Camera actuator and manufacturing method therefor
By calculating virtual lines and centers to determine precise tilt angles and positions, the camera actuator ensures movers operate within effective areas, addressing power consumption and image quality issues in optical image stabilization.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- LG INNOTEK CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-10-31
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Existing camera actuators face issues with movers calculating tilt angles and positions in diagonal directions, leading to movements outside effective areas, resulting in increased power consumption and degraded image quality due to improper optical image stabilization.
A method involving the calculation of virtual lines and centers to determine precise tilt angles and positions, ensuring movers operate within effective areas by controlling the driving module based on correction values derived from these calculations.
Prevents movers from tilting into ineffective areas, reducing power consumption and ensuring stable optical image stabilization, thereby improving image quality and efficiency.
Smart Images

Figure KR2025017750_15052026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Camera actuator and manufacturing method
[0001] The present invention relates to a camera actuator and a method for manufacturing it.
[0002] A camera is a device that captures a subject in photos or videos, and it is mounted on portable devices, drones, vehicles, etc.
[0003] A camera device or camera module may have an Image Stabilization (IS) function that corrects or prevents shaking caused by user movement to improve image quality, an Auto Focusing (AF) function that automatically adjusts the distance between the image sensor and the lens to align the focal length of the lens, and a zooming function that increases or decreases the magnification of a distant subject through a zoom lens to take a picture.
[0004] In the case of a camera module used in a portable terminal, an incident light can be refracted toward the image sensor by utilizing a camera actuator equipped with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).
[0005] However, in the process of calculating the tilt angle or position of the mover according to the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) function, the process was carried out through an open loop to calculate the angle or position in the diagonal direction, which may result in a problem where coordinates are calculated in an area where the mover cannot move.
[0006] The present invention is an invention devised to solve the problems of the aforementioned prior art, and aims for the mover to move clearly within an effective area.
[0007] The problems that the present invention aims to solve are not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.
[0008] A camera actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above-described purpose comprises a housing, a mover disposed within the housing and tilted along a first axis or a second axis, a driving module for tilting the mover, and a control unit for controlling the output of the driving module according to a correction value, wherein the correction value is calculated by calculating a first virtual line for either the first axis or the second axis, calculating a first center on the first virtual line, calculating a second virtual line crossing the first center, and calculating a second center on the second virtual line.
[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the process of calculating the first virtual line, the mover is tilted with respect to either the first axis or the second axis to the first-1 threshold point and the first-2 threshold point, and the first virtual line may cross the center point between the first-1 threshold point and the first-2 threshold point.
[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first center may be the center between the first-1 critical point and the first-2 critical point.
[0011] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the process of calculating the second virtual line, the driving module is controlled to cross the first center and set a second-1 threshold point and a second-2 threshold point for the other of the first axis or the second axis, and the second virtual line can cross the center point between the second-1 threshold point and the second-2 threshold point.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second center may be the center between the second-1 critical point and the second-2 critical point.
[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a third virtual line is calculated that crosses the second center and is parallel to either the first axis or the second axis, and a third center on the third virtual line can be calculated.
[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the process of calculating the third virtual line, the driving module is controlled to cross the second center and tilt the mover to the third-1 threshold point and the third-2 threshold point for either the first axis or the second axis, and the third center can cross the center point between the third-1 threshold point and the third-2 threshold point.
[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit can control the output of the drive module during the process in which the mover is tilted with respect to the first axis or the second axis through the correction value.
[0016] Meanwhile, a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above-described purpose comprises: a first step of calculating a first virtual line for either a first axis or a second axis on which a mover is tilted; a second step of calculating a first center of the first virtual line; a third step of calculating a second virtual line crossing the first center and a second center on the second virtual line; and a fourth step of calculating a third center on a third virtual line crossing the second center and parallel to either the first axis or the second axis.
[0017] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a fifth step of storing a correction value calculated through the third center in the control unit is included, and the control unit can tilt the mover by controlling the output of the driving module based on the correction value stored in the fifth step.
[0018] The camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem may have the effect of clearly moving the mover within an effective area.
[0019] The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description in the claims.
