CN115494684A

CN115494684A - Zoom camera module

Info

Publication number: CN115494684A
Application number: CN202110615342.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵波杰; 叶林敏; 阙嘉耀; 方银丽; 黄桢; 傅强; 洪超; 袁栋立
Original assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-02
Filing date: 2021-06-02
Publication date: 2022-12-20

Abstract

The utility model discloses a module of making a video recording of can zooming, wherein, the module of making a video recording of can zooming adopts novel piezoelectric actuator as drive element to satisfy the demand of zooming of the module of making a video recording of can zooming. And moreover, the piezoelectric actuators are arranged in the variable-focus camera module by adopting a reasonable arrangement scheme so as to further meet the requirements on the structure and the size of the variable-focus camera module.

Description

Zoom camera module

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a module field of making a video recording especially relates to the module of making a video recording of can zooming, wherein, the module of making a video recording of can zooming adopts neotype piezoelectric actuator to satisfy as drive element the demand of zooming of the module of making a video recording of can zooming. And moreover, the piezoelectric actuators are arranged in the variable-focus camera module by adopting a reasonable arrangement scheme so as to further meet the requirements on the structure and the size of the variable-focus camera module.

Background

With the popularization of mobile electronic devices, technologies related to camera modules used in mobile electronic devices for helping users acquire images (e.g., videos or images) have been rapidly developed and advanced, and in recent years, camera modules have been widely used in many fields such as medical treatment, security, industrial production, and the like.

In order to meet the more and more extensive market demands, high pixels, large chips and small sizes are the irreversible development trend of the existing camera modules. As the photo-sensing chip is developed toward high pixels and large chips, the size of the optical lens fitted with the photo-sensing chip is gradually increased, which brings new challenges to a driving element for driving the optical lens for optical performance adjustment (e.g., optical focusing, optical anti-shake, etc.).

Specifically, the conventional driving element for driving the optical lens is an electromagnetic Motor, such as a Voice Coil Motor (VCM), a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) driver, and the like. However, as the size of the optical lens increases and the weight thereof increases, the conventional electromagnetic motor has been unable to provide sufficient driving force to drive the optical lens to move. In quantification, the conventional voice coil motor and shape memory alloy driver are only suitable for driving an optical lens with a weight less than 100mg, that is, if the weight of the optical lens exceeds 100mg, the conventional driver cannot meet the application requirements of the camera module.

In addition, with the change and development of market demands, in recent years, an image pickup module configured in a terminal device is also required to be capable of realizing a zoom photographing function, for example, a demand for realizing a distant view photographing by an optical zoom. In comparison with a conventional camera module (e.g., a moving-focus camera module), the optical zoom camera module not only includes a lens having a larger size and weight, that is, a driver is required to provide a larger driving force, but also the driver for driving the lens to move is required to provide a driving performance with higher precision and longer stroke. The above technical requirements cannot be met by the conventional electromagnetic drive motor. Meanwhile, the conventional electromagnetic actuator has a problem of electromagnetic interference.

Therefore, a new driving scheme for the camera module with an adaptive function is needed, and the new driver can meet the development requirements of light and thin camera modules.

Disclosure of Invention

An advantage of the present application is to provide a variable focus camera module, wherein the variable focus camera module uses a novel piezoelectric actuator as a driving element to provide a driving force large enough, and further, to provide a driving performance with higher precision and longer stroke, so as to meet the requirement of adjusting the optical performance of the variable focus camera module, for example, the requirement of optical zooming.

Yet another advantage of the present application is to provide a variable focus camera module, wherein the piezoelectric actuators are arranged in the variable focus camera module by a reasonable arrangement scheme, so as to meet the structural and size requirements of the variable focus camera module.

Other advantages and features of the present application will become apparent from the following description and may be realized by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In order to achieve at least one of the above advantages, the present application provides a variable focus camera module, which includes:

a zoom lens group comprising: the zoom lens comprises a fixed part, a zooming part and a focusing part, wherein the zooming lens group is provided with an optical axis;

the photosensitive assembly is held on a light transmission path of the zoom lens group and comprises a circuit board and a photosensitive chip electrically connected with the circuit board; and

a drive assembly, comprising: the zoom lens comprises a driving shell, a first carrier and a second carrier which are arranged in the driving shell, a first driving element and a second driving element, wherein the zoom part is installed on the first carrier, and the focusing part is installed on the second carrier, wherein the first driving element is provided with a first driving end, the second driving element is provided with a second driving end, the first driving element is configured to act on the first carrier in a mode that the first driving end rotates and travels after being conducted so as to drive the zoom part to move along the direction set by the optical axis, the second driving element is configured to act on the second carrier in a mode that the second driving end rotates and travels after being conducted so as to drive the focusing part to move along the direction set by the optical axis, and therefore optical zooming is achieved.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the first carrier includes a first driving groove formed in a side portion thereof and extending in a direction set by the optical axis, and the second carrier includes a second driving groove formed in a side portion thereof and extending in the direction set by the optical axis, wherein a first driving end of the first driving element is embedded in the first driving groove, and a second driving end of the second driving element is embedded in the second driving groove.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the first drive element and/or the second drive element is/are implemented as a piezoelectric actuator.

In a variable focus camera module according to the present application, the piezoelectric actuator includes: the piezoelectric actuator comprises a sleeve structure, a piezoelectric assembly, a driving rod and a circuit system, wherein the sleeve structure is provided with a threaded hole penetrating through the sleeve structure, the driving rod is meshed in the threaded hole in a threaded connection mode, the piezoelectric assembly is formed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure, the circuit system is electrically connected to the piezoelectric assembly, after the piezoelectric actuator is switched on, the piezoelectric assembly is bent and deformed under the action of a driving signal provided by the circuit system to drive the sleeve structure to be bent and deformed so as to drive the driving rod to rotationally move in the threaded hole, and the first end of the driving rod forms the first driving end or the second driving end.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the piezoelectric assembly includes at least two piezoelectric elements, and the at least two piezoelectric elements are adjacently disposed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the piezoelectric actuator further includes a mounting portion provided at a second end portion of the sleeve structure, the second end portion being away from the first end, wherein the piezoelectric actuator is mounted in the driving housing in such a manner that the mounting portion is attached to an inner side wall of the driving housing.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, an extending direction of the threaded hole of the sleeve structure is parallel to a direction in which the optical axis is set.

In the zoom camera module according to the application, the end face of the first end is a curved surface.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the first end is hemispherical in shape.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the driving lever has a receiving groove concavely formed at the first end, and the piezoelectric actuator further includes a ball disposed in the receiving groove.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the first carrier includes a first carrier main body and a first extension portion extending laterally from the first carrier main body, and the first driving groove is concavely formed on the first extension portion; the second carrier comprises a second carrier body and a second extension portion extending laterally from the second carrier body, and the second driving groove is concavely formed on the second extension portion.

In the zoom camera module according to the application, the inner diameter of the first driving groove is equal to the outer diameter of the first driving end, and the inner diameter of the second driving groove is equal to the outer diameter of the second driving end.

In a variable focus camera module according to the present application, the first drive element and the second drive element are arranged at a first side of the zoom lens group, and the first drive element and the second drive element are aligned with each other in a height direction of the first side of the zoom lens group.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the driving assembly further comprises a guiding structure disposed at a second side of the zoom lens group opposite to the first side, the guiding structure being configured to guide the focusing portion and the zooming portion to move along the optical axis.

In the zoom camera module according to the application, the guide structure includes: the optical axis of the first carrier is parallel to the optical axis, so that the first carrier and the second carrier can be guided to move along the guide rod parallel to the optical axis.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the guide structure further comprises a first guide mechanism disposed between the first carrier and the drive housing and a second guide mechanism disposed between the second carrier and the drive housing, wherein the first guide mechanism is configured to guide the zoom portion to move along the optical axis, and the second guide mechanism is configured to guide the focus portion to move along the optical axis.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the first guide mechanism includes at least one rolling element disposed between the first carrier and the driving housing, and a rolling groove disposed between the first carrier and the driving housing for accommodating the at least one rolling element; the second guide mechanism comprises at least one rolling element arranged between the second carrier and the driving shell, and a rolling groove arranged between the second carrier and the driving shell and used for accommodating the at least one rolling element.

In the zoom camera module according to the application, the first guide mechanism includes: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the first carrier and is suitable for the sliding of the sliding block; the second guide mechanism includes: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the second carrier and is suitable for the sliding of the sliding block.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the driving assembly further includes a first restoring element abutting against the first carrier and a second restoring element abutting against the second carrier, the first restoring element is adapted to drive the first carrier to restore to an original position, and the second restoring element is adapted to drive the second carrier to restore to the original position.

