Lens adjustment method, dual-mode liquid lens and lens adjustment system

Abstract

The application provides a lens adjusting method, a dual-mode liquid lens and a lens adjusting system. The lens adjusting method comprises the following modes: a single-liquid mode, liquid A is injected into a cavity A, liquid A is used to push a light-transmitting elastic film, and the light-transmitting elastic film is deformed towards a cavity B; or, liquid A in the cavity A is discharged, and the light-transmitting elastic film is deformed towards the cavity A; a dual-liquid mode, liquid B is injected into the cavity B, and meanwhile, liquid A in the cavity A is discharged, so that the light-transmitting elastic film is deformed towards the cavity A; or, liquid A is injected into the cavity A, and meanwhile, liquid B in the cavity B is discharged, so that the light-transmitting elastic film is deformed towards the cavity B. The single-liquid mode is added, the zoom range is significantly expanded, or under the same zoom range requirement, the structure size can be reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of liquid lens, in particular to a lens adjusting method, a dual-mode liquid lens and a lens adjusting system. BACKGROUND

[0002] A liquid lens is an optical element that uses liquid as a lens, that is, uses liquid to refract light. It is mainly composed of transparent liquid and deformable boundary. By adjusting the shape and curvature of the liquid, different optical effects can be achieved. One of the significant advantages of a liquid lens is its adjustable focal length. Users can quickly adjust the focal length by changing the shape of the liquid, and the focal length can be changed in a relatively short time to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

[0003] However, the above-mentioned liquid lens has the defect that it will be affected by gravity. Gravity will cause the shape of the liquid lens to change, making it asymmetric up and down, and not reaching the ideal curved surface required by optics, thereby causing the imaging quality to be worse than that of ordinary lenses.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned problem, a dual-liquid zoom lens appears on the market. The dual-liquid zoom lens is composed of two liquids with different refractive indices but similar densities. The two liquids are separated by a light-transmitting elastic membrane. When light is incident from one liquid to another, refraction occurs to achieve the effect of the lens. By changing the volume of the two liquids, a pressure difference can be generated to cause the light-transmitting elastic membrane in the middle to deform, thereby changing the focal length of the lens. Because the densities of the two liquids are similar, the effects of gravity can be offset, thereby achieving zoom while having better imaging quality.

[0005] However, because the refractive power of the lens is determined by the refractive index difference and the curvature, and the refractive index difference of two liquids with similar densities is small, the focusing range of the dual-liquid zoom lens is smaller than that of a single-liquid zoom lens. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a lens adjusting method, a dual-mode liquid lens and a lens adjusting system to solve the problems in the related art. The technical solutions are as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a lens adjusting method that can realize adjustment in single-liquid mode and dual-liquid mode.

[0008] The present application provides a lens adjusting method, which includes the following modes:

[0009] Single-liquid mode: inject liquid A into chamber A, and use liquid A to push the light-transmitting elastic membrane to deform the light-transmitting elastic membrane towards chamber B; or, discharge liquid A from chamber A to deform the light-transmitting elastic membrane towards chamber A;

[0010] In the double-liquid mode, the refractive power of the lens is determined by the liquid lens composed of the liquid in the chamber A and the liquid lens composed of the liquid in the chamber B.

[0011] The chamber A and the chamber B are two cavities allowing light to pass, and the chamber A and the chamber B are separated by the light-transmitting elastic membrane, and the shapes of the chamber A and the chamber B change with the deformation of the light-transmitting elastic membrane.

[0012] In the single-liquid mode, the refractive power of the lens is mainly determined by the liquid lens composed of the liquid in the chamber A. When the elastic membrane deforms towards the chamber B, the liquid in the chamber A becomes convex, thereby increasing the refractive power of the liquid lens composed of the liquid. When the elastic membrane deforms towards the chamber A, the liquid in the chamber A becomes concave, thereby reducing the refractive power of the liquid lens composed of the liquid. By controlling the deformation of the elastic membrane, the zooming effect is achieved.

[0013] In the double-liquid mode, the refractive power of the lens is determined by the liquid lens composed of the liquid in the chamber A and the liquid lens composed of the liquid in the chamber B.

[0014] When the elastic membrane deforms towards the chamber B, the liquid in the chamber A becomes convex, thereby increasing the refractive power of the liquid lens composed of the liquid; at the same time, the liquid in the chamber B becomes concave, thereby reducing the refractive power of the liquid lens composed of the liquid. Since the refractive indices of the liquid A and the liquid B are different, the increasing and reducing amplitudes of the two liquids are different, and thus the total refractive power changes, thereby achieving the zooming effect.

[0015] Similarly, when the elastic membrane deforms towards the chamber A, the liquid in the chamber B becomes convex, thereby increasing the refractive power of the liquid lens composed of the liquid; at the same time, the liquid in the chamber A becomes concave, thereby reducing the refractive power of the liquid lens composed of the liquid. Thus, the total refractive power changes, thereby achieving the zooming effect.

[0016] The present application provides a lens adjusting method, which can switch between two modes, thereby obtaining a larger zooming range.

[0017] In an embodiment, the following switching method is included:

[0018] In the single-liquid mode, the liquid A is injected into the chamber A to deform the light-transmitting elastic membrane towards the chamber B, and after the volume of the chamber B is minimized, the mode is switched, the liquid A is discharged, and the liquid B enters the chamber B.

