CN220040848U

CN220040848U - Camera module

Info

Publication number: CN220040848U
Application number: CN202320938217.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑才院; 金在京
Original assignee: Samsung Electro Mechanics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electro Mechanics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-27
Filing date: 2023-04-24
Publication date: 2023-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 2033-04-24
Also published as: CN116953877A

Abstract

A camera module is provided. The camera module includes: a housing having an inner space and an inner surface rolling portion provided on an inner surface thereof; a bearing part which accommodates the lens barrel and has an outer surface rolling part provided on an outer surface thereof; an auto-focus driving section that generates a driving force to move the bearing section in the optical axis direction; and a rolling member interposed between the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion. At least one of the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion includes a guide surface provided on an outer surface of the body of the housing or the bearing portion and a reinforcing insert body composed of a material having a higher strength than that of the body of the housing or the bearing portion. A plurality of guide rails are provided on the guide surface.

Description

Camera module

Technical Field

The following description relates to a camera module.

Background

Advances in information communication technology and semiconductor technology may increase the supply and use of electronic devices. Such electronic devices may provide for the integration of various functions rather than staying within the traditional unique field. Recently, cameras have been applied to portable electronic devices such as, but not limited to, tablet Personal Computers (PCs) and laptop computers, as well as smart phones. A camera of the portable electronic device implements an Auto Focus (AF) function, an Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) function, and a zoom function.

The optical image stabilization function may include both camera shake correction and hand shake correction, and may prevent an image of an object to be photographed from becoming blurred due to careless hand shake or camera shake of a photographer in a state of moving or fixing the camera.

The auto-focus function refers to a function of acquiring a clear image on an image forming plane of an image sensor by moving a lens located in front of the image sensor in the optical axis direction according to a distance from an object.

High magnification lenses and high capacity actuators have been introduced as cameras for portable electronic devices, and have been gradually improved in performance. Therefore, the weight of the constituent members increases, and the constituent members are exposed to conditions such as vibration under actual use conditions, so that deformation may often occur based on an impact between the constituent members. Therefore, it may be beneficial to ensure rigidity of the constituent parts in preparation for achieving high magnification and high capacity performance.

The above information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In a general aspect, a camera module includes: a housing having an inner space and having an inner surface rolling portion provided on an inner surface of the housing; a bearing portion provided in an inner space of the housing and configured to accommodate the lens barrel, the bearing portion having an outer surface rolling portion provided on an outer surface of the bearing portion and spatially corresponding to the inner surface rolling portion; an Auto Focus (AF) driving part configured to generate a driving force to move the bearing part in an optical axis direction in the housing; and a rolling member interposed between the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion, wherein at least one of the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion includes: a guide surface provided on an outer surface of the body of the housing or an outer surface of the body of the bearing portion; and a reinforcing insert body composed of a material having a higher strength than the material of the body of the bearing part and the body of the housing, and wherein the reinforcing insert body has a plurality of guide rails provided on the guide surface, and the plurality of guide rails are spaced apart from each other.

The rolling members may be positioned in contact with the stiffening insert body.

The plurality of guide rails may have an axle shape having a circular cross section.

The diameter of the cross section of each of the plurality of rails may be in the range of 0.3mm to 1.5 mm.

The plurality of guide rails may extend in parallel in the optical axis direction.

The body of the carrier or the body of the housing may be made of a polymeric material and the reinforcing insert body made of a metallic material.

The reinforcing insert body may have a low friction coating applied to a surface thereof.

The plurality of guide rails may be disposed at least partially exposed from the guide surface.

The guide surface of the body of the bearing part or the body of the housing may include a pair of rolling surfaces facing each other at a preset angle.

The stiffening insert body may include a pair of rails, and the pair of rails may be distributed and disposed on the pair of rolling surfaces, respectively.

The stiffening insert body may be disposed in each of the inner surface roll and the outer surface roll.

The reinforcing insert body provided in the inner surface rolling portion and the reinforcing insert body provided in the outer surface rolling portion may each include a pair of guide rails.

