JP2010220000A - Substrate integrated camera module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce overall thickness of a module while preventing a substrate from being deformed even when reducing the thickness of the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate integrated camera module comprises: a camera module 3 mounted on a flexible substrate 2; electronic components (regulator 6, USB driver IC 7, ROM 8, oscillator 9) mounted on the substrate 2 for externally outputting image data imaged by the camera module 3; and a reinforcing member 5 having higher rigidity than the substrate 2 and mounted on the substrate 2. A height of the reinforcing member 5 on the substrate 2 is lower than the height of the camera module 3 on the substrate 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate-integrated camera module, and more particularly to a substrate-integrated camera module that is suitably mounted on a thin electronic device such as a mobile phone or a mobile personal computer.

  Conventionally, a small and high-performance camera module (imaging device) that can be mounted on a thin electronic device such as a mobile phone or a mobile personal computer has been developed. In such a camera module, the electronic device is thinned. Along with this, further thinning has been demanded. In order to cope with such a reduction in thickness, an image sensor that is attached to the back side of a substrate provided with an opening so as to block at least a part of the opening, There has been proposed a camera module that includes an optical member that is attached so as to contact the surface, and an outer frame member that covers the optical member and the opening and is attached to a substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4178895

  However, in the camera module as described above, the imaging element is attached from the back side with respect to the substrate, while the optical member and the outer frame member are attached from the front side. For this reason, when the board | substrate itself is thinned with the thinning of the electronic device mounted, there exists a possibility that a board | substrate will deform | transform easily and may be damaged when incorporating in an electronic device.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even when the substrate itself is thinned, the substrate integrated type that can prevent the deformation of the substrate while reducing the thickness of the entire module. An object is to provide a camera module.

  The board-integrated camera module of the present invention includes a camera module mounted on a flexible board, an electronic component mounted on the board and externally outputting image data captured by the camera module, and the board And a reinforcing member attached on the substrate, wherein the height of the reinforcing member on the substrate is set lower than the height of the camera module on the substrate. To do.

  According to the substrate-integrated camera module, the height of the reinforcing member that is more rigid than the substrate and is mounted on the substrate is set lower than that of the camera module on the substrate, and thus is lower than that of the camera module. Since the substrate can be reinforced with the height, even when the substrate itself is thinned, it is possible to prevent the deformation of the substrate while reducing the thickness of the entire module.

  In the substrate-integrated camera module, it is preferable that the reinforcing member is made of a metal plate material that covers the electronic component on the substrate, and an opening for exposing the camera module is formed in the reinforcing member. In this case, since the electronic component mounted on the substrate is covered with the reinforcing member made of a metal plate material, it is possible to reduce the influence of external noise on the electronic component while reinforcing the substrate itself. It becomes possible. Further, since the camera module is exposed from the opening of the reinforcing member, the strength of the substrate itself around the camera module can be ensured.

  In the board-integrated camera module, the reinforcing member may be configured by a columnar member arranged upright on the board or a wall-like member surrounding the board. Also in this case, since the substrate itself can be reinforced by the columnar member or the wall-like member, even when the substrate itself is thinned, the deformation of the substrate is prevented while reducing the thickness of the entire module. It becomes possible.

  In particular, in the board-integrated camera module, it is preferable that the reinforcing member is disposed along the edge of the board. In this case, the edge portion of the substrate that is easily deformed can be particularly reinforced, so that the effect of preventing deformation of the substrate can be enhanced. The reinforcing member is preferably formed of a metal material. In this case, since the rigidity of the reinforcing member can be further increased, the effect of preventing the deformation of the substrate can be further increased.

  The image display device of the present invention is characterized in that the above-described substrate-integrated camera module is incorporated in the peripheral edge of the image display unit. According to this image display device, since the configuration for reinforcing the board-integrated camera module can be omitted from the housing having the image display section, the housing can be thinned, and as a result It is possible to reduce the thickness of the display device itself.

  According to the present invention, since the height on the substrate of the reinforcing member that is more rigid than the substrate and is mounted on the substrate is set lower than that on the camera module on the substrate, the substrate is lower in height than the camera module. Therefore, even when the substrate itself is thinned, it is possible to prevent the deformation of the substrate while reducing the thickness of the entire module.

