CN117561720A

CN117561720A - Camera assembly and electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN117561720A
Application number: CN202180099711.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 桥本隆
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-26
Filing date: 2021-09-26
Publication date: 2024-02-13
Also published as: WO2023044852A1

Abstract

The camera assembly (30) includes a main body (M) configured to have a first side (M1), a second side (M2) opposite to the first side (M1), and a storage portion (S) having an opening (M1O) provided in the first side (M1); and a camera unit (U) configured to be stored in the storage section (S), rotated about a rotation axis (R) provided in the storage section (S), and including a lens barrel (64) and an image sensor (68), wherein the camera unit (U) is provided at a storage position in the storage section (S) such that an optical Axis (AX) of the lens barrel (64) is located between the first side (M1) and the second side (M2) when the camera unit (U) is not used for photographing, and wherein the camera unit (U) is provided at a photographing position in which an angle of an optical Axis (AX) direction of the lens barrel (64) with respect to the first side (M1) is a photographing angle (θz) by rotating about the rotation axis (R) from the storage position (S) when the camera unit (U) is used for photographing.

Description

Camera assembly and electronic device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a camera assembly and an electronic device.

Background

Electronic devices such as smart phones and tablet computers are widely used in our daily lives. Today, many electronic devices are equipped with a camera assembly to capture images. Some electronic devices are portable and therefore easy to carry. Thus, a user of the electronic device can easily take a picture of an object by using the camera assembly of the electronic device anytime and anywhere.

The portability of the electronic device is very important for the user, and therefore the electronic device should be as thin as possible. If the height of the camera assembly is high, the camera assembly will protrude beyond the surface of the electronic device. Therefore, the height of the camera assembly should also be as small as possible. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of improving optical performance, since a large-sized image sensor requires a proper focal length, the flange back surface distance should be sufficiently long.

Here, in order to secure a focal length, the tele lens has a lens with a long total length. It is difficult to install such a tele lens on a smart phone.

As a method of mounting such a tele lens, there is a periscope type in which a beam is bent by 90 degrees by using a prism. In this way, it is difficult to adjust the optical axis of the prism. Accordingly, a decrease in the yield and an increase in the manufacturing cost of the smart phone have become problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure is directed to solving at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems. Accordingly, there is a need for providing a camera assembly and an electronic device.

According to the present disclosure, a camera assembly includes:

a main body configured to have a first side, a second side opposite to the first side, and a storage portion having an opening provided in the first side; and

a camera unit configured to be stored in the storage portion, rotate around a rotation axis provided in the storage portion, and include a lens barrel and an image sensor, and

wherein, when the camera unit is not used for shooting, the camera unit is arranged at a storage position in the storage part, so that the optical axis of the lens barrel is clamped between the first side surface and the second side surface, and

wherein, when the camera unit is used for shooting, the camera unit is set at a shooting position in which an angle of an optical axis direction of the lens barrel with respect to the first side surface is a shooting angle by rotating around the rotation axis from the storage position.

According to the present disclosure, an electronic device includes:

a camera assembly, comprising:

a controller configured to control the camera assembly,

wherein, when the camera unit is not used for shooting, the camera unit is arranged at a storage position in the storage part, so that the optical axis of the lens barrel is positioned between the first side and the second side, and

Drawings

The foregoing and other aspects and advantages of embodiments of the application will become more apparent and more readily appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

fig. 1A is a plan view of a first side of an electronic device in a shooting position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a plan view of a first side of an electronic device in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second side of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4A is an oblique perspective view of a first side of an electronic device in a photographing position according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4B is an angled perspective view of a first side of an electronic device in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5A is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device in a shooting position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of an electronic device in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device along a rotational axis according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure and examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification, identical or similar elements and elements having identical or similar functions are denoted by identical reference numerals. The embodiments described in the present disclosure with reference to the drawings are illustrative, intended to be in the explanation of the present disclosure, and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

Fig. 1A is a plan view of a first side of an electronic device 10 in a photographing position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, fig. 1B is a plan view of the first side of the electronic device 10 in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 2 is a plan view of a second side of the electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first side may be referred to as the back side of the electronic device 10 and the second side may be referred to as the front side of the electronic device 10.

