Imaging apparatus, imaging method, and non-transitory storage medium storing imaging program for controlling an auto-focus scan drive

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9906708-B2
Application number	US-201615013665-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 2, 2016
Priority date	Feb 5, 2015
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

Abstract

An imaging apparatus moves a focus lens on the basis of an imaging signal of an image pickup device to perform a focal adjustment. The image pickup device images a subject. The imaging apparatus includes an evaluation value calculation circuit, a control circuit, and a movement determination circuit. The evaluation value calculation circuit extracts a predetermined signal component from an imaging signal to generate an evaluation value. The control circuit performs a focal adjustment on the basis of the evaluation value. The movement determination circuit determines whether or not the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving. The control circuit changes a frame rate of the image pickup device from a first frame rate to a second frame rate higher than the first frame rate when the movement determination circuit determines that the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imaging apparatus which moves a focus lens on the basis of an imaging signal of an image pickup device to perform a focal adjustment, the image pickup device imaging a subject, the imaging apparatus comprising:
an evaluation value calculation circuit which extracts a predetermined signal component from the imaging signal to generate an evaluation value;
a control circuit which performs the focal adjustment on the basis of the evaluation value; and
a movement determination circuit which determines whether or not the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving,
wherein the control circuit changes a frame rate of the image pickup device from a first frame rate to a second frame rate higher than the first frame rate when the movement determination circuit determines that the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving,
wherein the control circuit sets a threshold for a detection of a peak of the evaluation value such that the detection of the peak is more difficult, in accordance with the change of the frame rate to the second frame rate, and
wherein it is determined that an appropriate peak was detected when the evaluation value is detected as a peak and a difference between the evaluation value of the peak and an evaluation value at a position of the focus lens after the evaluation value of the peak is greater than the threshold.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuit changes a threshold to decide a determination of a direction in which an in-focus position exists to a threshold at which the decision of the determination is more difficult, in accordance with the change of the frame rate to the second frame rate, and
wherein the control circuit determines, when the evaluation value increases and the difference between the evaluation values exceeds the threshold, that a movement direction is a direction in which the in-focus position exists.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuit changes the frame rate from the first frame rate to the second frame rate to continue acquisition of the evaluation value, and detects the peak of the evaluation value on the basis of an evaluation value generated from an imaging signal acquired at the first frame rate and an evaluation value generated from an imaging signal acquired at the second frame rate, when the movement determination circuit determines that the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving while the focus lens is being moved.

4. An imaging apparatus which moves a focus lens on the basis of an imaging signal of an image pickup device to perform a focal adjustment, the image pickup device imaging a subject, the imaging apparatus comprising:
an evaluation value calculation circuit which extracts a predetermined signal component from the imaging signal to generate an evaluation value;
a control circuit which performs the focal adjustment on the basis of the evaluation value; and
a movement determination circuit which determines whether or not the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving,
wherein the control circuit changes a frame rate of the image pickup device from a first frame rate to a second frame rate higher than the first frame rate when the movement determination circuit determines that the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving, wherein the control circuit changes to increase the number of lens positions used to calculate, by interpolation computation, a position of the focus lens corresponding to a peak of the evaluation value, in accordance with the change of the frame rate to the second frame rate.

5. An imaging apparatus which moves a focus lens on the basis of an imaging signal of an image pickup device to perform a focal adjustment, the image pickup device imaging a subject, the imaging apparatus comprising:
an evaluation value calculation circuit which extracts a predetermined signal component from the imaging signal to generate an evaluation value;
a control circuit which performs the focal adjustment on the basis of the evaluation value;
a movement determination circuit which determines whether or not the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving; and
a luminance detection circuit which detects a luminance of the subject on the basis of the imaging signal,
wherein the control circuit changes a frame rate of the image pickup device from a first frame rate to a second frame rate higher than the first frame rate when the movement determination circuit determines that the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving, and
wherein the control circuit does not change the frame rate of the image pickup device from the first frame rate to the second frame rate even though the movement determination circuit determines that the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving, when the luminance detected by the luminance detection circuit is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

6. An imaging method by an imaging apparatus which moves a focus lens on the basis of an imaging signal of an image pickup device to perform a focal adjustment, the image pickup device imaging a subject, the imaging method comprising:
determining whether or not the subject or the imaging apparatus is moving;
changing a frame rate of the image pickup device from a first frame rate to a second frame rate higher than the first frame rate when the subject or the imaging apparatus is determined to be moving;
extracting a predetermined signal component from the imaging signal to generate an evaluation value;
setting a threshold for a detection of a peak of the evaluation value such that the detection of the peak is more difficult, in accordance with the change of the frame rate to the second frame rate; and
performing the focal adjustment on the basis of the evaluation value, wherein the performance of the focal adjustment includes determining that an appropriate peak was detected when the evaluation value is detected as a peak and a difference between the evaluation value of the peak and an evaluation value at a position of a focus lens after the evaluation value of the peak is greater than the threshold.

7. The imaging method according to claim 6 , wherein changing the frame rate to the second frame rate comprises changing a threshold to decide a determination of a direction in which an in-focus position exists to a threshold at which the decision of the determination is more difficult, and
wherein the performance of the focus adjustment includes determining that a movement direction is a direction in which the in-focus position exists when the evaluation value increases and the difference between the evaluation value exceeds the threshold.

8. The imaging method according to claim 6 , wherein changing the frame rate to the second frame rate comprises changing to increase the number of lens positions used to calculate, by interpolation computation, a position of the focus lens corresponding to a peak of the evaluation value.

9. The imaging method according to claim 6 , further comprising:
changing the frame rate from the first frame rate to the second frame rate to continue acquisition of the evaluation value when the subject or the imaging apparatus is determined to be moving while the focus lens is being moved; and
detecting a peak of the evaluation value on the basis of an evaluation value generated from an imaging signal acquired at the first frame rate and an evaluation value generated from an imaging signal acquired at the second frame rate.

10. The imaging method according to claim 6 , further comprising detecting a luminance of the subject on the basis of the imaging signal,
wherein the frame rate of the image pickup device is not changed from the first frame rate t

Assignees

• Olympus Corp

Inventors

• Ito Satoru

Classifications

• H04N23/63

  by using electronic viewfinders · CPC title

• H04N23/73

  by influencing the exposure time · CPC title

• H04N23/673 Primary

  based on contrast or high frequency components of image signals, e.g. hill climbing method · CPC title

• H04N23/71

  Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation · CPC title

• H04N23/667

  Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes · CPC title