[0020] In addition, the effects of the present invention may be described in more detail in the detailed description of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to those presented above.
[0021] The summary described above, as well as the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present application described below, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0022] Preferred embodiments are illustrated in the drawings for the purpose of illustrating the present invention.
[0023] However, it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the exact arrangement and means depicted.
[0024] FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrated for the general explanation of a camera actuator and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating the overall flow of a camera actuator and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating the effective and ineffective regions of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the prior art;
[0027] FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an ineffective area occurring during the mover tilt process of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the prior art;
[0028] FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a case where coordinates are calculated in an ineffective area of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the prior art;
[0029] FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating a first virtual line of a camera actuator and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating a second virtual line of a camera actuator and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating a third virtual line of a camera actuator and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 9 is a drawing illustrating the process of calculating a first axis and a second axis passing through a preset center point of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0033] FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating the effects of a camera actuator and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] The present invention is capable of various modifications and may have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated and described in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
[0035] Terms including ordinal numbers, such as second, first, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used solely for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the second component may be named the first component, and similarly, the first component may be named the second component. The term "and / or" includes a combination of a plurality of related described items or any of a plurality of related described items.
[0036] When it is stated that one component is "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that while it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, there may also be other components in between. On the other hand, when it is stated that one component is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.
[0037] The terms used in this application are used merely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, terms such as "comprising" or "having" are intended to specify the presence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.
[0038] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this application.
[0039] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, provided that identical or corresponding components are given the same reference number regardless of the drawing symbols, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[0040] Furthermore, when describing objects as "identical" or "similar" based on numerically or geometrically comparable properties such as length, inner diameter, diameter, or area, this may imply that there is a margin of error. For example, if it is stated that the lengths of components A and B are identical, it may be advisable to interpret this to mean that the length of B falls within the margin of error of the length of A. This takes into account the margin of error that occurs during the injection molding and manufacturing processes; since this is a matter that can occur physically and is self-evident, it is advisable to understand the descriptions as "identical" or "similar" by considering the margin of error as described above. In this case, the margin of error may be within the range of -5% to +5% of the mentioned numerical value or shape, but this is merely an example of the margin of error and may not necessarily be limited to the stated range.
[0041] A preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the objective of the present invention can be specifically realized, will be described below with reference to the attached FIGS. 1 to 10.
[0042] Specifically, FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating an overall description of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an overall flow of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an effective area and an ineffective area of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the prior art; FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an ineffective area occurring during the mover tilt process of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the prior art; FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a case where coordinates are calculated in an ineffective area of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the prior art; FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating a first virtual line of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating a second virtual line of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating a third virtual line of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Figure 9 is a drawing illustrating the process of calculating a first axis and a second axis passing through a preset center of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 10 is a drawing illustrating the effect of a camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0043] First, before describing the camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, refer to FIG. 1 for a general description of the camera actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the camera actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing (100), a mover (200) disposed within the housing (100), and an optical member (10) disposed on the mover (200).
[0044] Here, the optical element (10) can change the optical path by refracting or reflecting the incident light. Specifically, the optical axis of the incident light and the optical axis of the refracted light are different from each other, and the point where the optical axis of the incident light and the optical axis of the refracted light intersect can be placed within the optical element (10). Here, the optical element (10) may be a prism, but this is merely an exemplary description and is not necessarily limited to what is mentioned.
[0045] In this way, the optical path of the incident light incident on the optical member (10) is changed so that the refracted light has a different optical path from the incident light, thereby allowing the camera actuator to be miniaturized. Specifically, in addition to the camera actuator according to the embodiment of the present invention, a separate camera actuator including a zoom lens assembly and an auto-focusing lens assembly may be further included. That is, the camera module can be miniaturized by combining the camera actuator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the zoom lens assembly, and the auto-focusing lens assembly to form a camera module.
[0046] At this time, the optical axis of the incident light and the optical axis of the refracted light may be perpendicular, but are not necessarily limited thereto, and the optical member (10) may refract the incident light multiple times so that the optical axis of the incident light and the optical axis of the refracted light are different from each other.
