IP Library Granted Patent US 7,693,405
Granted Patent B2
US 7,693,405 · App. 11/563,242 · Granted Apr 6, 2010

Image pickup device, method of controlling image pickup device, and recording medium

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,693,405
App. No.
11/563,242
Granted
Apr 6, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

An image pickup device is provided which includes: an auto focus control unit sampling contrast values as a function of a relative distance from an object by detecting a contrast of an image of the object while driving a lens in an optical axis direction, calculating a focused focal position on the basis of the contrast values, and driving the lens to the focused focal position; a shake detecting unit detecting at least an amount of shake in the optical axis direction of the lens; and a selection judging unit judging selection and non-selection of the sampled contrast values depending on the amount of shake in the optical axis direction of the lens at the time of the sampling. Here, the auto focus control unit calculates the focused focal position on the basis of the contrast value judged as being selected by the selection judging unit among the sampled contrast values.

Claims (19)

1. An image pickup device comprising:

an auto focus control unit sampling contrast values of an image of an object while driving a lens in an optical axis direction, calculating a focused focal position based on the contrast values, and driving the lens to the focused focal position;

a shake detecting unit detecting an amount of shake in the optical axis direction; and

a selection judging unit selecting ones of the sampled contrast values based on the amount of shake detected at the time of sampling,

wherein the auto focus control unit calculates the focused focal position based on the selected ones of the sampled contrast values,

wherein the selection judging unit:

selects one of the sampled contrast values when the amount of shake detected at the time of sampling the one of the sampled contrast values is less than or equal to a first reference amount of shake,

discards the one of the sampled contrast values when the amount of shake detected at the time of sampling the one of the sampled contrast values is greater than or equal to a second reference amount of shake that is larger than the first reference amount of shake, and

selects the one of the sampled contrast values when the amount of shake detected at the time of sampling the one of the sampled contrast values is greater than the first reference amount of shake and less than the second reference amount of shake, and assigns the one of the sampled contrast values to a selected one of:

a lens position at the time of sampling the one of the sampled contrast values,

a lens position at the time of sampling a sample contrast value immediately prior to the one of the sampled contrast values, and

a lens position at the time of sampling a sample contrast value immediately subsequent to the one of the sampled contrast values,

wherein the selection judging unit generates a corrected lens position by correcting the lens position at the time of sampling the one of the sampled contrast values based on the amount of shake, and selects the selected one of the lens positions to minimize a difference between the selected one of the lens positions and the corrected lens position.

2. The image pickup device according to claim 1 , wherein the shake detecting unit includes gyro sensors and detects the amount of shake on the basis of an angular velocity detection signal output from the corresponding gyro sensor.

3. The image pickup device according to claim 1 , wherein the auto focus control unit includes an auto focus correcting unit performing a correction control so as to correct the focused focal position on the basis of the amount of shake in the optical axis direction of the lens and to drive the lens to the corrected focused focal position.

4. The image pickup device according to claim 3 , wherein the auto focus control unit deviates a relative position of the lens to an image pickup element by the amount of shake by means of the correction control.

5. The image pickup device according to claim 3 , further comprising a shutter switch operating a shutter,

wherein the auto focus control unit drives the lens to the focused focal position and holds the lens at the corresponding position at the time of semi-shuttering the shutter switch, and

wherein the auto focus correcting unit performs the correction control at the time of full-shuttering the shutter switch.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 3, 2021
From: ADVANCED INTERCONNECT SYSTEMS LIMITED
To: NVIDIA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 056754/0070 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 2, 2018
From: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
To: ADVANCED INTERCONNECT SYSTEMS LIMITED
Reel/Frame 046464/0045 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 27, 2006
From: HOSODA, TATSUYA; NAGAISHI, MICHIHIRO; SAKAMOTO, KAZUHIRO
To: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 018550/0966 →