JP2006203402A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging device which can use a UV adhesive to bond a lens barrel and an imaging element together and precisely hold the positioning state between the lens barrel and imaging element, without making pressing force act. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging device is equipped with a lens holder 2 holding at least a lens 1, the lens barrel 3 which supports the lens holder 2 so that the position of the lens holder 2 can be adjusted freely along the optical axis, and the imaging element 4 which forms a subject image through the lens 1, and is provided with a through hole 8 at a distance from a photodetection surface 6a of the imaging element 4 at a seated portion 3a of the lens barrel 3 which is seated on the imaging element 4, and the through hole 8 is filled with the adhesive to make the lens barrel 3 and imaging element 4 integrated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus incorporating an image pickup device composed of, for example, a CCD, and in particular, the lens barrel and the image pickup device are integrated by accurately maintaining the positioning state between the lens barrel and the light receiving surface of the image pickup device. The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that can be made to operate.

  Recently, an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera using an imaging element such as a CCD or a CMOS has been mounted on a mobile phone or a personal computer camera. In order to obtain a clear image with these imaging devices, the lens holder that holds the lens and the optical axis of the lens barrel that supports the lens are positioned with high accuracy so that they are perpendicular to the center position of the light receiving surface of the imaging device. There must be.

Therefore, for example, the lens barrel (holder) is provided with positioning portions that are in contact with two side surfaces that form one corner of the image sensor on the inner peripheral portion that surrounds the image sensor, and the above-mentioned corner of the image sensor. The optical axis of the lens barrel coincides with the center of the light receiving surface of the imaging element at a position where the two side surfaces forming the part abut against the positioning part, and the inner peripheral upper surface of the lens barrel (opposite the surface of the imaging element) A solid-state imaging device is proposed in which a rib-shaped pressing part is provided on the surface and the pressing part is brought into contact with the surface of the image sensor so that the optical axis of the lens barrel is orthogonal to the light receiving surface of the image sensor. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-304567 A

  By the way, in order to fix the positioning state of the lens barrel and the image sensor with the configuration as in the above-described conventional example (Patent Document 1), for example, a method of fixing the lens barrel to the circuit board with an adhesive is used. However, when the circuit board is flexible, there is a problem that a stable fixed state cannot be obtained. Therefore, a configuration in which a pressing portion provided on the inner peripheral portion of the lens barrel is bonded to the imaging element is conceivable.

  However, in that case, the thickness of the adhesive layer formed on the bonded portion becomes non-uniform due to the viscosity of the adhesive, which may reduce the positioning accuracy. If a strong pressing force is applied to the bonded portion in order to correct such non-uniformity, the lens barrel may be distorted. In addition, if a UV curable adhesive can be used as the adhesive to be used, the adhesive cures quickly by performing UV irradiation, so the lens barrel does not continue to be held down until the adhesive dries. Can be fixed to the image pickup device, but in the above configuration, since the bonded portion is hidden inside the lens barrel, subsequent UV irradiation cannot be performed, and as a result, a UV curable adhesive cannot be used. There is also.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and positioning between the lens barrel and the image sensor without applying a strong pressing force when bonding the lens barrel and the image sensor while positioning the lens barrel and the image sensor at a predetermined position. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of accurately maintaining the state.

(1) An imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes at least a lens barrel that holds a lens and an imaging element that forms an image of a subject captured by the lens, and a seating portion that sits on the imaging element of the lens barrel. A through-hole is provided in a part away from the light-receiving surface of the image pickup device, and the through-hole is filled with an adhesive so that the lens barrel and the image pickup device are integrated.

According to such a configuration, the upper surface of the imaging device is integrated with the seating portion by filling the through hole provided in the seating portion of the barrel with the adhesive in a state where the lens barrel and the imaging device are positioned. be able to. Therefore, it is not particularly necessary to apply a strong pressing force to the bonded portion from the outside, so that there is no fear of generating distortion, the positioning state is stably maintained, and integration with high positioning accuracy is possible. Further, since the bonded portion is exposed to the outside, it is possible to use a UV curable adhesive. The lens barrel may support a lens holder that holds a lens so that the position of the lens holder can be adjusted in the optical axis direction.
(2) In addition, a positioning portion that contacts each of two side surfaces that form one corner of the image sensor is provided on an inner peripheral portion of the lens barrel that surrounds the image sensor, and the image sensor in the seating portion At least three protrusions that contact the upper surface of the image sensor may be formed in a portion away from the light receiving surface. In this way, the two side surfaces forming the corners of the image sensor are brought into contact with the positioning portions of the lens barrel, respectively, so that the optical axis of the lens barrel coincides with the center of the light receiving surface of the image sensor. The projecting portion provided on the seating portion of the lens barrel is brought into contact with the upper surface of the image sensor, whereby the optical axis of the lens barrel and the light receiving surface of the image sensor can be orthogonal to each other. In this state, the seating portion of the lens barrel By filling the through-hole provided in the adhesive with the adhesive, the above-described actions and effects can be achieved more reliably. In addition, the said orthogonal state can be stably hold | maintained by setting the number of installation of a protrusion to at least three.

  In the imaging apparatus of the present invention, the lens barrel and the image sensor can be integrated by filling the through hole provided in the seating portion of the lens barrel with the adhesive so that the lens barrel and the image sensor can be integrated. After that, it is possible to fill the adhesive, and in particular, there is no need to apply a strong pressing force to the bonded part from the outside, so there is no risk of causing distortion, the positioning state is stably maintained, and high positioning accuracy Can be integrated. Further, since the bonded portion is exposed to the outside, it is possible to use a UV curable adhesive.

