CN116802538A

CN116802538A - Variable-focus camera module

Info

Publication number: CN116802538A
Application number: CN202280010559.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 袁栋立; 王启; 周胄; 郑程倡; 熊实; 沈耀栋; 王海涛; 廖书伟; 吴志涵
Original assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-08
Filing date: 2022-01-30
Publication date: 2023-09-22
Also published as: WO2022166921A1

Abstract

A variable focus camera module, comprising: a zoom lens group (20) provided with an optical axis, including a fixed portion (21), a zoom portion (22), and a focusing portion (23); a photosensitive assembly (30) corresponding to the zoom lens group (20); and, a drive assembly (740) comprising: a driving housing (741), a first carrier (744), a second carrier (745), a first driving element (742) and a second driving element (743) located in the driving housing, the zoom portion (22) is mounted in the first carrier (744), the focusing portion (23) is mounted in the second carrier (745), the first driving element (742) is configured to drive the first carrier (744) to drive the zoom portion (22) to move along the optical axis direction, the second driving element (743) is configured to drive the second carrier (745) to drive the focusing portion (23) to move along the optical axis direction, the first driving element (742) and/or the second driving element (743) is implemented as a piezoelectric actuator, and is arranged in the variable-focus camera module in a smart arrangement scheme to meet the structural and dimensional requirements of the camera module.

Description

Variable-focus camera module

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of camera modules, and more particularly, to a variable-focus camera module that employs a piezoelectric actuator as a driver to provide a sufficiently large driving force and relatively better driving performance. And the piezoelectric actuator is arranged in the variable-focus camera module by adopting a reasonable arrangement scheme so as to meet the structural and dimensional design requirements of the variable-focus camera module.

Background

With the popularity of mobile electronic devices, related technologies of camera modules used for mobile electronic devices to assist users in capturing images (e.g., videos or images) have been rapidly developed and advanced, and in recent years, camera modules have been widely used in various fields such as medical, security, industrial production, etc.

In order to meet the increasingly wide market demands, high pixels, large chips and small sizes are irreversible development trends of the existing camera modules. As the photosensitive chips are advanced toward high pixels and large chips, the size of the optical lenses adapted to the photosensitive chips is also gradually increased, which brings new challenges to driving elements for driving the optical lenses for optical performance adjustment (e.g., optical focusing, optical anti-shake, etc.).

Specifically, the existing driving elements for driving the optical lens are electromagnetic motors, such as Voice Coil Motor (VCM), shape memory alloy driver (Shape of Memory Alloy Actuator: SMA), and the like. However, as the optical lens increases in size and weight, the conventional electromagnetic motor has gradually failed to provide a sufficient driving force to drive the optical lens. Quantitatively, the existing voice coil motor and shape memory alloy driver are only suitable for driving the optical lens with the weight less than 100mg, that is, if the weight of the optical lens exceeds 100mg, the existing driver cannot meet the application requirement of the camera module.

In addition, with changes and developments in market demands, in recent years, there has been a demand for an imaging module provided in a terminal device to be capable of realizing a zoom shooting function, for example, a demand for realizing a telephoto shooting by optical zooming. The optical zoom camera module includes not only a lens having a larger size and weight than a conventional camera module (e.g., a moving focus camera module), that is, a driver is required to provide a larger driving force, but also a driver for driving the lens movement is required to provide a driving performance with higher accuracy and longer stroke. The above technical requirements cannot be met by the existing electromagnetic driving motor. Meanwhile, the existing electromagnetic actuator also has the problem of electromagnetic interference.

Therefore, there is a need for a new driving scheme for camera modules that is adaptive, and that can meet the development requirements of light and slim camera modules.

Disclosure of Invention

An advantage of the present application is to provide a variable-focus camera module, in which the variable-focus camera module uses a piezoelectric actuator as a driver to provide not only a sufficiently large driving force, but also driving performance with higher precision and longer stroke, so as to meet the optical performance adjustment requirement of the variable-focus camera module.

Still another advantage of the present application is to provide a variable focus camera module in which the piezoelectric actuators are deployed in the variable focus camera module using a reasonable layout scheme to meet the structural and dimensional design requirements of the variable focus camera module.

It is still another advantage of the present application to provide a variable-focus camera module, wherein at least a portion of the piezoelectric actuator is disposed in a space of the variable-focus camera module that is otherwise left unused, so that the space within the variable-focus camera module can be more fully utilized, and the compactness of the space layout of the variable-focus camera module is improved.

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

To achieve at least one of the above advantages, the present application provides a variable-focus camera module, comprising:

a zoom lens group having an optical axis, comprising: a fixed portion, a zoom portion, and a focus portion;

a photosensitive assembly corresponding to the variable focus lens package; and

a drive assembly, comprising: a drive housing, a first carrier, a second carrier, a first drive element and a second drive element located within the drive housing;

wherein the zoom portion is mounted in the first carrier, the focus portion is mounted in the second carrier, the first driving element is configured to drive the first carrier to drive the zoom portion to move along a direction set by the optical axis, the second driving element is configured to drive the second carrier to drive the focus portion to move along the direction set by the optical axis, wherein the first driving element and/or the second driving element is implemented as a piezoelectric actuator;

at least one first accommodating channel is arranged between the bottom surface of the driving shell and the bottom surface of the first carrier, at least one second accommodating channel is arranged between the bottom surface of the driving shell and the bottom surface of the second carrier, and at least one part of the piezoelectric actuator is arranged in at least one first accommodating channel or at least one second accommodating channel.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the application, the first driving element is implemented as a first piezoelectric actuator and the second driving element is implemented as a second piezoelectric actuator.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, at least part of the first piezoelectric actuator is disposed in the first housing channel, and at least part of the second piezoelectric actuator is disposed in the second housing channel.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator includes a first piezoelectric driving part, a first driven shaft drivingly coupled to the first piezoelectric driving part, and a first driving part tightly fitted with the first driven shaft, wherein the first driving part is configured to drive the first carrier to move along a direction set by the optical axis under the action of the first piezoelectric driving part and the first driven shaft; the second piezoelectric actuating part comprises a second piezoelectric driving part, a second driven shaft which is in transmission coupling with the second piezoelectric driving part, and a second driving part which is tightly matched with the second driven shaft, wherein under the action of the second piezoelectric driving part and the second driven shaft, the second driving part is configured to drive the second carrier to move along the direction set by the optical axis;

At least a part of a first driven shaft of the first piezoelectric actuator extends into the first accommodating channel, and at least a part of a second driven shaft of the second piezoelectric actuator extends into the second accommodating channel.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator and the second piezoelectric actuator are disposed on a first side of the optical axis.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator and the second piezoelectric actuator are provided on a first side of the optical axis and a second side opposite to the first side, respectively.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator and the second piezoelectric actuator are disposed in opposite directions.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator and the second piezoelectric actuator are disposed in the same direction.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator and the second piezoelectric actuator have the same mounting height with respect to the bottom surface of the drive housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator and the second piezoelectric actuator are disposed in opposite directions or in the same direction.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric active portion of the first piezoelectric actuator is adjacent to the second piezoelectric active portion of the second piezoelectric actuator.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first driven shaft of the first piezoelectric actuator is adjacent to the second driven shaft of the second piezoelectric actuator.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first piezoelectric active portion of the first piezoelectric actuator is mounted to a first side wall of the driving housing, and the second piezoelectric active portion of the second piezoelectric actuator is attached to a second side wall of the driving housing opposite to the first side wall.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driving assembly further includes a guide structure provided at a second side of the optical axis opposite to the first side, the guide structure being configured to guide the focusing portion and the zooming portion to move in a direction set by the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the guide structure includes: the first support part and the second support part are formed at intervals on the driving shell, and at least one guide rod is arranged between the first support part and the second support part in a penetrating way and is parallel to the optical axis, so that the first carrier and the second carrier can be guided to move along the direction set by the guide rod parallel to the optical axis.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driving assembly further includes a first guide mechanism configured to guide the movement of the zoom portion in the direction set by the optical axis, and a second guide mechanism configured to guide the movement of the focus portion in the direction set by the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the first guide mechanism includes a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion, and at least one first guide bar that is installed between the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion and penetrates the first carrier, the first guide bar being parallel to the optical axis so that the first carrier can be guided to move along a direction set by the first guide bar parallel to the optical axis; the second guide mechanism comprises a third installation part, a fourth installation part and at least one second guide rod which is arranged between the third installation part and the fourth installation part and penetrates through the second carrier, and the second guide rod is parallel to the optical axis so that the second carrier can be guided to move along the direction set by the first guide rod parallel to the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the first guide bar and the second guide bar are flush with each other.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the height of the first guide bar and the second guide bar with respect to the bottom surface of the drive housing is flush with the mounting height of the first driven shaft and the second driven shaft with respect to the bottom surface of the drive housing.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the first guiding mechanism includes at least one ball disposed between the first carrier and the driving housing, and a receiving groove disposed between the first carrier and the driving housing for receiving the at least one ball.

In the variable-focus image capturing module according to the present application, the first guide mechanism includes: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the first carrier and suitable for sliding of the at least one sliding block.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the second guiding mechanism includes at least one ball disposed between the second carrier and the driving housing, and a receiving groove disposed between the second carrier and the driving housing for receiving the at least one ball.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the second guide mechanism includes: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the second carrier and suitable for sliding of the at least one sliding block.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the first carrier includes a first carrier base and first and second extension arms integrally extending upward from the first carrier base, respectively, to form a first mounting chamber for mounting the zoom portion and a first opening communicating with the first mounting chamber between the first carrier base, the first extension arm, and the second extension arm.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, one of the at least one first receiving channel is formed between a bottom surface of the first carrier base and a bottom surface of the driving housing, and the other of the at least one first receiving channel is formed between a bottom surface of the second carrier base and a bottom surface of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the second carrier includes a second carrier base and third and fourth extension arms integrally extending upward from the second carrier base, respectively, to form a second mounting chamber for mounting the focusing portion and a second opening communicating with the second mounting chamber between the second carrier base, the third extension arm, and the fourth extension arm.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, one of the at least one second receiving channel is formed between a bottom surface of the second carrier base and a bottom surface of the third extension arm, and the other of the at least one second receiving channel is formed between a bottom surface of the fourth extension arm and a bottom surface of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the magnitude of the driving force generated by the piezoelectric actuator is 0.6N to 2N.

In the variable-focus imaging module according to the present application, the first accommodating passage and the second accommodating passage are lower than the optical axis.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the mounting height of the first driven shaft and the second driven shaft with respect to the bottom surface of the drive housing is lower than the height of the optical axis with respect to the bottom surface of the drive housing.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the piezoelectric active portion includes an electrode plate and at least one piezoelectric substrate stacked on the electrode plate.

In the zoom camera module according to the present application, the at least one piezoelectric substrate includes a first piezoelectric substrate and a second piezoelectric substrate, and the electrode plate is sandwiched between the first piezoelectric substrate and the second piezoelectric substrate.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the variable-focus image pickup module further includes: and the light blocking element is arranged on the photosensitive path of the photosensitive assembly.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the variable-focus image pickup module further includes: and a light turning element for turning imaging light to the zoom lens group.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the variable-focus image pickup module further includes: and a third driving element for driving the light turning element.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the zoom portion and the focus portion are disposed adjacently.

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

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

According to still another aspect of the present application, there is also provided a variable-focus camera module, including:

a photosensitive assembly corresponding to the variable focus lens package; and

a drive assembly, comprising: the optical pickup device comprises a driving housing, a first carrier, a second carrier, a first driving component and a second driving component, wherein the zooming part is arranged in the first carrier, the focusing part is arranged in the second carrier, the first driving component is used for simultaneously driving the first carrier from a first side and a second side of the first carrier relative to the optical axis to drive the zooming part to move along the direction set by the optical axis, and the second driving component is used for driving the second carrier to drive the focusing part to move along the direction set by the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the application, the first driving assembly comprises a first driving element and a second driving element, which are implemented as piezo-electric actuators, wherein the first driving element is configured to drive the first carrier from a first side of the first carrier to bring about a movement of the zoom portion along a direction set by the optical axis, and the second driving element is configured to drive the first carrier from a second side of the first carrier to bring about a movement of the zoom portion along a direction set by the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the piezoelectric actuator includes a piezoelectric driving portion, a driven shaft drivingly connected to and extending from the piezoelectric driving portion, and a driving portion closely fitted to the driven shaft, wherein the driving portion is configured to drive the first carrier to move in a direction set by the optical axis under the action of the piezoelectric driving portion and the driven shaft.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, a first receiving channel located on a first side of the first carrier and a second receiving channel located on a second side of the first carrier are formed between a bottom surface of the first carrier and a bottom surface of the driving housing, wherein the driving portion of the first driving element is disposed in the first receiving channel, and the driving portion of the second driving element is disposed in the second receiving channel.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, at least a portion of the driven shaft of the first driving element extends in the first receiving channel, and at least a portion of the driven shaft of the second driving element extends in the second receiving channel.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the first carrier includes a first carrier base, and a first extension arm and a second extension arm integrally extending upward from the first carrier base, respectively, to form a first mounting cavity for mounting the zoom portion and a first opening communicating with the first mounting cavity between the first carrier base, the first extension arm, and the second extension arm, wherein the first receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the first carrier base, a bottom surface of the first extension arm, and a bottom surface of the driving housing, and the second receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the first carrier base, and a bottom surface of the second extension arm, and a bottom surface of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driving portion of the first driving element is mounted to the bottom surface of the first extension arm, and the driving portion of the second driving element is mounted to the bottom surface of the second extension arm.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first driving element and the second driving element are disposed in the same direction.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first driving element and the second driving element are disposed in opposite directions.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first driving element and the second driving element are both arranged in the first arrangement direction.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the first driving element and the second driving element are both arranged in the second arrangement direction.

In the variable-focus imaging module according to the present application, the piezoelectric active portion of the first driving element is mounted to the first side wall of the driving housing, and the piezoelectric active portion of the second driving element is mounted to the first side wall of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driving housing includes a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion symmetrically disposed at a central portion thereof with respect to the optical axis, wherein the piezoelectric active portion of the first driving element is mounted to a first side wall of the first mounting portion, and the piezoelectric active portion of the second driving element is mounted to a first side wall of the second mounting portion.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the piezoelectric active portion of the first driving element and the piezoelectric active portion of the second driving element are flush in the height direction of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driven shaft of the first driving element and the driven shaft of the second driving element are flush in the height direction of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driven shaft of the first driving element and the driven shaft of the second driving element are symmetrically arranged on the first side of the first carrier and the second side of the first carrier with respect to the optical axis.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driving portion of the first driving element and the driving portion of the second driving element are symmetrically arranged on the first side of the first carrier and the second side of the first carrier with respect to the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the application, the second drive assembly comprises a third drive element and a fourth drive element, which are implemented as piezo-electric actuators, wherein the third drive element is configured to drive the second carrier from a first side of the second carrier to bring the focusing part into movement in a direction set by the optical axis, and the fourth drive element is configured to drive the first carrier from a second side of the second carrier to bring the focusing part into movement in a direction set by the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, a third receiving channel located on the first side of the second carrier and a fourth receiving channel located on the second side of the second carrier are formed between the bottom surface of the second carrier and the bottom surface of the driving housing, wherein the driving portion of the third driving element is disposed in the third receiving channel, and the driving portion of the fourth driving element is disposed in the fourth receiving channel.

In the variable-focus imaging module according to the present application, at least a portion of the driven shaft of the third driving element extends in the third receiving channel, and at least a portion of the driven shaft of the fourth driving element extends in the fourth receiving channel.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the second carrier includes a second carrier base and third and fourth extension arms integrally extending upward from the second carrier base, respectively, to form a second mounting cavity for mounting the focusing portion and a second opening communicating with the second mounting cavity between the second carrier base, the third extension arm and the fourth extension arm, wherein the third receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the second carrier base, a bottom surface of the third extension arm and a bottom surface of the driving housing, and the fourth receiving channel is formed between a bottom surface of the fourth extension arm and a bottom surface of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the third driving element and the fourth driving element are disposed in the same direction.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the third driving element and the fourth driving element are both arranged in the first arrangement direction.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the third driving element and the fourth driving element are simultaneously arranged in the second arrangement direction.

In the variable-focus imaging module according to the present application, the piezoelectric active portion of the third driving element is mounted to a second side wall of the driving housing opposite to the first side wall, and the piezoelectric active portion of the fourth driving element is mounted to the second side wall of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus imaging module according to the present application, the piezoelectric active portion of the third driving element is mounted to a second side wall of the first mounting portion opposite to the first side wall, and the piezoelectric active portion of the fourth driving element is mounted to a second side wall of the second mounting portion opposite to the first side wall.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driven shaft of the third driving element and the driven shaft of the fourth driving element are flush in the height direction of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driven shaft of the third driving element and the driven shaft of the fourth driving element are symmetrically arranged on the first side of the second carrier and the second side of the second carrier with respect to the optical axis.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driving portion of the third driving element and the driving portion of the fourth driving element are symmetrically arranged on the first side of the first carrier and the second side of the first carrier with respect to the optical axis.

In the variable-focus camera module according to the present application, the first receiving channel corresponds to the third receiving channel, and/or the second receiving channel is aligned with the fourth receiving channel.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driven shafts of the third driving element and the fourth driving element are flush with the driven shafts of the first driving element and the second driving element in the height direction of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the driven shaft of the first driving element is aligned with the driven shaft of the third driving element in the width direction of the driving housing, and/or the driven shaft of the second driving element is aligned with the driven shaft of the fourth driving element in the width direction of the driving housing.

In the variable-focus image pickup module according to the present application, the variable-focus image pickup module further includes: and a fifth driving element for driving the light turning element.

Further objects and advantages of the present application will become fully apparent from the following description and the accompanying 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 appended claims.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent by describing embodiments of the present application in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the application and together with the embodiments of the application, and not constitute a limitation to the application. In the drawings, like reference numerals generally refer to 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. 3 illustrates another schematic diagram of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a specific example of a light blocking element of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5A and 5B illustrate schematic diagrams of a first driving element and a second driving element of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6A and 6B illustrate schematic diagrams of a modified embodiment of the first driving element and the second driving element of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7A and 7B illustrate schematic diagrams of a variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8A illustrates a schematic diagram of a variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8B illustrates another schematic view of the variable focus camera module illustrated in fig. 8A.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of another variant implementation of the guiding structure of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 illustrates a schematic diagram of a further variant implementation of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 illustrates a schematic diagram of a variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 12 illustrates another schematic diagram of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 13 illustrates a schematic diagram of an optical system of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 14 illustrates a schematic diagram of a specific example of a light blocking element of the variable-focus image capturing module according to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 15A and 15B illustrate schematic diagrams of the piezoelectric actuator of the variable-focus camera module according to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 16A and 16B illustrate schematic diagrams of a variant implementation of the piezoelectric actuator of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 17 illustrates a schematic diagram of a variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 18 illustrates a schematic diagram of another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 19 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 20 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 21 illustrates a schematic diagram of yet another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 22 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 23 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

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

Summary of the application

As described above, the existing driving elements for driving the respective components in the camera module, such as the optical lens and the zoom component, are electromagnetic motors, for example, voice Coil Motor (VCM), shape memory alloy driver (Shape of Memory Alloy Actuator: SMA), and the like. Since the camera module is conventionally disposed along the thickness direction of an electronic device such as a cellular phone, each component in the camera module tends to be light and thin and miniaturized, and in this case, the electromagnetic motor can provide a sufficient driving force. However, with the novel camera module such as periscope camera module, the structure and the positional relationship of the camera module relative to the electronic device are changed, 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 dimension of the electronic device in the thickness direction, and a larger degree of freedom can be obtained in terms of dimension increase.

In addition, as the requirements for the imaging performance of the camera module are increased, higher requirements are put on each component of the camera module, especially the zoom component, and with the reduction of the limitation in terms of size increase, in order to realize stronger functions, the component design of the camera module also brings about an increase in component size, thereby causing a further increase in the weight of the component. In this case, the conventional electromagnetic motor can no longer provide a sufficient driving force, and in terms of quantification, the conventional voice coil motor driver can only drive the optical lens with a weight of less than 100mg, while the memory alloy motor requires a larger stroke space arrangement, 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 a very large number of driver sizes to provide a larger driving force, so that a new generation of driving scheme must be developed for the camera module.

Based on the above, the technical route of the application is to provide a design of a variable focus camera module based on a piezoelectric actuator capable of providing larger driving force, so as to meet the requirement of driving force of components after the components in the novel variable focus camera module are enlarged.

Here, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, since the technical requirements of the novel variable-focus camera module are quite contrary to those of the conventional variable-focus camera module that needs to be miniaturized, in the technical route for the novel variable-focus camera module, a whole set of design schemes based on the technical requirements of the novel variable-focus camera module is required, rather than simply applying the novel actuating element to the design of the conventional variable-focus camera module.

Specifically, the technical scheme of the application provides a variable-focus camera module, which comprises the following components: a zoom lens group comprising: a fixed portion, a zoom portion, and a focusing portion, wherein the zoom lens group is provided with an optical axis; a photosensitive assembly corresponding to the variable focus lens package; and, a drive assembly comprising: the device comprises a driving housing and at least one driving element positioned in the driving housing, wherein the at least one driving element is arranged on a first side of the zoom lens group and is configured to drive the zoom part and/or the focusing part to move along the optical axis, and the at least one driving element is a piezoelectric actuator.

Thus, by configuring the overall structure of the variable-focus camera module based on a piezoelectric actuator capable of providing a larger driving force, the piezoelectric actuator as a driving element for the zoom portion and/or the focus portion to be moved, the optical component of the variable-focus camera module having a larger weight, that is, the optical component having a weight far greater than 100 mg, for example, up to a weight exceeding 1 g can be driven. And 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 superposing the strokes provided by multiple deformations, and the time of the single deformation of the piezoelectric actuator plus the recovery is very short, so that the requirement on zooming time can be completely met.

It should be noted that the zoom camera module according to the embodiment of the present application is implemented as a zoom periscope camera module, and the zoom camera module is described below. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that, while in the embodiment of the present application, the zoom camera module is implemented as a zoom periscope camera module, in other examples of the present application, the zoom camera module may be implemented as other types of camera modules, which is not limited to the present application.

Moreover, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, although the embodiments of the present application have been described with reference to piezoelectric actuators, the technical solution of the variable-focus camera module according to the embodiments of the present application may be equivalently applied to other actuators that can provide a larger driving force, other than piezoelectric actuators, and the present application is not intended to be limited thereto.

Exemplary variable focal 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 an embodiment of the present application includes: a light turning element 10, a variable focus lens package 20, a photosensitive assembly 30 and a driving assembly 740.

Accordingly, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the light turning element 10 is configured to receive the imaging light from the object and turn the imaging light 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 photographed object by 90 ° so that the overall height dimension of the variable-focus camera module can be reduced. Here, in consideration of manufacturing tolerances, an angle at which the light turning element 10 turns the imaging light may have an error within 1 ° during actual operation, which will be understood by those skilled in the art.

In a specific example of the application, the light turning element 10 may be implemented as a mirror (e.g. a planar mirror), or as 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 of the light turning prism is perpendicular to the light emitting surface thereof 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 emitting surface, so that, after an imaging light enters the light turning prism perpendicularly to the light incident surface, the imaging light can be turned at 90 ° at the light reflecting surface and output perpendicularly to the light emitting surface from the light emitting surface.

Of course, in other examples of the application, the light turning element 10 may also be implemented as other types of optical elements, which are not limiting to the application. Also, in the embodiment of the present application, the variable-focus camera module may further include a greater number of light turning elements 10, which is one reason for this is that: one function of introducing the light turning element 10 is to: the imaging light is turned to enable structural dimensional folding of the optical system of the variable focus camera module having a longer total optical length (TTL: total Track Length). Accordingly, when the total optical length (TTL) of the variable-focus camera module is too long, a larger 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 on the image side of the variable-focus camera module or between two optical lenses thereof.

As shown in fig. 1 and 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 imaging light from the light turning element 10 for focusing the imaging light. Accordingly, as shown in fig. 2, the zoom lens group 20 includes, along its set optical axis direction: a fixed portion 21, a zoom portion 22, and a focusing portion 23, wherein the fixed portion 21 has a predetermined mounting position, and the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 are respectively adjustable with respect to the position of the fixed portion 21 under the action of the driving assembly 740, thereby achieving adjustment of the optical performance of the variable-focus camera module, including but not limited to optical focusing and optical zooming functions. For example, the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 may be adjusted by the driving assembly 740 such that the focal length of the zoom lens group 20 of the variable-focus image capturing module is adjusted, thereby enabling a subject of different distances to be clearly photographed.

In the embodiment of the present application, the fixing portion 21 includes a first lens barrel and at least one optical lens accommodated in the first lens barrel. And, the fixed part 21 is adapted to be fixed to a non-moving part of the driving assembly 740 such that the position of the fixed part 21 in the variable focus lens package 20 remains 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 may include only at least one optical lens, for example, only a plurality of optical lenses that are mutually engaged. That is, in other examples of the application, the fixed portion 21 may be implemented as a "bare lens".

The zoom portion 22 includes a second lens barrel and at least one optical lens accommodated in the second lens barrel, wherein the zoom portion 22 is adapted to be driven by the driving assembly 740 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 photographing of objects with 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 lens barrel, and may include only at least one optical lens, for example, only a plurality of optical lenses that are mutually embedded. That is, in other examples of the application, the zoom portion 22 may also be implemented as a "bare lens".

The focusing part 23 includes a third lens barrel and at least one optical lens accommodated in the third lens barrel, wherein the focusing part 23 is adapted to be driven by the driving assembly 740 to move along the optical axis direction set by the zoom lens group 20, thereby realizing the focusing function of the variable-focus camera module. More specifically, the optical focusing achieved by driving the focusing section 23 can compensate for the focus shift caused by moving the zooming section 22, thereby compensating for the imaging performance of the variable-focus camera module so that the imaging quality thereof satisfies the preset requirement.

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 may include only at least one optical lens, for example, only a plurality of optical lenses that are mutually embedded. 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. 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the fixed portion 21, the zoom portion 22, and the focusing portion 23 of the zoom lens group 20 are disposed in order (that is, in the zoom lens group 20, the zoom portion 22 is located between the fixed portion 21 and the focusing portion 23), that is, imaging light rays from the light turning element 10 will first pass through the fixed portion 21, then pass through the zoom portion 22, and then pass through the focusing portion 23 in the process of passing through the zoom lens group 20.

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

But particularly, in the embodiment of the present application, in consideration of the structural design of the variable-focus camera module (more specifically, in order to facilitate the layout of the driving assembly 740), 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 zoom lens group 20 according to the embodiment of the present application are preferably configured to: the zoom portion 22 is located between the fixed portion 21 and the focusing portion 23, or the focusing portion 23 is located between the fixed portion 21 and the zoom portion 22. It should be appreciated that the zoom portion 22 and the focus portion 23 are portions of the zoom lens group 20 that need to be moved, and thus, the placement of the focus portion 23 and the zoom portion 22 adjacent to each other facilitates the placement of the drive assembly 740, as will be described in more detail with respect to the drive assembly 740.

It should be noted that, in the example illustrated in fig. 2, the zoom lens group 20 includes one fixed portion 21, one zoom portion 22 and one focusing portion 23 as examples, but those skilled in the art will recognize 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 not limited by the present application, and may be adjusted according to the optical design requirements of the variable-focus camera module.

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 50 disposed on the photosensitive path of the photosensitive assembly 30, where the light blocking element 50 can at least partially block the light from passing therethrough, so as to reduce the influence of stray light on the imaging quality of the variable-focus camera module as much as possible.

Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a specific example of the light blocking element 50 of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, in this specific example, the light blocking element 50 is mounted on the light emitting surface of the light turning element 10, wherein the light blocking element 50 has a light transmitting hole 500 adapted to transmit an effective portion of the imaging light and block at least a portion of the stray light of the imaging light. Preferably, the light transmission hole 500 is a circular hole to match the circular effective optical area of the variable focus lens package 20, so as to reduce the influence of stray light on the imaging quality as much as possible.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the light blocking element 50 may be disposed at other positions of the light turning element 10, for example, the light incident surface or the light reflecting surface of the light turning element 10, which is not limited by the present application. It should also be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the light blocking element 50 may be disposed as a separate component on the photosensitive path of the photosensitive assembly 30, for example, disposed as a separate component between the light turning element 10 and the zoom lens group 20, and further, disposed as a separate component between the zoom lens group 20 and the photosensitive assembly 30, which is not limited to the present application.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the photosensitive assembly 30 corresponds to the zoom lens group 20 for receiving the imaging light from the zoom lens group 20 and imaging, wherein 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. 1 and 2, the photosensitive assembly 30 further includes a holder 34 provided to the wiring 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 embodiment in which the filter element 33 is 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 the surface of a certain optical lens of the zoom lens group 20 to perform a filtering effect, and for example, the photosensitive assembly 30 may further include a filter element holder (not shown) mounted on the holder 34, where the filter element 33 is held on the photosensitive path of the photosensitive chip 32 in such a manner as to be mounted on the filter element holder.

As mentioned above, in order to meet the increasingly wide market demands, high pixel, large chip, and small size are the irreversible development trend of the existing camera modules. As the photosensitive chip 32 is advanced toward high pixels and large chips, the size of the zoom lens group 20 adapted to the photosensitive chip 32 is also gradually increased, which puts new technical demands on drivers for driving the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 of the zoom lens group 20.

The new technical requirements are mainly focused on two aspects: relatively greater driving force, and better driving performance (including, in particular, higher accuracy of driving control and longer driving stroke). In addition, in addition to searching for a driver that meets new technical requirements, a trend that the selected driver can be adapted to the current light weight and thin profile of the camera module needs to be considered when selecting a new driver.

Through researches and experiments, the inventor finds that the technical requirement of the variable-focus camera module on a driver can be met by selecting a piezoelectric actuator. Specifically, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, in an embodiment of the present application, the driving assembly 740 for driving the variable focus lens package 20 includes: a driving housing 741, a first carrier 744, a second carrier 745, and a first driving element 742 and a second driving element 743 within the driving housing 741, wherein the zoom portion 22 is mounted within the first carrier 744, the focusing portion 23 is mounted within the second carrier 745, the first driving element 742 is configured to drive the first carrier 744 to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis, and the second driving element 743 is configured to drive the second carrier 745 to move the focusing portion 23 in a direction set by the optical axis. In particular, in an embodiment of the application, the first drive element 742 and/or the second drive element 743 are implemented as piezo-electric actuators, i.e. at least one of the first drive element 742 and the second drive element 743 is implemented as a piezo-electric actuator.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are simultaneously implemented as piezoelectric actuators, and for convenience of illustration and description, the piezoelectric actuator defining the first driving element 742 is a first piezoelectric actuator 7420, and the piezoelectric actuator defining the second driving element 743 is a second piezoelectric actuator 7430. Also, more preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are the same type of piezoelectric actuator.

Fig. 5A and 5B illustrate schematic diagrams of a first driving element and a second driving element of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, in the embodiment of the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are implemented as the same type of piezoelectric actuator, wherein the piezoelectric actuator 100 includes: the piezoelectric driving part 110, the driven shaft 120 which is in driving coupling with the piezoelectric driving part 110, and the driving part 130 which is tightly matched with the driven shaft 120, wherein the driving part 130 is configured to drive the first carrier 744 or the second carrier 745 to move along the direction set by the optical axis under the action of the piezoelectric driving part 110 and the driven shaft 120.

That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 includes a first piezoelectric driving portion 7421, a first driven shaft 7422 drivingly coupled to the first piezoelectric driving portion 7421, and a first driving portion 7423 tightly coupled to the first driven shaft 7422, wherein the first driving portion 7423 is configured to drive the first carrier 744 to move along a direction set by the optical axis under the action of the first piezoelectric driving portion 7421 and the first driven shaft 7422. The second piezoelectric actuator 7430 includes a second piezoelectric driving portion 7431, a second driven shaft 7432 drivingly coupled to the second piezoelectric driving portion 7431, and a second driving portion 7433 tightly coupled to the second driven shaft 7432, wherein the second driving portion 7433 is configured to drive the second carrier 745 to move along a direction set by the optical axis under the action of the second piezoelectric driving portion 7431 and the second driven shaft 432.

As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the piezoelectric active portion 110 includes an electrode plate 111 and at least one piezoelectric substrate stacked on the electrode plate 111. The piezoelectric substrate is a substrate that has an inverse piezoelectric effect and contracts or expands according to a polarization direction and an electric field direction, and for example, it can be manufactured and used by using substrate polarization in a thickness direction of single crystal or polycrystalline ceramics, polymers, or the like. Here, the inverse piezoelectric effect means that an electric field is applied in a polarization direction of a dielectric, and the dielectric is mechanically deformed when a potential difference is generated.

More specifically, in the example illustrated in fig. 5A and 5B, the at least one piezoelectric substrate includes a first piezoelectric substrate 112 and a second piezoelectric substrate 113, and the electrode plate 111 is sandwiched between the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113. Also, in this example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 further includes electrode layers 115 formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the first piezoelectric substrate 112, respectively, and electrode layers 115 formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the second piezoelectric substrate 113, respectively, to supply pulse voltages to the first and second piezoelectric substrates 112 and 113 through the electrode layers 115 and the electrode plates 111.

In this example, the electrode plate 111 may be formed of a plate-like member having a certain elasticity, for example, a metal plate having a certain elasticity. As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the piezoelectric active portion 110 further includes at least one electrically conductive portion 114 electrically connected to the electrode plate 111, for example, the at least one electrically conductive portion 114 may be welded to the electrode plate 111 by welding, or the at least one electrically conductive portion 114 may be integrally formed with the electrode plate 111. It should be noted that, when the number of the electrically conductive portions 114 is plural, the electrically conductive portions 114 are preferably symmetrically distributed on the outer surface of the electrode plate 111.

In this example, the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113 are attached to a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface of the electrode plate 111 through the electrode layer 115, respectively. For example, in this example, the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113 may be fixed in surface-to-surface engagement with the electrode plate 111, or the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113 may be attached to the electrode plate 111 by conductive silver paste.

Preferably, in this example, the shapes of the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113 are similar or identical in size to the electrode plate 111, so that the piezoelectric active portion 110 has better vibration efficiency. In this specific example, the first piezoelectric substrate 112, the second piezoelectric substrate 113, and the electrode plate 111 are circular plates.

As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the driven shaft 120 is fixed to the piezoelectric driving part 110, for example, attached to the center of the piezoelectric driving part 110 by an adhesive. Specifically, the driven shaft 120 may be attached to the electrode layer 115 of the outer surface of the first piezoelectric substrate 112 by an adhesive, or may be nestedly attached to the electrode layer 115 of the outer surface of the first piezoelectric substrate 112 by an adhesive, or the first piezoelectric substrate 112 may have a center hole, the driven shaft 120 may be further fitted into the center hole of the first piezoelectric substrate 112, or the piezoelectric active portion 110 may have a center hole penetrating the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and the driven shaft 120 may be fitted into the center hole of the piezoelectric active portion 110 by an adhesive. In an implementation, the driven shaft 120 may be implemented as a carbon rod. Also, in this example, the driven shaft 120 has a circular or polygonal cross-sectional shape, preferably a circular shape

As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the driving part 130 is tightly fitted to the driven shaft 120. In this example, the driving portion 130 is friction-fitted with the driven shaft 120 such that the driving portion 130 is tightly fitted on the driven shaft 120. More specifically, in this example, the driving part 130 may be implemented as a clamping mechanism that clamps the driven shaft 120, wherein the clamping mechanism may be a clamping mechanism with adjustable clamping force, or a clamping mechanism made partially or entirely of an elastic material.

As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the electrode layer 115 exposed on the surface of the piezoelectric active portion 110 is electrically connected to the positive electrode 117 of the power supply control portion 116, and the electrode plate 111 is electrically connected to the negative electrode 118 of the power supply control portion 116 through the electric conduction portion 114, so that when the power supply control portion 116 repeatedly applies a pulse voltage to the electrode layer 115 and the electrode plate 111, the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113 are deformed in one direction by the inverse piezoelectric effect and are quickly restored to a flat plate shape by the elastic effect of the electrode plate 111. In the deformation process, the driven shaft 120 moves back and forth in the set axial direction, and since the driving part 130 and the driven shaft 120 are in friction fit, when the piezoelectric driving part 110 deforms in one direction, the driving part 130 and the driven shaft 120 move together, and when the piezoelectric driving part 110 quickly returns to the original state, the driven shaft 120 also moves reversely, and the driving part 130 cannot follow the action of the driven shaft 120 due to the inertia effect and cannot return to the original position, but can only stay at the position. Accordingly, the position of the driving part 130 is changed during one deformation, and accordingly, the above-described movement can be repeated by repeatedly applying a pulse voltage, so that the driving part 130 is moved to a target position.

Fig. 6A and 6B illustrate schematic diagrams of a modified embodiment of the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, in this variant implementation, the piezoelectric actuator 100 includes: the zoom lens comprises a piezoelectric driving part 110, a driven shaft 120 which is in transmission connection with the piezoelectric driving part 110 of the piezoelectric driving part 110, and a driving part 130 which is movably arranged on the driven shaft 120, wherein the driving part 130 is configured to drive a first carrier 44 or a second carrier 45 under the action of the piezoelectric driving part 110 and the driven shaft 120 so as to drive the zoom part 22 or the focusing part 23 to move along the optical axis.

As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, in this example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 includes a piezoelectric element 111A, and the piezoelectric element 111A has a laminated structure as illustrated in fig. 6A. Specifically, as shown in fig. 6A, the piezoelectric element 111A includes a plurality of piezoelectric telescopic bodies 112A and a plurality of electrodes 113A, and the plurality of piezoelectric telescopic bodies 112A and the plurality of electrodes 113A are alternately stacked. In particular, by the laminated structure as described above, the piezoelectric element 111A can obtain a relatively large deformation amount even in the case where a small electric field is applied.

In this example, for convenience of explanation, the electrodes 113A formed by alternately sandwiching the plurality of piezoelectric telescopic bodies 112A are defined as internal electrodes, the electrodes 113A disposed on the surface of the piezoelectric telescopic body 112A and located on the upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric element 111A are defined as upper and lower electrodes, respectively, and the electrodes 113A disposed on the surface of the piezoelectric telescopic body 112A and located on the side surfaces of the piezoelectric element 111A are defined as side electrodes. Accordingly, in the case of multiple layers, the electrodes 113A of the same polarity are electrically connected through the side electrodes.

As shown in fig. 6B, in this example, the driven shaft 120 has a cylindrical shape and is attached to an intermediate region of the upper surface of the piezoelectric element 111A by an adhesive so that the moving shaft is bonded to the piezoelectric element 111A. Of course, in other examples of the present application, the shape of the moving axis may be adjusted, which is not limited to the present application.

The driven shaft 120 is made of a material containing any one of "carbon, heavy metal, carbide of heavy metal, boride of heavy metal, and nitride of heavy metal" as a main component, and the piezoelectric element 111A has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having sides along mutually orthogonal X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, respectively. In this example, the X-axis direction length of the piezoelectric element 111A is 1mm, the Y-axis direction length of the piezoelectric element 111A is 1mm, and the Z-axis direction length (height) of the piezoelectric element 111A is 2mm.

It should be noted that, compared to the conventional electromagnetic actuator, the piezoelectric actuator 100 illustrated in fig. 6A and 6B has advantages of small volume, large thrust and high precision. Also, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 illustrated in fig. 6A and 6B has a relatively smaller cross-sectional size than the piezoelectric actuator 100 illustrated in fig. 5A and 5B, is suitable for use in a module having a compact space, but has a relatively large thickness size, and at the same time, the internal structure of the piezoelectric element 111A is relatively complex.

Accordingly, the piezoelectric actuator 100 according to the embodiment of the present application can provide a relatively high driving force. More specifically, the piezoelectric actuator 100 selected in the present application can provide a driving force of 0.6N to 2N, which is sufficient to drive a component having a weight of more than 100 mg.

And, in addition to being able to provide a relatively large driving force, the piezoelectric actuator 100 has other advantages over conventional electromagnetic and memory alloy motor solutions, including but not limited to: the size is relatively smaller (has 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 larger, the stabilizing time is short, the weight is relatively smaller, and the like.

Specifically, the variable-focus camera module needs to have characteristics of long driving stroke, good alignment precision and the like of a configured driver. In the current voice coil motor scheme, in order to guarantee motion linearity, need additionally design guide arm or ball guide rail, need simultaneously at the driving magnet/coil etc. of camera lens lateral part adaptation jumbo size, 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 lateral dimension to be bigger, and structural design is complicated, and module weight is heavier. The memory alloy motor scheme is limited by the fact that the stroke which can be provided by the memory alloy scheme in the same proportion is relatively less, and meanwhile reliability risks such as potential wire breakage exist.

The piezoelectric actuator 100 has a relatively simple structure, the assembly structure is simpler, and in addition, the sizes of the driving elements such as the piezoelectric driving part 110, the driven shaft 120 and the driving part 130 are basically irrelevant to the movement 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 simultaneously, the piezoelectric actuator 100 is matched with a larger stroke or heavier device for design, and the integration level in the design is higher.

Further, the piezoelectric actuator 100 pushes the object to be pushed (for example, the focusing part 23 or the zooming part 22) to perform the micro-scale motion in a friction contact manner by using the friction force and inertia during vibration, and compared with the electromagnetic scheme which drives the object to be pushed in a non-contact manner, the piezoelectric actuator has the advantages of larger pushing force, larger displacement and lower power consumption, and higher control precision, and can realize high-precision continuous zooming. In addition, when a plurality of motor mechanisms are provided, the piezoelectric actuator 100 does not have a magnet coil structure, and thus has no problem of magnetic interference. In addition, the piezoelectric actuator 100 can be self-locked by means of friction force among components, so that the shaking abnormal sound of the variable-focus camera module during optical zooming can be reduced.

After the piezoelectric actuator 100 is selected as the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743, that is, the first driving element 742 is implemented as a first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second driving element 743 is implemented as a second piezoelectric actuator 7430, wherein the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 may be electrically connected to an external power source in the following manner. For example, it may be electrically connected to the electrode layers 115 of the first and second driving elements 742 and 743 and the electrically conductive portion 114 of the electrode plate 111 through a connection circuit, which may be implemented as a flexible board connection tape or a plurality of leads to be electrically connected to the outside through the connection circuit. Further, when the piezoelectric actuator 100 is disposed in the driving housing 41, the piezoelectric actuator 100 is adapted to be directly led out through the flexible board so as to be electrically connected with the wiring board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30.

In other examples of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 may be directly led out through the flexible board and electrically connected to the circuit board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30. Or, at least two LDS grooves are provided on the surface of the driving housing 741, the depth of the LDS grooves is not greater than 20-30 μm, the width of the LDS grooves is not less than 60 μm, an LDS (laser direct structuring) technique is applied in the grooves, and a conductive plating layer (for example, a nickel-palladium-gold plating layer) is plated on the surfaces of the LDS grooves, so that interference of other metals in the inside can be avoided, and the connection circuit of the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 is connected with the conductive plating layer in the LDS grooves, so that a circuit is led out and electrically connected with the circuit board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30. Alternatively, at least two wires may be molded in the driving housing 41 by Insert Molding, so that the connection circuits of the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are electrically connected to the wires to lead out the circuits, and electrically connected to the circuit board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30.

Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are implemented as the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430, wherein the first driving part 7423 of the first driving element 742 is configured to drive the first carrier 744 under the action of the first piezoelectric driving part 7421 and the first driven shaft 7422 to drive the zoom portion 22 to move along the optical axis direction; the second driving part 7433 of the second driving element 743 is configured to drive the second carrier 745 under the action of the second piezoelectric driving part 7431 and the second driven shaft 7432 to drive the focusing part 23 to move along the optical axis direction.

Further, after the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are configured as the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 need to be further disposed in the variable-focus camera module in a reasonable manner.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, in the embodiment of the present application, the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 have special structural configurations, so that, when the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 are mounted on the driving housing 741, at least one first receiving channel is disposed between the bottom surface of the driving housing 741 and the bottom surface of the first carrier 744, and at least one second receiving channel is disposed between the bottom surface of the driving housing 741 and the bottom surface of the second carrier 745. In the existing camera module structure arrangement, the space between the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741 is usually left unused, because: the space between the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741 is too small to be suitable for laying other components.

However, when the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are implemented as the piezoelectric actuator 100, it is known from the description of the piezoelectric actuator 100 as described above that the piezoelectric actuator 100 has an elongated shape (i.e., the driven shaft 120 extends perpendicularly outward from the piezoelectric driving part 110 to have an elongated shape), and in particular, the driven shaft 120 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 has an elongated bar-shaped columnar structure. Accordingly, since the piezoelectric actuator 100 has a specific structure and size configuration, it is preferable that at least a portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is disposed in at least one of the first receiving channel or the second receiving channel in the embodiment of the present application.

More specifically, when the first driving element 742 is implemented as a first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second driving element 743 is implemented as a second piezoelectric actuator 7430, at least a portion of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 is disposed within the first receiving channel 7440, and at least a portion of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 is disposed within the second receiving channel 7450. For example, in the example illustrated in fig. 1 and 3, at least a portion of the first driven shaft 7422 of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 extends within the first receiving channel 7440, and at least a portion of the second driven shaft 7432 of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 extends within the second receiving channel 7450, i.e., the first driven shaft 7422 of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 is disposed within the first receiving channel 440 and the second driven shaft 7432 of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 is disposed within the second receiving channel 7450.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, in an embodiment of the present application, the first carrier 744 includes a first carrier base 7441 and first and second extension arms 7442 and 7443 integrally extending upward from the first carrier base 7441, respectively, to form a first mounting cavity 7444 for mounting the zoom portion 22 and a first opening 7445 communicating with the first mounting cavity 7444 between the first carrier base 7441, the first extension arm 7442 and the second extension arm 7443, wherein the zoom portion 22 is adapted for the first opening 7445 to be mounted into the first mounting cavity 7444.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, in this example, two first receiving passages 7440 are formed between the first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741, wherein one of the first receiving passages 7440 is formed between a side surface of the first carrier base 7441, a bottom surface of the first extension arm 7442 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 741, and the other of the first receiving passages 7440 is formed between a bottom surface of the first carrier base 7441, and a bottom surface of the second extension arm 7443 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 741.

It should be appreciated that in embodiments of the present application, the first driven shaft 7422 of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 may be disposed within any of the first receiving channels 7440. Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the structure of the first carrier 744 or the shape of the bottom surface of the driving housing 741 may be appropriately adjusted, so that only one first receiving channel 7440 is formed between the driving housing 741 and the first carrier 744, which is not limited to the present application.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, in the embodiment of the present application, the second carrier 745 includes a second carrier base 7451 and third and fourth extension arms 7452 and 7453 integrally extending upward from the second carrier base 7451, respectively, to form a second mounting cavity 7454 for mounting the focusing portion 23 and a second opening 7455 communicating with the second mounting cavity 7454 between the second carrier base 7451, the third and fourth extension arms 7452 and 7453, wherein the focusing portion 23 is adapted to be mounted into the second mounting cavity 7454 from the second opening 7455.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, in this example, two of the second receiving passages 7450 are formed between the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741, wherein one of the second receiving passages 7450 is formed between a side surface of the second carrier base 7451, a bottom surface of the third extension arm 7452 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 741, and the other of the second receiving passages 7450 is formed between a bottom surface of the fourth extension arm 7453 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 741.

It should be appreciated that in embodiments of the present application, the second driven shaft 7432 of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 may be disposed within any of the second receiving channels 7450. Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration of the bottom surface of the second carrier 745 or the driving housing 41 may be appropriately adjusted, so that only one second receiving channel 7450 is formed between the driving housing 741 and the second carrier 745, which is not limited to the present application.

In particular, it should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the first receiving passage 7440 and the second receiving passage 7450 are lower than the optical axis, that is, when the first driven shaft 7422 of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 is mounted in the first receiving passage 7440, the height of the first driven shaft 7422 with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 741 is lower than the height of the optical axis with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 741. Accordingly, when the second driven shaft 7432 of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 is mounted in the second receiving passage 7450, the height of the second driven shaft 7432 with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 741 is also lower than the height of the optical axis with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 741.

In the embodiment of the present application, the driving part 130 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is also mounted in the first receiving passage 7440 and the second receiving passage 7450. For example, the driving part 130 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 may be disposed in the first receiving channel 7440 or the second receiving channel 7450 by being adhered or integrally formed on the lower surface of the first carrier 744 or the second carrier 745.

In particular, in the example illustrated in fig. 1 and 3, the first driving portion 7413 and the second driving portion 7433 are implemented as two clamping plates which are at least partially elastic and are disposed opposite to each other, wherein the first driven shaft 7421 of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second driven shaft 7432 of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are respectively clamped in a clamping cavity formed by the two clamping plates in a tight fit. Accordingly, after the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are activated, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 can apply driving forces to bottoms of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745, and by the configuration of such driving positions, driving difficulty is reduced and driving stability is improved.

It should be noted that, in the preferred embodiment of the present application, the first receiving channel 7440 is aligned with the second receiving channel 7450. For example, in one example of the present application, the structures of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 may be appropriately adjusted such that the first receiving passages 7440 and the second receiving passages 7450 are aligned in the longitudinal direction set by the driving housing 741. In some specific examples, the first receiving channel 7440 and the second receiving channel 7450 can even have the same cross-sectional shape and cross-sectional dimensions, thereby promoting symmetry of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745.

Further, as shown in fig. 1, in the embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are selected to be disposed on the first side of the optical axis, that is, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are selected to be disposed on the same side of the optical axis, so that the arrangement compactness of the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 within the driving housing 741 is higher and the longitudinal space of the driving housing 741 is occupied smaller. Here, the longitudinal space of the driving housing 741 refers to a space occupied by the driving housing 741 in the length direction thereof, and correspondingly, the lateral space of the driving housing 741 refers to a space occupied by the driving housing 741 in the width direction thereof, and the height space of the driving housing 741 refers to a space occupied by the driving housing 741 in the height direction thereof.

Also, when the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are disposed on the same side of the optical axis, the relative positional relationship (particularly, the 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 degradation in imaging quality of the variable-focus image pickup module due to tilting of the zoom portion 22 and the focus portion 23 when the zoom portion 22 is driven by the first driving element 742 and the focus portion 23 is driven by the second driving element 743.

Further, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, in this example, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are located on the same side of the optical axis, and the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 located on the same side are disposed in a different direction, or the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 located on the same side are disposed opposite to each other, in such a manner that compactness of arrangement of the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 in a space formed by the driving housing 741 is increased. In an embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are implemented as a piezoelectric actuator 100 including a piezoelectric driving portion 110 and a driven shaft 120 extending from the piezoelectric driving portion 110. If the piezoelectric active portion 110 is set as the head portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100, the driven shaft 120 is set as the tail portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100, and the head portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is set in the front and the tail portion thereof is set in the rear to be in the first direction, and the head portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is set in the rear and the tail portion thereof is set in the front to be in the second direction, in this example, the first driving element 742 is arranged in the first direction and the second driving element 743 is arranged in the second direction. That is, in this example, the head of the first drive element 742 is adjacent to the tail of the second drive element 743, i.e., the first driven shaft 7422 of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 is adjacent to the second driven shaft 7432 of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 have the same mounting height with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 741, that is, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 have the same mounting height with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 741, that is, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 may be disposed on the same line in the height space of the driving housing 741. In this way, the consistency of the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 in the height direction set by the driving housing 741 after being driven by the first driving member 742 and the driving member is relatively higher, that is, the consistency of the zooming portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 in the height direction set by the driving housing 741 after the zooming portion 22 is driven by the first driving member 742 and the focusing portion 23 is driven by the second driving member 743 is relatively higher to ensure the imaging quality of the variable-focus camera module.

More preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are disposed in alignment with each other in the width direction set by the driving housing 741. That is, more preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the first driven shaft 7422 of the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second driven shaft 7432 of the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are aligned with each other. That is, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are also disposed in alignment in the width direction of the first side of the optical axis to further increase the uniformity and compactness of the spatial arrangement of the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743, and to increase the uniformity of the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 after being driven.

In a specific implementation, the first driving element 742 may be suspended and fixed in the driving housing 741 by fixing the first piezoelectric active portion 7421 of the first driving element 742 to the first side wall of the driving housing 741, and the first driven shaft 7422 of the first driving element 742 extends into the first receiving channel 7440, for example, attaching the first piezoelectric active portion 7421 of the first driving element 742 to the first side wall of the driving housing 741 by an adhesive, wherein the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity. Meanwhile, the second driving element 743 is suspended and fixed in the driving housing 741 by fixing the second piezoelectric active portion 7431 of the second driving element 743 to a second side wall opposite to the first side wall of the driving housing 741 and the second driven shaft 7432 of the second driving element 743 extends into the second receiving channel 7450, for example, the second piezoelectric active portion 7431 of the second driving element 743 is attached to the second side wall of the driving housing 741 by an adhesive, wherein the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 can be disposed in other directions. For example, in other examples of the application, the first drive element 742 is arranged in a second direction, the second drive element 743 is arranged in a first direction, i.e., the first drive element 742 is arranged in a head-to-head, tail-to-tail direction, and the second drive element 743 is arranged in a head-to-tail, tail-to-front direction. That is, in these examples, the first piezo-active portion 7421 of the first piezo-actuator 7420 is adjacent to the second piezo-active portion 7431 of the second piezo-actuator 7430.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 may be disposed in the same direction on the same side of the optical axis if the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are disposed on the same side of the optical axis. For example, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are arranged in a first direction at the same time, or the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are arranged in a second direction at the same time.

Further, in order to further improve the consistency of the focusing part 23 and the zooming part 22 after being driven on the premise that the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are disposed at the same side of the optical axis, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving assembly 740 further includes: a guide structure 746 provided at a second side of the optical axis opposite to the first side, the guide structure 746 being configured to guide the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 to move in a direction set by the optical axis.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743, and the guide structures are respectively located at both sides of the optical axis, and by such a position setting, the internal space of the variable-focus image capturing module is sufficiently used to facilitate the light weight and the thin-type of the variable-focus image capturing module.

As shown in fig. 1, in the embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 share a guiding structure 746, that is, the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 share a guiding structure 746, in such a manner as to facilitate stably maintaining the relative positional relationship between the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745, so as to facilitate stably maintaining the relative positional relationship between the focusing portion 23 and the zooming portion 22 of the zoom lens group 20, so as to enhance the resolution capability of the zoom lens group 20.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 1, in this example, the guiding structure 746 comprises: the guide rod 7463 is formed at intervals on the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462 of the driving housing 741, and at least one guide rod 7463 which is installed between the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462 and penetrates the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745, and is parallel to the optical axis such that the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 can be guided to move along a direction set by the guide rod 7463 parallel to the optical axis.

As shown in fig. 1, in this example, the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462 function to bridge the guide bar 7463. For example, in a specific embodiment of this example, the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462 may be mounted on the bottom surface of the driving housing 741 (for example, the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462 may be implemented as a supporting frame), and of course, the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462 may be integrally formed on the bottom surface of the driving housing 741, which is not limited to the present application. Of course, in other specific embodiments of this example, the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462 may also be implemented as at least a portion of the side wall of the driving housing 741, that is, two opposite side walls of the driving housing 741 form the first support portion 7461 and the second support portion 7462. Here, the side walls of the driving housing 741 may be two opposite side walls of the driving housing 741 in a direction set along the optical axis and/or two opposite side walls of the driving housing 741 perpendicular to the direction set along the optical axis.

Accordingly, in order to allow the guide rod 7463 to pass through, guide rod grooves 7464 may be provided in the first and second support parts 7461 and 7462, and guide rod passages 7465 penetrating both side surfaces thereof may be formed in the first and second carriers 744 and 745, so that the guide rod 7463 may be installed to the first and second support parts 7461 and 7462 while passing through the guide rod passages 7465 of the first and second carriers 744 and 745. Further, in this particular example, balls and/or a lubricating medium may optionally be provided within the guide rod passages 7465 of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 to reduce friction.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the guide rod 7463 is preferably flush with the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 742 and/or the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 743, so that the risk of tilting between the focusing portion and the zooming portion can be reduced to ensure the imaging quality of the variable-focus camera module.

Fig. 7A illustrates a schematic diagram of a variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. In this variant embodiment, the configuration of the structure of the guiding structure 746 is changed, as shown in fig. 7A. Specifically, in this modified embodiment, the driving assembly 740 further includes a first guide mechanism 747 and a second guide mechanism 748, wherein the first guide mechanism 47 is configured to guide the zoom portion 22 to move in the direction set by the optical axis, and the second guide mechanism 748 is configured to guide the focusing portion 23 to move in the direction set by the optical axis.

More specifically, the first guiding mechanism 747 includes a first mounting portion 7471 and a second mounting portion 7472, and at least one first guiding rod 7473 that is disposed between the first mounting portion 7471 and the second mounting portion 7472 and penetrates the first carrier 744, and the first guiding rod 7473 is parallel to the optical axis, so that the first carrier 744 can be guided to move along a direction set by the first guiding rod 7473 that is parallel to the optical axis. The second guiding mechanism 748 includes a third mounting portion 7481 and a fourth mounting portion 7482, and at least one second guiding rod 7483 installed between the third mounting portion 7481 and the fourth mounting portion 7482 and penetrating the second carrier 745, the second guiding rod 7483 being parallel to the optical axis such that the second carrier 745 can be guided to move along a direction set by the first guiding rod 7473 parallel to the optical axis.

That is, in this modification, one guide mechanism is provided for each of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745, and the guide mechanism is implemented on the principle of guide by the guide rod 7463.

Preferably, in this modified embodiment, the first guide rod 7473 and the second guide rod 7483 are flush with each other, so that the consistency of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 after being moved can be more effectively ensured while the movement of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 is guided by the first guide mechanism 747 and the second guide mechanism 748, respectively. More preferably, in this variant embodiment, the height of the first guide bars 7473 and the second guide bars 7483 with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 41 is flush with the mounting height of the first driven shaft 422 and the second driven shaft 7432 with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 741, as shown in fig. 7B, which is more advantageous in ensuring the consistency of the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 745 with each other after being moved.

Fig. 8A illustrates a schematic diagram of a variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 8B illustrates another schematic view of the variable focus camera module illustrated in fig. 8A. As shown in fig. 8A and 8B, in this variant embodiment, the configuration of the guide structure 746 is changed again.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 8A and 8B, in this modified embodiment, the driving assembly 740 further includes a first guide mechanism 747 disposed between the first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741, and a second guide mechanism 748 disposed between the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741, wherein the first guide mechanism 747 is configured to guide the zoom portion 22 to move along the optical axis, and the second guide mechanism 748 is configured to guide the focusing portion 23 to move along the optical axis.

As shown in fig. 8A and 8B, the first guiding mechanism 747 includes at least one ball 7401 disposed between the first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741, and a receiving groove 7402 disposed between the first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741 for receiving the at least one ball 7401. That is, the first guide structure 746 is a ball 7401 guide structure 746.

In the embodiment of this example, the receiving groove 7402 may be formed in a surface of the first carrier 744 facing the driving housing 741, and the at least one ball 7401 may slide or roll in the receiving groove 7402, and a longitudinal direction of the receiving groove 7402 may be aligned with the optical axis direction. The first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741 may be provided with a magnetic attraction structure that attracts each other by magnetic force, for example, a magnetic element is provided on the first carrier 744, and a magnetic attraction element adapted to be attracted by the magnetic element is formed on the bottom surface of the driving housing 741, so that the first carrier 744 can be attracted by the driving housing 741 and the balls 7401 can be fixed between the first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741.

Accordingly, in the example shown in fig. 8B, the second guiding mechanism 748 includes at least one ball 7401 disposed between the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741, and a receiving groove 7402 disposed between the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741 for receiving the at least one ball 7401. That is, in this example, the second guide structure 46 is also a ball 7401 guide structure 746.

That is, in this particular example, the second guide mechanism 748 of the second carrier 745 is similar to the first guide mechanism 747 of the first carrier 744. Specifically, the second carrier 745 has the receiving groove 7402 formed on a surface thereof facing the driving housing 741, and the at least one ball 7401 slides or rolls in the receiving groove 7402. Likewise, the second carrier 745 may be provided with a magnetic attraction structure on the opposite surface to the driving housing 741, for example, a magnetic element is provided on the bottom surface of the second carrier 745, and a magnetic attraction element adapted to be attracted by the magnetic element is formed on the bottom surface of the driving housing 741, so that the second carrier 745 can be attracted by the driving housing 741, such that the at least one ball 7401 is rollably disposed between the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741.

Preferably, the first guide mechanism 747 is configured identically to the second guide structure 746, and the receiving slot 7402 of the first guide structure 746 is aligned with and interconnected to the receiving slot 7402 of the second guide structure 746, such that the inclination between the first carrier 44 and the second carrier 745 can be reduced.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of another variant implementation of the guiding structure of the variable focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, in this example, the first guide mechanism 747 includes: at least one slider 7403 disposed between the first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741, and a sliding rail 7404 disposed between the driving housing 741 and the first carrier 744 and adapted to slide the at least one slider 7403. That is, in this example, the first guide structure 46 is a slider 7403 and slide 7404 structure.

In a specific embodiment of this example, the slider 7403 is fixed to the lower surface of the first carrier 744, and the slide rail 7404 is formed at a corresponding position of the bottom surface of the driving housing 741. Of course, in other embodiments of this example, the slide rail 7404 and the slider 7403 may be provided in other manners, for example, further providing a slide rail 7404 or the like on the lower surface of the first carrier 744. Further, in this example, a magnetic attraction structure may be provided between the first carrier 744 and the driving housing 741 so that the first carrier 744 can be attracted to the driving housing 741.

As shown in fig. 9, in this example, the second guiding mechanism 748 includes: at least one slider 7403 disposed between the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741, and a sliding rail 7404 disposed between the driving housing 741 and the second carrier 745 and adapted for sliding the at least one slider 7403. That is, in this example, the second guiding structure 746 is a slider 7403 and slide 7404 structure.

In a specific embodiment of this example, the slider 7403 is fixed to the lower surface of the second carrier 745, and the slide rail 7404 is formed at a corresponding position of the bottom surface of the driving housing 741. Of course, in other embodiments of this example, the slide rail 7404 and the slider 7403 may be provided in other manners, for example, further providing a slide rail 7404 on the lower surface of the second carrier 745, or the like. Further, in this example, a magnetic attraction structure may be further provided between the second carrier 745 and the driving housing 741, so that the second carrier 745 can be attracted to the driving housing 741.

Preferably, the arrangement of the slide 7403 and the slide 7404 between the first carrier 744 and the drive housing 741 is identical to the arrangement of the slide 7403 and the slide 7404 between the second carrier 745 and the drive housing 741, in particular the dimensions of the slide 7403 and the slide 7404. Further, two slide rails 7404 provided on the driving housing 741 corresponding to the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 are aligned and can be connected to each other, so that the inclination of the first carrier 744 and the second carrier 745 can be further reduced.

It is worth mentioning that in other examples of the application, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 can also be arranged in other ways, for example, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are respectively provided at a first side of the optical axis and a second side opposite to the first side, as shown in fig. 10. That is, in these examples, the first driving element 742 and the second driving element 743 are disposed on the left and right sides of the optical axis, respectively.

Accordingly, in these examples, the first piezoelectric actuator 7420 and the second piezoelectric actuator 7430 are disposed in opposite directions or in the same direction. That is, in these examples, the arrangement orientations of the first drive element 742 and the second drive element 743 are not limited. Likewise, the first drive element 742 and the second drive element 743 can be provided with corresponding guide structures 46 (or guide mechanisms), as shown in fig. 10. Here, since the guide structure or the guide mechanism is fully discussed in the previous section, the description thereof is omitted.

In summary, the variable-focus imaging module according to the embodiment of the present application is illustrated, wherein the variable-focus imaging module uses the piezoelectric actuator 100 as a driver, so as to not only provide a sufficiently large driving force, but also provide driving performance with higher precision and longer stroke, so as to meet the zoom requirement of the variable-focus imaging 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 the light weight and the thin profile of the camera module. And, the variable-focus camera module adopts a reasonable layout scheme to arrange the piezoelectric actuator 100 in the variable-focus camera module so as to meet the structure and size requirements of the variable-focus camera module.

Further, in the embodiment of the present application, at least a portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is disposed in a space that is originally left unused in the variable-focus camera module, so that the space in the variable-focus camera module can be more fully applied, and the compactness of the space layout of the variable-focus camera module is improved.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the driving assembly 740 of the variable-focus camera module further includes a third driving element (not shown) for driving the third driving element of the light turning element 10 to move, so as to implement the optical anti-shake function of the variable-focus camera module through the third driving element.

As shown in fig. 11 and 12, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving assembly 840 for driving the variable focus lens package 20 includes: a driving housing 841, a first carrier 844, a second carrier 845, a first driving assembly 842 and a second driving assembly 843 within the driving housing 841, wherein the zoom portion 22 is mounted within the first carrier 844, the focusing portion 23 is mounted within the second carrier 845, the first driving assembly 842 is configured to drive the first carrier 844 to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis, and the second driving assembly 843 is configured to drive the second carrier 845 to move the focusing portion 23 in a direction set by the optical axis.

In particular, in an embodiment of the present application, the first driving component 842 is configured to simultaneously drive the first carrier 844 from a first side and a second side of the first carrier 844 with respect to the optical axis to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis, and/or the second driving component 843 is configured to simultaneously drive the second carrier 845 from a first side and a second side of the second carrier 845 with respect to the optical axis to move the focus portion 23 in a direction set by the optical axis.

Specifically, in an embodiment of the present application, when the first driving assembly 842 is configured to simultaneously drive the first carrier 844 from the first side and the second side of the first carrier 844 with respect to the optical axis to move the zoom portion 22 in the direction set by the optical axis, the first driving assembly 842 includes at least one pair of driving elements to simultaneously drive the first carrier 844 from the first side and the second side of the first carrier 844 with respect to the optical axis to move the zoom portion 22 in the direction set by the optical axis by the at least one pair of driving elements. In particular, in an embodiment of the application, the driving element is implemented as a piezoelectric actuator.

Specifically, in an embodiment of the present application, when the second driving assembly 843 is configured to simultaneously drive the second carrier 845 from the first side and the second side of the second carrier 845 with respect to the optical axis to move the focusing portion 23 in the direction set by the optical axis, the second driving assembly 843 includes at least one pair of driving elements implemented as piezoelectric actuators to simultaneously drive the second carrier 845 from the first side and the second side of the second carrier 845 with respect to the optical axis by the at least one pair of piezoelectric actuators to move the focusing portion 23 in the direction set by the optical axis.

In the example illustrated in fig. 11 and 12, the first driving member 842 is configured to simultaneously drive the first carrier 844 from a first side and a second side of the first carrier 844 with respect to the optical axis to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis, while the second driving member 843 is configured to simultaneously drive the second carrier 845 from a first side and a second side of the second carrier 845 with respect to the optical axis to move the focus portion 23 in a direction set by the optical axis. Also, the first drive assembly 842 includes a pair of drive elements implemented as piezoelectric actuators and the second drive assembly 843 includes a pair of drive elements implemented as piezoelectric actuators.

It should be appreciated that in other examples of the application, the first drive assembly 842 and the second drive assembly 843 may also be configured to: one of the first driving unit 842 and the second driving unit 843 is configured to provide a pair of driving forces to drive the corresponding carrier, and the other driving unit 840 is configured to provide a driving force to drive the corresponding carrier, which is not limited by the present application.

For ease of description and illustration, a pair of driving elements included in the first driving assembly 842 is defined as a first driving element 8421 and a second driving element 8422, wherein the first driving element 8421 is configured to drive the first carrier 844 from a first side of the first carrier 844 to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis, and the second driving element 8422 is configured to drive the first carrier 844 from a second side of the first carrier 844 to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis.

Meanwhile, a pair of driving elements included in the second driving assembly 843 is defined as a third driving element 8431 and a fourth driving element 8432, wherein the third driving element 8431 is configured to drive the second carrier 845 from a first side of the second carrier 845 to move the focusing portion 23 in a direction set by the optical axis, and the fourth driving element 8432 is configured to drive the first carrier 844 from a second side of the second carrier 845 to move the focusing portion 23 in a direction set by the optical axis.

Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432 are implemented as a piezoelectric actuator 100. In the embodiment of the present application, the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 may be implemented as the same type of piezoelectric driver or as at least two types of piezoelectric drivers, which is not limited thereto.

Fig. 15A and 15B illustrate schematic views of the piezoelectric actuator of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 15A and 15B, the piezoelectric actuator 100 includes: the driving device comprises a piezoelectric driving part 110, a driven shaft 120 which is in transmission connection with the piezoelectric driving part 110, and a driving part 130 which is tightly matched with the driven shaft 120, wherein the driving part 130 is configured to drive a first carrier 844 or a second carrier 845 under the action of the piezoelectric driving part 110 and the driven shaft 120 so as to drive the zooming part 22 or the focusing part 23 to move along the optical axis.

In the example illustrated in fig. 15A and 15B, the piezoelectric active portion 110 includes an electrode plate 111 and at least one piezoelectric substrate stacked on the electrode plate 111. The piezoelectric substrate is a substrate having an inverse piezoelectric effect and contracting or expanding according to a polarization direction and an electric field direction, and for example, it can be made and used by using substrate polarization in a thickness direction of single crystal or polycrystalline ceramics, polymers, or the like. Here, the inverse piezoelectric effect means that an electric field is applied in a polarization direction of a dielectric, and the dielectric is mechanically deformed when a potential difference is generated.

More specifically, in the example illustrated in fig. 15A and 15B, the at least one piezoelectric substrate includes a first piezoelectric substrate 112 and a second piezoelectric substrate 113, and the electrode plate 111 is sandwiched between the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113. Also, in this example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 further includes electrode layers 115 formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the first piezoelectric substrate 112, respectively, and electrode layers 115 formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the second piezoelectric substrate 113, respectively, to supply pulse voltages to the first and second piezoelectric substrates 112 and 113 through the electrode layers 115 and the electrode plates 111.

In this example, the electrode plate 111 may be formed of a plate-like member having a certain elasticity, for example, a metal plate having a certain elasticity. In the example illustrated in fig. 15A and 15B, the piezoelectric active portion 110 further includes at least one electrically conductive portion 114 electrically connected to the electrode plate 111, for example, the at least one electrically conductive portion 114 may be welded to the electrode plate 111 by welding, or the at least one electrically conductive portion 114 may be integrally formed with the electrode plate 111. It should be noted that, when the number of the electrically conductive portions 114 is plural, the electrically conductive portions 114 are preferably symmetrically distributed on the outer surface of the electrode plate 111.

In the example illustrated in fig. 15A and 15B, the driven shaft 120 is fixed to the piezoelectric active portion 110, for example, attached to the center of the piezoelectric active portion 110 by an adhesive. Specifically, the driven shaft 120 may be attached to the electrode layer 115 of the outer surface of the first piezoelectric substrate 112 by an adhesive, or may be nestedly attached to the electrode layer 115 of the outer surface of the first piezoelectric substrate 112 by an adhesive, or the first piezoelectric substrate 112 may have a center hole, the driven shaft 120 may be further fitted into the center hole of the first piezoelectric substrate 112, or the piezoelectric active portion 110 may have a center hole penetrating the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and the driven shaft 120 may be fitted into the center hole of the piezoelectric active portion 110 by an adhesive. In an implementation, the driven shaft 120 may be implemented as a carbon rod. The driven shaft 120 has a circular or polygonal cross-sectional shape, preferably a circular shape.

In the example illustrated in fig. 15A and 15B, the driving portion 130 is friction-fitted with the driven shaft 120 so that the driving portion 130 is movably fitted on the driven shaft 120. In a specific implementation, the driving part 130 may be implemented as a clamping mechanism for clamping the driven shaft 120, wherein preferably, the clamping mechanism may be a clamping mechanism with adjustable clamping force, or a clamping mechanism made of an elastic material partially or entirely.

As shown in fig. 15, the electrode layer 115 exposed on the surface of the piezoelectric active portion 110 is electrically connected to the positive electrode 117 of the power supply control portion 116, and the electrode plate 111 is electrically connected to the negative electrode 118 of the power supply control portion 116 through the electric conduction portion 114, so that when the power supply control portion 116 repeatedly applies a pulse voltage to the electrode layer 115 and the electrode plate 111, the first piezoelectric substrate 112 and the second piezoelectric substrate 113 are deformed in one direction by the inverse piezoelectric effect and are quickly restored to a flat plate shape by the elastic effect of the electrode plate 111. In the deformation process, the driven shaft 120 moves back and forth in the set axial direction, and since the driving part 130 and the driven shaft 120 are in friction fit, when the piezoelectric driving part 110 deforms in one direction, the driving part 130 and the driven shaft 120 move together, and when the piezoelectric driving part 110 quickly returns to the original state, the driven shaft 120 also moves reversely, and the driving part 130 cannot follow the action of the driven shaft 120 due to the inertia effect and cannot return to the original position, but can only stay at the position. Accordingly, the position of the driving part 130 is changed during one deformation, and accordingly, the above-described movement can be repeated by repeatedly applying a pulse voltage, so that the driving part 130 is moved to a target position.

Fig. 16A illustrates one of the schematic diagrams of another embodiment of the piezoelectric actuator 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 16B illustrates a second schematic view of another embodiment of the piezoelectric actuator 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 16A and 16B, in this example, the piezoelectric actuator 100 includes: the driving device comprises a piezoelectric driving part 110, a driven shaft 120 which is in transmission connection with the piezoelectric driving part 110, and a driving part 130 which is tightly matched with the driven shaft 120, wherein the driving part 130 is configured to drive a first carrier 844 or a second carrier 845 under the action of the piezoelectric driving part 110 and the driven shaft 120 so as to drive the zooming part 22 or the focusing part 23 to move along the optical axis.

As shown in fig. 16A and 16B, in this example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 includes a piezoelectric element 111A, and the piezoelectric element 111A has a laminated structure as illustrated in fig. 6A. Specifically, as shown in fig. 6A, the piezoelectric element 111A includes a plurality of piezoelectric telescopic members 112A and a plurality of electrodes 113A, and the plurality of piezoelectric telescopic members 112A and the plurality of electrodes 113A are alternately stacked. In particular, by the laminated structure as described above, the piezoelectric element 111A can obtain a relatively large deformation amount even in the case where a small electric field is applied.

In this example, for convenience of explanation, the electrodes 113A formed by alternately sandwiching the plurality of piezoelectric transducers 112A are defined as internal electrodes, the electrodes 113A disposed on the surface of the piezoelectric transducers 112A and located on the upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric element 111A are defined as upper and lower electrodes, respectively, and the electrodes 113A disposed on the surface of the piezoelectric transducers 112A and located on the side surfaces of the piezoelectric element 111A are defined as side electrodes. Accordingly, in the case of multiple layers, the electrodes 113A of the same polarity are electrically connected through the side electrodes.

As shown in fig. 16B, in this example, the driven shaft 120 has a cylindrical shape and is attached to an intermediate region of the upper surface of the piezoelectric element 111A by an adhesive so that the driven shaft 120 is bonded to the piezoelectric element 111A. Of course, in other examples of the present application, the shape of the driven shaft 120 may be adjusted, which is not limited to the present application.

It should be noted that the piezoelectric actuator 100 illustrated in fig. 16A and 16B has advantages of small volume, large thrust and high precision compared to the conventional electromagnetic actuator. Also, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 illustrated in fig. 16A and 16B has a relatively smaller cross-sectional size than the piezoelectric actuator 100 illustrated in fig. 14 and 15, is suitable for use in a module having a compact space, but has a relatively large thickness size, and at the same time, the internal structure of the piezoelectric element 111A is relatively complex.

As previously described, in an embodiment of the present application, the first driving assembly 842 includes a first driving element 8421 and a second driving element 8422, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 being implemented as the piezoelectric actuator 100, wherein the first driving element 8421 is configured to drive the first carrier 844 from a first side of the first carrier 844 to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis, and the second driving element 8422 is configured to drive the first carrier 844 from a second side of the first carrier 844 to move the zoom portion 22 in a direction set by the optical axis. Meanwhile, the second driving assembly 843 includes a third driving element 8431 and a fourth driving element 8432, the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 being implemented as a piezoelectric actuator 100, wherein the third driving element 8431 is configured to drive the second carrier 845 from a first side of the second carrier 845 to drive the focusing portion 23 to move in a direction set by the optical axis, and the fourth driving element 8432 is configured to drive the first carrier 844 from a second side of the second carrier 845 to drive the focusing portion 23 to move in a direction set by the optical axis.

Further, a reasonable arrangement of the first, second, third, and fourth driving elements 8421, 8422, 8431, 8432 is selected to be disposed within the variable-focus camera module and to achieve the driving modes described above. In particular, in an embodiment of the present application, the first, second, and third drive elements 8421, 8422, 8431, and the fourth drive element 8432 are disposed within the drive housing 841.

As shown in fig. 11 and 12, in the embodiment of the present application, the first carrier 844 and the second carrier 845 have a special structural configuration such that, when the first carrier 844 and the second carrier 845 are mounted to the driving housing 841, a first receiving channel 8441 on a first side of the first carrier 844 and a second receiving channel 8442 on a second side of the first carrier 844 are formed between a bottom surface of the first carrier 844 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 841; a third receiving channel 8451 on a first side of the second carrier 845 and a fourth receiving channel 8452 on a second side of the second carrier 845 are formed between the bottom surface of the second carrier 845 and the bottom surface of the driving housing 841. In particular, in the example illustrated in fig. 1 and 2, the driving portion 130 of the first driving element 8421 is disposed in the first receiving channel 8441, the driving portion 130 of the second driving element 8422 is disposed in the second receiving channel 8442, the driving portion 130 of the third driving element 8431 is disposed in the third receiving channel 8451, and the driving portion 130 of the fourth driving element 8432 is disposed in the fourth receiving channel 8452.

It should be appreciated that in the existing camera module structure arrangement, the space between the first carrier 844 and the second carrier 845 and the driving housing 841 is generally left unused, because: the space between the first carrier 844 and the second carrier 845 and the driving housing 841 is too small to be suitable for laying other components.

However, when the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432 are implemented as the piezoelectric actuator 100, as is known from the description of the piezoelectric actuator 100 described above, the piezoelectric actuator 100 as a whole has an elongated shape (i.e., the driven shaft 120 extends perpendicularly outward from the piezoelectric driving portion 110 to have an elongated shape), and in particular, the driven shaft 120 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 has an elongated bar-like structure. Accordingly, since the piezoelectric actuator 100 has a special structure and size configuration, as in the examples illustrated in fig. 11 and 12, the space between the first carrier 844 and the second carrier 845 and the driving housing 841 is selectively utilized for arranging the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432, so that the variable-focus camera module has a higher space utilization and a relatively higher structural compactness.

More specifically, in the example illustrated in fig. 11 and 12, at least a portion of the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 extends within the first receiving channel 8441 and at least a portion of the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 extends within the second receiving channel 8442, except that the driving portion 130 of the first driving element 8421 is mounted within the first receiving channel 8441 and the driving portion 130 of the second driving element 8422 is mounted within the second receiving channel 8442. In this way, the space between the first and second carriers 844 and 845 and the driving housing 841 is more fully utilized.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, in the embodiment of the present application, the first carrier 844 includes a first carrier base 8443 and first and second extension arms 8444 and 8445 integrally extending upward from the first carrier base 8443, respectively, to form a first mounting cavity for mounting the zoom portion 22 and a first opening communicating with the first mounting cavity between the first carrier base 8443, the first and second extension arms 8444 and 8445, wherein the zoom portion 22 is adapted to be mounted in the first mounting cavity.

The first receiving channel 8441 is formed between a bottom surface of the first carrier base 8443 and a bottom surface of the first extension arm 8444 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 841, and the second receiving channel 8442 is formed between a bottom surface of the second extension arm 8445 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 841.

The driving part 130 of the first driving element 8421 is implemented as two clamping plates which are at least partially elastic and are oppositely arranged, and are attached to the bottom surface of the first extension arm 8444 or integrally formed to the bottom surface of the first extension arm 8444 through an adhesive. The driving part 130 of the second driving element 8422 is implemented as two clamping plates which are at least partially elastic and are oppositely arranged, and are attached to the bottom surface of the second extension arm 8445 or integrally formed to the bottom surface of the first extension arm 8444 through an adhesive. The driven shafts 120 of the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are respectively clamped in the clamping cavities formed by the clamping plates in a close fit manner. It is worth mentioning that by configuring the driving position, the driving difficulty is reduced and the driving stability is improved.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, in the embodiment of the present application, the second carrier 845 includes a second carrier base 8453 and third and fourth extension arms 8454 and 8455 integrally extending upward from the second carrier base 8453, respectively, to form a second mounting cavity for mounting the focusing portion 23 and a second opening communicating with the second mounting cavity between the second carrier base 8453, the third and fourth extension arms 8454 and 8455, wherein the focusing portion 23 is adapted to be mounted into the second mounting cavity from the second opening.

The third receiving channel 8451 is formed between a bottom surface of the third extension arm 8454 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 841 at a side surface of the second carrier base 8453, and the fourth receiving channel 8452 is formed between a bottom surface of the fourth extension arm 8455 and a bottom surface of the driving housing 841 at a side surface of the second carrier base 8453.

The driving part 130 of the third driving element 8431 is implemented as two clamping plates which are at least partially elastic and are oppositely disposed, and are attached to the bottom surface of the third extension arm 8454 by an adhesive or integrally formed to the bottom surface of the third extension arm 8454. The driving part 130 of the fourth driving element 8432 is implemented as two clamping plates which are at least partially elastic and are oppositely disposed, and are attached to the bottom surface of the fourth extension arm 845 by an adhesive or integrally formed to the bottom surface of the fourth extension arm 845. While the driven shafts 120 of the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are respectively clamped in the clamping cavities formed by the clamping plates in a close fit manner. It is worth mentioning that by configuring the driving position, the driving difficulty is reduced and the driving stability is improved.

It is particularly worth mentioning that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first receiving channel 8441, the second receiving channel 8442, the third receiving channel 8451 and the fourth receiving channel 8452 are lower than the optical axis, that is, when the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are respectively disposed in the first receiving channel 8441, the second receiving channel 8442, the third receiving channel 8451 and the fourth receiving channel 8452, the heights of the driven shafts 120 of the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 841 are lower than the heights of the optical axis with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 841.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving part 130 of the first driving element 8421 and the driving part 130 of the second driving element 8422 are symmetrically arranged at the first side of the first carrier 844 and the second side of the first carrier 844 with respect to the optical axis. More preferably, the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 and the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the optical axis on a first side of the first carrier 844 and a second side of the first carrier 844. More preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 and the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 are flush in the height direction of the driving housing 841. In this way, when the zoom portion 22 is driven by the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 at the same time, the movement of the zoom portion 22 on the first side and the second side thereof is more easily synchronized and smoother, so as to facilitate ensuring the flatness of the first carrier 844 with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 841, thereby facilitating ensuring the imaging quality of the variable-focus camera module.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving part 130 of the third driving element 8431 and the driving part 130 of the fourth driving element 8432 are symmetrically arranged at the first side of the first carrier 844 and the second side of the first carrier 844 with respect to the optical axis. More preferably, the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431 and the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the optical axis on a first side of the second carrier 845 and a second side of the second carrier 845. More preferably, the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431 and the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432 are flush in the height direction of the driving housing 841, so that the movement of the focusing portion 23 on the first and second sides thereof is more easily synchronized and smoothed when the focusing portion 23 is simultaneously driven by the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432, so as to facilitate ensuring the flatness of the second carrier 845 with respect to the bottom surface of the driving housing 841, thereby facilitating ensuring the imaging quality of the variable-focus camera module.

More preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the driven shafts 120 of the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are flush with the driven shafts 120 of the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 in the height direction of the driving housing 841. More preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 is aligned with the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431 in the width direction of the driving housing 841, and/or the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 is aligned with the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432 in the width direction of the driving housing 841. In this way, it is advantageous to ensure consistency of the first carrier 844 and the second carrier 845 with each other after being moved, so as to ensure imaging quality of the variable-focus camera module.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the first receiving channel 8441 is aligned with the third receiving channel 8451, and/or the second receiving channel 8442 is aligned with the fourth receiving channel 8452.

Although the above is exemplified in that the driving part 130 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is disposed at a space between the bottom surfaces of the first and second carriers 844 and 845 and the bottom surface of the driving housing 841, it should be understood that in other examples of the present application, the driving part 130 of the first and/or second driving elements 8421 and 8422 and/or the third and/or fourth driving elements 8431 and 8432 may be disposed at other positions of the first and second carriers 844 and 845 to also realize the above-described driving mode. For example, the driving parts 130 of the first and second driving elements 8421 and 8422 are disposed at the side of the first carrier 844 near the side wall of the driving housing 841, and the driving parts 130 of the third and fourth driving elements 8431 and 8432 are disposed at the side of the second carrier 845 near the side wall of the driving housing 841, which is not limited to the present application.

Further, in the example illustrated in fig. 11 and 12, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are disposed in the same direction, and the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are disposed in the same direction, and the first driving element 8421 is disposed opposite to the third driving element 8431, and the second driving element 8422 and the fourth driving element 8432 are disposed opposite to each other.

For convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is set as a head portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100, the driven shaft 120 of the piezoelectric actuator 100 is set as a tail portion of the piezoelectric actuator 100, and the arrangement of the piezoelectric actuator 100 along the optical axis is set as a first arrangement direction in which the head portion is forward and the tail portion is rearward, and the arrangement of the piezoelectric actuator 100 along the optical axis is set as a second arrangement direction in which the head portion is rearward and the tail portion is forward. Then in the example illustrated in fig. 11 and 12, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are both arranged in the first arrangement direction, and the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are both arranged in the second arrangement direction, so that the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are disposed in the same direction, and the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are disposed in the same direction, and the first driving element 8421 is disposed opposite to the third driving element 8431, and the second driving element 8422 and the fourth driving element 8432 are disposed opposite to each other. That is, in this example, the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 is adjacent to the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431, and the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 is adjacent to the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432.

In particular, in this example, the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 in the zoom lens group 20 are disposed adjacently so that the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 is disposed adjacently to the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431, and the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 is disposed adjacently to the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432, so that the size of the driven shaft 120 can be reduced, and thus the size of the piezoelectric actuator 100 can be reduced, while satisfying the moving stroke of the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23, so that the stroke requirement for the piezoelectric actuator 100 can be reduced. Moreover, by the above arrangement, the distance between the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 can be closer, and the difficulty in structural design of the driving assembly 840 can be reduced.

In a specific implementation, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 may be suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 by fixing the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 to the first side wall of the driving housing 841, and the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 extends into the first receiving channel 8441, for example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 may be attached to the first side wall of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, where the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity. Meanwhile, the second driving element 8422 is suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 by fixing the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the second driving element 8422 to the first side wall of the driving housing 841 and the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 extends into the second receiving channel 8442, for example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the second driving element 8422 is attached to the first side wall of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, wherein the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity.

In particular, in the embodiment of the present application, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 is flush with the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the second driving element 8422 in the height direction of the driving housing 841.

In a specific implementation, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the third driving element 8431 may be mounted on the second side wall of the driving housing 841 opposite to the first side wall, such that the third driving element 8431 is suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 and the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431 extends into the third receiving channel 8451, for example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the third driving element 8431 is attached to the second side wall of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, where the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity. Meanwhile, the fourth driving element 8432 is suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 and the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432 extends into the fourth receiving channel 8452 in such a manner that the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the fourth driving element 8432 is mounted to the second side wall of the driving housing 841, for example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the fourth driving element 8432 is attached to the second side wall of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, which preferably has a certain elasticity.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the third driving element 8431 is flush with the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the fourth driving element 8432 in the height direction of the driving housing 841.

It is worth mentioning that in other examples of the application, the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422 and the third driving element 8431 can also be arranged in other ways. For example, in the modified embodiment illustrated in fig. 17, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are disposed in the same direction, and the third driving element 8431 are also disposed in the same direction, but in this modified embodiment, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are both disposed in the second arrangement direction, and the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are both disposed in the first arrangement direction, unlike the layout illustrated in fig. 11. That is, as shown in fig. 17, in this variant implementation, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 is adjacent to the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the third driving element 8431, and the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the second driving element 8422 is adjacent to the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the fourth driving element 8432.

Accordingly, in this example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421, the third driving element 8431, the second driving element 8422, and the fourth driving element 8432 are disposed adjacently in the middle of the driving housing 841. With this arrangement, the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432 are all connected from the middle to the outside, so that the structural complexity of the circuit design can be reduced.

In a specific implementation, in order to mount the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432, the driving housing 841 is further provided with a first mounting portion 7411 and a second mounting portion 7412 symmetrically disposed in a middle portion thereof about the optical axis. Specifically, as shown in fig. 17, the first driving element 8421 may be suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 in such a manner that the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 is mounted to the first side wall of the first mounting portion 7411 and the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 extends into the first receiving channel 8441, for example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 is attached to the first side wall of the first mounting portion 7411 of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, wherein the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity. Meanwhile, the second driving element 8422 is suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 in such a manner that the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the second driving element 8422 is mounted to the first side wall of the second mounting portion 7412 and the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 extends into the second receiving channel 8442, for example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the second driving element 8422 is attached to the first side wall of the second mounting portion 7412 of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, wherein the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity.

Further, the third driving element 8431 may be suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 by mounting the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the third driving element 8431 to the second side wall of the first mounting portion 7411 opposite to the first side wall and the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431 extends into the third receiving channel 8451, for example, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the third driving element 8431 may be attached to the second side wall of the first mounting portion 7411 of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, wherein the adhesive preferably has a certain elasticity. Meanwhile, the fourth driving element 8432 is suspended and fixed in the driving housing 841 and the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432 extends into the fourth receiving channel 8452 in such a manner that the piezoelectric driving portion 110 of the fourth driving element 8432 is mounted to the second side wall of the second mounting portion 7412 opposite to the first side wall, for example, the piezoelectric driving portion 110 of the fourth driving element 8432 is attached to the second side wall of the second mounting portion 7412 of the driving housing 841 by an adhesive, which preferably has a certain elasticity.

Of course, in other examples of the application, the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, and the third driving element 8431 can be arranged in other ways. For example, in the modified embodiment illustrated in fig. 8, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are disposed in the same direction, and the third driving element 8431 are also disposed in the same direction, but in this modified embodiment, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are both disposed in the first arrangement direction, and the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are both disposed in the first arrangement direction, unlike the layout illustrated in fig. 11. That is, as shown in fig. 8, in this variant implementation, the driven shaft 120 of the first driving element 8421 is adjacent to the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the third driving element 8431, and the driven shaft 120 of the second driving element 8422 is adjacent to the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the fourth driving element 8432.

It is worth mentioning that in this modified embodiment, by the arrangement as described above, the mutual consistency of the zoom portion 22 and the focusing portion 23 after being moved can be improved to reduce the occurrence of relative tilt.

Fig. 19 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. In the variant embodiment illustrated in fig. 19, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are disposed in the same direction, and the third driving element 8431 are also disposed in the same direction, but in this variant embodiment, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are both disposed in the second arrangement direction, and the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are both disposed in the second arrangement direction, unlike the layout illustrated in fig. 11. That is, as shown in fig. 19, in this modification, the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the first driving element 8421 is adjacent to the driven shaft 120 of the third driving element 8431, and the piezoelectric active portion 110 of the second driving element 8422 is adjacent to the driven shaft 120 of the fourth driving element 8432.

Fig. 20 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. In the variant embodiment illustrated in fig. 20, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are arranged in an opposite direction, and the third driving element 8431 are also arranged in an opposite direction. Specifically, in this modification, the first driving element 8421 is arranged in the first arrangement direction, the second driving element 8422 is arranged in the second arrangement direction, the third driving element 8431 is arranged in the first arrangement direction, and the fourth driving element 8432 is arranged in the second arrangement direction.

Fig. 21 illustrates a schematic diagram of yet another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. In the variant embodiment illustrated in fig. 21, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are arranged in an opposite direction, and the third driving element 8431 are also arranged in an opposite direction. However, in contrast to the arrangement illustrated in fig. 20, in this variant embodiment the first drive element 8421 is arranged in a first arrangement direction, the second drive element 8422 is arranged in a second arrangement direction, the third drive element 8431 is arranged in a second arrangement direction, and the fourth drive element 8432 is arranged in the first arrangement direction.

Fig. 22 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. In the variant embodiment illustrated in fig. 22, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are arranged in the same direction, and the third driving element 8431 are also arranged in opposite directions. Specifically, in this modification, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are arranged in the same direction in the first arrangement direction, the third driving element 8431 is arranged in the first arrangement direction, and the fourth driving element 8432 is arranged in the second arrangement direction.

Fig. 23 illustrates a schematic diagram of still another variant implementation of the variable-focus camera module according to an embodiment of the present application. In the variant embodiment illustrated in fig. 23, the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are arranged in opposite directions, and the third driving element 8431 are also arranged in the same direction. Specifically, in this modification, the first driving element 8421 is arranged in the first arrangement direction, the second driving element 8422 is arranged in the second arrangement direction, and both the third driving element 8431 and the fourth driving element 8432 are arranged in the first arrangement direction.

Further, after selecting the piezoelectric actuator 100 as the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432, the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432 may be electrically connected to an external power source as follows. For example, it may be electrically connected to the electrode 113A layer 115 of the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432, and the electrically conductive portion 114 of the electrode 113A plate 111 by a connection circuit, which may be implemented as a flexible board connection tape or a plurality of leads to be electrically connected to the outside through the connection circuit. Further, when the piezoelectric actuator 100 is disposed in the driving housing 841, the piezoelectric actuator 100 is adapted to be directly led out through the flexible board so as to be electrically connected with the wiring board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30.

In other examples of the present application, the first driving element 8421, the second driving element 8422, the third driving element 8431, and the fourth driving element 8432 may also be directly led out through a flexible board and electrically connected to the circuit board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30. Or, at least two LDS grooves are provided on the surface of the driving housing 841, the depth of the LDS grooves is not greater than 20-30 μm, the width of the LDS grooves is not less than 60 μm, an LDS (laser direct structuring) technique is applied in the grooves, and a conductive plating layer (for example, a nickel-palladium-gold plating layer) is plated on the surfaces of the LDS grooves, so that interference of other metals in the interior can be avoided, and the connection circuit of the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 is connected with the conductive plating layer in the LDS grooves, so that a circuit is led out and electrically connected with the circuit board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30. Still alternatively, at least two wires may be molded in the driving housing 841 by Insert Molding technology, so that the connection circuits of the first driving element 8421 and the second driving element 8422 are electrically connected to the wires to lead out the circuits, and electrically connected to the wiring board 31 of the photosensitive assembly 30.

Further, in the embodiment of the present application, the variable-focus camera module provides driving forces from opposite sides of the object to be driven through at least one pair of piezoelectric actuators 100, respectively, so that the movement of the object to be driven is smoother.

It should be noted that, in other examples of the present application, the driving assembly 840 of the variable-focus camera module further includes a fifth driving element (not shown) for driving the light turning element 10 to move, for example, the light turning element 10 is driven to rotate by the fifth driving element to implement the optical anti-shake function 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 by way of example only and are not limiting. The objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively achieved. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been shown and described in the examples and embodiments of the invention may be modified or practiced without departing from the principles described.

Claims

A variable focus camera module, comprising:

a zoom lens group having an optical axis, comprising: a fixed portion, a zoom portion, and a focus portion;

a photosensitive assembly corresponding to the variable focus lens package; and

a drive assembly, comprising: a drive housing, a first carrier, a second carrier, a first drive element and a second drive element located within the drive housing;

wherein the zoom portion is mounted in the first carrier, the focus portion is mounted in the second carrier, the first driving element is configured to drive the first carrier to drive the zoom portion to move along a direction set by the optical axis, the second driving element is configured to drive the second carrier to drive the focus portion to move along the direction set by the optical axis, wherein the first driving element and/or the second driving element is implemented as a piezoelectric actuator;

At least one first accommodating channel is arranged between the bottom surface of the driving shell and the bottom surface of the first carrier, at least one second accommodating channel is arranged between the bottom surface of the driving shell and the bottom surface of the second carrier, and at least one part of the piezoelectric actuator is arranged in at least one first accommodating channel or at least one second accommodating channel.
The variable focus camera module of claim 1, wherein the first drive element is implemented as a first piezoelectric actuator and the second drive element is implemented as a second piezoelectric actuator.
The variable focus camera module of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the first piezoelectric actuator is disposed within the first receiving channel and at least a portion of the second piezoelectric actuator is disposed within the second receiving channel.
The variable-focus camera module of claim 2, wherein the first piezoelectric actuator comprises a first piezoelectric driving part, a first driven shaft drivingly coupled to the first piezoelectric driving part, and a first driving part tightly fitted with the first driven shaft, wherein under the action of the first piezoelectric driving part and the first driven shaft, the first driving part is configured to drive the first carrier to move along a direction set by the optical axis; the second piezoelectric actuating part comprises a second piezoelectric driving part, a second driven shaft which is in transmission coupling with the second piezoelectric driving part, and a second driving part which is tightly matched with the second driven shaft, wherein under the action of the second piezoelectric driving part and the second driven shaft, the second driving part is configured to drive the second carrier to move along the direction set by the optical axis;

At least a part of a first driven shaft of the first piezoelectric actuator extends into the first accommodating channel, and at least a part of a second driven shaft of the second piezoelectric actuator extends into the second accommodating channel.
The variable focus camera module of claim 4, wherein the first and second piezoelectric actuators are disposed on a first side of the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 4, wherein the first and second piezoelectric actuators are disposed on a first side of the optical axis and a second side opposite the first side, respectively.
The variable focus camera module of claim 5, wherein the first and second piezoelectric actuators are disposed in opposite directions.
The variable focus camera module of claim 5, wherein the first and second piezoelectric actuators are disposed in a same direction.
The variable-focus camera module of claim 7 or 8, wherein the first and second piezoelectric actuators have the same mounting height relative to a bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 6, wherein the first and second piezoelectric actuators are disposed in opposite directions or in the same direction.
The variable focus camera module of claim 10, wherein the first and second piezoelectric actuators have the same mounting height relative to a bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 5, wherein a first piezoelectric active portion of the first piezoelectric actuator is adjacent to a second piezoelectric active portion of the second piezoelectric actuator.
The variable focus camera module of claim 5, wherein the first driven shaft of the first piezoelectric actuator is adjacent to a second driven shaft of the second piezoelectric actuator.
The variable focus camera module of claim 13, wherein a first piezoelectric active portion of the first piezoelectric actuator is mounted to a first side wall of the drive housing and a second piezoelectric active portion of the second piezoelectric actuator is attached to a second side wall of the drive housing opposite the first side wall.
A variable focus camera module as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a guide structure provided at a second side of the optical axis opposite the first side, the guide structure being configured to guide movement of the focusing portion and the zooming portion along a direction set by the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 15, wherein the guide structure comprises: the first support part and the second support part are formed at intervals on the driving shell, and at least one guide rod is arranged between the first support part and the second support part in a penetrating way and is parallel to the optical axis, so that the first carrier and the second carrier can be guided to move along the direction set by the guide rod parallel to the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 15, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a first guide mechanism configured to guide movement of the zoom portion in a direction set by the optical axis and a second guide mechanism configured to guide movement of the focus portion in the direction set by the optical axis.
The variable-focus camera module of claim 17, wherein the first guide mechanism comprises a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion and at least one first guide bar that is erected between the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion and penetrates the first carrier, the first guide bar being parallel to the optical axis such that the first carrier can be guided to move along a direction set by the first guide bar parallel to the optical axis; the second guide mechanism comprises a third installation part, a fourth installation part and at least one second guide rod which is arranged between the third installation part and the fourth installation part and penetrates through the second carrier, and the second guide rod is parallel to the optical axis so that the second carrier can be guided to move along the direction set by the first guide rod parallel to the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 18, wherein the first guide bar and the second guide bar are flush with each other.
The variable focus camera module of claim 18, wherein a height of the first and second guide rods relative to a bottom surface of the drive housing is flush with a mounting height of the first and second driven shafts relative to the bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 17, wherein the first guide mechanism comprises at least one ball disposed between the first carrier and the drive housing, and a receiving slot disposed between the first carrier and the drive housing for receiving the at least one ball.
The variable focus camera module of claim 17, wherein the first guide mechanism comprises: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the first carrier and suitable for sliding of the at least one sliding block.
The variable focus camera module of claim 21, wherein the second guide mechanism comprises at least one ball disposed between the second carrier and the drive housing, and a receiving slot disposed between the second carrier and the drive housing for receiving the at least one ball.
The variable focus camera module of claim 22, wherein the second guide mechanism comprises: the sliding rail is arranged between the driving shell and the second carrier and suitable for sliding of the at least one sliding block.
The variable-focus camera module of claim 1, wherein the first carrier comprises a first carrier base and first and second extension arms integrally extending upwardly from the first carrier base, respectively, to form a first mounting cavity for mounting the zoom portion and a first opening in communication with the first mounting cavity between the first carrier base, the first extension arm, and the second extension arm.
The variable focus camera module of claim 25, wherein one of the at least one first receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the first carrier base, a bottom surface of the first extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing, and another one of the at least one first receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the first carrier base, a bottom surface of the second extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable-focus camera module of claim 5, wherein the second carrier comprises a second carrier base and third and fourth extension arms integrally extending upward from the second carrier base, respectively, to form a second mounting cavity for mounting the focusing portion and a second opening in communication with the second mounting cavity between the second carrier base, the third and fourth extension arms.
The variable focus camera module of claim 27, wherein one of the at least one second receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the second carrier base, a bottom surface of the third extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing, and another of the at least one second receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the second carrier base, a bottom surface of the fourth extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable-focus imaging module according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude of the driving force generated by the piezoelectric actuator is 0.6N to 2N.
The variable focus camera module of claim 1, wherein the first and second receiving channels are lower than the optical axis.
The variable-focus imaging module according to claim 4, wherein a mounting height of the first and second driven shafts with respect to a bottom surface of the drive housing is lower than a height of the optical axis with respect to the bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 29, wherein the piezoelectric active portion comprises an electrode plate and at least one piezoelectric substrate stacked on the electrode plate.
The variable focus camera module of claim 32, wherein the at least one piezoelectric substrate comprises a first piezoelectric substrate and a second piezoelectric substrate, the electrode plate being sandwiched between the first piezoelectric substrate and the second piezoelectric substrate.
The variable focus camera module of claim 1, further comprising: and a light turning element for turning imaging light to the zoom lens group.
The variable focus camera module of claim 34, further comprising: and a third driving element for driving the light turning element.
The variable-focus camera module of claim 1, wherein the zoom portion and the focus portion are disposed adjacent.
The variable focus camera module of claim 36, wherein the zoom portion is located between the fixed portion and the focus portion.
The variable focus camera module of claim 36, wherein the focus section is located between the fixed section and the zoom section.
A variable focus camera module, comprising:

a zoom lens group having an optical axis, comprising: a fixed portion, a zoom portion, and a focus portion;

a photosensitive assembly corresponding to the variable focus lens package; and

a drive assembly, comprising: the optical pickup device comprises a driving housing, a first carrier, a second carrier, a first driving component and a second driving component, wherein the zooming part is arranged in the first carrier, the focusing part is arranged in the second carrier, the first driving component is used for simultaneously driving the first carrier from a first side and a second side of the first carrier relative to the optical axis to drive the zooming part to move along the direction set by the optical axis, and the second driving component is used for driving the second carrier to drive the focusing part to move along the direction set by the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 39, wherein the first drive assembly comprises a first drive element and a second drive element, the first and second drive elements being implemented as piezoelectric actuators, wherein the first drive element is configured to drive the first carrier from a first side of the first carrier to move the zoom portion in a direction set by the optical axis, and the second drive element is configured to drive the first carrier from a second side of the first carrier to move the zoom portion in a direction set by the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 40, wherein the piezoelectric actuator comprises a piezoelectric active portion, a driven shaft drivingly connected to and extending from the piezoelectric active portion, and a driving portion closely fitted to the driven shaft, wherein the driving portion is configured to drive the first carrier to move along a direction set by the optical axis under the action of the piezoelectric active portion and the driven shaft.
The variable focus camera module of claim 41, wherein a first receiving channel on a first side of the first carrier and a second receiving channel on a second side of the first carrier are formed between a bottom surface of the first carrier and a bottom surface of the drive housing, wherein the drive portion of the first drive element is disposed within the first receiving channel and the drive portion of the second drive element is disposed within the second receiving channel.
The variable focus camera module of claim 42, wherein at least a portion of the driven shaft of the first drive element extends within the first receiving channel and at least a portion of the driven shaft of the second drive element extends within the second receiving channel.
The variable focus camera module of claim 43, wherein the first carrier comprises a first carrier base and first and second extension arms integrally extending upwardly from the first carrier base, respectively, to form a first mounting cavity for mounting the zoom portion and a first opening in communication with the first mounting cavity between the first carrier base, the first extension arm and the second extension arm, wherein the first receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the first carrier base, a bottom surface of the first extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing, and the second receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the first carrier base, a bottom surface of the second extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 44, wherein the drive portion of the first drive element is mounted to a bottom surface of the first extension arm and the drive portion of the second drive element is mounted to a bottom surface of the second extension arm.
The variable focus camera module of claim 43, wherein said first drive element and said second drive element are disposed co-directionally.
The variable focus camera module of claim 43, wherein the first and second drive elements are arranged in opposite directions.
The variable focus camera module of claim 46, wherein the first drive element and the second drive element are both arranged in a first arrangement direction.
The variable focus camera module of claim 46, wherein the first drive element and the second drive element are both arranged in a second arrangement direction.
The variable focus camera module of claim 48, wherein the piezoelectric active portion of the first drive element is mounted to a first side wall of the drive housing and the piezoelectric active portion of the second drive element is mounted to the first side wall of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 49, wherein the drive housing comprises a first mount and a second mount symmetrically disposed about the optical axis in a middle thereof, wherein the piezoelectric active portion of the first drive element is mounted to a first sidewall of the first mount and the piezoelectric active portion of the second drive element is mounted to a first sidewall of the second mount.
A variable focus camera module as claimed in claim 50 or 51, wherein the piezo active portions of the first and second drive elements are flush in the height direction of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 52, wherein the driven shaft of the first drive element and the driven shaft of the second drive element are flush in a height direction of the drive housing.
The variable focus imaging module of claim 53, wherein the driven shafts of the first and second drive elements are symmetrically arranged about the optical axis on a first side of the first carrier and a second side of the first carrier.
The variable-focus imaging module according to claim 54, wherein the driving portion of the first driving element and the driving portion of the second driving element are symmetrically arranged on a first side of the first carrier and a second side of the first carrier with respect to the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 41, wherein the second drive assembly comprises a third drive element and a fourth drive element implemented as piezoelectric actuators, wherein the third drive element is configured to drive the second carrier from a first side of the second carrier to move the focusing portion along the direction set by the optical axis, and the fourth drive element is configured to drive the first carrier from a second side of the second carrier to move the focusing portion along the direction set by the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 50, wherein the second drive assembly comprises a third drive element and a fourth drive element implemented as piezoelectric actuators, wherein the third drive element is configured to drive the second carrier from a first side of the second carrier to move the focusing portion along the direction set by the optical axis, and the fourth drive element is configured to drive the first carrier from a second side of the second carrier to move the focusing portion along the direction set by the optical axis.
The variable focus camera module of claim 51, wherein the second drive assembly comprises a third drive element and a fourth drive element implemented as piezoelectric actuators, wherein the third drive element is configured to drive the second carrier from a first side of the second carrier to move the focusing portion along the direction set by the optical axis, and the fourth drive element is configured to drive the first carrier from a second side of the second carrier to move the focusing portion along the direction set by the optical axis.
A variable focus camera module as claimed in claim 57 or claim 58, wherein a third receiving channel on the first side of the second carrier and a fourth receiving channel on the second side of the second carrier are formed between the bottom surface of the second carrier and the bottom surface of the drive housing, wherein the drive portion of the third drive element is disposed within the third receiving channel and the drive portion of the fourth drive element is disposed within the fourth receiving channel.
The variable focus imaging module of claim 59 wherein at least a portion of the driven shaft of the third drive element extends within the third receiving channel and at least a portion of the driven shaft of the fourth drive element extends within the fourth receiving channel.
The variable focus camera module of claim 60, wherein the second carrier comprises a second carrier base and third and fourth extension arms integrally extending upwardly from the second carrier base, respectively, to form a second mounting cavity between the second carrier base, the third and fourth extension arms for mounting the focusing portion and a second opening in communication with the second mounting cavity, wherein the third receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the second carrier base, a bottom surface of the third extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing, and the fourth receiving channel is formed between a side surface of the second carrier base, a bottom surface of the fourth extension arm and a bottom surface of the drive housing.
The variable focus imaging module of claim 61 wherein the third drive element and the fourth drive element are disposed co-directionally.
A variable focus camera module according to claim 62, wherein the third and fourth drive elements are both arranged in a first arrangement direction.
The variable-focus imaging module according to claim 62, wherein the third driving element and the fourth driving element are arranged simultaneously in a second arrangement direction.
The variable focus camera module of claim 63, wherein the piezoelectric active portion of the third drive element is mounted to a second side wall of the drive housing opposite the first side wall, and the piezoelectric active portion of the fourth drive element is mounted to the second side wall of the drive housing.
The variable focus imaging module of claim 63 wherein the piezoelectric active portion of the third drive element is mounted to a second side wall of the first mount portion opposite the first side wall and the piezoelectric active portion of the fourth drive element is mounted to a second side wall of the second mount portion opposite the first side wall.
A variable focus camera module according to claim 65 or 66, wherein the driven shafts of the third and fourth drive elements are flush in the height direction of the drive housing.
The variable-focus imaging module according to claim 67, wherein the driven shaft of the third driving element and the driven shaft of the fourth driving element are arranged symmetrically with respect to the optical axis on a first side of the second carrier and a second side of the second carrier.
The variable-focus imaging module of claim 68, wherein the drive portions of the third and fourth drive elements are symmetrically arranged about the optical axis on a first side of the first carrier and a second side of the first carrier.
The variable focus camera module of claim 67, wherein the first receiving channel corresponds to the third receiving channel and/or the second receiving channel is aligned with the fourth receiving channel.
The variable focus camera module of claim 70, wherein driven shafts of the third and fourth drive elements are flush with driven shafts of the first and second drive elements in a height direction of the drive housing.
A variable focus camera module according to claim 71, wherein the driven shaft of the first drive element is aligned with the driven shaft of the third drive element in the width direction of the drive housing and/or the driven shaft of the second drive element is aligned with the driven shaft of the fourth drive element in the width direction of the drive housing.
The variable focus camera module of claim 39, further comprising: and a light turning element for turning imaging light to the zoom lens group.
The variable focus camera module of claim 73, further comprising: and a fifth driving element for driving the light turning element.
The variable focus camera module of claim 39, wherein the zoom portion and the focus portion are disposed adjacent.
The variable focus camera module of claim 75 wherein the zoom portion is located between the fixed portion and the focus portion.
A variable focus camera module according to claim 76, wherein the focus section is located between the fixed section and the zoom section.