JP2011022563A - Focus control circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve focusing accuracy in automatic focus control that determines a focal position by actually moving a lens. <P>SOLUTION: A focus control circuit 100 is installed in an image pickup apparatus 500 that includes: a lens 10; a driver element 12 for adjusting the position of the lens 10; and a position detecting element 14 for detecting the position of the lens 10. An equalizer 30 included in the focus control circuit 100 generates a drive signal used to adjust the position of the lens 10 to a target position, based on a difference between the position of the lens 10 identified by the output signal of the position detecting element 14 and the target position of the lens 10 set externally, and controls the driver element 12. An adjustment circuit 60 adjusts at least one of gain and offset of the position detecting element 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a focus control circuit that determines a focal position by actually moving a lens.

  Many of digital cameras and camera modules mounted on mobile phones have an autofocus function. A contrast detection method is often adopted for an autofocus function mounted on such a compact camera. The contrast detection method is a method in which the lens is actually moved to detect the lens position where the contrast of the subject in the captured image is maximized, and the lens is moved to that position (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-166403 A

  The contrast detection method can be realized at a lower cost than the active method in which the subject is irradiated with infrared rays or ultrasonic waves and the distance from the reflected wave to the subject is measured. However, there is a problem that it takes time to search for a lens position where the contrast of the subject is maximized. It is desired that the process from when the user presses the shutter button halfway until the subject is focused is completed within one second.

  By the way, the number of pixels of a general digital camera and a camera module mounted on a mobile phone is increasing year by year, and high-definition images can be taken even with these compact cameras. For high-definition images, focus shift is conspicuous, and higher-precision autofocus control is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for improving focusing accuracy in autofocus control in which a lens is actually moved to determine a focal position.

  A focus control circuit according to an aspect of the present invention includes a focus mounted on an imaging apparatus including a lens, a drive element for adjusting the position of the lens, and a position detection element for detecting the position of the lens. A drive signal for adjusting the lens position to the target position based on the difference between the lens position specified by the output signal of the position detection element and the lens target position set from the outside. And an equalizer that adjusts at least one of the gain and offset of the position detection element.

  Another aspect of the present invention is an imaging apparatus. This device includes a lens, an image sensor that converts light transmitted through the lens into an electrical signal, a drive element for adjusting the position of the lens, a position detection element for detecting the position of the lens, An image signal processing unit that determines a target position of the lens based on the output signal, and a focus control circuit for driving the drive element. The focus control circuit adjusts the lens position to the target position based on the difference between the lens position specified by the output signal of the position detection element and the lens target position set by the image signal processing unit. An equalizer that generates a drive signal and outputs the drive signal to the drive element, and an adjustment circuit for adjusting at least one of a gain and an offset of the position detection element are included.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve focusing accuracy in autofocus control in which a lens is actually moved to determine a focal position.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus equipped with a focus control circuit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination process of the target position of a lens by an image signal process part. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus equipped with a focus control circuit according to a second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a position detection element, a differential amplifier circuit, a low-pass filter, and an adjustment circuit.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus 500 equipped with a focus control circuit 100 according to the first embodiment. The imaging apparatus 500 includes a lens 10, a driving element 12, a position detection element 14, an imaging element 16, an image signal processor (ISP) 50 and a focus control circuit 100. Here, components not related to autofocus control, such as an image encoding engine and a recording medium, are omitted.

  The image sensor 16 converts an optical signal transmitted through the lens 10 that is an optical component into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal to the image signal processing unit 50. A CCD sensor or a CMOS image sensor can be adopted as the image sensor 16.

  The drive element 12 is an element that adjusts the position of the lens 10, and moves the lens 10 in the optical axis direction according to a drive signal supplied from the focus control circuit 100. Thereby, the focal distance of the lens 10 and the image pick-up element 16 is adjusted. A voice coil motor (VCM) can be adopted as the drive element 12.

  The position detection element 14 is an element for detecting the position of the lens 10. A Hall element can be adopted as the position detection element 14. Hereinafter, an example in which the drive element 12 and the position detection element 14 are configured by an actuator including a voice coil motor and a hall element will be described.