As shown in fig. 1A, 1B, and 2, the electronic device 10 may include a display 20 and a camera assembly 30.

In the present embodiment, the camera assembly 30 includes a main body M, a main camera (camera unit) U, a camera cover C, and a sub-camera 36.

As shown in fig. 1A, 1B and 2, the main body M has a first side M1 and a second side M1 located on the opposite side of the first side M1, and a storage section (storage unit) S having an opening M1O is provided on the first side M1.

As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, a camera cover C is provided on the first side surface M1 of the main body M to protect the camera unit U. The camera cover C is slidable along a rail L provided on the main body M in a direction parallel to the first side surface M1 of the main body M.

For example, as shown in fig. 1A, when the camera unit U is used for shooting, the camera unit U is set at a shooting position. Further, when the camera unit U is used for photographing, the camera cover C is positioned so as not to cover the opening M1O of the storage section S, and the camera unit U is in the photographing position.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 1B, when the camera unit U is not used for photographing, the camera unit U is set at a storage position in the storage position S by rotating. Further, when the camera unit U is not used for photographing, the camera cover C is positioned to cover the opening M1O of the storage section S, and the camera unit U is disposed at a storage position in the storage section S.

Here, the camera unit U (fig. 1A) in the photographing position may capture an image of a first side of the electronic device 10, and the sub-camera 36 (fig. 2) may capture an image of a second side of the electronic device 10. Thus, the camera unit U is a so-called external camera, and the sub-camera 36 is a so-called internal camera. For example, the electronic device 10 may be a mobile phone, tablet, personal digital assistant, or the like.

Each of the camera units (main camera) U and the sub camera 36 has an imaging sensor that converts light that has passed through the color filter into an electric signal. The signal value of the electrical signal depends on the amount of light passing through the color filter.

Although the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment has three cameras, the electronic device 10 may have fewer than three cameras or more than three cameras. For example, the electronic device 10 may have two, four, five, etc. cameras.

In particular, in the present embodiment, for example, the camera unit (main camera) U is a tele camera.

Each of the camera units (main camera) U and the sub camera 36 has an AF (auto focus) function and OIS (optical anti-shake) function.

Here, fig. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 3, the electronic device 10 may include a main processor 40, an image signal processor 42, a memory 44, a power circuit 46, and a communication circuit 48 in addition to the display 20 and the camera assembly 30. The display 20, camera assembly 30, main processor 40, image signal processor 42, memory 44, power circuit 46, and communication circuit 48 are connected to each other via bus 50.

The main processor 40 executes one or more program instructions stored in the memory 44. The main processor 40 implements various applications and data processing of the electronic device 10 by executing program instructions. The main processor 40 may be one or more computer processors. The main processor 40 is not limited to one CPU core, but may have a plurality of CPU cores. The main processor 40 may be a main CPU of the electronic device 10, an Image Processing Unit (IPU), or a digital signal processor DSP provided with the camera assembly 30.

That is, in the present embodiment, the main processor 40 constitutes a controller of the electronic apparatus 10.

The image signal processor 42 controls the camera assembly 30 and processes various image data captured by the camera assembly 30 to generate target image data. For example, the image signal processor 42 may apply a demosaicing process, a noise reduction process, an auto exposure process, an auto focus process, an auto white balance process, a high dynamic range process, and the like to image data captured by the camera assembly 30.

In this embodiment, the main processor 40 and the image signal processor 42 cooperate with each other to generate target image data of an object captured by the camera assembly 30. That is, the main processor 40 and the image signal processor 42 are configured to capture an image of the object through the camera assembly 30, and apply various image processes to the captured image data.

The memory 44 stores program instructions to be executed by the main processor 42 as well as various data. For example, data of the captured image is also stored in the memory 44.

Memory 44 may include high-speed RAM memory, and/or non-volatile memory such as flash memory and disk memory. That is, the memory 44 may include a non-transitory computer readable medium storing program instructions.

