WO2021195978A1

WO2021195978A1 - Time of flight transmission module, time of flight measurement device, and electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2021195978A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/082480
Authority: WO
Inventors: 侯志明; 曾媛媛
Original assignee: 深圳市汇顶科技股份有限公司
Priority date: 2020-03-31
Filing date: 2020-03-31
Publication date: 2021-10-07

Abstract

A time-of-flight (TOF) transmission module, a time-of-flight measurement device, and an electronic device, capable of improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the TOF transmission module. The TOF transmission module comprises: a light-emitting component; and a driving component (110) comprising a drive unit (111), a first shield (112) and a heat-conductive gel (113). The drive unit (111) is used for driving light emission by the light-emitting component, said drive unit (111) being located within the first shield (112). The heat-conductive gel (113) is filled in between the drive unit (111) and the first shield (112) so that heat produced by the drive unit (111) can be conveyed by said heat-conductive gel (113) to the exterior of said first shield (112).

Description

Time-of-flight transmitter module, time-of-flight detection device and electronic equipment

Technical field

This application relates to the technical field of electronic products, in particular to a time-of-flight transmitting module, a time-of-flight detection device, and electronic equipment.

Background technique

With the development of science and technology, more and more electronic devices with imaging functions are widely used in people’s daily life and work, bringing great convenience to people’s daily life and work, and becoming indispensable for people today. Important tools that are missing.

The Time of Flight (TOF) camera module is a commonly used depth camera module that can be used to measure depth of field (depth) or distance information, and can realize the function of three-dimensional imaging or distance detection of the target by the electronic device. The TOF camera module generally includes an optical signal transmitting (Tx) module and an optical signal receiving (Rx) module.

At present, chip heat dissipation generally adopts the method of adding a thermal pad on the surface of the chip. If heat dissipation has higher requirements, a heat sink such as a thermal conductive copper sheet will be added above the thermal pad for auxiliary heat dissipation. This kind of heat dissipation solution has a large chip area. , The application scenarios that are not sensitive to the volume of the device are more suitable. However, for the light emitting module (module) in the TOF module, the light-emitting chip and the driving chip that drive the light-emitting chip are all small in area. Components that generate a lot of heat, so the heat dissipation solutions described above cannot meet the heat dissipation requirements of the TOF module, or it will make the heat dissipation efficiency low and fail to meet the product's heat dissipation requirements.

Summary of the invention

The present application provides a TOF emission module, a TOF detection device and electronic equipment, which can improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the TOF emission module.

In a first aspect, a TOF emission module in an electronic device is provided. The TOF emission module includes: a light-emitting assembly; The light-emitting component emits light, the driving unit is located in the first shielding cover, and the thermally conductive gel is filled between the driving unit and the first shielding cover.

Therefore, in the TOF transmitter module of the embodiment of the present application, by injecting a thermally conductive gel between the drive unit and the shielding cover, the process problem that ordinary thermal pads cannot pass reflow soldering can be avoided, and the shielding cover can be soldered after reflow soldering , Inject the thermal gel through the reserved holes of the shielding cover, through the thermal conductive gel can quickly conduct heat to the external space, realize the rapid cooling of the drive chip, solve the problem of the air layer between the drive chip and the shielding cover blocking heat dissipation, and improve the chip The heat dissipation efficiency.

With reference to the first aspect, in an implementation of the first aspect, the first shielding cover has a first opening for injecting the thermally conductive gel through the first opening.

With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the first opening is located on a surface of the first shielding cover opposite to the driving unit.

With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the TOF emission module further includes: a circuit board for fixing the light-emitting component and the driving component, and the light-emitting component The component and the driving component are electrically connected through the circuit board.

With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the light-emitting assembly and the driving unit are respectively fixed on the first surface of the circuit board, and the second The surface is electrically connected to the main board of the electronic device through a patch.

In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the TOF transmitter module further includes: a heat dissipating device disposed on the outer surface of the first shielding cover and the electronic device Between the back cover.

In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners thereof, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the heat dissipating device includes a thermal pad and/or a heat dissipation copper sheet.

With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the light-emitting assembly includes: a light-emitting unit, the light-emitting unit is located in the first shielding cover, the light-emitting unit and the The first surface is electrically connected, and the first shielding cover above the light-emitting unit has a second opening to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit.

In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, a silicone sleeve is provided between the first shielding cover above the light-emitting unit and the back cover of the electronic device, so The silicone sleeve has a third opening to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit.

