CN216673092U

CN216673092U - Middle moving part of camera actuator and camera actuator comprising same

Info

Publication number: CN216673092U
Application number: CN202121842587.2U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 高宰溶; 李炅容; 李柄徹
Original assignee: Jahwa Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Jahwa Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-10
Filing date: 2021-08-09
Publication date: 2022-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 2031-08-09
Also published as: CN114079720A; KR102385206B1; KR20220019491A

Abstract

The utility model discloses an intermediate moving part of a camera actuator and the camera actuator comprising the same. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the intermediate moving member of the camera actuator includes at least two or more ball guide portions, and the ball guide portions respectively include: a first direction ball guide formed in a manner that the guide rail made of a metal material is exposed toward the upper portion of the intermediate movable member; and a second direction ball guide formed in a manner that the guide rail made of metal is exposed to the lower portion of the intermediate moving member, wherein the first direction ball guide and the second direction ball guide are adjacent to each other and are separated in a manner of not overlapping or overlapping each other when viewed in the optical axis direction, and at least a portion of the first direction ball guide and the second direction ball guide overlap each other when viewed in the first direction.

Description

Middle moving part of camera actuator and camera actuator comprising same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an intermediate moving part of a camera actuator, and more particularly, to an intermediate moving part of a camera actuator mounted on a camera actuator of a camera module having a shake correction function, and a camera actuator including the intermediate moving part.

Background

Recent mobile terminals (hereinafter, referred to as "mobile phones") such as smart phones have advanced in technology, and have evolved into media fusion capable of executing various functions such as music, movies, TV, and games, in addition to conventional simple telephone functions, and one of the elements leading to the development of media fusion is a Camera Lens Module (Camera Lens Module).

In order to meet the recent trend of high pixel and high performance that is demanded by users, camera lens modules mounted on mobile phones are being changed to have a structure having various additional functions such as an Auto Focus (Auto Focus) function and an Optical zoom (Optical zoom) function. In particular, there have been recent attempts to implement a shake correction (Optical Image stabilizing) technique in a mobile phone size from various viewpoints.

The shake correction technique is a technique for maintaining the resolution of a captured image at an optimum level by automatically controlling the focal point of a lens unit constituting a camera module so as to move in a direction against shake. In order to realize such a shake correction technique, a camera module applied to a mobile phone, a video camera, or the like is provided with a shake correction actuator.

As the shake correction actuator, a vcm (voice Coil motor) type using interaction of a magnetic field and an electric field is well known. The VCM type is generally configured such that a magnetic circuit is formed by a coil and a magnet arranged to face each other, and an optical unit having a lens attached thereto is moved in a 2-axis direction on a plane perpendicular to an optical axis by a magnetic force generated by the magnetic circuit to cope with a shake.

The basic principle of the shake correction function is to move an optical unit having a lens mounted thereon in a relative direction of a driving displacement caused by shake, and to align an optical axis with an incident path of light received by an image sensor. For this reason, a structure is required in which the optical unit to which the lens is attached can perform planar motion in the 2-axis direction on a plane perpendicular to the optical axis.

In a conventional camera module, one of structures for guiding an optical unit so as to be capable of planar motion on a plane perpendicular to an optical axis is a Middle guide (Middle guide). The intermediate guide is generally provided with balls as a medium between the optical unit and a housing accommodating the optical unit so that the optical unit can perform planar movement in the 2-axis direction with respect to the housing.

Fig. 1 is an exploded schematic view of a conventional camera actuator to which a middle guide is applied, and fig. 2 is a view showing a combined cross-sectional view of the camera actuator shown in fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, an intermediate guide 70 applied to a conventional camera actuator is mounted on the bottom of a housing 60 so as to be linearly movable in a first direction orthogonal to an optical axis with respect to the housing 60, and an optical unit 80 constituting an optical system is configured on the intermediate guide 70 so as to be linearly movable in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

A plurality of first direction ball guides 74 corresponding to each other are formed in the housing 60 and the intermediate guide 70 so that the intermediate guide 70 can linearly move in the first direction with respect to the housing 60, and a plurality of second direction ball guides 72 corresponding to each other are formed in the intermediate guide 70 and the optical unit 80 so that the optical unit 80 can linearly move in the second direction with respect to the intermediate guide 70.

Ball grooves (no reference numerals) are formed in a plurality of first-direction ball guides 74 provided in pairs on the lower surfaces of the housing 60 and the intermediate guide 70, and ball grooves (no reference numerals) are formed in a plurality of second-direction ball guides 72 provided in pairs on the intermediate guide 70 and the optical unit 80. One ball B is interposed between each of the first direction ball guide 74 and the second direction ball guide 72.

The balls B perform a rolling motion along the ball grooves of the

corresponding ball guides

72 or 74 when the intermediate guide 70 performs a first-direction synchronous motion with respect to the housing 60 or the optical unit 80 performs a second-direction synchronous motion with respect to the intermediate guide 70, and also play a role of suppressing the horizontal rotation of the optical unit 80 with respect to the housing 60 between the

corresponding ball guides

72 or 74 while maintaining a stable linear motion.

In the conventional camera actuator having such a configuration, the optical unit 80 is displaced in the first direction or the second direction or both directions in the housing 60 by at least one of the first-direction driving force generated by the first-direction magnetic circuit (not shown) and the second-direction driving force generated by the second-direction magnetic circuit (not shown), thereby responding to the shake.

