Patent ID: 6710806
Filing Date: 2004-03-23
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
An automatically focusing system provided with imaging devices of a multiple plate type, comprising:a lens system which subjects object light ray to chromatic aberration correction to image the resulting light ray; a color decomposing unit which separates the object light ray through said lens system into respective color components; a plurality of imaging devices in each of which an AF area is established in a central part of an imaging area and which is served for receiving said color component to convert the same into picture image data; a focusing position estimating unit which calculates defocusing characteristic information of the picture image data in the respective AF areas of said plurality of imaging devices which have been disposed in such that light receiving distances differ from one another in every respective colors to estimate a distance up to a focusing point as well as a direction along the same on the basis of the defocusing characteristic information of the calculated respective colors; a focusing condition discriminating unit which judges whether or not a situation is in a focusing condition based on said distance up to the focusing point estimated by said focusing position estimating unit; and a driving unit which shifts said lens system or said color decomposing unit by said distance up to the focusing point along said direction in said focusing point estimated by said focusing position estimating unit in the case when it was judged that a situation was not in a focusing condition by means of said focusing condition discriminating unit.