In the zoom camera module according to the application, the first carrier includes a first carrier main body and a first extending portion extending laterally from the first carrier main body, wherein the first extending portion is a first bearing, the first driving groove is a first bearing hole of the first bearing, and a first driving end of the first driving element is fixed in the first bearing hole; the second carrier comprises a second carrier body and a second extension portion extending laterally from the second carrier body, wherein the second extension portion is a second bearing, the second driving groove is a second bearing hole of the second bearing, and a second driving end of the second driving element is fixed in the second bearing hole.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the application, the first carrier includes a first carrier body and a first extending portion extending laterally from the first carrier body, and the second carrier includes a second carrier body and a second extending portion extending laterally from the second carrier body, wherein the first carrier further includes a first bearing fixed to the first extending portion, the second carrier further includes a second bearing fixed to the second extending portion, the first driving groove is a first bearing hole of the first bearing, the second driving groove is a second bearing hole of the second bearing, wherein the first driving end of the first driving element is fixed in the first bearing hole, and the second driving end of the second driving element is fixed in the second bearing hole.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the driving assembly further comprises a first guiding mechanism and a second guiding mechanism respectively disposed on a first side and a second side of the zoom lens group, the first guiding mechanism is configured to guide the first carrier and the second carrier to move along the direction set by the optical axis from the first side of the zoom lens group, and the second guiding mechanism is configured to guide the first carrier and the second carrier to move along the direction set by the optical axis from the second side of the zoom lens group.

The variable-focus camera module according to the application further comprises: and the light turning element is used for turning the imaging light to the zoom lens group.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the focusing portion and the zooming portion are adjacently disposed.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the zoom portion is located between the fixed portion and the focusing portion.

In the variable focus camera module according to the present application, the focusing portion is located between the fixed portion and the zooming portion.

Further objects and advantages of the present application will become apparent from an understanding of the ensuing description and drawings.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present application will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the claims.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent by describing in more detail embodiments of the present application with reference to the attached drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the application. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally represent like parts or steps.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an optical system of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3A illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating a modified implementation of the guide structure of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3C illustrates a schematic diagram of another variant implementation of the guide structure of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4A illustrates a schematic diagram of a piezoelectric actuator according to an embodiment of the application.

Figure 4B illustrates another schematic diagram of the piezoelectric actuator according to an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 4C illustrates a schematic diagram of a signal output of the circuitry of the piezoelectric actuator according to an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 4D illustrates yet another schematic diagram of the piezoelectric actuator according to an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 4E illustrates a schematic diagram of one variant implementation of the piezoelectric actuator according to an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 4F illustrates a schematic diagram of another implementation of a variation of the piezoelectric actuator according to embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a variant implementation of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another variant embodiment of the variable focus camera module according to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another variant implementation of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, example embodiments according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application and not all embodiments of the present application, and that the present application is not limited by the example embodiments described herein.

Summary of the application

As described above, the driving elements for driving the components of the camera module, such as the optical lens and the zoom module, are electromagnetic motors, such as Voice Coil Motor (VCM), shape Memory Alloy Actuator (Shape of Memory Alloy Actuator (SMA), etc. Since the camera module is conventionally disposed along the thickness direction of an electronic apparatus such as a mobile phone, the components in the camera module tend to be thin and small, and in this case, the electromagnetic motor can provide a sufficient driving force. However, the structure and the positional relationship of the camera module relative to the electronic device are changed along with the periscopic camera module and other novel camera modules, that is, the camera module can be arranged along the length or the width direction of the electronic device, so that the camera module is not limited by the size of the thickness direction of the electronic device any more, and thus, a greater degree of freedom can be obtained in the aspect of size increase.

Further, as the demand for the imaging performance of the camera module increases, higher demands are made on each component of the camera module, particularly the zoom component, and with the reduction of the limitation in terms of the increase in size, the component design of the camera module also brings about an increase in the size of the component in order to realize a stronger function, resulting in a further increase in the weight of the component. In this situation, the conventional electromagnetic motor can no longer provide enough driving force, and as a result, the conventional voice coil motor driver can only drive the optical lens with a weight less than 100mg, while the memory alloy motor requires a larger stroke space, that is, if the weight of the component to be driven in the camera module exceeds 100mg, the conventional driver cannot meet the application requirement of the camera module or needs to increase the size of the driver by a very large amount to provide a larger driving force, so that a new generation of driving scheme for the camera module must be developed.

Based on this, the technical route of the present application is to provide a design of a variable focus camera module based on a piezoelectric actuator capable of providing a larger driving force, so as to satisfy a demand for a component driving force after a component in a novel variable focus camera module is enlarged.

Here, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, since the technical requirements of the novel variable-focus camera module are completely opposite to those of the conventional variable-focus camera module which needs to be miniaturized, in the technical route for the novel variable-focus camera module, a whole set of design solutions based on the technical requirements of the novel variable-focus camera module is required, rather than simply applying the novel piezoelectric actuator to the design of the conventional variable-focus camera module.

Specifically, the technical scheme of this application provides a module of making a video recording of zooming, includes: a zoom lens group comprising: the zoom lens comprises a fixed part, a zooming part and a focusing part, wherein the zooming lens group is provided with an optical axis; a photosensitive assembly corresponding to the zoom lens group; and, a drive assembly comprising: a driving housing, at least one driving element located in the driving housing, wherein the at least one driving element is disposed at a first side of the zoom lens group, configured to drive the zoom portion and/or the focus portion to move along the optical axis, and the at least one driving element is a piezoelectric actuator.

In this way, by configuring the overall structure of the variable focus camera module based on the piezoelectric actuator capable of providing a greater driving force, using the piezoelectric actuator as a driving element of the zoom portion and/or the focus portion that needs to be moved, it is possible to drive the optical components of the variable focus camera module having a greater weight, that is, optical components having a weight much greater than 100mg, for example, up to a weight of more than 1 gram. Moreover, even if the stroke provided by the single deformation of the piezoelectric actuator is limited, the long-distance movement of the optical component to be moved can be realized by a mode of superposing the strokes provided by multiple deformations, and the time of the single deformation and the recovery of the piezoelectric actuator is very short, so that the requirement on the zooming time can be completely met in millisecond magnitude.

It should be noted that the variable focus camera module according to the embodiment of the present application is implemented as a variable focus periscopic camera module. Of course, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that, although the variable-focus camera module is implemented as a variable-focus periscopic camera module in the embodiment of the present application, in other examples of the present application, the variable-focus camera module may also be implemented as other types of camera modules, and is not limited by the present application.

Exemplary variable focus camera module

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the variable focus camera module according to the embodiment of the present application is implemented as a periscopic camera module, which includes: a light turning element 10, a zoom lens group 20, a photosensitive assembly 30 and a driving assembly 40.

Accordingly, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the light turning element 10 is configured to receive an imaging light ray from a subject and turn the imaging light ray to the zoom lens group 20. In particular, in the embodiment of the present application, the light turning element 10 is configured to turn the imaging light from the object by 90 °, so that the overall height dimension of the variable focus camera module can be reduced. Here, in consideration of manufacturing tolerance, in an actual operation process, the angle at which the light bending element 10 bends the imaging light may have an error within 1 °, which will be understood by those skilled in the art.

In a specific example of the present application, the light-turning element 10 may be implemented as a mirror (e.g., a plane mirror), or a light-turning prism (e.g., a triangular prism). For example, when the light turning element 10 is implemented as a light turning prism, the light incident surface and the light exiting surface of the light turning prism are perpendicular to each other and the light reflecting surface of the light turning prism is inclined at an angle of 45 ° to the light incident surface and the light exiting surface, so that when the imaging light enters the light turning prism perpendicularly to the light incident surface, the imaging light can be turned by 90 ° at the light reflecting surface and output from the light exiting surface perpendicularly to the light exiting surface.

Of course, in other examples of the present application, the light turning element 10 may also be implemented as other types of optical elements, and is not limited to the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the variable focus camera module may further include a greater number of light turning elements 10, one reason for which is that: one function of introducing the light turning element 10 is: and (3) turning the imaging light so as to fold the optical system of the variable-focus camera module with a longer Total Track Length (TTL) in structural dimension. Accordingly, when the total optical length (TTL) of the variable focus camera module is too long, a greater number of light turning elements 10 may be disposed to meet the size requirement of the variable focus camera module, for example, the light turning elements 10 may be disposed at the image side of the variable focus camera module or between any two lenses in the zoom lens group 20.

As shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the zoom lens group 20 corresponds to the light turning element 10, and is configured to receive the imaging light from the light turning element 10 to converge the imaging light. Accordingly, as shown in fig. 2, the variable focus lens package 20 includes, along its set optical axis direction: the zoom lens module comprises a fixed part 21, a zoom part 22 and a focusing part 23, wherein the positions of the zoom part 22 and the focusing part 23 relative to the fixed part 21 can be respectively adjusted under the action of the driving assembly 40, so that the adjustment of the optical performance of the variable-focus camera module, including but not limited to optical focusing and optical zooming functions, is realized. Specifically, the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 can be adjusted by the driving assembly 40, so that the focal length of the zoom lens group 20 of the variable focus camera module is adjusted, thereby clearly shooting subjects at different distances.

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the fixing portion 21 includes a first barrel and at least one optical lens housed in the first barrel. In the embodiment of the present application, the fixed portion 21 is adapted to be fixed to a non-moving portion in the driving assembly 40, so that the position of the fixed portion 21 in the variable focus lens group 20 is kept constant.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the fixing portion 21 may not be provided with the first lens barrel, and only includes at least one optical lens, for example, only includes a plurality of optical lenses that are mutually embedded. That is, in other examples of the application, the fixing portion 21 may be implemented as a "bare lens".

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the zoom portion 22 includes a second barrel and at least one optical lens accommodated in the second barrel, wherein the zoom portion 22 is adapted to be driven by the driving assembly 40 to move along the optical axis direction set by the zoom lens group 20, so as to implement an optical zoom function of the variable focus camera module, so that the variable focus camera module can achieve clear shooting of objects to be shot at different distances.

It should be noted that in other examples of the present application, the zoom portion 22 may not be provided with the second barrel, and only includes at least one optical lens, for example, only includes a plurality of optical lenses that are embedded with each other. That is, in other examples of the application, the zoom portion 22 may also be implemented as a "bare lens".

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the focusing portion 23 includes a third barrel and at least one optical lens accommodated in the third barrel, wherein the focusing portion 23 is adapted to be driven by the driving assembly 40 to move along the optical axis direction set by the zoom lens group 20, so as to achieve the focusing function of the variable focus camera module. More specifically, the optical focusing achieved by driving the focusing portion 23 can compensate for the focus shift caused by moving the zoom portion 22, thereby compensating for the imaging performance of the variable focus camera module so that the imaging quality thereof meets the preset requirements.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the focusing portion 23 may not be provided with the third lens barrel, and only includes at least one optical lens, for example, only includes a plurality of optical lenses that are embedded with each other. That is, in other examples of the application, the focusing portion 23 may also be implemented as a "bare lens".

More specifically, as shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the fixed portion 21, the zooming portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 of the zoom lens group 20 are sequentially disposed (i.e., in the zoom lens group 20, the zooming portion 22 is located between the fixed portion 21 and the focusing portion 23), that is, when the imaging light from the light turning element 10 passes through the zoom lens group 20, it sequentially passes through the fixed portion 21, then passes through the zooming portion 22, and then passes through the focusing portion 23.

Of course, in other examples of the present application, the relative positional relationship among the fixed portion 21, the zoom portion 22, and the focus portion 23 may also be adjusted, for example, the fixed portion 21 is disposed between the zoom portion 22 and the focus portion 23, and the focus portion 23 is disposed between the zoom portion 22 and the fixed portion 21. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the relative positional relationship among the fixing portion 21, the zooming portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 can be adjusted according to the optical design requirement and the structural design requirement of the variable focus camera module.

In particular, however, in the embodiment of the present application, in consideration of the structural design of the variable focus camera module, it is preferable that the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 are disposed adjacently. That is, the positions of the respective portions in the variable focus lens group 20 according to the embodiment of the present application are preferably configured to: the zooming part 22 is located between the fixed part 21 and the focusing part 23, or the focusing part 23 is located between the fixed part 21 and the zooming part 22. It should be understood that the zooming portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 are portions of the zoom lens group 20 that need to be moved, and therefore, the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 are disposed adjacently, and such a position setting is advantageous for arranging the driving assembly 40, which will be developed in the detailed description of the driving assembly 40.

It should also be noted that, in the example illustrated in fig. 2, although the zoom lens group 20 includes one fixed portion 21, one zoom portion 22 and one focusing portion 23 as an example, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that, in other examples of the present application, the specific number of the fixed portion 21, the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 is selected and is not limited to the present application, and can be adjusted according to the optical design requirements of the variable focus camera module.

In order to limit the imaging light entering the photosensitive assembly 30, in some examples of the present application, the variable focus camera module further includes a light blocking element (not illustrated) disposed on a photosensitive path of the photosensitive assembly 30, wherein the light blocking element can at least partially block the projection of the imaging light, so as to reduce the influence of stray light on the imaging quality of the variable focus camera module as much as possible.

As shown in fig. 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the photosensitive assembly 30 corresponds to the zoom lens group 20, and is configured to receive an image light from the zoom lens group 20 and perform an image, where the photosensitive assembly 30 includes a circuit board 31, a photosensitive chip 32 electrically connected to the circuit board 31, and a filter element 33 held on a photosensitive path of the photosensitive chip 32. More specifically, in the example illustrated in fig. 2, the photosensitive assembly 30 further includes a holder 34 provided to the circuit board 31, wherein the filter element 33 is mounted on the holder 34 to be held on a photosensitive path of the photosensitive chip 32.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the specific implementation manner of the filter element 33 being held on the photosensitive path of the photosensitive chip 32 is not limited by the present application, for example, the filter element 33 may be implemented as a filter film and coated on a surface of one of the optical lenses of the zoom lens group 20 to play a filtering effect, and for example, the photosensitive assembly 30 may further include a filter element holder (not shown) mounted on the holder, wherein the filter element 33 is held on the photosensitive path of the photosensitive chip 32 in a manner of being mounted on the filter element holder.

As described above, in order to meet the increasingly wide market demand, high pixel, large chip, and small size are irreversible trends in the development of the existing camera module. As the photosensitive chip 32 progresses toward high pixels and large chips, the size of the zoom lens group 20 fitted to the photosensitive chip 32 also gradually increases, which puts new technical requirements on driving elements for driving the focusing part 23 and the zooming part 22 of the zoom lens group 20.

The new technical requirements are mainly focused on two aspects: a relatively larger driving force, and a more excellent driving performance (specifically, including a more accurate driving control and a longer driving stroke). Further, in addition to the need to find a driver that meets new technical requirements, it is also necessary to consider that the selected driver can be adapted to the current trend of making the camera module lighter and thinner.

Through research and experiments, the inventor of the application proposes a piezoelectric actuator with a novel structure, and the piezoelectric actuator can meet the technical requirements of the variable-focus camera module on a driver. And furthermore, the piezoelectric actuator is arranged in the variable-focus camera module in a proper arrangement mode, so that the structural design requirement and the size design requirement of the variable-focus camera module are met.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1 and 3C, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving assembly 40 for driving the variable focus lens group 20 includes: a drive housing 41, a first drive element 42, a second drive element 43, a first carrier 44 and a second carrier 45, wherein the first drive element 42, the second drive element 43, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 are accommodated in the drive housing 41, such that the variable focus camera module has a relatively more compact structural arrangement.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 are implemented as a piezoelectric actuator 100, the zooming portion 22 is mounted on the first carrier 44, and the focusing portion 23 is mounted on the second carrier 45, wherein the first driving element 42 has a first driving end 421 and is configured to be actuated on the first carrier 44 in a manner that the first driving end 421 rotates to drive the zooming portion 22 to move along the direction set by the optical axis of the zoom lens group 20 after being turned on, and the second driving element 43 has a second driving end 431 and is configured to be actuated on the second driving end in a manner that the second driving end rotates to drive the focusing portion 45 to move along the direction set by the optical axis after being turned on, so as to perform optical zooming. That is, in the present embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 100 is used as a driver for driving the zooming portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 in the zoom lens group 20.

Fig. 4A to 4F illustrate schematic views of a piezoelectric actuator according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 4A, the piezoelectric actuator 100 according to the embodiment of the present application includes: a sleeve structure 110, a piezoelectric assembly 120, a drive rod 130, and circuitry 140. In a specific example of the present application, the sleeve structure 110 has a threaded hole 101 penetrating therethrough, the driving rod 130 is engaged in the threaded hole 101 in a threaded manner, the piezoelectric element 120 is formed on an outer surface of the sleeve structure 110, and the circuit system 140 is electrically connected to the piezoelectric element 120, such that after the piezoelectric actuator 100 is turned on, the piezoelectric element 120 is bent and deformed under the action of a driving signal provided by the circuit system 140 to drive the sleeve structure 110 to be bent and deformed to drive the driving rod 130 to rotationally move in the threaded hole 101, so as to drive the first carrier 44 to drive the zooming portion 22 to move along the direction set by the optical axis, or drive the second carrier 45 to drive the focusing portion 23 to move along the direction set by the optical axis.

