U.S. patent application number 12/909863 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-19 for image capture device.
This patent application is currently assigned to HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to FENG-YANG MA.
Application Number | 20120014688 12/909863 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45467077 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120014688 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MA; FENG-YANG |
January 19, 2012 |
IMAGE CAPTURE DEVICE
Abstract
An image capture device includes a front shell, a circuit board,
an image sensor, an elastic sheet, and threaded fasteners. The
front shell includes a rear surface. The front shell defines three
first threaded holes in the rear surface. The circuit board is
positioned on the rear surface and defines at least three second
threaded holes. The second threaded holes are aligned with the
first threaded holes. The image sensor is positioned on the circuit
board. The elastic sheet is positioned on the rear surface and
covers the circuit board. The elastic sheet includes a number of
elastic arms. The elastic arms protrude towards the circuit board
and resisting against the circuit board. The threaded fasteners
correspondingly pass through and engage with the first threaded
holes and the second threaded holes to secure the circuit board to
the rear surface. The threaded fasteners are capable of adjusting
the circuit board.
Inventors: |
MA; FENG-YANG; (Tu-Cheng,
TW) |
Assignee: |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO.,
LTD.
Tu-Cheng
TW
|
Family ID: |
45467077 |
Appl. No.: |
12/909863 |
Filed: |
October 22, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
396/535 ;
348/374; 348/E5.027 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03B 17/02 20130101;
H04N 5/2257 20130101; H04N 5/2253 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
396/535 ;
348/374; 348/E05.027 |
International
Class: |
G03B 17/02 20060101
G03B017/02; H04N 5/225 20060101 H04N005/225 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 16, 2010 |
TW |
99123408 |
Claims
1. An image capture device, comprising: a front shell comprising a
front surface and a rear surface facing away from the front
surface, the front shell defining at least three first threaded
holes in the rear surface; a lens module positioned on the front
surface; a circuit board positioned on the rear surface of the
front shell and defining at least three second threaded holes, the
at least three second threaded holes aligned with the at least
three first threaded holes; an image sensor positioned on and
electrically connected to the circuit board; an elastic sheet
positioned on the rear surface and covering the circuit board, the
elastic sheet comprising a plurality of elastic arms, the elastic
arms protruding towards the circuit board and resisting against the
circuit board; and at least three first threaded fasteners
correspondingly passing through and engaging with the at least
three first threaded holes and the at least three second threaded
holes to secure the circuit board to the rear surface, the at least
three first threaded fasteners capable of adjusting the circuit
board such that the optical axis of the lens module is
perpendicular to the image sensor by the thread engagement of the
at least three threaded fasteners with the at least three first
threaded holes and the at least three second threaded holes.
2. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein at least three
first studs extend rearwards from the rear surface, each first stud
defines a respective one of the at least three first threaded
holes.
3. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein at least three
second studs extend rearwards from the rear surface, each second
stud defines a third threaded holes, the elastic sheet defines at
least three fourth threaded holes, the at least three fourth
threaded holes are aligned with and correspond to the at least
three second studs, at least three second threaded fasteners mesh
with the third and fourth threaded holes to assemble the elastic
sheet to the front shell.
4. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein the front shell
defines a first circular opening extending through the center of
the front surface and the rear surface, a first annular raised
portion projects from the periphery of the first opening, an inner
sidewall of the first raised portion has first female threads, the
lens module comprises a lens barrel and a focus ring assembled with
the lens barrel, the focus ring defines a second circular opening
generally at a center thereof, a second annular raised portion
projects from the periphery of the second circular opening, an
external sidewall of the second raised portion has first male
threads, the first male threads match the first female threads of
the front shell, the focus ring is assembled to the front shell by
the thread engagement of the first male threads with the first
female threads.
5. The image capture device of claim 4, wherein the first annular
raised portion is integrally formed with the front shell, and the
second annular raised portion is integrally formed with the focus
ring.
6. The image capture device of claim 4, wherein an internal
sidewall of the annular second raised portion has second female
threads, an external sidewall of the lens barrel has second male
threads, the second male threads mesh with the second female
threads, the lens barrel is assembled with the focus ring by the
thread engagement of the second male threads with the second female
threads.
7. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein the circuit board
has a supporting surface, the supporting surface bears a layer of
heat dissipation material, the image sensor is positioned on the
supporting surface and surrounded by the heat dissipation
material.
8. The image capture device of claim 7, wherein both the elastic
sheet and the heat dissipation material are made of copper.
9. The image capture device of claim 7, wherein the elastic sheet
defines an opening corresponding to the heat dissipation material
of the circuit board in shape, the image sensor extends through the
opening of the elastic sheet.
10. The image capture device of claim 1, wherein the elastic arms
are integrally formed with the elastic sheet and are positioned at
two opposite sides of the elastic sheet.
11. The image capture device of claim 10, wherein the elastic arms
comprises three elastic arms, the three elastic arms cooperatively
form an isosceles triangle.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to an image capture
device.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Image capture devices often include a front shell, a lens
module, a circuit board, and an image sensor positioned on the
circuit board. The front shell includes a front surface and a rear
surface facing away from the front surface. The lens module is
positioned on the front surface. The circuit board is positioned on
the rear surface.
[0005] During assembly, the image sensor may misalign with the lens
module, adversely affecting image quality of the image capture
devices.
[0006] Therefore, it is desirable to provide an image capture
device which can overcome the limitations described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better
understood with reference to the accompanying drawings. The
components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the
emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the
principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings,
like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout
the several views, and all the views are schematic.
[0008] FIG. 1 is an assembled, isometric view of an image capture
device, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 2 is an exploded, isometric view of the image capture
device of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, but viewed in another
angle.
