Camera module assembly device capable of measureing the weight of applied photocurable adhesive

Abstract

A camera module assembly device according to one aspect of the present invention measures the volume of a photocurable adhesive applied along the upper edge of a PCB to which a lens housing is to be attached using a 3D laser displacement sensor and calculates the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive by multiplying it by a weight constant determined in advance.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a camera module assembly device, and more specifically, to a camera module assembly device capable of determining the possibility of product defects by measuring the weight of a photocurable adhesive applied to a PCB, etc., to attach a lens housing. Background Technology

[0002] In the manufacturing process of camera modules, particularly ultra-miniaturized ones, optical alignment and precision optical positioning are extremely demanding and time-consuming tasks. Even a slight misalignment between components during optical element assembly significantly impacts performance, leading to product defects.

[0003] In the camera module manufacturing process, the batch process affects not only the image quality of individual camera modules but also the consistency of image quality among identical camera modules manufactured in mass production units. It is important to minimize variations between units and ensure consistent quality for each camera unit during the manufacturing process.

[0004] Active alignment is a critical process in the manufacturing of camera modules, involving the placement of a lens onto an image sensor. Active alignment minimizes the tilt and rotation of the image sensor and aligns the center of the sensor with the lens optical axis. This is achieved through real-time analysis and adjustment of the image plane during the placement process.

[0005] Active alignment is performed after applying photocurable adhesive to the image sensor PCB and attaching the lens housing thereto. If the amount of photocurable adhesive applied to the image sensor PCB is inconsistent, product defects may occur during the active alignment process. The problem to be solved

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a camera module assembly device capable of preventing product defects in advance by using a 3D laser displacement sensor to measure the volume of a photocurable adhesive applied to a PCB and determining whether the amount of photocurable adhesive applied is appropriate based on the weight calculated from the measured volume. means of solving the problem

[0007] A camera module assembly device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an adhesive application unit, a 3D laser displacement sensor unit, and a weight calculation unit.

[0008] The adhesive application section applies photocurable adhesive along the upper edge of the PCB to which the lens housing will be attached or along the upper edge of the lens housing to which the lens module will be attached.

[0009] The 3D laser displacement sensor unit measures the width and height of the photocurable adhesive applied along the upper edge of the PCB or the upper edge of the lens housing through the 3D laser displacement sensor in set intervals.

[0010] The weight calculation unit calculates the volume of the applied photocurable adhesive based on the measurement of the 3D laser displacement sensor unit, and calculates the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive by multiplying the calculated volume by a weight constant of the photocurable adhesive that has been determined in advance.

[0011] A camera module assembly device according to an additional aspect of the present invention may further include a weight constant derivation unit.

[0012] The weight constant derivation unit calculates the volume of the applied photocurable adhesive from the weight of the sample PCB coated with the photocurable adhesive and the width and height of the photocurable adhesive measured through the 3D laser displacement sensor unit, and derives the weight constant of the photocurable adhesive by dividing the calculated volume by the calculated weight.

[0013] A camera module assembly device according to an additional aspect of the present invention may further include a coating uniformity determination unit.

[0014] The coating uniformity determination unit calculates the volume of the photocurable adhesive applied in sections based on the measurement of the 3D laser displacement sensor unit, and determines the coating uniformity of the photocurable adhesive from the calculated volume in each section.

[0015] The coating uniformity judgment unit can generate an alarm based on the additionally judged coating uniformity of the photocurable adhesive.

[0016] A camera module assembly device according to an additional aspect of the present invention may further include an alarm generating unit.

[0017] The alarm generating unit generates an alarm when the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive calculated by the weight calculation unit deviates from the set error range relative to the set reference weight. Effects of the invention

[0018] According to the present invention, the volume of a photocurable adhesive applied to a PCB is measured using a 3D laser displacement sensor, and the amount of photocurable adhesive applied is determined to be appropriate based on the weight calculated from the measured volume, thereby preventing product defects in advance. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0019] Figure 1 illustrates the concept of calculating the volume of a photocurable adhesive applied to an image sensor PCB using a 3D laser displacement sensor. Figure 2 illustrates the concept of calculating the volume of a photocurable adhesive applied to a lens housing using a 3D laser displacement sensor. FIG. 3 is a block diagram including a configuration added to a camera module assembly device for measuring the weight of a photocurable adhesive applied according to one aspect of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0020] The foregoing and additional aspects are embodied in the embodiments described with reference to the attached drawings. It is understood that the components of each embodiment may be combined in various ways within the embodiment unless otherwise stated or contradictory. Each block in the block diagram may represent a physical part in some cases, but in others, it may be a logical representation of a part of the function of a single physical part or a function spanning multiple physical parts. Sometimes, the entity of a block or part thereof may be a set of program instructions. These blocks may be implemented in whole or in part by hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0021] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a concept for calculating the volume of a photocurable adhesive applied to an image sensor PCB or lens housing using a 3D laser displacement sensor, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram including a configuration added to a camera module assembly device for measuring the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0022] A camera module assembly device (10) according to one aspect of the present invention includes an adhesive part (11), a 3D laser displacement sensor part (12), and a weight calculation part (13).

