KR20130118055A - Camera module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A camera module is provided to facilitate the collection of an optical axis by rotating a holder when assembling the camera module. CONSTITUTION: A camera module includes a lens barrel (110), a holder (111), a sensor housing unit (130), and a PCB (140). The lens barrel is joined to the holder. Rotation guides (133) are formed so that the holder is joined to the sensor housing unit to be rotated. The optical axis is corrected by the rotation of the holder. The PCB is arranged on one side of the sensor housing unit, and an image sensor (141) is mounted on the PCB. Window (131) is formed on the sensor housing unit, and the rotation guides are arranged around the window.

Description

Camera module {CAMERA MODULE}

The present invention relates to a camera module capable of correcting an optical axis.

In general, the camera module can be applied to portable electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a digital camera, a camcorder, and a portable multimedia player. Due to the development of digital camera technology and information storage capacity, the mounting of high specification camera module is becoming common.

Ideally, the camera module is positioned perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens and the image pickup surface of the image sensor. When assembling the actual camera module, the optical axis of the lens may be tilted. For example, when the lens barrel is installed at an inclined angle, when the image sensor is mounted at an angle to the printed circuit board, or when the lens barrel and the image sensor are assembled at an angle, the optical axis may be inclined.

Therefore, the optical axis can be corrected after the camera module is assembled. In this case, the performance of the component may be measured, a correction value may be calculated, and the component may be assembled according to the correction value. As a result, precise and expensive equipment is used to calibrate the optical axis of the camera module, and assembly time may be long.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 2011-0092123 (2011.08.17. Disclosure) discloses a two-axis stage device and a camera module having the same. The camera module may facilitate the alignment of the optical axis with the image sensor during assembly.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a camera module that can easily correct the optical axis.

According to an aspect of the invention, the lens barrel; A holder to which the lens barrel is coupled; A sensor housing configured to form a rotation guide such that the holder is rotatably coupled and to correct an optical axis by rotating the holder; And a printed circuit board disposed on one side of the sensor housing and having an image sensor mounted thereon.

A window may be formed in the sensor housing, and the rotation guide may be disposed around the window.

The outer surface of the rotation guide is formed in the shape of an arc having the same radius in the center of the window, a circular guide groove may be formed in one end of the holder so that the rotation guide is rotatably inserted.

The rotation guide may be disposed around the window.

A plurality of adhesive grooves may be formed along one circumferential direction at one end of the holder.

A fixing groove may be formed in the sensor housing so as to correspond to the adhesive groove.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the optical axis can be easily corrected by rotating the holder when assembling the camera module.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a camera module according to the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view showing the camera module of FIG.
3 is a perspective view illustrating a holder and a sensor housing of the camera module of FIG. 1.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the optical axis of the camera module is corrected.
5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which an optical axis of a camera module is corrected as the holder is rotated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a camera module according to the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a camera module, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a holder and a sensor housing of the camera module.

1 to 3, the camera module may include a lens barrel 110, a holder 120, a sensor housing 130, and a printed circuit board 140.

One or more lenses 111 may be arranged inside the lens barrel 110. Screw lines 113 may be formed on the outer surface of the lens barrel 110. The lens barrel 110 may be formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole.

The lens barrel 110 may be disposed in the holder 120. Holder 120 may be formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole. The screw thread 121 may be formed on the inner surface of the holder 120 to correspond to the screw thread 113 of the lens barrel 110. The lens barrel 110 may be screwed into the holder 120 by being rotated.

One end of the holder 120 may be formed with a circular guide groove 123 along the circumference of the holder 120. The guide groove 123 may be formed stepped at one end of the holder 120. In addition, a plurality of adhesive grooves 125 may be formed along the circumferential direction on one outer surface of the holder 120. The adhesive grooves 125 may be arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction.

The holder 120 may be disposed on one surface of the sensor housing 130. The sensor housing 130 may have a window 131 opened to allow light to pass therethrough. The window 131 may be formed in a rectangular shape having a size smaller than the inner diameter of the lens barrel 110. An infrared filter IRCF may be disposed below the window 131. The infrared filter can prevent the light from passing through.

