Multi-aperture imaging device comprising an optical substrate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11290649-B2
Application number	US-202016825785-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2020
Priority date	Aug 19, 2015
Publication date	Mar 29, 2022
Grant date	Mar 29, 2022

Abstract

In order to achieve a relatively small installation height of a multi-aperture imaging device having a one-line array of adjacently arranged optical channels, lenses of the optics of the optical channels are attached to a main side of a substrate by one or more lens holders and are mechanically connected via the substrate, the substrate being positioned such that the optical paths of the plurality of optical channels pass therethrough.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A multi-aperture imaging device comprising:
a one-line array of adjacently arranged optical channels, each channel comprising an optic;
wherein lenses of the optics of the optical channels are held within openings of one or more lens holders and the one or more lens holders are attached to a substrate of the array so that the lenses are mechanically connected via the substrate and that lens vertices of the lenses are spaced apart from the substrate, the substrate being configured to be transparent, and optical paths of the plurality of optical channels passing through the substrate;
wherein the multi-aperture imaging device comprises a beam-deflecting device for deflecting an optical path of the optical channels; wherein the beam-deflecting device is a mirror array reflecting on both sides, and is configured to capture the total field in opposing directions relative to the device by rotation; or
wherein the optics of the optical channels also comprise further lenses that are molded on a further main side of the substrate, which is located opposite the main side of the substrate.

2. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the lenses are held in a constant relative location with respect to each other via the substrate.

3. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is configured to be plate-shaped.

4. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a glass plate.

5. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more lens holders are mounted on the main side of the substrate.

6. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , further comprising a changing element that is configured to change, with angle adjustments of the beam-deflecting device, the total field of view, which is defined by the total coverage of the partial fields of view, in terms of its direction.

7. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the further lenses are molded, in multi-use, on the further main side of the substrate, which is located opposite the main side of the substrate, whereas the attachment of the lenses of the optics of the optical channels to the main side of the substrate is individually accomplished by the one or more lens holders.

8. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the optics of the optical channels comprise further lenses, which are attached on a further main side of the substrate, which is located opposite the main side of the substrate, via further lens holders and are mechanically connected via the substrate.

9. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the main side faces or faces away from an image sensor of the multi-aperture imaging device.

10. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the lenses of the optics of the optical channels are formed of polymer.

11. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the lenses are individually injection-molded.

12. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is suspended in a line extension direction of the one-line array next to the substrate.

13. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 12 , wherein the substrate is suspended via a moving element that is configured to move the substrate and therefore the optics along the line extension direction in a translational manner in order to, through the movement along the line extension direction, achieve an image stabilization along the line extension direction.

14. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , further comprising an actuator for translationally moving the substrate along a line extension direction of the one-line array.

15. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 14 , wherein the actuator is controlled by an optical image stabilization controller of the multi-aperture imaging device.

16. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 15 , further comprising a beam-deflecting device for deflecting an optical path of the optical channels and a further actuator for producing a rotational movement of the beam-deflecting device, wherein the further actuator is further controlled by the optical image stabilization controller of the multi-aperture imaging device such that the translational movement of the substrate causes image stabilization along a first image axis and such that the generation of the rotational movement of the beam-deflecting device causes image stabilization along a second image axis.

17. The multi-aperture imaging according to claim 1 , also comprising a further actuator for translationally changing an image-side distance between the image sensor and the optics and/or between the image sensor and the beam-deflecting device along the optical paths of the plurality of optical channels.

18. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 17 , wherein the further actuator is controlled by a focus controller of the multi-aperture imaging device.

19. Multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the main side and/or a further main side located opposite the main side of the substrate comprise(s) a diaphragm at positions where the substrate is penetrated by the optical paths of the plurality of optical channels.

20. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein further lenses of the optics of the optical channels are mechanically connected via a further substrate, the substrate and the further substrate being connected in series one behind the other, and both of them being penetrated by the optical paths of the plurality of optical channels, wherein an optical channel that penetrates the substrate also penetrates the further substrate.

21. The multi-aperture imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the optic of an optical channel is configured for projecting a respective partial field of view of a total field of view of the multi-aperture imaging device on a respectively associated image sensor region of an image sensor.

22. The multi-aperture imaging according to claim 1 , also comprising a further actuator for translationally changing an image-side distance between the image sensor of the beam-deflecting device along the optical paths of the plurality of optical channels.

Assignees

• Fraunhofer Ges Forschung

Inventors

• Wippermann Frank
• Brückner Andreas
• BRäUER ANDREAS
• Oberdörster Alexander

Classifications

• G02B13/001 Primary

  Miniaturised objectives for electronic devices, e.g. portable telephones, webcams, PDAs, small digital cameras (G02B23/243 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04N23/687 Primary

  by shifting the lens or sensor position · CPC title

• H04N23/60

  Control of cameras or camera modules · CPC title

• H04N23/58

  Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors · CPC title

• H04N23/45

  for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images · CPC title