[0023] The camera module assembly device (10) is a device for assembling a lens housing and an image sensor PCB by aligning the optical axis, and may include an adhesive part (11), a 3D laser displacement sensor part (12), and a weight calculation part (13), as well as a loading stand, a lens housing carrier part, a lens housing clamp part, an image sensor PCB alignment part, a handler part, a control part, etc., although not shown.

[0024] A stack loads multiple lens housings and multiple image sensor PCBs. At this time, one or more lenses are mounted in each lens housing, and an image sensor is mounted on each image sensor PCB.

[0025] The lens housing carrier transports the lens housing transferred from the loading platform to the alignment area.

[0026] The lens housing clamp is placed in the alignment area and clamps the lens housing transported by the lens housing carrier.

[0027] The image sensor PCB alignment unit transfers the image sensor PCB transferred from the loading platform to the alignment area and aligns the image sensor PCB with respect to the lens housing clamped in the lens housing clamp using an active alignment method.

[0028] The adhesive part (11) applies a photocurable adhesive to the image sensor PCB before actively aligning the lens housing to the image sensor PCB, and after active alignment by the image sensor PCB alignment part, cures the photocurable adhesive to bond the lens housing and the image sensor PCB.

[0029] The handler transfers the lens housing loaded on the loading platform to the lens housing carrier, transfers the image sensor PCB loaded on the loading platform to the image sensor PCB alignment unit, and receives the camera module with the lens housing and image sensor PCB bonded from the lens housing clamp and transfers it to the loading platform.

[0030] The control unit controls the lens housing carrier, lens housing clamp, image sensor PCB alignment unit, bonding unit, handler, etc.

[0031] The camera module assembly device (10) can increase assembly efficiency by automating a series of processes for assembling the lens housing and the image sensor PCB into a camera module by aligning the optical axes. In addition, since the camera module assembly device (10) can precisely align the optical axes between the lens and the image sensor, it can assemble a high-performance camera module with high reliability.

[0032] The adhesive part (11) includes a dispenser capable of applying a photocurable adhesive, and applies the photocurable adhesive along the upper edge of the image sensor PCB to which the lens housing is to be attached or along the upper edge of the lens housing attached to the image sensor PCB. The photocurable adhesive applied by the adhesive part (11) may be a UV-curing adhesive, and epoxy, acrylic, silicone, urethane, etc. may be used. The dispenser is controlled to maintain a constant amount of photocurable adhesive, so as to dispense a constant amount along the upper edge of the image sensor PCB or the upper edge of the lens housing.

[0033] The 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12) measures the width and height of the photocurable adhesive applied along the upper edge of the image sensor PCB or the upper edge of the lens housing in set intervals, as illustrated in the concept of FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2, through a 3D laser displacement sensor also known as a 3D scanner. As previously mentioned, the adhesive unit (11) is controlled to dispense a constant amount of photocurable adhesive through a dispenser, but the actual amount dispensed may not be constant depending on the amount of adhesive remaining in the dispenser. Therefore, the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12) does not measure only the width and height of the photocurable adhesive at a specific applied location, but measures the width and height of the photocurable adhesive of the entire applied section in set intervals. The width and height of the photocurable adhesive applied in section intervals are measured while moving the 6-axis stage that fixes the image sensor PCB in the alignment area. However, it is not limited to this, and depending on the aspect of the invention, a 3D laser displacement sensor may move to measure the width and height of the photocurable adhesive applied in sections.

[0034] The set section in which the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12) measures the width and height of the applied photocurable adhesive is set in units of a constant length along the applied path.

[0035] The weight calculation unit (13) calculates the volume of the photocurable adhesive applied to the image sensor PCB or lens housing based on the measurement of the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12), and calculates the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive by multiplying the calculated volume by a weight constant of the photocurable adhesive that has been calculated in advance.

[0036] The weight calculation unit (13) calculates the total volume of the applied photocurable adhesive by calculating the volume of each section from the width and height measured by the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12) and summing them up. At this time, the weight calculation unit (13) may calculate the volume by assuming the unit section volume is a hexahedron, but may also calculate a corrected volume by taking into account the average error (this value is calculated in advance) that occurs when assuming it is a hexahedron.

[0037] The weight calculation unit (13) can calculate the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive by multiplying the calculated volume by a weight constant, which is the ratio of weight per volume and is calculated in advance.

[0038] A camera module assembly device (10) according to an additional aspect of the present invention may further include a weight constant derivation unit (14).

