JP2010002722A - Camera module and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera module advantageous in size reduction, and to provide a manufacturing method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The external faces of the portions of the rear and front lens barrels 24 and 22 sandwiching the lengthwise end of a rear spring 34 have recesses 82 receding from the external faces 25 in the peripheral parts of the sandwiching portions. The lengthwise end of the rear spring 34 is located in a part displaced inside from the imaginary extension planes of the external faces 25 in the peripheral parts. The rear lens barrel 24 has a rear end face 2402 located opposite the front lens barrel 22. The recesses 82 are formed in the rear end face 2402 so as to be open. The bottom 8202 of the recess 82 formed in the rear lens barrel 24 is formed from an inclining face that gradually increases the depth of the recess 82 toward the rear end face 2402. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera module incorporated in, for example, a portable electronic device and a manufacturing method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile phones incorporating camera modules or electronic devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) have been provided.
As such a camera module, a rear lens barrel, a front lens barrel, a lens holding member for holding an imaging optical system, an imaging device for imaging a subject image guided by the imaging optical system, and a lens holding unit for imaging optics There is provided an apparatus including a guide mechanism that supports a system so as to be movable along the optical axis of the system, and a drive unit that moves a lens holding unit along the optical axis of the imaging optical system (see Patent Document 1).
In this camera module, the guide mechanism includes a rear spring that biases the lens holding portion from the imaging element side to the photographing optical system side, and a front spring that biases the lens holding portion from the photographing optical system side to the imaging element side. Have.
The end portion of the rear spring in the extending direction is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel.
The rear spring is assembled as follows.
That is, a spring member including a rear spring, a frame portion extending in a frame shape on the outer periphery of the rear spring, and a connection portion connecting the frame portion and the rear spring is formed by press working.
Next, the spring member is sandwiched between the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel, the portion of the connecting portion located outside the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel is cut with a laser beam, and the rear spring is separated from the spring member.
JP 2006-227100 A

However, in the above-described conventional camera module, in order to prevent damage to the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel due to heating by the laser beam when the connection portion is cut by the laser beam, the connection portion is cut, the front lens barrel, and the rear mirror. It is necessary to secure a distance from the cylinder.
For this reason, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to reduce the size of the camera module because the cut portion of the connecting portion protrudes from the contours of the front and rear lens barrels.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera module and a method for manufacturing the same that are advantageous in reducing the size.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a camera module of the present invention includes a rear lens barrel, a front lens barrel that is assembled to the rear lens barrel and forms an accommodation space with the rear lens barrel, and an imaging optical system. A lens holding part housed in the housing space, an image pickup device for picking up a subject image supported by the rear lens barrel and guided by the photographing optical system, and the lens holding part along the optical axis of the imaging optical system A guide mechanism that movably supports the driving mechanism that moves the lens holding unit along the optical axis of the imaging optical system; and the guide mechanism moves the lens holding unit from the imaging element side to the imaging optical system. A rear spring that biases toward the system side, and a front spring that biases the lens holding portion from the imaging optical system side toward the imaging element side, and the rear spring and the front spring have a spring plate in a band shape After extending, said after An end portion in the extending direction of at least one of the pulling and the front spring is disposed to be sandwiched between the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel, and sandwiches an end portion in the extending direction of the spring. The outer surface of the rear lens barrel portion and the front lens barrel portion are recessed from the outer surface of the portion around the sandwiched portion to form a recess, and the end in the extending direction of the spring is the recess It is located in and the location which deviated inward rather than the virtual extension surface of the outer surface of the said surrounding location.
The camera module manufacturing method according to the present invention includes a rear lens barrel, a front lens barrel that is assembled to the rear lens barrel and forms an accommodation space together with the rear lens barrel, and an imaging optical system that is accommodated in the accommodation space. A lens holding portion and a guide mechanism that supports the lens holding portion so as to be movable along the optical axis of the imaging optical system. A rear spring that biases toward the system side, and a front spring that biases the lens holding portion from the imaging optical system side toward the imaging element side, and the rear lens barrel is positioned opposite to the front lens barrel The front lens barrel is a method for manufacturing a camera module having a front end surface positioned opposite to the rear lens barrel, wherein one of the rear spring and the front spring is provided. Press spring plate material The end of the extension direction of the spring located near the rectangular frame is formed in the rectangular frame integrally with the rectangular frame. The outer surface of the rear lens barrel portion and the front lens barrel portion to be sandwiched are formed in a recessed portion that is recessed from the outer surface of the portion around the sandwiched portion, and the laser is The spring and the rectangular frame were separated by irradiating in the recess.

According to the present invention, the outer surface of the rear lens barrel portion and the outer surface of the front lens barrel portion that sandwich the end portion in the extending direction of the spring are recessed from the outer surface of the portion around the sandwiched portion to form a recess. ing. Moreover, the edge part of the extension direction of a spring is located in the recessed part, and is located in the location displaced inside the virtual extension surface of the outer surface of the surrounding location.
For this reason, the end portion in the extending direction of the spring is located in the recess and remains inside the contours of the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel.
Therefore, it is advantageous in reducing the external dimensions of the camera module.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B are external views illustrating an example of an electronic device in which the camera module 20 according to this embodiment is incorporated.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 10 is a mobile phone, and includes first and second housings 14 and 16 that are swingably connected by a hinge portion 12.
A liquid crystal display panel 1402 is provided on the inner surface of the first housing 14, and operation switches 1602 such as numeric keys and function keys are provided on the inner surface of the second housing 16.
A camera module 20 is provided in the first housing 14, and an image captured by the camera module 20 is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 1402.
The camera module 20 has an imaging optical system 28 that captures a subject image, and the imaging optical system 28 faces an opening 1410 provided in the first housing 14.

Next, the configuration of the camera module 20 according to the present invention will be described in detail.
2 is an assembly explanatory view of the camera module 20, FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the camera module 20, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
In the present embodiment, the subject side will be described as the front and the opposite side as the rear.
As shown in FIG. 2, the camera module 20 includes a front lens barrel 22, a rear lens barrel 24, a cover 26, a lens holding member 30, a front spring 32, and a rear lens in addition to the imaging optical system 28 described above. A spring 34, an image sensor 36, a drive unit 38, and the like are included.

5 is a perspective view of the camera module 20 as viewed from the front, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the camera module 20 as viewed from the rear, FIG. 7 is a view as viewed from the arrow A in FIG. 5, and FIG. 9 is a view taken along the arrow C in FIG. 5, FIG. 10 is a view taken along the arrow D in FIG. 5, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG.
5 to 11 show the camera module 20 with the image sensor 36 removed.
12 is a perspective view showing the state in which the cover 26 is removed from FIG. 5 as viewed from the front, FIG. 13 is a perspective view of FIG. 12 as seen from the rear, FIG. 14 is a view as seen from the arrow A in FIG. FIG. 16 is a view taken in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 12, and FIG. 17 is a view taken in the direction of arrow D in FIG.
18 is a perspective view showing the state where the front lens barrel 22 is removed from FIG. 12, as seen from the front, FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing FIG. 18 from the rear, FIG. 20 is a view as seen from the arrow A in FIG. 18 is a view as viewed from an arrow C in FIG. 18, and FIG. 22 is a view as viewed from an arrow D in FIG.
23 is a perspective view showing the state where the magnet 50 is removed from FIG. 18 as viewed from the front, FIG. 24 is a perspective view when FIG. 23 is seen from the rear, FIG. 25 is a view as seen from the arrow A in FIG. FIG. 27 is a view taken in the direction of arrow C, and FIG. 27 is a view taken in the direction of arrow D in FIG.
28 is a perspective view of the cover 26 as viewed from the front, FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the cover 26 as viewed from the rear, and FIG. 30 is a view as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

