CN115335746A

CN115335746A - Zoom lens and imaging device

Info

Publication number: CN115335746A
Application number: CN202180023789.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 奥村哲一朗
Original assignee: Sony Group Corp
Current assignee: Sony Group Corp
Priority date: 2020-03-31
Filing date: 2021-03-19
Publication date: 2022-11-11
Also published as: JPWO2021200253A1; WO2021200253A1

Abstract

The zoom lens of the present disclosure includes, in order from an object side to an image plane side: a1 st lens group having a negative meniscus lens with a convex surface facing the object side, and disposed closest to the object side, and having a negative refractive power; a 2 nd lens group having a negative refractive power and moving to the image plane side at the time of focusing; an aperture diaphragm as a main diaphragm; and a subsequent group including at least 1 lens group having a positive refractive power, wherein the distance between adjacent lens groups changes when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, and f1 is a focal length of the 1 st lens group, and f2 is a focal length of the 2 nd lens group, and the following conditional expressions are satisfied. 0.2-woven fabric f1/f2<0.9 … … (1).

Description

Zoom lens and imaging device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a zoom lens having a focusing function and an imaging apparatus including the zoom lens.

Background

In an imaging apparatus using a solid-state imaging device, an imaging optical system having a wide angle of view and high performance (high resolution) over the entire screen is required, and various optical systems have been proposed (for example, see patent documents 1 to 3).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-227124

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open No. 2007-94174

Patent document 3: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2019-40219

Disclosure of Invention

In recent years, an imaging optical system used in an imaging apparatus is required to have not only a wide angle of view and high resolution but also a reduction in the variation in the angle of view at the time of focusing, which is important in the field of moving images and the like.

It is desirable to provide a zoom lens that can perform a light focusing operation and has little variation in angle of view and aberration during focusing, and an imaging apparatus having such a zoom lens mounted thereon.

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a zoom lens including, in order from an object side to an image plane side: a1 st lens group having a negative meniscus lens with a convex surface facing the object side, and disposed closest to the object side, and having a negative refractive power; a 2 nd lens group having a negative refractive power and moving to the image plane side at the time of focusing; an aperture diaphragm as a main diaphragm; and a subsequent group including at least 1 lens group having a positive refractive power, the distance between adjacent lens groups changing upon zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, and satisfying the following conditional expression.

0.2<f1/f2<0.9……(1)

Wherein is provided as

f1: focal length of 1 st lens group

f2: focal length of the 2 nd lens group.

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides an image pickup apparatus including: a zoom lens; and an image pickup device that outputs an image pickup signal corresponding to an optical image formed by the zoom lens, wherein the zoom lens is configured by the zoom lens according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

In a zoom lens or an imaging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, 3 or more groups are included as a whole, and the configuration of each lens group is optimized so that a change in angle of view and a change in aberration during focusing can be reduced while a light focusing operation is performed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a lens cross-sectional view showing a1 st structural example (example 1) of a zoom lens according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a lens cross-sectional view showing a configuration example 2 (example 2) of a zoom lens according to an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a lens cross-sectional view showing a 3 rd structural example (example 3) of the zoom lens according to one embodiment.

Fig. 4 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations upon infinity focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations upon close-up focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in near-distance focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations in close-up focusing at the telephoto end of the zoom lens of example 1.

Fig. 10 is an aberration diagram illustrating lateral aberrations upon infinity focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 11 is an aberration diagram illustrating lateral aberrations at the wide-angle end and in close-range focusing of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 12 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in infinity focus at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 13 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in near-distance focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens of example 1.

Fig. 14 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 15 is an aberration diagram illustrating lateral aberrations in the telephoto end and near-distance focusing of the zoom lens of embodiment 1.

Fig. 16 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations upon infinity focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 17 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations upon close-up focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 18 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 19 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in close-up focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 20 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens of example 2.

Fig. 21 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in the telephoto end and near-distance focusing of the zoom lens of example 2.

Fig. 22 is an aberration diagram illustrating lateral aberrations upon infinity focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 23 is an aberration diagram illustrating lateral aberrations upon close-up focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 24 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 25 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in close-up focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens of example 2.

Fig. 26 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens of embodiment 2.

Fig. 27 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in the telephoto end and near-distance focusing of the zoom lens of example 2.

Fig. 28 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations at the wide-angle end and at infinity focusing of the zoom lens of embodiment 3.

Fig. 29 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations upon close-up focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 3.

Fig. 30 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens of embodiment 3.

Fig. 31 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in near-distance focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 32 is an aberration diagram showing longitudinal aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens of example 3.

Fig. 33 is an aberration diagram illustrating longitudinal aberrations in telephoto and near distance focusing of the zoom lens of embodiment 3.

Fig. 34 is an aberration diagram illustrating lateral aberrations upon infinity focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 3.

Fig. 35 is an aberration diagram illustrating lateral aberrations upon close-up focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens of embodiment 3.

Fig. 36 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens of embodiment 3.

Fig. 37 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in close-up focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens of example 3.

Fig. 38 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens of example 3.

Fig. 39 is an aberration diagram showing lateral aberrations in the telephoto end and near-distance focusing of the zoom lens of example 3.

Fig. 40 is a block diagram showing one configuration example of the image pickup apparatus.

Fig. 41 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle control system.

Fig. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the installation positions of the vehicle exterior information detecting unit and the imaging unit.

Fig. 43 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an endoscopic surgery system.

Fig. 44 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configurations of the camera head and the CCU shown in fig. 43.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following procedure is described.

0. Comparative example

1. Basic structure of lens

2. Action and Effect

3. Application example to image pickup apparatus

4. Numerical embodiments of the lens

5. Application example

6. Other embodiments

<0. Comparative example >

As an image pickup optical system with a wide angle of view, patent document 1 discloses an image pickup optical system of an inverse focus type. Patent document 1 discloses a wide-angle lens including a1 st lens group having a negative refractive power, an aperture stop, and a 2 nd lens group having a positive refractive power in this order from the object side, and having a reverse focusing type single focal length with a photographing field angle of 120 degrees.

Patent document 2 discloses a negative-lead zoom lens in which a lens group having a negative refractive power is located in front of (on the most object side) a head as an imaging optical system having a wide angle of view. Patent document 2 discloses a zoom lens as follows: the zoom lens includes, in order from the object side, a1 st lens group having negative refractive power and a 2 nd lens group having positive refractive power, and has a wide field angle of about 114.7 degrees at a wide-angle end and a zoom ratio of 1.65. In addition to this, patent document 2 discloses a zoom lens as follows: the zoom lens includes, in order from the object side, a1 st lens group with negative refractive power, a 2 nd lens group with positive refractive power, and a 3 rd lens group with positive refractive power, and has a wide field angle at a wide-angle end of 114.7 degrees of a full field angle of photography and a zoom ratio of about 1.65.

On the other hand, in recent years, in an imaging optical system used in an imaging apparatus, there is a strong demand for not only a wide angle of view and high resolution but also reduction of a variation in angle of view at the time of focusing, which is important in the field of moving images and the like. In order to reduce the variation in the field angle at the time of focusing, it is preferable to select a lens group with less variation in focal length and less variation in distortion aberration at the time of focusing as a focusing group. In contrast, in the case of the super-wide-angle zoom lens disclosed in patent document 3, a group having a small degree of freedom and a large variation in focal length is used as a focus group, and a zoom structure having a large variation in angle of view is obtained.

Therefore, there is a demand for development of a zoom lens that can perform a light focusing operation, and that can perform satisfactory aberration correction with little variation in angle of view and aberration during focusing, and an imaging apparatus mounted with such a zoom lens.

<1. Basic Structure of lens >

Fig. 1 shows a1 st configuration example of a zoom lens according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which corresponds to a configuration of example 1 described later. Fig. 2 shows a configuration example 2 of a zoom lens according to an embodiment, which corresponds to a configuration of example 2 described later. Fig. 3 shows a configuration example 3 of a zoom lens according to an embodiment, which corresponds to a configuration of example 3 described later.

In fig. 1 and the like, Z1 denotes an optical axis. An optical member LF such as a cover glass for protecting the image pickup device may be disposed between the zoom lenses 1 to 3 of the 1 st to 3 rd configuration examples and the image plane. In addition to the cover glass, various optical filters such as a low-pass filter and an infrared cut filter may be disposed as the optical member LF.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the zoom lens according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in correspondence with the zoom lenses 1 to 3 of the respective configuration examples shown in fig. 1 and the like as appropriate, but the technique of the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration examples shown in the drawings.

The zoom lens of one embodiment includes, along an optical axis Z1, a1 St lens group GR1, an aperture stop St, a 2 nd lens group GR2, and a subsequent group including at least 1 lens group in this order from the object side to the image plane side.

The 1 st lens group GR1 has negative refractive power as a whole. The 1 st lens group GR1 has a negative meniscus lens with a convex surface facing the object side disposed closest to the object side. The 1 st lens group GR1 preferably has at least 1 positive lens disposed closer to the image plane than the negative meniscus lens.

The 2 nd lens group GR2 has negative refractive power as a whole. The 2 nd lens group GR2 is a focusing group and moves to the image plane side at the time of focusing. The 2 nd lens group GR2 is preferably formed of a single lens component. Here, the single lens component may be a single lens or a cemented lens in which a plurality of lenses are cemented.

The subsequent group includes at least 1 lens group having a positive refractive power. Fig. 1 to 3 show an example of a configuration in which the subsequent group includes a 3 rd lens group GR3 having a positive refractive power and a4 th lens group GR4 having a positive refractive power.

In the zoom lens according to one embodiment, upon zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, the intervals between the lens groups adjacent to each other along the optical axis Z1 vary. Further, lens configurations at the wide-angle end and at infinity focusing are shown in fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 to 3 show an outline of a movement locus of each lens group when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end by an arrow. Fig. 1 to 3 show the moving direction of the focus group when focusing from infinity to close distance.

In addition, the zoom lens according to one embodiment preferably satisfies the following conditional expressions and the like.

<2 > action and Effect

Next, the operation and effect of the zoom lens according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. A more preferable structure of the zoom lens according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

The effects described in the present specification are merely examples, are not limited, and other effects may be additionally provided.

