Camera for a motor vehicle and a method for mounting a camera

Abstract

Camera (100) for a motor vehicle comprising: a lens (101) with at least one optical lens (102) and a lens housing (103); a camera housing (104, 110) wherein the lens (101) is fixed to the camera housing (104, 110); a printed circuit board (105) with an image sensor (106) arranged on the printed circuit board (105), wherein the image sensor (106) faces the lens (101) and is optically aligned to it; and at least two retaining elements (111-1) which are configured to hold the printed circuit board (105) at a distance from the camera housing (104, 110).In this case, the at least two retaining elements (111-1) are part of a support frame (111) which is attached to the circuit board (105) on a side of the circuit board (105) which carries the image sensor (106); and the lens housing (103) has a radially outwardly projecting lens collar (103-1) which is arranged in an interior of the camera (100); and the lens collar (103-1) has through-openings (103-2) corresponding to the at least two retaining elements (111-1), wherein one of the retaining elements (111-1) is guided through one of the through-openings (103-2) and connected to the lens collar.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a camera for a motor vehicle and a method for mounting a camera according to the independent claims. State of the art

[0002] DE 10 2017 124 550 A1 discloses a camera for a motor vehicle, comprising a housing made of an electrically conductive material, a first circuit board on which an image sensor of the camera is arranged, and at least two retaining elements connected to the first circuit board and to the housing, wherein the first circuit board is held at a distance from the housing by means of the at least two retaining elements and is electrically connected to the housing, wherein the housing comprises a front housing part and a rear housing part, wherein the front housing part and the rear housing part are electrically connected to each other, and wherein the front housing part and the rear housing part are connected to each other by means of a welded connection. Disclosure of the invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a camera for a motor vehicle. The camera comprises a lens with at least one optical lens and a lens housing; a camera housing, wherein the lens is fixed to the camera housing; a circuit board with an image sensor arranged on the circuit board, wherein the image sensor faces the lens and is optically aligned with it; and at least two retaining elements, which are configured to hold the circuit board at a distance from the front of the camera housing.

[0004] According to the invention, the at least two retaining elements are part of a support frame which is attached to the circuit board on a side of the circuit board that carries the image sensor. The lens housing has a radially outwardly projecting lens collar which is arranged in an interior space of the camera. The lens collar has through-openings corresponding to the at least two retaining elements, with each retaining element being guided through one of the through-openings and connected to the lens collar.

[0005] The camera housing comprises, in particular, a front housing and a rear housing. The lens is fixed, in particular, to the front housing. At least two retaining elements are specifically designed to hold the circuit board at a distance from the front housing. The front housing and the rear housing can be connected to each other in such a way as to protect the camera from the ingress of media from the camera's environment. The front housing and the rear housing can be connected by a material-fit or form-fit connection. The camera can additionally have a housing cover. The housing cover can be located on a side of the rear housing facing away from the lens.

[0006] The lens can be screwed into the camera body for fixation. Alternatively, the camera can have at least one welded or soldered connection to fix the lens to the camera body. If multiple optical lenses are present, the optical lenses can be configured as a lens stack. The at least one optical lens can be located within the lens housing.

[0007] The circuit board is specifically designed to accommodate the image sensor and the mounting frame. The circuit board can also accommodate other components, such as a camera connector, as well as other electronic components. The fact that the image sensor is optically aligned with the lens means, in particular, that during the camera assembly process, the image sensor was positioned such that images projected onto the image sensor through the lens exhibit the best possible quality. This will be explained in more detail in the subsequent description of the inventive method for assembling a camera.

[0008] The advantage of the invention lies in the fact that adhesive bonds in the camera can be avoided. Adhesive bonds have the disadvantage of undesirable behavior due to expansion during temperature fluctuations, swelling due to moisture, and / or the deterioration of their properties over time. By avoiding such adhesive bonds in the camera presented here, the optical alignment of the image sensor to the lens can be kept constant. For example, changes in the distance between the image sensor and the lens, and the associated defocusing, can be prevented even with temperature fluctuations, humidity, or over time. The connections between the circuit board and the mounting frame, as well as between the retaining elements and the lens collar, are designed to be very robust.In particular, the use of a support frame with retaining elements ensures a stable and reliable attachment, resulting in improved durability and robustness of the camera.

