Adjustable Lens Assembly for Precise Lens-Sensor Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Image capture devices face misalignment issues between lenses and image sensors due to manufacturing tolerances and material changes, leading to suboptimal light detection and image quality.
Innovation Solution
An image capture apparatus with an adjustable lens assembly (ISLA) that includes a lens barrel and a lens sub-barrel, allowing for adjustable air gaps and optical alignment through movable connections and adhesive shrinkage control to align lenses with the image sensor along the optical axis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If lenses are fixed in the lens barrel during manufacturing, then assembly is simplified, but manufacturing tolerances and material changes cause misalignment with the image sensor
Solution Approach 1:
The lens assembly is divided into separate modules: a lens barrel containing first lenses and a lens holder containing second lenses. This segmentation allows independent adjustment of each module to achieve precise alignment with the image sensor, resolving the contradiction between assembly simplicity and alignment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens holder is designed to be movable relative to the lens barrel along the optical axis. This dynamic structure enables post-assembly adjustment of the air gap between lens groups, allowing precise focal alignment to be achieved and maintained despite manufacturing tolerances and material changes.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the air gap between lens groups is fixed, then structural stability is improved, but optical alignment precision deteriorates due to inability to compensate for manufacturing variations
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable air gap mechanism transforms the fixed structural design into a dynamic one. The lens holder can be positioned at different locations along the optical axis, providing the flexibility needed to achieve precise optical alignment while maintaining structural integrity through controlled adjustability.
Solution Approach 2:
The air gap distance between the first lenses in the lens barrel and the second lenses in the lens holder is made variable. By changing this critical parameter, the system can compensate for manufacturing tolerances and material changes, achieving precise focal alignment without sacrificing structural stability.
Data Source
AI summary
An image capture apparatus with an image sensor and lens assembly (ISLA). The ISLA includes an image sensor, a lens mount, a lens barrel, and a lens sub-barrel. A lens mount connects the ISLA within the image capture apparatus. The lens mount extends away from the image sensor. The lens barrel is in communication with the lens mount. Barrel lenses are located within the lens barrel. The lens sub-barrel is movably connected to the lens barrel, the lens mount, or both. A sub-barrel lens is located within the lens sub-barrel.