KR20140069803A - Camera Module - Google Patents

Abstract

A camera module according to the present invention comprises: a first housing; a plurality of lens holders stacked in an inner space of the first housing and formed to have the same outer diameter; a plurality of first through-holes formed to pass through locations corresponding to the plurality of lens holders; and an adjusting member inserted into the first through-holes to press the plurality of lens holders, wherein the centers of the plurality of lens holders can be aligned by the press applied by the adjusting member.

Description

Camera module {Camera Module}

The present invention relates to a camera module.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for a small camera module for various multimedia fields such as a tablet computer, a camera phone, a PDA, a smart phone, a toy, and an image input device such as a surveillance camera or an information terminal of a video tape recorder. In particular, smart phones are in the trend of developing small-sized camera modules in response to the increasing demand of consumers who prefer miniaturized designs.

Such a camera module is manufactured using an image sensor chip of a CCD or a CMOS. The image sensor chip is used to condense an object through a lens, convert an optical signal into an electric signal, and display objects on a display medium such as an LCD display device So as to transmit the image.

At least one or more lenses are provided in the camera module to form an optical path. When an autofocusing unit is provided to obtain a clear image, a lens installed for auto focusing operation and a plurality of lenses installed on the lens barrel They need to be arranged to be coaxial with each other. Particularly, as the resolution of the camera module increases, the eccentricity between the lenses in the camera must be reduced as much as possible. However, since a plurality of lenses are installed in a fixed state in the currently manufactured lens barrel, , There is a problem that the lens barrel manufacturing tolerance greatly affects the performance and yield of the camera module.

In addition, since the manufacturing tolerance of the lens barrel containing the lens used in the high resolution camera is larger than the eccentric tolerance between the camera lens, there is also a problem that the yield in assembling the camera module is remarkably deteriorated.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0115866 (October 29, 2010) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0041032 (2012.04.30.)

An object of the present invention is to provide a camera module with an improved structure for improving the assembly yield.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a camera module having a lens barrel having an improved structure so as to effectively align the centers of a plurality of lenses.

A camera module according to the present invention includes: a first housing; A plurality of lens holders stacked in the first housing inner space and having the same outer diameter; A plurality of first through holes formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of lens holders of the first housing; And an adjustment member inserted into the through hole to press the plurality of lens holders, wherein a center of the plurality of lens holders can be aligned by pressing of the adjustment member.

The lens holder may include first to third lens holders for supporting lenses of different diameters.

The first through third lens holders may be in surface contact with each other, and the size of the lens supported by the first lens holder may be minimized.

In addition, a thread may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the first lens holder, or may be smoothly formed without using a thread.

The first housing may have an opening on the upper side and the diameter of the opening may be larger than the diameter of the plurality of lens holders so that the inner circumferential surface of the first housing and the plurality of lens holders may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

The first housing may be seated inside a second housing having an opening on the upper side, and the second housing may have a second through hole having the same diameter at a position corresponding to the first through hole.

The adjusting member may be formed of any one of a screw member, a pin member, and an elastic member, and may be fixed by an adhesive.

The adjusting member may press the outer circumferential surfaces of the plurality of lens holders to move the plurality of lens holders along a plane perpendicular to the optical axis.

The adjustment members may be disposed at the same positions with respect to a direction parallel to the optical axis of the plurality of lens holders, four at a time at intervals of 90 degrees on the outer circumferential surface of each lens holder.

The first housing and the plurality of lens holders may be injection molded from a resin material.

The thickness of the plurality of lens holders can be reduced as the diameter of the supporting lens increases.

A camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a printed circuit board on which an image sensor is mounted, a base on which an infrared cut filter is installed, and a holder member on which a plurality of magnets are arranged, A coil is wound and disposed inside a second housing which is raised and lowered with respect to an optical axis in accordance with an electromagnetic interaction with the magnet so that the first and second housings can operate as a bobbin of the voice coil motor.

Alternatively, the lens moving actuator may be disposed on either the upper side or the lower side of the first housing. At this time, the actuator may be any one of a bimemless actuator such as a MEMS actuator, a liquid crystal lens, and a piezo polymer lens, a silicon-based actuator, and a liquid lens.

