Automatic focusing device employing a frequency domain representation of a digital video signal

• US 5,210,564 A
• Filed: 12/21/1990
• Issued: 05/11/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Takemoto, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): PERKEY, WILLIAM B
• Application Number:
  US07/631,455
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 354/400, 354/402, 358/227
• US Class Current: 348/354
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/365 by analysis of the spatial frequency components of the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/673 based on contrast or high frequency components of image signals, e.g. hill climbing method

Abstract

An automatic focusing device has an A/D converter for converting a supplied video signal to a digital signal; an orthogonal converter for converting a video signal transmitted from the A/D converter to a signal indicative of a frequency component region; and a control section for producing a control signal for performing a focusing operation based on information of the frequency component transmitted from the orthogonal converter. The orthogonal converter performs a discrete cosine transformation with respect to the digitally converted video signal. The orthogonal converter transmits low to high frequency components from the digitally converted video signal. The control section transmits the control signal for performing a focusing operation based on an arbitrary component of the frequency components transmitted from the orthogonal converter. A circuit for performing the focusing operation may be constructed on the basis of a plurality of frequency components.

Claims

1. An automatic focusing device comprising:

an A/D converter for converting a supplied video signal to a digital signal;

orthogonal conversion means for converting the digital signal from the A/D converter to a two-dimensional frequency domain representation;

control means for producing a focusing control output based on a plurality of frequency components included in the two-dimensional frequency domain representation; and

a focusing circuit responsive to the focusing control output for performing a focusing operation such that all of said plurality of frequency components are maximized.

2. An automatic focusing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the orthogonal conversion means performs a discrete cosine transformation with respect to the digital signal from the A/D converter.

3. An automatic focusing device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the orthogonal conversion means transmits low to high frequency components from said digitally converted video signal.

4. An automatic focusing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of frequency components are chosen arbitrarily from the two-dimensional frequency domain representation.

5. An automatic focusing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of said frequency components is the highest frequency component included in the two-dimensional frequency domain representation.

6. An automatic focusing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means comprises calculating means for calculating the focusing control output.