Lens Barrel Gasket Ring for Locking Ring Tilt Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The locking ring in cameras often tilts due to machining inaccuracies and material contact issues, leading to lens tilting and reduced reliability and imaging performance.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a gasket ring between lenses and spacer rings within the lens barrel, which absorbs locking force through deformation, enhancing friction and providing elastic support to stabilize lenses, thereby reducing looseness and eccentricity across temperature variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking ring is used to secure lenses in the lens barrel, then the lenses can be fixed in position, but the locking ring may tilt due to machining inaccuracies and material contact issues, causing lens tilting and reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
A gasket ring is introduced as an intermediary component between the locking ring and the lens. This gasket ring absorbs the tilting and misalignment caused by machining inaccuracies, preventing the locking ring from directly transmitting these errors to the lens, thereby maintaining lens alignment precision while using a simple locking ring structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket ring is made of elastic material that can deform under compression. By changing the physical state of the gasket ring from rigid to elastic, it can accommodate variations in positioning and absorption tilting, effectively compensating for manufacturing inaccuracies without requiring high-precision machining of the locking ring itself.
2Manufacturing precision
If the locking ring contacts the lens directly to secure it, then the lens position can be controlled, but single-edge contact causes lens tilting and surface damage
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket ring acts as a flexible element between the locking ring and the lens. Instead of direct rigid contact that causes single-edge tilting, the flexible gasket ring distributes the contact force evenly across the lens surface, preventing tilting and surface damage while still maintaining lens position control.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket ring is pre-installed in the lens barrel to cushion and absorb the impact of the locking ring before the locking ring can directly contact the lens. This beforehand cushioning prevents the harmful single-edge contact that would otherwise cause lens tilting and surface damage.
3Device complexity
If no additional components are used between lenses, then the camera structure remains simple, but lens looseness and eccentricity occur under temperature variations
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket ring is made of elastic material whose physical properties change with temperature. This temperature-dependent parameter change allows the gasket ring to expand or contract to compensate for thermal expansion of the lens barrel and lenses, maintaining lens stability without adding complex active compensation mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket ring automatically adjusts to temperature changes through its elastic deformation, providing self-compensation for thermal effects. The system becomes self-regulating as the gasket ring's elasticity naturally adapts to temperature variations, eliminating the need for external control mechanisms.
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 gasket ring improves lens stability and reliability by increasing friction and maintaining lens alignment, ensuring consistent performance under mechanical stress and temperature changes.
Implementation Method 1
The gasket ring is elastically compressible along the optical axis direction... the gasket ring is compressed by the locking force of the locking ring. The gasket ring may absorb most of the locking force through its own deformation.
Implementation Method 2
The gasket ring generates an elastic force during the deformation. When the camera is switched between high and low temperatures, the gasket ring may abut against the lens through the elastic force
Implementation Method 3
The deformation of the gasket ring may increase the friction among the gasket ring, the spacer ring, and the lenses, which are beneficial for fixing the lenses
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a camera, an imaging module, and a terminal device. The camera includes a lens barrel, lenses, a locking ring, a spacer ring, and a gasket ring. The lens barrel defines a through hole along an optical axis, and includes a supporting portion protruding from inner sidewall of the through hole. The lenses are received in the through hole, and at least one lens abuts against the supporting portion. The locking ring is received in the through hole and threadedly connected to the lens barrel. The spacer ring is received in the through hole and between two adjacent of the plurality of lenses. The gasket ring is received in the through hole and elastically compressible along the optical axis direction. The gasket ring is located between two adjacent lenses, between the spacer ring and the adjacent lens, and/or between the locking ring and the adjacent lens.