Housing, Camera Module, Assembly Method and Electronic Device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a housing, a camera module, an assembly method, and an electronic device, including: a housing; a bracket; and a mounting structure; wherein, the housing includes a main body portion and a tail portion which are arranged along the optical path direction and are connected to each other. Both the main body portion and the tail portion have a housing part and a bracket part. The housing part of the main body portion and the housing part of the tail portion jointly form the housing, and the bracket part of the main body portion and the bracket part of the tail portion jointly form the bracket. The housing part and the bracket part are formed into the main body portion and the tail portion through an insert molding process. In the present invention, the main body portion and the tail portion are connected to each other to form the housing. During assembly, the main body portion is installed first, then the pins of the circuit component and the circuit board of the photosensitive component are connected, and finally the tail portion is installed, avoiding debris from entering the accommodation space on the base during the assembly and welding processes, and reducing the risk of stains.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Camera modules are an indispensable part of mobile electronic devices. With the further development of camera module technology, users' demands for camera modules have become more and more refined and have higher requirements. The development of camera products not only needs to meet the requirements of high performance, but also needs to meet the requirements of miniaturization, lightness, and compactness. The internal space of electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets is becoming more and more compact, and the space for accommodating camera modules is very limited, so higher and higher requirements are placed on the size of camera modules.

[0003] The camera module usually includes a lens and a photosensitive component. The incident light beam passes through the lens to the photosensitive component and forms an image in the photosensitive component. The lens and the photosensitive component are usually assembled to the base to form a part of the camera module. The periscope camera module or telephoto camera module also includes a prism, which can bend the direction of the light beam at least once, which is used to fold the light path and achieve telephoto shooting.

[0004] The camera module also includes a housing and a bracket. The housing is mounted on the outside of the base or above the base of the photosensitive component to cover at least part of the internal structure of the base. The bracket is further mounted on the outside of the housing. Generally speaking, the housing covers the internal structure of the camera module. The bracket is assembled to the outside of the housing and is suitable for fixing to the electronic device. The bracket usually has a positioning hole, which is aligned with the corresponding positioning hole on the electronic device and then screwed to fix it, so that the camera module is assembled to the electronic device.

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

[0006] Furthermore, since the bracket and the housing are two independent parts, when the bracket is assembled to the outer periphery of the housing, glue needs to be set between the bracket and the housing for curing. At the same time, the optical lens and motor assembly are further assembled inside the housing, which are also often cured with glue. Since the glue shrinks after curing, it will pull the housing to cause it to deform, thereby affecting the properties or position of the components of the camera module in the housing, and may also pull the bracket to cause it to deform, thereby affecting the performance and production yield of the camera module and the entire machine. At the same time, the amount of glue used increases, the glue coating area increases, and problems such as glue cracking and glue overflow are prone to occur, which may also cause reliability problems in the camera module.

[0007] In addition, there is a containment relationship between the housing and the bracket, with overlapping parts in terms of 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. Given 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 bracket and the housing of the camera module are integrally formed 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. The housing includes a main body portion and a tail portion. The tail portion is installed after welding the pins and the circuit board to form an installation space for the photosensitive component, avoiding debris from entering the accommodation space on the base during the assembly and welding processes, and reducing the risk of stains.

[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 integrated, and the side wall of the housing of the bracket and the housing is integrated, so that at least a part of the side wall of the housing can be omitted, 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.

[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 integrated, reducing the weight 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 integrally formed, eliminating the step of applying glue for fixation between the bracket and the housing and simplifying the process.

[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 integrally formed, without the need to apply glue for fixation between the bracket and the housing, reducing the risk of glue cracking.

[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. 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 lowered.

[0015] An 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 materials used and the production cost.

[0016] An 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, simplifying the process, reducing assembly tolerances, and improving the yield rate of the camera module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a camera module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the tail part of the housing separated from other parts according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the tail part of the housing separated from other parts from another perspective according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the main body part, the tail part of the housing separated from other parts according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the housing according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the main body part of the housing separated from the tail part according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of another perspective of the housing of the camera module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the outer shell part and the bracket part of the main body part and the tail part separated according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the connection area located on the second side wall part according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the connection area located on the third side wall part from another perspective according to a preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0027] In the figure: 1, camera module; 10, housing; 11, outer shell; 12, bracket; 13, hollow area; 14, positioning area; 15, connection area; 151, first notch; 152, second notch; 101, cover part; 102, side wall part; 103, mounting structure; 104, light inlet; 105, light outlet; 106, inner surface; 107, outer surface; 108, spaced space; 109, surface treatment area; 1031, positioning hole; 1001, main body part; 1002, tail; 10011, embedding part; 10021, nested part; 111, outer shell cover wall; 112, outer shell side wall; 113, bending part; 1120, coupling hole; 1121, first outer shell side wall; 1122, second outer shell side wall; 1123, third outer shell side wall; 1124, fourth outer shell side wall; 1125, coupling part; 11251, first coupling part; 11252, second coupling part; 11253, third coupling part; 121, first side wall part; 122, second side wall part; 123, third side wall part; 124, fourth side wall part; 1101, first side surface; 1201, second side surface; 1000, housing covering space; 1100, main body space; 1200, accommodating space; 20, base; 200, receiving space; 201, outer peripheral side surface; 202, light passing port; 203, mounting space; 204, mounting seat; 205, mating structure; 30, lens assembly; 40, photosensitive component; 41, circuit board; 42, connecting band; 43, connector; 50, optical path turning component; 60, circuit component; 70, semi-finished camera module. Detailed implementation manners

[0028] Next, in combination with the detailed implementation manners, 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 to form new embodiments.

[0029] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that for orientation terms, such as the terms "center", "horizontal", "longitudinal", "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. It 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.

[0030] 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 describe a specific order or sequence.

[0031] As used in the description and claims of this application, the terms "comprising", "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily 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.

[0032] It should be noted that, as used in this application, terms such as "substantially", "about" and similar terms are used as terms indicating approximation, rather than terms indicating degree, and are intended to account for the inherent deviations in measured or calculated values that would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0033] In the description of this application, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "arranged", "installed", "connected" and "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be a direct connection, a contact connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it may be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0034] The terms used in this description are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting. As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to cover the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise in another way. 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 "comprising" and / or "including" when used in this specification specify the presence of the 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 their groups.

[0035] According to the accompanying Figures 1 to 10 description, this application provides an imaging module 1, which includes a housing 10 and a semi-finished imaging module 70. The semi-finished imaging module 70 further includes a base 20, a lens assembly 30, an imaging component 40 and a circuit assembly 60. The lens assembly 30 is installed in a receiving space 200 of the base 20. The imaging component 40 is fixed to the base 20, and the circuit assembly 60 is fixed to the base 20. The housing 10 is arranged at at least a part of the periphery of the base 20 to cover the lens assembly 30 located in the receiving space 200.

[0036] 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 optional embodiment, the housing 10 and the base 20 are connected by gluing.

[0037] The housing 10 includes an outer shell 11 and a bracket 12. In some optional embodiments, the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed to form a whole.

[0038] The base 20 has a light passing port 202. The outgoing side of the lens assembly 30 faces the light passing port 202. The photosensitive assembly 40 is mounted on the base 20. The photosensitive 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 photosensitive assembly 40 for imaging.

[0039] Furthermore, the camera module semi-finished product 70 of the camera module 1 may further include a lens driving assembly. The lens driving assembly 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 mounted on the base 20, and the second driving unit is mounted 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.

[0040] In one implementation manner of the driving form of the present application, the lens driving assembly is implemented as a voice coil motor type 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.

[0041] In other implementation manners of the driving form of the present application, the lens driving assembly is implemented as a piezoelectric motor type drive, an SMA (Shape Memory Alloys) type drive, a stepping motor or other driving methods.

[0042] For the purpose of description only, the height or thickness direction of the camera module 1 is defined as the Z axis, and the height direction of the camera module 1 is the thickness direction of the electronic device on which the camera module 1 is installed. The two directions of transverse and longitudinal that are orthogonal to the height direction of the camera module 1 and perpendicular to each other are defined as the X axis and the Y axis respectively.

[0043] The types of the camera module 1 include various forms such as an upright camera module, a periscope camera module, and other types of telephoto camera modules.

[0044] In an embodiment of the present application, taking the imaging module 1 being implemented as a periscope imaging module as an example for elaboration. As Figures 1 - 4 shown, the imaging module semi-finished product 70 of the imaging module 1 may further include an optical path turning component 50, which is disposed in the accommodation space 200 of the base 20, and the outgoing side of the optical path turning component 50 is disposed opposite to the incoming side of the lens component 30. After the optical path turning component 50 turns the direction of the incident light, the light passes through the lens component 30 and reaches the photosensitive component 40 for imaging.

[0045] Among them, the optical path turning component 50 turns the light beam incident in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) into a direction outgoing towards the photosensitive component 40. The optical path turning component 50 and the lens component 30 are arranged in sequence along the propagation direction of the light beam from the incoming light side to the outgoing light side (the second direction Y-axis).

