CAMERA MODULE AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Abstract

A camera module includes a camera motor, a lens, an image sensor assembly, and a variable aperture. The camera motor includes a focusing part, and the focusing part includes a base, a carrier, and a driver. The driver is fastened to the base and is configured to drive the carrier to move relative to the base in a specified direction. The carrier forms an installation hole in a specified direction. The lens is fastened in the installation hole, and an optical axis of the lens is parallel to the specified direction. The variable aperture is fastened on the carrier and located on a light incoming side of the lens. The image sensor assembly is disposed at one end of that is of the base and that is away from the variable aperture. Both of the variable aperture and the lens are disposed on the carrier of the focusing part.

Claims

1. A camera module, comprising: a camera motor, wherein the camera motor comprises a focusing part, and the focusing part comprises a base, a carrier, and a driver; the driver is fastened to the base, and is configured to drive the carrier to move relative to the base in a specified direction; and in the specified direction, an installation hole is formed on the carrier; a lens, wherein the lens is fastened in the installation hole, and an optical axis of the lens is parallel to the specified direction; a variable aperture, wherein the variable aperture is fastened on the carrier and is located on a light incoming side of the lens; and an image sensor assembly, wherein the image sensor assembly is disposed at one end that is of the base and that is away from the variable aperture.

2. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the focusing part further comprises a control assembly, the control assembly is electrically connected to the driver, and the control assembly is electrically connected to the variable aperture by using a connection assembly.

3. The camera module according to claim 2, wherein the connection assembly comprises a first spring, the first spring is disposed on a side that is of the carrier and that faces the variable aperture, and the first spring is electrically connected to the variable aperture and the control assembly separately.

4. The camera module according to claim 2, wherein the connection assembly comprises a first spring and a connection circuit formed on the carrier, and the connection circuit is electrically connected to the variable aperture; and the first spring is disposed on a side that is of the carrier and that faces the variable aperture, and the first spring is electrically connected to the connection circuit and the control assembly separately.

5. The camera module according to claim 4, wherein an insulation isolation structure is sandwiched between the first spring and the driver.

6. The camera module according to claim 3, wherein the first spring comprises a plurality of sub-springs disposed at a same layer.

7. The camera module according to claim 3, wherein the focusing part further comprises a second spring, and the second spring is disposed on a side that is of the carrier and that faces the image sensor assembly.

8. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the driver comprises a drive coil and a drive magnet, wherein the drive coil is disposed on the carrier, the drive magnet is disposed on the base, and the drive coil is corresponding to the drive magnet.

9. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the camera motor further comprises a top cover and an image stabilization part; and the top cover cooperates with the image stabilization part to form accommodating space used to accommodate the focusing part, and the focusing part is fastened to the image stabilization part.

10. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the variable aperture comprises a drive structure and a plurality of blades, the plurality of blades are distributed annularly to form a light incoming hole for light to pass through, and the drive structure is configured to drive the blades to rotate to change a size of the light incoming hole.

11. An electronic device, comprising a device body and a camera module; wherein the camera module, comprising: a camera motor, wherein the camera motor comprises a focusing part, and the focusing part comprises a base, a carrier, and a driver; the driver is fastened to the base, and is configured to drive the carrier to move relative to the base in a specified direction; and in the specified direction, an installation hole is formed on the carrier; a lens, wherein the lens is fastened in the installation hole, and an optical axis of the lens is parallel to the specified direction; a variable aperture, wherein the variable aperture is fastened on the carrier and is located on a light incoming side of the lens; and an image sensor assembly, wherein the image sensor assembly is disposed at one end that is of the base and that is away from the variable aperture.

12. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the focusing part further comprises a control assembly, the control assembly is electrically connected to the driver, and the control assembly is electrically connected to the variable aperture by using a connection assembly.

13. The electronic device according to claim 12, wherein the connection assembly comprises a first spring, the first spring is disposed on a side that is of the carrier and that faces the variable aperture, and the first spring is electrically connected to the variable aperture and the control assembly separately.

14. The electronic device according to claim 12, wherein the connection assembly comprises a first spring and a connection circuit formed on the carrier, and the connection circuit is electrically connected to the variable aperture; and the first spring is disposed on a side that is of the carrier and that faces the variable aperture, and the first spring is electrically connected to the connection circuit and the control assembly separately.

15. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein an insulation isolation structure is sandwiched between the first spring and the driver.

16. The electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the first spring comprises a plurality of sub-springs disposed at a same layer.

17. The electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the focusing part further comprises a second spring, and the second spring is disposed on a side that is of the carrier and that faces the image sensor assembly.

18. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the driver comprises a drive coil and a drive magnet, wherein the drive coil is disposed on the carrier, the drive magnet is disposed on the base, and the drive coil is corresponding to the drive magnet.

19. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the camera motor further comprises a top cover and an image stabilization part; and the top cover cooperates with the image stabilization part to form accommodating space used to accommodate the focusing part, and the focusing part is fastened to the image stabilization part.

20. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the variable aperture comprises a drive structure and a plurality of blades, the plurality of blades are distributed annularly to form a light incoming hole for light to pass through, and the drive structure is configured to drive the blades to rotate to change a size of the light incoming hole.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a camera module according to this application;

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a camera motor in a camera module according to this application;

[0022] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a focusing part in a camera module according to this application;

[0023] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a cross-section structure of a focusing part in a camera module according to this application;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a housing of a focusing part in a camera module according to this application;

[0025] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a base of a focusing part in a camera module according to this application;

[0026] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a carrier of a focusing part in a camera module according to this application;

[0027] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a structure in which a drive coil is disposed on the carrier in FIG. 7;

[0028] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a structure in which a base and a control assembly in a camera module are connected according to this application;

[0029] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a variable aperture in a camera module according to this application;

[0030] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a first spring, a carrier, a control assembly, and a base in a camera module according to this application;

[0031] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a structure in which a first spring and a control assembly in a camera module are connected according to this application;

[0032] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a structure in which a variable aperture in a camera module is electrically connected to a control assembly by using a first spring according to this application;

[0033] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a structure in which a variable aperture in a camera module is electrically connected to a control assembly by using a first spring and a connection circuit according to this application;

[0034] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a first spring in a camera module according to this application;

[0035] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a structure in which a spacer is sandwiched between a first spring and a drive magnet in a camera module according to this application;

[0036] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a structure in which a first spring and a second spring are respectively disposed on two sides of a carrier in a camera module according to this application;

[0037] FIG. 18 is an exploded view of a camera module according to this application; and

[0038] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an electronic device according to this application.

[0039] Reference numerals: 10: camera module; 1: camera motor; 11: focusing part; 111: housing; 1111: second optical hole; 112: base; 1121: third optical hole; 113: carrier; 1131: installation hole; 114: driver; 1141: drive coil; 1142: drive magnet; 115: control assembly; 116: first spring; 1161: sub spring; 117: connection circuit; 118: spacer; 119: second spring; 12: top cover; 121: first optical hole; 13: image stabilization part; 14: spacing frame; 2: lens; 3: variable aperture; 31: shell; 32: drive structure; 33: blade; 4: image sensor assembly; 20: mobile phone body; and 100: mobile phone.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0040] In a single-lens reflex camera, a variable aperture is a structure that can be used with a shutter to adjust an amount of light passing through the camera. Currently, the variable aperture applied to the single-lens reflex camera is generally installed in a lens. This imposes a highly difficult requirement on assembly of a camera module. Therefore, the camera module having the variable aperture cannot be directly used in electronic devices such as a mobile phone and a tablet computer. Therefore, this application provides a camera module, so that a structure of the lens is independent of a structure of the variable aperture when the lens moves synchronously with the variable aperture in focus adjustment. Therefore, assembly difficulty of the camera module is reduced. Based on this structure, a lighter and thinner camera module can be more easily designed. Therefore, the camera module may be applied to a small electronic device, to meet increasingly improved imaging quality required by the small electronic device. It may be understood that the electronic device herein may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-mounted monitoring system, or the like.

[0041] To describe the technical solutions in embodiments of this application more clearly, the following further describes in detail the camera module provided in this application with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that terms such as “first” and “second” in the following are merely used for distinguishing and description, and cannot be understood as an indication or implication of relative importance or an indication or implication of an order.

