Image Sensor Package Assembly Using Frictionless Barrel Sliding
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of image sensor packages is time-consuming and costly due to screw thread friction, which generates free particles that obscure the optical path and require additional focus adjustments, and existing methods do not allow for simultaneous assembly of multiple image sensors.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the simultaneous assembly of housings and barrels on a substrate with a transparent cover plate, followed by cutting to separate individual packages, where barrels have smooth inner surfaces for lens assemblies to be slid in without friction, allowing for precise alignment and reduced contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If screw threads are used to couple the lens holder to the housing aperture, then the lens holder can be securely mounted, but friction occurs between mating threads causing abrasion and free particle generation that obscures the optical path
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the screw thread coupling mechanism entirely from the lens holder assembly. Instead of using threaded fastening, the lens holder is directly fitted into a recess in the housing with the lens assembly inserted through the aperture, eliminating the source of friction and particle generation while maintaining secure mounting through precise mechanical fit and positioning features
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical screw thread coupling system with a direct fit mechanical system where the lens holder sits in a recess and the lens assembly is positioned through the aperture. This substitution eliminates the harmful friction and abrasion of threaded interfaces while achieving the same functional goal of secure mounting and precise positioning
2Manufacturing precision
If individual image sensor packages are assembled separately, then each package can be precisely aligned, but the assembly process is time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple image sensor packages into a single integrated assembly unit. Multiple sensors are mounted on a common substrate with a single housing structure containing multiple apertures, allowing all packages to be assembled, aligned, and tested simultaneously as one unit before being separated into individual products, thereby dramatically increasing productivity while maintaining precision through the common reference plane of the substrate
3Manufacturing precision
If lens assemblies are inserted through housing apertures, then optical alignment can be achieved, but it is difficult to precisely control the threading process requiring later focus adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary positioning by mounting the lens assembly directly through the housing aperture in a predetermined position during the initial assembly process. The lens holder is first fitted into the recess, then the lens assembly is inserted through the aperture and positioned using spacers or positioning features built into the structure, eliminating the need for later focus adjustment and reducing assembly complexity
Data Source
AI summary
An image sensor package assembling method includes providing a substrate on which a plurality of image sensors are mounted; providing a housing strip having a plurality of housings arranged corresponding to an arrangement of the image sensors on the substrate, each of the housings having an aperture corresponding to an active surface of the corresponding image sensor and a cavity enclosing an edge of the corresponding image sensor; attaching a transparent cover plate sealing the apertures of the housings on the housing strip after attaching the housing strip on the substrate; and separating image sensor packages from each other by successively cutting the transparent cover, the housing strip and the substrate. Increased yield and production efficiency can be realized.