Compact folded camera structure

Abstract

Folded cameras and dual folded-upright cameras that reduce a mobile electronic device and specifically a smartphone bump footprint and height. In some examples, the bump footprint is reduced by reducing the height of a back focal plane section of the folded camera. In some examples, the bump footprint is reduced by reducing the height of a back focal plane section and a lens subsection of the folded camera.

Description

FIELD

Embodiments disclosed herein relate in general to digital cameras and in particular folded cameras and dual folded-upright cameras incorporated in mobile electronic devices such as smartphones.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, mobile electronic devices such as cell-phones (and in particular smartphones), tablets and laptops have become ubiquitous. Many of these devices include one or two compact “upright” cameras including, for example, a main rear-facing camera (i.e. a camera on the back side of the device, facing away from the user and often used for casual photography) and a secondary front-facing camera (i.e. a camera located on the front side of the device and often used for video conferencing). An important figure of merit in mobile phone cameras and in particular cell phone camera is the camera height or vertical distance of the camera or camera lens.

Although relatively compact in nature, the design of most of these cameras is similar to the traditional design of a digital still camera, i.e. it comprises a lens assembly (or a train of several optical elements) placed on top of an image sensor, which explains the term “upright”. The lens assembly (also referred to as “lens module” or simply “lens”) refracts the incoming light rays and bends them to create image data (or an “image”) of a scene on the image sensor. The dimensions of these cameras are largely determined by the size of the sensor and by the height of the optics. These are usually tied together through the focal length (“f”) of the lens and its field of view (FOV). That is, a lens that has to image a certain FOV on a sensor of a certain size has a specific focal length. In such cameras, an increase in the focal length typically results with an increase of the optics height.

Recently a folded camera structure (also referred to simply as “folded camera”) has been suggested to reduce the height of a compact camera (see e.g. co-owned patent applications US 20160044250 and PCT/IB2016/052143, incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). In a folded camera, see FIGS. 1A-IC, an optical path folding element (referred to hereinafter as “OPFE” or “reflecting element”) e.g. a prism or a mirror, is added in order to tilt the light propagation direction from substantially perpendicular to the mobile device back surface to substantially parallel to the mobile device back surface. For simplicity, a reflecting element will henceforth be referred to also as “OPFE”. FIGS. 1A-1C show a known folded camera numbered 100 in various views. An orthogonal X-Y-Z coordinate (“axis”) system is shown for the perspective views, FIGS. 1A and 1B. These coordinates apply to all following perspective views. Two of the coordinates are shown separately for the side view, FIG. 1C. These coordinates apply also to all following side views. The coordinate system shown is exemplary.

For the sake of clarity, the term “substantially” is used herein to imply the possibility of variations in values within an acceptable range. According to one example, the term “substantially” used herein should be interpreted to imply possible variation of up to 10% over or under any specified value. According to another example, the term “substantially” used herein should be interpreted to imply possible variation of up to 5% over or under any specified value. According to a further example, the term “substantially” used herein should be interpreted to imply possible variation of up to 2.5% over or under any specified value.

Camera 100 includes an OPFE section 102 with length L_P and height H_P, a lens section 104 with length L_L and a back focal length (BFL) section 106 with length L_BFL. In some embodiments, the partition to several parts is such that each part is fabricated separately, and all parts are glued together. In some embodiments, the partition to several part is only schematic, namely all parts are made as one in the fabrication process. The three sections have a substantially common height H_FL (within 10% difference or less) which correspond roughly with a “camera height” of the folded camera. H_FL is defined as the distance along axis Y (Y being the direction from the object to the camera, or parallel to first direction 110 introduced below) between external surfaces of the three sections, or, in the case the heights of the three sections are not exactly equal, the distance along axis Y between the external surfaces of the section with the largest height. In some examples, the range of values for H_FL is 3-8 mm. In some examples, the range of values for H_FL is 5-6 mm. OPFE section 102 includes an OPFE 108 that folds an optical path from a first direction (optical axis) 110 into a second direction (optical axis) 112. Lens section 104 includes a lens assembly 114 with one or more lens elements having a common optical axis parallel to second direction 112. BFL section 106 includes an image sensor (or simply “sensor”) 116. BFL is equal to the distance between the exit surface (toward the sensor) of the lens element facing the sensor and the sensor itself. The folded camera has a length L_FL and a width W_FL.