However, in the conventional structure shown in fig. 1 and 2 in which the first direction ball guide 74 and the second direction ball guide 72 formed on the intermediate guide 70 overlap each other in the optical axis direction position, the balls B interposed between the corresponding first direction ball guide 74 and second direction ball guide 72 are only coaxially aligned in the optical axis direction, and therefore there is a limit in reducing the height of the camera module as a whole.

That is, the conventional structure as shown in fig. 1 and 2 has a disadvantage that it is difficult to realize a product with an ultra-thin and compact size in structure, and also has a problem in reliability and durability that micro-indentation (ball indentation) is easily generated in the ball guide due to impact applied to the

ball guide

72, 74 of synthetic Resin (Resin) by the ball B of Ceramic (Ceramic) material in a drop test or an actual drop in which impact is directly applied to the ball guide.

Further, since the weight of the shake correction-related member is large in the entire structure in order to coaxially align the

ball rails

72 and 74, and the size of the magnet constituting the magnetic circuit in a limited space can only be reduced in accordance with the large specific weight, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure a sufficient driving force in a tendency that the weight of the optical member increases in accordance with the market demand for cameras whose performance is expected to be higher and higher.

Documents of the prior art

Patent documents: korean laid-open patent No. 10-2018-0116965 (Kokai Japanese 2018.10.26)

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Technical problem to be solved

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a Middle moving member of a camera actuator, which can reduce the overall height by improving the structure of the Middle moving member (Middle guide), thereby realizing an ultra-thin and compact product (camera module), and a camera actuator including the Middle moving member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an intermediate moving member of a camera actuator and a camera actuator including the same, which can fundamentally solve the problem of micro-indentation (ball indentation) of a ball guide, thereby further improving durability and reliability of a product.

Another technical object of the present invention is to provide an intermediate moving element of a camera actuator and a camera actuator including the intermediate moving element, which can ensure a sufficient driving force while achieving downsizing and thinning of a product, in a tendency that a component weight of an optical component increases in accordance with a market demand for cameras whose expected performance is higher.

Means for solving the problems

As a solution to the problem, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an intermediate moving member of a camera actuator including at least two or more ball guide portions, each of the ball guide portions including: a first direction ball guide formed in a manner that a guide rail made of a metal material is exposed toward an upper portion of the intermediate movable member; and a second direction ball guide formed in a manner that a guide rail made of a metal material is exposed toward a lower portion of the intermediate movable member, the first direction ball guide and the second direction ball guide being adjacent to each other while being separated so as not to overlap or overlap each other when viewed in an optical axis direction, at least a portion of the first direction ball guide and the second direction ball guide overlapping each other when viewed in the first direction.

The intermediate movable member may be composed of an injection molded member made of a synthetic resin material constituting an outer shape of the intermediate movable member and an insertion member made of a metal material inserted into the injection molded member.

The first direction ball guide may be formed of a first ball guide molding portion formed in the injection-molded part and a first rail piece formed in the insert and having the guide surface exposed to an upper portion of the first ball guide molding portion after the insert molding, and the second direction ball guide may be formed of a second ball guide molding portion formed integrally with the first ball guide molding portion and a second rail piece formed in the insert and having the guide surface exposed to a lower portion of the second ball guide molding portion at a position shifted from the first rail piece after the insert molding.

Further, a first tilt and tilt correcting hole for partially exposing the first rail piece may be formed in a lower surface of the first ball guide forming portion, and a second tilt and tilt correcting hole for partially exposing the second rail piece may be formed in an upper surface of the second ball guide forming portion.

Preferably, the insert may be a non-magnetic body.

As a solution to the problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera actuator including: an intermediate moving member according to the foregoing aspect; an upper movable member mounted on the intermediate movable member so as to be capable of moving synchronously in a first direction with respect to the intermediate movable member; and a lower movable member that supports the intermediate movable member from a lower portion so that the intermediate movable member carrying the upper movable member can move synchronously in a second direction.

The camera actuator may further include a base that accommodates the upper movable element, the intermediate movable element, and the lower movable element may be accommodated in the base so as to be capable of moving synchronously in the optical axis direction in a state where the upper movable element and the intermediate movable element are mounted.

In this case, a first optical axis driving coil and a second optical axis driving coil may be disposed on a first side surface and a second side surface of the base adjacent to each other, and a first optical axis driving magnet and a second optical axis driving magnet corresponding to the first optical axis driving coil and the second optical axis driving coil, respectively, may be attached to the lower movable member.

Further, a first planar drive coil and a second planar drive coil may be disposed on a third side surface and a fourth side surface of the base which face the first side surface and the second side surface, respectively, and a first planar drive magnet and a second planar drive magnet corresponding to the first planar drive coil and the second planar drive coil, respectively, may be provided on the upper movable element.

In addition, the upper movable member may be formed with first-direction upper ball guides corresponding to the first-direction ball guides of the intermediate movable member, respectively, symmetrically one for each, the lower movable member may be formed with second-direction lower ball guides corresponding to the second-direction ball guides of the intermediate movable member, respectively, and one ball may be interposed between each of the first-direction ball guides and the first-direction upper ball guides, and between each of the second-direction ball guides and the second-direction lower ball guides, respectively, which correspond to each other.

Preferably, the upper movable member may be composed of an upper injection-molded member made of a synthetic resin material constituting an outer shape of the upper movable member, and an upper insertion member inserted into the upper injection-molded member and decomposed into a plurality of metal materials.