[0039] The weight constant derivation unit (14) calculates the volume of the applied photocurable adhesive from the weight of the sample PCB coated with the photocurable adhesive and the width and height of the photocurable adhesive measured through the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12), and derives the weight constant of the photocurable adhesive by dividing the calculated volume by the calculated weight.

[0040] The weight constant derivation unit (14) can obtain the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive by subtracting the weight of the sample PCB without the photocurable adhesive applied from the weight of the sample PCB with the photocurable adhesive applied.

[0041] In addition, the weight constant derivation unit (14) can calculate the volume of the applied photocurable adhesive through measurement by the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12).

[0042] The weight constant derivation unit (14) can derive the weight constant of the photocurable adhesive by dividing the calculated volume by the calculated weight.

[0043] According to an aspect of the invention, the camera module device (10) may further include an electronic scale unit (not shown), and the weight may be measured by transferring the sample PCB to the electronic scale unit through the image sensor PCB alignment unit only when deriving the weight constant.

[0044] A camera module assembly device (10) according to an additional aspect of the present invention may further include a coating uniformity determination unit (15).

[0045] The coating uniformity judgment unit (15) calculates the volume of the photocurable adhesive applied in sections based on the measurement of the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12), and determines the coating uniformity of the photocurable adhesive from the calculated volume in each section.

[0046] Since photocurable adhesive is controlled to be dispensed in a constant amount, the volume should be constant across the entire coated section, but the actual volume may not be constant depending on the amount of adhesive remaining in the dispenser, etc.

[0047] Accordingly, the coating uniformity judgment unit (15) can determine that there is a problem, such as when the volume calculated in sections based on the width and height of the photocurable adhesive measured by the 3D laser displacement sensor unit (12) in sections is larger or smaller than the volume of other sections by exceeding the set error range, i.e., when the coating is not uniform, or when there is not much remaining adhesive left in the dispenser.

[0048] Depending on the aspect of the invention, the coating uniformity judgment unit (15) may additionally generate an alarm based on the coating uniformity of the photocurable adhesive. When this alarm is generated, the operator may inspect the dispenser, check the remaining amount of photocurable adhesive, and then proceed with replacement, etc.

[0049] A camera module assembly device according to an additional aspect of the present invention may further include an alarm generating unit (16).

[0050] The alarm generating unit (16) generates an alarm when the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive calculated by the weight calculation unit deviates from the set error range with respect to the set reference weight.

[0051] When the alarm occurs, the operator determines that there is a high probability that the camera module being assembled is defective and takes appropriate action. In addition, when this alarm occurs, the operator can inspect the dispenser to check the remaining amount of adhesive.

[0052] The various embodiments disclosed in this specification and drawings are provided merely as specific examples to aid understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the various embodiments of the invention.

[0053] Accordingly, the scope of the various embodiments of the present invention should be interpreted as including all modifications or variations derived based on the technical concept of the various embodiments of the present invention, in addition to the embodiments described herein. Explanation of the symbols

[0054] 10: Camera module assembly device 11 : Adhesive part 12: 3D laser displacement sensor unit 13: Weight calculation section 14: Weight Constant Derivation Section 15: Coating uniformity judgment unit 16: Alarm generator

Claims

Claim 1 A camera module assembly device comprising: an adhesive unit for applying a photocurable adhesive along the upper edge of a PCB to which a lens housing is to be attached or along the upper edge of a lens housing to which a lens module is to be attached; a 3D laser displacement sensor unit configured to measure the width and height of the photocurable adhesive applied along the upper edge of the PCB or along the upper edge of the lens housing in set sections; an application uniformity determination unit for calculating the volume of the photocurable adhesive applied in each section based on the measurement of the 3D laser displacement sensor unit and determining the application uniformity of the photocurable adhesive from the calculated volume in each section; and a weight calculation unit for calculating the volume of the photocurable adhesive applied based on the measurement of the 3D laser displacement sensor unit and calculating the weight of the photocurable adhesive by multiplying the calculated volume by a predetermined weight constant of the photocurable adhesive. Claim 2 A camera module assembly device according to claim 1, further comprising: a weight constant derivation unit that calculates the volume of the applied photocurable adhesive from the weight of the sample PCB applied with the photocurable adhesive and the width and height of the photocurable adhesive measured through a 3D laser displacement sensor unit, and derives the weight constant of the photocurable adhesive by dividing the calculated volume by the calculated weight. Claim 3 delete Claim 4 A camera module assembly device according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm generating unit that generates an alarm when the weight of the applied photocurable adhesive calculated by the weight calculation unit deviates from a set error range with respect to a set reference weight. Claim 5 A camera module assembly device according to claim 1, which generates an alarm based on the uniformity of the application of a photocurable adhesive determined by the application uniformity determination unit.

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