Specifically, in order to ensure that the driving rod 130 is rotationally moved in the threaded hole 101 under the driving of the sleeve structure 110, the first carrier 44 is driven to drive the zooming part 22 to move smoothly along the direction set by the optical axis, or the second carrier 45 is driven to drive the focusing part 23 to move smoothly along the direction set by the optical axis. In the embodiment of the present application, the extending direction of the threaded hole 101 of the sleeve structure 110 is parallel to the direction in which the optical axis is set.

It is worth mentioning that, as mentioned above, in a specific example of the present application, the sleeve structure 110 has the threaded hole 101 penetrating therethrough, that is, the threaded hole 101 penetrates through the sleeve structure 110, that is, the threaded hole 101 extends from one end of the sleeve structure 110 to the other end. It should be understood that in other examples of the present application, the threaded hole 101 may be a non-through hole, that is, the sleeve structure 110 has the threaded hole 101 not penetrating therethrough, and this is not a limitation of the present application.

It should also be understood that the thread structure may be provided on the entire inner wall of the threaded hole 101, or may be provided on a partial area of the inner wall of the threaded hole 101, which is also not limited by the present application.

In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 100 drives the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45 through the driving rod 130 capable of deforming. Correspondingly, the drive lever 130 has a first end 131 and a second end 132 opposite the first end 131, wherein the first end 131 of the drive lever 130 forms the first drive end 421 or the second drive end 431. The first end 131 of the driving rod 130 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 used as the first driving element 42 forms a first driving end 421 of the first driving element 42 to drive the first carrier 44 and thus the zooming part 22 to move along the direction set by the optical axis; the first end 131 of the driving rod 130 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 used as the second driving element 43 forms a second driving end 431 of the second driving element 43 to drive the second carrier 45 and thus the focusing part 23 to move along the direction set by the optical axis.

In particular, the driving rod 130 may drive the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45 by acting directly or indirectly on the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, wherein the driving rod 130 acts directly on the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45 to represent: at least a part of the surface of the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45 forms a contact surface, and the driving lever 130 is in contact with the contact surface of the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, so that the driving lever 130 is in direct contact with the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45 and can drive the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45; the indirect action of the drive rod 130 on the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45 represents: the driving rod 130 is not in direct contact with the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, but there is still a force between the driving rod 130 and the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, so that the driving rod 130 can drive the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, for example, a transfer piece is arranged between the driving rod 130 and the first carrier 44, one end of the transfer piece is connected with the first carrier 44, and at least part of the surface of the other end forms a contact surface and contacts with the driving rod 130, so that the driving rod 130 can drive the first carrier 44 by driving the transfer piece to move.

Further, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the driving rod 130 is movably coupled to the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, and when the driving rod 130 drives the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, the driving rod 130 and the contact surface can move relatively. In order to reduce the friction between the driving rod 130 and the contact surface, so that the driving rod 130 can rotationally move in the threaded hole 101 according to a preset track and speed to drive the first carrier 44, in a specific example of the present application, the first end 131 of the driving rod 130 is provided with a curved surface. Specifically, the first end 131 of the driving rod 130 is shaped like a hemisphere, so that the first end 131 is curved, thereby reducing the friction between the driving rod 130 and the contact surface, as shown in fig. 4D. In another example of the present application, the driving lever 130 reduces the friction between the driving lever 130 and the contact surface by a ball bearing. Specifically, the driving rod 130 has a receiving groove 102 concavely formed at the first end 131, and the piezoelectric actuator 100 further includes a ball 160 disposed in the receiving groove 102, wherein when the driving rod 130 acts on the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, the ball 160 is located between the receiving groove 102 and the contact surface to reduce the friction between the driving rod 130 and the contact surface, as shown in fig. 4E.

It should be understood that the friction between the driving rod 130 and the contact surface may be reduced in other ways, for example, by other driving rod 130 structures or piezoelectric actuator 100 structures, or by coating the first end 131 of the driving rod 130 with a smooth coating, etc.

In other examples of the present application, the driving lever 130 is fixed to the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, and accordingly, the driving lever 130 may be configured in other types without considering to reduce the friction between the driving lever 130 and the contact surface, as shown in fig. 4F. In particular, the drive rod 130 may be secured to the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45 by a securing element (e.g., a bearing).

In the embodiment of the present application, the piezoelectric element 120 is formed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure 110, and includes at least two piezoelectric elements 121, and the piezoelectric elements 121 deform when there is a potential difference in the thickness direction thereof. The at least two piezoelectric elements 121 are adjacently disposed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure 110, so that when the piezoelectric assembly 120 is deformed, the sleeve structure 110 is driven to deform by bending, and the driving rod 130 is driven to rotationally move in the threaded hole 101.

Specifically, the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 are made of a piezoelectric material. In some embodiments of the present application, the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 have a plate-shaped structure, and accordingly, each of the piezoelectric elements 121 includes at least one layer of the piezoelectric plate structure. The at least two piezoelectric elements 121 may be disposed on the sleeve structure 110 in various manners, such as: bonding by adhesive, welding, etc. It should be noted that when the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 are adhered to the sleeve structure 110 by an adhesive, an adhesive having conductivity is selected, for example: conductive silver paste.

In the embodiment of the present application, the piezoelectric element 120 further includes at least two electrodes 122 disposed on the at least two piezoelectric elements 121. The at least two electrodes 122 may be disposed on the piezoelectric element 121 in various ways, such as: bonding by adhesive, welding, etc. Note that when the electrode 122 is bonded to the two piezoelectric elements 121 by an adhesive, an adhesive having conductivity is selected, for example: conductive silver paste.

It should be noted that after the piezoelectric actuator 100 is turned on, the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 adjacently disposed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure 110 respectively generate a first bending deformation and a second bending deformation under the action of different driving signals, so that the sleeve structure 110 connected to the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 generates the bending deformation to drive the driving rod 130 to rotationally move in the threaded hole 101. Here, the first bending deformation means: a bending deformation in a first plane perpendicular to a length direction of the driving lever 130, the second bending deformation being: a bending deformation in a second plane perpendicular to the length direction of the driving rod 130. In one specific example of the present application, the first plane is implemented as a Y-Z plane and the second plane is implemented as an X-Z plane, as shown in FIG. 4A.

Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present application, the circuit system 140 is electrically connected to the piezoelectric assembly 120 to provide a first driving signal 143 (1) and a second driving signal 143 (2) for the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 in the piezoelectric assembly 120, so that the two piezoelectric elements 121 respectively generate a first bending deformation and a second bending deformation under the action of different driving signals. In this way, after the piezoelectric actuator 100 is turned on, the piezoelectric element 120 is bent and deformed under the action of the driving signal provided by the circuit system 140 to drive the sleeve structure 110 to be bent and deformed, and thus the driving rod 130 is rotationally moved in the threaded hole 101.

Specifically, the circuit system 140 is electrically connected to the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 of the piezoelectric assembly 120 through the at least two electrodes 122. The circuit system 140 includes a first driving circuit 141 and a second driving circuit 142, which are respectively used for outputting the first driving signal 143 (1) and the second driving signal 143 (2), wherein the first driving signal 143 (1) and the second driving signal 143 (2) may be square wave vibration signals as shown in fig. 4C, or may be other signals, such as sinusoidal signals.

In a specific example of the present application, the piezoelectric assembly 120 includes four piezoelectric elements 121, respectively: a first piezoelectric element, a second piezoelectric element, a third piezoelectric element and a fourth piezoelectric element, wherein the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element are adjacently disposed on the surface of the sleeve structure 110, the third piezoelectric element and the fourth piezoelectric element are adjacently disposed on the surface of the sleeve structure 110, the first piezoelectric element and the third element are oppositely disposed on the surface of the sleeve structure 110, and the second piezoelectric element and the fourth piezoelectric element are oppositely disposed on the surface of the sleeve structure 110, as shown in fig. 4A and 4B. The first piezoelectric element, the second piezoelectric element, the third piezoelectric element and the fourth piezoelectric element may be symmetrically disposed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure 110, or asymmetrically disposed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure 110. Preferably, the first piezoelectric element, the second piezoelectric element, the third piezoelectric element and the fourth piezoelectric element may be symmetrically disposed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure 110. It should be understood that in other examples of the present application, the number of the piezoelectric elements 121 may be 8, 12, 16 or other values, which is not limited to the present application.

