Infrared imaging system having an automatic focusing control

Claim 2

An infrared imaging system comprising: a lens system for focusing a two-dimensional infrared image of an object on an image plane of said lens system; a lens drive mechanism carrying said lens system such that said lens system is movable along an optical axis of said lens system: an infrared detection array comprising a plurality of infrared detection elements arranged on a plane, for producing output signals indicative of said two-dimensional image of said object; display means supplied with said output signals from said infrared detection array for displaying an image of said object; filtering means supplied with said output signals from said infrared detection array for extracting high spatial frequency components therefrom; processing means supplied with an output of said filtering means indicative of said high spatial frequency components, said processing means evaluating a rate of change of said output of said filtering means with time and producing a control signal indicative of a focusing state of said infrared image on said infrared detection array, based upon said rate of change thus evaluated; said processing means supplying said control signal to said lens drive mechanism for controlling the same such that said image plane coincides substantially with said plane of said infrared detection array; said processing means comprising a first memory for storing said output signals of said filtering means corresponding to one horizontal scanning line that is included in said two-dimensional image for the present moment, a second memory for storing said output signals of said filtering means corresponding to said horizontal scanning line for a moment in the past, an adder for calculating a sum of a content of said first memory and a content of said second memory, a subtracter for calculating a difference between said content of said first memory and said content of said second memory, and a logic circuit supplied with an output of said adder and an output of said subtracter for producing said control signal indicative of said focusing state based upon a combination of said output of said adder and said output of said subtracter.

Claim 3

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said filtering means comprises a low pass filter having a sharp cutoff characteristic for eliminating noise from said output signals of said infrared detection array and a frequency discrimination filter for receiving an output of said low pass filter, said frequency discrimination filter having a characteristic that gently enhances high frequency components in said output of said low pass filter.

Claim 4

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said frequency discrimination filter has a low cutoff characteristic for cutting off low frequency components.

Claim 5

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said frequency discrimination filter comprises either of a high pass filter and a band pass filter.

Claim 6

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said infrared imaging system comprises image selection means for selecting a horizontal scanning line that is to be written into said first and second memories in correspondence to a position in a view field of said display means.

Claim 7

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said logic circuit drives said lens drive mechanism such that said drive mechanism is driven at a high speed when said output of said adder is at a low level below a first threshold and said output of said subtracter is at a low level below a second threshold, such that said drive mechanism is driven at an intermediate speed when said output of said adder is at a low level below said first threshold and said output of said subtracter is at a high level above said second threshold, such that said drive mechanism is driven at an intermediate speed when said output of said adder is at a high level above said first threshold and said output of said subtracter is at a high level above said second threshold, and such that said lens drive mechanism is driven at a low speed when said output of said adder is at a high level above said first threshold and said output of said subtracter is at a low level below said second threshold.

Claim 8

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said logic circuit drives said lens drive mechanism such that said lens drive mechanism is driven at a low speed when said output of said adder is at a high level above said first threshold and said output of said subtracter is at a high level above said second threshold and such that said lens drive mechanism is driven at a very slow speed when said output of said adder is at a high level above said first threshold and said output of said subtracter is at a low level below said second threshold.

Claim 9

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said logic circuit determine the direction in which said lens drive system is driven before said lens drive mechanism is driven.

Claim 10

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said logic circuit drives premonitorily said lens drive mechanism in a first direction for discriminating whether or not said output of said subtracter increases as said lens drive mechanism is driven in said first direction, said logic circuit driving said lens drive mechanism in said first direction when said output of said subtracter is positive and increases as a result of said premonitory driving of said lens drive mechanism in said first direction said logic circuit driving said lens drive mechanism in a second, opposite direction when said output of said subtracter is negative and increases with as a result of said premonitory driving of said lens drive mechanism in said first direction.

Claim 11

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said logic circuit determines the direction in which said lens drive mechanism is driven based upon an accumulation signal that is produced by accumulating said output of said subtracter while driving said lens drive mechanism premonitorily in said first direction.

Claim 12

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said control logic circuit stops said lens drive mechanism for a predetermined time period when the direction of driving of said lens drive mechanism is reversed, such that said predetermined time period is determined in response to a speed at what said lens drive mechanism is driven when said logic circuit has determined the direction in which said lens drive mechanism is driven.

Claim 13

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lens drive mechanism comprises a drive motor for moving said lens system along said optical axis and an encoder provided on said drive motor for detecting a current position of said lens system with respect to said infrared detection array; said infrared imaging system further comprising second processing means; said second processing means comprising: current distance holding means supplied with an output of said encoder indicative of said position of said lens system for the present moment, for obtaining a current distance of said object from said position of said lens system, said current distance holding means holding said current distance therein; past distance holding means supplied with an output of said encoder indicative of said position of said lens system for a past moment, for obtaining a past distance of said object from said position of said lens system, said past distance holding means holding said past distance therein; speed calculation means supplied with data indicative of said current distance from said current distance holding means and data indicative of said past distance from said past distance holding means, for calculating a speed of said object; distance change evaluation means supplied with data indicative of said speed of said object from said speed calculation means consecutively for a plurality of times, for predicting a change of distance to said object for a future moment; future position evaluation means supplied with data indicative of said current distance from said current distance holding means and further with data indicative of said change of distance from said distance change evaluation means, for predicting a future position of said lens system; commanding means supplied with data indicative of said future position of said lens system from said future position evaluation means and further with data indicative of said current position of said lens system from said encoder, for evaluating a predicted distance which said lens system moves; and energization means supplied with a control signal, corresponding to said predicted distance which said lens system moves, from said commanding means, for driving said motor with a voltage that is determined in response to said predicted distance.

Claim 14

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 12, wherein said current distance holding means comprises a conversion table for converting said position of said lens system supplied from said encoder to said distance to said object.

Claim 15

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 12, wherein said speed calculation means comprises subtraction means for subtracting said past distance from said current distance to calculate a distance change and dividing means for dividing said calculated distance change by a time which has elapsed from said past moment to the present moment.

Claim 16

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 12, wherein said distance change evaluation means comprises speed memorizing means for holding said speed of said object for a plurality of past moments, prediction function generation means supplied with said speed of said object from said speed memorizing means for generating a prediction function indicative of a predicted future speed of said object, and distance change prediction means supplied with said predicted future speed of said object from said prediction function generation means for evaluating said change of distance to said object for a future moment.

Claim 17

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 12, wherein said future position evaluation means comprises adding means for evaluating a future distance to said object by adding said current distance and said change of distance evaluated in said distance change evaluation means, lens position evaluation means supplied with said future distance from said future position evaluation means for evaluating a future position of said lens system, and predictive control decision means supplied with said change of distance to said object and said current distance for deciding an activation of a predicted control process, said predictive control decision means outputting a switching control signal and a speed control signal when using said predicted control process.

Claim 18

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said commanding means comprises a switch that is turned on in response to said switching control signal from said predictive control decision means and a subtracter for evaluating said distance said lens system has moved by subtracting said current position of said lens system from said future position of said lens system.

Claim 19

An infrared imaging system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said energization means produces said voltage and supplies the same to said motor such that said voltage has a magnitude that is changed in a plurality of steps in response to said speed control signal from said prediction control decision means, said energization means further changing the polarity of said voltage in response to said speed control signal.