Camera device and a method for mounting the camera device

Abstract

The invention relates to a camera device comprising a camera module (12) having a receiving element (14) and an illumination element (16), which are arranged side by side on a common carrier element (18) and are or can be mounted along a mounting direction (M) on a printed circuit board (20) by means of a fastening element (22), wherein the camera module (12) is covered by a camera housing (26) in the mounted state. Furthermore, the invention also relates to a method for mounting the camera device.

Description

The invention relates to a camera device having a camera module and to a method for assembling and assembling the camera device.Camera modules in a large number of applications are known from the prior art, wherein in particular in mobile telephones or smartphones, camera modules with camera lens and illumination module are installed. In this case, miniaturized receiving elements, in particular with camera sensor and camera lens, and illumination elements are usually used, which can be plugged or screwed onto a printed circuit board separately from one another as individual components. It is important here that a camera housing is optimized for a particularly compact construction and is adapted to an individual geometry of the camera module. For this purpose, high assembly and production requirements are placed on the housing, wherein a change of the camera module with a different geometry is not possible. This is particularly related to the fact that the camera module bears against the camera housing without a mounting distance or mounting tolerances in order to align and fix the camera module within the camera housing in a manner which is as space-saving as possible. A disadvantage of this construction is that, in the case of assembly or manufacturing deviations, it may happen that scattered light travels from the illumination element toward the receiving element and, in the process, a receptacle of the receiving element may be disturbed.In contrast to smartphone applications, a flexible use of camera modules is advantageous for industrial camera devices, which can be used for various applications and housing shapes without having to use miniaturized special components. The camera modules are preferably arranged as a coherent component with receiving element and illumination element on a common carrier element in order to simplify assembly. However, it has proven disadvantageous that the housing shapes and / or the camera modules vary in their design or tolerance deviations can occur. In particular for retrofit solutions, it may be necessary for the housing structure of the camera device to be adapted or re-designed in a complicated manner. Furthermore, owing to the variations in design and tolerance, disruptive light transmission can occur between the illumination element and the receiving element of the camera module within the camera housing.It is an object of the invention to provide a camera device with a camera module which, while avoiding the disadvantages known from the prior art, enables particularly simple assembly and at the same time trouble-free operation of camera modules for industrial applications.Furthermore, the object is to specify a method for mounting a camera device.The object is achieved with respect to the camera device having the features of claim 1 and with respect to the method having the features of claim 7.Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.According to the invention, a camera device having a camera module, in particular for industrial applications, is claimed, wherein the camera module has a receiving element, in particular having a camera sensor and a camera lens, and an illumination element, which are arranged next to one another on a common carrier element and can be mounted or are mounted on a printed circuit board along a mounting direction by means of a fastening element, wherein the camera module is covered by a camera housing in the mounted state. A deformable separating element is arranged between the fastening element and an inner side of the camera housing, which is deformed along the mounting direction in the closed state of the camera housing in order to close a mounting distance between the inner side of the camera housing and the camera module and to form a scattered light shield between the receiving element and the illumination element.The invention has the advantage that, by using the deformable separating element, the mounting distance between the inner side of the camera housing and the camera module along the mounting direction can be filled. As a result, a camera housing can be used, the inner side of which is not exactly matched to the contours of the camera module. Instead, tolerance distances can exist or camera modules with different geometries can be used along the mounting direction without causing interference by scattered light. In other words, in the closed state of the camera housing, the fastening element and the camera module may have a mounting distance which is closed by the separating element.Preferably, the fastening element has a frame structure for receiving the separating element along the mounting direction. In particular, the separating element can thereby be centered with respect to the camera module in order to form a disturbance-free optical path for the camera module along the mounting direction.The fastening element is preferably produced or produced from plastic and in an injection molding process in order to form three-dimensional contours or geometries for positioning the camera module and the separating element in a cost-effective manner.The deformable separating element particularly preferably has two recesses along the mounting direction, which enclose the receiving module and the lighting module in the mounted state and optically separate them by a separating web. Thus, the camera module can advantageously be shielded completely optically from scattered light, wherein only a light entry through windows or light exit and light entry surfaces can take place within the housing.According to a preferred embodiment, the deformable separating element is formed from a foam material, in particular a dimensionally stable Poron foam. The foam material is preferably of closed-pore configuration. The foam material has in particular the advantage of deformability with little exertion of force and additionally an improved absorption property of light beams in order to prevent optical crosstalk between the receiving element and the illumination element. In particular, Poron foam additionally has the advantage of a