Imaging apparatus and control method of imaging apparatus

• US 9,086,540 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2012
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Katsuda, Yasutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Laballe, Clayton E
• Assistant Examiner(s): REISNER, NOAM S
• Application Number:
  US13/569,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20130077946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,077 Days
• Field of Search: 396/62, 396/121
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/28 Systems for automatic generation of focusing signals
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 13/20 Rangefinders coupled with focusing arrangements, e.g. adjustment of rangefinder automatically focusing camera
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/05 Combinations of cameras with electronic flash apparatus; Electronic flash units
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/672 based on the phase difference signals
• 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 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means

Abstract

Provided is an imaging apparatus including a ranging area selection unit configured to select an area for measuring a distance to an object to be photographed from a plurality of candidate areas preset in an area according to an angle of view of a photographing lens, the area being selected as a ranging area, an irradiation unit configured to irradiate auxiliary light onto the object to be photographed, a distance to the object to be photographed being measured in the ranging area, and a ranging unit configured to measure the distance to the object to be photographed, to which the auxiliary light has been irradiated, in the ranging area.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus, comprising:

ranging area selection circuitry configured to select a ranging area for measuring a distance to an object to be photographed from a plurality of candidate areas, the plurality of candidate areas being preset in a photographing area according to an angle of view of a photographing lens;

irradiation circuitry configured to radiate auxiliary light onto the object to be photographed, wherein the irradiation circuitry comprises;

light emission control circuitry configured to cause a light emitting body among a plurality of light emitting bodies, corresponding to a selected candidate area of the plurality of candidate areas, to emit light onto one of a plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions,

wherein a number of candidate areas among the plurality of candidate areas in one of the plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions is set to be different from the number of candidate areas in other of the plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions;

ranging circuitry configured to measure the distance to the object to be photographed, to which the auxiliary light has been irradiated, in the ranging area; and

auxiliary light lens viewing angle control circuitry configured to;

control an angle of view of an auxiliary light lens for irradiating the auxiliary light, and

cause the angle of view of the auxiliary light lens to coincide with the angle of view of the photographing lens.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation circuitry refracts the auxiliary light from a light emitting circuitry in a barrel of the auxiliary light lens, and irradiates the refracted light onto the object to be photographed.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising focusing control circuitry configured to adjust a focus to the measured distance.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

object detection circuitry configured to detect a predetermined object in the photographing area according to the angle of view of the photographing lens,

wherein the ranging area selection circuitry selects, as the ranging area, a candidate area set in an area in which the predetermined object has been detected from the plurality of candidate areas.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ranging circuitry comprises one or more of:

a photometric sensor or distance calculation circuitry.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a distance calculation unit configured to calculate the distance to the object to be photographed from a phase difference of light quantity distribution of two images separated by a separator lens.

10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary light lens viewing angle control circuitry is configured to adjust a focal length of the auxiliary light lens such that a ratio of a size of a portion of the photographing area where the auxiliary light is generated to a size of an image area on an image sensor is equal to a ratio of the focal length of the auxiliary light lens to a focal length of the photographing lens.

11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a photographing lens viewing angle control unit configured to cause a focal length of the photographing lens to coincide with a value obtained by multiplying a shortest focal length in a range of the photographing lens by a zoom magnification to control the angle of view.

12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the photographing lens viewing angle control unit is configured to maintain a focused state based on controlling a position of a focus lens of the photographing lens along a zoom tracking curve, the zoom tracking curve indicating a relation between the focal length of the photographing lens and the position of the focus lens in the focused state.

6. A control method of an imaging apparatus, comprising:

selecting, using ranging area selection circuitry, a ranging area for measuring a distance to an object to be photographed from a plurality of candidate areas, the plurality of candidate areas being preset in a photographing area according to an angle of view of a photographing lens;

irradiating, using irradiation circuitry, auxiliary light onto the object to be photographed, wherein the irradiating comprises;

causing, using light emission control circuitry, a light emitting body among the plurality of light emitting bodies, corresponding to a selected candidate area of the plurality of candidate areas, to emit light onto one of a plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions,

wherein a number of candidate areas among the plurality of candidate areas in one of the plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions is set to be different from the number of candidate areas in other of the plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions;

measuring, using ranging circuitry, the distance to the object to be photographed, to which the auxiliary light has been irradiated, in the ranging area;

controlling, using auxiliary light lens viewing angle control circuitry, an angle of view of an auxiliary light lens for irradiating the auxiliary light; and

causing, using the auxiliary light lens viewing angle control circuitry, the angle of view of the auxiliary light lens to coincide with the angle of view of the photographing lens.

9. The control method according to claim 6, further comprising extracting a photometric value in the ranging area from a plurality of photometric values, and performing a predetermined operation on the extracted photometric value, thereby calculating the distance to the object to be photographed.

7. An imaging apparatus, comprising:

a photographing lens;

an auxiliary lens;

ranging area selection circuitry configured to select a ranging area for measuring a distance to an object to be photographed from a plurality of candidate areas, the plurality of candidate areas being preset in a photographing area according to an angle of view of the photographing lens;

a first plurality of light emitting bodies configured to emit auxiliary light;

irradiation circuitry configured to irradiate the auxiliary light onto the object to be photographed, wherein the irradiation circuitry comprises;

light emitting circuitry configured to generate the auxiliary light through light emission of a second plurality of light emitting bodies associated with the plurality of candidate areas, the second plurality of light emitting bodies being less than the first plurality of light emitting bodies; and

light emission control circuitry configured to cause a light emitting body among the second plurality of light emitting bodies, corresponding to a selected candidate area of the plurality of candidate areas, to emit light onto one of a plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions,

wherein a number of candidate areas among the plurality of candidate areas in one of the plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions is set to be different from the number of candidate areas in other of the plurality of non-overlapping irradiation regions;

ranging circuitry configured to measure the distance to the object to be photographed, to which the auxiliary light has been irradiated, in the ranging area; and

auxiliary light lens viewing angle control circuitry configured to;

control an angle of view of the auxiliary light lens for radiating the auxiliary light, and

cause the angle of view of the auxiliary light lens to coincide with the angle of view of the photographing lens.