Collimating lens

This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application No. 2018100867359 filed on Jan. 30, 2018, titled “COLLIMATING LENS”. The entirety of the above-mentioned application is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

The present disclosure relates to a technical field of camera lenses, and particularly to a collimating lens.

With the rapid development of mobile phones, innovative technologies for the camera function of mobile phones continue to emerge, for example, the 3D imaging technology pushed by Apple inc. The 3D imaging technology is one kind of optical sensing technology based on 3D structured light. The 3D imaging technology can be used for face recognition, gesture recognition and camera function enhancement. The 3D imaging technology can also be used for developing new applications for augmented reality (AR) and transforming optical images from two-dimensional to three-dimensional space, resulting in a more realistic and clear perception experience.

3D structured light technology can be used for three-dimensional space restoration. After a specific laser information is projected onto a surface of an object, the optical information is collected by a camera, and the position and depth of the object are calculated according to the change of the optical information caused by the object, thereby restoring the entire three-dimensional space. The specific laser information is a very important indicator in the 3D structured light technology. Therefore, requirements for a collimating lens for projecting the laser information onto the surface of a to-be-measured object are very high. The collimating lens can be used for projecting lights with a specific solid angle emitted from a point light source array on a surface of a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) to the surface of the to-be-measured object. The collimating lens is a key component of a 3D imaging quality.

In such products, as the ambient temperature changes, the focal length f of a lens changes greatly, which causes the angle of the projected light of the lens to change significantly. The change of the angle of the projected light of the lens changes the original optical information, which may result in errors in the calculation of the entire system and then affect a contour restoration accuracy of the three-dimensional object. Similarly, as the temperature changes, the imaging point of the collimating lens becomes larger, which may also cause the system to reduce the sharpness of the three-dimensional object. Therefore, it is important to make the angle of view and the size of the spot of the light information projected onto the to-be-measured object do not change greatly as the ambient temperature changes.

The present disclosure aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the related art. For this purpose, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a collimating lens with a stable focal length at different temperatures.

According to the collimating lens provided by the present disclosure, in order from a laser transmitter side to a to-be-measured object side, the collimating lens may include:

a first lens with positive refractive power, including a convex object side surface;

a second lens with negative refractive power, including a concave object side surface and a concave image side surface;

a third lens with positive refractive power;

a fourth lens with positive refractive power, including a convex image side surface;

an aperture stop on the to-be-measured object side;

optical centers of each lens being on a same line;

the collimating lens satisfying the following conditions:

(dn/dt)1<−50×10 −6 /° C.;

(dn/dt)2<−50×10 −6 /° C.;

(dn/dt)3<−50×10 −6 /° C.;

(dn/dt)4>−10×10 −6 /° C.;

wherein, (dn/dt)1 is a change rate of a refractive index of the first lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C., (dn/dt)2 is a change rate of a refractive index of the second lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C., (dn/dt)3 is a change rate of a refractive index of the third lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C., and (dn/dt)4 is a change rate of a refractive index of the fourth lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C.

According to the collimating lens provided by the present disclosure, due to the refractive index of each lens is distributed reasonably with temperature, an effect of the thermal expansion the lens itself and the structural components can be offset. So that the focal length can be stabilized and applied to different temperature. For every 10 degrees Celsius change in temperature, the effective focal length variation of the collimating lens is less than 0.0005 mm, so that the angle of the projected light of the lens is not change significantly, and the original optical information is not changed significantly. Compared with the related art, with the same size VCSEL (laser transmitter), the focal length of the system is larger, and the field of view angle is smaller, and the 3D structured light algorithm is more suitable to be applied.

Further, the collimating lens may satisfy the following condition:

TTL/f<1.0,

wherein, TTL is a total length of the collimating lens, and f is a focal length of the collimating lens.

Further, an image side surface and an object side surface of the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, and the fourth lens are aspherical surfaces.

Further, the collimating lens may satisfy the following condition:

0<f4/f1<5.0,

wherein, f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens, and f1 is a focal length of the first lens.

Further, the collimating lens may satisfy the following condition:

−6.0<f/R8<0,

wherein, f is a focal length of the collimating lens, and R8 is a radius of curvature of the image side surface of the fourth lens.

Further, the collimating lens may satisfy the following condition:

−5.0<R1/R8<0,

wherein, R1 is a radius of curvature of the object side surface of the first lens, and R8 is a radius of curvature of the image side surface of the fourth lens.