With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the circuit board is a rigid-flex board, and the rigid-flex board includes: a first rigid circuit board and a second rigid circuit Board, a third rigid circuit board and a U-shaped flexible circuit board, the first rigid circuit board and the second rigid circuit board are respectively arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of one end of the U-shaped flexible circuit board, and the third rigid circuit The board is arranged on the lower surface of the other end of the U-shaped flexible circuit board, and the U-shaped flexible circuit board is used to electrically connect the first rigid circuit board, the second rigid circuit board and the third rigid circuit board; The light emitting component is arranged above the first rigid circuit board and is electrically connected to the first rigid circuit board; the driving component is arranged below the second rigid circuit board, and the driving unit is connected to the first rigid circuit board. The second rigid circuit board is electrically connected to drive the light-emitting component to emit light; the third rigid circuit board is electrically connected to the main board of the electronic device by means of a patch.

With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the rigid-flex board further includes a fourth rigid circuit board, and the fourth rigid circuit board is disposed on the U-shaped flexible circuit board. On the upper surface of the other end of the circuit board, the TOF transmitter module further includes: a heat sink device located between the first shielding cover and the fourth rigid circuit board.

In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the heat sink device includes a thermally conductive copper sheet.

In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, one surface of the thermally conductive copper sheet is attached to the first shielding cover through a thermally conductive adhesive; and/or, the The other surface of the thermally conductive copper sheet is attached to the surface of the fourth rigid circuit board through another thermally conductive adhesive.

In combination with the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the light-emitting assembly includes: a light-emitting unit and a second shielding cover, the light-emitting unit is located in the second shielding cover, so The light emitting unit is electrically connected to the first rigid circuit board, and the second shielding cover has a fourth opening to expose the light emitted by the light emitting unit.

With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in another implementation manner of the first aspect, the driving component further includes: an auxiliary device for assisting the driving unit to generate a driving signal for driving the light-emitting component.

In a second aspect, a TOF detection device in an electronic device is provided. The TOF detection device includes: the TOF transmitting module in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the TOF receiving module, wherein The TOF transmitting module is used for transmitting optical signals, and the TOF receiving module is used for receiving the return optical signals after the object is illuminated by the optical signals.

With reference to the second aspect, in an implementation of the second aspect, the TOF receiving module is electrically connected to the main board of the electronic device through a board-to-board connector BTB.

In a third aspect, an electronic device is provided, which includes: the TOF transmitting module in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect; and a main board, the TOF transmitting module and the main board Electric connection.

With reference to the third aspect, in an implementation of the third aspect, the electronic device further includes: a silicone sleeve disposed between the TOF transmitter module and the back cover of the electronic device, the silicone sleeve having The fifth opening is to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit.

Description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a TOF transmitting module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another TOF transmitting module according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram of the TOF transmitter module shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of still another TOF transmitting module according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram of the TOF transmitting module shown in FIG. 4.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a TOF transmitter module 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, for any electronic device that includes a TOF detection device, the TOF detection device may include a TOF transmitting module (or Tx module) and a TOF receiving module (or Rx module) , Wherein, the Tx module is used to emit a light signal, and the light signal irradiates an object to generate a return light signal. The object can refer to the object to be photographed (or called the shooting target, the imaging target, the detection target); and the Rx module is used To receive the return light signal, or the Rx module is used to sense the return light signal, and the return light signal carries the depth information of the object to be photographed, so that the electronic device can realize the imaging function of the object to be photographed. The following embodiments of the application mainly focus on the Tx module.

Optionally, the electronic device in the embodiment of the present application may be any electronic device with TOF function requirements, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, an in-vehicle electronic device, medical treatment, and aviation.

TOF testing devices generally include a combined design and a separate design. For the integrated design, the communication between the integrated TOF module composed of the Tx module and the Rx module and the main board of the electronic device is usually realized through the BTB connector. Although this assembly method is convenient to install the TOF detection device as a whole to the electronic device, this kind of Rx The combined form of the module and the Tx module is not conducive to maintenance. Any damage will cause the entire TOF module to be scrapped, and subsequent maintenance costs are high. On the contrary, adopting Rx module and Tx module group design to realize the functions of Rx module and Tx module respectively, which is more flexible and can overcome the heat dissipation, parasitic inductance, mass production yield, Cost and other issues, for example, Rx module and Tx module group design is conducive to split heat dissipation, can reduce mass production and maintenance costs. The Tx module 100 in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a Tx module in a combined design or a separate design, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 1, the Tx module 100 includes a light-emitting component (not shown in FIG. 1) and a driving component 110. Specifically, the light emitting component is used to emit light required for TOF detection; the driving component 110 includes a driving unit 111, a first shielding cover 112, and a thermally conductive gel 113. The driving unit 111 is used to drive the light emitting component to emit light, and the driving unit 111 Located in the first shielding cover 112, the thermally conductive gel 113 is filled between the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112, so that the thermally conductive gel 113 can conduct the heat generated by the driving unit 111 to the second A shield 112 outside.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 1, the thermally conductive gel 113 can be injected from the reserved hole on the first shielding cover 112 by using a needle in the process, and the gel flow characteristic is used to fill the upper surface of the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover. The space between the covers 112, or the fluidity of the gel is used to fill the inner space of the first shielding cover 112, that is, the first opening 114 can be provided on the first shielding cover 112 to inject the thermally conductive condensation through the first opening 114.胶113.

