Composition for camera module lens, camera module lens, and camera module

Abstract

Provided are a composition for a camera module lens, a camera module lens comprising the same, and a camera module comprising the camera module lens, the composition for a camera module lens comprising a resin; and 0.01 wt% to 0.1 wt% of a benzotriazole-based ultraviolet (UV) blocking additive with respect to the total weight of the composition, in which, when the composition for a camera module lens is applied to the camera module lens, light in the visible region can be transmitted without separate coating, and the thickness of the camera module lens can be reduced. And light in the UV region can be cut off.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0154796 filed on November 9, 2023, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0197296 filed on December 29, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The following description relates to a composition for a camera module lens, a camera module lens including the composition, and a camera module including the camera module lens. Background Art

[0004] Automobile cameras installed in automobiles include observation cameras that capture images of the driver's surroundings and sensing cameras that sense the vehicle's surroundings.

[0005] Recently, with the advancement of autonomous driving, the number of camera pixels has increased, and the development and marketization of high value-added product sensing cameras are expanding.

[0006] Additionally, camera module lenses attached to the exterior of a vehicle may be easily exposed to various external contaminants and changes in temperature and humidity, making it difficult to consistently acquire clear images.

[0007] To prevent this, a technology has been developed so that the outermost layer of the camera module lens is coated with a waterproof coating to have its own cleaning ability and to prevent fogging.

[0008] However, in the case of most commercially available waterproof coatings, there is a problem that the coating life may be shortened due to continuous ultraviolet (UV) radiation from exposure to sunlight, and the internal lens may also be degraded due to UV radiation.

[0009] In particular, the automotive camera module lens can be formed of plastic. To block ultraviolet rays, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method can be used to form a silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) material is repeatedly coated on the surface of the plastic lens in nm units to form an anti-reflective (AR) coating. UV blocking is performed by this AR coating.

[0010] In this example, AR coating can be performed by forming a liquid film of water or an aqueous solution on the surface of the cured film of the plastic lens containing the organic silicon compound, and bringing the liquid film into contact with ozone gas to deposit the liquid film on the surface.

[0011] However, in the method of blocking UV by forming an AR coating film, an additional coating process may be necessary, and the method may cause defects such as peeling, cracking, etc. during reliability testing. Summary of the invention

[0012] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0013] In a general aspect, a composition for a camera module lens includes a resin; and 0.01 wt % to 0.1 wt % of a benzotriazole-based ultraviolet (UV) blocking additive relative to the total weight of the composition.

[0014] The UV blocking additive has a chemical structure of Formula 1:

[0015] Formula 1

[0016]

[0017] The molecules of the UV blocking additive may be adsorbed or dispersed between the polymer chains of the resin.

[0018] The UV blocking additive may have a chemical structure of Formula 2 below:

[0019] Formula 2

[0020]

[0021] Where R 1 and R 2 each independently may be a substituted or unsubstituted methyl group, hv represents light, and E=hv.

[0022] The UV blocking additive may be one in which R 1 and R 2 A UV blocking additive substituted with at least one of hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, propyl and tert-amyl, wherein R 1 is the first methyl group and R 2 It is the second methyl group.

[0023] The resin may be formed of one of a polycarbonate (PC)-based resin and a polyolefin-based resin.

[0024] The polyolefin-based resin may be one of a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC)-based resin and a cyclic olefin polymer (COP)-based resin.

[0025] A camera module lens may include the composition for a camera module lens.

[0026] The camera module lens may be manufactured by formulating the resin and the UV blocking additive.

[0027] The camera module lens may be disposed in an automotive camera module.

[0028] In a general aspect, a camera module includes a plurality of lenses including a resin and a benzotriazole-based ultraviolet (UV) blocking additive that reduces UV transmittance to 5% to 46% at a UV cutoff wavelength of 400 nm.

[0029] The benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive is included in an amount of 0.01 wt % to 0.1 wt % based on the total weight of the lens.

[0030] Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an exemplary camera module applying a lens according to one or more embodiments.

