Patent ID: 8159764

Claim:
A lens drive device whose shape is substantially rectangular when viewed in an optical axis direction of a lens, the lens drive device comprising: a movable body which holds the lens and which is movable in the optical axis direction; a fixed body which movably holds the movable body; and a drive mechanism for driving the movable body in the optical axis direction; wherein the drive mechanism comprising: a drive magnet part which is formed in a substantially triangular prism shape and which is disposed at least in one of four corners of the lens drive device; a drive, coil which is wound around in a substantially triangular tube shape and which is attached to the movable body so that its inner peripheral face is oppositely disposed to an outer peripheral face of the drive magnet part through a gap space; and a coil protection member which is attached to at least one of an object to be photographed or imaged side and an opposite-to-object side of the drive coil; wherein the drive magnet part is magnetized so that a magnetic flux passing through the drive coil is generated at an opposite position to the drive coil; and wherein, when two directions which are perpendicular to each other and which are substantially parallel to side faces of the lens drive device are set to be a first direction and a second direction, the coil protection member comprises, when viewed in the optical axis direction, a first coil protection end part, which is superposed on an outer side end of the drive coil in the first direction or which is protruded toward an outer side in the first direction from the outer side end of the drive coil in the first direction, and a second coil protection end part which is superposed on an outer side end of the drive coil in the second direction or which is protruded toward an outer side in the second direction from the outer side end of the drive coil in the second direction.