A folded camera may be assembled together with a regular “upright” camera into a dual-camera structure (also referred to herein as a “dual folded-upright camera” or simply “dual-camera”) in a number of different ways, see e.g. co-owned international patent application PCT/IB2015/056004, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. One example of a dual folded-upright camera is shown in FIGS. 2A-2C. These figures show a folded dual-camera numbered 200 in various views. Folded dual-camera 200 includes a folded camera 202 similar to camera 100 and an upright camera 204 with a height Hu and an optical axis 110′ parallel to first direction 110. The distance between optical axis 110′ and first direction 110 is defined a baseline of folded dual camera 200. In the particular example shown, the two cameras lie along axis Z. The dual-camera has a length L_DC and a width W_DC. The width W_DC can be determined by the larger of the widths of the folded and upright cameras. Note that while in the example the folded and upright cameras are shown aligned along the Z axis, other arrangements, as shown for example, in co-owned PCT patent application PCT/IB2015/056004 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), are known and possible.

Dual-cameras with two upright cameras (also referred to herein as “dual upright-upright cameras”) are known. Their incorporation in mobile electronic devices such as smartphones is also known, with dual upright-upright camera smartphones being sold commercially. FIG. 3A shows a known dual upright-upright camera numbered 300 included in a smartphone 302 in a back view. A trend in compact cameras is to allow the upright camera lens to protrude the top surface of the camera, such that the lens alone can have a larger height, while other parts of the camera are lower. This is often referred to as a “bump”, numbered in FIG. 3A with numeral 304. Bumps above the surface of a smartphone and other mobile electronic devices are undesirable.

The use of light flash (e.g. LED flash) elements (or just “flash elements”) in cameras is known. The positioning of flash elements inside the “bump” of an upright dual camera is known. FIG. 3B shows a known dual upright-upright camera numbered 310 included in a smartphone 312 in a back view, having a flash element 318 in the “bump” 314. Having a folded camera with a flash element in the bump is desired. It is desired to provide folded cameras and dual folded-upright cameras that improve upon the deficiencies of the prior art. It is desired to provide folded cameras and dual folded-upright cameras with a reduced bump footprint.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein teach folded cameras and dual folded-upright cameras that reduce a mobile electronic device and specifically a smartphone bump footprint and height. In some examples, the bump footprint is reduced by reducing the height of a back focal plane section of the folded camera. In some examples, the bump footprint is reduced by reducing the height of a back focal plane section and a lens subsection of the folded camera.

As mentioned, it is desired to reduce and/or eliminate the surface area of the bump. It is desired for the bump not to extend past the height of the camera.

In some embodiments, there is provided a folded camera comprising an OPFE section including an OPFE for folding an optical path from a first direction to a second direction, the OPFE section having a OPFE height H_P in the first direction, a lens section positioned between the OPFE and an image sensor, the lens section having at least one lens section height H_L in the first direction, and a BFL section extending between the lens section and the image sensor and having a BFL section height H_BFL in the first direction, wherein H_BFL<H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, the lens section includes two subsections, wherein a lens subsection closer to the BFL section has a height H_L1<H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, H_BFL=H_L1.

In some embodiments described above or below, H_BFL≤H_L1 and H_BFL<H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, the lens section has a width W_L that fulfills the condition W_L>H_L>H_BFL.

In some embodiments described above or below, the BFL section has a top side and a bottom side, wherein the lens section has an optical axis parallel to the second direction and wherein the optical axis in the BFL section is closer to the top side of the BFL section than to the bottom side of the BFL section.

In some embodiments described above or below, the image sensor is positioned asymmetrically relative to a board it is mounted on.

In some embodiments described above or below, the top side has an internal surface structured to prevent stray light from being directed toward the image sensor.

In some embodiments described above or below, wherein the BFL section has a top side and a bottom side, wherein the lens section, BFL section and the image sensor share an optical axis, and wherein the optical axis in the BFL section is closer to the top side than to the bottom side, the positioning of the image sensor is asymmetrically relative to a board it is mounted on.

In some embodiments described above or below, wherein the top side has an internal surface structured to prevent stray light from being directed toward the image sensor.

In some embodiments described above or below, the folded camera further comprises a flash element positioned on the BFL section and having a height H_FLASH≤H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, the folded camera further comprises a flash element positioned on the lens subsection closer to the BFL section and having a height H_FLASH≤H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, the folded camera further comprises a flash element positioned partially on the BFL section and partially on the lens subsection closer to the BFL section and having a height H_FLASH≤H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, there are provided dual-aperture cameras comprising a folded camera as described above and below, together with an upright camera.

In some embodiments described above or below, the dual-aperture camera comprises a folded camera and an upright camera sharing a single axis in the second direction.

In some embodiments, a mobile electronic device comprises a folded camera described above or below.

In some embodiments described above or below, the mobile electronic device comprises a bump on a surface thereof, wherein the bump surrounds an area including the folded camera and wherein at least one bump dimension is defined by a folded camera dimension.

In some embodiments, a mobile electronic device comprises a dual-aperture camera described above or below.

In some embodiments described above or below, there are provided mobile electronic devices comprising a folded camera and/or a dual-camera as described above and below. In some embodiments, the mobile electronic device is a smartphone. The mobile electronic device may include a bump on a surface thereof, wherein the bump surrounds an area including the folded camera and/or an upright camera (for dual-cameras) and wherein at least one bump dimension is defined by a folded camera or dual-camera dimension.

Some embodiments include a method of manufacturing a folded camera, comprising providing an optical path folding element (OPFE) for folding an optical path from a first direction to a second direction, the OPFE section having an OPFE height H_P in the first direction, providing a back focal length (BFL) section that includes an image sensor, the BFL section having a BFL section height H_BFL in the first direction, providing a lens section having at least one lens, the lens section having a lens section height H_L in the first direction, arranging the lens section between the BFL section and the OPFE along the first optical axis, wherein H_BFL<H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, the OPFE section has a OPFE section height H_P in the first direction, wherein H_BFL<H_P.

In some embodiments described above or below, the lens section has at least two subsections.

In some embodiments described above or below, a lens subsection closer to the BFL section has a height H_L1, wherein H_L1<H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, H_BFL≤H_L1 and H_BFL<H_L.

In some embodiments described above or below, the BFL section has a top side and a bottom side, wherein the lens section has an optical axis parallel to the second direction and wherein the optical axis in the BFL section is closer to the top side of the BFL section than to the bottom side of the BFL section.

In some embodiments described above or below, the BFL section has a top side and a bottom side, wherein the lens section, BFL section and the image sensor share an optical axis, and wherein the optical axis in the BFL section is closer to the top side than to the bottom side, positioning the image sensor asymmetrically relative to a board it is mounted on.

In some embodiments described above or below, a method includes asymmetrically placing an image sensor relative to the top and bottom of the BFL section.

Some embodiments include a method for reducing the bump footprint of a smartphone, the method comprising: providing a smartphone; attaching the folded camera of any of the above embodiments to an exterior surface of the smartphone, wherein the folded camera reduces the bump footprint of the smartphone.

In some embodiments described above or below, the bump footprint includes a length L_B1, a width W_B1, and a height H_B1, wherein L_B1 has a range of 5-50 mm, W_B1 has a range of 1-20 mm and H_B1 has a range of 0.05-3 mm.

In some embodiments described above or below, the lower height of the BFL section relative to the height of the lens section and/or the OPFE section enables a shorter bump length L_B1.

In some embodiments described above or below, a method includes incorporating a flash element into the bump footprint.

As set forth above, each of the embodiments may be used in combination with one another, as it is contemplated that various combinations of embodiments can be merged with one another and are part of the scope of the present disclosure.

