AUTOMATIC FOCUSING DEVICE OF CAMERA FOR MOVING OBJECT PHOTOGRAPHY

There is provided an automatic focusing device of a camera which accurately adjusts focus in a short time on the basis of recent and past information created in accordance with a focused object. The position of the object is predicted on the basis of the recent information and past information calculated at predetermined time intervals. It is therefore possible to accurately predict the position of the object in a short calculation time and to reliably determine whether the object is at rest or in motion. During a servo operation, a tracking servo operation does not begin erroneously for an object at rest. Once the tracking servo operation begins, because of hysteresis for determining whether the object is moving, the lens continuously and stably tracks the object. During the tracking servo operation, there is no delay of the time intervals at which the distance between the lens and the object is measured, and a distance moved by the object can be corrected and automatically adjusted. The lens can thus be moved smoothly in response to the movement of the object.