US-12625414-B2 - Optical element driving mechanism

US12625414B2US 12625414 B2US12625414 B2US 12625414B2US-12625414-B2

Abstract

An optical element driving mechanism is provided, which includes a movable portion, a fixed portion and a driving assembly. The movable portion is connected with an optical element. The movable portion is movable relative to the fixed portion. The driving assembly is configured to drive the movable portion to move relative to the fixed portion.

Inventors

Chen-Hung CHAO
Po-Xiang ZHUANG
Chao-Chang Hu
Yi-Ho Chen

Assignees

TDK TAIWAN CORP.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231103

Claims (19)

1 . An optical element driving mechanism, comprising: a movable portion connected to an optical element; a fixed portion, wherein the movable portion is movable relative to the fixed portion; a driving assembly configured to drive the movable portion to move relative to the fixed portion; and a structural strengthening element, wherein the structural strengthening element comprises a cutting portion, the cutting portion is on opposite sides of the structural strengthening element, and the cutting portion has a straight edge.
2 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein materials for the structural strengthening elements comprise magnetic impermeable metals or metals with low magnetic permeability.
3 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the structural strengthening element comprises: a body with a plate-like structure, wherein a thickness of the body is less than 0.2 mm and greater than 0.05 mm; a receiving space with a recessed structure and located on the body, and a depth of the receiving space is less than 0.2 mm and greater than 0.05 mm; and an opening located in the receiving space.
4 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the fixed portion comprises a fixing element, the opening corresponds to the fixing element, and the fixing element passes through the opening to affix the structural strengthening element to the fixed portion.
5 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a circuit member and an electrical element, the driving assembly comprises a first driving portion and a second driving portion, wherein the circuit member is electrically connected to an external module, and the circuit member comprises: a first circuit element electrically connected to the first driving portion; a second circuit element electrically connected to the electrical element and the second driving portion; a connecting element electrically connecting the first circuit element to the second circuit element; a first external element electrically connected to the external module; and a second external element electrically connected to the external module.
6 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the electrical element is electrically connected to the external module via the second circuit element and the second external element in sequence.
7 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the electrical element is electrically connected to the external module via the second circuit element, the connecting element, the first circuit element and the first external element in sequence.
8 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the first circuit element comprises a metal line with a plate-like structure, the connecting element comprises another metal line with a plate-like structure, and a thickness of the metal line of the first circuit element is less than a thickness of the another metal line of the connecting element.
9 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 8 , wherein a ratio of the thickness of the metal line of the first circuit element to the thickness of the another metal line of the connecting element is less than 0.5.
10 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising a magnetically permeable element disposed on the first circuit element of the circuit member, the first driving portion comprises a magnetic element, the magnetic element is disposed on the movable portion, and the magnetically permeable element corresponds to the magnetic element of the first driving portion.
11 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the connecting element of the circuit member is disposed in the fixed portion by insert molding and is connected to the first circuit element and the second circuit element.
12 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the connecting element comprises a joint portion exposed from the fixed portion, and the structural strengthening element is affixed to the fixed portion by soldering the joint portion.
13 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a circuit member, wherein the structural strengthening element is affixed to the fixed portion by soldering the cutting portions and the circuit member together.
14 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fixed portion comprises an outer ring portion, an inner ring portion, a middle portion and a bottom, both the outer ring portion and the inner ring portion are annular structures centered on a main axis, and a radius of the outer ring portion is larger than a radius of the inner ring portion, the outer ring portion and the inner ring portion each extend from the bottom along the main axis, the middle portion is between the outer ring portion and the inner ring portion, the movable portion is movably disposed in the middle portion, and the structural strengthening element is disposed on the inner ring portion.
15 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the inner ring portion comprises a first surface and a second surface perpendicular to the main axis, wherein the first surface is covered by the structural strengthening element and the second surface is not covered by the structural strengthening element.
16 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the movable portion comprises an upper surface, the bottom of the fixed portion comprises a bottom surface, the upper surface is parallel to the bottom surface, and the upper surface and the bottom surface are perpendicular to a plane in the main axis.
