The present disclosure relates to an optical element driving mechanism.
As technology has developed, it has become more common to include image-capturing and video-recording functions into many types of modern electronic devices, such as smartphones and digital cameras. These electronic devices are used more and more often, and new models have been developed that are convenient, thin, and lightweight, offering more choice to consumers.
Electronic devices that have image-capturing or video-recording functions normally include an optical system to drive an optical element (such as a lens) to move along its optical axis, thereby achieving auto focus (AF) or optical image stabilization (OIS). Light may pass through the optical element and may form an image on an optical sensor. However, the trend in modern mobile devices is to have a smaller size and a higher durability. As a result, how to effectively reduce the size of the optical system and how to increase its durability has become an important issue.
An optical element driving mechanism is provided. The optical element driving mechanism includes a movable portion used for connecting an optical element, a fixed portion, and a driving assembly used for driving the movable portion to move relative to the fixed portion. The movable portion is movable relative to the fixed portion.
In some embodiments, the movable portion includes a holder and a blade assembly. The blade assembly includes a first blade and a second blade. The blade assembly defines a blade opening. The movable portion and the fixed portion are arranged along a main axis. The main axis penetrates the blade opening. The main axis extends in a first axis.
In some embodiments, the first blade and the second blade at least partially overlap each other in the first axis. The first blade does not overlap the second blade when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the main axis.
In some embodiments, the optical element driving mechanism further includes a first low-reflection element disposed on the fixed portion, and a second low-reflection element disposed on the movable portion.
In some embodiments, the first blade includes a segment. The second blade includes a segment. The blade opening is defined by the segment of the first blade and the segment of the second blade.
In some embodiments, the segment of the first blade or the segment of the second blade has a straight shape or an arc shape.
In some embodiments, the first low-reflection element and the second low-reflection element are arranged in the first axis. The first low-reflection element includes a first opening when viewed along the first axis. The second low-reflection element includes a second opening when viewed along the first axis. At least a portion of the second low-reflection element is exposed from the first low-reflection element when viewed along the first axis.
In some embodiments, the first opening and the second opening are greater than the blade opening in a first state. At least a portion of the blade assembly is exposed from the first opening in the first state when viewed along the first axis.
In some embodiments, at least one of the first opening and the second opening is smaller than the blade opening in a second state. The blade assembly is not exposed from the first opening in the second state when viewed along the first axis.
In some embodiments, the optical element driving mechanism further includes a support assembly disposed between the movable portion and the fixed portion, the second opening has a circular shape. The main axis extends in a first axis and passes through a center of the second opening.
In some embodiments, the support assembly includes a first support element and a second support element arranged along a second axis. The first axis and the second axis are perpendicular when viewed along the main axis.
In some embodiments, a virtual plane overlaps the main axis. The first support element and the second support element are disposed on an identical side of the virtual plane.
In some embodiments, a connection of the first support element and the center and a connection of the center and the second support element defines an angle when viewed along the main axis. The angle is between 16 degrees and 164 degrees.
In some embodiments, the movable portion includes an extending portion when viewed along the second axis. At least a portion of the extending portion overlaps the support assembly along the first axis.
In some embodiments, at least a portion of the support assembly is exposed from the extending portion when viewed along the first axis.
In some embodiments, the fixed portion includes a bottom. The support assembly is disposed on a support surface of the bottom. A distance between the support surface and the extending portion is greater than a height of the first support element in the first axis.
In some embodiments, a gap greater than zero is between the first support element and the support surface or between the first support element and the extending portion. The gap is less than a distance between the support surface and the extending portion.
In some embodiments, the optical element driving mechanism further includes a lubricating element disposed between the support assembly and the fixed portion. The lubricating element includes lubricating oil or Teflon.
In some embodiments, the extending portion and the support surface do not overlap each other in the first axis.
In some embodiments, the first support element includes a first support unit and a second support unit arranged along the first axis. The first support unit and the second support unit are spherical. The first support unit and the second support unit are in direct contact with the fixed portion and the movable portion.
Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It should be noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of elements and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, in some embodiments, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be disposed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact.