Further, the collimating lens may satisfy the following condition:

1.0<CT4/CT2<5.0,

wherein, CT2 is a center thickness of the second lens, and CT4 is a center thickness of the fourth lens.

Further, a total length of the collimating lens is less than 3.5 mm.

Further, a focal length of the collimating lens is greater than 4.45 mm.

Further, a shape of the aspherical surface of each lens may satisfy the following condition:

wherein, z is a vector height between a position on the aspheric surface and a vertex of the aspheric surface along an optical axis of the collimating lens, c is a curvature of the aspheric surface, k is a quadratic surface coefficient, h is a distance between the position and the optical axis, B is a fourth order surface coefficient, C is a sixth order surface coefficient, D is an eighth order surface coefficient, E is a tenth order surface coefficient, F is a twelve order surface coefficient, G is a fourteen order surface coefficient, H is a sixteen order surface coefficient.

The advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description of the following embodiments.

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more straightforward.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a collimating lens according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the collimating lens of FIG. 1 , illustrating optical path of lasers emitted from a laser emitter.

FIG. 3 a is a field curve diagram of the collimating lens according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 3 a , the x-axis shows a field curvature value, the coordinate unit of the x-axis is millimeter, and the y-axis shows a field of view defined by an object height.

FIG. 3 b is a distortion diagram of a collimating lens according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 3 b , the x-axis shows a distortion value, the coordinate unit of the x-axis is percent, and the y-axis shows a field of view defined by the object height.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the size and shape of an imaging point of the collimating lens according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance, the unit of size is micrometers.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the collimating lens according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 a is a field curve diagram of the collimating lens according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 6 a , the x-axis shows a field curvature value, the coordinate unit of the x-axis is millimeters, and the y-axis shows a field of view defined by the object height.

FIG. 6 b is a distortion diagram of the collimating lens according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 6 b , the x-axis shows a distortion value, the coordinate unit of the x-axis is percent, and the y-axis shows a field of view defined by the object height.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the size and shape of an imaging point of the collimating lens according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance, the unit of the size is micrometers.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the collimating lens according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 a is a field curve diagram of the collimating lens according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 9 a , the x-axis shows a field curvature value, the coordinate unit of the x-axis is millimeters, and the y-axis shows a field of view defined by the object height.

FIG. 9 b is a distortion diagram of the collimating lens according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 9 b , the x-axis shows a distortion value, the coordinate unit of the x-axis is percent, and the y-axis shows a field of view defined by the object height.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the size and shape of an imaging point of the collimating lens according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance, the unit of size is micrometers.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the collimating lens according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 a is a field curve diagram of the collimating lens according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 12 a , the x-axis shows a field curvature value, a coordinate unit of the x-axis is millimeter, and the y-axis shows a field of view defined by the object height.

FIG. 12 b is a distortion diagram of the collimating lens according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance. In FIG. 12 b , an x-axis shows a distortion value, the coordinate unit of the x-axis is percent, and a y-axis shows a field of view defined by the object height.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the size and shape of an imaging point of the collimating lens according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure at 40° C. and 400 mm image distance, the unit of size is micrometers.

The specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the disclosure are presented in the drawings. However, the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and comprehensive.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning, the terminology used in the description of the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the disclosure. The term “and/or” used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , a collimating lens 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a first lens L 1 , a second lens L 2 , a third lens L 3 , a fourth lens L 4 and an aperture stop S 9 . The first lens L 1 has positive refractive power and is close to a laser emitter 20 (i.e. an object side). The second lens L 2 has negative refractive power. The third lens L 3 has positive refractive power. The fourth lens L 4 has positive refractive power. The aperture stop S 9 is close to a to-be-measured object side (i.e. an image side). Optical centers of each lens is on a same line.

The first lens L 1 has positive refractive power and a convex image side surface. Both an image side surface and an object side surface of the first lens are aspherical surfaces, thereby a telecentric beam from the laser emitter 20 being converged. The first lens L 1 provides sufficient positive power and can effectively control an overall volume of the optical lens unit.

The second lens L 2 has a negative refractive power. Both an image side surface and an object side surface of the second lens L 2 are concave aspherical surfaces. An aberration generated by the first lens L 1 can be effectively reconciled, and a focusing ability of the working band can be controlled.

The third lens L 3 has a positive refractive power. Both an image side surface and an object side surface of the third lens L 3 are aspherical surfaces.

