A self defense weapon formed as a memo pad and which is easily held by a person's fingers, therefore making it possible to provide protection from a mugger and also to quickly and easily write a record or a message without failure of missing or forgetting significant information under a stressful situation.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8145049 | Focus adjustment method, focus adjustment apparatus, and control method thereof An apparatus comprises a face position detection section for detecting at least a position at which is present a person's face inside a frame using an image signal obtained from an image sensor for photoelectrically converting an object image captured by a photograp... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8131142 | Imaging apparatus Digital camera is provided with face detection section that detects faces of a plurality of photographing objects, microcomputer performs continuous shooting in optimum photographing conditions in accordance with the number of faces of the photographing objects for ... | 03/06/2012 |
| 8073319 | Photographing method and photographing apparatus based on face detection and photography conditions Frequency of unnecessary face detection operations performed in a photographing apparatus is reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption by the face detection operations. A determining unit determines whether or not a photographing condition of the photographing... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8009976 | Camera having face detection and with automatic focus control using a defocus amount A camera has a face detecting section, a focusing section, and a controlling section. The face detecting section detects a face area in a shooting image plane. The focusing section calculates a defocus amount based on a relative distance of a pair of images of a lig... | 08/30/2011 |
| 7983550 | Focus adjusting apparatus, camera including the same, and method for adjusting focus of optical system A focus adjusting apparatus includes an imaging unit, a calculation unit, a detection unit, and a control unit. The imaging unit is configured to generate an imaging signal of an image formed by an optical system. The calculation unit is configured to calculate base... | 07/19/2011 |
| 7945152 | Focus adjustment method, focus adjustment apparatus, and control method thereof An apparatus comprises a face position detection section for detecting at least a position at which is present a person's face inside a frame using an image signal obtained from an image sensor for photoelectrically converting an object image captured by a photograp... | 05/17/2011 |
| 7912363 | Object determining device and imaging apparatus Face detection is executed only on an image imaged based on an arbitrary (predetermined) focal point information defined in advance. In face detection, the face of a person is detected based on a relative value of statistics in a plurality of characteristic regions ... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7894716 | Optical apparatus with a plurality of selectable auto-focus areas within a focus-range An optical apparatus includes a detector detecting information used for focus control in each of a plurality of detection areas set in an image-pickup area, a selecting member being operated to change a selected area selected from the plurality of the detection area... | 02/22/2011 |
| 7881601 | Electronic camera An electronic camera includes a face detecting section, a setting section, and a controlling section. The face detecting section detects a face of a subject. The setting section sets a scene shooting mode to adjust a shooting condition to an optimum shooting conditi... | 02/01/2011 |
| 7844175 | Photographing apparatus and method A photographing apparatus and method for recognizing an object such as a face in an image. The photographing apparatus includes: an optical system comprising a focus lens; a photoelectric transformation element transforming light information into an electrical signa... | 11/30/2010 |
| 7805067 | Focus detection device for image forming optical system, imaging apparatus, and focus detection method for image forming optical system A focus detection device for an image forming optical system includes a micro-lens array constituted with a plurality of two-dimensionally arrayed micro-lenses, a light-receiving element array that includes a plurality of light-receiving element s receiving a light ... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7796877 | Focus-controlling apparatus and photographing apparatus A focus-controlling apparatus adjusts a focus in an optical system. The apparatus includes a focus detecting unit, a storage unit, a focus area switching unit, and a drive control unit. The focus detecting unit detects de-focusing amounts of the optical system with ... | 09/14/2010 |
| 7783186 | Imaging apparatus, imaging apparatus control method, and computer program An imaging apparatus includes a face detecting unit that detects a face area from an input image inputted in the imaging apparatus and a control unit that executes a focus operation according to adjustment of a focus lens. The control unit judges whether, during the... | 08/24/2010 |
| 7756408 | Focus control amount determination apparatus, method, and imaging apparatus In the AF processing section, the parameter obtaining section obtains a weighting parameter value for a principal component that represents a sharpness level of a face portion of an image, an example of a predetermined structure in an image, detected by the face det... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7751701 | Imaging device performing focus adjustment based on human face information A human face is detected from an image. On the basis of a size of the detected face and a focal length of a taking lens, a subject distance is calculated. Further, a depth of field is calculated on the basis of the calculated subject distance, the focal length of th... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7747157 | Target-image position detecting apparatus, method and program for controlling said apparatus A face-image area is decided with comparatively good accuracy. An (N−1)th frame of a subject image α1 and an Nth frame of a subject image α2 are obtained by sensing the image of a subject successively. Face-image detection processing is applied to ... | 06/29/2010 |
| 7738783 | Method of setting photographing conditions and photography apparatus using the method Automatic photographing condition setting is achieved with accuracy. For example, when a shutter button is half-pressed, preliminary photographing is carried out under different photographing conditions to acquire preview images. Then, each of the preview images is ... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7706675 | Camera A camera is provided with a face detecting section, a focusing section, an area specifying section, and a controlling section. The face detecting section detects a face area within a shooting image plane. The focusing section has plural optional areas within the sho... | 04/27/2010 |
