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:
Oct. 08, 1996
Filed:
Dec. 16, 1994
Kenneth A Parulski, Rochester, NY (US);
George E Lathrop, Dansville, NY (US);
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY (US);
Abstract
A technique for automatically focusing the lens of an electronic still camera employs a full frame image sensor 20 and a mechanical shutter 24. The image sensor 20 itself is operated first in a 'fast flush' mode to focus a lens 22, and then in a normal readout mode to obtain the final still image. To focus the lens 22, the shutter 24 is opened, and an image is integrated on the sensor 20. The average contrast of a central region 66 of the image is used to determine how well the image is focused. The portion of the image surrounding the central region 66 is rapidly read out and discarded, using 'fast flush' clocking where the vertical and horizontal registers are continuously clocked. The process is repeated numerous times with the shutter remaining open as the lens focus is adjusted until the maximum average contrast is obtained. At this point, the shutter is closed, and the entire sensor is cleared using 'fast flush' clocking. The shutter is again opened to capture the final image, and closed while the final image is read out.