Autofocus device, imaging device and camera system

• US 20030030742A1
• Filed: 08/07/2002
• Published: 02/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ike, Takahiro
• Application Number:
  US10/214,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20030030742A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/354
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/673 based on contrast or high frequency components of image signals, e.g. hill climbing method
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects

Abstract

When a camera lens is in the midst of pan operation or tilt operation and in an autofocusing mode (AF mode) (step S101), not normal autofocus processing, but wobbling AF processing (step S103) is carried out to move a focus lens constituting the camera lens forwardly or backwardly while oscillating the position of the focus lens forwardly/backwardly, and search the peak position of the high-frequency component value in an image signal picked up through the camera lens. Accordingly, the focus position can be searched with high precision even under operation.

Claims

1. An autofocus device comprising for a camera having at least one of a rotatable mount and a camera lens, comprising a first searching unit for searching the peak position of a high-frequency component value of an image signal picked up through said camera lens only when at least one of said rotatable mount and said camera lens is operated.

2. The autofocus device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first searching unit searches the peak position when the operation speed of the operation is equal to a predetermined speed or less.

3. The autofocus device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first searching unit searches the peak position while the movement amount of said camera lens is limited to a small value when the operation is a pan operation or tilt operation.

4. The autofocus device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first search unit searches the peak position when the operation is a zoom operation and also the zoom magnification is equal to a predetermined magnification or more.

5. The autofocus device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second searching unit for searching the peak position of a high-frequency component value in an image signal picked up through said camera lens again when the operation is carried out and said camera lens stops the operation, a pan operation or a tilt operation.

6. The autofocus device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the search of the peak position of said first searching unit as claimed in claim 1 is carried out with the highest priority when there is an operating instruction on the operation during the searching operation of the peak position of said second searching means.

7. The autofocus device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating instruction of the operation is a manual operation instruction from a remote place.

8. An imaging device having an autofocus device as claimed in claim 1.

9. An imaging device comprising;

a camera lens having a zoom lens and a focus lens;

a pan operation unit for subjecting said camera lens to a pan operation;

a tilt operation unit for subjecting said camera lens to a tilt operation; and

an autofocus device as claimed in claim 1.

10. A camera system comprising:

a imaging device as claimed in claim 9;

a monitor for displaying a pickup image from said camera lens; and

a controller connected to said imaging device and outputting the operating instruction to said imaging device when a manual operation is input.