Abstract:
This invention discloses a zoom lens structure and a camera lens. The zoom lens structure comprises a shifting barrel, a zoom-driving ring, a fixed barrel and a focus-driving ring. The shifting barrel has a first guiding protrusion. The zoom-driving ring is arranged at a periphery of the shifting barrel, and having a groove-hole and a first-driving part. The fixed barrel is arranged at a periphery of the zoom-driving ring, and having a first groove. The first guiding protrusion is passed through the groove-hole and inserted into the first groove. The focus-driving ring is coupled to an end of the zoom-driving ring and having a second-driving part at the outer edge thereof. By a driving module driving the first-driving part and the second-driving part at the same time, the zoom-driving ring and the focus-driving ring are rotated forwardly or reversely for zooming or focusing.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Taiwan Patent Application No. 100143819, filed on Nov. 29, 2011, in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a zoom lens structure, in particular to the zoom lens capable of performing zooming and focusing operation by using a same driving module. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, digital still cameras available in the market usually have zooming function and focusing function, and most cameras adopt two motors for driving and controlling the zooming and focusing operations respectively, and the cameras also require two sets of control circuits for computing and driving the motors, and thus incurring a higher cost, requiring a small component installation of space for the product design, and undoubtedly creating a major obstacle to use two motors for driving and controlling the zooming and focusing operations in the camera. 
     To improve the aforementioned problems, some cameras adopt a specially-shaped groove formed at an internal periphery of a lens barrel, so that a zoom lens can be fixed after the lens is situated at a specific position and a zooming operation is completed, so that the zoom lens can be moved to achieve the zooming effect. However, the design of the specially shaped groove includes both zooming and focusing functions, and the level of zooming is limited by the limited angle of rotation, and most designs of the specially shaped groove can provide a 3-stage zooming operation only. 
     In view of the description above, the inventor of the present invention designed a zoom lens structure and a camera lens to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art and to improve the industrial applications. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a zoom lens structure and a camera lens to overcome the technical problems of the conventional image pickup device requiring two motors to drive the components for the zooming and focusing operations and incurring a higher cost or adopting a specially shaped groove that limits the level of zooming. 
     To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a zoom lens structure comprising a shifting barrel, a zoom-driving ring, a fixed barrel and a focus-driving ring. The shifting barrel is a hollow cylindrical structure having a first guiding protrusion formed on an external wall of the shifting barrel. The zoom-driving ring is a hollow cylindrical structure sheathed on a periphery of the shifting barrel. The zoom-driving ring has a groove-hole and a first driving part disposed on an external wall of the zoom-driving ring. The fixed barrel is a hollow cylindrical structure sheathed on a periphery of the zoom-driving ring and has a first groove formed on an internal wall of the fixed barrel, and the first guiding protrusion is passed through the groove-hole and inserted into the first groove. The focus-driving ring is a hollow cylindrical structure coupled to an end of the zoom-driving ring and has a second driving part disposed on an external wall of the focus-driving ring, and a driving module is inserted into the first driving part and the second driving part simultaneously to rotate the zoom-driving ring and the focus-driving ring clockwise or counterclockwise for zooming or focusing. 
     In an embodiment, a side of the groove-hole abuts the first guiding protrusion to move the first guiding protrusion along the first groove when the driving module drives the zoom-driving ring to rotate, so as to drive the shifting barrel to move. 
     In an embodiment, the groove-hole has a predetermined width, such that the first guiding protrusion is moved relatively in the groove-hole without touching a sidewall of the groove-hole when the driving module drives the zoom-driving ring and the focus-driving ring to rotate. 
     In an embodiment, the first guiding protrusion is moved in the groove-hole without touching a sidewall of the groove-hole when the driving module drives the focus-driving ring to perform a focusing. 
     In an embodiment, the zoom lens structure may further comprise a focus supporting frame disposed in the focus-driving ring, and a second guiding protrusion formed at the focus supporting frame, wherein the focus-driving ring has a second groove formed at an internal periphery of the focus-driving ring, and the second guiding protrusion is inserted into the second groove, so that the focus supporting frame moves in accordance with the second groove. 
     In an embodiment, the second groove may be an oblique groove, and the second guiding protrusion is moved obliquely along the second groove. 
     In an embodiment, the groove-hole is a linear groove, and the first groove is an oblique groove or a combination of a linear groove and an oblique groove, and the first guiding protrusion is moved vertically or obliquely along the first groove. 
