KR20200114164A - Camera module type sensor apparatus and camera module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a camera module-type sensor device capable of maximizing space utilization by installing a proximity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance image sensor, and a lighting device in a lens housing of a camera module; and a camera module. The camera module type sensor device may comprise: at least one sensor unit or light emitting unit installed in a lens housing of the camera module; and a signal transmission medium transmitting an electrical signal to the sensor unit or the light emitting unit.

Description

Camera module type sensor apparatus and camera module TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a camera module-type sensor device and a camera module, and more particularly, a camera capable of maximizing space utilization by installing a proximity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance image sensor, and a lighting device in the lens housing of the camera module. It relates to a modular sensor device and a camera module.

In a smart device such as a smart phone or a smart pad, various proximity sensor devices may be installed under the display in order to measure the distance of a spaced object such as a face, hand, or hair.

Conventional proximity sensor devices, which can be installed under a display such as an LCD or OLED according to a trend of minimizing a bezel, include a light emitting unit capable of emitting irradiation light for distance sensing, and the irradiation light. A light receiving unit capable of receiving the reflected light reflected from the object by means of a light receiving unit, and a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the object using the intensity difference or time difference between the irradiated light and the reflected light, time of flight (TOF), etc. can do.

For example, when the object has a simple shape such as a plane or a face, the distance measurement of the object is a function of the distance between the object and the light emitting unit when the irradiation light emits light of a certain intensity. As a result, the shorter the distance between the object and the light emitting unit, the stronger the reflected light, and the distance of the object can be estimated from this. To measure the distance of an object with a more complicated shape, the TOF (Time of Flight) method, which measures the distance between the light emitting part and the object and the light receiving part, by irradiating the light emitting part at a specific time and measuring the change over time of reflected light reflected from the object There is this.

However, such a conventional proximity sensor device, when a proximity sensor device is installed under the displayer installed in a smart phone, etc., is generated in the light emitting unit but does not pass through the displayer, and is reflected on the surface of the displayer. A crosstalk phenomenon occurs in which internally reflected light is received by the light receiving unit, and thus there is a problem of acting as noise when measuring a distance.

In addition, there are many problems, such as a flicker phenomenon in which the screen flickers due to the photoelectric effect of the LTPS (low temperature poly-silicon) of a display such as OLED, for example, in the interference light reflected from the object.

Meanwhile, a conventional camera module requires a lens housing to fix the lens. This lens housing serves to stably protect the lens and adjusts the distance between the image element and the lens so that the focus of the lens can be aligned. Not only can it play a role, but it also protects the lens and prevents unnecessary light from entering the lens, so a ring-shaped external exposed surface is required.

However, in the related art, since nothing is installed in the lens housing, there is a problem that it was wasted as a dead space.

In the present invention, a proximity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance image sensor, and a lighting device are installed in the lens housing of a camera module to maximize space utilization, thereby preventing a conventional crosstalk phenomenon or a flicker phenomenon. It is intended to provide a camera module type sensor device and a camera module that can greatly improve the performance and reliability of the product. However, these problems are exemplary, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

A camera module type sensor device according to the present invention for solving the above problem includes at least one sensor unit or a light emitting unit installed in a lens housing of the camera module; And a signal transmission medium for transmitting an electrical signal to the sensor unit or the light emitting unit.

In addition, according to the present invention, the sensor unit may be installed at a position corresponding to a circular camera hole from which the display area is removed from at least a portion of the display device.

In addition, according to the present invention, the lens housing may be a ring-shaped lens barrel surrounding the lens of the camera module or a guide ring to which the lens is fixed.

In addition, according to the present invention, the sensor unit includes at least one or more of a proximity sensor that detects the proximity of a user or an object, an illuminance sensor that detects illumination, a distance image sensor that can image a distance, and combinations thereof. can do.

In addition, according to the present invention, the sensor unit, the light emitting unit for generating measurement light; And a light receiving unit configured to receive the reflected light of the object by the measurement light.

In addition, according to the present invention, the light emitting unit may be installed on one side of the camera module with respect to the lens, and the light receiving unit may be installed on the opposite side of the lens.

