The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 04, 1990
Filed:
Nov. 18, 1988
Ryuichiro Kuga, Katano, JP;
Masayuki Yoneyama, Takatsuki, JP;
Teruyoshi Miura, Hirakata, JP;
Yoshiaki Hirao, Habikino, JP;
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
An automatic focusing apparatus uses an image signal provided by a lens system of a camera for focusing the taking lens system. The apparatus includes: a lens system; a pickup element for converting the optical image of an object formed by the lens system into a corresponding electric signal; a signal processing circuit which processes the output signal of the pickup element to provide two focus signals corresponding to the respective quantities of horizontal and vertical high-frequency components of the object in an image plane; a lens driving mechanism for driving the lens system; and a control unit for controlling the lens driving mechanism according to the two focus signals to focus the lens system. Preferably, the apparatus further includes: a detector for detecting the condition of the object or the viewing conditions and a changeover circuit for changing over the characteristics of the signal processing circuit on the basis of the output of the detector. The additional use of information about the vertical direction enables the focusing of the lens system for any object including a horizontal line. Since the characteristics of the signal processing circuit are changed selectively according to the condition of the object or the viewing conditions, a stable and accurate focusing operation can be achieved regardless of the variation of the condition of the object.