JP2006017923A - Miniature camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a miniature camera incorporated into a cellular phone with a practicable telephoto function. <P>SOLUTION: The miniature camera comprises a camera module 20 equipped with a CCD type solid state imaging element 21 of a lower side and a lens module 30 of an upper side. The lens module 30 has a 1st lens holder 41 where a convex lens 31 is fixed, a 2nd lens holder 42 where a concave lens 32 is fixed and a ultrasonic motor section 33 for rotating the 1st lens holder 41. The 2nd lens holder 42 is supported inside the 1st lens holder 41 by fitting a male screw-shaped spiral trench 42a on its outer peripheral surface to a female screw-shaped spiral trench 41a on an inner peripheral surface of the 1st lens holder 41. Further guide trenches 42b, 42c are respectively fitted to guide rods 43, 44. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a small camera provided with a solid-state imaging device, and more particularly to a small camera incorporated in a mobile phone.

  In recent years, many mobile phones have incorporated a small camera equipped with a solid-state image sensor. A conventional camera has a configuration in which a lens is fixed. A cellular phone is required to have a variety of functions, and when focusing on a camera, for example, a zoom function is required. In this case, since the size of the camera is determined by the size of the mobile phone, it is necessary to make the mechanism for driving the lens small.

It is also conceivable to provide a zoom function by providing an electrostatic actuator inside a lens module of a small camera and driving the electrostatic actuator to move the lens in the optical axis direction.
JP 2003-9550 A

However, the fixing of the lens to the cylinder is unstable and is not suitable for incorporation into a mobile phone that receives an impact during use.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a small camera that solves the above-described problems.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a small camera having a configuration in which a lens module is attached to a camera module having a solid-state imaging device, and the lens module includes:
A substrate,
A cylindrical member having an internally threaded spiral groove on the inner peripheral surface and rotatably supported on the substrate;
An ultrasonic motor for rotating the cylindrical member;
A lens having a male screw-like spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface, a lens fixed inside, and the male screw-like spiral groove being supported in the cylindrical member in a state of being fitted into the female screw-like spiral groove. A holder,
A guide mechanism for guiding the lens holder in the axial direction of the cylindrical member while restricting the rotation of the lens holder;
When the ultrasonic motor unit is driven and the holder is rotated, the lens holder moves in the axial direction of the cylindrical member while being guided by the guide mechanism.

  According to the present invention, the lens holder is configured to be supported inside the cylindrical member in a state in which the male threaded spiral groove is fitted to the female threaded spiral groove. A structure that is resistant to impact and resistant to impact can be realized.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  1A and 1B show a mobile phone camera 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone camera 10 includes a lower camera module 20 and an upper lens module 30 as shown in FIG. Z1-Z2 is the height direction. The mobile phone camera 10 is incorporated in the folding-side main body 16 of the folding mobile phone 15 as shown in FIG. The folding side main body 16 is rotatable with respect to the operation side main body 17.

  In the camera module 20, a CCD solid-state imaging device 21 is mounted on a substrate 22, and a cover member 24 to which a convex lens 23 is fixed is fixed on the substrate 22 to cover the solid-state imaging device 21. This is a flat box shape.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lens module 30 includes a fixed convex lens 31, a moving concave lens 32, and an ultrasonic motor unit 33 that moves the concave lens 32.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes a substrate having a quadrangular shape.

  Reference numeral 41 denotes a first lens holder as a cylindrical member, which has a cylindrical shape, and a convex lens 31 is fixed on the upper end side. An internal thread-like spiral groove 41 a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the first lens holder 41. The first lens holder 41 has an annular flange portion 41 b projecting outward at the lower end, and the flange portion 41 b is rotatably held by a cover member 45.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a second lens holder, which is substantially annular and has a concave lens 32 fixed inside. An external thread-like spiral groove 42 a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the second lens holder 42. Guide grooves 42 b and 42 c are formed at both ends of the diameter of the second lens holder 42 so as to extend in the axial direction of the second lens holder 42. On the substrate 40, guide rods 43, 44 are planted corresponding to the guide grooves 42b, 42c, are upright in parallel, and extend in the direction of the axis of the first lens holder 41. The guide rods 43 and 44 are located inside the first lens holder 41. In the second lens holder 42, the male threaded spiral groove 42a is screwed into the female threaded spiral groove 41a of the first lens holder 41, and the guide grooves 42b and 42c are fitted into the guide rods 43 and 44, respectively. In this state, it is incorporated inside the first lens holder 41.