As used herein, the terms “for example”, “exemplarily”, “such as”, “for instance” and variants thereof describe non-limiting embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting examples of embodiments disclosed herein are described below with reference to figures attached hereto that are listed following this paragraph. Identical structures, elements or parts that appear in more than one figure may be labeled with the same numeral in the figures in which they appear. The drawings and descriptions are meant to illuminate and clarify embodiments disclosed herein, and should not be considered limiting in any way.

FIG. 1A shows a known folded camera in a perspective view;

FIG. 1B shows the folded camera of FIG. 1A in a longitudinal cross section view;

FIG. 1C shows the folded camera of FIG. 1A in a side view;

FIG. 2A shows a known dual upright-folded camera in a perspective view;

FIG. 2B shows the dual upright-folded camera of FIG. 2A in a longitudinal cross section view;

FIG. 2C shows the dual upright-folded camera of FIG. 2A in a side view;

FIG. 3A shows a known dual upright-upright camera included in a smartphone in a back view;

FIG. 3B shows a known upright-upright camera with flash included in a smartphone in a back view;

FIG. 4A shows a dual folded-upright camera of FIGS. 1A-1C included in a smartphone in a perspective view, according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 4B shows a cross section with enlarged details of the dual-camera and the smartphone of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A shows a folded camera in a perspective view according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 5B shows the folded camera of FIG. 5A in a longitudinal cross section view;

FIG. 5C shows the folded camera of FIG. 5A in a side view;

FIG. 6A shows a dual folded-upright camera in a perspective view according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 6B shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIG. 6A in a longitudinal cross section view;

FIG. 6C shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIG. 6A in a side view;

FIG. 7A shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIGS. 6A-6C included in a smartphone in a perspective view, according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 7B shows a cross section with enlarged details of the dual folded-upright camera and the smartphone of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A shows a folded camera image sensor mounted on a board of a folded camera as in FIGS. 4A, 4B;

FIG. 8B shows a known folded camera image sensor mounted a board of a folded camera as in FIGS. 6A, 6B;

FIG. 9A shows a folded camera in a perspective view according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 9B shows the folded camera of FIG. 9A in a longitudinal cross section view;

FIG. 9C shows the folded camera of FIG. 9A in a side view;

FIG. 10A shows a dual folded-upright camera in a perspective view according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 10B shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIG. 10A in a longitudinal cross section view;

FIG. 10C shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIG. 10A in a side view;

FIG. 11A shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIGS. 10A-10C included in a smartphone in a perspective view, according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 11B shows a cross section with enlarged details of the dual folded-upright camera and the smartphone of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12A shows a folded camera with a flash element in a perspective view according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 12B shows the folded camera of FIG. 12A in a longitudinal cross section view;

FIG. 13A shows a dual folded-upright camera with a folded camera as in FIG. 12 in a perspective view according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 13B shows a dual folded-upright camera with a folded camera as in FIG. 12 in a perspective view according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 14A shows a folded camera as in FIG. 9 with a flash element in a perspective view according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 14B shows a folded camera as in FIG. 9 with a flash element in a perspective view according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 14C shows a folded camera as in FIG. 9 with a flash element in a perspective view according to yet another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 15A shows a dual folded-upright camera with a folded camera as in FIG. 14 in a perspective view according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 15B shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIG. 15A in a side view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Folded cameras described herein comprise an optical path folding element (OPFE), a lens and an image sensor. Folded cameras may further include other parts required for operation, including a focusing mechanism, an optical image stabilization (OIS) mechanism, a zooming mechanism, a mechanical shield, an infra-red (IR) filter, electronics to operate focusing, a gyroscope, a shutter and/or other parts. Folded cameras may further include additional optical elements between the OPFE and the object to be photographed. The lens of folded cameras described herein may have constant focal length, or may have varying focal length (also known as “zoom lens”).

