Camera module and assembly method thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a camera module and an assembly method thereof, comprising a lens, a welding column, a welding seat, a chip assembly and a rear shell; the welding seat is an annular structure, comprising an upper surface, a lower surface and a center hole, and the center hole runs through the upper surface and the lower surface; the lens is arranged on the upper surface of the welding seat, and a receiving groove is arranged on the bottom of the lens facing the welding seat; the welding column is arranged in the receiving groove and welded to the upper surface of the welding seat, and the welding column is used to weld and fix the lens to the welding seat; the rear shell is connected to the lower surface of the welding seat; the chip assembly is arranged in the center hole and fixedly connected to the welding seat. The present invention can improve the installation contact accuracy of the lens and the welding seat, improve the assembly accuracy of the lens and the chip assembly, and thus improve the product yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicle-mounted lenses, and in particular to a camera module and an assembling method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Semi-automatic assisted driving and autonomous driving are the development trends of the current automotive industry. The video images provided by rearview cameras and 360-degree surround cameras can enable drivers to better understand the environmental conditions around the vehicle, and can also be used as input information in highly autonomous vehicles. Therefore, cameras have gradually become one of the indispensable parts of automobiles. Small-sized and cost-effective high-definition cameras will help cars look beautiful and adapt to the changing needs of car manufacturers, and promote the development of semi-automatic assisted driving and autonomous driving vehicles.

[0003] The vehicle-mounted camera modules currently available on the market mainly include lenses, chip components (including circuit boards and photosensitive chips), front shells and back shells. The lens is installed on the front shell, and the chip components are locked on the back shell. The front shell and the back shell are locked with screws or fixed with glue. Due to the manufacturing precision of the screws and the setting of glue between the two, the precision of the lens and the chip components is not high, and it is impossible to adjust the position of the lens and the chip components in time during the assembly process, resulting in deviations in the alignment of the lens and the chip components, affecting the imaging quality of the camera module, and ultimately resulting in a low product yield. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera module and an assembly method thereof, which can improve assembly accuracy and increase product yield.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0006] The present invention provides a camera module, comprising a lens, a welding column, a welding seat, a chip assembly and a rear shell;

[0007] The welding seat is an annular structure, comprising an upper surface, a lower surface and a central hole, wherein the central hole passes through the upper surface and the lower surface;

[0008] The lens is arranged on the upper surface of the welding seat, and a receiving groove is arranged at the bottom of the lens facing the welding seat;

[0009] The welding column is disposed in the accommodating groove and welded to the upper surface of the welding seat, and the welding column is used to weld and fix the lens to the welding seat;

[0010] The rear shell is connected to the lower surface of the welding seat;

[0011] The chip component is arranged in the central hole and is fixedly connected to the welding seat.

[0012] Further preferably, the lens comprises a lens barrel and a front shell, the front shell is arranged on the outside of the lens barrel and extends outward in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens, and the accommodating groove is arranged at the bottom of the front shell.

[0013] Further preferably, the lens barrel and the front shell are an integrated structure and are made of aluminum or copper.

[0014] Further preferably, one end of the welding column in contact with the upper surface of the welding seat has a curved surface.

[0015] Further preferably, the welding seat includes an annular mounting plate forming an upper surface, the annular mounting plate is a hollow structure, and the light received by the lens can pass through the annular mounting plate to reach the chip assembly.

[0016] Further preferably, the chip assembly includes a circuit board and a photosensitive chip, the photosensitive chip is arranged on a surface of the circuit board facing the lens and corresponding to the center hole, and the circuit board is connected to the annular mounting plate by screws.

[0017] Further preferably, the chip assembly further comprises a heat sink, and the heat sink is sandwiched between the circuit board and the annular mounting plate.

[0018] Further preferably, a positioning column is provided on one side of the annular mounting plate facing the heat sink, and positioning through holes are provided on the circuit board and the heat sink, and the positioning column is inserted into the positioning through holes.

[0019] Further preferably, the heat sink is a metal sheet or graphene.

[0020] Further preferably, the welding seat is made of aluminum or copper.