The first upper ball guide may be formed of an upper ball guide molding formed on the upper injection-molded part and an upper rail piece formed at both ends of the first upper insert and the second upper insert formed opposite to each other in the upper insert and having a guide surface exposed to a lower portion of the upper ball guide molding after insert molding.

In this case, a first planar driving back yoke generating an attractive force with the first planar driving magnet may be formed in one of the first and second upper inserts, and a third upper insert adjacent to the first and second upper inserts may constitute a second planar driving back yoke generating an attractive force with the second planar driving magnet.

Further, an upper tilt correction hole may be formed in an upper surface of the upper ball guide forming portion to partially expose the upper rail piece.

In addition, a part or all of the upper insert may be a magnetic body.

The lower movable member may be composed of a lower injection-molded member made of a synthetic resin material constituting an outer shape of the lower movable member and a lower insert made of a metal material inserted into the lower injection-molded member.

The second direction lower ball guide may be composed of a lower ball guide molding part formed in the lower injection-molded part and a lower rail piece formed in the lower insert and having a guide surface exposed to an upper portion of the lower ball guide molding part after insert molding.

In this case, one of the second direction lower ball rails may be formed as a V rail, and the other may be formed as a U rail.

In addition, a lower tilt correcting hole may be formed in a lower surface of the lower ball guide forming part to partially expose the lower rail piece.

A first optical axis driving back yoke generating an attractive force with the first optical axis driving magnet may be formed at one side edge of the lower insert, and a second optical axis driving back yoke generating an attractive force with the second optical axis driving magnet may be formed at the other side edge of the lower insert.

In this case, a part or the whole of the lower insert may be a magnetic body.

Effect of the utility model

According to the intermediate movable member of the camera actuator and the camera actuator including the intermediate movable member of the present invention, by applying the intermediate movable rail having a unique structure in which two balls (balls that are in contact with the first ball guide and the second ball guide, respectively) do not overlap or overlap each other when viewed in a plane (Z-axis direction) and a part of the two balls overlap each other when viewed in the first direction (X-axis direction), it is possible to realize a thinner and more compact product as a whole.

In addition, the movable member having a structure in which the metallic insert is inserted into the injection-molded member increases the rigidity of the entire product and is also advantageous for the durability of the product, and the rail piece in contact with the ball is formed by a part of the metallic insert, thereby remarkably solving the problem of the conventional dimple (ball indentation) in the case of a drop test or an actual drop.

Further, the height of the entire movable element is reduced due to the unique structure of the intermediate movable element, and the specific gravity of the shake-related component is reduced in a limited space in accordance with the reduction, so that the size of the magnet can be relatively increased, and therefore, in a tendency that the component weight of the optical component increases in accordance with the market demand of cameras whose performance is expected to be higher, a sufficient driving force can be secured without increasing the size of the product.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an exploded schematic view of a conventional camera actuator to which a middle guide is applied.

Fig. 2 is an integrated sectional view of the camera actuator shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a Middle moving member (Middle guide) of the camera actuator according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the insert in the intermediate active member shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the intermediate movable member shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the bottom.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the intermediate active member shown in FIG. 3, viewed from a first direction.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the intermediate active member shown in FIG. 3, viewed from a second direction.

Fig. 8 is a reference view illustrating an insert molding process of the ball guide.

Fig. 9 is an exploded schematic view showing an exploded view of a camera actuator according to another aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an interior perspective view of the upper moveable member of FIG. 9.

Figure 11 is a schematic view of the upper movable member shown in figure 9 as viewed from the bottom.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the lower movable member shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a lower insert inserted into the lower movable member of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the lower active member shown in FIG. 12 as viewed from the bottom.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

The terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the utility model. The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

It should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "comprising," or the like, in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, acts, elements, components, or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, acts, elements, components, or groups thereof.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited to the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one constituent element from other constituent elements.

Further, terms such as "… section", "… unit", "… module" and the like described in the specification indicate a unit that processes at least one function or action, and this can be realized by hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

Embodiments of the following description are applicable to a "camera" of a "portable user equipment", and a mobile terminal refers to a portable user equipment. However, this is merely a conventional term, and the present embodiment may be applied to various devices or fields such as a mobile phone, a palm sized (palm sized) Personal Computer (PC), a Personal Communication System (PCs), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a portable computer (HPC), a smart phone (smart phone), a wireless lan (local Area network) terminal, a notebook computer, a netbook (netbook), a tablet Personal computer (tablet Personal computer), an out-of-cell game machine, a VR device (Virtual Reality), and a vehicle.

Thus, the term "portable user equipment" should not be utilized to limit the applicability of the present embodiments to a particular type of device.

In describing the present invention with reference to the drawings, the same components are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. When it is determined that the detailed description of known functions or elements related to the description of the present invention unnecessarily obscures the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof may be omitted.

In the following description of the present invention, a 3-axis coordinate system is used for convenience of description. In the drawings, the Z axis as a height direction of the camera actuator means a direction in which light introduced from the outside passes, that is, an optical axis direction, and the X axis (first direction) means a direction perpendicular to the Z axis as the optical axis direction. The Y axis (second direction) is a direction perpendicular to the X axis on a plane perpendicular to the Z axis.

In the following description, an intermediate movable element having a configuration in which one ball guide portion is disposed in each of four corner regions will be described as an example.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a Middle moving member (Middle guide) of a camera actuator according to an aspect of the present invention, and fig. 4 is a schematic view of an insert member built in the Middle moving member shown in fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the intermediate movable member shown in fig. 3 as viewed from the bottom, fig. 6 is a perspective view of the intermediate movable member shown in fig. 3 as viewed from the first direction, and fig. 7 is a perspective view of the intermediate movable member shown in fig. 3 as viewed from the second direction.

