Disclosure of Invention
In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a driving mechanism for driving an optical assembly, the driving mechanism including a frame module, a hollow supporting member and an electromagnetic driving assembly. The bearing piece is movably arranged in the outer frame module and is used for accommodating the optical assembly, wherein the bearing piece is provided with a side wall part, and a through hole is formed in the side wall part. The electromagnetic driving assembly comprises a first magnetic assembly and a second magnetic assembly, wherein the first magnetic assembly is arranged on the bearing piece and is exposed to the inner side of the bearing piece through the through hole. The second magnetic component is connected with the outer frame module and corresponds to the first magnetic component, and is used for driving the bearing piece to move relative to the outer frame module.
In one embodiment, the frame module has a housing, and the housing has a top and a plurality of frames, wherein the top has an opening extending to at least one of the frames.
In one embodiment, the opening is substantially circular and has a protruding region extending to at least one of the rims.
In one embodiment, the housing is made of metal.
In an embodiment, the outer frame module has a polygonal structure, and the second magnetic assembly is disposed at a corner of the polygonal structure.
In one embodiment, a portion of the first magnetic element is tangent to an inner side surface of the sidewall portion.
In one embodiment, the first magnetic element is a magnet or a coil.
In one embodiment, the first magnetic element is a flat coil and surrounds the carrier.
In one embodiment, the outer frame module has a frame body and a base connected to each other, wherein the frame body has a metal member and a plastic structure, and the plastic structure and the metal member are integrally formed.
In one embodiment, the metal member is formed with a rod portion located at a corner of the metal member, and the plastic structure is formed with an engaging portion, wherein the rod portion is inserted into the engaging portion.
In one embodiment, the plastic structure and the metal member are combined with each other by insert molding.
In one embodiment, the outer frame module has a frame and a base connected to each other, the housing is made of metal, and the base is made of plastic, wherein the base and the housing are integrally formed.
In one embodiment, the housing is formed with a rod portion located at a corner of the housing, and the base is formed with an engaging portion, wherein the rod portion is inserted into the engaging portion.
In one embodiment, the base and the housing are combined with each other by insert molding.
In one embodiment, a recess is further formed on an outer surface of the sidewall portion, the recess is communicated with the through hole, and the first magnetic element is disposed in the recess.
In one embodiment, the outer frame module has a base, and the base is formed with a protrusion protruding toward an optical axis of the optical component, wherein the second magnetic component is fixed on the protrusion and corresponds to the first magnetic component.
In one embodiment, the frame module has a quadrilateral base, and the base is formed with two protrusions protruding toward an optical axis of the optical assembly, wherein the protrusions are located at two opposite corners of the base and correspond to the electromagnetic driving assembly.
In one embodiment, the driving mechanism further includes two spring pieces, and the base further has two connecting portions located at two opposite corners of the base, wherein the spring pieces connect the supporting member and the connecting portions.
An embodiment of the present invention further provides a driving mechanism for driving an optical assembly, wherein the driving mechanism includes a housing, a hollow supporting member and an electromagnetic driving assembly. The shell is provided with a top part and an extension part which are mutually connected, wherein the top part is provided with an opening, and the extension part extends from the inner edge of the opening towards the optical axis direction of the optical component. The bearing piece is movably arranged in the shell and used for accommodating the optical assembly, wherein the bearing piece is provided with a side wall part, a through hole is formed in the side wall part, and the extending part is exposed to the inner side of the bearing piece through the through hole. The electromagnetic driving assembly comprises a first magnetic assembly and a second magnetic assembly, wherein the first magnetic assembly is arranged on the bearing piece, and the second magnetic assembly is connected with the shell and corresponds to the first magnetic assembly and is used for driving the bearing piece to move relative to the shell.
In one embodiment, the supporting member further has a top surface and a limiting groove, the limiting groove is formed on the top surface and is communicated with the through hole, and the extending portion extends into the limiting groove.
The invention has the advantages that in order to reduce the size of the bearing piece in the horizontal direction (XY plane) as much as possible, a part of the magnetic assembly can be aligned with the arc inner side surface of the side wall part, thereby achieving the minimization of the size of the driving mechanism.
In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.
