US5115262A — Auto-focusing apparatus

Claim 1

Independent Claim 196 words

An auto-focusing apparatus comprising: an optical system for obtaining an optical image of an object; means for imaging the optical image; driving means for moving at least one of said imaging means and said optical system along a direction of an optical axis; filter means for extracting a predetermined frequency component from an output signal from said imaging means; detecting means for detecting an output signal from said filter means and generating a focus signal representing a focusing degree of the optical image, which is a function of relative positions of said imaging means and said optical system; means for obtaining an intermediate parameter which characterizes a function curve of the focus signal on the basis of the frequency component extracted by said filter means and an F-number of said optical system; means for determining a sampling interval on the basis of a constant representing a characteristic of said detecting means and the intermediate parameter; and means for obtaining an in-focus point by sampling the focus signal every sampling interval while at least one of said optical system and said imaging means is moved by said driving means and interpolating a plurality of sampled signal values.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 196 words

An auto-focusing apparatus comprising: an optical system for obtaining an optical image of an object; means for imaging the optical image; driving means for moving at least one of said imaging means and said optical system along a direction of an optical axis; filter means for extracting a predetermined frequency component from an output signal from said imaging means; detecting means for detecting an output signal from said filter means and generating a focus signal representing a focusing degree of the optical image, which is a function of relative positions of said imaging means and said optical system; means for obtaining an intermediate parameter which characterizes a function curve of the focus signal on the basis of the frequency component extracted by said filter means and an F-number of said optical system; means for determining a sampling interval on the basis of a constant representing a characteristic of said detecting means and the intermediate parameter; and means for obtaining an in-focus point by sampling the focus signal every sampling interval while at least one of said optical system and said imaging means is moved by said driving means and interpolating a plurality of sampled signal values.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 53 words

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for obtaining the intermediate parameter comprises means for obtaining the intermediate parameter by dividing the F-number by the frequency of said filter means, and said sampling interval determining means comprises means for determining the sampling interval by multiplying the constant by the intermediate parameter.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 56 words

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for obtaining the in-focus point comprises means for detecting the in-focus point on the basis of a ratio of focus signal values at two points located on both sides of the in-focus point, and a distance between the two points which is normalized with the intermediate parameter.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 50 words

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical system has a second principle plane, and an initial position of said optical system is a position where a distance between the second principle plane and said imaging means becomes smaller than an imaging distance of the object positioned at infinity.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 106 words

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said filter means comprises a plurality of filters for extracting a plurality of different frequency components of output signals from said imaging means, and means for selecting an optimal frequency component in accordance with an image range of said optical system, a lowest frequency obtained from said driving means, F-number, and focus signals obtained from the frequency components extracted by said plurality of filters, and said means for obtaining the in-focus point comprises means for obtaining an in-focus point on the basis of sample values of a focus signal obtained from the frequency components selected by said selecting means.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 53 words

An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for detecting a velocity of the object in the direction of the optical axis on the basis of the intermediate parameter, the focus signal, and position information of said optical system; and means for correcting the focus signal on the basis of the velocity.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 114 words

A focus detecting apparatus comprising: means for imaging an optical image of an object, and outputting an image signal; means for adjusting a focus of said imaging means; detecting means for detecting a predetermined frequency component of the image signal and generating a focus signal representing a focusing degree of said imaging means; means for obtaining a parameter for characterizing the focus signal on the basis of the predetermined frequency of said detecting means and a characteristic value of said imaging means; and means for performing focus adjustment by using said adjusting means, sampling focus signal values at a sampling interval corresponding to the parameter, and interpolating sample values, thereby obtaining an in-focus point.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 114 words

A focus detecting apparatus comprising: means for imaging an optical image of an object, and outputting an image signal; means for adjusting a focus of said imaging means; detecting means for detecting a predetermined frequency component of the image signal and generating a focus signal representing a focusing degree of said imaging means; means for obtaining a parameter for characterizing the focus signal on the basis of the predetermined frequency of said detecting means and a characteristic value of said imaging means; and means for performing focus adjustment by using said adjusting means, sampling focus signal values at a sampling interval corresponding to the parameter, and interpolating sample values, thereby obtaining an in-focus point.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 102 words

An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said means for obtaining the parameter comprises means for obtaining a parameter which is proportional to an F-number of an optical system of said imaging means and inversely proportional to the predetermined frequency, and said means for performing focus adjustment comprises means for controlling said adjusting means and adjusting a focus of said imaging means at a constant speed, and means for sampling an output from said detecting means in a cycle corresponding to a product of the parameter and a constant corresponding to a detection scheme of said detecting means during the focus adjustment.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 104 words

An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said means for performing focus adjustment calculates an in-focus point α by using a maximum value P 1 (=f(x m )) of sample values of a focus signal f(x), and sample values P 0 (=f(x m-1 )) and P 2 (=f(x m+1 )) at two points on both sides of the maximum value Pl according to the following equations: if P.sub.0 ≧P.sub.2, α=x.sub.m -(Δx/2)(P.sub.0 -P.sub.2)/(P.sub.1 -P.sub.2) if P 0 <P 2 , α=x.sub.m +(Δx/2)(P.sub.2 -P.sub.0)/(P.sub.1 -P.sub.0) where m is a positive integer and Δx is a distance the focus of said imaging means move in the cycle.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 60 words

An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said imaging means comprises an optical system for forming an optical image of the object, and means for setting an initial position of said optical system at a position where a distance between a second principle plane and an imaging plane becomes smaller than an imaging distance of the object positioned at infinity.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 47 words

An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said means for performing focus adjustment obtains an in-focus point on the basis of a ratio of modulation transfer function values at two sampling points located on both sides of the in-focus point, and a distance between the two points.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 53 words

An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said means for obtaining the in-focus point includes a table for storing the ratio and corresponding data obtained by normalizing a relationship between the distance and the in-focus point with the parameter, and obtains the in-focus point by referring to said table based on the ratio.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 78 words

An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said detecting means comprises means for detecting a predetermined frequency component of only signals, of one frame of image signal, in a predetermined focusing area, and the predetermined frequency component is set to a frequency which falls within a frequency range determined by a size of a focusing area and is not more than a frequency determined by a focus adjustment speed, and at which a maximum focus signal value appears.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 59 words

An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: means for detecting a shift of a position of a first zero point of a focus signal curve in accordance with the parameter, and detecting a moving velocity of the object on the basis of the detected shift; and means for correcting the in-focus point on the basis of the velocity.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 106 words

An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said moving velocity detecting means forms a focus signal curve associated with a still object on the basis of the parameter, and obtains a moving velocity on the basis of differences d 0 =P 0 -R 0 and d 2 =P 2 -R 2 between focus signal values R 0 and R 2 at two points x 0 and x 2 located on both sides of the in-focus point on the curve and focus signal values P 0 and P 2 at the two points x 0 and x 2 which are obtained when the object is actually imaged.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 54 words

An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said moving velocity detecting means includes a table for storing data obtained by normalizing a relationship between the differences and the moving velocity with a maximum value of the focus signal curve associated with the still object, and obtains a moving velocity by referring to said table.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1995-05-19	1995-11-18	1996-05-19	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1999-05-19	1999-11-18	2000-05-19	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2003-05-19	2003-11-18	2004-05-19	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Auto-focusing apparatus

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