Patent ID: 8265479

Claim:
A camera module, comprising: a barrel unit having a housing space; a lens holding unit holding an imaging optical system, the lens holding unit being housed in the housing space and supported such that the lens holding unit is movable along an optical axis of the imaging optical system; an image pickup element disposed in the barrel unit, the image pickup element picking up an object image guided by the imaging optical system; a driving unit which moves the lens holding unit along the optical axis of the imaging optical system; the barrel unit including an inner barrel in which the housing space is formed and an outer barrel disposed outside the inner barrel, a region of the inner barrel forming a rear end-face wall which extends along a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, which closes a rear end of the outer barrel in the optical axis direction, and in which an opening for housing the image pickup element is formed; and a retaining plate including a front plate portion which retains a front end of the outer barrel in the optical axis direction and closes the front end, two side plate portions bent along both sides of the front plate portion and having distal ends which retain the rear end-face wall, and an opening formed in the front plate portion for providing an optical path of the imaging optical system, wherein in a state in which the front plate portion retains the front end of the outer barrel and the distal ends of the two side plate portions retain the rear end-face wall, the outer barrel is clamped in the optical axis direction by the retaining plate and the inner barrel is clamped in the optical axis direction by the outer barrel and the retaining plate, wherein retaining projections are provided on an outer periphery of the rear end-face wall at two respective positions having the optical axis therebetween, retaining cut sections are formed at the distal ends of the side plate portions, and the distal ends of the two side plate portions retain the rear end-face wall by causing the projections and the cut sections to engage with each other, wherein a third abutting surface extends along an imaginary plane that is perpendicular to the optical axis and is formed at the front end of the outer barrel in the optical axis direction, the front plate portion is abutted against the third abutting surface so that the front plate portion retains the front end of the outer barrel, a projecting portion is provided on the third abutting surface, a cut section engageable with, and adapted to received therein, the projecting portion is formed in the front plate portion, and the projecting portion and the cut section engage with each other with the projecting portion received in the cut section so that the front plate portion is positioned with respect to the front end of the outer barrel in the optical axis direction along an imaginary plane that is perpendicular to the optical axis.