A folded camera height is generally smaller than the height of an upright camera with a similar effective focal length (EFL). The decrease in the folded cameras height results from the fact that the folded camera height is not dependent on the lens height, which is correlated with the lens focal length. In an upright camera, its height is dependent on the lens height. Therefore, the lens focal length may be increased without sacrifice in the camera module height. However, the folded camera height is determined by lens assembly height and the height of other parts of the camera, for example an actuator (e.g. an actuator used to shift the lens for focus and\or optical image stabilization) and a shield height, and cannot be reduced beyond a certain minimum value, without sacrificing optical performance. In general, the height of folded cameras according to presently disclosed subject matter may be in the range of 3-8 mm.

It is desirable that smartphones and other mobile electronic devices having cameras with one (or more) folded camera(s) and/or one (or more) upright camera(s) have a bump footprint (width and length) as small as possible. Independently, it would be desirable in such smartphones and/or mobile electronic devices to have a bump height as small as possible

FIG. 4A shows a smartphone 400 comprising a dual folded-upright camera similar to camera 200 in a perspective view, according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein. FIG. 4B shows enlarged details of the dual-camera and the smartphone in a cross-section A-A. A bump 404 generally surrounding the dual-camera section protrudes above a surface of smartphone 402. The bump has a length L_B1, a width W_B1, and a height H_B1. In some examples L_B1 has a range of 5-50 mm, W_B1 has a range of 1-20 mm and H_B1 has a range of 0.05-3 mm. While its edges are shown as sharp, they are preferably rounded as in the bump of FIG. 3. By positioning the folded and upright cameras in a line (along a single axis), one can obtain a smaller bump footprint than, for example, positioning the folded and upright cameras in an arrangement in which the two do not share the same single axis. Note that everywhere except in the region of the bump, the phone has a thickness (height) between external surfaces H_Phone. In the region of the bump, the phone thickness is larger and marked H_PB.

The present inventors have found that the dimensions of a bump that accommodates a dual folded-upright camera may further be reduced by judicious design of the folded camera.

FIGS. 5A-5C show, in various views, a folded camera structure numbered 500 according to an exemplary embodiment disclosed herein. Like camera 100, camera 500 includes an OPFE section 502 with length L_P and width W_P, a lens section 504 with length L_L and width W_L and a back focal length (BFL) section 506 with length L_BFL and width W_BFL. Camera 500 may have a height H_FL, a length L_FL and a width W_FL similar to that of camera 100. L_FL is defined by the sum of L_P+L_L+L_BFL. L_P could basically be defined by the reflecting element height (for example a prism). In some examples according to presently disclosed subject matter, H_FL is in the range of 3-8 mm, L_FL is in the range of 10-30 mm and W_FL is in the range of 3-15 mm. Note that the width of different folded camera sections may be different from each other and from W_FL. These camera height, length and width dimensions apply in following disclosed embodiments even if not shown in figures.

Camera 500 may include other components with respective functionalities similar to or identical with the components of camera 100. Therefore, these components and their respective functionalities are not described in detail. Further, camera 500 may include two BFL sections or a split BFL section. Unlike in camera 100, BFL section 506 in camera 500 has a height H_BFL that is smaller than the height of the lens section H_L and a height of the OPFE (for example a prism) section H_P. For example, H_BFL may be smaller than H_L by 0.05-3 mm. The reduction in height is expressed at a “shoulder” 508. In some examples, H_L, and H_P may be substantially equal (up to 5% difference). In other examples, H_L may be smaller than H_P. In some embodiments, camera 500 may have a lens section width W_L which is larger than the lens section height H_L. In some embodiments, W_L may be equal to H_L. In some embodiments, a lens accommodated in the lens section may have a shape with radial symmetry (for example a cylindrical shape). In some embodiments, a lens accommodated in the lens section may have shape which does not have radial symmetry (for example a rectangular shape, a cylinder with chamfers, etc.).

Camera 500 can be included together with an upright camera 204 in a dual-camera 600 as shown in FIGS. 6A-6C. In the case of dual-camera, each of the two cameras may be called a “sub camera”. In some examples, upright camera may have an optical axis 110′ which is parallel to the first direction 110. The distance between optical axis 110′ and first direction 110 is defined a baseline of folded dual-camera 600. In some examples, the length L_DC and width W_DC of dual-camera 600 remain similar to those of dual-camera 200. However, dual-camera 600 has a lower height H_BFL in the BFL section 506 of the folded camera. Therefore, when dual-camera 600 is incorporated in a mobile device such as a smartphone 700, the lower height of the BFL section enables a shorter bump length.

