WO2011082715A1

WO2011082715A1 - A camera for a motor vehicle and a method for manufacturing such a camera

Info

Publication number: WO2011082715A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/000046
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mark Shaw; Marwin Villacin; John Fahey; Udo Splettstoesser
Original assignee: Valeo Schalter Und Sensoren Gmbh
Priority date: 2010-01-08
Filing date: 2010-01-08
Publication date: 2011-07-14
Also published as: EP2368360A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a camera for a motor vehicle comprising a housing (2) and electronic components that are arranged on a circuit board (7) in said housing (2), said circuit board (7) having two partial carriers (8, 9) that are arranged one on top of the other and spaced apart within the housing (2) when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A) of the housing (2) and are electrically connected by means of a flexible connector (10). The invention also relates to a motor vehicle comprising a camera (1) and a method for manufacturing a corresponding camera (1).

Description

A Camera for a Motor Vehicle and a Method for Manufacturing such a Camera

The invention relates to a camera for a motor vehicle, the camera comprising a housing and electronic components that are arranged on a circuit board within the housing.

Moreover, the invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising such camera and to a method for manufacturing such camera for a motor vehicle.

In modern motor vehicles cameras are integrated that are designed for capturing the surroundings of the motor vehicle and provide information in this regard. Such information may for instance be made available to the driver assistance systems. In this connection cameras are known that are arranged for instance the exterior mirrors or within the front bumper and are designed for capturing the surroundings of the vehicle in front of the vehicle and/or to its sides. Moreover, cameras are known that are arranged for instance on the exterior mirrors and designed for capturing objects for instance in a blind angle of the vehicle. Such cameras need to be of relatively compact design and for this purpose have as small as possible housings. Besides, these externally mounted cameras are exposed to the most varied environmental influences and therefore need to be extremely robust with regard to their functionality and need to work reliably. The very reduction of constructed space is reduced in commonly known cameras, as the circuit boards used therein are relatively large and further potential for reduction therefore is not given.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a camera for a motor vehicle, a motor vehicle comprising a camera, as well as a method for manufacturing such camera allowing for a further reduction of the size of the camera.

This object is achieved by a camera having the features according to claim 1 , a motor vehicle according to claim 9, and a method having the features according to claim 10. A camera for a motor vehicle according to the invention comprises a housing in which electronic components of the camera are arranged on a circuit board. Both the circuit board as well as these electronic components therefore are located within the housing. The circuit board is composed of two partial carriers that are arranged one on top of the other and spaced apart from each other within the housing, when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the housing, and are electrically connected by means of a flexible connector. Such design thus allows for a stacking of individual partial carriers of the overall circuit board, so that in this regard an essential reduction of the constructed space with regard to the width of the camera is facilitated. Moreover, the design comprising a flexible connector between the partial carriers also facilitates the required electrical contacting and signal transmission between the partial carriers, so that in this regard also a specific position adjustment between the partial carriers due to the flexibility of the connector is ensured. Such specifically designed circuit board allows for essentially reducing the size of the camera with its housing.

Preferably, the camera is arranged in the exterior area of the vehicle and in this regard is for instance arranged within or on an exterior mirror or on a bumper. The camera is designed in particular for capturing the environment of the vehicle.

In an advantageous way the two partial carriers are of both shape and sizewise equal design. Thereby a particular reduction of constructed space can be achieved, as none of the two partial carriers is larger, so that, in this regard, too, no increase in size in the direction of width of the housing is required.

In particular the partial carriers with regard to their mechanical design have a rigid design in contrast to the flexible connector. They are therefore inflexible and unlike the connector are not bendable. Thereby in a mechanically stable and protected manner the

incorporation of the most varied electronic components is reliably and securely ensured without the bending of a partial carrier possibly damaging these or at least partially detaching these from the partial carrier.

The two partial carriers are designed as sheet-like elements, wherein the connector is essentially designed as a connector strip.

The electronic components in this connection may comprise components for a control unit, components for an image recording and/or image processing unit and the like. In a particularly advantageous way it is provided that the partial carrier and the connector are integrally formed as a single piece from a basic carrier provided for forming the circuit board. This means that there are not several separate parts that are assembled, but that there is only a single basic carrier given that facilitates the manufacture of the partial carriers and the connector from this single basic carrier by way of processing. Thereby a particularly precise and clearance-free design and connection of these components of the circuit board can be maintained and the flexibility of the connector thus is rendered quasi automatically when processing the basic carrier. Connecting points added later are avoidable by way of this design. Thereby also additional manufacturing effort is avoided. In particular, though, additional connecting points are avoided that are susceptible to wear and tear and that - due to the exterior use of the camera - may for instance oxidize or turn brittle or come loose.

In particular the basic carrier is formed from a plurality of layers of different materials comprising electrically insulated layers and electrically conductive layers.