Optionally, the thermally conductive gel 113 may be located between the upper surface of the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a first opening 114 may be provided on the top of the first shielding cover 112. , That is, a first opening 114 is provided on the surface of the first shielding cover 112 opposite to the driving unit 111, and the thermally conductive gel is injected through the first opening 114, so that the thermally conductive gel 113 is filled on the upper surface of the driving unit 111 Between and the first shield 112. Alternatively, the thermally conductive gel 113 can be further filled between the side of the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a first opening 114 is also provided on the top of the first shielding cover 112, but The difference from FIG. 1 is that the flow characteristics of the gel can be used to make the thermally conductive gel 113 fill all the upper and side gaps between the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112; or, it can also be in the first shielding cover 112. Holes are opened in other positions, for example, holes are opened on the side wall of the first shielding cover 112, and the flow characteristics of the gel are used to make the thermally conductive gel 113 fill up all the gaps between the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112. However, the embodiment of the present application It is not limited to this.

Considering that the heat of the drive unit 111 on the Tx module is very concentrated, the device is small and cannot be directly added with a heat sink, and in order to shield the electromagnetic interference generated by other external components, the drive unit 111 usually needs to be equipped with a shielding cover, and a thermal pad is used to dissipate heat. There is a technical problem that the thermal pad cannot pass reflow soldering (if the thermal pad heat dissipation solution is adopted, the thermal pad needs to be attached to the driver chip first, and then the shielding cover is soldered on top of the driver chip by reflow soldering, but the temperature of the reflow soldering process Too high will cause the thermal pad to expand in the thickness direction, and the shielding cover cannot be welded to the drive chip). Therefore, currently the driver unit of the Tx module on the market and the shielding cover are generally left blank, and the heat dissipation is achieved through air. Minimum heat dissipation requirements, but with such a heat dissipation structure, other parameters of the system will be more balanced. For example, consideration will be given to limiting the luminous power of the drive unit to a certain amount (that is, the design of luminous power is limited by The heat dissipation of the module), and the luminous power will affect the detection range (detection distance) of the system, so the heat dissipation problem is also one of the reasons that affect the current TOF detection or recognition system in scenarios with larger detection distances. However, this case creatively adopts the method of injecting thermally conductive gel between the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112, which can avoid the process problem that the ordinary thermal pad cannot pass the reflow soldering. The reserved holes are filled with thermally conductive gel. The thermally conductive gel can fill between the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112, so that there is no air gap between the driving unit 111 and the first shielding cover 112, and the thermally conductive gel can quickly Conduct heat to the external space to achieve rapid cooling of the drive chip, solve the problem of heat dissipation blocked by the air layer between the drive chip and the shield, and improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the chip. Furthermore, the flexibility of system design can be improved, and it can be applied to more systems with different detection distance requirements.

In addition, in order to further improve the heat dissipation efficiency, as shown in FIG. 1, a heat sink 130 may be provided outside the first shielding cover 112, for example, a heat sink 130 may be provided on the outer surface of the first shielding cover 112. For example, the heat dissipating device 130 may include a thermal pad and/or a heat dissipation copper sheet. In this way, arranging the heat sink 130 outside the first shielding cover 112 can realize the heat transfer through the heat-conducting gel and then through the heat sinking device. Compared with not providing the heat sink 130, it only depends on the air on the upper surface of the first shielding cover 112. The heat dissipation is beneficial to increase the heat dissipation speed; and the small area of concentrated heat emitted by the drive unit 111 passes through the thermally conductive gel and then passes through the large area heat sink, which can further increase the heat dissipation area.

In the embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 1, the TOF emission module 100 may further include: a circuit board 120 for fixing the light-emitting component and the driving component 110, and the light-emitting component and the driving component 110 can pass through The circuit board 120 realizes electrical connection. Optionally, the light-emitting component and the driving component 110 may be respectively disposed at different positions of the circuit board 120. The following will describe in detail in combination with different embodiments of the circuit board 120.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the light-emitting component and the driving component 110 may be arranged on the same side of the circuit board 120. For example, FIG. 2 shows another cross-sectional view of the TOF transmitter module 100 according to an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the TOF transmitter module 100 shown in FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 1 only shows the Tx module 2 and 3 may be a possible form of the Tx module 100. After the TOF transmitter module shown in FIG. 3 is assembled, the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2 is along the dashed line AB in FIG. 3 A cross-sectional view cut from top to bottom in the direction shown. As shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, the circuit board 120 includes two upper and lower surfaces, which are referred to herein as a first surface and a second surface, respectively. Among them, the light-emitting assembly and the driving unit 111 are respectively fixed on the first surface of the circuit board 120. One surface, that is, the light-emitting assembly and the driving unit 111 are electrically connected through the conductive devices on the first surface; and the second surface of the circuit board 120 is electrically connected to the main board 200 of the electronic device, for example, the second surface is connected to the main board 200 They can be electrically connected by means of patches.

It should be understood that the light-emitting assembly in this application may specifically include a light-emitting unit 141 and a second shielding cover. The light-emitting unit 141 is disposed in the second shielding cover. The second shielding cover can shield electromagnetic interference generated by other external components and avoid Impact on the light-emitting unit 141. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, since the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting assembly can be arranged on the same side of the circuit board 120, that is, the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 can be arranged on the second side of the circuit board 120. At this time, the light-emitting unit 141 and the driving unit 111 can be located in the same shielding cover, that is, the driving assembly 110 and the light-emitting assembly share a shielding cover. For example, the light-emitting unit 141 is also disposed in the first shielding cover 112. Inside, even if the first shielding case and the second shielding case are the same shielding case, space can be saved. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the first shielding cover 112 can be regarded as two parts on the left and right sides, the driving unit 111 and the thermally conductive gel 113 are arranged on the left side, and the light-emitting unit 141 is arranged on the right side.

Specifically, the light-emitting unit 141 is located in the first shielding cover 112, the light-emitting unit 141 is electrically connected to the first surface of the circuit board 120, and the light-emitting unit 141 is used for light-emitting; the first shielding cover 112 corresponds to the light-emitting unit 141 The part of may have an opening, here called a second opening 143, the second opening 143 is used to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141; or, at the light-emitting position of the first shielding cover 112 corresponding to the light-emitting unit 141 , A transparent material is provided so that the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141 can be emitted to reach the detection object or imaging target.

Optionally, when the driving unit 111 and the light emitting unit 141 are located in the same shielding cover, in order to facilitate heat dissipation, a thermally conductive gel may be filled between the driving unit 111 and the light emitting unit 141, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

It should be understood that the light-emitting unit 141 in the embodiment of the present application may be used to emit invisible light. For example, the light-emitting unit 141 may be an infrared laser transmitter. Correspondingly, the Rx module may include a photosensitive sensor, and the photosensitive sensor may be an infrared sensor. .

In the embodiment of the present application, the light-emitting unit 141 may specifically be a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the light-emitting assembly may also include other elements, and the driving assembly 110 may also include other elements. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the light-emitting assembly and/or other elements included in the driving assembly, such as inductors, capacitors, or resistors, may also be provided in the first shielding cover 112, for cooperating with or assisting the driving unit to generate driving light. The drive signal required by the unit.

Optionally, the outer surface or upper surface of the first shielding cover 112 corresponding to the light-emitting unit 141 may also be provided with a silicone sleeve 150 for sealing, and the silicone sleeve 150 can expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141 Light. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, the silicone sleeve 150 may also be provided between the first shielding cover 112 and the back cover 300 of the electronic device (such as a mobile phone), considering that the back cover 300 and the first shield The cover 112 is made of hard material, and the two directly abut against each other, and there will be a gap. The silicone sleeve 150 is relatively soft, so that the silicone sleeve 150 can play a role of sealing between the back cover 300 and the first shielding cover 112. At the same time, it also has the function of dustproof and waterproof. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, the silicone sleeve 150 may have a third opening 151 to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141, and the part of the back cover 300 corresponding to the light-emitting position of the light-emitting unit is usually made of transparent material. For example, glass, while exposing the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141, there is no gap between the back cover 300, the silicone sleeve 150 and the first shielding cover 112, which has the function of dust and water resistance to protect the light-emitting unit 141. Optionally, it is also possible to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141 by arranging the silicone sleeve 150 corresponding to the light-emitting position of the light-emitting unit 141 with a transparent material. Wherein, the silicone sleeve 150 can be pasted on the corresponding position on the upper surface of the first shielding cover 112 and/or the surface of the back cover 300 by double-sided tape, or directly abuts against the surface of the back cover 300. The embodiment of the present application does not Limited to this.

Optionally, the size and shape of the second opening 143 and the third opening 151 can be set according to actual applications, and the shape and size of the second opening 143 and the third opening 151 can be the same or different. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shapes of the second opening 143 and the third opening 151 may both be set to be rectangular, or the size of the third opening 151 may be set to be larger than that of the second opening 143.

In addition, corresponding to the heat sink 130 described in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. The heat transferred through the thermally conductive gel 113 continues to be transferred outwards. Compared with the case where the heat sink 130 is not provided, only the air on the upper surface of the first shielding cover 112 is used for heat dissipation, which is beneficial to increase the heat dissipation speed; and the driving unit 111 sends out The small area of concentrated heat passes through the thermally conductive gel and then through the large-area heat sink, which can further increase the heat dissipation area.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, a heat sink 130 may be provided between the outer surface of the first shielding cover 112 and the back cover 300 of the electronic device. The heat sink may include a thermal pad 131 and/or a heat sink. The copper sheet 132 may also include aluminum sheets and other metal good thermal conductors. Wherein, the heat sink 130 can be fixed to the back cover 300 by pasting, or it can directly abut against the back cover 300; similarly, the heat sink 130 and the lower first shielding cover 112 can be pasted with firmware, For example, it can be pasted by double-sided tape, or can also be fixed in other ways, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

Arranging the driving component 111 and the light-emitting component 141 on the same side of the circuit board can reduce the thickness of the Tx module, but this will make the heat of the driving component 111 and the light-emitting component 141 more concentrated. By arranging the thermal conductive gel in the driving assembly 111 and the heat dissipating component above it, the heat can be transferred to the back cover and external space of the electronic device, thereby significantly improving the heat dissipation capacity of the Tx module, reducing usage problems, and improving the mold Group service life.

Optionally, as another embodiment, the driving component and the light-emitting component may also be provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board 120, respectively. Specifically, for example, FIG. 4 shows another cross-sectional view of the TOF emission module 100 according to an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the TOF emission module 100 shown in FIG. 4, wherein FIG. 1 only shows A part of the Tx module 100 is shown, and FIGS. 4 and 5 may be a possible form of the Tx module 100, and the Tx module 100 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is different from that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The form of the Tx module 100 is shown. After the TOF transmitter module shown in FIG. 5 is assembled, the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view formed by cutting from top to bottom along the direction indicated by the dashed line AB in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the circuit board 120 may be a rigid-flex board 120. Specifically, the rigid-flex board 120 includes: a first rigid circuit board 121, a second rigid circuit board 122, a third rigid circuit board 123, and a U-shaped flexible printed circuit (FPC) 125, where U-shaped The FPC 125 is used to electrically connect the first rigid circuit board 121, the second rigid circuit board 122, and the third rigid circuit board 123. Specifically, the first rigid circuit board 121 and the second rigid circuit board 122 are respectively arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of one end of the U-shaped FPC 125, that is, the first rigid circuit board 121, one end of the U-shaped FPC 125, and the The second rigid circuit board 122 forms a laminated structure. In addition, the light-emitting component 140 is disposed above the first rigid circuit board 121 and is electrically connected to the first rigid circuit board 121; and the driving component 110 is disposed below the second rigid circuit board 122 and is connected to the second rigid circuit board. The board 122 is electrically connected.

In addition, the third rigid circuit board 123 is arranged on the bottom surface of the other end of the U-shaped FPC 125; the third rigid circuit board 123 may include conductive terminals for mounting the Tx module 100 to the motherboard 200 of the electronic device. 126, that is, conductive terminals 126 are provided on the lower surface of the third rigid circuit board 123, so that the third rigid circuit board 123 is electrically connected to the main board 200 of the electronic device by means of a patch, thereby realizing the TOF emission module Electrical connection between the group and the main board 200 of the electronic device.

Optionally, the patching method in the embodiment of the present application may include Surface Mounted Technology (SMT). For example, a pad array can be provided on the lower surface of the lower third rigid circuit board 123, that is, the conductive terminal 126 can be a pad array, through which the third rigid circuit board 123 is soldered to the main board 200 of the electronic device. As a result, the connection between the TOF transmitter module 100 formed by using the rigid-flex board 120 including the third rigid circuit board 123 as the carrier and the main board 200 of the electronic device is realized, thereby realizing the functional communication between the two.

Therefore, the Tx module of the embodiment of the present application can adopt a folding structure of a flexible and hard board. The structure can be divided into an upper half and a lower half, and the two are electrically connected by an FPC; the upper and lower surfaces of the upper half They are used to set the light-emitting component and the driving component respectively, and realize the communication between the light-emitting component and the driving component, and the lower part can realize the direct mounting of the Tx module on the main board through the pad on the lowermost surface. In this way, the Tx module mounted on the main board of the electronic device through the patch method is conducive to automated patch production, facilitates mass production, reduces production costs, and saves space and cost compared with the BTB solution.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, corresponding to the structure of the lower half of the rigid-flex board 120, the rigid-flex board 120 may further include a fourth rigid circuit board 124 located at The upper surface of the other end of the U-shaped FPC 125 is arranged opposite to the third rigid circuit board 123, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

It should be understood that the rigid circuit board in the embodiment of the present application may be a printed circuit board (Printed Circuit Board, PCB). For example, the first rigid circuit board 121, the second rigid circuit board 122, the third rigid circuit board 123, and the fourth rigid circuit board 124 in the rigid-flex board 120 may all be PCBs. In addition, for any one of the first rigid circuit board 121, the second rigid circuit board 122, the third rigid circuit board 123, and the fourth rigid circuit board 124 in the embodiment of the present application, it may be a single layer The circuit board may also be a multilayer circuit board, or it may be any one or more layers of a multilayer circuit board.

For example, the first rigid circuit board 121 and the second rigid circuit board 122 can be two independent circuit boards; or the first rigid circuit board 121, the middle flexible circuit board 125, and the second rigid circuit board 122 can also be the same. The three parts in the multi-layer circuit board, where the flexible circuit board included in the multi-layer circuit board is the flexible circuit board 125 in the embodiment of the application, and one or more layers of the multi-layer circuit board are located on the flexible circuit board. The layer circuit board is the first rigid circuit board 121 in the embodiment of the application, and one or more layers of the circuit board located in the lower part of the flexible circuit board in the multilayer circuit board is the second rigid circuit board 122 in the embodiment of the application . Similarly, the third rigid circuit board 123 and the fourth rigid circuit board 124 can also be two independent circuit boards, or the third rigid circuit board 123, the middle flexible circuit board 125, and the fourth rigid circuit board 124 can also be It can be three parts in the same multilayer circuit board, which will not be repeated here.

Optionally, the shape and area of the first rigid circuit board 121 and the second rigid circuit board 122 on the upper half of the flexible and rigid combined board 120 in the embodiment of the present application can be set to be the same, for example, set to have the same size. Similarly, the shape and area of the third rigid circuit board 123 and the fourth rigid circuit board 124 in the lower half of the rigid-flex board 120 can also be set to be the same, for example, set to be rectangular with the same size. In addition, the shape and area of the two rigid circuit boards of the upper half and the two rigid circuit boards of the lower half can also be set to be the same; the upper half and the lower half can be arranged in parallel, and both remain Right, that is, the projections of the two rigid circuit boards in the upper half on the surface where the two rigid circuit boards in the lower half are located along the vertical direction are completely overlapped with the two rigid circuit boards in the lower half, so that the In the vertical space, the rigid circuit boards of the upper and lower parts occupy the same size, which will not cause the problem of the rigid circuit boards of the lower half occupying more space.

It should be understood that, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the light-emitting assembly 140 in the embodiment of the present application may specifically include a light-emitting unit 141 and a shielding cover 142. To facilitate distinction, the shielding cover 142 included in the light-emitting assembly 140 is referred to herein as The second shielding cover 142 in which the light-emitting unit 141 is disposed, and the second shielding cover 142 can shield electromagnetic interference generated by other external components and avoid the influence on the light-emitting unit 141. Specifically, the light-emitting unit 141 is located in the second shielding cover 142, the light-emitting unit 141 is electrically connected to the first rigid circuit board 121, and the light-emitting unit 141 is used to emit light; the second shielding cover 142 may have an opening 144 , Here referred to as the fourth opening 144, the fourth opening is used to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141; or, at the light-emitting position of the second shielding cover 142 corresponding to the light-emitting unit 141, a transparent material is provided to expose The light emitted by the light emitting unit 141.

Wherein, the light-emitting unit 141 shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 is similar to the light-emitting unit 141 described in FIGS. 2 and 3, and is applicable to the related description of the light-emitting unit 141 described in FIGS. The light-emitting unit in FIG. 5 may be a VCSEL, which is not repeated here for the sake of brevity.

Optionally, the light-emitting assembly 140 may also include other elements. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, other elements included in the light-emitting assembly 140, such as inductors, capacitors or Resistor, etc., used to coordinate or assist the light-emitting unit to emit light.

Optionally, a silicone sleeve 150 can be provided on the outer surface or upper surface of the second shielding cover 112 for sealing, and the silicone sleeve 150 can expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the silicone sleeve 150 may also be provided between the second shielding cover 142 and the back cover 300 of the electronic device (such as a mobile phone), considering that the back cover 300 and the second shield The cover 142 is made of hard material, and the two directly abut against each other, there will be a gap, while the silicone sleeve 150 is relatively soft. The silicone sleeve 150 can play a role of sealing between the back cover 300 and the second shielding cover 142, and at the same time It also has the function of dustproof and waterproof. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the silicone sleeve 150 may have a fifth opening 152 to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141, and the part of the back cover 300 corresponding to the light-emitting position of the light-emitting unit 141 is usually transparent Material, such as glass, so that while the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141 can be exposed, there is no gap between the back cover 300, the silicone sleeve 150 and the second shielding cover 142, which is dust-proof and waterproof to protect the light-emitting unit. 141. Optionally, it is also possible to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 141 by arranging the silicone sleeve 150 corresponding to the light-emitting position of the light-emitting unit 141 with a transparent material. Wherein, the silicone sleeve 150 can be pasted on the upper surface of the second shielding cover 142 and/or the surface of the back cover 300 by double-sided tape, or directly abuts against the surface of the back cover 300, the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

Optionally, the size and shape of the fourth opening 144 and the fifth opening 152 can be set according to actual applications, and the shape and size of the fourth opening 144 and the fifth opening 152 can be the same or different. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shapes of the fourth opening 144 and the fifth opening 152 may both be set to be rectangular, or the size of the fifth opening 152 may be set to be larger than that of the fourth opening 144.

Optionally, in the vertical direction, the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 can be arranged in alignment, that is, the driving unit 111 is arranged directly below the light-emitting unit 141, so that the Tx module 100 can be reduced as much as possible. The thickness further reduces the volume of the Tx module 100, but in this way, the heat of the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 is relatively concentrated, which is not conducive to heat dissipation. On the contrary, in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 can also be staggered, that is, the driving unit 111 is arranged obliquely below the light-emitting unit 141. The thickness of the Tx module 100 cannot be minimized, but it can facilitate the heat dissipation of the driving unit 111 and the light emitting unit 141, so that the heat dissipation of the two is relatively dispersed.

In the embodiment of the present application, the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 are respectively arranged on the surface of the upper and lower rigid circuit boards at one end of the flexible and hard combined board 120, and the electrical and signal communication between the two rigid circuit boards is realized through FPC. Flexible application of the soft and hard board, and shorten the distance between the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 in space, that is, the distance of the communication line between the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 is the distance between the two in the vertical direction The distance can be shortened to less than 1 mm, which can greatly reduce the parasitic inductance on the communication line between the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141, thereby improving the overall performance of the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141. For example, for the solution shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, in which the driving unit 111 and the light emitting unit 141 are placed side by side, the distance of the communication line between the driving unit 111 and the light emitting unit 141 depends on the horizontal interval between the two However, considering the problems of interference and heat dissipation, the distance between the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 should not be too close; for another example, for a solution where the driving unit 111 is arranged on the fourth rigid circuit board 124, the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit The distance of the communication line between 141 increases from one end of the U-shaped FPC 125 where the drive unit 111 is located to the other end of the U-shaped FPC 125 where the light-emitting unit 141 is located, and the communication distance between the drive unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141 increases. This will significantly increase the parasitic inductance, that is, reduce the overall performance of the driving unit 111 and the light-emitting unit 141.

Optionally, corresponding to the heat sink 130 described in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. A heat sink 130 is arranged between the fourth rigid circuit board 124 to continue to transfer the heat transmitted through the thermally conductive gel 113 to the outside. Compared with no heat sink 130, only the air on the outer surface of the first shielding cover 112 is used for heat dissipation. Circumstances, it is conducive to increase the heat dissipation speed; and the small area of concentrated heat emitted by the drive unit 111 passes through the heat-conducting gel and then passes through the large-area heat sink, which is beneficial to increase the heat dissipation area and improve the heat dissipation efficiency; When the tri-rigid circuit board 123 is soldered to the main board 200 through pads, the good heat dissipation function of the main board 200 can also be fully utilized to conduct heat from the upper driving component 110 and the light emitting component 140 to the main board 200 to achieve a good heat dissipation function.

The heat dissipating device 130 in the embodiment of the present application may include a thermally conductive copper sheet 134, or may also be other good thermal conductor devices. With its heat conduction and heat equalization effects, it can quickly conduct heat from a small area of the chip to a large area. On the heat sink 130, it is conducted to the rigid circuit board below, and then to the peripheral space such as the main board 200 or the middle frame to achieve rapid heat dissipation and cooling effects.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, one surface of the thermally conductive copper sheet 134 of the embodiment of the present application may be bonded to the first shielding cover 112 through a thermally conductive adhesive 133; and/or, the thermally conductive copper sheet 134 The other surface of the fourth rigid circuit board 124 can be attached to the upper surface of the fourth rigid circuit board 124 through another thermally conductive adhesive 135.

Therefore, the Tx module of the embodiment of the present application includes a light-emitting component and a driving component. By injecting a thermally conductive gel between the driving unit included in the driving component and the shielding cover, the heat of the chip is mainly conducted through the thermally conductive gel to the shield. Outside the cover, the shielding cover is then conducted to the radiator, the motherboard or the back cover of the electronic device, and then makes full use of the good heat dissipation function of the motherboard or the back cover to achieve rapid heat dissipation and cooling effects.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and conciseness of description, the specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other divisions in actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or It can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not implemented. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application essentially or the part that contributes to the existing technology or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including Several instructions are used to make a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), random access memory (random access memory, RAM), magnetic disks or optical disks and other media that can store program codes. .

The above are only specific implementations of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application. Should be covered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A time-of-flight TOF transmitting module in an electronic device, which is characterized in that it comprises:

Light-emitting component

The driving assembly (110) includes a driving unit (111), a first shielding cover (112) and a thermally conductive gel (113). The driving unit (111) is used to drive the light-emitting assembly to emit light, and the driving unit (111) ) Is located in the first shielding cover (112), and the thermally conductive gel (113) is filled between the driving unit (111) and the first shielding cover (112).
The TOF transmitter module according to claim 1, wherein the first shielding cover (112) has a first opening (114) for injecting the thermally conductive gel (113) through the first opening. ).
The TOF transmitter module according to claim 2, wherein the first opening (114) is located on a surface of the first shielding cover (112) opposite to the driving unit (111).
The TOF transmitting module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

The circuit board (120) is used for fixing the light-emitting component and the driving component (110), and the light-emitting component and the driving component (110) are electrically connected through the circuit board (120).
The TOF transmitter module of claim 4, wherein:

The light-emitting assembly and the driving unit (111) are respectively fixed on the first surface of the circuit board (120), and the second surface of the circuit board (120) and the main board of the electronic device are attached by means of patches Electric connection.
The TOF transmitting module according to claim 5, further comprising:

The heat sink (130) is arranged between the outer surface of the first shielding cover (112) and the back cover of the electronic device.
The TOF transmitter module according to claim 6, wherein the heat dissipating device (130) comprises a thermal pad (131) and/or a heat dissipation copper sheet (132).
The TOF emission module according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the light-emitting assembly comprises: a light-emitting unit (141),

The light emitting unit (141) is located in the first shielding cover (112), and the light emitting unit (141) is electrically connected to the first surface,

The first shielding cover (112) above the light emitting unit (141) has a second opening to expose the light emitted by the light emitting unit (141).
The TOF emission module according to claim 8, wherein a silicone sleeve (150) is provided between the first shield (112) above the light-emitting unit (141) and the back cover of the electronic device. ), the silicone sleeve (150) has a third opening to expose the light emitted by the light-emitting unit (141).
The TOF transmitter module according to claim 4, wherein the circuit board (120) is a rigid-flex board, and the rigid-flex board comprises: a first rigid circuit board (121), a second rigid circuit Board (122), third rigid circuit board (123) and U-shaped flexible circuit board (125),

The first rigid circuit board (121) and the second rigid circuit board (122) are respectively arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of one end of the U-shaped flexible circuit board (125), and the third rigid circuit board (123) is arranged On the lower surface of the other end of the U-shaped flexible circuit board (125), the U-shaped flexible circuit board (125) is used to electrically connect the first rigid circuit board (121) and the second rigid circuit board (122) And the third rigid circuit board (123);

The light-emitting component is arranged above the first rigid circuit board (121) and is electrically connected to the first rigid circuit board (121);

The driving component (110) is arranged under the second rigid circuit board (122), and the driving unit (111) is electrically connected to the second rigid circuit board (112) for driving the The light-emitting component emits light;

The third rigid circuit board (123) is electrically connected to the main board of the electronic device by means of a patch.
The TOF transmitter module according to claim 10, wherein the rigid-flex board further comprises a fourth rigid circuit board (124), and the fourth rigid circuit board (124) is arranged on the U-shaped flexible circuit board (124). The upper surface of the other end of the circuit board (125),

The TOF transmitting module also includes:

The heat sink (130) is located between the first shielding cover (112) and the fourth rigid circuit board (124).
The TOF transmitter module according to claim 11, wherein the heat dissipating device (130) comprises a thermally conductive copper sheet (134).
The TOF transmitter module according to claim 12, wherein one surface of the thermally conductive copper sheet (134) is attached to the first shielding cover (112) through a thermally conductive adhesive; and/or,

The other surface of the thermally conductive copper sheet (134) is attached to the surface of the fourth rigid circuit board (124) through another thermally conductive adhesive.
The TOF emission module according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the light-emitting assembly comprises: a light-emitting unit (141) and a second shield (142),

The light emitting unit (141) is located in the second shielding cover (142), and the light emitting unit is electrically connected to the first rigid circuit board (121),

The second shielding cover (142) has a fourth opening to expose the light emitted by the light emitting unit (141).
The TOF transmitting module according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the driving assembly (110) further comprises:

An auxiliary device is used to assist the driving unit (111) to generate a driving signal for driving the light-emitting component.
A TOF detection device for time-of-flight in electronic equipment, which is characterized in that it comprises:

The TOF transmitting module according to any one of claims 1 to 15; and

TOF receiving module,

Wherein, the TOF transmitting module is used for transmitting light signals, and the TOF receiving module is used for receiving the return light signals after the object is illuminated by the light signals.
The TOF detection device according to claim 16, wherein the TOF receiving module is electrically connected to the main board of the electronic device through a board-to-board connector BTB.
An electronic device, characterized by comprising: the TOF transmitting module according to any one of claims 1 to 15.
The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the electronic device further comprises:

The silicone sleeve (150) is arranged between the TOF emission module and the back cover of the electronic device, and the silicone sleeve (150) has a fifth opening to expose the light emitted by the light emitting unit (141) .