Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080259202 | Imaging device - Herein disclosed is an imaging device having an imaging optical system, the device including: an imaging element configured to include a plurality of first pixels and a plurality of second pixels arranged along a predetermined direction; a first processor configured to execute focal detection processing by a phase difference detection system based on charge signals obtained from the plurality of second pixels; and a second processor configured to execute specific processing based on charge signals obtained from the plurality of first pixels, the specific processing being different from the focal detection processing by a phase difference detection system and being necessary for a function of the imaging device. | 10-23-2008 |
20090066830 | FOCUS CONTROL DEVICE AND IMAGING DEVICE - An auto focus (AF) circuit includes a high-pass filter and band-pass filter having mutually different frequency characteristics. During contrast AF control prior to an actual shooting, AF evaluation values acquired by using the high-pass filter are used most preferentially in detecting the lens focusing position of a focus lens. In this way, the high-pass filter that emphasizes and extracts high frequency band components, which increase in image data when shooting a typical subject, is set to be used preferentially, thereby making it possible to perform high-precision focusing control with respect to various kinds of subjects. | 03-12-2009 |
20090067828 | IMAGING DEVICE AND IN-FOCUS CONTROL METHOD - An imaging device includes an imaging unit that obtains an image signal relating to a subject, a driving unit that drives a focus lens, a first detecting unit that performs focus detection based on a contrast detection method to detect an in-focus position of the focus lens, a second detecting unit that performs focus detection based on a phase difference detection method, while the focus lens is being driven toward the in-focus position, to detect a provisional in-focus position of the focus lens, and an in-focus control unit that controls the driving unit to drive the focus lens to pass through the provisional in-focus position and then return to the in-focus position. Focus detection information is obtained at least for a given range of positions, and is stored in a predetermined storage unit. The in-focus position is detected based on the stored focus detection information. | 03-12-2009 |
20090110382 | IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS - An image capturing apparatus includes an image sensing device that receives object light and generates an image signal relating to the object image, a phase difference detection unit that receives the object light using a ranging sensor and generates a phase difference detection signal, a first focusing unit for performing a first focusing operation on the basis of the phase difference detection signal, and a display controlling unit for displaying a preview image on the basis of a plurality of image signals sequentially generated by the image sensing device before an image is actually recorded. The display controlling unit combines a first area for which the phase difference detection is performed using the ranging sensor and the preview image so as to display the combined image. | 04-30-2009 |
20090110383 | IMAGING DEVICE - An imaging device having a shooting optical system, including an imaging element having a pixel array capable of generating image signals regarding light from a subject coming through the shooting optical system, and a focus-detection pixel line having pairs of pixels, the pixels of each of the pairs receiving luminous fluxes from the subject coming through a pair of individually corresponding partial regions of an exit pupil of the shooting optical system; a rapid-fire shooting unit configured to perform rapid-fire shooting to generate image signals at the pixel array on each exposure and to generate certain signals at the focus-detection pixel line; a focus detection unit configured to perform focus detection by a phase-difference detection method on the basis of the certain signals; and a focus adjustment unit configured to perform focus adjustment during each interval of the exposures on the basis of a result of focus detection. | 04-30-2009 |
20090110387 | IMAGING DEVICE - An imaging device includes an imaging unit; a display unit; an electronic finder unit that performs preview display before actual shooting based on image signals successively generated by the imaging unit; an optical finder unit having a finder window; an optical-path switching unit that performs switching between a first optical path through which light from a subject is guided to the finder window and a second optical path through which the light is guided to the imaging unit; an eye detecting unit that detects presence of an eye in a proximity of the finder window; a first control unit that performs a first control operation so that the optical-path switching unit selects the first optical path upon detection of an eye; and a second control unit that performs a second control operation so that the optical-path switching unit selects the second optical path upon non-detection of an eye. | 04-30-2009 |
20090146046 | IMAGE-CAPTURING ELEMENT AND IMAGE-CAPTURING APPARATUS - An image-capturing element includes a pair of photoelectric conversion cells that pupil-divide object light in a first direction and in a second direction and that output a ranging signal. The photoelectric conversion cells include a photoreceiving element configured to receive the object light and generate a ranging signal, a first light-shielding layer having a first light-transmitting area, and a second light-shielding layer having a second light-transmitting area. The photoelectric conversion cells include a first photoelectric conversion cell in which the first light-transmitting area is offset in the first direction on the first light-shielding layer and the second light-transmitting area is offset in the second direction on the second light-shielding layer, and a second photoelectric conversion cell in which the first light-transmitting area is offset in the second direction on the first light-shielding layer and the second light-transmitting area is offset in the first direction on the second light-shielding layer. | 06-11-2009 |
20090147123 | IMAGE-CAPTURING APPARATUS - An image-capturing apparatus includes an image-capturing element configured to receive object light and generate image signals representing an object image; a display unit; a phase-difference detector configured to receive the object light using a range-finding sensor and generate a phase-difference detection signal; a first focus detection unit configured to perform focus detection on the basis of the phase-difference detection signal; a display control unit configured to display a preview image before actual image capturing on the display unit on the basis of the image signals that are sequentially generated by the image-capturing element; and a setting unit configured to set whether or not an area display mode in which an area in which focus detection is possible on an image-capturing plane is combined with the preview image and displayed on the display unit should be enabled. | 06-11-2009 |
