Optical Imaging Lens Compact Design Using Aspheric Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in designing an optical imaging lens that balances reduced size with maintaining good imaging quality and optical performance, particularly in consumer electronic devices where traditional lens designs struggle to achieve both compactness and high magnification without compromising imaging quality.
Innovation Solution
The optical imaging lens is designed with a front and rear lens group configuration, featuring specific refracting power distributions and aspheric surfaces, where the first lens element has positive refracting power, the second has negative power, and at least one surface of the third and fourth lens elements are aspheric, with carefully controlled air gaps and thicknesses to satisfy specific optical performance criteria, allowing for reduced lens depth while maintaining image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the length of the optical imaging lens is reduced to achieve compactness, then the size parameter is improved, but the imaging quality and optical performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The optical imaging lens is divided into multiple lens elements (first lens element, second lens element, third lens element, and fourth lens element) with different refracting powers and surface configurations. This segmentation allows each element to contribute differently to the overall optical performance, enabling compact design while maintaining imaging quality through optimized light manipulation at each stage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs aspheric surfaces on the third and fourth lens elements, where at least one surface of each element is aspheric rather than spherical. This curvature variation enables more precise control over light ray paths, correcting optical aberrations more effectively in a compact configuration and maintaining high imaging quality despite reduced lens length.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the focal length is increased to achieve higher magnification, then the magnification is improved, but the lens length increases making it non-compact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes specific parameter relationships including the air gap between lens elements (G12), the thickness of the second lens element (T2), and the ratio 6.1≦ImaH/(G12+T2). By carefully controlling these parameters, the system achieves high magnification through increased focal length while maintaining a compact overall lens length, resolving the contradiction between magnification capability and physical size.
3Length of moving object
If the air gap between lens elements is reduced to shorten lens depth, then the compactness is improved, but the optical performance and aberration correction deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different surface qualities to different lens elements: the first and second lens elements have specific refracting powers, while the third and fourth lens elements feature aspheric surfaces. This local differentiation allows optimal light control at each position, enabling reduced air gaps and lens depth while maintaining aberration correction and optical performance through the specialized surface configurations.
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
This configuration effectively reduces lens depth while preserving optical performance, overcoming aberrations and achieving good imaging quality, even at shorter focal lengths, thus addressing the dilemma of size and magnification in compact imaging systems.
Implementation Method 1
The first lens element has positive refracting power, and the second lens element has negative refracting power
Implementation Method 2
At least one of the object-side surface and the image-side surface of the third lens element is an aspheric surface. At least one of the object-side surface and the image-side surface of the fourth lens element is an aspheric surface
Data Source
AI summary
An optical imaging lens includes a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, and a fourth lens element from an object side to an image side in order along an optical axis. The first lens element to the fourth lens element each include an object-side surface and an image-side surface. The first lens element has positive refracting power. The second lens element has negative refracting power. At least one of the object-side surface and the image-side surface of the third lens element is an aspheric surface. At least one of the object-side surface and the image-side surface of the fourth lens element is an aspheric surface. A maximum distance between the image-side surface of the first lens element and the object-side surface of the second lens element in a direction parallel to the optical axis is less than 0.2 mm.