[0019] In the double-liquid mode, the liquid A is injected into the chamber A, and at the same time, the liquid B is discharged from the chamber B, and after the volume of the chamber B is minimized, the mode is switched, the liquid B is prevented from entering the chamber B, and the liquid A is discharged.

[0020] In a second aspect, the present application provides a dual-mode liquid lens, comprising:

[0021] a housing;

[0022] a first light-transmissive lens disposed on a first end of the housing along a first direction;

[0023] a second light-transmissive lens disposed on a second end of the housing along the first direction; and

[0024] a light-transmissive elastic membrane disposed between the first light-transmissive lens and the second light-transmissive lens;

[0025] a cavity A is formed between the light-transmissive elastic membrane, the housing and the first light-transmissive lens, the cavity A is connected with a first liquid opening for liquid A to enter or exit the cavity A, a cavity B is formed between the light-transmissive elastic membrane, the housing and the second light-transmissive lens, the cavity B is connected with a second liquid opening and a fluid opening, the second liquid opening is for liquid B to enter or exit the cavity B, and the fluid opening is for fluid C to enter or exit the cavity B, so that the cavity B is filled with different media or no media, thereby switching the dual-mode liquid lens between a single-liquid mode and a dual-liquid mode, wherein the liquid A and the liquid B have different refractive indexes, and the fluid C and the liquid B have different refractive indexes.

[0026] It can be understood that AB is only a convenient expression and does not specify that a certain direction must be a certain medium.

[0027] In an embodiment, the fluid C is a gas.

[0028] The gas can be any pressure and density of gas. In particular, when the pressure and density tend to 0, it is a vacuum state.

[0029] In an embodiment, the cavity B can be filled with no medium, i.e., a vacuum state.

[0030] In an embodiment, the housing has a light-transmissive hole extending along the first direction, and the first light-transmissive lens, the light-transmissive elastic membrane and the second light-transmissive lens are all disposed in the light-transmissive hole and arranged in sequence along the light-transmissive hole.

[0031] In an embodiment, the first liquid opening, the second liquid opening and the fluid opening are all disposed on the housing.

[0032] In an embodiment, the liquid A and the liquid B have the same density.

[0033] In one embodiment, the liquid A is a liquid with a lower refractive index, and the liquid B is a liquid with a higher refractive index.

[0034] In one embodiment, the number of chambers A can be one or more.

[0035] In one embodiment, the number of chambers B can be one or more.

[0036] In one embodiment, the number of light-transmitting lenses and light-transmitting elastic films can be multiple.

[0037] In a third aspect, the present application provides a lens adjusting system, comprising:

[0038] the above-mentioned dual-mode liquid lens; and

[0039] a liquid control device for changing the amount of liquid in the chamber A or the chamber B.

[0040] In one embodiment, the liquid control device comprises:

[0041] a first liquid delivery pipe in communication with the first liquid opening;

[0042] a first piston movably arranged in the first liquid delivery pipe along the axial direction of the first liquid delivery pipe, the first piston being used for injecting liquid A from the first liquid delivery pipe into the chamber A or extracting liquid A from the chamber A to the first liquid delivery pipe;

[0043] a second liquid delivery pipe in communication with the second liquid opening;

[0044] a second piston movably arranged in the second liquid delivery pipe along the axial direction of the second liquid delivery pipe, the second piston being used for injecting liquid B from the second liquid delivery pipe into the chamber B or extracting liquid B from the chamber B to the second liquid delivery pipe;

[0045] a driving device connected with the first piston and the second piston, the driving device being used for driving the first piston and the second piston to move.

[0046] In one embodiment, the driving device comprises:

[0047] a first rack movably arranged along the moving direction of the first piston, the first rack being connected with the first piston;

[0048] a second rack movably arranged along the moving direction of the second piston, the second rack being connected with the second piston;

[0049] a driver for generating a driving force;

[0050] a driving gear connected to an output of the driver, the driving gear being rotatable with the output of the driver, the driving gear being engaged with the first rack;

[0051] a driven gear engaged with the second rack;

[0052] an intermediate gear located between the driving gear and the driven gear, the intermediate gear being movably disposed, the intermediate gear having an engaged state of engaging the driving gear and the driven gear and a disengaged state of disengaging from the driving gear and the driven gear, the intermediate gear being moved to switch between the engaged state and the disengaged state; and

[0053] a linkage mechanism connected to the intermediate gear, the linkage mechanism being for driving the intermediate gear to move.

[0054] In one embodiment, the intermediate gear is movably disposed in an axial direction thereof;

[0055] the linkage mechanism includes:

[0056] a resilient member connected to the intermediate gear, the resilient member being for providing a restraining force to the intermediate gear to maintain the disengaged state;

[0057] a conductor provided on the intermediate gear; and

[0058] an electromagnet for communicating with a power source, the electromagnet generating an attractive force to attract the conductor against the restraining force to cause the intermediate gear to switch from the engaged state or the disengaged state to the other state when the electromagnet is energized, the resilient member being reset to restore the intermediate gear to the original state when the electromagnet is de-energized.