Accordingly, as shown in fig. 4A to 4C, the first driving circuit 141 of the circuit system 140 is electrically connected to the first piezoelectric element and the third piezoelectric element, and the second driving circuit 142 of the circuit system 140 is electrically connected to the second piezoelectric element and the fourth piezoelectric element. When the piezoelectric actuator 100 is turned on, the first driving circuit 141 outputs the first driving signal 143 (1) to cause the first piezoelectric element and the third piezoelectric element to generate the first bending deformation, and the second driving circuit 142 outputs the second driving signal 143 (2) to cause the second piezoelectric element and the fourth piezoelectric element to generate the second bending deformation, so that the sleeve structure 110 connected to the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 generates the bending deformation to drive the driving rod 130 to rotationally move in the threaded hole 101. Specifically, the phases of the first drive signal 143 (1) and the second drive signal 143 (2) are different by 90 °, and the frequencies of the first drive signal 143 (1) and the second drive signal 143 (2) substantially coincide with a resonance frequency that is nominal (i.e., designated on a product) for the sleeve structure 110 of the piezoelectric actuator 100.

It is worth mentioning that, in the embodiment of the present application, the circuit system 140 is formed by a flexible circuit structure, as shown in fig. 4A and 4B, which can be bent to be disposed around the periphery of the piezoelectric assembly 120. The flexible circuit structure includes a plurality of electrical connection lines electrically connected to the piezoelectric assembly 120, wherein a portion of the electrical connection lines is electrically connected to the at least two electrodes 122 disposed on a first side surface of the at least two piezoelectric elements 121 perpendicular to the thickness direction thereof, and another portion of the electrical connection lines is electrically connected to a second side surface of the piezoelectric elements 121 opposite to the first side surface and grounded. When the piezoelectric actuator 100 is turned on, the piezoelectric element 121 is deformed due to a potential difference in its thickness direction.

It should be understood that the circuit system 140 may be formed by other structures, such as a circuit board structure connected to the piezoelectric element 120, and the application is not limited thereto.

Further, the sleeve structure 110 has a first end 111 and a second end 112 opposite to the first end 111, wherein the first end 111 is close to the first end 131 of the driving rod 130, and the second end 112 is far from the first end 131. The piezoelectric actuator 100 further includes a mounting portion 150 disposed at the second end 112 of the sleeve structure 110. It should be noted that, preferably, the thickness of the mounting portion 150 is small, the thickness dimension thereof is between 0.25 mm and 0.50 mm, and the mounting portion 150 should be as close as possible to the position where the vibration amplitude of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is lowest, so that the piezoelectric actuator 100 is stably mounted in the driving housing 41.

Compared with a conventional electromagnetic driver, the piezoelectric actuator 100 has the advantages of small volume, large thrust and high precision. In addition to being able to provide a relatively large driving force, the piezoelectric actuator 100 has other advantages over conventional electromagnetic motor solutions and memory alloy motor solutions, including but not limited to: the size is relatively small (with slender shape), the response precision is better, the structure is relatively simpler, the driving control is relatively simpler, the product consistency is high, no electromagnetic interference exists, the stroke is relatively large, the stabilization time is short, the weight is relatively small, and the like.

Specifically, the variable focus camera module requires that the driver configured for the variable focus camera module has features such as a long driving stroke and a need to ensure good alignment accuracy. In current voice coil motor scheme, need additionally to design guide arm or ball guide in order to guarantee the motion linearity, need simultaneously at the large-size drive magnet of camera lens lateral part adaptation/coil etc. need set up auxiliary positioning device such as ball, shell fragment, suspension wire simultaneously, for holding more parts, guarantee structural strength and reservation structure clearance, often lead to the module horizontal size to be big partially, and structural design is complicated, and module weight is heavier. The memory alloy motor scheme is limited by relatively few strokes that the memory alloy scheme can provide in the same proportion, and meanwhile, the reliability risks of potential wire breakage and the like exist.

The piezoelectric actuator 100 has a relatively simple structure, the assembly structure is simpler, and the sizes of the elements such as the piezoelectric assembly 120 and the sleeve structure 110 are basically independent of the size of the motion stroke, so that the piezoelectric actuator 100 can realize the advantages of large thrust, small size, small weight and the like in optical zoom products, and meanwhile, the piezoelectric actuator is designed by matching with larger stroke or heavier device weight, and the integration level in the design is higher.

After the piezoelectric actuator 100 is selected as the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43, the piezoelectric actuator 100 needs to be disposed in a reasonable manner in the variable focus camera module, and more specifically, in this embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 100 needs to be disposed in the driving housing 41 in a reasonable manner, so as to meet the optical performance adjustment requirement, the structural design requirement, and the size design requirement of the variable focus camera module.

In the embodiment of the present application, the piezoelectric actuator 100 is installed in the driving housing 41 in such a manner that the installation portion 150 is attached to the inner sidewall of the driving housing 41. That is, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 are installed in the driving housing 41 in such a manner that the respective installation parts 150 are attached to the inner sidewall of the driving housing 41, respectively.

Specifically, in a specific example of the present application, the inner sidewall of the driving housing 41 has a first protrusion and a second protrusion, and the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 respectively attach the respective mounting portions 150 to the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the driving housing 41 by an adhesive. It should be understood that the piezoelectric actuator 100 may be disposed in the driving housing 41 in other manners, for example, the piezoelectric actuator 100 may be disposed in the driving housing 41 in a manner of being engaged between the driving housing 41 and the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, which is not limited to the present application.

As shown in fig. 1, in the embodiment of the present application, the first carrier 44 includes a first driving groove 401 formed on a side portion thereof and extending along a direction set by the optical axis, and the second carrier 45 includes a second driving groove 402 formed on a side portion thereof and extending along a direction set by the optical axis, wherein the first driving end 421 of the first driving element 42 is fitted in the first driving groove 401, and the second driving end 431 of the second driving element 43 is fitted in the second driving groove 402. In this way, when the first driving end 421 fitted in the first driving groove 401 rotationally travels, the first driving element 42 acts on the first carrier 44 to drive the zooming part 22 to move along the direction set by the optical axis; when the second driving end 431 engaged in the second driving groove 402 moves rotationally, the second driving element 43 operates on the second carrier 45 to drive the focusing portion 23 to move along the direction set by the optical axis, so as to perform optical zooming.

Further, the first carrier 44 includes a first carrier body 441 and a first extension 442 extending laterally from the first carrier body 441, and the first driving groove 401 is concavely formed on the first extension 442; the second carrier 45 includes a second carrier body 451 and a second extension portion 452 extending laterally from the second carrier body 451, and the second driving groove 402 is concavely formed in the second extension portion 452.

It should be noted that, in order to make the first driving end 421 and the second driving end 431 respectively fit into the first driving groove 401 and the second driving groove 402, the inner diameter of the first driving groove 401 should be greater than or equal to the outer diameter of the first driving end 421, and the inner diameter of the second driving groove 402 should be greater than or equal to the outer diameter of the second driving end 431.

Further, in order to ensure that the first driving element 42 acts on the first carrier 44 during the rotational travel to drive the zooming part 22 to move along the direction set by the optical axis, it is preferable that the inner diameter of the first driving groove 401 is equal to the outer diameter of the first driving end 421, so as to regulate the movable range of the first driving end 421 in the first driving groove 401, and prevent the zooming part 22 from moving away from the direction set by the optical axis during the rotational travel.

Accordingly, in order to ensure that the second driving element 43 acts on the second carrier 45 during the rotational travel to move the focusing portion 23 along the direction set by the optical axis, it is preferable that the inner diameter of the second driving groove 402 is equal to the outer diameter of the second driving end 431 to regulate the movable range of the second driving end 431 within the second driving groove 402 to prevent the focusing portion 23 from moving away from the direction set by the optical axis during the rotational travel.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3A, in this embodiment, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 are selected to be disposed on the first side of the zoom lens group 20 at the same time, that is, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 are selected to be disposed on the same side of the zoom lens group 20, so that the arrangement of the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 in the driving housing 41 is more compact and occupies less longitudinal space of the driving housing 41. Here, the longitudinal space of the driving housing 41 refers to a space occupied by the driving housing 41 in a length direction thereof, and accordingly, the lateral space of the driving housing 41 refers to a space occupied by the driving housing 41 in a width direction thereof, and the height space of the driving housing 41 refers to a space occupied by the driving housing 41 in a height direction thereof.

Also, when the first drive element 42 and the second drive element 43 are provided on the same side of the zoom lens group 20, when the zoom portion 22 is driven by the first drive element 42 and the focus portion 23 is driven by the second drive element 43, a relative positional relationship error (particularly, a relative tilt relationship) between the zoom portion 22 and the focus portion 23 can be reduced to improve the consistency between the focus portion 23 and the zoom portion 22, reducing the possibility of a decrease in imaging quality of the variable focus camera module due to the tilt of the zoom portion 22 and the focus portion 23.

