Folded camera with autofocus and optical image stabilization systems

• Main Authors: Smyth, Nicholas D, Miller, Scott W, Brodie, Douglas S
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 25.07.2023
• Subjects: ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USINGWAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FORPROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

A folded camera may include folded optics arrangement positioned optically in front of an image sensor. The folded optics arrangement may include one or more light-folding elements and a lens group having one or more lens elements. Light may pass through the folded optics arrangement, within which the light be folded or redirected by the light-folding element, to focus on an image plane on the image sensor. The folded camera may include a shape-memory actuator having one or more shape-memory elements, whose lengths and/or shapes may be controlled by regulating individual temperatures of the shape-memory elements. The shape-memory actuator may move the lens group relative to the image sensor to implement various autofocus (AF) functions. The folded camera may include a voice coil motor (VCM) which may be controlled to move the image sensor relative to the lens group to perform various optical image stabilization (OIS) functions.