[0021] The present invention also provides a method for assembling a camera module, comprising the following steps:

[0022] A chip assembly and a welding seat are provided. The chip assembly includes a circuit board and a photosensitive chip arranged on the circuit board. An annular mounting plate is arranged on the top of the welding seat. The annular mounting plate forms the upper surface of the welding seat. The circuit board is screwed to the annular mounting plate to ensure that the photosensitive chip faces the annular mounting plate and is located below the upper surface of the welding seat.

[0023] A lens and a welding column are provided, a receiving groove is arranged at the bottom of the lens facing the welding seat, and the welding column is arranged in the receiving groove;

[0024] The welding column is placed against the upper surface of the welding seat, a laser is provided to irradiate the welding column to melt it, and the position of the lens and the welding seat is adjusted so that the optical axis of the lens is aligned with the center normal of the photosensitive chip, and the melted welding column is solidified;

[0025] A rear shell is provided, and after the chip assembly and the lens are assembled, the rear shell is assembled to the lower surface of the welding seat.

[0026] Further preferably, one end of the welding column is provided with an arc surface, the arc surface is abutted against the upper surface of the welding seat, and the laser irradiates the arc surface to melt it.

[0027] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0028] (1) The bottom surface of the lens to be welded and fixed is arranged on the upper surface of the welding seat, so as to improve the installation contact accuracy between the lens and the welding seat and prevent the two from tilting; and the welding column is formed between the accommodating groove and the upper surface of the welding seat, so as to prevent the welding column from being subjected to external collision or other influences, thereby affecting the connection life of the welding column, and at the same time, it also plays the role of hiding the welding column and improving the appearance of the product.

[0029] (2) The chip assembly is arranged in the center hole of the welding seat, and the chip assembly is assembled with the lens through the welding seat, so that the position relationship between the lens and the chip assembly can be adjusted at any time during the welding process, thereby improving the assembly accuracy of the lens and the chip assembly, and further improving the product yield.

[0030] (3) After the chip assembly and the lens are assembled, the back cover is connected to the lower surface of the welding seat to avoid the chip assembly being assembled with the back cover during alignment and welding. This makes it easy to observe and adjust the assembly status and position of the chip assembly at any time, improves the product assembly accuracy, and reduces the difficulty of alignment assembly with the back cover. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0032] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Middle AA section view;

[0034] Figure 3 The explosion of the present invention Figure 1 ;

[0035] Figure 4 The explosion of the present invention Figure 2 ;

[0036] Figure 5This is an exploded matching diagram of the soldering seat and the chip assembly of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 6 It is a comparison diagram of the welding column before and after welding in the present invention, wherein a is a schematic diagram of the welding column before welding, and b is a schematic diagram of the welding column after welding.

[0038] Illustrations: 1-lens, 101-lens barrel, 102-front shell, 103-accommodating groove, 2-welding seat, 201-upper surface, 202-center hole, 203-lower surface, 204-annular mounting plate, 205-positioning column, 3-rear shell, 4-welding column, 401-arc surface, 5-chip assembly, 501-positioning through hole, 502-heat sink, 503-circuit board, 504-photosensitive chip, 505-screw.

[0039] The following specific implementation manner will further illustrate the present invention in conjunction with the above-mentioned drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In order to better understand the present invention, a more detailed description of various aspects of the present invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these detailed descriptions are only descriptions of embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements. The expression "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0041] Those skilled in the art should understand that, in the disclosure of the present invention, the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicating the orientation or position relationship are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, which are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, the above terms should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0042] It should also be understood that the terms "comprises", "including", "having", "includes" and / or "comprising", when used in this specification, indicate the presence of the stated features, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof. In addition, when expressions such as "at least one of..." appear after a list of listed features, they modify the entire listed features rather than modifying the individual elements in the list. In addition, when describing embodiments of the present invention, "may" is used to mean "one or more embodiments of the present invention". And, the term "exemplary" is intended to refer to an example or illustration.

[0043] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. It should also be understood that terms (such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries) should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this article.

