Liquid Lens Camera Unit Assembly Yield Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current camera units with liquid lenses have a low yield, leading to high manufacturing costs and restricting the miniaturization of electronic devices.
Innovation Solution
A camera unit design that includes a liquid lens with a fixed and support body, a motor with a mover and stator assembly, and a solid lens, where the liquid lens and solid lens are assembled separately to the motor, optimizing the assembly structure to reduce manufacturing errors and increase yield.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If liquid lenses are applied to electronic devices to achieve miniaturization, then the device size is reduced and portability is improved, but the manufacturing yield becomes low and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The camera unit is divided into separate modules: the liquid lens assembly and the motor assembly are independently manufactured and then integrated. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized and manufactured separately, improving overall manufacturing yield while maintaining the compact design
Solution Approach 2:
A solid lens is introduced as an intermediary optical element between the liquid lens and the image sensor. This solid lens helps correct optical aberrations and improves image quality, compensating for the challenges of using liquid lenses in compact configurations
2Volume of moving object
If liquid lenses are used to reduce camera size, then miniaturization is achieved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase leading to low yield
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the liquid lens assembly from the motor assembly, each component can be manufactured and tested independently with standardized interfaces. This reduces the cumulative precision requirements compared to integrating all components in a single assembly process
Solution Approach 2:
The optical design parameters are optimized to work effectively with the liquid lens characteristics. The solid lens parameters are specifically chosen to compensate for liquid lens variability, reducing the precision requirements for liquid lens manufacturing
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 optimized assembly structure increases the mass production yield of the camera unit, reduces manufacturing costs, and facilitates the miniaturization of electronic devices while maintaining accurate optical alignment.
Implementation Method 1
The mover assembly is movable along the first optical axis relative to the stator assembly to adjust curvature of the liquid lens
Data Source
AI summary
A camera unit includes a liquid lens, a motor and a solid lens. The liquid lens includes a fixed body and a support body spaced apart from the fixed body. The liquid lens has a first optical axis. The motor includes a mover assembly and a stator assembly. The mover assembly has a first end fixedly connected to the support body and is movable along the first optical axis relative to the stator assembly to adjust curvature of the liquid lens. The stator assembly has a second end fixedly connected to the fixed body. The solid lens is fixed to the stator assembly and has a second optical axis coinciding with the first optical axis.