According to the zoom lens of one embodiment, since the entire zoom lens includes 3 or more lens groups and the configuration of each lens group is optimized, it is possible to perform a light focusing operation and to realize a zoom lens and an imaging device with less variation in field angle and less variation in aberration during focusing.

According to the zoom lens of one embodiment, the 1 st lens group GR1 having negative refractive power, the 2 nd lens group GR2 having negative refractive power, and the subsequent group including 1 lens group having positive refractive power are arranged from the object side, and the arrangement is made to have the power of the retrofocus type, so that the super wide angle lens can be configured to be compact.

In the zoom lens according to one embodiment, the aperture stop St is disposed between the 2 nd lens group GR2 and the lens group (the 3 rd lens group GR 3) disposed closest to the object side in the subsequent group, so that the amount of unnecessary light with a high intermediate image can be cut off in a well-balanced manner, and higher optical performance can be obtained.

In the zoom lens according to the embodiment, the 2 nd lens group GR2 has a minimum lens configuration such as a single lens component, and thus a light focusing operation can be achieved.

Here, the zoom lens according to one embodiment preferably satisfies the following conditional expression (1).

0.2<f1/f2<0.9……(1)

Wherein is provided as

f1: focal length of the 1 st lens group GR1

f2: focal length of the 2 nd lens group GR 2.

The conditional expression (1) is a conditional expression for setting the relationship between the focal distance of the 1 st lens group GR1 and the focal distance of the 2 nd lens group GR 2. By satisfying the conditional expression (1), the variation of the field angle and the variation of the aberration during focusing can be reduced. If the value falls below the lower limit of the conditional expression (1), the focal length of the 2 nd lens group GR2 increases, and the amount of movement required for focusing increases, which leads to an increase in the size of the optical system. On the other hand, if the upper limit of the conditional expression (1) is exceeded, the focal length of the 2 nd lens group GR2 becomes small, aberration variation during focusing becomes large, and it is difficult to realize high image quality.

In order to more favorably achieve the effect of the conditional expression (1), it is more preferable to set the numerical range of the conditional expression (1) as in the following conditional expression (1A).

0.45<f1/f2<0.86……(1A)

Further, the zoom lens according to one embodiment preferably satisfies the following conditional expression (2).

0.7<Bfw/fw<1.4……(2)

Wherein is provided as

Bfw: back focal length at wide angle end

fw: focal distance of the entire system at the wide angle end.

The conditional expression (2) is a conditional expression for appropriately setting the relationship between the focal length of the entire system at the wide-angle end and the back focal length at the wide-angle end, so that the size of the optical system can be reduced and the optical system can be made compact and lightweight. When the lower limit of the conditional expression (2) is lower, the focal length at the wide-angle end becomes long, and it becomes difficult to realize a wide angle. On the other hand, if the upper limit of the conditional expression (2) is exceeded, the back focal length becomes too long, and the asymmetry of the power arrangement required for the wide-angle adjustment increases, so that it is difficult to correct each aberration, and it is difficult to achieve high image quality.

In order to more favorably achieve the effect of the conditional expression (2), it is more preferable to set the numerical range of the conditional expression (2) to the following conditional expression (2A).

1.0<Bfw/fw<1.3……(2A)

In the zoom lens according to one embodiment, it is preferable that the aperture stop St moves independently of the lens group arranged on the most object side (the 3 rd lens group GR 3) of the 2 nd lens group GR2 and the subsequent groups and changes the stop diameter when zooming from the wide angle end to the telephoto end. When zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, the aperture stop St moves independently of the 2 nd lens group GR2 and the 3 rd lens group GR3, and the stop diameter changes, so that unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height can be cut off, and optical performance in the entire zoom region, particularly optical performance on the wide-angle end side, can be improved.

In the zoom lens according to the embodiment, it is preferable that a sub-stop is further provided as a halo cutter (flare cutter), the sub-stop being disposed closer to the image plane side than the aperture stop St, and the diameter of the sub-stop changes when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end. For example, as in the configuration examples shown in fig. 1 to 3, it is preferable that the 1 st sub-stop (1 st halo chopper FC 1) or the 2 nd sub-stop (2 nd halo chopper FC 2) is disposed on the most image plane side of the 3 rd lens group GR 3. Further, it is preferable that the 2 nd sub diaphragm (the 2 nd halo chopper FC 2) is disposed in the lens group (the 4 th lens group GR 4) disposed on the most image plane side among the subsequent groups. By disposing the sub-diaphragm, whose diaphragm diameter changes during zooming, on the image plane side of the aperture stop St, unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height, which cannot be completely cut only by the aperture stop St, can be cut off, and optical performance in the entire zoom region, particularly optical performance on the wide-angle end side, can be improved.

Further, the zoom lens according to one embodiment preferably satisfies the following conditional expression (3).

0.9<|R2f－R2r|/|R2f+R2r|<10.0……(3)

Wherein is provided as

R2f: radius of curvature of most object-side surface of the 2 nd lens group GR2

R2R: the radius of curvature of the surface of the 2 nd lens group GR2 closest to the image plane side.

The conditional expression (3) is defined so as to suppress the occurrence of each aberration and suppress the variation of the angle of view at the time of focusing, and is a conditional expression for appropriately setting the relationship between the radius of curvature of the surface on the most object side of the 2 nd lens group GR2 and the radius of curvature of the surface on the most image surface side of the 2 nd lens group GR 2. If the lower limit of the conditional expression (3) is exceeded, the focal length at the wide-angle end becomes long, and it becomes difficult to achieve a wide angle. On the other hand, if the upper limit of the conditional expression (3) is exceeded, the back focal length becomes too long, and the asymmetry of the power arrangement required for the wide-angle adjustment increases, so that it is difficult to correct each aberration, and it is difficult to realize high image quality.

In order to more favorably achieve the effect of the conditional expression (3), it is more preferable to set the numerical range of the conditional expression (3) to the value of the conditional expression (3A) described below.

1.2<|R2f－R2r|/|R2f+R2r|<7.8……(3A)

<3 > example of application to image pickup apparatus

Next, a specific example of application of the zoom lens according to one embodiment of the present disclosure to an image pickup apparatus will be described.

Fig. 40 shows an example of the configuration of an imaging apparatus 100 to which the zoom lens according to the embodiment is applied. The imaging device 100 is, for example, a digital still camera, and includes a camera block 10, a camera signal Processing Unit 20, an image Processing Unit 30, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 40, an R/W (reader/writer) 50, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 60, an input Unit 70, and a lens drive control Unit 80.

The camera block 10 has an imaging function, and includes an imaging element 12 such as a zoom lens including an imaging lens 11, a CCD (Charge Coupled device), and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The image pickup device 12 converts an optical image formed by the image pickup lens 11 into an electric signal, and outputs an image pickup signal (image signal) corresponding to the optical image. As the imaging lens 11, the zoom lenses 1 to 3 of the respective configuration examples shown in fig. 1 to 3 can be applied.

The camera signal processing unit 20 performs various signal processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, noise removal, image quality correction, and conversion to luminance and color difference signals on the image signal output from the image pickup device 12.

The image processing unit 30 performs recording and reproduction processing of an image signal, compression encoding and decompression decoding processing of an image signal based on a predetermined image data format, conversion processing of a data standard such as a resolution, and the like.

The LCD40 has a function of displaying various data such as an operation state of the user with respect to the input unit 70 and a captured image. The R/W50 writes the image data encoded by the image processing unit 30 into the memory card 1000 and reads the image data recorded in the memory card 1000. The memory card 1000 is, for example, a semiconductor memory that is detachable from a slot connected to the R/W50.

The CPU60 functions as a control processing unit that controls each circuit block provided in the image pickup apparatus 100, and controls each circuit block based on an instruction input signal or the like from the input unit 70. The input unit 70 includes various switches and the like for the user to perform a desired operation. The input unit 70 includes, for example, a shutter release button for performing a shutter operation, a selection switch for selecting an operation mode, and the like, and outputs an instruction input signal corresponding to an operation performed by a user to the CPU60. The lens drive control unit 80 controls driving of lenses disposed in the camera block 10, and controls motors, not shown, for driving the lenses of the imaging lens 11 in accordance with a control signal from the CPU60.

The operation of the imaging apparatus 100 will be described below.

In the standby state for shooting, under control performed by the CPU60, an image signal shot in the camera block 10 is output to the LCD40 via the camera signal processing section 20, and displayed as a camera through image. For example, when an instruction input signal for zooming or focusing is input from the input unit 70, the CPU60 outputs a control signal to the lens drive control unit 80, and a predetermined lens of the imaging lens 11 is moved under the control of the lens drive control unit 80.

When a shutter, not shown, of the camera block 10 is operated by an instruction input signal from the input unit 70, a captured image signal is output from the camera signal processing unit 20 to the image processing unit 30, and is subjected to compression encoding processing and converted into digital data in a predetermined data format. The converted data is output to the R/W50 and written to the memory card 1000.

Further, focusing is performed, for example, by: the lens drive control unit 80 moves a predetermined lens of the imaging lens 11 in accordance with a control signal from the CPU60 when the shutter release button of the input unit 70 is half pressed, when the shutter release button is fully pressed for recording (shooting), or the like.

When reproducing the image data recorded in the memory card 1000, predetermined image data is read from the memory card 1000 by the R/W50 in accordance with an operation to the input section 70, decompression decoding processing is performed by the image processing section 30, and then a reproduced image signal is output to the LCD40 and a reproduced image is displayed.

In addition, although the above-described embodiment has been described as an example in which the imaging apparatus is applied to a digital still camera or the like, the application range of the imaging apparatus is not limited to the digital still camera, and the imaging apparatus can be applied to other various imaging apparatuses. For example, the present invention can be applied to a digital single-lens reflex camera, a digital non-reflective camera, a digital video camera, a surveillance camera, and the like. In addition, the present invention is widely applicable to a camera unit of a digital input/output device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone or a camera-equipped information terminal. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a lens replacement type camera.

[ examples ]

<4. Numerical example of lens >

Next, a specific numerical example of the zoom lens according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Here, an example will be described in which specific numerical values are applied to the zoom lenses 1 to 3 of the respective configuration examples shown in fig. 1 to 3.