(Front barrel 22)
As shown in FIG. 11, the front lens barrel 22 is assembled to the rear lens barrel 24 and forms a housing space S together with the rear lens barrel 24.
The front lens barrel 22 is formed by molding a synthetic resin material with a mold.
FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing a state in which the magnet 50 is inserted inside the front barrel 22, and FIG. 32 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 31, the front lens barrel 22 includes a front frame 40 and first, second, third, and fourth side walls 42A to 42D.
The front frame 40 has a rectangular frame shape in plan view and has two sets of sides facing each other.
The first and second side walls 42A and 42B project rearward from a pair of opposite sides of the front frame 40, and the third and fourth side walls 42C and 42D are the remaining one of the front frame 40 facing each other. It protrudes backward from the side of the set.
The first, second, third, and fourth side walls 42A to 42D are respectively formed with open rectangular cutouts 43 on the rear side.
As shown in FIG. 31, at the positions where the front frame 40 faces the four cutouts 43, the magnet contact contact surfaces 4002 extending on the same plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28 are respectively provided. Is formed.
On both sides of the inner surfaces of the first and second side walls 42A and 42B, as shown in FIG. 32, a flat magnet positioning surface 4202 is formed, and a total of four magnet positioning surfaces 4202 are formed.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 31, the rear end face where the first, second, third, and fourth side walls 42 </ b> A to 42 </ b> D face rearward is formed as a mating face 4210 for the rear barrel 24.
In the present embodiment, since the side walls 42A to 42D are separated by the notch 43, the mating surface 4210 is formed at four locations corresponding to the four corners of the front frame 40.
As shown in FIG. 31, the four mating surfaces 4210 have rear holes 4212 that have shapes larger than the diameter and length of the pins 48 (FIG. 18) of the rear barrel 24, which will be described later, and accommodate the pins 48. It is formed in an open shape.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, first positioning portions 4220 formed by grooves extending in the front-rear direction are formed in the front and rear sides at both side portions of the first and second side walls 42A, 42B. ing.
In addition, second positioning portions 4230 formed by parallel planes extending in the front-rear direction so as to face each other are formed at positions near the rear portions of the third and fourth side walls 42C and 42D facing the notch portion 43, respectively. .

(Rear barrel 24)
As shown in FIGS. 2, 11, 13, and 15, the rear barrel 24 has a bottom wall 44 and an opening 46.
The bottom wall 44 is formed in a rectangular plate shape that closes the rear end in the optical axis direction of the accommodation space S. Therefore, the front surface of the bottom wall 44 faces the accommodation space S as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, the bottom wall 44 has two sets of sides 4402 and 4404 facing each other.
A portion of the front surface of the bottom wall 44 corresponding to the mating surface 4210 of the front barrel 22 is formed as a mating surface 4410. As shown in FIG. 12, the mating surface 4010 of the front barrel 22 and the rear barrel 24 The mating surfaces 4210 are overlaid.
As shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, one set of sides 4402 of the two sets of sides on the front surface of the bottom wall 44 is formed with a convex portion that engages with the first positioning portion 4220 of the front barrel 22. A third positioning portion 4420 is provided.
Of the two sets of sides of the front surface of the bottom wall 44, the other set of sides 4404 is provided with a fourth positioning portion 4430 formed by a surface that engages with the second position portion 4230 of the front barrel 22. Yes.
Further, as shown in FIG. 18, a mounting surface 4440 on which the rear end surface 5010 (FIG. 11) of the magnet 50 is mounted is provided at the middle portion of each side 4402, 4404 of the front surface of the bottom wall 44. Are formed so as to extend on the same plane extending in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis.
Two pins 48 for attaching the rear spring 34 project from the other side 4404 of the two sides of the front surface of the bottom wall 44.
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 15, the opening 46 is formed in the center of the bottom wall 44 and has a rectangular shape.
In the present embodiment, the opening 46 functions as a fixed diaphragm that restricts the light beam guided to the image sensor 36 via the imaging optical system 28.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, an engagement protrusion 60 for attaching the cover 26 protrudes from the center of the other set of two sides of the bottom wall 44.
In FIG. 11, reference numeral 4450 indicates a partition wall bulging forward from the front surface of the bottom wall 44 of the rear barrel 24, and in this embodiment, the partition wall 4450 is the entire circumference around the opening 46. It extends in a ring shape over.
The partition 4450 is soldered to a connecting piece 7002 (FIG. 33) of the later spring 34 and both ends 5202 of the coil 52, which will be described later, when the camera module 20 is viewed from the optical axis direction of the imaging optical system 28. It is provided so as to partition between the soldered portion to be performed and the lens surface 2802 of the lens located rearmost in the imaging optical system 28.
The partition wall 4450 prevents dust such as flux that has fallen off from the soldered portion from moving to the lens surface 2802, so that the dust is effectively prevented from adhering to the lens surface 2802 and is imaged by the image sensor 36. The quality of the image is ensured.
In addition, a recess 4452 that is recessed rearward is formed at a position on the front surface of the bottom wall 44 that faces the soldering position outside the partition wall 4450.
The concave portion 4452 accommodates dust such as flux that has fallen off from the soldered portion, so that the dust is more effectively prevented from adhering to the lens surface 2802, and the quality of the image captured by the image sensor 36 is ensured. It is even more planned.

(Magnet 50)
As shown in FIG. 11, the drive unit 38 includes a magnet 50 and a coil 52.
The magnet 50 is provided so as to extend on the circumference centered on the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28. In the present embodiment, the magnet 50 has the same shape as shown in FIGS. The four magnet divided bodies 5002 are arranged in the circumferential direction.
As shown in FIG. 11, the magnet 50 faces the outer periphery of the coil 52, in other words, the magnet 50 is disposed to face the coil 52.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 11, 31, and 32, each magnet divided body 5002 is attached to a yoke 54 for efficiently guiding the magnetic flux of the magnet divided body 5002 to the coil 52. It is attached to the front lens barrel 24 via a yoke 54.
Therefore, the magnet 50 includes the yoke 54.
In detail, as shown in FIG. 11, the yoke 54 includes an annular plate-shaped front wall portion 5402 positioned in the front, and a cylindrical wall-shaped peripheral wall portion 5404 extending rearward from the outer periphery of the front surface portion 5402. ing.
The magnet divided bodies 5002 are attached to the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 5404 in the circumferential direction.
Therefore, a front end surface 5010 of the magnet 50 is formed by the front wall portion 5402 of the yoke 54, and an outer peripheral surface 5011 of the magnet 50 is formed by the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 5404 of the yoke 54. Thus, a rear end surface 5012 of the magnet 50 is formed.
The front end surface 5010 and the rear end surface 5012 are configured to extend on the same plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28.

(Coil 52)
As shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, the coil 52 is formed by winding a winding around a circumference around the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28, and the outer diameter thereof is larger than the inner diameter of the magnet 50. It is formed with small dimensions.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 23, the coil 52 has a substantially same outline as the coil 52 and has a smaller dimension in the optical axis direction than the coil 52 when viewed in plan. An annular coil holder 56 is attached.
As shown in FIG. 23 and FIG. 25, the coil holder 56 has shaft portions 5602 protruding radially outward at two opposing positions with different phases by 180 degrees, and windings of the coils 52 are provided on the respective shaft portions 5602. Both ends 5202 are wound.
FIG. 33 is a perspective view showing the lens holding member 30, the rear spring 34, the coil 52, and the coil holder 56.
As shown in FIG. 33, attachment portions 5610 are projected from a plurality of locations at intervals in the circumferential direction of the coil holder 56 on the inner periphery of the coil holder 56.
In addition, stoppers 5620 protrude from the rear surface of the coil holder 56 at a plurality of positions spaced in the circumferential direction of the coil holder 56.
As shown in FIG. 11, each stopper 5620 abuts on a position on the front surface of the bottom wall 44 of the rear barrel 24, so that a rear limit position (infinite) in the optical axis direction of the lens holding member 30 (imaging optical system 28). Remote position).