Referring to fig. 3 to 7, the intermediate mover 3 of the camera actuator 1 according to one aspect of the present invention includes a ball guide portion 33 disposed one at each of four corner regions as a member for supporting an optical member including an optical lens, for example, a lens barrel (not shown) on a plane perpendicular to an optical axis (Z axis in the drawing) so as to be movable in a two-dimensional plane (X-Y plane in the drawing).

In the present embodiment, the ball guide portion 33 is formed of the first direction ball guide 34 and the second direction ball guide 35. The first direction ball guide 34 has a guide surface f made of a metal material, and the guide surface f made of a metal material is formed to be exposed to the upper portion of the intermediate mover 3. The second direction ball guide 35 also has a metal guide surface f formed so as to be exposed to the lower portion of the intermediate movable element 3.

In the present embodiment, the first direction ball guide 34 and the second direction ball guide 35 constituting one ball guide portion 33 are formed adjacent to each other as shown in the drawing, and are separated so as not to overlap or overlap each other when viewed in the optical axis direction (Z-axis direction), and at least partially overlap each other when viewed in the first direction. Accordingly, the balls B1, B2 contacting the corresponding

ball guide rails

34, 35 do not overlap each other as viewed in the optical axis direction.

In the conventional configuration (see fig. 1 and 2) in which the positions in the optical axis direction of the first direction ball guide and the second direction ball guide overlap each other, the balls arranged so as to perform rolling motion along the first direction ball guide and the second direction ball guide are only coaxially arranged when viewed in the optical axis direction, and there is a limit in reducing the height of the camera module as a whole.

In contrast, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the first direction ball guide 34 and the second direction ball guide 35 are adjacent to each other and are separated so as not to overlap or overlap each other when viewed in the optical axis direction (Z-axis direction), the balls B1, B2 that respectively contact the corresponding ball guides do not overlap each other in position when viewed in the optical axis direction, and at least a part of the two ball guides 34, 35 overlaps each other when viewed only in the first direction (see fig. 6).

That is, the first direction ball guide 34 and the second direction ball guide 35 are formed in a configuration in which two balls (balls B1, B2 in contact with the first direction ball guide 34 and the second direction ball guide 35, respectively) do not overlap or overlap each other when viewed in a plane (Z-axis direction), but a part of the two balls B1, B2 overlaps when viewed in a first direction (X-axis direction) (a configuration in which the uppermost end portion of the ball B2 positioned below is positioned higher than the lowermost end portion of the ball B1 positioned above), and at least a part of the two balls B1, B2 overlaps when viewed in the first direction, and the overall height is reduced accordingly, thereby enabling a thinner and more compact product.

The intermediate mover 3 is preferably composed of an injection-molded member 30 of a synthetic resin material constituting the outer shape of the component and an insert member 32 inserted into the injection-molded member 30 by insert molding, in which case the insert member 32 may be a nonmagnetic metal material. Since the magnetic material of the insert 32 causes an excessive load to be generated by the attraction force with the planar driving magnets M1 and M2, which will be described later, when the shake is corrected.

If the intermediate movable element 3 is configured by inserting the metallic insert 32 into the injection-molded element 30, the metallic insert 32 is inserted into the injection-molded element 30, and accordingly, the overall rigidity of the intermediate movable element 3 is increased, so that the durability of the product is improved, and the guide surface f that contacts the balls can be formed by a part of the metallic insert 32, so that the conventional problem of micro-indentation (ball indentation) can be solved.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first direction ball guide 34 may be formed of a first ball guide forming portion 301 and a first rail piece 321, the first ball guide forming portion 301 is formed in a four corner region of the injection molded part 30, and the first rail piece 321 is formed in the insert 32 and inserted into the first ball guide forming portion 301. At this time, the first rail piece 321 has a guide surface f (see a partially enlarged view of fig. 4) exposed to the upper portion of the first ball guide forming portion 301 after insert molding.

The second direction ball guide 35 may include a second ball guide forming portion 302 and a second rail piece 322, the second ball guide forming portion 302 and the first ball guide forming portion 301 may be integrally formed, and the second rail piece 322 may be formed in the insert 32 and inserted into the second ball guide forming portion 302. At this time, the second rail piece 322 also has a guide surface f' exposed to the lower portion of the second ball guide forming portion 302 at a position shifted from the first rail piece 321 after the insert molding (see the partially enlarged view of fig. 4).

The first rail piece 321 having the guide surface f exposed to the upper portion of the first ball guide forming portion 301 after the insert molding may be formed in an arcuate shape curved to swell downward, and the second rail piece 322 having the guide surface f exposed to the lower portion of the second ball guide forming portion 302 after the insert molding may be formed in an arcuate shape curved to swell upward opposite to the first rail piece 321 (see a partially enlarged view of fig. 4).

As shown in the partially enlarged views of fig. 3 and 5, a first tilt (Tilting) correction hole 308 may be formed in the lower surface of the first ball guide forming portion 301 to partially expose the first rail piece 321 (to partially expose the lower surface of the first rail piece 321), and a second tilt correction hole 309 may be formed in the upper surface of the second ball guide forming portion 302 to partially expose the second rail piece 322 (to partially expose the upper surface of the second rail piece 322).