Particularly advantageous is the fact that the connector is formed by way of local removal of material from the basic carrier. Above all it thus is provided that through a specific processing of the material of the basic carrier in specific places some of the layers of the basic carrier are removed, so that in this regard the flexible connector can be

manufactured in an extremely precise way.

In particular it is provided that removal of material is performed both on the top surface as well as on the bottom surface of the basic carrier. Such design can ensure that the conductive layers within the flexible connector then required for signal transmission are additionally coated on both sides by protective layers, and that this also applies to those sections in the partial carriers. Due to the layered set-up of the basic carrier it thus can be ensured that this particular design of the connector comprising removal of material on both sides this connector automatically also extends integrally into the partial carriers and is protected against wear and tear within the partial carriers by the further layers existing there on the top and bottom sides. Thereby the particular conceptual design of flexibility, on the one hand, and the mechanically stable connection, on the other hand, can be maintained, and a safe and reliable as well as low-wear and robust signal transmission can be ensured. Particularly in the case of an exterior use of the camera thus the most varied environmental influences can be accommodated and in this regard a particularly robust and low-wear design of the circuit board be facilitated. In particular, it is provided that the partial carriers on the sides facing each other have a protrusion each and that the connector is formed adjacent to the protrusions. By this design it is thus achieved that in the inserted state of the circuit board into the housing the two partial carriers form quasi stops for the internal wall of the housing, thereby quasi providing a certain protection for the flexible connector. By means of these protrusions which do not extend over the entire depth of a partial carrier - viewed in the direction of the depth - thus a clearance is created within which the connector can then extend and moreover can also extend downwards in the longitudinal direction towards the other partial carrier. By way of this specific positioning and design of the partial carriers as well as the specific positioning of the connector it is arranged in a particularly protected way, so that it is protected against undesired crushing, undesired bending, and undesired kicking.

Particularly preferably, it is provided that the connector is formed from an FR4 material. An FR4 material is a basic material for manufacturing a circuit board comprising epoxy resin and glass fibre tissue. An FR (flame retardant) material, moreover, with regard to a very specific removal of material ensures a very specific desired flexibility and, moreover, is a very cost-efficient and robust material.

Preferably, the partial carriers are stacked within the housing. This is in particular designed in such a way that the partial carriers are arranged essentially in parallel to each other and a mutual approaching beyond this parallel orientation cannot occur. Such design of a spacer, however, may moreover provide that the two partial carriers move apart from each other, which could occur due to the design of the connector.

Preferably, it therefore is provided that the camera also has a position-securing element for securing the mutual position of the partial carriers, so that an undesired moving apart of the partial carriers is avoided. In particular it preferably is provided that the spacer at the same time is the position-securing element and thus within a single component these several functions are ensured.

Preferably, it is provided that a spacer is fixedly mounted on the top surface of the bottom partial carrier. For spacing and in particular also for securing the mutual position of the two partial carriers it then is provided for instance that the top free end of this spacer is inserted into a recess of the top partial carrier and then keeps this position. For instance an accurately fitting plug-in connector or a lock-in connector or the like may here be provided.

Preferably, at least two such spacers and/or position-securing elements are provided.

Moreover, the invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising such camera according to the invention or an advantageous embodiment thereof.

Further, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing a camera for a motor vehicle in which a circuit board is incorporated in a housing of a camera. The circuit board is designed to be composed of two partial carriers that are electrically connected by means of a flexible connector, wherein the partial carriers are arranged one on top of the other in the longitudinal direction of the housing and are assembled within the housing in this piggyback position. Such assembly allows for a space-efficient camera design in particular with regard to breadth and depth. By the very arrangement of a camera in the exterior area of a vehicle, the space needed for such cameras - that is limited, anyway - can thus be kept to a minimum, and the camera be mounted in an space-efficient way.

Preferably, for integrally forming the circuit board as a single piece a basic carrier is provided as an inflexible sheet and for forming the flexible connector on each top surface and/or on each bottom surface of the basic carrier a multitude of layers of the basic carrier composed of a plurality of layers are removed, wherein these are removed in particular by way of laser material processing and thus by means of laser light.

Advantageous embodiments of the camera according to the invention are to be regarded as advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention.

Further features of the invention may be gathered from the claims, the figures, and the description of the figures. The features and feature combinations previously mentioned in the description as well as the features and feature combinations named solely in the description of the figures as well as the features and feature combinations solely shown in the figures cannot only be used in the combination indicated in each case, but also in any other combination or taken alone, without leaving the scope of the invention.

