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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8059956 | Auto focus apparatus and method for camera An auto focus (AF) apparatus and method for a camera that improves the AF action by reducing the number of time and steps required of a conventional apparatus and method. An encoder initial value is detected by measuring an initial position of a lens unit by means o... | 11/15/2011 |
| 7925149 | Photographing apparatus and method for fast photographing capability A photographing apparatus includes a drive portion driving a focus lens included in a photographing optical system in a focus adjustment direction when a shutter button is pressed, a photographing portion continuously and sequentially outputting images of an object ... | 04/12/2011 |
| 7787759 | Camera with autofocus system A camera has a contrast detector that successively detects contrast data of an object image that is formed on a light-receiving surface of an image sensor, and a focus detector that successively calculates a difference value between currently detected contrast data ... | 08/31/2010 |
| 7693411 | Mobile terminal and auto-focusing method using a lens position error compensation A mobile terminal and auto-focusing method for the same are disclosed. The auto-focusing method uses a lens position error compensation and includes: detecting a target object during a photograph mode; determining a lens position at which a focus value gradient rela... | 04/06/2010 |
| 7630622 | Automatic focusing methods and image capture devices utilizing the same An autofocusing method is implemented in an image capture device comprising a lens and a sensor module. The relative positions of lens and the sensor module are adjusted for autofocusing based on a factor. First, the relative positions of the lens and the sensor mod... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7421195 | Apparatus for acquiring focussing information and method of acquiring focusing information A storage unit is configured to store beforehand a table that shows a relation between spread parameters and command values supplied to a control unit to acquire a focused image of an object, and information that designates a command value corresponding to an inflec... | 09/02/2008 |
| 7389042 | Auto focus method for digital camera An auto focus method of a digital camera for moving a lens of the digital camera to the maximum focus value position is provided. According to certain criteria, the lens movement states are categorized into four states, i.e. an initial state, a coarse state, a mid s... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7274517 | Micromirror array lens with focal length gradient An optical system includes a refractive lens system and a micromirror array lens with angled positioning to improve light efficiency. The micromirror array lens is optically coupled to the refractive lens system, and has a focal length gradient. The micromirror arra... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7230986 | Multistandard video decoder and decompression system for processing encoded bit streams including a video formatter and methods relating thereto A pipeline video decoder and decompression system handles a plurality of separately encoded bit streams arranged as a single serial bit stream of digital bits and having separately encoded pairs of control codes and corresponding data carried in the serial bit strea... | 06/12/2007 |
| 6928241 | Autofocus apparatus and method and image sensing apparatus An object of this invention is to provide an autofocus apparatus and method, and an image sensing apparatus capable of shortening the AF time without decreasing the AF precision even when the total number of acquired AF evaluation signals is large. To achieve this o... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6885819 | Camera, device for capturing object image, automatic focus adjusting system and method for adjusting automatic focus for the same System controller (10) seeks a focus adjusting evaluating value which is indicative of focus adjusting state as a criterion from object image information, and searches a focus adjusted position where focus adjusting evaluating value becomes the most appropria... | 04/26/2005 |
| 6738197 | Autofocusing apparatus An autofocusing apparatus and method which prevents erroneously detecting a focus position due to a contrast pseudo peak. The system extracts an image component from an image signal and computes a contrast value. On the basis of the number of edges and the edge widt... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6721499 | Camera A camera includes an imaging element that picks up an image of an object through a taking-lens, an evaluation value calculator that calculates focus evaluation value based upon a picked-up imaging signal, a selector that selects one focusing mode from a plurality of... | 04/13/2004 |
| 6701075 | Focus adjusting apparatus, image sensing apparatus, focusing method, program, and storage medium The present invention, employing a method of obtaining a final focus position by re-driving a lens before an actual image sensing operation in the vicinity of a focus position which has been obtained by the hill-climbing focusing method, has as its object... | 03/02/2004 |
| 6094537 | Auto focus camera An auto focus camera includes a motor drive circuit. This motor drive circuit causes an AF lens to move by a first predetermined amount a time. A micro-computer determines AF evaluation values at respective lens positions. The AF evaluation values thus de... | 07/25/2000 |
| 5715483 | Automatic focusing apparatus and method An automatic focusing apparatus moves a focusing lens once over a full movement range from the nearest point or from the infinite point so as to cause a photoelectric detector to output an electrical signal at predetermined stepwise lens positions. A lens... | 02/03/1998 |
| 5666567 | Image sensor with accumulation time of electric charges determined by subject image signals An image sensor and a focus detection device or distance detection device using the image sensor, wherein the accumulation time of the image sensor is controlled by a characteristic value of the subject image signals without all subject image signals prod... | 09/09/1997 |
| 5150217 | Method and apparatus for autofocus control using large and small image contrast data A video camera system has a movable focusing lens which is automatically focused to form a sharp subject image on a CCD. The CCD generates a video signal based on light from a subject transmitted through the movable focusing lens. Contrast data are produc... | 09/22/1992 |
| 5126849 | Device for automatic focusing control for video camera system A video camera system has a movable focusing lens which is automatically focused to form a sharp subject image on a CCD. The CCD generates a video signal based on light transmitted from a subject through the movable focusing lens. Maximum contrast data ar... | 06/30/1992 |