Note that the meanings of the symbols and the like shown in the tables and the description below are as follows. "Si" indicates the number of the i-th surface which is given a symbol so as to increase in order from the most object side. "ri" represents a value (mm) of a curvature radius of the paraxial region of the ith surface. "di" represents a value (mm) of the interval on the optical axis between the i-th surface and the i + 1-th surface. "ndi" represents a value of a refractive index of a material of the optical element having the i-th surface with respect to a d-line (wavelength 587.6 nm). "ν di" represents a value of abbe's number at d-line of the material of the optical element having the i-th surface.

A value (mm) representing the effective diameter of the ith surface or the diaphragm diameter. The portion where the value of "ri" is "∞" represents a plane, a diaphragm plane, or the like. The "ASP" in the column of the face number (Si) indicates that the face is constituted by an aspherical shape. "STO" in the column of the surface number indicates that an aperture stop (main stop) St is arranged at a corresponding position. "FC 1" in the field of the surface number indicates that the 1 st halo chopper (1 st sub-aperture) FC1 is disposed at the corresponding position. "FC 2" in the field of the surface number indicates that the 2 nd halo chopper (2 nd sub-aperture) FC2 is arranged at the corresponding position. The "OBJ" in the column of the face number indicates that the face is an object face. The "IMG" in the column of the face number indicates that the face is an image face. "f" represents the focal distance (unit: mm) of the entire system. "Fno" indicates an open F value (F-number). "ω" means the full field angle(unit:. °). "Y" represents the image height (unit: mm). "L" represents an optical overall length (distance on the optical axis from the most object side surface to the image surface IMG) (unit: mm).

Further, as the lens used in each example, there is a lens whose lens surface is formed by an aspherical surface. The aspherical shape is defined by the following formula. In each table showing aspherical surface coefficients described later, "E-i" indicates an exponential expression with a base 10, that is, "10 ^-i ", for example," 0.12345E-05 "means" 0.12345 × 10 ^-5 ”。

(formula of aspherical surface)

x＝y ² c ² /(1+(1－(1+k)y ² c ² ) ^1/2 )+A4·y ⁴ +A6·y ⁶ +A8·y ⁸ +A10·

y ¹⁰ +A12·y ¹²

Here, the distance (sag) from the vertex of the lens surface in the optical axis direction is "x", the height in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis is "y", the paraxial curvature (reciprocal of the curvature radius) at the vertex of the lens surface is "c", and the conic (conical) constant is "k". A4, A6, A8, a10, and a12 are aspheric coefficients at 4 th, 6 th, 8 th, 10 th, and 12 th times, respectively.

Table 1 shows basic lens data of the zoom lens 1 of embodiment 1 shown in fig. 1. Table 2 shows the initial surface and focal length (unit: mm) of each group of the zoom lens 1 of example 1. Table 3 shows values of the focal length F, F value, full field angle ω, image height Y, and optical overall length L of the entire system in the zoom lens 1 of example 1. Further, [ table 3] shows the values at infinity focusing for each of the Wide-angle end (Wide), the intermediate focal length (Mid), and the telephoto end (Tele). Table 4 shows data of the surface interval that becomes variable upon zooming and data of the effective diameter (diaphragm diameter) that becomes variable upon zooming in the zoom lens 1 of example 1. Further, [ table 4] shows values for the case where the object distance (d 0) is infinity and the case of a short distance for each of the Wide-angle end (Wide), the intermediate focal length (Mid), and the telephoto end (Tele). Table 5 shows values of coefficients representing the shape of an aspherical surface in the zoom lens 1 of example 1.

The zoom lens 1 of embodiment 1 includes, in order from the object side to the image plane side, a1 St lens group GR1, an aperture stop St, a 2 nd lens group GR2, and subsequent groups. The subsequent groups include a 3 rd lens group GR3 and a4 th lens group GR4. The zoom lens 1 of embodiment 1 has a 4-group structure as a whole.

In the zoom lens 1 according to example 1, when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, the interval between the adjacent lens groups along the optical axis Z1 changes. At this time, the 1 st lens group GR1 and the 2 nd lens group GR2 move to the object side, and the 3 rd lens group GR3 and the 4 th lens group GR4 move to the image plane side.

In addition, upon zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, the interval between the 2 nd lens group GR2 and the aperture stop St and the interval between the aperture stop St and the 3 rd lens group GR3 also change. The aperture stop St has a function of cutting off unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height by changing the diaphragm diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

When focusing from infinity to a close distance, the 2 nd lens group GR2 moves to the image plane side in the optical axis direction as a focusing group.

The 1 st lens group GR1 has negative refractive power as a whole. The 1 st lens group GR1 includes lenses L11 to L14 in order from the object side to the image plane side. The lens L11 is a negative meniscus lens having a convex surface facing the object side and both surfaces thereof formed by aspherical surfaces. The lens L12 is a negative meniscus lens having a convex surface facing the object side and both surfaces thereof formed by aspherical surfaces. The lens L13 is a negative lens of a biconcave shape. The lens L14 is a biconvex positive lens.

The 2 nd lens group GR2 has negative refractive power as a whole. The 2 nd lens group GR2 includes a negative lens L21 having both surfaces formed by aspherical surfaces.

The 3 rd lens group GR3 has a positive refractive power as a whole. The 3 rd lens group GR3 includes lenses L31 to L33 in order from the object side to the image plane side. The lens L31 and the lens L32 are cemented lenses. The lens L31 is a negative meniscus lens with the convex surface facing the object side. The lens L32 is a positive lens having a convex surface facing the object side. The lens L33 is a negative meniscus lens with a concave surface facing the object side.

Further, a1 st halo chopper FC1 (1 st sub-aperture) is disposed on the most image plane side of the 3 rd lens group GR 3. The 1 St halo chopper FC1 has a function of cutting off unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height, which cannot be completely cut off only by the aperture stop St, by changing the stop diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

The 4 th lens group GR4 has a positive refractive power as a whole. The 4 th lens group GR4 includes lenses L41 to L47 in order from the object side to the image plane side. The lens L41 and the lens L42 are cemented lenses. Lens L44 and lens L45 are cemented lenses. The lens L41 is a negative meniscus lens with the convex surface facing the object side. The lens L42 is a positive lens having a convex surface facing the object side. The lens L43 is a biconvex positive lens having aspherical surfaces on both surfaces. The lens L44 is a positive lens having a convex surface facing the image plane side. The lens L45 is a negative lens of a biconcave shape. The lens L46 is a negative lens having a double concave shape with both surfaces thereof formed of aspherical surfaces. The lens L47 is a biconvex positive lens.

Further, a 2 nd halo chopper FC2 (2 nd sub-stop) is disposed between the lenses L43 and L44. The 2 nd halo chopper FC2 has a function of cutting off unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height, which cannot be completely cut off only by the aperture stop St, by changing the stop diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

With the above configuration, a zoom lens having a wide angle, a small size, and a light weight, and having a small variation in field angle and aberration, is realized.

[ Table 1]

[ Table 2]

[ Table 3]

[ Table 4]

[ Table 5]

In fig. 4, longitudinal aberrations at the wide angle end and at infinity focus of the zoom lens 1 of embodiment 1 are illustrated. Fig. 5 illustrates longitudinal aberrations at the wide angle end and in close-range focusing of the zoom lens 1 of embodiment 1. Fig. 6 shows longitudinal aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens 1 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 7 shows longitudinal aberrations in close-up focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens 1 according to example 1. Fig. 8 shows longitudinal aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens 1 of example 1. Fig. 9 shows longitudinal aberrations in close-up focusing at the telephoto end of the zoom lens 1 according to example 1. Fig. 10 illustrates lateral aberrations of the zoom lens 1 of embodiment 1 at the wide-angle end and in infinity focus. Fig. 11 illustrates lateral aberrations in close-up focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens 1 of embodiment 1. Fig. 12 shows lateral aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens 1 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 13 shows lateral aberrations in close-up focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens 1 according to example 1. Fig. 14 shows lateral aberrations in telephoto and infinite focus of the zoom lens 1 of example 1. Fig. 15 shows lateral aberrations in close-up focusing at the telephoto end of the zoom lens 1 according to example 1.

In fig. 4 to 9, as the longitudinal aberration, spherical aberration, astigmatism (field curvature), and distortion aberration are shown. In the spherical aberration diagrams of fig. 4 to 9 and the lateral aberration diagrams of fig. 10 to 15, the solid line represents the d-line (587.56 nm), the one-dot chain line represents the g-line (435.84 nm), and the broken line represents the value in the C-line (656.27 nm). In the astigmatism diagram, S denotes a sagittal image surface, and T denotes a value at a tangential image surface. The values in the d-line are shown in the distortion aberration diagram.

The same applies to the aberration diagrams in other embodiments later.

As can be seen from the aberration diagrams, the zoom lens 1 according to example 1 has excellent imaging performance with the aberrations being well corrected.

[ example 2]

Table 6 shows basic lens data of the zoom lens 2 of embodiment 2 shown in fig. 2. [ Table 7] shows the starting surface and focal length (unit: mm) of each group of the zoom lens 2 of example 2. Table 8 shows values of the focal length F, F value, full field angle ω, image height Y, and optical overall length L of the entire system in the zoom lens 2 of example 2. Further, [ table 8] shows the respective infinity-focused values at the Wide-angle end (Wide), the intermediate focal length (Mid), and the telephoto end (Tele). Table 9 shows data of the surface interval which becomes variable upon zooming and data of the effective diameter (diaphragm diameter) which becomes variable upon zooming in the zoom lens 2 of example 2. Further, [ table 9] shows values in the case where the object distance (d 0) is infinity and in the case of a short distance, for each of the Wide angle end (Wide), the intermediate focal distance (Mid), and the telephoto end (Tele). Table 10 shows values of coefficients representing the shapes of aspherical surfaces in the zoom lens 2 of example 2.

The zoom lens 2 of embodiment 2 includes, in order from the object side to the image plane side, a1 St lens group GR1, an aperture stop St, a 2 nd lens group GR2, and subsequent groups. The subsequent groups include a 3 rd lens group GR3 and a4 th lens group GR4. The zoom lens 2 of embodiment 2 has a 4-group structure as a whole.

In the zoom lens 2 according to example 2, the interval between the lens groups adjacent to each other along the optical axis Z1 changes when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end. At this time, the 1 st lens group GR1 and the 2 nd lens group GR2 move to the object side, and the 3 rd lens group GR3 and the 4 th lens group GR4 move to the image plane side.