An embodiment of the invention in the following is explained in more detail by referring to schematic drawings. These show:

Fig. 1 A perspective view of an embodiment of a camera according to the

invention in the assembled state;

Fig. 2 an exploded view of the camera according to Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 a perspective view of the circuit board of the camera according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in a first position;

Fig. 4 a schematic view of a section through a circuit board of the camera

according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in the final assembled position;

Fig. 5 a perspective view of the circuit board in the unstacked state of the partial carrier; and

Fig. 6 a schematic view of a section through a basic carrier for manufacturing the circuit board with already formed flexible connector.

In the figures same elements or elements of the same function are provided with the same reference signs.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a camera 1 for a motor vehicle in the assembled state. The camera 1 in particular is formed on an external surface of the vehicle, for instance on an exterior mirror or a bumper, and is designed for capturing the environment of the vehicle. The camera 1 is designed for generating images and is sensitive within the spectral range visible to human beings.

The camera 1 comprises a housing 2 having a cover 3 that is screwed together with a reception element 4 of the housing 2. On the bottom side of the reception element 4 is arranged at least one optical element 5, which is a lens. In the housing 2 is arranged a circuit board which is indiscernible in Fig. 1 and which has a plurality of electronic components. For instance in the housing 2 may also be arranged a control unit and/or a unit for recording and/or processing images. Moreover, a connector 6 is formed on the top surface of the camera 1. Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the camera 1. The circuit board 7 can be discerned, the circuit board having a first top partial carrier 8 and a second bottom partial carrier 9. The two partial carriers 8 and 9 that - viewed in the direction of the longitudinal axis A of the camera 1 - are in a stacked arrangement within the housing 2, are connected by means of a flexible connector 10 both mechanically as well as electrically. The signal lines required for exchanging signals between the partial carriers 8 and 9 are integrated within the connector 10 which is formed from FR4 material.

The circuit board 7 with its two partial carriers 8 and 9 that - unlike the flexible connector 10 - are of rigid and bend-proof design are manufactured from a single basic carrier and thus are integrally formed as a single piece.

The two partial carriers 8 and 9 in their final assembly position within the housing 2 are arranged in such a way that the partial carriers 8 and 9 are orientated quasi in parallel to each other.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the circuit board 7 with the two partial carriers 8 and 9. This shows a position in which the top partial carrier 8 is folded up and thus does not show the final assembly position of the circuit board 7 or the final relative position of the two partial carriers 8 and 9 in the assembled state. The representation in Fig. 3 is shown for an enhanced understanding of the components on the bottom second partial carrier 9, the top first partial carrier 8 being folded up for this purpose. Moreover, the flat connector 10 forming an arch between the two partial carriers 8 and 9 is shown.

Besides a plurality of electronic components, on the top surface 9a of the bottom second partial carrier 9 spacers 11 , 12, and 13 are fixedly mounted. The spacers 11 to 13 are positioned in various places in spaced-apart arrangement and in the exemplary embodiment additionally serve also as position-securing elements. By this design through any one single component a multiple functionality is achieved. This is because with regard to the positioning of the two partial carriers 8 and 9 in the y direction and thus in the direction of the longitudinal axis A a defined mutual local positioning of these two components is ensured. On the one hand, the spacers 11 to 13 have a height, so that in the final assembly position of the circuit board 7 within the housing 2 the two partial carriers 8 and 9 are arranged in parallel to each other and cannot mutually approach each other any further. Thereby, both damage to the electronic components of the individual partial carriers 8 and 9 as well as damage to the partial carriers 8 and 9 themselves can be prevented. Moreover, through the functionality of position securing it is also ensured that the partial carriers 8 and 9 cannot detach from each other, and that in the assembled state an arrangement as it is shown in Fig. 3 does not occur. An undesired folding apart of the two partial carriers 8 and 9 thus can be ensured by the position securing

functionality. For this purpose, the spacers 11 to 13 at their top free ends have position- securing portions 11a, 12a, and 13a that engage holes 14, 15, and 16 of the top first partial carrier 8 and in this regard are insertable to fit accurately. Thereby then the parallel position of the partial carriers 8 and 9 relative to each other is securely kept.

Fig. 4 is an exemplary schematic view of a section through the circuit board 7 in the assembled final position within the housing 2. As can be discerned, the two partial carriers 8 and 9 extend spaced apart and in parallel to each other. Moreover, it can be seen that the connector 10 extends in the form of an arch between the partial carriers 8 and 9 and moreover continues to extend also integrally further into the partial carriers 8 and 9.

Moreover, it can be seen that the two partial carriers 8 and 9 at their left outer edges have protrusions 17 and 18. As can also be seen from the representation according to Fig. 3, these protrusions 17 and 18 - viewed in the direction of the depth and thus in the z direction of the circuit board 7 - extend only across part of the entire depth of the partial carriers 8 and 9, the flexible connector 10 being formed adjacent thereto in the z direction. Through such design of the partial carriers 8 and 9 with protrusions 17 and 18 and the adjacent arrangement of the flexible connector 10 a clearance is created in the z direction within which this flexible connector 10 can extend in a shock-protected manner. In the assembled state within the housing 2 the protrusions 17 and 18 namely prevent the circuit board 7 from shifting out of the desired place within the x-z plane and prevent the connector 10 from hitting the interior wall of the housing harder than desired and from deforming in an undesired way. The protrusions 17 and 18 also serve as stoppers.