The reinforcing insert body disposed in the inner surface rolling portion may include a pair of guide rails, and the reinforcing insert body disposed in the outer surface rolling portion includes a single flat plate member.

In a general aspect, a camera module includes: a housing having an inner space and having an inner surface rolling portion provided on an inner surface of the housing; a bearing portion provided in an inner space of the housing and configured to accommodate the lens barrel, the bearing portion configured to have an outer surface rolling portion provided on an outer surface of the bearing portion and spatially corresponding to the inner surface rolling portion; and a rolling member interposed between the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion, wherein at least one of the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion includes: the reinforcing insert body is at least partially exposed from an outer surface of the body of the housing or an outer surface of the body of the bearing portion, and is made of a material having a higher strength than materials of the body of the bearing portion and the body of the housing, and is configured to have a plurality of guide rails spaced apart from each other and disposed to be in contact with the rolling members.

Each of the plurality of guide rails may be configured to have an axial shape having a circular cross section.

In a general aspect, a camera module includes: a housing including an inner surface rolling portion provided on an inner surface of the housing; and a bearing portion including an outer surface rolling portion provided on an outer surface of the bearing portion, wherein the outer surface rolling portion includes: a first outer surface rolling portion comprising a first stiffening insert body comprising a plurality of rails disposed on a guide surface of the first outer surface rolling portion of the carrier portion; and a second outer surface rolling portion including a second reinforcing insert body including a flat plate member disposed on a guide surface of the second outer surface rolling portion of the bearing portion, and wherein surfaces of the first reinforcing insert body and the second reinforcing insert body include a low friction coating.

The flat plate member includes a first portion extending in the optical axis direction and a second portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction.

The strength of the material of the first and second stiffening insert bodies may be greater than the strength of the material of the shell and the material of the load bearing portion.

Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an exemplary camera module in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating the exemplary camera module shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a bearing part and a rolling member of the exemplary camera module shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a housing and a rolling member of the exemplary camera module shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the interior of the exemplary camera module shown in fig. 1 showing the cover removed.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a rolling member along with a plurality of guide rails extracted as a reinforcing insert body of the exemplary camera module shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view showing the rolling members together with the plurality of guide rails shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a rolling member together with rails and a flat plate member extracted as a reinforcing insert body of the exemplary camera module shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a top plan view showing the rolling members together with the guide rail and the plate member shown in fig. 8.

Throughout the drawings and detailed description, the same reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same or like elements, features and structures unless otherwise described or set forth. The drawings may not be to scale and the relative sizes, proportions and descriptions of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration and convenience.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader in obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatus, and/or systems described herein. However, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the methods, devices, and/or systems described herein will be apparent after an understanding of the present disclosure. For example, the order of operations described herein is merely an example and is not limited to the order set forth herein, but may be altered as will be apparent after an understanding of the disclosure of the utility model, except for operations that must occur in a certain order. In addition, descriptions of features known after understanding the present disclosure may be omitted for the sake of clarity and conciseness.

The features described herein may be implemented in different forms and are not to be construed as limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the examples described herein are provided merely to illustrate some of the many possible ways to implement the methods, devices, and/or systems described herein that will be apparent upon an understanding of the present disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing various examples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. The articles "a," "an," and "the" are intended to also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any one of the listed items associated and any combination of any two or more of the listed items associated. As a non-limiting example, the terms "comprises" or "comprising," "including," or "having" specify the presence of stated features, amounts, operations, components, elements, and/or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, amounts, operations, components, elements, and/or groups thereof.

Throughout the specification, when a component or element is described as being "connected," "coupled," or "joined to" another component or element, it may be directly "connected," "coupled," or "joined to" the other component or element, or there may be one or more other components or elements interposed therebetween. When a component or element is described as being "directly connected," "directly coupled," or "directly joined to" another component or element, there may be no other element intervening therebetween. Also, expressions such as "between …" and "immediately between …" and "adjacent to …" and "immediately adjacent to …" can be interpreted as described previously.