Preferably, when the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 are located on the same side of the zoom lens group 20, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 are arranged in alignment in the height direction of the first side of the zoom lens group 20, that is, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 have the same installation height, so that the consistency of the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 in the height direction set by the driving housing 41 is relatively higher, that is, after the zooming portion 22 is driven by the first driving element 42 and the focusing portion 23 is driven by the second driving element 43, the consistency of the zooming portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 in the height direction set by the driving housing 41 is relatively higher, so as to ensure the imaging quality of the variable focus imaging module.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present application, it is preferable that the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 of the zoom lens group 20 are disposed adjacently. In such a positional relationship, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 may be disposed adjacently, so as to reduce the size of the longitudinal space of the driving housing 41 occupied by the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 as a whole, which is beneficial to the trend of miniaturization of the variable focus imaging module.

In order to enable the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 to drive the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 more smoothly and to maintain the relative positional relationship between the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 with relatively high precision, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving assembly 40 further includes a guide structure 46, and the guide structure 46 is configured to guide the focusing part 23 and the zooming part 22 to move along the direction set by the optical axis.

In view of the structural design of the variable focus camera module, it is preferable in the embodiment of the present application that the guiding structure 46 is disposed on a second side of the variable focus lens group 20 opposite to the first side. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, it is preferable that the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 (as the first portion) and the guide structure 46 (as the second portion) are respectively provided on opposite sides of the variable focus camera module 20, in such a manner that the internal space of the variable focus camera module is sufficiently utilized to facilitate the weight and thickness reduction of the variable focus camera module.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3A, in this embodiment, the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 correspond to one guide structure 46 in common, that is, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 correspond to one guide structure 46 in common, in such a way, it is advantageous to stably maintain the relative positional relationship between the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45, to stably maintain the relative positional relationship between the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 of the zoom lens group 20, and to improve the resolving power of the zoom lens group 20.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 1 and 3A, in one specific example of the present application, the guide structure 46 includes: a first supporting portion 461 and a second supporting portion 462 formed at an interval in the driving housing 41, and at least one guide arm 463 bridging between the first supporting portion 461 and the second supporting portion 462 and penetrating the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45, the guide arm 463 being parallel to the optical axis so that the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 can be guided to move along the guide arm 463 parallel to the optical axis. That is, in this example, the guide structure 46 is a guide-bar type structure.

Accordingly, in this example, the first and

second support portions

461 and 462 function to bridge the guide arms 463. For example, in a specific embodiment of this example, the first support 461 and the second support 462 may be mounted on a first sidewall of the driving housing 41 located at a second side of the variable focus lens group 20 (for example, the first support 461 and the second support 462 may be implemented as supporting frames), and of course, the first support 461 and the second support 462 may also be integrally formed on the first sidewall of the driving housing 41, which is not limited by the present application. Of course, in other specific embodiments of this example, the first supporting portion 461 and the second supporting portion 462 may be respectively mounted on a second side wall and a third side wall of the driving housing 41 adjacent to the first side wall; alternatively, the first support part 461 and the second support part 462 may be integrally formed with the second sidewall and the third sidewall, respectively; still alternatively, the first and

second support portions

461 and 462 are implemented as the second and third sidewalls, respectively, that is, the second and third sidewalls of the driving housing 41 form the first and

second support portions

461 and 462, respectively.

Accordingly, in order to allow the guide 463 to pass through, guide grooves 464 may be provided on the first and

second support portions

461 and 462, and guide channels 465 penetrating both side surfaces thereof are formed in the first and

second carriers

44 and 45, so that the guide 463 can be erected on the first and

second support portions

461 and 462 while passing through the guide channels 465 of the first and

second carriers

44 and 45 in such a manner as to be fitted to the guide grooves 464. Further, in this particular example, a lubrication medium may be optionally disposed within the guide rod channels 465 of the first and

second carriers

44, 45 to reduce friction.

Fig. 3B illustrates a schematic diagram of a variant implementation of the guiding structure 46 of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3B, in this example, the driving assembly 40 further includes a first guiding mechanism 61 disposed between the first carrier 44 and the driving housing 41, and a second guiding mechanism 62 disposed between the second carrier 45 and the driving housing 41, wherein the first guiding mechanism 61 is configured to guide the zoom portion 22 to move along the direction set by the optical axis, and the second guiding mechanism 62 is configured to guide the focusing portion 23 to move along the direction set by the optical axis.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 3B, the first guiding mechanism 61 includes at least one rolling element 601 (e.g., a ball) disposed between the first carrier 44 and the driving housing 41, and a rolling groove 602 disposed between the first carrier 44 and the driving housing 41 for accommodating the at least one ball. That is, the first guide mechanism 61 is of a ball-rolling groove type structure. The second guide mechanism 62 includes at least one rolling element 601 (e.g., a ball) disposed between the second carrier 45 and the driving housing 41, and a rolling groove 602 disposed between the second carrier 45 and the driving housing 41 for accommodating the at least one rolling element 601. That is, in this example, the second guide mechanism 62 is also of a ball-and-rolling groove type structure.

In one embodiment, a rolling groove 602 may be formed on a side surface of the first carrier 44 and a surface of an inner side wall of the driving housing 41, so that the at least one rolling element 601 slides or rolls in the rolling groove 602, and a length direction of the rolling groove 602 is consistent with a direction set by the optical axis. Accordingly, the rolling groove 602 may be formed at a side surface of the second carrier 45 and a surface of an inner sidewall of the driving housing 41, so that the at least one rolling element 601 slides or rolls in the rolling groove 602.

Preferably, the first guide mechanism 61 and the second guide mechanism 62 are configured identically, and the rolling elements 601 of the first guide mechanism 61 and the rolling elements 601 of the second guide mechanism 62 are in the same line and connected to each other, so that the inclination between the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 can be reduced.

Fig. 3C illustrates a schematic diagram of another variant implementation of the guide structure 46 of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3C, in this example, the first guide mechanism 61 includes: at least one slide block 603 disposed between the first carrier 44 and the driving housing 41, and a slide rail 604 disposed between the driving housing 41 and the first carrier 44 and adapted to slide the at least one slide block 603. That is, in this example, the first guide mechanism 61 is a slider-slide type structure. The second guide mechanism 62 includes: at least one sliding block 603 disposed between the second carrier 45 and the driving housing 41, and a sliding rail 604 disposed between the driving housing 41 and the second carrier 45 and adapted to slide the at least one sliding block 603. That is, in this example, the second guide mechanism 62 is also a slider-slide structure.

In a specific embodiment of this example, the slider 603 is protrudingly formed on a side surface of the first carrier 44, and the slide rail 604 is concavely formed at a corresponding position of a surface of an inner side wall of the drive housing 41. In this embodiment, the slider 603 is protrudingly formed on a side surface of the second carrier 45, and the slide rail 604 is concavely formed on a corresponding position of a surface of an inner side wall of the drive housing 41.

Preferably, the slide 603 and the slide rail 604 between the first carrier 44 and the driving housing 41 are arranged the same between the second carrier 45 and the driving housing 41, in particular the size of the slide 603 and the size of the slide rail 604. Further, two slide rails 604 provided on the driving housing 41 corresponding to the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 are in the same line and may be connected to each other, so that the inclination of the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 may be further reduced.

In the present embodiment, the driving rod 130 of the first driving element 42 is movably coupled to the first carrier 44, and the driving rod 130 of the second driving element 43 is movably coupled to the second carrier 45. When the driving force of the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 to the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 is evacuated, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 cannot autonomously return to the original positions (i.e., return to the positions when not driven by the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43). That is, after the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 respectively operate on the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 to drive the zoom lens assembly 20 to move along the direction set by the optical axis to achieve optical focusing, the first carrier 44, the second carrier and the zoom lens assembly 20 will maintain the state after achieving the optical focusing of the time, and the next focusing cannot be achieved.

For this reason, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving assembly 40 further includes a restoring structure, so that after the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 drive the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 to achieve optical focusing, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 drive the zoom lens group 20 to reset (i.e., restore to the position when not driven by the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43, that is, restore to the original position), and then perform the next optical focusing through the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43.

Specifically, the driving assembly 40 further includes a first restoring element 48 abutting against the first carrier 44 and a second restoring element 49 abutting against the second carrier 45, wherein the first restoring element 48 is adapted to drive the first carrier 44 to return to the original position, and the second restoring element 49 is adapted to drive the second carrier 45 to return to the original position.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 1, in a specific example of the present application, the first restoring element 48 and the second restoring element 49 are implemented as elastic pieces. One end of the first recovery element 48 is fixed to an inner sidewall of the driving housing 41, and when the first driving element 42 drives the first carrier 44 to advance along the direction set by the optical axis (i.e. move along the direction set by the optical axis and away from the original position), the first recovery element 48 deforms and collides with the first carrier 44; when the driving force provided by the first driving element 42 to the first carrier 44 is removed, the first restoring element 48 will restore to the original shape, and the first carrier 44, which is in contact with the first restoring element 48, restores to the original position as the shape of the first restoring element 48 is restored.