[0059] In one embodiment, the liquid control device includes:

[0060] a first liquid delivery tube communicating with the first liquid opening;

[0061] a first piston movably inserted in the first liquid delivery tube in an axial direction of the first liquid delivery tube, the first piston being for injecting the liquid A from the first liquid delivery tube into the chamber A or extracting the liquid A from the chamber A to the first liquid delivery tube;

[0062] A driving device is connected with the first piston, and is used to drive the first piston to move.

[0063] A second liquid delivery pipe is in communication with the second liquid aperture.

[0064] A valve body is arranged in the fluid aperture, and is used to control opening and closing of the fluid aperture.

[0065] The advantages or beneficial effects of the above technical solutions at least include:

[0066] The lens adjusting method, the dual-mode liquid lens and the lens adjusting system, since the chamber A is in communication with the first liquid aperture, the first liquid aperture can supply the liquid A to enter or exit the chamber A, so that the chamber A can be filled with the liquid A to form the liquid lens A and the liquid A in the chamber A can be discharged, and since the chamber B is in communication with the second liquid aperture and the fluid aperture, the second liquid aperture can supply the liquid B to enter or exit the chamber B, so that the chamber B can be filled with the liquid B to form the liquid lens B, and the liquid B in the chamber B can be discharged, the liquid lens B and the liquid lens A form a dual-liquid-mode liquid lens, and the optical property of the dual-liquid-mode liquid lens is similar to that of a dual-liquid variable-focus lens.

[0067] The fluid aperture can supply the fluid C to enter or exit the chamber B, so that the chamber B can be filled with the fluid C and the fluid C in the chamber B can be discharged. When the fluid C is a gas, and when the chamber B is filled with the fluid C or the fluid in the chamber B is completely discharged to be in a vacuum state, the refractive index in the chamber B is close to 1. At this time, when the chamber A is filled with the liquid A, a single-liquid-mode liquid lens is formed, and the light ray is refracted when entering the liquid from the fluid C, so as to realize the effect of the lens. Since the refractive index in the chamber B is greater than the difference between the refractive indexes of the two liquids at this time, the refractive power of the dual-mode liquid lens can be improved, and the focusing range is also significantly increased. In summary, the dual-mode liquid lens has a single-liquid mode and a dual-liquid mode, and can switch between the single-liquid mode and the dual-liquid mode. The single-liquid mode and the dual-liquid mode control a variable-focus range respectively, so that the control precision can be improved. Compared with the existing dual-liquid variable-focus lens, the dual-mode liquid lens increases the single-liquid mode under the condition of nearly the same structure size, so as to significantly expand the variable-focus range, or under the condition of the same variable-focus range requirement, the dual-mode liquid lens can reduce the structure size.

[0068] The above summary is only for the purpose of the description and is not intended to limit in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments and features described above, further aspects, embodiments and features will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0069] In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the various figures. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the application. It should be understood that the drawings are merely schematic and that the application can be embodied in many different forms.

[0070] Figure 1 A perspective view of a stereoscopic structure of a dual-mode liquid lens of the present application in a first viewing angle;

[0071] Figure 2 A perspective view of a stereoscopic structure of a dual-mode liquid lens of the present application in a second viewing angle;

[0072] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of a dual-mode liquid lens of the present application in a second viewing angle, wherein the dual-mode liquid lens is in an initial state;

[0073] Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of a dual-mode liquid lens of the present application in a second viewing angle;

[0074] Figure 5 A cross-sectional view of a dual-mode liquid lens of the present application in a second viewing angle;

[0075] Figure 6 A cross-sectional view of a dual-mode liquid lens of the present application in a second viewing angle;

[0076] Figure 7 A cross-sectional view of a dual-mode liquid lens of the present application in a second viewing angle;

[0077] Figure 8 A perspective view of a lens adjusting system of the present application;

[0078] Figure 9 A perspective view of an intermediate gear and an elastic member assembled together in a lens adjusting system of the present application.

[0079] Reference numerals

[0080] 1, housing; 11, first liquid aperture; 12, second liquid aperture; 13, fluid aperture; 2, first light-transmitting lens; 3, second light-transmitting lens; 4, light-transmitting elastic film; 5, chamber A; 6, chamber B; 7, liquid control device; 71, first liquid delivery pipe; 72, first piston; 73, first rack gear; 74, second liquid delivery pipe; 75, second piston; 76, second rack gear; 77, driving gear; 78, driven gear; 79, intermediate gear; 710, elastic member; 720, tenon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] In the following, only certain exemplary embodiments are simply described. As those skilled in the art can recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in various different ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the drawings and the description are considered to be exemplary in nature rather than limiting.