FIG. 7A shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIGS. 6A-6C included in a smartphone 700 in a perspective view. FIG. 7B shows a cross section with enlarged details of the dual folded-upright camera and the smartphone. Smartphone 700 has a bump 604 protruding over a surface 602. Bump 604 has a length L_B2 and a height H_B2. L_B2 is smaller than L_DC by about the length of BFL section 506. In this example, the dual-camera components that protrude and are visible include only the top of the lens of the upright camera and top parts of the OPFE. In some examples, lens sections of the folded camera may also be visible. In general, a bump may be needed only in areas of the camera where a height of the upright camera and a height of a section of the folded camera is larger than H_Phone.

Returning now to FIGS. 5A-5C, the reduction of height in the BFL section causes second direction 112 of the folded camera to be closer to a top surface 510 than to a bottom surface 512 of BFL section 506, creating asymmetry in the propagation of light rays exiting the lens into the BFL section. One result of the asymmetry is that an image sensor 514, which is normally mounted on a board 516 is asymmetrically positioned in the Y direction relative to the top and bottom sides of the BFL section and of the board itself.

FIG. 8A shows a known art image sensor 514 and board 516 as viewed in a +Z direction (along second direction 112). Sensor 514 is, for example, a silicon die that has an optically active part 802 (referred hereafter as active part 802) surrounded by a part (auxiliary silicon logic) 804 considered “non-active” in terms of image\light sensing and referred to therefore as non-active part 804. Active part 802 may be located in non-active part 804 in any position symmetrically or asymmetrically, as known in the art. Active part 802 is distanced from the top and bottom of board 516 (i.e. in the Y direction shown) by distances marked as D_TOP and D_BOT respectively. In FIG. 8A, D_TOP=D_BOT±Δ, where Δ is typically 0 to 200 μm. This is a sensor-board arrangement in a known folded camera such as camera 100, where active part 802 is typically positioned symmetrically or slightly asymmetrically relative to board 516 (“slightly” referring to up to 200 μm out of the height (4-6 mm) or about 0-5% of the PCB height).

FIG. 8B shows an image sensor 514 and board 516 configuration 800 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. In configuration 800, active part 802 is positioned asymmetrically relative to board 516 in the Y direction, and A may be on the order of 100-1500 μm. In this case, the asymmetry of active part 802 relative to board 516 may be on the order of 100 μm and up to 1-1.5 mm, or about 5%-30% of the PCB height.

The asymmetry results in a surface closer to the sensor's effective ray envelope and may cause stray light effects on the sensor. For example, in camera 500, top surface 510 is lower and closer to the sensor than a top surface of lens section 504, allowing for light that is entering to bounce off of top surface 510 and be redirected back to the sensor. To mitigate such effects, an internal surface 518 of top surface 510 of BFL section 506 is structured to prevent stray light. This may be provided, for example, by a yoke with a special structure and/or with an anti-reflective coating. Alternatively, an internal surface 520 of bottom 512 of BFL section 506 or both top and bottom internal surfaces 518 and 520 are structured to prevent stray light. In certain embodiments, internal surface 518 is uneven and/or has various ridges, so that it is not flat. Alternatively, FIG. 9B illustrates a method for absorbing or redistributing the light in other directions.

FIGS. 9A-9C show, in various views, a folded camera structure numbered 900 according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein. Like camera 500, camera 900 includes an OPFE section 902, a lens section 904 and a back focal length (BFL) section 906. The dimensions of the folded camera and the different sections may be in the same range as in cameras 100 and 500. Camera 900 may include other components with respective functionalities similar to or identical with the components of camera 500. Therefore, these components and their respective functionalities are not described in detail. Further, camera 900 may include two BFL sections or a split BFL section. Unlike in camera 500, lens section 904 in camera 900 has two different sub-sections 904a and 904b with two different heights marked H_L and H_L1. Height H_L of lens sub-section 904a is larger than height H_L1 of sub-section 904b, to accommodate at least one lens element 920 with a larger diameter D than the diameters of following (in the direction of the image sensor) lens elements (which, for example, have a smaller diameter D₁) For example, H_L1 may be smaller than H_L by 0-3 mm.

