Panoramic imaging system
US7019918B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 12, 2003 |
| Grant date | Mar 28, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B13/06
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A panoramic lens includes an aspherical convex surface and an aspherical concave surface. The convex surface includes a transparent portion and an internally reflective portion, and the concave surface also includes a transparent portion and an internally reflective portion. Light from a 360-degree surrounding scene enters the panoramic lens through the transparent portion of the convex surface, is reflected by the internally reflective portion of the concave surface, is reflected by the internally reflective portion of the convex surface, and exits the panoramic lens through the transparent portion of the concave surface as a narrow column of light beams. Light beams containing image data can be provided to the transparent portion of the concave surface, and those beams will follow this same optical path through the panoramic lens in reverse to project a panoramic image out from the transparent region of the convex surface.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.