[0082] Referring to Figures 1-7 A preferred embodiment of the present application provides a dual-mode liquid lens, comprising:

[0083] a housing 1;

[0084] a first light-transmitting lens 2, the first light-transmitting lens 2 being arranged on a first end of the housing 1 along a first direction;

[0085] a second light-transmitting lens 3, the second light-transmitting lens 3 being arranged on a second end of the housing 1 along the first direction; and

[0086] a light-transmitting elastic film 4, the light-transmitting elastic film 4 being arranged between the first light-transmitting lens 2 and the second light-transmitting lens 3, a cavity A 5 being formed between the light-transmitting elastic film 4, the housing 1 and the first light-transmitting lens 2, the cavity A 5 being communicated with a first liquid opening 11 for liquid A to enter or exit the cavity A 5, a cavity B 6 being formed between the light-transmitting elastic film 4, the housing 1 and the second light-transmitting lens 3, the cavity B 6 being communicated with a second liquid opening 12 for liquid B to enter or exit the cavity B 6 and a fluid opening 13 for fluid C to enter or exit the cavity B 6, so that the cavity B 6 is filled with different medium or no medium, thereby switching the dual-mode liquid lens between a single-liquid mode and a dual-liquid mode, wherein the refractive index of the liquid A is different from that of the liquid B, and the refractive index of the fluid C is different from that of the liquid B.

[0087] The dual-mode liquid lens of the present application, since the chamber A5 is connected with the first liquid opening 11, the first liquid opening 11 can supply liquid A to enter or exit the chamber A5, so that the chamber A5 can be filled with liquid A to form a liquid lens A and the liquid A in the chamber A5 can be discharged, at the same time, since the chamber B6 is connected with the second liquid opening 12 and the fluid opening 13, the second liquid opening 12 can supply liquid B to enter or exit the chamber B6, so that the chamber B6 can be filled with liquid B to form a liquid lens B, and the liquid B in the chamber B6 can be discharged, the liquid lens B forms a dual-liquid mode liquid lens, the optical properties of the dual-liquid mode liquid lens are similar to those of a dual-liquid variable focus lens, the fluid opening 13 can supply fluid C to enter or exit the chamber B6, so that the chamber B6 can be filled with fluid C and the fluid C in the chamber B6 can be discharged, in the case that the chamber B6 is filled with fluid C and the chamber A5 is filled with liquid A, a single-liquid mode liquid lens is formed, and when light is incident into the liquid from the fluid C, refraction occurs to achieve the effect of the lens, wherein, since the refractive index of the fluid C and the liquid is greater than the refractive index difference between the two liquids, the refractive power of the dual-mode liquid lens can be improved, and the focusing range is also significantly increased, in summary, the dual-mode liquid lens has a single-liquid mode and a dual-liquid mode, and can switch between the single-liquid mode and the dual-liquid mode, the single-liquid mode and the dual-liquid mode control a variable focus range respectively, so that the control precision can be improved, and compared with the existing dual-liquid variable focus lens, the dual-mode liquid lens increases the single-liquid mode under the condition of nearly the same structure size, thereby significantly expanding the variable focus range, or under the condition of the same variable focus range requirement, the dual-mode liquid lens can reduce the structure size.

[0088] It can be understood that the ABC is only for convenience of expression and does not specify that a certain direction must be a certain medium.

[0089] In an embodiment, the fluid C is a gas, so that the dual-mode liquid lens can switch between the single-liquid mode and the dual-liquid mode.

[0090] The gas can be any gas with any pressure and density. In particular, when the pressure and density tend to 0, it is in a vacuum state.

[0091] In an embodiment, the chamber B can not be filled with medium, i.e., in a vacuum state.

[0092] Of course, in other embodiments, the fluid C can also be a liquid different from the liquid B.

[0093] In an embodiment, the number of the chamber A5 can be one, two or more, which can be set according to actual needs.

[0094] In an embodiment, the number of chambers B6 can be one, two or more, which can be set according to actual needs.

[0095] In an embodiment, the number of first liquid openings 11 can be one, two or more, which can be set according to actual needs.

[0096] In an embodiment, the number of second liquid openings 12 and fluid openings 13 can be one, two or more, which can be set according to actual needs.

[0097] In an embodiment, the number of light-transmitting lenses can be two, three or more, which can be set according to actual needs.

[0098] In an embodiment, the number of chamber light-transmitting elastic films can be one, two or more, which can be set according to actual needs.

[0099] In an embodiment, the actual thickness of the light-transmitting elastic film 4 should be a thin film of no more than 600 μm, so that the light-transmitting elastic film 4 has better elastic properties and reduces the difficulty of deformation of the light-transmitting elastic film 4.

[0100] In an embodiment, the light-transmitting elastic film 4 is a structure made of transparent PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) material, and the shell 1 is a structure made of epoxy resin material.

[0101] In an embodiment, the fluid C should include any gas under any pressure and density. In particular, the chamber B also includes a vacuum condition.

[0102] In an embodiment, the shell 1 has a light-transmitting hole extending in a first direction, and the first light-transmitting lens 2, the light-transmitting elastic film 4 and the second light-transmitting lens 3 are arranged in the light-transmitting hole in sequence. In this way, when light passes through the first light-transmitting lens 2 and enters the liquid A to the liquid B, refraction occurs (at this time, the dual-mode liquid lens is in a double-liquid mode), or when light passes through the first light-transmitting lens 2 and enters the liquid A to the fluid C, refraction occurs (at this time, the dual-mode liquid lens is in a single-liquid mode), so as to realize the effect of the lens.

[0103] Referring to Figure 1 In an embodiment, the first liquid opening 11, the second liquid opening 12 and the fluid opening 13 are arranged on the shell 1, that is, by arranging the first liquid opening 11, the second liquid opening 12 and the fluid opening 13 on the shell 1, the processing difficulty of the first liquid opening 11, the second liquid opening 12 and the fluid opening 13 can be reduced.