Since each lens has a separate lens holder and these lens holders can be individually adjusted in position relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, it is possible to reposition the centers of the respective lenses after the lens assembly is finished. Accordingly, it is not necessary to dispose of the lens barrel in which a plurality of lens alignment defects have occurred, so that the assembling yield of the camera module can be improved.

Further, even if the manufacturing tolerance of the lens barrel supporting the plurality of lenses is relatively large, the manufacturing tolerance of the lens barrel and the eccentricity tolerance between the lenses can be compensated at the same time, have.

Further, in the lens assembling step, the arrangement of the plurality of lenses can be assembled so that the maximum performance can be obtained.

1 is a perspective view showing a lens barrel of a camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention,
2 is a side exploded view of Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of Fig. 1,
4 is an exploded perspective view of first to third lens holders constituting a lens barrel according to an embodiment of the present invention,
5 is an exploded perspective view of first to third lens holders constituting a lens barrel according to another embodiment of the present invention,
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

2 is a side exploded view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a lens barrel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of first to third lens holders constituting a lens barrel according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the first to third lens holders, AA section.

The camera module may be provided with a lens barrel having a plurality of lenses at a position spaced a predetermined distance above a printed circuit board on which an image sensor is mounted. The lens barrel may have an auto focusing function and / Or an actuator capable of providing an image stabilization function may be provided.

A lens barrel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first lens barrel 100 and a second lens barrel 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 through 6, (200).

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lens barrel according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, first to third lens holders 110, 120, 130, and 130 are disposed in a first housing 100, May be stacked.

The first housing 100 may be injection molded of a resin material, and a plurality of first through holes 101 may be formed on the outer circumferential surface. The first through hole 101 is formed at a position corresponding to the first through third lens holders 110, 120 and 130. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first lens holder 110, Four lenses are arranged symmetrically with respect to a plane corresponding to the second lens holder 120 and four lenses arranged at intervals of 90 degrees on the plane corresponding to the third lens holder 130, .

1, the upper side of the first housing 100 may be formed as an open aperture 102. As shown in FIG. 1, a third lens 110, which is stacked on the uppermost one of the plurality of lens holders 110 to 130, So that the holder 130 can be exposed. When the upper side of the first housing 100 is opened, the first lens holder 110, the second lens holder 120, and the third lens holder 130 ) Can be stacked.

The diameter of the opening 102 may be larger than the diameter of the first to third lens holders 110, 120 and 130. If the diameter of the opening 102 is smaller than the diameter of the first lens holder 110, The third lens holders 110, 120 and 130 can not move the lens holders 110, 120 and 130 even if eccentricity occurs during the production process. If the difference between the diameter of the lens holders 110, 120 and 130 and the diameter of the opening 102 is too large, the possibility of eccentricity may increase during the lamination and assembly process. Therefore, it is preferable that the interval is made as small as possible.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first housing 100 may be provided in a cylindrical shape. At this time, an opening is formed on the bottom surface as shown in FIG. 3, and the plurality of lens holders 110 ) 120, 130 can pass through a plurality of lenses supported by the lens.

The first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 may have a cylindrical shape with the outermost diameters corresponding to each other as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5. That is, the lens provided on the first lens holder 110, the lens provided on the second lens holder 120, and the lens provided on the third lens holder 130 may have different sizes, The first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 may have the same outer diameter. Therefore, the first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 can be sequentially stacked on the inner space of the first housing 100, which may be provided in a cylindrical shape.

The thickness of the first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 may be different depending on the diameter of the lens to be supported. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the diameters of the first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 may be reduced as the diameter of the supporting lens increases. For example, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the diameter of the lens supported by the first lens holder 110 may be the smallest, and the diameter of the lens supported by the third lens holder 130 may be the largest . In this case, the thickness of the first lens holder 110 may be the largest, and the thickness of the third lens holder 130 may be the thinnest.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the case where the diameter of the lens provided in the first lens holder 110 is the smallest and the diameter of the lens provided in the third lens holder 130 is the largest is described as an example. But the arrangement relationship of the lens holders 110, 120, and 130 can be changed as necessary.