A rotation guide 133 may be formed on one surface of the sensor housing 130 such that the holder 120 is rotatably coupled. The rotation guide 133 may be disposed around the window 131. The rotation guide 133 may be inserted into the guide groove 123 of the holder 120. When the rotation guide 133 is inserted into the guide groove 123 of the holder 120, the outer surface of the rotation guide 133 may be in close contact with the inner surface of the guide groove 123. Therefore, when the holder 120 is installed in the sensor housing 130, the holder 120 may be prevented from shaking, and thus the holder 120 may be prevented from inclining from one surface of the sensor housing 130. As a result, when the holder 120 is installed in the sensor housing 130, the optical axis may be prevented from tilting or twisting.

The outer surface 133a of the rotation guide 133 may be formed in an arc shape to have the same radius at the center of the window 131. The inner side surface 133b of the rotation guide 133 may form a plane parallel to the circumferential surface of the window 131.

The rotation guide 133 may be disposed at equal intervals around the window 131. For example, the window 131 may be formed in a quadrangular shape, and the rotation guide 133 may be positioned to correspond to each side of the window 131. Since the rotation guide 133 is not disposed at the corner portion of the window 131, the inner diameter of the holder 120 may be reduced. Therefore, the size of the camera module can be reduced.

A fixing groove 135 may be formed on one surface of the sensor housing 130 to correspond to the adhesive groove 125 of the holder 120. A plurality of fixing grooves 135 may be formed along the outer circumference of the holder 120. When the holder 120 is installed in the sensor housing 130, the fixing groove 135 may be disposed below the adhesive groove 125 of the holder 120.

After the holder 120 is installed in the sensor housing 130, an adhesive may be injected into the adhesive groove 125 and the fixing groove 135 to fix the holder 120 to the sensor housing 130. As the adhesive 127, an epoxy resin may be applied. The epoxy resin can be cured by UV light.

Since the adhesive 127 is filled in the adhesive groove 125 and the fixing groove 135, the adhesive groove 125 and the fixing groove 135 may serve to prevent the adhesive 127 from penetrating into the gap. . Since the adhesive does not penetrate into the gap between the holder 120 and the sensor housing 130, it is possible to prevent the holder 120 from being inclined to the sensor housing 130 by the adhesive 127. In addition, since the adhesive 127 may be prevented from penetrating into the gap between the sensor housing 130 and the holder 120, the adhesive may be prevented from invading into the window 131 region.

The printed circuit board 140 may be disposed on one side of the sensor housing 130. The image sensor 141 may be mounted on the printed circuit board 140. The image sensor 141 is electrically connected to the printed circuit board 140 by circuit wiring.

The assembly process of the camera module according to the present invention configured as described above will be described.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the optical axis of the camera module is corrected.

Referring to FIG. 4, an image sensor may be mounted on one surface of the printed circuit board 140. The image sensor 141 may be mounted on the printed circuit board 140 by wire bonding or flip chip bonding. When the image sensor 141 is mounted, the image sensor 141 may be mounted to be inclined on one surface of the printed circuit board 140.

The printed circuit board 140 may be attached to one side of the sensor housing 130 by an adhesive. In this case, the printed circuit board 140 may be packaged to be inclined to the sensor housing 130.

The lens 111 is assembled to the lens barrel 110. In this case, the lens 111 may be assembled inclined to the lens barrel 110.

The lens barrel 110 in which the lens 111 is assembled may be screwed to the holder 120. In this case, the lens barrel 110 may be inclined to the holder 120.

The holder 120 to which the lens barrel 110 is assembled may be coupled to the sensor housing 130. The rotation guide 133 of the sensor housing 130 is inserted into the guide groove 123 of the holder 120. At this time, the outer surface 133a of the rotation guide 133 may be in close contact with the inner surface of the guide groove 123. Accordingly, the holder 120 may prevent the play from occurring in the sensor housing 130.