[0042] An embodiment of this application provides a camera module 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the camera module 10 includes a camera motor 1, a lens 2, a variable aperture 3, and an image sensor assembly 4. The camera motor 1 is equivalent to a power source of the camera module 10, and is configured to drive the lens 2 and the variable aperture 3 to move when a camera is in operation, to meet an imaging requirement. FIG. 1 further shows a light incoming hole J formed by the variable aperture 3. When the camera is in operation, external light enters the lens 2 through the light incoming hole J of the variable aperture 3, passes through the lens 2, and is projected onto the image sensor assembly 4 for imaging. The lens 2 is installed in the camera motor 1 in the manner shown in FIG. 1, so that light passing through the lens 2 can reach the image sensor assembly 4 at an end that is of the camera motor 1 and that is away from the variable aperture 3 for imaging. The variable aperture 3 may be fastened to the camera motor 1 by using a support part A protruding from the camera motor 1, so that both of the variable aperture 3 and the lens 2 may be driven by the camera motor 1. The image sensor assembly 4 herein includes an image sensor, another external connection assembly, and a support structure.

[0043] Specifically, in the structure of the camera motor 1 shown in FIG. 2, the camera motor 1 includes a focusing part 11, a top cover 12, and an image stabilization part 13. The top cover 12 and the image stabilization part 13 cooperate up and down to form accommodation space used to accommodate the focusing part 11, and the focusing part 11 is specifically fastened to the image stabilization part 13. The lens 2 and the variable aperture 3 are fastened on the focusing part 11. The focusing part 11 may drive the lens 2 and the variable aperture 3 to move in an optical axis direction (that is, a direction Z shown in FIG. 2), to implement focusing. The image stabilization part 13 may drive the focusing part 11 to move on a surface perpendicular to the optical axis direction, to implement an image stabilization effect of the lens 2. Certainly, the support part A configured to support and fasten the variable aperture 3 is disposed on the focusing part 11, and extends out of the camera motor 1. On the top cover 12, a first optical hole 121 for light to pass through is formed, and an axis of the first optical hole 121 is collinear with an optical axis.

[0044] For a structure of the focusing part 11, refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional structure of the focusing part 11. The focusing part 11 specifically includes a housing 111, a base 112, a carrier 113, and a driver 114. The housing 111 cooperates with the base 112 to form accommodation space for accommodating the carrier 113 and the driver 114. Because the housing 111 blocks the driver 114, a structure of the driver 114 is not shown in FIG. 3.

[0045] With reference to the structures in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, refer to a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of the camera motor 1 shown in FIG. 4. The driver 114 in the focusing part 11 is implemented in a form of a drive coil 1141 and a drive magnet 1142. The drive coil 1141 is disposed on the carrier 113, and the drive magnet 1142 may be fastened on the base 112. When the camera motor 1 is in operation, the base 112 is equivalent to a fixing part, the carrier 113 is equivalent to a movable part, and the driver 114 is configured to drive the carrier 113 to move relative to the base 112 in an optical axis direction. In this way, the drive coil 1141 is opposite to the drive magnet 1142. When the drive coil 1141 is powered on, the drive coil 1141 generates an electric field, and the drive magnet 1142 located in the electric field may be driven to move. Movement of the drive magnet 1142 may be adjusted by changing a magnitude and a direction of a current in the drive coil 1141. Certainly, the driver 114 may alternatively be implemented in another form. This is not limited herein. In addition, in this implementation, the drive coil 1141 is disposed on the carrier 113 and is equivalent to a movable end of the driver 114, and the drive magnet 1142 is fastened on the base 112 and is equivalent to a fixed end of the driver 114, to implement relative drive motion. Therefore, the drive magnet 1142 may alternatively be disposed on another structure that is fastened relative to the base 112. For example, the drive magnet 1142 may alternatively be fastened on the top cover 12, and an effect of driving the drive coil 1141 by the drive magnet 1142 can still be achieved.

[0046] Both of the variable aperture 3 and the lens 2 in the camera module 10 are disposed on the carrier 113 of the focusing part 11, the variable aperture 3 and the lens 2 can simultaneously move in the optical axis direction to implement accurate focusing, and the variable aperture 3 is independent of the lens 2. This is equivalent to reducing assembly difficulty of the camera module 10, and facilitates miniaturization of the camera module 10. In this way, the camera module 10 can be applied to a small electronic device such as a mobile phone. In addition, adjustment of the variable aperture 3 on the light incoming hole may not be affected by movement of the lens 2, and a higher-quality image shooting requirement is met. For a structure of the housing 111, refer to FIG. 5. A second optical hole 1111 for light to pass through is formed on the housing 111. A specific shape of the second optical hole 1111 is not limited herein, and a shape in FIG. 5 is merely an example. For a structure of the base 112, refer to FIG. 6. A third optical hole 1121 for light to pass through is formed on the base 112. It may be understood that when the camera motor 1 and the lens 2 are assembled, axes of both of the second optical hole 1111 and the third optical hole 1121 are collinear with an optical axis of the lens 2.