It is a perspective view of a substrate integrated camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the board | substrate integrated camera module which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a side view of the board | substrate integrated camera module which concerns on the said embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a board-integrated camera module when a reinforcing member is removed from the state shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a front view of the board-integrated camera module when a reinforcing member is removed from the state shown in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the electronic device by which the board | substrate integrated camera module which concerns on the said embodiment is mounted. It is a figure which shows an example of the electronic device by which the board | substrate integrated camera module which concerns on the said embodiment is mounted.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The board-integrated camera module according to the present embodiment is suitably mounted on a thin electronic device such as a mobile phone or a mobile personal computer. In particular, the board itself on which the camera module is integrated is made thinner. It is suitably mounted on the required electronic device. The mounted electronic device is not particularly limited, and includes, for example, a game machine having an imaging function.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a substrate-integrated camera module 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate-integrated camera module 1 according to the above embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of the substrate-integrated camera module 1 according to the above embodiment. In FIG. 3, the side surface from the right side shown in FIG. 2 is shown. The configuration of the substrate-integrated camera module 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 shows an example, and the configuration is not limited to the content shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and can be appropriately changed. .

  In the board-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment, the board 2 on which various electronic components are mounted is made of, for example, glass epoxy, and the board thickness is a general board thickness (for example, 0. 5 mm). For example, the board | substrate 2 is provided in the plate | board thickness of 0.3 mm, and is comprised as a flexible board | substrate. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate 2 is provided in a long shape, and a camera module 3 described later or the substrate 2 itself is mounted on the surface (the front surface in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). A reinforcing member 5 for reinforcement is attached.

  A camera module 3 is mounted on the right side end of the substrate 2 shown in FIGS. The camera module 3 includes an image sensor mounted on the substrate 2, a case 30 fixed at a position corresponding to the image sensor, an optical member disposed in the case 30, and light incident on the optical member. And a throttle mechanism for adjusting the amount. The case 30 includes a base portion 31 having a generally rectangular shape, and a cylindrical portion 32 protruding from the base portion 31. The cylindrical portion 32 holds a part of the diaphragm mechanism and the optical member described above. Yes.

  On the other hand, a connection portion 4 for outputting a signal from the substrate-integrated camera module 1 to the electronic device mounted is provided at the left end of the substrate 2 shown in FIGS. For example, a flat cable (not shown) is connected to the connection unit 4. The board-integrated camera module 1 can receive an instruction from an electronic device mounted via the flat cable, and can output image data captured by the camera module 3 to the mounted electronic device. In the board-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment, a flat cable is connected from the lower side shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the flat cable can be connected within the thickness dimension of the board-integrated camera module 1. It is configured as follows.

  A reinforcing member 5 is attached to the surface of the substrate 2 over the entire left and right regions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except for the region where the camera module 3 and the connection portion 4 are arranged. The reinforcing member 5 is made of a metal plate material such as phosphor bronze, white or tin, which is more rigid than the substrate 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the reinforcing member 5 includes a facing surface portion 51 disposed to face the surface of the substrate 2, and an upper surface portion 52 formed by bending from the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the facing surface portion 51 toward the substrate 2. And a lower surface portion 53 (see FIG. 2) and an attachment piece 54 that is formed by bending from a predetermined position of the opposing surface portion 51 and is fixed to the substrate 2. Further, a rectangular opening 55 capable of exposing the case 30 is provided at a position corresponding to the camera module 3 in the reinforcing member 5.

  A streak-shaped recess 51a is formed in the facing surface portion 51 along the left-right direction shown in FIGS. The concave portion 51a is generally formed from the vicinity of the upper end portion of the opening portion 55 toward the left side shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is folded back at the left side end portion of the facing surface portion 51 to be the lower end portion of the opening portion 55. It is formed toward the right side shown in FIG. The recess 51 a is for increasing the rigidity of the reinforcing member 5, and the rigidity of the reinforcing member 5 can be increased by forming over the entire area of the facing surface portion 51. Between the both ends of the recess 51a (both ends arranged side by side in the vertical direction of the opening 55), an opening 51b for releasing heat generated by the regulator 6 described later is formed.

  The upper surface portion 52 and the lower surface portion 53 are disposed along the edge portion of the substrate 2. Positioning pieces 52 a and 53 a for engaging the notches formed at predetermined positions of the substrate 2 and positioning the reinforcing member 5 are provided on the end surfaces of the upper surface portion 52 and the lower surface portion 53. The reinforcing member 5 is fixed to a predetermined position of the substrate 2 by soldering the mounting piece 54 to the substrate 2 in a state where the positioning pieces 52a and 53a are engaged with the notches of the substrate 2. In this case, the camera module 3 is exposed from the opening 55, and a flat cable can be connected to the connecting portion 4 and opened downward.

