IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,201,998
Granted Patent B2
US 11,201,998 · App. 16/358,995 · Granted Dec 14, 2021

Imaging apparatus and control method thereof

Inventors: Satoshi Shoda (Utsunomiya, JP); Hideyuki Hamano (Kawasaki, JP)
Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
H04N5/232122H04N5/3745
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,201,998
App. No.
16/358,995
Granted
Dec 14, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

An imaging apparatus comprises an imaging element configured to have a plurality of photoelectric conversion units for each of a plurality of pixels arranged in a row direction and a column direction; at least one processor and memory holding a program which makes the processor function as: an acquisition unit configured to acquire an imaging signal based on a light beam that has passed through the entire pupil region of an imaging optical system and a first image signal based on a light beam that has passed through a part of the pupil region of the imaging optical system from the pixels; and a calculation unit configured to calculate a phase difference by using the imaging signal and the first image signal, wherein the calculation unit calculates the phase difference based on the first image signal and the imaging signal in the row that is the same as the first image signal or a neighboring row of the first image signal.

Claims (30)

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging element configured to have a plurality of photoelectric conversion units for each of a plurality of pixels arranged in a row direction and a column direction; and

at least one processor and memory holding a program which makes the processor function as:

an acquisition unit configured to acquire an imaging signal based on a light beam that has passed through the entire pupil region of an imaging optical system and a first image signal based on a light beam that has passed through a part of the pupil region of the imaging optical system from the pixels; and

a calculation unit configured to calculate a phase difference by using the imaging signal and the first image signal,

wherein the calculation unit calculates the phase difference based on the first image signal and the imaging signal acquired from the pixels in a neighboring row of the first image signal.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor further functions as a detecting unit configured to detect a pupil dividing direction based on position information of a focus detection region in the imaging element and information about the imaging optical system, and

wherein the calculation unit determines the imaging signal to be used for calculating the phase difference in accordance with the pupil dividing direction.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2 ,

Wherein, if the pupil dividing direction is a horizontal direction, the calculation unit calculates a phase difference by performing a first correlation calculation by using an imaging signal in a row that is the same as the first image signal, and if the pupil dividing direction is a diagonal direction, the calculation unit calculates a phase difference by performing a second correlation calculation by using an imaging signal in the row that is the same as the first image signal and a neighboring row of the first image signal.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor further functions as a luminance detecting unit configured to detect a luminance of the captured image corresponding to the imaging signal,

wherein the calculation unit determines the imaging signal to be used for calculating the phase difference in accordance with the luminance.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor further functions as a determining unit configured to determine the reliability of the correlation calculation performed by the calculation unit, and

wherein the calculation unit uses the result of a correlation calculation determined to be high in reliability by the determination unit as a phase difference.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the determination unit determines the reliability based on a waveform of the first image signal and the imaging signal that have been used for the correlation calculation.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein, if a distance between a focus detection region and the end portion of a region from which the first image signal is read out is larger than a threshold, the calculation unit performs a first correlation calculation for which the first image signal and the imaging signal are shifted, and

wherein, if a distance between the focus detection region and the end portion of the region from which the first image signal is read out is equal to or less than a threshold, the calculation unit performs a third correlation calculation for which only the imaging signal is shifted in a state in which the first image signal is fixed.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the acquisition unit acquires the imaging signal for each row and acquires the first image signal at predetermined line intervals.

9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the calculation unit calculates a second image signal corresponding to a signal based on a light beam that has passed through another part of the pupil region, which is different from a part of the pupil region of the imaging optical system, by subtracting the first image signal from the imaging signal and calculates a phase difference by using the first image signal and the second image signal corresponding to the imaging signal.

10. A control method of an imaging apparatus including an imaging element having a plurality of photoelectric conversion units for a plurality of pixels arranged in a row direction and a column direction, comprising the steps of:

acquiring an imaging signal based on a light beam that has passed through the entire pupil region of an imaging optical system and a first image signal based on a light beam that has passed through a part of the pupil region of the imaging optical system from the pixels; and

calculating a phase difference by using the imaging signal and the first image signal,

wherein, in calculating, a phase difference is calculated based on the first image signal and the imaging signal acquired from the pixels in a neighboring row of the first image signal.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 6, 2019
From: SHODA, SATOSHI; HAMANO, HIDEYUKI
To: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 049388/0651 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP JP2018-054086 · Mar 22, 2018 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20190297268A1 · Sep 26, 2019