[0047] Meanwhile, the camera actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention can perform optical image stabilization (OIS). To this end, the housing (100) is fixed, and a driving module is placed in the housing (100) so that a mover (200) placed on the housing (100) can be tilted through electrical interaction of the driving module.
[0048] Here, the mover (200) may be implemented as a 3-axis tilt having a first tilt axis (T1), a second tilt axis (T2), and a third tilt axis, but the camera actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as a 2-axis tilt having a first tilt axis (T1) and a second tilt axis (T2).
[0049] Meanwhile, to specifically explain the camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, refer to FIG. 2. The camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention include a first step (S10), a second step (S20), a third step (S30), a fourth step (S40), and a fifth step (S50).
[0050] Here, the first step (S10) is a step of calculating a first virtual line (L1) for either the first axis or the second axis on which the mover (200) is tilted, which will be explained in more detail through the drawings to be described later; the second step (S20) is a step of calculating a first center (13) of the first virtual line (L1); the third step (S30) is a step of calculating a second virtual line (L2) that crosses the first center (13) and a second center (23) on the second virtual line (L2); and the fourth step (S40) is a step of calculating a third center (33) on a third virtual line (L3) that crosses the second center (23) and is parallel to either the first axis or the second axis.
[0051] In addition, the fifth step (S50) is a step of storing a correction value calculated through the third center (33) in the control unit, and the control unit of the camera actuator according to the embodiment of the present invention can tilt the mover (200) by controlling the output of the driving module based on the first axis and the second axis through the correction value stored in the fifth step (S50).
[0052] At this time, the first step (S10), the second step (S20), the third step (S30), and the fourth step (S40) are steps that are essential for calculating a correction value for tilting the mover (200), and through this, the output of the drive module can be controlled to tilt the mover (200) within a clearly effective area (EA) for the first axis and the second axis based on the correction value calculated from the clear third center (33).
[0053] Although described here as the first axis and the second axis, these are virtual axes existing in the system during the process of calculating the angle, position, coordinates, etc. for tilting the mover (200) by the control unit, unlike the first tilt axis (T1) and the second tilt axis (T2) through which the mover (200) is tilted. Based on the aforementioned virtual axis, the tilt angle, position, or coordinates of the mover (200) can be calculated, and the drive module can be controlled based on the calculated values. That is, the first axis and the second axis mentioned in the first step (S10) to the fifth step (S50) described above are axes for calculating the tilt angle, position, or coordinates of the mover (200) existing in the system, and may have a different meaning from the tilt axis described above.
[0054] Since the first axis and the second axis are fixed by a separate tilt member, etc., that is combined to tilt the mover (200), the meaning of newly calculating the first axis and the second axis based on the third center (33) may be contradictory. To prevent this, in the camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the tilt axis to which the mover (200) is externally tilted is described as the first tilt axis (T1) and the second tilt axis (T2), and the tilt axis calculated internally by the control unit in the system is described as the first axis and the second axis.
[0055] Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, a method for manufacturing a camera actuator according to the prior art is described. A reference point must be clearly defined to calculate the angle at which the mover (200) tilts within the effective area (EA) where the mover (200) tilts. However, in the process of calculating the tilt angle, coordinates, and position in the diagonal direction in addition to the first and second axes through the reference point, it may be calculated that the mover (200) can tilt into a section outside the effective area (EA), or the coordinates and position may be calculated in a non-effective area (OA) outside the effective area (EA), so that the mover (200) cannot tilt to the calculated angle, position, and coordinates.
[0056] Specifically, although coordinates must be calculated within the valid area (EA) as shown in FIG. 4, there is a problem in that, when calculating the tilt angle, position, coordinates, etc. of the mover (200) in the diagonal direction in addition to the first and second axes during the process of simultaneously calculating the first and second axes based on a reference point, the mover (200) is calculated to be movable in the non-valid area (OA).
