CN109639936B

CN109639936B - Camera module and method of mounting the same

Info

Publication number: CN109639936B
Application number: CN201710929398.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 欧石平; 汪海东
Original assignee: Valeo Interior Controls Shenzhen Co Ltd
Current assignee: Valeo Interior Controls Shenzhen Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-10-09
Filing date: 2017-10-09
Publication date: 2022-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-09
Also published as: CN109639936A; WO2019072157A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a camera module and a method of mounting the camera module. The camera module includes a housing; a lens cover protruding from the housing; and a lens assembly disposed in the lens cover and the housing; wherein an alignment portion is provided on an outer surface of the lens cover adjacent to the housing. The mounting method of the camera module includes the steps of providing a sealing ring outside an alignment portion of an outer surface of a lens cover; screwing the lens cover into the cylinder of the mounting module so that the outer end face of the lens cover is aligned with the outer surface of the mounting module; a housing having a mounting case accommodating the camera module; the mounting box is fixed to the inner surface of the mounting module by passing a bolt through the through-hole.

Description

Camera module and method of mounting the same

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a camera module, and in one application, to a camera module fixedly mounted on a predetermined device.

Background

At present, a camera is usually fixedly provided as a separate component or module on some device such as an automobile for recognizing an obstacle or a direction or the like. The lens portion of the camera tends to protrude from the housing of the device or align with the outer surface of the housing. However, due to the influence of various aspects such as the manufacturing accuracy of the lens axis, the manufacturing accuracy of the device housing, and the mounting accuracy of the housing, the lens portion often cannot be aligned with the outer surface of the housing or the axis of the lens often cannot be coaxial with the axis of the camera mounting hole of the housing, thereby causing a recognition error and a reduction in recognition accuracy. In addition, the current camera module structure has difficulty in achieving entrance protection of the camera.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a camera module. The camera module includes a housing; a lens cover protruding from the housing; and a lens assembly disposed in the lens cover and the housing; wherein the lens cover defines an outer surface on which an alignment feature is disposed adjacent the housing.

In one embodiment, the camera module is mounted in a mounting module, an outer face of the mounting module being aligned with an outer surface of a lens cover of the camera module.

In one embodiment, in the above camera module, the mounting module includes a hole for receiving a lens cover of the camera module; a barrel projecting from an inner surface of the bore; a mounting case for accommodating a housing of the camera module; wherein the inner surface of the barrel is provided with a coupling portion that couples with an alignment portion on the lens cover.

In one embodiment, in the above-described camera module, the outer surface of the lens cover is provided with a seal ring on an outer side of the alignment portion.

In one embodiment, in the above-described camera module, the width of the alignment portion is approximately half of the width of the lens cover.

In one embodiment, in the above-described camera module, the alignment part is an external thread, and the coupling part is an internal thread that mates with the alignment part.

In one embodiment, in the above camera module, the alignment part is a glue layer having a predetermined thickness.

In one embodiment, in the above-described camera module, the alignment portion is a glue coating capable of adhering the lens cover in the cylinder.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for mounting the above-described camera module. The method comprises the following steps: a sealing ring is arranged on the outer side of the thread part of the outer surface of the lens cover; screwing the camera module into the cylinder of the mounting module so that the outer end face of the lens cover is aligned with the outer surface of the mounting module; a housing having a mounting case accommodating the camera module; the mounting box is fixed on the inner surface of the mounting module through the screw hole.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

It should be understood that this disclosure is not intended to identify key or critical features of the embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more readily understood through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows an overall cross-sectional schematic view of a camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 illustrates a top view of a camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 3 illustrates a left side view of a camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to various exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. It should be understood that these examples are described merely to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and further implement the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. It should be noted that where feasible, similar or identical reference numerals may be used in the figures and that similar or identical reference numerals may indicate similar or identical functions. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

As used herein, the term "include" and its various variants are to be understood as open-ended terms, which mean "including, but not limited to. The term "based on" may be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" may be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" may be understood as "at least one other embodiment".

