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:
Mar. 17, 1992
Filed:
Dec. 21, 1990
Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
The disclosure relates to an automatic focusing apparatus for use in a photographic camera and, in a particular video-camera. The apparatus includes a defocus amount detecting device such as charged coupled devices (CCD) array for detecting the defocus amount of a photographic lens, a memorizing device for memorizing the focusing zone to carry out the lens-focus-adjustment, a comparing device for comparing between the specific setting value and the detected defocus amount, a selecting device for selecting the focusing zone so as to carry out the lens-focus-adjustment in accordance with a detection of the focusing condition, a focus adjusting mechanism for carrying out the lens-focus-adjustment on the basis of the defocus amount of the focusing zone selected by the selecting device, and a focusing zone alteration device for rememorizing the focusing zone with respect to the change of the focusing zone at which the lens-focus-adjustment is carried out. The displacement of the defocus amount corresponding to the change of a relative location of the object to the photographic lens is approximately proportional to the displacement of the output signal of the defecting device of the defocus amount, so that it is possible to know by detecting the defocus amount whether or not the photographic lens is properly focused and where the object is located in a photographic field if not focused.