Apple has been granted a patent for “Fluid-filled Camera Modules.” It involves using a heat absorbing fluid maintain thermal stability for camera components in iPhones and iPads.
About the patent
The patent relates to camera modules for portable electronic devices and, in particular, to camera modules including a sealed liquid volume. A conventional camera module includes an image sensor aligned with a focal plane defined by a lens group. In many cases, one or more lenses of the lens group and/or the image sensor itself may be movable to adjust focus and/or for optical image stabilization.
In the patent Apple notes that image sensors, actuators, processing circuitry, and other electronic components within a camera module can generate significant waste heat. As a result, many camera modules are artificially performance limited. For example, high speed autofocus operations and/or high framerate modes may only be usable for limited period before a thermal shutoff threshold is reached.
Apparently Apple thinks that “fluid-filled camera modules” can help overcome such issues in future iPhones and iPads
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A camera module for an electronic device includes a module housing that encloses an actuator structure for positioning an element of the camera module, such as an image sensor or a lens element. A flexible seal subdivides an internal volume of the camera module housing into two separate sub-volumes.
“A first fluid is retained within a first sub-volume between the image sensor and the lens element, and a second fluid is retained within a second sub-volume of the module housing. In one construction the first fluid is air, and the second fluid is a dielectric liquid.”
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