  In the ultrasonic motor unit 33, the vibrating piezoelectric element 50 forms a stator, the flange portion 41 b of the first lens holder 41 forms a rotor, and the cover member 45 and the leaf spring member 46 are assembled on the substrate 40. The cover member 45 forms a casing of the ultrasonic motor unit 33.

  The vibrating piezoelectric element 50 is annular, has a size corresponding to the flange portion 41b, has an upper surface in a comb shape, and has a shape in which the comb portions 50a are arranged in the circumferential direction. It is fixed on the top.

  The leaf spring member 46 has an annular shape, and the curved portions 46a are arranged in the circumferential direction and have a wave shape.

  The cover member 45 includes a cylindrical portion 45a, an annular inward flange portion 45b projecting inward from the upper end of the cylindrical portion 45a, and an outward flange portion 45c projecting outward from the lower end of the cylindrical portion 45a.

  The flange portion 41b of the first lens holder 41 is placed on the vibration piezoelectric element 50, the leaf spring member 46 is placed on the flange portion 41b, and the cover member 45 is composed of the cylindrical portion 45a and the inner flange portion 45b. The outer flange portion 45c is fixed on the substrate 40 with screws 47 in a state where the vibration piezoelectric element 50, the flange portion 41b and the leaf spring member 46 are covered. The cylindrical portion 45a restricts the movement of the flange portion 41b and the leaf spring member 46 in the radial direction. An inward flange portion 45b sandwiches the leaf spring member 46 between the inward flange portion 45b and the flange portion 41b, and elastically deforms the leaf spring member 46 in a direction in which the curved portion 46a becomes flat, A spring force is generated in the spring member 46. In the first lens holder 41, the flange portion 41 b is pressed against the upper surface of the vibration piezoelectric element 50 by urging the leaf spring member 46 with the force F 2 in the Z2 direction by the spring force, and the flange portion 41 b is the inner flange portion. 45b is pressed through the leaf spring member 46 to limit the tilting, the movement in the radial direction is limited by the cylindrical portion 45a, and further, the outer periphery of the flange portion 41b is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 45a. It is possible to turn by being guided by. When a drive signal is applied to the vibrating piezoelectric element 50 from the outside and the vibrating piezoelectric element 50 is ultrasonically vibrated to generate a traveling wave in the circumferential direction, the friction between the vibrating piezoelectric element 50 and the flange portion 41b is generated. A rotational force is generated in the flange portion 41b by the force, and the first lens holder 41 is rotated in a direction corresponding to the drive signal.

  Here, since the flange part 41b which is a part of the first lens holder 41 forms a rotor, a dedicated rotor part is unnecessary, and the ultrasonic motor part 33 is configured to be thin with a minimum number of parts. Is done. Further, the flange portion 41b of the first lens holder 41 is placed on the vibration piezoelectric element 50, the leaf spring member 46 is placed on the flange portion 41b, the cover member 45 is covered from above, and the cover member 45 is screwed. By fixing to the substrate 41, the ultrasonic motor unit 33 is assembled together with the fixing of the first lens holder 41, and the lens module 30 is assembled with good workability.

  The lens module 30 having the above configuration is mounted on the camera module 20 and fixed to the camera module 20 with screws 48. The mobile phone camera 10 is completed by fixing the lens module 30 on the camera module 20. As for the lens, it is in a state of being aligned with the convex lens 31, the concave lens 32, and the convex lens 23 from the Z1 side.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the mobile phone camera 10 having the above configuration is incorporated in the folding side main body 16 with the upper end of the first lens holder 41 exposed on the surface of the folding side main body 16. .

  The mobile phone camera 10 operates as follows.

  FIG. 1B and FIG. 3A are in a standard state and are normally maintained in this state, and normal photographing is performed in this state. The second lens holder 42 has a male screw-like spiral groove 42a and a female screw-like spiral groove 41a fitted to the first lens holder 41, and guide grooves 42b, 42c are formed in the guide rods 43, 44, respectively. Since the rotation is limited by fitting, the positional displacement is hardly caused even when an impact is applied from the outside, and the mobile phone camera 10 is excellent in impact resistance.