[0046] The imaging module semi-finished product 70 of the imaging module 1 may further include an optical path turning driving component for driving the optical path turning component 50 to move, so as to realize the movement of the optical path turning component 50 in at least one direction. Schematically, the optical path turning driving component drives the optical path turning component 50 to rotate around the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis) to realize nodding motion, correct the position of the optical path turning component 50, and realize anti-shake; the optical path turning driving component drives the optical path turning component 50 to rotate around the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) to realize shaking motion, correct the position of the optical path turning component 50, and realize anti-shake; the optical path turning driving component drives the optical path turning component 50 to rotate around the light beam propagation direction (the second direction Y-axis) to correct the position of the optical path turning component 50 and realize anti-shake; the optical path turning driving component drives the optical path turning component 50 to move along the light beam propagation direction (the second direction Y-axis) to realize focus adjustment motion; the optical path turning driving component drives the optical path turning component 50 to realize the rotation or movement in one or more of the foregoing directions to realize anti-shake and / or focus adjustment motion.

[0047] The foregoing example elaborates on the example where the optical path turning component 50 is disposed on the incoming side of the lens component 30. In other periscope imaging modules, the optical path turning component 50 is disposed between the lens component 30 and the photosensitive component 40 to turn the direction of the light beam at least once after the light beam exits from the lens component 30 and before it enters the photosensitive component 40.

[0048] In other periscope camera modules, a plurality of such optical path turning components 50 are included, and at least one of them can be disposed in front of the incident side of the lens component 30 to turn the direction of the light beam at least once before the light beam is incident on the lens component 30, and at least one of them can be disposed between the lens component 30 and the photosensitive component 40 to turn the direction of the light beam at least once after the light beam exits from the lens component 30 and before it is incident on the photosensitive component 40.

[0049] In other periscope camera modules, other lenses can also be disposed in front of the incident side of the optical path turning component 50 so that the light beam passes through the lens before being incident on the optical path turning component 50.

[0050] In addition, each of the optical path turning components 50 can turn the direction of the light beam once or multiple times, and the present application places no restrictions thereon.

[0051] The optical path turning drive component 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 component 50. The first optical path turning drive unit and the second optical path turning drive unit interact to drive the optical path turning component 50 to move.

[0052] In one implementation of the drive form of the present application, the optical path turning drive component is implemented as a voice coil motor drive, and one of the first optical path turning drive unit and the second optical path turning drive unit is implemented as a magnet, and the other is implemented as a coil.

[0053] In other implementations of the drive form of the present application, the optical path turning drive component is implemented as a piezoelectric motor drive, an SMA (Shape Memory Alloys) drive, a stepping motor or other drive methods.

[0054] Among them, the lens drive component and the optical path turning drive component can adopt the same drive form or different drive forms.

[0055] Combined with the specification appendix Figures 1 to 10, the housing 10 includes an outer shell 11 and a bracket 12, and the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 together form a 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 the bracket 12 is adapted to be used for installing the camera module 1 and the electronic device, so that the camera module 1 is fixed to the electronic device. In an alternative embodiment of the present application, the outer shell 11 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 11. Further, it can be implemented that the materials covered by the minimum thickness of the outer shell 11 and the materials covered by the bracket 12 are different and are 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 11. The housing 10 of the present application integrates the functions of the outer shell and the bracket of the camera module in the prior art, improves production efficiency, saves some dimensions, and is beneficial to the miniaturization of the camera module 1.

[0056] The outer shell and the bracket without labels hereinafter refer to the outer shell and the 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.

[0057] During the assembly process of the housing 10 and the semi-finished camera module 70, the fully enclosed housing 10 will block the area on the semi-finished camera module 70 where the circuit component 60 and the photosensitive component 40 need to be conducted. Conducting first and then assembling the housing 10 will cause debris generated during assembly and conduction to enter the internal space of the semi-finished camera module 70, which is likely to produce stains. And the solution of directly opening a notch on the housing 10 to expose the area to be conducted will affect the structural strength of the housing 10 to a certain extent.

[0058] The present application provides a housing 10, which is divided into two parts, a main body part 1001 and a tail part 1002. First, the main body part 1001 is sleeved on the outside of at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module 70, exposing the area of the circuit component 60 and the photosensitive component 40 to be conducted. Then, the conduction step is carried out. Finally, the tail part 1002 is connected to the main body part 1001 and fixed to the base 20. The housing 10 of the present application can shield at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module 70 before conduction, avoid debris entering the internal space on the base 20 for accommodating the internal structure during the assembly and conduction processes, and reduce the risk of stains.

[0059] Specifically describe the structure of the housing 10 of the present application.

[0060] Combined with the description in the attached drawings Figures 1 to 10, the housing 10 of the present application includes a main body portion 1001 and a tail portion 1002. The main body portion 1001 includes a main body bracket and a main body housing. The main body bracket has a main body side wall and is adapted to be sleeved outside at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module 70. The main body housing is provided with a light inlet 104; the tail portion 1002 is disposed on the light-emitting side of the camera module 1 and surrounds at least a part of the circumferential side of the semi-finished camera module 70, and is adapted to avoid the photosensitive component 40 of the camera module 1.

[0061] Wherein, the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 are arranged along the propagation direction of the light beam from the light inlet side to the light outlet side and are connected to each other to form the housing 10. The housing 10 has a housing 11 and a bracket 12. The main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 can be connected by various methods such as gluing, welding, interference fit, snap connection, and mechanical connection.

[0062] Specifically, the tail portion 1002 includes a tail bracket, and the main body side wall of the main body bracket is connected to the tail bracket to form the bracket 12 of the housing 10.

[0063] More specifically, the thickness of the main body housing is less than the thickness of the bracket 12 of the housing 10.

[0064] In some embodiments of the present application, the main body housing of the main body portion 1001 is the housing 11 of the housing 10.

[0065] In some optional embodiments, the tail portion 1002 includes a tail housing and a tail bracket. The main body side wall of the main body bracket is connected to the tail bracket to form the bracket 12 of the housing 10, and the main body housing and the tail housing together form the housing 11 of the housing 10.

[0066] After the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 are connected, a complete housing 10 is formed. The housing 10 includes a cover portion 101 and a side wall portion 102. The cover portion 101 is adapted to cover the base 20, and the side wall portion 102 is adapted to surround the outside of the base 20. Further, the cover portion 101 is adapted to cover the opening of the base 20 and / or at least a part of the internal structure. Wherein, from the perspective of the drawing, the cover portion 101 extends or substantially extends along the plane where the diameter of the light inlet 104 is located, and the side wall portion 102 is bent from the outer peripheral edge of the cover portion 101 and extends or substantially extends along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis).

[0067] The cover part 101 and the side wall part 102 jointly define a housing covering space 1000 of the housing 10. The housing 10 further has an installation opening. The housing covering space 1000 communicates with the external space through the installation opening. The housing 10 covers the base 20 through the installation opening, and the base 20 is accommodated in the housing covering space 1000.

[0068] 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 transverse direction (the third direction X-axis) or in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction. The thickness H1 is less than the thickness H2, so that the size of the camera module 1 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) is as small as possible, to reduce the height of the camera module 1, which can be adapted to the smaller thickness of the electronic device and meet the requirements of miniaturization of the camera module. Further, the thickness at any position of the cover part 101 does not exceed the thickness at 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 1. The side wall part 102 has a certain thickness to ensure its mechanical strength.

[0069] The side wall part 102 is sleeved on the outside of 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 conducive 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 some 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.

[0070] The side wall part 102 is provided with an installation structure 103, and the installation structure 103 is suitable for installing the camera module 1 to the electronic device, and / or is suitable for fixing the camera module and other camera modules to form a multi-camera module.

[0071] The installation structure 103 is suitable for installing the camera module 1 to the electronic device, or is suitable for fixing the camera module 1 and other camera modules to form a multi-camera module.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, the housing 10 is mounted on the base 20 of one camera module 1 to form a housing 11 of the camera module 1; 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 1 to form multiple housings 11 of the camera modules 1. 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.

[0073] The mounting structure 103 includes a positioning portion and a positioning hole 1031. The positioning portion extends outwardly and convexly from the outer surface of the side wall portion 102, and the positioning hole 1031 is opened in the positioning portion to form a through hole. Align the positioning hole 1031 with the mounting hole on the electronic device, and then fix it with a fixing member (such as a screw) so that the camera module 1 is fixed to the electronic device. Similarly, the positioning hole 1031 can be aligned with the positioning holes of the brackets of other camera modules for fixing, so that the camera module 1 is connected to other camera modules.

[0074] In other examples, the mounting structure 103 can also be a snap structure for positioning and snap-fixing with the electronic device. In other examples, the corresponding positions of the camera module 1 and the electronic device can be snapped together and fixed by glue bonding. In other examples, it can also be implemented in other suitable fixing ways.