high temperature resistance for use directly on heat-generating electronic components. Furthermore, the separating element can preferably be produced cost-effectively and in large numbers by means of a laser or water jet method.Preferably, the deformable separating element in the assembled state is compressible or compressed by 40-60%, preferably 50%, of a material thickness along the assembly direction. This deformability of the separating element has the advantage that the scattered light shielding can be ensured particularly reliably even with varying mounting distances.According to a preferred embodiment, the inner side of the camera housing can be curved or beveled and / or form different mounting distances from the fastening element. In particular in this context, the deformability of the separating element has the advantage that it can ensure the scattered light shielding for different mounting distances.Furthermore, the invention also relates to a method for mounting a camera device, in particular a camera device described above, having the following steps in a preferred sequence. In a preferred first step, a camera module is placed on a printed circuit board and a plug-in connection for an electronic supply of the camera module is attached. In a preferred second step, a fastening element is mounted, in particular screwed, along a mounting direction and the camera module is fixed in an aligning manner on the printed circuit board. According to a preferred third step, a deformable separating element is placed on the fastening element and subsequently the camera module is covered with a camera housing. The separating element abuts an inner side of the camera housing and, in the closed state of the camera housing, is deformed along the mounting direction in order to close a mounting distance between the camera module and the inner side of the housing. In particular, the separating element is pressed together in order to form a scattered light shield for the camera module.Furthermore, the invention also relates to the preferred use of the camera device for industrial applications, wherein different camera modules having different dimensions, in particular different mounting distances, can be used for an unchanged camera housing.The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings.They show schematically: FIG. 1 : Exploded perspective view of a camera device along a mounting direction with camera module and camera housing, FIG. 2 : perspective view of the camera module according to FIG. 1 in the assembled state with fastening element and separating element, FIG. 3 : Cross-sectional view of the camera device according to FIG. 1 in the mounted and closed state of the camera housing.In the following description of the preferred embodiments, like reference numerals designate like or comparable components.FIG. 1 shows a camera device 10 with an upper part 36 aof the camera housing 26, in particular a housing cover, in the open state. As camera module 12, a receiving element 14, in particular a camera sensor with a camera objective, is arranged together with an illumination element 16 on a carrier element 18, which can be connected to a printed circuit board 20 lying beneath it by means of an electronic plug connection 32. Along a mounting direction M above the camera module 12, a fastening element 22 is formed in order to mechanically fix the camera module 12 on the printed circuit board 20, preferably by means of a screw connection. A deformable separating element 28 is arranged between the upper part 36 aof the camera housing 26 in order to optically separate the receiving element 14 and the lighting element 16 in the closed state of the camera housing 26. In other words, the separating element 28 forms a scattered light shield.As FIG. 1 and additionally FIG. 2 show, the separating element 28 has two recesses 38 which, in the assembled state, engage around the receiving element 14 and the illumination element 16 and optically separate them from one another by means of a separating web 29.Recesses 24 are preferably likewise introduced in the fastening element 22 in order to align the camera module 12. For positioning the separating element 28, the fastening element 22 preferably has a frame structure 40 or a circumferential rib structure which accommodates the separating element 28 along the mounting direction M. This advantageously allows the camera module 12 to be aligned with respect to light entry and light exit windows 42 a, bwithin the upper part 36 aof the camera housing 26.It can furthermore be preferred that the fastening element 22 has a lateral support element 30 transversely to the mounting direction M, which increases a lateral bearing region on the printed circuit board 20 and prevents tilting of the fastening element 22. In particular, a number of screw connections can thereby be reduced and the assembly facilitated in the process.FIG. 3 shows the camera device 10 in the assembled state, wherein the upper part 36 aand lower part 36 bof the camera housing 26 are connected to one another. In this case, the separating element 28 is pressed in between an inner side 27 of the camera housing 26 and the fastening element 22, wherein the separating element 28 deforms and encloses the camera module 12 laterally with respect to the mounting direction M. In particular, the separating element 28 is shown in the deformed state along the mounting direction M. In this case, the camera module 12 itself is optically separated from the remaining camera housing 26, wherein in particular the separating web 29 interrupts a light path from the receiving element 14 to the illumination element 16. Due to a deformability of the separating element 28, a mounting distance a can advantageously be bridged even in the case of varying geometries of the camera module 12 and / or of the camera housing 26. Advantageously, the mounting distance a allows the receiving element 14 and the illumination element 16 not to abut the inner side 27 of the housing 26.List of reference characters10 Camera device 12 Camera module 14 Receiving element 16 Lighting element 18 Carrier element 20 Printed circuit board 22 Fastening element 24 Recesses of the fastening element 26 Camera housing 27 Inner side of the camera housing 28 Separating element 29 Separating web of the separating element 30 Supporting element of the fastening element 32 Plug connection 34 Upper side of the separating element 36 a,b Top part and bottom part of the camera housing 38 Recesses of the separating element 40 Frame structure of the fastening element 42 a,bLight entry and light exit window M Mounting direction a Mounting distance