| 4967279 | Automatic focusing circuit An automatic focusing circuit in a video camera separates a high frequency component from the video signal obtained in an image sensing circuit 4 for every field. After the separated high frequency component is integrated in an integration circuit 10, the... | 10/30/1990 |
| 4872058 | Automatic focusing device An automatic focusing device which is arranged to perform a focusing action by detecting the peak value of a high frequency component of a video signal obtained from within a focus detecting area set on the image sensing plane of an image sensor and by dr... | 10/03/1989 |
| 4804831 | Focus detecting apparatus independent of object image contrast In an automatic focusing apparatus, a focus detecting device having detecting means for detecting the width of the edge part of the image of an object to be photographed and discriminating means for discriminating a focused state on the basis of the size ... | 02/14/1989 |
| 4659205 | Automatic focusing apparatus Disclosed is an automatic focusing system for optical imaging equipment, such as a camera, which includes a relative image displacement detection system providing first and second digital quantities indicative of the direction in which the focus of the im... | 04/21/1987 |
| 4575237 | Distance measuring device In a device which is provided with means for transmitting a signal to an object and an array of a plurality of means for receiving reflection signals from the object and is arranged to measure a distance to the object by processing the signals obtained th... | 03/11/1986 |
| 4532420 | Focus detector with characteristic point detection A focus detector of image correlation type projects an image of an object onto a first and a second array of photoelectric transducer elements. Each of the transducer elements produces an output in accordance with the distribution of light intensity of im... | 07/30/1985 |
| 4494849 | Focus detecting device for a camera The focus detecting device herein disclosed is capable of detecting the amount of direction of defocus of an objective lens. The device includes a pair of photoelectric devices each disposed optically in parallel with an optical axis of the objective lens... | 01/22/1985 |
| 4370038 | Automatic focussing system In a system for driving automatically an objective lens into a desired focal position so as to form a focussed image on a film plane, in order to derive a driving signal for a driving motor moving the objective lens along its optical axis, an auxiliary le... | 01/25/1983 |
| 4329032 | Automatic focus indicating device for camera An automatic focus indicating device especially adapted for use with a single lens reflex camera in which a contrast signal is produced by scanning the image of an object being viewed through the photographing lens of the camera. This signal is converted ... | 05/11/1982 |
| 4319813 | Automatic focus indicating device for camera An automatic focus detecting and indicating device for an camera in which a contrast signal is coupled through first and second analog switches directly to a difference circuit and through a peak hold circuit, respectively. A third analog switch is couple... | 03/16/1982 |
| 4316657 | Apparatus for electrically detecting focal point of cameras or the like optical devices An apparatus for comparing analog signals delivered from a number of light detecting elements with analog signals delivered from a digital-analog converter by means of a plurality of comparator circuits whose output analog signals are supplied as write en... | 02/23/1982 |
| 4303321 | Photographic camera of automatic focussing type A photographic camera of automatic focussing type capable of focussing objects between a minimum and infinite distance. A focussing motor is coupled to a movable objective lens for moving the lens for focussing an image of an object to be photographed. A ... | 12/01/1981 |
| 4300826 | Focus indicating device for camera A focus position indicating device for a camera including an array of electrically activatable display elements such as light emitting diodes or liquid crystal elements, the number of which are activated being dependent upon the state of focusing. A drive... | 11/17/1981 |
| 4298259 | Focus detecting device for photographic camera A focusing system for a camera using an array of photoelectric elements to sense the level of light at points in the image plane of an objective lens. The output of the elements are scanned in sequence to form a train of pulses whose amplitudes correspond... | 11/03/1981 |
| 4286850 | Automatic focus indicating device for camera A device for detecting and indicating the focus position of a camera from the contrast signal. A peak value detector holds the maximum value of a contrast signal produced in the camera. The stored signal is compared with the contrast signal itself as the ... | 09/01/1981 |
| 4269491 | Distance information judging circuit for focus detecting apparatus A distance information judging circuit for focus detecting apparatus comprises memory means for storing a distance information signal obtained from the focus detecting apparatus for each scan of an optical system,, and coincidence signal generating means ... | 05/26/1981 |
| 4267440 | Focus detecting system The system is provided with an optical means capable of forming images obtained through a first light passage and a second light passage. A light detecting system is formed of a plurality of light responsive elements which receive the image. A focus detec... | 05/12/1981 |
| 4264160 | Focus indicating device in a camera A focus indicating device in a camera employing a photoelectric transducer for scanning the image of an object to output a time series signal equivalent to the brightness distribution of the image. A contrast detection circuit extracts a power spectrum in... | 04/28/1981 |
| 4255028 | Focus detecting device in camera A focalization detecting device in a camera utilizing a self-scanning type photoelectric device having a number of elements disposed at a position equivalent to the position of the image forming plane of a lens. A drive circuit drives the photoelectric el... | 03/10/1981 |
| 4252425 | Camera focus detecting device An automatic focus detecting device for a camera including a self-scanning type photoelectric element unit including plural minute photoelectric elements disposed in a plane corresponding to the position of the image forming plane of the photographing len... | 02/24/1981 |
| 4247761 | Arrangement for focusing the image of an object onto an image plane The invention relates to an arrangement for automatically focusing the image of an object, obtained by an objective lens system onto an image plane, wherein a setting device is provided which is controlled by photo-electric sensors and which determines th... | 01/27/1981 |