[0075] The housing 10 also has a light incident port 104, and the incident light beam enters the interior of the camera module 1 from the light incident port 104 and passes through the lens assembly 30. In some examples, the housing 10 also has a light exit port 105, which exits from the light exit port 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 incident port 104 and the light exit port 105, and the light exit port 105 is located between the lens assembly 30 and the photosensitive component 40. Further, the optical path turning component 50 is located between the light incident port 104 and the light exit port 105. Before the light beam reaches the photosensitive component 40, the light beam can be turned by the optical path turning component 50 to achieve optical path folding.

[0076] The housing 10 has an inner surface 106 and an outer surface 107. The inner surface 106 faces the internal structure of the imaging module 1, and the outer surface 107 faces the outside of the imaging module 1. An inner connection structure is formed between the inner surface 106 and the internal structure of the imaging module 1, and an internal and external connection structure is formed between the outer surface 107 and the external structure of the imaging module 1. 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 imaging module 1 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 imaging module 1 is installed in the electronic device. Thus, the position of the imaging module 1 in the electronic device is positioned by the cooperation of the inner and outer surfaces of the housing 10, improving the accuracy of assembly positioning.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] Next, the specific structures of the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 of the housing 10 are further described.

[0080] As Figures 5 to 8 shown, the main body portion 1001 includes the main body housing and the main body bracket, the tail portion 1002 includes the tail bracket, the main body housing forms the outer shell 11 of the housing 10, and the main body bracket and the tail bracket are connected to each other to form the bracket 12 of the housing 10.

[0081] Among them, the outer shell 11 includes an integrally formed outer shell cover wall 111 and an outer shell side wall 112. At least a part of the outer shell side wall 112 is formed by insert molding to form the main body bracket. The outer shell cover wall 111 extends along the plane where the diameter of the light incident port 104 is located or substantially extends along the plane where the diameter of the light incident port 104 is located. The outer shell side wall 112 extends from the outer peripheral edge of the outer shell cover wall 111 in the height direction (the first direction Z axis).

[0082] The outer shell cover wall 111 of the main body housing forms the aforementioned cover portion 101, which is adapted to cover the accommodation space 200 of the base 20. The light incident port 104 is opened on the outer shell cover wall 111 and faces the direction of light incidence.

[0083] The bracket 12 and the outer shell cover wall 111 are stacked in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) to form the aforementioned side wall portion 102, so as not to overlap with the outer shell side wall 112, avoiding increasing the thickness of the outer shell side wall 112 at the bracket 12.

[0084] The connection between the bracket 12 and the outer shell 11 is formed between the top of the bracket 12 and the bottom of the outer shell side wall 112 of the outer shell 11. Among them, the top of the bracket 12 faces the side of the outer shell cover wall 111. A bending portion 113 is formed between the outer shell cover wall 111 and the outer shell side wall 112. The thicknesses of the outer shell cover wall 111 and the outer shell side wall 112 are close to or the same, so that the bending portion 113 has a smooth transition, reducing the molding difficulty. Further, the thickness of the outer shell side wall 112 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.

[0085] In another embodiment of the present application, the top of the bracket 12 is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the outer shell cover wall 111 of the outer shell 11, that is, the outer shell 11 does not have the outer shell side wall 112. Compared with the prior art, the thickness of the outer shell side wall 112 of the outer shell 11 is omitted at the bracket 12.

[0086] Therefore, when the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed to form the housing 10, the thickness of the outer shell 11 can be omitted at the overlapping portion of the bracket 12 and the outer shell 11, or the bracket 12 and the outer shell 11 are stacked in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), saving the thickness of the outer shell 11 in the lateral and longitudinal dimensions. Further, since the outer shell 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed, compared with the separate bracket and outer shell in the prior art, using the housing 10 omits the step of assembling the bracket 12 to the outer shell 11 and also omits the glue application between the bracket 12 and the outer shell 11.

[0087] That is to say, in terms of dimensions, adopting the integrated housing 10 is beneficial to reducing the size of the camera module 1, especially the lateral (the third direction X-axis) and the longitudinal (the second direction Y-axis) in the light beam propagation direction; 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, outer shell 11 deformation and other problems.

[0088] 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 1 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 1 may become loose, displaced, etc., resulting in a decrease or even failure of the performance of the camera module 1. 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 1, the glue application between the bracket and the housing 11 is omitted, which can reduce the risk points of the camera module 1 and is beneficial to improving the yield of the finished camera module 1.

[0089] Furthermore, omitting the glue application between the bracket and the housing 11 can specifically omit the glue selection and verification, glue position selection and verification, glue amount (such as total glue amount, glue width, glue length, glue thickness, etc.) verification, 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, omitting the glue application between the bracket and the housing 11 can save time in design and development, verification, production, assembly, etc., improve the design and development efficiency, production efficiency and production yield of the camera module 1, and improve the appearance yield of the camera module 1.

[0090] In addition, in the camera module of the prior art, since the glue will pull the housing and the bracket due to the influence of the shrinkage rate after curing, and the housing is relatively thin, the housing will be pulled and deformed. Since the housing is arranged outside the base, the housing being pulled and deformed may cause the base to be deformed under force, thereby affecting the shape of the accommodation space of the base and the position and / or shape of the components located in the accommodation space, etc., and affecting the performance of the camera module. Therefore, after avoiding the glue application between the bracket and the housing, the deformation problem caused by the shrinkage of the glue during curing is also avoided, the assembly tolerance is reduced, and the yield of the camera module is improved.

[0091] 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 the one-time assembly of the housing 10 of the present application, omitting 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.

[0092] Specifically, in the camera module of the prior art, there is an assembly gap between the bracket and the housing, which may cause the housing to drive the base of the camera module and its internal structure to shift within the bracket, resulting in the light-passing hole provided on the housing shifting relative to the bracket. Therefore, when assembling the bracket to the housing, the light-passing hole of the camera module may already be shifted. After assembling the camera module to the electronic device, the shifting situation may be more serious, which leads to the misalignment of the light-passing hole of the electronic device and the light-passing hole of the camera module, resulting in the eccentricity problem of the camera module. Moreover, the glue between the bracket and the housing will also affect the relative position between the bracket and the housing, exacerbating the misalignment problem between the light-passing hole and the bracket, making the misalignment problem of the light-passing hole of the final electronic device and the light-passing hole of the camera module more serious.

[0093] In this application, the housing 10 adopts an integrated design of the housing 11 and the bracket 12. The light-incident port 104 of the housing 11 is fixed in position on the housing 10, and the relative position between the light-incident port 104 and the bracket 12 remains unchanged, avoiding the offset problem of the housing 11 and the bracket 12 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 1 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 1 and the light-passing hole of the electronic device can be achieved, avoiding the eccentricity problem of the camera module 1 caused by the offset of the light-incident port 104 and improving the assembly yield of the camera module 1. Further, the assembly eccentricity problem of the camera module 1 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 1 can be controlled by controlling the manufacturing tolerance of the distance between the light-incident port 104 and the bracket 12.

[0094] It can be understood that according to the design requirements of the camera module 1, 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 treatment can be performed on specific areas on the surface of the housing cover wall 111, such as laser engraving, blackening, etc., for stray light improvement. As shown in the appendix Figure 5 The inner surface of the housing 11 has a surface treatment area 109.

[0095] The bracket 12 is sleeved outside the base 20 and surrounds the base 20 for one week, forming a protection structure outside the camera module 1, which can provide physical protection for the camera module 1 to prevent damage caused by dropping, impact or other external forces. The bracket 12 is used to fix the camera module 1 at a specific position in the electronic device to ensure the accurate relative position with other components, thereby ensuring the accuracy and stability of image capture. When the camera module 1 is working, heat may be generated, and the bracket 12 can assist in heat dissipation to help the camera module 1 work at an appropriate temperature and extend its service life. The bracket 12 can enhance the structural stability of the camera module 1. 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.

[0096] In some examples of the present application, the bracket 12 is formed by surrounding 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 that are sequentially connected. From the perspective of the specification drawings, the first side wall portion 121 and the third side wall portion 123 are distributed along the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction and are opposite to each other in the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis).

[0097] 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 to each other in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction. 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 that are distributed along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis).

[0098] Among them, the specific shape of the bracket 12 can be determined in combination with the design requirements of the camera module 1 and the adaptation requirements of the electronic device.

[0099] 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 and is provided 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.

[0100] The shape of the bracket 12 can be frame type, L type, U type, "mouth" type, etc.

[0101] In some embodiments of the present application, the housing 10 can be implemented as two parts sequentially arranged along the light beam propagation direction, including a main body portion 1001 and a tail portion 1002. From the perspective of the specification drawings, as Figures 2 to 7As shown, the main body portion 1001 covers at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module 70, and the tail portion 1002 surrounds the photosensitive component 40 located on the light-emitting side. A part of the outer shell 11 and a part of the bracket 12 that form the main body portion 1001 jointly define a main body space 1100, and another part of the outer shell 11 and another part of the bracket 12 that form the tail portion 1002 jointly define a receiving space 1200. When assembling, the internal structure assembly of the base 20 covered by the main body space 1100 and the internal structure assembly of the base 20 covered by the receiving space 1200 can be carried out synchronously. After the internal structure assembly is completed, the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 are assembled, so that the cooperation degree of the housing 10 with the actual assembly operation is higher, and the assembly efficiency of the camera module 1 is further improved.

[0102] Among them, whether the assembly of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 is synchronous is determined by the completion time of the internal structure assembly of the main body space 1100 and the completion time of the internal structure assembly of the receiving space 1200, and can be adjusted in combination with the actual assembly operation process of the camera module 1.

[0103] As Figures 2 - 4 shown, the main body portion 1001 is the part of the housing 10 from the second side wall portion 122 to the light passing port 202 in the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, that is, the first side wall portion 121, the third side wall portion 123 and the part of the outer shell 11 from the second side wall portion 122 to the light passing port 202 in the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, and the second side wall portion 122 extending and distributed in the transverse direction (third direction X-axis) are integrally formed; the tail portion 1002 is the part of the housing 10 from the light passing port 202 to the fourth side wall portion 124 in the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, that is, the first side wall portion 121, the third side wall portion 123 and the part of the outer shell 11 from the light passing port 202 to the fourth side wall portion 124 in the longitudinal direction (second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, and the fourth side wall portion 124 extending and distributed in the transverse direction (third direction X-axis) are integrally formed. The heights of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 extending and distributed in the height direction (first direction Z-axis) remain unchanged.

[0104] Specifically, the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 are nested and connected along the optical path direction, and glue is injected and bonded at the nesting position, as Figure 3 and Figure 7As shown, the body bracket of the body part 1001 at the connection part protrudes towards the tail of the optical path to the tail part 1002, forming an embedding part 10011 of the body part 1001. The tail bracket of the tail part 1002 at the connection part is provided with a nested part 10021 adapted to the embedding part 10011 along the head end of the optical path. When connecting the body part 1001 and the tail part 1002, the nested part 10021 is aligned with the embedding part 10011 for nesting and then injecting glue for curing, so as to realize the positioning and assembly of the tail part 1002 on the body part 1001.

[0105] Wherein, after the nested part 10021 and the embedding part 10011 are nested and connected, the inner side surface of the nested part 10021 is connected to the outer side surface of the embedding part 10011. The outer side surface of the nested part 10021 is flush with the inner side surface and the outer side surface of the bracket 12 part of the body part 1001 respectively. That is, the thickness of the nested connection part of the nested part 10021 and the embedding part 10011 in the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis) is equal to the thickness of the bracket 12 in the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis), so as to ensure the mechanical strength of the housing 10 formed after the nested connection and avoid increasing the thickness of the housing 10 at the nested connection part.

[0106] Specifically, the thickness of the embedding part 10011 is consistent with the thickness of the main body housing, that is, less than the thickness of the bracket 12 of the housing 10, so as to control the thickness after the nested connection to be consistent with the thickness of the bracket 12 of the housing 10.

[0107] In some examples, after the embedding part 10011 of the body part 1001 and the nested part 10021 of the tail part 1002 are nested and bonded, they are welded and fixed to enhance the connection strength between the body part 1001 and the tail part 1002. Among them, the welding process can adopt laser welding, solder ball welding, etc.

[0108] The light inlet 104 is arranged on the body part 1001, and the light outlet 105 is arranged at the tail end of the body part 1001. From the perspective of the specification drawings, the light inlet 104 is arranged on the cover part 101 of the body part 1001, and the light outlet 105 is arranged between the tail end of the body part 1001 in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) along the beam propagation direction and the photosensitive component 40.

[0109] In some examples, the base 20 has a mounting seat 204 at the tail of the optical path, and the light passing port 202 is formed on the mounting seat 204. That is, the light outlet 105 is arranged on the mounting seat 204, and the photosensitive component 40 is mounted on the light output side of the mounting seat 204. As Figures 2 - 5 shown, the beam exits from the light outlet 105 and reaches the photosensitive component 40 to form an image on the photosensitive component 40.

[0110] Among them, the mounting base 204 is located at the tail end of the main body portion 1001 and is connected to the cover portion 101 of the main body portion 1001 to form a closed space from the light inlet 104 to the light outlet 105, so as to isolate the material flow between the internal structure of the camera module 1 and the outside world, and prevent sundries and dust from entering the internal space of the base 20 during subsequent processing such as assembly and welding, resulting in a risk of stains and ultimately affecting the imaging of the camera module 1.

[0111] In other examples of the present application, the housing 10 is the main body portion 1001 and does not include the tail portion 1002. The tail end of the main body portion 1001 along the optical path abuts against the light inlet side of the mounting base 204 of the base 20 to form a closed space from the light inlet 104 to the light outlet 105, so as to accommodate the internal structure on the base 20 except for the photosensitive component 40. The photosensitive component 40 is mounted on the light outlet side of the mounting base 204 to form the camera module 1.

[0112] In order to further cooperate with the actual assembly operation of the camera module 1, a groove is provided in the bracket 12 portion of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002, which is suitable for avoiding the structure to be welded. From the perspective of the attached drawing, the groove formed between the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 is Figures 9 - 10 the connection area 15 shown, which is suitable for avoiding the connection area of the pins of the circuit component 60 and the circuit board 41 in the photosensitive component 40. In the embodiment where the nested connection between the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 is welded, the welding at the nested connection and the welding of the connection area 15 can be carried out synchronously, further improving the assembly efficiency.

[0113] Specifically describe the positional relationship between the housing side wall 112 of the housing 11 and the bracket 12. The housing 11 has a first side surface 1101. In the embodiment where the housing 11 has the housing side wall 112, the first side surface 1101 is formed on the inner surface of the housing side wall 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.

[0114] In some examples, the first side surface 1101 and the second side surface 1201 are flush and aligned in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), so that the housing 10 provides a flat inner surface 106, which 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 106 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 the integrated die-casting molding method, 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 the cost.

[0115] 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 more towards the outside than the second side surface 1201, that is, further away 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.

[0116] 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 by combining a metal material and a plastic material. Further, 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, obtaining the housing 10 integrally formed as a single part.

[0117] 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.

[0118] In an implementation manner 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 sequentially connected, surround three sides of the outer shell cover wall 111 to be molded, and are embedded to form the main body part bracket, thereby forming the main body part 1001. 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.

[0119] 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 1124. The first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall 1124 are formed around the peripheral sides of the housing cover wall 111. The bracket 12 is formed in a loop around the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall 1124. 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 1124 are provided with the engaging holes 1120.

[0120] As Figure 8 shown, the housing sidewall 112 includes an engaging portion 1125. The engaging holes 1120 are provided in the engaging portion 1125. After the housing 11 is formed, the bracket 12 is formed around the engaging portion 1125, such that the molding material enters the engaging holes 1120, and the molding material is combined with the inner walls of the engaging holes 1120, and the bracket 12 is integrally formed on the surface of the engaging portion 1125 and the engaging holes 1120.

[0121] 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 1125, 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 1125.

[0122] 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 1, 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 1.

[0123] From the perspective of the drawings in the specification, the first housing sidewall 1121 and the third housing sidewall 1123 extend and are distributed along the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, and are opposite to each other along the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis). The second housing sidewall 1122 extends and is distributed along the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis). In an example where the fourth housing sidewall 1124 is provided, the second housing sidewall 1122 and the fourth housing sidewall 1124 are opposite to each other along the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction.

[0124] In an example where the fourth housing sidewall 1124 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 1124 respectively, such that the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, the third housing sidewall 1123, and the fourth housing sidewall 1124 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.

[0125] Further, in some examples of the present application, the housing 10 includes a main body portion 1001 and a tail portion 1002 arranged along the light beam propagation direction. Both the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 are obtained by injection molding in an insert molding manner with the housing 11 as an insert. The housing 11 has a fourth housing sidewall 1124. The housing 11 is interrupted at positions corresponding to the light outlet 105 on the first housing sidewall 1121 and the third housing sidewall 1123, forming a main body housing and a tail housing. The main body housing and the tail housing are molded around the circumferential side of the camera module semi-finished product 70 and are respectively used for insert injection molding of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002, forming the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002.

[0126] Wherein, the main body housing and the tail housing are respectively embedded in the injection cavities of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002. The injection molding of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 can be carried out simultaneously, further improving the production efficiency.

[0127] Specifically, the main body housing includes the second housing sidewall 1122, a part of the housing cover wall 111 from the second housing sidewall 1122 to the light outlet 105, the first housing sidewall 1121, and the third housing sidewall 1123. The tail housing includes the fourth housing sidewall 1124 and another part of the housing cover wall 111.

[0128] More specifically, when the bracket 12 forms the first sidewall portion 121 and the third sidewall portion 123 on the first housing sidewall 1121 and the third housing sidewall 1123 of the main body housing, a part at the tail end along the optical path on the first housing sidewall 1121 and the third housing sidewall 1123 is not subjected to surrounding injection molding to form the embedding portion 10011 of the main body portion 1001. A block with the same shape and thickness as the embedding portion 10011 is added at the head end of the tail portion 1002 to the tail housing before injection molding to form the nesting portion 10021 of the tail portion 1002.

[0129] In some embodiments, the portion of the main body housing that is not subjected to overmolding can serve as an inlay for overmolding the nested portion of the tail 1002. A metal release agent is applied to the reserved portion so that the nested portion 10021 is overmolded and demolded in accordance with the shape of the embedded portion 10011.

[0130] In an example where the fourth housing sidewall 1124 is absent from 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.

[0131] Specifically, in an example where the tail 1002 is absent from the housing 10, the housing 10 is the main body portion 1001, and the housing 11 has no tail housing, that is, the bracket 12 forms the first sidewall portion 121, the second sidewall portion 122, and the third sidewall portion 123 of the main body portion 1001 on the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, and the third housing sidewall 1123 respectively.

[0132] In some examples of the present application, there is no embedding relationship between the fourth sidewall portion 124 and the housing sidewall 112 of the housing 11. Specifically, there is a gap between the fourth sidewall portion 124 and the housing cover wall 111 of the housing 11 to form a gap space 108.

[0133] Furthermore, in an example where the housing 10 includes the main body portion 1001 and the tail 1002, the fourth housing sidewall 1124 is absent from the housing 11, the bracket 12 forms the first sidewall portion 121, the second sidewall portion 122, and the third sidewall portion 123 of the main body portion 1001 on the first housing sidewall 1121, the second housing sidewall 1122, and the third housing sidewall 1123 of the housing 11 respectively, and there is no embedding relationship between the tail 1002 and the housing sidewall 112 of the housing 11, that is, the tail 1002 has no tail housing and the tail 1002 is directly obtained by overmolding. Specifically, after the main body portion 1001 and the tail 1002 are connected, they jointly enclose to form a gap space 108, which is suitable for accommodating the photosensitive component 40 of the imaging module 1.

[0134] It can be understood that the "one-piece molding" in the present 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 the one-piece molding in the present application.

[0135] Next, the implementation of the coupling portion 1125 of the present application will be further described. The coupling portion 1125 is a portion on the housing 11 adapted to be coupled with the bracket 12.

[0136] The foregoing introduced an implementation of the coupling portion 1125. The coupling portion 1125 is located on the housing side wall 112 of the housing 11. The housing side wall 112 is a portion located on the peripheral side of the housing cover wall 111, and at least a part of the housing side wall 112 is the coupling portion 1125. The housing cover wall 111 and the housing side wall 112 jointly define the light outlet 105. The bracket 12 is formed around the coupling portion 1125 to form 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 that are connected in sequence in a circle. Among them, an interval space 108 is formed between the housing 11 and the fourth side wall portion 124, which is adapted to avoid the photosensitive component 40. Further, a part of the first side wall portion 121, the housing 11, a part of the third side wall portion 123, and the first side wall portion 121 are connected in sequence to define the interval space 108.

[0137] The mounting structure 103 is formed by injection molding to form the positioning portion and the positioning hole 1031. The number of the mounting structures 103 can be one or more. In the example where the number is multiple, the mounting structures 103 can be distributed on one or more 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 of the bracket 12, and multiple mounting structures 103 can be provided on the same one 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.

[0138] In another implementation of the present application, referring to the attached Figure 8 illustration, the coupling portion 1125 includes a first coupling portion 11251 and a second coupling portion 11252. The first coupling portion 11251 is provided with the coupling hole 1120. The first coupling portion 11251 is formed on the housing side wall 112. The second coupling portion 11252 is integrally extended and formed from the first coupling portion 11251. Further, an interval space 108 is defined between the second coupling portion 11252 and the housing 11. That is to say, different from the foregoing implementation, the second coupling portion 11252 is added, which is adapted to be coupled with the fourth side wall portion 124, the first side wall portion 121, and the third side wall portion 123 of the bracket 12. The second coupling portion 11252 and the photosensitive component 40 avoid each other.

[0139] The engaging portion 1125 further includes a third engaging portion 11253, which is disposed on the first engaging portion 11251 and / or the second engaging portion 11252. Further, the third engaging portion 11253 protrudingly extends from the first engaging portion 11251 and / or the second engaging portion 11252, and its extending direction is perpendicular to the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), and can be implemented to extend along the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis) and / or the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction.

[0140] The positioning hole 1031 of the mounting structure 103 is disposed on the third engaging portion 11253, and the positioning portion of the mounting structure 103 is formed around the third engaging portion 11253. The positioning portion surrounds at least a part of the third engaging portion 11253, exposing the positioning hole 1031. Further, a part of the third engaging portion 11253 surrounding the positioning hole 1031 is exposed from the positioning portion. When the third engaging portion 11253 is made of a metal material, that is, the mating surface defining the inner wall of the positioning hole 1031 is a metal surface. When the camera module 1 is fixed to the electronic device, the fixing member mates with the metal mating surface to avoid the problem of chip shedding caused by plastic materials.

[0141] The number of the third engaging portions 11253 can be one or more. In the example where the number is multiple, the third engaging portions 11253 can be distributed on one or more 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 of the bracket 12, and multiple third engaging portions 11253 can be provided on the same one 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.

[0142] In the embodiment where the housing 10 is implemented as the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002, the first engaging portion 11251 and the second engaging portion 11252 are respectively located on the outer shell of the main body portion and the outer shell of the tail portion, and multiple third engaging portions 11253 are provided on the outer shell of the main body portion and the outer shell of the tail portion.

[0143] Among them, there are at least two of the third engaging portions 11253 on the first engaging portion 11251 of the main body housing, which are respectively located on the second housing side wall 1122 extending in the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis) and the first housing side wall 1121 and / or the third housing side wall 1123 extending in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) along the light beam propagation direction, so as to ensure that there is at least one positioning hole 1031 of the mounting structure 103 on the main body portion 1001 formed by injection molding in both the transverse direction (the third direction X-axis) and the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) along the light beam propagation direction; there is at least one of the third engaging portions 11253 on the second engaging portion 11252 of the tail housing, so as to ensure that there is at least one positioning hole 1031 of the mounting structure 103 on the tail portion 1002 formed by injection molding.

[0144] Specifically, the installation heights of the multiple mounting structures 103 on the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) are different, that is, the installation heights of the multiple third engaging portions 11253 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) are different, so that when the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 formed by injection molding are assembled, the height of the housing 10 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) can be positioned through the positioning hole 1031.

[0145] The bracket 12 is further provided with the connection area 15. In some embodiments of the present application, the connection area 15 is located between the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002, and is enclosed by a pair of oppositely arranged notches respectively located on the tail side of the main body portion 1001 and the head side of the tail portion 1002. Before injection molding, inserts are placed at positions corresponding to the notches in the injection cavity of the main body portion 1001 and the injection cavity of the tail portion 1002, so that the connection area 15 is integrally formed with the housing 10.

[0146] In some examples, the injection cavity of the main body portion 1001 and the injection cavity of the tail portion 1002 are arranged in the same mold, and the two injection cavities are independent of each other and not connected, so that the embedded injection molding processes of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 can be carried out synchronously.

[0147] In other examples, the injection cavity of the main body portion 1001 and the injection cavity of the tail portion 1002 are connected to each other. Before injection molding, corresponding barriers are placed at the connection position between the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002, and after the main body housing and the tail housing are embedded, the injection molding of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 is carried out in sequence.

[0148] In the foregoing process, first, the housing 11 is formed by a metal material forming process, and then the bracket 12 is injection-molded around the housing 11 to obtain the housing 10. Therefore, an insert molding process can be adopted to injection-mold around the metal material to obtain the housing 10 of the present application. Among them, the metal material can be, but is 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. The process of forming the metal material can include, but is not limited to, metal stamping, integrated die casting, metal casting, metal forging, powder metallurgy, metal injection molding (MIM), stretching, secondary stretching, etc. Further, a metal stamping process can be adopted to form the housing 11, so that the housing 11 can have a relatively thin wall thickness and the size of the camera module 1 can be reduced as much as possible.

[0149] Taking the example of stamping the housing 11 with stainless steel material, the wall thickness of the housing 11 can be controlled at about 0.2 mm. On the basis of ensuring the formation of the housing 11, the wall thickness is thinned as much as possible to reduce the size of the camera module 1 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis). At the same time, since the housing 11 and the bracket 12 are integrally formed, the wall thickness of the housing 11 can be saved unilaterally in the lateral direction (the third direction X-axis) and the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction, that is, the size of 0.2 mm is reduced, so that the size of the wall thickness of the housing 11 can be reduced unilaterally by the camera module 1 in the lateral direction (the third direction X-axis) and the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction.

[0150] Compared with the bracket made by the metal material forming process, the bracket 12 formed by injection molding has a smaller thickness. For example, the thickness of the bracket made by the metal material forming process is about 0.5 mm, while the bracket 12 formed by injection molding is about 0.35 mm. In this way, the unilateral size saved in the lateral direction (the third direction X-axis) and the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction is about 0.15 mm.

[0151] Therefore, combining the integrated design and the insert molding process, the unilateral size saved by the housing 10 of the present application in the lateral direction (the third direction X-axis) and the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction is about 0.35 mm, so as to further reduce the size of the camera module 1 of the present application.

[0152] The above data is only for illustrating the advantages of the integrated design and insert molding process adopted by the housing 10 of the present application. Depending on the design of the camera module 1, the dimensions that can be saved vary. It may save more dimensions or less dimensions, but at least the wall thickness dimension of the outer shell of the prior art can be reduced on the basis of the integrated design, and a part of the wall thickness of the bracket 12 can be further saved.

[0153] In addition, a part of the outer shell 11 is embedded in the bracket 12 of the housing 10 obtained by the insert molding process. Even if the wall thickness of the bracket 12 is thinned, its strength can be guaranteed.

[0154] Next, the formation method of the aforementioned spacer space 108 will be specifically described.

[0155] After the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 are connected, they jointly enclose to form a spacer space 108, which is suitable for accommodating the photosensitive component 40 in the semi-finished camera module 70.

[0156] In an embodiment 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 spacer space 108 between the fourth side wall portion 124 and the outer shell 11. The spacer space 108 is formed between the light exit port 105 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, 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 1 is assembled, the photosensitive component 40 is accommodated in the spacer space 108.

[0157] Specifically, taking the camera module 1 as a periscope camera module as an example, the light passing port 202 is located on the outgoing 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.

[0158] Further, an installation space 203 is defined at the end of the base 20 for installing the photosensitive component 40, and 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 spaced space 108 to avoid interference between the installation of the housing 10 and the photosensitive component 40.

[0159] Furthermore, a mounting seat 204 is provided at the tail end of the base 20 in the optical path direction, and the light passing port 202 is arranged on the mounting seat 204, that is, the mounting seat 204 is located between the accommodation space 200 and the installation space 203, and divides the housing covering space 1000 into the main body space 1100 and the accommodation space 1200. During assembly, the main body space 1100 corresponds to the accommodation space 200 to form a space that encloses the internal structure on the base 20, and the accommodation space 1200 corresponds to the installation space 203 to form a space suitable for installing the photosensitive component 40.

[0160] As Figures 3 - 4 shown, the mounting seat 204 is perpendicular to the bottom surface of the base 20 and the light beam propagation direction. Its light incident side and the main body portion 1001 of the housing 10 jointly form a closed space from the light incident port 104 to the light exit port 105 to isolate the physical contact between the internal structure of the imaging module 1 placed in the accommodation space 200 and the outside world, and to prevent foreign matters and dust from entering the accommodation space 200 during subsequent processing such as assembly and welding, resulting in a risk of stains and affecting the imaging of the imaging module 1; the photosensitive component 40 is installed on the light exit side of the mounting seat 204 so that the assembly processes in the two spaces can be carried out synchronously, further simplifying the assembly steps of the imaging module 1.

[0161] Among them, the photosensitive component 40 includes a photosensitive chip, a circuit board 41, a connection tape 42, and a connector 43. The photosensitive chip is electrically connected to the circuit board 41. The connection tape 42 extends from the circuit board 41, and the connector 43 is located on one side of the connection tape 42. The circuit board 41, the connection tape 42, and the connector 43 are connected in sequence. The connector 43 is conductively connected to the electronic device to conduct the imaging module 1 and the electronic device. According to different adaptation requirements of the electronic device, the connection tape 42 will be configured in different bending manners so that the connector 43 is located at an appropriate position 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 is located on the side of the imaging module 1, that is, on one side of the imaging module 1 in the horizontal direction (the third direction X-axis), or on one side of the imaging module 1 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 is located on one side of the imaging module 1 in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the light beam propagation direction.

[0162] According to the different orientations of the connector 43 relative to the bracket 12, different installation methods of the housing 10 need to be considered to avoid interference with the connector 43. When the connector 43 is located below the bracket 12, the connection tape 42 exits from below the bracket 12, so that the connector 43 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, and there will be no interference with the connector 43. When the connector 43 is located above the bracket 12, the connection tape 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.

[0163] 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 interval space 108, so that the connection tape 42 can exit from both the upper and lower sides. In an embodiment where the connector 43 is located on one side of the imaging module 1 in the longitudinal direction (the second direction Y-axis) of the non-light beam propagation direction, the connection tape 42 can exit from below to avoid interference with the assembly of the housing 10.

[0164] In an implementation manner of the present application, there is the aforementioned interval space 108 between the outer shell 11 and the fourth side wall portion 124, and the outer shell 11 is formed on the tops of the first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, and the third side wall portion 123.

[0165] In some examples, there is the aforementioned spaced-apart space 108 between the housing 11 and the tail portion 1002. The spaced-apart space 108 communicates with the accommodation space 1200 of the tail portion 1002 and the installation space 203 on the base 20, forming an installation cavity for the photosensitive component 40 on the imaging module 1. The photosensitive component 40 is installed on the light-emitting side of the mounting base 204, and the tail end of its connection strip 42 extends out from the spaced-apart space 108 to conduct the imaging module 1 and the electronic device.

[0166] In another embodiment of the present application, the housing 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 spaced-apart space 108 between the housing 11 and the fourth side wall portion 124. The housing 11 integrally covers the accommodation space 200 and the installation space 203 of the base 20. The connection strip 42 of the photosensitive component 40 can lead out from the direction opposite to the housing 11 along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), that is, downward, so that the connector 43 is located below, and there will be no interference in the assembly with the housing 10.

[0167] Among them, after specifically introducing the housing 10 of the present application, the attachment position of the connection strip 42 after positioning the connector 43 is described. In some examples, the connection strip 42 is attached between the fourth side wall portion 124 of the bracket 12 and the photosensitive component 40, or rather, the connection strip 42 is fixed to the back surface of the photosensitive component 40. The connector 43 is led out from above or below along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) from the inside of the fourth side wall portion 124. In some examples, the connection strip 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 can be led out from below along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) from the inside of the first side wall portion 121 or the third side wall portion 123. In other examples, the connection strip 42 can be attached to the bottom of the imaging module 1, so that the connector 43 is located at the bottom of the imaging module 1.

[0168] As described above, the housing 10 has an installation opening. The housing 10 defines a housing covering space 1000. The housing covering space 1000 communicates with the external space through the installation opening. The housing 10 covers the base 20 through the installation opening, and the base 20 is accommodated in the housing covering space 1000.

[0169] In an embodiment of the present application, the installation opening is defined by being surrounded by the bracket 12. Specifically, the bracket 12 defines the lower end of the housing 10 (i.e., the end close to the main board of the electronic device), and the outer shell 11 defines the upper end of the housing 10 (i.e., the end close to the light-transmitting 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 define the lower end of the housing 10.

[0170] In another embodiment of the present application, the installation opening is defined by being surrounded by the end of the outer shell 11. The outer shell 11 integrally extends from the upper end of the housing 10 to the lower end of the housing 10, and the bracket 12 surrounds the outer shell 11 and is formed outside the outer shell 11.

[0171] In another embodiment of the present application, the installation opening is defined by the mutual cooperation of the bracket 12 and the outer shell 11 to surround. A part of the outer shell 11 integrally extends from the upper end of the housing 10 to the lower end of the housing 10, and another part extends to the bracket 12, and the bracket 12 continues to extend to the lower end of the housing 10.

[0172] In the housing 10, the thickness of the part formed by the outer shell 11 does not exceed the thickness of the part formed by the bracket 12. Further, the thickness of the part formed by the outer shell 11 is much smaller than the thickness of the part formed by the bracket 12.

[0173] A hollowed-out area 13 is provided in the housing 10. The hollowed-out area 13 is located in the bracket 12 so that part of the bracket 12 is hollowed out, reducing the wall thickness of part of the area of the housing 10 and reducing the weight of the housing 10. Among them, the hollowed-out area 13 can be set by hollowing out part of the area of the housing 10, or by reducing the wall thickness of part of the area of the housing 10, but still retaining a part of the wall thickness. Further, the hollowed-out area 13 is provided in the side wall part 102.

[0174] In some examples of the present application, the housing 10 is further provided with a positioning area 14. The positioning area 14 is adapted to cooperate with the corresponding structure of the base 20, such as the mating structure 205, to assist in installing the housing 10 to the base 20. The positioning area 14 can be opened on the outer shell 11 and / or the bracket 12, and is located on the side wall part 102 of the housing 10. Further, it is located at the end of the side wall part 102 so as to cooperate with the mating structure 205 of the base 20. Among them, the positioning area 14 can be implemented as an avoidance space, and the mating structure 205 can be implemented as a boss structure so that the two cooperate with each other. Further, the positioning area 14 can be provided in the hollowed-out area 13, and the mating structure 205 can be a boss provided for the hollowed-out area 13.

[0175] In order to further simplify the assembly steps of the camera module 1, a groove-shaped connection area 15 is provided on the bracket 12 to expose the connection area between the pins of the circuit component 60 and the circuit board 41 of the photosensitive component 40. Figure 6 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the connection area 15 is formed on the bracket 12 near the photosensitive component 40 to cooperate with the welding of the pin and the circuit board 41. It can be understood that the connection area 15 is set on the bracket 12 corresponding to the projection area of ​​the installation space 203.

[0176] Among them, among the four shell side walls that constitute the bracket 12, the first side wall portion 121 and the third side wall portion 123 are the positions for fixing the camera module 1 by 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. Combined with the functions of each shell side wall, the connecting area 15 is preferably arranged on the first side wall portion 121 and / or the third side wall portion 123 to reduce the glue area on the two shell side walls of the bracket 12, reduce the mass and glue amount of the bracket 12, thereby reducing the deformation of the internal structure of the module caused by excessive glue area, especially the bending of the position and path of the lens and focus motor, and further avoiding the eccentricity problem of the camera module 1.

[0177] Specifically, the connection area 15 is arranged on the rear side of the first side wall portion 121 along the direction of the optical path and on the rear side of the third side wall portion 123 along the direction of the optical path. In some examples, the connection area 15 is arranged between the main body portion 1001 and the rear portion 1002 to accommodate the layout of the circuit component 60 embedded in the outer side surface of the base 20 and the assembly orientation of the photosensitive component 40 on the camera module 1, and to expose the connection area between the pin and the circuit board 41 to avoid the two.

[0178] More specifically, a pair of notches are provided at the connection between the main body bracket and the tail bracket. A portion of the tail side of the main body bracket along the light beam propagation direction extends in the opposite direction to form a first notch 151, and a portion of the head side of the tail bracket along the light path direction continues to extend along the light beam propagation direction to form a second notch 152. The first notch 151 and the second notch 152 are arranged opposite to each other and enclose a groove, i.e., forming the connection area 15, which is used to expose the connection area between the pins of the circuit component 60 of the camera module 1 and the circuit board 41 of the photosensitive component 40.

[0179] Furthermore, any side of the connection area 15 does not contact the shell 11 and its junction with the bracket 12, and avoids the area of ​​thickness H1 as much as possible to prevent the processing and forming of the connection area 15 or the welding operation performed in the connection area 15 from causing the shell 11 to deform and affecting the mechanical strength of the shell 10.

[0180] From the perspective of Figures 6 - 7 the housing 11 has the spacing space 108, and the connecting belt 42 extends outwards from the spacing space 108 to conduct the imaging module 1 and the electronic device. In some embodiments, the spacing space 108 is formed between the end of the housing 11 portion of the main body 1001 along the optical path and the top of the tail portion 1002, that is, the tail portion 1002 is only formed by a part of the bracket 12 and does not have a part of the housing 11.

[0181] In some embodiments of the present application, the first bottom notch 151 is located at the bottom end of the embedding portion 10011 of the main body 1001, and the second notch 152 is located at the bottom end of the nesting portion 10021 of the tail portion 1002. That is, the embedding portion 10011 and the nesting portion 10021 separate the spacing space 108 from the connection area 15, preventing the bracket 12 from being affected by the too large space occupation ratio after connection, thus affecting the mechanical strength of the bracket 12, and preventing the bracket 12 from deforming due to external force during the assembly process. At the same time, the nested connection of the embedding portion 10011 and the nesting portion 10021 further enhances the structural strength of the connection area 15.

[0182] Among them, the size of the notch has a certain impact on the structural strength of the corresponding opening sides on the main body 1001 and the tail portion 1002. From the perspective of the accompanying drawings of the specification, the first notch 151 and the second notch 152 are preferably notches with a greater length in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), enclosing a groove with a greater length in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), that is, the connection area 15 with a greater length in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis).

[0183] Furthermore, the connection area 15 is formed by enclosing a notch and a side edge, that is, the first notch 151 on the main body 1001 and the side edge of the tail portion 1002 enclose, or the second notch 152 of the tail portion 1002 and the side edge of the main body 1001 enclose, to form the connection area 15.

[0184] In some instances, the embedding portion 10011 and the nesting portion 10021 are welded after nested connection, further enhancing the connection strength between the main body 1001 and the tail portion 1002, and improving the structural strength of the housing 10 and the connection area 15.

[0185] Preferably, the height of the connection area 15 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) does not exceed half of the height of the bracket 12 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), so as to reduce the influence of the groove opened on the bracket 12 on the connection strength between the main body 1001 and the tail portion 1002 and the structural strength of the housing 10.

[0186] In another specific embodiment of the present application, the housing 11 does not have the spaced-apart space 108, and the connecting belt 42 extends out from the gap between the bracket 12 and the base 20 to conduct the imaging module 1 and the electronic device.

[0187] As Figures 7 - 10 shown, the connection area 15 is provided on the bracket 12. When the height of the connection area 15 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) is not less than the height of the bracket 12 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), the installation position of the installation structure 103 on the bracket 12 is far from the connection area 15 to avoid interference with each other during the operations of welding and positioning and fixing.

[0188] In some examples of the present application, at least three of the installation structures 103 are provided on the bracket 12 portion of the main body 1001, which are respectively located on the first side wall portion 121, the second side wall portion 122, and the third side wall portion 123 to position three sides of the main body 1001. At least one of the installation structures 103 is provided on the tail portion 1002 to cooperate with the nested connection between the tail portion 1002 and the main body 1001 to determine the assembly positioning of the tail portion 1002.

[0189] In some examples, the number of the connection areas 15 is one, and at least two of the installation structures 103 are respectively provided at the two end points of the diagonal of the bracket 12. When the connection area 15 is located at the tail of the first side wall portion 121 close to the fourth side wall portion 124, one of the installation structures 103 is provided at the junction or connection corner of the first side wall portion 121 and the second side wall portion 122, and the other is provided at the junction or connection corner of the third side wall portion 123 and the fourth side wall portion 124; when the connection area 15 is located at the tail of the third side wall portion 123 close to the fourth side wall portion 124, one of the installation structures 103 is provided at the junction or connection corner of the second side wall portion 122 and the third side wall portion 123, and the other is provided at the junction or connection corner of the first side wall portion 121 and the fourth side wall portion 124.

[0190] In some examples, the number of the connection areas 15 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. At least two of the installation structures 103 are symmetrically provided on the first side wall portion 121 and the third side wall portion 123, and at least one of the installation structures 103 is provided on the first side wall portion 121 to avoid mutual interference between the installation structure 103 and the connection area 15, so as to ensure the mechanical strength of the bracket 12 and the installation stability of the imaging module 1 on the electronic device.

[0191] In an embodiment of the present application, the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 together enclose the connection area 15. The mounting structure 103 near the connection between the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 is not in the same height direction (the first direction Z-axis) as the connection area 15, so as to prevent the fixing operation on the mounting structure 103 from affecting the connection strength between the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002.

[0192] When the height of the connection area 15 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) is less than half of the height of the bracket 12 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis), the size of the connection area 15 is small. The mounting structure 103 and the connection area 15 can be arranged in sequence along the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) of the bracket 12, so as to simplify the welding positioning in the connection area and the fixing positioning of the housing 10.

[0193] In some examples of the present application, the mounting structure 103, the connection area 15, and the nested connection portions of the main body portion 1001 and the tail portion 1002 are in the same height direction (the first direction Z-axis), and both the mounting structure 103 and the connection area 15 are located at the bottom of the nested connection portion. The structural strength of the connection area 15 is ensured by the connection strength of the nested connection portion. From the perspective of the attached drawings and specifications, the positioning hole 1031 of the mounting structure 103 and the connection area 15 are not in the same height direction (the first direction Z-axis) of the bracket 12, further reducing the influence of the fixing operation on the connection strength and the structural strength.

[0194] Among all the mounting structures 103 on the housing 10, at least two of the mounting structures 103 have different set heights in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) to determine the positioning of the entire housing 10 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis). In an embodiment of the present application, at least two of the mounting structures 103 on the main body portion 1001 have different set heights in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) to determine the positioning of the main body portion 1001 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis); there is at least one mounting structure 103 on the tail portion 1002 to determine the positioning of the tail portion 1002 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis).

[0195] Furthermore, when there are at least two mounting structures 103 on the same side wall of the bracket 12, at least two of the mounting structures 103 have different set heights in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis) to further determine the positioning of the side wall of the bracket 12 in the height direction (the first direction Z-axis).

[0196] In some embodiments, at one corner of the bracket 12 or at two corners located on its diagonal, one installation structure 103 can be provided on each side of each corner to determine the positioning of the corner on the circumferential side of the bracket 12, further improving the installation stability of the camera module 1 on the electronic device.

[0197] In an implementation manner of the present application, the camera module 1 is a vertical camera module, including the housing 10 and the base 20. The housing 10 includes the cover part 101 and the side wall part 102 whose extending distribution planes are perpendicular to each other. A part of the top of the side wall part 102 and the cover part 101 together form the outer shell 11, and the other part of the side wall part 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 to conduct the camera module 1 and the electronic device.

[0198] There is a certain gap between the bracket 12 and the photosensitive component 40. In the example where the bracket 12 is sleeved on the outside of the photosensitive component 40, the gap between the bracket 12 and the photosensitive component 40 can prevent interference between the bracket 12 and the photosensitive component 40 and affect the photosensitive component 40.

[0199] The lens driving assembly and the optical path turning driving assembly form the driving mechanism of the camera module 1 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.

[0200] The driving mechanism of the camera module 1 further includes a position sensing component, 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 component is also an electronic component and needs to be electrically connected to the circuit.

[0201] The camera module 1 further includes a circuit component 60. The circuit component 60 connects the electronic component and the photosensitive component 40. The electronic component obtains electrical energy through the conductive connection between the circuit component 60 and the photosensitive component 40. Further, it can also obtain signals through the communication connection between the circuit component 60 and the photosensitive component 40.

[0202] In an implementation manner of the present application, the circuit component 60 includes a circuit board. The aforementioned electronic components (including but not limited to the first lens driving unit, the first optical path turning driving unit, the position sensing component, 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.

[0203] In an embodiment of the present application, the circuit component 60 is implemented to be embedded in the base 20. The circuit component 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 adapted to be electrically connected to the photosensitive component 40;

[0204] Wherein, 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 component 60 to wrap the circuit component 60, exposing the mounting terminal and the connection terminal for mounting the electronic component, and conducting connection with the photosensitive component 40.

[0205] Since the circuit component 60 is embedded in the base 20, the circuit component 60 does not need to occupy additional space. Compared with the form of using an independent circuit structure (such as using a circuit board), the size of the camera module 1 is smaller. And the circuit connection of the camera module 1 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 1.

[0206] According to another aspect of the present application, the present application further provides an assembling method for a camera module 1, which is used for assembling the camera module 1 and mounting the camera module 1 to an electronic device. The method includes the following steps:

[0207] (A) Provide a base 20, and the base 20 includes at least one circuit component 60;

[0208] (B) Assemble the lens module 30 and the photosensitive component 40 to the base 20 to form a semi-finished camera module 70;

[0209] (C) Provide a housing 10, the housing 10 includes a main body portion 1001 and a tail portion 1002, and mount the main body portion 1001 of the housing 10 on the semi-finished camera module 70;

[0210] (D) Electrically connect the pins of the circuit component 60 and the circuit board 41 of the photosensitive component 40;

[0211] (E) Mount the tail portion 1002 of the housing 10 on the main body portion 1001 to obtain the camera module 1.

[0212] This step (B) further includes the step of assembling the optical path turning component 50 to the base 20 to be located on the optical path of the lens module 30 and / or the photosensitive component 40.

[0213] This step (C) further includes the step of integrally forming the outer shell 11 by a metal material forming process.

[0214] This step (C) further includes the steps of obtaining the main body part 1001 in which the main body housing and the main body bracket are integrally formed by injection molding the bracket 12 in the bonding part 1125 of the housing 11, and obtaining the tail part 1002 by the same insert injection molding method or direct injection molding method.

[0215] This step (C) further includes the step of mounting the main body part 1001 of the housing 10 to the base 20 through the cooperation of the inner surface 106 of the housing 10 and the base 20.

[0216] This step (C) further includes the step of providing 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 main body part 1001 of the housing 10 to the base 20.

[0217] This step (C) further includes the step of assembling the main body part 1001 of the housing 10 onto the base 20 to cover the optical component inside the base 20;

[0218] Attach the photosensitive component 40 to the base 20, and fix it after aligning with the optical component inside the base 20.

[0219] This method further includes the step of providing a circuit component 60 and molding around the circuit component 60 through an insert molding process to obtain the base 20.

[0220] This method further includes the step of providing a circuit component 60 and assembling the circuit component 60 to the base 20.

[0221] This step (D) further includes the step of connecting the pins of the circuit component 60 exposed outside and the circuit board 41 of the photosensitive component 40.

[0222] This step (E) further includes the steps of jointly enclosing a groove at the connection part of the main body part 1001 and the tail part 1002, and the groove corresponds to the pins of the circuit component 60.

[0223] This step (E) further includes the steps of nesting and connecting the nesting part 10021 of the tail part 1002 of the housing 10 to the embedding part 10011 of the main body part 1001 of the housing 10, and then injecting glue at the nesting connection part, and realizing the connection between the main body part 1001 and the tail part 1002 after curing.

[0224] This step (E) further includes the step of welding the nesting connection part after completing the steps of nesting connection, injecting glue and curing between the tail part 1002 and the main body part 1001 of the housing 10.

[0225] According to another aspect of the present application, the present application further provides an electronic device. The aforementioned camera module 1 is adapted to be equipped on the electronic device body of the electronic device. The camera module 1 is conductively connected to the electronic device body and fixed to the electronic device body through the bracket 12 of the housing 10.

[0226] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and an explanation of the applied technical principles. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope involved in the present application is not limited to the technical solutions formed by the specific combination of the above technical features. It should also cover other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above technical features or their equivalent features without departing from the inventive concept. For example, the technical solutions formed by mutually replacing the above features with the technical features (but not limited to) having similar functions disclosed in the present application.

[0227] 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 embodiments. What is described in the above 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 cover a semi-finished camera module, characterized in that: include: A main body, the main body comprising a main body bracket and a main body shell, the main body bracket having a main body side wall, suitable for being sleeved on the outside of at least a part of the internal structure of the semi-finished camera module, and the main body shell being provided with a light inlet; and A tail portion, which is arranged on the light-emitting side of the camera module and surrounds at least a portion of the periphery of the semi-finished camera module, and is suitable for avoiding the photosensitive component of the camera module; Wherein, the tail portion and the main body portion are connected to each other to form the shell, and the shell has an outer shell and a bracket; The thickness of the main body shell is smaller than the thickness of the bracket of the shell; The tail portion includes a tail portion bracket, and the tail portion bracket is connected to a main body side wall of the main body bracket to form a bracket of the shell.

2. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body portion is nested and connected with the tail portion.

3. The housing of the camera module according to claim 2, characterized in that: One end of the main body shell located at the connection is provided with an embedding portion, and one end of the tail bracket located at the connection is provided with a nesting portion adapted to the embedding portion.

4. The housing of the camera module according to claim 3, characterized in that: The thickness of the embedded portion is consistent with the thickness of the main body shell, and the total thickness of the embedded portion after being nested with the nested portion is consistent with the thickness of the bracket of the shell.

5. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body and the tail portion are connected to form a spacing space suitable for accommodating the photosensitive component of the camera module.

6. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body bracket and the tail bracket are provided with a pair of notches at the connection, and the pair of notches are arranged opposite to each other and enclose a groove to expose the connection area between the pins of the circuit component of the camera module and the circuit board of the photosensitive component.

7. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body housing comprises an integrally formed housing cover wall and housing side wall, and at least a portion of the housing side wall is insert-molded to form the main body bracket; Among them, 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 embedded to form the main body bracket, thereby forming the main body.

8. The housing of the camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tail portion includes a tail bracket and a tail shell, and the side wall portion of the main body bracket and the tail bracket are connected to each other to form a bracket of the shell; The main body shell and the tail shell are formed around the circumference of the semi-finished camera module and are respectively embedded in the main body bracket and the tail bracket to form the main body and the tail.

9. The housing of the camera module according to claim 7, characterized in that: The side wall of the shell is provided with a combining hole.

10. A camera module, characterized in that: include: The housing according to any one of claims 1 to 9, 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 embedded in an outer surface of the base; and A photosensitive component, the photosensitive component is held on the exit side of the lens assembly; Wherein, the connection area between the pins of the circuit component and the circuit board of the photosensitive component is exposed.

11. A method for assembling a camera module, suitable for assembling the camera module, and assembling the camera module according to claim 10 to an electronic device, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: (A) providing a base, the base comprising at least one circuit component; (B) assembling the lens assembly and the photosensitive assembly to the base to form a semi-finished camera module; (C) providing a housing, the housing comprising a main body and a tail, and mounting the main body on the semi-finished camera module; (D) electrically connecting the circuit component and the photosensitive component; (E) Installing the tail portion of the shell onto the main body to obtain a camera module.

12. The assembly method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The step (C) further comprises the steps of: Assembling the main body of the housing onto the base, covering the optical components inside the base; Attach the photosensitive component to the base, align it with the optical component inside the base, and then fix it.

13. The assembly method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The step (D) further comprises the steps of: A circuit board connecting the pins of the circuit components exposed to the outside and the photosensitive components; The step (E) further comprises the steps of: The main body and the tail are connected together to form a groove, and the groove corresponds to the pin of the circuit component.

14. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: The camera module as claimed in claim 10; and An electronic device body, wherein the camera module is conductively connected to the electronic device body and is fixed to the electronic device body via the bracket of the shell.

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