In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Moreover, the formation of a feature on, connected to, and/or coupled to another feature in the present disclosure that follows may include embodiments in which the features are in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be disposed interposing the features, such that the features may not be in direct contact. In addition, spatially relative terms, for example, “vertical,” “above,” “over,” “below,”, “bottom,” etc. as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) are used in the present disclosure for ease of description of one feature's relationship to another feature. The spatially relative terms are intended to cover different orientations of the device, including the features.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It should be appreciated that each term, which is defined in a commonly used dictionary, should be interpreted as having a meaning conforming to the relative skills and the background or the context of the present disclosure, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal manner unless defined otherwise.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having the same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
In addition, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected”, refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.
Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose an optical element driving mechanism used for controlling the rotational angle of a movable portion to move blades, so an opening of the blades may be controlled continuously. Furthermore, its structure may be simplified to achieve miniaturization. For example,
As shown in
In some embodiments, the case 1110 and the bottom 1120 may combined with each other to form a shell of the optical element driving mechanism 1000 to protect other elements of the optical element driving mechanism 1000. The driving assembly 1300 may be used for driving the movable portion 1200 to move relative to the fixed portion 1100. For example, the first magnetic element 1310 and the second magnetic element 1320 may be disposed on the movable portion 1200 and may correspond to the first driving coil 1330 and the second driving coil 1340, respectively. The first driving coil 1330 and the second driving coil 1340 may be disposed on the bottom 1120. The interaction between the first magnetic element 1310, the second magnetic element 1320, the first driving coil 1330, and the second driving coil 1340, a magnetic force may be generated to rotate the movable portion 1200 relative to the fixed portion 1100 taking the main axis 1900 as its rotational axis.
The first low-reflection element 1410 may be disposed on the case 1110, and the second low-reflection element 1420 may be disposed on the movable portion 1200 to absorb extra light and may achieve aesthetic effect. In particular, the first low-reflection element 1410 and the second low-reflection element 1420 may have black color and may arrange along a first axis 1971 (the Z axis). Furthermore, when viewed along the Z axis, the first low-reflection element 1410 may include a first opening 1810, the second low-reflection element 1420 may include a second opening 1820 which may have a circular shape, and the main axis 1900 may pass through a center 1901 of the second low-reflection element 1420.
The circuit assembly 1500 may be disposed on the bottom 1120, such as may be disposed on both sides of the bottom 1120 to provide power for the operation of the optical element driving mechanism 1000 and transmitting signal to the optical element driving mechanism 1000 to control the movement of the movable portion 1200. The circuit assembly 1500 may include a first circuit element 1510 and the second circuit element 1520, the first driving coil 1330 may be disposed on the first circuit element 1510, and the second driving coil 1340 may be disposed on the second circuit element 1520. In other words, the first driving coil 1330 may correspond to the first magnetic element 1310 and the first circuit element 1510, and the second driving coil 1340 may correspond to the second magnetic element 1320 and the second circuit element 1520.
The blade assembly 1600 may connect to the movable portion 1200 and may move with the movable portion 1200. The blade assembly 1600 may include a plurality of first blade 1610 and second blade 1620 (3 for each in this embodiment, but it is not limited thereto). The first blade 1610 and the second blade 1620 may include different Z coordinate, such as disposed on different positions in the direction that the main axis 1900 extends. When viewed in an axis perpendicular to the main axis 1900 (such as X axis or Y axis, etc.), the first blade 1610 and the second blade 1620 do not overlap each other to prevent interference when moving.
In some embodiments, the first blade 1610 and the second blade 1620 may at least partially overlap each other when viewed along the main axis 1900, so a blade opening 1830 may be defined (such as defined by the segment 1611 of the first blade 1610 and the segment 1621 of the second blade 1620 in
In some embodiments, the size of the blade opening 1830 may be changed with the movement of the movable portion 1200, and the size of the blade opening 1830 may be continuously controlled by the moving content of the movable portion 1200, so the optical element driving mechanism 1000 may achieve functions like aperture or shutter.
