Automatic focus control device having a plurality of focus detection areas

Claim 2

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: photo-sensor means for receiving, through a photo-taking lens of said camera, light coming from a plurality of regions different from each other in a photographic field to be photographed, said plurality of regions including a specified region having a plurality of blocks different from each other; means for detecting focus condition of said photo-taking lens with respect to said respective regions and respective blocks on the basis of a plurality of outputs of said photo-sensor means; means for discriminating whether or not the focus detection is possible at each of the plurality of regions, said discriminating means discriminating that the focus detection with respect to said specified region is impossible when discriminating that the focus detection with respect to all of the blocks included in said specified region is impossible; and means for controlling a predetermined operation of the camera when the discriminating means discriminates that the focus detection is impossible at all of the plurality of regions.

Claim 3

An automatic focus control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said controlling means includes means for forcibly shifting a photo-taking lens of the camera by bringing said plurality of photo-sensor means and said discriminating means into operation.

Claim 4

An automatic focus control device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising means for indicating that the focus detection is impossible, when said discriminating means does not discriminate that the focus detection is possible at all of the plurality of regions during the shifting of the photo-taking lens by said forcibly shifting means.

Claim 5

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: focus condition detecting means for detecting focus condition of a photo-taking lens of the camera; discriminating means for discriminating whether or not focus detection of said detecting means is possible to output a discriminating signal when the focus detection is discriminated to be impossible; shifting means for shifting the photo-taking lens; bringing means, in response to the discriminating signal, for bringing both of said detecting means and said shifting means into operation; direction detecting means for detecting a direction along which the photo-taking lens is shifted by said shifting means; and determining means, operable when said bringing means is operated in response to the discriminating signal, for determining defocus range into which the focus condition of the photo-taking lens is detected by the detecting means, said determining means determining a first defocus range along the direction detected by the detecting means and a second defocus range opposite to the direction, said first defocus range being determined to be larger than said second defocus range.

Claim 6

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: focus condition detecting means for detecting focus condition of a photo-taking lens of the camera; discriminating means for discriminating whether or not focus detection of said detecting means is possible to output a discriminating signal when the focus detection is discriminated to be impossible; shifting means for shifting the photo-taking lens; bringing means, in response to the discriminating signal, for bringing both of said detecting means and said shifting means into operation; direction detecting means for detecting a direction along which the photo-taking lens is shifted by said shifting means; and determining means, operable when said bringing means is operated in response to the discriminating signal, for determining defocus range into which the focus condition of the photo-taking lens is detected by the detecting means, said determining means determining a first defocus range along the direction detected by the detecting means and a second defocus range opposite to the direction, said first defocus range being determined to be larger than said second defocus range.

Claim 7

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: first calculating means for calculating a plurality of defocus amounts corresponding respectively to a plurality of regions; means for determining a plurality of weights, each of which is attributed to each of said defocus amounts calculated by said first calculating means; second calculating means for calculating one amount on the basis of said plurality of defocus amounts and said plurality of weights; means for detecting whether the camera is held for a vertical format or for a horizontal format; and varying means for varying the plurality of weights determined by said determining means in accordance with the detected result of said detecting means.

Claim 8

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: first calculating means for calculating a plurality of defocus amounts corresponding respectively to a plurality of regions; means for determining a plurality of weights, each of which is attributed to each of said defocus amounts calculated by said first calculating means; second calculating means for calculating one amount on the basis of said plurality of defocus amounts and said plurality of weights; means for detecting whether the camera is held for a vertical format or for a horizontal format; and varying means for varying the plurality of weights determined by said determining means in accordance with the detected result of said detecting means.

Claim 9

An automatic focus control device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said varying means includes means for decreasing the weights to be attributed to the regions corresponding to a lower portion in a photographic frame to be photographed, when said vertical format is detected by said detecting means.

Claim 10

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: first detecting means for detecting a focus condition of the photo-taking lens with respect to at least one first region in a photographic field; second detecting means for detecting a focus condition of the photo-taking lens with respect to a second region which is smaller than said first region; means for selecting either of a first mode, in which the photo-taking lens is automatically shifted to its in-focus condition, and a second mode, in which the focus condition is indicated without automatically shifting the photo-taking lens; and means for bringing said first detecting means into operation when said first mode is selected by said selecting means, and for bringing said second detecting means into operation when said second mode is selected by said selecting means.

Claim 11

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: first detecting means for detecting a focus condition of the photo-taking lens with respect to at least one first region in a photographic field; second detecting means for detecting a focus condition of the photo-taking lens with respect to a second region which is smaller than said first region; means for selecting either of a first mode, in which the photo-taking lens is automatically shifted to its in-focus condition, and a second mode, in which the focus condition is indicated without automatically shifting the photo-taking lens; and means for bringing said first detecting means into operation when said first mode is selected by said selecting means, and for bringing said second detecting means into operation when said second mode is selected by said selecting means.

Claim 12

An automatic focus control device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said first detecting means includes means for detecting a plurality of focus conditions with respect to a plurality of first regions in said photographic field, and wherein said second detecting means includes means for detecting a focus condition with respect to a second region located in the center of the photographic field.

Claim 13

An automatic focus control device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising means for shifting the photo-taking lens in accordance with the focus condition detected by said first detecting means when said first mode is selected by said selecting means, and means for indicating the focus condition detected by said second detecting means when said second mode is selected by said selecting means.

Claim 14

An automatic focus control device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising means for displaying a position corresponding to said first region when said first mode is selected by said selecting means, and for displaying a position corresponding to said second region when said second mode is selected by said selecting means.

Claim 15

An automatic focus control device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said displaying means includes a liquid crystal device.

Claim 16

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: focus condition detecting means for detecting focus condition of a photo-taking lens of the camera; shifting means for shifting the photo-taking lens based on the result of said focus condition detecting means; direction detecting means for detecting a direction along which the photo-taking lens is shifted by said shifting means; and determining means for determining defocus range into which the focus condition of the photo-taking lens is detected by said focus condition detecting means, said determining means determining a first defocus range along the direction detected by the detecting means and a second defocus range opposite to the direction, said first defocus range being determined to be larger than said second defocus range.

Claim 17

An automatic focus control device of a camera, comprising: focus condition detecting means for detecting focus condition of a photo-taking lens of the camera; shifting means for shifting the photo-taking lens based on the result of said focus condition detecting means; direction detecting means for detecting a direction along which the photo-taking lens is shifted by said shifting means; and determining means for determining defocus range into which the focus condition of the photo-taking lens is detected by said focus condition detecting means, said determining means determining a first defocus range along the direction detected by the detecting means and a second defocus range opposite to the direction, said first defocus range being determined to be larger than said second defocus range.