  The image signal processing unit 50 processes the image signal output from the image sensor 16. In the present embodiment, the target position of the lens 10 is determined mainly based on the image signal output from the image sensor 16.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the determination process of the target position of the lens 10 by the image signal processing unit 50. When the autofocus function is validated, such as when the shutter button is half-pressed, the image signal processing unit 50 transmits a control signal for moving the lens 10 with a predetermined step width to the focus control circuit 100. At that time, the image signal processing unit 50 calculates the sharpness of each image signal captured at each position of the lens 10. For example, the sharpness can be obtained by applying a high-pass filter to each image signal, extracting the edge component of each image signal, and integrating the edge components of each image signal. The image signal processing unit 50 determines the position of the lens 10 at which the sharpness is maximum as the focus position.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the focus control circuit 100 includes a differential amplifier circuit 20, a low-pass filter 22, an analog / digital conversion circuit (ADC) 24, an equalizer 30, a PWM modulation circuit 40, and an H bridge driver 42. When the focus control circuit 100 is configured by a one-chip LSI, the low-pass filter 22 may be provided outside the chip.

  The differential amplifier circuit 20 amplifies the potential difference between the output terminals of the position detection element 14 (here, the Hall element) and outputs it as a position signal. The Hall element is fixed to a housing constituting the focus control mechanism, and outputs a voltage corresponding to the magnetic flux density of a magnetic field generated by a magnet fixed to the lens 10. When the magnetic flux density changes due to the movement of the lens 10, the output voltage of the Hall element also changes in proportion to the change. Therefore, the position of the lens 10 can be estimated from the output voltage of the Hall element. Even when the position detection element 14 is fixed to the lens 10 and the magnet is fixed to the housing, the position of the lens 10 can be estimated from the output voltage of the Hall element.

  The low pass filter 22 removes a high frequency component of the position signal output from the differential amplifier circuit 20. The analog / digital conversion circuit 24 converts the position signal output from the low-pass filter 22 from an analog value to a digital value.

  The equalizer 30 includes a feed forward equalizer 31 and a feedback equalizer 35. When the target position of the lens 10 set from the image signal processing unit 50 is changed, the feedforward equalizer 31 generates a drive signal having a high-pass filter characteristic for moving the lens 10 from the old target position to the new target position. Generate and control the drive element 12.

  More specific description will be given below. The feed forward equalizer 31 includes a high pass filter 32. A target position signal is set in the high-pass filter 32 from the image signal processing unit 50 via an interface such as an I2C interface. When the autofocus function is enabled, the image signal processing unit 50 outputs a target position signal for sequentially changing the position of the lens 10 to the feedforward equalizer 31. This target position signal is a signal whose value gradually increases or decreases with a predetermined step width. The high pass filter 32 outputs the change in the value of the target position signal to the PWM modulation circuit 40.

  The output signal of the high pass filter 32 is a signal indicating the amount of movement of the voice coil motor. Since the output signal of the high-pass filter 32 has a differential characteristic, the signal has a steep rise, and the lens 10 can be moved from the current position to a new target position at high speed.

  The feedback equalizer 35 targets the position of the lens 10 based on the difference between the position of the lens 10 specified by the output signal of the position detection element 14 and the target position of the lens 10 set from the image signal processing unit 50. A drive signal for adjusting the position is generated, and the drive element 12 is controlled. As described above, the position signal output from the position detection element 14 after passing through the low-pass filter 22 and the analog / digital conversion circuit 24 is input to the feedback equalizer 35. Further, the target position signal of the lens 10 is input to the feedback equalizer 35 from the image signal processing unit 50.

  More specific description will be given below. The feedback equalizer 35 includes a subtraction circuit 36 and a servo circuit 37. The subtraction circuit 36 calculates a difference between the position signal output from the position detection element 14 and the target position signal input from the image signal processing unit 50 and outputs the difference as an error signal. When the position of the lens 10 exists at the target position, this difference is zero. The servo circuit 37 generates a signal for canceling the error signal output from the subtraction circuit 36 and outputs the signal to the PWM modulation circuit 40.