     To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention further provides a camera lens comprising a focus lens structure, a zoom-driving ring, a fixed barrel, a focus-driving ring, a zoom lens group and a focus lens group. Wherein, the zoom lens structure comprises a shifting barrel, a zoom-driving ring, a fixed barrel and a focus-driving ring. The shifting barrel is a hollow cylindrical structure and has a first guiding protrusion formed on an external wall of the shifting barrel. The zoom-driving ring is a hollow cylindrical structure sheathed on a periphery of the shifting barrel and has a groove-hole and a first driving part disposed on an external wall of the zoom-driving ring. The fixed barrel is a hollow cylindrical structure sheathed on a periphery of the zoom-driving ring and has a first groove formed on an inner wall of the fixed barrel, and the first guiding protrusion is passed through the groove-hole and inserted into the first groove. The focus-driving ring is a hollow cylindrical structure coupled to an end of the zoom-driving ring and has a second groove formed at a periphery of the focus-driving ring, and a second driving part is disposed at an external periphery of the focus-driving ring, and a driving module is inserted into the first driving part and the second driving part simultaneously to rotate the zoom-driving ring and the focus-driving ring clockwise or counterclockwise for zooming or focusing. The zoom lens group has a first lens group and a second lens group, the first lens group is disposed in the shifting barrel and the second lens group is disposed in the zoom-driving ring. The focus lens group is disposed in the focus-driving ring and has a focus supporting frame, and the focus supporting frame has a second guiding protrusion inserted into the second groove. 
     In an embodiment, a side of the groove-hole is provided for abutting the first guiding protrusion to move the first guiding protrusion along the first groove when the driving module drives the zoom-driving ring to rotate clockwise, so as to drive the shifting barrel to move, and the first lens group move relatively to the second lens group. 
     In an embodiment, the groove-hole has a predetermined width that allows the first guiding protrusion to move relatively in the groove-hole along the driving module without touching a sidewall of the groove-hole when the driving module drives the zoom-driving ring and the focus-driving ring in accordance with the predetermined with to rotate counterclockwise. 
     In an embodiment, when the driving module drives he focus-driving ring for focusing, the first guiding protrusion is moved in the groove-hole without touching the sidewall of the groove-hole. 
     In an embodiment, the second guiding protrusion follows the second groove to move when the focus-driving ring is rotated, and the zooming lens group move relatively to the focus lens group. 
     In summation of the description above, the zoom lens structure and the camera lens in accordance with the present invention have one or more of the following advantages: 
     (1) The zoom lens structure and the camera lens can use a driving module for zooming and focusing to reduce the number of components and the space required for installation of components, so as to lower the cost and enhance the product competitiveness. 
     (2) The zoom lens structure and the camera lens can use the groove-hole to increase the level of zooming while maintaining the focusing function, since the position of the zoom lens structure is not limited to a specific position after the zooming takes place. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a zoom lens structure of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a zoom lens structure of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a first schematic view of a zoom lens structure in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a second schematic view of a zoom lens structure in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a first schematic view of a zoom lens structure in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a second schematic view of a zoom lens structure in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The technical characteristics of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of the preferred embodiments accompanied with the illustration of related drawings as follows. It is noteworthy to point out that the drawings are provided for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, but they are not necessarily drawn according to the actual scale, or are intended for limiting the scope of the invention. 
     The zoom lens structure of the present invention can use a single driving module (such as a motor) for zooming and focusing, and thus the zoom lens structure can be applied in a digital camera, a smart mobile phone which has photograph function, a SLR-Like(Single-Lens-Reflex-Like) or a replaceable lens camera. Of course, the application of the invention is not limited to such image pickup devices only. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2  for an exploded view and a perspective view of a zoom lens structure in accordance with the present invention respectively, the zoom lens structure  1  comprises a shifting barrel  10 , a zoom-driving ring  11 , a fixed barrel  12  and a focus-driving ring  13 . Wherein, the shifting barrel  10  is a hollow cylindrical structure, and the shifting barrel  10  has a first guiding protrusion  102  formed on an external wall  101  of the shifting barrel  10 . The zoom-driving ring  11  which is sheathed on a periphery of the shifting barrel  10  is a hollow cylindrical structure. The zoom-driving ring  11  has a groove-hole  112  and a first driving part  113  disposed on an external wall  111  of the zoom-driving ring  11 , wherein the groove-hole  112  can be a linear groove. The fixed barrel  12  which is sheathed on a periphery of the zoom-driving ring  11  is a hollow cylindrical structure, and has a first groove  122  formed on an internal wall  121  of the fixed barrel  12 . The first guiding protrusion  102  passes through the groove-hole  112  and inserted into the first groove  122 . The focus-driving ring  13  which is coupled to an end of the zoom-driving ring  11  is a hollow cylindrical structure, and has a second driving part  132  disposed on an external wall  131  of the focus-driving ring  13 . The focus-driving ring  13  is inserted into the first driving part  113  and the second driving part  132  at the same time to rotate the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  clockwise or counterclockwise for zooming or focusing by a driving module  14 . Wherein, the driving module  14  can be a direct current motor or a stepper motor, and controls the operation of the motor to drive the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise for zooming or focusing by a control unit (not shown in the figure). 