While the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 9A-9C shows a lens section with two different heights associated with two different subsections, a lens section may have more than two subsections with different heights. For example, if a lens includes N lens elements (typically N being between 1 and 6), then the lens section may include between 1 and N sub-sections. The N subsections may have the same height or different heights H_LN. In some embodiments with different lens subsection heights H_LN, the height may decrease in a step-wise manner from a subsection close to the OPFE (prism) section to a subsection close to the BFL section.

Camera 900 can be included together with an upright camera 204 in a dual-camera 1000 as shown in FIGS. 10A-10C. In some examples, the length L_DC and width W_DC of dual-camera 1000 remains similar to those of dual-camera 600. However, dual-camera 1000 has a lower height not only in the BFL section 906 of the folded camera, but also in sub-section 904b of the lens section. Therefore, when dual-camera 1000 is incorporated in a mobile device such as a smartphone, the lower height of the BFL section H_BFL and of sub-section 904b H_L2 enables an even shorter bump length L_B3.

FIG. 11A shows the dual folded-upright camera of FIGS. 10A-10C included in a smartphone 1002 in a perspective view. FIG. 11B shows a cross section with enlarged details of the dual folded-upright camera and the smartphone. Smartphone 1100 has a bump 1104 protruding over a surface 1102. Bump 1104 has a length L_B3 and a height H_B2. To clarify, in smartphone 1100, L_B3 is smaller than L_B2 in FIG. 7 by about the length of lens sub-section 904b and is smaller than L_FL by about the length of BFL section 906 plus the length of lens sub-section 904b. The marking of the bump height with “H_B2” here and in FIG. 7B does not necessarily mean that bumps 604 and 1104 have the same height. In this example, the dual-camera components that protrude and are visible include only the top of the lens of the upright camera and top parts of the OPFE and lens sub-section 904a of the folded camera. In general, a bump may be needed only in areas of the camera where a height of the upright camera and a height of a section of the folded camera is larger than H_Phone.

Camera 500 can be provided with a flash (e.g. LED) element to obtain a folded camera with flash (or “flash folded camera”). FIG. 12A shows a perspective view, and FIG. 12B shows a side view of a flash folded camera 1200. A flash element 1204 may provide an external illumination source as needed by the photographed scene, as known in the art. The reduction of height in camera 500 BFL (H_BFL) may be used to house flash element 1204, i.e. flash element 1204 may be placed on top of top surface 510. The combined height from the bottom of camera 500 to the top of flash element 1204 is marked by H_FLASH, as seen in FIG. 12B. In some cases, H_FLASH may be smaller than, or equal to camera 500 height (H_FL), as seen in FIG. 12B.

Folded camera 1200 may be included with an upright camera 204 to form a dual camera. FIGS. 13A-13B show two embodiments of such a dual-camera. In FIG. 13A, a dual-camera 1302 includes an upright camera 204 positioned next to flash folded camera 1200 on the optical axis (+Z direction) toward the side of OPFE section 502. In FIG. 13B, a dual-camera 1304 includes an upright camera 204 positioned along camera 1200 on the optical axis closer to BFL section 506 side. In dual camera 1304, flash element 1204 is positioned between the optical aperture of camera 204 and the optical aperture of camera 500.

In other dual-camera embodiments, shown in FIGS. 14A-14C, a camera such as camera 900 may also be provided with a flash element such as flash element 1204, which may be positioned on top of BFL section 906 (FIG. 14A), on top of lens sub-section 904 (FIG. 14B), or on top of both of these sections (FIG. 14C) (partially on top of each section in some embodiments). In all these cases, H_FLASH will mark the combined height of from bottom of camera 900 to top of flash element 1204. H_FLASH may be smaller than or equal to camera height H_FL. That is, the addition of a flash element does not lead to any protrusion above the largest height of the folded camera. Cameras 1400, 1402 or 1404 may be combined with an upright camera to form a dual camera (not shown).

