A TOF camera module and an electronic device

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a TOF camera module and an electronic device. The module includes a substrate assembly, a housing, which is provided on the substrate assembly and forms a receiving cavity, and the housing is provided with a heat dissipation part; a light source emission module, including a light-emitting element capable of emitting a light beam, and the light-emitting element is disposed adjacent to the heat dissipation part; a photosensitive receiving module, including a photosensitive element capable of receiving the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element; both the light-emitting element and the photosensitive element are disposed on the substrate assembly and are both located in the receiving cavity. The TOF camera module and the electronic device provided by the present application dissipate heat from the light-emitting element through the housing, with better heat dissipation effect, and lower cost than aluminum nitride ceramic substrates, which can promote the large-scale application of TOF camera modules.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a TOF camera module and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] A TOF camera module generally includes two parts: a light source emission module and a photosensitive reception module. The light source emission module is used to emit light, and the photosensitive reception module is used to receive light. Since the power consumption of the light-emitting element in the light source emission module is relatively large, for example, VCSEL (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser), which is developed based on gallium arsenide semiconductor material, different from light-emitting diodes, etc., it is easy to form a large-area array and is widely used in TOF camera modules. The power of the VCSEL chip is relatively large, but the conversion efficiency is relatively low, so the generated heat energy is relatively large. In related technologies, the photosensitive reception module is easily damaged by heat. In order to avoid the heat conduction of the light-emitting element to the photosensitive reception module, generally, the light-emitting element and the photosensitive reception module are separately arranged. Therefore, it is necessary to set two substrates to connect the light source emission module and the photosensitive reception module respectively, resulting in a relatively high cost of the TOF camera module. Moreover, the light-emitting element also needs to be arranged on an aluminum nitride ceramic substrate for heat dissipation, and the aluminum nitride ceramic substrate is more expensive than a general substrate. The high-cost heat dissipation method will further increase the cost of the TOF camera module, restricting the large-scale application of the TOF camera module. Summary of the Invention

[0003] A TOF camera module and an electronic device provided by the present application solve the technical problem of high heat dissipation cost of the VCSEL chip in related technologies.

[0004] On the one hand, the present application provides a TOF camera module, including:

[0005] A substrate assembly,

[0006] A housing, arranged on the substrate assembly and forming a receiving cavity, and the housing is provided with a heat dissipation part;

[0007] A light source emission module, including a light-emitting element capable of emitting a light beam, and the light-emitting element is arranged adjacent to the heat dissipation part;

[0008] A photosensitive reception module, including a photosensitive element capable of receiving the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element;

[0009] Both the light-emitting element and the photosensitive element are arranged on the substrate assembly and are both located in the receiving cavity.

[0010] In some embodiments, the substrate assembly includes a first substrate and a second substrate integrally provided with the first substrate, the thickness of the first substrate is less than the thickness of the second substrate, the light emitting element is provided on the first substrate, and the photosensitive element is provided on the second substrate.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first substrate is a soft board, which includes an extension plate, and the extension plate includes a connecting portion connected to the second substrate and a loading portion connected to and perpendicular to the connecting portion, the light-emitting element is arranged on the loading portion, and at least a portion of the heat dissipation portion is arranged on a side of the loading portion away from the light-emitting element.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second substrate is provided with a hollow portion, part of the connecting portion is accommodated in the hollow portion, a driving chip for driving the light-emitting element is provided on one side of the hollow portion, and at least part of the heat dissipation portion is in contact with the driving chip.

[0013] In some embodiments, the heat dissipation unit includes a body and heat dissipation fins located on both sides of the body, wherein the heat dissipation fins on one side are connected to the driving chip via a thermally conductive adhesive.

[0014] In some embodiments, the main body is provided with a first receiving groove for accommodating the loading part, a reinforcing steel sheet is provided between the first receiving groove and the loading part, and the loading part, the reinforcing steel sheet and the first receiving groove are fixed by thermal conductive adhesive.

[0015] In some embodiments, the housing is formed with a second accommodating groove matching the heat dissipation portion, and the heat dissipation portion extends into the second accommodating groove and contacts with external air.

[0016] In some embodiments, the light source emission module further includes a diffuser located in the receiving cavity, wherein the diffuser is parallel to the second substrate and perpendicular to the light emitting element.

[0017] In some embodiments, the light source emission module also includes a reflective element arranged adjacent to the diffuser and the light-emitting element, and the reflective element can reflect the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element to the diffuser; the shell is formed with a third accommodating groove matching the reflective element, and the reflective element is arranged in the third accommodating groove.

[0018] On the other hand, the present application provides an electronic device, comprising the TOF camera module described above.

[0019] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows:

[0020] The TOF camera module and electronic device provided by this application, since the light-emitting element and the photosensitive element are arranged on the same substrate assembly, compared with the prior art, the cost is greatly reduced, which can promote the large-scale application of the TOF camera module; and a heat dissipation part is arranged on the housing, and the heat dissipation part is arranged adjacent to the light-emitting element. The heat transferred from the light-emitting element to the heat dissipation part can also be conducted to other parts of the housing except the heat dissipation part, so that the heat is dispersed again. That is, this application directly dissipates heat from the light-emitting element through the housing. Compared with the prior art, the heat dissipation volume of the housing is large and the heat dissipation effect is better, avoiding the temperature of the photosensitive element being too high due to the light-emitting element and the photosensitive element being arranged on the same substrate assembly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 1 It is a cross-sectional view of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a partial schematic view of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment Figure 1 ;

[0024] Figure 3 is Figure 2 a partial schematic view of

[0025] Figure 4 It is a partial schematic view of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment Figure 2 ;

[0026] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural view of the housing provided in this embodiment;

[0027] Figure 6 is Figure 5 an exploded view of

[0028] Figure 7 It is a partial schematic view of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment Figure 3 .

[0029] Description of the reference numerals:

[0030] 100 - Substrate assembly, 110 - First substrate, 111 - Connection part, 112 - Loading part, 113 - Gold wire, 114 - Main board, 120 - Second substrate, 121 - Hollow part, 123 - First rigid board, 124 - Second rigid board, 1241 - Connector, 125 - Driving chip, 126 - External component, 200 - Housing, 210 - Heat dissipation part, 211 - Heat dissipation fin, 212 - Body, 221 - Third accommodation groove, 222 - First accommodation groove, 223 - Second accommodation groove, 223a - Sub - groove, 224 - Light - passing hole, 300 - Light source emission module, 310 - Light - emitting element, 320 - Diffuser, 330 - Reflective element, 331 - First path, 332 - Second path, 400 - Photosensitive receiving module, 410 - Photosensitive element, 420 - Lens, 500 - Filter, 600 - First reinforcing steel sheet, 700 - Second reinforcing steel sheet. Detailed implementation mode

[0031] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] This application provides a TOF camera module. Figure 1 It is a cross - sectional view of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment. Figure 2 It is a partial schematic view of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment. Figure 1 Combined with Figure 1 and Figure 2 The TOF camera module provided in this embodiment includes a substrate assembly 100, a housing 200, a light source emission module 300, and a photosensitive receiving module 400 disposed on the substrate assembly 100. Among them, the housing 200 forms a receiving cavity, and both the light source emission module 300 and the photosensitive receiving module 400 are located in this receiving cavity.

[0033] The light source emission module 300 includes a light - emitting element 310 for emitting a light beam. The housing 200 includes a heat dissipation part 210, and the light - emitting element 310 is disposed adjacent to the heat dissipation part 210 to dissipate heat from the light - emitting element 310. The photosensitive receiving module 400 is used to obtain the light beam reflected by the object to be measured and form an image of the object to be measured based on the obtained light beam, and it includes a photosensitive element 410 for receiving the reflected light beam.

[0034] The TOF camera module provided in this embodiment is provided with a heat dissipation part 210 on the housing 200, and the heat dissipation part 210 is used to dissipate heat from the light-emitting element 310. The heat transferred from the light-emitting element 310 to the heat dissipation part 210 can also be conducted to other parts of the housing 200 other than the heat dissipation part 210, so that the heat is dispersed again. That is, the present application directly dissipates heat from the light-emitting element 310 through the housing 200. Compared with the prior art, the heat dissipation volume of the housing 200 is large, the heat dissipation effect is better, and the cost is lower than that of the aluminum nitride ceramic substrate, which can promote the large-scale application of the TOF camera module.

[0035] In this embodiment, the fixing method between the components in the camera module can be glue bonding, snap structure fixing, screw fixing, etc. This embodiment does not limit this and will not list them one by one.

[0036] It should be noted that in the housing 200, the heat dissipation part 210 needs to use a material with a higher thermal conductivity, such as a metal material, while the parts other than the heat dissipation part 210 can be made of plastic to save costs, and the proportion of the metal part and the plastic part in the housing 200 can be allocated according to the actual situation. The more the proportion of the metal part, the better the heat dissipation effect.

[0037] Figure 3 For Figure 2 partial schematic diagram of Figure 4 is the partial schematic of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment Figure 2 Combined with Figures 1 - 4 In this embodiment, the substrate assembly 100 includes a first substrate 110 and a second substrate 120 integrally provided with the first substrate 110. The light-emitting element 310 is disposed on the first substrate 110, and the photosensitive element 410 is disposed on the second substrate 120. The thickness of the first substrate 110 is less than the thickness of the second substrate 120 to reduce the heat transfer of the light-emitting element 310.

[0038] In some embodiments, the first substrate 110 is a deformable flexible board that can be folded arbitrarily to adapt to different positions. Specifically, the first substrate 110 includes an extension board, and the extension board includes a connection part 111 connected to the second substrate 120 and a loading part 112 connected to and perpendicular to the connection part 111. The light-emitting element 310 is disposed on the loading part 112, and at least part of the heat dissipation part 210 is disposed on the side of the loading part 112 facing away from the light-emitting element 310 to dissipate heat from the light-emitting element 310.

[0039] Further, the second substrate 120 is provided with a hollowed portion 121. The extension plate extends out of at least one inner wall of the hollowed portion 121 of the second substrate 120, and a part of the connecting portion 111 is received in the hollowed portion 121. The provision of the hollowed portion 121 enables the heat transfer path from the light-emitting element 310 to the photosensitive element 410 to be only located on the extension plate. Since the first substrate 110 is relatively thin, most of the heat generated by the light-emitting element 310 can be transferred out through the heat dissipation portion 210, and a small amount is transferred to the second substrate 120. Therefore, the temperature of the photosensitive element 410 will not be too high.

[0040] Combined with Figure 3 , the first substrate 110 further includes a main board 114 integrally formed with the extension plate. The extension plate is provided at one end of the main board 114. The second substrate 120 includes a first rigid board 123 and a second rigid board 124. The housing 200 is provided on the first rigid board 123, and the photosensitive element 410 and the hollowed portion 121 are provided on the first rigid board 123. One end of the main board 114 is laminated in the first rigid board 123 so that the extension plate extends out of at least one inner wall of the hollowed portion 121 of the second substrate 120. The other end of the main board 114 is laminated in the second rigid board 124, and the second rigid board 124 is provided with a connector 1241 connected to the terminal device. The first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 form a new type of flexible-rigid printed circuit board through a series of processes such as lamination.

[0041] Specifically, in this embodiment, the thickness of the first substrate 110 is 0.07 - 0.12 mm, that is, the heat transfer path from the light-emitting element 310 to the photosensitive element 410 is only a flexible board with a thickness of 0.07 - 0.12 mm. The flexible board with this thickness forms a heat block for the heat transfer of the light-emitting element 310, further avoiding the overheating of the photosensitive element 410 caused by the co-substrate setting of the light-emitting element 310 and the photosensitive element 410.

[0042] Combined with Figures 1 - 3 , the light source emission module 300 further includes a diffuser 320 located in the receiving cavity. The diffuser 320 is parallel to the second substrate 120 and perpendicular to the light-emitting element 310. The diffuser 320 is used to diffuse the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element 310 so that the light beam forms a uniform surface light source. The material of the diffuser 320 needs to be selected as a material with high light transmittance, such as glass, and chemical particles are used as scattering particles. The light reflected by the light-emitting element 310 will continuously pass through when passing through the diffusion layer, and at the same time, many refraction, reflection, and scattering phenomena will occur to form an optical diffusion effect. The photosensitive receiving module 400 further includes a lens 420. The lens 420 is disposed opposite to the photosensitive element 410, and the lens 420 and the diffuser 320 can be arranged side by side on the housing 200.

[0043] Figure 5Schematic diagram of the housing 200 provided in this embodiment. In combination with Figure 1 and Figure 5 , a light passing hole 224 is provided on the housing 200, and the lens 420 and the photosensitive element 410 are arranged opposite to the light passing hole 224 to form an optical path, so that light passes through the lens 420 and then reaches the photosensitive element 410 for photoelectric conversion. Preferably, in this embodiment, the light emitting element 310 can be a VCSEL chip, and the photosensitive element 410 can be a CMOS chip (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor).

[0044] In some embodiments, a filter 500 is further provided between the lens 420 and the photosensitive element 410 to filter out redundant light, and a first reinforcing steel sheet 600 is provided on the side of the second substrate 120 facing away from the lens 420 to protect the entire module.

[0045] Figure 6 is Figure 5 exploded view of, in combination with Figure 5 and Figure 6 , in this embodiment, the heat dissipation part 210 is a heat sink, and the heat dissipation part 210 is arranged on the inner wall of the housing 200. That is, in this embodiment, by integrating the heat dissipation part 210 with the housing 200, a new type of heat-dissipating housing is formed. Preferably, the heat sink can be an aluminum alloy heat sink, and of course a copper heat sink can also be used, and this embodiment does not limit this. The aluminum alloy heat sink is formed by a stretching die with an equal cross-section, and the die cost is relatively low. Compared with the aluminum nitride ceramic substrate used in the related technology, the cost is greatly saved.

[0046] As Figure 2 and Figure 4 shown, a driving chip 125 for driving the light emitting element 310 is provided on one side of the hollow part 121, and at least part of the heat dissipation part 210 is in contact with the driving chip 125. The light emitting element 310 and the driving chip 125 are the main heat sources of the camera module. In this embodiment, since the heat dissipation part 210 is in contact with both the light emitting element 310 and the driving chip 125 at the same time, the heat dissipation part 210 can dissipate heat from both the light emitting element 310 and the driving chip 125 at the same time.

[0047] In combination with Figure 5 and Figure 6 , the heat dissipation part 210 includes a main body 212 and heat dissipation fins 211 located on both sides of the main body 212. One of the heat dissipation fins 211 is connected to the driving chip 125 through a thermal conductive adhesive to dissipate heat from the driving chip 125.

[0048] In some embodiments, the main body 212 is provided with a first accommodation groove 222 for accommodating the loading part 112, so that the loading part 112 is more firmly installed. Since the light-emitting element 310 is signal-connected to the loading part 112 through multiple gold wires 113, and the first substrate 110 is a flexible board with a relatively fragile material, in order to ensure strength, a second reinforcing steel sheet 700 is further provided between the loading part 112 and the second accommodation groove 223 in this embodiment. The loading part 112, the second reinforcing steel sheet 700, and the first accommodation groove 222 are fixed to each other through a thermal conductive adhesive.

[0049] Combined with Figure 2 and Figure 4 , the second substrate 120 is further provided with an external component 126, and the external component 126 includes one or more of a resistor component, a capacitor component, an inductor component, and a memory component. The external component 126 is disposed on the other side of the hollow portion 121. To prevent the heat dissipation portion 210 from damaging other electronic components, there is a gap between the heat dissipation fins 211 disposed on the other side of the hollow portion 121 and the external component 126.

[0050] It is worth mentioning that the length of the heat dissipation fins 211 can be increased or decreased according to the power consumption of the heat source, and to ensure the heat dissipation effect, the volume of the heat dissipation portion 210 can be set to 50-150 times that of the light-emitting element 310.

[0051] To reduce the volume of the module and make the heat dissipation portion 210 more firmly installed, as Figures 5 - 6 shown, in this embodiment, the housing 200 is formed with a second accommodation groove 223 that matches the heat dissipation portion 210, and the heat dissipation portion 210 just extends into the second accommodation groove 223 and contacts the external air. The second accommodation groove 223 includes two opposite sub-grooves 223a to respectively accommodate the heat dissipation fins 211 on both sides of the heat dissipation portion 210.

[0052] Figure 7 This is a partial schematic diagram of the TOF camera module provided in this embodiment Figure 3 Combined with Figures 1 - 7 , since the diffuser 320 is vertically disposed with respect to the light-emitting element 310, the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element 310 cannot be directly diffused through the diffuser 320. Therefore, in this embodiment, the light source emission module 300 further includes a reflection element 330, and the reflection element 330 is disposed adjacent to the diffuser 320 and the light-emitting element 310 to reflect the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element 310 to the diffuser 320. Specifically, please combine Figure 1 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, the housing 200 is formed with a third accommodation groove 221 that matches the reflection element 330, and the reflection element 330 is disposed in the third accommodation groove 221. Obviously, the third accommodation groove 221 is disposed between the two sub-grooves 223a.

[0053] The reflecting element 330 is a total reflection prism, and the cross-section of the prism is an isosceles right triangle. The hypotenuse of the isosceles right triangle is arranged opposite to the light-emitting element 310 and forms a 45° angle with the second substrate 120. The light beam emitted by the light-emitting element 310 is first emitted to the reflecting element 330 through the first path 331, and then reflected to the diffuser 320 through the second path 332 by the inclined surface of the reflecting element 330. Among them, the first path 331 is perpendicular to the second path 332.

[0054] This embodiment also provides an electronic device, including the above TOF camera module. The electronic device can be a mobile phone, an automobile, a smart door lock, a floor sweeping robot, etc. Of course, it can also be other electronic devices, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0055] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, those skilled in the art can make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they learn the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be construed as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the present invention.

[0056] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalent technologies, the present invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A TOF camera module, characterized in that, Comprising: A substrate assembly, including a first substrate and a second substrate integrally provided with the first substrate. The first substrate is a flexible board, which includes an extension board. The extension board includes a connection portion connected to the second substrate and a loading portion connected to and perpendicular to the connection portion. A housing, disposed on the substrate assembly and forming a receiving cavity. The housing is provided with a heat dissipation portion. A light source emission module, including a light-emitting element capable of emitting a light beam. The light-emitting element is disposed on the loading portion and located within the receiving cavity. At least a part of the heat dissipation portion is disposed on a side of the loading portion facing away from the light-emitting element. A photosensitive receiving module, including a photosensitive element capable of receiving the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element. The photosensitive element is disposed on the second substrate and located within the receiving cavity. Wherein, the thickness of the first substrate is less than the thickness of the second substrate. The second substrate is provided with a hollow portion, and a part of the connection portion is received in the hollow portion. A driving chip for driving the light-emitting element is provided on one side of the hollow portion. The heat dissipation portion is a heat sink, which includes a body and heat dissipation fins located on both sides of the body. The body is provided with a first accommodation groove for receiving the loading portion. One of the heat dissipation fins on one side is connected to the driving chip through a heat-conducting adhesive.

2. The TOF camera module according to claim 1, wherein A reinforcing steel sheet is provided between the first accommodation groove and the loading portion. The loading portion, the reinforcing steel sheet, and the first accommodation groove are fixed through a heat-conducting adhesive.

3. The TOF camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The housing forms a second accommodation groove matching the heat dissipation portion. The heat dissipation portion extends into the second accommodation groove and contacts the external air.

4. The TOF camera module according to claim 1, wherein, The light source emission module further includes a diffuser located within the receiving cavity. The diffuser is parallel to the second substrate and perpendicular to the light-emitting element.

5. The TOF camera module according to claim 4, wherein The light source emission module further includes a reflection element disposed adjacent to the diffuser and the light-emitting element. The reflection element can reflect the light beam emitted by the light-emitting element to the diffuser. The housing forms a third accommodation groove matching the reflection element, and the reflection element is disposed in the third accommodation groove.

6. An electronic device, characterized in that, Including the TOF camera module according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the photosensitive receiving module further includes a lens, and the lens is disposed opposite to the photosensitive element.

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