Nikon Corporation

Masamitsu Ozawa

Shigeyuki Uchiyama

Chiyuki Kuwata

Hideki Kanbayashi

Seiichi Yasukawa

Toshimi Watanabe

An image sensor includes: three or more photoelectric conversion devices; and a storage control circuit that controls storage operations at the photoelectric conversion devices, and the storage control circuit commonly controls the storage operations at two or more photoelectric conversion devices that are not disposed directly next to one another among the photoelectric conversion devices.

Image sensor, focal point detection device and camera

A sub-mirror which deflects a focal point detection light flux passing through an area off the optical axis of a photographing optical system toward the optical axis and a second deflection member that deflects the focal point detection light flux deflected by the sub-mirror to allow it to advance roughly parallel to the photographic optical axis are provided. A pair of light fluxes achieved by deflecting the focal point detection light flux twice are guided to an image sensor to form a pair of subject images on the image sensor. The focal adjustment state is detected based upon the extent to which the pair of subject images are offset.

Focal point detection apparatus and focal point detection module

A focal point detection apparatus that includes a sub-mirror constituted of a concave mirror and performs focal point detection in the phase difference detection method is capable of implementing a focal point detection over a wide range. A light flux for focal point detection having passed through a semi-transmissive reflecting member and a reflecting member constituted of the concave mirror described above enters a focal point detection optical system. A correction optical system provided between the semi-transmissive reflecting member and the reflecting member constituted of the concave mirror corrects an offset of the direction along which the light flux for focal point detection advances caused by the reflecting member constituted of the concave mirror, in conformance to the image height at the focal point detection position. By utilizing this correction optical system, it becomes possible to reduce the size of the focal point detection apparatus while assuring a large focal point detection area.

Camera and focal point detection apparatus

A focal point detection apparatus having a plurality of detection areas comprises a view field mask disposed in the vicinity of a prearranged imaging plane of a photographing lens and provided with a plurality of view field apertures, a condenser lens provided with a plurality of lens units for respectively condensing light fluxes transmitting the plurality of view field apertures, and a re-imaging optical system provided with a plurality of re-imaging lens units for dividing a light flux transmitting each view field aperture into a pair of light fluxes transmitting different areas of the exit pupil of the photographing lens and for forming images of the respective view field apertures on light receiving means.

Focal point detection apparatus

A focus adjustment device that eliminates unnecessary driving of a shooting lens after the shooting lens has already been driven near to an in-focus position. In a focus adjustment device, information related to the defocus amount of the shooting lens is detected based on output signals corresponding to the light intensity distribution of a object image from a pair of photo-electric conversion arrays. The focus adjustment device includes a focus detection circuit to determine the confidence level of the detected information based on predetermined determination criteria and a lens driving device to drive the shooting lens based on the detected information when the information of the focus detection device is accepted as having a sufficient confidence level. However, to prevent erroneous driving of the lens, such as when the object moves out of a focusing field or when the object reverses direction, the probability of rejecting the information of the focus detection on the basis of an insufficient confidence level increases. This occurs when information indicating that the occurrence of a defocus amount exceeding a predetermined range is detected by the focus detection circuit after the shooting lens has previously been determined to have been driven within permissible parameters of an in-focus position.

Focus adjustment device and method

A focus state detection device includes focus state detection optical systems having focus state detection regions off the optical axis of the object lens (in the lateral areas of the field) that extend in a radial direction relative to the optical axis of the shooting lens. In each focus state detection optical system, images from the object lens are composed into secondary images on a pair of rows of photosensitive elements, and the focussing state of the object lens is detected from the positional relationship between these secondary images. The focus state detection optical systems have a first focus state detection region located on the optical axis of the predicted focussing plane of the object lens, and a second focus state detection region located off the optical axis of the predicted focussing plane and along a radial direction relative to the optical axis. The distance between outer edges of the pair of apertures of the diaphragm mask corresponding to the second focus state detection region is established so as to be smaller than the distance between outer edges of the pair of apertures of the diaphragm mask corresponding to the first focus state detection region. Such structure provides a focus state detection device having a high degree of focus state detection precision without the problems of eclipsing of focus state detection light rays caused by exit pupils of the shooting lens.

Focus state detection device and method

A focus state detection device having a shooting lens, a mirror which guides light rays which have passed through the shooting lens to the photoelectric conversion element array, a focus state detection algorithm circuit which detects the focus state of the shooting lens through a focus state detection algorithm on the basis of output signals from the photoelectric conversion element array, and an accumulation control circuit which controls the electric charge accumulation time in the photoelectric conversion element array that, when it is detected by the focus state detection algorithm circuit that the shooting lens is in focus or near focus, the accumulation control circuit conducts accumulation control by fixing the next accumulation time to be the accumulation time at the time when focus or near focus is detected.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Masamitsu Ozawa