Granted Patent B2

US 12,739,509 · App. 19/027,755 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Inventors: Calvin Kyaw Wong (Cupertino, CA); Dansik Yoo (Sunnyvale, CA); Huang Shan Fu (New Taipei City, TW)

Assignee: Google LLC

H04N23/687H04N23/54H04N23/51H04N23/57

Abstract

Claims (49)

1 . A device comprising:

a camera housing;

a first carrier;

an image sensor carried by the first carrier;

a second carrier, wherein:

the first carrier is attached to the second carrier via a first plurality of objects that move within a first plurality of channels having first stroke axes that are not parallel to a plane of the image sensor, and

the second carrier is attached to the camera housing via a second plurality of objects that move within a second plurality of channels having second stroke axes that are not parallel to both the plane of the image sensor and the first stroke axes; and

one or more optical image stabilization (OIS) actuators configured to apply forces to move the first carrier along the first stroke axes and move the second carrier along the second stroke axes.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first stroke axes and the second stroke axes are straight.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first stroke axes and the second stroke axes are curved.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of objects and the second plurality of objects each comprise a shaft.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of objects and the second plurality of objects each comprise a ball bearing.

6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first stroke axes and the second stroke axes are tilted at different angles.

7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein a particular first stroke axis of the first stroke axes is tilted at a different angle than another first stroke axis of the first stroke axes, and wherein a particular second stroke axis of the second stroke axes is tilted at a different angle than another second stroke axis of the second stroke axes.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein movement of the first carrier along the first stroke axes is supported by the first plurality of objects, and wherein movement of the second carrier along the second stroke axes is supported by the second plurality of objects.

9 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

perform OIS, wherein to perform OIS, the one or more processors are configured to:

cause, based on sensor data indicating movement of the device in a first direction, a first actuator of the one or more OIS actuators to move the first carrier along the first stroke axes; and

cause, based on sensor data indicating movement of the device in a second direction, a second actuator of the one or more OIS actuators to move the second carrier along the second stroke axes.

10 . The device of claim 9 , wherein one or both of:

the first actuator comprises:

a first coil attached to the first carrier; and

a first magnet attached to the second carrier; and

the second actuator comprises:

a second coil attached to the camera housing; and

a second magnet attached to the second carrier.

11 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the camera housing further comprises a third plurality of channels having third stroke axes that are substantially perpendicular to the plane of the image sensor, and wherein the second plurality of objects are further configured to move within the third plurality of channels.

12 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the one or more optical image stabilization (OIS) actuators are further configured to apply forces to move the second carrier along the third stroke axes.

13 . The device of claim 12 , wherein movement of the second carrier along the third stroke axes is supported by the second plurality of objects.

14 . The device of claim 13 , further comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

perform autofocus, wherein to perform autofocus, the one or more processors are configured to:

cause a third actuator of the one or more OIS actuators to apply forces to move the second carrier along the third stroke axes.

15 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the third actuator comprises:

at least one coil of a plurality of coils attached to the camera housing; and

at least one magnet of a plurality of magnets attached to the second carrier, wherein each magnet of the plurality of magnets corresponds to a coil of the plurality of coils.

16 . The device of claim 1 , wherein movement of the second carrier causes movement of the first carrier and the image sensor.

17 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of objects comprises four objects, and wherein the second plurality of objects comprises four objects.

18 . A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more optical image stabilization (OIS) actuators and based on sensor data indicating movement of a device, a signal; and

applying, by the one or more OIS actuators and based on the signal, one or more forces to move one or both of a first carrier and a second carrier, wherein:

movement of one or both of the first carrier and the second carrier comprises both planar and rotational movement of an image sensor,

the image sensor is attached to and carried by the first carrier,

the first carrier is attached to the second carrier via a first plurality of objects that move within a first plurality of channels having first stroke axes that are not parallel to a plane of the image sensor,

the second carrier is attached to the camera housing via a second plurality of objects that move within a second plurality of channels having second stroke axes that are not parallel to both the plane of the image sensor and the first stroke axes, and

the first carrier moves along the first stroke axes and the second carrier moves along the second stroke axes.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the first stroke axes and the second stroke axes are straight.

20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the first stroke axes and the second stroke axes are curved.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (16)