Voice coil motor

1. A voice coil motor, comprising:

a cover comprising an upper plate and a lateral plate extending from the upper plate;

a bobbin disposed in the cover member;

a base disposed below the bobbin and coupled with the lateral plate of the cover;

a magnet disposed between the lateral plate of the cover and the bobbin;

a coil facing the magnet; and

an elastic member coupled with the bobbin,

wherein the elastic member comprises an upper elastic member coupled with an upper portion of the bobbin and a lower elastic member coupled with a lower portion of the bobbin,

wherein each of the upper elastic member and the lower elastic member comprises an inner elastic unit coupled with the bobbin, an outer elastic unit disposed outside the inner elastic unit, and a connection elastic unit connecting the inner elastic unit and the outer elastic unit,

wherein in an initial position where no current is applied to the coil, the inner elastic unit of the upper elastic member is disposed at a position lower than that of the outer elastic unit of the upper elastic member, and the inner elastic unit of the lower elastic member is disposed at a position lower than that of the outer elastic unit of the lower elastic member,

wherein the elastic member is configured to support the bobbin so as to form a first gap between the bobbin and the base at the initial position, and

wherein the bobbin moves toward the base along an optical axis so as to decrease the first gap when a reverse driving current is applied to the coil at the initial position.

2. The voice coil motor of claim 1 , wherein the elastic member is configured to support the bobbin so as to form a second gap between the bobbin and the upper plate of the cover, and

wherein the bobbin moves toward the upper plate of the cover along the optical axis so as to decrease the second gap when a forward driving current is applied to the coil at the initial position.

3. The voice coil motor of claim 2 , wherein, when the bobbin is disposed at a first position where the bobbin contacts with the base, the bobbin is maintained at the first position even if the reverse driving current is supplementally applied, and

wherein, when the bobbin is disposed at a second position where the bobbin contacts with the upper plate of the cover, the bobbin is maintained at the second position even if the forward driving current is supplementally applied.

4. The voice coil motor of claim 1 , wherein a gap is formed between the bobbin and the base and between the bobbin and the upper plate of the cover at the initial position, even if the base is disposed above the upper plate of the cover.

5. The voice coil motor of claim 1 , comprising a housing disposed between the bobbin and the cover,

wherein the outer elastic unit of the upper elastic member is disposed on an upper surface of the housing and coupled with the housing.

6. The voice coil motor of claim 5 , wherein the housing comprises a recessed part overlapped with the connection elastic unit of the upper elastic member in a direction of the optical axis and recessed from the upper surface of the housing.

7. The voice coil motor of claim 5 , wherein the housing comprises a boss formed on the upper surface of the housing, and

wherein the outer elastic unit of the upper elastic member comprises a hole coupled with the boss of the housing.

8. The voice coil motor of claim 7 , wherein the boss forms a gap between the upper surface of the housing and the upper plate of the cover.

9. The voice coil motor of claim 6 , wherein at least a portion of the connection elastic unit of the upper elastic member is spaced apart from the upper plate of the cover and the housing.

10. The voice coil motor of claim 1 , wherein the inner elastic unit of the lower elastic member is coupled with a lower surface of the bobbin by an adhesive or thermosetting method.

11. The voice coil motor of claim 10 , wherein the outer elastic unit of the lower elastic member is disposed on an upper surface of the base.

12. The voice coil motor of claim 2 , wherein when the forward driving current is applied to the coil at the initial position, the bobbin moves toward the upper plate of the cover so that the inner elastic unit of the upper elastic member moves from a position lower than that of the outer elastic unit of the upper elastic member to a position higher than that of the outer elastic unit of the upper elastic member.

13. A camera, comprising:

the voice coil motor of claim 2 ;

a lens coupled with the bobbin of the voice coil motor; and

an image sensor disposed below the lens.

14. The camera of claim 13 , wherein the forward driving current or the reverse driving current applied to the coil is realized by adjusting a voltage difference applied to distal ends of the coil.

15. A mobile phone, comprising the camera of claim 13 .

16. A voice coil motor, comprising:

a cover comprising an upper plate and a lateral plate extending from the upper plate;

a bobbin disposed in the cover member;

a base disposed below the bobbin and coupled with the lateral plate of the cover;

a magnet disposed between the lateral plate of the cover and the bobbin;

a coil facing the magnet; and

an elastic member coupled with the bobbin,

wherein the elastic member comprises an inner elastic unit coupled with the bobbin, an outer elastic unit disposed outside the inner elastic unit, and a connection elastic unit connecting the inner elastic unit and the outer elastic unit, and

wherein in an initial position where no current is applied to the coil, the inner elastic unit is disposed at a position lower than that of the outer elastic unit.

17. The voice coil motor of claim 16 , wherein the elastic member comprises an upper elastic member coupled with an upper portion of the bobbin and a lower elastic member coupled with a lower portion of the bobbin,

wherein each of the upper elastic member and the lower elastic member comprises the inner elastic unit, the outer elastic unit, and the connection elastic unit, and

wherein in an initial position where no current is applied to the coil, the inner elastic unit of the upper elastic member is disposed at a position lower than that of the outer elastic unit of the upper elastic member, and the inner elastic unit of the lower elastic member is disposed at a position lower than that of the outer elastic unit of the lower elastic member.

18. The voice coil motor of claim 16 , wherein the elastic member is configured to support the bobbin so as to form a first gap between the bobbin and the base at the initial position, and

wherein the bobbin moves toward the base along an optical axis so as to decrease the first gap when a reverse driving current is applied to the coil at the initial position.

19. The voice coil motor of claim 16 , wherein the elastic member is configured to support the bobbin so as to form a second gap between the bobbin and the upper plate of the cover, and

wherein the bobbin moves toward the upper plate of the cover along the optical axis so as to decrease the second gap when a forward driving current is applied to the coil at the initial position.

20. A voice coil motor, comprising:

a cover comprising an upper plate and a lateral plate extending from the upper plate;

a bobbin disposed in the cover member;

a base disposed below the bobbin and coupled with the lateral plate of the cover;

a magnet disposed between the lateral plate of the cover and the bobbin;

a coil facing the magnet; and

an elastic member coupled with the bobbin,

wherein the elastic member comprises an upper elastic member coupled with an upper portion of the bobbin and a lower elastic member coupled with a lower portion of the bobbin, and

wherein each of the upper elastic member and the lower elastic member comprises an inner elastic unit coupled with the bobbin, an outer elastic unit disposed outside the inner elastic unit, and a connection elastic unit connecting the inner elastic unit and the outer elastic unit.