In addition, the camera modular sensor device according to the present invention may further include a substrate on which the sensor unit is mounted and a wiring layer electrically connected to the signal transmission medium is formed.

In addition, according to the present invention, the signal transmission medium is a flexible cable or a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) connected to the substrate, and the substrate has a ring shape formed to surround the periphery of the lens. It may be a printed circuit board (PCB) or a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB).

In addition, according to the present invention, the sensor unit may further include a driver for controlling the light-emitting unit or the light-receiving unit, or an ASIC for processing a signal of the light-receiving unit.

In addition, the camera module type sensor device according to the present invention may further include at least one lighting device installed in the lens housing of the camera module.

In addition, according to the present invention, the substrate connection part of the signal transmission medium, the light emitting part of the sensor part, the light receiving part of the sensor part, and the lighting device may be disposed at an angle of 90 degrees relative to the lens.

Further, according to the present invention, the lighting device may include at least one white LED.

Further, according to the present invention, the light emitting unit may include at least one of at least one infrared LED, an infrared laser, and an infrared vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL).

Further, according to the present invention, the light receiving unit may be installed near the image element of the camera module so as to detect the reflected light passing through the lens.

In addition, according to the present invention, the image element may be provided with an infrared cut filter to block the reflected light in the form of infrared rays.

On the other hand, the camera module according to the idea of the present invention for solving the above problem may include a camera module type sensor device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention made as described above, a proximity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a distance image sensor, a lighting device, etc. may be installed in the lens housing of the camera module to maximize space utilization, through which conventional crosstalk By preventing the phenomenon or flicker phenomenon, the performance and reliability of the product can be greatly improved, the number of parts or the space occupied by the parts can be reduced, and the assembly process can be simplified to greatly reduce the production cost or production cost. To have. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these effects.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a smart device in which a camera module is installed according to some embodiments of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of parts showing the camera module type sensor device and the camera module of FIG. 1.
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the camera module type sensor device of FIG. 2.
4 is a plan view showing an example of the camera module type sensor device of FIG. 2.
5 is a plan view showing another example of the camera module type sensor device of FIG. 2.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating state of the camera module type sensor device of FIG. 2.
7 is a plan view showing a substrate of the camera module type sensor device of FIG. 2.
8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a camera module type sensor device and a camera module according to some other embodiments of the present invention.
9 is a side view showing the camera module type sensor device of FIG. 8.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and the following embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is provided to fully inform you. In addition, in the drawings for convenience of description, the size of the components may be exaggerated or reduced.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a smart device 2000 in which a camera module is installed according to some embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded part showing the camera modular sensor device 100 and the camera module 1000 of FIG. 1 It is a perspective view.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a smart device 2000 in which a camera module according to some embodiments of the present invention is installed includes a body 2100 and a display module coupled to the body 2100 ( 2200) and a camera module 1000 coupled therebetween.

Here, for example, the smart device 2000 can be applied to all electronic products in which the camera module 1000 is installed, such as a laptop, a camcorder or a monitor, as well as a smart phone, a smart pad, a smart camera.

In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the display module 2200 includes a display device (D) in which a tempered glass (G) is installed in the front and a circular camera hole (CH) is formed in the rear from which the display area is removed. ) May be a modular component to be installed.

More specifically, for example, in the display device D, in order to minimize the bezel, the camera hole CH is formed inside a corner area or an edge area of the display area, and of course, the camera hole CH portion The video cannot be played back, but the display area can be made larger.

The present invention has been illustrated to be applied to the display device D for description, but is not limited thereto, and may be applied to a conventional camera module and all electronic products in which the camera module is installed.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing the camera module type sensor device 100 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of the camera module type sensor device 100 of FIG. 2.

3 and 4, the camera modular sensor device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention largely includes a sensor unit 10, a signal transmission medium 20, and a control unit 30. Can include.

For example, the sensor unit 10 is installed on a part of the lens housing LH of the camera module 1000, that is, on an external exposed surface of the lens housing LH that can be visually identified through the tempered glass G More specifically, for example, the sensor unit 10 may be installed at a position corresponding to the circular camera hole CH from which the display area is removed from at least a portion of the display device D.