[0044] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments of the present invention and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0045] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, the present invention provides a camera module, including a lens 1, a welding column 4, a welding seat 2, a chip assembly 5 and a rear shell 3. The welding seat 2 is an annular structure, including an upper surface 201, a lower surface 203 and a center hole 202, and the center hole 202 passes through the upper surface 201 and the lower surface 203. The lens 1 is arranged on the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2, and the lens 1 is provided with a receiving groove 103 at the bottom of the welding seat 2. The installation contact accuracy of the lens 1 and the welding seat 2 is improved to prevent the tilt between the two.

[0046] The welding column 4 is arranged in the accommodating groove 103 and welded to the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2. The welding column 4 is used to weld and fix the lens 1 to the welding seat 2. The welding column 4 is formed between the accommodating groove 103 and the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2, which can prevent the welding column 4 from being subjected to external collision or other influences, thereby affecting the connection life of the welding column 4. At the same time, it also plays a role in hiding the welding column 4, thereby improving the appearance of the product.

[0047] The back shell 3 is connected to the lower surface 203 of the welding seat 2; after the chip component 5 and the lens 1 are assembled, the back shell 3 is connected to the lower surface 203 of the welding seat 2 to avoid the chip component 5 being assembled, aligned and welded with the back shell 3, making it easy to observe and adjust the assembly state and position of the chip component 5 at any time, thereby improving the product assembly accuracy and reducing the difficulty of alignment assembly with the back shell 3.

[0048] The chip assembly 5 is arranged in the center hole 202 and fixedly connected to the welding seat 2. The chip assembly 5 is arranged in the center hole 202 of the welding seat 2, and the chip assembly 5 is aligned and assembled with the lens 1 through the welding seat 2, so that the position relationship between the lens 1 and the chip assembly 5 can be adjusted at any time during the welding process, thereby improving the assembly accuracy of the lens 1 and the chip assembly 5, and further improving the product yield.

[0049] More specifically, the lens 1 includes a lens barrel 101 and a front shell 102, the front shell 102 is arranged on the outside of the lens barrel 101 and extends outward in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens 1, and the accommodating groove 103 is arranged at the bottom of the front shell 102. The interior of the lens barrel 101 is used to place the lens, and the front shell 102 is used to realize the welding and fixing of the lens 1 and the welding seat 2; the lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 can be an integrated structure or a split structure. When it is an integrated structure, the lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 are manufactured by an integrated molding process, and the lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 are both made of metal, ensuring that the front shell 102 can be welded and fixed with the welding seat 2 later. When it is a split structure, the lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 are manufactured separately and can be connected by threaded connection, glue bonding or snap-on structure, the front shell 102 needs to be made of metal, and the lens barrel 101 can be made of metal or plastic.

[0050] Preferably, the lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 are an integrated structure and are made of aluminum or copper. The lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 are manufactured using an integrated molding process, which reduces the assembly steps of the lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 and improves production efficiency; aluminum and copper are suitable for manufacturing the lens barrel 101 and the front shell 102 due to their low price, good processability and good thermal conductivity.

[0051] In order to facilitate full welding, the end of the welding column 4 that contacts the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2 has a curved surface 401. In the initial state, the welding column 4 is selected to have a structure with a curved surface 401 at the bottom, and the curved surface 401 is in point and surface contact with the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2, which is convenient for adjusting the position of the lens 1 with the welding column 4 and the welding seat 2 during the welding process; at the same time, the curved surface 401 is selected at the bottom of the welding column 4, which is convenient for realizing rapid and full fusion of the bottom of the welding column 4, ensuring that the welding column 4 and the welding seat 2 are fully welded at the welding point.

