US5680648A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Light projection type distance measuring device for auto-focusing in camera
Assignee: Olympus Corp
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Filing: 1994-11-14
•
Granted: 1997-10-21
•
Expires: 2014-11-14
Abstract
Abstract A light-emitting section projects distance measurement light toward an object to be photographed. A switching section sequentially switches the projection direction of the distance measurement light projected from the light-emitting section. A first light-receiving section is arranged at a position separated from the light-emitting section by a first base length. The first light-receiving section receives a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light from the object and outputs a first signal corresponding to the incident position of the reflected light beam. The second light-receiving section receives a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light from the object and outputs a second signal corresponding to the incident position of the reflected light beam. An object distance calculating section calculates the object distance in accordance with first and second signals corresponding to the incident positions and output from the first and second light-receiving sections.
Inventors
- 👤 Osamu Nonaka
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 19:20
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B7/00; G02B7/28; G02B7/30; G02B7/32
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for projecting a distance measurement light beam toward an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; scanning means for sequentially scanning a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; first light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said light-emitting means by a first base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a first signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; second light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said light-emitting means by a second base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a second signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; and object distance calculating means for calculating a distance to the object based on a plurality of distance measuring points in accordance with the first and second signals output from said first and second light-receiving means, respectively.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
181 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for projecting a distance measurement light beam toward an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; scanning means for sequentially scanning a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; first light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said light-emitting means by a first base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a first signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; second light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said light-emitting means by a second base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a second signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; and object distance calculating means for calculating a distance to the object based on a plurality of distance measuring points in accordance with the first and second signals output from said first and second light-receiving means, respectively.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein said first and second light-receiving means include two-dimensional semiconductor position sensing elements (PSDs).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein said scanning means includes means for scanning the projection direction in a two-dimensional direction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein said object distance calculating means includes means for performing analog calculation of the object distance, and integrating an output result.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein said scanning means scans the distance measurement light at least in a horizontal direction of said camera, and said second light-receiving means is arranged in a vertical direction of said camera.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
85 words
A device according to claim 1, wherein when the reflected light beam of the distance measurement light from the object is not incident on one of said first and second light-receiving means, said object distance calculating means calculates the object distance in accordance with the one of the first and second output signals output from the one of said first and second light-receiving means on which the reflected light beam is incident, and information of the projection direction of the light from said light-emitting means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
117 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for emitting a distance measurement light beam toward an object to be photographed, said light-emitting beam having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means, arranged in a vertical direction of said camera, for detecting reflected signal positions of light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; scanning control means for performing a distance measuring operation while moving the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means in a horizontal direction of said camera; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
117 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for emitting a distance measurement light beam toward an object to be photographed, said light-emitting beam having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means, arranged in a vertical direction of said camera, for detecting reflected signal positions of light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; scanning control means for performing a distance measuring operation while moving the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means in a horizontal direction of said camera; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
136 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for emitting distance measurement light beam toward an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting positions of signal light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; scanning control means for sequentially scanning a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; and calculating means for, when one reflected signal light beam of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means is not incident on one of said pair of light-receiving means, calculating a distance to the object in accordance with the other reflected signal light position and information of a light-emitting direction of said light emitting-means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
136 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for emitting distance measurement light beam toward an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting positions of signal light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; scanning control means for sequentially scanning a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; and calculating means for, when one reflected signal light beam of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means is not incident on one of said pair of light-receiving means, calculating a distance to the object in accordance with the other reflected signal light position and information of a light-emitting direction of said light emitting-means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
179 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: flash means for emitting flash light as distance measurement light toward an object to be photographed, said flash means forming a light beam using a portion of said emitted flash light and protecting the light beam as a distance measurement light beam to the object to be photographed; first light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said flash means by a first base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a first signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; second light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said flash means by a second base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a second signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; and object distance calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with the first and second signals output from said first and second light-receiving means, respectively.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
179 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: flash means for emitting flash light as distance measurement light toward an object to be photographed, said flash means forming a light beam using a portion of said emitted flash light and protecting the light beam as a distance measurement light beam to the object to be photographed; first light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said flash means by a first base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a first signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; second light-receiving means, arranged at a position separated from said flash means by a second base length, for receiving a reflected light beam of the distance measurement light beam from the object and outputting a second signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam; and object distance calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with the first and second signals output from said first and second light-receiving means, respectively.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
A device according to claim 9, further comprising scanning means for sequentially projecting part of the flash light from said flash means toward the object.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
57 words
A device according to claim 9, further comprising light-emitting means for projecting distance measurement light in a specific direction, wherein said calculating means includes means for calculating an object distance in the specific direction in accordance with outputs from said first and second light-receiving means which correspond to the distance measurement light projected from said light-emitting means.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
A device according to claim 11, further comprising emission control means for sequentially causing said flash means and said light-emitting means to emit light.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
66 words
A distance measuring device comprising: flash means for emitting flash light toward an object by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting reflected signal light positions of signal light beams, of the flash light, which are reflected by the object; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
66 words
A distance measuring device comprising: flash means for emitting flash light toward an object by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting reflected signal light positions of signal light beams, of the flash light, which are reflected by the object; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