[0032] Figure 2 exemplify Figure 1 A magnified view of portion A of the lens.

[0033] Figure 3 : is a graph showing, by way of example, the light transmittance of a lens formed only of a typical PC resin.

[0034] Figure 4 is a graph illustrating light transmittance of an exemplary lens formed from a first composition according to one or more embodiments.

[0035] Figure 5 and Figure 6 is a graph illustrating light transmittance of an exemplary lens formed from a second composition according to one or more embodiments.

[0036] Throughout the drawings and detailed description, like reference numerals refer to like elements unless otherwise described. The drawings may not be to scale, and the relative size, proportion, and depiction of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The following detailed description is provided to help the reader obtain a comprehensive understanding of the method, device and / or system described herein. However, after understanding the disclosure of the application, various changes, modifications and equivalences of the method, device and / or system described herein will be apparent. For example, the order and / or operation order in the operation described herein are only examples, and are not limited to those set forth herein, but can be changed as apparent after understanding the disclosure of the application, except for the order and / or operation order in the operation that must occur in a certain order. As another example, the order in the operation order and / or operation can be carried out in parallel, except for at least a portion of the order in the operation order and / or operation that must occur in order (for example, in a certain order). In addition, in order to increase clarity and conciseness, the description of the known features after understanding the disclosure of the application can be omitted.

[0038] Although terms such as "first", "second" and "third" or A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used herein to describe various members, components, areas, layers or parts, these members, components, areas, layers or parts should not be limited by these terms. Each of these terms is not used to define the substance, order or sequence of the corresponding member, component, area, layer or part, for example, but is only used to distinguish the corresponding member, component, area, layer or part from other members, components, areas, layers or parts. Therefore, without departing from the teaching of the example, the first member, first component, first area, first layer or first part mentioned in the examples described herein may also be referred to as the second member, second component, second area, second layer or second part.

[0039] Throughout the specification, when a component or element is described as being "on another component, element or layer", "connected to another component, element or layer", "coupled to another component, element or layer", or "bonded to another component, element or layer", it may be directly (e.g., directly in contact with another component, element or layer), "on another component, element or layer", "connected to another component, element or layer", "coupled to another component, element or layer", or "bonded to another component, element or layer", or one or more other components, elements or layers may reasonably exist in between. When a component or element is described as being "directly on another component, element or layer", "directly connected to another component, element or layer", "directly coupled to another component, element or layer", or "directly bonded to another component, element or layer", no other components, elements or layers may exist in between. Similarly, expressions such as "between" and "immediately between" and "adjacent to" and "immediately adjacent to" may also be interpreted as described above.

[0040] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing various embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The terms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to also include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As non-limiting examples, the terms "comprise / comprises", "include / includes" and "have / has" indicate the presence of specified features, numbers, operations, components, elements and / or combinations thereof, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, operations, components, elements and / or combinations thereof, or the alternative presence of alternative specified features, numbers, operations, components, elements and / or combinations thereof. In addition, although an embodiment may set forth such terms "comprise / comprises", "include / includes" and "have / has" indicate the presence of specified features, numbers, operations, components, elements and / or combinations thereof, there may be other embodiments in which one or more than one of the specified features, numbers, operations, components, elements and / or combinations thereof do not exist.

[0041] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any one of the associated listed items and any combination of any two or more than two. The phrases "at least one of A, B, and C", "at least one of A, B, or C", etc. are intended to have the meaning of antonymous conjunctions, and these phrases "at least one of A, B, and C", "at least one of A, B, or C", etc. also include instances in which there may be one or more than one of each of A, B, and / or C (e.g., any combination of one or more than one of each of A, B, and C), unless the corresponding description and embodiments require that such a list (e.g., "at least one of A, B, and C") be interpreted as having the meaning of a conjunction.

