Patent ID: 7974015

Claim:
A wide-angle compound-eye imaging device comprising multiple optical lenses for collecting light entering therein in predetermined shared angular ranges in a wide-angle direction from left to right in a wide-angle capture range so as to form unit images for the respective angular ranges, the unit images being combined into a wide-angle capture image, wherein the wide-angle compound-eye imaging device further comprises an optical path modifying element placed on a light entrance side of the optical lenses for modifying path of the light in a direction perpendicular to the wide-angle direction so as to converge the light onto the optical lenses, wherein the multiple optical lenses comprise: only one left optical lens and only one right optical lens placed on a left-right direction line parallel to the wide-angle direction for collecting light entering in left and right angular ranges in the capture range; and a center optical lens placed in a position vertically distant from the left and right optical lenses for collecting light entering in a center angular range in the capture range, and wherein the optical path modifying element is a toroidal lens comprising: a first curved surface having a curvature with a curvature axis parallel to the left-right direction line; and a second curved surface having a curvature with a curvature axis which is perpendicular to the left-right direction line and passes through the center optical lens.