As can further be seen from the representation according to Fig. 4, the curvature and the arch-shaped design of the connector 10 is such that the maximum of the arch does not extend beyond the protrusions 17 and 18 towards the left, and thus is maximally flush with the side edges 17a and 18a of the protrusions 17 and 18.

Fig. 5 in a perspective view shows the circuit board 7 with the electronic components mounted thereon in a state in which the stacking of the partial carriers 8 and 9 has not yet been completed and the connector 10 not yet been bent. The partial carriers 8 and 9 in this embodiment are still positioned adjacent to each other. Moreover, in this design it is provided that the spacers 11 to 13 are arranged on the bottom surface of the first partial carrier 8.

For forming the final assembly position as shown in Fig. 4 in the representation according to Fig. 5 then the top partial carrier 8 is bent upwards and the spacers 11 to 13 are inserted into the recesses provided for this purpose in the partial carrier 9.

With regard to the manufacture of the circuit board 7 reference is made to the schematic representation in Fig. 6. For forming this circuit board 7 a basic carrier 7' is provided that - according to the representation shown in Fig. 6 - is composed of a plurality of layers. The layers comprise electrically conductive layers that are separated from each other by electrically insulating layers. Starting from these multi-layered basic carrier T the connector 10 is then formed by way of laser material processing in specific places of this basic carrier 7'. As can be discerned in the representation according to Fig. 6, for this purpose removal of material is performed both on the top surface 71 and on the bottom surface 72, so that, while the connector 10 is still composed of a multitude of layers, it is clearly thinner than the partial carriers 8 and 9. The material of the basic carrier T is FR4. By way of manufacturing and processing a single-piece, sheet-like element in this way a relatively rigid and stable design of the two partial carriers 8 and 9 and a partly flexible or rigid-flexible design of the thinner connector 10 are thus achieved. In particular the kind of flexibility given allows for a bending and forming as well as positioning according to the representation in Fig. 4 without damaging the components and the individual layers.

Claims

1. A camera for a motor vehicle, comprising a housing (2) and electronic components that are arranged on a circuit board (7) within said housing (2),

characterized in that

said circuit board (7) has two partial carriers (8, 9) that are arranged one on top of the other and spaced apart within said housing (2) when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A) of said housing (2) and are electrically connected by means of a flexible connector (10).

2. A camera according to claim 1 ,

characterized in that

said partial carriers (8, 9) and said connector (10) are integrally formed as a single piece from a basic carrier (7') provided for forming said circuit board (7), in particular formed from a plurality of different material layers.

3. A camera according to claim 2,

characterized in that

said connector (10) by way of local removal of material, in particular of several of the layers of said basic carrier (7'), are formed from said basic carrier (7').

4. A camera according to one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

said partial carriers (8, 9) on the sides facing each other in the unstacked state have a protrusion (17, 18) each and said connector (10) is formed adjacent to said protrusions (17, 18).

5. A camera according to claim 4,

characterized in that

an arched section of said connector (10) in the assembled state of said circuit board (7) in said housing (2) extends outwardly maximally up to the edge (17a, 18a) of said protrusions (17, 8).

6. A camera according to one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

the connector is formed from FR4 material.

7. A camera according to one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that

a spacer (11 to 13) is arranged between said partial carriers (8, 9) that are in spaced-apart and stacked arrangement.

8. A camera according to claim 7,

characterized in that

the spacer (11 to 13) is also formed as position securing element for securing the position of said partial carriers (8, 9) relative to each other.

9. A motor vehicle comprising a camera (1) according to one of the preceding claims.

10. Method for manufacturing a camera (1) for a motor vehicle in which a circuit board (7) is inserted into a housing (2) of said camera (1),

characterized in that

said circuit board (7) is designed to comprise two partial carriers (8, 9) that are electrically connected by means of a flexible connector (10), wherein said partial carriers (8, 9) when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A) of said housing (2) are arranged one on top of the other and spaced apart from each other and are assembled within said housing (2) in the position one on top of the other and spaced apart from each other.

11. Method according to claim 10,

characterized in that for integrally forming said circuit board (7) as a single piece a basic carrier (7') is provided as inflexible sheet, in particular made from FR4 material, and for forming said flexible connector (10) on the top surface (71) and on the bottom surface (72) a multitude of layers of said basic carrier (7'), which is composed of a plurality of layers, are removed, in particular through laser light.