Optical system having integrated illumination and imaging optical systems, and 3D image acquisition apparatus including the optical system

• US 9,170,471 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2011
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Yong-hwa, You, Jang-woo, Shtykov, Stanislav, Shirankov, Alexander, Pavlov, Viktor
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Christopher S
• Assistant Examiner(s): KWAN, MATTHEW K
• Application Number:
  US13/156,789
• Publication Number:
  US 20120147143A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 348/46, 396/155
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/32 using active means, e.g. light emitter including both an active and a passive focus detecting device G02B7/285; using ultrasound G02B7/40
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 13/20 Rangefinders coupled with focusing arrangements, e.g. adjustment of rangefinder automatically focusing camera
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/03 Combinations of cameras with lighting apparatus; Flash units
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/08 by simultaneous recording

Abstract

An optical system including integrated illumination and imaging optical systems, and a 3-dimensional (3D) image acquisition apparatus including the optical system. In the optical system of the 3D image acquisition apparatus, the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system are integrated to have a coaxial optical path. Accordingly, there is no parallax between the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system, so that depth information about an object acquired using illumination light may reflect actual distances between the object and the 3D image acquisition apparatus. Consequently, the depth information about the object may be more precise. The zero parallax between the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system may improve utilization efficiency of the illumination light. As a result, a greater amount of light may be incident on the 3D image acquisition apparatus, which ensures to acquire further precise depth information about the object.

Claims

1. An optical system of a 3-dimensional image acquisition apparatus, the optical system comprising:

an imaging lens with an aperture in a center region thereof through which an optical axis passes;

an illumination lens disposed within the aperture of the imaging lens, wherein the imaging lens and the illumination lens are coaxially disposed on the optical axis;

a light source for providing illumination light to the illumination lens; and

a curved mirror disposed on the optical axis, wherein the curved mirror is located on a non-focal surface of the imaging lens, and the light source is disposed off the optical axis to emit the illumination light toward the curved mirror.

2. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the curved mirror comprises a convex mirror having a convex reflecting surface.

3. The optical system of claim 2, further comprising a light transmission member that transmits condensed light from the light source to the curved mirror.

4. The optical system of claim 3, wherein the light transmission member comprises an optical fiber.