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ApplePatent applicationCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Apple patents camera part that tilts to adjust focus

Apple describes a camera system that uses a folded path for light, which helps fit a camera into thin devices. It includes small motors that can tilt a glass prism and move a lens group to adjust how the camera captures images.

Why it mattersThis design could help Apple make cameras that are thinner or allow for more flexible image stabilization in future phones or laptops.

In the filing’s own words

Various embodiments include a camera with folded optics and a tilt actuator. In some embodiments, the camera may include a folded optics arrangement that may include a prism and a lens group. In some embodiments, an actuator arrangement of the camera may include one or more actuators for tilting the prism about multiple axes. Furthermore, the actuator arrangement may include one or more actuators for translating the lens group along an axis. In some embodiments, the camera may include a bearing suspension arrangement that may allow for controlled movement of the prism and/or the lens group according to the motion enabled by the actuator arrangement.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1.- 20. (canceled)

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Folded Optics Camera with Tilt Actuator
Publication number
US20260287917A1
Application number
19693259
Filed
May 29, 2026
Published
Sep 24, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
21

Classified under

G02B 27/646 Physics & computingG02B 7/1828 Physics & computingG02B 13/0065 Physics & computingG02B 26/0816 Physics & computing
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.