At present, cameras are increasingly used in various fields as a recognition means. In the automotive field, for example, a camera is used as a module that can recognize obstacles or lane directions, and the like, thereby providing support for driving safety. And the camera module is often required to be installed when being identified, and the installation precision of the camera module is ensured. Otherwise, the identification may be inaccurate and safety may be affected. However, due to the influences of various aspects such as the manufacturing accuracy of the lens axis, the manufacturing accuracy of the device housing, and the mounting accuracy of the mounting housing, it is difficult for the current camera module to ensure the mounting accuracy, so that the camera often has a large gap with the housing or the axis of the camera and the axis of the mounting component cannot be kept coaxial. These affect the recognition accuracy.

In addition, current camera module mounting approaches have difficulty providing access protection to the camera module, thereby causing the camera to be easily damaged.

The camera assembly proposed by the present disclosure substantially solves or alleviates at least some of the problems mentioned above. The structure of the camera module and the method of mounting the camera module according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

As shown, in general, the camera module described in this disclosure has a housing 1, a lens cover 2, and a lens assembly 3. The lens cover 2 is a cylindrical structure, and protrudes from one side of the housing 1. The lens assembly 3 is disposed in the inner space of the housing 1 and the lens cover 2. In some embodiments, the lens assembly 3 may comprise a series of lenses. In the left side view of the camera module as shown in fig. 3, the outermost lens of the lens arrangement can be seen.

Unlike a conventional camera module, according to the camera module of the present disclosure, a portion of the outer surface of the lens cover adjacent to the housing is provided with an alignment part. By this aligning section, the camera module can be accurately mounted in a desired position in a simple manner, and the mounting accuracy such as coaxiality can be ensured while reducing the labor intensity of mounting. So that the installation cost and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, the alignment portion occupies approximately half the width of the lens cover 2. The width of the lens cover 2 refers to a distance from the housing 1 to an end of the lens cover 2 away from the housing 1. It should be understood that the length of the aligning portion may be appropriately adjusted as occasion demands. In some embodiments, the alignment portion may occupy the width of the entire lens cover or occupy a majority of the width. Furthermore, the alignment portion according to the present disclosure has various forms to achieve alignment, which will be further explained below.

In some embodiments, the camera module is mounted into the mounting module 5. It should be understood that the mounting module 5 may be part of the device to which the camera module is mounted. For example, where the device to which it is mounted is an automobile, the mounting module 5 may be part of the front or rear bumper of the automobile or other component. In one embodiment, according to the camera module of the present disclosure, after installation, the outer surface of the lens cover 2 remains flush with the outer end surface of the installation module, while the axis of the lens assembly 3 can be aligned with the axis of the installed device. And in some embodiments, a camera module according to the present disclosure protrudes beyond an outer surface of the mounting module after mounting. In some embodiments, the outer surface of the lens cover 2 of the camera module is recessed into the outer surface of the mounting module to better protect the lens.

As shown in fig. 1, in some embodiments, the mounting module has a housing, which may be a housing 54 of a device to which the camera module is mounted as previously described, such as a housing 54 of an automobile bumper. It should be understood that the housing may also be a housing 54 that is independent of the device to which the camera module is mounted. The housing 54 has an aperture 51 for receiving a lens cover of the camera module. The installation module also includes a barrel 52 from which the inner surface of the housing 54 protrudes. It should be understood that the inner surface of the housing 54 is the surface on the side where the camera module is disposed. The cylinder 52 is arranged concentrically with the bore 51, i.e. the cylinder 52 protrudes from the inner surface of the housing 54 around the central axis of the bore 51.

A coupling portion is provided on the inner surface of the cylinder 52 to be engaged with the aligning portion. It should be understood that in some embodiments, where the shell 54 is of sufficient thickness, the barrel 52 structure may be omitted and the coupling provided directly on the inner surface of the bore 51. In some embodiments, the coupling may also be the only inner surface of the barrel 52 or bore 51.

As shown in fig. 1, the coupling portion of the camera module according to the present disclosure is an internal thread provided inside the cylinder 52, and the alignment portion is an external thread provided outside the lens cover 2. The alignment portion can be screwed into the coupling portion, thereby achieving accurate positioning at the time of installation. The external threads as alignment features may occupy a width of 1/2 through 3/4 of the lens cover 2. The mounting process of the camera module using the external thread as the alignment part will be further described below.