[0047] For a structure of the carrier 113, refer to FIG. 7. An installation hole 1131 is formed on the carrier 113. When the installation hole 1131 is assembled and cooperates with the lens 2, the lens 2 is fastened in the installation hole 1131. Certainly, an axis of the installation hole 1131 is collinear with the optical axis of the lens 2, to ensure an imaging effect. The support part A for fastening the variable aperture 3 is formed on the carrier 113.

[0048] In the structure of the driver 114 shown in FIG. 4, the drive coil 1141 is disposed on the carrier 113. In a possible implementation, with reference to the structure of the carrier 113 shown in FIG. 7, an installation groove M is formed on a periphery of the carrier 113, and the drive coil 1141 is disposed in the installation groove M, to obtain a structure shown in FIG. 8.

[0049] To control the driver 114, the focusing part 11 further includes a control assembly 115. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the control assembly 115 may be disposed on the base 112. The control assembly 115 herein may control the driver 114, and may further exchange information with an external main control structure. In the structure shown in FIG. 9, the control assembly 115 is disposed on the base 112 in a manner in which one end of the control assembly 115 is fastened on the base 112. The control assembly 115 may alternatively be integrated on the base 112 in a form of attachment, or may be disposed on the base 112 in another structure form. This is not limited herein. Certainly, the control assembly 115 is a part of the camera module 10 in this embodiment. Certainly, the control assembly 115 may alternatively be disposed in another structure, which does not affect function implementation of the control assembly 115.

[0050] It should be noted that in the camera module 10 provided in this application, the variable aperture 3 is not only relatively independent of the lens 2 in structure, but also may work independently of the lens 2. The structure shown in FIG. 10 may be used as a reference for the variable aperture 3. The variable aperture 3 includes a housing 31, a drive structure 32 disposed in the housing 31, and a plurality of blades 33. The plurality of blades 33 are disposed annularly to form the light incoming hole J. Certainly, an axis of the light incoming hole J herein is collinear with an axis of the lens 2. The plurality of blades 33 may rotate under driving of the drive structure 32, to change a size of the light incoming hole J and change an amount of light passing through the light incoming hole J. When the variable aperture 3 is used independently, as long as a power supply is applied to the drive structure 32, the drive structure 32 may be started, to drive the blades 33 to rotate to change the size of the light incoming hole J.

[0051] In a possible implementation, operation of the variable aperture 3 may be further controlled by the control assembly 115. To control the variable aperture 3 by the control assembly 115, a structure that can transmit electrical signals needs to be formed between the control assembly 115 and the drive structure 32 of the variable aperture 3.

[0052] In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG. 11, a first spring 116 is disposed on a side that is of the carrier 113 and that faces the variable aperture 3, and the first spring 116 is electrically connected to the control assembly 115 fastened on the base 112 (as shown in FIG. 12). Specifically, the first spring 116 is made of a metal material, which may be specifically copper, copper alloy, or another metal with good conductivity. Certainly, the first spring 116 serves as a carrier for transmitting electrical signals between the variable aperture 3 and the control assembly 115. Therefore, a structure in which the control assembly 115, the first spring 116, and the drive structure 32 of the variable aperture 3 are connected may be shown in FIG. 13.

[0053] In another possible implementation, similar to the structure shown in FIG. 13, a difference lies in that the first spring 116 is not directly in contact with the drive structure 32 of the variable aperture 3 to implement electrical connection. Instead, as shown in FIG. 14, a connection circuit 117 electrically connected to the drive structure 32 of the variable aperture 3 may be formed on the support part A of the carrier 113, and the connection circuit 117 is electrically connected to the first spring 116. In this way, electrical signal transmission between the drive structure 32 of the variable aperture 3 and the control assembly 115 is implemented by using the connection circuit 117 and the first spring 116. Herein, the connection circuit 117 formed on the carrier 113 may be formed by directly cabling on the carrier 113, or the connection circuit 117 may be formed by integrating a flexible circuit into the carrier 113.

