Housing, Camera Module, Assembly Method and Electronic Device

Abstract

The present application provides a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device. The housing of the camera module includes a cover portion adapted to cover at least a part of the internal structure of the camera module and is provided with a light inlet; a side wall portion formed by surrounding the outer peripheral edge of the cover portion. Wherein, the housing is integrally formed of a metal material to integrate the functions of an outer shell and a bracket, and an avoidance area is provided in a region of the side wall portion far from the light inlet, which is adapted to avoid the pins of the circuit board of the camera module and other circuit components of the camera module. By providing an integrally formed housing and an avoidance area on the housing, the present application facilitates welding the pins and the circuit board of the photosensitive component through the avoidance area to form a conductive connection, reducing the risk of causing stains.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of camera modules, and more particularly to a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] The camera module is an essential part of mobile electronic devices. With the further development of camera module technology, users' requirements for camera modules have become increasingly refined and demanding. The development of camera products not only needs to meet the requirements of high performance but also needs to meet the requirements of miniaturization, light weight, and compactness. The internal space of electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets is becoming increasingly compact, and the space for accommodating the camera module is very limited. Therefore, higher requirements are put forward for the size of the camera module.

[0003] The camera module generally includes a lens and a photosensitive component. The incident light beam passes through the lens and reaches the photosensitive component to form an image on the photosensitive component. The lens and the photosensitive component are usually assembled to a base to form a part of the camera module. A periscope camera module or a telephoto camera module further includes a prism that can deflect the direction of the light beam at least once to fold the optical path for telephoto shooting.

[0004] The camera module also includes a housing and a bracket. The housing is assembled outside the base of the camera module or above the base of the photosensitive component to cover at least part of the internal structure of the base. The bracket is further installed outside the housing. Generally speaking, the housing plays a role in covering the internal structure of the camera module, and the bracket assembled outside the housing is suitable for fixing to the electronic device. Usually, the bracket has positioning holes, and after aligning with the corresponding positioning holes on the electronic device, screws are used for fixing, so that the camera module is assembled to the electronic device.

[0005] When assembling the camera module, it is necessary to first assemble the housing to the base of the camera module, and then assemble the bracket outside the housing. There are many assembly processes, many calibration processes, and many assembly gaps between multiple components, which are prone to interference or tolerance accumulation.

[0006] Furthermore, since the bracket and the housing are two independent components, when the bracket is assembled around the housing, glue needs to be set between the bracket and the housing. At the same time, an optical lens and a motor assembly are further assembled inside the housing, and glue is also often used for setting. Since the glue shrinks after curing, it will pull the housing to cause deformation, thereby affecting the properties or positions of the components of the camera module inside the housing, and may also pull the bracket to cause deformation, thereby affecting the performance and production yield of the camera module and the whole machine. At the same time, the amount of glue used increases, the glue application area increases, and problems such as glue cracking and glue overflow are likely to occur, which may also cause reliability problems of the camera module.

[0007] In addition, there is a containment relationship between the housing and the bracket, with an overlapping part in space. Both the housing and the bracket have a certain thickness. The accumulation of this overlapping part plus the assembly gap reserved to avoid interference will further increase the size of the camera module. With the current demand for miniaturization of camera modules and the increasingly compact internal space of electronic devices, it has become very important to reasonably compress and control the size of the camera module. Summary of the Invention

[0008] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, wherein the housing of the camera module is directly fixed to the semi-finished camera module, so as to eliminate the assembly gap between the bracket and the housing.

[0009] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, providing a miniaturized housing structure, improving the integration of the camera module, and achieving miniaturization.

[0010] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, wherein the bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrally formed, so as to eliminate the assembly gap between the bracket and the housing.

[0011] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, wherein the bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrally formed, and an avoidance area is provided on the bracket to avoid the connection area between the pins of the circuit components in the camera module and the circuit board. After the housing is installed, it covers the base to form a closed space, so that the optical system is located in the closed space, and then the pins exposed in the avoidance area and the circuit board of the photosensitive component are welded. The foreign matters generated by welding will not enter the interior, causing the risk of stains and affecting the imaging of the camera module.

[0012] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, wherein the bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrated, and the side wall of the housing of the bracket and the housing are integrated, and at least a part of the side wall of the housing can be eliminated, saving the thickness of the side wall of the housing in the size of the camera module and reducing the size of the camera module.

[0013] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, wherein the bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrated, reducing the weight of the camera module.

[0014] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, wherein the bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrally formed, eliminating the step of gluing and fixing between the bracket and the housing, and simplifying the process.

[0015] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device. The bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrally formed, and there is no need to apply glue between the bracket and the housing to fix them, reducing the risk of glue cracking.

[0016] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device. The bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrally formed. By covering the accommodation space of the camera module and installing the camera module in the electronic device with the same component at the same time, the number of parts of the camera module is reduced, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

[0017] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device. The bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrated, reducing the materials used and the production cost.

[0018] One advantage of the present application is to provide a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device. The bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrally formed, simplifying the process, reducing assembly tolerances, and improving the yield rate of the camera module. Description of the Drawings

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a camera module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the separation of the housing and other parts of the camera module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the housing of the camera module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Figure 4 is a bottom view of the housing of the camera module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the camera module after removing the housing according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the avoidance area located on the second side wall portion according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the avoidance area located on the third side wall portion from another perspective according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the position where the positioning holes are arranged in an implementation manner according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the position where the positioning holes are arranged in another implementation manner according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of another perspective of the housing of the camera module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0029] In the figure: 1. Camera module; 10. Housing; 100. Installation opening; 11. Outer shell; 12. Bracket; 101. Cover part; 102. Side wall part; 103. Installation structure; 104. Light inlet; 105. Light outlet; 106. Inner surface; 107. Outer surface; 108. Spacing space; 111. Outer shell cover wall; 112. Outer shell side wall; 113. Bending part; 121. First side wall part; 122. Second side wall part; 123. Third side wall part; 124. Fourth side wall part; 1000. Housing covering space; 1001. Inner side surface; 1101. First side surface; 1120. Combining hole; 1121. First outer shell side wall; 1122. Second outer shell side wall; 1123. Third outer shell side wall; 1201. Second side surface; 1202. Avoidance area; 1203. Avoidance area connecting part; 1204. Clamping hole; 20. Base; 200. Receiving space; 201. Outer peripheral side surface; 202. Light passing port; 203. Installation space; 204. Mounting seat; 2041. Mounting support leg; 205. Buckle; 30. Lens assembly; 40. Photosensitive component; 41. Circuit board; 42. Connection band; 43. Connector; 50. Optical path turning component; 60. Circuit component; 61. Pin; 70. Semi-finished camera module. Detailed implementation manners

[0030] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0031] The concept, specific structure and technical effects of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, so as to fully understand the purpose, features and effects of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, all the connection / connection relationships involved in the patent do not simply refer to the direct connection of components, but refer to the more optimal connection structure that can be formed by adding or reducing connection accessories according to the specific implementation situation. Each technical feature in the present invention can be combined interactively without conflicting with each other.

[0032] Next, in combination with specific embodiments, the present application will be further described. It should be noted that, on the premise of no conflict, the following-described embodiments or technical features can be arbitrarily combined with each other to form new embodiments.

[0033] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that for orientation terms, such as the terms "center", "horizontal", "vertical", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc., the indicated orientation and position relationships are based on the orientation or position relationships shown in the drawings. This is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and should not be construed as limiting the specific protection scope of the present application.

[0034] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the description and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects and do not necessarily need to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0035] The terms "comprising", "having" and any variations thereof in the description and claims of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that comprises a series of steps or units does not necessarily have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0036] It should be noted that, as used in the present application, terms such as "substantially", "about" and similar terms are used as approximate terms and not as terms of degree, and are intended to account for the inherent deviations in measured or calculated values that would be recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0037] In the description of the present application, it should also be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "set", "installed", "connected", "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, a contact connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0038] The terms used in this description are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to be limiting. As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will also be understood that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising", when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0039]

Camera module

[0040] Refer to the attached Figure 1 and Figure 2 According to the present application, a camera module 1 is provided. The camera module 1 includes a housing 10 and a semi-finished camera module 70. The semi-finished camera module 70 further includes a base 20, a lens assembly 30 and an image sensor assembly 40. The lens assembly 30 is installed in a receiving space 200 of the base 20, and the image sensor assembly 40 is fixed to the base 20. The housing 10 is disposed at least partially around the base 20 to cover the lens assembly 30 located in the receiving space 200.

[0041] Among them, the housing 10 and the base 20 can be connected in a variety of ways such as gluing, welding, interference fit, snap connection, mechanical connection, threading, hinging, etc. In one alternative embodiment, the housing 10 and the base 20 are connected by gluing.

[0042] The housing 10 includes an outer shell 11 and a bracket 12. In some alternative embodiments, the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed to form a whole.

[0043] The base 20 has a light passing port 202. The outgoing side of the lens assembly 30 faces the light passing port 202. The image sensor assembly 40 is installed on the base 20. The image sensor assembly 40 faces the light passing port 202 and is located on the outgoing side of the lens assembly 30. The light beam emitted from the lens assembly 30 reaches the image sensor assembly 40 for imaging.

[0044] Further, the semi-finished camera module 70 of the camera module 1 may further include a lens driving assembly, which is used to drive the lens assembly 30 to move to achieve focus adjustment for the purpose of automatic focusing and / or zooming. The lens driving assembly includes a first driving unit and a second lens driving unit. The first driving unit is installed on the base 20, and the second driving unit is installed on the lens assembly 30. The first driving unit and the second lens driving unit interact to drive the lens assembly 30 to move relative to the base 20.

[0045] In an implementation manner of the driving form of the present application, the lens driving assembly is implemented as a voice coil motor drive. One of the first driving unit and the second lens driving unit is implemented as a magnet, and the other is implemented as a coil. In other implementation manners of the driving form of the present application, the lens driving assembly is implemented as a piezoelectric motor drive, an SMA (Shape Memory Alloys) drive, a stepping motor, or other driving manners.

