Spherical Chimney and Lens Flange for Camera Module Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of digital camera modules is complicated by misalignment of the optical axis with the mechanical axis, leading to manufacturing difficulties and image quality issues due to adhesive shrinkage during the curing process, which is unpredictable and non-repeatable.
Innovation Solution
A camera module design featuring a chimney with a substantially spherical profile and a lens flange of complementary shape, allowing the lens assembly to be rotated without affecting the adhesive gap, maintaining a constant adhesive thickness and minimizing movement during curing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If adhesive is used to secure the lens assembly to the chimney, then the lens assembly can be fixed in position, but the adhesive shrinks during curing causing unpredictable and non-repeatable misalignment between the optical axis and mechanical axis
Solution Approach 1:
The flange is designed with a spherical outer surface that complements the spherical inner surface of the chimney, creating a spherical interface for adhesive bonding. This spherical geometry ensures that the adhesive gap remains uniform throughout the curing process, preventing differential shrinkage that would cause misalignment. The spherical shape allows the lens assembly to be tilted relative to the chimney while maintaining constant adhesive thickness, thereby preserving optical axis alignment precision while still achieving strong adhesive bonding.
2Manufacturing precision
If the lens assembly is tilted to align the optical axis with the mechanical axis, then image quality improves, but the adhesive gap becomes non-uniform causing focus errors
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical flange and chimney interface enables the lens assembly to be tilted relative to the chimney body while maintaining a uniform adhesive gap. The spherical geometry ensures that as the lens assembly rotates or tilts to achieve optical axis alignment, the distance from the adhesive application surface to the chimney remains constant around the entire interface. This eliminates differential adhesive shrinkage that would otherwise cause focus errors, allowing both precise optical alignment and reliable image focus consistency.
3Manufacturing precision
If a constant adhesive gap is maintained, then adhesive shrinkage is minimized and alignment is preserved, but the lens assembly cannot be tilted to correct optical axis misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical interface between the flange and chimney provides rotational freedom while maintaining geometric constraints. The lens assembly can be tilted or rotated relative to the chimney body, and the spherical shape ensures that the adhesive gap remains uniform throughout the interface regardless of the orientation. This allows the system to achieve both constant adhesive gap uniformity and lens tilting capability, enabling correction of optical axis misalignment while preserving manufacturing precision.
4Ease of manufacture
If lower-cost optical devices are used, then production cost decreases, but alignment precision and image quality may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical flange and chimney interface provides a self-aligning mechanism that compensates for variations in optical device quality. By maintaining a uniform adhesive gap through the spherical geometry, the system eliminates a major source of alignment error (differential adhesive shrinkage), thereby preserving optical axis alignment precision even when using lower-cost optical devices. This allows production cost to be reduced while maintaining manufacturing precision through the robust spherical interface design.
Data Source
AI summary
A camera module assembly can include a chimney and a lens assembly. The chimney can include a distal portion having a substantially spherical profile. The lens assembly can include a lens barrel, an optical device, and a flange extending radially from the lens barrel, where the flange can be securable to the distal portion of the chimney.