[0054] In the foregoing two implementations, the first spring 116 serves as a carrier for transmitting at least a part of electrical signals between the control assembly 115 and the drive structure 32 of the variable aperture 3. To enhance an electrical signal transfer effect, the first spring 116 may be divided into a plurality of sub-springs 1161 disposed on a same layer based on a specific structure of the first spring 116. In a structure of the first spring 116 shown in FIG. 15, the plurality of sub-springs 1161 may be distributed annularly around an optical axis by using the optical axis as a center.

[0055] In addition, in the foregoing two implementations, because the first spring 116 serves as a carrier for transmitting at least a part of electrical signals, the first spring 116 belongs to an electrical connection structure. It should be considered that another electrical device (for example, the drive coil 1141 and the drive magnet 1142 included in the driver 114) may be further disposed on the camera module 10 provided in this embodiment. To prevent mutual interference between the first spring 116 and this type of electrical device, an insulation isolation structure may be sandwiched between the first spring 116 and this type of electrical device. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, a spacer 118 may be sandwiched between the first spring 116 and the drive magnet 1142. Based on the structure shown in FIG. 8, the drive coil 1141 is disposed in the groove of the carrier 113, and the carrier 113 serves as an insulation isolation structure between the first spring 116 and the drive coil 1141. Certainly, a structure of the spacer 118 is not limited, and may be a flat plate or a baffle plate. In addition, a location at which the spacer 118 is disposed relative to the first spring 116 may also be determined based on relative locations of other electrical devices. This is not limited herein.

[0056] It should be noted that, in addition to being used as an electrical signal carrier, the first spring 116 may alternatively be used as a connector between the carrier 113 and the fixing part (for example, the base 112 or the housing 111) of the camera module 10. Herein, the first spring 116 may be connected between the carrier 113 and the housing 111. Corresponding to the first spring 116, as shown in FIG. 17, a second spring 119 may be further disposed on a side that is of the carrier 113 and that faces the image sensor assembly 4, and the second spring 119 may be connected to the carrier 113 and the base 112. Because the first spring 116 and the second spring 119 are respectively located on two sides (upper and lower sides shown in FIG. 17) of the carrier 113, the first spring 116 and the second spring 119 exert action forces in opposite directions on the carrier 113 from two opposite directions, so that the carrier 113 is in a relatively stable state. Certainly, due to elastic characteristics of the first spring 116 and the second spring 119, the carrier 113 may still be driven by the driver 114 to move relative to the base 112.

[0057] Based on the foregoing description of the structure of the camera module 10 provided in this application, refer to an exploded view of a structure of the camera module 10 shown in FIG. 18. As shown in FIG. 18, in the camera module 10, the driver 114 is implemented by using the drive coil 1141 in cooperation with the drive magnet 1142, the drive coil 1141 surrounds a periphery of the carrier 113, and the drive magnet 1142 is implemented by using two symmetric strip magnets to cooperate with the drive coil 1141. The first spring 116 is separated from the drive magnet 1142 by using two long-strip-shaped spacers 118. A rectangular spacing frame 14 may be further sandwiched between the housing 111 and the first spring 116 to prevent the first spring 116 from contacting the housing 111. Certainly, the spacing frame 14 may alternatively be implemented in another shape. This is not limited herein. Other structures are described above, and details are not described herein again. Certainly, FIG. 18 provides a structure of the camera module 10 by using only an example. This does not limit the structure of the camera module 10 that needs to be protected in this application.

[0058] Because a structure of the camera module 10 may be miniaturized, the camera module 10 may be applied to a small electronic device. Therefore, based on the camera module 10, this application further provides an electronic device. The electronic device may be specifically a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a vehicle-mounted surveillance device, and is a small device with high portability. The camera module 10 is installed on a device body, to implement an image shooting function of these electronic devices. A mobile phone 100 shown in FIG. 19 is used as an example. The mobile phone 100 has a mobile phone body 20. The camera module 10 is installed on a back surface of the mobile phone body 20, is equivalent to a rear-view camera structure of the mobile phone 100, and is configured to implement a rear-view image shooting function.

[0059] It is clear that a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to embodiments of this application without departing from the scope of embodiments of this application. In this case, this application is intended to cover these modifications and variations of embodiments of this application provided that they fall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims and their equivalent technologies.