[0046] For the purpose of easy description, the height or thickness direction of the camera module is defined as the Z-axis, and the height direction of the camera module is the thickness direction of the electronic device on which the camera module is installed. The two directions of the transverse and longitudinal directions that are orthogonal to the height direction of the camera module and perpendicular to each other are defined as the X-axis and the Y-axis respectively.

[0047] The types of the camera module include various forms such as an upright camera module, a periscope camera module, and other types of telephoto camera modules.

[0048] In an embodiment of the present application, the camera module 1 is implemented as a periscope camera module for illustration. The semi-finished camera module 70 of the camera module 1 may further include an optical path turning assembly 50. The optical path turning assembly 50 is disposed in the receiving space 200 of the base 20, and the exit side of the optical path turning assembly 50 faces the incident side of the lens assembly 30. After the optical path turning assembly 50 deflects the incident light, the light passes through the lens assembly 30 and reaches the photosensitive assembly 40 for imaging.

[0049] Wherein, the optical path turning assembly 50 deflects the light beam incident in the first direction (Z-axis) of the height direction into the direction of exiting towards the photosensitive assembly 40. The optical path turning assembly 50 and the lens assembly 30 are arranged in sequence along the propagation direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam from the incident light side to the exit light side.

[0050] The semi-finished product 70 of the camera module 1 may further include an optical path turning drive assembly for driving the optical path turning assembly 50 to move, so as to realize the movement of the optical path turning assembly 50 in at least one direction. Schematically, the optical path turning drive assembly drives the optical path turning assembly 50 to rotate around the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis) to realize a nodding motion, correct the position of the optical path turning assembly 50, and realize anti-shake; the optical path turning drive assembly drives the optical path turning assembly 50 to rotate around the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) to realize a shaking motion, correct the position of the optical path turning assembly 50, and realize anti-shake; the optical path turning drive assembly drives the optical path turning assembly 50 to rotate around the light beam propagation direction (the second direction Y-axis) to correct the position of the optical path turning assembly 50 and realize anti-shake; the optical path turning drive assembly drives the optical path turning assembly 50 to move along the light beam propagation direction (the second direction Y-axis) to realize a focus adjustment motion; the optical path turning drive assembly drives the optical path turning assembly 50 to realize the rotation or movement in one or more of the foregoing directions to realize anti-shake and / or focus adjustment motion.

[0051] The foregoing example illustrates the example in which the optical path turning assembly 50 is disposed on the incident side of the lens assembly 30. In other periscope camera modules, the optical path turning assembly 50 is disposed between the lens assembly 30 and the photosensitive assembly 40 to turn the direction of the light beam at least once after the light beam exits from the lens assembly 30 and before it enters the photosensitive assembly 40.

[0052] In other partial periscope camera modules, multiple such optical path turning assemblies 50 are included, and at least one of them can be disposed in front of the incident side of the lens assembly 30 to turn the direction of the light beam at least once before the light beam enters the lens assembly 30, and at least one of them can be disposed between the lens assembly 30 and the photosensitive assembly 40 to turn the direction of the light beam at least once after the light beam exits from the lens assembly 30 and before it enters the photosensitive assembly 40.

[0053] In other periscope camera modules, other lenses can also be disposed in front of the incident side of the optical path turning assembly 50 so that the light beam passes through the lens before entering the optical path turning assembly 50.

[0054] In addition, each such optical path turning assembly 50 can turn the direction of the light beam once or multiple times, and this application does not limit this.

[0055] The optical path turning drive assembly includes a first optical path turning drive unit and a second optical path turning drive unit. The first optical path turning drive unit is disposed on the base 20, and the second optical path turning drive unit is disposed on the optical path turning assembly 50. The first optical path turning drive unit and the second optical path turning drive unit interact to drive the optical path turning assembly 50 to move.

[0056] In an embodiment of the driving form of the present application, the optical path turning driving assembly is implemented as a voice coil motor driving, one of the first optical path turning driving unit and the second optical path turning driving unit is implemented as a magnet, and the other is implemented as a coil.

[0057] In other embodiments of the driving form of the present application, the optical path turning driving assembly is implemented as a piezoelectric motor driving, an SMA (Shape Memory Alloys) driving, a stepping motor or other driving methods.

[0058] Among them, the lens driving assembly and the optical path turning driving assembly may adopt the same driving form or different driving forms.

[0059]

Housing 10

[0060] Referring to the attached drawings of the specification Figures 1 to 8 , the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 of the housing 10 are integrally formed into one component. That is to say, the housing 10 is an integrally formed component. Among them, the outer shell 11 is adapted to cover the base 20 to cover at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module 70, and a light inlet 104 is provided on the outer shell 11; the bracket 12 has at least four side wall portions and is used to surround at least a part of the circumference of the semi-finished camera module 70 and is connected to the outer shell 11, and the thickness of the bracket 12 is not less than the thickness of the outer shell 11, and is adapted for the camera module and the electronic device to be installed, so that the camera module is fixed to the electronic device. In an alternative embodiment of the present application, the outer shell of the housing 10 mainly functions to control stray light and cover the top surface, and the bracket 12 functions to provide peripheral protection. Specifically, the minimum thickness of the bracket 12 is not less than the minimum thickness of the outer shell. Further, it can be implemented that the minimum thickness of the outer shell corresponds to different covered materials and the bracket 12 corresponds to different covered materials, and is formed based on different processing methods, so as to ensure that the minimum thickness of the bracket 12 is not less than the minimum thickness of the outer shell. The housing 10 of the present application adopts an integrated design, integrating the functions of the outer shell and the bracket 12 of the camera module in the prior art, reducing the number of parts, simplifying the assembly process, improving production efficiency, and saving some dimensions, which is beneficial to the miniaturization of the camera module.

[0061] The unlabeled outer shell and bracket in the following text refer to the outer shell and bracket in the prior art, and the labeled outer shell 11 and bracket 12 refer to the outer shell 11 and bracket 12 in the present application.

[0062] Among them, at least one side wall portion of the bracket 12 is provided with an avoidance area 1202, and the avoidance area 1202 corresponds to the conduction area of the lead 61 of the circuit component 60 and the circuit board 41 of the photosensitive component 40. After the housing 10 is installed, it covers at least part of the base 20, the lens assembly 30, and the photosensitive component 40 to form a closed space, so that the optical system and the drive system are located in the closed space. Then, the lead 61 exposed in the avoidance area 1202 and the circuit board 41 of the photosensitive component 40 are welded to form a conduction connection, reducing the risk of dirt generated by welding from entering the interior and reducing the impact on the assembly yield of the module.

[0063] In an implementation manner of the production and manufacturing of the housing 10 of the present application, the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 of the housing 10 are integrally formed, that is, the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed using the same material, and the material can be a high-strength plastic material or a metal material.

[0064] In an implementation manner of the production and manufacturing of the housing 10 of the present application, the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 are made of the same metal material, and the housing 10 is integrally formed using a metal material forming process. The forming processes that can be used include, but are not limited to, integrated die casting, metal casting, metal forging, metal stamping, powder metallurgy, metal injection molding (MIM), stretching, secondary stretching, etc. The metal materials that can be used include, but are not limited to, steel-containing materials, aluminum alloys, phosphor bronzes, titanium alloys, iron-based materials, zinc alloys, magnesium alloys, tin-based alloys, copper alloys, etc. The steel-containing materials can be, but are not limited to, stainless steel, SPCC (Steel Plate Cold Commercial), etc.

[0065] In an alternative embodiment of the present application, the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 are made of an aluminum alloy material, and the housing 10 is integrally formed by using an aluminum alloy integrated die casting method. By using aluminum alloy integrated die casting, such as aluminum-magnesium alloy, etc., the weight reduction effect is achieved by using the lightweight characteristics of the material, reducing the weight of the housing 10 and the camera module. And the aluminum alloy material has good comprehensive performance, high strength and good toughness. The housing 10 produced thereby has good mechanical strength, which is beneficial to improving the reliability of the housing 10 and the camera module. And by adopting an integrated design, it is allowed to integrate multiple functions in the same part, improving the functionality and integration degree of the component, and also reducing the mechanical processing and assembly steps, reducing the production cost.

[0066] Among them, the wall thickness of the traditional housing 11 is about 0.2 mm. In this application, the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed. In the horizontal and vertical directions of the camera module, the wall thickness of the housing 11 can be saved on one side, that is, the size of 0.2 mm is reduced. The horizontal and vertical sizes of the camera module are reduced, which can also provide more design space when components such as motors and lenses become larger.

[0067] The above data is only an example to illustrate the advantages of the integrated design adopted by the housing 10 of this application. According to different designs of the camera module, the sizes that can be saved are different. It may save more sizes or less sizes, but at least the size of the wall thickness of the housing in the prior art can be reduced on the basis of the integrated design.

[0068] In addition, the integrated die-casting technology can manufacture parts with complex shapes and fine details; it can precisely control the dimensions of the parts, reduce the need for subsequent processing, thereby improving dimensional accuracy; it can form multiple parts in one go, improving production efficiency.

[0069] In other examples of this application, other materials such as zinc alloy, magnesium alloy, tin-based alloy, and copper alloy can also be used for integrated die-casting to manufacture the housing 10 of this application.

[0070] In an implementation manner of the production and manufacturing of the housing 10 of this application, the housing 11 and the bracket 12 can adopt different metal materials and combine different metal materials together to integrally form the housing 10. Among them, the metal materials that can be adopted include but are not limited to steel-containing materials, aluminum alloy, phosphor bronze, titanium alloy, iron-based materials, etc. Further, appropriate metal materials can be selected by considering aspects such as cost, lightweight, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance.

[0071] Taking the housing 11 made of stainless steel material and the bracket 12 made of aluminum alloy as an example, the stainless steel and aluminum alloy can be integrally formed by a casting process. For example, design a suitable mold, then pour the two metals into the mold in a certain proportion and order, and make the metals fuse at high temperature and form an integral part after cooling. Or, use welding technology to connect the stainless steel and aluminum alloy together. Welding technologies such as argon arc welding or laser welding can be adopted to ensure the strength and quality of the welding. Or, first form the housing 11 made of stainless steel by stamping. When casting the aluminum alloy of the bracket 12, the housing 11 can be placed in the mold as a stainless steel insert, and then casting is carried out to make the aluminum alloy form a mechanical or metallurgical bond with the stainless steel to obtain the housing 10.

[0072] The foregoing content introduces the implementation manner of integrally forming the housing 10 with metal materials. In other implementation manners of this application, the housing 10 can be integrally formed with non-metal materials.

[0073] It is understood that the "one-piece molding" in this application refers to forming a single component. For example, the housing 10 is a single component, and it is not limited to being formed in one step during the manufacturing process. It can be formed in one step or multiple steps to obtain the housing 10 of one-piece molding in this application.

[0074] Next, the structure of the housing 10 of this application will be specifically described.

[0075] The housing 10 includes a cover portion 101 and a side wall portion 102. The cover portion 101 is adapted to cover at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module 70. The side wall portion 102 is adapted to surround at least a part of the circumferential side of the base 20 and is provided with the light entrance 104. Among them, from the perspective of the attached drawings, the cover portion 101 is distributed along the plane where the diameter of the light entrance 104 is located or substantially along the plane where the diameter of the light entrance 104 is located, that is, it extends along the horizontal direction. The side wall portion 102 bends from the outer peripheral edge of the cover portion 101 and extends along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) or substantially along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis). Refer to the attached Figures 1 - 5 , it can be understood that the side wall portion 102 surrounds the outer side of the base 20 for one week. The cover portion 101 is the top surface of the housing 10 located or substantially located on the plane where the diameter of the light entrance 104 is located, covering the top opening formed by the base 20 and the side portion together.

[0076] The cover portion 101 and the side wall portion 102 jointly define the housing covering space 1000 of the housing 10. The housing 10 also has an installation opening 100. The housing covering space 1000 communicates with the external space through the installation opening 100. The housing 10 is covered on the base 20 through the installation opening 100, and the base 20 is accommodated in the housing covering space 1000. Among them, the installation opening 100 is defined by the surrounding of the bracket 12. Specifically, the bracket 12 defines the lower end of the housing 10 (that is, the end close to the main board of the electronic device), and the outer shell 11 defines the upper end of the housing 10 (that is, the end close to the light passing hole of the electronic device). The outer shell 11 extends from the upper end of the housing 10 to the bracket 12, and the bracket 12 continues to verify and define the lower end of the housing 10.

[0077] The cover part 101 has a thickness H1 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), and the side wall part 102 has a thickness H2 in the lateral direction (the third direction X-axis) or in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis). The thickness H1 is less than the thickness H2, so that the size of the camera module in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) is as small as possible, reducing the height of the camera module, which can be adapted to the relatively small thickness of the electronic device, meeting the requirement of miniaturization of the camera module. In some optional embodiments, the thickness of any position of the cover part 101 does not exceed the thickness of any position of the side wall part 102. Since the main function of the cover part 101 is to cover the internal structure of the camera module, its thickness only needs to ensure that the cover part 101 can be formed. Therefore, H1 can be as small as possible while ensuring strength to reduce the size of the camera module. The side wall part 102 has a certain thickness to ensure its mechanical strength. In some optional embodiments, the thickness H1 is implemented as the minimum thickness of the cover part 101, and the thickness H2 is implemented as the minimum thickness of the side wall part 102.

[0078] The side wall part 102 is sleeved outside the base 20. Further, in some examples of the present application, at least a part of the bottom of the side wall part 102 is flush with at least a part of the bottom of the base 20. Or rather, there is a flush part of the lower end surface of the side wall part 102 with the lower end surface of the base 20, which is beneficial to positioning the installation of the housing 10 on the base 20 and improving the assembly accuracy in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis). In other examples of the present application, at least a part of the bottom of the side wall part 102 protrudes further downward relative to the bottom of the base 20.

[0079] Reference Figure 8 As shown, the side wall part 102 is provided with an installation structure 103. Specifically, the installation structure 103 is arranged outside the bracket 12, suitable for installing the camera module to the electronic device, and / or suitable for fixing the camera module and other camera modules to form a multi-camera module. Among them, the installation structure 103 and the avoidance area 1202 are arranged at different positions of the bracket 12 to avoid each other. Further, along the top view perspective in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), defined as the projection direction, the installation structure 103 and the avoidance area 1202 are arranged at different positions of the side wall part 102 of the bracket 12 along the projection direction. The above design can prevent the installation structure 103 from affecting the assembly process of the avoidance area 1202, and at the same time, the dislocation avoidance setting can further optimize the risk of the overall structural strength of the housing 10 caused by the avoidance area 1202.

[0080] The cover part 101, the side wall part 102 and the installation structure 103 are integrally formed by using a metal material forming process to integrate the functions of the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present application, the housing 10 is mounted on the base 20 of one camera module to form a housing 11 of the camera module; in an embodiment of the present application, the housing 10 is mounted on the bases 20 of multiple camera modules, that is, the housing covering space 1000 can accommodate multiple camera modules to form multiple housings 11 of the camera modules. That is to say, the housing 11 and the bracket 12 of a single camera module can adopt an integrated design, and the housing 11 and the bracket 12 of a multi-camera module can also adopt an integrated design.

[0082] The mounting structure 103 includes a positioning portion and a positioning hole. The positioning portion extends outwardly and convexly from the outer surface of the side wall portion 102, and the positioning hole is formed in the positioning portion to form a through hole. Align the positioning hole with the mounting hole on the electronic device, and then fix it through a fixing member (such as a screw), so that the camera module is fixed to the electronic device. Similarly, the positioning hole can be aligned with the positioning hole of the bracket 12 of other camera modules for fixing, so that the camera module is connected to other camera modules.

[0083] In other examples, the mounting structure 103 can also be a snap structure for positioning and snap-fixing 205 with the electronic device. In other examples, the corresponding positions of the camera module and the electronic device can be buckled and fixed by glue bonding. In other examples, it can also be implemented in other suitable fixing ways.

[0084] Since the housing 10 is made of a metal material, if the camera module is fixed to the electronic device by the cooperation of a fixing member and a positioning hole, it is not easy to generate chips due to friction when the metal material cooperates with the fixing member, thus avoiding the generation of foreign objects.

[0085] The housing 10 also has a light inlet 104, and the incident light beam enters the interior of the camera module 1 and / or the semi-finished camera module 70 from the light inlet 104 and passes through the lens assembly 30. In some examples, the housing 10 also has a light outlet 105, and the light beam exits from the light outlet 105 and reaches the photosensitive component 40 to form an image on the photosensitive component 40. The lens assembly 30 is mounted between the light inlet 104 and the light outlet 105, and the light outlet 105 is located between the lens assembly 30 and the photosensitive component 40. Further, the optical path turning assembly 50 is located between the light transmission routes of the light inlet 104 and the light outlet 105. Before the light beam reaches the photosensitive component 40, the optical path turning assembly 50 can turn the light beam to achieve optical path folding.

[0086] The housing 10 has an inner surface 106 and an outer surface 107. The inner surface 106 faces the internal structure of the camera module, and the outer surface 107 faces the outside of the camera module. An inner connection structure is formed between the inner surface 106 and the internal structure of the camera module, and an internal and external connection structure is formed between the outer surface 107 and the external structure of the camera module. When the housing 10 and the base 20 are fixed, the inner connection structure is formed between the inner surface 106 and the base 20, so that the camera module forms an integral body; when the housing 10 and the electronic device are fixed, the external connection structure is formed between the outer surface 107 and the electronic device, so that the camera module is mounted on the electronic device. Thus, the position of the camera module in the electronic device is positioned by the cooperation of the inner and outer surfaces of the housing 10, improving the accuracy of assembly and positioning.

[0087] The inner surface 106 is jointly defined by the inner surface of the outer shell 11 and the inner surface of the bracket 12, and the outer surface 107 is jointly defined by the outer surface of the outer shell 11 and the outer surface of the bracket 12.

[0088] In some examples, the inner surface 106 provides at least one bonding surface for cooperating with the base 20 for bonding and fixing, so that the housing 10 and the base 20 are fixed. Further, the bonding surface may be formed at a portion of the inner surface 106 located at the side wall portion 102.

[0089] Next, the specific structures of the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 included in the housing 10 are further elaborated.

[0090] The outer shell 11 includes an outer shell cover wall 111 which forms the aforementioned cover portion 101 and is adapted to cover the receiving space 200 of the base 20. The light entrance 104 is opened in the outer shell cover wall 111 and faces the direction of light incidence.

[0091] In an embodiment of the present application, the outer shell 11 further includes an outer shell side wall 112 which is disposed around the outer shell cover wall 111. Specifically, the outer shell cover wall 111 extends and is distributed along the plane where the diameter of the light entrance 104 is located, or is substantially distributed along the plane where the diameter of the light entrance 104 is located, and the outer shell side wall 112 extends and is distributed along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) after being bent from the outer peripheral edge of the outer shell cover wall 111.

[0092] The bracket 12 and the outer shell 11 are stacked along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis). Specifically, at least a part of the outer shell side wall 112 extends towards the bracket 12 and is coupled to the bracket 12.

[0093] Further, the bracket 12 and the side wall 112 of the housing are stacked in the height direction without overlapping with the side wall 112 of the housing, so as to avoid increasing the thickness of the side wall 112 of the housing at the bracket 12, that is, the thickness of the side wall 112 of the housing is not increased within the length range in the height direction covered by the bracket 12.

[0094] To ensure that the bracket 12 and the side wall 112 of the housing 11 are stacked in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) without overlapping, the connection between the bracket 12 and the housing 11 is formed between the top of the bracket 12 and the bottom of the side wall 112 of the housing 11. Among them, the top of the bracket 12 faces the side of the housing cover wall 111. A bent portion 113 is formed between the housing cover wall 111 and the side wall 112 of the housing. The thicknesses of the housing cover wall 111 and the side wall 112 of the housing are close to or the same, so that the bent portion 113 has a smooth transition, reducing the molding difficulty. Further, the thickness of the side wall 112 of the housing is smaller than the thickness of the bracket 12, reducing the wall thickness of a part of the side wall portion 102 of the housing 10, which is beneficial to reducing the weight of the housing 10.

[0095] In another embodiment of the present application, the top of the bracket 12 is formed on the outer periphery of the housing cover wall 111 of the housing 11, that is, the housing 11 does not have the side wall 112 of the housing. Compared with the prior art, the thickness of the stacked side wall 112 of the housing 11 is omitted at the bracket 12.

[0096] Therefore, when the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed to form the housing 10, the thickness of the housing 11 can be omitted at the overlapping portion of the bracket 12 and the housing 11, or the bracket 12 and the housing 11 are stacked in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), saving the thickness of the housing 11 in the lateral and longitudinal dimensions. Further, since the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed, compared with the separate bracket 12 and housing in the prior art, using the housing 10 omits the process of assembling the bracket 12 to the housing and also omits the glue application between the bracket 12 and the housing.

[0097] That is to say, in terms of dimensions, adopting the integrated housing 10 is beneficial to reducing the size of the camera module, especially the lateral dimension and / or the longitudinal dimension; in terms of assembly, adopting the integrated design of the housing 10 simplifies the assembly process and improves production efficiency; in terms of reliability, adopting the integrated design of the housing 10 omits the glue application, avoiding the reliability risks brought by the glue, such as but not limited to bracket detachment, glue cracking, bracket deformation, housing deformation, etc.

[0098] Specifically, regarding the reliability risk of the glue, the cracking of the glue will cause the glue to break or fail, resulting in the loss of stability of the structure originally connected by the glue, and reducing the strength, stiffness, durability, etc. of the connection structure. If the camera module is assembled on an electronic device, after the bracket and the electronic device are fixed, if the connection structure between the bracket and the housing 11 fails, the camera module may become loose or displaced, resulting in a decline or even failure of the performance of the camera module. By using the integrated housing 10 of the present application to realize the functions of the housing 11 and the bracket 12 of the camera module, the glue application between the bracket and the housing 11 is eliminated, which can reduce the risk points of the camera module and improve the reliability of the camera module.

[0099] Furthermore, eliminating the glue application between the bracket and the housing 11 can specifically eliminate the selection and verification of the glue, the selection and verification of the glue position, the verification of the glue amount (such as the total glue amount, glue width, glue length, glue thickness, etc.), the production and verification of the tooling fixtures for the glue application process, the glue coating and curing time, etc., and also eliminates the problem of the glue seeping down and affecting the appearance. Therefore, eliminating the glue application between the bracket and the housing 11 can save processes and engineering such as production and assembly, improve the production efficiency and production yield of the camera module, and can improve the appearance yield of the camera module.

[0100] In addition, in the camera module of the prior art, since the glue will pull the housing 11 and the bracket after curing due to the shrinkage rate, and the housing 11 is relatively thin, the housing 11 will be pulled and deformed. Since the housing 11 is arranged outside the base 20, the deformation of the housing 11 being pulled may cause the base 20 to be deformed under force, thereby affecting the shape of the accommodation space of the base 20 and the position and / or shape of the components located in the accommodation space, etc., and affecting the performance and reliability of the camera module. Therefore, after avoiding the glue application between the bracket and the housing 11, the deformation problem caused by the shrinkage of the glue during curing is also avoided, the assembly tolerance is reduced, and it is beneficial to improve the finished product yield.

[0101] Specifically in terms of assembly, first, the assembly process is simplified. The two-time assembly of the housing and the bracket in the prior art is optimized into one-time assembly of the housing 10 of the present application, eliminating the glue setting and glue curing processes, and reducing the assembly tolerance. In addition, the integration of the housing 11 and the bracket 12 can also optimize the eccentricity problem of the camera module caused by the bracket assembly in the prior art.

[0102] Specifically, in the camera module of the prior art, there is an assembly gap between the bracket and the housing 11, which causes the housing 11 to drive the base 20 of the camera module and its internal structure to shift within the bracket, resulting in the light passing holes provided on the housing 11 shifting relative to the bracket. Therefore, when assembling the bracket to the housing 11, the light passing holes of the camera module may have already shifted. After assembling the camera module to the electronic device, the shift situation may be more serious, which leads to the misalignment of the light passing holes of the electronic device and the camera module, causing the eccentricity problem of the camera module. Moreover, the glue between the bracket and the housing 11 also affects the relative position between the bracket and the housing 11, exacerbating the shift problem between the light passing holes and the bracket, making the misalignment problem of the light passing holes of the final electronic device and the camera module more serious.

[0103] In this application, the housing 10 of the camera module adopts an integrated design of the housing 11 and the bracket 12. The light incident port 104 of the housing 11 is fixed at the position of the housing 10, and the relative position between the light incident port 104 and the bracket 12 remains unchanged, avoiding the shift problem between the housing 11 and the bracket in the camera module of the prior art. That is to say, the relative position between the light incident port 104 of the housing 10 and the mounting structure 103 remains unchanged. Therefore, when installing the camera module to the electronic device, through the precise alignment of the mounting structure 103 and the electronic device, the alignment of the light incident port 104 of the camera module and the light passing hole of the electronic device can be achieved, avoiding the eccentricity problem of the camera module caused by the shift of the light incident port 104, and improving the assembly yield of the camera module. Further, the assembly eccentricity problem of the camera module can be controlled by controlling the manufacturing tolerance of the distance between the light incident port 104 and the mounting structure 103; the assembly eccentricity problem of the camera module can be controlled by controlling the manufacturing tolerance of the distance between the light incident port 104 and the bracket 12.

[0104] It can be understood that according to the design requirements of the camera module, certain surface treatments can be performed on the housing 10 and the housing 11, including but not limited to electroplating, laser engraving, blackening, spraying, silk screening, coating, etc., to meet the requirements of optical performance, magnetic shielding, stray light improvement, structural strengthening, service life extension, etc. For example, surface treatments such as laser engraving and blackening can be performed on specific areas of the surface of the housing cover wall 111 for stray light improvement.

[0105] The bracket 12 is sleeved on the outside of the base 20, surrounding the base 20 for one week to form a protective structure outside the camera module, which can provide physical protection for the camera module and prevent damage caused by dropping, impact or other external forces. The bracket 12 is used to fix the camera module at a specific position in the electronic device, ensuring the accurate relative position with other components, so as to ensure the accuracy and stability of image capture. When the camera module is working, it may generate heat. The bracket 12 can assist in heat dissipation, help the camera module work at an appropriate temperature, and extend the service life. The bracket 12 can enhance the structural stability of the camera module. In some possible implementation manners, the bracket 12 can provide a certain degree of electromagnetic shielding to prevent electromagnetic interference from affecting the imaging quality.

[0106] In some examples, the bracket 12 is formed by surrounding the outer periphery of the semi-finished camera module 70 for one week, and includes a first side wall portion 121, a second side wall portion 122, a third side wall portion 123 and a fourth side wall portion 124 located on different sides. The first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, the third side wall portion 123 and the fourth side wall portion 124 surround the semi-finished camera module 70 for one week and enclose to form the bracket 12. From the perspective of the accompanying drawings of the specification, the first side wall portion 121 and the third side wall portion 123 are distributed along the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y axis) and are opposite in the transverse direction (the third direction X axis). The second side wall portion 122 and the fourth side wall portion 124 are distributed along the transverse direction (the third direction X axis) and are opposite in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y axis) of the light beam propagation direction. The fourth side wall portion 124 is located on the light-emitting side of the camera module. The first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, the third side wall portion 123 and the fourth side wall portion 124 respectively have heights extending along the height direction (the first direction Z axis), and jointly enclose to form the bracket 12.

[0107] Among them, the specific shape of the bracket 12 can be determined in combination with the design requirements of the camera module and the adaptation requirements of the electronic device.

[0108] In other examples of the present application, the bracket 12 is not formed by surrounding for one week. The bracket 12 has at least one opening, which is arranged on three sides of the housing 11. Further, in some examples, the position of the opening is adapted to the position of the photosensitive component 40. In some examples, the position of the opening is different from the position of the photosensitive component 40.

[0109] The shape of the bracket 12 can be frame-shaped, L-shaped, U-shaped, "mouth" shaped, etc.

[0110] In an implementation of the production and manufacturing of the housing 10 of the present application, the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 of the housing 10 are integrally formed by combining a metal material and a plastic material. Specifically, the outer shell 11 is made of a metal material, and injection molding is performed around a part of the outer shell 11 to form the bracket 12, that is, the bracket 12 is formed with at least a part of the outer shell side wall 112 of the outer shell 11, and the housing 10 integrally formed as a single part is obtained.

[0111] More specifically, at least a part of the outer shell side wall 112 of the outer shell 11 for injection molding is the bonding area of the outer shell side wall 112 of the outer shell 11. The bonding area of the outer shell side wall 112 is injection molded to form the bracket 12. The bonding areas of the outer shell side walls 112 of the outer shell 11 on different sides are injection molded to form different side wall parts of the bracket 12 on different sides. The bracket 12 and the remaining area of the outer shell side wall 112 together form the side wall part 102 of the housing 10, and the outer shell cover wall 111 of the outer shell 11 forms the cover part 101 of the housing 10.

[0112] The outer shell side wall 112 of the outer shell 11 is provided with bonding holes 1120, and the bonding holes 1120 penetrate through the outer shell side wall 112 and the number can be multiple. The molding material used to form the bracket 12 is combined with the inner wall of the bonding holes 1120, which can strengthen the bonding strength between the two parts, that is, strengthen the connection strength between the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12.

[0113] In an implementation of the outer shell 11 of the present application, the outer shell side wall 112 includes a first outer shell side wall 1121, a second outer shell side wall 1122, and a third outer shell side wall 1123. The first outer shell side wall 1121, the second outer shell side wall 1122, and the third outer shell side wall 1123 are connected in sequence and are formed around three sides of the outer shell cover wall 111. At least one or all of the first outer shell side wall 1121, the second outer shell side wall 1122, and the third outer shell side wall 1123 are provided with the bonding holes 1120. Further, a plurality of the bonding holes 1120 are provided.

[0114] In another embodiment of the housing 11 of the present application, the housing sidewall 112 includes a first housing sidewall 1121, a second housing sidewall 1122, a third housing sidewall 1123, and a fourth housing sidewall. The first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall are formed around the peripheral side of the housing cover wall 111. The bracket 12 is formed in a circle around the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall. At least one or all of the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall are provided with the engaging holes 1120.

[0115] As Figures 9 - 10 shown, the housing sidewall 112 includes an engaging portion, and the engaging holes 1120 are provided in the engaging portion. After the housing 11 is formed, the bracket 12 is formed around the engaging portion, so that the molding material enters the engaging holes 1120, and the molding material is combined with the inner wall of the engaging holes 1120, and the bracket 12 is integrally formed on the surface of the engaging portion and the engaging holes 1120.

[0116] In some examples, the bracket 12 is formed on both the inner and outer sides of the housing sidewall 112. That is, a part of the bracket 12 is formed on both the inner surface and the outer surface of the housing sidewall 112. At least a part of the housing sidewall 112 is wrapped in the bracket 12. The molding material passes through the engaging holes 1120, and the bracket 12 is formed on the inner surface, the outer surface of the engaging portion, and the engaging holes 1120. In some examples, the bracket 12 is formed on the outer side of the housing sidewall 112. That is, the molding material forms the bracket 12 on the outer surface of the engaging holes 1120 and the engaging portion.

[0117] Wherein, the inner side of the housing sidewall 112 faces the inside of the housing 10, that is, faces the internal structure of the imaging module, and the outer side of the housing sidewall 112 faces the outside of the housing 10, that is, faces the external space of the imaging module.

[0118] From the perspective of the accompanying drawings of the specification, the first housing sidewall 1121 and the third housing sidewall 1123 extend and are distributed along the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, and are opposite to each other along the transverse direction (third direction X-axis). The second housing sidewall 1122 extends and is distributed along the transverse direction (third direction X-axis). In an example where the fourth housing sidewall is provided, the second housing sidewall 1122 and the fourth housing sidewall are opposite to each other along the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction.

[0119] In an example where the fourth housing sidewall exists in the housing 11, the bracket 12 forms the first sidewall portion 121, the second sidewall portion 122, the third sidewall portion 123, and the fourth sidewall portion 124 on the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall respectively, such that the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall are respectively embedded in the first sidewall portion 121, the second sidewall portion 122, the third sidewall portion 123, and the fourth sidewall portion 124, forming an embedding relationship.

[0120] In an example where the fourth housing sidewall does not exist in the housing 11, the bracket 12 forms the first sidewall portion 121, the second sidewall portion 122, and the third sidewall portion 123 on the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, and the third housing sidewall 1123 respectively, such that the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, and the third housing sidewall 1123 are respectively embedded in the first sidewall portion 121, the second sidewall portion 122, and the third sidewall portion 123, forming an embedding relationship.

[0121] Specifically elaborate on the positional relationship between the housing sidewall 112 of the housing 11 and the bracket 12. The housing 11 has a first side surface 1101. In an embodiment where the housing 11 has the housing sidewall 112, the first side surface 1101 is formed on the inner surface of the housing sidewall 112 and faces the base 20. The bracket 12 has a second side surface 1201, and the second side surface 1201 is formed on the inner surface of the bracket 12 and faces the base 20.

[0122] In some examples, the first side surface 1101 and the second side surface 1201 are flush and aligned along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), such that the housing 10 provides a flat inner surface 1001, and the inner surface 1001 is adapted to cooperate with the base 20. The base 20 provides a peripheral side surface 201 without a step difference, and the inner surface 1001 and the peripheral side surface 201 are adapted to each other. Further, the first side surface 1101 and the second side surface 1201 being flush is beneficial to the molding and demolding of the housing 10. In an embodiment of integrated die-casting molding, the first side surface 1101 and the second side surface 1201 being flush facilitates demolding, and is beneficial to simplifying the mold design, improving the production yield, and reducing costs.

[0123] In some examples, the first side surface 1101 and the second side surface 1201 are not flush, forming a step difference. The first side surface 1101 is closer to the outside than the second side surface 1201, that is, farther from the base 20. The gap between the first side surface 1101 and the base 20 is smaller than the gap between the second side surface 1201 and the base 20.

[0124] In some examples, the bonding surfaces on the inner surface 106 of the housing 10 are provided on the first side surface 1101 of the housing side wall 112 of the outer shell 11 and the second side surface 1201 of the bracket 12 for adhesively fixing the housing 10 to the base 20. Further, the bonding surface is only provided on the second side surface 1201 of the bracket 12 to ensure the relative position fixation between the housing 10 and the internal structure of the camera module.

[0125] In an implementation manner of the present application, the outer shell 11 is formed on one side of the first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, and the third side wall portion 123 in the height direction (the first direction Z axis). There is a spaced space 108 between the fourth side wall portion 124 and the outer shell 11. The spaced space 108 is formed between the light exit port 105 and the fourth side wall portion 124, surrounded and defined by a part of the first side wall portion 121, the fourth side wall portion 124, and a part of the third side wall portion 123, and is formed on the side of the outer shell 11. After the camera module is assembled, the photosensitive component 40 is accommodated in the spaced space 108. Among them, the light exit port 105 is surrounded and defined by the inner surface of the first side wall portion 121, the end of the housing cover wall 111 of the outer shell 11, and the inner surface of the third side wall portion 123, and is communicated with the spaced space 108.

[0126] Specifically, taking the camera module as a periscope camera module as an example, the light passing port 202 is located on the exit side of the lens assembly 30, and the photosensitive component 40 is installed on one side of the light passing port 202 so that the light beam can reach the photosensitive component 40 for imaging after passing through the lens assembly 30. The photosensitive component 40 is fixed to the base 20 to be maintained on one side of the light passing port 202. After the housing 10 is installed outside the base 20, the bracket 12 is sleeved outside the photosensitive component 40.

[0127] Further, an end portion of the base 20 defines an installation space 203 for installing the photosensitive component 40. The light passing port 202 is located between the accommodation space 200 and the installation space 203. In this embodiment of the housing 10, the photosensitive component 40 is installed in the installation space 203. After being fixed to the base 20, the housing 10 is installed outside the base 20, and the housing 10 surrounds the base 20 and the photosensitive component 40. Among them, the outer shell 11 of the housing 10 covers the accommodation space 200, and the photosensitive component 40 located in the installation space 203 can be exposed through the spacer space 108 to avoid interference between the installation of the housing 10 and the photosensitive component 40.

[0128] Specifically, a mounting seat 204 is provided at the tail of the base 20 in the optical path direction. The light passing port 202 is formed on the mounting seat 204. The installation space 203 is formed between the light-emitting side of the mounting seat 204 and the fourth side wall portion 124, and is surrounded and defined by a part of the first side wall portion 121, the fourth side wall portion 124, a part of the third side wall portion 123, and the mounting seat 204. The photosensitive component 40 is installed in the installation space 203, so that the light beam emitted from the lens assembly 30 passes through the light passing port 202 on the mounting seat 204 and reaches the photosensitive component 40 for imaging.

[0129] In some examples, both sides of the mounting seat 204 extend towards the inner surface of the first side wall portion 121 and the inner surface of the third side wall portion 123, and extend in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) until they abut against the side of the outer shell 11, that is, abut against the side of the outer shell 11 on the spacer space 108. From the perspective of the specification drawings, the mounting seat 204 is perpendicular to the bottom surface of the base 20 and the light beam propagation direction, so as to separate the accommodation space 200 and the installation space 203, so that the assembly processes in the two spaces can be carried out synchronously, further simplifying the assembly steps of the camera module.

[0130] Specifically, the top of the mounting seat 204 facing the accommodation space 200 is connected to the side of the outer shell 11 on the spacer space 108, that is, there is no gap between the mounting seat 204 and the side of the outer shell 11. And a sealed protective film is provided on the light incident port 104 on the cover part 101 of the housing 10. Therefore, the accommodation space 200 between the housing 10 and the base 20 is a closed space, so as to isolate the internal structure of the camera module placed in the accommodation space 200 from the outside, reducing the risk of foreign objects and dust entering the accommodation space 200 during subsequent processing such as assembly and welding, and avoiding the risk that may affect the imaging of the camera module.

[0131] Further, mounting feet 2041 are provided on the side wall of the mounting seat 204 facing the installation space 203. From the attachedFigure 5 From this perspective, the mounting feet 2041 on the mounting base 204 are symmetrically arranged in the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis), and an installation groove for installing the photosensitive component 40 is formed between the mounting feet 2041 and the side wall of the mounting base 204 facing the installation space 203, so as to further simplify the positioning alignment and assembly process of the photosensitive component 40.

[0132] Furthermore, the mounting feet 2041 extend outward to form an outer corner towards the outside of the base 20. The outer corner protrudes from the outer surface of the base 20 and abuts against a part of the first side wall portion 121 or the third side wall portion 123 that forms the spaced space 108, so that the housing 10 can be quickly positioned and assembled on the base 20, avoiding the eccentricity problem of the camera module caused by the assembly displacement between the housing 10 and the base 20.

[0133] Among them, the photosensitive component 40 includes a photosensitive chip, a circuit board 41, and a connection tape 42. The photosensitive chip and the circuit board 41 are electrically connected. One side of the circuit board 41 is connected to the connection tape 42. The connection tape 42 extends from the circuit board 41 and is conductively connected to the electronic device through a connector 43 at the tail end, so that the circuit board 41 is conducted with the electronic device, thereby realizing the conduction between the camera module and the electronic device. According to different adaptation requirements of the electronic device, the connection tape 42 will be configured in different bending modes so that the connector 43 at its tail end is located at the most suitable position for soldering and fixed to the electronic device. For example, but not limited to, the connection tape 42 is bent 90° relative to the circuit board 41, so that the connector 43 at its tail end is located on the side of the camera module, that is, on one side of the camera module in the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis), or on one side of the camera module in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis); the connection tape 42 is bent 180° relative to the circuit board 41, and the connector 43 at its tail end is located on the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis), that is, on one side in the length direction of the camera module 1 in the light beam propagation direction.

[0134] Depending on the orientation of the connector 43 at the end of the connection belt 42 relative to the bracket 12, different installation methods of the housing 10 need to be considered to avoid interference with the end connector 43 on the connection belt 42. When the end connector 43 on the connection belt 42 is located below the bracket 12, the connection belt 42 exits from below the bracket 12, so that the connector 43 at its end is closer to the electronic device than the bracket 12. Then, the housing 10 is installed from above to the outside of the base 20 and the photosensitive component 40 without interfering with the connector 43. When the end connector 43 on the connection belt 42 is located above the bracket 12, the connection belt 42 exits from above the bracket 12. Then, when the housing 10 is installed from above to the outside of the base 20 and the photosensitive component 40, it is necessary to consider avoiding interference between the housing 10 and the connector 43.

[0135] It can be understood that both the upper and lower sides of the photosensitive component 40 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) can be exposed through the spacing space 108, so that the connection belt 42 can exit on both the upper and lower sides. In an embodiment where the end connector 43 on the connection belt 42 is located on one side in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the non-light beam propagation direction of the imaging module, the connection belt 42 can exit from below to avoid interference with the assembly of the housing 10.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present application, the outer shell 11 is formed on the tops of the first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, the third side wall portion 123, and the fourth side wall portion 124, and there is no such spacing space 108 between the outer shell 11 and the fourth side wall portion 124. The outer shell 11 integrally covers the receiving space 200 of the base 20 and the installation space 203. The connection belt 42 of the photosensitive component 40 can exit from the direction opposite to the outer shell 11, that is, from below, so that the connector 43 at its end is located below and there will be no interference with the assembly of the housing 10.

[0137] Among them, after specifically introducing the use of the housing 10 of the present application, the attachment position of the connection band 42 after positioning the tail-end connector 43 is described. In some examples, the connection band 42 is attached between the fourth side wall portion 124 of the bracket 12 and the photosensitive component 40, or in other words, the connection band 42 is fixed to the back surface of the photosensitive component 40. The connector 43 is led out from above or below the inner side of the fourth side wall portion 124 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis). In some examples, the connection band 42 is attached between the first side wall portion 121 or the third side wall portion 123 of the bracket 12 and the base 20, and the connector 43 at its tail end can be led out from below the inner side of the first side wall portion 121 or the third side wall portion 123 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis). In other examples, the connection band 42 can be attached to the bottom of the camera module, such that the connector 43 at its tail end is located at the bottom of the camera module.

[0138] In an embodiment of the present application, the connection band 42 extends from the circuit board 41, and is bent 180° on the side close to the bracket 12, extends from one side of the circuit board 41 to the other side from the bending point, and the extended surface after bending adheres to the inner surface of the fourth side wall portion 124. The extended surface after bending bends outward 90° through the spacer space 108 above, forming a secondary bend of the connection band 42, and extends to the connector 43 at the tail end, and the connector 43 at its tail end is located outside the fourth side wall portion 124.

[0139] Among them, there are some electronic components that need to be electrically connected in the internal structure of the camera module. For example, there are electronic components in one unit of the lens driving assembly and the optical path turning driving assembly. The camera module further includes a circuit assembly 60 connecting the electronic components and the photosensitive component 40. Specifically, the circuit assembly 60 is disposed on the base 20 and has pins 61 at the tail, and the pins 61 are exposed on the outer surface of the base 20. The circuit assembly 60 is soldered to the circuit board 41 in the photosensitive component 40 through the pins 61.

[0140] In the prior art, both the split housing 11 and the bracket 12 have four housing side walls. There is a certain assembly gap between the inner side of the housing side wall of the housing 11 and the base 20, and there is a certain assembly gap between the outer side of the housing side wall and the bracket 12. The assembly gaps on the inner and outer sides of the two housing side walls parallel to the optical path are suitable for dispensing glue, and the assembly gaps on the inner and outer sides of the housing side wall at the end of the optical path correspond to the photosensitive component 40 installed at the end of the optical path, which is suitable for accommodating and conducting the connection flexible board between the inside of the camera module and the electronic device. Before the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are assembled onto the base 20, the electronic components on the base 20 and the photosensitive component 40 are first welded, and the connection flexible board is connected to the solder joints. The connection flexible board sequentially passes through the assembly gap between the base 20 and the housing 11 and the assembly gap between the housing 11 and the bracket 12 during the assembly stage, extends outward and connects to the electronic device to conduct the camera module and the electronic device.

[0141] In this application, a housing 10 integrally formed by the housing 11 and the bracket 12 is adopted. The thickness of the bracket 12 is retained in the thickness direction of the four side wall parts of the bracket 12 of the housing 10, the thickness of the housing 11 and the assembly gap between the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are omitted, and at the same time, the amount of glue required for assembly dispensing is omitted, simplifying the assembly steps and avoiding the offset problem of the housing 11 and the bracket 12 and the eccentricity problem of the camera module in the prior art camera module.

[0142] To further simplify the assembly steps of the camera module, a groove-shaped avoidance area 1202 is provided on the bracket 12, which is suitable for avoiding the connection area between the pin 61 and the circuit board 41. The avoidance area 1202 is formed in the area of the bracket 12 close to the photosensitive component 40 to cooperate with the soldering of the pin 61 and the circuit board 41. It can be understood that the avoidance area 1202 is arranged in the projection area of the bracket 12 corresponding to the installation space 203. Among them, in the four side wall parts constituting the bracket 12, the first side wall part 121 and the third side wall part 123 are the positions for dispensing and fixing the camera module, the second side wall part 122 is suitable for positioning the prism, and the fourth side wall part 124 corresponds to the assembly of the photosensitive component 40. Combining the functions of each side wall part, the avoidance area 1202 is preferably arranged on the first side wall part 121 and / or the third side wall part 123, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the avoidance area 1202 is arranged at one end of the first side wall part 121 close to the fourth side wall part 124 and / or one end of the third side wall part 123 close to the fourth side wall part 124 to reduce the dispensing area on these two side wall parts of the bracket 12, reduce the mass and dispensing amount of the bracket 12, thereby reducing the deformation of the internal structure of the module caused by too large a dispensing area, especially the bending of the position and path of the lens and the focusing motor, and further avoiding the eccentricity problem of the camera module.

[0143] Specifically, the avoidance area 1202 is arranged at one end of the first side wall portion 121 and / or one end of the third side wall portion 123 close to the fourth side wall portion 124, or the avoidance area 1202 is arranged on the fourth side wall portion 124, that is, it is arranged on the trailing side of the first side wall portion 121 along the optical path direction, on the trailing side of the third side wall portion 123 along the optical path direction, or on the fourth side wall portion 124, so as to adapt to the laying of the circuit component 60 arranged on the base 20 and the assembly orientation of the photosensitive component 40 on the camera module, and to expose the connection area between the pin 61 and the circuit board 41 to achieve avoidance of the two.

[0144] More specifically, the avoidance area 1202 extends from the bottom edge of the bracket 12 and does not contact the bottom edge of the opposite side of the bracket 12, that is, a portion of the corresponding installation space 203 extends toward the junction of the shell 11 and the bracket 12, forming a groove that opens toward the bottom edge of the bracket 12 and penetrates the bracket 12 from the thickness direction, that is, forming the avoidance area 1202, and the avoidance area 1202 does not contact the shell 11 and the junction of the shell 11 and the bracket 12.

[0145] In some embodiments, the avoidance area 1202 is formed by extending in the opposite direction from the bottom edge of the opposite side of the bracket 12, that is, from a portion of the top of the bracket 12, to the bottom edge of the bracket 12.

[0146] Among them, the thickness of the cover part 101 of the shell 10 along the height direction (first direction Z axis) and the thickness of the upper part of the side wall part 102 along the horizontal direction (third direction X axis) or along the longitudinal direction of the light beam propagation direction (second direction Y axis) are all the thickness H1 of the shell 11, and the thickness of the middle and lower part of the side wall part 102 along the horizontal direction (third direction X axis) or along the longitudinal direction of the light beam propagation direction (second direction Y axis) is the thickness H2 of the bracket 12. The thickness H1 is less than the thickness H2, and the mechanical strength of the shell 10 is maintained while reducing the height of the camera module. Therefore, in order to avoid the groove on the bracket 12 affecting the mechanical strength of the shell 10, the extended tail end of the avoidance area 1202 does not contact the shell 11 and the junction between it and the bracket 12, and avoids the area of ​​thickness H1 as much as possible, so as to avoid the processing and forming of the avoidance area 1202 or the welding operation performed in the avoidance area 1202 causing the shell 11 to deform.

[0147] Furthermore, the plane where the light entrance 104 of the housing 11 is located is perpendicular to the extension direction of the avoidance area 1202 toward the bottom edge of the bracket 12. Figure 2 As shown, the plane where the light entrance 104 is located is the plane where the shell cover wall 111 of the shell 11 is located, so the extension direction of the avoidance area 1202 towards the bottom edge of the bracket 12 is perpendicular to the plane where the shell cover wall 111 is located.

[0148] Further, the diameter direction of the light incident port 104 of the housing 11 is perpendicular to the extending direction of the avoidance area 1202 towards the bottom edge of the bracket 12.

[0149] In some examples, the bending structure of the connection band 42 is located in the slot of the avoidance area 1202. At this time, the pin 61 and the circuit board 41 are arranged between a part of the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123 and the bending structure of the connection band 42. The avoidance area 1202 is arranged at the tail of the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123 close to the fourth side wall portion 124, so as to avoid the pin 61, the circuit board 41 and the bending structure of the connection band 42 at the same time, so as to increase the soldering operation space between the pin 61 and the circuit board 41.

[0150] Further elaborating on the manufacturing process of the avoidance area 1202, the processing of the avoidance area 1202 can be realized by adding an inlay corresponding to the avoidance area 1202 during the integrated die-casting process. In an implementation manner of the production and manufacturing of the housing 10 in the present application, the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are made of the same material. Taking aluminum alloy as an example, in the die of the aluminum alloy integrated die-casting, an integrated die is pre-customized with a convex inlay arranged at the corresponding position of the bracket 12, so that the avoidance area 1202 is formed synchronously with other structures of the housing 10.

[0151] In another implementation manner of the production and manufacturing of the housing 10 in the present application, the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are made of different materials, and the two materials are integrally formed by a casting process. For example, in the manufacturing method of designing a suitable die and pouring two metals into the die for integral forming or connecting them after separate forming, a convex insert is pre-set at the corresponding position inside the forming die of the bracket 12 to form the avoidance area 1202 on the bracket 12. In the manufacturing method of first obtaining the housing 11 by stamping and then using the housing 11 as an inlay of the forming die of the housing 10, a convex insert is pre-set at the corresponding position inside the forming die of the housing 10, or a detachable convex inlay is loaded into the forming die of the housing 10 together with the housing 11, and then casting is carried out to obtain the housing 10 and the avoidance area 1202 on its bracket 12.

[0152] Refer to the appendix Figures 6 - 7, the avoidance area 1202 is provided on the caudal side of the first side wall portion 121 and / or the third side wall portion 123 close to the fourth side wall portion 124. The avoidance area 1202 is composed of a part of the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123 along the (first direction Z-axis), a part of the fourth side wall portion 124 along the (first direction Z-axis), and an avoidance area connecting portion 1203 connecting the two. Among them, the height position of the avoidance area connecting portion 1203 can be determined according to the design requirements of the camera module, such as the upper part, the middle part, the lower part, etc., to cooperate with the position of the pin 61.

[0153] Specifically, the avoidance area connecting portion 1203 extends along or substantially along the transverse direction (third direction X-axis) of the camera module 1 and / or the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, so that the bracket 12 maintains the integrity around the base 20 for one week, reducing the impact on the mechanical strength of the housing 10.

[0154] Among them, the avoidance area connecting portion 1203 is in a straight line shape, an L shape or other shapes that can achieve corner connection. From the perspective of attachment Figure 6 and Figure 7 , the avoidance area connecting portion 1203 extends from the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123 along the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, and bends when reaching the plane of the fourth side wall portion 124 to connect the fourth side wall portion 124.

[0155] Furthermore, an accommodation groove is formed on the inner surface of the avoidance area connecting portion 1203 or its inner surface and the inner surface of the fourth side wall portion 124 close to the fourth side wall portion 124, which is suitable for accommodating a part of the bent structure of the connection belt 42. From the perspective of attachment Figure 6 , since the connection belt 42 is arranged closely against the fourth side wall portion 124 and the outermost side of its bent structure protrudes from the outer surface of the second side wall portion 122, the avoidance area connecting portion 1203 is bent outward in two sections at the position corresponding to the bent structure of the connection belt 42, forming a U-shaped groove with an opening facing the bent structure of the connection belt 42 to accommodate the top of the bent structure of the connection belt 42.

[0156] From the perspective of attachment Figures 6 - 7 , the housing 11 has the spaced space 108, and the connection belt 42 extends outwards from the spaced space 108 to conduct the camera module and the electronic device. The avoidance area connecting portion 1203 is located between the spaced space 108 and the avoidance area 1202 to separate the spaced space 108 and the avoidance area 1202, preventing the bracket 12 from affecting the mechanical strength of the bracket 12 due to the too large space ratio after connection, and preventing the bracket 12 from deforming due to external force during the assembly process.

[0157] In another specific embodiment of the present application, the housing 11 does not have the spaced-apart space 108, and the connecting band 42 extends out from the gap between the bracket 12 and the base 20 to conduct the imaging module and the electronic device.

[0158] In some examples, the gap between the base 20 and the fourth side wall portion 124 may be implemented to communicate with the avoidance area 1202 located on the fourth side wall portion 124. During the processing and molding process, the connected gap and the avoidance area 1202 can be die-cast by adding a single insert in the molding die of the bracket 12 to simplify the hollow structure on the fourth side wall portion 124 and its manufacturing and molding operations, and achieve the avoidance of the pins 61, the connection area of the circuit board 41, and the connecting band 42.

[0159] When the avoidance area 1202 is not provided on the bracket 12, the mounting structure 103 is usually respectively provided on four parts of the bracket 12, that is, at least one mounting structure 103 is provided on each of the first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, the third side wall portion 123, and the fourth side wall portion 124 to ensure a stable connection between the imaging module and the electronic device. After the avoidance area 1202 is provided on the bracket 12, the setting position of the mounting structure 103 on the bracket 12 is far from the avoidance area 1202 to avoid interference when the distance between them is too close. When the distance between them is too close, the force during the fixed installation of the mounting structure 103 may cause the avoidance area 1202 to deform, thereby affecting the avoidance effect and interfering with the subsequent welding operation. At the same time, the hollow structure of the avoidance area 1202 will affect the mechanical strength of the mounting structure 103 and the part of the bracket 12 in its vicinity where the distance is too close, and even may cause the mounting structure 103 to break during the fixed installation stage.

[0160] Specifically, when the avoidance area 1202 is located on the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123, the mounting structure 103 on the same side as the avoidance area 1202 is provided on the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123.

[0161] More specifically, the avoidance area 1202 and the mounting structure 103 on the same side are not in the same height direction (the first direction Z-axis) so that the mounting structure 103 avoids the avoidance area 1202 and prevents the fixed installation operation from having an adverse effect on the structural strength of the avoidance area 1202.

[0162] Further, when the number of the mounting structures 103 is not more than four, at least two of the mounting structures 103 are respectively arranged at two end points of the diagonal line of the bracket 12, or at least two of the mounting structures 103 are symmetrically arranged on the second side wall portion 122 and the third side wall portion 123, and at least one of the mounting structures 103 is arranged on the first side wall portion 121, so that the mounting structures 103 are arranged as far as possible away from the avoidance area 1202 to avoid mutual interference between the two, thereby affecting the mechanical strength of the bracket 12.

[0163] In some examples, the number of the avoidance areas 1202 is one, and at least two of the mounting structures 103 are respectively arranged at two end points of the diagonal line of the bracket 12. As Figure 8 shown, when the avoidance area 1202 is located at the tail of the first side wall portion 121 close to the fourth side wall portion 124, one of the mounting structures 103 is arranged at the junction or connection corner of the first side wall portion 121 and the second side wall portion 122, and the other is arranged at the junction or connection corner of the third side wall portion 123 and the fourth side wall portion 124; when the avoidance area 1202 is located at the tail of the third side wall portion 123 close to the fourth side wall portion 124, one of the mounting structures 103 is arranged at the junction or connection corner of the second side wall portion 122 and the third side wall portion 123, and the other is arranged at the junction or connection corner of the first side wall portion 121 and the fourth side wall portion 124.

[0164] In some examples, the number of the avoidance areas 1202 is two, which are respectively located at the tail of the second side wall portion 122 close to the fourth side wall portion 124 and the tail of the third side wall portion 123 close to the fourth side wall portion 124. As Figure 8 shown, at least two of the mounting structures 103 are respectively arranged on the first side wall portion 121 and the third side wall portion 123, and at least one of the mounting structures 103 is arranged on the first side wall portion 121 to avoid mutual interference between the mounting structures 103 and the avoidance areas 1202, so as to ensure the mechanical strength of the bracket 12 and the mounting stability of the camera module on the electronic device.

[0165] In some examples, at one corner of the bracket 12 or at two corners on its diagonal line, one mounting structure 103 can be arranged on each side of each corner to further improve the mounting stability of the camera module on the electronic device.

[0166] In an embodiment of the present application, the camera module is a vertical camera module, including the housing 10 and the base 20. The housing 10 includes the cover portion 101 and the side wall portion 102 whose extending distribution planes are perpendicular to each other. A part of the top of the side wall portion 102 and the cover portion 101 together form the outer shell 11, and the other part of the side wall portion 102 forms the bracket 12. There is a light passing port 202 on the outer shell 11. A part of the lens assembly 30 extends from the accommodation space 200 between the housing 10 and the base 20 in the opposite direction of the optical path, passes through the light passing port 202 of the outer shell 11, and extends out of the housing 10.

[0167] A snap structure for positioning is further provided between the bracket 12 and the base 20. The positioning structure includes a matching card hole 1204 and a snap 205. As Figures 6 - 7 shown, the card hole 1204 is provided on the bracket 12, and the snap 205 is provided on the base 20 to further simplify the alignment and assembly between the housing 10 and the base 20. Among them, at least three of the four side wall portions of the bracket 12 have the card hole 1204.

[0168] Combined with the functions of the four side wall portions of the bracket 12, the first side wall portion 121 and the third side wall portion 123 parallel to the optical path are the positions where the camera module is fixed by dispensing glue. The second side wall portion 122 is suitable for positioning the prism, and the fourth side wall portion 124 corresponds to the assembly of the photosensitive component 40. Therefore, it is preferable that the card holes 1204 are provided on the first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, and the third side wall portion 123. The card holes 1204 on the first side wall portion 121 and / or the third side wall portion 123, in cooperation with the snap 205 on the base 20, limit the offset of the housing 10 relative to the base 20 in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the beam propagation direction; the card holes 1204 located on the second side wall portion 122, in cooperation with the snap 205 on the base 20, limit the offset of the housing 10 relative to the base 20 in the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis).

[0169] In some examples, the number of the card holes 1204 on the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123 is not less than two. Since the avoidance area 1202 is located on the same side wall portion, the extended area of the first side wall portion 121 / the third side wall portion 123 after removing the avoidance area 1202 is the distribution area of the card holes 1204. The not less than two card holes 1204 are evenly distributed in the distribution area or symmetrically distributed in the distribution area to achieve the rapid alignment and assembly between the housing 10 and the base 20.

[0170] In some examples, the card hole 1204 can be provided on the base 20, and the snap 205 can be provided on the bracket 12.

[0171]

Circuit Structure

[0172] The lens driving assembly and the optical path turning driving assembly form the driving mechanism of the camera module of the present application. One of the first optical path turning driving unit and the second optical path turning driving unit, and one of the first lens driving unit and the second lens driving unit are electronic components, and the electronic components need to be electrically connected to the circuit.

[0173] The driving mechanism of the camera module further includes a position sensing assembly, which is used to sense the position of the lens assembly 30 and / or the optical path turning assembly 50 to improve the accuracy of motion position control. The position sensing assembly is also an electronic component and needs to be electrically connected to the circuit.

[0174] The camera module further includes a circuit assembly 60, which connects the electronic component and the photosensitive component 40. The electronic component obtains electric energy through the conductive connection between the circuit assembly 60 and the photosensitive component 40. Further, it can also obtain signals through the communication connection between the circuit assembly 60 and the photosensitive component 40.

[0175] In an embodiment of the present application, the circuit assembly 60 includes a circuit board. The aforementioned electronic components (including but not limited to the first driving lens unit, the first optical path turning driving unit, the position sensing assembly, etc.) are conductively connected to the circuit board. The circuit board is installed on the base 20, and the circuit board is conductively connected to the photosensitive component 40.

[0176] In an embodiment of the present application, the circuit assembly 60 is implemented to be embedded in the base 20. The circuit assembly 60 includes a plurality of mounting terminals, a plurality of branches, and a plurality of connection terminals. The two ends of the branch respectively form the mounting terminal and the connection terminal. The mounting terminal is adapted to be electrically connected to the electronic component, and the connection terminal is the pin 61, which is adapted to be electrically connected to the photosensitive component 40.

[0177] Among them, the base 20 can be manufactured by an insert molding process. Through the insert molding process, at least one injection molding is performed around the circuit assembly 60 to wrap the circuit assembly 60, expose the mounting terminal for installing the electronic component, and expose the pin 61 on the outer surface of the base 20 for conducting connection with the photosensitive component 40.

[0178] Since the circuit assembly 60 is embedded in the base 20, the circuit assembly 60 does not need to occupy extra space. Compared with the form of using an independent circuit structure (such as using a circuit board), the size of the camera module is smaller. And the circuit connection of the camera module is an embedded design, which can protect the circuit structure, avoid the assembly problems and reliability problems brought by the exposed independent circuit structure, simplify the assembly process, and improve the reliability of the camera module.

[0179]

Assembly Method

[0180] According to another aspect of the present application, the present application further provides an assembly method for a camera module, which is used to assemble the camera module and install the camera module to an electronic device. The method includes the following steps:

[0181] (A)Provide a base 20, and at least one circuit component 60 is disposed on the base 20;

[0182] (B)Assemble the lens component 30 and the photosensitive component 40 to the base 20 to form a semi-finished camera module 70, and orient the pins 61 of the circuit component 60 towards the photosensitive component 40;

[0183] (C)Provide a housing 10 and dispose it on the semi-finished camera module 70. The housing 10 has an avoidance area 1202 for exposing the connection area between the pins 61 of the circuit component 60 and the circuit board 41 of the photosensitive component 40;

[0184] (D)Connect the pins 61 of the circuit component 60 and the photosensitive component 40 through the avoidance area 1202.

[0185] This step (B) further includes the steps of: assembling the optical path turning component 50 to the base 20 to be located on the optical path of the lens component 30 and / or the photosensitive component 40.

[0186] This step (B) further includes the steps of: assembling the photosensitive component 40 to the base 20 so that it adheres to the base 20 and is located on the optical path of the lens component 30 and / or the optical path turning component 50.

[0187] This step (C) further includes the steps of: the housing 10 further includes an outer shell 11 and a bracket 12. The outer shell 11 has a light inlet 104, and the light inlet 104 of the outer shell 11 corresponds to the incident side of the lens component 30, and the bracket 12 is fixedly connected to the base 20.

[0188] This step (C) further includes the steps of: integrally forming the housing 10 including the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12. The inner surface 106 of the housing 10 cooperates with the base 20, and the outer surface 107 of the housing 10 cooperates with the electronic device.

[0189] This step (C) further includes the steps of: integrally forming the housing 10 by a metal material forming process.

[0190] This step (C) further includes the steps of: integrally forming the housing 10 by a plastic material forming process.

[0191] This step (C) further includes the step of forming the housing 10 by an integrated die-casting process of aluminum alloy.

[0192] This step (C) further includes the step of forming the housing 10 separately by an insert molding process.

[0193] This step (C) further includes the step of integrally forming the outer shell 11 with a metal material, and injecting plastic around at least a part of the outer shell side wall 112 of the outer shell 11 to form the bracket 12.

[0194] This step (C) further includes the step of installing the housing 10 to the base 20 by the cooperation of the inner surface of the housing 10 and the base 20.

[0195] This step (C) further includes the step of setting a connection medium between at least one bonding surface of the inner surface 106 of the housing 10 and the base 20 to fix the housing 10 to the base 20.

[0196] The method further includes the step of providing a circuit component 60 and molding around the circuit component 60 by an insert molding process to obtain the base 20.

[0197] This step (C) further includes the step of using a pressing bracket to align the positioning position outside the bracket 12 of the housing 10, and installing a fixing member at the outside of the bracket at this position for fixation, wherein the positioning position is consistent with the installation position of the positioning hole as Figure 8 shown.

[0198] According to another aspect of the present application, the present application further provides an electronic device. The aforementioned camera module is adapted to be equipped to the electronic device body of the electronic device, and the camera module is conductively connected to the electronic device body.

[0199] The basic principles, main features and advantages of the present application have been described above. Those skilled in the art of this industry should understand that the present application is not limited by the above-mentioned embodiments. What is described in the above-mentioned embodiments and the specification is only the principle of the present application. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, the present application will have various changes and improvements, and these changes and improvements all fall within the scope of the present application claimed. The scope of protection claimed by the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A camera module housing, used to be installed on the periphery of a semi-finished camera module, characterized in that: include: A shell, the shell is suitable for covering at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module, and is used to shield at least a part of the top surface of the semi-finished camera module to control stray light, and at least one light inlet is opened on the surface of the shell; as well as A bracket having at least four sidewalls and being used to surround at least part of the periphery of the semi-finished camera module and connected to the housing, and being used to provide peripheral protection for the semi-finished camera module and fix the housing and external electronic equipment, and the minimum thickness of the bracket is not less than the minimum thickness of the housing; Wherein, the housing and the bracket are integrally formed; At least one side wall of the bracket is provided with an avoidance area suitable for avoiding the circuit board of the camera module and the pins of the circuit assembly of the camera module; The avoidance area extends from the bottom edge of the bracket to the junction of the shell and the bracket, and the opening faces the bottom edge of the bracket.

2. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The mounting structure is arranged outside the bracket and is suitable for installing electronic equipment; wherein the mounting structure and the avoidance area are arranged at different positions of the side wall part of the bracket along the projection direction.

3. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bracket includes a first side wall portion, a second side wall portion, a third side wall portion and a fourth side wall portion located on different sides, the first side wall portion, the second side wall portion, the third side wall portion and the fourth side wall portion surround the semi-finished camera module, wherein the first side wall portion and the third side wall portion are arranged opposite to each other, the second side wall portion and the fourth side wall portion are arranged opposite to each other, and the fourth side wall portion is close to the light emitting side of the semi-finished camera module; Wherein, the avoidance area is arranged at one end of the first side wall portion and / or one end of the third side wall portion close to the fourth side wall portion.

4. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The housing comprises a housing cover wall and a housing side wall. The housing cover wall is provided with a light entrance. At least a portion of the housing side wall extends toward the bracket and is coupled to the bracket.

5. The housing of the camera module according to claim 3, characterized in that: The escape zone is formed to extend from the bottom edge of the bracket and does not contact the bottom edge of the opposite side of the bracket.

6. The housing of the camera module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The housing is made of metal material, and the bracket is formed with at least a portion of a housing side wall of the housing.

7. The housing of the camera module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The shell side wall includes a first shell side wall, a second shell side wall and a third shell side wall, the first shell side wall, the second shell side wall and the third shell side wall are formed around three sides of the shell cover wall, and at least one of the first shell side wall, the second shell side wall and the third shell side wall is provided with a combining hole.

8. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter direction of the light entrance of the housing is perpendicular to the extension direction of the avoidance area toward the bottom edge of the bracket.

9. A camera module, characterized in that: include: The housing according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and At least one semi-finished camera module, the semi-finished camera module further comprising: a base, the base defining at least one receiving space, the housing being assembled on the base to cover at least a portion of the receiving space; A lens assembly, wherein the lens assembly is installed in the receiving space; A circuit assembly is disposed on the base; and A photosensitive component, the photosensitive component is held on the exit side of the lens assembly; Wherein, the connection between the pins of the circuit component and the circuit board of the photosensitive component is exposed in the avoidance area.

10. The camera module according to claim 9, characterized in that: A mounting seat is provided on the exit side of the base, suitable for mounting the photosensitive component.

11. A method for assembling a camera module, suitable for assembling the camera module, and assembling the camera module according to claim 9 to an electronic device, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: (A) providing a base, wherein at least one circuit component is disposed on the base; (B) assembling the lens assembly and the photosensitive assembly to the base to form a semi-finished camera module, and aligning the pins of the circuit assembly toward the photosensitive assembly; (C) providing a housing disposed on the semi-finished camera module, wherein the housing has a relief area corresponding to the pins of the circuit component; (D) The circuit component pins and the photosensitive component are connected through the avoidance area.

12. The assembly method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The step (C) further includes the step of: the housing further includes an outer shell and a bracket, the outer shell has a light inlet, the light inlet of the outer shell corresponds to the incident side of the lens assembly, and the bracket is fixedly connected to the base.

13. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: The camera module as claimed in claim 9; and The electronic device body, wherein the camera module is conductively connected to the electronic device body.

Images