In some embodiments, in a first state, the size of the first opening 1810 and the second opening 1820 may be greater than the size of the blade opening 1830, which means the minimum size of the openings of the optical element driving mechanism 1000 is defined by the blade opening 1830. Furthermore, in a second state, at least one of the sizes of the first opening 1810 and the second opening 1820 may be less than the size of the blade opening 1830, which means the minimum size of the openings of the optical element driving mechanism 1000 is defined by the first opening 1810 or the second opening 1820.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, a virtual plane 1910 may be defined to overlap the main axis 1900 and parallel to the plane defined by the Y axis and the Z axis. A second axis 1972 may be defined an axis parallel to the arrangement direction of the first support element 1710 and the second support element 1720 (e.g. the Y axis) when viewed along the main axis 1900, and the second axis 1972 may be perpendicular to the first axis 1971 (the Z axis). In some embodiments, when viewed along the main axis 1900, the first support element 1710 and the second support element 1720 may be disposed on and identical side of the virtual plane 1910, and the first magnetic element 1310 and the second magnetic element 1320 may be disposed on opposite sides of the virtual plane 1910. Furthermore, when viewed along the main axis 1900, a connection between the first support element 1710 and the center 1901 and a connection between the center 1901 and the second support element 1720 define an angle 1930, and the angle 1930 may be between 16 and 164 degrees.
In some embodiments, the optical element driving mechanism 1000 may further include a magnetic permeable element 1530 disposed on the first circuit element 1510, and the magnetic permeable element 1530 and the first magnetic element 1310 may be disposed on opposite sides of the first circuit element 1510. The magnetic permeable element 1530 may be magnetic permeable, and the first magnetic element 1310 may be a magnet to generate an attraction magnetic force to the magnetic permeable element 1530. Therefore, the first magnetic element 1310 and the movable portion 1200 may receive a force toward the magnetic permeable element 1530 (e.g. in the —X direction) to stabilize the position of the movable portion 1200, such as making the movable portion 1200 cannot move freely along the Z axis.
Since the support assembly 1700 includes the first support element 1710 and the second support element 1720, which means the movable portion 1200 may be supported by two support elements (first support element 1710 and second support element 1720) to prevent flipping when the movable portion 1200 receiving forces, so the position of the center of the blade opening 1830 may be stabilized. Since the angle 1930 is between 16 and 164 degrees, the movable portion 1200 may be supported more steadily.
It should be noted that the support assembly 1700 and the magnetic permeable element 1530 are not disposed on another side of the virtual plane 1910, which means the magnetic force that the movable portion 1200 receives may be biased to one side of the virtual plane 1910 (the side where the support assembly 1700 is disposed), so as to avoid magnetic forces in opposite directions canceling each other out.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the support assembly 1700 may be partially disposed on a support surface 1125 of the bottom 1120. Moreover, a gap first axis 1971 is between the first support element 1710 and the support surface 1125 of the extending portion 1240. In the first axis 1971, a distance 1942 between the support surface 1125 and the extending portion 1240 may be greater than the height of the first support element 1710, and the gap first axis 1971 is less than the distance 1942 to provide space for the support assembly 1700 to roll for reducing friction. In some embodiments, a lubricating element 1730 may be provided between the support assembly 1700 and the fixed portion 1100 or the movable portion 1200, such as disposed on the support assembly 1700 to further reduce the friction between the support assembly 1700 and the fixed portion 1100 or the movable portion 1200. The lubricating element 1730, for example, may include lubricating oil, Teflon and other materials with a lubricating function.
In some embodiments, the extending portion 1240 and the support surface 1225 may be not overlap each other in the first axis 1971. In other embodiments, the extending portion 1240 and the support surface 1225 may overlap each other in the first axis 1971.
In some embodiments, a plurality of columns may be provided on the bottom 1120 and the movable portion 1200 to allow the blade assembly 1600 being disposed on the bottom 1120 and the movable portion 1200. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, the first movable portion column 1210 may penetrate the first blade 1610, and the second movable portion column 1220 may penetrate the second blade 1620 to move the first blade 1610 and the second blade 1620 when the movable portion 1200 is in rotation. The second bottom column 1122 penetrates the first blade 1610, the third bottom column 1123 penetrates the second blade 1620 to be rotational axes when the first blade 1610 and the second blade 1620 are in movement.
