System and method for lens heating control

A system for stabilizing optical lens temperature, comprising:

• at least one optical lens;
• and
• a light source control module, including:
• an infrared sensor module positioned to detect infrared radiation emitted by the at least one optical lens and generate an infrared sensor signal representing the temperature of the at least one optical lens, the at least one optical lens receiving light from a first light source, an energy density of the light received at the at least one optical lens from the first light source having a variable energy density, and
• a light source controller including a processing unit and at least one infrared light source, the at least one infrared light source including electronic power management circuitry, the processing unit configured to receive the infrared sensor signal and generate a control signal, the electronic power management circuitry configured to receive the control signal and regulate emission of light from the at least one infrared light source, wherein
• the at least one optical lens comprises n optical lenses, wherein n is an integer greater than 1, wherein each optical lens of the n optical lenses has a front side and a back side opposite the front side, wherein the n optical lenses are arranged back side to front side along a longitudinal axis, wherein
• the system further comprises n light path controllers, each light path controller associated with an optical lens of the n optical lenses, each light path controller configured to direct the light from the infrared light source to the front side or the backside of the associated optical lens of the n optical lenses, and wherein
• the system further comprises n−1 infrared filters, each infrared filter positioned along the longitudinal axis between a corresponding pair of the n optical lenses for preventing transmission of infrared radiation between the n optical lenses along the longitudinal axis.

A method for stabilizing lens temperature, comprising:

• isolating, using an infrared filter between a first optical lens and a second optical lens, the first optical lens from infrared radiation emitted by the second optical lens, the first optical lens and the second optical lens being two lenses of n optical lenses wherein n is an integer greater than 1;
• detecting infrared radiation emitted from the first optical lens, wherein the first optical lens receives light emitted from a first light source, the light received from the first light source having a variable energy density;
• generating an infrared sensor signal based upon the detected infrared radiation, the infrared sensor signal representing the temperature of the first optical lens;
• generating a control signal based on the infrared sensor signal;
• regulating emission of light from at least one infrared light source based on the control signal;
• and
• directing emission of the light from the at least one infrared light source to the first or the second optical lens.