[0057] Although this problem may seem simple, there may be a problem where power consumption increases because the control unit determines that the mover (200) can move to an ineffective area (OA) where it cannot move, and thus continuously supplies power to the drive module to tilt the mover (200), and the mover (200) cannot move to the ineffective area (OA). In addition, since the mover (200) cannot be tilted according to the tilt angle, position, coordinates, etc. calculated by the control unit based on a reference point, the optical image stabilization (OIS) function cannot be properly performed, which may result in a degradation of image quality.
[0058] To explain this, refer to FIG. 5. The graph in FIG. 5 may be a graph of the phenomenon that occurs when coordinates are calculated in the non-effective area (OA) based on FIG. 4 and the mover (200) is tilted to the non-effective area (OA).
[0059] Here, the first line represents the stroke change of the mover (200) tilting with respect to the first axis, the second line represents the stroke change of the mover (200) tilting with respect to the second axis, the third line represents the power supplied to the drive module to tilt the mover (200) with respect to the first axis, and the fourth line represents the power supplied to the drive module to tilt the mover (200) with respect to the second axis. In addition, the value of the Y-axis on the left represents the voltage value according to the power, and the value of the Y-axis on the right represents the stroke change. While various units such as mm and μm can be substituted, it may be preferable to understand them as μm in the camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention. However, this is merely an example of a unit, and more diverse interpretations such as nm are possible. This is intended only to explain the stroke change and should not be interpreted as being limited only to the presented units.
[0060] Here, as shown in FIG. 4, when the position of the mover (200) on the non-effective area (OA) needs to be moved, the mover (200) cannot move, but power consumption continues to increase. Therefore, as shown in the dotted line area in FIG. 5, the first line regarding the stroke change of the mover (200) based on the first axis and the second line regarding the stroke change of the mover (200) based on the second axis become parallel at some point and can no longer change values.
[0061] However, since the control unit determines that the mover (200) has not yet moved, it can be seen that the third line for power supplied to the drive module to tilt the mover (200) based on the first axis and the fourth line for power supplied to the drive module to tilt the mover (200) based on the second axis consume higher power to further assist the movement of the mover (200). That is, as described above, a problem regarding the non-effective area (OA) may occur.
[0062] In addition, regarding the fifth line, which exhibits a linear appearance relative to the overall slopes of the first, second, third, and fourth lines, it can be observed that it does not possess a relatively high slope and records a low state. This may be a problem resulting from the fact that stroke changes do not occur in the first and second lines due to the non-effective area (OA).
[0063] A camera actuator and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the aforementioned problems can be explained in detail through FIGS. 6 to 10. That is, the first step (S10), second step (S20), third step (S30), fourth step (S40), and fifth step (S50) described above can be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10.
[0064] First, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a first virtual line (L1) for either the first axis or the second axis is calculated for the effective area (EA) to calculate the correction value of the control unit. Here, the first virtual line (L1) may, for example, be a virtual line parallel to the second axis. At this time, the control unit can tilt the mover (200) through the drive module to the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12) of the effective area (EA) on the first virtual line (L1).
[0065] Specifically, if coordinates exist within the valid area (EA), the first axis can be mapped to the Y-axis and the second axis to the X-axis. That is, the first step (S10) may be a process of calculating a first virtual line (L1) for the Y-axis or the X-axis. For example, when calculating a first virtual line (L1) for the X-axis as illustrated in FIG. 6, the value of the Y-axis is set to an arbitrary value, and the set within the valid area (EA) in which the value of the Y-axis is the same as the arbitrary value corresponds to the first virtual line (L1). On the X-axis, the maximum value may be the first-1 threshold point (11) and the minimum value may be the first-2 threshold point (12), and the first virtual line (L1) may be formed across the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12).
[0066] In FIG. 6, the first virtual line (L1) is shown horizontally, but the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12) may not be placed on the same X-axis. Specifically, to calculate the first virtual line (L1) for calculating the correction value, the mover (200) can be driven to one side on the X-axis to obtain the first-1 threshold point (11) on that side, and the mover (200) can be driven to the other side on the X-axis to obtain the first-2 threshold point (12) on that side. However, since no separate output is controlled for the Y-axis value, the Y-axis values of the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12) may be different.