(Image sensor 36)
As shown in FIG. 4, the image sensor 36 includes a package 3602, an image sensor chip 3604, a cover glass 3604, and the like.
The package 3602 has a rectangular plate shape, and an accommodation space having a rectangular cross section is formed on the front surface thereof.
The image pickup device chip 3604 picks up a subject image guided by the image pickup optical system 28, and is attached to the bottom wall of the housing space with the image pickup surface facing forward.
The cover glass 3604 is attached to the front surface of the package 3602 and seals the accommodation space.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the imaging element 36 has a rear surface of a package 3602 attached to a front surface of a rectangular plate-like substrate 58.
The front surface of the package 3602 is attached to the rear surface of the bottom wall 44 of the rear lens barrel 24 with the image pickup surface of the image pickup device chip 3604 facing the opening 46 of the rear lens barrel 24. A lens barrel 24 is provided.

(Cover 26)
The cover 26 is made of sheet metal and includes a front surface portion 2602 and a side surface portion 2604 as shown in FIGS. 28, 29, and 30.
The front surface portion 2602 has a rectangular plate shape and covers the front surface of the front lens barrel 22.
An opening 2606 is formed at a location where the front surface portion 2602 faces the imaging optical system 28.
The side surface portions 2604 are bent from the four sides of the front surface portion 2602, and cover the four side portions of the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24.
Engaging grooves 2608 that engage with the respective engaging protrusions 60 of the rear barrel 24 shown in FIG. 5 are provided in a pair of opposing side surface portions 2604 of the four side surface portions 2604.
The engagement grooves 2608 of the cover 26 engage with the engagement protrusions 60, so that the front lens barrel is located between the front surface portion 2602 of the cover 26 and the bottom wall 44 of the rear lens barrel 24 as shown in FIG. Thus, the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are joined together.
Further, an antireflection portion 2610 for preventing light reflection is formed on the front surface where the front surface portion 2602 faces forward and the portion near the front surface portion 2602 of the outer surface where each side surface portion 2604 faces outward from the front surface. .
The antireflection portion 2610 is configured by, for example, coating with a paint that prevents light reflection, and the paint may be any material that can prevent light reflection, such as a black paint.

(Lens holding member 30)
As shown in FIG. 11, the lens holding member 30 holds the imaging optical system 28 and is housed in the housing space S.
As shown in FIGS. 23 and 25, the lens holding member 30 includes a cylindrical portion 3002 and an annular front portion 3004 that connects the front portion of the cylindrical portion 3002, and an opening 3006 is formed at the center of the front portion 3004. Is provided.
The imaging optical system 28 includes a plurality of lens groups and the like, is accommodated inside the cylindrical portion 3002, and faces the front from the opening 3006.

The front portion 3004 is formed with a bulging wall portion 3008 having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 3002, and the circumferential surface of the bulging wall portion 3008 is a circumference centered on the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28. A cylindrical surface 3010 extending upward is formed.
Four front spring contact surfaces 3012 are formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical surface 3010 so as to be positioned rearward of the bulging wall portion 3008 at four positions spaced at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The surface 3012 extends on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis.
As shown in FIG. 33, the rear end surface 3020 of the cylindrical portion 3002 is provided so as to be able to contact each attachment portion 5610 of the coil holder 56.

(Front spring 32)
As shown in FIG. 11, the front spring 32 and the rear spring 34 constitute a guide mechanism that is disposed in the accommodation space S and supports the lens holding member 30 so as to be movable along the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28. Yes.
The front spring 32 is disposed between the front lens barrel 22 and the lens holding member 30, and the rear spring 34 is disposed between the rear lens barrel 24 and the lens holding member 30.
The rear spring 34 and the front spring 32 are formed by extending a thin spring plate having electrical conductivity and a small thickness.

As shown in FIG. 14, the front spring 32 is formed so that an opening 62 for the optical path of the imaging optical system 28 is secured at the center.
More specifically, the front spring 32 includes an annular plate portion 64 having an opening 62 formed therein, and four support pieces 66 connected to the outer periphery of the annular plate portion 64, and extends in the optical axis direction. It is formed to be elastically deformable.
The front spring 32 has an end in the extending direction of each support piece 66 attached to the front part of each peripheral wall 42 of the front lens barrel 22, and the bulging wall part of the cylindrical part 3002 of the lens holding member 30 in the opening 62. A cylindrical surface 3010 of 3008 is inserted, and the annular plate portion 64 is disposed between the front lens barrel 22 and the lens holding member 30 in contact with the four front spring contact surfaces 3012 of the lens holding member 30.
In the present embodiment, the end portions in the extending direction of the four support pieces 66 are attached to the front portions of the peripheral walls 42 by insert molding that is embedded when the front barrel 22 is molded.

(Rear spring 34)
As shown in FIG. 33, the rear spring 34 is formed in an annular shape so that an opening 68 for the optical path of the imaging optical system 28 is secured at the center.
The rear spring 34 includes two spring divided bodies 34A having the same shape and separated from each other.
Each spring division body 34A has a circular arc portion 70 extending on a semicircle.
The arc portion 70 of each spring divided body 34 </ b> A is bonded to the rear surface 5620 of the coil holder 56. Thereby, the opening 68 is formed inside the two arc portions 70.
Two support pieces 72, 74 are connected to the outer periphery of the arc portion 3404, and holes 76 are formed at locations near the ends of the support pieces 72, 74 in the extending direction.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, the four holes 76 of each spring divided body 34A are inserted into the pins 48 of the rear barrel 24, and the portions around the holes 76 of the support pieces 72 and 74 are as shown in FIG. The rear spring 34 is sandwiched between the mating surface 4210 of the front lens barrel 22 and the mating surface 4410 of the rear lens barrel 24, so that the end of the rear spring 34 in the extending direction is the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel. 24 and is disposed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 33, connection piece portions 7002 are respectively formed in the intermediate portion of the arc portion 70 of the spring divided body 34A, and each connection piece portion 7002 includes two shaft portions 5602 of the coil holder 56. Both ends 5202 of the wound coil 52 are soldered.
The tip of one support piece 72 of the two support pieces 72 and 74 of each spring divided body 34 </ b> A serves as an external connection terminal 78 extending outward of the coil 52.
Therefore, the coil 52 is electrically connected to the external connection terminal 78 via each spring divided body 34A.
As shown in FIG. 3, each external connection terminal 78 is bent rearward while being sandwiched between the mating surface 4210 of the front lens barrel 22 and the mating surface 4410 of the rear lens barrel 24. It is to be soldered to.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, when a drive signal is supplied to the winding of the coil 52 via the two external connection terminals 78 of the rear spring 34, a magnetic field is generated from the coil 52.
A force (thrust) in the direction of the optical axis is generated in the coil 52 by the interaction between the magnetic field generated by the coil 52 and the magnetic field generated from the magnetic pole of the magnet 50, and thereby the front spring 32 and the rear spring 34. The lens holding member 30 and the imaging optical system 28 held by the optical axis 28 move in the optical axis direction, and the subject image focused on the imaging surface of the imaging element 36 (imaging element chip 3604) by the imaging optical system 28 is focused. Is made.
Therefore, the drive unit 38 that moves the lens holding member 30 along the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28 is constituted by the magnet 50 and the coil 52.

(Spring member 80)
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the rear spring 34 is formed so as to extend integrally with the rectangular frame 8002 in a band shape by pressing a thin spring plate. Has been.
More specifically, the spring member 80 in which the rectangular frame 8002 and the rear spring 34 are integrated is provided by pressing.
The spring member 80 is connected to an end portion in the extending direction of the rear spring 34 and extends in a rectangular frame shape, and a first connection portion that connects the inner peripheral edge of the rectangular frame 8002 and the external connection terminal 78. 8004 and the 2nd connection part 8006 which connects the inner periphery of the rectangular frame 8002, and the support piece 74 are comprised.
In the present embodiment, the spring member 80 including the rear spring 34 is formed, the camera module 20 is assembled using the spring member 80, and the rear spring 34 is separated from the spring member 80 during the assembly process. Sometimes an excessive force is prevented from acting on the rear spring 34.

