Image taking lens unit with frame member for positioning lens and substrate

An image taking optical unit comprising:

• an image taking optical system adapted to form an image of an object;
• an image pick-up element mounting substrate having an image pick-up element chip adapted to receive light from the object;
• and
• a frame member structured to retain both the image taking optical system and the image pick-up element mounting substrate, wherein
• the image taking optical system includes a lens which has an entrance optical surface on the object side and an exit optical surface proximate the image pick-up element chip, the entrance and exit optical surfaces facing each other;
• the frame member has a lens positioning face adapted to position the lens and a substrate positioning face adapted to position the image pick-up element mounting substrate;
• the frame member has at least a lens retaining portion which retains the lens from an underside in a vertical direction, and is set in the vertical direction such that the lens positioning face and the lens retaining portion sandwich and fix the lens;
• and
• the lens positioning face and the substrate positioning face cooperate to align a center of the lens and a center of the image pick-up element chip and position the lens and the image pick-up element chip thereby reserving a distance therebetween.

An image taking optical unit comprising:

• an image taking optical system adapted to form an image of an object;
• an image pick-up element mounting substrate having an image pick-up element chip adapted to receive light from the object;
• and
• a frame member structured to retain both the image taking optical system and the image pick-up element mounting substrate, wherein
• the image taking optical system includes a lens which has an entrance optical surface on the object side and an exit optical surface proximate the image pick-up element chip, the entrance and exit optical surfaces facing each other;
• the frame member has a lens positioning face adapted to position the lens and a substrate positioning face adapted to position the image pick-up element mounting substrate;
• the substrate positioning face is configured to have a space portion formed on an image taking optical system side;
• and
• the lens positioning face and the substrate positioning face cooperate to align a center of the lens and a center of the image pick-up element chip and position the lens and the image pick-up element chip thereby reserving a distance therebetween.