Lens Connecting Method Using Point Contact for Optical Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lens arrangement methods for imaging devices require high accuracy in optical axis alignment and lens-to-lens spacing, which is dependent on the shape of the lens housing, leading to increased production costs and difficulty in fine adjustments, especially for smaller lenses or larger numbers of lenses.
Innovation Solution
A connecting method for lenses where each lens has a circular-arc tapered surface and a bulgy-protrusion-shaped portion, allowing for point contact and easy adjustment of optical axis alignment and lens spacing without relying on the inner wall surface of the lens housing, enabling accurate positioning and easy re-adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If lenses are arranged by utilizing shapes formed on the inner wall of the lens housing, then the lenses can be fixed in certain positions, but the alignment accuracy and lens spacing depend on the formation accuracy of the lens housing inner wall, increasing production cost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the lens arrangement function from the lens housing by providing independent positioning structures (tubings) for each lens. This separates the lens housing's primary function of protection from the function of precise lens positioning, allowing the housing to be manufactured with lower precision requirements while maintaining accurate lens arrangement through the dedicated tubings.
Solution Approach 2:
The tubings act as intermediary components between the lens housing and the lenses. These tubings with specific diameters serve as mediators that ensure accurate positioning and spacing of multiple lenses without requiring the lens housing inner wall to be manufactured with high precision, thus resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and production cost.
2Measurement precision
If multiple lenses are arranged in a lens housing, then optical axis alignment can be achieved, but fine adjustment of lens positions becomes difficult after arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a dynamic adjustment mechanism where lenses can be easily inserted into and removed from the tubings. This allows the lens positions to be adjusted flexibly during assembly, enabling precise optical axis alignment through simple insertion and removal operations rather than complex fixed-position adjustments, thus improving both alignment accuracy and ease of fine adjustment.
3Manufacturing precision
If the inner wall surface of the lens housing is formed with high accuracy, then lens arrangement precision is improved, but production cost increases remarkably
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the precise positioning function from the lens housing inner wall by introducing separate tubings with specifically controlled diameters. This allows the lens housing to be manufactured with standard precision while the tubings provide the necessary high-precision lens positioning, significantly reducing the production cost of the housing without compromising lens arrangement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the lens positioning function into individual tubings for each lens rather than relying on a single high-precision lens housing inner wall surface. This segmentation allows each tubing to be manufactured independently with appropriate precision, reducing the overall manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining high lens positioning precision through the collective action of multiple standardized tubings.
Data Source
AI summary
To connect N lenses to construct a lens unit for an imaging-device in series, (n−1)-th (where 2≦n (integer)≦N) lens having an outer periphery rim region which extends with a certain thickness from an outer periphery edge end portion of the lens region directing to the side of the adjacent nth lens and the outer periphery rim region which has a circular-arc tapered surface inclined with respect to an optical axis on a outer part of the lens region, and the nth lens having a bulgy-protrusion-shaped portion with head-top portion milled to be round along an outer part of the lens region on a surface of an outer periphery rim region opposed to the (n−1)-th lens are arranged, and lens position adjustment is made by putting the bulgy protrusion-shaped portion to the circular-arc tapered surface to perform point contact.