In addition, when an element such as a layer, film, region or plate is referred to as being "on" or "over" another element, it can be "directly on" the other element or be on the other element with the other element interposed therebetween. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another element, there are no elements between them. Further, when a component is described as being "above" or "on" a reference portion, the component may be "above" or "below" the reference portion, and such a configuration does not necessarily mean that the component is "above" or "on" the reference portion in a direction opposite to the gravitational force.

Although terms such as "first," "second," and "third," or A, B, (a), (b), etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, or sections are not limited by these terms. Each of these terms is not intended to limit, for example, the nature, order, or sequence of the corresponding component, part, region, layer, or portion, but is merely intended to distinguish the corresponding component, part, region, layer, or portion from other components, parts, regions, layers, or portions. Thus, a first member, first component, first region, first layer, or first portion mentioned in examples described herein may also be referred to as a second member, second component, second region, second layer, or second portion without departing from the teachings of the examples.

Throughout the specification, the word "in a plan view" means when the subject is viewed from above, and the word "in a sectional view" means a section formed by vertically cutting the subject when viewed from the side.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Terms (such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries) will be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. The term "may" is used herein with respect to an example or embodiment, for example with respect to what the example or embodiment may include or implement, meaning that there is at least one example or embodiment that includes or implements this feature, and all examples are not limited thereto.

One or more examples provide a camera module that maintains driving performance by having high impact resistance while smoothly implementing an auto focus function and a shake correction function.

In an example, it is possible to ensure a driving force for moving the lens, and to ensure impact resistance of the constituent parts while realizing an auto focus function and an image stabilization function.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an exemplary camera module according to one or more embodiments, and fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating the exemplary camera module illustrated in fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, an exemplary camera module 100 according to one or more embodiments includes a lens barrel 120, a lens driving device 130 configured to move the lens barrel 120, an image sensor unit 170 configured to convert light entering through the lens barrel 120 into an electrical signal, a housing 110 configured to accommodate the lens barrel 120 and the lens driving device 130 in an inner space thereof, and a cover 113 configured to cover the housing 110.

The lens barrel 120 may have a hollow cylindrical shape so as to accommodate a plurality of lenses therein for capturing an image of an object, and the plurality of lenses may be installed in the lens barrel 120 along an optical axis. Depending on the desired embodiment of the lens barrel 120, a desired number of lenses may be provided in the lens barrel 120. The individual lenses may have the same or different optical properties, such as refractive index.

The optical axis may be set as a central axis of a lens accommodated in the lens barrel 120. The optical axis direction is a direction parallel to the central axis. In the drawings, the optical axis is set as the z-axis, and the x-axis and the y-axis are preset as directions perpendicular to the optical axis. In this example, the x-axis and the y-axis are perpendicular to each other, and the x-y plane defined by the x-axis and the y-axis is a plane perpendicular to the optical axis.

The lens driving apparatus 130 is a device configured to move the lens barrel 120, and includes an Automatic Focusing (AF) unit 140 configured to adjust a focus, and an Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) unit 150 configured to correct hand shake or wobble.

For example, the lens driving apparatus 130 can adjust the focus by moving the lens barrel 120 in the optical axis direction (z-axis direction in the drawing) by implementing the AF unit 140. The lens driving apparatus 130 can correct shake when capturing an image by moving the lens barrel 120 in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis (x-axis direction or y-axis direction in the drawing) using the OIS unit 150.

The AF unit 140 includes a bearing portion 141 configured to accommodate the lens barrel 120, and an AF driving portion configured to generate a driving force to move the lens barrel 120 and the bearing portion 141 in the optical axis direction. The AF driving section includes an AF driving magnet 148a and an AF driving coil 148c.

When power is supplied to the AF drive coil 148c, the bearing portion 141 may be moved in the optical axis direction by electromagnetic force between the AF drive magnet 148a and the AF drive coil 148c. Since the bearing 141 accommodates the lens barrel 120, when the lens barrel 120 is also moved in the optical axis direction by the movement of the bearing 141, the focus can be adjusted.