The 1 st lens group GR1 has negative refractive power as a whole. The 1 st lens group GR1 includes lenses L11 to L14 in order from the object side to the image plane side. The lens L11 is a negative meniscus lens having a convex surface facing the object side and both surfaces thereof being aspheric. The lens L12 is a negative meniscus lens having a convex surface facing the object side and both surfaces thereof formed by aspherical surfaces. The lens L13 is a negative lens of a biconcave shape. The lens L14 is a biconvex positive lens.

The 3 rd lens group GR3 has a positive refractive power as a whole. The 3 rd lens group GR3 includes lenses L31 to L33 in order from the object side to the image plane side. The lens L31 and the lens L32 are cemented lenses. The lens L31 is a negative meniscus lens with the convex surface facing the object side. The lens L32 is a positive lens with a convex surface facing the object side. The lens L33 is a negative meniscus lens with the concave surface facing the object side.

Further, a1 st halo chopper FC1 (1 st sub-aperture) is disposed on the most image plane side of the 3 rd lens group GR 3. The 1 St halo chopper FC1 has a function of cutting off unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height, which cannot be completely cut off only by the aperture stop St, by changing the diaphragm diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

The 4 th lens group GR4 has a positive refractive power as a whole. The 4 th lens group GR4 includes lenses L41 to L47 in order from the object side to the image plane side. The lens L41 and the lens L42 are cemented lenses. Lens L44 and lens L45 are cemented lenses. The lens L41 is a negative meniscus lens with the convex surface facing the object side. The lens L42 is a positive lens having a convex surface facing the object side. The lens L43 is a biconvex positive lens having aspherical surfaces on both surfaces. The lens L44 is a positive lens having a convex surface facing the image plane side. The lens L45 is a negative lens of a biconcave shape. The lens L46 is a negative lens having a double concave shape with both surfaces thereof formed by aspherical surfaces. The lens L47 is a biconvex positive lens.

Further, a 2 nd halo chopper FC2 (2 nd sub-aperture) is disposed between the lens L43 and the lens L44. The 2 nd halo chopper FC2 has a function of cutting off unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height, which cannot be completely cut off only by the aperture stop St, by changing the diaphragm diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

[ Table 6]

[ Table 7]

[ Table 8]

[ Table 9]

[ Table 10]

Fig. 16 illustrates longitudinal aberrations of the zoom lens 2 of embodiment 2 at the wide-angle end and in infinity focus. Fig. 17 illustrates longitudinal aberrations in close-up focusing at the wide-angle end of the zoom lens 2 of embodiment 2. Fig. 18 shows longitudinal aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens 2 according to example 2. Fig. 19 shows longitudinal aberrations in the case of near-distance focusing at an intermediate focal length of the zoom lens 2 according to example 2. Fig. 20 shows longitudinal aberrations in telephoto and infinite focusing of the zoom lens 2 of example 2. Fig. 21 shows longitudinal aberrations in close-up focusing at the telephoto end of the zoom lens 2 of example 2. Fig. 22 illustrates lateral aberrations of the zoom lens 2 of embodiment 2 at the wide-angle end and in infinity focus. Fig. 23 illustrates lateral aberrations of the zoom lens 2 of embodiment 2 at the wide-angle end and in close-up focusing. Fig. 24 shows lateral aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens 2 according to example 2. Fig. 25 shows lateral aberrations in the zoom lens 2 of example 2 at an intermediate focal length and in close-range focusing. Fig. 26 shows lateral aberrations in telephoto and infinite focus of the zoom lens 2 of example 2. Fig. 27 shows lateral aberrations in the zoom lens 2 of example 2 when focused at the telephoto end and at the near distance.

As can be seen from the aberration diagrams, the zoom lens 2 of example 2 has excellent imaging performance with each aberration corrected well.

[ example 3]

Table 11 shows basic lens data of the zoom lens 3 of example 3 shown in fig. 3. [ Table 12] shows the start surface and focal length (unit: mm) of each group of the zoom lens 3 of example 3. Table 13 shows values of the focal length F, F value, full field angle ω, image height Y, and optical overall length L of the entire system in the zoom lens 3 of example 3. Further, [ table 13] shows the values at infinity focusing for each of the Wide-angle end (Wide), the intermediate focal length (Mid), and the telephoto end (Tele). Table 14 shows data of the surface interval which becomes variable upon zooming and data of the effective diameter (diaphragm diameter) which becomes variable upon zooming in the zoom lens 3 of example 3. Further, [ table 14] shows values for the case where the object distance (d 0) is infinity and the case of a short distance for each of the Wide-angle end (Wide), the intermediate focal length (Mid), and the telephoto end (Tele). Table 15 shows values of coefficients indicating the shape of an aspherical surface in the zoom lens 3 of example 3.

The zoom lens 3 of embodiment 3 includes, in order from the object side to the image plane side, a1 St lens group GR1, an aperture stop St, a 2 nd lens group GR2, and subsequent groups. Subsequent groups include a 3 rd lens group GR3 and a4 th lens group GR4. The zoom lens 3 of embodiment 3 has a 4-group structure as a whole.

The zoom lens 3 according to example 3 changes the interval between lens groups adjacent to each other along the optical axis Z1 when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end. At this time, the 1 st lens group GR1 and the 2 nd lens group GR2 move to the object side, and the 3 rd lens group GR3 and the 4 th lens group GR4 move to the image plane side.

The aperture stop St has a function of cutting off unnecessary light which easily enters at an intermediate image height by changing the diaphragm diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

Further, a1 St halo chopper FC1 (1 St sub-stop) is disposed between the 2 nd lens group GR2 and the aperture stop St. The 1 St halo chopper FC1 has a function of cutting off unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height, which cannot be completely cut off only by the aperture stop St, by changing the diaphragm diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

Further, a 2 nd halo chopper FC2 (2 nd sub-stop) is disposed on the most image plane side of the 3 rd lens group GR 3. The 2 nd halo chopper FC2 has a function of cutting off unnecessary light that easily enters at an intermediate image height, which cannot be completely cut off only by the aperture stop St, by changing the diaphragm diameter when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

The 4 th lens group GR4 has a positive refractive power as a whole. The 4 th lens group GR4 includes lenses L41 to L47 in order from the object side to the image plane side. The lens L41 and the lens L42 are cemented lenses. Lens L44 and lens L45 are cemented lenses. The lens L41 is a negative meniscus lens with the convex surface facing the object side. The lens L42 is a positive lens having a convex surface facing the object side. The lens L43 is a biconvex positive lens having aspherical surfaces on both sides. The lens L44 is a positive lens having a convex surface facing the image plane side. The lens L45 is a negative lens of a biconcave shape. The lens L46 is a negative lens having both surfaces formed by aspherical surfaces. The lens L47 is a biconvex positive lens.

[ Table 11]

[ Table 12]

[ Table 13]

[ Table 14]

[ Table 15]

Fig. 28 illustrates longitudinal aberrations of the zoom lens 3 of embodiment 3 at the wide-angle end and in infinity focus. Fig. 29 illustrates longitudinal aberrations of the zoom lens 3 of embodiment 3 at the wide-angle end and in close-up focusing. Fig. 30 shows longitudinal aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens 3 according to example 3. Fig. 31 shows longitudinal aberrations in the zoom lens 3 of example 3 at an intermediate focal length and in close-range focusing. Fig. 32 shows longitudinal aberrations in telephoto and infinity focusing of the zoom lens 3 of example 3. Fig. 33 shows longitudinal aberrations in close-up focusing at the telephoto end of the zoom lens 3 of example 3. Lateral aberrations upon focusing at infinity and at the wide angle end of the zoom lens 3 of embodiment 3 are shown in fig. 34. Fig. 35 illustrates lateral aberrations of the zoom lens 3 of embodiment 3 at the wide-angle end and in close-up focusing. Fig. 36 shows lateral aberrations in an intermediate focal length and infinity focus of the zoom lens 3 according to example 3. Fig. 37 shows lateral aberrations in the zoom lens 3 of example 3 in the intermediate-focus distance and in the near-distance focusing. Fig. 38 shows lateral aberrations in telephoto and infinite focus of the zoom lens 3 of example 3. Fig. 39 shows lateral aberrations in close-up focusing at the telephoto end of the zoom lens 3 of example 3.

As can be seen from the aberration diagrams, the zoom lens 3 of example 3 has excellent imaging performance with each aberration corrected well.

[ other numerical data of examples ]

Table 16 shows an example in which values related to the respective conditional expressions described above are summarized for the respective examples. As can be seen from table 16, the values of the examples are within the numerical ranges for the conditional expressions.

[ Table 16]

<5. Application example >

[5.1 application example 1]

The techniques of the present disclosure can be applied to a variety of products. For example, the technology of the present disclosure can be implemented as a device mounted on any type of moving body such as an automobile, an electric automobile, a hybrid electric automobile, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a personal moving body, an airplane, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a ship, a robot, a construction machine, and an agricultural machine (tractor).

Fig. 41 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a vehicle control system 7000, which is an example of a mobile body control system to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied. The vehicle control system 7000 includes a plurality of electronic control units connected via a communication network 7010. In the example shown in fig. 41, vehicle control system 7000 includes drive system control section 7100, vehicle body system control section 7200, battery control section 7300, vehicle exterior information detection section 7400, vehicle interior information detection section 7500, and centralized control section 7600. The communication Network 7010 that connects these control units may be, for example, a vehicle-mounted communication Network conforming to any standard such as CAN (Controller Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), LAN (Local Area Network), or FlexRay (registered trademark).

Each control unit includes a microcomputer that performs arithmetic processing in accordance with various programs, a storage unit that stores the programs executed by the microcomputer, parameters used for various arithmetic operations, and the like, and a drive circuit that drives various devices to be controlled. Each control unit includes a network I/F for performing communication with other control units via the communication network 7010, and a communication I/F for performing communication with devices inside and outside the vehicle, sensors, and the like by wired communication or wireless communication. Fig. 41 illustrates a microcomputer 7610, a general communication I/F7620, an exclusive communication I/F7630, a positioning unit 7640, a beacon receiving unit 7650, an in-vehicle device I/F7660, a sound image output unit 7670, an in-vehicle network I/F7680, and a storage unit 7690 as a functional configuration of the centralized control unit 7600. The other control means is similarly provided with a microcomputer, a communication I/F, a storage unit, and the like.

