TW201827849A - Improved proximity sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

An improved proximity sensor of the instant disclosure includes a substrate, an emitter unit, a receiver unit, a packaging unit, and a shielding unit. The substrate has an emitter region and a receiver region. The emitter unit is disposed on the emitter region of the substrate. The receiver unit is disposed on the receiver region of the substrate. The packaging unit includes a first packaging body for covering the emitter unit and a second packaging body for covering the receiver unit. The shielding unit includes a first metal shielding film attached to the external surface of the first packaging body and a second metal shielding film attached to the external surface of the second packaging body, wherein a minimum distance between the first packaging body and the second packaging body ranges from 1 mm to 100 mm. Thereby, the improved proximity sensor can be miniaturized.

Description

 Structural improvement of proximity sensor  

The present invention relates to a proximity sensor, and more particularly to a structural improvement of a proximity sensor that can effectively reduce the volume of the sensor and avoid cross-talk of noise.

Currently, the touch screen is often used in conjunction with an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor. The ambient light sensor is used to adjust the brightness of the screen so that the screen changes with ambient light. Energy-saving and eye-protecting, proximity sensors are used to sense the presence of objects in front. For example, proximity sensors can be combined with smart phones and optically or electromagnetically determined whether the user is close. Answering, in order to trigger the function of the smart phone to temporarily turn off the touch screen during the communication process.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the conventional proximity sensor 100' generally includes a substrate 1', a light emitting unit 2', a light receiving unit 3', a transparent encapsulant 4', and a shielding shell 5 made of a metal material such as stainless steel. Generally, the light emitting unit 2' and the light receiving unit 3' are arranged side by side on the substrate 1', and are respectively covered by a transparent encapsulant 4'. The shielding case 5' has a blocking plate 51' and The two accommodating spaces 52 ′, 53 ′ separated by the baffle plate 51 ′, once the shielding case 5 ′ is coupled to the substrate 1 ′, simultaneously accommodates the light emitting unit 2 ′ and the light receiving unit 3 ′ in the accommodating space. 52', 53', and blocked by the baffle 51' between the light emitting unit 2' and the light receiving unit 3'. The proximity sensor 100' can eliminate interference of external light (e.g., light, sunlight, etc.) by shielding the arrangement of the casing 5', and can avoid crosstalk between the light emitting unit 2' and the light receiving unit 3'.

In order to meet the design requirements of light, thin, short and small electronic products, the volume, thickness and weight of electronic parts in the product also need to be relatively reduced. However, since the conventional proximity sensor 100' is configured with the shielding case 5', it is not only unable to meet the product lightweight requirement, but the thickness of the barrier plate 51' will result in the light emitting unit 2' and the light receiving unit 3'. The spacing cannot be effectively reduced, making it difficult to reduce the size of the sensor.

In addition, from the point of view of mass production of products, the manufacture of the conventional proximity sensor 100' requires the use of a special setting machine to fix the shielding case 5', and the shielding case 5' is generally glued (Fig. Not shown) is fixed on the substrate 1', and the machine is not easy to accurately control the amount of glue and its distribution position. Too much glue will cause the problem of overflowing glue, and the amount of glue is too small or the uniformity of distribution is not easy. This causes the shielding shell 5' to fall off or shift, thereby affecting the shielding effect, and these problems will reduce the product yield.

In summary, how to overcome the above-mentioned defects through the improvement of the structural design has become one of the important topics to be solved by those skilled in the art.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a structural improvement of the proximity sensor that does not require a shielding housing or insert of a metal material to avoid noise interference, in view of the deficiencies of the prior art.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a structural improvement of a proximity sensor, comprising a substrate, a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, a packaging unit, and a shielding unit, the substrate Having a transmitting end region and a receiving end region on a side of the transmitting end region, the transmitting unit is disposed on the transmitting end region, and the receiving unit is disposed on the receiving end region, the packaging unit The first package includes a first package and the second package, the first package covers the transmitting unit, the second package covers the receiving unit, and the shielding unit includes a first package a first metal shielding film on an outer surface of the body and a second metal shielding film formed on an outer surface of the second package, the first metal shielding film having a first corresponding to the emitting unit Opening, the second metal shielding film has a second opening corresponding to the receiving unit, wherein an outer surface of the first package and the second package The minimum distance between the outer surface of less than 50 microns.

Further, each of the first metal shielding film and the second metal shielding film is an electroless metal film.

Further, the material of the electroless metal film is copper, aluminum, silver, gold or a combination thereof.