The first and second tilt correction holes 308 and 309 prevent thermal deformation of the first and

second rail pieces

321 and 322 due to high-temperature resin filling the molding space at the time of insert molding or deformation due to shrinkage deviation of the resin object at the time of post-molding cooling, and provide a space into which the elongated tilt correction tool T is introduced during product molding as shown in fig. 8 in such a manner that the first and

second rail pieces

321 and 322 can maintain a tilt angle of an appropriate degree planned at the time of design.

Such an intermediate mover 3 of the camera actuator 1 according to an aspect of the present invention forms the first-direction ball guide 34 and the second-direction ball guide 35 in a structure in which two balls (balls B1, B2 that are in contact with the first-direction ball guide 34, the second-direction ball guide 35, respectively) do not overlap or overlap with each other when viewed in a plane (Z-axis direction), and a part of the two balls B1, B2 overlap with each other when viewed in the first direction (X-axis direction), thereby facilitating realization of a product (camera module) that is ultra-thin and compact.

That is, the first direction ball rail 34 and the second direction ball rail 35 are formed in a structure in which two balls (the balls B1, B2 that are in contact with the first direction ball rail 34 and the second direction ball rail 35, respectively) do not overlap or overlap each other when viewed in a plane (Z-axis direction), and a part of the two balls B1, B2 overlaps each other when viewed in the first direction (X-axis direction), and a part of the two balls B1, B2 overlaps each other when viewed in the first direction, and the overall height is reduced compared to the conventional structure, so that a thinner and more compact product can be realized.

Further, the insert 32 made of a metal material is inserted into the injection-molded member 30, and the insert 32 made of a metal material is inserted into the injection-molded member 30, so that the overall rigidity of the intermediate mover 3 is increased according to the insertion, thereby improving the durability of the product, and the

rail pieces

321 and 322 contacting the balls are provided in a part of the insert 32 made of a metal material, thereby remarkably solving the problem of the micro-indentation (ball indentation) that occurs in the conventional drop test or actual drop.

As described above, as a preferred embodiment, the intermediate movable element having a structure in which one ball guide portion is disposed in each of four corner regions has been described as an example, but the positions or the number of the ball guide portions are not limited to those illustrated in the drawings. In other words, the position or number of the ball guide portions may be arbitrarily changed according to the specification or structure of the camera module, and thus it is indicated that such a modification is also included in the scope of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the camera actuator that includes the intermediate moving element according to the aspect of the present invention will be described, taking as an example a case where the intermediate moving element having the structure in which one ball guide portion is disposed in each of the four corner regions as described above is applied.

As described above, the number and positions of the ball guide portions formed in the intermediate movable element are not particularly limited, and therefore, the positions and numbers of the upper ball guide and the lower ball guide, which will be described later, formed so as to correspond to the ball guide portions are not limited to the positions and numbers illustrated in the drawings.

Referring to fig. 9, a camera actuator 1 according to another aspect of the present invention includes an intermediate movable member 3 and an upper movable member 2 disposed on an upper portion of the intermediate movable member 3. Further, the upper movable element 2 includes a lower movable element 4 that supports the intermediate movable element 3 from below and a base 5 that accommodates the movable elements (the upper movable element 2, the intermediate movable element 3, and the lower movable element 4).

Here, since the intermediate movable element 3 is the same as the intermediate movable element 3 according to the above-described aspect, for convenience of explanation, repeated explanation of the same structure is omitted, and the explanation will be mainly given on the structure other than the intermediate movable element 3.

The upper movable element 2 is mounted on the intermediate movable element 3 so as to be capable of synchronous movement in a first direction. The lower movable element 4 supports the intermediate movable element 3 from below such that the intermediate movable element 3 on which the upper movable element 2 is mounted can move synchronously in the second direction, and the upper movable element 2 and the intermediate movable element 3 are housed in the base 5 such that they can move synchronously in the optical axis direction in a state of being mounted on the lower movable element 4.

A first optical axis driving coil C3 and a second optical axis driving coil C4 are disposed on a first side surface and a second side surface of the base 5 adjacent to each other, respectively, and a first optical axis driving magnet M3 and a second optical axis driving magnet M4 corresponding to the first optical axis driving coil C3 and the second optical axis driving coil C4 disposed on the side surface of the base 5 are disposed on one side surface and the other side surface of the lower movable member 4.

When a current is applied to the magnetic circuit formed by the first optical axis driving coil C3 and the first optical axis driving magnet M3, and the second optical axis driving coil C4 and the second optical axis driving magnet M4, which correspond to each other, a driving force for moving the lower movable element 4 in the optical axis direction is generated in the base 5, and the lower movable element 4 and the

movable elements

3 and 2 mounted on the lower movable element 4 are simultaneously moved in the optical axis direction by the driving force, thereby realizing zooming or auto-focusing.

The first planar drive coil C1 and the second planar drive coil C2 are disposed on the third side surface and the fourth side surface of the base 5, respectively, which face the first side surface and the second side surface of the base 5. Further, a first planar drive magnet M1 and a second planar drive magnet M2 corresponding to the first planar drive coil C1 and the second planar drive coil C2, respectively, are provided on one side surface and the other side surface of the upper movable element 2.

When a current is applied to a magnetic circuit formed by the first planar drive coil C1 and the first planar drive magnet M1, and the second planar drive coil C2 and the second planar drive magnet M2, which correspond to each other, the two-dimensional planar power is generated in the base 5 by the intermediate movable element 3 and the upper movable element 2 disposed on the lower movable element 4 with respect to a plane (X-Y plane) perpendicular to the optical axis with respect to the lower movable element 4 as a reference.