[0104] Of course, in other embodiments, the first liquid aperture 11 can be provided on the first light-transmissive lens 2, and the second liquid aperture 12 and the fluid aperture 13 can be provided on the second light-transmissive lens 3.

[0105] In an embodiment, the liquid A and the liquid B have the same density, so that the liquids in the dual-mode liquid lens chamber A 5 and the chamber B 6 are not significantly affected by gravity and are not easily pressed against the light-transmissive elastic film 4, thereby preventing the face shape of the light-transmissive elastic film 4 from being affected, the optical axis is more stable, and the imaging effect and the imaging stability are better. It can be understood that the liquid A and the liquid B having the same density can be understood as the liquid A and the liquid B having densities close to each other.

[0106] In an embodiment, the liquid A is a liquid with a lower refractive index, and the liquid B is a liquid with a higher refractive index.

[0107] Of course, in other embodiments, the liquid A is a liquid with a higher refractive index, and the liquid B is a liquid with a lower refractive index.

[0108] In an embodiment, in addition to the refractive index and the density mentioned above, the absolute density, the viscosity, and the transparency are also important factors for the selection of the liquid A and the liquid B. Generally, the density and the viscosity are as small as possible, and the transparency is as high as possible. Based on this standard:

[0109] The medium liquid A is water, the refractive index of water is about 1.33, the density is about 1 g / cm^3, and the viscosity is usually 0.9 mPa.s;

[0110] The liquid B is immersion oil, which is also a transparent liquid, with a refractive index as high as 1.51, close to the performance of general glass, a density of about 1.025 g / cm^3, and a viscosity of 100-120 mPa.s.

[0111] Since the density of water and the general immersion oil still has a difference, a small amount of salt or other solutes can be added to water to increase the density of water.

[0112] In an embodiment, the first light-transmissive lens 2 and the second light-transmissive lens 3 can be made of the same material, such as transparent optical resin, and processed into the required shape, and the shape should be determined by optical requirements.

[0113] Referring to Figures 8-9 , in a preferred embodiment of the present application, a lens adjusting system is provided, which comprises:

[0114] The dual-mode liquid lens described above; and

[0115] The liquid control device 7 is used to change the amount of liquid in the chamber A 5 or the chamber B 6.

[0116] The lens adjusting system of the present application, due to the adoption of the above-mentioned dual-mode liquid lens, also has a single-liquid mode and a dual-liquid mode, and can switch between the single-liquid mode and the dual-liquid mode, the single-liquid mode and the dual-liquid mode respectively control a variable zoom range, so as to improve the control precision, and compared with the existing dual-liquid variable zoom lens, the dual-mode liquid lens increases the single-liquid mode under the condition of nearly the same structure size, thereby significantly expanding the variable zoom range, or under the condition of the same variable zoom range requirement, the dual-mode liquid lens can reduce the structure size.

[0117] Referring to Figures 8-9 In an embodiment, the liquid control device 7 comprises:

[0118] a first liquid delivery pipe 71, which is in communication with the first liquid opening 11;

[0119] a first piston 72, which is movably arranged in the first liquid delivery pipe 71 along the axial direction of the first liquid delivery pipe 71, and is used for injecting the liquid A from the first liquid delivery pipe 71 into the chamber A 5 or extracting the liquid A from the chamber A to the first liquid delivery pipe 71;

[0120] a second liquid delivery pipe 74, which is in communication with the second liquid opening 12;

[0121] a second piston 75, which is movably arranged in the second liquid delivery pipe 74 along the axial direction of the second liquid delivery pipe 74, and is used for injecting the liquid B from the second liquid delivery pipe 74 into the chamber B 6 or extracting the liquid B from the chamber B to the second liquid delivery pipe 74;

[0122] a driving device, which is connected with the first piston 72 and the second piston 75, and is used for driving the first piston 72 and the second piston 75 to move. The liquid control device 7 only needs to use a set of driving device to realize the driving of the first piston 72 and the second piston 75 to move, which can simplify the structure, make the whole lens adjusting system more compact, facilitate installation, and at the same time, can reduce the cost of the lens adjusting system, and is more conducive to the popularization and application of the lens adjusting system.

[0123] In an embodiment, the driving device comprises:

[0124] a first rack, which is movably arranged along the moving direction of the first piston, and is connected with the first piston;

[0125] a second rack, which is movably arranged along the moving direction of the second piston, and is connected with the second piston;

[0126] a driver for generating a driving force;

[0127] a driving gear, the output end of the driver being connected to the driving gear, the driving gear being rotatable with the output end of the driver, the driving gear being engaged with the first rack;

[0128] a driven gear, the driven gear being engaged with the second rack;

[0129] an intermediate gear, the intermediate gear being located between the driving gear and the driven gear, the intermediate gear being movably arranged, the intermediate gear having an engaged state of engaging the driving gear and the driven gear and a disengaged state of disengaging from the driving gear and the driven gear, the intermediate gear being moved to switch between the engaged state and the disengaged state; and

[0130] a linkage mechanism, the linkage mechanism being connected to the intermediate gear, the linkage mechanism being used to drive the intermediate gear to move.

