Patent ID: 8570384
Filing Date: 2013-10-29
Classification: G02B,H04N

Abstract:
1. A camera apparatus comprising: a support structure; a camera unit comprising an image sensor and a lens system for focussing an image on the image sensor, the camera unit being supported on the support structure in a manner allowing the camera unit to tilt around two notional axes that are perpendicular to each other and to the optical axis of the lens system; an SMA actuator system comprising two SMA actuator subsystems each comprising plural SMA actuators connected between the camera unit and the support structure, one of the SMA actuator subsystems being arranged, on contraction of the actuators thereof, to drive displacement of the camera unit in a first direction along the optical axis relative to the support structure, the other of the SMA actuator subsystems being arranged, on contraction of the actuators thereof, to drive displacement of the camera unit in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, along the optical axis relative to the support structure, and each SMA actuator subsystem being arranged, on differential contraction of the actuators thereof, to drive rotation of the camera unit around a respective one of said notional axes.