External Optical Module for Smartphone Magnification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable terminal camera systems, such as smartphones, face challenges in achieving high magnification without separate lighting sources and are hindered by the need for external lenses and bulky designs, which affect portability and image clarity due to ambient light issues.
Innovation Solution
An external optical module with a light guide and complex lens system that uses the phone's LED for illumination and camera, featuring a housing with through holes, a transparent light guide, and a fixing ring to adjust the optical location, allowing for high magnification imaging without an ocular lens or body tube, thus maintaining a thin profile and universal compatibility with different terminal configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a microscope type device with object lens and ocular lens is used, then magnification capability is improved, but device size becomes large and portability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the ocular lens and body tube from the traditional microscope structure, keeping only the object lens (complex lens part) close to the subject. This extraction eliminates the need for a long body tube and ocular lens, dramatically reducing device size while maintaining magnification capability through the camera's image sensor.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the microscope's object lens function with a compact complex lens assembly that can be positioned very close to the subject. By combining the illumination system (LED) and optical system (complex lens) into a single integrated module, the device achieves high magnification in a compact form factor suitable for portable terminals.
2Volume of moving object
If a Lupe type macro lens is used, then device size is reduced, but magnification capability decreases and image clarity deteriorates due to ambient light interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by introducing an LED illumination source that emits light before the camera captures the image. This pre-illumination counteracts the harmful effect of ambient light interference, ensuring sufficient lighting for clear magnified images even when the device is compact like a Lupe lens.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an LED illumination system as an intermediary element between the subject and the camera sensor. This intermediary light source provides controlled illumination that mediates the interaction between the subject and camera, enabling clear imaging without relying on unpredictable ambient light conditions.
3Length of moving object
If the LED is positioned close to the camera for compact design, then device thickness is reduced, but illumination effectiveness deteriorates due to insufficient light reach
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of physically separating LED and camera with an optical solution using a light guide. Instead of increasing device thickness mechanically, the light guide efficiently transports light from the LED to the subject area, maintaining compact dimensions while ensuring sufficient illumination effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide acts as an intermediary component that bridges the gap between the closely positioned LED and the subject. This intermediary structure efficiently channels and directs light over the short distance, ensuring that even with compact LED-camera spacing, the subject receives adequate illumination for clear imaging.
4Measurement precision
If external light is blocked to prevent ambient light interference, then image clarity is improved, but lighting conditions deteriorate due to lack of sufficient illumination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by making the illumination system self-contained within the device. The LED provides its own light source that illuminates the subject from within the compact module, eliminating the need for external light. This self-illuminating approach maintains image clarity by blocking ambient light while ensuring sufficient lighting through the integrated LED.
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
Enables high magnification imaging with a thin, portable device that uses internal phone components, providing sufficient illumination and adjustable focal length, thereby overcoming the limitations of ambient light and bulkiness in existing solutions.
Implementation Method 1
a light guide (210) which transfers light from the LED (27)
Implementation Method 2
a complex lens part (201) which magnifies an image of a subject (10) to form the magnified image in the camera part (21) through the third through hole (270e)
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a magnification-purpose external optical module external to a portable terminal at which a camera is installed, and a magnification imaging device including the module. An external optical module of the present invention may use an LED and a camera internal to a portable terminal such as a smart phone and thus capture a a high magnification image without a separate lighting source. Furthermore, an external optical module of the present invention does not need to use a separate lighting source because its thickness is implemented to be significantly thin and thus its focal length is designed to be significantly short, and it is possible to sufficiently illuminate a subject with a relatively distant LED in contrast to a thinned thickness.