US 6,201,642 · Granted 2001-03-13
The Plastic Lens Patent That Gave Cars Their Wide-Angle Eyes
This patent describes a clever camera system for vehicles that uses affordable plastic lenses instead of expensive glass to capture a super-wide view of the road and surroundings. By combining specially shaped plastic pieces with a diffractive element (which bends light in smart ways), the system gets crystal-clear images without the weight, fragility, or high cost of traditional camera optics.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a wide-angle imaging system for vehicles that uses a two-stage lens design: an outer negative lens group that captures the wide field of view, and a focusing group made of three plastic optical elements with diffractive surfaces and aspheric shapes to sharpen and correct the image. What's protected here is specifically the combination of using plastic materials with diffractive elements to achieve wide-angle focusing while eliminating color distortion and other optical errors—all without relying on expensive precision glass components.
Why it matters
This patent matters because it solved a real manufacturing problem: how to give vehicles wide-angle backup or side-view cameras cheaply and reliably. By swapping precision glass for shaped plastic and adding diffractive elements to handle optical correction, Donnelly made wide-angle automotive vision systems affordable enough to become standard equipment rather than luxury options. The approach reduced weight, cut manufacturing costs, and improved durability—key drivers for mass-market adoption in the automotive supply industry.
Real-world use
Every modern backup camera or surround-view system on a car relies on similar wide-angle plastic lens technology to show drivers what's behind or around them without the bulk and cost of traditional glass optics.
Original USPTO abstract
A wide angle imaging system for providing a wide angle field of view area exteriorly of a vehicle comprises an outer negative or wide angle group of lenses for receiving the wide angle field of view and directing a virtual image toward a positive, converging or focusing group of optics, which further refract and focus the image and provide a focused image to an image capture device. The focusing group of lenses preferably comprises three plastic optic elements, which include a diffractive element and aspheric surfaces to correct for color, distortion and other aberrations in the wide angle virtual image received from the wide angle group of lenses. The wide angle group of lenses are also preferably formed of a plastic material, such as polycarbonate or acrylic, and include a diffractive element on one of the elements. The imaging system thus provides a low cost, light weight and compact wide angle focusing system which does not include expensive and fragile precision optic and/or glass elements.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,201,642
- Filing date
- 1999-07-27
- Grant date
- 2001-03-13
- Assignee
- Donnelly Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- BOS BRENT J.
- CPC class
- G02B13/06
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