Optical Lens Assembly With Active Calibration for Compact Cameras
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing camera modules face challenges in achieving high pixels, small size, and large aperture due to cumulative errors in lens elements and assembly, leading to increased production costs and reduced imaging quality, especially in compact designs like mobile phone front cameras.
Innovation Solution
An optical lens assembly method involving active calibration to adjust and bond lens components, using a connecting medium to fix the relative position of lens components, reducing size and ensuring imaging quality by compensating for production errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the number of lens elements is increased to improve imaging quality, then resolution is improved, but cumulative errors increase and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical lens is divided into multiple independent lens elements (first lens element, second lens element, third lens element, etc.), each with specific optical powers and design parameters. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized independently while contributing to the overall imaging quality, and the errors in each element can be controlled separately during manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
Each lens element has locally optimized properties including specific refractive indices, dispersion values, and surface curvatures tailored to its position and function in the optical system. For example, the first lens element has positive optical power with specific curvature radii on its object-side and image-side surfaces, while the second lens element has negative optical power with different curvature characteristics, allowing each local region to contribute optimally to image quality.
2Volume of moving object
If the lens barrel size is reduced to meet compact device requirements, then device size is reduced, but structural strength and assembly tolerance control become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple lens elements are nested within the lens barrel in a compact arrangement, with each element positioned at specific distances from the image sensor. The lens elements are arranged sequentially along the optical axis with controlled air gaps between them, maximizing the use of available space within the compact lens barrel while maintaining proper optical spacing.
Solution Approach 2:
The design employs specific parameter optimizations including refractive indices (e.g., 1.506-1.636 for various elements), dispersion values, and curvature radii that allow the optical system to achieve high imaging quality within a reduced form factor. These parameter changes enable compact design without sacrificing structural integrity or optical performance.
3Measurement precision
If strict tolerances are applied to control assembly errors, then imaging quality is improved, but production cost and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each lens element is pre-designed with specific optical powers, curvature radii, and dimensional parameters that are optimized to minimize sensitivity to assembly tolerances. The patent provides detailed parameter specifications for each element (e.g., curvature radii ranging from several millimeters to tens of millimeters, refractive indices with controlled precision) that enable manufacturing within reasonable tolerance ranges while achieving high imaging quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical design incorporates error compensation mechanisms where the specific combination of lens elements with different optical powers and dispersion properties creates an system that is inherently more tolerant to individual element variations. The arrangement of positive and negative power elements, along with controlled air gaps, provides feedback-like compensation for manufacturing errors, reducing the need for extremely strict tolerances.
4Illumination intensity
If the aperture is increased to improve light gathering capability, then imaging quality in low light is improved, but lens barrel size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system uses composite material properties across multiple lens elements with different refractive indices and dispersion characteristics to achieve high aperture performance within compact dimensions. The combination of materials with specific optical properties (e.g., elements with refractive indices from 1.506 to 1.636) allows the design to maximize light gathering capability while controlling the overall lens barrel size and structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical lens is provided, including one first lens sheet having a first optical zone and a first structural zone; a second lens component, including a second lens barrel and at least one second lens sheet mounted in the second lens barrel, the second lens sheet has a second optical zone and a second structural zone, the second structural zone and the second lens barrel constitute a structural zone of the second lens component, and there is a first gap between a top surface of the structural zone and a bottom surface of the first structural zone; and a first glue material, located in the first gap. The first glue material extends outwardly along the top surface of the structural zone of the second lens component and covers at least a part of an outer lateral side surface of the first structural zone.