US 12,143,719 B2
Methods and devices to identify focal objects
Darin K. Winterton, San Jose, CA (US); Donald Baxter, Stirling (GB); Andrew Hodgson, Edingburgh (GB); Gordon Lunn, Linlithgow (GB); Olivier Pothier, Sceaux (FR); and Kalyan-Kumar Vadlamudi-Reddy, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to STMicroelectronics France, Montrouge (FR); STMicroelectronics, Inc., Coppell, TX (US); and STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Limited, Marlow (GB)
Filed by STMicroelectronics France, Montrouge (FR); STMicroelectronics, Inc., Coppell, TX (US); and STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Limited, Marlow (GB)
Filed on Sep. 20, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/470,702.
Application 18/470,702 is a continuation of application No. 17/987,280, filed on Nov. 15, 2022, granted, now 11,800,224.
Application 17/987,280 is a continuation of application No. 17/122,667, filed on Dec. 15, 2020, granted, now 11,528,407, issued on Dec. 13, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0015400 A1, Jan. 11, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04N 23/67 (2023.01); H04N 23/61 (2023.01)
CPC H04N 23/675 (2023.01) [H04N 23/61 (2023.01); H04N 23/671 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
dividing a field of view of a Time of Flight system into a plurality of zones;
sampling the field of view with the Time of Flight system to generate a photon count for each zone of the plurality of zones;
identifying a focal sector occupying a subset of the plurality of zones;
analyzing each zone of the plurality of zones within the focal sector to identify a first prospective focal object and a second prospective focal object;
determining a size of the first prospective focal object by analyzing a photon count for each zone of the plurality of zones to count each zone of the plurality of zones that captures an object within a threshold distance of the first prospective focal object;
determining a size of the second prospective focal object by analyzing the photon count for each zone of the plurality of zones to count each zone of the plurality of zones that captures an object within the threshold distance of the second prospective focal object;
selecting a final focal object from the first prospective focal object and the second prospective focal object by comparing the size of the first prospective focal object with the size of the second prospective focal object, the final focal object being located at a final focal object distance from the Time of Flight system; and
focusing a lens of a camera based on the final focal object distance.