In some embodiments, the lens cover 2 is provided with a sealing ring 4 across the remaining width. The sealing ring 4 is arranged on the outside of the alignment portion, i.e. on the side facing away from the housing 1. The sealing ring 4 provides sealing while providing access protection for the camera module due to vibration damping. Meanwhile, due to the elasticity of the sealing ring 4, errors caused by partial installation can be offset, and the installation precision is higher. In some embodiments, the sealing ring 4 may be an O-ring. It should be understood that the sealing ring 4 may also adopt other structures capable of achieving the above-mentioned functions.

In some embodiments, the alignment feature is a layer of glue (not shown) having a thickness disposed on the outer surface of the lens cover. This glue film of certain thickness has certain elasticity, can further bring the entry protection for camera module. Moreover, the glue layer enables the camera module to be firmly adhered to the inside of the hole of the shell 54, so that the installation accuracy such as coaxiality is guaranteed, and meanwhile, the installation durability can be guaranteed. In embodiments where a layer of adhesive of a given thickness is used, the inner surface of the cylinder 52 may be a smooth surface or a surface with internal threads. In addition, the adhesive layer with a certain thickness may be a double-sided adhesive tape with a certain thickness, and is disposed on the outer surface of the lens cover by winding or the like. Of course, it should be understood that the glue layer may be applied to the outer surface of the lens cover 2 in other ways.

As an alternative to using a layer of glue of a certain thickness, in some embodiments the alignment portion may also use a coating of glue applied to the outer surface of the lens cover 2. By adopting the mode, the camera module is more convenient and fast to install when the installation accuracy such as coaxiality is ensured. It should be understood that the above-described manner of applying a layer or coating of glue of a certain thickness may be used in applications where the camera module is not or not frequently removed after installation.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the mounting module further includes a mounting box 53. The mounting box 53 is for accommodating at least a part of the housing 53. The mounting case 53 generally has a rectangular parallelepiped or cubic shell-like structure. In general, the internal structure of the mounting box 53 is adapted to the external structure of the housing 1 of the camera module. The mounting case 53 has an opening 55 at one side thereof. The opening 55 may be the entire surface of a cube or a rectangular parallelepiped, or may be a part of one surface. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 and 2, the opening 55 may be an entire face of a cube or cuboid.

As shown in fig. 2, mounting ears 56 are provided on the exterior of at least one pair of opposing walls of the opening 55. One or more through holes 57 are provided in each mounting ear 56 for passing a bolt 58 therethrough. Bolts 58 are used to secure the mounting box 53 to the housing 54. In some embodiments, mounting posts 59 are provided at corresponding locations on the inner surface of the housing 54, screw holes 50 are provided in the mounting posts 59, and bolts 58 are screwed into the screw holes 50 to fix the mounting box 53. It should be understood that in the event that the housing 54 is of sufficient thickness, the mounting posts 59 may be omitted and the threaded holes 50 provided directly in the housing 54. Of course, it should be understood that the mounting box 53 may be mounted to the housing 54 in other ways, such as by snap-fit, adhesive, or rivet connections.

The mounting process of the camera module will be specifically described below taking the external thread as an example of the alignment portion. The mounting process is also simple, first providing a sealing ring 4 outside the alignment of the outer surface of the lens cover 2. The outer diameter of the seal ring 4 may be smaller than or equal to the equivalent diameter of the external thread as the alignment portion. The lens cover 2 provided with the sealing ring 4 is screwed into the cylinder 52 on the housing 54 of the mounting module 5. Of course, as described above, in the case where the housing 54 is sufficiently thick, it may be screwed directly into the hole 51 of the housing 54.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, a stopper portion 22 is provided at the other end opposite to the end where the seal ring 4 is provided at the alignment portion. The outer diameter of the stopper portion 22 is larger than the equivalent diameter of the external thread as the alignment portion. The stopper portion 22 enables the camera module to be screwed to a predetermined angle and held at the predetermined angle. For example, at the predetermined angle, the reference plane of the camera is parallel to a reference horizontal plane (e.g., the horizon). Of course, it should be understood that the reference plane of the camera may be made at other angles to the reference horizontal plane as desired as the predetermined angle. At this predetermined angle, the sealing ring 4 presses against the bottom and side walls of the interior of the barrel 52 or bore 4, thereby providing sealing and cushioning. Further, at the predetermined angle, the axis of the lens assembly 3 is coaxial with the axis of the cylinder 52 or the hole 4, thereby ensuring accuracy in image recognition.

