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AppleGranted patentCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Apple patents camera sensor with mixed-resolution zones for zoom lenses

Apple describes a camera sensor design that splits the image area into sections with different levels of detail. One part uses a standard pattern for high-resolution shots, while another groups sensors together to handle lower-resolution modes more efficiently. The filing links these specific sensor zones to the wide-angle and telephoto ranges of a variable focal length lens.

Why it mattersThis approach could help phones balance high-quality zoom shots with efficient processing for standard photos without needing separate hardware for each mode.

In the filing’s own words

In some embodiments, an image sensor structure receives light from a color filter array that includes multiple regions. A high resolution region includes a first bayer pattern of color filters that filter light for individual sensors of a sensor array while a lower resolution region includes second bayer pattern of color filters that filter light for groups of sensors of the sensor array. Images may be read from the image sensor in multiple resolutions, with images read in a highest resolution mode preserving maximum detail while images read in lower resolution modes may requires less hardware and computational resources and may exhibit better noise performance, in some embodiments. Various regions of the image sensor structure may correspond to different modes of operation or differing resolving capabilities of a corresponding lens assembly for the image sensor structure.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A camera module, comprising: a lens assembly with a variable focal length; a color filter array comprising a plurality of non-overlapping regions, including a first region and a second region, configured to filter light received at a plurality of sensors, wherein the first region and the second region comprise respective color filter patterns comprising a plurality of color filters arranged in an equal number of rows and columns, and wherein at least a portion of the color filters of individual patterns of the color filter patterns are different from other color filters of the individual patterns; the first region comprising one or more repetitions of a first color filter pattern, wherein individual repetitions of the one or more repetitions of the first color filter pattern filter light received at a first number of sensors; and the second region comprising one or more repetitions of a second color filter pattern, wherein individual repetitions of the one or more repetitions of the second color filter pattern filter light received at a second number of sensors, wherein the second number of sensors is different from the first number of sensors; wherein the first region corresponds to a first image circle of a telephoto range of the variable focal length of the lens assembly; wherein the second region corresponds to a second image circle of a wide angle range of the variable focal length of the lens assembly; and wherein the second number of sensors is greater than the first number of sensors.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Optimized hybrid Bayer color filter array
Patent number
US12732711B1
Application number
18145799
Filed
Dec 22, 2022
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
19

Classified under

H04N 25/11 Electricity & electronicsH04N 23/55 Electricity & electronicsH04N 23/667 Electricity & electronicsH04N 23/843 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/772 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.