Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Keiji Nagata

Akihiko Nagano

Akira Yamada

Yoshiaki Irie

Yasuo Suda

Keiji Ohtaka

Terutake Kadohara

Kenichiro Yamashita

Hitoshi Onoda

Hideki Ikedo

Makiko Saito

An image capture apparatus includes an image capture unit that has a plurality of unit pixels each including a plurality of photo-electric conversion units per condenser unit, and a recording unit that records captured image signals, which are captured by the image capture unit and are respectively read out from the plurality of photo-electric conversion units, and the recording unit records identification information which allows to identify each photo-electric conversion unit used to obtain the captured image signal in association with that captured image signal.

Image capture apparatus and image signal processing apparatus

A solid-state image sensor including an effective pixel area in which a plurality of pixels are two-dimensionally arranged, each of the plurality of pixels comprising a photoelectric conversion portion configured to generate charges by photoelectric conversion, a charge holding portion configured to hold the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion portion, a floating diffusion portion configured to convert the charges from the charge holding portion into a voltage, a first transfer portion configured to transfer the charges of the photoelectric conversion portion to the charge holding portion, and a second transfer portion configured to transfer the charges of the charge holding portion to the floating diffusion portion, wherein the charge holding portion of each of the plurality of pixels is arranged on the inner side of the photoelectric conversion portion with respect to the center of the effective pixel area.

Solid-state image sensor with an effective pixel area, and image pickup apparatus

An image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup elementthat includes unit cells capable of individually reading signals from pixels that receive light beams transmitting through different pupil positions of an image pickup lens, a detectorthat generates a pair of image signals in a pupil division direction using a signal from a pixel corresponding to each of the unit cells to perform focus detection based on a phase difference, a defective pixel storage unitthat stores defective pixel information, and a defective pixel compensating unitthat compensates a signal of a defective pixel based on an output of the defective pixel storage unit. The defective pixel compensating unitcompensates the signal of the defective pixel using a signal obtained from a pixel disposed in a direction different from the pupil division direction with respect to the defective pixel.

Image pickup apparatus, focus detection method, image generation method, and storage medium

This invention provides a solid-state image sensing apparatus in which a sensor portion that performs photo-electric conversion and plural layers of wiring lines including a signal line for the sensor portion are formed on a semiconductor substrate; which includes an effective pixel portion configured such that light enters the sensor portion, and an optical black portion shielded so that the light does not enter the sensor portion; and which has a light-receiving surface on the back surface side of the semiconductor substrate. The optical black portion includes the sensor portion, a first light-shielding film formed closer to the back surface side of the semiconductor substrate than the sensor portion, and a second light-shielding film formed closer to the front surface side of the semiconductor substrate than the sensor portion.

Solid-state image sensing apparatus

An image sensing apparatus includes an image sensor provided with a plurality of pixels each having a photoelectric converter that receives light from an object and converts the received light to a signal, a semiconductor region to which the signal from the photoelectric converter is transferred, a transfer unit that transfers the signal of the photoelectric converter to the semiconductor region, and a readout unit that reads out a signal from the semiconductor region, and a correction unit that corrects a first signal read out from the photoelectric converter, based on a second signal obtained by reading out the signal accumulated in the semiconductor region.

Image sensing apparatus and correction method

A focus detecting device having an auxiliary light mode, in which, when a focus is not appropriately first detected, a focus detecting operation for detecting the focus is executed with auxiliary light being projected. The focus detecting device includes a plurality of focus detecting areas, a detecting device for detecting a focus in each of the plurality of focus detecting areas, and a determination circuit for determining whether or not the focus detecting operation is to be executed in the auxiliary light mode based on the detected focus and a determination criterion, wherein the determination criterion is set to a predetermined value according to at least one of the plurality of focus detecting areas. Further, the focus detecting areas may be divided into groups each having at least two focus detecting areas, and the determination criterion can be set to a different predetermined value for each of the groups.

