Wide-Angle Lens Layout for Thermal-Stable Vehicle Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle lenses for autonomous driving systems face challenges with high light transmission, imaging clarity, and thermal stability, particularly being sensitive to temperature variations and prone to chromatic aberration, which limits their effectiveness in harsh environments.
Innovation Solution
A wide-angle lens design comprising multiple glass lenses with specific refractive powers and temperature coefficients, along with an aspherical lens, to correct f-θ distortion, astigmatism, and chromatic aberration, ensuring high imaging quality and thermal stability across a wide temperature range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional lenses are used for vehicle cameras, then the structure is simple and cost is low, but thermal stability is poor and imaging quality degrades at extreme temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite lens design combining different glass materials with complementary thermal properties. Specifically, it employs a positive lens made of glass with positive thermal expansion characteristics and a negative lens made of glass with negative thermal expansion characteristics, creating a composite optical system that compensates for thermal effects and maintains imaging quality across temperature ranges from -40°C to +85°C.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the refractive index parameters and thermal expansion coefficients of the lens materials to achieve thermal compensation. By selecting glass materials with specific refractive powers and thermal characteristics, the optical system maintains consistent focal length and imaging performance despite temperature variations, resolving the thermal stability issue without requiring complex active control mechanisms.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional lenses are used, then manufacturing is easier, but chromatic aberration and astigmatism are not effectively corrected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the optical system into multiple discrete lens elements (positive lens and negative lens with different glass materials) rather than using a single conventional lens. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized for specific aberration correction functions, with the positive lens addressing certain chromatic aberrations and the negative lens addressing astigmatism and other distortions, achieving superior correction precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different glass material properties to different lens elements based on their specific optical functions. The positive lens uses glass material optimized for its refractive power and chromatic correction needs, while the negative lens uses glass material optimized for its astigmatism correction requirements. This local optimization of material properties enables precise aberration correction while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
3Illumination intensity
If standard lens designs are used, then the design process is simpler, but light transmission and imaging clarity are insufficient for harsh environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the typically harmful effect of thermal expansion into a beneficial compensation mechanism. By pairing lenses with opposite thermal expansion characteristics, the dimensional changes that would normally degrade image quality are transformed into a self-correcting system where thermal expansion of one lens compensates for thermal contraction of the other, maintaining optical performance in harsh thermal environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite glass materials with enhanced optical properties including higher light transmission coefficients and superior thermal stability. These specialized glass materials allow the lens system to maintain high light transmission capability and clear imaging performance in harsh environments, overcoming the limitations of conventional lens materials without requiring additional complex optical components.
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 provides a wide-angle lens with high imaging quality and good thermal stability, capable of clear imaging from -40°C to +85°C, suitable for harsh environments like sports cameras and vehicle cameras, effectively addressing the limitations of conventional lenses.
Implementation Method 1
a first lens group with a refractive power, wherein the first lens group includes a first lens with a negative refractive power, a second lens with a negative refractive power and a third lens with a positive refractive power
Implementation Method 2
the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, the fifth lens and the sixth lens each are glass lenses... (dN/dT)2 represents a temperature coefficient of refractive index of the second lens, (dN/dT)6 represents a temperature coefficient of refractive index of the sixth lens
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides wide-angle lens, an imaging device, a camera module and a vehicle camera. From an object side to an image side, the wide-angle lens sequentially includes: a first lens group with a refractive power, wherein the first lens group includes a first lens with a negative refractive power, a second lens with a negative refractive power and a third lens with a positive refractive power from the object side surface to the image side surface; a second lens group with a positive refractive power, wherein the second lens group includes a fourth lens with a negative refractive power, a fifth lens with a positive refractive power and a sixth lens with a positive refractive power; and a stop disposed between the first lens group and the second lens group.