The drive system control unit 7100 controls the operation of devices associated with the drive system of the vehicle in accordance with various programs. For example, the drive system control unit 7100 functions as a control device such as a driving force generation device for generating a driving force of the vehicle, such as an internal combustion engine or a driving motor, a driving force transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force to wheels, a steering mechanism for adjusting a steering angle of the vehicle, and a brake device for generating a braking force of the vehicle. The drive System Control unit 7100 may also function as a Control device such as an ABS (Antilock Brake System) or an ESC (Electronic Stability Control).

The vehicle state detection unit 7110 is connected to the drive system control unit 7100. The vehicle state detecting unit 7110 includes, for example, at least one sensor of a gyro sensor that detects an angular velocity of a shaft rotation motion of a vehicle body, an acceleration sensor that detects an acceleration of the vehicle, and a sensor for detecting an operation amount of an accelerator pedal, an operation amount of a brake pedal, a steering angle of a steering wheel, an engine rotation speed, a rotation speed of wheels, and the like. The drive system control unit 7100 performs arithmetic processing using a signal input from the vehicle state detection unit 7110 to control the internal combustion engine, the drive motor, the electric power steering apparatus, the brake apparatus, and the like.

The vehicle body system control unit 7200 controls operations of various devices provided in the vehicle body in accordance with various programs. For example, the vehicle body system control unit 7200 functions as a control device for various lamps such as a keyless entry system, a smart lock system, a power window device, a headlamp, a backup lamp, a brake lamp, a turn signal lamp, and a fog lamp. In this case, a radio wave or a signal of various switches transmitted from the portable device instead of the key can be input to the vehicle body system control unit 7200. The vehicle body system control unit 7200 receives the input of these radio waves or signals, and controls a door lock device, a power window device, a lamp, and the like of the vehicle.

The battery control unit 7300 controls the secondary battery 7310 as a power supply source of the driving motor in accordance with various programs. For example, information such as the battery temperature, the battery output voltage, or the remaining capacity of the battery is input to battery control unit 7300 from a battery device including secondary battery 7310. Battery control unit 7300 performs arithmetic processing using these signals, and performs temperature adjustment control of secondary battery 7310 or control of a cooling device provided in the battery device.

Vehicle exterior information detecting section 7400 detects information outside the vehicle equipped with vehicle control system 7000. For example, at least one of the imaging unit 7410 and the vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7420 is connected to the vehicle exterior information detecting means 7400. As the image pickup section 7410, at least one camera Of a ToF (Time Of Flight) camera, a stereo camera, a monocular camera, an infrared camera, and other cameras is included. The vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7420 includes at least one of an environment sensor for detecting current weather or weather, and a surrounding information detecting sensor for detecting another vehicle, an obstacle, a pedestrian, or the like around the vehicle mounted with the vehicle control system 7000, for example.

The environmental sensor may be at least one of a raindrop sensor that detects rainy weather, a fog sensor that detects fog, a sun sensor that detects the degree of sun exposure, and a snow sensor that detects snowfall, for example. The surrounding information Detection sensor may be at least one sensor of an ultrasonic sensor, a radar device, and a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) device. The imaging unit 7410 and the vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7420 may be provided as separate sensors or devices, or may be provided as a device in which a plurality of sensors or devices are integrated.

Here, fig. 42 shows an example of the installation positions of the imaging unit 7410 and the vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7420. The

image pickup portions

7910, 7912, 7914, 7916, 7918 are provided at least one position among a nose, a side mirror, a rear bumper, a rear door of the vehicle 7900, and an upper portion of a windshield in the vehicle interior, for example. The image pickup unit 7910 provided to the nose and the image pickup unit 7918 provided to the upper portion of the windshield in the vehicle interior mainly acquire an image in front of the vehicle 7900. The

imaging units

7912 and 7914 included in the side view mirror mainly acquire images of the side of the vehicle 7900. The imaging unit 7916 provided in the rear bumper or the rear door mainly acquires an image of the rear side of the vehicle 7900. The image pickup unit 7918 provided on the upper portion of the windshield in the vehicle interior is mainly used for detecting a leading vehicle, a pedestrian, an obstacle, a traffic light, a traffic sign, a lane, or the like.

Fig. 42 shows an example of the imaging ranges of the

imaging units

7910, 7912, 7914, and 7916. The imaging range a indicates the imaging range of the imaging unit 7910 provided in the nose, the imaging ranges b and c indicate the imaging ranges of the

imaging units

7912 and 7914 provided in the side mirrors, respectively, and the imaging range d indicates the imaging range of the imaging unit 7916 provided in the rear bumper or the rear door. For example, the image data captured by the

imaging units

7910, 7912, 7914, and 7916 are superimposed to obtain a top view image when the vehicle 7900 is viewed from above.

The vehicle exterior

information detection portions

7920, 7922, 7924, 7926, 7928, and 7930 provided at the front, rear, side, and corner of the vehicle 7900 and at the upper portion of the windshield in the vehicle interior may be ultrasonic sensors or radar devices, for example. The vehicle exterior

information detection units

7920, 7926, and 7930 provided at the front nose, rear bumper, rear door, and upper portion of the windshield in the vehicle compartment of the vehicle 7900 may be LIDAR devices, for example. These vehicle exterior information detecting units 7920 to 7930 are mainly used for detection of a preceding vehicle, a pedestrian, an obstacle, or the like.

The description is continued with reference back to fig. 41. Vehicle exterior information detecting section 7400 causes image pickup unit 7410 to pick up an image of the outside of the vehicle and receives the picked-up image data. Further, the vehicle exterior information detecting means 7400 receives detection information from the connected vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7420. When the vehicle exterior information detection unit 7420 is an ultrasonic sensor, a radar device, or a LIDAR device, the vehicle exterior information detection means 7400 emits ultrasonic waves, electromagnetic waves, or the like, and receives information of the received reflected waves. The vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7400 may perform object detection processing or distance detection processing of a person, a vehicle, an obstacle, a logo, a character on a road surface, or the like based on the received information. The vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7400 may perform environment recognition processing for recognizing rainfall, fog, road surface conditions, or the like based on the received information. The vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7400 may calculate the distance to the object outside the vehicle from the received information.

Further, the vehicle exterior information detecting means 7400 may perform image recognition processing or distance detection processing for recognizing a person, a vehicle, an obstacle, a logo, a character on a road surface, or the like, based on the received image data. The vehicle exterior information detecting unit 7400 may perform processing such as distortion correction or alignment on the received image data, and synthesize the image data captured by the different image capturing units 7410 to generate an overhead view image or a panoramic image. The vehicle exterior information detecting means 7400 may perform viewpoint conversion processing using image data captured by a different imaging unit 7410.

The in-vehicle information detection unit 7500 detects information in the vehicle. A driver state detection unit 7510 that detects, for example, the state of the driver is connected to the in-vehicle information detection unit 7500. The driver state detector 7510 may include a camera for capturing an image of the driver, a biosensor for detecting biological information of the driver, a microphone for collecting sound in the vehicle interior, and the like. The biosensor is provided on, for example, a seat surface or a steering wheel, and detects biological information of a driver sitting on the seat or a driver holding the steering wheel. The in-vehicle information detection unit 7500 may calculate the degree of fatigue or concentration of the driver based on the detection information input from the driver state detection unit 7510, or may determine whether the driver is not dozing. The in-vehicle information detection unit 7500 may also perform processing such as noise removal processing on the acquired sound signal.

The central control unit 7600 controls the entire operation within the vehicle control system 7000 in accordance with various programs. The input unit 7800 is connected to the centralized control unit 7600. The input unit 7800 is implemented by a device that can be operated by the occupant, such as a touch panel, a button, a microphone, a switch, or a joystick. Data obtained by voice recognition of a voice input with a microphone may be input to the centralized control unit 7600. The input unit 7800 may be a remote control device using infrared rays or other radio waves, or may be an external connection device such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) that is compatible with the operation of the vehicle control system 7000. The input unit 7800 may be a camera, for example, and in this case, the rider can input information by a posture. Alternatively, data obtained by detecting the motion of a wearable device worn by the rider may be input. Further, the input unit 7800 may include, for example, an input control circuit or the like that generates an input signal based on information input by a rider or the like using the input unit 7800 and outputs the input signal to the central control unit 7600. By operating the input unit 7800, the occupant or the like inputs various data to the vehicle control system 7000 and instructs a processing operation.

The storage unit 7690 may include a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various programs to be executed by the microcomputer, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that stores various parameters, operation results, sensor values, and the like. The storage unit 7690 may be implemented by a magnetic storage device such as an HDD (Hard disk Drive), a semiconductor storage device, an optical storage device, an optomagnetic storage device, or the like.

The general communication I/F7620 is a general communication I/F that relays communication with various devices existing in the external environment 7750. The general communication I/F7620 can be equipped with a cellular communication protocol such as GSM (registered trademark) (Global System of Mobile communications, global System for Mobile communications), wiMAX (registered trademark), LTE (registered trademark) (Long Term evolution ), or LTE-a (LTE-Advanced), or another wireless communication protocol such as wireless LAN (also referred to as Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), bluetooth (registered trademark). The general communication I/F7620 may also be connected to a device (e.g., an application server or a control server) existing on an external network (e.g., the internet, a cloud network, or an operator-inherent network) via a base station or an access point, for example. The general Communication I/F7620 may be connected To a terminal (for example, a terminal of a driver, a pedestrian, or a shop, or an MTC (Machine Type Communication) terminal) existing in the vicinity of the vehicle by using, for example, a P2P (Peer-To-Peer) technology.

The dedicated communication I/F7630 is a communication I/F that supports a communication protocol that is established for use in a vehicle. The Dedicated communication I/F7630 may be equipped with a standard protocol such as WAVE (Wireless Access in Vehicle Environment), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications), or cellular communication protocol, which is a combination of ieee802.11p of a lower layer and IEEE1609 of an upper layer, for example. The dedicated communication I/F7630 typically performs V2X communication which is a concept including 1 or more of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) communication, road-to-Vehicle (Vehicle-to-interior) communication, vehicle-to-Home (Vehicle-to-Home) communication, and Pedestrian-to-Pedestrian (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian) communication.