[0052] The welding seat 2 includes an annular mounting plate 204 forming an upper surface 201. The annular mounting plate 204 is a hollow structure. The light received by the lens 1 can pass through the annular mounting plate 204 to reach the chip assembly 5. The chip assembly 5 includes a circuit board 503 and a photosensitive chip 504. The photosensitive chip 504 is arranged on the surface of the circuit board 503 facing the lens 1 and corresponding to the center hole 202. The circuit board 503 is connected to the annular mounting plate 204 by screws 505. It can be understood that the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2 is formed by an annular mounting plate 204, and the annular mounting plate 204 is an annular body, which ensures that the light received by the lens 1 reaches the chip component 5 without being affected by the annular mounting plate 204; the provision of the annular mounting plate 204 can provide a sufficiently large contact area for welding with the welding column 4, thereby improving the accuracy and convenience of welding; at the same time, it can also provide a position for locking the screw 505, so that the circuit board 503 is conveniently locked to the welding seat 2 through the screw 505; the circuit board 503 is locked to the welding seat 2 through the screw 505, and the metal screw 505 can transfer heat to the circuit board 503 and the photosensitive chip 504 to achieve a heat dissipation effect; in a preferred embodiment, the welding seat 2 is made of metal material to further improve the heat dissipation of the circuit board 503 and the photosensitive chip 504.

[0053] More specifically, the welding seat 2 is made of aluminum or copper. The selection of such a material that is easy to weld and dissipate heat facilitates welding with the welding column 4 and dissipates heat for the chip assembly 5. In addition, considering that the aluminum and copper materials are relatively cheap, and the cost of the special glue for bonding the front shell 102 and the rear shell 3 is too high, the welding seat 2 made of aluminum or copper greatly reduces the product cost.

[0054] In order to facilitate the heat dissipation of the chip assembly 5, the chip assembly 5 also includes a heat sink 502, which is sandwiched between the circuit board 503 and the annular mounting plate 204. The heat sink 502 is arranged on the circuit board 503 and in contact with the annular mounting plate 204 to improve the heat dissipation effect of the circuit board 503 and the photosensitive chip 504, and prevent the chip from overheating and affecting the imaging effect of the camera module. In order to improve the heat dissipation efficiency, the heat sink 502 is a metal sheet or graphene.

[0055] In order to facilitate the positioning of the chip assembly 5 and the soldering seat 2, a positioning column 205 is provided on the side of the annular mounting plate 204 facing the heat sink 502, and a positioning through hole 501 is provided on the circuit board 503 and the heat sink 502, and the positioning column 205 is inserted into the positioning through hole 501. The positioning column 205 and the positioning through hole 501 facilitate the positioning and assembly of the chip assembly 5 and the annular mounting plate 204, improve assembly efficiency and accuracy, and facilitate assembly and prevent mistakes.

[0056] The present invention also provides a method for assembling a camera module, comprising the following steps:

[0057] A chip assembly 5 and a welding seat 2 are provided. The chip assembly 5 includes a circuit board 503 and a photosensitive chip 504 arranged on the circuit board 503. An annular mounting plate 204 is arranged on the top of the welding seat 2. The annular mounting plate 204 forms the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2. The circuit board 503 is screwed to the annular mounting plate 204 by screws 505 to ensure that the photosensitive chip 504 faces the annular mounting plate 204 and is located below the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2.

[0058] A lens 1 and a welding column 4 are provided. A receiving groove 103 is provided at the bottom of the lens 1 facing the welding seat 2, and the welding column 4 is arranged in the receiving groove 103;

[0059] The welding column 4 is placed against the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2, a laser is provided to irradiate the welding column 4 to melt it, and the positions of the lens 1 and the welding seat 2 are adjusted so that the optical axis of the lens 1 is aligned with the center normal of the photosensitive chip 504, and the melted welding column 4 is solidified, so that the lens 1 and the welding seat 2 are welded together.

[0060] A rear shell 3 is provided. After the chip assembly 5 and the lens 1 are assembled, the rear shell 3 is assembled to the lower surface 203 of the welding seat 2.

[0061] In order to facilitate full welding, a curved surface 401 is provided at one end of the welding column 4, and the curved surface 401 is abutted against the upper surface 201 of the welding seat 2, and the laser irradiates the curved surface 401 to melt it. Figure 6 As shown, the bottom arc surface 401 of the welding column 4 is melted after welding, and the lens 1 and the welding seat 2 are assembled together more firmly through the welding column 4.