The upper movable element 2 is formed with a first direction upper ball guide 24 corresponding to the first direction ball guide 34 in a symmetrical manner, and the lower movable element 4 is formed with a second direction lower ball guide 45 corresponding to the second direction ball guide 35 in a symmetrical manner. One ball B1, B2 is interposed between the first direction ball rail 34 and the first direction upper ball rail 24, and the second direction ball rail 35 and the second direction lower ball rail 45, respectively, which correspond to each other.

Accordingly, when the upper movable element 2 receives a force in one of the first directions from the driving force acting in one of the first directions from among the driving forces for correcting the wobbling, the balls B1 roll between the corresponding ball rails (the first direction ball rail 34 and the first direction upper portion ball rail 24), and the first direction synchronous movement of the upper movable element 2 with respect to the intermediate movable element 3 can be smoothly achieved.

The same principle is applied to the second direction, and if the upper movable element 2 receives a force in a certain direction of the second direction by a driving force acting in a certain direction of the second direction among the driving forces for correcting the wobbling, the balls B2 roll between the corresponding ball guides (the second-direction ball guide 35 and the second-direction lower ball guide 45), and the second-direction synchronous movement of the intermediate movable element 3 with respect to the lower movable element 4 can be smoothly achieved.

Reference numeral HS in fig. 9 denotes a hall sensor that senses a distance change of the driving magnet with respect to the corresponding driving coil at the time of correction and zooming or auto-focusing and transmits the sensed information to the driving IC. At this time, the drive IC recognizes the position of the movable member in real time from the sensing information of the hall sensor HS, and feeds back and controls the position of the movable member based on the initial position compared to the recognized position value.

FIG. 10 is an interior perspective view of the upper moveable member of FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the upper moveable member of FIG. 9 as viewed from the bottom.

As shown in fig. 10 and 11, the upper movable member 2 of the camera actuator 1 according to another aspect of the present invention is composed of an upper injection-molded member 20 made of a synthetic resin material constituting an outer shape of the upper movable member 2, and an upper insert member 22 made of a metal material inserted into the upper injection-molded member 20 and disassembled into a plurality of pieces. At this time, at least a part of the upper insert 22 (a back yoke portion described later) may be a magnetic body.

As described above, the upper movable element 2 has the first-direction upper ball guide 24 so as to be symmetrical with the first-direction ball guide 34. In this case, the first upper ball guide 24 may be composed of upper ball guide forming portions 202 formed at four corner regions of the upper injection molded part 20 and upper rail pieces 222 formed at both ends of the first upper insert 22a and the second upper insert 22b formed to face each other in the upper insert 22.

The upper rail piece 222 may be formed with a guide surface f exposed to the lower portion of the upper ball guide forming part 202 after insert molding, and the upper insert 22 of the first and second

upper inserts

22a and 22b corresponding to the first planar driving magnet M1 may be formed with a first planar driving back yoke Y1 and formed with a predetermined area, preferably, with an area corresponding to the first planar driving magnet M1.

The first planar driving back yoke Y1 concentrates the magnetic field generated when the first planar driving coil C1 is magnetized by the current applied to the first planar driving coil C1, on the side of the first planar driving magnet M1, thereby increasing the driving force, and also has a function of preventing the first planar driving magnet M1 from falling off from the predetermined mounting position of the upper movable element 2 by generating an attractive force with the first planar driving magnet M1.

The first upper insert 22a and the second upper insert 22b are inserted into one side surface portion of the upper injection molded part 20 and the other side surface portion of the opposite portion as structures facing each other, and a third upper insert 22c is inserted into the other side surface portion of the injection molded part 30 so as to be adjacent to the first upper insert 22a and the second upper insert 22b, and at this time, the third upper insert 22c constitutes a second plane drive back yoke 2 corresponding to the second plane drive magnet M2.

The second planar driving back yoke Y2 concentrates the magnetic field generated by the magnetization of the second planar driving coil C2 by the current applied to the second planar driving coil C2 on the side of the second planar driving magnet M2, thereby increasing the driving force, and also has a function of preventing the second planar driving magnet M2 from falling off from the predetermined mounting position of the upper movable element 2 by generating an attractive force with the second planar driving magnet M2.

In consideration of the assembling property with the intermediate movable element 3 and the first-direction drivability due to the manufacturing tolerance, it is preferable that one pair of the four first-direction upper ball guides 24 is configured in a V-guide form and the other pair is configured in a U-guide form, and the upper tilt/tilt correction hole 208 for partially exposing the upper rail piece 222 may be formed in the upper surface of the upper ball guide forming portion 202.

For reference, the upper tilt correction hole 208, like the first tilt correction hole 308 or the second tilt correction hole 309, prevents the upper rail piece 222 from being thermally deformed due to a high-temperature resin filling the molding space at the time of insert molding or deformed due to shrinkage deviation of a resin object at the time of cooling after molding, and provides a space into which the elongated tilt correction tool T is introduced at the time of product molding in such a manner that the upper rail piece 222 can maintain a tilt angle of an appropriate degree as planned at the time of design.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the lower moveable member shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a lower insert inserted into the lower moveable member of FIG. 12. Fig. 14 is a schematic view of the lower movable element shown in fig. 12 as viewed from the bottom.

