Focal point detection apparatus

Claim 2

A focal point detection apparatus comprising: a plurality of charge storage type light sensing portions for sectioning an image photographing surface including a subject into a plurality of focal point detection areas to receive light from each focal point detection area so that charge is stored; transfer means for converting the charge stored in each of said light sensing portions into an electric signal so as to transfer it to said focal point detection means; and control means for controlling commencement and completion of the charge storage in each of said light sensing portions for the purpose of causing said transfer means to transfer a plurality of said charges in a predetermined order in such a manner that the next charge is transferred after the previous order charge has been transferred.

Claim 3

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said control means controls said commencement and completion of said charge storage in each of said light sensing portions in such a manner that said charges are transferred in accordance with a predetermined order and transferring of a plurality of said charges is performed continuously.

Claim 4

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein at least one of said focal point detection areas includes the center of said image photographing surface and said control means controls said commencement and completion of said charge storage in said light sensing portion which receives light from said focal point detection area including said center of said image photographing surface is performed faster than the charge storage in the other light sensing portions.

Claim 5

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 2 further comprising: monitor means for detecting the quantity of charge stored in said light sensing portion which receives light from said focal point detection area including said center of said image photographing surface, wherein said control means stops the charge storage in said light sensing portion in accordance with a fact that said quantity of said stored charge detected by said monitor means reaches a predetermined value.

Claim 6

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said control means controls said commencement and completion of said charge storage in each of said light sensing portions in order to start said charge storage in the other light sensing portion after charge storage commencement time for said light sensing portion which receives light from said focal point detection area including said center of said image photographing surface.

Claim 7

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said control means starts next charge storage immediately after the previous transference of said charge has been made in a case where said charge storage time in each of said light sensing portions is shorter than a predetermined time.

Claim 8

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 1 further comprising: a mode selection means capable of switching a mode between a manual mode in which an arbitrary focal point detection area is selected from a plurality of said focal point detection areas to perform a manual focal detection and an automatic mode in which the optimum focal point detection area is automatically selected, wherein said control means causes only said light sensing portion which corresponds to a selected focal point detection area to perform said charge storage in a case where said manual mode is selected by said mode selection means.

Claim 9

A focal point detection apparatus comprising: focal point calculating means; a pair of charge storage type light sensing portions for sectioning a subject on an image photographing surface into a plurality of focal point detection areas to receive a pair of beams from each of said focal point detection areas so as to perform charge storage, a plurality of said light sensing portions being provided and each of said light sensing portions being formed by pixels; transfer means for converting charge stored in each of said light sensing portions into an electric signal to transfer it to said focal point detection means, said transfer means being constituted by a first transfer portion for transferring charges stored in both of a pair of said light sensing portions as electric signals, a second transfer portion for transferring charges stored in both another pair of said light sensing portions as electric signals and a third transfer portion for transferring charge stored in the other light sensing portion as an electric signal; storage control means for controlling the charge storage time in said light sensing portion; and transfer control means for controlling the transfer time of said transfer means, wherein said charge storage control means controls the charge commencement and the charge storage of a plurality of said light sensing portions to prevent overlap of each charge transfer; and said transfer control means acts in such a manner that said first transfer means performs a control such that the charge stored in either of a corresponding pair of said light sensing portions is transferred after the charge stored in the other light sensing portion has been transferred and said second and third transfer portions alternately transfer the charges from pixels of each of a corresponding pair of light sensing portions.

Claim 10

A focal point detection apparatus comprising: focal point calculating means; a pair of charge storage type light sensing portions for sectioning a subject on an image photographing surface into a plurality of focal point detection areas to receive a pair of beams from each of said focal point detection areas so as to perform charge storage, a plurality of said light sensing portions being provided and each of said light sensing portions being formed by pixels; transfer means for converting charge stored in each of said light sensing portions into an electric signal to transfer it to said focal point detection means, said transfer means being constituted by a first transfer portion for transferring charges stored in both of a pair of said light sensing portions as electric signals, a second transfer portion for transferring charges stored in both another pair of said light sensing portions as electric signals and a third transfer portion for transferring charge stored in the other light sensing portion as an electric signal; storage control means for controlling the charge storage time in said light sensing portion; and transfer control means for controlling the transfer time of said transfer means, wherein said charge storage control means controls the charge commencement and the charge storage of a plurality of said light sensing portions to prevent overlap of each charge transfer; and said transfer control means acts in such a manner that said first transfer means performs a control such that the charge stored in either of a corresponding pair of said light sensing portions is transferred after the charge stored in the other light sensing portion has been transferred and said second and third transfer portions alternately transfer the charges from pixels of each of a corresponding pair of light sensing portions.

Claim 11

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 8, wherein at least two of a plurality of said focal point detection areas intersect each other, said first transfer portion extends adjacent to either pair of said light sensing portions of two pairs of light sensing portions corresponding to said two focal point detection areas between another pair of said light sensing portions and said second and third transfer portions are positioned adjacent to said other pair of said light sensing portions; and said transfer control means controls said transfer means in such a manner that said first transfer portion transfers the charge of the other light sensing portion after the charge of either light sensing portion has been transferred and said second and third transfer portions transfer said charges from pixels in each of said light sensing portions.

Claim 12

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 8 further comprising: a mode selection means capable of switching a mode between a manual mode in which an arbitrary focal point detection area is selected from a plurality of said focal point detection areas to perform a manual focal detection and an automatic mode in which the optimum focal point detection area is automatically selected and control means for controlling the commencement and completion of said charge storage in each light sensing portion in such a manner that said charge storage in only said light sensing portion which corresponds to a selected focal point detection area is commenced in a case where said manual mode is selected by said mode selection means.

