Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Industry & Control Solutions, Ltd.

Hideharu Ono

Tomoaki Nishiguchi

Akira Ando

Toshiyuki Yokoyama

Makoto Kikuchi

Kazuo Sakai

Yasuhiro Nemoto

Kazunori Uemura

Kazuto Oyama

Hiroyuki Miyahara

Makoto Asuka

Iori Umezawa

Shigehisa Rokuta

Toshifumi Inokuchi

Yukitoshi Shirota

A focus control apparatus reduces the degree of out-of-focus of an image of an intense point light source during zooming in contrast-based autofocus control. A zooming lens moves in an optical axis direction to perform magnification change and a focusing lens moves in the optical axis direction to perform focus adjustment and is driven in accordance with a trace curve corresponding to the distance to a subject. A controller evaluates, during the magnification change operation, based on the rate of change in the number of high-luminance pixels at which the number of high-luminance pixels in an output image from the imaging apparatus changes with the zoom magnification, whether or not the focusing lens is driven in accordance with a trace curve corresponding to the distance to the subject before the magnification change operation is performed or a trace curve corresponding to a distance to the subject of infinity.

Imaging apparatus, imaging method, and focus control apparatus

An imaging device that images a subject includes a focus lens group that collects a light beam from the subject and forms an image of the subject, a focus motor that drives the focus lens group in the optical axis direction, and an imaging element that performs photoelectric conversion of the light beam and outputs a video signal. The imaging device further includes a contrast signal generator that generates and outputs a lower-frequency contrast signal from a luminance component of the video signal, an AF processor that employs the lower-frequency contrast signal as an auto focus evaluation value and moves the focus lens group to the in-focus position with wobbling the focus lens group, and a histogram signal generator that generates and outputs a high-luminance pixel count of the video signal. The AF processor varies the amplitude of the wobbling of the focus lens group based on the high-luminance pixel count.

Imaging device with autofocus operation

For improving picture quality in auto-focus control, image processing deviceadjusts output picture imaged by image pick-up elementand displayed by a display section, comprises storage sectionfor storing predetermined de-focus threshold value of variation amount of intensity value of output picture; first adder sectionfor calculating intensity value time difference variation amount between intensity value of output picture being input and intensity value of the predetermined-time previous output picture before the output picture is input; and variation amount comparison sectionfor comparing intensity value time difference variation amount and de-focus threshold value, wherein when variation amount comparison section determines that intensity value time difference variation amount is less than de-focus threshold value to be a comparison object, intensity value of output picture after being adjusted is calculated by subtracting intensity value time difference variation amount from intensity value of output picture being input.

Imaging sensing device, image sensing processing device, and image processing method

In order to obtain stable lens positions to have an object imaged in focus when the temperature of lenses changes, an imaging device of the present invention comprises a system control sectionhaving a imaging mode and a correction mode, the imaging mode in which a group of lensesare controlled and moved to focusing positions for a predetermined distance at first and are further moved to correct the focusing positions for the predetermined distance to the object during imaging according to the temperature compensation data, the correction mode in which the group of lensesare controlled and moved to have the temperature compensation data corrected when the temperature change is larger than or equal to a predetermined temperature difference, a correction coefficient calculation sectionfor calculating the correction coefficient to correct the temperature compensation data based on first focusing positions of the group of lenses to which the group of lenses are moved according to the temperature compensation data before corrected and second focusing positions of the group of the lenses to which the group of the lenses are automatically moved from the first focusing positions to have the object the predetermined distance away imaged in focus based on the focus evaluation value under a condition under which a moving range of the group of lenses is restricted, when the system control section is on the correction mode, a temperature compensation data correction sectionfor correcting the temperature compensation data to be used for the imaging mode based on the correction coefficient calculated by the correction coefficient calculation section.

Imaging device

Even when a point light source is present in a subject or a normal subject is erroneously determined as a point light source in determination of the presence or absence of a point light source, the following is implemented: the driving time of a focus lens is shortened and quick focusing operation is provided. The optimum focus lens stroke is computed based on information on a high-brightness region and a low-brightness region in an image. Then the focus lens is driven while the focus lens stroke is continuously varied based on the amount of change in high-brightness region and low-brightness region.

Focus control device and focus control method

An imaging apparatus is provided which performs optimum zooming and focusing even after long use. The imaging apparatus includes: a lens which is movable along the optical axis; a driving module to drive the lens; a driving amount calculation module to determine a drive count indicating the number of times the driving module has been operated or a drive time for which the driving module has been operated; a storage module to store compensation amounts which are used to compensate for the mechanical play of the driving module according to the drive count or the drive time; and a control module to control the driving module wherein a compensation amount appropriate for the drive count or time determined by the driving amount calculation module is selected from the compensation amounts stored in the storage module and the selected compensation amount is used to compensate for the mechanical play of the driving module.

Imaging apparatus

A magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus includes a head for performing recording/reproducing, a chassis for positioning the head, a cassette holder for positioning a cassette on the chassis, the cassette including an opening portion through which a recording medium is received or drawn out, a cassette holder supporting member for supporting the cassette holder on the chassis, and a casing which contains these component parts. The cassette holder supporting member has a substantially U-shape, facing three side surfaces of the cassette except the opening portion, and includes integrally formed fastening portions to be secured on the casing. The cassette holder supporting member is fastened to the casing through two fastening portions, and the chassis is directly fastened to the casing in one portion of the chassis.

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Tokyo, Japan

Hideharu Ono