As shown in fig. 12 to 14, the lower movable member 4 of the camera actuator 1 according to another aspect of the present invention may be composed of a lower injection-molded member 40 made of a synthetic resin material constituting an outer shape of the lower movable member 4 and a lower insert member 42 made of a metal material inserted into the lower injection-molded member 40. At this time, at least a part of the lower insert 42, preferably a cross-sectional line portion of fig. 13, may be made of a magnetic body.

As described above, the lower movable element 4 has the second-direction lower ball guide 45 so as to be symmetrical with the second-direction ball guide 35. The second direction lower ball guide 45 may be composed of a lower ball guide forming part 402 formed in a four corner region of the lower injection-molded part 40 and a lower rail piece 422 formed in the lower insert 42 and insert-molded so that the guide surface f is exposed to the upper portion of the lower ball guide forming part 402.

A first optical axis driving back yoke Y3 corresponding to the first optical axis driving magnet M3 may be formed at one side edge (the edge of the side where the first optical axis driving magnet M3 is mounted) of the lower insert 42, and a second optical axis driving back yoke Y4 corresponding to the second optical axis driving magnet M4 may be formed at the other side edge (the edge of the side where the second optical axis driving magnet M4 is mounted).

The first optical axis driving back yoke Y3 has a function of increasing the driving force by concentrating the magnetic field generated when the first optical axis driving coil C3 is magnetized by the current applied to the first optical axis driving coil C3, on the side of the first optical axis driving magnet M3, and preventing the first optical axis driving magnet M3 from falling off from the predetermined mounting position of the lower movable element 4 by generating the attraction force with the first optical axis driving magnet M3.

The second optical axis driving back yoke Y4 concentrates the magnetic field generated when the second optical axis driving coil C4 is magnetized by the current applied to the second optical axis driving coil C4, on the side of the second optical axis driving magnet M4, thereby increasing the driving force, and also has a function of preventing the second optical axis driving magnet M4 from falling off from the predetermined mounting position of the lower movable element 4 by generating an attractive force with the second optical axis driving magnet M4.

Similarly, in consideration of the assembling property with the intermediate movable element 3 and the second-direction drivability due to the manufacturing tolerance, it is preferable that one pair of the four second-direction lower ball guides 45 is configured in a V-rail form and the other pair is configured in a U-rail form, and the lower tilt/tilt correction hole 408 for partially exposing the lower rail piece 422 may be formed in the lower surface of the lower ball guide forming portion 402.

Among them, the lower pitch correction hole 408 also prevents the above-mentioned thermal deformation of the lower rail piece 422 due to the high-temperature resin filling the molding space during the insert molding or the deformation due to the shrinkage deviation of the resin object at the time of cooling after molding, and provides a space into which the elongated pitch correction tool T is introduced at the time of product molding in such a manner that the lower rail piece 422 can maintain the pitch angle of an appropriate degree planned at the time of design.

On the other hand, as described above, a part of the lower insert 42, more specifically, a cross-sectional line part in fig. 12 is composed of at least a magnetic body. It is obvious that the first-direction optical axis driving back yoke Y3 and the second-direction optical axis driving back yoke Y4 in the cross-sectional line portions are functionally made of a magnetic material, and the remaining cross-sectional line portions are also preferably made of a magnetic material.

In this way, when the optical axis driving back yokes Y3 and Y4 and the remaining cross-sectional portions are formed of magnetic materials, the upper movable element 2 is brought into close contact with the lower movable element 4 with the intermediate movable element 3 interposed therebetween by the attractive force of the first optical axis driving magnet M3 and the second optical axis driving magnet M4, which correspond to each other, and therefore, stable two-dimensional planar motion without floating or wobbling can be realized when correcting the shake.

In the camera actuator according to another aspect of the present invention as described above, by applying the intermediate movable rail having the aforementioned peculiar structure (the structure in which the two balls (the balls in contact with the first ball rail and the second ball rail, respectively) do not overlap or overlap with each other when viewed in a plane (Z-axis direction), and a part of the two balls overlap with each other when viewed in the first direction (X-axis direction)), it is possible to realize a thinner and more compact product as a whole.

In the above detailed description of the present invention, only specific examples based on the detailed description are described. It should be understood, however, that the utility model is not limited to the particular forms set forth in the detailed description, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the utility model as defined by the appended claims.

Description of the reference numerals

1: the camera actuator 2: upper moving part

3: the intermediate movable member 4: lower moving part

5: base 20: upper injection molding part

22: upper insert 24: first direction upper ball guide

30: injection molded part 32 of the intermediate moving part: insert for an intermediate mobile

33: ball guide portion 34 of intermediate movable member: first direction ball guide

35: second-direction ball guide 40: lower injection molding part

42: lower insert 45: second direction lower ball guide

202: upper ball-guide forming portion 208: upper pitching correcting hole

222: upper rail piece

301: first ball guide forming part of intermediate moving part

302: second ball guide forming part of intermediate moving part

321: first rail piece of middle moving part

322: second rail piece of middle moving part

308: first pitch correction hole 309: second pitching correcting hole

402: lower ball-guide forming portion 408: lower part is pitched and is rectified hole

422: lower rail pieces B1, B2: ball (Ball)

C1, C2, C3, C4: driving coil f: guide surface of metal material

M1, M2, M3, M4: drive magnets Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4: driving back yoke

HS: and a Hall sensor.

