Method and apparatus for automatic image focusing

摘要

An apparatus and method is presented wherein the lens system or assembly is fixed in its location along an optical axis between an object and its image. The focusing of the object, which may vary its position along the optical axis, occurs through adjusting a detection medium or an imager to the position in image space where the image space is focused on its image plane. The invention is structured to facilitate this focusing in an automatic and very rapid manner to accommodate rapid changes in the location of the object along the optical axis.