  In a state where the reinforcing member 3 is fixed to the surface of the substrate 2, the camera module 3 is disposed in a position where the cylindrical portion 32 of the case 30 protrudes from the surface of the facing surface portion 51 as shown in FIG. 3. It has become. As described above, the reinforcing member 5 projects a part of the camera module 3 from the opening 55, and the height of the reinforcing member 5 itself from the substrate 2 is set lower than the height of the camera module 3. For this reason, even when the substrate 2 is reinforced by the reinforcing member 5, it is possible to avoid the substrate-integrated camera module 1 from becoming thick due to the thickness of the reinforcing member 5 and to ensure that the substrate-integrated camera module 1 is thin. Is possible.

  Further, the reinforcing member 5 is generally covered by the opposing surface portion 51, the upper surface portion 52 and the lower surface portion 53 so as to cover various electronic components described later mounted on the substrate 2, and is integrated with the substrate 2 to be integrated with the substrate 2. It is intended to reinforce itself. By fixing in such a manner as to cover the electronic component, it is possible to reduce the influence of noise generated in other electronic components of the mounted electronic device, as will be described in detail later.

  Hereinafter, electronic components mounted on the substrate 2 of the substrate-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the substrate-integrated camera module 1 when the reinforcing member 5 is removed from the state shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the board-integrated camera module 1 when the reinforcing member 5 is removed from the state shown in FIG. The configuration and arrangement of the electronic components shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are examples, and the configuration and arrangement are not limited to the contents shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and can be changed as appropriate. .

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the electronic component mounted on the board 2 includes a regulator 6 as a direct current stabilized power source and image data captured by the camera module 3 converted into a USB format and UVC (USB The USB driver IC 7 conforming to the (Video Class) standard, the ROM 8 in which a program read when the USB driver IC 7 performs processing such as image data format conversion, and the operation clock in the USB driver IC 7 are supplied. An oscillator 9 is included. In the substrate-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment, image data captured by the camera module 3 is subjected to format conversion by the USB driver IC 7 in accordance with an instruction from the mounted electronic device, and is not illustrated. It is configured to be able to output to the electronic device via a flat cable.

  In the board-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment, the USB driver IC 7, ROM 8, and oscillator 9 are covered with the reinforcing member 5. The reinforcing member 5 serves as a shield that reduces the influence of noise from other electronic components in the mounted electronic device by covering the electronic components in this way. As a result, it is possible to ensure normal operation of the USB driver IC 7, ROM 8 and oscillator 9. In the reinforcing member 5, an opening 51 b is disposed at a position corresponding to the regulator 6, so that heat generated by the regulator 6 can be released to the outside of the reinforcing member 5 (FIGS. 1 and FIG. 1). 2).

  Here, an example of an electronic device on which the board-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing examples of electronic devices on which the substrate-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted. 6 and 7, a mobile personal computer 10 and a mobile phone 11 are shown as image display devices that are examples of electronic devices on which the substrate-integrated camera module 1 is mounted.

  In the mobile personal computer 10 shown in FIG. 6, the substrate-integrated camera module 1 is incorporated in an outer frame portion 103 that constitutes an upper housing 102 having an image display portion 101. As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate-integrated camera module 1 is incorporated with a part of the camera module 3 exposed from the outer frame portion 103, and can mainly capture an operator of the mobile personal computer 10. It is configured. The image data captured by the board-integrated camera module 1 is displayed on, for example, the image display unit 101 in response to an instruction from the control unit of the mobile personal computer 10, or a communication partner terminal device (for example, a personal computer). ). In this way, by incorporating the board-integrated camera module 1 in the vicinity of the image display section 101 of the mobile personal computer 10, a configuration for reinforcing the board-integrated camera module 1 from the upper housing 102 having the image display section 101. Therefore, the upper casing 102 can be thinned, and as a result, the mobile personal computer 10 itself can be thinned.

  Similarly, in the mobile phone 11 shown in FIG. 7, the substrate-integrated camera module 1 is incorporated in the outer frame portion 113 that constitutes the upper housing 112 having the image display portion 111. As shown in FIG. 7, the board-integrated camera module 1 is incorporated in a state in which a part of the camera module 3 is exposed from the outer frame portion 113, and mainly configured to be able to image the operator of the mobile phone 11. Has been. The image data captured by the board-integrated camera module 1 is displayed on, for example, the image display unit 111 according to an instruction from the control unit of the mobile phone 11 or a communication partner terminal device (for example, a mobile phone). It can be sent to Thus, by incorporating the board-integrated camera module 1 in the vicinity of the image display section 111 of the mobile phone 11, a configuration for reinforcing the board-integrated camera module 1 from the upper housing 112 having the image display section 111 is provided. Since it can be omitted, the upper housing 112 can be thinned, and as a result, the mobile phone 11 itself can be thinned.

