Image capturing apparatus and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11496665-B2
Application number	US-202017082846-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 28, 2020
Priority date	Oct 30, 2019
Publication date	Nov 8, 2022
Grant date	Nov 8, 2022

Abstract

An image capturing apparatus comprises an image sensor in which a plurality of pixels are arranged, wherein the plurality of pixels output focus detection signals based on light flux that has passed through an imaging optical system, a shifting unit that shifts an incident position of the light flux on the image sensor; and a focus detection unit that performs focus detection using the focus detection signals. The shifting unit shifts the incident position by a predetermined distance which is equal to or less than a distance between the pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the focus detection signals during a charge accumulation period in the image sensor for acquiring the focus detection signals.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image capturing apparatus comprising:
an image sensor in which a plurality of pixels are arranged, wherein the plurality of pixels output focus detection signals based on light flux that has passed through an imaging optical system;
a shifting control unit that controls to shift an incident position of the light flux on the image sensor; and
a focus detection unit that performs focus detection using the focus detection signals,
wherein the shifting control unit controls to perform periodic drive of shifting the incident position by a predetermined distance which is equal to or less than a distance between the pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the focus detection signals in a predetermined direction during a charge accumulation period in the image sensor for acquiring the focus detection signals,
wherein the periodic drive is to shift the incident position so that the incident position at an end of the charge accumulation period differs from the incident position at a start of the charge accumulation period by the predetermined distance, and that the distance from the shifted incident position to the incident position at the start of the charge accumulation period remains within the predetermined distance for the entire charge accumulation period for which the focus detection is performed once, and
wherein each unit is implemented by one or more processors, circuitry or a combination thereof.

2. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shift control unit moves the image sensor in a plane orthogonal to an optical axis of the imaging optical system.

3. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shifting control unit moves an image stabilization lens included in the imaging optical system in a plane orthogonal to an optical axis of the imaging optical system.

4. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shifting control unit controls to shift the incident position of the light flux so that the incident position reciprocates on the image sensor.

5. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein an amplitude of the reciprocation is an integer multiple of the distance between the pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the focus detection signals.

6. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pixels include focus detection pixels from which a pair of focus detection signals having parallax in the predetermined direction can be obtained based on a light flux passing though different pupil regions of the imaging optical system,
wherein the focus detection unit performs phase difference focus detection using the pair of focus detection signals output from the focus detection pixels, and
wherein the difference between the pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the focus detection signals corresponding to the difference between the focus detection pixels.

7. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein each of the focus detection pixels of the image sensor includes a microlens and a plurality of photoelectric conversion portions.

8. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the image sensor has a configuration in which a plurality of first focus detection pixels whose first portions are shielded from light and a plurality of second focus detection pixels whose second portions different from the first portions are shielded from light are discretely arranged in the plurality of pixels.

9. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the focus detection signals are image signals,
the focus detection unit performs focus detection based on contrast of the image signals, and
the distance between the pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the focus detection signal is the distance between the pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the image signals read out from the plurality of pixels for acquiring an image to be used for the focus detection.

10. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a maximum speed of the shift of the incident position of the light flux is determined by a weight of a member for shifting the incident position of the light flux.

11. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:
a detection unit that detects shake; and
a calculation unit that calculates a correction amount for shifting the incident position of the light flux on the image sensor so as to cancel the shake detected by the detection unit,
wherein the shifting control unit controls to shift the incident position of the light flux based on a value obtained by adding the correction amount to the predetermined distance and
wherein each unit is implemented by one or more processors, circuitry or a combination thereof.

12. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the direction of the shift of the predetermined distance controlled by the shifting control unit is opposite to the direction of deviation of the incident position of the light flux determined based on the correction amount calculated by the calculation unit.

13. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a display control unit that controls to display an image on a display device based on a signal obtained from the image sensor,
wherein the display control unit performs display control by moving a display position of the image in a direction in which it is possible to cancel a shift of a subject image on the image sensor caused by shifting the incident position of the light flux, and
wherein the display control unit is implemented by one or more processors, circuitry or a combination thereof.

14. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising the imaging optical system.

15. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging optical system is detachable from the image capturing apparatus.

16. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a period of the periodic drive in the predetermined direction is twice or more of the charge accumulation period.

17. A control method of an image capturing apparatus which comprises an image sensor in which a plurality of pixels are arranged, wherein the plurality of pixels output focus detection signals based on light flux that has passed through an imaging optical system, a shifting control unit that controls to shift an incident position of the light flux on the image sensor, and a focus detection unit that performs focus detection using the focus detection signals
wherein the shifting control unit control to perform periodic drive of shifting the incident position by a predetermined distance which is equal to or less than a distance between the pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the focus detection signals in a predetermined direction during a charge accumulation period in the image sensor for acquiring the signals, and
wherein the periodic drive is to shift the incident position so that the incident position at an end of the charge accumulation period differs from the incident position at a start of the charge accumulation period by the predetermined distance, and that the distance from the shifted incident position to the incident position at the start of the charge accumulation period remains within the predetermined distance for the entire charge accumulation period for which the focus detection is performed once.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Saito Junichi

Classifications

• H04N25/704

  Pixels specially adapted for focusing, e.g. phase difference pixel sets · CPC title

• H04N23/672 Primary

  based on the phase difference signals · CPC title

• H04N23/687

  by shifting the lens or sensor position · CPC title

• H04N23/671

  in combination with active ranging signals, e.g. using light or sound signals emitted toward objects · CPC title

• H04N23/6811

  based on the image signal · CPC title