[0042] The features described herein can be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples described herein. On the contrary, the examples described herein are only provided to illustrate some of the many possible ways of realizing the methods, devices and / or systems described herein that will be apparent after understanding the disclosure of the present application. The term "may" used herein with respect to an example or an embodiment (e.g., what can be included or realized with respect to an example or an embodiment) means that there is at least one example or embodiment that includes or realizes this feature, and all examples are not limited thereto. The terms "example" or "embodiment" used herein have the same meaning (e.g., the wording "in an example" has the same meaning as "in an embodiment", and "one or more than one example" has the same meaning as "one or more than one embodiment").

[0043] One or more examples may provide a composition for a camera module lens, which can effectively block UV by cutting off light in the UV region and, when applied to a lens, may not require providing a separate coating film, thereby preventing defects such as peeling, cracking, etc. caused by a typical AR coating; and a camera module lens comprising the composition.

[0044] A. Compositions for Camera Module Lenses

[0045] The composition for a camera module lens according to one or more embodiments may include a resin and an ultraviolet (UV) blocking additive.

[0046] In this example, the mixing of the resin and the UV blocking additive may be performed by formulation.

[0047] Additionally, if Figure 2 As illustrated in FIG. 1 , molecules 20 of the UV blocking additive may be adsorbed or dispersed between polymer chains 10 of the resin.

[0048] The resin may be an optical resin, and may be formed of a polycarbonate (PC)-based resin or a polyolefin-based resin, just as an example.

[0049] The polyolefin-based resin may be one of a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC)-based resin and a cyclic olefin polymer (COP)-based resin.

[0050] UV blocking additives can prevent photo-oxidation of plastic lenses and are benzotriazole-based UV blocking additives.

[0051] The benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive may have better miscibility with a polycarbonate-based resin or a polyolefin-based resin, which is a main component of a composition for a camera module lens, than other UV blocking additives, so no residue is left when formulated, and internal foreign matter defects may be effectively prevented during lens injection, making it easy to achieve the concentration and transmittance targets of the lens.

[0052] According to one or more embodiments, the benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive may have a chemical structure of Formula 1 below.

[0053] Formula 1:

[0054]

[0055] In this example, the UV blocking additive is included in an amount of 0.01 wt % to 0.1 wt % based on the total weight of the composition.

[0056] When the content of the UV blocking additive is less than 0.01 wt %, the UV blocking effect may be significantly reduced, and problems may occur in lenses manufactured using such a composition due to exposure to sunlight.

[0057] In addition, when the content of the UV blocking additive exceeds 0.1 wt %, not only is the UV blocking effect not significantly increased, but when the molecules of the UV blocking additive are mixed, residues are generated since the molecules of the UV blocking additive are saturated in the composition, and the residues may actually reduce the transmittance in the visible light region, which is the effective wavelength region of the manufactured lens, which may lead to problems such that the performance of the lens may deteriorate or the lens may become unusable.

[0058] According to one or more embodiments, the UV blocking additive may have a chemical structure of Formula 2 below.

[0059] Formula 2:

[0060]

[0061] In this example, R 1 and R 2 may be substituted by at least one of the following functional groups such as hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, propyl and tert-amyl, wherein R 1 is the first methyl group and R 2 It is the second methyl group.

[0062] Functional group structure:

[0063]

[0064] Compared to a lens using a UV blocking additive having a chemical structure of Formula 1 above, a UV blocking additive having a chemical structure of Formula 2 above can have better complementarity with a resin which is a main component of the lens, and can have higher miscibility with the resin, so that the UV blocking additive can be more easily injected into the lens.

[0065] Therefore, compared with the UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 1, the UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 2 can more effectively inhibit or prevent the phenomenon of decreased UV blocking performance occurring during formulation after mixing the resin and the UV blocking additive, so that a lens with excellent UV blocking effect can be provided.

[0066] As described above, when a benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive having a chemical structure of Formula 1 and / or a benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive having a chemical structure of Formula 2 is applied to a lens, according to one or more embodiments, a composition for a camera module lens can provide a lens that can prevent defects such as peeling, cracking, etc. caused by typical AR coatings while having excellent optical properties by transmitting light in the visible region and cutting off light in the UV region without separate coating.