[0009] In an advantageous embodiment, the retaining elements are designed to point away from the circuit board and towards the lens. The advantage of this embodiment is that it enables a compact camera design and efficient use of the available space within the camera housing.

[0010] In a further advantageous embodiment, the support frame is connected to the circuit board by means of a positive-locking or a material-locking connection. A positive-locking connection can, for example, be a riveted joint. A material-locking connection can, for example, be a welded joint. The advantage of this embodiment is that the support frame and the camera housing are extremely stable. This significantly reduces the likelihood of a change in the optical alignment of the lens to the image sensor over time.

[0011] In a further advantageous embodiment, the support frame has a basic structure that is rectangular in shape. The advantage of this embodiment is that the support frame can be adapted to a basic structure of the printed circuit board, which, for example, can be square. The rectangular basic structure of the support frame also provides a uniform distribution of the load and improved structural integrity, resulting in increased resistance to external influences.

[0012] In a further advantageous embodiment, the retaining elements are designed in a pin-like shape. This pin-like design allows for simple and secure attachment to the circuit board and the support frame, resulting in improved assembly efficiency and camera reliability.

[0013] In a further advantageous embodiment, the retaining elements each have a cavity. This reduces the overall weight of the camera without compromising stability, resulting in a lighter and more manageable camera.

[0014] The invention further relates to a method for mounting a camera. The method comprises the following steps: attaching a support frame to a side of a circuit board carrying an image sensor, wherein the support frame has at least two retaining elements; providing a lens with at least one optical lens and a lens housing, wherein the lens housing has a radially outwardly projecting lens collar, and wherein the lens collar has through-openings corresponding to the at least two retaining elements; guiding the at least two retaining elements through a corresponding through-opening, wherein the image sensor faces the lens; optically aligning the image sensor with the lens; connecting the retaining elements to the lens collar; providing a camera housing and fixing the lens to the camera housing such that the lens collar is arranged in an interior space of the camera.The circuit board is held at a distance from the camera housing in the camera mounted in this way.

[0015] The circuit board may still have an electrical connector on a side opposite the image sensor. If the camera housing has a front housing and a rear housing, the procedure may include the further step of attaching a rear housing to the front housing.

[0016] In particular, the method can be used to build a camera as described above.

[0017] In the step of optically aligning the image sensor with the lens, the image sensor is advantageously operated actively, whereby the resulting image of the test image captured above the lens is automatically evaluated for sharpness in various image sections and for different positions. The final positioning of the image sensor is made based on the contrast profiles determined by the image processing. The final positioning of the image sensor is such that a predefined criterion for image quality is met across the entire image field.

[0018] Optical alignment is preferably achieved using a computer-controlled mechanical adjustment unit. Six degrees of freedom are available for optically aligning the image sensor to the lens, as listed below: a) It is possible to shift the image sensor along the optical axis (z-axis) (focusing). b) It is possible to shift the image sensor in the image plane along a first direction (image vertical, x-axis). c) The image sensor can be moved in the image plane along a second direction at a right angle to the image vertical (image horizontal, y-axis). d) The image sensor can be rotated around the optical axis (R z ). e) The image sensor can be rotated about the image horizontal (R y ). and f) The image sensor can be rotated around the image vertical (R x ).

[0019] The optical alignment of the image sensor with the lens minimizes the adverse effects of varying tolerances in the camera's optical and mechanical components. Thanks to six degrees of freedom, the lens and image sensor can be aligned very precisely. This enables the camera to achieve the image quality required, for example, in automotive applications.

