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Digital Camera Patent Abstract
A digital camera module is provided. The digital camera module includes
a lens assembly, a magnetic field generator surrounding the lens
assembly, a shell covering the lens assembly, and a plurality of
radio magnetized magnets disposed separately at two sides of the
magnetic field generator.
Digital Camera Patent Claims
1. A digital camera module, comprising:a lens assembly;a magnetic
field generator surrounding the lens assembly;a shell covering the
lens assembly; anda plurality of radio magnetized magnets disposed
separately at two sides of the magnetic field generator.
2. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
a yoke disposed outside of the lens assembly for adjusting a size
tolerance of the plurality of radio magnetized magnets.
3. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
an image sensor.
4. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the magnetic
filed generator is a coil.
5. The digital camera as claimed in claim 4, wherein the coil generates
a magnetic filed by introducing a current flowing therethrough.
6. The digital camera as claimed in claim 5, wherein a direction
of a magnetic line generated by the coil is perpendicular to a direction
of magnetic lines of the plurality of radial magnetized magnets.
7. The digital camera as claimed in claim 5, wherein a magnetic
force generated by the coil interacts with a magnetic force generated
by the plurality of radial magnetized magnets to move the lens assembly
to focus.
8. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
a position adjusting element disposed in the shell for controlling
a position of the lens assembly.
9. The digital camera as claimed in claim 8, wherein the position
adjusting element is an elastomer.
10. The digital camera as claimed in claim 9, wherein the elastomer
is one selected from a group consisting of an elastic plate, a spring
and a combination thereof.
11. A portable electronic device comprising a digital camera module,
wherein the digital camera has a lens assembly, a magnetic field
generator surrounding the lens assembly, a shell covering the lens
assembly, and a plurality of radio magnetized magnets disposed separately
at two sides of the magnetic field generator.
12. The portable electronic device as claimed in claim 11, being
one selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a laptop
computer, a personal digital assistant and a mobile music player.
Digital Camera Patent Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001]The present invention relates to a digital camera module,
and more particularly to a small-sized digital camera module which
can be integrated with a portable electronic device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002]The portable electronic device integrated with a digital
camera is very popular at present, e.g. the cellphone with a photographing
function. The portable electronic device features a small size,
so it is important to manufacture the digital camera with a smaller
size to be integrated with the portable electronic device. Besides,
since most portable electronic devices are powered by batteries,
whether the digital cameras integrated therewith are power-saving
is also important.
[0003]For the digital camera, since the lens position thereof needs
to be adjusted to obtain a proper focus, usually a focus adjusting
module is equipped therewith. In the prior art, a DC or stepping
motor is used with a transmission mechanism to adjust the position
of the lens or photoactive element for focusing. However, the transmission
mechanism complicates the assembly of the digital camera. Moreover,
the mechanical noise will be generated since the transmission mechanism
is driven by the motor.
[0004]For overcoming the above drawbacks, the magnetic force is
currently used for focusing. A digital camera focusing mechanism
is disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 551,765, which changes the position
of the photoactive element by the magnetic element, coil and elastic
element for focusing. A current is provided in the coil to generate
a magnetic field repelling the magnetic element, so that the photoactive
element connected with the magnetic element moves due to the magnetic
force. The elastic element enables the photoactive element to move
continuously for achieving the continuous focusing. The displacement
of the photoactive element is controlled by controlling the current
provided in the coil.
[0005]A digital camera adjusting structure is disclosed in Japan
Patent No. 2005-128405. A cylindrical structure is used to cover
the lens module, and a yoke, magnet and coil are disposed on the
cylindrical structure to surround the lens module. The lens module
moves by means of the magnetic force generated by the magnet and
coil for focusing.
[0006]Please refer to FIG. 1, which is an exploded view of the
digital camera module in the prior art. A coil 1 is wrapped around
a lens module 2. The coil 1 and the lens module 2 are placed in
a holder 3, and a plurality of magnets 4 are disposed around the
holder 3. The lens module 2 moves by means of the interaction between
the magnetic force generated by the magnets 4 and that generated
by the coil 1 after being electrified, thereby changing the position
of the lens module 2 and thus the distance between the lens module
2 and the photoactive element for focusing.