Positioning unit 7640 receives GNSS signals (for example, GPS signals from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites) from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellites, performs Positioning, and generates position information including the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the vehicle. Positioning unit 7640 may determine the current position by exchanging signals with a wireless access point, or may acquire position information from a terminal such as a mobile phone, PHS, or smart phone having a positioning function.

The beacon receiving unit 7650 receives an electric wave or an electromagnetic wave transmitted from a wireless station or the like installed on a road, for example, and acquires information such as a current position, a traffic jam, a no-pass, or a required time. Note that the function of the beacon receiving unit 7650 may be included in the dedicated communication I/F7630.

The in-vehicle device I/F7660 is a communication interface that relays connection between the microcomputer 7610 and various in-vehicle devices 7760 existing in the vehicle. The in-vehicle device I/F7660 may establish Wireless connection using a Wireless Communication protocol such as Wireless LAN, bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), or WUSB (Wireless USB). The in-vehicle device I/F7660 may establish a wired connection such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus), an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), or an MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) via a connection terminal (and a cable, if necessary) not shown. The in-vehicle device 7760 may include, for example, at least 1 device out of a mobile device or a wearable device possessed by a rider and an information device carried or mounted on a vehicle. The in-vehicle device 7760 may include a navigation device for searching for a route to an arbitrary destination. The in-vehicle device I/F7660 exchanges control signals or data signals with these in-vehicle devices 7760.

The in-vehicle network I/F7680 is an interface that relays communication between the microcomputer 7610 and the communication network 7010. The in-vehicle network I/F7680 transmits and receives signals and the like in compliance with a predetermined protocol supported by the communication network 7010.

The microcomputer 7610 of the centralized control unit 7600 controls the vehicle control system 7000 in accordance with various programs based on information acquired via at least one of the general communication I/F7620, the dedicated communication I/F7630, the positioning portion 7640, the beacon receiving portion 7650, the in-vehicle device I/F7660, and the in-vehicle network I/F7680. For example, the microcomputer 7610 may calculate a control target value of the driving force generation device, the steering mechanism, or the brake device based on the acquired information on the inside and outside of the vehicle, and output a control command to the drive system control unit 7100. For example, the microcomputer 7610 may perform cooperative control for the purpose of realizing functions of an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) including collision avoidance or impact mitigation of the vehicle, follow-up running based on the inter-vehicle distance, vehicle speed maintenance running, collision warning of the vehicle, derailment warning of the vehicle, and the like. The microcomputer 7610 may perform cooperative control for the purpose of, for example, automatic driving that autonomously travels without depending on the operation of the driver by controlling a driving force generation device, a steering mechanism, a brake device, or the like based on the acquired information on the periphery of the vehicle.

The microcomputer 7610 may generate 3-dimensional distance information between the vehicle and an object such as a structure or a person in the vicinity based on information acquired via at least one of the general communication I/F7620, the dedicated communication I/F7630, the positioning unit 7640, the beacon receiving unit 7650, the in-vehicle device I/F7660, and the in-vehicle network I/F7680, and create local map information including information on the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle. The microcomputer 7610 may generate a warning signal by predicting a danger such as a collision of a vehicle, an approach of a pedestrian, or an entrance to a no-entry road, based on the acquired information. The warning signal may be a signal for generating a warning sound or illuminating a warning lamp, for example.

The audio/video output unit 7670 transmits an output signal of at least one of audio and video to an output device capable of visually or audibly notifying a passenger of the vehicle or the outside of the vehicle. In the example of fig. 41, an audio speaker 7710, a display portion 7720, and an instrument panel 7730 are illustrated as output devices. The display portion 7720 may also include at least one of an on-board display and a head-up display, for example. The display unit 7720 may have an AR (Augmented Reality) display function. The output device may be a headset other than these devices, a wearable device such as a glasses-type display worn by a passenger, a projector, or a lamp. In the case where the output device is a display device, the display device visually displays results obtained by various processes performed by the microcomputer 7610 or information received from other control units in various forms of text, pictures, tables, graphs, and the like. In addition, when the output device is an audio output device, the audio output device converts an audio signal including reproduced audio data, acoustic data, or the like into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal audibly.

In the example shown in fig. 41, at least two control units connected via the communication network 7010 may be integrated into one control unit. Alternatively, each control unit may include a plurality of control units. Further, the vehicle control system 7000 may be provided with another control unit not shown. In the above description, other control means may have a part or all of the functions that any control means carries. That is, any control unit may perform predetermined arithmetic processing as long as information is transmitted and received via the communication network 7010. Similarly, a sensor or a device connected to an arbitrary control unit may be connected to another control unit, and a plurality of control units may transmit and receive detection information to and from each other via the communication network 7010.

In the vehicle control system 7000 described above, the zoom lens and the image pickup apparatus of the present disclosure can be applied to the image pickup unit 7410 and the

image pickup units

7910, 7912, 7914, 7916, and 7918.

[5.2 application example 2]

The techniques of the present disclosure may also be applied to endoscopic surgical systems.

Fig. 43 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an endoscopic surgery system 5000 to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied. In fig. 43, a case is illustrated in which a surgeon (doctor) 5067 performs an operation on a patient 5071 on a patient bed 5069 using an endoscopic surgery system 5000. As shown in the figure, the endoscopic surgery system 5000 includes an endoscope 5001, other surgical tools 5017, a support arm device 5027 for supporting the endoscope 5001, and a cart 5037 on which various devices for endoscopic surgery are mounted.

In endoscopic surgery, instead of performing an abdominal incision by incising the abdominal wall, a plurality of punctures are performed in the abdominal wall by a tubular puncture instrument called trocar 5025a to 5025 d. Then, the lens barrel 5003 of the endoscope 5001 and the other surgical tools 5017 are inserted into the body cavity of the patient 5071 from the puncture instruments 5025a to 5025 d. In the illustrated example, as the other surgical tool 5017, a pneumoperitoneum tube 5019, an energy treatment tool 5021, and a forceps 5023 are inserted into a body cavity of a patient 5071. The energy treatment tool 5021 is a treatment tool for performing tissue dissection, blood vessel sealing, and the like by high-frequency current or ultrasonic vibration. However, the surgical tool 5017 shown in the figure is merely an example, and as the surgical tool 5017, various surgical tools generally used in endoscopic surgery, such as forceps and a retractor, can be used.

An image of a surgical site in a body cavity of a patient 5071 captured by an endoscope 5001 is displayed on a display 5041. The surgeon 5067 performs a treatment such as excision of an affected part using the energy treatment tool 5021 and the forceps 5023 while observing an image of the surgical part displayed on the display device 5041 in real time. Although not shown, the pneumoperitoneum tube 5019, the energy treatment tool 5021, and the forceps 5023 are supported by the surgeon 5067, an assistant, or the like during the operation.

(supporting arm device)

The support arm device 5027 includes an arm portion 5031 extending from a base 5029. In the illustrated example, the arm portion 5031 includes

joint portions

5033a, 5033b, 5033c and

chain bars

5035a, 5035b, and is driven by control from an arm control device 5045. The endoscope 5001 is supported by the arm 5031, and its position and posture are controlled. This can fix the endoscope 5001 in a stable position.

(endoscope)

The endoscope 5001 includes: a lens barrel 5003 inserted into a body cavity of the patient 5071 in a region having a predetermined length from the distal end; and a camera head 5005 connected to the base end of the lens barrel 5003. In the illustrated example, the endoscope 5001 configured as a so-called hard mirror having a hard lens barrel 5003 is illustrated, but the endoscope 5001 may be configured as a so-called soft mirror having a soft lens barrel 5003.

An opening into which an objective lens is fitted is provided at the distal end of the lens barrel 5003. The light source device 5043 is connected to the endoscope 5001, and light generated by the light source device 5043 is guided to the distal end of the lens barrel 5003 by a light guide provided to extend inside the lens barrel, and is irradiated to an observation target in the body cavity of the patient 5071 through an objective lens. The endoscope 5001 may be a straight view mirror, an oblique view mirror, or a side view mirror.

An optical system and an imaging element are provided inside the camera head 5005, and reflected light (observation light) from an observation target is condensed by the optical system to the imaging element. The imaging element photoelectrically converts the observation light to generate an electric signal corresponding to the observation light, that is, an image signal corresponding to the observation image. The image signal is sent to a Camera Control Unit (CCU) 5039 as RAW (RAW) data. The camera head 5005 is equipped with a function of adjusting the magnification and the focal length by appropriately driving the optical system.

In addition, for example, a plurality of image pickup elements may be provided in the camera head 5005 in order to cope with stereoscopic viewing (3D display) or the like. In this case, a plurality of relay optical systems are provided inside the lens barrel 5003 to guide observation light to each of the plurality of image pickup elements.

(various devices mounted on the cart)

The CCU5039 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and the like, and centrally controls the operations of the endoscope 5001 and the display device 5041. Specifically, the CCU5039 applies various image processing such as development processing (demosaicing processing) to the image signal received from the camera head 5005 to display an image based on the image signal. The CCU5039 supplies the image signal subjected to the image processing to the display device 5041. In addition, the CCU5039 sends a control signal to the camera head 5005 to control the driving thereof. The control signal may include information on imaging conditions such as magnification and focal length.

The display device 5041 displays an image based on an image signal subjected to image processing by the CCU5039 under control from the CCU5039. When the endoscope 5001 is compatible with high-resolution imaging such as 4K (the number of horizontal pixels 3840 × the number of vertical pixels 2160) or 8K (the number of horizontal pixels 7680 × the number of vertical pixels 4320) and/or 3D display, for example, a device capable of high-resolution display and/or a device capable of 3D display can be used as the display device 5041. When the display device 5041 is used for high-resolution imaging such as 4K or 8K, a device having a size of 55 inches or more can be used, and a further sense of immersion can be obtained. Further, a plurality of display devices 5041 having different resolutions and sizes may be provided according to the application.

The light source 5043 includes a light source such as an LED (light emitting diode), and supplies irradiation light for photographing an operation portion to the endoscope 5001.

The arm control unit 5045 includes a processor such as a CPU, for example, and operates according to a predetermined program to control the driving of the arm portion 5031 of the support arm unit 5027 according to a predetermined control method.