Claims

Camera device having a camera module (12) which has a receiving element (14) and a lighting element (16) which are arranged next to one another on a common carrier element (18) and are mountable or mounted on a printed circuit board (20) by means of a fastening element (22) along a mounting direction (M), wherein the camera module (12) is covered by a camera housing (26) in the mounted state, characterized in that a deformable separating element (28) is arranged between the fastening element (22) and an inner side (27) of the camera housing (26), which separating element is deformed along the mounting direction (M) in the closed state of the camera housing (26) in order to close a mounting distance (a) between the inner side (27) of the camera housing (26) and the camera module (12) and to form a scattered light shield between the receiving element (14) and the lighting element (16).Camera device according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening element (22) comprises a frame structure (40) for receiving the separating element (28) along the mounting direction (M).Camera device according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the deformable separating element has two recesses (38) along the mounting direction (M), which enclose the receiving element (14) and the illumination element (16) and optically separate them by a separating web (29), the recesses (38) forming the scattered light shield between the camera module (12) and light inlet and light outlet windows (42a, 42b) of the camera housing (26).Camera device according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the deformable separating element (28) is formed from a foam material, in particular a dimensionally stable Poron foam.Camera device according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, in the assembled state, the deformable separating element (28) is compressed by 40-60%, preferably 50%, of an undeformed thickness of the separating element (28) along the assembly direction (M).Camera device according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the inner side (27) of the camera housing (26) is curved and / or forms different mounting distances (a) from the fastening element (22) along the mounting direction (M).Method for mounting a camera device (10) with camera module (12), in particular according to one of Claims 1 to 6, having the following steps: - placing a camera module (12) on a printed circuit board (20) and attaching a plug connection (32) for an electronic supply of the camera module (12), - mounting a fastening element (22) along a mounting direction (M) and fixing the camera module (12) in an aligning manner on the printed circuit board (20), - placing a deformable separating element (28) on the fastening element (22), - covering the camera module (12) with a camera housing (26), wherein the separating element (28) bears against an inner side (27) of the camera housing (26) and is deformed along the mounting direction (M) in the closed state of the camera housing (26), to close a mounting distance (a) between camera module (12) and the inner side (27) of camera housing (26).

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