In some embodiments, the outer end face of the lens cover 2 screwed to and held at the predetermined angle is aligned with the outer surface of the housing 54 of the mount module 5 or protrudes from the outer surface of the housing 54 or is recessed into the outer surface of the housing 54. The above conditions can be selected according to the needs of the actual situation. Subsequently, the housing 1 of the camera module is accommodated in the mounting box. And the mounting case 53 is fixed to the inner surface of the mounting module by passing the bolts 58 through the through holes 57 in the mounting lugs 56 of the mounting case 5 and screwing into the screw holes 50 of the mounting posts 59, thereby completing the mounting of the camera module in a simple process. And because the external thread and the internal thread are respectively used as the aligning part and the coupling part, the automatic alignment of the central axis of the lens component and the central axis of the cylinder 52 can be realized, and the installation precision is ensured. At the same time, a good access protection is provided and an additional sealing is also provided due to the sealing ring 4.

The above describes the mounting process of the camera module by taking the embodiment using the external thread as the alignment portion as an example. It should be understood that the mounting process using a glue layer or a glue coating of a certain thickness as the alignment portion can also be simply achieved with mounting accuracy of ensuring coaxiality or the like.

While some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown in detail by way of example, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing examples are intended to be illustrative only and are not limiting upon the scope of the disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments may be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

In the specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the terms "comprise" and "comprise" are to be construed as embracing the stated elements or groups of elements but not excluding any other elements or groups of elements.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

It should be understood that the following claims are only provisional claims and are examples of possible claims and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims to any future patent application based on the present application. Elements may be added or deleted in the exemplary claims at a later date to further define or redefine the disclosure.

Claims

1. A camera module, comprising:

a housing (1);

a lens cover (2) protruding from the housing (1); and

a lens assembly (3) disposed in the lens cover (2) and the housing (1);

wherein an alignment portion is provided on an outer surface of the lens cover (2) adjacent to the housing (1), wherein the camera module is mounted in a mounting module having an outer end face aligned with an outer surface of the lens cover (2) of the camera module,

wherein the installation module comprises:

a housing (54), the housing (54) having an aperture (51) for receiving a lens cover of a camera module;

a cylinder (52) protruding from a surface of the case (54) on a side where the camera module is disposed, the cylinder (52) being concentric with the hole (51); and

a mounting box (53) for at least partially accommodating the housing (1) of the camera module;

wherein the inner surface of the barrel (52) is provided with a coupling portion that couples with an alignment portion on the lens cover (2).

2. A camera module according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the lens cover (2) is provided with a sealing ring (4) on the outside of the alignment portion.

3. A camera module according to claim 1, wherein the width of the alignment portion is substantially half the width of the lens cover (2).

4. The camera module in accordance with claim 1, wherein the alignment portion is an external thread and the coupling portion is an internal thread that mates with the alignment portion.

5. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the mounting box (53) has an opening (55); a pair of mounting ears (56) are disposed on opposite walls of the opening, each of the mounting ears (56) having a through hole (57).

6. The camera module of claim 1, wherein the alignment portion is a glue layer having a predetermined thickness.

7. The camera module of claim 1, wherein the alignment feature is a glue coating capable of adhering the lens cover in the barrel.

8. A method for mounting the camera module of claim 5, comprising the steps of:

a sealing ring (4) is arranged outside the alignment part of the outer surface of the lens cover (2);

screwing the lens cover (2) into a barrel (52) of a mounting module so that an outer end face of the lens cover is aligned with an outer surface of the mounting module;

a housing (1) for housing the camera module in the mounting case;

the mounting box (53) is fixed to the inner surface of the mounting module by passing a bolt (6) through the through-hole (57) and screwing into the screw hole of the mounting module (5).