Hereinafter, an imaging apparatus according to the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[Embodiment 1]
1 is a plan view of the imaging apparatus, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an adhesive portion, and FIG. As shown in these drawings, a male screw groove (not shown) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical lens holder 2 holding the lens 1, while the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 3 a of the lens barrel 3 is formed. Has a female thread groove (not shown), and the lens holder 2 is screwed into the lens barrel 3 so that the position in the optical axis direction can be adjusted. Around the cylindrical portion 3 a of the lens barrel 3, a seating portion 3 b seated on a rectangular imaging element 4 integrated with the circuit board 7 is formed in a rectangular shape according to the shape of the imaging element 4. A downward flange 3c that is externally fitted to the image sensor 4 is formed on the outer periphery of the seat portion 3b.

  And the through-hole 8 for filling the adhesive agent 9 is formed in the triangle shape in the position of the four corners away from the light-receiving surface 6 of the image pick-up element 4 in the seating part 3b. Further, a protrusion 5 that abuts on the upper surface of the image pickup device 4 is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the seating portion 3 b, and the protrusion 5 makes the optical axis of the lens barrel 3 perpendicular to the image pickup device 4. Positioned. Four protrusions 5 are provided at locations slightly apart from the above-described through holes 8. On the other hand, two adjacent flanges 3 c and two sides of the image sensor 4 corresponding thereto are set as positioning reference positions in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens barrel 3.

  In the imaging apparatus configured as described above, when the flange 3c of the lens barrel 3 is fitted on the image sensor 4, first, the four protrusions 5 come into contact with the upper surface of the image sensor 4 to adjust the inclination of the lens barrel 3. And the optical axis of the lens barrel 3 is positioned so as to be perpendicular to the light receiving surface 6 of the image sensor 4. Next, by pushing the lens barrel 3 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1, the position adjustment in the direction parallel to the light receiving surface 6 of the image sensor 4 is performed, and the optical axis of the lens barrel 3 and the center of the light receiving surface 6 of the image sensor 4 Is positioned in a state in which In this state, by filling the four through-holes 8 with the adhesive 9 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B), the lens barrel 3 and the imaging element 4 can be bonded and integrated in a positioned state. .

In such a bonding process, it is not necessary to apply a strong pressing force. Therefore, the occurrence of distortion is not a concern, the positioning state is stably maintained, and high positioning accuracy is obtained. Moreover, since it is not necessary to interpose an adhesive agent in the contact part which becomes a positioning reference, even if the viscosity of the adhesive agent 9 is high, the positioning state is not affected. Since the four corner adhesive portions are exposed to the outside, a UV curable adhesive can be used.
[Embodiment 2]
In FIG. 4, it is configured so that positioning in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis can be performed automatically. That is, the spring part 10 having the comb-like spring pieces 10a and 10a is formed at one corner part facing the two adjacent flanges 3c of the seating part 3b. The lens barrel 3 can be easily formed by the integral molding of a synthetic resin material such as PET having elasticity.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the corner of the image sensor 4 is fitted between the pair of spring pieces 10 a and 10 a in a state where the seat 3 b of the lens barrel 3 is fitted to the image sensor 4, and the direction of the arrow D The image sensor 4 is urged to be brought into contact with the inner surfaces of the two flanges 3c set as the positioning reference positions so that the two sides of the image sensor 4 are pressed, and parallel to the light receiving surface 6 of the image sensor 4 Is adjusted so that the optical axis of the lens barrel 3 and the center of the light receiving surface 6 of the image sensor 4 coincide with each other.

  About another structure, it is the same as that of previous embodiment, About the same member as previous Embodiment 1, or an equivalent member, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Note that the imaging apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and is free to make design changes and improvements as necessary, as long as it does not depart from the gist of the invention. The number of through holes is not limited to the four corners of the seating portion 3b, and any number of through holes may be formed at different positions as long as they are away from the light receiving surface 6, and the shape can be freely selected. Further, the number of protrusions is not limited to four, but is preferably at least three in order to stably provide a flat surface.

  Since the imaging apparatus according to the present invention does not require a strong pressing force from the outside to the bonding portion, the lens barrel and the imaging element can be integrated with high positioning accuracy, so that a compact and clear image can be obtained. Can be applied to fields such as mobile phones and personal computer cameras.

  The image pickup apparatus according to the present invention can use a UV curable adhesive because the bonding portion is exposed to the outside, and is suitable for shortening the bonding process time in the manufacturing stage of a mobile phone or a personal computer camera. It is.

1 is a plan view of an imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1 (A) is a perspective view of the adhesion part, (b) is a sectional view (A) is a top view of the imaging device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, (b) is a principal part perspective view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lens 2 Lens holder 3 Lens barrel 3b Seating part 4 Image pick-up element 5 Protrusion part 6 Light-receiving surface 7 Circuit board 8 Through-hole 9 Adhesive

Claims (2)

  At least a part that is separated from the light receiving surface of the imaging element in a seating portion that sits on the imaging element of the lens barrel, and includes a lens barrel that holds the lens and an imaging element that forms an image of a subject captured by the lens An image pickup apparatus characterized in that a through-hole is provided in the base and the through-hole is filled with an adhesive so that the lens barrel and the image pickup element are integrated. Positioning portions that respectively contact two side surfaces that form one corner of the image sensor are provided on the inner peripheral portion of the lens barrel that surrounds the image sensor, and are separated from the light receiving surface of the image sensor in the seating portion. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least three protrusions that contact the upper surface of the image pickup element are formed in the portion.

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