     In abovementioned description, a side of the groove-hole  112  of the zoom-driving ring  11  abuts the first guiding protrusion  102  of the shifting barrel  10  when the driving module  14  drives the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate clockwise. Since the first guiding protrusion  102  is inserted into the first groove  122  of the fixed barrel  12 , therefore the first guiding protrusion  102  can be moved along the first groove  122  to drive the shifting barrel  10  to move for zooming. After the zooming operation is finished, the driving module  14  drives the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. Since the groove-hole  112  of the zoom-driving ring  11  has a predetermined width, therefore the first guiding protrusion  102  will can not touch the sidewall of the groove-hole  112  when the first guiding protrusion  102  is moved relatively in the groove-hole  112  to maintain the zoomed status, and the focus-driving ring  13  can further perform a zooming operation. More specifically, the position of the first guiding protrusion  102  of the shifting barrel  10  remains unchanged during the focusing operation, and only the zoom-driving ring  11  and focus-driving ring  13  are rotated and moved, and the first guiding protrusion  102  will can not touch the sidewall of the groove-hole  112 . 
     In addition, the zoom lens structure  1  may further comprise a focus supporting frame  15  disposed in the focus-driving ring  13 , so that an optical lens group can be disposed on the focus supporting frame  15  for the focusing effect. The zoom supporting frame  15  includes a second guiding protrusion  151 , wherein a second groove  134  is formed on an inner wall  133  of the focus-driving ring  13 , and the second guiding protrusion  151  is inserted into the second groove  134 , so that the zoom supporting frame  15  can be guided by the shape of the second groove  134  to move. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4  for first and second schematic views of a zoom lens structure in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the zoom lens structure  1  can be applicable for a camera lens  2 . The connection and operation of the zoom lens structure  1  of this preferred embodiment are the same as the abovementioned description, and thus they will not be described again. The camera lens  2  can be a replaceable camera lens  2 . The camera lens  2  comprises a zoom lens group  20 , a focus lens group  21  and a plurality of control contacts  22 . Wherein, the zoom lens group  20  has a first lens group  201  and a second lens group  212 , the first lens group  201  is disposed in the shifting barrel  10 , the second lens group  202  is disposed in the zoom-driving ring  11 . As to the actual design requirements, one of the first lens group  201  and the second lens group  202  (such as the second lens group  202 ) is fixed, and the other lens group (such as the first lens group  201 ) can be moved with the shifting barrel  10 . A side of the groove-hole  112  of the zoom-driving ring  11  abuts the first guiding protrusion  102  of the shifting barrel  10  when the driving module  14  drives the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate clockwise, and the first guiding protrusion  102  is inserted into the first groove  122  of the fixed barrel  12 , so that the first guiding protrusion  102  can moved along the first groove  122  to drive the shifting barrel  10  to move, and the two lens groups can be moved relatively to change the distance between the first lens group  201  and the second lens group  202 , so as to adjust the focal length of the camera lens  2  and the distance of forming an image. Wherein, the first groove  122  can be a linear groove coupled to an oblique groove and then coupled to a linear groove or an oblique groove. When the first guiding protrusion  102  is moved along the oblique groove of the first groove  122 , the shifting barrel  10  is moved axially. Preferably, the fixed barrel  12  can include a manual ring  123 . A third driving part (not shown in the figure), which is corresponded to the first driving part  113  and the second driving part  132 , is disposed on an inner wall of the manual ring  123 . The third driving part is inserted into the first driving part  113  and the second driving part  132  at the same time, so that a user can manually rotate the manual ring  123  clockwise for zooming, and then rotate the manual ring  123  counterclockwise to complete the focusing. 