Detailed Description
An electromagnetic drive module according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below. It should be appreciated, however, that the present embodiments provide many suitable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments disclosed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not delimit the scope of the invention.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including 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 will be understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Referring to fig. 1A to 1D together, fig. 1A is an exploded view of a driving mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 1B is a schematic view of the driving mechanism of fig. 1A after being assembled, fig. 1C is a sectional view taken along a line a-a of fig. 1B, and fig. 1D is a sectional view taken along a line B-B of fig. 1B. As shown in fig. 1A and fig. 1B, the driving mechanism of the present embodiment is used for driving an optical component (e.g., an optical lens), and mainly includes a housing 10, a hollow carrier 20, a base 30, a coil C, at least one upper spring S1, at least one lower spring S2, and at least one magnet M.
The supporting member 20 can be used for supporting the optical component (e.g., an optical lens), and the driving mechanism can be disposed in a portable electronic device (e.g., a mobile phone or a tablet computer) and electrically connected to a circuit unit (not shown) for adjusting the position of the optical component, so that light passing through the optical component can present a clear image on a photosensitive component (not shown), thereby achieving the purpose of auto-focusing (auto-focusing) and/or zooming (zoom). For example, the driving mechanism may be a Voice Coil Motor (VCM).
As can be seen from fig. 1A to 1D, the housing 10 and the base 30 can be combined with each other to form an outer frame module, wherein the carrier 20, the coil C, the upper spring S1, the lower spring S2 and the magnet M are accommodated in the outer frame module. It should be noted that the coil C (first magnetic component) is, for example, a flat coil disposed around the carrier 20, wherein the coil C, the carrier 20 and the optical component disposed therein can be movably connected to the housing 10 and/or the base 30 through the upper spring S1 and/or the lower spring S2, respectively, and further suspended in the inner space of the outer frame module, and can move up and down along the Z-axis direction relative to the housing 10 and the base 30. It should be noted that the housing 10 has a polygonal structure, wherein the magnet M (second magnetic component) is fixed at a corner of the housing 10 and corresponds to the coil C on the carrier 20.
In the present embodiment, the coil C and the magnet M may constitute an electromagnetic driving assembly, and when the coil C is supplied with current through the aforementioned circuit unit, a magnetic force is generated between the coil C and the magnet M to drive the coil C, the carrier 20 and the optical assembly disposed therein to move together along the Z-axis direction relative to the housing 10 and the base 30, thereby achieving an auto-focus (auto) and/or zoom (zoom) function. However, the positions of the magnet M and the coil C can be interchanged, that is, the magnet M is disposed on the carrier 20 to serve as a first magnetic component, and the coil C (e.g., a flat coil) is fixed on the housing 10 or the base 30 to serve as a second magnetic component corresponding to the magnet M, so that the magnetic force can be generated to drive the coil C, the carrier 20 and the optical component disposed therein to move together along the Z-axis direction relative to the housing 10 and the base 30.
In order to reduce the size of the driving mechanism in the X direction and the Y direction as much as possible, the carrier 20 of the present embodiment has at least one through hole 21 formed on the annular sidewall 201, corresponding to the magnet M. As shown in fig. 1C and 1D, the coil C is located adjacent to the inner surface of the sidewall portion 201, and at least a portion of the coil C can be exposed to the inside of the carrier 20 through the through hole 21. In addition, as can be seen from fig. 1D, two extension lines L1 and L2 can be respectively defined by two sets of through holes 21 on opposite sides of the supporting member 20, the extension lines L1 and L2 are perpendicular to the optical axis O of the optical assembly and are respectively parallel to the X axis and the Y axis, wherein the extension lines L1 and L2 sequentially pass through the optical assembly (not shown), the coil C and the housing 10 from the optical axis O from inside to outside; in other words, when viewed from a direction parallel to the optical axis O, the optical components, the coil C and the housing 10 are arranged in sequence from inside to outside along the extension lines L1 and L2, wherein the coil C and the housing 10 are directly opposite to each other with a gap D (as shown in fig. 1D), and no magnet is disposed between the coil C and the housing 10, and the supporting member 20 in this embodiment can be used to carry different optical components, thereby greatly improving the flexibility of use and design. With the above arrangement, not only the space can be fully utilized, but also the dimensions of the carrier 20 and the coil C in the horizontal direction (XY plane) can be effectively reduced, and the entire miniaturization of the drive mechanism can be achieved.
Referring to fig. 1E, in an embodiment, in order to reduce the dimensions of the carrier 20 and the coil C in the horizontal direction (XY plane) as much as possible, a portion of the coil C may be aligned with the arc-shaped inner side surface of the sidewall 201, thereby contributing to minimization of the dimensions of the carrier 20 and the coil C.