4, the first surface 111 of the first lens holder 110, the second surface 121 of the second lens holder 120, and the third surface 121 of the third lens holder 130, The surface 131 of the second lens holder 120 may be flat and the bottom surface of the second lens holder 120 facing the first surface 111 and the surface of the third lens holder 120 facing the second surface 121, The bottom surface of the base 130 may also be flat. 3, the first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 may be stacked on each other in a face-to-face manner.

In addition, first to third lens insertion holes 112, 122 and 132 are formed at the center of the first through third lens holders 110, 120 and 130, And the diameters of the first through third lens insertion holes 112, 122, and 132 may vary depending on the diameter of the installed lens.

A thread 113 may be formed on the outer circumference of the first lens holder 110 as shown in FIG. 4. The thread 113 may be formed on a structure such as a bobbin May be provided for threaded engagement with female threads. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 5, the thread 113 may be omitted. That is, the feature of the present invention is that the structure of the thread 113 is not essential, since a separate lens holder for each lens of different sizes is constituted and can be moved individually.

3, a second housing 200 is provided on the outer side of the first housing 100. The second housing 200 includes the first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130, So that the first housing 100 can be supported. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second housing 200 may be provided with a bobbin that is wound around the outer circumferential surface and reciprocates in a direction parallel to the optical axis direction by an interaction of an electromagnetic force, The camera module may be provided as a separate support structure for supporting the camera module.

6, a second through hole 201 may be formed at a position corresponding to the first through hole 101 of the first housing 100 of the second housing 200, The first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 can be inserted into the through holes 101 and 201 of the first lens holder 110 and the second lens holder 110, respectively.

The adjustment member 150 is inserted into the first and second through holes 101 and 201 so that the inserted end is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the first to third lens holders 110, The center positions of the first to third holders 110, 120 and 130 can be changed according to the insertion depth of the adjustment member 150. [

The adjustment member 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured such that a total of four adjustment members 150 are symmetrical with respect to the second lens holder 120 at intervals of 90 degrees as shown in the AA sectional view of FIG. So that the second lens holder 120 can be pressed. The reason why the adjustment members 150 are arranged at intervals of 90 degrees is that the center of the second lens holder 120 is divided into four vertically and horizontally and vertically diagonally So that the center of the second lens holder 120 can be physically aligned with the optical axis. In addition, the first and third holders 110 and 130, and the adjustment member 150 may be disposed in the same manner as the second lens holder 120, and the operation principle thereof is the same. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the adjustment member 150 may be disposed at the same position of the first to third holders 110, 120, and 130. In this case, It is easy to perform the step of inserting the member 150 all at once.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the adjusting member 150 may be formed of a screw member and may be screwed into the first and second through holes 101 and 201, As shown in FIG. If the adjusting member 150 is formed of a pin-shaped pressing member, the adjusting member 150 formed of the pressing member may be fixed to the first to third lens holders 110, 120, The location also needs to be fixed. 6, after the adjusting member 150 is inserted into the inner space of the second through hole 201, the remaining space of the second through hole 201 is closed using an adhesive 160 or the like And a structure that may be fixed are shown as an example. In this case, when the adhesive 160 is cured, the position of the adjusting member 150 may be fixed at the central axis alignment position of the first to third lens holders 110, 120, and 130.

Meanwhile, when the adjusting member 150 is formed by screws, the adjusting member 150 may be screwed to the outside of the second housing 200 with a tool such as a screwdriver. Alternatively, although not shown, it is also possible to provide the adjusting member 150 with an elastic member. That is, an elastic member is disposed at a position corresponding to each of the first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130, and the first through third lens holders 110 and 120 ) 130 to adjust the position.

When the first to third lens holders 110, 120 and 130 are configured to be movable as described above, the first to third lens holders 110 120) 130 are laminated, it is possible to align the center of the lens holder by moving only the lens holder in which the eccentricity is generated, even if the centers of the lenses are not aligned and eccentricity occurs.