Claims

1. An intermediate movable member of a camera actuator, comprising at least two or more ball guide portions,

the ball guide portions respectively include:

a first direction ball guide formed in a manner that a guide rail made of a metal material is exposed toward an upper portion of the intermediate movable member; and

a second direction ball guide formed in a manner that the guide rail made of a metal material is exposed toward the lower portion of the intermediate movable member,

the first direction ball guide and the second direction ball guide are adjacent to each other while being separated so as not to overlap or overlap each other when viewed in the optical axis direction, and at least partially overlap each other when viewed in the first direction.

2. The intermediate moving member of the camera actuator of claim 1,

the intermediate moving member is composed of an injection-molded member made of a synthetic resin material constituting the outer shape of the intermediate moving member and an insertion member made of a metal material inserted into the injection-molded member.

3. The intermediate moving member of the camera actuator according to claim 2,

the first direction ball guide is composed of a first ball guide forming part and a first rail piece,

the first ball guide forming portion is formed on the injection-molded member, the first rail piece is formed on the insert member and has the guide surface exposed to an upper portion of the first ball guide forming portion after insert-molding,

the second direction ball guide is composed of a second ball guide forming part and a second rail piece,

the second ball-guide forming portion is formed integrally with the first ball-guide forming portion, and the second rail piece is formed on the insert and has the guide surface exposed to a lower portion of the second ball-guide forming portion at a position shifted from the first rail piece after the insert molding.

4. The intermediate moving member of the camera actuator of claim 3,

a first tilt and tilt correcting hole for partially exposing the first rail piece is formed in a lower surface of the first ball guide forming portion,

a second tilt and tilt correcting hole for partially exposing the second rail piece is formed in an upper surface of the second ball guide forming portion.

5. The intermediate moving member of the camera actuator of claim 2,

the insert is a non-magnetic body.

6. A camera actuator, comprising:

an intermediate active according to any one of claims 1 to 5;

an upper movable member mounted on the intermediate movable member so as to be capable of synchronous movement in a first direction relative to the intermediate movable member; and

and a lower movable member that supports the intermediate movable member from a lower portion so that the intermediate movable member on which the upper movable member is mounted can move synchronously in a second direction.

7. The camera actuator of claim 6,

also comprises a base for accommodating the upper movable piece, the middle movable piece and the lower movable piece,

the lower movable member is accommodated in the base so as to be capable of moving synchronously in the optical axis direction in a state where the upper movable member and the middle movable member are mounted.

8. The camera actuator of claim 7,

a first optical axis driving coil and a second optical axis driving coil are disposed on a first side surface and a second side surface of the base which are adjacent to each other,

first and second optical axis driving magnets are mounted on the lower movable member so as to correspond to the first and second optical axis driving coils, respectively.

9. The camera actuator of claim 8,

a first planar drive coil and a second planar drive coil are respectively arranged on a third side surface and a fourth side surface of the base which are respectively opposite to the first side surface and the second side surface,

and the upper movable piece is provided with a first plane driving magnet and a second plane driving magnet which respectively correspond to the first plane driving coil and the second plane driving coil.

10. The camera actuator of claim 9,

first-direction upper ball guides are formed on the upper movable member so as to correspond to the first-direction ball guides of the intermediate movable member, respectively,

a second-direction lower ball guide formed on the lower movable member so as to correspond to the second-direction ball guide of the intermediate movable member in a symmetrical manner,

one ball is interposed between the first direction ball guide and the first direction upper portion ball guide and one ball is interposed between the second direction ball guide and the second direction lower portion ball guide, which correspond to each other.

11. The camera actuator of claim 10,

the upper moving member is composed of an upper injection-molded member made of a synthetic resin material constituting an outer shape of the upper moving member, and an upper insert member inserted into the upper injection-molded member and decomposed into a plurality of metal materials.

12. The camera actuator of claim 11,

the first upper ball guide is composed of an upper ball guide forming part and an upper rail piece,

the upper ball guide forming part is formed on the upper injection-molded part,

the upper rail pieces are formed at both ends of each of first and second upper inserts formed in the upper insert to face each other, and have guide surfaces exposed to a lower portion of the upper ball guide forming part after insert forming.

13. The camera actuator of claim 12,

forming a first planar driving back yoke generating an attractive force with the first planar driving magnet in one of the first and second upper inserts,

a third upper insert adjacent to the first and second upper inserts constitutes a second planar drive back yoke that generates an attractive force with the second planar drive magnet.

14. The camera actuator of claim 12,

an upper tilt correction hole is formed in an upper surface of the upper ball guide forming portion to partially expose the upper rail piece.

15. The camera actuator of claim 11,

some or all of the upper insert is a magnetic body.

16. The camera actuator of claim 10,

the lower moving member is composed of a lower injection-molded member made of a synthetic resin material constituting an outer shape of the lower moving member and a lower insert member made of a metal material inserted into the lower injection-molded member.

17. The camera actuator of claim 16,

the second direction lower ball guide is composed of a lower ball guide forming part and a lower rail piece,

the lower ball guide forming portion is formed on the lower injection-molded part,

the lower rail piece is formed on the lower insert and has a guide surface exposed to an upper portion of the lower ball guide forming part after insert forming.

18. The camera actuator of claim 17,

a lower tilt correction hole is formed in a lower surface of the lower ball guide forming portion to partially expose the lower rail piece.

19. The camera actuator of claim 16,

a first optical axis driving back yoke generating an attractive force with the first optical axis driving magnet is formed at one side edge of the lower insert,

a second optical axis driving back yoke generating an attractive force with the second optical axis driving magnet is formed at the other side edge of the lower insert.

20. The camera actuator of claim 16,

a part or all of the lower insert is a magnetic body.