(Concave part 82)
As shown in FIGS. 6, 8, and 38, the outer surface of the portion of the rear barrel 24 and the portion of the front barrel 22 that sandwich the end portion in the extending direction of the rear spring 34 is around the portion to be sandwiched. A recessed portion 82 is formed so as to be recessed from the outer surface 25 of the portion.
As shown in FIGS. 8, 39, and 40, the end portion of the rear spring 34 in the extending direction is located at a location displaced inward from the virtual extension surface of the outer surface 25 of the surrounding location.
The rear lens barrel 24 has a rear end surface 2402 (in the present embodiment, the rear surface of the bottom wall 44) positioned opposite to the front lens barrel 22, and the recess 82 is provided on the rear end surface 2402 in an open shape.
The bottom surface 8202 of the recess 82 formed by the rear lens barrel 24 is formed as an inclined surface that gradually increases the depth of the recess 82 toward the rear end surface 2402.

(assembly)
Next, a method for assembling the camera module 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the coil 52 to which the coil holder 56 is attached is assembled to the lens holding unit 30.
That is, the rear end of the cylindrical portion 3002 of the lens holding member 30 is inserted into the inner periphery of the coil 52 from the front end of the coil 52, and each attachment portion of the coil holder 56 is attached to the rear end surface 3020 of the cylindrical portion 3002, as shown in FIG. The coil 52 is attached to the cylindrical portion 3002 of the lens holding member 30 by applying 5610.
If the coil 52 is mounted on the cylindrical portion 3002, the lens holding member 30 and the coil 52 are positioned in the optical axis direction of the imaging optical system 28 and in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis using an adjustment jig. I do.
Next, the lens holding member 30 and the coil 52 are bonded together by filling an adhesive between the cylindrical portion 3002 and the coil 52.
When the adhesive is cured, the attachment of the coil 52 to the lens holding member 30 is completed.
Next, the rear spring 24 of the spring member 80 is attached to the lens holding member 30, whereby an intermediate assembly U (FIG. 2) in which the lens holding member 30, the spring member 80, the coil 52, and the coil holder 56 are assembled. ) Is configured.

The intermediate assembly U is assembled to the rear barrel 24.
That is, each pin 48 of the rear barrel 24 is inserted into each hole 76 of the rear spring 34, and the intermediate assembly U is placed on the upper portion of the rear barrel 24.
As a result, the intermediate assembly U is positioned with respect to the rear lens barrel 24 in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28.

34 is a rear view showing the positional relationship between the magnet 50 and the magnet positioning surface 4202 when the front lens barrel 22 is viewed from the rear, FIG. 35 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the magnet 50 and the magnet positioning surface 4202, and FIG. FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing the assembled state of the front lens barrel 22, the magnet 50, and the rear lens barrel 24 with a part of the front lens barrel 22 broken, and FIG.
Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the magnet 50 attached to the yoke 54 is put on the outer periphery of the coil 52 of the intermediate assembly U, and the rear end surface 5012 of the magnet 50 is attached as shown in FIGS. 36 and 37. It is placed on the contact surface 4440 of the rear lens barrel 24.
Next, as shown in FIGS. 11, 34 to 37, the front lens barrel 22 is put on the outer peripheral surface 5011 of the magnet 50, and the contact surface 4002 of the front lens barrel 22 is applied to the front end surface 5010 of the magnet 50.
As a result, the outer peripheral surface 5011 of the magnet 50 is brought into contact with the magnet positioning surface 4202 of the front lens barrel 22.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 31, the first positioning portion 4220 of the front lens barrel 22 is engaged with the third positioning portion 4420 of the rear lens barrel 24, and the second position portion 4230 of the front lens barrel 22 is changed. The rear lens barrel 24 is engaged with the fourth positioning portion 4430.
Thereby, both the optical axis direction of the imaging optical system 28 of the magnet 50 and the direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction are positioned.
At this time, portions around the holes 76 of the support pieces 72 and 74 of the rear spring 34 are sandwiched between the mating surface 4210 of the front lens barrel 22 and the mating surface 4410 of the rear lens barrel 24.
Accordingly, the rectangular frame 8002 of the spring member 80, the first connection portion 8004, the external connection terminal 78, and the second connection portion 8006 are exposed outside the contours of the front barrel 22 and the rear barrel 24. .

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the cover 26 is placed on the front lens barrel 22, and the engagement groove 2608 is engaged with the engagement protrusion 60 of the rear lens barrel 24. Specifically, the cover 26 is placed on the front lens barrel 22, and the front lens barrel 22 is sandwiched between the upper surface portion 2602 of the cover 26 and the bottom wall 44 of the rear lens barrel 24.
As a result, the front lens barrel 22, the intermediate assembly U, the yoke 54 in which the magnet 50 is incorporated, and the rear lens barrel 24 are coupled.

Next, the rectangular frame 8002 is separated from the rear spring 34.
38, 39, 40, and 41 are explanatory views of the cutting operation by the laser beam L of the second connection portion 8006 of the spring member 80. FIG.
A description will be given from the cutting of the first connection portion 8004.
The laser beam L from the laser light source 2 is irradiated toward the first connecting portion 8004 protruding from the outer surface 25 of the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24.
Thereby, the part of the 1st connection part 8004 is melted by the laser beam L, and the rectangular frame 8002 and the support piece 72 are cut | disconnected.
The second connection part 8006 is disconnected as follows.
As shown in FIGS. 38, 39, and 40, the laser light source 2 is positioned obliquely in front of the outer surface 25 of the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24, and the second connection portion positioned in the recess 82 from the laser light source 2. The laser beam L is irradiated obliquely toward 8006.
More specifically, the laser beam L is irradiated toward the rear end surface 2402 side of the lens barrel 24 after the recess 82 is opened in the recess 82.
Thereby, the laser beam L is irradiated to the second connection portion 8006 positioned in the recess 82 in a state where a part of the laser beam L is positioned inside the recess 82.
As a result, as shown in FIGS. 40 and 41, the portion of the second connection portion 8006 located in the recess 82 is melted by the laser beam L, and the rectangular frame 8002 and the support piece 74 are cut.
By cutting the second connection portion 8006 in this way, as shown in FIG. 8, the end portion of the rear spring 34 in the extending direction, that is, the end portion of the support piece 74 is located in the recess 82. The front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are located at locations deviated inward from the virtual extension surface of the outer surface 25.
As described above, the rear spring 34 is separated from the spring member 80.

If the rear spring 34 is separated from the spring member 80, the rear spring 34 is sandwiched between the mating surface 4210 of the front lens barrel 22 and the mating surface 4410 of the rear lens barrel 24 and outward of the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24. The protruding external connection terminal 78 is bent backward as shown in FIG.
Next, the image pickup device 36 is attached to the bottom wall 44 of the rear barrel 44, and each external connection terminal 78 is soldered to the substrate 58, whereby the camera module 20 is completed.

(effect)
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the portion of the rear barrel 24 that sandwiches the end portion of the rear spring 34 in the extending direction and the outer surface 25 of the portion of the front barrel 22 are the portions of the portion to be sandwiched. A recess 82 is formed by being recessed from the outer surface 25 of the surrounding location, and the end portion of the rear spring 34 in the extending direction is located at a location displaced inward from the virtual extension surface of the outer surface 25 of the surrounding location. Yes.
Therefore, since the end portion of the rear spring 34 in the extending direction remains inside the outlines of the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24, it is advantageous in reducing the outer dimensions of the camera module 20, and as a result, This is advantageous in reducing the size of the electronic device including the camera module 20.
Further, in the present embodiment, since the concave portion 82 is provided in an open shape on the rear end surface 2402 of the rear lens barrel 24, the laser beam L can be applied to the side surface of the rear lens barrel 24 from an oblique direction. It is possible to position the end in the extending direction of the rear spring 34 sandwiched between the rear lens barrel 24 and the front lens barrel 22 at a location near the bottom surface in the recess 82.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the bottom surface of the concave portion 82 is formed by the inclined surface 8202 that gradually increases the depth of the concave portion 82 as it goes to the side where the concave portion 82 is opened. It is possible to position the end in the extending direction of the rear spring 34 sandwiched between the rear lens barrel 24 and the front lens barrel 22 closer to the portion near the bottom surface in the recess 82.
In addition, since the concave portion 82 formed in the rear barrel 24 is sufficient to be able to irradiate the laser beam L from an oblique direction as described above, the size of the concave portion 82 can be formed with the minimum necessary size, and the size can be reduced. This is advantageous in securing a housing space for the parts and members of the camera module 20.