The power supply circuit 46 may have a battery such as a lithium ion rechargeable battery and a Battery Management Unit (BMU) for managing the battery.

The communication circuit 48 is configured to receive and transmit data for communication by wireless communication with a base station of a telecommunication network system, the internet or other devices. The wireless communication may employ any communication standard or protocol including, but not limited to, GSM (global system for mobile communications), CDMA (code division multiple access), LTE (long term evolution), LTE-Advanced, fifth generation (5G). The communication circuit 48 may include an antenna and RF (radio frequency) circuitry.

Next, a configuration focusing on the camera unit U of the camera assembly 30 having the configuration described above will be described in detail.

Here, fig. 4A is an oblique perspective view of a first side of an electronic device in a photographing position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 4B is an angled perspective view of a first side of an electronic device in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 5A is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device in a shooting position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 5B is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in fig. 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B, the camera unit U is accommodated in the storage section S, and the camera unit U is rotatable about the rotation axis R provided in the storage section S. The rotation axis R is connected to the second end U2 of the camera unit U where the image sensor 68 is located.

For example, as shown in fig. 4A and 5A, when the camera unit U is used for photographing, the camera unit U is set at a photographing position where the angle of the lens barrel 64 with respect to the first side surface M1 in the optical axis AX direction is a photographing angle θz by rotating the camera unit U around the rotation axis R from the storage position.

In particular, in this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4A and 5A, when the camera unit U is set at the photographing position, the first end U1 of the camera unit U where the lens barrel 64 is located protrudes outward from the first side surface M1 of the main body M through the opening M1O.

Note that, when the camera unit U is used for photographing, the camera cover C is positioned so as not to cover the opening M1O of the storage section S in a state where the camera unit U is set at the photographing position.

For example, in the examples of fig. 4A and 5A, the photographing angle θz is 90 degrees.

In particular, the length of the camera unit U in the optical axis AX direction of the camera unit U is greater than the distance (thickness) between the first side surface M1 and the second side surface M2 of the main body M.

Therefore, when the camera unit U is used for photographing, the electronic apparatus 10 may be set to a state in which a tele camera (camera unit U) requiring a predetermined flange back surface distance can be photographed.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 4B and 5B, when the camera unit U is not used for photographing, the camera unit U is disposed at a storage position in the storage section S such that the optical axis of the lens barrel 64 is located between the first side surface M1 and the second side surface M1.

In particular, in the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 4B and 5B, when the camera unit U is not used for photographing, the camera unit U is disposed at the storage position such that the direction of the optical axis AX of the lens barrel 64 is parallel to the first side surface M1. Further, when the camera unit U is set at the storage position, the first end U1 of the camera unit U is located in the storage section S.

Further, when the camera unit U is not used for photographing, the camera cover C is positioned to cover the opening M1O of the storage portion S in a state where the camera unit U is disposed at the storage position in the storage portion S.

Therefore, when the camera unit U is not used for photographing, the electronic apparatus 10 can accommodate a tele camera (camera unit U) requiring a predetermined flange back surface distance within the main body M, regardless of the thickness of the main body M.

That is, the electronic apparatus 10 can mount a tele camera (camera unit U) requiring a predetermined flange back surface distance without using a prism.

In the examples of fig. 4A and 5A, θz is one photographing angle, but a plurality of photographing angles may be set. In this case, for example, the camera unit U rotates around the rotation axis R, thereby gradually changing the photographing angle.

Note that, as shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the lens unit U has a lens barrel 64 including one or more optical lenses. The optical axis AX of each optical lens is aligned. That is, the optical axes AX of the plurality of optical lenses are aligned straight. In the present embodiment, the lens barrel 64 is composed of one or more convex lenses and one or more concave lenses. In other words, the optical lens is also called a combination lens.

Further, as shown in fig. 5A and 5B, in the present embodiment, the lens unit U has an image sensor 68. The image sensor 68 captures an image of an object through the lens barrel 64 of the lens unit U. That is, an image of the object is formed on the image sensor 68. The image sensor 68 converts the intensity of the light passing through the optical lens into an electrical signal that is sent to, for example, the main processor 40 and/or the image signal processor 42.