[0067] To explain more specifically, in the first step (S10), when the mover (200) is tilted to the maximum in one direction along the X-axis through the drive module to calculate the first-1 threshold point (11) and tilted to the maximum in the other direction along the X-axis to calculate the first-2 threshold point (11), if the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12) are calculated in the form of (X, Y) coordinates, the first-1 threshold point (11) may have the coordinates (-X, -y) for example, and the first-2 threshold point (12) may have the coordinates (X, y) for example. That is, when the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12) are connected, a first virtual line (L1) may be formed in a tilted shape.
[0068] However, to facilitate a sufficient understanding of the invention, the drawings may be described as being parallel to one of the axes; as stated above, this is merely to aid in understanding the invention and should not be interpreted as being limited to what is depicted.
[0069] Alternatively, in the first step (S10), the mover (200) can be output in one direction along the X-axis through the drive module, and the first-1 threshold point (11) can be identified by checking the maximum value of the mover (200) in one direction along the X-axis through the Hall sensor. Additionally, the mover (200) can be output in the other direction along the X-axis through the drive module, and the first-2 threshold point (12) can be identified by checking the maximum value of the mover (200) in the other direction along the X-axis through the Hall sensor. At this time, the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12) measured through the Hall sensor may be output values of the drive module.
[0070] At this time, a second step (S20) can be performed to calculate a first center (13) between a first-1 threshold point (11) and a first-2 threshold point (12) placed on a first virtual line (L1) within an effective area (EA). Here, the first center (13) may be the center between the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12).
[0071] For example, when the coordinates of the center (O) of the effective area (EA) are (0, 0), and the left side is the negative area and the right side is the positive area based on FIG. 6, the first-1 threshold point (11) may have the coordinates (-X, Y), the first-2 threshold point (12) may have the coordinates (X, Y), and the first center (13) may have the coordinates (0, Y). As another example, the first-1 threshold point (11) may have the coordinates (-12, 3), and the first-2 threshold point (12) may have the value (12, -1), and the first center (13) may have the value (0, 2). Alternatively, if the first-1 threshold point (11) and the first-2 threshold point (12) are measured as output values of the driving module through a Hall sensor, assuming that -4V or -1100mA is measured at the first-1 threshold point (11) and 5V or 1500mA is measured at the first-2 threshold point (12), the control unit can determine that the first center (13) passes through the first center (13) while maintaining 0.5V or 400mA. Alternatively, if 1V or 400mA is measured at the first-1 threshold point (11) and 6V or 2000mA is measured at the first-2 threshold point (12), the control unit can determine that the first center (13) passes through the first center (13) while maintaining 3.5V or 1200mA on the X-axis.
[0072] That is, the center point for the X-axis can be clearly calculated through the first step (S10) and the second step (S20). By clearly calculating the center point in this way, a clear third center (33) can be calculated, and the tilt angle, position, coordinates, etc. of the mover (200) can be clearly determined using the correction value calculated through the calculated third center (33), and there may be an advantage in adjusting the output of the drive module according to the correction value so that the mover (200) tilts within the effective area (EA). This will be summarized and explained after all the details to be described later have been explained.
[0073] Meanwhile, if the first center (13) is calculated through the first step (S10) and the second step (S20), a second virtual line (L2) passing through the first center (13) can be calculated through the third step (S30). At this time, the second virtual line (L2) may be parallel to the other of the first axis or the second axis that is not identical to the first axis or the second axis that is parallel to the first virtual line (L1) in the first step (S10) and the second step (S20).
[0074] Specifically, since the first virtual line (L1) for the second axis was calculated earlier in FIG. 6, in the third step (S30) in FIG. 7, a virtual line parallel to the first axis and crossing the first center (13) may be the second virtual line (L2). Here, the second-1 critical point (21) and the second-2 critical point (22) on the second virtual line (L2) can be calculated.
[0075] More specifically, in the process of calculating the second virtual line (L2) passing through the first center (13) through the first virtual line (L1), the center for the Y-axis is calculated through the first center (13), so the control unit can control the drive module to maintain the center for the Y-axis and tilt the mover (200) along the second virtual line (L2) to the second-1 threshold point (21) and the second-2 threshold point (22). Accordingly, unlike the first virtual line (L1), the second virtual line (L2) can be parallel to either the first axis or the second axis.