In this embodiment, the case where the rear spring 34 is irradiated with the laser beam L has been described. However, the present invention is naturally applicable to the case where the front spring 32 is irradiated with the laser beam L.
Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the electronic device 10 in which the camera module 20 is incorporated is a mobile phone, but the imaging apparatus of the present invention is, for example, a portable information terminal such as a PDA or a notebook personal computer, or It can be widely applied to various electronic devices such as digital still cameras and video cameras.
Further, in the present embodiment, the drive unit is a so-called moving coil system configured with a coil attached to the lens holding part and a magnet attached to a lens barrel (front lens barrel or rear lens barrel). is there.
Therefore, the rear spring 34 is composed of two spring divided bodies that are separated from each other and electrically connected to both ends of the coil.
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the two spring divided bodies 34 are integrally held by the spring member 80, the pin 48 of the rear barrel 24 is inserted into the hole 76 of the support pieces 72 and 74 during assembly. Each spring divided body 34 </ b> A can be accurately positioned with respect to the rear lens barrel 24 by an extremely simple operation such as inserting the.
The present invention is a so-called moving magnet system in which the drive unit is composed of a magnet attached to a lens holding part and a coil attached to a lens barrel (front lens barrel or rear lens barrel). Of course, this is applicable.
Needless to say, the present invention can be widely applied when cutting springs in various electronic devices and electrical components other than camera modules.

Next, the rear spring 34 will be described.
42 is a plan view of the rear spring 34, FIG. 43 is an enlarged view of a main part of the rear spring 34, and FIG. 44 is a sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. For convenience of explanation, the imaging optical system 28 and the lens holding member 30 are not shown in FIG.
Next, the configuration of the rear spring 34 will be described in detail.
The rear spring 34 supports the lens holding unit 30 so as to be movable along the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28, and four springs 34 are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction of the lens holding unit 30.
As shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, each rear spring 34 includes a first arm portion 84 and a second arm portion 86 that extend in directions orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28, respectively. It is comprised including.
The first and second arm portions 84 and 86 are formed by two spring plates having a small thickness and a small width extending in a strip shape in parallel with each other in a direction parallel to the optical axis. It is configured.
The end portions in the extending direction of the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 that are separated from the position where the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 are orthogonal to each other are arranged such that two spring plates have an interval W between the two spring plates. They are connected by an arc portion 88 having a diameter D of a larger dimension.
One of the two spring plates of each of the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 is connected to each other at a location where the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 are orthogonal to each other.
The other end in the extending direction of the other spring plate of the two spring plates of the first arm portion 84 at the location where the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 are orthogonal to each other is on the outer periphery of the lens holding portion 30. It is formed as a held piece 90 extending in an arc shape along this, and this held piece 90 is attached to the lens holding portion 30. The held piece 90 constitutes the arc portion 70 described above.
As shown in FIG. 42, the other end 91 in the extending direction of the other spring plate of the two spring plates of the second arm portion 86 at the location where the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 are orthogonal to each other is The lens barrel 92 is attached. In the present embodiment, the other end portion 91 is formed as an annular support piece 72, 74 provided with a hole 76, and the lens barrel 92 can be divided into the optical axis direction as shown in FIG. The lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are configured.

And the edge part of the extension direction of the to-be-held piece 90 of the two rear springs 34 adjacent to each other is connected. In this way, the split pieces 34A are configured by connecting the held pieces 90.
The first arm portion 84 of each rear spring 34 is provided in parallel to the X-axis direction out of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28. 34 second arm portions 86 are provided in parallel to the Y-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 42, the lens barrel 92 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the lens holding portion 30 has a cylindrical shape, and extends forward and backward between the outer peripheral surface of the lens holding portion 30 and the corner portion of the lens barrel 92. Four triangular column-shaped spaces St are provided.
The four rear springs 34 are respectively disposed in the space St.
Each rear spring 34 is disposed with its first and second arm portions 84 and 86 parallel to the corner wall portion of the lens barrel 92.

Next, assembly of the rear spring 34 to the lens barrel 90 will be described.
A held piece 90 (arc portion 70) of each rear spring 34 is adhered to the rear surface 5620 (FIG. 33) of the coil holder 56 attached to the lens holding portion 30 with an adhesive. The piece 90 is attached to the lens holding unit 30 via the coil holder 56.
The holes 76 of the end portions 91 (support pieces 72 and 74) of the rear springs 34 are respectively inserted into the pins 48 of the rear barrel 24, and the end portions 91 are mating surfaces of the front barrel 22 as shown in FIG. 4210 and the mating surface 4410 of the rear lens barrel 24, whereby the other end 91 of each rear spring 34 is attached to the lens barrel 92.

(Stopper structure of lens holding member 30)
Next, the stopper structure of the lens holding member 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 25, the X-axis extends in a direction parallel to one set of sides 4402 of the two opposing sides of the rear barrel 24, and the Y-axis is the rear The lens barrel 24 extends in a direction parallel to the other side 4404 of the two opposing sides of the lens barrel 24.

As shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 44, the stopper convex portion 5630 is disposed radially outward of the coil holder 56 at two locations on the outer periphery of the coil holder 56 that are 90 degrees out of phase with the two shaft portions 5602. Each is protruding. Accordingly, the two stopper projections 5630 are located at locations where the phase of the outer periphery of the coil holder 56 is changed by 180 degrees.
In the present embodiment, the two stopper protrusions 5630 are located on both sides of the coil holder 56 in the Y-axis direction.
Each stopper convex portion 5630 has two first contact surfaces 5630A parallel to a plane including the optical axis and the Y axis of the imaging optical 28 and facing each other in the X axis direction, and the optical axis and the X axis of the imaging optical system 28. And a second abutment surface 5630A parallel to the plane including the second abutment surface 5630A.
On the other hand, a stopper concave portion 2410 corresponding to the stopper convex portion 5630 is formed at a position of the rear barrel 24 facing each stopper convex portion 5630.
The stopper recess 2410 opposes each of the first abutment surfaces 5630A with two third abutment surfaces 2410A facing each other at an interval in the X-axis direction and opposite each of the second abutment surfaces 5630B at an interval in the Y-axis direction. And a fourth contact surface 2410B.
Accordingly, the first contact surface 5630A of the stopper convex portion 5630 contacts the third contact surface 2410A of the stopper concave portion 2410, whereby the movement limit position in the X-axis direction of the coil holder 56 (lens holding portion 30) is determined. The second contact surface 5630B of the stopper convex portion 5630 comes into contact with the fourth contact surface 2410B of the stopper concave portion 2410, whereby the movement limit position in the Y-axis direction of the coil holder 56 (lens holding portion 30) is determined. .
The movement limit positions of the lens holding unit 30 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are set in a range where the rear spring 34 does not undergo permanent deformation when the lens holding unit 30 moves to the movement limit position.