[0007]Currently, the magnet or magnetic element must be disposed
outside of the lens, which will increase the volume of the digital
camera. Furthermore, since the current magnet or magnetic element
is disposed around the coil, the direction of the magnetic line
generated by the magnet or magnetic element is not perpendicular
to that generated by the coil. Therefore, a larger current is required
for the coil to generate a larger magnetic field for moving the
lens or photoactive element. This will consume more electric power,
which is unfavorable for the portable electronic device.
[0008]In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, an improved
digital camera module is provided. The particular design in the
present invention not only solves the problems described above,
but also is easy to be implemented. Thus, the present invention
has the utility for the industry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009]A digital camera module is provided in the present invention,
which includes a lens assembly, a magnetic force generator, a shell
and a plurality of radio magnetized magnets. The magnets are disposed
separately at the upper and lower sides of the lens assembly, which
can save the space around the lens assembly, thereby reducing the
volume of the digital camera module. Since the magnets are disposed
separately at the upper and lower sides of the lens assembly and
are radio magnetized ones, the direction of the magnetic line generated
by the magnets is perpendicular to that generated by the coil, so
that the movement of the lens assembly is more efficient. The striction
of the system is overcome by means of the magnetic filed generated
by a smaller current provided by the coil, and thus the focusing
is achieved.
[0010]It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a digital
camera module, which includes a lens assembly, a magnetic field
generator, a shell and a plurality of radio magnetized magnets.
The lens assembly is covered by the shell, and the magnetic field
generator surrounds the lens assembly. Besides, the radio magnetized
magnets are disposed separately at two sides of the magnetic field
generator.
[0011]Further, the digital camera also includes a yoke disposed
outside of the lens assembly for adjusting the size tolerance of
the radial magnetized magnets.
[0012]In addition, the magnetic field generator is a coil which
generates a magnetic filed by introducing a current flowing therethrough.
The direction of the magnetic line generated by the coil is perpendicular
to the direction of the magnetic lines of the radial magnetized
magnets. Meanwhile, the magnetic force generated by the coil interacts
with the magnetic force generated by the radial magnetized magnets
to move the lens assembly to focus.
[0013]The digital camera module of the present invention also includes
some elements employed in the conventional one, e.g. an image sensor.
Besides, the digital camera module of the present invention also
includes a position adjusting element disposed in the shell for
controlling the position of the lens assembly. The position adjusting
element can be an elastomer. Preferably, the elastormer is one selected
from the group consisting of an elastic plate, a spring and the
combination thereof.
[0014]It is another aspect of the present invention to provide
a portable electronic device which includes the digital camera of
the present invention. Since the digital camera module of the present
invention has a small volume and is power-saving, it is quite suitable
to be integrated with all kinds of portable electronic devices.
The portable electronic device integrated with a digital camera
has already been very popular in the market, e.g. the cellphone
with a photographing function, the laptop computer with a digital
camera, etc. The portable electronic device of the present invention
features a small-sized and power-saving digital camera module integrated
therewith, due to the position change of the magnet and the use
of the radial magnetized magnet. As for the other technical features
of the portable electronic device, they are all the same as the
conventional portable electronic device. Preferably, the portable
electronic device can be a mobile phone, a laptop computer, a personal
digital assistance (PDA) or a mobile music player.
[0015]The above objects and advantages of the present invention
will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in
the art after reviewing the following detailed descriptions and
accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the digital camera module in
the prior art;
[0017]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the digital camera module according
to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0018]FIG. 3 is a side view of the digital camera module according
to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
[0019]FIG. 4 is a side view of the digital camera module according
to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020]The present invention will now be described more specifically
with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that
the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention
are presented herein for the purposes of illustration and description
only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the
precise form disclosed.
