Camera module and mobile terminal having the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10063756-B2
Application number	US-201615373135-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2016
Priority date	Jun 7, 2016
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

Provided are a camera module and a mobile terminal having the same. The camera module includes a first lens assembly, a second lens assembly disposed to be adjacent to the first lens assembly, a lens cover accommodating the first and second lens assemblies and having first and second through holes allowing light to be incident to the first and second lens assemblies, an actuator provided on one side of the first and second lens assemblies to drive the first and second lens assemblies, one image sensor disposed below the first and second lens assemblies and converting light signals incident through the first and second lens assemblies into first and second image signals, and a camera case having a through hole formed on a front side thereof and accommodating the lens cover to allow light to be incident to the first and second lens assemblies through the through hole.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A camera module comprising:
a first lens assembly;
a second lens assembly disposed to be adjacent to the first lens assembly;
a lens cover accommodating the first and second lens assemblies and having first and second through holes allowing light to be incident to the first and second lens assemblies;
an actuator provided on one side of the first and second lens assemblies to drive the first and second lens assemblies;
one image sensor disposed below the first and second lens assemblies and converting light signals incident through the first and second lens assemblies into first and second image signals; and
a camera case having a through hole formed on a front side thereof and accommodating the lens cover to allow light to be incident to the first and second lens assemblies through the through hole,
wherein portions of mutually adjacent regions of the first and second lens assemblies are cut so that the first lens assembly has a first cut surface and the second lens assembly has a second cut surface,
wherein the first and second cut surfaces are in contact with each other or spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and disposed to face each other,
wherein the lens cover includes a first lens cover and a second lens cover which are D-shaped and disposed to face each other, and
wherein the first and second lens assemblies are inserted and arranged in the first and second through holes so as to have a predetermined gap between the circular lenses included in the first and second lens assemblies.

2. The camera module of claim 1 , wherein when configurations of the first and second lens assemblies are the same, the first and second cut surfaces are in contact with each other.

3. The camera module of claim 2 , wherein the actuator is one actuator or two actuators.

4. The camera module of claim 1 , wherein when configurations of the first and second lens assemblies are different, the first and second cut surfaces are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and disposed to face each other, a partition is formed in the camera case to divide the through hole into a third through hole and a fourth through hole, and the first and second lens assemblies are exposed outwardly through the third and fourth through holes.

5. The camera module of claim 4 , wherein the actuator includes:
a first actuator disposed to be adjacent to the first lens assembly to drive the first lens assembly; and
a second actuator disposed to be adjacent to the second lens assembly to drive the second lens assembly.

6. The camera module of claim 1 , wherein the image sensor has a rectangular shape with a longer side and a shorter side, and the first and second cut surfaces are surfaces formed to be adjacent to at least one of the longer side and the shorter side of the rectangular shape.

7. The camera module of claim 1 , wherein the first and second lens assemblies have a D shape.

8. The camera module of claim 1 , wherein the first image signal and the second image signal are cropped to synthesize a single image.

9. The camera module of claim 8 , wherein a distance between an optical axis of the first lens assembly and an optical axis of the second lens assembly is smaller than a preset size.

10. The camera module of claim 8 , wherein a field of view (FOV) of the single image is smaller than the sum of a first FOV of the first lens assembly and a second FOV of the second lens assembly.

11. The camera module of claim 1 , wherein the lens cover has a single structure.

12. The camera module of claim 1 , further comprising:
a circuit board provided below the image sensor and electrically connected to the image sensor; and
a flexible circuit board having one end portion connected to the circuit board and the other end portion in which a connector is formed.

13. A mobile terminal comprising:
a terminal body; and
a camera module formed on one surface of the terminal body,
wherein the camera module comprises:
a plurality of lens assemblies disposed to be adjacent to each other;
a lens cover accommodating the plurality of lens assemblies and having through holes allowing light to be incident to the plurality of lens assemblies;
an actuator provided on one side of the plurality of lens assemblies to drive the plurality of lens assemblies;
one image sensor disposed below the plurality of lens assemblies and converting light signals incident through the plurality of lens assemblies into image signals; and
a camera case having a through hole formed on a front side thereof and accommodating the lens cover to allow light to be incident to the plurality of lens assemblies through the through hole,
wherein portions of mutually adjacent regions of the plurality of lens assemblies are cut so that the plurality of lens assemblies each have a cut surface,
wherein the cut surfaces are in contact with each other or spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and disposed to face each other,
wherein the lens cover includes a first lens cover and a second lens cover which are D-shaped and disposed to face each other, and
wherein the first and second lens assemblies are inserted and arranged in the first and second through holes so as to have a predetermined gap between the circular lenses included in the first and second lens assemblies.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 13 , wherein when configurations of the plurality of lens assemblies are the same, the cut surfaces are in contact with each other.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 13 , wherein when configurations of the plurality of lens assemblies are different, the cut surfaces are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and disposed to face each other and a partition may be formed in the camera case to divide the interior thereof.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 13 , wherein the image sensor has a rectangular shape with a longer side and a shorter side, and the cut surfaces are surfaces formed to be adjacent to at least one of the longer side and the shorter side of the rectangular shape.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 16 , wherein the cut surfaces are formed to be adjacent to the longer sides facing each other.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 13 , wherein the actuator is one or more actuators.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 18 , wherein when the actuator is provided in plurality, the plurality of actuators independently operate.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 13 , wherein each of the lens assemblies has a D shape or a quadrant shape.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Jongpil
• Lee Byunghwa

Classifications

• G03B5/06

  Swinging lens about normal to the optical axis · CPC title

• H04N23/57

  Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices · CPC title

• H04N23/55 Primary

  Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof · CPC title

• G02B7/021 Primary

  for more than one lens · CPC title

• H04N23/45

  for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images · CPC title