According to the above-described configuration, when the electronic device 10 in which the camera module 20 is incorporated falls on the floor and the camera module 20 is subjected to an impact in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28, The lens holding unit 30 tends to move in a direction opposite to the direction in which the impact is applied.
At this time, the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 of the rear spring 34 are elastically deformed as the lens holding portion 30 moves, so that the force applied to the lens holding portion 30 is absorbed and relaxed.
In other words, the camera module of the present invention includes a lens barrel that forms an accommodation space, a lens holding unit that holds an imaging optical system and is accommodated in the accommodation space, and is supported by the barrel and guided by the imaging optical system. An imaging element that captures the subject image, and a plurality of springs that support the lens holding portion so as to be movable along the optical axis of the imaging optical system, wherein each spring is an optical axis of the imaging optical system. The first arm portion and the second arm portion each extend in a direction orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the first and second arm portions. The first and second arm portions are configured by extending in a strip shape in parallel with each other in a direction parallel to the optical axis, and the first and second arm portions are separated from a position orthogonal to each other. The end in the extending direction is the two springs Are connected by a circular arc portion having a diameter larger than the distance between the two spring plates, and each of the two springs of the first and second arm portions at a location where the first and second arm portions are orthogonal to each other. One of the plates is connected to each other, and the other of the two spring plates of the first arm portion in the extending direction of the other one at the location where the first and second arm portions are orthogonal to each other. An end portion is attached to the lens holding portion, and the other of the two spring plates of the second arm portion in the extending direction of the other spring plate at a position where the first and second arm portions are orthogonal to each other. The end is attached to the lens barrel.
Here, since the first arm portion 84 is provided in parallel with the X-axis direction and the second arm portion 86 is provided in parallel with the Y-axis direction, in other words, the first and second arm portions 84, Since the extending directions of 86 are orthogonal to each other, both the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 can be applied to the lens holding unit 30 as long as the force acts along a plane perpendicular to the optical axis. At the same time, it absorbs and relaxes the force by elastic deformation.
Accordingly, no force is concentrated on any one of the first and second arm portions 84 and 86, so that the rear spring 34 can be reduced in size while improving the durability of the rear spring 34. This is advantageous in reducing the size of the module 20.
When the extending directions of the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 are not orthogonal to each other, when an impact in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis is applied, the first and second arm portions 84 and 86 There is a possibility that force may concentrate on either one, which is disadvantageous in improving the durability of the rear spring 34.

  Further, since the rear springs 34 are disposed in the four triangular prism-shaped spaces St extending forward and backward between the outer peripheral surface of the lens holding portion 30 and the corners of the lens barrel 92, each space St that is a dead space is provided. Can be used effectively, which is further advantageous in reducing the size of the camera module 20.

Next, another example of the rear spring 34 will be described.
45 is a perspective view in which the rear spring 34 is assembled to the rear barrel 24, FIG. 46 is a perspective view taken along the arrow A in FIG. 45, and FIG. 47 is a perspective view in which the rear spring 34 is attached to the lens holding portion 30. FIG. 49 is a plan view of the rear spring 34, and FIG. 49 is an enlarged plan view of a support piece of the rear spring 34.

In this example, as shown in FIGS. 45 to 48, a plurality of grooves 94 extending in an arc shape coaxially with the hole 76 are formed in the support pieces 72 and 74 of the rear spring 34 at intervals in the circumferential direction of the hole 76. It is provided.
In this case, an annular portion extending to the outer periphery of the hole 76 excluding the groove 94 among the support pieces 72 and 74 is disposed between the mating surface 4210 of the front lens barrel 22 and the mating surface 4410 of the rear lens barrel 24. Each rear spring 34 is attached to the lens barrel 92 by clamping.
Further, the groove 94 may be formed along a single circumference as shown in FIG. 48, or may be formed along two or more circumferences having different radii as shown in FIG. May be.
By forming the grooves 94 in the support pieces 72 and 74, as shown in FIGS. 48 and 49, the springs that can be elastically deformed along the direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28 are provided on the support pieces 72 and 74. Part 96 is configured.
Therefore, according to such a configuration, since the force in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging optical system 28 can be absorbed and relaxed by the spring portion 96, the durability of the rear spring 34 is improved, This is even more advantageous in reducing the size of the rear spring 34.

(Mounting structure of cover 26)
Next, the attachment structure of the cover 26 will be described.
50 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of attaching the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92, FIG. 51 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 50, and FIG. 52 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of attaching the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92. 53 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 52, FIG. 54 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of attaching the cover 26 to the barrel 92, FIG. 55 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 57 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 56, FIG. 58 is a perspective view explaining the operation of attaching the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92, and FIG. 59 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 60A is a cross-sectional view of the cover 26 in the embodiment, and FIG. 60B is a cross-sectional view of the cover 26 in the comparative example.

As described above, the storage space S (FIG. 11) for storing the imaging optical system 28 extends in the front-rear direction in the lens barrel 92, and the lens barrel 92 is formed as shown in FIGS. , A rectangular front surface 9202, and four side surfaces 9204 extending rearward from four sides of the front surface 9202. Here, the rear is the image sensor 36 side, and the front is the subject side away from the image sensor 36.
The lens barrel 92 is configured by the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 disposed on the rear side of the front lens barrel 22 as described above, the front surface 9202 is provided on the front lens barrel 22, and each side surface 9204 is The front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are provided.
Each side surface 9204 is provided with a recess 9210 extending in the front-rear direction.
An inclined surface 9214 that is displaced toward the inside of the lens barrel 92 as it approaches the front surface 9202 is provided at a location where the side surface 9204 and the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210 intersect with the front surface 9202.

A cover 26 made of a metal plate to which the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are assembled or a metal plate having elasticity is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 28 to 30, 50, and 51, the cover 26 has a rectangular front surface portion 2602 that abuts the front surface 9202, and extends rearward from four sides of the front surface portion 2602, and is accommodated in the recess 9210. It has an elastically deformable leg piece 2604 that abuts against the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210 and an engagement hole 2608 provided in at least one pair of the leg pieces 2604 facing each other.
In the present embodiment, the leg piece 2604 constitutes the side surface portion 2604 described above, and the engagement hole 2608 constitutes the engagement groove 2608 described above.
The opening 2606 described above is formed in the front surface portion 2602, and the optical path of the imaging optical system 28 (FIG. 11) is secured by the opening 2606.
As shown in FIGS. 29 and 50, the leg piece 2604 in which the engagement hole 2608 is formed includes a front part 2640 positioned on the front surface part 2602 side and a rear part 2642 positioned on the rear end side of the rear lens barrel 24. Have.
The engagement hole 2608 is provided in the rear portion 2642, and the width of the rear portion 2642 is formed to be larger than the width of the front portion 2640.
Corresponding to the shape of the leg piece 2604 in which the engagement hole 2608 is formed, the recess 9210 in which the leg piece 2604 in which the engagement hole 2608 is formed is accommodated, as shown in FIGS. The front portion 9240 has a width that accommodates the front portion 2640 of the leg piece 2604, and the rear portion 9242 has a width that is larger than the width of the front portion 9240 and accommodates the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604.

As shown in FIGS. 50 and 51, the engagement convex portion 60 that has a height equal to or lower than the height of the side surface 9204 on the bottom surface 9212 of the concave portion 9210 located in the rear lens barrel 24 and can be engaged with the engagement hole 2608. Is provided. In the present embodiment, the engagement protrusion 60 is configured by the engagement protrusion 60.
A portion of the bottom surface 9212 closer to the rear end of the rear barrel 24 than the engaging convex portion 60 is formed as an accommodating concave portion 9250 that is recessed from the bottom surface 9212.
The tip of the leg piece 2604 positioned at the tip of the engagement hole 2608 is formed as a hollow piece 2604A that is recessed with respect to the other leg pieces 2604 so as to be housed in the housing recess 9250.
Furthermore, the tip of the hollow piece 2604A is formed as an upright piece 2604B which is bent and raised to the same height as the other leg pieces 2604.
As shown in FIGS. 58 and 59, the front surface portion 2602 of the cover 26 is in contact with the front surface 9202 of the lens barrel 92, the leg pieces 2604 are in contact with the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210, and the engagement protrusions 2608 are engaged with the engagement protrusions 2608. With the portion 60 engaged, the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are held in an assembled state.
7 and 8, each leg piece 2604 of the cover 26 is located at the same height as the side surface 9204 or closer to the bottom surface 9212 than the side surface 9204 in this held state.