On the other hand, as can be seen from fig. 1A to 1D, the housing 10 has a top 11 and four frames 12, wherein the top 11 is formed with a substantially circular opening H, and the opening H has at least one protruding region R extending to at least one of the frames 12. It should be noted that the housing 10 of the present embodiment may be made of a metal material and have a quadrilateral structure, wherein the opening H may be formed by stamping, and the four protruding regions R of the opening H extend to the four frames 12 in four different directions, respectively, so as to not only effectively avoid the problem of insufficient local structural strength between the edge of the opening H of the metal housing 10 and the frames 12 due to too short distance, but also facilitate greatly reducing the size of the housing 10 in the horizontal direction (XY plane), thereby achieving the overall miniaturization of the driving mechanism.
Referring to fig. 2A, fig. 2B and fig. 2C, the present embodiment is different from the embodiment shown in fig. 1A to fig. 1D in that: the supporting member 20 of the present embodiment has a through hole 22 in addition to the through hole 21, the housing 10 has at least one extending portion 101 corresponding to the through hole 22, the extending portion 101 is connected to the top portion 11 of the housing 10 and extends downward from an inner edge of the opening H of the top portion 11 toward an optical axis direction (-Z axis direction) of the optical assembly to partially or completely cover the through hole 22, wherein the extending portion 101 is exposed to the inside of the supporting member 20 through the through hole 22.
In addition, as can be clearly seen from fig. 2A, 2B and 2C, a limiting groove 23 is formed on the top surface of the carrier 20, and the limiting groove 23 is communicated with the through hole 22. It should be understood that, since the extending portion 101 can be inserted into the limiting groove 23 during assembly, the extending portion 101 can be used as a stopping mechanism to limit the rotation/movement range of the carrier 20 relative to the housing 10 in the horizontal direction (XY plane), so as to protect the carrier 20 and prevent the carrier 20 from dust or damage to the mechanism due to impact on other parts.
Referring to fig. 3A, fig. 3B and fig. 3C, the present embodiment is different from the embodiment shown in fig. 1A to fig. 1D in that: the housing 10 in this embodiment is formed by integrally forming a plastic structure 40 and a metal member 50. As shown in fig. 3B and 3C, at least one fitting portion 41 is formed at a corner of the plastic structure 40, and at least one rod portion 51 is formed at a corner of the metal member 50 corresponding to the fitting portion 41, wherein the metal member 50 can be pre-formed, and the plastic structure 40 can be formed by Insert Molding (Insert Molding) or other plastic Molding techniques to Insert the rod portion 51 into the fitting portion 41 (fig. 3C).
As mentioned above, the housing 10 of the present embodiment is mainly composed of the plastic structure 40 and the metal member 50, wherein the plastic structure 40 is used as a top cover of the housing 10, so that the opening H located at the center of the plastic structure 40 can maintain a complete circular design without forming the protruding region R as shown in fig. 1A and 1B, thereby avoiding the problem of insufficient local structural strength caused by too short distance between the edge of the opening H and the frame of the housing 10 due to the metal material at the top of the housing 10.
Referring to fig. 4A, fig. 4B and fig. 4C, the present embodiment is different from the embodiment of fig. 3A to fig. 3C in that: the base 30 of the present embodiment is also combined with the metal member 50 in the housing 10 in an integrally formed manner. As shown in fig. 4B and 4C, the base 30 may be made of plastic, and at least one engaging portion 31 is formed at a corner of the base 30, and at least one rod portion 52 is formed at a corner of the metal member 50 corresponding to the engaging portion 31. In the manufacturing process, the metal member 50 may be pre-formed, and then the base 30 may be embedded into the engaging portion 31 by Insert Molding (Insert Molding) or other plastic Molding techniques (fig. 4C), so as to greatly improve the bonding strength between the base 30 and the housing 10.
Referring to fig. 5A and 5B, the present embodiment is different from the embodiments of fig. 1A to 1D in that: in the present embodiment, the positions of the magnet M and the coil C are interchanged, that is, the magnet M is used as a first magnetic component disposed on the carrier 20, and the coil C (e.g., a flat coil) is used as a second magnetic component fixed on the base 30 and corresponds to the magnet M; in addition, as shown in fig. 5A and 5B, at least one recess 211 communicating with the through hole 21 is further formed on the outer surface of the sidewall 201 of the carrier 20, wherein the magnet M (first magnetic component) is disposed in the recess 211 and can be exposed to the inside of the carrier 20 through the through hole 21.