In an example, the AF driving magnet 148a may be mounted on one surface of the bearing portion 141, and the AF driving coil 148c may be mounted on the housing 110 based on the substrate 112. In this example, the AF drive magnet 148a is a movable member that is mounted on the bearing portion 141 and configured to move in the optical axis direction with the bearing portion 141. The AF drive coil 148c is a fixing member fixed to the housing 110. However, one or more examples are not limited thereto. The positions of the AF drive magnets 148a and AF drive coils 148c may be changed.

The inner surface rolling parts 115 and 116 and the outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146 may be formed on the housing 110 and the bearing part 141, respectively, to guide the movement of the bearing part 141 in the optical axis direction while reducing friction between the bearing part 141 and the housing 110 when the bearing part 141 moves. The inner surface rolling parts 115 and 116 may be formed on the inner surface of the case 110, the outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146 may be formed on the outer surface of the bearing part 141, and the inner surface rolling parts 115 and 116 and the outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146 may be disposed to correspond to each other.

The rolling members 161 and 162 may be disposed between the inner surface rolling parts 115 and 116 and the outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146, respectively, and may reduce friction when the bearing part 141 moves in the optical axis direction. In an example, the rolling members 161 and 162 may each be provided in the form of balls, and may be composed of ceramic oxide as an example. The rolling members 161 and 162 may be configured as a plurality of ball units provided, and may be aligned in the optical axis direction between the inner surface rolling portions 115 and 116 and the outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146.

The OIS unit 150 may prevent image blurring or may prevent video from shaking due to factors such as a user's hand shake during a process of capturing an image or photographing a video. When shake occurs due to hand shake or the like of a user at the time of capturing an image, the OIS unit 150 compensates for the shake by applying a relative displacement corresponding to the shake to the lens barrel 120. In an example, the OIS unit 150 may correct the shake by moving the lens barrel 120 in a first direction and a second direction (x-axis direction and y-axis direction) perpendicular to the optical axis direction.

The OIS unit 150 may include a guide member configured to guide movement of the lens barrel 120, and an OIS driving section configured to generate a driving force to move the guide member in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction.

The guide member includes a support frame 151 and a lens holder 153. The support frame 151 and the lens holder 153 are accommodated in the bearing portion 141 and aligned in the optical axis direction, and the support frame 151 and the lens holder 153 can guide movement of the lens barrel 120.

The OIS driving section includes a first OIS driving section 155 and a second OIS driving section 156. The first OIS driving section 155 generates a driving force in a first direction (x-axis direction in the drawing) perpendicular to the optical axis direction. The second OIS driving section 156 generates a driving force in a second direction (y-axis direction in the drawing) perpendicular to the first direction. The first OIS driving section 155 and the second OIS driving section 156 include OIS driving magnets 155a and 156a and OIS driving coils 155c and 156c, respectively.

In an example, a plurality of rolling members 142 and 152 are provided to support the OIS unit 150. The plurality of rolling members 142 and 152 may cause the lens holder 153 and the support frame 151 to move smoothly during OIS operation. In addition, the plurality of rolling members 142 and 152 may also maintain the interval between the bearing portion 141, the supporting frame 151, and the lens holder 153.

The plurality of rolling members 142 and 152 includes a first rolling member 152 and a second rolling member 142. The first rolling member 152 is associated with movement of the OIS unit 150 in a first direction (x-axis direction) and the second rolling member 142 is associated with movement of the OIS unit 150 in a second direction (y-axis direction). The first rolling member 152 includes a plurality of ball members disposed between the lens holder 153 and the supporting frame 151, and the second rolling member 142 includes a plurality of ball members disposed between the supporting frame 151 and the bearing 141.

The image sensor unit 170 is a device configured to convert light entering through the lens barrel 120 into an electrical signal. For example, the image sensor unit 170 may include an image sensor 171 and a circuit board 173 connected to the image sensor 171, and may further include an infrared light filter. The infrared ray filter may block a light beam in an infrared region among light beams entering through the lens barrel 120.

The lens barrel 120 and the lens driving apparatus 130 may be accommodated in an inner space of the housing 110. In an example, the case 110 may be provided in the form of a box opened at upper and lower sides thereof. The image sensor unit 170 may be disposed at the lower side of the case 110. A stopper 121 may be further provided at an upper side of the lens barrel 120 to prevent the support frame 151 and the lens holder 153 from being separated from the inner space of the bearing part 141. The stopper 121 may be coupled to the bearing 141.