As described above, one or more of the lens 111, the lens barrel 110, the holder 120, the printed circuit board 140, and the image sensor 141 may be installed to be inclined by a processing error or an assembly tolerance. As the components of the camera module are installed to be inclined, the optical axis may be inclined. The camera module having the tilted optical axis can correct the optical axis as follows. In FIG. 4, the optical axis of the lens is indicated by a dotted line, and the optical axis of the image sensor is illustrated by a solid line.

5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which an optical axis of a camera module is corrected as the holder is rotated.

Referring to FIG. 5, the holder 120 is mounted on the sensor housing 130 to adjust the focus position of the camera module. The rotation guide 133 of the sensor housing 130 may be inserted into the guide groove 123 of the holder 120. At this time, the outer surface 133a of the rotation guide 133 is in close contact with the inner surface of the guide groove 123.

At this time, when some or all of the configuration of the camera module is installed to be inclined, the inclined optical axis of the lens 111 and the inclined optical axis of the image sensor 141 does not coincide.

Rotating the holder 120 finds the position with the optimal resolution of the camera module. The lens 111 may be rotated while the optical axis is inclined while the holder 120 is rotated. At this time, the rotation trajectory of the optical axis may be a thin cone shape. There is a portion of the rotation trajectory that coincides with or maximally coincides with the optical axis of the image sensor 141. Therefore, as the holder 120 is rotated, the optical axis of the lens 111 and the optical axis of the image sensor 141 may be corrected or matched to the maximum.

When the optimum resolution of the camera module is found, the adhesive 127 may be injected into the adhesive groove 125 of the holder 120. The adhesive 127 may flow into the fixing groove 135 through the adhesive groove 125. In this case, the adhesive groove 125 and the fixing groove 135 may prevent the adhesive 127 from penetrating into the gap between the holder 120 and the sensor housing 130. Since the adhesive 127 does not penetrate into the gap between the holder 120 and the sensor housing 130, the holder 120 may be prevented from being inclined to the sensor housing 130 by the adhesive 127.

When the injection of the adhesive 127 into the adhesive groove 125 and the fixing groove 135 is completed, the adhesive 127 may be cured. For example, the adhesive 127 may be irradiated with UV light to cure the adhesive 127. At this time, since the UV light reaches the fixing groove 135 through the adhesive groove 125, the curing time of the adhesive may be shortened.

As described above, the optical axis of the camera module may be corrected while the holder 120 is rotated during the assembly process of the camera module. Therefore, it is not necessary to correct the optical axis of the camera module in the subsequent process, it is possible to reduce the assembly process and assembly time of the camera module.

In addition, since the optical axis is corrected while the holder 120 is rotated, a separate device for correcting the optical axis of the camera module is not required. Thus, the packaging equipment and cost of the camera module can be reduced.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

110: lens barrel 111: lens
120: holder 123: guide groove
125: adhesive groove 130: sensor housing
131: Window 133: rotation guide
133a: outer side 135: fixing groove
140: printed circuit board 141: image sensor

Claims (6)

Lens barrel;
A holder to which the lens barrel is coupled;
A sensor housing configured to form a rotation guide such that the holder is rotatably coupled and to correct an optical axis by rotating the holder; And
A camera module disposed on one side of the sensor housing, comprising a printed circuit board mounted with an image sensor.
The method of claim 1,
A window is formed in the sensor housing,
The rotation guide is a camera module, characterized in that arranged around the window.
The method of claim 1,
The outer surface of the rotation guide is formed in the shape of an arc having the same radius at the center of the window,
Camera holder, characterized in that the circular guide groove is formed at one end of the holder so that the rotation guide is rotatably inserted.
The method of claim 3, wherein
The rotation guide is a camera module, characterized in that a plurality of arranged around the window.
5. The method of claim 4,
Camera module, characterized in that a plurality of adhesive grooves are formed in the outer surface of one end of the holder in the circumferential direction.
The method of claim 5, wherein
The sensor housing is characterized in that the fixing groove is formed to correspond to the adhesive groove.

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