[0076] At this time, the second-1 threshold point (21) and the second-2 threshold point (22) on the second virtual line (L2) may have the coordinates of (0, Y) and the second-2 threshold point (22), where the first axis described above corresponds to the Y-axis and the second axis corresponds to the X-axis, and the coordinates of the center (O) of the effective area (EA) are (0, 0), and the upper side is the positive area and the lower side is the negative area.
[0077] Additionally, a second center (23) between the second-1 critical point (21) and the second-2 critical point (22) can be calculated, and the second center (23) may correspond to the center between the second-1 critical point (21) and the second-2 critical point (22) on the second virtual line (L2). That is, when the second-1 critical point (21) is at the aforementioned (0, Y) coordinates and the second-2 critical point (22) is at the aforementioned (0, -Y) coordinates, the coordinates of the second center (23) may be (0, 0).
[0078] In relation to the output value through the Hall sensor described above, the control unit can position the mover (200) on the second virtual line (L2) passing through the first center (13) such that the output value is measured as 1V or 400mA at the first-1 threshold point (11) and the output value is measured as 6V or 2000mA at the first-2 threshold point (12), thereby maintaining the second virtual line (L2) at 3.5V or 1200mA on the X-axis. Here, if 7V or 3000mA is measured through the Hall sensor at the second-1 threshold point (21) and 13V or 5000mA is measured through the Hall sensor at the second-2 threshold point (22), the control unit can determine the virtual line passing through the second center (23) such that it maintains 10V or 4000mA on the Y-axis. In this way, when the control unit determines the output value on the X-axis and the output value on the Y-axis, if the mover (200) tilts on the X-axis, it is possible to tilt clearly by maintaining the output value on the Y-axis, and if the mover (200) tilts on the Y-axis, it is possible to tilt clearly by maintaining the output value on the X-axis, thereby preventing the mover (200) from tilting into an ineffective area (OA). Here, the output value determined on the X-axis and the output value determined on the Y-axis can be correction values.
[0079] Meanwhile, the coordinates of the second center (23) were calculated as (0, 0) through the first step (S10), second step (S20), and third step (S30) described above. However, since the first virtual line (L1) was calculated without separate control for the Y-axis in the first step (S10) and second step (S20) described above, the critical point and center on the virtual line crossing the second center (23) were not calculated. Therefore, a fourth step (S40) can be performed to make a clearer judgment.
[0080] Here, the fourth step (S40) can calculate a third virtual line (L3) that passes through the second center (23) as shown in FIG. 8, is perpendicular to the second virtual line (L2) calculated in the third step (S30), and is parallel to either the first axis or the second axis.
[0081] In addition, the control unit can control the drive module to tilt the mover (200) to the third-1 threshold point (31) and the third-2 threshold point (32) of the effective area (EA) on the third virtual line (L3). At this time, if the first step (S10), the second step (S20), and the third step (S30) described above have been clearly performed, the coordinates of the third-1 threshold point (31) on the third virtual line (L3) corresponding to the coordinates described above become (-X, 0), the coordinates of the third-2 threshold point (32) become (X, O), and the third center (33) can be the third center (33) at the coordinates (O, 0) between the third-1 threshold point (31) and the third-2 threshold point (32). At this time, since the output value on the X-axis measured before performing the fourth step (S40) is a virtual line not corrected by the output value on the Y-axis, to make this clearer, the fourth step (S40) may be a step of calculating the output value on the X-axis while maintaining the output value on the Y-axis for the third-1 threshold point (31) and the third-2 threshold point (32). Accordingly, the output value on the X-axis and the output value on the Y-axis can be verified more clearly to calculate the correction value.
[0082] That is, in the case of the fourth step (S40), it can be viewed as a verification process regarding whether the first step (S10), the second step (S20), and the third step (S30) have been clearly performed, but this is merely an illustrative explanation and should not be interpreted as being limited to this.