The cover 113 is coupled to the case 110 to surround an outer surface of the case 110, and may protect constituent components in the camera module 100. In addition, the cover 113 may block electromagnetic waves. In an example, the cover 113 may be configured as a metal shield, and may block electromagnetic waves so that the electromagnetic waves generated in the camera module 100 do not affect other electronic components in the portable electronic device.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the bearing 141 and the rolling members 161 and 162 of the camera module 100 shown in fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 3, the carrying part 141 of the camera module 100 according to one or more embodiments may include outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146 formed on an outer surface of one sidewall of the carrying part 141. The pair of outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146 may be disposed at two opposite sides of one side wall of the bearing portion 141 based on the center in the width direction (y-axis direction) of the one side wall. One side wall may be a side wall of the bearing portion 141 on which the AF driving magnet 148a is provided.

The outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146 may include guide surfaces 1451 and 1461, and the guide surfaces 1451 and 1461 are formed on an outer surface of a mold (or a main body) forming an appearance of the bearing part 141. The guide surfaces 1451 and 1461 may be elongated in the optical axis direction (z-axis direction) and may guide the movement of the rolling members 161 and 162 in the optical axis direction. In a non-limiting example, the guide surfaces 1451 and 1461 may each be formed as a groove recessed in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction.

In an example, the outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146 provided on the bearing part 141 may include: a first outer surface rolling part 145 having a guide surface 1451, wherein the rolling member 161 having a ball shape is in contact with the guide surface 1451 at two points; and a second outer surface rolling portion 146 having a guide surface 1461, wherein the rolling member 162 is in contact with the guide surface 1461 at one point. The guide surface 1451 of the first outer surface rolling portion 145 may include a pair of V-shaped rolling surfaces which are respectively in contact with the rolling members 161 while facing each other at a preset angle. The guide surface 1461 of the second outer surface rolling portion 146 may include a flat rolling surface in contact with the rolling member 162. However, this is only an example, and the shapes of the first and second outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146 may be changed with respect to each other, and V-shaped rolling surfaces may be formed on both the first and second outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146. This configuration is merely an example, and other configurations may be implemented.

In the present embodiment, the first outer surface rolling portion 145 may include a reinforcing insert body having a plurality of guide rails 1453 disposed on the guide surface 1451 and spaced apart from each other. The second outer surface rolling portion 146 may include a stiffening insert body having a single flat plate member 1463 disposed on the guide surface 1461. In an example, the reinforcing insert body may be made of a material having a higher strength than that of the body of the mold or carrier 141. The reinforcing insert body may be integrally fixed in the mold or carrier 141 by insert injection molding. In a non-limiting example, the body of the mold or carrier 141 may be made of a polymeric material and the reinforcing insert body may be made of metal.

Specifically, by way of example only, the reinforcing insert body may be made of a metallic material selected from the group consisting of SUS, ti, and Al, and the mechanical properties of the reinforcing insert body may be selectively improved by heat treatment. In addition, a low friction coating may be applied to the surface of the stiffening insert body to optimize the driving force for driving the lens. In an example, a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating may be applied, or an electroless nickel coating comprising submicron PTFE particles may be applied.

Referring to fig. 3, a pair of guide rails 1453 of the reinforcing insert body provided on the first outer surface rolling portion 145 may extend from the guide surface 1451 in a direction parallel to the optical axis direction and may be at least partially exposed from the guide surface 1451. In addition, the pair of guide rails 1453 may be respectively distributed and disposed on a pair of rolling surfaces facing each other.

