# US 11,906,712 B2 · Wide-angle optical system, image pickup apparatus, and image pickup system

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- Number: US 11,906,712 B2
- Document ID: US11906712B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/517,071
- Filed: 2021-11-02
- Published: 2022-02-24
- Granted: 2024-02-20
- Earliest claimed: 2019-05-09
- Assignees: Olympus Corporation
- Applicants: Olympus Corporation
- Inventors: Takayoshi Togino
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11906712B2

## CPC

- G02B 13/006: {at least one element being a compound optical element, e.g. cemented elements}
- G02B 13/06: Panoramic objectives; So-called "sky lenses" {including panoramic objectives having reflecting surfaces}
- G02B 13/0065: {having a beam-folding prism or mirror}
- G02B 17/0856: {comprising a refractive element with a reflective surface, the reflection taking place inside the element, e.g. Mangin mirrors}
- H04N 13/207: using a single two-dimensional [2D] image sensor
- H04N 13/218: using spatial multiplexing
- H04N 13/239: using two two-dimensional [2D] image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance (H04N13/243 takes precedence)
- H04N 13/243: using three or more two-dimensional [2D] image sensors
- H04N 13/282: for generating image signals corresponding to three or more geometrical viewpoints, e.g. multi-view systems
- H04N 23/698: for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
- G02B 30/20: by providing first and second parallax images to an observer's left and right eyes
- H04N 2213/001: Constructional or mechanical details
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

A wide-angle optical system includes a pair of front side lens units, an optical member, and a pair of rear side lens units. Each of the pair of front side lens units has a negative refractive power. The optical member has a pair of inclined surfaces and a bottom surface, and the pair of inclined surfaces is disposed such that a line of intersection is formed on an object side. Each of the pair of rear side lens units includes a positive lens, and in the pair of rear side lens units, two axes of rotational symmetry are parallel. With respect to two light rays, intersection and reflection occur at the optical member, and the intersection and the reflection occur after the two light rays are transmitted through the pair of inclined surfaces and before two light rays are transmitted through the bottom surface.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A wide-angle optical system comprising:
at least a pair of front side lens units, each of the pair of front side lens units has a negative refractive power;
an optical member comprising:
at least a pair of planar inclined surfaces disposed such that a line intersecting the at least pair of planar inclined surfaces is formed on an object side; and
a bottom surface; and
at least a pair of rear side lens units, each of the at least pair of rear side lens units includes at least one positive lens positioned on an axis of rotational symmetry, and the axis of rotational symmetry for each of the at least pair of rear side lens units are parallel to each other;
wherein the wide-angle optical system has at least two optical paths,
intersection of two light rays and reflection of the two light rays occur at the optical member,
the intersection and the reflection occur after the two light rays are transmitted through the pair of planar inclined surfaces and before the two light rays are transmitted through the bottom surface, and
following conditional expression (1) is satisfied:
2 mm<HB<10 mm (1)
where,
HB denotes a length in a transverse direction of the bottom surface, where
the transverse direction is a direction orthogonal to the axis of rotational symmetry of each of the at least pair of rear side lens units.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein:
the optical member comprises a pair of intermediate surfaces; and
reflection of a first light ray of the two light rays occurs at a first intermediate surface in the pair of intermediate surfaces,
reflection of a second light ray of the two light rays occurs at a second intermediate surface in the pair of intermediate surfaces,
reflection of the first light ray occurs at the bottom surface, before the reflection of the first light ray occurs at the first intermediate surface, and
reflection of the second light ray occurs at the bottom surface, before the reflection of the second light ray occurs at the second intermediate surface.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein
the reflection of the one light ray of the two light rays occurs at the inclined surface through which an other light ray is transmitted, and
the reflection of the other light ray of the two light rays occurs at the inclined surface through which the one light ray is transmitted.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein
the at least pair of front side lens units, the at least pair of rear side lens units, and the at least pair of planar inclined surfaces are disposed symmetrically with respect to a predetermined plane, and
the predetermined plane is a plane which is orthogonal to the bottom surface, and which includes the line of intersection.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein
the at least pair of front side lens units each include a negative meniscus lens of which a convex surface is directed toward the object side,
the at least pair of rear side lens units each include at least one cemented lens having a positive refractive power, and
the cemented lens includes the positive lens and a negative lens.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein the at least pair of rear side lens units each include the positive lens and one cemented lens having a positive refractive power.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein following conditional expression (1) is satisfied:
0.1<D5/L<0.35 (1)
where,
D5 denotes a distance when a predetermined distance is subjected to air conversion, and
L denotes an overall length of the wide-angle optical system, where
the predetermined distance is a distance from a lens surface nearest to an image in the at least pair of front side lens units up to a lens surface nearest to an object in the at least pair of rear side lens units, and
the overall length is a distance from an optical surface positioned nearest to the object up to the image plane.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein the image plane on which a pair of optical images is formed is a single plane.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein the at least pair of rear side lens units each include a lens which moves along the axis of rotational symmetry.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein the optical member comprises a pair of intermediate surfaces;
reflection of a first light ray of the two light rays occurs at a first intermediate surface of the pair of intermediate surfaces,
reflection of a second light ray of the two light rays occurs at a second intermediate surface of the pair of intermediate surfaces,
reflection of the first light ray occurs at the first intermediate surface, before the reflection of the first light ray occurs at the inclined surface through which the other light ray is transmitted, and
reflection of the second light ray occurs at the second intermediate surface, before the reflection of the second light ray occurs at the inclined surface through which the first light ray is transmitted.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein following conditional expression (3) is satisfied:
0.5<HB/VB<2 (3)
where,
HB denotes a length in a transverse direction of the bottom surface, and
VB denotes a length in a longitudinal direction of the bottom surface, where
the transverse direction is a direction orthogonal to the axis of rotational symmetry of each of the at least pair of rear side lens units, and
the longitudinal direction is a direction orthogonal to the transverse direction.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein following conditional expression (4) is satisfied:
1<HB/D<3 (4)
where,
HB denotes a length in a transverse direction of the bottom surface, and
D denotes a distance between the axis of rotational symmetry of each of the at least pair of rear side lens units, where
the transverse direction is a direction orthogonal to the two axes of rotational symmetry.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein the at least pair of front side lens units each include at least two negative meniscus lenses.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein
a common lens unit which includes at least one cemented lens is disposed on an image side of the at least pair of rear side lens units, and
an axis of rotational symmetry of the common lens unit is in a plane which includes the axis of rotational symmetry of each of the at least pair of rear side lens units and is located to be equidistant from the axes of rotational symmetry of each of the at least pair of rear side lens units.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein following conditional expression (5) is satisfied:
40°<α<70° (5)
where,
α denotes an angle made by the pair of planar inclined surfaces.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the optical member is a pyramid.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

An image pickup apparatus comprising:
a wide-angle optical system according to claim 1; and
an image sensor configured to acquire two images having a parallax from the wide-angle optical system.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

An image pickup system comprising:
an image pickup apparatus according to claim 17;
a processor comprising hardware; and
a display;
wherein the processor is configured to:
generate an image for stereoscopic vision from the two images; and
display the image on a display.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein
the optical member is disposed between the front side lens units and the rear side lens units.

### Claim 20 (depends on 1)

The wide-angle optical system according to claim 1, wherein in the two optical paths, each of the two light rays is transmitted through a different front side lens unit of the at least pair of front side lens units, then transmitted through a different inclined surface of the at least pair of planar inclined surfaces, then transmitted through the bottom surface, then transmitted through a different rear side lens unit of the at least pair of rear side lens units, and reaches an image plane.