In yet another dual-camera embodiment numbered 1500 and shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, camera 900 may be combined with an upright camera 204 and flash element 1204, such that the flash element is positioned partially above camera 900 and partially above camera 204.

While this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments and generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of the embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The disclosure is to be understood as not limited by the specific embodiments described herein, but only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A folded camera, comprising: an optical path folding element (OPFE) section including an OPFE for folding an optical path from a first direction to a second direction, the OPFE section having an external OPFE height Hp in the first direction;a lens section positioned between the OPFE and an image sensor, the lens section having at least one external lens section height HL in the first direction; anda back focal length (BFL) section extending between the lens section and the image sensor and having an external BFL section height HBFL in the first direction, wherein HBFL<HL,wherein a bottom external surface of the OPFE section and bottom external surfaces of the lens section and the BFL section are coplanar and wherein a top external surface of the lens section and a top external surface of the BFL section are not coplanar.

2. The folded camera of claim 1, wherein HBFL<HP such that a top external surface of the OPFE section and the top external surface of BFL section are not coplanar.

3. The folded camera of claim 1, wherein HL<HP such that a top external surface of the OPFE section and the top external surface of the lens section are not coplanar.

4. The folded camera of claim 1, wherein the lens section includes two subsections, wherein a lens subsection closer to the BFL section has a height HL2, wherein HL2<HL.

5. The folded camera of claim 4, wherein HBFL≤HL2 and HBFL<HL.

6. The folded camera of claim 5, wherein the BFL section has a top side and a bottom side, wherein the lens section, the BFL section and the image sensor share an optical axis, and wherein the optical axis in the BFL section is closer to the top side than to the bottom side, positioning the image sensor asymmetrically relative to a board it is mounted on.

7. The folded camera of claim 6, wherein the top side has an internal surface structured to prevent stray light from being directed toward the image sensor.

8. The folded camera of claim 4, further comprising a flash element positioned on the lens subsection closer to the BFL section and having a height HFLASH≤HP.

9. The folded camera of claim 4, further comprising a flash element positioned partially on the BFL section and partially on the lens subsection closer to the BFL section and having a height HFLASH≤HP.

10. The folded camera of claim 1, wherein the BFL section has a top side and a bottom side, wherein the lens section has an optical axis parallel to the second direction and wherein the optical axis in the BFL section is closer to the top side of the BFL section than to the bottom side of the BFL section.

11. The folded camera of claim 1, further comprising a flash element positioned on the BFL section and having a height HFLASH≤HP.

12. The folded camera of claim 1, wherein the lens section has a width WL and wherein WL>HL>HBFL.

13. The folded camera of claim 1, wherein the BFL section has a top side and a bottom side, wherein the lens section, the BFL section and the image sensor share an optical axis, and wherein the optical axis in the BFL section is closer to the top side than to the bottom side, positioning the image sensor asymmetrically relative to a board it is mounted on.

14. The folded camera of claim 13, wherein the top side has an internal surface structured to prevent stray light from being directed toward the image sensor.

15. A dual-aperture camera comprising a folded camera according to claim 1 together with an upright camera.

16. The dual-aperture camera of claim 15, wherein the upright camera has an upright camera optical axis parallel to the first direction.

17. A mobile electronic device comprising a dual-aperture camera according to claim 16.

18. The mobile electronic device of claim 17, comprising a bump on a surface thereof, wherein the bump surrounds an area including the dual-aperture camera and wherein at least a bump length is defined by a combined length of the lens section and the OPFE section where HBFL<HP and HBFL<HL.

19. A mobile electronic device comprising a folded camera according to claim 1.

20. The mobile electronic device of claim 19, comprising a bump on a surface thereof, wherein the bump surrounds an area including the folded camera and wherein at least a bump length is defined by a combined length of the lens section and the OPFE section where HBFL<HP and HBFL<HL.