[0067] B. Camera module lens

[0068] like Figure 1 As illustrated in FIG. 1 , an exemplary camera module 1000 to which exemplary lenses of one or more embodiments are applied includes a plurality of lenses 100 and a lens barrel 200 in which an accommodation space for accommodating the plurality of lenses 100 is formed.

[0069] In the lens 100, reference numerals 110, 130, and 180 are lenses formed of glass.

[0070] In the lens 100, reference numerals 120, 140, 150, 160 and 170 are plastic lenses, and these plastic lenses contain resin and UV blocking additives. In this example, the UV blocking additive is a benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive and is contained in an amount of 0.01 wt% to 0.1 wt% based on the total weight of the lens.

[0071] These lenses (plastic lenses) 120, 140, 150, 160 and 170 can cut off light in the UV region without even a separate coating such as AR coating, and can be manufactured by formulating a composition manufactured by adding a specific UV blocking additive to an optical resin instead of surface coating or deposition.

[0072] When conducting UV weathering reliability testing of automotive cameras, the inner plastic lens of the lens assembly may decompose due to photo-oxidation reaction of the polymer chain due to strong ultraviolet rays.

[0073] Therefore, generally, in order to protect the inner lens from ultraviolet rays, ultraviolet rays reaching the inner plastic lens are blocked by AR coating or waterproof coating on the lens.

[0074] However, in the case of AR coating, when coating is performed on a plastic material, the thermal expansion coefficients of the plastic material and the coating material are different, so there is a high possibility of cracks (e.g., microcracks) due to repeated contraction and expansion, and when coating cracks occur, it is impossible to prevent ultraviolet rays from penetrating into the lens located inside it, which may cause changes in the appearance of the material (discoloration, microcracks, etc.).

[0075] According to one or more embodiments, by mixing a benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive with a resin to form a mixture and ejecting the mixture in the form of a lens, an exemplary camera module lens can ensure excellent transmission characteristics and have excellent high temperature stability, and can have excellent optical properties by transmitting light in the visible light region and cutting off light in the UV region.

[0076] The exemplary camera module lens configured as above may be applied to product lines such as, but not limited to, smartphones and AR / VR products, and may be particularly applied to automotive camera module lenses. However, examples are not limited thereto.

[0077] C. Experimental Examples

[0078] Hereinafter, one or more embodiments will be described in more detail through experimental examples. However, this is intended to help to specifically understand the one or more embodiments, and the scope of the one or more embodiments is not limited by the experimental examples.

[0079] In this example, the composition of the resin and dye in the lens can be determined by mass using thermogravimetric analysis coupled with gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (TGA-GC / MS).

[0080] Through the above method, the approximate concentration of the components in the lens can be determined, and because the molar extinction coefficient of each material may be different, UV-VIS analysis is further performed to determine the exact concentration.

[0081] Figure 3 is a graph illustrating the light transmittance of a composition that does not include a UV blocking additive, and Figure 4 is a graph illustrating the light transmittance of the composition according to the first embodiment.

[0082] In this example, Figure 4 The sample of has a polycarbonate (PC) resin and includes 0.1 wt % of a benzotriazole-based first UV blocking additive based on the total weight of the sample, and the first UV blocking additive has a chemical structure of Formula 1.

[0083] refer to Figure 3 , it can be seen that there is no UV blocking effect in the comparative example.

[0084] On the other hand, Figure 4 , when 0.1 wt % of the first benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 1 was included in the PC resin, it was confirmed that the UV blocking transmittance was 20% at a UV cutoff wavelength of 400 nm.

[0085] Therefore, when the composition according to one or more embodiments is applied to a lens, most of the UV is absorbed without reducing the transmittance of visible light, thereby preventing photo-oxidation of the lens itself, and in addition, a camera module lens can be provided that can also prevent UV light oxidation of the internal lens in the direction from the camera module 1000 to the sensor.

[0086] Figure 5 and Figure 6 is a graph illustrating the light transmittance of the composition according to the second embodiment.

