Panoramic lens
OwnerAlex Ninginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An object of the present invention is to create a panoramic lens that is compact, having a lower front diameter to final image circle ratio. Such a lens can be used in space constrained applications such as in endoscopy or other panoramic applications. The lens designs include two lens groups each with multiple lens elements and are scalable. This design can be scaled to a smaller absolute size for space constrained applications, or enlarged to cover an even large image circle. The example designs use all spherical lens elements except a single surface nearest and intermediate focal plane that is located between the two lens groups.
Claims16
A panoramic lens assembly, the panoramic lens assembly having an optical axis and comprising in order from object to image:
- a) a first, positive power, lens group that has a front lens element nearest an object, the front lens element having a diameter, and the first lens group, is image space telecentric, and, forms an image of the object at an intermediate focal plane, the image of the object at the intermediate focal plane having a diameter, and,
- b) a second, positive power, finite conjugate, lens group, that is object space telecentric and has an object plane, a focal plane, and a magnification, and,
- c) the first lens group and second lens group each have an optical axis and the optical axes of the first lens group and the second lens group are aligned along the optical axis of the panoramic lens assembly, and,
- d) the first lens group and the second lens group are positioned such that the intermediate focal plane is located at the object plane of the rear second lens group, and,
- e) the second lens group is as a relay lens, the image of the object formed at the intermediate focal plane is focused onto the focal plane of the second lens group, and,
- f) The image on the focal plane of the second lens group has a diameter that is equal to the diameter of the image of the object formed at the intermediate focal plane multiplied by the magnification of the second lens group, and,
- g) all surfaces of all lens elements are spherical surfaces except a first surface, nearest the intermediate focal plane, of the second lens group is aspherical.
A panoramic lens assembly, the panoramic lens assembly having an optical axis and comprising in order from object to image:
- a) a first, positive power, lens group that has a front lens element nearest an object, the front lens element having a diameter, and the first lens group, is image space telecentric, and, forms an image of the object at an intermediate focal plane, the image of the object at the intermediate focal plane having a diameter, and,
- b) a second, positive power, finite conjugate, lens group, that is object space telecentric and has an object plane, a focal plane, and a magnification, and,
- c) the first lens group and second lens group each have an optical axis and the optical axes of the first lens group and the second lens group are aligned along the optical axis of the panoramic lens assembly, and,
- d) the first lens group and the second lens group are positioned such that the intermediate focal plane is located at the object plane of the second lens group, and,
- e) the second lens group is as a relay lens, the image of the object formed at the intermediate focal plane is focused onto the focal plane of the second lens group, and,
- f) the image on the focal plane of the second lens group has a diameter that is equal to the diameter of the image of the object formed at the intermediate focal plane multiplied by the magnification of the second lens group, and,
- g) all surfaces of all lens elements are spherical surfaces except a last surface, nearest the intermediate focal plane, of the first lens group, is aspherical.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.