The fourth lens L 4 has a positive refractive power and a convex image side surface. Both an image side surface and an object side surface of the fourth lens L 4 are aspherical surfaces. An aberration of the optical lens can be effectively corrected, thereby an emitting angle of the light can be effectively controlled.

The collimating lens 10 provided by the present embodiment may satisfy the following condition:

(dn/dt)1<−50×10 −6 /° C.,

(dn/dt)2<−50×10 −6 /° C.,

(dn/dt)3<−50×10 −6 /° C.,

(dn/dt)4>−10×10 −6 /° C.

Wherein, (dn/dt)1 is a change rate of a refractive index of the first lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C., (dn/dt)2 is a change rate of a refractive index of the second lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C., (dn/dt)3 is a change rate of a refractive index of the third lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C., and (dn/dt)4 is a change rate of a refractive index of the fourth lens with temperature in a range of 0˜60° C.

In the above collimating lens, due to the refractive index of each lens is distributed reasonably with temperature, an effect can be offset by the influence of the thermal expansion focal length of the lens itself and the structural components can be offset. So that the focal length can be stabilized and applied to different temperature. For every 10 degrees Celsius change in temperature, the effective focal length variation of the collimating lens is less than 0.0005 mm, so that the angle of the projected light of the lens is not change significantly, and the original optical information is not changed significantly. Compared with the related art, with the same size VCSEL (laser transmitter), the focal length of the system is larger, and the field of view angle is smaller, and the 3D structured light algorithm is more suitable to be applied.

In the above collimating lens 10 , the first lens L 1 , the second lens L 2 , and the third lens L 3 are made of plastic, so that production costs can be effectively reduced. The fourth lens L 4 is made of glass. So that the fourth lens L 4 can ensure a system resolution does not change significantly with the change of working temperature.

Further, a total length TTL of the collimating lens 10 and a focal length f of the collimating lens 10 may satisfy a condition: TTL/f<1.0. The condition limits the proportional relationship between the total length of the collimating lens and the focal length of the collimating lens, and can achieve a purpose of system miniaturization in the case of a long focal length of the collimating lens. Specifically, the total length TTL of the collimating lens 10 is less than 3.5 mm, and the focal length f of the collimating lens 10 is greater than 4.45 mm, to achieve a better optical characteristics can be ensured, and be more suitable for 3D structured light algorithm implementation.

The object side surface and the image side surface of the first lens L 1 , the second lens L 2 , the third lens L 3 , and the fourth lens L 4 are aspherical surfaces. That is, the object side surface and the image side surface of the first lens L 1 , the second lens L 2 , the third lens L 3 , and the fourth lens L 4 are formed into a shape other than a spherical surface, thereby more control variables can be obtained to reduce aberrations.

In the optical lens group of the present disclosure, the first lens L 1 , the second lens L 2 , the third lenses L 3 and the fourth lens L 4 are four sheets of non-adhesive independent lenses. In other words, in the optical lens group of the present disclosure, each adjacent two lenses of the first lens L 1 , the second lens L 2 , the third lenses L 3 and the fourth lens L 4 define a gap. Because of processes of bonding the lenses are more complicated than processes of the non-adhesive lens, especially the bonding faces of the two lenses required to have a high precision surface, and the precise surface is used to achieve good adhesion when the two lenses are bonded. In the bonding process, the adhesion may be insufficient due to the offset, thereby affecting the optical imaging quality. Therefore, in the optical lens group of the present disclosure, the first lens L 1 , the second lens L 2 , the third lenses L 3 and the fourth lens L 4 are four non-adhesive independent lenses, in order to effectively improve the problems caused by the adhesive lens.

The ratio of the focal length f4 of the fourth lens L 4 to the focal length f1 of the first lens L 1 may satisfy:

0<f4/f1<5.0.

This condition of f4 and f1 limits the ratio of the focal lengths of the first lens L 1 and the focal lengths of the fourth lens L 4 . The condition of f4 and f1 is mainly used to condense the light passing through the first lens L 1 on the imaging surface, and reduce an aberration of the collimating lens 10 .

The ratio of the focal length f of the collimating lens 10 to the radius of curvature R8 of the image side surface of the fourth lens L 4 may satisfy:

−6.0<f/R8<0.

This condition off and R8 limits the shape of the image side of the fourth lens L 4 . The condition of f and R8 is beneficial to the manufacturing of the lens and reduce the tolerance sensitivity.

