CAMERA MODULE

Abstract

A camera module having a macro switching function which can be switched between a normal photographing and a macro photographing is provided. The camera module includes a housing; a lens unit having at least one leans; a lens holder which houses the lens unit therein and is displaceable between a first position and a second position along an optical axis direction of the lens unit; a first magnetic member provided on the holder at the side of the first position; a second magnetic member provided on the holder at the side of the second position; a coil wound around the holder and provided in a close vicinity of the first magnetic member; a yoke which constitutes a part of or an entire of the housing, the yoke having a first portion provided at a position that faces the first magnetic member and a second portion provided at a position that faces the second magnetic member; a magnet provided on the yoke in a state that a space is left between the coil and the magnet; and an image pick-up device provided below the lens unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a camera module 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which shows a state that a holder 4 is held at a first position to provide a normal photographing mode;

FIG. 2 is another cross-sectional view of the camera module 1, which shows a state that a direct current is supplied to a coil 5 of the camera module 1 and the holder 4 is displaced from the first position to a second position;

FIG. 3 is a still another cross-sectional view of the camera module 1, which shows a state that the holder 4 of the camera module 1 is held at the second position to provide a macro photographing mode; and

FIG. 4 is a yet another cross-sectional view of the camera module 1, which shows a state that a reverse direct current is supplied to the coil 5 of the camera module 1 and the holder 4 is displaced from the second position to the first position.

Claims

1. A camera module, comprising: a housing;a lens unit having at least one leans which constitutes an optical system of the camera module;a lens holder which houses the lens unit therein, the lens holder being displaceable between a first position and a second position along an optical axis direction of the lens unit;a first magnetic member provided on the holder at the side of the first position;a second magnetic member provided on the holder at the side of the second position;a coil wound around the holder so that it is positioned in the close vicinity of the first magnetic member rather than the second magnetic member;a yoke which constitutes a part of or an entire of the housing, the yoke having a first portion provided at a position that faces the first magnetic member and a second portion provided at a position that faces the second magnetic member;a magnet provided on an inner circumferential surface of the yoke so that a space is left between the coil and the magnet; andan image pick-up device provided below the lens unit with a space therebetween.

2. The camera module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holder is adapted to be displaced from the first position to the second position along the optical axis direction of the lens unit by supplying a direct current flowing in one direction to the coil to generate a magnetic field in the coil so that the first magnetic member is repelled with the magnetic field generated by the first portion of the yoke; the holder is adapted to be held at the second position due to the second magnetic member being magnetically attracted to the second portion of the yoke by stopping the supply of the current to the coil; the holder is adapted to be displaced from the second position to the first position along the optical axis direction of the lens unit by supplying a reverse direct current to the coil to generate a magnetic field in the coil so that the first magnetic member is attracted to the magnetic field generated by the first portion of the yoke; and the holder is adapted to be held at the first position due to the first magnetic member being magnetically attracted to the first portion of the yoke by stopping the supply of the direct current to the coil.

3. The camera module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first position is a position where the holder is displaced close to the image pick-up device to provide a normal photographing mode, and the second position is a position where the holder is displaced far away from the image pick-up device to provide a macro photographing mode.

4. The camera module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holder is a roughly cylindrical member made of a synthetic resin and an outer peripheral wall of the holder has an annular rib portion integrally formed on the upper portion thereof and a coil holding portion having a diameter smaller than that of the annular rib portion and extending below the annular rib portion, and the coil is a cylindrical coil having a lower end and an upper end, wherein the coil is provided on the coil holding portion of the holder so that the lower end of the coil is in contact with the first magnetic member while the upper end of the coil is in contact with the lower surface of the annular rib portion so that it does not contact the second magnetic member directly.

5. The camera module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first magnetic member, the second magnetic member, the first portion of the yoke, and the second portion of the yoke have ring-like shapes and are made of iron, respectively.