Claim 13

A focal point detection apparatus comprising: focal point detection calculating means; a plurality of charge storage type light sensing portions for sectioning a subject on an image photographing surface into a plurality of focal point detection areas to receive a pair of beams from each of said focal point detection areas so as to store charge; storage means for storing the previous charge storage time and the quantity of the charge stored in each light sensing portion; first control means for predicting the storage time in the next charge storage operation in accordance with each of the stored charge storage time and the quantity of stored charge to control the charge storage in each light sensing portion in accordance with said predicted storage time; and transfer means for converting said charge stored in each of said light sensing portions into electric signals to transfer them to said focal point detection means, wherein said first control means controls the commencement and the completion of said charge storage in each light sensing portions in such a manner that the charge is transferred immediately after the previous charge has been transferred in a sequential order starting from the light sensing portion the storage time in which is predicted to be shortest.

Claim 14

A focal point detection apparatus comprising: focal point detection calculating means; a plurality of charge storage type light sensing portions for sectioning a subject on an image photographing surface into a plurality of focal point detection areas to receive a pair of beams from each of said focal point detection areas so as to store charge; storage means for storing the previous charge storage time and the quantity of the charge stored in each light sensing portion; first control means for predicting the storage time in the next charge storage operation in accordance with each of the stored charge storage time and the quantity of stored charge to control the charge storage in each light sensing portion in accordance with said predicted storage time; and transfer means for converting said charge stored in each of said light sensing portions into electric signals to transfer them to said focal point detection means, wherein said first control means controls the commencement and the completion of said charge storage in each light sensing portions in such a manner that the charge is transferred immediately after the previous charge has been transferred in a sequential order starting from the light sensing portion the storage time in which is predicted to be shortest.

Claim 15

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein said first control means controls the commencement and the completion of said charge storage in each of said light sensing portions in order to continuously transfer a plurality of charges.

Claim 16

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 11 further comprising: monitor means for detecting the quantity of said charge stored in at least one of a plurality of said light sensing portions; and second control means for completing said charge storage in said light sensing portion in response to a fact that said quantity of said stored charge detected by said monitor means reaches a predetermined value before the completion of said charge storage in said light sensing portion controlled by said first control means, wherein said first control means give priority said charge transfer in said light sensing portion detected by said monitor means to a predetermined order charge transfer.

Claim 17

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein said first control means controls the commencement and the completion of said charge storage in each of said light sensing portions in such a manner that said charge storage in the other light sensing portion is commenced after said charge storage in the first transfer order light sensing portion has been commenced.

Claim 18

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein said first control means starts said charge storage in the next light sensing portion immediately after the charge stored in the faster transfer order light sensing portion has been transferred if said predicted storage time for each light sensing portion is shorter than a predetermined time.

Claim 19

A focal point detection apparatus according to Claim 11 further comprising: a mode selection means capable of switching a mode between a manual mode in which an arbitrary focal point detection area is selected from a plurality of said focal point detection areas to perform a manual focal detection and an automatic mode in which the optimum focal point detection area is automatically selected; and control means for controlling the commencement and completion of said charge storage in each light sensing portion in such a manner that said charge storage in only said light sensing portion which corresponds to a selected focal point detection area is commenced in a case where said manual mode is selected by said mode selection means.

Claim 20

Apparatus for determining the distribution of light intensity over an area, the apparatus comprising a plurality of light sensing portions each for receiving light from a respective light intensity detection area, and control means for controlling the operation of the light sensing portions such that each portion is arranged during a first period to be responsive to incident light to enable the portion to produce a signal indicative of the light received during said first period, and such that during a second period, which occurs substantially immediately after the first period, said signal is transferred to a processing means for calculating light intensity distribution, characterised in that the control means is operable to determine the start time of at least some of said first periods in such a manner that the second periods for the light sensing portions occur sequentially with no substantial intervening time periods.

Claim 21

Apparatus for determining the distribution of light intensity over an area, the apparatus comprising a plurality of light sensing portions each for receiving light from a respective light intensity detection area, and control means for controlling the operation of the light sensing portions such that each portion is arranged during a first period to be responsive to incident light to enable the portion to produce a signal indicative of the light received during said first period, and such that during a second period, which occurs substantially immediately after the first period, said signal is transferred to a processing means for calculating light intensity distribution, characterised in that the control means is operable to determine the start time of at least some of said first periods in such a manner that the second periods for the light sensing portions occur sequentially with no substantial intervening time periods.

Claim 22

Apparatus for determining the distribution of light intensity over an area, the apparatus comprising a plurality of light sensing portions each for receiving light from a respective light intensity detection area, and control means for controlling the operation of the light sensing portions such that each portion is arranged during a first period to be responsive to incident light to enable the portion to produce a signal indicative of the light received during said first period, and such that during a second period, which occurs substantially immediately after the first period, said signal is transferred to a processing means for calculating light intensity distribution, characterised in that the control means is operable such that the first periods for at least some of the light sensing portions overlap, and such that the second periods for the light sensing portions do not overlap.

Claim 23

Apparatus for determining the distribution of light intensity over an area, the apparatus comprising a plurality of light sensing portions each for receiving light from a respective light intensity detection area, and control means for controlling the operation of the light sensing portions such that each portion is arranged during a first period to be responsive to incident light to enable the portion to produce a signal indicative of the light received during said first period, and such that during a second period, which occurs substantially immediately after the first period, said signal is transferred to a processing means for calculating light intensity distribution, characterised in that the control means is operable such that the first periods for at least some of the light sensing portions overlap, and such that the second periods for the light sensing portions do not overlap.

Claim 24

Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 or claim 18, wherein the control means is arranged to control the start time of the first periods in accordance with detected light intensity within the light detection area associated with the respective light sensing portion.