Compound eye imaging system, imaging device, and electronic equipment

• US 20020075450A1
• Filed: 11/21/2001
• Published: 06/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Akiyama, Takeshi, Tanaka, Tsunefumu, Kato, Yukihide, Aratani, Michiharu
• Application Number:
  US09/989,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20020075450A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 351/206
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/05 characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0056 arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2226 Determination of depth image, e.g. for foreground/background separation determining depth by image analysis in general G06T7/50; segmentation by image analysis in general G06T7/10

Abstract

The invention makes easy acquisition of depth distance information of a subject possible by a small-sized device. In a compound eye imaging system comprising a compound eye optical system having a plurality of optical blocks and an imaging element for picking-up object images formed by the optical blocks in imaging ranges provided for each optical block, the optical axes of the optical blocks are made to intersect each other at the object side.

Claims

1. A compound eye imaging system, comprising a plurality of optical blocks and an imaging element for picking-up object images formed by the optical blocks in imaging ranges provided for each optical block, wherein

optical axes of the optical blocks intersect each other at the object side.

2. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 1, wherein all the optical axes of the plurality of optical blocks roughly intersect each other at one point.

3. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 2, further comprising a drive means which relatively moves the plurality of optical blocks and the imaging element to change the space between the optical blocks and imaging element.

4. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of imaging blocks, which comprise the imaging ranges that are different from each other, are formed in the imaging element.

5. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 4, wherein the imaging element is constructed so that the plurality of imaging blocks are formed on a single substrate.

6. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 5, wherein the imaging element is constructed by forming the plurality of imaging blocks on a single semiconductor substrate.

7. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of optical blocks are unified.

8. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the optical action surfaces comprising the plurality of optical blocks has an aspherical shape.

9. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 8, wherein an optical action surface comprising at least one optical block of the plurality of optical blocks has a rotational asymmetric aspherical shape.

10. A compound eye imaging system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the optical action surfaces comprising the plurality of optical blocks is a diffraction action surface.

11. An imaging device, comprising the compound eye imaging system according to claim 1.

12. An imaging device according to claim 11, wherein a distance to an object is measured based on outputs from a pair of imaging ranges for picking-up an image of the object through a pair of optical blocks in the imaging element.

13. An imaging device according to claim 11, wherein an average value of distances to an object is measured based on outputs from multiple pairs of imaging ranges for picking-up an image of the object through multiple pairs of optical blocks in the imaging element.

14. An imaging device according to claim 11, wherein an object image is synthesized by picking-up images of an object that is more distant than the intersection of the optical axes of the optical blocks by the imaging element.

15. An electronic equipment, comprising the imaging device according to any of claims 11 through 14.