[0021]Please refer to FIG. 2, which is an exploded view of the
digital camera module according to a first preferred embodiment
of the present invention. The digital camera module includes a coil
1, a lens assembly 2, a lens 21, a lens covering element 22, a holder
3, an upper radial magnetized magnet 5, a lower radial magnetized
magnet 6, a yoke 7 and a photoactive element 8. The lens assembly
2 composed of the lens 21 and the lens covering element 22 is placed
in the holder 3. The yoke 7 is disposed on the lens covering element
22 to divide it into two parts, each of which is wrapped with the
coil 1 for generating a magnetic field by introducing a current
flowing therethrough. A magnetic filed of magnetic lines 9 in a
first direction and A magnetic filed of magnetic lines 10 in a second
direction are respectively generated according to the direction
of the current flowing through the coil 1. When the current flows
anti-clockwise around the holder 3, the magnetic field of magnetic
lines 9 is generated. Whereas, when the current flows clockwise
around the holder 3, the magnetic field of magnetic lines 10 is
generated.
[0022]Since the magnetic line is emitted from the magnetic north
pole to the magnetic south pole, if the current flows anti-clockwise
around the lens covering element 22 to generate the magnetic field
of magnetic lines 9, the lens assembly 2 will be pushed away from
the lower radial magnetized magnet 6 to be close to the upper radial
magnetized magnet 5 due to the interaction between radial magnetized
magnetic lines 11 and magnetic lines 9. In this case, the position
of the lens assembly 2 is away from the photoactive element 8. According
to the photography principle, the longer distance between the lens
and the photoactive element is, the closer object the lens will
be focused on. Therefore, when the digital camera module needs to
be operated within a short distance, the current flows anti-clockwise
around the lens covering element 22 for focusing. Whereas, when
the object to be focused on is located in the distance, the current
flows clockwise around the lens covering element 22 to generate
the magnetic field of magnetic lines 10 for focusing.
[0023]The yoke 7 is used to adjust the respective size tolerances
of the upper radial magnetized magnet 5 and the lower radial magnetized
magnet 6 for providing a sufficient focus range.
[0024]Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a side view of the digital
camera module according to a first preferred embodiment of the present
invention. Since the lens assembly 2 will not be blocked by any
obstacle while moving, only two focuses, a maximum focus and a minimum
one, exist in the embodiment of FIG. 3.
[0025]Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a side view of the digital
camera module according to a second preferred embodiment of the
present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, an elastic plate
is disposed between the lens assembly 2 and the photoactive element
8. In this case, when the lens assembly 2 moves toward the photoactive
element 8, it can be stopped in an arbitrary position if the magnitude
of the current is adjusted to achieve the balance between the driving
force and the elasticity provided by the elastic plate 12. Hence,
the distance between the lens assembly 2 and the photoactive element
8 can be controlled according to actual needs, thereby achieving
a multi-stage continuous focusing.
[0026]Further, the digital camera module of the present invention
can be integrated with a cellphone. The digital camera module can
be built in the cellphone by the existing technology. Also, the
digital camera module can be externally connected to the cellphone,
for example engaged with or plugged into the cellphone, to form
a cellphone with a photographing function.
[0027]Besides a cellphone, the digital camera module of the present
invention can also be integrated with any kind of portable electronic
device by the existing technology. Preferably, the portable electronic
device can be a laptop computer, a personal digital assistance,
a mobile music player, etc.
[0028]In conclusion, the present invention provides a digital camera
module which includes a lens assembly, a magnetic force generator,
a shell and a plurality of radio magnetized magnets. The magnets
are disposed separately at the upper and lower sides of the lens
assembly, which can save the space around the lens assembly, thereby
reducing the volume of the digital camera module. Since the magnets
are disposed separately at the upper and lower sides of the lens
assembly and are radio magnetized ones, the direction of the magnetic
line generated by the magnets is perpendicular to that generated
by the coil, so that the movement of the lens assembly is more efficient.
The striction of the system is overcome by means of the magnetic
filed generated by a smaller current provided by the coil, and thus
the focusing is achieved.
[0029]While the invention has been described in terms of what is
presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments,
it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to
the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover
various modifications and similar arrangements included within the
spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded
with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications
and similar structures.
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