In the present embodiment, for example, the image sensor 68 is a solid-state imaging device such as a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) image sensor, a CCD (charge coupled device) image sensor, or the like.

Here, the flange backside distance may be defined as a distance between the image sensor 68 and a first optical lens, which is one of the optical lenses closest to the image sensor 68.

Next, an example of a structure of the waterproof mechanism focusing on the camera assembly 30 having the above-described configuration will be described.

Fig. 6 is a side perspective view of an electronic device in a storage position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device along a rotational axis according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the rotation shaft R has a hollow interior RA. In the hollow interior RA of the rotation shaft R, wiring connected to wiring in the camera unit U and wiring in the main body M may be passed.

Further, in the storage section S, the rotation shaft R is fixed to the camera unit U. The rotation shaft R is inserted into a through hole MR formed in the inner wall of the storage portion S and penetrating the inside of the main body M.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the camera assembly 30 further includes an O-ring Or. An O-ring Or is provided between the camera unit U and the inner wall, and the rotation shaft R is inserted into the O-ring Or. The O-ring Or is waterproof from the storage portion S to the inside of the main body M.

Therefore, in constructing wiring between the camera unit U and the inside of the main body M, the waterproof property of the camera assembly 30 can be improved.

As described above, the camera assembly includes: a main body configured to have a first side, a second side opposite to the first side, and a storage portion having an opening provided at the first side; and a camera unit configured to be stored in the storage portion to rotate about a rotation axis provided in the storage portion, and including a lens barrel and an image sensor. When the camera unit is not used for photographing, the camera unit is disposed at a storage position in the storage portion such that an optical axis of the lens barrel is located between the first side surface and the second side surface. When the camera unit is used for photographing, the camera unit is set at a photographing position where an angle of the lens barrel with respect to the first side surface in the direction of the optical axis is a photographing angle by rotating the camera unit around the rotation axis from the storage position.

Therefore, the electronic apparatus of the present invention can be equipped with a tele camera requiring a predetermined flange back distance without using a prism, and the difficulty is general.

Therefore, the yield of the electronic device can be improved, and the manufacturing cost of the electronic device can be reduced.

In describing embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" should be construed to refer to the directions or locations described or illustrated in the drawings in question. These relative terms are only used to simplify the description of the present disclosure and do not denote or imply that the referenced devices or elements must have a particular orientation, or must be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Accordingly, these terms should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

Furthermore, terms such as "first" and "second" are used herein for descriptive purposes and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance or the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined by "first" and "second" may include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, "a plurality" means "two or more than two" unless otherwise indicated.

In describing embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise indicated or limited, terms "mounted," "connected," "coupled," and the like are used broadly and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, mechanically or electrically connected, directly connected, or indirectly connected through intervening structures, or may be internal communication of two elements as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise indicated or limited, structures in which a first feature is "on" or "under" a second feature may include embodiments in which the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, and may also include embodiments in which the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contact with each other but are contacted by additional features formed therebetween. Furthermore, a first feature "on", "over" or "on top of" a second feature may include the following embodiments: the first feature being "on", "above" or "top" the second feature orthogonally or obliquely, or simply meaning that the first feature is higher than the second feature, and the first feature being "under", "below" or "bottom" the second feature may include the following embodiments: the first feature is "under", "below" or "bottom" the second feature, either orthogonally or obliquely, or simply means that the height of the first feature is lower than the height of the second feature.

Various embodiments and examples are provided in the above description to implement different structures of the present disclosure. To simplify the present disclosure, some elements and arrangements are described above. However, these elements and arrangements are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Further, in different examples of the present disclosure, reference numerals may be repeated. 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. In addition, examples of different processes and materials are provided in this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other processes and/or materials may also be applied.

Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "one example embodiment," "one example," "a particular example," or "some examples" means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the above-identified phrases in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or example of the disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

Any process or method described in flow charts or otherwise herein may be understood as including one or more modules, code segments, or portions of code for executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure includes other implementations, as will be understood by those skilled in the art that such functions may be implemented in a different order than shown or discussed, including in substantially the same order or in a reverse order.

