CAMERA MODULE INCLUDING APERTURE

• US 20200132979A1
• Filed: 10/31/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: RHO, Hyungjin, KIM, Yeonhak, MOON, Chanyoung
• Granted Patent: US 11,036,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/001 Miniaturised objectives for electronic devices, e.g. portable telephones, webcams, PDAs, small digital cameras G02B23/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/007 the movable or deformable optical element controlling the colour, i.e. a spectral characteristic, of the light
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/006 Filter holders
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2205/0069 using electromagnetic actuators, e.g. voice coils
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 9/04 Single movable plate with two or more apertures of graded size, e.g. sliding plate or pivoting plate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof

Abstract

A camera module is provided. The camera module includes a housing, a lens assembly received in the housing and including at least one lens, an aperture including an aperture blade having an opening for adjusting an amount of external light incident on the at least one lens and a rotary shaft formed on a side of the aperture blade, in which the rotary shaft is coupled to the lens assembly such that the aperture blade is rotated about the rotary shaft, a magnet disposed on the aperture so as to be adjacent to the rotary shaft, at least one coil disposed on one surface of the housing so as to face the magnet, control circuitry that rotates the aperture using the coil, and a lens driving unit that moves the lens assembly in an optical axis direction of the lens.

Claims

1. A camera module comprising:

a housing;

a lens assembly received in the housing, the lens assembly including at least one lens;

an aperture including;

an aperture blade having an opening for adjusting an amount of external light incident on the at least one lens, and

a rotary shaft formed on a side of the aperture blade, the rotary shaft being coupled to the lens assembly such that the aperture blade is rotatable about the rotary shaft;

a magnet disposed on the aperture to be adjacent to the rotary shaft;

at least one coil disposed on one surface of the housing so as to face the magnet;

control circuitry configured to rotate the aperture using the coil; and

a lens driving unit configured to move the lens assembly in an optical axis direction of the lens.

2. The camera module of claim 1, wherein the rotary shaft is formed parallel to the optical axis direction of the lens.

3. The camera module of claim 1,

wherein the lens assembly includes a lens barrel in which the at least one lens is disposed,

wherein the camera module further comprises a fixed opening aligned with the optical axis direction of the lens formed in the lens barrel, and

wherein the fixed opening is formed to be larger than the opening formed in the aperture blade.

4. The camera module of claim 1,

wherein the aperture blade includes:

a first aperture blade having a first opening formed therein, and

a second aperture blade having a second opening formed therein, the second opening having a size different from that of the first opening, and

wherein the first aperture blade and the second aperture blade extend in different radial directions with respect to the rotary shaft.

5. The camera module of claim 4,

wherein the first aperture blade and the second aperture blade are formed on the same plane, or

wherein the first aperture blade is formed on a first plane, and the second aperture blade is formed on a second plane spaced apart from the first plane by a predetermined gap in the optical axis direction of the lens.

6. The camera module of claim 1, wherein the aperture blade maintains a predetermined gap from the at least one lens included in the lens assembly in the optical axis direction of the lens.

7. The camera module of claim 1,

wherein the camera module further comprises a sensor disposed on one surface of the housing and configured to sense a rotation angle of the aperture blade, and

wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

rotate the aperture blade by applying current to the coil adjacent to the magnet, and

rotate the aperture blade to a specified rotation angle by correcting the current applied to the coil, based on the rotation angle sensed by the sensor.

8. The camera module of claim 1, further comprising:

a sensor disposed on one surface of the housing and configured to sense a magnetic force of the magnet,

wherein the control circuitry is further configured to;

determine a position of the lens assembly in the optical axis direction of the lens, based on the magnetic force of the magnet sensed by the sensor,

correct a signal for controlling the coil, based on the position of the lens assembly, and

apply a control signal to the coil depending on the corrected signal.

9. The camera module of claim 1,

wherein the lens assembly includes a central portion in which the at least one lens is disposed and a peripheral portion surrounding the central portion,

wherein the aperture includes the aperture blade, the magnet, and a rotary body formed to be rotatable about the rotary shaft relative to the lens assembly,

wherein a protruding boss protruding in the optical axis direction of the lens is formed on one of the peripheral portion and the rotary body, and a hole into which the protruding boss is inserted is formed in the other one of the peripheral portion and the rotary body, and

wherein the protruding boss is rotatably coupled to the hole to form the rotary shaft.