The ratio of the radius of curvature R1 of the object side surface of the first lens L 1 to the radius of curvature R8 of the image side surface of the fourth lens L 4 may satisfy:

−5.0<R1/R8<0.

This condition of R1 and R8 restricts the opposite direction of the object side surface of the first lens L 1 from the image side surface of the fourth lens L 4 , is mainly used to condense light passing through the first lens L 1 on the imaging surface and reduce the image of the collimating lens 10 .

The ratio of the center thickness CT4 of the fourth lens L 4 to the center thickness CT2 of the second lens L 2 may satisfy:

1.0<CT4/CT2<5.0.

This condition of CT4 and CT2 limits the ratio of the center thickness CT4 of the fourth lens L 4 to the center thickness CT2 of the second lens L 2 . The condition of CT4 and CT2 is beneficial to processing and of the optical lens group by appropriately arranging the center thickness of the lens.

In summary, the collimating lens 10 is smaller in size, capable of achieving stable focal length and suitable for different temperature applications. The refractive index of each lens is distributed reasonably with the change rate of temperature and the coefficient of thermal expansion, therefore, the angle of the projecting light of the lens does not change significantly, and the original optical information is not changed significantly. With the same size VCSEL (laser transmitter), the focal length of the system is larger, the field of view angle is smaller, and the 3D structured light algorithm is more suitable to be applied.

The disclosure is further illustrated by the following various examples. In each of the following embodiments, the thickness and the radius of curvature of each lens in the collimating lens are different. For specific differences, refer to the parameter table in each embodiment. The following embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, however the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited by the following embodiments. Any other changes, substitutions, combinations or simplifications made without departing from the innovation of the disclosure are considered to be equivalent replacements and are included in the scope of the present disclosure.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a shape of the aspherical surface of each lens may satisfy the following equation:

Wherein, z is a vector height between a position on the aspheric surface and a vertex of the aspheric surface along an optical axis of the collimating lens, c is a curvature of the aspheric surface, k is a quadratic surface coefficient, h is a distance between the position and the optical axis, B is a fourth order surface coefficient, C is a sixth order surface coefficient, D is an eighth order surface coefficient, E is a tenth order surface coefficient, F is a twelve order surface coefficient, G is a fourteen order surface coefficient, H is a sixteen order surface coefficient, z is a distance of the surface away from the vertex of the surface in the direction of the optical axis, c.

The First Embodiment

The structural diagram of the collimating lens of this embodiment is as shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 3 a , FIG. 3 b and FIG. 4 . Related parameters of each lens in the collimating lens are shown in Table 1-1.

The parameters of the aspheric surfaces of the lenses of this embodiment are shown in Table 1-2.

The Second Embodiment

As illustrated in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 a , FIG. 6 b and FIG. 7 , the collimating lens is provided in the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The relevant parameters of each lens in the collimating lens are shown in Table 2-1.

The parameters of the aspheric surfaces of the lenses of this embodiment are shown in Table 2-2.

The Third Embodiment

As illustrated in FIG. 8 , FIG. 9 a , FIG. 9 b and FIG. 10 , the collimating lens is provided in the third embodiment of the present disclosure. The relevant parameters of each lens in the collimating lens are shown in Table 3-1.

The parameters of the aspheric surfaces of the lenses of this embodiment are shown in Table 3-2.

The Fourth Embodiment

As illustrated in FIG. 11 , FIG. 12 a , FIG. 12 b and FIG. 13 , the collimating lens is provided in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. The relevant parameters of each lens in the collimating lens are shown in Table 4-1.

The parameters of the aspheric surfaces of the lenses of this embodiment are shown in Table 4-2.

The smaller the data range of the image point, the better the lens performance. The aberrations in each embodiment are well corrected as shown in FIG. 4 , FIG. 7 , FIG. 10 and FIG. 13 .

Table 5 shows the above four embodiments and their corresponding optical characteristics. Table 5 includes the system focal length f, the numerical aperture stop NA, and the system optical total length TTL, and values corresponding to each of the preceding conditional expressions.

In the description of the present specification, the description with reference to the terms “one embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “example”, “specific example”, or “some examples” and the like means a specific feature described in connection with the embodiment or example. A structure, material or feature is included in at least one embodiment or example of the disclosure. In the present specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely illustrative of several embodiments of the present disclosure, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, however is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. It should be noted that various variations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure should be determined by the appended claims.