[0131] Thus, in the initial state where the dual-mode liquid lens is in the state of chamber A5 being filled with no liquid A and chamber B6 being filled with liquid C (see Figure 3 ), the linkage mechanism maintains the intermediate gear 79 in the disengaged state, drives the output end of the driver to rotate forward to drive the driving gear 77 to rotate forward, thereby driving the first rack 73 to move forward, so that the first piston 72 injects liquid A into chamber A5, and the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 is deformed towards the second light-transmitting lens 3 (see Figures 4-5 ); when the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 is deformed to a certain extent, the linkage mechanism drives the intermediate gear 79 to move, so that the intermediate gear 79 moves to engage with the driving gear 77 and the driven gear 78, at this time, the output end of the driver is driven to rotate reversely, thereby driving the driving gear 77 to rotate reversely, the intermediate gear 79 to rotate forward, and the driven gear 78 to rotate reversely, thereby driving the first rack 73 to move reversely, so that the first piston 72 extracts liquid A from chamber A5, at the same time, the second rack 76 is driven to move reversely, so that the second piston 75 injects liquid B into chamber B6, and the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 is deformed towards the first light-transmitting lens 2 (see Figure 6); when the light-transmitting elastic film 4 is deformed to a certain extent, the output end of the driver rotates forward, driving the driving gear 77 to rotate forward, the intermediate gear 79 to rotate reversely, and the driven gear 78 to rotate forward, thereby driving the first rack 73 to move forward, so that the first piston 72 injects the liquid A into the chamber A5, at the same time, driving the second rack 76 to move forward, so that the second piston 75 extracts the liquid B from the chamber B6, until the liquid B in the chamber B6 is completely exhausted, and then the linkage mechanism drives the intermediate gear 79 to reset to the non-engagement state; finally, the output end of the driver reversely rotates, driving the driving gear 77 to reversely rotate, thereby driving the first rack 73 to reversely move and drive the first piston 72 to extract the liquid A in the chamber A5, at the same time, the fluid aperture 13 is communicated with the outside, so that the outside air flows into the chamber B6, that is, the dual-mode liquid lens resets to the initial state (see Figure 7 ), the liquid control device 7 is simple and practical in structure, and the injection or extraction of the liquids in the chambers A5 and B6 shares the same set of drivers, which can simplify the structure, make the lens adjusting system more compact as a whole, facilitate installation, and at the same time, can reduce the cost of the lens adjusting system, and is more conducive to the popularization and application of the lens adjusting system.

[0132] In an embodiment, the intermediate gear 79 is movably arranged along the axial direction thereof;

[0133] The linkage mechanism comprises:

[0134] The elastic member 710 is connected to the intermediate gear 79, and is used to provide a constraint force for maintaining the non-engagement state of the intermediate gear 79;

[0135] The conductor is arranged on the intermediate gear 79; and

[0136] The electromagnet (not shown in the figure) is used to communicate with the power supply, and in the case that the electromagnet is powered on, the electromagnet generates an attractive force overcoming the constraint force to attract the conductor, so as to switch the intermediate gear 79 from the non-engagement state to the engagement state, and in the case that the electromagnet is powered off, the elastic member 710 resets to switch the intermediate gear 79 from the engagement state to the non-engagement state, the linkage mechanism is simple and practical in structure, low in cost, and high in reliability, at the same time, the overall structure is compact, which is conducive to further reducing the overall volume of the lens adjusting system, and facilitating the installation of the lens adjusting system.

[0137] The conductor can be the intermediate gear 79 itself, or a support shaft arranged on the central hole of the intermediate gear 79, or a conductor arranged on the support shaft.

[0138] Referring to Figure 9In an embodiment, the elastic member 710 can be a spring, and the spring is sleeved on the support shaft. In addition, in order to limit the spring, the support shaft is provided with a tenon 720, and the tenon 720 and the spring are clamped at one end close to the intermediate gear 79, so as to limit the spring from being separated from the support shaft.

[0139] Of course, in other embodiments, the linkage mechanism can also be an electric push rod, a pneumatic cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or the like.

[0140] In an embodiment, the driver can be an electric motor, or can be any one of a piezoelectric ceramic driver, an electromagnetic driver, or the like.

[0141] In an embodiment, the liquid control device 7 can also adopt the following scheme:

[0142] The liquid control device 7 comprises:

[0143] A first liquid delivery pipe 71, which is in communication with the first liquid opening 11;

[0144] A first piston 72, which is movably inserted into the first liquid delivery pipe 71 along the axial direction of the first liquid delivery pipe 71, and is used for injecting the liquid A from the first liquid delivery pipe 71 into the chamber A5 or extracting the liquid A from the chamber A5 to the first liquid delivery pipe 71;

[0145] A driving device, which is connected with the first piston 72 and is used for driving the first piston 72 to move;

[0146] A second liquid delivery pipe 74, which is in communication with the second liquid opening 12;

