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AppleGranted patentCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Apple patents camera sensor that moves in multiple directions

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Apple has been granted a patent for a camera system that uses magnets and coils to physically move the image sensor. This setup allows the sensor to shift along the optical axis for autofocus and in other directions to stabilize the image.

Why it mattersThis design could help Apple build more compact cameras by combining autofocus and stabilization into a single moving mechanism.

In the filing’s own words

Various embodiments include a camera voice coil motor (VCM) actuator configured to shift an image sensor along multiple axes. Some embodiments include a magnet and coil arrangement. Some embodiments include a position sensing arrangement. Some embodiments include a flexure arrangement. Some embodiments include a coil structure and coil carrier assembly.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A camera, comprising: a lens comprising one or more lens elements; an image sensor configured to capture light passing through the lens and convert the captured light into image signals; magnets; an autofocus (AF) coil that magnetically interacts with the magnets to shift the image sensor along an optical axis of the camera; optical image stabilization (OIS) coils that magnetically interact with the magnets to shift the image sensor in directions orthogonal to the optical axis; and a first position sensor located proximate a first magnet of the magnets, wherein the first position sensor is positioned to sense at least one of: OIS movement based on a first magnetic field component produced by the first magnet in a first direction that is orthogonal to the optical axis, or AF movement based on the first magnetic field component and a second magnetic field component produced by the first magnet in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Camera with image sensor shifting
Patent number
US12771938B2
Application number
18671812
Filed
May 22, 2024
Granted
Oct 20, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

H04N 23/687 Electricity & electronicsG02B 7/08 Physics & computingG02B 27/646 Physics & computingG03B 3/10 Physics & computingG03B 5/00 Physics & computingH02K 41/0354 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.