[0062] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the patent of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A camera module, characterized in that: It comprises a lens (1), a welding column (4), a welding seat (2), a chip assembly (5) and a rear shell (3); The welding seat (2) is an annular structure, comprising an upper surface (201), a lower surface (203) and a central hole (202), wherein the central hole (202) passes through the upper surface (201) and the lower surface (203); The lens (1) is arranged on the upper surface (201) of the welding seat (2), and a receiving groove (103) is arranged on the bottom of the lens (1) facing the welding seat (2); The welding column (4) is arranged in the accommodating groove (103) and welded to the upper surface (201) of the welding seat (2), and the welding column (4) is used to weld and fix the lens (1) and the welding seat (2); The rear shell (3) is connected to the lower surface (203) of the welding seat (2); The chip assembly (5) is arranged in the central hole (202) and is fixedly connected to the welding seat (2).

2. A camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lens (1) comprises a lens barrel (101) and a front shell (102); the front shell (102) is arranged on the outside of the lens barrel (101) and extends outwardly in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens (1); and the accommodating groove (103) is arranged at the bottom of the front shell (102).

3. A camera module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The lens barrel (101) and the front shell (102) are of an integrated structure and are made of aluminum or copper.

4. The camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the welding column (4) that contacts the upper surface (201) of the welding seat (2) has a curved surface (401).

5. The camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The welding seat (2) comprises an annular mounting plate (204) forming an upper surface (201); the annular mounting plate (204) is a hollow structure; the light received by the lens (1) passes through the annular mounting plate (204) to reach the chip assembly (5); the chip assembly (5) comprises a circuit board (503) and a photosensitive chip (504); the photosensitive chip (504) is arranged on the surface of the circuit board (503) facing the lens (1) and corresponding to the center hole (202); the circuit board (503) is connected to the annular mounting plate (204) by screws (505).

6. A camera module according to claim 5, characterized in that: The chip assembly (5) further comprises a heat sink (502), wherein the heat sink (502) is sandwiched between the circuit board (503) and the annular mounting plate (204).

7. A camera module according to claim 6, characterized in that: A positioning column (205) is provided on one side of the annular mounting plate (204) facing the heat sink (502), and positioning through holes (501) are provided on the circuit board (503) and the heat sink (502), and the positioning column (205) is inserted into the positioning through holes (501).

8. A camera module according to claim 7, characterized in that: The heat sink (502) is a metal sheet or graphene.

9. The camera module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The welding seat (2) is made of aluminum or copper.

10. A method for assembling a camera module, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: A chip assembly (5) and a welding seat (2) are provided, wherein the chip assembly (5) comprises a circuit board (503) and a photosensitive chip (504) arranged on the circuit board (503); an annular mounting plate (204) is arranged on the top of the welding seat (2); the annular mounting plate (204) forms the upper surface (201) of the welding seat (2); the circuit board (503) is screwed onto the annular mounting plate (204) by means of screws (505), ensuring that the photosensitive chip (504) faces the annular mounting plate (204) and is located below the upper surface (201) of the welding seat (2); A lens (1) and a welding column (4) are provided, wherein a receiving groove (103) is provided at the bottom of the lens (1) facing the welding seat (2), and the welding column (4) is arranged in the receiving groove (103); The welding column (4) is placed against the upper surface (201) of the welding seat (2), a laser is provided to irradiate the welding column (4) to melt it, and the position of the lens (1) and the welding seat (2) is adjusted so that the optical axis of the lens (1) is aligned with the center normal of the photosensitive chip (504), and the melted welding column (4) is solidified; A rear shell (3) is provided, and after the chip assembly (5) and the lens (1) are assembled, the rear shell (3) is assembled to the lower surface (203) of the welding seat (2).

11. The camera module assembly method according to claim 10, characterized in that: One end of the welding column (4) is provided with a curved surface (401), the curved surface (401) is abutted against the upper surface (201) of the welding seat (2), and the curved surface (401) is irradiated with laser to melt it.

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