Next, assembly of the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92 will be described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 50 and 51, the leg pieces 2604 of the cover 26 are inserted into the concave portions 9210 of the side surfaces 9204 from the front of the lens barrel 92.
At this time, the rear end of the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604 provided with the engagement hole 2608 and the rear end of the leg piece 2604 not provided with the engagement hole 2608 are guided by the inclined surface 9214, respectively. The lens barrel 92 is displaced outward.
Accordingly, the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604 provided with the engagement hole 2608 is smoothly guided toward the side surface 9204, and the rear end of the leg piece 2604 not provided with the engagement hole 2608 is the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210. It is guided smoothly toward.
When the front surface portion 260 of the cover 26 is moved toward the lens barrel 92, both sides of the rear portion 2642 of the leg pieces 2604 provided with the engagement holes 2608 are arranged on both sides of the concave portion 9210 as shown in FIGS. The rear end of the leg piece 2604 that is guided along the side surface 9204 in the direction approaching the rear portion 9242 of the concave portion 9210 and is not provided with the engagement hole 2608 is guided rearward along the bottom surface 9212 of the concave portion 9210.
As shown in FIGS. 56 and 57, the movement of the cover 26 guides both sides of the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604 provided with the engagement holes 2608 along the side surfaces 9204 on both sides of the recess 9210. The recessed piece 2604A of the leg piece 2604 provided with the joint hole 2608 moves rearward while being displaced to the outside of the engaging convex portion 60.
Due to the further movement of the cover 26, the front portion 2602 of the cover 26 comes into contact with the front surface 9202 of the lens barrel 92 as shown in FIGS. 58 and 59.
Then, the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604 provided with the engagement hole 2608 is accommodated in the rear portion 9242 of the recess 9210, the recess piece 2604A is accommodated in the accommodation recess 9250, and the engagement hole 2608 engages with the engagement portion 60. The front part 2640 of the leg piece 2604 is accommodated in the front part 9240 of the recess 9210, and thus the leg piece 2604 provided with the engagement hole 2608 is in contact with the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210.
The leg piece 2604 not provided with the engagement hole 2608 is in contact with the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210 and the rear end of the leg piece 2604 is positioned in the vicinity of the rear end of the lens barrel 92.
In this way, the engagement projections 60 of the lens barrel 92 are engaged with the engagement holes 2608 of the cover 26, whereby the front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are held in an assembled state.

According to the above configuration, the engagement protrusion 60 is provided on the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210 of the lens barrel 92 and has a height equal to or lower than the height of the side surface 9204 and can be engaged with the engagement hole 2608 of the cover 26. The front lens barrel 22 and the rear lens barrel 24 are held in an assembled state with the engagement projections 60 engaged with the respective engagement holes 2608, and in this held state, each leg piece 2604 has a side surface. It is located at the same height as 9204 or closer to the bottom surface 9210 than the side surface 9204.
In other words, the camera module of the present invention includes a lens barrel in which an accommodation space for accommodating a photographing optical system is formed to extend in the front-rear direction. The lens barrel has a rectangular front surface and a rear side from four sides of the front surface. Four side surfaces extending, and the lens barrel is configured by a front lens barrel having the front surface and a rear lens barrel disposed on the rear side of the front lens barrel. An extending recess is provided, and a cover made of a metal plate is provided. The cover is a rectangular front surface that abuts the front surface, and extends rearward from four sides of the front surface and is accommodated in the recess. It has an elastically deformable leg piece that contacts the bottom surface of the recess, and an engagement hole provided in at least one pair of opposing leg pieces, and the bottom surface of the recess has a height equal to or less than the height of the side surface. And an engaging convex portion that can be engaged with the engaging hole is provided, and the front surface portion of the cover is connected to the lens barrel. The front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel are assembled in a state in which each leg piece is accommodated in the recess and is in contact with the bottom surface of the recess, and the engagement protrusion is engaged with each engagement hole. The leg pieces of the cover are located at the same height as the side surface or closer to the bottom surface than the side surface.
Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, there is no portion protruding outside the outline of the side surface 9204 of the lens barrel 92, that is, there is no portion protruding outside the rectangular outline, so that the camera module 20 occupies it. This is advantageous in reducing the outer dimensions while reducing the space, and is advantageous in reducing the size of the electronic device 10.

Further, the width of the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604 in which the engagement hole 2608 of the cover 26 is formed is larger than the width of the front portion 2640, and the leg piece 2604 in which the engagement hole 2608 is formed is accommodated. The concave portion 9210 has a front portion 9240 having a width in which the front portion 2640 of the leg piece 2604 is accommodated, and a rear portion 9242 having a width larger than the width of the front portion 9240 and in which the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604 is accommodated. Yes.
Therefore, when the cover 26 is attached to the lens barrel 92, the rear portion 2642 of the leg piece 2604 in which the engagement hole 2608 is formed is guided by the side surface 9204 of the lens barrel 92, that is, both sides of the rear portion 2642 are recessed. Since it is guided backward while being lifted by the side surfaces 9204 on both sides of the front portion 9240 of the 9210, the leg pieces 2604 can be smoothly accommodated in the concave portions 9410, which is of course advantageous for improving the assemblability. Thus, friction generated between the cover 26 and the lens barrel 92 during assembly can be reduced. Therefore, dust generated by scraping the lens barrel 92 due to friction adheres to the image pickup optical system 28 and the image sensor 36, and the like. This is also advantageous in preventing the influence on the spillover.
In addition, an inclined surface 9214 that is displaced toward the inside of the lens barrel 92 as it approaches the front surface 9204 is provided at a location where the side surface 9204 and the bottom surface 9212 of the recess 9210 intersect with the front surface 9204. Since the rear end of the rear surface is smoothly guided by the inclined surface 9214, it is of course advantageous for improving the assembling property. As described above, it occurs between the cover 26 and the lens barrel 92 at the time of assembling. Reducing the friction is more advantageous in preventing image quality deterioration.

11, 28 to 30, 50, 51, and 60 (A), the front lens barrel 24 and the front lens barrel 24 are assembled together by the cover 26 in the front portion. A coating 2612 for preventing light reflection is applied from the entire area of the surface opposite to the surface where 2602 contacts the front surface 9202 to the portion near the front surface portion 2602 on the surface opposite to the surface where the leg piece 2604 contacts the bottom surface 2612. ing.
That is, an antireflection portion 2610 that prevents reflection of light by the coating 2612 is formed.
If such a coating 2612 is not applied, as shown in FIG. 1, when the camera module 20 is incorporated in the first barrel 14 of the electronic device 10, the front surface portion 2602 of the cover 26 is The aesthetics when visually recognized through the opening 1410 of the first housing 14 cannot be secured.
In addition, external light entering from the opening 1410 is reflected between the front surface portion 2602 and the inner surface of the housing (or between the front surface portion 2602 and the transparent plate provided in the opening 1410) and is reflected on the imaging optical system 28. There is an inconvenience that adversely affects the quality of the image picked up by the image pickup device 36.
Therefore, the coating 2612 is applied to the cover 26 to form the antireflection portion 2610, thereby ensuring aesthetics and improving the image quality.
In order to ensure such aesthetics and image quality, as shown in FIG. 60B, only the front surface of the front surface portion 2602 is coated 2612 to form an antireflection portion 2610, and the leg pieces 2604 are reflected. It is also conceivable that the prevention part 2610 is not formed.
However, in many cases, when the camera module 20 is handled, a protective sheet having a weak adhesive force is attached so as to cover the entire front surface portion 2602 of the cover 26.
Of the coating 2612, the edge 2614 located at the boundary between the front surface portion 2602 and the leg piece 2604 (at the bent portion connecting the front surface portion 2602 and the leg piece 2604) is more easily peeled off than the other portions. Therefore, when the protective sheet is peeled off, the paint 2612 may be partially peeled off from the edge portion 2614.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 60A, the surface opposite to the surface where the leg piece 2604 contacts the bottom surface 2612 from the entire surface opposite to the surface where the front surface portion 2602 contacts the front surface 9202. Since the coating 2612 is applied to the portion near the front surface portion 2602, it is advantageous in preventing the coating 2612 from being peeled off when the protective sheet is peeled off from the front surface portion 2602.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a leg piece 2604 not provided with an engagement hole 2608 extends further rearward from the rear end of the rear barrel 24 and is soldered to the substrate 58. Also good. As described above, the substrate 58 is a substrate 58 on which the imaging element 36 that is disposed at the rear end of the rear barrel 26 and captures the subject image guided by the imaging optical system 28 is mounted.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, leg pieces 2604 that are not provided with the engagement holes 2608 may be arranged in contact with the magnet 50. The magnet 50 is a magnet 50 that constitutes a drive unit that moves the lens holding unit 30 as described above.
With this configuration, heat generated in the substrate 58 and the image sensor 36 is conducted from the leg piece 2604 to the cover 26, and heat conducted from the coil 30 to the magnet 50 is conducted from the leg piece 2604 to the cover 26. Therefore, heat is radiated through the cover 26.
Therefore, the image pickup device 36, the substrate 58, the magnet 50, and the coil 52 are efficiently cooled by the cover 26, which is advantageous in stabilizing the operation of the image pickup device 36, the substrate 58, and the drive unit 38.