Accordingly, the rolling members 161 and 162, each provided in the form of balls, roll along the pair of guide rails 1453 and the flat plate member 1463 on the respective guide surfaces 1451 and 1461 of the first and second outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146 while being in contact with the pair of guide rails 1453 and the flat plate member 1463. The rolling members 161 and 162 may each be provided in the form of a metal ball and may be in contact with the reinforcing insert body made of a metal material on the guide surfaces 1451 and 1461, so that damage to the guide surfaces 1451 and 1461 caused by the rolling members 161 and 162 and thus deformation (recess) of the ball guide can be prevented. In an example, the rolling member 161 corresponding to the first outer surface rolling portion 145 may include four ball members, and the rolling member 162 corresponding to the second outer surface rolling portion 146 may include three ball members. However, this is merely an example, and the ball member may be implemented in various numbers.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the housing 110 and the rolling members 161 and 162 of the exemplary camera module 100 shown in fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 4, a housing 110 of an exemplary camera module 100 according to one or more embodiments may include inner surface rolling portions 115 and 116 formed on an inner surface of one sidewall. The pair of inner surface rolling portions 115 and 116 may be disposed at two opposite sides of the inner surface of one side wall based on the center in the width direction (y-axis direction) of the one side wall. One side wall may be a side wall of the housing 110 on which the AF driving coil 148c (see fig. 2) is disposed.

The inner surface rolling portions 115 and 116 may include guide surfaces 1151 and 1161, and the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161 are formed on an outer surface of a mold forming an outer appearance of the housing 110 (or a main body of the housing 110). The guide surfaces 1151 and 1161 may be elongated in the optical axis direction (z-axis direction), and may guide the movement of the rolling members 161 and 162 in the optical axis direction.

Additionally, the inner surface rollers 115 and 116 may include a stiffening insert body having a plurality of rails 1153 and 1163 spaced apart from one another on the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161. In an example, the reinforcing insert body may be made of a material that has a higher strength than the material of the body of the mold or housing 110. As an example, the reinforcement insert body may be integrally fixed in the mold (or the body of the housing 110) by insert injection molding. In an example, the mold (or body of the housing 110) may be made of a polymeric material and the reinforcing insert body may be made of metal.

In one or more examples, in examples where the ball unit is applied to achieve an auto-focus function, a metal insert may be provided in a rolling surface in the ball guide groove. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent damage to the die caused by the ball unit and prevent deformation (e.g., dishing) of the ball guide.

Referring to fig. 4, a pair of guide rails 1153 and 1163 of the reinforcing insert body may extend from the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161 in a direction parallel to the optical axis direction, and may be exposed from the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161. In addition, the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161 may include a pair of rolling surfaces facing each other at a preset angle. In this example, the pair of rails 1153 and 1163 may be distributed and disposed on the pair of rolling surfaces, respectively.

Accordingly, the rolling members 161 and 162, each provided in the form of balls, roll along the pair of guide rails 1153 and 1163 of the reinforcing insert body on the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161 of the inner surface rolling parts 115 and 116 while contacting the pair of guide rails 1153 and 1163. The rolling members 161 and 162 may each be provided in the form of a metal ball, and may be in contact with the reinforcing insert body made of a metal material on the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161 while facing the reinforcing insert body, so that damage to the guide surfaces 1151 and 1161 caused by the rolling members 161 and 162 and thus deformation (recess) of the ball guide can be prevented.

Referring to fig. 5, when the bearing part 141 and the housing 110 are coupled, the outer surface rolling parts 145 and 146 and the inner surface rolling parts 115 and 116 may be positioned to face each other. The rolling members 161 and 162 may be disposed between the outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146 and the inner surface rolling portions 115 and 116. The outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146 and the inner surface rolling portions 115 and 116 may have concave guide surfaces 1451, 1461, 1151, and 1161, respectively, recessed in opposite directions perpendicular to the optical axis direction. The rolling members 161 and 162 include a plurality of ball members. Of the ball members, at least one ball member may be in contact with the reinforcing insert bodies of the outer surface rolling portions 145 and 146 and the inner surface rolling portions 115 and 116 at the same time.