10. The camera module of claim 1,

wherein the magnet is disposed in a direction toward the one surface of the housing with respect to the rotary shaft, and

wherein the aperture blade extends toward a central portion of the lens assembly with respect to the rotary shaft.

11. A camera module comprising:

a housing;

a lens carrier including a lens barrel including one or more lenses therein, at least part of the lens carrier being disposed in the housing, and the lens carrier being movable in an optical axis direction of the one or more lenses;

an aperture module configured to adjust an amount of light incident on the one or more lenses; and

control circuitry configured to control the aperture module,

wherein the aperture module includes;

a rotary member coupled to the lens carrier so as to be rotatable about a rotary shaft formed in the lens carrier,

an aperture blade extending from the rotary member toward the lens barrel and having an opening aligned with an optical axis of the lenses,

a first coil formed on a first surface of the housing, and

a first magnet formed in the rotary member and disposed adjacent to the first coil, and

wherein the control circuitry controls the first coil to rotate the rotary member and the aperture blade about the rotary shaft.

12. The camera module of claim 11,

wherein the first coil includes a conductor and a conductive wire wound around the conductor,

wherein the conductor extends toward the first magnet,

wherein the first coil includes coil 1-1 and coil 1-2,

wherein the conductor includes a first portion on which coil 1-1 is formed and a second portion on which coil 1-2 is formed,

wherein the first portion of the conductor extends toward one side of the first magnet such that an end of the first portion is adjacent to the one side of the first magnet, and

wherein the second portion of the conductor extends toward an opposite side of the first magnet such that an end of the second portion is adjacent to the opposite side of the first magnet.

13. The camera module of claim 11, further comprising:

a focus module configured to move the lens carrier in the optical axis direction of the lenses,

wherein the focus module includes a second magnet formed on an outer surface of the lens carrier and a second coil formed on a second surface of the housing to face the second magnet, and

wherein the control circuitry controls the second coil to move the lens carrier in the optical axis direction of the lenses.

15. The camera module of claim 11, further comprising:

a sensor configured to sense displacement of the lens carrier in the optical axis direction of the lenses, the sensor being disposed in the housing,

wherein the control circuitry is configured to correct a control signal for controlling the first coil, based on the displacement of the lens carrier sensed by the sensor.

16. The camera module of claim 11,

wherein the aperture blade includes a first aperture blade having a first opening formed therein and a second aperture blade having a second opening formed therein, the second opening being formed in a size different from that of the first opening,

wherein the first aperture blade and the second aperture blade are configured to rotate about the rotary shaft on the same plane, and

wherein the same plane is spaced a predetermined gap apart from the one or more lenses or an end surface of the lens barrel that faces the optical axis direction of the lenses.

14. The camera module of claim 14,

wherein the first surface of the housing on which the first coil is disposed is connected with the second surface of the housing on which the second coil is disposed, and

wherein the camera module further comprises a flexible printed circuit board disposed on the first surface and the second surface to electrically connect the first coil, the second coil, and the control circuitry.

17. An electronic device comprising:

a camera module including;

a housing,

a lens carrier including one or more lenses therein, at least part of the lens carrier being disposed in the housing and the lens carrier being movable in an optical axis direction of the one or more lenses,

a rotary member coupled to the lens carrier so as to be rotatable about a rotary shaft formed in the lens carrier,

an aperture blade extending from the rotary member toward the lenses and having an opening aligned with an optical axis of the lenses,

a first coil formed on a first surface of the housing, and

a first magnet formed in the rotary member and disposed adjacent to the first coil;

a memory; and

at least one processor electrically connected with the memory and the camera module,

wherein the at least one processor is configured to;

activate the camera module in response to a request associated with taking an image, and

drive the aperture blade of the camera module according to aperture settings associated with taking the image.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, further comprising:

an image sensor to obtain an image corresponding to an object by converting light emitted or reflected from the object and transmitted via the lens carrier into an electrical signal.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, further comprising:

an image stabilizer,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, at least one of;

control movement of the image sensor,

control movement of at least one lens, among the one or more lenses included in the lens carrier, in a particular direction, or

control an operational attribute of the image sensor in response to the movement of the camera module.

20. The electronic device of claim 18, further comprising:

a memory to store at least part of the image obtained via the image sensor for image processing.