Accordingly, one end of the second restoring element 49 is fixed on the inner side wall of the driving housing 41, and when the second driving element 43 drives the second carrier 45 to advance along the direction set by the optical axis (i.e. move along the direction set by the optical axis and away from the original position), the second restoring element 49 deforms and collides with the second carrier 45; when the driving force provided by the second driving element 43 to the second carrier 45 is removed, the second restoring element 49 returns to the original shape, and the second carrier 45 abutting against the second restoring element 49 returns to the original position along with the return of the shape of the second restoring element 49.

Optionally, the first restoring element 48 may be disposed on the light incident side or the light emergent side of the zooming portion 22. The number of first recovery elements 48 may be 1,2 or more, and is not intended to be limiting. The second restoring element 49 can be disposed on the light incident side or the light emitting side of the focusing portion 23. The number of second restoring elements 49 may be 1,2 or more, for which the application is not limited.

It should be understood that the first restoring element 48 and the second restoring element 49 may be implemented as other elements having restoring force, for example, rubber, and is not limited in this respect. The first restoring element 48 and the second restoring element 49 may be embodied as the same type of element having a restoring force, or may be embodied as different types of elements having a restoring force, which is also not limited in this application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a variant implementation of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application, in which the types of the first restoring element 48 and the second restoring element 49 are changed in the variant implementation. In particular, in this variant embodiment, the first return element 48 and the second return element 49 are each implemented as a spring, so that the first return element 48 has a first passage 481 and the second return element 49 has a second passage 491. Accordingly, the guide structure 46 is a guide-bar type structure comprising: a first supporting portion 461 and a second supporting portion 462 which are formed at intervals on the driving housing 41, and at least one guide 463 which is erected between the first supporting portion 461 and the second supporting portion 462 and penetrates the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45, wherein the guide 463 is parallel to the optical axis, so that the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 can be guided to move along the guide 463 which is parallel to the optical axis. Guide 463 extends through first passage 481 of first return element 48 and second passage 491 of second return element 49.

It should be noted that the guiding structure 46 further includes a third supporting portion 466 disposed between the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45, as shown in fig. 5. The first restoring element 48 is disposed between the first supporting portion 461 and the first carrier 44, and the second restoring element 49 is disposed between the third supporting portion 466 and the second carrier 45. In this modified embodiment, the first support portion 461, the second support portion 462, and the third support portion 466 play a role of bridging the guide 463 on one hand, and a role of blocking the forward movement of the spring on the other hand.

In particular, in this variant embodiment, the length of the first return element 48 is equal to the distance between the first support 461 and the first carrier 44, and the length of the second return element 49 is equal to the distance between the third support 466 and the second carrier 45. Thus, when the first driving element 42 drives the first carrier 44 to advance along the direction set by the optical axis (i.e. move along the direction set by the optical axis and away from the original position), the first supporting portion 461 blocks the forward movement of the first restoring element 48, and the first restoring element 48 is pressed to deform and collide with the first carrier 44; when the second driving element 43 drives the second carrier 45 to move forward along the direction set by the optical axis (i.e. move along the direction set by the optical axis and away from the original position), the third supporting portion 466 blocks the second restoring element 49 from moving forward, and the second restoring element 49 is pressed to deform and abut against the second carrier 45.

Accordingly, when the driving force provided by the first driving element 42 to the first carrier 44 is removed, the first restoring element 48 will return to the original shape, and the first carrier 44 in opposition to the first restoring element 48 returns to the original position as the shape of the first restoring element 48 returns; when the driving force provided by the second driving element 43 to the second carrier 45 is removed, the second restoring element 49 returns to the original shape, and the second carrier 45 abutting against the second restoring element 49 returns to the original position along with the return of the shape of the second restoring element 49.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another variant implementation of the variable focus camera module according to the embodiment of the present application, in which the connection relationship between the first driving element 42 and the first carrier 44 and the connection relationship between the second driving element 43 and the second carrier 45 are changed in this variant embodiment.

As mentioned above, in the variable focus camera module shown in fig. 1 and fig. 3A, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving rod 130 of the first driving element 42 is movably coupled to the first carrier 44, and the driving rod 130 of the second driving element 43 is movably coupled to the second carrier 45. When the driving force of the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 to the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 is evacuated, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 cannot autonomously return to the original positions (i.e., return to the positions when not driven by the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43), and for this reason, a return structure is provided.

In the variant embodiment shown in fig. 6, the first carrier 44 is fixed to the first actuating element 42 and the second carrier 45 is fixed to the second actuating element 43. When the driving force provided by the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 to the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 is removed and the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 are returned to their original positions, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 are also returned to their original positions, without providing a return structure.

In particular, in this variant embodiment, said first carrier 44 and said second carrier 45 are fixed to said first drive element 42 and said second drive element 43, respectively, by means of a bearing arrangement, wherein said first carrier 44 is fixed to said first drive element 42 by means of a first bearing 447, and said second carrier 45 is fixed to said second drive element 43 by means of a first bearing 448.

More specifically, in a specific example of this modified embodiment, the bearing structure serves as an extension of the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45, and the bearing hole of the bearing structure serves as a driving groove of the first carrier 44 or the second carrier 45. That is, the first carrier 44 includes a first carrier body 441 and a first extension portion 442 extending laterally from the first carrier body 441, wherein the first extension portion 442 is a first bearing 447, the first driving groove 401 is a first bearing hole 407 of the first bearing 447, and the first driving end 421 of the first driving element 42 is fixed in the first bearing hole 407. Thus, when the driving force provided by the first driving element 42 to the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 is removed and the first driving element 42 returns to its original position, the first carrier 44 also returns to its original position.

The second carrier 45 includes a second carrier body 451 and a second extension portion 452 extending laterally from the second carrier body 451, wherein the second extension portion 452 is the first bearing 448, the second driving slot 402 is the first bearing hole 408 of the first bearing 448, and the second driving end 431 of the second driving element 43 is fixed in the first bearing hole 408. Thus, when the driving force of the second driving member 43 to the second carrier 45 and the second carrier 45 is withdrawn and the second driving member 43 returns to its original position, the second carrier 45 also returns to its original position.

It should be understood that in the variable focus camera module shown in fig. 1 and 3A, the first extension 442 of the first carrier 44 and/or the second extension 452 of the second carrier 45 may be provided with a bearing structure, and the bearing hole of the bearing structure is used as a driving groove. That is, the first carrier 44 includes a first carrier body 441 and a first extension portion 442 extending laterally from the first carrier body 441, the second carrier 45 includes a second carrier body 451 and a second extension portion 452 extending laterally from the second carrier body 451, wherein the first carrier 44 further includes a first bearing 447 fixed to the first extension portion 442, the second carrier 45 further includes a first bearing 448 fixed to the second extension portion 452, the first driving recess 401 is a first bearing hole 407 of the first bearing 447, the second driving recess 402 is a first bearing hole 408 of the first bearing 448, wherein the first driving end 421 of the first driving element 42 is fixed in the first bearing hole 407, and the second driving end 431 of the second driving element 43 is fixed in the first bearing hole 408. In this way, when the driving force provided by the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 to the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 is evacuated and the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 return to their original positions, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 also return to their original positions.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a further variant implementation of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application, wherein in this variant embodiment, the arrangement of the guiding structures 46 is changed. In particular, as shown in fig. 7, the guiding structure 46 comprises a first guiding mechanism 61 disposed at a first side of the variable focus lens package 20 and a second guiding mechanism 62 disposed at a second side opposite to the first side, so that the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 can drive the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 more smoothly.

More specifically, in this modified embodiment, the driving assembly 40 further includes a first guiding mechanism 61 and a second guiding mechanism 62 respectively disposed on the first side and the second side of the zoom lens group 20, the first guiding mechanism 61 is configured to guide the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 from the first side of the zoom lens group 20 to move along the direction set by the optical axis, and the second guiding mechanism 62 is configured to guide the second side of the zoom lens group 20 to guide the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 to move along the direction set by the optical axis.

The first guide mechanism 61 and the second guide mechanism 62 may be various types of structures, such as: a guide-bar type structure, a ball-rolling groove type structure, a slider-slide rail type structure, etc., which are not limited by the present application. The guide-bar type structure, the ball-roller-groove type structure, and the slider-rail type structure have been described in detail in the above description of the variable focus camera module with reference to fig. 1 to 3C, and therefore, a repetitive description thereof will be omitted. The number of the first guide mechanism 61 and the second guide mechanism 62 may be 1,2,3 or more, and this is not a limitation of the present application.

