Nidec Corporation

Tomohiro Egawa

Takayuki Iwase

Genki Tanaka

Kazuhiro Sazai

Keishi Otsubo

Tsutomu Arai

Soichiro Kimura

Shinji Minamisawa

Takeshi Sue

Shinri Ono

Kwun-Yao Ho

Tsungting Hsieh

Shinji Hatano

Shogo Kasahara

Naofumi Horio

An optical unit has an optical element reflecting light between intersecting first and second directions, and a holder. The holder includes a holder body extending in a third direction intersecting the first and second directions, and a pair of surface portions extending from the holder body in an intersection direction intersecting the third direction. The optical element is arranged between the surface portions. At least one surface portion has an inner surface facing the optical element, an end surface connected to an edge of the inner surface in an intersection direction, and a concave portion arranged astride the inner and end surfaces and recessed in the intersection direction from the end surface. The concave portion accommodates an adhesive member bonding the optical element with the holder. The length of the concave portion along the end surface is greater than the depth of the concave portion in the intersection direction.

Optical unit, smartphone, and manufacturing method of optical unit

An optical assembly includes a fixed body and a movable body supported swingably with respect to the fixed body, and the movable body includes an optical element including an optical axis, a holder into which the optical element is insertable, a contact portion in the holder and in contact with the fixed body, and an elastic body to press the contact portion toward the fixed body.

Optical unit

A circuit board includes a first wiring board, a second wiring board connected to the first wiring board, a third wiring board connected to the first wiring board, a connector, and an external terminal connector. A different-direction reference portion of the third wiring board extends in a direction different from an extending direction of a reference portion of the second wiring board between a first end of the third wiring board and a second end of the third wiring board. The connector electrically connects any portion between the reference portion and the second end of the second wiring board and any portion between the different-direction reference portion and the second end of the third wiring board.

Circuit board and optical unit

An optical unit includes a movable body including an optical module, a fixed body, a support mechanism, a flexible printed circuit board, and a positioning part. A bent part of the flexible printed circuit board has a first bent portion closest to a connection part between the connection part and the positioning part along an extension direction, and a second bent portion close to the connection part next to the first bent portion between the connection part and the positioning part along the extension direction. The second bent portion is located on a reference plane or on a side different from the side where the connection part is located with respect to the reference plane.

An optical unit includes a movable body including an optical element, a support body swingably supporting the movable body, and a suction mechanism. The optical element reflects light traveling in a first direction to an intersecting second direction. The suction mechanism generates suction force in the movable body between the movable body and the support body, and includes a magnet and a magnetic member. One of the magnet and the magnetic member is in the movable body, while the other is in the support body. The magnet and the magnetic member overlap each other when viewed from a predetermined direction, which is one of the first direction, the second direction, and a third direction. The third direction intersects the first and second directions. When viewed from the predetermined direction, a center of the magnet and a center of the magnetic member are separated from each other.

An optical unit includes an optical element, a holder, a first support portion, a second support portion, a first swing mechanism, and a second swing mechanism. The holder holds the optical element. The first support portion supports the holder so as to be swingable about a first swing axis. The second support portion supports the first support portion so as to be swingable about the second swing axis. The second swing mechanism includes a second magnet and a second coil. The second magnet is arranged on the first support portion. The second coil is arranged on the second support portion.

An optical unit includes an optical element, a holder, a support portion, a swing mechanism, and an elastic portion. The optical element changes the traveling direction of light. The holder holds the optical element. The support portion supports the holder swingably about a swing axis. The swing mechanism swings the holder with respect to the support portion about the swing axis. The elastic portion connects the holder and the support portion. The support portion has a pair of side surface portions on both sides of the holder along the swing axis, and a connection portion connecting the side surface portions with the elastic portion between the holder and the side surface portions. The elastic portion has a convex or concave portion that comes into contact with a concave or convex portion of at least one of the holder and the support portion.