[0083] Meanwhile, the camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a fifth step (S50) when the first step (S10), second step (S20), third step (S30), and fourth step (S40) described above have been performed. The fifth step (S50) may be a step of calculating a correction value through the third center (33) calculated through the fourth step (S40) and storing the correction value in a control unit. In this way, the coordinates of the third center (33) at the center (O) of the effective area (EA) are clearly calculated, and the driving module is controlled by the first axis and the second axis using the correction value calculated through the third center (33) during the process of tilting the mover (200) by the control unit, thereby controlling the output of the driving module during the process of tilting the mover (200) along the first axis and the second axis so that the state of the first tilt axis (T1) and the second tilt axis (T2) described above is always maintained, and the movement coordinates of the mover (200) can always be located within the effective area (EA).
[0084] That is, the fifth step (S50) may be a step of storing a correction value to prevent movement into an invalid area (OA) through the correction value during the process of tilting the mover (200) along the first axis and the second axis. However, this is merely an exemplary description and should not be interpreted as being limited thereto.
[0085] Meanwhile, if the control unit stores a correction value through the third center (33) for tilting the mover (200) to a clear first axis and second axis through the correction value stored in the fifth step (S50), the control unit can tilt the mover (200) by controlling the output of the driving module during the process of tilting the mover (200) to clearly perform the hand shake correction function (OIS; Optical Image Stabilization) through the correction value.
[0086] Here, it has been explained that the correction value calculated through the fifth step (S50) is stored in the control unit of the camera actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention, but the control unit includes any one of a memory within the driver, a separate memory within the camera actuator, or a memory of a device including the camera actuator, and the correction value may be stored in any one of the memory within the driver described above, the camera actuator, a separate memory within the camera module including the camera actuator, or a memory of a device including the camera actuator.
[0087] Meanwhile, if the position where the mover (200) is to be tilted is specified, the control unit may first calculate the angle to be tilted relative to the first axis based on the correction value, and then separately calculate the angle to be tilted relative to the second axis while the first axis crossing the third center (33) remains fixed. Subsequently, the control unit may tilt the mover (200) by controlling the drive module by the angle to be tilted relative to the first axis, and tilt the mover (200) by controlling the drive module by the angle to be tilted relative to the second axis. At this time, the control unit can control the output of the drive module during the process of tilting the mover (200) by the angle to be tilted relative to the first axis and the angle to be tilted relative to the second axis based on the correction value to achieve more precise position adjustment.
[0088] That is, in the process of tilting the mover (200), the control unit may not tilt the first axis or the second axis simultaneously, but may tilt the first axis or the second axis first, and then tilt the other axis. However, this is merely an exemplary description, and since the control unit includes correction values for movement to the first axis and movement to the second axis through the correction value through the third center (33) mentioned above, even if the mover is moved at an angle tilted with respect to the first axis and the second axis, it may tilt the mover (200) more precisely by controlling the output of the drive module for the first axis and the second axis through the correction value mentioned above.
[0089] When performing such a calculation process, the position within the valid area (EA) is clearly calculated based on the third center (33), and the risk of the mover (200) tilting into the non-valid area (OA) can be prevented.
[0090] Alternatively, in the process of calculating the tilt angle for the first axis, the second axis proceeds as a fixed closed loop, and in the process of calculating the tilt angle for the second axis, the first axis proceeds as a fixed closed loop, thereby making the movement of the mover (200) clearer and reducing power consumption caused by movement toward the non-effective area (OA), so that overall efficiency can be greatly improved.
[0091] According to the camera actuator and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, since the correction value according to the third center (33) is clearly calculated, the movement coordinates are not calculated in the non-effective area (OA), and the movement coordinates are clearly calculated in the effective area (EA), so it can be sufficiently confirmed that the phenomenon of not being able to move further in the first line and the second line is prevented, and accordingly, power consumption can be significantly reduced through the third line and the fourth line.
[0092] Specifically, in FIG. 5, the third and fourth lines can be seen to show a form in which the power supply increases excessively in the section where there is no change in stroke due to the tilt of the mover (200) with respect to the first axis and no change in stroke due to the tilt of the mover (200) with respect to the second axis.