Auxiliary light emitting device

A focus state detection apparatus for detecting focus state on the basis of signals outputted from a pair of area sensors each of which is configured in two dimension in accordance with an image of an object passing through an optical system and formed on the pair of area sensors. Each of the pair of area sensors is divided into a plurality of areas each of which can be controlled independently, and charging pixels of the area sensors is controlled by each pair of corresponding divided areas of the area sensors.

Focus state detection apparatus with image sensing device controls

An optical apparatus including a detecting unit for detecting sight line direction of a human eye, a correcting data forming unit, electrically connected to the detecting unit, for forming correcting data as to personal difference of a human eye, a visual mark presenting unit electrically coupled to the correcting data forming unit for presenting a plurality of focus point detecting frames for sampling correcting data at different positions in a visual field and being capable of flickering and lighting without flickering, and a control unit for controlling the apparatus on the basis of the sight line direction and the correcting data.

Optical apparatus equipped with sight line detector

An apparatus for using correction data to correct for personal differences, to provide sight line information. The apparatus includes an image sensor for photographing an eyeball, a pupil diameter determination device for determining a pupil diameter of the eyeball in accordance with an output of the image sensor and a changing device for changing the correction data on the basis of the pupil diameter determined by the pupil diameter determination device.

There is disclosed a focus detecting apparatus capable of detecting the focus state of an objective lens in a wide viewing field, comprises a view finder optical unit for observing the image formed by the objective lens, an optical unit for forming a pair of optical amount distributions, based on light beams passing through different areas of the pupil of the objective lens, wherein the optical unit being provided, at the light incident side, with a concave face directed to the light incident side, and, at the light exit side, with a convex face directed to the light exit side, a sensor unit for received said pair of the optical amount distributions, a main mirror positioned in the optical path from the objective lens to the optical unit and adapted to reflect the light beams from the objective lens toward the finder optical unit, and a reflecting mirror having a concave curved face directed to the light entrance side and adapted to reflect the light beams, transmitted by the main mirror, in a direction opposite to the finder optical system and toward the optical unit.

Focus detecting apparatus

An apparatus which has a finder optical unit for observing therethrough an image formed by an objective lens, an optical unit for forming a pair of distributions of light quantity on the basis of light beams transmitted through the different pupils of the objective lens, a sensor unit for receiving the pair of distributions of light quantity, a main mirror disposed in an optical path leading to the objective lens and the optical unit for reflecting the light beam from the objective lens to the finder optical unit, and a reflecting mirror having a curved surface having its concave surface facing the light incidence side for reflecting the light beam transmitted through the main mirror in the direction of the optical unit which is opposite to the finder optical unit, and which well makes focus detection possible for a wide field area formed by the objective lens.

A focus detecting apparatus includes an optical unit provided on an image plane side of an objective lens for detecting a focus state of the objective lens, the optical unit forming a plurality of light quantity distributions, a photoelectrical changing unit having a plurality of elements for outputting a relative positional signal between the plurality of light quantity distributions, and a circuit for detecting a focus state of the objective lens. The optical unit includes a reflecting mirror having a light condensing property for reflecting a light beam from the objective lens to form an object image on a predetermined surface, a secondary imaging lens having at least a pair of lenses for causing the object image formed on the predetermined surface to be reimaged on the photoelectrical changing unit and a pair of apertures having aperture portions respectively corresponding to the pair of lenses. When the photoelectrical changing unit is reversedly projected by the secondary imaging lens and the reflecting mirror, the elements corresponding to the direction of arrangement of the pair of apertures of the photoelectrical changing unit are arranged so that a peripheral portion of the elements is not parallel to the center of the arrangement of the elements.

An optical apparatus for detecting rotation of an eyeball of an observer to provide sight line information, including an optical unit for imaging light flux from the eye of the observer, an image sensor for receiving light flux from the optical unit, and a control unit for designating a read-out region for the image sensor and reading out information from the read-out region.

A sight line detecting device includes a controller operable in a sight line information using mode for controlling an optical apparatus for use in accordance with sight line information, and usable in a sight line information prohibiting mode for controlling the apparatus without using the sight line information. A selector selects either mode for controlling the optical apparatus.

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Yokohama, Japan

Keiji Nagata