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US 11,686,884 B2Granted
Light-absorbing flange lenses
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorYoshikazu Shinohara
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Light-absorbing flange lenses that may be used in the lens stacks of compact lens systems. In a light-absorbing flange lens, the effective area of the lens is composed of a transparent optical material, and at least a portion of the flange of the lens is composed of an optical material that absorbs at least a portion of the light that enters the flange. Using light-absorbing flange lenses may allow the lens barrel to be eliminated from the lens system, thus reducing the X-Y dimensions of the lens system when compared to conventional compact lens systems that include a lens stack enclosed in a lens barrel. In addition, using a light-absorbing material in the flanges of the light-absorbing flange lenses may reduce or eliminate optical aberrations such as lens flare, haze, and ghosting in images.
Claims22
A lens system, comprising:
- a lens stack comprising a plurality of refractive lens elements arranged along an optical axis of the lens system;
- wherein each of the refractive lens elements includes:
- an effective area composed of a transparent optical material that is configured to receive light at an object side and transmit the received light toward an image side;
- and
- a flange around the effective area, wherein at least a portion of the flange is composed of an optical light-absorbing material that is in direct contact with at least a portion of a lateral boundary of the effective area, wherein the direct contact is along an entirety of a thickness of the refractive lens element, the thickness extending from the object side to the image side, wherein the optical light-absorbing material absorbs at least a portion of light that enters the flange;
- wherein the flanges of the refractive lens elements composed of the optical light-absorbing material allow the refractive lens elements to be arranged along the optical axis to form the lens stack without mounting the refractive lens elements in an opaque lens barrel.
3 more elements
A device, comprising:
- one or more processors;
- a camera;
- and
- a memory comprising program instructions executable by at least one of the one or more processors to control operations of the camera,
- wherein the camera comprises:
- a lens stack comprising a plurality of refractive lens elements arranged along an optical axis of the lens system;
- and
- wherein each of the refractive lens elements includes:
- an effective area composed of a transparent optical material that is configured to receive light at an object side and transmit the received light toward an image side;
- and
- a flange around the effective area, wherein at least a portion of the flange is composed of an optical light-absorbing material that is in direct contact with at least a portion of a lateral boundary of the effective area, wherein the direct contact is along an entirety of a thickness of the refractive lens element, the thickness extending from the object side to the image side, wherein the optical light-absorbing material absorbs at least a portion of the light that enters the flange;
- wherein the flanges of the refractive lens elements composed of the optical light-absorbing material allow the refractive lens elements to be arranged along the optical axis to form the lens stack without mounting the refractive lens elements in an opaque lens barrel.
9 more elements
A camera, comprising:
- a photosensor configured to capture light projected onto a surface of the photosensor;
- and
- a lens system configured to refract light from an object field located in front of the camera to form an image of a scene at an image plane at or near the surface of the photosensor, wherein the lens system comprises a lens stack comprising a plurality of refractive lens elements arranged along an optical axis of the camera;
- wherein each of the refractive lens elements includes:
- an effective area composed of a transparent optical material that is configured to receive light at an object side and transmit the received light toward an image side;
- and
- a flange around the effective area, wherein at least a portion of the flange is composed of an optical light-absorbing material that is in direct contact with at least a portion of a lateral boundary of the effective area, wherein the direct contact is along an entirety of a thickness of the refractive lens element, the thickness extending from the object side to the image side, wherein the optical light-absorbing material absorbs at least a portion of the light that enters the flange,
- wherein the flanges of the refractive lens elements composed of the optical light-absorbing material allow the refractive lens elements to be arranged along the optical axis to form the lens stack without mounting the refractive lens elements in an opaque lens barrel.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.