Plastic Barrel Mounting Structure for Autofocus Module
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plastic barrels in lens assemblies for electronic devices face challenges in injection molding due to complex plastic flow, leading to reduced yield rates and production efficiency, and require additional assembly processes that can introduce pollution and inaccuracies.
Innovation Solution
A plastic barrel design with an inner and outer portion, featuring a mounting structure with strategically placed gate traces and an annular groove structure, optimized for injection molding to simplify plastic flow and accommodate both imaging lens assemblies and metal conductor components within a single, integrated plastic body, reducing assembly complexity and enhancing structural strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conventional plastic barrel design is used in lens assembly, then the structure can accommodate imaging lens elements, but the plastic flow becomes too complicated during injection molding, increasing manufacturing difficulty and reducing yield rate
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic barrel is divided into an inner portion and an outer portion that can be separately molded and then assembled. The inner portion accommodates the imaging lens assembly while the outer portion provides mounting structures for conductive and wiring elements. This segmentation simplifies the injection molding process for each individual part while maintaining the overall functional complexity of the complete barrel structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If separate carrier components are used to mount conductive and wiring elements, then the mounting function is achieved, but additional assembly processes are required which introduce pollution and reduce accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting structures for planar conductive elements and wiring elements are integrated directly into the plastic barrel structure through injection molding. The gate traces and annular groove structures are formed as integral parts of the barrel, eliminating the need for separate carrier components and reducing the number of assembly steps. This merging of functions into a single molded structure improves assembly accuracy and prevents contamination from multiple handling processes.
3Productivity
If multiple separate components are assembled to form the complete barrel structure, then functional requirements are met, but production efficiency decreases due to increased assembly complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The planar conductive elements and wiring elements are pre-positioned within the mold cavity during the injection molding process itself. The gate traces guide the molten plastic to form mounting structures that automatically secure these elements in their correct positions before the barrel is removed from the mold. This preliminary positioning action eliminates subsequent assembly steps and significantly improves production efficiency.
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
This design simplifies the injection molding process, increases production efficiency, and improves the accuracy and tolerance of the assembly by eliminating the need for separate carrier components, while also enhancing the structural integrity of the plastic barrel.
Implementation Method 1
the mounting structure is injection molded for mounting a planar conductive element and a wiring element
Implementation Method 2
The annular groove structure is injection molded for mounting the wiring element
Data Source
AI summary
A plastic barrel includes an inner portion and an outer portion. The inner portion defines an interior space. The inner portion includes, in order from an object side to an image side, an object-side opening, a plurality of inner annular surfaces and an image-side opening. The interior space is configured for accommodating an imaging lens assembly, and the imaging lens assembly includes a plurality of plastic lens elements. The outer portion surrounds the inner portion. The outer portion includes a mounting structure. The mounting structure is disposed on a surface of the outer portion. The mounting structure is injection molded for mounting a planar conductive element and a wiring element. The mounting structure includes at least three gate traces, and the three gate traces are located on a surface of the mounting structure.