     The focus lens group  21  is disposed in the focus-driving ring  13  and on the focus supporting frame  15 . The focus supporting frame  15  has a second guiding protrusion  151 , and the second guiding protrusion  151  is inserted into the second groove  134 . The zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  are rotated for focusing when the driving module  14  drives the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate counterclockwise, and the first guiding protrusion  102  will can not touch the sidewall of the groove-hole  112  because of the groove-hole  112  has a predetermined width in the zoom-driving ring  11 , and the zoomed status can be maintained. The second guiding protrusion  151  of the focus supporting frame  15  of the focus-driving ring  13  is moved along the shape of the second groove  134 , so that the zoom lens group  20  and the focus lens group  21  can be moved relatively to change the distance between the two lens groups, so as to change the focus point of the image. In practical application, the second groove  134  can be an oblique groove. If the second guiding protrusion  151  is moved obliquely along the second groove  134 , the focus lens group  21  can be driven to move axially. 
     Wherein, the control contacts  22  are electrically coupled to the driving module  14  for receiving a control instruction from the replaceable lens camera, so that the driving module  14  drives the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. Wherein, the driving module  14  can be embedded into the first driving part  113  of the zoom-driving ring  11  and the second driving part  132  of the focus-driving ring  13  through a gear set. For example, the first driving part  113  and the second driving part  132  have inwardly concave gear marks or outwardly convex gear marks for embedding the driving module  14  to drive the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6  for a first schematic view and a second schematic view of zoom lens structure in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively. The zoom lens structure is applicable for a camera  3 . The connection and operation of the zoom lens structure  1  of this preferred embodiment are the same as the first preferred embodiment, and thus they will not be described again. The camera  3  comprises a zoom lens group  20 , a focus lens group  21 , an image sensor  30  and a control unit  31 . The image sensor  30  can be a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor for sensing the light of an image of an object to be photographed to form an imaging. The control unit  31  can be a microprocessor control unit, a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro-processing unit. The control unit  31  is electrically coupled to the driving module  14 . If the control unit  31  controls the driving module  14  to drive the zooming-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate clockwise, a side of the groove-hole  112  of the zooming-driving ring  11  abuts the first guiding protrusion  102  of the shifting barrel  10  to move in the first groove  122  and move the shifting barrel  10  to change the distance between the first lens group  201  and the second lens group  202  of the zooming lens group  20 , so as to achieve the zooming effect. The control unit  31  controls the driving module  14  to drive the zoom-driving ring  11  and the focus-driving ring  13  to rotate counterclockwise, the groove-hole  112  of the zoom-driving ring  11  has a predetermined width, such that the first guiding protrusion  102  will not be abutted by the other side of the groove-hole  112  (or the first guiding protrusion  102  will can not touch the sidewall of the groove-hole  112 ) to maintain the position of the first guiding protrusion  102 , and the focus supporting frame  15  of the focus-driving ring  13  is moved along the second groove  134 , so that the zoom lens group  20  and the focus lens group  21  can be moved relatively to change the distance between the two lens groups to complete the focusing operation, and the image sensor  30  can receive an appropriate light of an image of the object to be photographed to form the imaging. 
     It is noteworthy to point out that the quantity of the first guiding protrusions  102  and their corresponding first grooves  122  or the quantity of the second guiding protrusions  151  and their corresponding second grooves  134  can be changed according to actual requirements. To achieve a stable movement, the quantity can be designed to be two or three sets, and the protrusions moved in the groove can provide a uniform force to achieve a more accurate zooming or focusing effect. 
     In summation of the description above, the zoom lens structure and the camera lens can use a driving module to drive the zoom-driving ring and the focus-driving ring to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise to complete the zooming and focusing operations, so as to reduce the number of components of the product. As to the required components of a camera lens, a driving module (such as the motor) is generally one of the high-priced components, so that the reduced quantity of the driving modules can lower the production cost significantly. In addition, the driving module also occupies much installation space of the camera lens, so that the reduced quantity of the driving modules is favorable to a compact design of the camera lens or facilitates designers to design the camera lens. Since the groove-hole of the zoom-driving ring has a predetermined width, therefore the first guiding protrusion can be moved in the groove-hole without touching the sidewall of the groove-hole when the zoom-driving ring and the focus-driving ring are rotated, and the zoomed lens is not limited to the specific position of the first groove of the fixed barrel only. While maintaining the focusing function of the lens, the zoom lens can be designed more flexibly, so as to improve the level of the zoom lens. 
     While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.