It should be noted that one of the functions of the driving grooves in the variable focus camera module shown in fig. 1 to 3C is to guide and regulate the motion trajectories of the first driving end 421 and the second driving end 431, so that the first driving end 421 and the second driving end 431 drive the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 to move along the direction set by the optical axis. In this modified embodiment, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 can be driven relatively smoothly by the first driving element 42 and the second driving element 43 by providing a guide mechanism on a first side and a second side opposite to the first side of the variable focus lens group 20, respectively. Accordingly, in this modified embodiment, the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 45 do not include the first driving groove 401 and the second driving groove 402.

In summary, the variable focus camera module according to the embodiments of the present application is illustrated, wherein the variable focus camera module employs the piezoelectric actuator 100 as a driver to provide not only a sufficiently large driving force, but also a driving performance with higher precision and longer stroke to meet the zooming requirement of the variable focus camera module.

Further, in the embodiment of the present application, the piezoelectric actuator 100 has a relatively small size to better adapt to the trend of making the camera module lighter and thinner. Moreover, the variable-focus camera module adopts a reasonable layout scheme to arrange the piezoelectric actuators 100 in the variable-focus camera module so as to meet the structural and dimensional requirements of the variable-focus camera module.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention described above and shown in the drawings are given by way of example only and are not limiting of the invention. The objects of the invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been shown and described in the examples, and any variations or modifications of the embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. The utility model provides a module of making a video recording of zooming which characterized in that includes:

the photosensitive assembly is held on the light transmission path of the zoom lens group and comprises a circuit board and a photosensitive chip electrically connected with the circuit board; and

a drive assembly, comprising: the zoom lens driving device comprises a driving shell, a first carrier and a second carrier which are arranged in the driving shell, a first driving element and a second driving element, wherein the zoom part is installed on the first carrier, and the focusing part is installed on the second carrier, wherein the first driving element is provided with a first driving end, the second driving element is provided with a second driving end, the first driving element is configured to be actuated on the first carrier in a mode that the first driving end rotates and travels after being conducted so as to drive the zoom part to move along the set direction of the optical axis, the second driving element is configured to be actuated on the second carrier in a mode that the second driving end rotates and travels after being conducted so as to drive the focusing part to move along the set direction of the optical axis, and optical zooming is carried out in such a way.

2. The variable focus camera module of claim 1, wherein the first carrier includes a first driving groove formed in a side portion thereof and extending in a direction set by the optical axis, and the second carrier includes a second driving groove formed in a side portion thereof and extending in the direction set by the optical axis, wherein the first driving end of the first driving element is fitted in the first driving groove, and the second driving end of the second driving element is fitted in the second driving groove.

3. The variable focus camera module of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second drive element is implemented as a piezoelectric actuator.

4. The variable focus camera module of claim 3, wherein the piezoelectric actuator comprises: the piezoelectric actuator comprises a sleeve structure, a piezoelectric assembly, a driving rod and a circuit system, wherein the sleeve structure is provided with a threaded hole penetrating through the sleeve structure, the driving rod is meshed in the threaded hole in a threaded connection mode, the piezoelectric assembly is formed on the outer surface of the sleeve structure, the circuit system is electrically connected to the piezoelectric assembly, after the piezoelectric actuator is switched on, the piezoelectric assembly is bent and deformed under the action of a driving signal provided by the circuit system to drive the sleeve structure to be bent and deformed so as to drive the driving rod to rotationally move in the threaded hole, and the first end of the driving rod forms the first driving end or the second driving end.

5. The variable focus camera module of claim 4, wherein said piezoelectric assembly comprises at least two piezoelectric elements, said at least two piezoelectric elements being adjacently disposed on an outer surface of said sleeve structure.

6. The variable focus camera module of claim 4, wherein the piezoelectric actuator further comprises a mounting portion provided at a second end of the sleeve structure, the second end being remote from the first end, wherein the piezoelectric actuator is mounted within the drive housing in such a way that the mounting portion adheres to an inner side wall of the drive housing.

7. The variable focus camera module of claim 4, wherein the direction of extension of the threaded bore of the sleeve structure is parallel to the direction in which the optical axis is set.

8. The variable focus camera module of claim 7, wherein the end face of said first end is curved.

9. The variable focus camera module of claim 8, wherein said first end is hemispherical in shape.

10. The variable focus camera module of claim 7, wherein the drive rod has a receiving slot concavely formed in the first end, the piezoelectric actuator further comprising a ball disposed within the receiving slot.

11. The variable focus camera module of claim 8 or 10, wherein said first carrier comprises a first carrier body and a first extension extending laterally from said first carrier body, said first drive slot being concavely formed in said first extension; the second carrier comprises a second carrier body and a second extension portion extending laterally from the second carrier body, and the second driving groove is concavely formed on the second extension portion.

12. The variable focus camera module of claim 11, wherein an inner diameter of the first drive slot is equal to an outer diameter of the first drive end and an inner diameter of the second drive slot is equal to an outer diameter of the second drive end.

13. The variable focus camera module of claim 11, wherein the first and second drive elements are arranged on a first side of the zoom lens group, and the first and second drive elements are aligned with each other in a height direction of the first side of the zoom lens group.

14. The variable focus camera module of claim 13, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a guide structure disposed on a second side of the zoom lens group opposite the first side, the guide structure configured to guide the focusing portion and the zooming portion to move along the optical axis.

15. The variable focus camera module of claim 14, wherein the guide structure comprises: the optical axis of the first carrier is parallel to the optical axis, so that the first carrier and the second carrier can be guided to move along the guide rod parallel to the optical axis.

16. The variable focus camera module of claim 14, wherein the guide structure further comprises a first guide mechanism disposed between the first carrier and the drive housing and a second guide mechanism disposed between the second carrier and the drive housing, wherein the first guide mechanism is configured to guide the zoom portion to move along the optical axis and the second guide mechanism is configured to guide the focus portion to move along the optical axis.

17. The variable focus camera module of claim 16, wherein said first guide mechanism comprises at least a first rolling element disposed between said first carrier and said drive housing, and a first rolling slot disposed between said first carrier and said drive housing for receiving said at least a first rolling element; the second guide mechanism comprises at least one second rolling element arranged between the second carrier and the driving shell, and a second rolling groove arranged between the second carrier and the driving shell and used for accommodating the at least one second rolling element.

18. The variable focus camera module of claim 16, wherein said first guide mechanism comprises: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the first carrier and is suitable for the sliding of the sliding block; the second guide mechanism includes: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the second carrier and is suitable for the sliding of the sliding block.

19. The zoom camera module of claim 14, wherein the driving assembly further comprises a first restoring element abutting against the first carrier and a second restoring element abutting against the second carrier, the first restoring element is adapted to drive the first carrier to restore to an original position, and the second restoring element is adapted to drive the second carrier to restore to the original position.

20. The variable focus camera module of claim 7, wherein the first carrier comprises a first carrier body and a first extension extending laterally from the first carrier body, wherein the first extension is a first bearing, the first drive slot is a first bearing hole of the first bearing, and the first drive end of the first drive element is fixed in the first bearing hole; the second carrier comprises a second carrier body and a second extension portion extending laterally from the second carrier body, wherein the second extension portion is a second bearing, the second driving groove is a second bearing hole of the second bearing, and a second driving end of the second driving element is fixed in the second bearing hole.

21. The variable focus camera module of claim 7, wherein said first carrier comprises a first carrier body and a first extension extending laterally from said first carrier body, and said second carrier comprises a second carrier body and a second extension extending laterally from said second carrier body, wherein said first carrier further comprises a first bearing secured to said first extension, said second carrier further comprises a second bearing secured to said second extension, said first drive slot is a first bearing bore of said first bearing, said second drive slot is a second bearing bore of said second bearing, wherein said first drive end of said first drive element is secured within said first bearing bore and said second drive end of said second drive element is secured within said second bearing bore.

22. The variable focus camera module of claim 1, wherein said drive assembly further comprises first and second guide mechanisms disposed on opposite first and second sides of said zoom lens group, respectively, said first guide mechanism configured to guide movement of said first and second carriers from said first side of said zoom lens group in a direction set by said optical axis, said second guide mechanism configured to guide movement of said first and second carriers from said second side of said zoom lens group in a direction set by said optical axis.

23. The variable focus camera module of claim 1, further comprising: and the light turning element is used for turning the imaging light to the zoom lens group.

24. The variable focus camera module of claim 1, wherein the focusing portion and the zooming portion are disposed adjacently.

25. The variable focus camera module of claim 24, wherein the zoom portion is located between the fixed portion and the focus portion.

26. The variable focus camera module of claim 24, wherein the focusing portion is located between the fixed portion and the zooming portion.