[0020] It is understood that the features mentioned above and those to be explained below can be used not only in the combination specified, but also in other combinations or on their own, without leaving the scope of the present invention. Drawings

[0021] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Identical reference numerals in the figures denote identical or equivalently acting elements. The figures show: Fig. 1 three-dimensional sectional drawing of an exemplary embodiment of a camera; Fig. 2 two-dimensional sectional drawing of an exemplary embodiment of a camera; Fig. 3 an embodiment of a support frame attached to a printed circuit board; Fig. 4 Top view of the embodiment of the support frame attached to the circuit board; Fig. 5 three-dimensional sectional drawing of an assembly consisting of a printed circuit board with support frame and lens; Fig. 6 Two-dimensional sectional drawing of an assembly consisting of a printed circuit board with support frame and lens; Fig. 7. Example of a method for mounting a camera.

[0022] Fig. Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional sectional drawing of an exemplary embodiment of a camera 100. Fig. Figure 2 shows a two-dimensional sectional drawing of this embodiment of a camera 100. The camera 100 comprises a lens 101 with at least one optical lens 102 and a lens housing 103. The camera 101 also includes a camera housing. In the example shown, the camera housing comprises a front housing 104 and a rear housing 110. The lens 101 is fixed to the front housing 104. The camera 100 further includes a circuit board 105 with an image sensor 106 arranged on the circuit board 105. The image sensor 106 faces the lens 101 and is optically aligned with it. The camera 100 also has at least two retaining elements 111-1, which are configured to hold the circuit board 105 at a distance from the camera housing, in this case, the front housing 104.The at least two retaining elements 111-1 are part of a support frame 111, which is attached to the circuit board 105 on a side of the circuit board 105 that carries the image sensor 106. Furthermore, the lens housing 103 has a radially outwardly projecting lens collar 103-1, which is arranged in an interior space 113 of the camera 100. The lens collar 103-1, in turn, has through-openings 103-2 corresponding to the at least two retaining elements 111-1, with each retaining element 111-1 being guided through one of the through-openings 103-2 and connected to the lens collar. The connection can, for example, be formed by a soldered connection 112.

[0023] In the example shown here, the retaining elements 111-1 are designed to point away from the circuit board 105, towards the lens 101. The support frame 111 can be connected to the circuit board 105 by means of a positive-locking or a material-locking connection. In this example, the retaining elements 111-1 are pin-shaped. This can be seen in the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 further, that in this embodiment the camera 100 also includes an electrical connector 108, which is arranged on a side of the circuit board 105 facing away from the image sensor 106. In this example, a housing cover 107 closes the area between the connector 108 and the camera front housing 110.

[0024] Fig. Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a support frame 111 attached to a printed circuit board 105. Fig. Figure 4 shows a top view of the embodiment of the support frame 111 attached to the circuit board 105. In this example, the support frame 111 has a basic structure which is rectangular in shape. The image sensor 106 is arranged on the circuit board 105 in the recess of the rectangular ring. The support frame 111 also has three retaining elements 111-1-A, 111-1-B, and 111-1-C. The two retaining elements 111-1-A and 111-1-B are arranged in adjacent corners of the rectangular basic structure. The third retaining element 111-1-C is arranged centrally on the opposite side. This results in the following when mounting a camera 100, such as those used, for example, in the Fig. 1 and Fig. As shown in Figure 2, a particularly stable connection exists between the retaining elements 111-1 or the support frame 111 and the lens collar 103-1. In the Fig. 3 and Fig. Figure 4 further shows that the retaining elements 111-1 each have a cavity 111-3-A, 111-3-B and 111-3-C. In Fig. Figure 3 also indicates a connector 108 arranged on the circuit board 105.

[0025] Fig. Figure 5 shows a three-dimensional sectional drawing of an assembly consisting of a printed circuit board 105 with a support frame 111 and a lens 103. Fig. Figure 6 shows a two-dimensional sectional drawing of this assembly. This assembly can be used in the assembly of a camera 100, as is the case, for example, in the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 was shown, to be set up.

[0026] As already mentioned in the Fig. 1 and Fig. As explained in Figure 2, the lens housing 103 has a radially outwardly projecting lens collar 103-1, which in turn has through-openings corresponding to the retaining elements 111-1 of the support frame 111. In the assembly shown here, the retaining elements 111-1 are each guided through a through-opening. Furthermore, the image sensor 106 was optically aligned with the lens 101, and then the retaining elements 111-1 were connected to the lens collar 103-1 by means of a solder joint 112, shown here as an example.