[0087] exist Figure 5 In the sample of , the resin is PC, and 0.01 wt% of a second UV blocking additive based on benzotriazole having a chemical structure of Formula 2 is included based on the total weight of the composition, and Figure 6 In the sample of , the resin is PC, and 0.1 wt% of a benzotriazole-based second UV blocking additive having a chemical structure of Formula 2 is included based on the total weight of the composition.

[0088] like Figure 5 , when 0.01% of the benzotriazole-based second UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 2 was included in the PC resin, the UV transmittance was 46% at a UV cutoff wavelength of 400 nm, which confirmed that UV was partially cutoff.

[0089] In addition, Figure 4 Compared with the results in Figure 5 1 / 10 of the UV blocking additive was used in the sample, but the UV transmittance was only increased to about 2 times, which confirms that the second UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 2 has a better UV blocking effect than the first UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 1.

[0090] like Figure 6As shown in FIG. 2 , when 0.1% of the second UV blocking additive based on benzotriazole having the chemical structure of Formula 2 is included in the PC resin, the UV transmittance is 5% at a UV cutoff wavelength of 400 nm, which confirms that the UV is substantially cut off. In addition, it can be seen that within the range of 0.01 wt % to 0.1 wt %, the higher the content of the UV blocking additive, the better the UV blocking effect.

[0091] In addition, Figure 4 Compared with the results in , the UV blocking additive is used at the same level, but the UV transmittance is reduced by about 1 / 4, so it can be seen that the second UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 2 has a better UV blocking effect than the first UV blocking additive having the chemical structure of Formula 1.

[0092] As described above, according to one or more embodiments, the composition for a camera module lens can have excellent optical properties and can prevent defects such as peeling, cracking, etc. caused by typical AR coating by transmitting light in the visible light region and cutting off light in the UV region without separate coating.

[0093] As a non-limiting example, the composition for the exemplary camera module lens may be used in a camera module lens for automotive products, etc.

[0094] Although the present disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent after understanding the disclosure of the present application that various changes in form and detail may be made in these examples without departing from the subject matter and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein should be considered in a descriptive sense only, not for limiting purposes. The description of features or aspects in each example should generally be considered to be applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and / or if components in the described systems, architectures, devices, or circuits are combined in different ways, and / or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents.

[0095] Therefore, in addition to the above disclosure and all the accompanying drawings, the scope of the present disclosure also includes the claims and their equivalents, that is, all changes within the scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A composition for a camera module lens, the composition comprising: Resins; and 0.01 wt% to 0.1 wt% of a benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive relative to the total weight of the composition.

2. The composition of claim 1, wherein the UV blocking additive has a chemical structure of Formula 1 below: Formula 1:

3. The composition of claim 1, wherein molecules of the UV blocking additive are adsorbed or dispersed between polymer chains of the resin.

4. The composition of claim 1, wherein the UV blocking additive has a chemical structure of Formula 2 below: Formula 2: Where R 1 and R 2 Each is independently a substituted or unsubstituted methyl group.

5. The composition of claim 4, wherein the UV blocking additive is 1 and R 2 A UV blocking additive substituted with at least one of hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, propyl and tert-amyl, wherein R 1 is the first methyl group and R 2 It is the second methyl group. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the resin is formed of one of a polycarbonate-based resin and a polyolefin-based resin. 7 . The composition of claim 6 , wherein the polyolefin-based resin is one of a cycloolefin copolymer-based resin and a cycloolefin polymer-based resin.

8. A camera module lens, comprising the composition for a camera module lens according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 9 . The camera module lens of claim 8 , wherein the camera module lens is manufactured by formulating the resin and the ultraviolet blocking additive.

10. The camera module lens of claim 8, wherein the camera module lens is disposed in an automotive camera module.

11. Camera module, including: A plurality of lenses, the lenses comprising: Resin, and A benzotriazole-based UV blocking additive that reduces UV transmittance to 5% to 46% at a UV cutoff wavelength of 400 nm. 12 . The camera module of claim 11 , wherein the benzotriazole-based ultraviolet blocking additive is included in an amount of 0.01 wt % to 0.1 wt % based on the total weight of the lens.

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