20090148147 | IMAGE-CAPTURING APPARATUS - An image-capturing apparatus includes an image-capturing optical system; a sensor unit having line sensors that receive light fluxes of an object, which have been transmitted through a pair of partial areas in an exit pupil of the image-capturing optical system; image-capturing elements having a pixel arrangement capable of generating an image signal and a focus detection pixel sequence, in which two or more pairs of pixels that receive the light fluxes of an object, are arranged in a predetermined direction; a continuous image-capturing unit configured to perform continuous image capturing of actually exposing the image-capturing elements; a signal generation unit configured to perform another exposure for the sensor unit; a first focus detection unit configured to perform focus detection of a phase-difference detection method; a second focus detection unit configured to perform focus detection; and a focus adjustment unit configured to perform focus adjustment. | 06-11-2009 |
20090153705 | IMAGE-CAPTURING ELEMENT AND IMAGE-CAPTURING APPARATUS - An image-capturing element includes a group of first pixels configured to receive object light and generate an image signal representing an object image; and a group of second pixels configured to receive the object light and generate a ranging signal for detecting a phase difference. The second pixels each include an optical filter on a light-receiving side thereof. The optical filter allows visible light in a wavelength range wider than a wavelength range of visible light that is allowed by a green primary-color filter to be transmitted therethrough within the object light to be transmitted therethrough. | 06-18-2009 |
20100150538 | Image Pickup apparatus and focus control method - An image pickup apparatus includes an imaging element having a group of AF pixel pairs that realizes a pupil-dividing function and a group of normal pixels without such a pupil-dividing function. The image pickup apparatus performs focus control for driving a focus lens toward an in-focus position detected by phase different AF based on a pixel signal generated from the group of AF pixel pairs when it is determined that the reliability of the phase difference AF is high based on the pixel signal. The image pickup apparatus performs focus control for driving a focus lens in an in-focus direction detected by contrast AF based on a pixel signal generated from the group of normal pixels when it is determined that the reliability of the phase difference AF is low. | 06-17-2010 |
20100176273 | Image pickup element and image pickup device - An image pickup element includes a light-receiving portion having a matrix arrangement formed by disposing first-direction arrays, each having photoelectric conversion portions arranged in a first direction with a predetermined gap maintained therebetween, in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and micro-lenses provided above the light-receiving portion. A certain first-direction array in the matrix arrangement is provided with a pair of photoelectric conversion portions that optically receive, via a pair of micro-lenses, photographic-subject light beams passing through a pair of segmental regions in an exit pupil of a photographic optical system, the pair of segmental regions being disposed biasedly in opposite directions from each other in the first direction. The pair of micro-lenses is disposed such that light axes thereof extend through vicinities of edges of the pair of photoelectric conversion portions, the edges being the farthest edges from each other in the first direction. | 07-15-2010 |
20100177205 | Image pickup element and image pickup device - An image pickup element includes a light receiver having a matrix arrangement formed by disposing first-direction arrays, each having photoelectric converters arranged in a first direction with a gap therebetween, in a second direction orthogonal thereto, and micro-lenses above the light receiver. In the matrix arrangement, a certain first-direction array has two first photoelectric converters receiving, via two micro-lenses, photographic-subject light passing through two segmental regions in an exit pupil of a photographic optical system, and a certain second-direction array has two second photoelectric converters receiving photographic-subject light passing through two segmental regions in the exit pupil. Light axes of the two micro-lenses extend through vicinities of edges, farthest from each other in the first direction, of the first photoelectric converters. The first photoelectric converters include two photoelectric converters that flank one photoelectric converter, disposed at an intersection between the certain first-direction and second-direction arrays, in the certain first-direction array. | 07-15-2010 |
20100245656 | Imaging device and focus detecting method - An imaging device includes an image pickup device having an arrangement of photoelectric converting units, the arrangement in which a plurality of pairs of photoelectric converting units are arranged along a predetermined direction, each pair of photoelectric converting units receiving light beams of a subject passing through partial areas in a pair that are lopsided in reverse to each other along the predetermined direction in an exit pupil of a shooting optical system, and a focus detector for performing focus detection of a phase-difference detecting technique according to data obtained from the pair of photoelectric converting units in the arrangement of the photoelectric converting units. The focus detector corrects the data according to a correction amount corresponding to a positional shift amount from the normalized position, and performs focus detection of the phase-difference detecting technique according to the corrected data. | 09-30-2010 |
20110273581 | IMAGE PICKUP ELEMENT AND IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE - A technology of a phase-difference detecting image pickup element that can precisely detect a focus by a phase difference detection method and that can be properly produced even if pixels are becoming finer is provided. An image pickup element of an image pickup device includes an AF pixel pair | 11-10-2011 |
20130113982 | IMAGE PICKUP ELEMENT AND IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE - An image pickup element includes a light-receiving portion having a matrix arrangement formed by disposing first-direction arrays, each having photoelectric conversion portions arranged in a first direction with a predetermined gap maintained therebetween, in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and micro-lenses provided above the light-receiving portion. A certain first-direction array in the matrix arrangement is provided with a pair of photoelectric conversion portions that optically receive, via a pair of micro-lenses, photographic-subject light beams passing through a pair of segmental regions in an exit pupil of a photographic optical system, the pair of segmental regions being disposed biasedly in opposite directions from each other in the first direction. The pair of micro-lenses is disposed such that light axes thereof extend through vicinities of edges of the pair of photoelectric conversion portions, the edges being the farthest edges from each other in the first direction. | 05-09-2013 |
20140218592 | IMAGING DEVICE HAVING AUTOFOCUS CAPABILITY - Herein disclosed is an imaging device having an imaging optical system, the device including: an imaging element configured to include a plurality of first pixels and a plurality of second pixels arranged along a predetermined direction; a first processor configured to execute focal detection processing by a phase difference detection system based on charge signals obtained from the plurality of second pixels; and a second processor configured to execute specific processing based on charge signals obtained from the plurality of first pixels, the specific processing being different from the focal detection processing by a phase difference detection system and being necessary for a function of the imaging device. | 08-07-2014 |