[0027] Six degrees of freedom are available for the optical alignment of the image sensor 105 to the lens 101: a displacement of the image sensor 106 along the optical axis (z-axis; focusing); a displacement of the image sensor 106 in the image plane along a first direction (image vertical, x-axis); a displacement of the image sensor 106 in the image plane along a second direction at right angles to the image vertical (image horizontal, y-axis); a rotation of the image sensor 106 about the optical axis (R z ); a rotation of the image sensor 106 around the image horizontal (R y ); and a rotation of the image sensor 106 around the image vertical (R x ).

[0028] Fig. Figure 7 shows an embodiment of a method for mounting a camera. This can be a camera 100, as is wholly or partially incorporated into the Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 to Fig. 6 is described.

[0029] Method 700 starts in step 701. In step 702, a support frame is attached to a side of a printed circuit board that carries an image sensor, the support frame having at least two retaining elements. In step 703, a lens with at least one optical lens and a lens housing is provided, the lens housing having a radially outwardly projecting lens collar, and the lens collar having through-openings corresponding to the at least two retaining elements. In step 704, the at least two retaining elements are each guided through a corresponding through-opening, with the image sensor facing the lens. In step 705, the image sensor is optically aligned with the lens. In step 706, the retaining elements are connected to the lens collar. In step 707, a camera housing is provided.In step 708, the lens is fixed to the camera housing such that the lens collar is located inside the camera. The circuit board is held at a distance from the camera housing in the assembled camera. Procedure 700 ends in step 709. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2017 124 550 A1

[0002]

Claims

[1] Camera (100) for a motor vehicle comprising: • a lens (101) with at least one optical lens (102) and a lens housing (103); • a camera body (104, 110) wherein the lens (101) is fixed to the camera body (104); • a printed circuit board (105) with an image sensor (106) arranged on the printed circuit board (105), wherein the image sensor (106) faces the lens (101) and is optically aligned with it; and • at least two retaining elements (111-1) designed to hold the circuit board (105) at a distance from the camera housing (104); characterized by , that • the at least two retaining elements (111-1) are part of a support frame (111) which is attached to the circuit board (105) on a side of the circuit board (105) that carries the image sensor (106); and wherein • the lens housing (103) has a radially outwardly projecting lens collar (103-1) which is arranged in an interior (113) of the camera (100); and wherein the lens collar (103-1) has through-openings (103-2) corresponding to the at least two retaining elements (111-1), wherein one of the retaining elements (111-1) is guided through one of the through-openings (103-2) and connected to the lens collar. [2] Camera (100) according to claim 1, wherein the retaining elements (111-1) are designed to point away from the circuit board (105) and towards the lens (101). [3] Camera (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the support frame (111) is connected to the circuit board (105) by means of a positive-locking or a material-locking connection. [4] Camera (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the support frame (111) has a basic structure (111-2) which is rectangular ring-shaped. [5] Camera (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the retaining elements (111-1) are pin-shaped. [6] Camera (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the retaining elements (111-1) each have a cavity (111-3). [7] Method (700) for mounting a camera, comprising the steps: • Attaching (702) a support frame to a side of a printed circuit board carrying an image sensor, wherein the support frame has at least two retaining elements; • Providing (703) a lens with at least one optical lens and a lens housing, wherein the lens housing has a radially outwardly projecting lens collar, and wherein the lens collar has through-holes corresponding to the at least two retaining elements; • Guiding (704) the at least two retaining elements through a corresponding through-opening, with the image sensor facing the lens; • Optical alignment (705) of the image sensor to the lens; • Connect (706) the retaining elements to the lens collar; • Providing (707) a camera housing; and • Fixing (708) the lens to the camera body such that the lens collar is arranged in an interior of the camera; and wherein the circuit board is held spaced apart from the camera body.

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