COMBINED LENS MODULE AND IMAGE CAPTURING-AND-SENSING ASSEMBLY

• US 20160124180A1
• Filed: 01/13/2015
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Everready Precision Ind. Corp.
• Original Assignee: Everready Precision Ind. Corp.
• Inventors: CHERN, JYH-LONG, YEN, CHIH-MING
• Granted Patent: US 9,857,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/0035 having three lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/008 designed for infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/16 for use in conjunction with image converters or intensifiers , or for use with projectors, e.g. objectives for projection TV
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 9/12 having three components only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof

Abstract

A combined lens module including plural lens modules deposited within a housing is provided. These lens modules include plural lenses and multiple apertures. Each lens has a main lens element for visible light and an associate lens element for invisible light. An image capturing-and-sensing assembly may be performed by equipping with such a combined lens module and a sensor for visible light and invisible light, which could have high-resolution and apply to a thin portable device or any environment in use of infrared structured lighting or light scanner for the applications of human-machine interactive.

Claims

1. A combined lens module comprising:

a housing; and

a plurality of lens modules deposited within the housing, the lens modules comprising a plurality of lenses and having a plurality of apertures, wherein each of the lens comprises a main lens element for passing visible light and an associate lens element for passing invisible light, and light data from the outside of the housing reaches the housing and passes through the lens modules.

2. The combined lens module according to claim 1, wherein the main lens element is in the center zone of the corresponding lens, and the associate lens element is at the surrounding zone of the corresponding lens.

3. The combined lens module according to claim 2, wherein the lenses comprises three lenses staggered with one another within the housing, and the combined lens module further comprises an aperture stop.

4. The combined lens module according to claim 3, wherein the main lens elements comprises a first main lens element of a first lens, a second main lens element of a second lens, and a third main lens element of a third lens, and the aperture stop is deposited between the first main lens element and the second lens element, and wherein the visible light from the outside of the housing passes through the first main lens element, the aperture stop, the second main lens element and the third main lens element in sequence, and then reaches a sensor, and the optical power of the third main lens element is positive.

5. The combined lens module according to claim 4, wherein the optical powers of the first main lens element and the second main lens element are positive numbers.

6. The combined lens module according to claim 3, wherein the main lens element comprises a first main lens element of a first lens, a second main lens element of a second lens, and a third main lens element of a third lens, and the aperture stop is placed between the first main lens element and the housing, and wherein the visible light from the outside of the housing passes through the aperture stop, the first main lens element, the second main lens element and the third main lens element in sequence, and then reaches a sensor, and the optical power of the third main lens element is positive.

7. The combined lens module according to claim 6, wherein the optical power of the first main lens element is positive, and the optical power of the second main lens element is negative.

8. The combined lens module according to claim 1, wherein the apertures comprises a main aperture corresponding to the plural main lens element, and an associate aperture corresponding to the plural associate lens, and wherein the image circle of the associate aperture and the image circle of the main aperture have at least a portion to overlap with each other.

9. The combined lens module according to claim 1, wherein the invisible light comprises at least one of infrared light and thermal light.

10. An image capturing-and-sensing assembly comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of lens module deposited within the housing, the lens modules comprising a plurality of lenses and having a plurality of apertures, wherein the plural apertures comprise a main aperture imaging visible light from the outside of the housing to pass through and an associate aperture imaging invisible light from the outside of the housing to pass through; and

a sensor sensing the visible light passing through the main aperture and the passing through the associate aperture.

11. The image capturing-and-sensing assembly according to claim 10, wherein the sensor comprises a non-Bayer sensor in which at least one sensing pixel for the invisible light is included in one unit, where the corresponding sensor unit may be in a regular matrix or in an irregular shape.

12. The image capturing-and-sensing assembly according to claim 11, wherein each of the lenses comprises a plurality of lens elements, and the lens elements comprise a main lens element at the center of the corresponding lens to be staggered with another main lens elements of the another lenses to form the main aperture, and an associate lens element at the surrounding of the center of the corresponding lens to be staggered with another associate lens elements of the another lenses to form the associate aperture.

13. The image capturing-and-sensing assembly according to claim 11, further comprising an aperture stop, and wherein a plurality of main lens elements of the lenses comprise staggered a first main lens element, a second main lens element, and a third main lens element, and wherein the aperture stop is placed between the first main lens element and the second main lens element, or the aperture stop is between the first main lens element or the housing.

14. The image capturing-and-sensing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the optical powers of the first main lens element and the second main lens element are positive numbers.

15. The image capturing-and-sensing assembly according to claim 10, wherein the invisible light comprises at least one of infrared light and thermal light.