[0147] The valve body is arranged in the fluid opening 13 and is used to control the opening and closing of the fluid opening 13. Thus, in the initial state where the dual-mode liquid lens is in the chamber A5 without liquid A and the chamber B6 is filled with the fluid C, the chamber B6 is filled with air, the first piston 72 is pushed by the driving device to inject the liquid A into the chamber A5, and the valve body is controlled to be opened, so that the fluid opening 13 of the chamber B6 is opened to be in communication with the air, the air is pushed outwards by the deformation of the chamber A5, and the dioptric power of the dual-mode liquid lens continuously increases as the light-transmitting elastic film 4 deforms towards the second light-transmitting lens 3; when the light-transmitting elastic film 4 deforms to the boundary of the second light-transmitting lens 3, that is, the light-transmitting elastic film 4 is attached to the second light-transmitting lens 3, the valve body is closed at this time to seal the fluid opening 13, so that the communication between the chamber B6 and the outside is cut off, the first liquid opening 11 is in communication with the first liquid delivery pipe 7171, the output end of the driving device reversely pushes the first piston 72 to draw the liquid A in the chamber A5, so that the light-transmitting elastic film 4 deforms towards the first light-transmitting lens 2, a low pressure is formed in the chamber B6, and the liquid B enters the chamber B6; when the light-transmitting elastic film 4 deforms to the boundary of the first light-transmitting lens 2, that is, the light-transmitting elastic film 4 is attached to the first light-transmitting lens 2, the output end of the driving device is re-positively rotated to push the first piston 72 to inject the liquid A into the chamber A5, and the liquid B in the chamber B6 is extruded and discharged; when the light-transmitting elastic film 4 deforms to the boundary of the second light-transmitting lens 3, that is, the light-transmitting elastic film 4 is attached to the second light-transmitting lens 3, the fluid opening 13 is in communication with the outside, the output end of the driving device is re-reversely rotated to push the first piston 72 to draw the liquid A in the chamber A5, and air enters the chamber B6 at the same time. The liquid control device 7 has a simpler structure, can reduce the cost, and can further reduce the cost of the dual-mode liquid lens. Meanwhile, the liquid control device 7 has a more compact structure, can reduce the volume of the dual-mode liquid lens, and is more convenient for installation of the dual-mode liquid lens.

[0148] In an embodiment, the driving device comprises:

[0149] a first rack, the first rack is movably arranged along the moving direction of the first piston, and the first rack is connected to the first piston;

[0150] a driver; and

[0151] a driving gear, the driving gear is connected to the output end of the driver, the driving gear can rotate with the output end of the driver, and the driving gear is engaged with the first rack. The driving device has a simple and practical structure and high transmission stability.

[0152] In the embodiment, the driver can be any one of a motor, a piezoelectric ceramic driver, and an electromagnetic driver.

[0153] In a third aspect, the application provides a lens adjusting method, which is applied to the dual-mode liquid lens and comprises the following modes:

[0154] Initial state: chamber A5 is empty of liquid A, chamber B6 is filled with fluid C;

[0155] Single-liquid mode: inject liquid A into chamber A5, use liquid A to push the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 to deform the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 towards the second light-transmitting lens 3; or, discharge liquid A from chamber A5 to deform the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 towards the first light-transmitting lens 2 to reset to the initial state, i.e., chamber A5 is empty of liquid A and chamber B6 is filled with fluid C;

[0156] Double-liquid mode: inject liquid B into chamber B6, at the same time, discharge liquid A from chamber A5 to deform the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 towards the first light-transmitting lens 2; or, inject liquid A into chamber A5, at the same time, discharge liquid B from chamber B6 to deform the light-transmitting elastic membrane 4 towards the second light-transmitting lens 3.

[0157] The lens adjusting method has single-liquid mode and double-liquid mode, and can switch between the single-liquid mode and the double-liquid mode, the single-liquid mode and the double-liquid mode control a range of zoom respectively, so that the control precision can be improved, and compared with the existing double-liquid zoom lens, the double-mode liquid lens increases the single-liquid mode under the condition of nearly the same structure size, so that the zoom range is significantly expanded, or under the condition of the same zoom range requirement, the double-mode liquid lens can reduce the structure size.

[0158] In an embodiment, the lens adjusting method includes the following switching method:

[0159] In the single-liquid mode, after injecting liquid A into chamber A and discharging liquid B completely from chamber B, switch the mode, discharge liquid A, and make fluid C enter chamber B;

[0160] In the double-liquid mode, after injecting liquid A into chamber A and discharging fluid C completely from chamber B, switch the mode, discharge liquid A, and make liquid B enter chamber B.

[0161] The present application provides a lens adjusting method, and in specific implementation, the structure design of the double-mode liquid lens and the lens adjusting system can be referred to.

[0162] In the description of the present application, the description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "an example", "a specific example", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, the person skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in the present application and the features of the different embodiments or examples without contradiction.

[0163] In the description of the present specification, the left and right of the terms are only for the convenience of differentiation, and the essence is to refer to two opposite directions, which can be understood with reference to the left and right in the drawings, and it is not necessary to be in the left and right of a certain reference system, and the left and right can also be exchanged according to the actual use.

[0164] In addition, the terms "first", "second" are only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more, unless otherwise specifically limited.