104 words
A distance measuring device, comprising: flash means for emitting a flash light beam toward an object by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; scanning control means for sequentially radiating as a distance measurement light beam a part of the flash light beam on a plurality of points; a pair of light-receiving means for receiving light incident from the object, said light-receiving means discriminating components based on background light in the received light so as to detect a position of reflected signal light from the object; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with an output from said light-receiving means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
104 words
A distance measuring device, comprising: flash means for emitting a flash light beam toward an object by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; scanning control means for sequentially radiating as a distance measurement light beam a part of the flash light beam on a plurality of points; a pair of light-receiving means for receiving light incident from the object, said light-receiving means discriminating components based on background light in the received light so as to detect a position of reflected signal light from the object; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with an output from said light-receiving means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
19 words
A device according to claim 14, wherein said scanning means includes a slit for transmitting the flash light beam.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
136 words
A distance measuring device, comprising: flash means for emitting flash light as distance measurement light toward an object whose distance is to be measured, said flash means forming a first light beam using a portion of said emitted flash light and protecting the first light beam to the object; light-emitting means for emitting flash light as distance measurement light toward the object, said light-emitting means forming a second light beam using a portion of said emitted flash light and projecting the second light beam to the object; a pair of light-receiving means for receiving reflected signal light beams from the object; and calculating control means for sequentially causing said flash means and said light-emitting element to emit flash light and for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with an output from said light-receiving means.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
136 words
A distance measuring device, comprising: flash means for emitting flash light as distance measurement light toward an object whose distance is to be measured, said flash means forming a first light beam using a portion of said emitted flash light and protecting the first light beam to the object; light-emitting means for emitting flash light as distance measurement light toward the object, said light-emitting means forming a second light beam using a portion of said emitted flash light and projecting the second light beam to the object; a pair of light-receiving means for receiving reflected signal light beams from the object; and calculating control means for sequentially causing said flash means and said light-emitting element to emit flash light and for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with an output from said light-receiving means.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
14 words
A device according to claim 16, wherein said light-emitting element includes a light-emitting diode.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
25 words
A device according to claim 16, wherein a projection direction of the second distance measurement light beam from said light-emitting means is a fixed direction.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
41 words
A device according to claim 16, wherein the second distance measurement light beam from said light-emitting means is used for distance measurement of a distance shorter than that of the distance measurement using the flash light projected by the flash means.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
32 words
A device according to claim 16, further comprising scanning means, arranged in front of said flash means, for extracting part of the flash light beam and spatially scanning the extracted light beam.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
144 words
An underwater distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: flash means for emitting flash light to project distance measurement light toward an object to be photographed by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; filter means, arranged in front of said flash means to freely retreat from an optical path of the distance measurement light, for cutting a visible light component of the distance measurement light; actuator means for causing said filter means to retreat from the optical path of the distance measurement light when said camera is in the water, and inserting said filter means in the optical path of the distance measurement light when said camera is not in the water; and distance calculating means for receiving a light beam, of the distance measurement light emitted from said flash means, which is reflected by the object, and calculating a distance to the object.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
144 words
An underwater distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: flash means for emitting flash light to project distance measurement light toward an object to be photographed by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; filter means, arranged in front of said flash means to freely retreat from an optical path of the distance measurement light, for cutting a visible light component of the distance measurement light; actuator means for causing said filter means to retreat from the optical path of the distance measurement light when said camera is in the water, and inserting said filter means in the optical path of the distance measurement light when said camera is not in the water; and distance calculating means for receiving a light beam, of the distance measurement light emitted from said flash means, which is reflected by the object, and calculating a distance to the object.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
43 words
A device according to claim 21, further comprising underwater detecting means for checking whether said camera is in the water, wherein said actuator means includes means for driving said filter means in accordance with a detection result obtained by said underwater detecting means.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
76 words
A device according to claim 21, wherein said distance calculating means comprises: first light-receiving means for receiving the reflected light beam and outputting a first signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam, and second light-receiving means for receiving the reflected light beam and outputting a second signal corresponding to an incident position of the reflected light beam, and wherein the object distance is detected in accordance with the first and second signals.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
62 words
An underwater distance measuring device comprising: flash means for emitting flash light to project distance measurement light toward an object to be measured by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; and light-receiving means for receiving a reflected signal light beam from the object and determining a distance to the object by using a visible light component of the reflected signal light beam.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
62 words
An underwater distance measuring device comprising: flash means for emitting flash light to project distance measurement light toward an object to be measured by consuming energy charged in a capacitor; and light-receiving means for receiving a reflected signal light beam from the object and determining a distance to the object by using a visible light component of the reflected signal light beam.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
112 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for projecting a distance measurement light beam onto an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting incident positions of reflected signal light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; integrating means for integrating output results from said pair of light receiving means; scanning control means for sequentially scanning a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; and calculating means for calculating a distance in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
112 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for projecting a distance measurement light beam onto an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting incident positions of reflected signal light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; integrating means for integrating output results from said pair of light receiving means; scanning control means for sequentially scanning a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; and calculating means for calculating a distance in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
151 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for projecting distance measurement light beam onto an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting positions of reflected signal light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; control means for sequentially switching a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; storage means for storing data corresponding to an error in a distance measurement result in the projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means, information of the projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, and data stored in said storage means.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
151 words
A distance measuring device for a camera, comprising: light-emitting means for projecting distance measurement light beam onto an object to be photographed, said light-emitting means having a single light-emitting element; a pair of light-receiving means for detecting positions of reflected signal light beams, of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, which are reflected by the object; control means for sequentially switching a projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; storage means for storing data corresponding to an error in a distance measurement result in the projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means; and calculating means for calculating a distance to the object in accordance with outputs from said pair of light-receiving means, information of the projection direction of the distance measurement light beam projected from said light-emitting means, and data stored in said storage means.
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