of the visible wavelength range of light passing through the lens unit during the day. The method of claim 9,
The LED unit includes a first LED for emitting light in the ultraviolet wavelength band, and a second LED for emitting light in the infrared wavelength band.

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