[0165] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of various changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of adjusting a lens, characterized by, The single-liquid mode includes the following modes: Single-liquid mode: injecting liquid A into chamber A, using liquid A to push the light-transmitting elastic film to deform in the direction of chamber B; or, discharging liquid A from chamber A to deform the light-transmitting elastic film in the direction of chamber A; Double-liquid mode: injecting liquid B into chamber B, and discharging liquid A from chamber A to deform the light-transmitting elastic film in the direction of chamber A; or, injecting liquid A into chamber A, and discharging liquid B from chamber B to deform the light-transmitting elastic film in the direction of chamber B; Chamber A is connected with a first liquid opening for liquid A to enter or exit chamber A; Chamber B is connected with a second liquid opening for liquid B to enter or exit chamber B, and a fluid opening for fluid C to enter or exit chamber B, so that chamber B is filled with different media or no media, thereby switching the double-liquid mode lens between single-liquid mode and double-liquid mode, wherein the refractive index of liquid A and liquid B is different, and the refractive index of fluid C and liquid B is different.

2. The lens adjusting method according to claim 1, wherein The switching method includes the following modes: In single-liquid mode, after injecting liquid A into chamber A and completely discharging liquid B from chamber B, the mode is switched, liquid A is discharged, and fluid C enters chamber B; In double-liquid mode, after injecting liquid A into chamber A and completely discharging fluid C from chamber B, the mode is switched, liquid A is discharged, and liquid B enters chamber B.

3. A dual-mode liquid lens characterized in that, It includes: A housing; A first light-transmitting lens arranged on the first end of the housing along the first direction; A second light-transmitting lens arranged on the second end of the housing along the first direction; and A light-transmitting elastic film arranged between the first light-transmitting lens and the second light-transmitting lens; Chamber A is formed between the light-transmitting elastic film, the housing, and the first light-transmitting lens, and chamber A is connected with a first liquid opening for liquid A to enter or exit chamber A; chamber B is formed between the light-transmitting elastic film, the housing, and the second light-transmitting lens, and chamber B is connected with a second liquid opening for liquid B to enter or exit chamber B, and a fluid opening for fluid C to enter or exit chamber B, so that chamber B is filled with different media or no media, thereby switching the double-liquid mode lens between single-liquid mode and double-liquid mode, wherein the refractive index of liquid A and liquid B is different, and the refractive index of fluid C and liquid B is different. The fluid C is a gas.

4. The dual-mode liquid lens of claim 3, wherein, The density of liquid A and liquid B is the same.

5. The dual-mode liquid lens of claim 3, wherein, It includes:

6. A lens adjustment system characterized by, The double-liquid mode lens of any one of claims 3-5; and A liquid control device for changing the amount of liquid in chamber A or chamber B. The liquid control device includes: A first liquid delivery pipe in communication with the first liquid opening; 7. The lens adjustment system of claim 6, wherein, ​ ​ a first piston movably inserted into the first liquid delivery pipe in an axial direction of the first liquid delivery pipe, the first piston being configured to inject liquid A from the first liquid delivery pipe into the chamber A or to extract liquid A from the chamber A to the first liquid delivery pipe; a second liquid delivery pipe communicating with the second liquid opening; a second piston movably inserted into the second liquid delivery pipe in an axial direction of the second liquid delivery pipe, the second piston being configured to inject liquid B from the second liquid delivery pipe into the chamber B or to extract liquid B from the chamber B to the second liquid delivery pipe; a driving device connected to the first and second pistons, the driving device being configured to drive the first and second pistons to move.

8. The lens adjustment system of claim 7, wherein, The driving device includes: a first rack movably arranged in a moving direction of the first piston, the first rack being connected to the first piston; a second rack movably arranged in a moving direction of the second piston, the second rack being connected to the second piston; a driver configured to generate a driving force; a driving gear connected to an output of the driver, the driving gear being rotatable with the output of the driver, the driving gear being engaged with the first rack; a driven gear engaged with the second rack; an intermediate gear located between the driving gear and the driven gear, the intermediate gear being movably arranged, the intermediate gear having an engaged state of engaging the driving gear and the driven gear and a non-engaged state of disengaging the driving gear and the driven gear, the intermediate gear being moved to switch between the engaged state and the non-engaged state; and a linkage mechanism connected to the intermediate gear, the linkage mechanism being configured to drive the intermediate gear to move.

9. The lens adjustment system of claim 8, wherein, The intermediate gear is movably arranged in an axial direction thereof; The linkage mechanism includes: a resilient member connected to the intermediate gear, the resilient member being configured to provide a constraint force to the intermediate gear to maintain the engaged state or the non-engaged state; a conductor provided on the intermediate gear; and an electromagnet, in a case where the electromagnet is energized, the electromagnet generates a magnetic force overcoming the constraint force to attract or repel the conductor, so that the intermediate gear is switched from the engaged state or the non-engaged state to another state, in a case where the electromagnet is de-energized, the resilient member is reset to return the intermediate gear to the original state.

10. The lens adjustment system of claim 6, wherein, The liquid control device includes: a first liquid delivery pipe communicating with the first liquid opening; a first piston movably inserted into the first liquid delivery pipe in an axial direction of the first liquid delivery pipe, the first piston being configured to inject liquid A from the first liquid delivery pipe into the chamber A or to extract liquid A from the chamber A to the first liquid delivery pipe; a drive device connected with the first piston, the drive device being used to drive the first piston to move; a second liquid delivery pipe in communication with the second liquid opening; a valve body arranged in the fluid opening, used to control opening and closing of the fluid opening.

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