  When a subject is to be photographed at a wide angle, a driving signal is applied to the vibration piezoelectric element 50 by the operator's wide angle setting operation, and the vibration piezoelectric element 50 is ultrasonically vibrated to the vibration piezoelectric element 50 as shown in FIG. A) A traveling wave in the direction indicated by the middle arrow CC is generated, the first lens holder 41 is rotated by a predetermined angle in the direction of the arrow CC, and the second lens holder 42 is Z2 along the guide rods 43 and 44. 3B, the concave lens 32 is separated from the convex lens 31, and the mobile phone camera 10 is ready for photographing at a wide angle. When the shutter operation is performed, the subject is photographed at a wide angle. When the wide-angle setting is canceled, the oscillating piezoelectric element 50 is ultrasonically vibrated so as to generate a traveling wave in the opposite direction to the above, and the first lens holder 41 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, and the second lens The holder 42 is moved in the Z1 direction and returned to the original position, and becomes a standard state.

  When the subject is to be photographed at a telephoto position, a drive signal is applied to the vibration piezoelectric element 50 by the operator's telephoto setting operation, and the vibration piezoelectric element 50 is ultrasonically vibrated to the vibration piezoelectric element 50 as shown in FIG. ) A traveling wave in the direction indicated by the middle arrow C is generated, the first lens holder 41 is rotated by a predetermined angle in the direction of arrow C, and the second lens holder 42 is moved along the guide rods 43 and 44 in the Z1 direction. 3 (C), the concave lens 32 approaches the convex lens 31, and the mobile phone camera 10 is ready for photographing at a telephoto position. When the shutter operation is performed, the subject is enlarged and photographed. When the telephoto setting is canceled, the oscillating piezoelectric element 50 is ultrasonically vibrated so as to generate a traveling wave in the opposite direction to the above, and the first lens holder 41 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, so that the second lens The holder 42 is moved in the Z2 direction and returned to the original position, and becomes a standard state.

  The male screw-like spiral groove 42a and the female screw-like spiral groove 41a are kept in a fitted state in both a wide-angle photographing state and a telephoto photographing state, and the mobile phone camera 10 is good. Maintain impact resistance.

  FIG. 4 shows a mobile phone camera 10A according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The cellular phone camera 10A is different from the cellular phone camera 10 shown in FIG. 1 in the lens module 30A and in the ultrasonic motor unit 33A in the lens module 30A.

  The ultrasonic motor unit 33A has a configuration in which the arrangement of the vibration piezoelectric element 50A and the leaf spring member 46A is opposite to that of the ultrasonic motor unit 33 shown in FIGS.

  The vibrating piezoelectric element 50 </ b> A has a shape having a comb tooth portion 50 a on the lower surface side, and is fixed to the lower surface of the inward flange portion 45 b of the cover member 45. The leaf spring member 46A is placed on the substrate 41.

  In the ultrasonic motor section 33A, the vibrating piezoelectric element 50A, the flange section 41b, and the leaf spring member 46A are overlapped from above, and the flange section 41b is biased with the force F1 in the Z1 direction by the spring force of the leaf spring member 46A. In this configuration, the vibration piezoelectric element 50A is pressed against the lower surface. When the vibration piezoelectric element 50A is ultrasonically vibrated, a driving force is applied to the upper surface of the flange portion 41b, the first lens holder 41 is rotated in the direction of the arrow C or the direction of the arrow CC, and the mobile phone camera 10A is wide angle or The camera is ready to shoot with telephoto.

  FIG. 6A shows a mobile phone camera 10B according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The cellular phone camera 10B is different from the cellular phone camera 10 shown in FIG. 1 in a lens module 30B and a lens moving portion of the lens module 30B.

  Reference numeral 41B denotes a holder, which is different from the first lens holder 41 in that the convex lens 31 is not fixed.

  A lens unit holder 42B is different from the second lens holder 41 in that both the convex lens 31 and the concave lens 32 are fixed.

  The ultrasonic motor unit 33 is driven by the drive signal, the holder 41B is rotated in the direction of the arrow C, the lens unit holder 42B is moved in the Z1 direction along the guide rods 43 and 44, and the CCD solid-state imaging device 21 As shown in FIG. 6 (B), the distance between the mobile phone 10B and the mobile phone camera 10B is in a state of being able to shoot at a telephoto position.

  Note that the above-described small mobile phone cameras 10, 10A, and 10B can be incorporated into electronic devices other than mobile phones.