17 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 16 , wherein a shortest distance between the structural strengthening element provided on the inner ring portion and the bottom surface of the fixed portion is shorter than a shortest distance between the upper surface and the bottom surface.
18 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the inner ring portion further comprises a step, an inner surface and a first protruding portion; the outer ring portion comprises an outer surface; the movable portion comprises a second protruding portion; and the structural strengthening element comprises a positioning hole; the step of the inner ring portion protrudes from the inner surface in a direction away from the outer surface; the step, the inner surface and the outer surface are parallel to the main axis; the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion extend along the main axis; the first protruding portion passes through the positioning hole of the structural strengthening element to position the structural strengthening element on the inner ring portion, and the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion are respectively connected to the optical element.
19 . The optical element driving mechanism as claimed in claim 18 , wherein a distance between the first protruding portion and the outer surface of the outer ring portion is greater than a distance between the second protruding portion and the outer surface of the outer ring portion.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/422,734, filed Nov. 4, 2022, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical element driving mechanism, and in particular to an optical element driving mechanism that includes a structural strengthening element. Description of the Related Art Many electronic devices (such as smartphones and digital cameras) now have the function of taking pictures and recording videos thanks to the ongoing development of the related technology. The use of these electronic devices is becoming increasingly widespread, and they are evolving towards more convenient and lightweight designs to offer users a wider range of choices. The aforementioned electrical devices (those that have photography and video-recording functionality) are usually equipped with an optical element driving mechanism to drive the optical element (for example, aperture blades) to move, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the amount of light input. However, the current trend of mobile devices is to be smaller and more durable. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the size of the optical element driving mechanism and improve its durability has become an important issue. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an optical element driving mechanism, which includes a movable portion, a fixed portion and a driving assembly. The movable portion is connected to an optical element. The movable portion is movable relative to the fixed portion. The driving assembly is configured to drive the movable portion to move relative to the fixed portion. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical element driving mechanism further includes a structural strengthening element. Materials for the structural strengthening elements include magnetic impermeable metals or metals with low magnetic permeability. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the structural strengthening element includes: a body with a plate-like structure, wherein the thickness of the body is less than 0.2 mm and greater than 0.05 mm; a receiving space with a recessed structure and located on the body, and the depth of the receiving space is less than 0.2 mm and greater than 0.05 mm; and an opening located in the receiving space. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the fixed portion includes a fixing element. The opening corresponds to the fixing element. The fixing element passes through the opening to affix the structural strengthening element to the fixed portion. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical element driving mechanism further includes a circuit member and an electrical element. The driving assembly includes a first driving portion and a second driving portion. The circuit member is electrically connected to an external module. The circuit member includes a first circuit element, a second circuit element, a connecting element, a first external element and a second external element. The first circuit element is electrically connected to the first driving portion. The second circuit element is electrically connected to the electrical element and the second driving portion. The connecting element electrically connects the first circuit element to the second circuit element. The first external element is electrically connected to the external module. The second external element is electrically connected to the external module. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the electrical element is electrically connected to the external module via the second circuit element and the second external element in sequence. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the electrical element is electrically connected to the external module via the second circuit element, the connecting element, the first circuit element and the first external element in sequence. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first circuit element includes a metal line with a plate-like structure. The connecting element includes another metal line with a plate-like structure. The thickness of the metal line of the first circuit element is less than the thickness of the other metal line of the connecting element. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the ratio of the thickness of the metal line of the first circuit element to the thickness of the other metal line of the connecting element is less than 0.5. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical element driving mechanism further includes a magnetically permeable element disposed on the first circuit element of the circuit member. The first driving portion includes a magnetic element. The magnetic element is disposed on the movable portion. The magnetically