Further, an outer surface of the first package body includes a first side surface facing the second package body, and an outer surface of the second package body includes a first package body facing the first package body and parallel A second side surface of the first side surface, and the minimum distance is a distance between the first side surface and the second side surface.

Further, the substrate has a trench between the emitting end region and the receiving end region.

Further, a first catalyst layer is formed between the first metal shielding film and the first package body, and the first catalyst layer is formed by avoiding a coverage area of the first opening. On the outer surface of the first package, a second catalyst layer is disposed between the second metal shielding film and the second package, and the second catalyst layer avoids the second A manner of covering the area of the opening is formed on an outer surface of the second package, and the first catalyst layer and the second catalyst layer comprise a catalytic metal.

Further, the catalytic metal is gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt) or ruthenium (Ru).

Further, the first catalyst layer is formed on an outer surface of the first package by a first surface modifying layer, and the second catalyst layer is formed by a second surface modifying layer On the outer surface of the second package.

Further, the transmitting unit is an infrared diode, and the receiving unit is an infrared sensor.

Further, the transmitting unit is a laser diode, and the receiving unit is a laser sensor.

The beneficial effects of the present invention are that the structure of the proximity sensor provided by the embodiment of the present invention can be improved by forming a first metal shielding film on the outer surface of the first package covering the emitting unit, and simultaneously in the package. The second metal shielding film facing the first metal shielding film is formed on the outer surface of the second package covering the receiving unit, which can balance the ambient light shielding and avoid the crosstalk phenomenon between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit. Under the premise, the volume of the sensor is further reduced, wherein the distance between the first package and the second package can be reduced from about 0.5 mm (500 μm) to less than about 0.05 mm (50 μm), that is, the first package The spacing from the second package can be reduced to only about one tenth of the original, or even smaller.

For a better understanding of the features and technical aspects of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings.

(previous technology)

100'‧‧‧ proximity sensor

1'‧‧‧Substrate

2’‧‧‧Light emitting unit

3'‧‧‧Light receiving unit

4'‧‧‧Transparent encapsulant

5'‧‧‧shaded enclosure

51’‧‧‧Baffle

52’, 53’‧‧‧ accommodating space

(this invention)

100‧‧‧ Structural improvement of proximity sensors

1‧‧‧Substrate

11‧‧‧ Launch area

12‧‧‧ Receiving area

13‧‧‧ trench

2‧‧‧ Launching unit

3‧‧‧ receiving unit

4‧‧‧Package unit

41‧‧‧First package

411‧‧‧ first side surface

42‧‧‧Second package

421‧‧‧ second side surface

5‧‧‧Shielding unit

51‧‧‧First metal masking film

511‧‧‧ first opening

52‧‧‧Second metal masking film

521‧‧‧ second opening

D‧‧‧Minimum distance

61‧‧‧First catalyst layer

62‧‧‧Second catalyst layer

71‧‧‧First surface modification layer

72‧‧‧Second surface modification layer

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional proximity sensor.

2 is a side cross-sectional view of a conventional proximity sensor.

3 is a perspective view (I) of a structural improvement of the proximity sensor of the present invention.

4 is a perspective, cross-sectional view showing the structure of the proximity sensor of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational cross-sectional view (1) showing a modification of the proximity sensor of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the structure improvement of the proximity sensor of the present invention (2).

Figure 7 is a side elevational cross-sectional view (ii) of the improved proximity sensor of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a side elevational cross-sectional view (III) of the improved proximity sensor of the present invention.

The following is a description of an embodiment of the present invention relating to "a structural improvement of a proximity sensor" by a specific embodiment, and those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in the specification. The present invention may be carried out or applied in various other specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are merely illustrative and are not intended to be construed in terms of actual dimensions. The following embodiments will further explain the related technical contents of the present invention, but the disclosure is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a modification of the proximity sensor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective cross-sectional view, and FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view. The structural improvement 100 of the proximity sensor of the present invention comprises a substrate 1, a transmitting unit 2, a receiving unit 3, a packaging unit 4 and a shielding unit 5.

The substrate 1 may be a commonly-printed printed circuit board (PCB), but is not limited thereto, and the substrate 1 has a transmitting end region 11 and a receiving end region 12 on the side of the transmitting end region 11, specifically The transmitting end region 11 and the receiving end region 12 are disposed adjacent to each other, and the two are not adjacent to each other, wherein the transmitting unit 2 is fixed to the transmitting end region 11, and the receiving unit 3 is fixed to the receiving end region 12, and the transmitting unit The control circuit of the receiving unit 3 and the receiving unit 3 can be integrated on the substrate 1 for controlling the operations of the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3. It should be noted that the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3 can be respectively fixed on the transmitting end region 11 and the receiving end region 12 by using a common semiconductor packaging process, such as a die-attach process, which will not be described herein. .