[0011] FIG. 4 is an assembled, isometric view of the image capture
device of FIG. 3.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a cross-section taken along a line V-V of FIG.
1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described
in detail and with reference to the drawings.
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an image capture device 100,
according to an exemplary embodiment, includes a front shell 10, a
lens module 20, a circuit board 30, an image sensor 40, and an
elastic sheet 50.
[0015] The front shell 10 is a rectangular frame and includes a
front surface 11 and a rear surface 12 facing away from the front
surface 11. The front shell 10 defines a first circular opening 110
extending through the center of the front surface 11 and the rear
surface 12. A first annular raised portion 111 projects from the
front surface 11 at the periphery of the first opening 110 and is
integrally formed with the front shell 10. An inner sidewall of the
first raised portion 111 has first female threads 112 formed
thereon. Three first studs 121 and three second studs 122 extend
rearwards from the rear surface 12. Each first stud 121 defines a
first threaded hole 1210. Each second stud 122 defines a second
threaded hole 1220.
[0016] The lens module 20 is positioned on the front surface 11.
The lens module 20 includes a lens barrel 22, at least one lens
(not shown) received in the lens barrel 22, and a focus ring 24.
The focus ring 24 defines a second circular opening 241 generally
at the center thereof. A second annular raised portion 240 projects
from the periphery of the second opening 241 and is integrally
formed with the focus ring 24. An external sidewall of the second
annular raised portion 240 has first male threads 244 formed
thereon to match the first female threads 112 of the front shell
11. An internal sidewall of the second annular raised portion 240
has second female threads 242 formed thereon. An external sidewall
of the lens barrel 22 has second male threads 220 formed thereon.
The second male threads 220 match the second female threads
242.
[0017] The circuit board 30 can be made of a material such as:
polyimide, ceramic, or glass fiber. In the present embodiment, the
circuit board 30 is made of ceramic. The circuit board 30 has a
supporting surface 31. The supporting surface 31 bears a layer of
heat dissipation material 32. The heat dissipation material 32 is
made of copper. The circuit board 30 defines three third threaded
holes 310 aligned with the corresponding first threaded holes 1210
of the front shell 10.
[0018] The image sensor 40 is a charged coupled device (CCD) or a
complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor (CMOS). In the
present embodiment, the image sensor 40 is a CCD. The image sensor
40 is configured to convert light signals captured by the lens
module 20 to electrical signals. The image sensor 40 can be
mechanically and electrically packaged on the supporting surface 31
of the circuit board 30 by chip-scale package (CSP), wafer-level
chip-scale, ceramic leaded chip carrier (CLCC), plastic leaded chip
carrier (PLCC), thermal compression bonding, or flip chip
packaging, for example. In the present embodiment, the image sensor
40 is mechanically and electrically packaged on the supporting
surface 31 of the circuit board 30 by CSP. The image sensor 40 is
surrounded by the heat dissipation material 32 which efficiently
evacuates heat generated by the image sensor 40 and the circuit
board 30.
[0019] The elastic sheet 50 is rectangular and covers the circuit
board 30, sandwiched between the rear surface 12 of the front shell
10 and the circuit board 30. In the present embodiment, the elastic
sheet 50 is made of copper. The elastic sheet 50 includes a first
surface 51 facing the circuit board 30 and defines an opening 52
corresponding to the heat dissipation material 32 of the circuit
board 30 in shape. The elastic sheet 50 further includes three
elastic arms 53 protruding towards the circuit board 30 and
resisted against the circuit board 30. The elastic arms 53 are
integrally formed with the elastic sheet 50 and are positioned at
two opposite sides of the first surface 51. In this embodiment, the
three elastic arms 53 cooperatively form an isosceles triangle. The
elastic sheet 50 defines three fourth threaded holes 510 aligned
with the corresponding second threaded holes 1220 of the front
shell 10.
[0020] The number of elastic arms 53 is not limited to that
disclosed in the present embodiment, and can be more than three and
respectively positioned on at least two opposite sides of the first
surface 51.
[0021] In assembly, the second male threads 220 of the lens barrel
22 mesh with the second female threads 242 of the focus ring 24 to
assemble the focus ring 24 to the lens barrel 22. The first male
threads 244 of the focus ring 24 mesh with the first female threads
112 of the front shell 10 to assemble the assembled lens module 20
to the front surface 11 of the front shell 10. The three second
threaded holes 510 are aligned with the second studs 122 of the
front shell 10, and a number of first threaded fasteners 60 are
threadedly engaged with the fourth threaded holes 510 and the
second threaded holes 1220 to assemble the elastic sheet 50 to the
front shell 10. Finally, the third threaded holes 310 of the
circuit board 30 are aligned with the first threaded holes 1210 of
the front shell 10, and a number of second threaded fasteners 62
mesh with the third threaded holes 310 and the first threaded holes
1210 to assemble the circuit board 30 to the front shell 10; the
image sensor 40 extends through the opening 52 of the elastic sheet
50 and the circuit board 30 resists against the three elastic arms
53 of the elastic sheet 50.
[0022] Also referring to FIGS. 4-5, when the center of the image
sensor 40 misaligns with the optical axis of the lens module 20,
images captured by the image capture device 100 distort. To
eliminate this distortion, the three second threaded fasteners 62
are capable of adjusting the circuit board 30, such that the
optical axis of the lens module 20 is perpendicular to the image
sensor 40 by the thread engagement of the three second threaded
fasteners 62 with the three third threaded holes 310 and the three
first threaded holes 1210.
[0023] It will be understood that the above particular embodiments
are shown and described by way of illustration only. The principles
and the features of the present invention may be employed in
various and numerous embodiments thereof without departing from the
scope of the invention as claimed. The above-described embodiments
illustrate the scope of the invention but do not restrict the scope
of the invention.
* * * * *