  The PWM modulation circuit 40 converts the signals input from the feedforward equalizer 31 and the feedback equalizer 35 into a pulse signal having a duty ratio corresponding to the digital value. The H-bridge driver 42 includes at least four transistors. When two transistors on the diagonal line are turned on, a current can flow through the voice coil motor. Further, when two other transistors on different diagonal lines are turned on, the direction of the current flowing through the voice coil motor can be reversed.

  The H-bridge driver 42 causes a current to flow through the voice coil motor with a current direction and a current amount according to the pulse signal input from the PWM modulation circuit 40, and causes the voice coil motor to move in a predetermined direction to a predetermined distance. Move. Thereby, the lens 10 can be moved and converged to the target position.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to improve the focusing accuracy in the autofocus control in which the lens is actually moved to determine the focal position. That is, by providing the position detection element 14, detecting the current position of the lens 10, and performing feedback control, the lens 10 can be converged to the target position with high accuracy. Further, when this feedback control is realized by dedicated hardware, higher speed processing is possible than when it is realized by the firmware of the image signal processing unit 50, and the convergence time to the target position can be shortened. In addition, an increase in load on the image signal processing unit 50 can be suppressed.

  In addition, by providing a feedforward control system separately from the feedback control system, the lens 10 can be converged to the target position at high speed. Since the drive signal of the feedback control system has a low-pass filter characteristic, the movement of the drive element 12 is more stable, but the movement of the drive element 12 is slower than that of the feedforward control system. On the other hand, the drive signal of the feedforward control system has a high-pass filter characteristic, so that the movement of the drive element 12 is steep. In this way, by using the feedback control system and the feedforward control system in combination, the lens 10 can be converged to the target position with high accuracy and high speed by compensating for the weak points of both.

  Further, when a voice coil motor is used as the driving element 12, it is not necessary to pass a current when holding the target position of the lens, and it is sufficient to flow a current only during movement, so that power consumption can be reduced. In this regard, when a spring-type actuator is used, it is necessary to pass a current even when the target position is held against the biasing force of the spring.

  Further, the image signal processing unit 50 need only output the target position of the lens 10 to the focus control circuit 100 without needing to know about feedback control and feedforward control. Therefore, the lens 10 can be converged to the target position with high accuracy and high speed without increasing the load of the image signal processing unit 50, that is, without increasing the power consumption of the image signal processing unit 50.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus 500 equipped with the focus control circuit 100 according to the second embodiment. The focus control circuit 100 according to the second embodiment has a configuration in which an adjustment circuit 60 is added to the focus control circuit 100 according to the first embodiment. The adjustment circuit 60 adjusts at least one of the gain and offset of the position detection element 14. More specifically, the adjustment circuit 60 reduces at least one of the gain and offset of the position detection element 14 so that the voltage range of the output signal of the position detection element 14 falls within the input allowable voltage range of the analog / digital conversion circuit 24. adjust.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the position detection element 14, the differential amplifier circuit 20, the low-pass filter 22, and the adjustment circuit 60. In FIG. 4, a Hall element 14 a is employed as the position detection element 14. The adjustment circuit 60 includes a digital / analog conversion circuit (DAC) 61, a differential amplifier circuit 62, and a buffer 63.

  The first input terminal of the hall element 14a is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier constituting the differential amplifier circuit 62, and the second input terminal of the hall element 14a is grounded via the first resistor R1. The first output terminal of the Hall element 14a is connected to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 20a constituting the differential amplifier circuit 20 via the 2a resistor R2a, and the second output terminal of the Hall element 14a is connected to the second b resistor R2b. To the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 20a.

The output voltage V of the Hall element 14a is defined by the following formula 1.
V = α · I · B (Formula 1)
α represents an element parameter, I represents a bias current, and B represents a magnetic flux density.