[0093] However, in the camera actuator and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, it can be seen that the first line showing the stroke change according to the tilt of the mover (200) with respect to the first axis and the second line showing the stroke change according to the tilt of the mover (200) with respect to the second axis form a linear relationship, and accordingly, the third and fourth lines showing power consumption can also be seen to be much more stable compared to FIG. 5.
[0094] In addition, it can be confirmed that the fifth line, which illustrates the slopes of the first to fourth lines, also has a relatively high slope.
[0095] In other words, as described above, stable operation is possible because the location of the non-effective area (OA) is not calculated, and overall efficiency can be significantly improved by efficiently reducing power consumption.
[0096] In addition, the camera actuator according to the embodiment of the present invention calculates a clear third center (33) through the first step (S10), the second step (S20), the third step (S30), and the fourth step (S40), and stores a correction value through the third center (33) in the control unit through the fifth step (S50). The control unit clearly calculates the first axis and the second axis based on the third center (33) and the correction value during the process of performing the optical image stabilization (OIS) function, and controls the output of the driving module to tilt the mover (200) so that its tilt position is clearly located within the effective area (EA), thus having the advantage of enabling stable driving as described above.
[0097] We have examined preferred embodiments according to the invention, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that, in addition to the embodiments described above, the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.
[0098] Therefore, the embodiments described above should be regarded as exemplary rather than limiting, and accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the description above but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. Housing; A mover disposed within the above housing and tilted along a first axis or a second axis; A driving module for tilting the above mover; and It includes a control unit that controls the output of the above-mentioned drive module according to a correction value, and The above correction value is, Calculate a first virtual line for either the first axis or the second axis, and Calculate the first center on the above first virtual line, and A camera actuator that calculates a second virtual line crossing the first center and calculates the second center on the second virtual line.
2. In Paragraph 1, In the process of calculating the first virtual line, the mover is tilted with respect to either the first axis or the second axis to the first-1 threshold point and the first-2 threshold point, and The first virtual line is a camera actuator that crosses the first center between the first-1 threshold point and the first-2 threshold point.
3. In Paragraph 1, In the process of calculating the second virtual line, the drive module is controlled to cross the first center, and the mover is tilted to the 2-1 threshold point and the 2-2 threshold point for the other of the first axis or the second axis, The above second virtual line is a camera actuator that crosses the second center between the above second-1 threshold point and the above second-2 threshold point.
4. In Paragraph 1, Calculate a third virtual line that crosses the second center and is parallel to either the first axis or the second axis, and A camera actuator that calculates a third center on the third virtual line.
5. In Paragraph 4, In the process of calculating the third virtual line, the drive module is controlled to cross the second center, and the mover is tilted to the third-1 threshold point and the third-2 threshold point for either the first axis or the second axis. The above third center is a camera actuator that crosses the center point between the above third-1 threshold point and the above third-2 threshold point.
6. In Paragraph 1, The above control unit is, A camera actuator that controls the output of the drive module during the process in which the mover is tilted with respect to the first axis or the second axis through the correction value.
7. A first step of calculating a first virtual line for either the first axis or the second axis on which the mover is tilted; A second step of calculating the first center of the first virtual line; A third step of calculating a second virtual line crossing the first center and a second center on the second virtual line; and A manufacturing method comprising a fourth step of calculating a third center on a third virtual line that crosses the second center and is parallel to either the first axis or the second axis.
8. In Paragraph 7, It includes a fifth step of storing the correction value calculated through the third center in the control unit, and The above control unit is, A manufacturing method for tilting the mover by controlling the output of the drive module based on the correction value stored in the above 5 steps.
9. In Paragraph 7, The above first step is, By controlling the above drive module, the mover is tilted with respect to either the first axis or the second axis to a first-1 critical point on one side and a first-2 critical point on the other side, and A manufacturing method for calculating the first virtual line by connecting the first-1 critical point and the first-2 critical point.
10. In Paragraph 9, The above third step is, By controlling the above drive module, the mover is tilted across the first center and to the 2-1 threshold point and 2-2 threshold point with respect to the other of the first axis or the second axis, A manufacturing method for calculating the second virtual line by connecting the second-1 critical point and the second-2 critical point.