The logic and/or steps described elsewhere herein or illustrated in a flowchart, for example, a particular sequence of executable instructions for implementing the logic function, may be embodied in or used in connection with any computer readable medium (e.g., a computer-based system, a system including a processor, or other systems capable of obtaining instructions from an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device executing the instructions) to be used by the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. For the purposes of this description, a "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can be used in connection with or that can be adapted to contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples of the computer-readable medium include, but are not limited to: an electrical connector (electronic device) having one or more wires, a portable computer accessory (magnetic device), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a fiber optic device, and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM). Furthermore, the computer-readable medium may even be paper or other suitable medium on which the program can be printed, for example, the paper or other suitable medium may be optically scanned, then edited, decrypted or processed by other suitable methods as necessary, the program being electronically obtained, and the program then being stored in a computer memory.

It should be understood that portions of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above-described embodiments, the various steps or methods may be implemented by software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, in another embodiment as well, these steps or methods may be implemented by one or a combination of the following techniques, which are known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logic functions for data signals, application specific integrated circuits having appropriately combined logic gates, programmable Gate Arrays (PGAs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and the like.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps in the above-described example methods of the present disclosure may be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware with a program, which may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, the program comprising one or more steps in the method embodiments of the present disclosure when run on a computer.

In addition, the various functional units of the disclosed embodiments may be integrated in one processing module, or the units may be physically separate, or two or more units may be integrated in one processing module. The integrated module may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules. When the integrated module is implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as a stand-alone product, the integrated module may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

The storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk, a CD, or the like.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are illustrative and not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure, and that changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A camera assembly, comprising:

a camera unit configured to be stored in a storage portion, rotated about a rotation axis provided in the storage portion, and including a lens barrel and an image sensor, and

wherein, when the camera unit is not used for shooting, the camera unit is disposed at a storage position in the storage portion such that an optical axis of the lens barrel is located between the first side face and the second side face, and

wherein when the camera unit is used for photographing, the camera unit is disposed at a photographing position in which an angle of an optical axis direction of the lens barrel with respect to the first side surface is a photographing angle by rotating about the rotation axis from the storage position.

2. The camera assembly according to claim 1, wherein when the camera unit is not used for photographing, the camera unit is disposed at the storage position such that an optical axis direction of the lens barrel is parallel to the first side surface.

3. The camera assembly of claim 1, wherein a first end of the camera unit, where the lens barrel is located, protrudes outward from the first side of the body through an opening when the camera unit is disposed in the photographing position.

4. A camera assembly according to claim 3, wherein the first end of the camera unit is located in the storage portion when the camera unit is disposed in the storage position.

5. The camera assembly of claim 1, wherein the rotation axis is connected to a second end of the camera unit where the image sensor is located.

6. The camera assembly of claim 1, wherein the capture angle is 90 degrees.

7. The camera assembly of claim 1, further comprising a camera cover configured to protect the camera unit, and disposed on the first side of the body.

8. A camera assembly according to claim 7,

wherein when the camera unit is not used for photographing, the camera cover is positioned to: covering an opening of the storage portion in a state where the camera unit is disposed at a storage position in the storage portion; and is also provided with

Wherein when the camera unit is used for shooting, the camera cover is positioned to: the opening of the storage portion is not covered in a state where the camera unit is disposed at the photographing position.

9. The camera assembly of claim 8, wherein the camera cover slides in a direction parallel to the first side of the body.

10. The camera assembly of claim 1, wherein the camera unit is a tele camera.

11. The camera assembly of claim 10, wherein a length of the camera unit in an optical axis direction of the camera unit is greater than a distance between the first side and the second side of the main body.

12. The camera assembly of claim 1, wherein the camera unit has an autofocus AF function and an optical anti-shake OIS function.

13. An electronic device, comprising:

a camera assembly, comprising:

a controller configured to control the camera assembly,

wherein when the camera unit is used for photographing, the camera unit is disposed at a photographing position in which an angle of an optical axis direction of the lens barrel with respect to the first side surface is a photographing angle by rotating about a rotation axis from the storage position.