Patent US5642325A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US7298412B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US7298412B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Image pickup device, automatic focusing method, automatic exposure method, electronic flash control method and computer program
Assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
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Filing: 2002-09-17
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Granted: 2007-11-20
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Expires: 2022-09-17
Abstract
Abstract There are provided an image memory which stores one image of a subject, an image fetch section which takes in an image from the image memory to another memory or register in a predetermined unit, a control section which takes charge of the overall control, a face characteristic storage section which stores a plurality of characteristics of a face, a recognition and judgment section which recognizes a face from the data from the image fetch section and the data from the face characteristic storage section and judges each portion, an edge detector which detects an edge detection value from the result data thereof, and an output section which outputs the final judgment result to the outside.
Inventors
- 👤 Masato Sannoh
- 👤 Kenji Shiraishi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 21:12
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N23/00; H04N23/60; H04N23/67; H04N23/675; H04N23/61; H04N23/611; H04N23/63; H04N23/631; H04N23/632; H04N23/633; H04N23/635; H04N23/70; H04N23/71; H04N23/74; H04N2101/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
116 words
An image pickup device provided with an automatic focusing function, comprising: an image pickup unit configured to input image data corresponding to a subject; a face detection unit configured to separately detect eyes, a nose, and a mouth of a human face from the image data input from the image pickup unit; a ranging area selection unit, by which when the eyes, the nose, and the mouth are separately detected by the face detection unit, a user selects any one of the eyes, the nose, or the mouth as a ranging area; and an automatic focusing control unit configured to perform automatic focusing control based on the ranging area selected by the ranging area selection unit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
116 words
An image pickup device provided with an automatic focusing function, comprising: an image pickup unit configured to input image data corresponding to a subject; a face detection unit configured to separately detect eyes, a nose, and a mouth of a human face from the image data input from the image pickup unit; a ranging area selection unit, by which when the eyes, the nose, and the mouth are separately detected by the face detection unit, a user selects any one of the eyes, the nose, or the mouth as a ranging area; and an automatic focusing control unit configured to perform automatic focusing control based on the ranging area selected by the ranging area selection unit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a notification unit configured to notify a user that a human face has been detected by the face detection unit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
50 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , wherein when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detection unit, the automatic focusing control unit carries out the automatic focusing control, designating at least a part of the face closest to the central portion as the ranging area.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
69 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a ranging area selection unit configured to receive a user input selecting a ranging area from a plurality of faces when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detection unit, wherein the automatic focusing control unit is configured to perform the automatic focusing control, based on the ranging area selected by the ranging area selection unit.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
140 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a face detection operation setup unit configured to receive a user input setting permission/inhibition of the face detection operation of the face detection unit, wherein when permission of the face detection operation of the face detection unit is set by the face detection operation setup unit, the automatic focusing control unit allows the face detection unit to execute the face detection operation, to thereby perform the automatic focusing control by designating at least a part of the detected human face as the ranging area, and when inhibition of the face detection operation of the face detection unit is set by the face detection operation setup unit, the automatic focusing control unit carries out the automatic focusing control, without allowing the face detection unit to execute the face detection operation.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
143 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a mode setup unit configured to set a first photographing mode for performing automatic focusing by executing the face detection operation of the face detection unit, or a second photographing mode for performing automatic focusing without executing the face detection operation of the face detection unit, wherein when the first photographing mode is set by the mode setup unit, the automatic focusing control unit allows the face detection unit to execute the face detection operation, to thereby perform automatic focusing control by designating at least a part of the detected human face as the ranging area, and when the second photographing mode is set by the mode setup unit, the automatic focusing control unit carries out the automatic focusing control, without allowing the face detection unit to execute the face detection operation.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
64 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , wherein when a human face is detected, the face detection unit is further configured to detect the eyes separately, and when the eyes are separately detected by the face detection unit, the ranging area selection unit is configured to receive from the user a selection of one of the eyes separately as the ranging area.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
44 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , wherein the automatic focusing control unit is configured to perform automatic focusing control by setting the size of the ranging area, based on the size of the human face detected by the face detection unit.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
60 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , further comprising a ranging area size selection unit configured to receive a user input selecting a size of the ranging area, wherein the automatic focusing control unit is configured to perform the automatic focusing control by setting the ranging area of a size selected by the ranging area size selection unit.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
67 words
The image pickup device according to claim 1 , wherein when the automatic focusing control unit performs the automatic focusing control, designating at least a part of the human face detected by the face detection unit as the ranging area, the automatic focusing control unit stores the ranging result in a memory, and predicts the next focusing position from the past ranging results stored in the memory.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
100 words
An automatic focusing method comprising: inputting image data corresponding to a subject; separately detecting eyes, a nose, and a mouth of a human face from the image data input at the image input step; providing a plurality of markers on a screen, one of the plurality of markers corresponding to each of the eyes, the nose, and the mouth; receiving from a user a selection of any one of the plurality of markers corresponding to the eyes, the nose, or the mouth as a ranging area; and performing automatic focusing control based on the ranging area selected by the user.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
100 words
An automatic focusing method comprising: inputting image data corresponding to a subject; separately detecting eyes, a nose, and a mouth of a human face from the image data input at the image input step; providing a plurality of markers on a screen, one of the plurality of markers corresponding to each of the eyes, the nose, and the mouth; receiving from a user a selection of any one of the plurality of markers corresponding to the eyes, the nose, or the mouth as a ranging area; and performing automatic focusing control based on the ranging area selected by the user.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
115 words
A program configured to be stored on a computer readable medium and when executed by a computer, the program configured to perform an automatic focusing method, comprising: separately detecting eyes, a nose, and a mouth of a human face from the image data input at the image input step; providing a plurality of markers on a screen, one of the plurality of markers corresponding to each of the eyes, the nose, and the mouth; receiving from a user a selection of any one of the plurality of markers corresponding to the eyes, the nose, or the mouth as a ranging area; and performing automatic focusing control based on the ranging area selected by the user.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
115 words
A program configured to be stored on a computer readable medium and when executed by a computer, the program configured to perform an automatic focusing method, comprising: separately detecting eyes, a nose, and a mouth of a human face from the image data input at the image input step; providing a plurality of markers on a screen, one of the plurality of markers corresponding to each of the eyes, the nose, and the mouth; receiving from a user a selection of any one of the plurality of markers corresponding to the eyes, the nose, or the mouth as a ranging area; and performing automatic focusing control based on the ranging area selected by the user.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2010-11-19 | 2011-05-21 | 2011-11-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2014-11-19 | 2015-05-21 | 2015-11-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2018-11-19 | 2019-05-21 | 2019-11-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |