Image pickup apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9906705-B2
Application number	US-201414524538-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2014
Priority date	Oct 30, 2013
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

Abstract

The image pickup apparatus includes a focus detector to produce, by using a light from an object passing through an image-taking optical system, focus information indicating a focus state of the image-taking optical system, a light-receiving sensor including visible-light receiving elements each receiving the light from the object and respectively having sensitivity centroids in mutually different wavelength ranges of a visible wavelength range, and a controller. The light-receiving sensor includes, separately from the visible-light receiving elements, infrared receiving elements each having a sensitivity centroid in an infrared wavelength range. An infrared-cutting filter disposed on a light-entering side further than the light-receiving sensor has a half-value wavelength longer than a wavelength of the sensitivity centroid of the infrared receiving elements. The controller performs focus control by using the focus information, output from the visible-light receiving elements and output from the infrared receiving elements.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising:
a focus detector configured to produce, by using a light from an object passing through an image-taking optical system, focus information indicating a focus state of the image-taking optical system;
a light-receiving sensor including (a) three types of color visible-light receiving elements each receiving the light from the object and respectively having sensitivity centroids in mutually different wavelength ranges of a visible wavelength range and (b) a plurality of infrared receiving elements each having a sensitivity centroid in an infrared wavelength range, which are provided separately from each other, wherein the three types of color visible-light receiving elements and the plurality of infrared receiving elements are arranged two-dimensionally; and
a controller configured to:
perform focus control of the image-taking optical system by using the focus information, spectral information in accordance with outputs from the three types of color visible-light receiving elements, and light source information in accordance with an output from at least one of the three types of color visible-light receiving elements and outputs from the plurality of infrared receiving elements.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising an infrared-cutting filter disposed on a light-entering side further than the light-receiving sensor, the infrared-cutting filter having a half-value wavelength longer than a wavelength of the sensitivity centroid of the infrared receiving elements, wherein:
the plurality of infrared receiving elements have the sensitivity centroid in a wavelength range longer than 680 nm and shorter than 740 nm, and
the infrared-cutting filter has the half-value wavelength in a wavelength range longer than the wavelength of the sensitivity centroid of the infrared receiving elements and equal to or shorter than 740 nm.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the focus control by using a value obtained by subtracting the output of the plurality of infrared receiving elements from output of a longest-wavelength color visible-light receiving element whose sensitivity centroid is at a longest wavelength side among the three types of color visible-light receiving elements.

4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the wavelength of the sensitivity centroid of the longest-wavelength color visible-light receiving element is shorter than that of the plurality of infrared receiving elements by 50 nm or more.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a half maximum full-width of the plurality of infrared receiving elements is 40 nm or more.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to acquire chromatic aberration information of the image-taking optical system and to perform the focus control by using the chromatic aberration information.

7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to perform focus control based at least on spectral information obtained from a spectral intensity ratio that is the ratio of outputs from the at least three color visible-light receiving elements.

8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to obtain a spectral intensity ratio by subtracting an output from at least one of the plurality of infrared receiving elements from at least one of the outputs from the three types of color visible-light receiving elements.

9. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to calculate a defocus amount including the light source information and the spectral information, and perform the focus control of the image-taking optical system by using the focus information and the defocus amount.

10. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to calculate the defocus amount by using a calculated result obtained by substituting an output from the three types of color visible-light receiving elements and an output from at least one of the plurality of infrared receiving elements, into a function.

11. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the three types of color visible-light receiving elements respectively have sensitivity centroids in blue, green, and red wavelength ranges.

12. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to obtain the spectral information indicating a color of the object by using a spectral intensity ratio that is a ratio of outputs from the three types of color visible-light receiving elements, and the light source information on a light source illuminating the object by using an output from at least one of the three types of color visible-light receiving elements and an output from at least one of the plurality of infrared receiving elements, and perform the focus control of the image-taking optical system by using the focus information, the spectral information, and the light source information.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Kosaka Yuichi

Classifications

• H04N25/131

  including elements passing infrared wavelengths · CPC title

• H04N23/672 Primary

  based on the phase difference signals · CPC title

• H04N25/135

  based on four or more different wavelength filter elements · CPC title

• H04N23/11

  for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths · CPC title

• H04N5/23212 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic