Nidec Copal Corporation

Koji Sawanobori

Nobuaki Watanabe

Kenzo Imai

Kazuo Shikama

Ryosuke Ushio

Shozo Iwato

Daisuke Yaginuma

Toshihiro Nishimura

A thin blade open-close device includes a base member including spaces accommodating lens units, a cover plate covering the base member partially, and a blade member between the base member and the cover plate. The cover plate has openings aligned with optical axes of the lens units. The blade member includes a first light shield that covers the opening in the cover plate, a light entry opening that connects with the opening in the cover plate, and a second light shield that covers the opening in the cover plate. The blade open-close device includes a drive actuator that moves the blade member in a closing direction to change from an open state to a closed state in which the first light shield and the second light shield in the blade member cover the openings in the cover plate.

Blade open-close device and electronic device

An electronic device allows the user to notice that no image capturing is being performed and increases the user comfort as well as includes a small open-close device incorporated in a limited space. A camera module is covered by a blade. This allows the user to notice that no image capturing is being performed and increases the user comfort. A base is attached to a first surface of a module board, and a cover has a first end in the longitudinal direction attached to the base and a second end in the longitudinal direction supported by the first surface of the module board. The base may not extend to the second end of the cover in the longitudinal direction and can have a shorter length (miniaturized), further miniaturizing a blade open-close device.

Electronic device

A blade open-close device retains a blade at a predetermined position under an external load. A blade open-close device includes a base, a cover plate covering part of the base, and a blade located between the base and the cover plate. The blade is movable between a closing position to cover an opening in the cover plate and an opening position to uncover the opening. The blade open-close device further includes an actuator that moves the blade between the opening position and the closing position, a stopper movable between a lock position at which a protrusion on the stopper is on a path of the blade and an unlock position at which the stopper is entirely retracted from the path when the blade is at the opening position and when the blade is at the closing position, and a voice coil motor that moves the stopper from the lock position toward the unlock position.

A blade open-close device retains a blade at a predetermined position under an external load. A blade open-close device includes a base, a cover plate covering part of the base, a blade between the base and the cover plate, a driving actuator that moves the blade in X-direction, and a stopper actuator located adjacent to the driving actuator in X-direction to restrict an operation of the driving actuator. The driving actuator includes a rotor magnet rotatably located adjacent to a yoke and a driving lever including a connecting part connected to the blade. The stopper actuator includes a rotor magnet rotatably located adjacent to a yoke and a stopper lever including a restrictor movable onto a path of the driving lever in the driving actuator.

A small blade driving device is incorporated in a limited space. A cover includes a first cover fixed to a base and a second cover protruding from the first cover in a movement direction of a blade. A support leg protrudes from the second cover toward a first surface of a module substrate and is supported by the first surface. The base may not have the same length as the cover and have a shorter length (miniaturized), further miniaturizing a blade driving device.

Blade driving device

A thin blade open-close device is incorporated in a limited space. A blade open-close device includes a base located on a module board including a lens unit, a partition located opposite to the module board from the base, and a cover plate located opposite to the base from the partition. The partition and the cover plate each have an opening aligned with an optical axis of the lens unit. The blade open-close device includes a blade movable in X-direction in a blade chamber defined between the cover plate and the partition, an actuator that moves the blade between a closing position to cover the openings and an opening position to uncover the openings, and a terminal plate extending in Z-direction. The terminal plate electrically connected to the actuator includes connectors at its end adjacent to the module board to be electrically connected to contacts on the module board.

An optical unit has a lens frame that has a slit in a cylinder, and a blade driving device, comprising an insertion portion for insertion into the slit, wherein an opening, provided in the insertion portion, is disposed between lenses in a lens frame, wherein: the blade driving device comprises a frame that has a recessed lens frame storing portion with the insertion portion protruding; a cylinder of the lens frame comprises a pair of supporting faces that are perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens; and the lens frame storing portion of the frame has contact surfaces that contact each of a pair of supporting faces.

Optical unit

A technique enhances security measures in the IoT by reducing leakage of private images and degraded security due to unauthorized image capturing, eliminates the possibility that an unintended image is captured and stored, and also shows people around the user that the camera function of an electronic device is not working. A camera module shielding mechanism for shielding a camera module by retracting the camera module into a housing of an electronic device includes a support member supporting the camera module, a slide support supporting the support member in a slidable manner, an urging member that urges the support member in a direction in which the camera module protrudes from the housing, a locking member that locks the support member with the camera module retracted in the housing, and an actuator that unlocks the locking member.

Camera module shielding mechanism and electronic device

An imaging optical apparatus with a thin blade containing member for containing a blade member for limiting an opening, having an insertion portion that has an opening; an actuator for causing a blade member to slide; a containing frame for containing the actuator and the blade containing member, except for the insertion portion, having, on an outer edge, a recessed lens frame retaining portion into which the insertion portion; a lens frame, held in the lens frame retaining portion, having an insertion hole, for insertion of the insertion portion so that the center of the opening will be coaxial with the optical axis; and a clip for holding, in cooperation with the containing frame, a lens frame that is held in the lens frame retaining portion, through joining with the containing frame.

Imaging optical apparatus

A blade driving device comprising: a driving member; one or more blade members that are caused to undergo sliding motion by the driving member; a blade supporting unit for supporting the blade member slidably; and a frame for containing the driving member and a portion of the blade supporting unit, wherein the blade supporting unit comprises a blade chamber for containing a blade member between opposing thin plate members, along with an insertion portion that has an opening and that protrudes from a frame, wherein the opposing thin plate members are integrated together at least the tip end of the insertion portion.

Blade drive device

A camera diaphragm device in which two diaphragm blades, that is, first and second diaphragm blades having respective first and second diaphragm aperture portions whose diameters differ from each other is provided. The diaphragm blades are mounted to blade mounting shafts provided close to each other and in a standing manner, and are separately reciprocatingly rotated by driving pins of respective rotors. When the diaphragm device is set in a minimum diaphragm aperture control state, not only is the first diaphragm blade having the first aperture portion for restricting the minimum diaphragm aperture moved to an aperture portion, but also the second diaphragm blade having the second aperture portion for restricting an intermediate diaphragm aperture is moved to the aperture portion from the same direction. An area of the aperture portion that cannot be covered by only the first diaphragm blade is covered by the second diaphragm blade.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Koji Sawanobori