In one embodiment, in order to reduce the size of the carrier 20 in the horizontal direction (XY plane) as much as possible, a part of the magnet M may be aligned with the arc-shaped inner surface of the sidewall 201, thereby achieving minimization of the driving mechanism size.
It should be noted that, as can be clearly seen from fig. 5A and 5B, the coil C of the present embodiment is a plurality of coils, which can be, for example, flat coils, and is disposed on the protruding section P1 of the flexible circuit board P, and a plurality of protruding portions 32 extending in the optical axis direction (Z-axis direction) of the optical assembly are formed on the base 30, corresponding to the protruding section P1 and the coil C; therefore, during assembly, only the protruding section P1 of the flexible printed circuit P needs to be attached and fixed to the corresponding side surface of the protruding portion 32, wherein the protruding portion 32 serves as a supporting structure for the flexible printed circuit P and the coil C, which not only prevents the circuit from being broken when the driving mechanism is impacted, but also effectively blocks the flexible printed circuit P and prevents foreign objects from entering the driving mechanism, thereby increasing the sealing effect.
In one embodiment, the coil C may be disposed in the recess 211 outside the carrier 20 as a first magnetic component, and the magnet M may be a second magnetic component fixed on the base 30; in this way, when the coil C is energized by the circuit unit, a magnetic force may be generated between the coil C and the magnet M to drive the coil C, the carrier 20 and the optical assembly disposed thereon to move together along the Z-axis direction relative to the housing 10 and the base 30, so as to achieve the purpose of auto-focusing (auto-focusing) and/or zooming (zoom).
Referring to fig. 6A and fig. 6B, the present embodiment is different from the embodiments of fig. 5A to fig. 5B in that: the embodiment forms the protruding portions 32 only at two opposite corners of the quadrangular base 30, and the remaining space can be used for arranging other parts, such as the lower spring S2. For example, as shown in fig. 6B, one end of each of the two lower reeds S2 can be connected to the carrier 20 (not shown), and the other end of each of the two lower reeds S2 can be connected to the connecting portion 33 at two opposite corners of the base 30, wherein the height of the connecting portion 33 is lower than that of the protruding portion 32, so that the efficiency of space configuration can be greatly improved, and the purpose of miniaturization of the mechanism can be achieved.
Finally, referring to fig. 7A and 7B, the supporting member 20 in the above embodiments may also be formed by combining two or more members made of different materials. For example, the carrier 20 shown in the embodiment of fig. 7A and 7B mainly comprises a metal skeleton 20A and a plastic structure 20B, wherein the metal skeleton 20A can be pre-formed, and the plastic structure 20B can be embedded with the metal skeleton 20A by Insert Molding (Insert Molding) or other plastic Molding techniques, so as to greatly improve the overall structural strength of the carrier 20.
It should be understood that the coil C (first magnetic component) in the present embodiment is, for example, a flat coil, and is disposed around the carrier 20, and it can be exposed to the inside of the carrier 20 through the through hole 21; further, it can be seen from fig. 7A and 7B that the winding portion C1 of the coil C corresponds to a plate-shaped bearing portion S on the plastic structural body 20B, whereby a sufficient supporting effect of the winding portion C1 can be provided by the bearing portion S.
Since the carrier 20 in this embodiment needs to form the through hole 21 so as to be able to reduce the size in the horizontal direction (XY plane) as much as possible, the metal frame 20A and the plastic structure 20B can be used to form the carrier 20 together, so as to greatly enhance the structural strength of the carrier 20, and the metal frame 20A with magnetic permeability can also be used to strengthen the electromagnetic driving force generated between the magnet M and the coil C; on the other hand, the through hole 21 of the carrier 20 can be covered by the ring-shaped and flexible coil C, so as to achieve a plurality of significant technical effects of dust prevention, glue overflow prevention, and the like.
Although embodiments of the present invention and their advantages have been disclosed, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification, but it is to be understood that any process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, method and steps, presently existing or later to be developed, that will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure, may be utilized according to the present invention, and that all the same functions or advantages of the disclosed embodiments may be accomplished by the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present application includes the processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, and steps described in the specification. In addition, each claim constitutes a separate embodiment, and the scope of protection of the present invention also includes combinations of the respective claims and embodiments.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereto. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims. Furthermore, each claim constitutes a separate embodiment, and combinations of various claims and embodiments are within the scope of the invention.