JP2019213083A - Imaging optical system, imaging apparatus, and imaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a novel imaging optical system that can be downsized and increase an aperture.SOLUTION: The imaging optical system for transmitting light from an object to form an image on an imaging surface, has at least one lens. The lens has a configuration in which an outside of an optical effective diameter of the lens is removed from a region where the light is transmitted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging optical system, an imaging apparatus having the imaging optical system, and an imaging system.

  In an optical device such as an imaging device using a lens unit represented by a camera or the like, two contradictory elements are demanded: an increase in the size of the lens and a reduction in the size of the imaging device itself (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Etc.).

An imaging optical system used in such an imaging apparatus generally has an effective optical diameter that is a range in which light is captured, and a lens required for the imaging optical system depending on the design specifications of the imaging element and the imaging optical system. The diameter is often determined.
However, since a general lens is circular and an image pickup element is often rectangular, there is a problem that it is difficult to sufficiently reduce the size.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel imaging optical system that can be downsized and enlarged.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an imaging optical system according to the present invention is an imaging optical system for transmitting light from an object to form an image on an imaging surface, and has at least one lens, and the lens Is characterized in that the outside of the effective optical diameter of the lens is removed from the light transmitting region.

  According to the present invention, the imaging optical system can be reduced in size and increased in diameter.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the imaging device in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the imaging optical system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the lens of the conventional imaging device. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the light reception area | region of the lens shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the light reception area | region of the lens in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 1st modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 2nd modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 3rd modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the imaging system using the imaging device in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the installation place of the imaging system using the imaging device in this invention. It is the figure which showed typically where FIG. 9 hits a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the modification of the imaging system using the imaging device in this invention.

As an embodiment of the present invention, an example of the configuration of an imaging apparatus is shown in FIG.
A camera 100 that is an imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes a lens system 10 that is an imaging optical system that transmits light from an object P that is a subject and forms an image on an imaging surface Q, and a plurality of lenses 11 that constitute the lens system 10. And an image sensor 20 that is a light receiving element that receives light reaching the imaging surface Q.

The camera 100 also has a finder 101 for confirming the field of view, a deflecting element 104 as a prism for deflecting light from the mirror 102 to the finder 101, a shutter 105 for adjusting the exposure time, and a member for controlling these members. And a control unit 9.
The above-described configuration other than the lens system 10 may be equivalent to that of a general single-lens reflex camera. However, a so-called mirrorless single-lens configuration may be used in which the finder 101 and the mirror 102 are removed and a liquid crystal monitor is provided instead. .

In such a camera 100, the light that has passed through the lens system 10 passes through the shutter 105 and forms an image on the image sensor 20, whereby an image can be taken.
In such a camera 100, the light L incident on the lens system 10 travels in the negative Z-axis direction in FIG. That is, incident light enters from the downstream side in the Z-axis direction of the lens system 10 on the object side, passes through the shutter 105, and exits upstream in the Z-axis direction, which is the image plane side.
Hereinafter, with respect to the traveling direction of the light L, the term “object side” is used as the downstream side in the Z-axis direction, and the term “image surface side” is used as the upstream side in the Z-axis direction.

On the other hand, in the lens system 30 of the imaging apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3 as a conventional example, all the lenses 31 are circular lenses.
When such a circular lens 31 is used, the diameter R of the lens 31 is at least the length of the diagonal line of the image sensor 20 as schematically shown in FIG. 4 in accordance with the size of the light receiving portion of the image sensor 20. It is required to be larger than D.
For example, in general, the image sensor 20 has a vertical / horizontal and diagonal ratio of H: V: D = 16: 9: 18.4. Therefore, when the diameter R = 18.4, the short direction (in FIG. 4). In the vertical direction V), unnecessary portions are generated by about 9.4 on both the upper and lower sides.
Here, when the portion of the lens 31 where the transmitted light reaches the image sensor 20 is expressed as “optical effective range 33” or “within the optical effective diameter”, the light transmitted through the unnecessary portion reaches the image sensor 20. It does not reach and is diffused and absorbed somewhere inside the imaging apparatus 200.
Such an unnecessary portion is indicated as “deletable area 32” as “outside optical effective diameter”. The above numbers are ratios, and specific numerical values depend on the design of each lens and image sensor. Further, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to such a ratio, and may be used for an imaging device having an arbitrary shape or size.