It is a figure which shows the camera for mobile phones which becomes Example 1 of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which expands and shows the part relevant to the ultrasonic motor part and lens in FIG. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the camera for mobile telephones of FIG. It is a figure which shows the camera for mobile phones which becomes Example 2 of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which expands and shows the part relevant to the ultrasonic motor part and lens in FIG. It is a figure which shows the camera for mobile phones which becomes Example 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10A, 10B, 10C Mobile phone camera 15 Mobile phone 20 Camera module 21 CCD type solid-state imaging device 30 Lens module 31 Convex lens 31
32 Concave lens 33, 33A Ultrasonic motor part 40 Substrate 41 First lens holder 41a Female thread-like spiral groove 41b Annular flange part 42 Second lens holder 42a Male thread-like spiral groove 42b, 42c Guide groove 43, 44 Guide rod 45 Cover member 45a Cylindrical portion 45b Inward flange portion 46, 46A Leaf spring member 50, 50A Vibrating piezoelectric element

Claims (9)

A small camera having a lens module attached to a camera module having a solid-state image sensor,
The lens module
A substrate,
A cylindrical member having an internally threaded spiral groove on the inner peripheral surface and rotatably supported on the substrate;
An ultrasonic motor for rotating the cylindrical member;
A lens having a male screw-like spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface, a lens fixed inside, and the male screw-like spiral groove being supported in the cylindrical member in a state of being fitted into the female screw-like spiral groove. A holder,
A guide mechanism for guiding the lens holder in the axial direction of the cylindrical member while restricting the rotation of the lens holder;
When the ultrasonic motor unit is driven and the cylindrical member is rotated, the lens holder is guided by the guide mechanism and moves in the axial direction of the cylindrical member. Small camera. The small camera according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic motor section is
The annular vibration piezoelectric element is fixed to the annular annular piezoelectric element, and the annular flange portion at the lower end of the cylindrical member is annular and the curved portion is arranged in the circumferential direction and pressed by a wave-like leaf spring member. A small camera characterized by The small camera according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic motor section is
The fixed annular vibration piezoelectric element has a configuration in which the annular flange portion at the lower end of the cylindrical member is annular and the curved portion is arranged in the circumferential direction and is pressed by a wave-like leaf spring member,
A cover member fixed on the substrate rotatably supports the flange portion of the cylindrical member, covers the leaf spring member and the vibration piezoelectric element, and elastically deforms the leaf spring member. A compact camera, wherein the flange portion of the tubular member is pressed against the vibrating piezoelectric element by the elastic force of the leaf spring member. The small camera according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic motor section is
An annular oscillating piezoelectric element fixed on the substrate;
A flange portion of the tubular member on the annular vibrating piezoelectric element;
A wavy leaf spring member that is mounted on the flange portion of the tubular member and is annular and has curved portions aligned in the circumferential direction;
It has an inner flange portion, and the inner flange portion is fixed on the substrate so as to cover the leaf spring member, and includes a cover member that is in a state in which the leaf spring member is elastically deformed,
A compact camera characterized in that the flange portion of the tubular member is pressed against the vibrating piezoelectric element by the elastic force of the leaf spring member. The small camera according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic motor section is
A wavy leaf spring member that is mounted on the substrate and is annular and has curved portions arranged in the circumferential direction;
A flange portion of the tubular member on the leaf spring member;
A cover member having an inner flange portion, the inner flange portion being fixed on the substrate so as to cover the flange portion of the cylindrical member;
An annular vibrating piezoelectric element fixed to the lower surface of the inner flange portion of the cover member;
A compact structure characterized in that the cover member is fixed and the leaf spring member is elastically deformed, and the flange portion of the tubular member is pressed against the vibration piezoelectric element by the elastic force of the leaf spring member. camera. The small camera according to claim 1,
The guide mechanism is
A guide groove extending in the axial direction on the outer peripheral side of the lens holder;
It is fixed to the substrate, extends inside the cylindrical member in the axial direction of the cylindrical member, and consists of a guide rod fitted to the guide groove,
The lens holder is configured to be moved while being guided by the guide rod in the guide groove. The small camera according to claim 1,
The cylindrical member has a configuration in which a convex lens is fixed to the tip portion.
The lens holder has a configuration in which a concave lens is fixed inside,
When the ultrasonic motor unit is driven to rotate the cylindrical member, the lens holder moves in the axial direction of the cylindrical member together with the concave lens, and the distance of the concave lens to the convex lens is varied. A compact camera characterized by its configuration. The small camera according to claim 1,
The lens holder has a configuration in which a convex lens and a concave lens are fixed.
When the ultrasonic motor unit is driven and the cylindrical member is rotated, the lens holder moves in the axial direction of the cylindrical member together with the convex lens and the concave lens, and the distance to the solid-state imaging device is varied. A compact camera characterized in that   A mobile phone comprising the small camera according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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