  In the present embodiment, the Hall element 14a is driven with a constant current. In other words, the operational amplifier constituting the differential amplifier circuit 62 controls the constant bias current to flow through the Hall element 14a by keeping the voltage applied between the input terminals of the Hall element 14a constant.

  The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier constituting the differential amplifier circuit 62 is connected to the digital / analog conversion circuit 61, and the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier is connected to the second input terminal of the Hall element 14a. The output terminal of the operational amplifier is connected to the first input terminal of the Hall element 14a. The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier receives a gain adjustment value from the digital / analog conversion circuit 61. The operational amplifier differentially amplifies the gain adjustment value and the voltage value of the second input terminal of the Hall element 14a, and supplies the amplified value to the first input terminal of the Hall element 14a.

  The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier constituting the buffer 63 is connected to the digital / analog conversion circuit 61, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier is non-inverting the operational amplifier 20a constituting the differential amplifier circuit 20 via the fourth resistor R4. Connected to input terminal. The output terminal of the operational amplifier constituting the buffer 63 and its inverting input terminal are connected. The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier receives the offset adjustment value from the digital / analog conversion circuit 61, and the operational amplifier adds the offset adjustment value to the output value of the Hall element 14a.

  The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 20a constituting the differential amplifier circuit 20 is the first output terminal of the Hall element 14a via the second a resistor R2a and the output terminal of the operational amplifier constituting the buffer 63 via the fourth resistor R4. Connected. The inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 20a constituting the differential amplifier circuit 20 is connected to the second output terminal of the Hall element 14a via the second b resistor R2b. The output terminal of the operational amplifier 20 a is connected to the analog / digital conversion circuit 24 via a fifth resistor constituting the low-pass filter 22. The output terminal of the operational amplifier 20a and its inverting input terminal are connected via a third resistor R3.

  The operational amplifier 20 a amplifies the potential difference between the output terminals of the Hall element 14 a and outputs the amplified potential difference to the analog / digital conversion circuit 24. At this time, the operational amplifier 20 a adds the offset adjustment value to the output voltage output to the analog / digital conversion circuit 24.

  The low-pass filter 22 includes a fifth resistor R5 and a capacitor C1, and integrates the output voltage of the operational amplifier 20a constituting the differential amplifier circuit 20 and outputs the integrated voltage to the analog / digital conversion circuit 24.

  The image signal processing unit 50 supplies the gain / adjustment value and the offset adjustment value of the Hall element 14a to the digital / analog conversion circuit 61. The digital / analog conversion circuit 61 converts the gain adjustment value supplied from the image signal processing unit 50 from a digital value to an analog value and supplies the converted value to the differential amplification circuit 62. The digital / analog conversion circuit 61 converts the offset adjustment value supplied from the image signal processing unit 50 from a digital value to an analog value and supplies the converted value to the buffer 63.

  Here, the offset of the Hall element 14a refers to a voltage generated between the output terminals when there is no magnetic field, and is also referred to as an unbalanced voltage. The Hall element has variations in sensitivity due to manufacturing variations and temperature characteristics. The variation causes a bit error in the analog / digital conversion circuit 24 and decreases the accuracy of feedback control.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the adjustment circuit 60 adjusts the gain and offset of the Hall element 14a to calibrate the output voltage range of the Hall element 14a to the input allowable voltage range of the analog / digital conversion circuit 24. Do. The adjustment circuit 60 adjusts the output voltage range of the Hall element 14a by adjusting the bias current flowing through the Hall element 14a. More specifically, the output voltage range can be widened by increasing the bias current, and the output voltage range can be narrowed by decreasing the bias current.

  The adjustment circuit 60 adjusts the offset of the Hall element 14a by adjusting the voltage value input to one input terminal of the differential amplifier circuit 20. More specifically, by increasing the current flowing through the fourth resistor R4, the output voltage range of the Hall element 14a can be shifted to the high potential side, and by decreasing the current, the output voltage range is reduced. It can be shifted to the low potential side.