Similarly, in the present embodiment, the portion of the diameter R of the virtual circular lens 11 ′ as shown by the broken line in FIG. It is expressed as “effective range 13” or “within the optical effective diameter”, and an unnecessary portion is outside the optical effective range and is shown as a erasable region 12.
The lens 11 in the present invention has a shape obtained by cutting at least a part of the erasable region 12 from a virtual circular lens 11 ′. In this embodiment, in the lens 11, a part of the Y direction that is the vertical direction and a part of the X direction that is the horizontal direction are removed from the erasable area 12, and the lens 11 is viewed from the Z direction as shown in FIG. 2. It is characterized by having a substantially rectangular shape. Here, “removal” means that a part of the lens 11 is removed by a process such as cutting or scraping, and the shape is changed.
Alternatively, the lens 11 may be molded in a state where the lens 11 is removed by pressing using a mold or the like.

That is, in the present embodiment, the lens 11 has a configuration in which “outside the optical effective diameter of the lens is removed from the light transmitting region”.
With this configuration, the imaging optical system can be reduced in size and increased in diameter.

Now, this point will be further described.
The lens system 10 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of lenses 11, and each lens 11 is configured such that “out of the optical effective diameter of the lens is removed from the light transmitting region” as described above. Is provided.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, most of the light transmitted through the lens 11 reaches the image sensor 20, and the lens 11 can be reduced in size without reducing the amount of light.
Further, by removing the erasable area 12 of each lens 11 in this way, it contributes to weight reduction of the camera 100.

In this embodiment, the shape of the lens 11 when viewed from the Z direction is similar to the shape of the image sensor 20.
With this configuration, the ratio of the light that has passed through the lens 11 that reaches the imaging device 20 and forms an image on the imaging surface is increased, so that the utilization factor of light is improved and the lightness is reduced while downsizing. A lens system 10 can be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the lens 11 has a shape in which at least the Y direction corresponding to the short direction of the image sensor 20 is removed from the optical effective range 13. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the size and increase the diameter by removing the direction where there are more unnecessary portions.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, as shown in FIGS. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 in which only the Y direction side corresponding to the short direction of the image sensor 20 is removed, or only in the X direction side corresponding to the longitudinal direction is removed as shown in FIG. It may be a configuration. Such a removal shape is a so-called I-cut shape.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the lens 11 may have a shape in which the X direction corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the imaging element 20 is removed from the erasable region 12.
According to this configuration, it is possible to further reduce the size.

Now, an in-vehicle camera 300 will be described as an example of an imaging system using the camera 100 having such a configuration.
As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the in-vehicle camera 300 includes the camera 100 and is attached to the front of the driver's seat of the vehicle 301.
At this time, a windshield 302 as a structure of the vehicle 301 is installed on the Y direction side of the camera 100.
That is, the in-vehicle camera 300 is attached from above in the vicinity of the ceiling portion of the vehicle 301.
With this configuration, the in-vehicle camera 300 can be disposed on the upper side only in the removed part of the camera 100, so that space can be saved and weight can be reduced. .

In addition to the in-vehicle camera of the type attached to the upper portion of the vehicle 301 as described above, the camera 100 may be a side mirror camera attached to the side mirror 303 of the vehicle 301 as shown in FIG.
In addition, when using the camera 100 as a camera for a side mirror, it is desirable that the side mirror 303 is attached to an end portion in the vehicle width direction (± X direction). That is, in this embodiment, since the side mirror 303 becomes a “structure”, it is more preferable that the lens 11 is removed only on the X direction side as shown in FIG.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and the present invention described in the claims is not specifically limited by the above description. Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the above.

  For example, although a camera is used in the present embodiment, other imaging devices may be used.

  The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

10 ... Imaging optical system (lens system)
11 ... Lens 12 ... Outside optical effective diameter (deletable area)
13: Within optical effective diameter 100 ... Imaging device (camera)
300 ... Imaging system (vehicle camera)

Japanese Patent No. 5802401 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-25761

Claims (5)

An imaging optical system for transmitting light from an object to form an image on an imaging surface,
Having at least one lens;
The imaging optical system, wherein the lens is removed from the optically effective diameter of the lens in a region where the light is transmitted. The imaging optical system according to claim 1, and an imaging device disposed on the imaging surface,
The shape of the said lens is similar to the shape of the said image pick-up element, The imaging device characterized by the above-mentioned. The imaging optical system according to claim 1, and an imaging device disposed on the imaging surface,
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lens has a shape in which a direction corresponding to a short direction of the image pickup device is removed from the outside of the optical effective diameter. The imaging optical system according to claim 1, and an imaging device disposed on the imaging surface,
2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lens has a shape in which a direction corresponding to a longitudinal direction of the imaging element is removed from the outside of the optical effective diameter. An imaging system for attaching the imaging optical system according to claim 1 or the imaging device according to any one of claims 2 to 4 to a structure,
The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the structure is installed on the removed side of the lens.

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