  When the board-integrated camera module 1 is mounted on the mobile personal computer 10 or the mobile phone 11 as described above, the electronic parts mounted on the board 2 can be protected by the facing surface portion 51 of the reinforcing member 5. Thus, it is possible to prevent the electronic component from being damaged when it is incorporated into the mobile personal computer 10 or the mobile phone 11. Therefore, it is possible to cope with the thinning of the upper housing 102 (112) while protecting the electronic components mounted on the substrate 2.

  Thus, in the substrate-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment, the height of the reinforcing member 5 attached on the substrate 2 is higher than that of the substrate 2, and the height of the reinforcing member 5 attached on the substrate 2 is set to Since it is set lower than the module 3, the substrate 2 itself can be reinforced at a height lower than that of the camera module 3. Therefore, even when the substrate 2 itself is thinned, the entire module is thinned. It is possible to prevent the substrate 2 from being deformed.

  In particular, in the board-integrated camera module 1 according to the present embodiment, the reinforcing member 5 is formed of a metal plate material that covers various electronic components on the board 2, and the opening that exposes the camera module 3 to the reinforcing member 5. A portion 55 is formed. Since various electronic components mounted on the substrate 2 are covered with the reinforcing member 5 made of a metal plate material, the influence of external noise on the electronic components is reduced while reinforcing the substrate 2 itself. It becomes possible to do. Further, since the camera module 3 is exposed from the opening 55 of the reinforcing member 5, the strength of the substrate 2 itself around the camera module 3 can be ensured.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change and implement variously. In the above-described embodiment, the size, shape, and the like illustrated in the accompanying drawings are not limited to this, and can be appropriately changed within a range in which the effect of the present invention is exhibited. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the reinforcing member 5 that covers the substrate 2 so as to cover various electronic components mounted on the substrate 2 has been described, but the configuration of the reinforcing member 5 is limited to this. It is not a thing and it can change suitably. For example, a mode in which metal columnar members are erected side by side on the substrate 2 or a mode in which metal wall-shaped members are disposed along the edge of the substrate 2 may be employed. Also in this case, since the substrate 2 itself can be reinforced by the columnar member or the wall member, even when the substrate 2 itself is thinned, the deformation of the substrate 2 is achieved while reducing the thickness of the entire module. It becomes possible to prevent. In particular, in these cases, it is preferable to arrange the reinforcing member 5 along the edge of the substrate 2. In this case, the edge portion of the substrate 2 that is easily deformed can be particularly reinforced, so that the effect of preventing deformation of the substrate 2 can be enhanced. Further, the constituent material of the reinforcing member 5 is not limited to a metal material, and may be a resin material having rigidity higher than that of the substrate 2. However, in any of the configurations described above, it is preferable to expose the camera module 3 from the surface side of the substrate 2 and to keep the height from the substrate 2 lower than the camera module 3. Furthermore, it is preferable that a part of the reinforcing member 5 (particularly a part near the end of the substrate 2) or the entire upper end of the reinforcing member 5 is set higher than the electronic component mounted on the substrate 2. In this case, even when mounted on the mobile personal computer 10 or the mobile phone 11 described above, the electronic components mounted on the substrate 2 can be protected.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Board | substrate integrated camera module 2 Board | substrate 3 Camera module 30 Case 31 Base part 32 Cylindrical part 4 Connection part 5 Reinforcement member 51 Opposite surface part 51a Recessed part 51b Opening part 52 Upper surface part 52a Positioning piece 53 Lower surface part 53a Positioning piece 54 Mounting piece 55 Opening Part 6 Regulator 7 USB driver IC
8 ROM
9 Oscillator

Claims (7)

  A camera module mounted on a flexible substrate; an electronic component mounted on the substrate for outputting image data captured by the camera module to the outside; And a reinforcing member attached to the substrate, wherein the height of the reinforcing member on the substrate is set lower than the height of the camera module on the substrate.   2. The board-integrated camera module according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is made of a metal plate material that covers the electronic component on the substrate, and an opening for exposing the camera module is formed in the reinforcing member. .   2. The substrate-integrated camera module according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is a columnar member arranged side by side on the substrate.   The board-integrated camera module according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is a wall-like member surrounding the periphery of the board.   The board-integrated camera module according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing member is disposed along an edge of the board.   6. The board-integrated camera module according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing member is made of a metal material.   7. An image display apparatus, wherein the substrate-integrated camera module according to claim 1 is incorporated in a peripheral edge of the image display unit.

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