Further, the transmitting unit 2 can select a Light Emitting Diode (LED), and the receiving unit 3 can select an optical sensor; that is, the structure of the proximity sensor of the present invention. The improvement 100 is to optically sense whether there is an object or an obstacle in front of it, and therefore, it can be used in a smart phone to judge whether the user is close to answering, but is not limited thereto. For example, it can also be used for a housekeeping robot to determine whether there is furniture or Personnel block their path of travel. In practical applications, the light sensor may be an infrared light emitting diode (IR-LED) or a laser diode. In contrast, the light sensor may be an infrared sensor or a laser sensor. Device.

The package unit 4 is formed of a transparent encapsulating material, which may be an Epoxy system, a Silicone, a Urea resin system, or an acrylic resin system, but is not limited thereto. The package unit 4 includes a first package body 41 and a second package body 42 having a suitable height and thickness, wherein the first package body 41 covers the emission unit 2, and the second package body 42 covers the receiving unit 3. In practical applications, the light-emitting surface of the first package 41 can be designed as an Aspheric Surface, a Cambered Surface, a Parabolic Surface, a Hyperbolic Surface, or a Free Surface (Free-Form). Surface) or the like to enhance the light intensity of the emitting unit 2.

The shielding unit 5 includes a first metal shielding film 51 formed on the outer surface of the first package 41 and a second metal shielding film 52 formed on the outer surface of the second package 42. Specifically, the first And the second metal masking films 51, 52 are sub-micron thick coatings formed by electroless plating covering all exposed surfaces of the first and second packages 41, 42 and extending downward to cover the substrate 1 The side of the substrate 1 in which the bottom surface of the substrate 1 is required to be disposed is not required for light shielding. It is worth mentioning that the conventional light shielding means cannot effectively shield external light and spurious light, and the shielding unit 5 of the present invention can cover the first and second metal shielding films on the side of the substrate 1 51, 52 to prevent light from entering the receiving unit 3 from the outside.

Furthermore, the first and second metal shielding films 51, 52 can avoid signal crosstalk between the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3, for example, the light emitted by the transmitting unit 2 is scattered to the receiving end region 12 to cause the receiving unit 3 Misjudgment can also act as a barrier to shield external sources of interference, such as outside light interference. The first metal shielding film 51 has a first opening 511. The light emitted by the emitting unit 2 can be emitted outward through the first opening 511. The second metal shielding film 52 has a second opening 521 through which the receiving unit 3 can pass. The second opening 521 reflects light. The material of the first and second metal mask films 51, 52 may be any electroless metal such as copper, aluminum, silver, gold or a combination thereof, but is not limited thereto.

It is worth noting that in the conventional proximity sensor, the shielding material of the metal material has a considerable (generally about 100 μm), so that the distance between the emitting end region and the receiving end region (generally around 500 μm) cannot be reduced; The present invention replaces the shielding shell and the insert of the conventional metal material with the first and second metal shielding films 51, 52, since the first and second metal shielding films 51, 52 are metal formed by electroless plating. The film can be made very thin (<1 μm), and the distance between the first package 41 and the second package 42 can be made very small. Specifically, the outer surface of the first package 41 is The minimum distance D between the outer surfaces of the second package body 42 can be reduced to less than 0.05 mm (50 micrometers), whereby the distance between the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3 can be effectively reduced, thereby miniaturizing the sensor. .

Here, the term "minimum distance" means that a first side surface 411 of the first package body 41 facing the second package body 42 and an outer surface of the second package body 42 facing the first package body 41 in the outer surface of the first package body 41 The distance between the second side surfaces 421.

Referring to FIG. 6, a trench 13 may be further formed on the substrate 1 for separating the emitting end region 11 and the receiving end region 12. The trench 13 may interfere with a portion of the light emitted by the emitting unit 2 to avoid scattering thereof. To the receiving end area 12.

Referring to FIG. 7, further, in order to deposit a specific metal on the outer surfaces of the first and second packages 41, 42 to form the first and second metal shielding films 51, 52, the technique employed by the present invention The first catalyst layer 61 is formed on the outer surface of the first package body 41, and a second catalyst layer 62 is formed on the outer surface of the second package body 42, wherein the first and second layers are formed. The catalyst layer 61, 62 contains a catalytic metal such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt) or ruthenium (Ru), and then the ions of the specific metal are reduced by the catalytic metal particles. Deposited on the surfaces of the first and second catalyst layers 61, 62.

In this embodiment, a catalyst material (such as a catalytic ink) containing catalytic metal particles may be printed on the outer surfaces of the first and second packages 41, 42 using a printer, and dried to form a first And the second catalyst layers 61, 62, but the invention is not limited thereto. Incidentally, the first catalyst layer 61 is formed on the outer surface of the first package body 41 by avoiding the coverage area of the first opening 511, and the second catalyst layer 62 is bypassed by the second The cover area of the opening 521 is formed on the outer surface of the second package 42 in a manner.

Referring to FIG. 8 or before forming the first and second catalyst layers 61 and 62, a first surface modifying layer 71 may be formed on the outer surface of the first package 41 to make the first catalyst layer. 61 is passed through the first surface modifying layer 71 to be well bonded to the outer surface of the first package body 41, and at the same time, a second surface modifying layer 72 is formed on the outer surface of the second package body 42 to make the second touch The dielectric layer 62 is bonded to the outer surface of the second package 42 through the second surface modifying layer 72. The materials of the first and second surface modifying layers 71, 72 may be selected from high molecular weight polymers containing germane. , but not limited to this.

[Advantageous Effects of Embodiments]

In summary, the present invention provides an improvement in the structure of the proximity sensor provided by the embodiment of the present invention, which can form a first metal shielding on the outer surface of the first package covering the emitting unit. The film, and at the same time, forms a second metal shielding film facing the first metal shielding film on the outer surface of the second package covering the receiving unit", which can balance the ambient light shielding with the avoidance of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit Under the premise of the crosstalk phenomenon, the volume of the sensor is further reduced, wherein the distance between the first package and the second package can be reduced from about 0.5 mm (500 μm) to less than about 0.05 mm (50 μm).

Furthermore, the first metal shielding film and the second metal shielding film not only cover all exposed surfaces of the first package and the second package, but also extend downward to cover the sides of the substrate, thereby improving the accuracy of the sensor. And sensitivity.

In addition, the present invention replaces the masking shell and the insert of the conventional metal material with the first and second metal shielding films, and the special shielding machine is not required to fix the shielding shell, and the problem of falling off or displacement of the shielding shell is not considered. It is conducive to the improvement of product yield and mass production of products.

The above disclosure is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, any equivalent technical changes made by using the present specification and the contents of the drawings are included in the application of the present invention. Within the scope of the patent.

Claims (10)

 A structural improvement of a proximity sensor, comprising: a substrate having a transmitting end region and a receiving end region on a side of the transmitting end region; a transmitting unit disposed on the transmitting end region; a receiving unit disposed on the receiving end region; a packaging unit including a first package body and a second package body, the first package body covering the emitting unit, the second package body Covering the receiving unit; and a shielding unit including a first metal shielding film formed on an outer surface of the first package and a second metal formed on an outer surface of the second package a masking film, the first metal shielding film has a first opening corresponding to the emitting unit, and the second metal shielding film has a second opening corresponding to the receiving unit; wherein the first package The minimum distance between the outer surface of the body and the outer surface of the second package is less than 50 microns.    The structure of the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the first metal shielding film and the second metal shielding film are each an electroless metal film.    The structural improvement of the proximity sensor according to claim 2, wherein the material of the electroless metal film is copper, aluminum, silver, gold or a combination thereof.    The structural improvement of the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein an outer surface of the first package body includes a first side surface facing the second package body, and an outer surface of the second package body A second side surface facing the first package and parallel to the first side surface is included, and the minimum distance is a distance between the first side surface and the second side surface.    The structural improvement of the proximity sensor of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a groove between the emitting end region and the receiving end region.    The structural improvement of the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the first metal shielding film and the first package body have a first catalyst layer, and the first catalyst layer passes through Opening a covered area of the first opening to form on an outer surface of the first package, and a second catalyst layer between the second metal shielding film and the second package The second catalyst layer is formed on the outer surface of the second package by avoiding the coverage area of the second opening, and the first catalyst layer and the second catalyst layer are included Catalytic metal.    The structural improvement of the proximity sensor according to claim 6, wherein the catalytic metal is gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt) or ruthenium (Ru).    The structural improvement of the proximity sensor according to claim 6, wherein the first catalyst layer is formed on the outer surface of the first package by a first surface modifying layer, the second The catalyst layer is formed on the outer surface of the second package by a second surface modifying layer.    The structure of the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit is an infrared diode, and the receiving unit is an infrared sensor.    The structural improvement of the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit is a laser diode, and the receiving unit is a laser sensor.