At least one ball member constituting the rolling member 161 interposed between the first outer surface rolling portion 145 and the first inner surface rolling portion 115 may be positioned to be in contact with the pair of guide rails 1453 of the first outer surface rolling portion 145 and the pair of guide rails 1153 of the first inner surface rolling portion 115. At least one ball member constituting the rolling member 162 interposed between the second outer surface rolling portion 146 and the second inner surface rolling portion 116 may be positioned to be in contact with the flat plate member 1463 of the second outer surface rolling portion 146 and the pair of guide rails 1163 of the second inner surface rolling portion 116.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a plurality of guide rails extracted as a reinforcing insert body of the exemplary camera module shown in fig. 5 together with a rolling member, and fig. 7 is a top plan view showing a plurality of guide rails shown in fig. 6 together with a rolling member.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, the plurality of guide rails 1453 and 1153 provided in the first outer surface rolling part 145 and the first inner surface rolling part 115 may each have an axial shape having a circular cross section. In addition, the plurality of guide rails 1453 and 1153 may extend in a direction parallel to the optical axis direction. In an example, the diameter of the cross section of each of the guide rails 1453 and 1153, each having an axial shape, may be in the range of 0.3mm to 1.5 mm. When the diameter of the cross section of each of the guide rails 1453 and 1153 is less than 0.3mm, it may be difficult to perform and implement insert injection molding, and when the diameter of the cross section of each of the guide rails 1453 and 115 is greater than 1.5mm, the size of the driving part may be unnecessarily increased.

The rolling member 161 interposed between the first outer surface rolling portion 145 and the first inner surface rolling portion 115 may include four ball members 161a, 161b, 161c, and 161d. Each of the four ball members 161a, 161b, 161c, and 161d may have a larger diameter than each of the ball members 161b and 161c, and each of the ball members 161a and 161d may be disposed at the outermost periphery (uppermost end or lowermost end) based on the optical axis direction. Accordingly, the two ball members 161a and 161d located at the outermost periphery may be in contact with the plurality of guide rails 1453 and 1153 of the first outer surface rolling portion 145 and the first inner surface rolling portion 115. However, one or more examples are not limited thereto. Ball members contacting the rail in another combination may be selected.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the rolling member together with the rail and the flat plate member extracted as the reinforcing insert body of the camera module shown in fig. 5, and fig. 9 is a top plan view showing the rolling member together with the rail and the flat plate member shown in fig. 8.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9, the plurality of guide rails 1163 provided in the second inner surface rolling portion 116 may each have an axial shape having a circular cross section. Further, the plurality of guide rails 1163 may extend in parallel in the optical axis direction. In an example, the diameter of the cross section of each of the guide rails 1163 each having an axial shape may be in the range of 0.3mm to 1.5 mm. When the diameter of the cross section of the guide rail 1163 is less than 0.3mm, it may be difficult to perform and implement insert injection molding, and when the diameter of the cross section of the guide rail 1163 is greater than 1.5mm, the size of the driving part may be unnecessarily increased.

The flat plate member 1463 provided on the second outer surface rolling portion 146 may extend in the optical axis direction. The connection protrusion 1464 bent and extended in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction may be integrally connected to one end of the plate member 1463 based on the longitudinal direction. The connection protrusion 1464 may be inserted into a mold for the bearing portion 141 to fix the plate member 1463.

The rolling member 162 interposed between the second outer surface rolling portion 146 and the second inner surface rolling portion 116 may include three ball members 162a, 162b, and 162c. However, this is merely an example, and the rolling member 162 may be implemented as a variety of numbers of ball members.

In a non-limiting example, each of the three ball members 162a, 162b, and 162c, which are disposed at the outermost periphery (uppermost or lowermost) based on the optical axis direction, may have a diameter larger than that of the other ball member 162 b. Accordingly, the two ball members 162a and 162c located at the outermost periphery may be in contact with the flat plate member 1463 of the second outer surface rolling portion 146 and the plurality of guide rails 1163 of the second inner surface rolling portion 116. However, one or more examples are not limited thereto. Ball members contacting the rail and the plate member in another combination may be selected.

While this disclosure includes particular examples, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art after understanding the present disclosure that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein are to be considered as illustrative only and not for the purpose of limitation. The descriptions of features or aspects in each example are considered to be applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may also be obtained if the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components in the described systems, architectures, devices or circuits are combined in a different manner and/or are replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents.

The scope of the disclosure is, therefore, not to be limited by the detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, and all changes that come within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be interpreted as being included in the disclosure.

