Eight-Lens Optical Imaging System for Compact High-Resolution Cameras
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Solution Overview
Problem
Designing an optical imaging lens that is lightweight, thin, short, has a small f-number, a large image height, and maintains good imaging quality is a challenging task, especially for portable electronic devices that require improved pixel resolution and field of view.
Innovation Solution
An optical imaging lens with eight lens elements is proposed, featuring specific refracting powers and surface shapes for each element, along with carefully optimized air gaps and thicknesses to achieve the desired optical performance, including aspheric surfaces and concave/convex regions on the lens elements to control aberrations and improve image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the lens is made thinner and shorter to reduce device size, then the device becomes more compact, but the f-number increases and luminous flux decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The lens system is divided into eight separate lens elements with alternating positive and negative refractive powers. This segmentation allows each element to contribute differently to light gathering and focusing, enabling a compact overall structure while maintaining large aperture and high luminous flux through optimized light path management
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs complex three-dimensional aspheric surfaces on each lens element, utilizing higher-order and intermediate aspheric terms to control aberrations in multiple dimensions. This enables compact lens design while maintaining optical performance that would otherwise require larger, simpler elements
2Adaptability or versatility
If the field of view is enlarged to improve imaging coverage, then the field of view increases, but the lens becomes more complex and harder to design
Solution Approach 1:
The field of view expansion is achieved through segmentation into eight specialized lens elements, each with specific refractive power and aspheric surface characteristics. This divides the complex task of wide-angle imaging into manageable segments that can be individually optimized
Solution Approach 2:
Each lens element features locally optimized aspheric surfaces with different curvature characteristics in different zones. The object-side and image-side surfaces of each element have specifically designed concave/convex regions that address local aberration problems while contributing to the overall wide field of view
3Measurement precision
If the image height is increased to improve pixel resolution, then the image sensor size increases, but the lens becomes larger and heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The lens system uses eight segmented elements that collectively achieve the required image height and resolution. This segmentation allows the use of smaller individual elements compared to a single large element, reducing overall weight while maintaining the necessary image plane coverage for high-resolution sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs materials and surface parameters that optimize the balance between image height and weight. By carefully controlling refractive indices, aspheric coefficients, and element thicknesses, the system achieves large image height suitable for high-pixel sensors without proportionally increasing weight
4Reliability
If more lens elements are added to improve imaging quality, then the imaging quality increases, but the lens becomes longer and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple lens elements are merged into a compact configuration with alternating positive and negative powers. The negative power elements act as spac ers and aberration correctors that allow the positive power elements to be positioned closer together, reducing overall length while maintaining the benefits of multiple elements for high imaging quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes complex aspheric surface geometry in three dimensions to achieve the aberration correction and image quality improvement that would otherwise require additional lens elements. This allows eight elements to be arranged in a compact axial length by exploiting radial and tangential surface variations
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 solution results in an optical imaging lens with a smaller f-number, larger image height, and enhanced imaging quality, meeting the requirements for portable devices by effectively managing spherical aberration, field curvature, and distortion while maintaining a compact form factor.
Implementation Method 1
an optical imaging lens of eight lens elements... Each of the first lens element, second lens element, third lens element, fourth lens element, fifth lens element, sixth lens element, seventh lens element and eighth lens element respectively has an object-side surface which faces toward the object side to allow imaging rays to pass through as well as an image-side surface which faces toward the image side to allow the imaging rays to pass through
Data Source
AI summary
An optical imaging lens includes a first lens element to an eighth lens element, and each lens element has an object-side surface and an image-side surface. An optical axis region of the image-side surface of the first lens element is concave, the third lens element has negative refracting power, and a periphery region of the object-side surface of the third lens element is concave, the sixth lens element has negative refracting power, and an optical axis region of the object-side surface of the sixth lens element is convex, the seventh lens element has positive refracting power, and a periphery region of the object-side surface of the seventh lens element is concave. Lens elements included by the optical imaging lens are only the eight lens elements mentioned above, and the optical imaging lens satisfies the following conditions: |V2−V3|≤5.000, and D12/(G45+G67)≤4.100.