Conductive Spring Lens Actuator Eliminating Wire Rubbing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lens actuators in digital cameras face reliability issues due to wire movement and insulation wear caused by wire rubbing against components during lens adjustments, and increasing complexity leads to higher costs.
Innovation Solution
A spring with electrically conductive elements is used to provide both restoring forces and electrical connections to drive mechanisms, allowing for multi-dimensional lens adjustments without the need for wires through the housing, thus reducing wire-related failures and material costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wires are used to provide electrical connections to drive mechanisms, then electrical signal transmission is achieved, but wire rubbing against components causes insulation wear and reliability issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the electrical connection function from separate wires and integrates it into the spring component. The spring serves dual purposes: providing mechanical restoring force and conducting electrical signals to drive mechanisms, thereby eliminating wire rubbing issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: mechanical restoration and electrical conduction. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate wire components, resolving the contradiction between reliability and harmful wire rubbing.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple drive mechanisms are implemented for multi-dimensional lens adjustments, then adjustment precision is improved, but device complexity and material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spring component serves multiple functions: providing restoring forces for multiple drive mechanisms and simultaneously conducting electrical signals to all drive mechanisms. This reduces overall device complexity while enabling multi-dimensional lens adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the electrical connection function with the mechanical spring component. By integrating electrical conduction into the spring, the system achieves multi-dimensional control without proportionally increasing complexity, as one component performs dual roles.
3Reliability
If separate wires and springs are used, then electrical connections and restoring forces are provided, but material costs and component count increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the electrical connection function with the mechanical spring, creating a single multi-functional component. This merging reduces the total number of parts and material requirements while maintaining reliable electrical connections and mechanical restoring forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring is designed as a universal component that simultaneously provides mechanical restoration and electrical conduction. This multi-functionality reduces component count and material costs while ensuring system reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances reliability by eliminating wire rubbing and reduces material costs by integrating electrical signal transmission and restoring forces within a single component, enabling precise lens adjustments in multiple dimensions.
Implementation Method 1
A spring with electrically conductive elements is used to provide both restoring forces and electrical connections
Implementation Method 2
A spring with electrically conductive elements is used to provide both restoring forces and electrical connections to drive mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
Subject matter disclosed herein may relate to lens actuators used, for example, in auto-focus and/or vibration compensation systems of digital cameras.