In July Apple was granted a patent for a folded camera that could provide superior zoom capabilities in a future iPhone. In Apple's patent FIG. 1A below, Apple illustrated components of a folded camera with two light folding elements and an independent lens system; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional illustration of a folded camera with five refractive lens elements in the lens system.

On October 22 Patently Apple posted a report titled "LG Innotek reportedly secures a deal with Apple for a future Periscope Lens for iPhone while advancing Liquid Lens Technology." In that report we pointed to the legal battle Apple and LG had with Corephotonics that were getting in the way of Apple being able to deliver a folded or periscope lens for iPhones. LG was able to nullify Corephotonics patent in Korea which opened the door and deal with Apple to produce a future iPhone's periscope lens.

This past Thursday, the U.S. Patent Office published a key continuation patent with 20 new patent claims to advance the protection of this patent for future use. The patent claims are quite detailed and camera engineers and pros may enjoy reviewing them. Below are just 6 of the 20 claims for your quick review.

Added Claim #1: "An optical system, comprising: a first light folding element; a second light folding element; and a lens system located between the first light folding element and the second light folding element, wherein the lens system includes a front aperture stop and a lens stack comprising one or more refractive lens elements; wherein the first light folding redirects light from an object field from a first axis to the lens system on a second axis; wherein the lens elements in the lens stack receive the light through the aperture stop and refract the light to the second light folding element; wherein the second light folding element redirects the light from the second axis onto a third axis to form an image of the object field at an image plane; and wherein the lens system is movable on two or more axes independently of the first and second light folding elements."

Added Claim #7: "The optical system as recited in claim 1, wherein the lens stack consists of four lens elements with refractive power, in order from an object side of the lens system to an image side of the lens system: a first lens element with positive refractive power for converging light; a second lens element with positive refractive power for converging light; a third lens element with negative refractive power and an aspheric shape to correct chromatic aberration and field curvature; and a fourth lens element with a meniscus shape to correct field curvature; wherein F-number of the lens system is less than or equal to 2.4, and wherein the lens system provides a long back focal length to accommodate the second light folding element."

Added Claim #8: "The optical system as recited in claim 1, wherein the lens stack consists of five lens elements with refractive power, in order from an object side of the lens system to an image side of the lens system: a first lens element with positive refractive power for converging light; a second lens element with positive refractive power for converging light; a third lens element with negative refractive power and an aspheric shape to correct chromatic aberration and field curvature; a fourth lens element with an aspheric shape configured as an air-space doublet with the third lens element to correct chromatic aberration and field curvature; and a fifth lens element with a meniscus shape to correct field curvature; wherein F-number of the lens system is less than or equal to 2.4, and wherein the lens system provides a long back focal length to accommodate the second light folding element."

Added Claim #9: "The optical system as recited in claim 1, wherein the lens stack consists of four lens elements with refractive power, in order from an object side of the lens system to an image side of the lens system: a first lens element with positive refractive power and an aspheric shape to control spherical aberration; a second lens element with negative refractive power and an Abbe number that is less than 30; a third lens element with a meniscus shape that has a concave object-side surface in a paraxial region of the object-side surface and a convex image-side surface in a paraxial region of the image-side surface; and a fourth lens element with a meniscus shape to correct field curvature; wherein F-number of the lens system is less than or equal to 2.4, and wherein the lens system provides a long back focal length to accommodate the second light folding element."

Added Claim #10: "A camera, comprising: a photosensor configured to capture light projected onto a surface of the photosensor; a first light folding element that redirects light received from an object field from a first axis to a second axis; a lens system that includes a front aperture stop and a lens stack comprising one or more refractive lens elements that refract the light on the second axis; a second light folding element that redirects the light refracted by the lens system from the second axis to a third axis to form an image of the object field at an image plane at or near a surface of the photosensor; and an actuator component configured to move the lens system on two or more axes independently of the first and second light folding elements."

Added Claim #17: "The camera as recited in claim 10, wherein the lens stack consists of four lens elements with refractive power, in order from an object side of the lens system to an image side of the lens system: a first lens element with positive refractive power and an aspheric shape to control spherical aberration; a second lens element with negative refractive power and an Abbe number that is less than 30; a third lens element with a meniscus shape that has a concave object-side surface in a paraxial region of the object-side surface and a convex image-side surface in a paraxial region of the image-side surface; and a fourth lens element with a meniscus shape to correct field curvature; wherein F-number of the lens system is less than or equal to 2.4, and wherein the lens system provides a long back focal length to accommodate the second light folding element."To review the remaining 14 new patent claims, review Apple's continuation patent 20210333529 here. An advanced zoom lens is going to be a major new feature for a future iPhone Pro.

To review the remaining 14 new patent claims, review Apple's continuation patent 20210333529 here. An advanced zoom lens is going to be a major new feature for a future iPhone Pro.

If this subject matter interests you, then you could also review another folded camera patent report that we posted back in February for additional details and possibly an alternative design. Below is one of the patent figures from that patent filing.

Posted by Jack Purcher on November 01, 2021 at 05:17 PM in 1B. Continuation Patents | Permalink | Comments (0)

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