Input device 5047 is an input interface to endoscopic surgical system 5000. The user can input various information and instructions to the endoscopic surgery system 5000 via the input device 5047. For example, the user inputs various information related to the operation, such as physical information of the patient and information on the operation mode of the operation, via the input device 5047. Further, for example, the user inputs an instruction to drive the arm 5031, an instruction to change the imaging conditions (the type, magnification, focal distance, and the like of the irradiation light) by the endoscope 5001, an instruction to drive the energy treatment tool 5021, and the like via the input device 5047.

The type of the input device 5047 is not limited, and the input device 5047 may be any known input device. As the input device 5047, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, a switch, a foot switch 5057, a joystick, or the like can be applied. When a touch panel is used as the input device 5047, the touch panel may be provided on a display surface of the display device 5041.

Alternatively, the input device 5047 is a device worn by the user, such as a glasses-type wearable device or an HMD (Head Mounted Display), and performs various inputs in accordance with the posture and line of sight of the user detected by the device. The input device 5047 includes a camera capable of detecting a motion of the user, and performs various inputs according to the posture and the line of sight of the user detected from the image captured by the camera. Further, the input device 5047 includes a microphone capable of collecting the voice of the user, and various inputs are performed by the voice through the microphone. In this way, the input device 5047 is configured to be able to input various information in a non-contact manner, and thus, in particular, a user (e.g., the surgeon 5067) belonging to a clean area can operate the device belonging to the non-clean area in a non-contact manner. Further, the user can operate the apparatus without separating the hand from the surgical tool, which is held, so that the user's convenience is improved.

The treatment tool control device 5049 controls driving of an energy treatment tool 5021 for cauterization, incision, sealing of blood vessels, and the like of tissues. The pneumoperitoneum device 5051 inflates a body cavity of a patient 5071 to secure a visual field of the endoscope 5001 and a working space of an operator, and gas is fed into the body cavity through the pneumoperitoneum tube 5019. The recorder 5053 is a device capable of recording various information relating to the operation. The printer 5055 is a device capable of printing various information related to the operation in various forms such as text, images, and graphs.

Structures that are particularly characteristic of endoscopic surgical system 5000 are described in more detail below.

(supporting arm device)

The support arm device 5027 includes a base 5029 serving as a base and an arm 5031 extending from the base 5029. In the illustrated example, the arm portion 5031 includes a plurality of

joint portions

5033a, 5033b, 5033c and a plurality of

link bars

5035a, 5035b connected by the joint portion 5033b, but fig. 43 is illustrated to simplify the structure of the arm portion 5031 for the sake of simplicity. In practice, the shapes, the numbers, the arrangements, the directions of the rotation axes of the joint portions 5033a to 5033c, and the chain bars 5035a and 5035b can be appropriately set so that the arm portion 5031 has a desired degree of freedom. For example, the arm portion 5031 can be suitably configured to have 6 or more degrees of freedom. Accordingly, since the endoscope 5001 can be freely moved within the movable range of the arm 5031, the barrel 5003 of the endoscope 5001 can be inserted into the body cavity of the patient 5071 from a desired direction.

Actuators are provided in the joint portions 5033a to 5033c, and the joint portions 5033a to 5033c are configured to be rotatable around a predetermined rotation axis by the driving of the actuators. The drive of the actuator is controlled by an arm control device 5045 to control the rotation angle of each of the joint portions 5033a to 5033c, thereby controlling the drive of the arm portion 5031. This enables control of the position and orientation of the endoscope 5001. At this time, the arm control device 5045 can control the driving of the arm 5031 by various known control methods such as force control and position control.

For example, the surgeon 5067 can appropriately perform an operation input via the input device 5047 (including the foot switch 5057), and accordingly, the arm control device 5045 appropriately controls the driving of the arm portion 5031 in accordance with the operation input, thereby controlling the position and posture of the endoscope 5001. By this control, the endoscope 5001 at the tip of the arm 5031 can be moved from an arbitrary position to an arbitrary position and then fixedly supported at the moved position. Further, the arm 5031 can also be operated in a so-called master-slave manner. In this case, the arm 5031 can be remotely operated by the user via an input device 5047 provided at a place remote from the operating room.

In the case of applying force control, the arm control device 5045 may perform so-called power assist control in which the actuators of the joint portions 5033a to 5033c are driven so as to receive an external force from the user and to smoothly move the arm portion 5031 in accordance with the external force. Thus, when the user moves the arm portion 5031 while directly contacting the arm portion 5031, the user can move the arm portion 5031 with a relatively light force. Therefore, the endoscope 5001 can be moved by a more intuitive and easier operation, and convenience for the user can be improved.

Here, generally, in endoscopic surgery, the endoscope 5001 is supported by a doctor called an observer. In contrast, since the position of the endoscope 5001 can be fixed more reliably regardless of the hand by using the supporting arm unit 5027, an image of the surgical site can be obtained stably, and the operation can be performed smoothly.

The arm control device 5045 need not be provided to the cart 5037. In addition, the arm control 5045 need not be 1 device. For example, the arm control devices 5045 may be provided to the respective joint portions 5033a to 5033c of the arm portion 5031 of the support arm device 5027, or may be configured to cooperate with each other by a plurality of arm control devices 5045 to control the driving of the arm portion 5031.

(light source device)

The light source 5043 supplies irradiation light to the endoscope 5001 when photographing a surgical part. The light source unit 5043 includes, for example, a white light source composed of an LED, a laser light source, or a combination thereof. In this case, when the white light source is configured by a combination of RGB laser light sources, the output intensity and output timing of each color (each wavelength) can be controlled with high accuracy, and therefore, the white balance of the captured image can be adjusted in the light source device 5043. In this case, the laser beams from the RGB laser sources are irradiated to the observation target in a time-division manner, and the driving of the image pickup element of the camera head 5005 is controlled in synchronization with the irradiation timing, whereby images corresponding to the RGB laser sources can be picked up in a time-division manner. According to this method, a color image can be obtained without providing a color filter on the image pickup element.

The light source 5043 may be controlled to be driven so as to change the intensity of light to be output at predetermined intervals. By controlling the driving of the image pickup element of the camera head 5005 in synchronization with the timing of the change in the intensity of light, acquiring images in a time-division manner, and combining the images, it is possible to generate an image with a high dynamic range free from so-called black spots and white spots.

The light source 5043 may be configured to be capable of supplying light in a predetermined wavelength range corresponding to observation with special light. In the special light observation, for example, the following so-called Narrow Band Imaging is performed: by utilizing the wavelength dependence of light absorption in body tissues, predetermined tissues such as blood vessels on the surface layer of mucosa are imaged with high contrast by irradiating light having a narrower bandwidth than that of irradiation light (i.e., white light) in normal observation. Alternatively, in the special light observation, fluorescence observation in which an image is obtained using fluorescence generated by irradiation with excitation light may be performed. In fluorescence observation, a fluorescence image or the like can be obtained by irradiating a body tissue with excitation light to observe fluorescence from the body tissue (hometown fluorescence observation), or by locally injecting a reagent such as indocyanine green (ICG) into the body tissue and irradiating the body tissue with excitation light corresponding to the fluorescence wavelength of the reagent. The light source 5043 may be configured to supply narrow-band light and/or excitation light corresponding to such special light observation.

(Camera head and CCU)

Referring to fig. 44, the functions of the camera head 5005 and the CCU5039 of the endoscope 5001 will be described in more detail. Fig. 44 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional structures of the camera head 5005 and the CCU5039 shown in fig. 43.

Referring to fig. 44, the camera 5005 includes, as its functions, a lens unit 5007, an imaging unit 5009, a driving unit 5011, a communication unit 5013, and a camera control unit 5015. The CCU5039 also includes a communication section 5059, an image processing section 5061, and a control section 5063 as functions thereof. Camera head 5005 and CCU5039 are communicably connected bi-directionally with a transfer cable 5065.

First, a functional structure of the camera head 5005 is explained. The lens unit 5007 is an optical system provided at a connection portion with the lens barrel 5003. Observation light taken in from the front end of the lens barrel 5003 is guided to the camera head 5005 and enters the lens unit 5007. The lens unit 5007 is configured by combining a plurality of lenses including a zoom lens and a focus lens. The lens unit 5007 adjusts its optical characteristics so that observation light is collected on a light receiving surface of an imaging element of the imaging unit 5009. The zoom lens and the focus lens are configured to be movable in position on the optical axis in order to adjust the magnification and focus of the captured image.

The image pickup unit 5009 includes an image pickup element and is disposed at the rear stage of the lens unit 5007. The observation light having passed through the lens unit 5007 is collected on a light receiving surface of the image pickup device, and an image signal corresponding to the observation image is generated by photoelectric conversion. The image signal generated by the image pickup section 5009 is supplied to the communication section 5013.

As an image pickup element constituting the image pickup unit 5009, for example, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type image sensor is used, and an element capable of color imaging with a Bayer array is used. As the image pickup device, for example, an image pickup device capable of taking a high-resolution image of 4K or more may be used. The image of the surgical site can be obtained with high resolution, and the surgeon 5067 can grasp the situation of the surgical site in more detail and can perform the operation more smoothly.

The image pickup device constituting the image pickup unit 5009 is configured to have 1 pair of image pickup devices for acquiring image signals for the right eye and the left eye corresponding to 3D display, respectively. By performing the 3D display, the surgeon 5067 can grasp the depth of the living tissue at the surgical site more accurately. When the image pickup unit 5009 is formed of a multi-plate type, a plurality of lens units 5007 are provided in a plurality of systems corresponding to the respective image pickup elements.

The imaging unit 5009 need not be provided to the camera 5005. For example, the image pickup unit 5009 may be provided immediately after the objective lens in the lens barrel 5003.

The driving section 5011 is constituted by an actuator, and moves the zoom lens and the focus lens of the lens unit 5007 by a predetermined distance along the optical axis by control from the camera head control section 5015. This enables the magnification and focus of the image captured by the image capturing unit 5009 to be appropriately adjusted.