An optical unit that corrects a shake of an optical module includes: a movable portion having a holder that holds the optical module; and a fixed portion that rotatably supports the movable portion. The movable portion is rotatable relative to the fixed portion in first-third rotation directions correspondingly centered on first-third axes which correspondingly extend in first-third directions. The first direction is parallel to an optical axis direction of the optical module in a state in which the movable portion is stationary. The first direction, the second direction, and the third direction are perpendicular to each other. The movable portion further includes a protrusion protruding toward the fixed portion from an end of the holder closer to the fixed portion in the optical axis direction. The fixed portion includes a support portion that rotatably supports the protrusion.

An optical unit includes a movable body, a support body, a swing mechanism, and a magnetic member. The movable body includes an optical element. The optical element reflects light, which travels to one side in a first direction, to one side in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The support body supports the movable body so as to be swingable about a swing axis. The swing mechanism swings the movable body about the swing axis. The magnetic member is arranged on the support body. The swing mechanism includes a magnet and a coil. The magnet is arranged at an end of the movable body in a direction intersecting the first direction. The coil opposes the magnet. The magnetic member is arranged on one side in the first direction with respect to the magnet.

In an optical unit, a first swing mechanism swings a holder with reference to the y-axis direction, and a second swing mechanism swings the holder with reference to the z-axis direction. A case has a first recess that accommodates at least a part of a first protrusion of the holder and a second recess that accommodates at least a part of a second protrusion of the holder. The first recess has a first side surface located on one side in the y-axis direction of the first protrusion, a second side surface located on the other side in the y-axis direction of the first protrusion, and a bottom surface. The second recess has a first side surface located on one side in the y-axis direction of the second protrusion, a second side surface located on the other side in the y-axis direction of the second protrusion, and a bottom surface.

An optical assembly includes a movable body that includes an optical module, a frame body radially outward of the movable body, and support portions that swingably support the movable body with respect to the frame body. Each of the support portions includes a guide portion between the movable body and the frame body to support the movable body, and a preload portion that pushes the guide portion toward the movable body. A radially inner end portion of the preload portion is connected to a radially outer end portion of the guide portion. A radially outer end portion of the preload portion is supported by the frame body. One of the movable body and the guide portion includes a first convex surface, and the other includes a first concave surface in contact with the first convex surface.

Optical assembly with shake correction function

An optical unit includes a movable body including an optical module, a fixed body, a support mechanism, a flexible printed circuit board, and a fixing part. The fixing part is superposed on a bent part formed by bending the flexible printed circuit board. At least a part of the fixing part is fixed to the bent part of the flexible printed circuit board.

An optical unit includes a movable body, a fixed body, and a first swing mechanism. The fixed body supports the movable body so as to be swingable in a first swing direction about a first swing axis. One of the movable body and the fixed body has a first magnet. The other of the movable body and the fixed body has a first magnetic body. The first magnetic body has a first magnetic body portion, a second magnetic body portion, and a third magnetic body portion. The first magnetic body portion passes through an axis perpendicular to each of the first swing axis and the optical axis of an optical element. The second magnetic body portion is disposed on one side in the first swing direction of the first magnetic body portion. The third magnetic body portion is disposed on the other side in the first swing direction of the first magnetic body portion.

An optical unit with an image stabilization function includes a movable body having an annular holder for holding a camera module, a swing support mechanism for swingably supporting the movable body, and a fixing body for supporting the movable body with the swing support mechanism interposed between them. The holder includes three or more of a plurality of protrusions that project radially. The fixing body includes a plurality of arc surfaces that come into contact with each of the plurality of protrusions from the outer peripheral side. The swing support mechanism includes the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of arc surfaces. The arc surface is a concave curved surface obtained by transferring part of a virtual spherical surface centered on a preset swing center point.

Optical unit with image stabilization function

An optical assembly includes an optical element including a reflection surface to reflect light in a first axis direction, a holder to hold the optical element, a case to support the holder, a first swing mechanism to swing the holder around a first swing axis, and a second swing mechanism to swing the holder around a second swing axis perpendicular to the first swing axis. The holder includes first and second protrusions. The case includes first and second recesses. Each of the recesses includes a first side surface located on one side in the axial direction of the second swing axis and a second side surface located on the other side with respect to the corresponding protrusion. At least one of the first and second side surfaces includes an inclined surface inclined with respect to the second swing axis.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Tomohiro Egawa