More specifically, for example, the sensor unit 10 includes at least a proximity sensor that detects the approach of a user or an object, an illuminance sensor that detects illuminance, a distance image sensor that can image a distance, and combinations thereof. It may contain more than one.

Here, the lens housing (LH) is a ring-shaped lens barrel (lens barrel) surrounding the lens (L) of the camera module (1000) or a guide ring (guide ring) to which the lens (L) is fixed. I can.

In addition, for example, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the sensor unit 10, the light emitting unit 11 generating the measurement light (L1) and the object 1 by the measurement light (L1) It may include a light receiving unit 12 for receiving the reflected light (L2).

Here, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in order to secure the distance between the light emitting unit 11 and the light receiving unit 12 as much as possible within a minimum space, the light emitting unit 11 is the camera module 1000 ) Is installed on one side of the lens L as a reference, and the light receiving unit 12 may be installed on the opposite side with respect to the lens L.

In addition, for example, the sensor unit 10 includes various drivers for controlling the light emitting unit 11 or the light receiving unit 12 or signals from the light receiving unit 12 in addition to the light emitting unit 11 and the light receiving unit 12 It may further include Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for processing. In addition, various electronic components or chips may be included.

In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the signal transmission medium 20 transmits an electrical signal to the sensor unit 10, and more specifically, the signal transmission medium 20, It may be a flexible cable connected to the substrate 40 or a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB).

In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 30 may use the signal transmission medium 20 to control the sensor unit 10, a microprocessor, a circuit unit, a memory, or a central Various electronic components such as processing devices and computing devices can be applied.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating state of the camera module type sensor device 100 of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 6, when explaining the operation process of the camera modular sensor device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention, the camera modular sensor device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention The sensor unit 10 may include at least one or more of a proximity sensor that detects the approach of a user or an object, an illuminance sensor that detects illumination, a distance image sensor that can image a distance, and combinations thereof. As such, the sensor unit 10 is a ring-shaped lens barrel surrounding the lens L of the camera module 1000 or a guide ring to which the lens L is fixed, etc. Since it is installed in the lens housing (LH) of, the light receiving part 12 can receive the reflected light L2 of the object 1 by the measurement light L1 generated from the light emitting part 11 Through this, the control unit 30 may calculate or image the distance to the object 1.

At this time, the measurement light L1 and the reflected light L2 may pass through the camera hole CH to emit or receive light outside, and do not affect the display device D as in the related art. Various noise phenomena such as crosstalk and flicker can be prevented, and space utilization can be maximized by installing proximity sensors, illumination sensors, distance image sensors, and lighting devices in the lens housing of the camera module.

In addition, through this, the performance and reliability of the product can be greatly improved, the number of parts or the space occupied by the parts can be reduced, and the assembly process can be simplified to greatly reduce the production cost or production cost.

5 is a plan view showing another example of the camera module type sensor device 100 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the substrate 40 of the camera module type sensor device 100 of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, in the camera modular sensor device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention, the sensor unit 10 is mounted, and the signal transmission medium 20 is electrically A substrate 40 on which the interconnection layer 41 to be connected is formed may be further included.

More specifically, for example, the substrate 40 may be a ring-shaped printed circuit board (PCB) or a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) formed in a shape surrounding the lens L.

In addition, for example, the camera modular sensor device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention further includes at least one lighting device 50 installed in the lens housing LH of the camera module 1000 can do.

Accordingly, the substrate connection part 60 of the signal transmission medium 20, the light emitting part 11 of the sensor part 10, the light receiving part 12 of the sensor part 10, and the lighting device 50 are Each of the lenses L may be disposed at a 90 degree angle.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the light emitting unit 11 and the light receiving unit 12 are as far away as possible in a limited space, and at the same time, a lighting device 50 is installed on one side of the camera module ( It is possible to take a clear photo image or video by allowing a sufficient amount of light to be received by the image element (E) of 1000), and by configuring the substrate connection part 60 of the signal transmission medium 20 in the other direction Alternatively, an electrically optimized flexible substrate may be configured.

Here, for example, the light-emitting unit 10 includes at least one or more of an infrared LED, an infrared laser, and an infrared vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) for generating an infrared ray for distance sensing, and the lighting device 50, It may include at least one white LED for generating at least one white light for photographing lighting.