The communication section 5013 includes communication means for transmitting and receiving various information to and from the CCU5039. The communication unit 5013 transmits an image signal obtained from the image pickup unit 5009 to the CCU5039 as RAW data via a transmission cable 5065. At this time, in order to display the picked-up image of the surgical site with low delay, the image signal is preferably transmitted by optical communication. This is because, during surgery, the surgeon 5067 performs surgery while observing the state of the affected part from the captured image, and therefore, in order to perform more safe and reliable surgery, it is required to display a moving image of the surgical part in real time as much as possible. In the case of performing optical communication, the communication unit 5013 is provided with a photoelectric conversion module that converts an electric signal into an optical signal. The image signal is converted into an optical signal by the photoelectric conversion module, and then transmitted to the CCU5039 via the transmission cable 5065.

In addition, the communication section 5013 receives a control signal for controlling driving of the camera head 5005 from the CCU5039. The control signal includes information related to imaging conditions, such as information specifying the frame rate of an imaged image, information specifying the exposure value at the time of imaging, and/or information specifying the magnification and focus of the imaged image. The communication section 5013 supplies the received control signal to the camera head control section 5015. In addition, control signals from the CCU5039 may also be transmitted via optical communication. In this case, a photoelectric conversion module that converts an optical signal into an electric signal is provided in the communication unit 5013, and the control signal is converted into an electric signal by the photoelectric conversion module and then supplied to the camera head control unit 5015.

The control unit 5063 of the CCU5039 automatically sets the imaging conditions such as the frame rate, exposure value, magnification, and focus, based on the acquired image signal. That is, an AE (Auto Exposure) function, an AF (Auto Focus) function, and an AWB (Auto White Balance) function are mounted on the endoscope 5001.

The camera control section 5015 controls driving of the camera 5005 in accordance with a control signal from the CCU5039 received via the communication section 5013. For example, the camera control unit 5015 controls the driving of the imaging element of the imaging unit 5009 based on information indicating the frame rate of the captured image and/or information indicating the exposure during imaging. Further, for example, the camera control unit 5015 appropriately moves the zoom lens and the focus lens of the lens unit 5007 via the driving unit 5011 based on information indicating the magnification and focus of the captured image. The camera head control unit 5015 may further have a function of storing information for identifying the lens barrel 5003 and the camera head 5005.

Further, by disposing the lens unit 5007, the imaging unit 5009, and the like in a sealed structure having high air tightness and water tightness, the camera head 5005 can be made resistant to autoclaving.

Next, the functional structure of the CCU5039 will be explained. The communication section 5059 includes communication means for transceiving various information with the camera head 5005. The communication section 5059 receives an image signal transmitted via the transmission cable 5065 from the camera head 5005. At this time, as described above, the image signal can be appropriately transmitted by optical communication. In this case, a photoelectric conversion module for converting an optical signal into an electric signal is provided in the communication section 5059 in accordance with optical communication. The communication section 5059 supplies the image signal converted into an electric signal to the image processing section 5061.

In addition, the communication section 5059 sends a control signal for controlling driving of the camera head 5005 to the camera head 5005. The control signal may also be sent via optical communication.

The image processing unit 5061 performs various image processing on an image signal as RAW data transmitted from the camera head 5005. The image processing includes various known signal processing such as development processing, high image quality processing (frequency domain emphasis processing, super resolution processing, NR (Noise reduction) processing, hand shake correction processing, and the like), and/or amplification processing (electronic zoom processing). The image processing unit 5061 performs detection processing on image signals for AE, AF, and AWB.

The image processing unit 5061 includes a processor such as a CPU or a GPU, and is operable in accordance with a predetermined program to perform the image processing and the wave detection processing. In the case where the image processing unit 5061 is configured by a plurality of GPUs, the image processing unit 5061 divides information on the image signal as appropriate, and performs image processing in parallel by the plurality of GPUs.

The control unit 5063 performs various controls related to imaging of the surgical site by the endoscope 5001 and display of the imaged image. For example, the control section 5063 generates a control signal for controlling driving of the camera head 5005. At this time, when the user inputs the imaging conditions, the control unit 5063 generates a control signal in accordance with the input made by the user. Alternatively, when the endoscope 5001 includes an AE function, an AF function, and an AWB function, the control unit 5063 appropriately calculates an optimal exposure value, a focal length, and a white balance from the result of the detection processing performed by the image processing unit 5061, and generates a control signal.

The control unit 5063 displays an image of the surgical site on the display 5041 based on the image signal subjected to the image processing by the image processing unit 5061. At this time, the control unit 5063 recognizes various objects within the surgical portion image using various image recognition techniques. For example, the control unit 5063 can recognize a surgical tool such as forceps, a specific biological site, bleeding, mist when the energy treatment tool 5021 is used, and the like by detecting the shape, color, and the like of the edge of the object included in the surgical partial image. When the display 5041 displays the image of the surgical site, the control unit 5063 superimposes and displays various types of surgical support information on the image of the surgical site using the recognition result. By displaying the operation support information in a superimposed manner and presenting the information to the surgeon 5067, the operation can be advanced more safely and reliably.

The transmission cable 5065 connecting the camera head 5005 and the CCU5039 is an electrical signal cable for communication of electrical signals, an optical fiber for optical communication, or a composite cable of these.

In the illustrated example, the communication is performed by wire using the transmission cable 5065, but the communication between the camera head 5005 and the CCU5039 may be performed by wireless. When the communication between the two is performed wirelessly, since the transmission cable 5065 does not need to be installed in the operating room, it is possible to eliminate a situation in which the movement of the medical staff in the operating room is obstructed by the transmission cable 5065.

One example of an endoscopic surgical system 5000 to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied is described above. Here, although the endoscopic surgery system 5000 is described as an example, the system to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied is not limited to this example. For example, the technique of the present disclosure can be applied to a soft endoscope system for examination and a microsurgical system.

The technique of the present disclosure can be suitably applied to the camera head 5005 in the above-described structure. In particular, the zoom lens of the present disclosure can be suitably applied to the lens unit 5007 of the camera head 5005.

<6 > other embodiments

The technique of the present disclosure is not limited to the description of the above embodiments and examples, and various modifications can be made.

For example, the shapes and numerical values of the respective portions shown in the above-described one embodiment and examples are merely examples for embodying the present technology, and thus the technical scope of the present technology is not to be construed restrictively.

In the above-described one embodiment and example, the configuration including substantially 4 lens groups as a whole has been described, but a configuration including 3 or 5 or more lens groups as a whole may be employed. Further, the lens may further include a lens having substantially no refractive power.

For example, the present technology can have the following configuration.

According to the present technology having the following configuration, since the configuration of each lens group is optimized by including 3 or more lens groups as a whole, it is possible to perform a light focusing operation and to realize a zoom lens and an imaging device with less field angle variation and aberration variation at the time of focusing.

[1] A zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image plane side:

a1 st lens group having a negative meniscus lens with a convex surface facing the object side, and disposed closest to the object side, and having a negative refractive power;

a 2 nd lens group having a negative refractive power and moving to the image plane side at the time of focusing;

an aperture diaphragm as a main diaphragm; and

a subsequent group comprising at least 1 lens group with positive refractive power,

the interval between adjacent lens groups changes when zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end, and the following conditional expression is satisfied,

0.2<f1/f2<0.9……(1)

wherein is provided as

f1: the focal distance of the 1 st lens group,

f2: a focal length of the 2 nd lens group.

[2] The zoom lens according to item [1] above, wherein,

the 1 st lens group includes a positive lens disposed closer to the image plane than the negative meniscus lens.

[3] The zoom lens according to the above [1] or [2], wherein,

the 2 nd lens group is composed of a single lens component.

[4] The zoom lens according to any one of the above [1] to [3], wherein,

the following conditional expression is satisfied,

0.7<Bfw/fw<1.4……(2)

wherein is provided as

Bfw: the back focal length at the wide-angle end,

fw: focal distance of the entire system at the wide-angle end.

[5] The zoom lens according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein,

the aperture stop moves independently of a lens group disposed closest to the object side out of the 2 nd lens group and the subsequent group when zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end, and a stop diameter changes.

[6] The zoom lens according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein,

the zoom lens further includes a sub-aperture stop which is disposed closer to the image plane side than the aperture stop and whose aperture stop diameter changes when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

[7] The zoom lens according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein,

the following conditional expression is satisfied,

0.9<|R2f－R2r|/|R2f+R2r|<10.0……(3)

wherein is provided as

R2f: the radius of curvature of the most object-side surface of the 2 nd lens group,

R2R: and a radius of curvature of a surface of the 2 nd lens group closest to the image plane side.

[8] An image pickup apparatus comprising: a zoom lens; and an image pickup element that outputs an image pickup signal corresponding to an optical image formed by the zoom lens,

the zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image plane side:

an aperture diaphragm as a main diaphragm; and

0.2<f1/f2<0.9……(1)

wherein is provided as

f1: the focal distance of the 1 st lens group,

f2: a focal length of the 2 nd lens group.

[9] The zoom lens according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein,

the zoom lens is also provided with a lens having substantially no refractive power.

[10] The imaging device according to the above [8], wherein,

This application is based on japanese patent application No. 2020-64020, filed on 3/31/2020 by the japanese patent office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art depending on design requirements and other factors, but they should be construed to be included in the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image plane side:

an aperture diaphragm as a main diaphragm; and

0.2<f1/f2<0.9…… (1)

wherein is provided as

f1: the focal distance of the 1 st lens group,

f2: a focal length of the 2 nd lens group.

2. The variable focus lens according to claim 1,

3. The variable focus lens according to claim 1,

the 2 nd lens group is composed of a single lens component.

4. The variable focus lens according to claim 1,

the following conditional expression is satisfied,

0.7<Bfw/fw<1.4…… (2)

wherein is provided as

Bfw: the back focal length at the wide-angle end,

fw: focal distance of the entire system at the wide-angle end.

5. The variable focus lens according to claim 1,

6. The variable focus lens according to claim 1,

the zoom lens further includes a sub diaphragm disposed closer to the image plane than the aperture diaphragm, and having a diaphragm diameter that changes when zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end.

7. The variable focus lens according to claim 1,

the following conditional expression is satisfied,

0.9<|R2f－R2r|/|R2f+R2r|<10.0…… (3)

wherein is provided as

8. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a zoom lens; and an image pickup element that outputs an image pickup signal corresponding to an optical image formed by the zoom lens,

the zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image plane side:

an aperture diaphragm as a main diaphragm; and

0.2<f1/f2<0.9…… (1)

wherein is provided as

f1: the focal distance of the 1 st lens group,

f2: a focal length of the 2 nd lens group.