That is, a conventional lens barrel in which a plurality of lenses are inserted into a lens barrel and is injection-molded into a single member discards the lens barrel component if eccentricity occurs due to manufacturing errors. However, when the structure of the lens barrel according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 is improved, the lens holders 110 and 120 130 are provided to accommodate the lens holders 110, 120, 130 in the first housing 100 and to move the lens holder 110 individually within the first housing 100 to perform central axis alignment It is possible. When the central axes of the plurality of lenses are not aligned during the process of assembling the lens barrel, any one of the first through third lens holders 110, 120, and 130 supporting the lens having the eccentric center Can be moved and aligned.

Meanwhile, the second housing 200 may be provided as a component forming the outer appearance of the lens barrel, but the present invention is not limited thereto. You may.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a total of three lenses are used for the lens barrel. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of lenses may be increased or decreased depending on the design of the camera module.

Meanwhile, the lens barrel composed of the first and second housings 100 and 200 may be applied to a camera module which is generally well known. For example, when applied to a camera module mounted on a portable electronic device or the like, the lens barrel formed by the coupling of the first and second housings 100 and 200 becomes a bobbin of an auto focusing unit such as a VCM, The lens barrel may be fixedly disposed without such movement, and a single-lens moving type actuator may be provided above the lens barrel to perform an anti-shake function and / or an auto focusing function. At this time, the actuator may be any one of a bimemless actuator such as a MEMS actuator, a liquid crystal lens, and a piezo polymer lens, a silicon-based actuator, and a liquid lens.

The embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the drawings should not be construed as limiting the technical idea of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is limited only by the matters described in the claims, and those skilled in the art will be able to modify the technical idea of the present invention in various forms. Accordingly, such improvements and modifications will fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they are obvious to those skilled in the art.

100; A first housing 101; The first through-
110; A first lens holder 120; The second lens holder
130; A third lens holder 150; Adjusting member
160; Adhesive 200; The second housing

Claims (18)

A first housing;
A plurality of lens holders stacked in the first housing inner space and having the same outer diameter; And
A plurality of first through holes formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of lens holders of the first housing; And
And an adjustment member inserted into the through hole and pressing the plurality of lens holders,
And the centers of the plurality of lens holders are aligned by pressing of the adjustment member.
The lens holder according to claim 1,
A camera module comprising first to third lens holders for supporting lenses of different diameters.
3. The method of claim 2,
And the first to third lens holders are in surface contact with each other.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein a size of a lens supported by the first lens holder is minimized.
3. The method of claim 2,
And a screw thread is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the first lens holder.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises:
Wherein a diameter of the opening is larger than a diameter of the plurality of lens holders, and the inner circumferential surface of the first housing and the plurality of lens holders are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises:
And is seated inside the second housing having an opening on the upper side.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the second housing comprises:
And a second through hole having the same diameter at a position corresponding to the first through hole.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1,
A screw member, a pin member, and an elastic member.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9,
Camera module fixed by adhesive.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1,
And pressing the outer circumferential surfaces of the plurality of lens holders to move the plurality of lens holders along a plane perpendicular to the optical axis.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1,
Four camera modules are arranged on the outer circumferential surface of each lens holder at intervals of 90 degrees.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12,
Wherein the plurality of lens holders are disposed at the same position in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the plurality of lens holders.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first housing and the plurality of lens holders are injection-molded with a resin material.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of lens holders have a smaller thickness as the diameter of a supporting lens increases.
The method according to claim 1,
A printed circuit board on which an image sensor is mounted, a base provided with an infrared cut filter, and a holder member provided with a yoke on which a plurality of magnets are arranged,
Wherein the first housing is disposed inside a second housing that is wound around an outer circumferential surface and is raised and lowered with respect to an optical axis in accordance with an electromagnetic interaction with the magnet and the first and second housings are connected to the voice coil motor A camera module that acts as a bobbin.
The method according to claim 1,
And a lens moving actuator is disposed on either the upper side or the lower side of the first housing.
18. The actuator according to claim 17,
A camera module comprised of a non-MEMS actuator such as a MEMS actuator, a liquid crystal lens, a piezo polymer lens, a silicon actuator, and a liquid lens.

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