  The gain adjustment value and the offset adjustment value can be calculated at the time of shipment. More specifically, at the time of shipment, the output voltage range of the hall element 14a is inspected based on the output value of the hall element 14a when the lens 10 is closest to the image sensor 16 and the output value when the lens 10 is farthest. .

  Then, a gain adjustment value for calculating the width of the output voltage range of the Hall element 14 a to correspond to the width of the input allowable voltage range of the analog / digital conversion circuit 24 is calculated. If the width of the output voltage range of the Hall element 14a is within the range of the input allowable voltage range of the analog / digital conversion circuit 24, the possibility of malfunction is reduced, but the analog / digital conversion circuit 24 is effectively utilized. From this point of view, it is preferable to substantially match. Further, an offset adjustment value for substantially matching the offset position of the inspected Hall element 14a with the offset position of the analog / digital conversion circuit 24 is calculated.

  The gain adjustment value and the offset adjustment value calculated in this way are held in the image signal processing unit 50 and are set in the adjustment circuit 60 from the image signal processing unit 50 every time the focus control circuit 100 is activated. If the focus control circuit 100 is equipped with a nonvolatile memory, the gain adjustment value and the offset adjustment value may be held in the nonvolatile memory. Further, every time the focus control circuit 100 is activated, the gain adjustment value and the offset adjustment value may be calculated and set in the adjustment circuit 60 using the above-described method.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the output signal of the position detection element 14 by adjusting at least one of the gain and offset of the position detection element 14, and the feedback control Accuracy can be improved. Therefore, the focusing accuracy in the autofocus control can be improved.

  Further, by realizing the adjustment circuit 60 with hardware, the position detection element 14 can be calibrated at high speed. In addition, when the gain adjustment value and the offset adjustment value are calculated every time the focus control circuit 100 is activated, environmental characteristics such as temperature and humidity can be calibrated in addition to sensitivity variations.

  The present invention has been described based on some embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there.

  In the above embodiment, the drive element 12 is a voice coil motor, but a piezo element or a stepping motor may be used. Further, although the position detecting element 14 is a Hall element, an MR element or a photoscreen diode may be used. Further, although the PWM modulation circuit 40 and the H bridge driver 42 are used as the drive circuit for driving the drive element 12, when a drive element driven by an analog signal instead of a pulse signal is employed, the drive circuit As such, a digital / analog conversion circuit and an amplifier circuit are used.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lens, 12 Drive element, 14 Position detection element, 16 Image pick-up element, 22 Low pass filter, 30 Equalizer, 31 Feed forward equalizer, 32 High pass filter, 35 Feedback equalizer, 50 Image signal processing part, Adjustment circuit 60, 100 Focus control circuit 500 Imaging device.

Claims (4)

A focus control circuit mounted on an imaging apparatus including a lens, a drive element for adjusting the position of the lens, and a position detection element for detecting the position of the lens,
Based on the difference between the position of the lens specified by the output signal of the position detection element and the target position of the lens set from the outside, a drive signal for adjusting the position of the lens to the target position An equalizer that generates and outputs to the drive element;
An adjustment circuit for adjusting at least one of a gain and an offset of the position detection element;
A focus control circuit comprising: An analog / digital conversion circuit that converts an output signal of the position detection element from an analog value to a digital value and outputs the converted signal to the equalizer;
The adjustment circuit adjusts at least one of a gain and an offset of the position detection element so that a voltage range of an output signal of the position detection element falls within an input allowable voltage range of the analog / digital conversion circuit. The focus control circuit according to claim 1. The position detecting element is a Hall element;
The focus control circuit
A differential amplifier circuit that amplifies the potential difference between the output terminals of the Hall elements and outputs the amplified difference to the analog / digital conversion circuit;
3. The focus according to claim 2, wherein the adjustment circuit adjusts an offset of an output signal of the Hall element by adjusting a voltage value input to one input terminal of the differential amplifier circuit. Control circuit. The position detecting element is a Hall element;
The focus control circuit according to claim 2, wherein the adjustment circuit adjusts a gain of the Hall element by adjusting a voltage applied between input terminals of the Hall element.

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