Camera Optical Lens with Free-Form Surfaces for Aberration Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current camera lenses face challenges in achieving ultra-thin, wide-angle, and large-aperture designs with good optical performance, particularly due to insufficient correction of off-axis aberrations and limitations in refractive power settings in existing rotationally symmetric aspherical surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A camera optical lens design incorporating free-form surfaces for at least one of its lenses, with specific refractive power and curvature radius ratios, and carefully optimized lens spacings to achieve improved aberration correction and imaging quality, suitable for handheld devices like smartphones and web cameras.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If rotationally symmetric aspherical surfaces are used, then the lens structure is simple and manufacturing is easier, but off-axis aberrations cannot be well corrected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by transitioning from rotationally symmetric aspherical surfaces to free-form surfaces that lack rotational symmetry. This allows the lens to correct off-axis aberrations more effectively while maintaining manufacturability through mature free-form surface processing techniques. The free-form surface design enables better balance of aberrations and improved imaging quality.
2Device complexity
If traditional lens structures with insufficient refractive power settings are used, then the lens design is simpler, but the lens cannot achieve ultra-thin and wide-angle characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing refractive power settings, lens spacing, and lens shape parameters to achieve ultra-thin and wide-angle characteristics. The free-form surface design enables sophisticated parameter optimization that traditional rotationally symmetric surfaces cannot achieve, resulting in a lens that is both ultra-thin and wide-angle with good optical performance.
3Manufacturing precision
If more lenses are added to improve optical performance, then aberration correction improves, but the lens becomes thicker and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by using a combination of lens elements with different refractive powers and properties. The seven-lens structure includes lenses with positive and negative refractive powers, where each lens is optimized with free-form surfaces to achieve the desired optical performance while controlling overall lens thickness and complexity.
4Length of moving object
If the lens is designed to be ultra-thin, then the device size is reduced, but achieving wide-angle and large-aperture becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the lens system into seven separate lens elements, each contributing specific refractive power and aberration correction. This segmentation allows the lens to achieve ultra-thin overall thickness while maintaining wide-angle and large-aperture capabilities through the coordinated design of individual lens segments with optimized free-form surfaces.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design results in a lens that is both ultra-thin and wide-angle with a large aperture, effectively correcting aberrations and enhancing optical performance for high-pixel imaging applications.
Implementation Method 1
a first lens having a negative refractive power; a second lens having a positive refractive power
Data Source
AI summary
A camera optical lens is provided. The camera optical lens includes seven lenses, and the seven lenses are sequentially arranged from an object side to an image side, i.e., a first lens having a negative refractive power, a second lens having a positive refractive power, a third lens, a fourth lens having a negative refractive power, a fifth lens having a positive refractive power, a sixth lens having a positive refractive power, and a seventh lens having a negative refractive power. At least one of the first lens to the seventh lens includes a free-form surface. The camera optical lens according to the present disclosure can achieve good optical performance and meet the design requirements of being ultra-thin, and having a wide-angle and a large apertures.