| 7702232 | Dynamic focus zones for cameras Systems and methods of implementing dynamic focus zones for cameras are disclosed. In an exemplary implementation, a method may include selecting a reference image from a scene being photographed. The method may also include selecting a plurality of difference image... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7702231 | Autofocus control apparatus and method of controlling the same When an imaging mode is set, a subject is imaged, and image data representing a subject image is obtained. Continuous AF is operated such that the subject image represented by the obtained image data is focused. Ranges ahead of and behind the focusing position of an... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7660519 | Autofocus apparatus An autofocus apparatus includes an imaging device that captures a subject image through a photographic lens; an AF area determining device that determines a range of image signals to be used for autofocus adjustment based upon image signals provided by the imaging d... | 02/09/2010 |
| 7627239 | Image-taking apparatus and focusing method An image-taking apparatus is disclosed, which is capable of reducing the influence of the one-side blur by the automatic focusing function. The image-taking apparatus comprises a focus detector, which detects the focus state of the plurality of focus detection areas... | 12/01/2009 |
| 7565073 | Photography apparatus, photography method, and photography program for obtaining an image of a subject An exposure value is determined based on a face region, with high accuracy and with less effect of a background region or density contrast caused by shadow. For this purpose, a face detection unit detects a face region from a face candidate region in a through image... | 07/21/2009 |
| 7526193 | Object determining device and imaging apparatus Face detection is executed only on an image imaged based on an arbitrary (predetermined) focal point information defined in advance. In face detection, the face of a person is detected based on a relative value of statistics in a plurality of characteristic regions ... | 04/28/2009 |
| 7496290 | Multipoint autofocus system and camera having multipoint autofocus system A multipoint autofocus system in which a pair of object images, obtained by pupil-division of an object light bundle in each detection area, are projected onto different zones of a sensor and are converted into image signals, so that a defocus amount can be determin... | 02/24/2009 |
| 7493036 | Imaging device There is provided an imaging apparatus which includes image acquiring means for acquiring an image of an object; storing means for temporarily storing an image acquired by the image acquiring means; and control means for detecting a portion having changed upon compa... | 02/17/2009 |
| 7469099 | Image-taking apparatus and focusing method An image-taking apparatus is disclosed, which is capable of reducing the influence of the one-side blur by the automatic focusing function. The image-taking apparatus comprises a focus detector, which detects the focus state of the plurality of focus detection areas... | 12/23/2008 |
| 7440690 | Focus detection apparatus and control method thereof An output from an auto focus sensor is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converting section, and an output from the A/C converting section is stored in a memory section. Further, a second AF arithmetic section is used to concurrently execute a plurality of f... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7433586 | Camera with an auto-focus function A first area of a predetermined size is set as a focus area from which AF evaluation values are picked up in AF control when a focus mode is a normal one. When the focus mode changes to a macro mode, a second area narrower than the first area is set as the AF area. ... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7428375 | Correlated auto-focus stabilization method and digital camera Auto-focus in a digital camera is improved by stabilizing successive images. Each auto-focus image is correlated to previous images so that scene movement or motion can be tracked. The area in the scene where focus figure-of-merit is computed is adjusted according t... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7408585 | Auto-focus apparatus, focus adjusting method, image capturing apparatus and image capturing method An auto-focus apparatus, a focus adjusting method, an image capturing apparatus and an image capturing method make it possible to perform accurate focus adjustment on a subject for which the focus should be adjusted. The auto-focus apparatus emits an irradiation wav... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7362368 | Perfecting the optics within a digital image acquisition device using face detection Within a digital acquisition device, acquisition parameters of a digital image are perfected as part of an image capture process using face detection within said captured image to achieve one or more desired image acquisition parameters. Default values are determine... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7355760 | Solid-state image sensing device, driving method thereof, and image scanner A CCD linear sensor includes a monochrome sensor and a color sensor, which have different transfer speeds and which are mounted on the same chip. In the CCD linear sensor, while one read-out operation is performed by the color sensor, two read-out operations are per... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7283736 | Imaging apparatus and imaging method An imaging apparatus including a ranging device for measuring a distance to a subject, a device for radiating fill-light to the subject, and a re-ranging determining device for determining as to whether re-measurement is executed based on a measured result of the ra... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7209175 | Autofocus apparatus An autofocus apparatus with a photographic optical system having a movably disposed focus adjusting lens, an optical element to split light beams received from an object, a plurality of image forming lenses to form images from portions of the split light beams, a pl... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7133571 | Automated cropping of electronic images The present invention relates to the automated and semi-automated cropping of electronic images, and in particular to an apparatus and a method of using an electronic camera to capture and crop such electronic images. An electronic imaging processing device (1 | 11/07/2006 |
| 7106958 | Intra-oral camera and a method for using same An intra-oral camera for producing an axially aligned picture of an intra-oral item of interest permits a rapid taking of pictures, whereby burdensome usage requirements are avoided without, however, suffering any diminishment in the quality of the picture that is t... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7102681 | Focus detecting apparatus In a focus detection apparatus, an accumulation-type sensor formed of a plurality of sensor cells accumulates an image signal, and a component of the image signal is read from each cell for a focus detection calculation. A signal is read from a part of the cells in ... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7085488 | Automatic focusing apparatus This invention has as its object to execute an optimal automatic focusing operation in both a case that attaches an importance on the focusing precision, and a case that attaches an importance on quick photographing. To this end, an apparatus includes a focus lens u... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7079180 | Electronic camera In an electronic camera, during a photographing operation for photographing a white sheet of paper or the like to obtain white balance data, a plurality of distance measuring points provided in an automatic focusing mechanism are restricted to only the one that is l... | 07/18/2006 |