In addition, the case where the drive unit is a so-called moving coil system constituted by a coil attached to the lens holding part and a magnet attached to the lens barrel has been described.
However, the present invention can of course be applied to a case where the driving unit is a so-called moving magnet system including a magnet attached to the lens holding part and a coil attached to the lens barrel.

(A), (B) is an external view which shows an example of the electronic device with which the camera module 20 which concerns on this Embodiment was integrated. 4 is an assembly explanatory diagram of the camera module 20. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the camera module 20. FIG. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the camera module 20 from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at the camera module 20 from back. It is A arrow directional view of FIG. FIG. 6 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5. It is C arrow line view of FIG. It is D arrow line view of FIG. It is the EE sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the state which removed the cover 26 from FIG. 5 from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at FIG. 12 from back. It is A arrow directional view of FIG. It is a B arrow line view of FIG. It is C arrow line view of FIG. It is D arrow line view of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the state which removed the front lens barrel 22 from FIG. 12 from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at FIG. 18 from back. It is A arrow line view of FIG. It is C arrow line view of FIG. It is a D arrow line view of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the state which removed the magnet 50 from FIG. 18 seen from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at FIG. 23 from back. It is A arrow line view of FIG. It is C arrow line view of FIG. It is a D arrow line view of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the cover 26 from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at the cover 26 from back. It is A arrow line view of FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a magnet 50 is inserted inside the front barrel 22. FIG. FIG. 32 is a view on arrow A in FIG. 31. 4 is a perspective view showing a lens holding member 30, a rear spring 34, a coil 52, and a coil holder 56. FIG. 7 is a rear view showing the positional relationship between a magnet 50 and a magnet positioning surface 4202 when the front lens barrel 22 is viewed from the rear. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between a magnet 50 and a magnet positioning surface 4202. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the front lens barrel 22, a magnet 50, and a rear lens barrel 24 with a part of the front lens barrel 22 broken away. It is A arrow view of FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the cutting operation by the laser beam L of the second connection portion 8006 of the spring member 80. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the cutting operation by the laser beam L of the second connection portion 8006 of the spring member 80. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the cutting operation by the laser beam L of the second connection portion 8006 of the spring member 80. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the cutting operation by the laser beam L of the second connection portion 8006 of the spring member 80. 3 is a plan view of a rear spring 34. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of a rear spring 34. FIG. It is EE sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view in which a first rear spring 34 is assembled to the rear barrel 24. It is A arrow line view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view in which a rear spring 34 is attached to the lens holding unit 30. 3 is a plan view of a rear spring 34. FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a support piece of a rear spring 34. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining an attaching operation of the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining an attaching operation of the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92. FIG. 53 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 52. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining an attaching operation of the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining an attaching operation of the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining an attaching operation of the cover 26 to the lens barrel 92. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. (A) is sectional drawing of the cover 26 in embodiment, (B) is sectional drawing of the cover 26 in a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

  20 …… Camera module, 22 …… Front lens barrel, 24 …… Rear lens barrel, 25 …… Outer surface, 28 …… Imaging optical system, 30 …… Lens holding member, 32 …… Front spring, 34 …… Rear spring , 36... Image sensor, 38... Drive unit, 82.

Claims (7)

The rear barrel,
A front lens barrel that is assembled to the rear lens barrel and forms a housing space with the rear lens barrel;
A lens holding unit that holds the imaging optical system and is housed in the housing space;
An image sensor that captures a subject image supported by the rear lens barrel and guided by the imaging optical system;
A guide mechanism for supporting the lens holding portion movably along the optical axis of the imaging optical system;
A driving unit that moves the lens holding unit along the optical axis of the imaging optical system;
The guide mechanism includes a rear spring that biases the lens holding portion from the imaging element side to the photographing optical system side, and a front spring that biases the lens holding portion from the photographing optical system side to the imaging element side. Have
The rear spring and the front spring are configured by a spring plate extending in a strip shape,
An end portion of at least one of the rear spring and the front spring in the extending direction is sandwiched and disposed between the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel,
The outer surface of the part of the rear lens barrel and the part of the front lens barrel that sandwich the end portion in the extending direction of the spring are recessed from the outer surface of the portion around the part to be sandwiched to form a recess,
An end portion in the extending direction of the spring is located in the concave portion, and is located at a location displaced inward from a virtual extension surface of the outer surface of the surrounding location,
The camera module. The spring arranged to be sandwiched between the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel is a rear spring,
The rear lens barrel has a rear end surface located opposite to the front lens barrel,
The recess is provided in an open shape on the rear end surface.
The camera module according to claim 1. The bottom surface of the concave portion constituted by the rear lens barrel is formed with an inclined surface that gradually increases the depth of the concave portion toward the rear end surface.
The camera module according to claim 2. The drive unit includes a coil attached to the lens holding unit, and a magnet that generates a thrust along the optical axis of the imaging optical system.
The spring sandwiched between the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel is composed of two spring divided bodies that are separated from each other and electrically connected to both ends of the coil, respectively.
The drive current is supplied to the coil through the two spring divided bodies.
The camera module according to claim 1, 2 or 3. The rear barrel,
A front lens barrel that is assembled to the rear lens barrel and forms a housing space with the rear lens barrel;
A lens holding unit that holds the imaging optical system and is housed in the housing space;
A guide mechanism for supporting the lens holding unit movably along the optical axis of the imaging optical system,
The guide mechanism includes a rear spring that biases the lens holding portion from the imaging element side to the photographing optical system side, and a front spring that biases the lens holding portion from the photographing optical system side to the imaging element side. Have
The rear lens barrel has a rear end surface located opposite to the front lens barrel,
The front lens barrel is a method of manufacturing a camera module having a front end surface located opposite to the rear lens barrel,
One of the rear spring and the front spring is formed by extending a strip inside the rectangular frame integrally with the rectangular frame by pressing a spring plate.
The end in the extending direction of the spring located near the rectangular frame is sandwiched between the front lens barrel and the rear lens barrel,
The outer surface of the part of the rear lens barrel and the part of the front lens barrel to be sandwiched are formed in a recessed portion that is recessed from the outer surface of the portion around the part to be sandwiched,
A laser was irradiated into the recess to separate the spring and the rectangular frame.
Manufacturing method of camera module. The concave portion is formed open on the rear end surface side or the front end surface side,
Irradiating a laser toward the open side in the recess,
The method for manufacturing a camera module according to claim 5. The bottom surface of the concave portion is formed with an inclined surface that gradually increases the depth of the concave portion toward the side where the concave portion is opened.
The manufacturing method of the camera module of Claim 6.

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