That is, in FIGS. 2 to 7, one light emitting unit 10 and one lighting device 50 are illustrated, but in addition, a plurality of light emitting units 10 and a plurality of light emitting units 10 are alternately arranged at an equal angle. The lighting devices 50 may be installed in the lens housing LH.

On the other hand, the present invention may include a camera module 1000 including the camera module type sensor device 100 described above, and in addition, may include a smart device 2000 having the camera module 1000 of the present invention. have.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the camera modular sensor device 200 and the camera module 1100 according to some other embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a camera module type sensor device 200 and a camera module ( 1100).

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the light receiving unit 12 of the camera module type sensor device 200 according to some other embodiments of the present invention may be installed inside the camera module 1100, The lens housing has the light emitting part 11 installed on the upper surface, and the light receiving part 12 detects the reflected light L2 passing through the lens L. The image inside the camera module 1100 It may be installed near the element E.

In this case, since the image element E does not need to photograph the reflected light L2, in particular, an infrared cut filter F (IR cut filter) may be installed to block the reflected light L2 in the infrared form. have.

Accordingly, the image element E may capture visible light except for the infrared reflected light L2, and the light receiving unit 12 may measure a distance using the infrared reflected light L2. Therefore, in terms of space utilization, the areas of the light-emitting unit 11 and the light-receiving unit 12 can be minimized.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings, this is only exemplary, and those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

1: object
L: lens
LH: Lens housing
E: image element
10: sensor unit
11: light emitting part
12: light receiving unit
L1: measurement light
L2: reflected light
20: signal transmission medium
30: control unit
D: display device
G: tempered glass
CH: Camera Hall
40: substrate
41: wiring layer
50: lighting device
60: board connection
F: infrared cut filter
100, 200: Camera modular sensor device
1000, 1100: camera module
2000: smart device
2100: body
2200: display module

Claims (16)

At least one sensor unit or a light emitting unit installed in the lens housing of the camera module; And
A signal transmission medium for transmitting an electrical signal to the sensor unit or the light emitting unit;
Containing, the camera modular sensor device. The method of claim 1,
The sensor unit is installed at a position corresponding to a circular camera hole from which the display area has been removed from at least a portion of the display device. The method of claim 1,
The lens housing is a ring-shaped lens barrel surrounding the lens of the camera module or a guide ring to which the lens is fixed. The method of claim 1,
The sensor unit includes at least one or more of a proximity sensor that detects the proximity of a user or an object, an illuminance sensor that detects illuminance, a distance image sensor that can image a distance, and combinations thereof. . The method of claim 1,
The sensor unit,
The light emitting unit generating measurement light; And
A light receiving unit configured to receive reflected light of the object by the measurement light;
Containing, the camera modular sensor device. The method of claim 5,
The light emitting part is installed on one side of the camera module relative to the lens, and the light receiving part is installed on the opposite side of the lens. The method of claim 1,
A substrate on which the sensor unit is mounted and a wiring layer electrically connected to the signal transmission medium is formed;
The camera module type sensor device further comprising. The method of claim 7,
The signal transmission medium is a flexible cable or a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) connected to the substrate,
The substrate is a ring-shaped printed circuit board (PCB) or a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) formed to surround the periphery of the lens. The method of claim 5,
The sensor unit further comprises a driver for controlling the light-emitting unit or the light-receiving unit, or an ASIC for processing a signal of the light-receiving unit. The method of claim 1,
At least one lighting device installed in the lens housing of the camera module;
Further comprising a, camera modular sensor device. The method of claim 10,
The substrate connection part of the signal transmission medium, the light emitting part of the sensor part, the light-receiving part of the sensor part, and the lighting device are disposed at a 90 degree angle with respect to the lens. The method of claim 11,
The lighting device includes at least one white LED, a camera module type sensor device. The method of claim 5,
The light emitting unit includes at least one of an infrared LED, an infrared laser, and an infrared vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). The method of claim 5,
The light-receiving unit is installed near the image element of the camera module so as to detect the reflected light passing through the lens. The method of claim 14,
The camera module type sensor device in which an infrared cut filter is installed in the image element to block the reflected light in an infrared form. A camera module comprising a camera modular sensor device according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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