Furthermore, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, when viewed along the first axis 1971, at least a portion of the first strengthen element bending portion 1131, the second strengthen element bending portion 1132, and the third strengthen element bending portion 1133 expose from the bottom 1120, and the strengthen element extending portion 1134 does not expose from the bottom 1120. Moreover, the first strengthen element bending portion 1131, the second strengthen element bending portion 1132, and the third strengthen element bending portion 1133 may be spaced apart from each other. For example, the first strengthen element bending portion 1131 and the first magnetic element 1310 may at least partially overlap each other, the second strengthen element bending portion 1132 and the second magnetic element 1320 may at least partially overlap each other, and the third strengthen element bending portion 1133 does not overlap the first magnetic element 1310 and the second magnetic element 1320. Since the strengthen element 1130 may include magnetic permeable material, and the strengthen element 1130 at least partially overlaps the first magnetic element 1310 and the second magnetic element 1320 in the first axis 1971, an attraction magnetic force may be generated to apply a force to the first magnetic element 1310, the second magnetic element 1320, and the movable portion 1200 in —Z direction. Therefore, the movable portion 1200 may be stabilized, thus the light pass through the optical element driving mechanism 1000 may be stabilized.
In some embodiments, the conductive element 1140 may include a first conductive portion 1141, a second conductive portion 1142, a third conductive portion 1143, a fourth conductive portion 1144, an a conductive connection portion 1145 disposed in the bottom 1120. The first conductive portion 1141, the second conductive portion 1142, the third conductive portion 1143, and the fourth conductive portion 1144 may at least partially exposed from the bottom 1120, and the conductive connection portion 1145 does not expose from the bottom 1120. The conductive connection portion 1145 connects to the first conductive portion 1141, the second conductive portion 1142, the third conductive portion 1143, and the fourth conductive portion 1144. In some embodiments, the first conductive portion 1141 and the second conductive portion 1142 extend in the first axis 1971 (the Z axis), the third conductive portion 1143 and the fourth conductive portion 1144 extend in the third axis 1973, and the first axis 1971 and the third axis 1973 may be different, such as may be perpendicular.
When viewed along the main axis 1900, as shown in
In some embodiments, the bottom 1120 may include a first recess 1124, and the case 1110 may include a second recess 1111. When viewed along the first axis 1971, as shown in
In some embodiments, in the third axis 1973, the first recess 1124 has a first width 1961, the second recess 1111 has a second width 1962, and the first width 1961 is greater than the second width 1962. Moreover, in the second axis 1972 perpendicular to the first axis 1971 and the third axis 1973, the first recess 1124 has a first length 1951, the second recess 1111 has a second length 1952, and the first length 1951 is less than the second length 1952. In other words, the first recess 1124 and the second recess 1111 may form an accommodating space to accommodate glue or insulating material to protect the second conductive portion 1142 and the second conductive portion 1142. This design also includes contact area of the glue or insulating material to increase adhesive strength.
In summary, an optical element driving mechanism is provided, which includes a movable portion, a fixed portion, and a driving assembly. The movable portion is used for connecting the optical element. The movable portion is movable relative to the fixed portion. The driving assembly is used for driving the movable portion to move relative to the fixed portion. In this way, the rotation angle of the movable portion can be controlled by current to drive each blade, so that the size of the blade opening can be continuously controlled, and the structure can be simplified to achieve miniaturization.
The relative positions and size relationship of the elements in the present disclosure may allow the driving mechanism achieving miniaturization in specific directions or for the entire mechanism. Moreover, different optical modules may be combined with the driving mechanism to further enhance optical quality, such as the quality of photographing or accuracy of depth detection. Therefore, the optical modules may be further utilized to achieve multiple anti-vibration systems, so image stabilization may be significantly improved.
Although embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages already have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations may be made herein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, and composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed, that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are also intended to include within their scope of such processes, machines, manufacture, and compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps. In addition, each claim herein constitutes a separate embodiment, and the combination of various claims and embodiments are also within the scope of the disclosure.
This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/404,398, filed on Sep. 7, 2022, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63404398 | Sep 2022 | US |