Claims

1. A camera module, comprising:

a housing having an inner surface rolling portion provided on an inner surface thereof;

a bearing portion provided in the housing and configured to accommodate a lens barrel, the bearing portion having an outer surface rolling portion provided on an outer surface of the bearing portion and spatially corresponding to the inner surface rolling portion;

an autofocus drive section configured to generate a driving force to move the bearing section in the housing in an optical axis direction; and

a rolling member interposed between the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion,

wherein at least one of the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion includes:

a guide surface provided on an outer surface of the body of the housing or an outer surface of the body of the bearing part; and

a reinforcing insert body composed of a material having a higher strength than the material of the body of the bearing portion and the material of the body of the housing, and

wherein the stiffening insert body comprises a plurality of rails disposed on the guide surface and the plurality of rails are spaced apart from one another.

2. The camera module of claim 1, wherein:

the rolling member is positioned in contact with the stiffening insert body.

3. The camera module of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of guide rails have an axle shape with a circular cross-section.

4. A camera module according to claim 3, wherein:

the diameter of the cross section of each of the plurality of guide rails is in the range of 0.3mm to 1.5 mm.

5. The camera module of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of guide rails extend in parallel in the optical axis direction.

6. The camera module of claim 1, wherein:

the body of the carrier or the body of the housing is made of a polymeric material and the reinforcing insert body is made of a metallic material.

7. The camera module of claim 6, wherein:

the surface of the reinforcing insert body is applied with a low friction coating.

8. The camera module of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of guide rails are disposed at least partially exposed from the guide surface.

9. The camera module of claim 1, wherein:

the guide surface of the main body of the bearing portion or the main body of the housing includes a pair of rolling surfaces facing each other at a preset angle.

10. The camera module of claim 9, wherein:

the reinforcing insert body includes a pair of rails, and

the pair of guide rails are respectively distributed and arranged on the pair of rolling surfaces.

11. The camera module of claim 1, wherein:

the reinforcement insert body is disposed in each of the inner surface rolling portion and the outer surface rolling portion.

12. The camera module of claim 11, wherein:

the reinforcing insert body disposed in the inner surface rolling portion and the reinforcing insert body disposed in the outer surface rolling portion each include a pair of guide rails.

13. The camera module of claim 11, wherein:

the reinforcing insert body provided in the inner surface rolling portion includes a pair of guide rails, and

the stiffening insert body disposed in the outer surface roll comprises a single flat plate member.

14. A camera module, comprising:

a bearing portion provided in the housing and configured to accommodate a lens barrel, the bearing portion configured to have an outer surface rolling portion provided on an outer surface of the bearing portion and spatially corresponding to the inner surface rolling portion; and

a stiffening insert body at least partially exposed from an outer surface of the body of the housing or an outer surface of the body of the carrier, and

wherein the reinforcing insert body is made of a material having a higher strength than the material of the body of the bearing portion and the body of the housing, and the reinforcing insert body is configured to have a plurality of guide rails spaced apart from each other and disposed in contact with the rolling members.

15. The camera module of claim 14, wherein:

each of the plurality of guide rails has an axle shape with a circular cross-section.

16. The camera module of claim 14, wherein:

17. A camera module, comprising:

a housing including an inner surface rolling portion provided on an inner surface of the housing; and

a bearing part comprising an outer surface rolling part arranged on the outer surface of the bearing part,

wherein the outer surface rolling portion includes:

a first outer surface rolling portion comprising a first stiffening insert body comprising a plurality of guide rails disposed on a guide surface of the first outer surface rolling portion of the carrier portion; and

a second outer surface rolling portion including a second reinforcing insert body including a flat plate member provided on a guide surface of the second outer surface rolling portion of the bearing portion, and

wherein the surfaces of the first and second stiffening insert bodies include a low friction coating.

18. The camera module of claim 17, wherein the plate member includes a first portion extending in an optical axis direction and a second portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction.

19. The camera module of claim 17, wherein a strength of a material of the first and second stiffening insert bodies is greater than a strength of a material of the housing and a material of the carrier.