Plastic Lens with Defined-Wavelength Light Absorbent for Infrared Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional color image sensors face issues with poor color saturation and image distortion due to inadequate filtering of infrared light, and the use of blue glass filters is costly and bulky, while plastic lens elements are prone to damage from UV and blue light, affecting durability and image quality.
Innovation Solution
An optical image lens assembly featuring plastic optical lens elements with defined-wavelength light absorbing capabilities, formed through injection molding, which includes a defined-wavelength light absorbing optical lens element with specific transmittance characteristics to enhance color realism and durability, and is integrated with an image sensor in an image capturing apparatus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If blue glass filter is used to filter out long-wavelength red light, then infrared light filtering is improved, but the back focal length is elongated and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the lens element by incorporating a defined-wavelength light absorbent into the plastic material. This allows the lens to absorb infrared light at specific wavelengths without requiring additional filter layers, thereby maintaining a compact back focal length while achieving effective infrared filtering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite material approach by combining plastic optical material with defined-wavelength light absorbent particles. This composite structure enables the lens element to simultaneously provide optical focusing and infrared filtering functions, eliminating the need for separate blue glass filters and reducing overall system length.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If blue glass filter is used to filter out long-wavelength red light, then infrared light filtering is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the infrared filtering function with the lens element itself by incorporating light absorbent particles directly into the plastic material during injection molding. This integration eliminates the need for separate blue glass filter components and their associated alignment and assembly processes, thereby reducing manufacturing cost and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material composition parameter of the plastic lens element by adding defined-wavelength light absorbent. This modification allows the lens to be manufactured using standard injection molding processes without requiring expensive specialized glass materials or additional filtering layers, thus reducing manufacturing cost.
3Volume of moving object
If plastic optical lens elements are used for miniaturization, then device size is reduced, but durability against UV and blue light damage decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of UV and blue light into a beneficial protective mechanism. By incorporating defined-wavelength light absorbents that specifically target harmful UV and blue light ranges, the lens element absorbs these potentially damaging wavelengths before they can degrade the plastic material, thereby enhancing durability while maintaining miniaturization benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the optical parameter of the plastic material by adding defined-wavelength light absorbents with specific absorption characteristics. These absorbents are selected to absorb harmful UV and blue light wavelengths while allowing visible light to pass through, thus protecting the lens from degradation without compromising optical performance or increasing size.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional coating is applied to reflect UV light, then UV protection is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and uniformity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the UV protection function from the separate coating layer and integrates it directly into the lens material itself. By incorporating UV-absorbing additives into the plastic during manufacturing, the lens gains inherent UV protection without requiring additional coating layers, thereby eliminating coating-related cost and uniformity issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the UV protection function with the lens element manufacturing process. The defined-wavelength light absorbents that provide UV protection are mixed into the plastic material before injection molding, combining structural formation and protective functionality in a single manufacturing step, thus avoiding separate coating operations and their associated problems.
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 improves color saturation and reduces color shift, while maintaining high image quality and durability by effectively absorbing defined-wavelength light, thus addressing the limitations of conventional technologies.
Implementation Method 1
The defined-wavelength light absorbing optical lens element includes at least one defined-wavelength light absorbent and has an average transmittance larger than 50% in a green visible light region, and has an average transmittance smaller than 50% in a defined-wavelength region
Data Source
AI summary
An optical image lens assembly includes a plurality of optical lens elements. The optical lens elements include a plurality of plastic optical lens elements having refractive power and aspheric surfaces. The plastic optical lens elements are formed by an injection molding method and include at least one defined-wavelength light absorbing optical lens element, and the defined-wavelength light absorbing optical lens element includes at least one defined-wavelength light absorbent.