CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0025334, filed on Mar. 2, 2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for acquiring and processing images of different wave bandwidths at the same time in an electronic device.

2. Description of Related Art

As an electronic device improves in performance, various services and additional functions provided by the electronic device are increasing. To raise usefulness of the electronic device and to satisfy users' various needs, various applications available at the electronic device are developed.

Such applications are related to camera functionality, and the user may take his/her self-portrait or a background using a camera module on the electronic device.

The camera module of the electronic device may be used for biometrics or vision recognition. The electronic device may use a plurality of images for the biometrics or the vision recognition. For example, a camera module used for iris scanning may scan a user's iris image (e.g., a first image) by use of light of about 850 nm. A camera module for recognizing an object by avoiding outdoor light noise of an outdoor environment may recognize an object (e.g., a second image) by use of light of about 940 nm.

To perform functions using the light of different bandwidths, for example, the iris scanning function and depth measurement function in one electronic device, the electronic device requires at least two camera modules specialized for the respective wave bandwidths. To acquire a plurality of images, the electronic device obtains the images by sequentially driving the camera modules and processes the images in sequence, which lengthens image processing time.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art by providing an apparatus and a method for acquiring and processing a plurality of images having different wave bandwidths at the same time in an electronic device.

Another example aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and a method for acquiring both an iris image and depth information in real time in an electronic device.

Yet another example aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and a method for acquiring and processing a plurality of images having different wave bandwidths at the same time through an image sensor in an electronic device which includes the image sensor including a plurality of pixels for sensing optical signals having different wave bandwidths.

According to an example aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device may include a first light emitter comprising first light emitting circuitry configured to output light of a first wave bandwidth, a second light emitter comprising second light emitting circuitry configured to output light of a second wave bandwidth, a camera including an image sensor configured to arrange one or more first pixels for sensing the light corresponding to the first wave bandwidth and the second wave bandwidth and one or more second pixels for sensing the light corresponding to the second wave bandwidth, and a processor. The processor may be configured to control the electronic device to output the first wave bandwidth light using a first light source and the second wave bandwidth light using a second light source, and a control circuit electrically coupled to the image sensor and connected to the processor through a designated interface. The control circuit may be configured to obtain image data of an external object using the camera from the first wave bandwidth light and the second wave bandwidth light reflected from the external object, to generate first image data of the external object using a difference between first pixel data corresponding to the one or more first pixels and second pixel data corresponding to the one or more second pixels of the image data, to generate second image data of the external object by binning the second pixel data corresponding to the one or more second pixels of the image data, and to transmit the first image data and the second image data to the processor through the designated interface, wherein the processor is configured to generate authentication information based on the first image data and to generate depth information using the second image data.

According to another example aspect of the present disclosure, a method for generating an image in an electronic device may include generating first light of a first wave bandwidth and second light of a second wave bandwidth, obtaining image data of an external object from light reflected from the external object using an image sensor which arranges one or more pixels for sensing the light corresponding to the first wave bandwidth and the second wave bandwidth and one or more second pixels for sensing the light corresponding to the second wave bandwidth, generating first image data of the external object using a difference between first pixel data corresponding to the one or more first pixels and second pixel data corresponding to the one or more second pixels of the image data, generating second image data of the external object by binning the second pixel data corresponding to the one or more second pixels of the image data, and transmitting the first image data and the second image data to an application processor through a designated interface, to generate authentication information based on the first image data and to generate depth information using the second image data.

According to yet another example aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device may include a first light emitter comprising first light emitting circuitry configured to output light of a first wave bandwidth, a second light emitter comprising second light emitting circuitry configured to output light of a second wave bandwidth, a camera including an image sensor, and a processor configured to control the electronic device to output the light of the first wave bandwidth using a first light source and to output the light of the second wave bandwidth using a second light source, to generate a first image using a difference between a first pixel and a second pixel, and to generate a second image by binning the second pixel. The image sensor may include a pixel array which includes first pixels for detecting and transforming the light of the first wave bandwidth and the second wave bandwidth to an electric signal, filters configured to pass the light of the second wave bandwidth, and second pixels for detecting and transforming the filtered second wave bandwidth light to an electric signal.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

