IMAGE SENSOR MODULE FOR CAMERA DEVICE

Abstract

An image sensor module includes a circuit board, an image sensor, and a supporting board. The image sensor is electrically connected to the circuit board. The circuit board defines a through opening therein. The supporting board is arranged on one side of the circuit board and includes a protrusion. The protrusion extends outwardly from the supporting board and includes a square-shaped block no larger than the image sensor. The square-shaped block passes through the through opening. The image sensor is mounted on the block and spaced from the circuit board.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of patent application Ser. No. 12/013,916, filed on Jan. 14, 2008, entitled “IMAGE SENSOR MODULE FOR CAMERA DEVICE”.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to a camera device, and particularly to an image sensor module of the camera device having improved position precision.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, digital cameras and digital video cameras are in widespread use and are provided with an image sensor module to provide an image-capturing function.

Referring to FIG. 7, a general image sensor module includes a circuit board 90 and an image sensor 91 arranged on the circuit board 90. A plurality of circuits 92 are printed on the circuit board 90. The image sensor 91 is either a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. A light receiving section is formed on a top side of the image sensor 91. Contact terminals 93 of the image sensor 91 are electrically connected to the circuits of the circuit board 90 by soldering. A number of pads (not shown) thus are formed between the contact terminals 93 of the image sensor 91 and the circuit board 90. During operation of the camera, circuits of the light receiving section of the image sensor 91 are driven at a high speed frequency to transform image signals into electrical signals. The electrical signals are then transferred to the circuit board 90 through the contact terminals 93 of the image sensor 91 and the pads of the circuit board 90 to control focusing of the camera.

However, the pads formed on the circuit board 90 usually are different from each other. In other words, the pads have various thicknesses. Thus the image sensor 91 arranged on the pads is usually aslant. When the image sensor module is mounted to a lens module, the light receiving section formed on the top side of the image sensor 91 is aslant. An optical axis of the image sensor module is offset from an optical center of the lens. Thus the image of the image sensor 91 usually generates coma aberration, which results in distortion of the image.

Therefore, a new image sensor module for the camera device is desired to overcome the above described shortcomings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is described in greater detail hereinafter, by way of example only, through description of a preferred embodiment thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric, exploded view of a first embodiment of an image sensor module.

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the image sensor module of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the image sensor module of FIG. 2 taken along line

FIG. 4 is an isometric, exploded view of a second embodiment of an image sensor module.

FIG. 5 is an isometric, exploded view of a third embodiment of an image sensor module.

FIG. 6 is an isometric, exploded view of a fourth embodiment of an image sensor module.

FIG. 7 is an isometric, assembled view of a related image sensor module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a first embodiment of an image sensor module 100 includes a circuit board 20, an image sensor 10, and a supporting board 30. The image sensor module 100 can be used in a digital camera or a digital video camera to provide an image-capturing function.

The image sensor 10 is either a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, which is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU, not shown). The image sensor 10 includes a top surface 13 and an opposite bottom surface 12. A light receiving section 11 is formed on the top surface 13 of the image sensor 10. A number of signal output terminals (not shown) are formed on the bottom surface 12 of the image sensor 10. When the image sensor module 100 is mounted to a camera, during focusing of the camera, circuits of the light receiving section 11 of the image sensor 10 are driven at a high speed frequency to transform image signals into electrical signals. The electrical signals are then transferred to the CPU. The CPU compares the image from a lens of the camera with the image in the image sensor 10. As the lens moves to a position where the image is the clearest, a stop signal is simultaneously sent to stop movement of the lens of the camera. Thus focusing of the camera is achieved.

The supporting board 30 is made of metal or plastic. A top side of the supporting board 30 forms a planar-shaped supporting surface 34. A protrusion extends upwardly from a central portion of the supporting surface 34. A concave 33 is defined in a bottom side of the supporting board 30 corresponding to the protrusion. In this embodiment, the protrusion is a block 31. The block 31 has a planar and square shaped top mounting surface 35. An area of the mounting surface 35 is smaller than that of the bottom surface 12 of the image sensor 10.

The circuit board 20 has a plurality of circuits printed thereon. The image sensor 10 is electrically connected to the circuits of the circuit board 20. A square-shaped through opening 22 is defined in a central portion of the circuit board 20 corresponding to the block 31 of the supporting board 30. The through opening 22 is the same size or a little larger than the mounting surface 35 of the block 31, and smaller than the bottom surface 12 of the image sensor 10.

When assembled, the circuit board 20 is mounted on the supporting surface 34 of the supporting board 30. The block 31 extends through the through opening 22 of the circuit board 20. A height of the block 31 is greater than a thickness of the circuit board 20, and thus the mounting surface 35 of the supporting board 30 is higher than the circuit board 20. The image sensor 10 is arranged on the mounting surface 35 of the block 31, and the signal output terminals of the image sensor 10 are electrically connected to the circuits of the circuit board 20 through wire bonding or surface mount technology (SMT). Before mounting the image sensor 10 to the block 31, an adhesive layer 40 is applied on the mounting surface 35 of the block 31. The adhesive layer 40 can be made of thermosetting adhesives, ultraviolet (UV) light sensitive adhesives or black adhesives. The image sensor 10 is thus adhered to the block 31 by the adhesive layer 40. Because the block 31 of the supporting board 30 is higher than the circuit board 20, the image sensor 10 mounted on the block 31 is higher than and spaced from the circuit board 20, and the connection of the image sensor 10 and the circuit board 20 no longer affects positioning of the image sensor 10. When the image sensor module 100 mounted to a camera device, the light receiving section 11 formed on the top surface 13 of the image sensor 10 is horizontal. An optical axis of the image sensor module 100 overlaps an optical center of the lens of the camera. Thus coma aberration of the conventional image sensor module is avoided, resulting in accurate image-capturing.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the image sensor module 200. Similar to the first embodiment, the image sensor module 200 includes an image sensor 10, a circuit board 50, and a supporting board 60. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the protrusion formed on the supporting board 60 includes a pair of supporting members 61. The two supporting members 61 are identical to each other, and are arranged on a central portion of the supporting board 60 parallel to each other. A distance between the two supporting members 61 is less than a width of the image sensor 10. A top of each supporting member 61 is at the same level as that of the other supporting member 61, and thus the supporting members 61 have the same height relative to the supporting board 60. The circuit board 50 defines a pair of elongated through openings 52 corresponding to the supporting members 61. Each through opening 52 is the same size or a little larger than the supporting member 61. When assembled, each supporting member 61 extends through one corresponding through opening 52 to support the image sensor 10 thereon. A height of each supporting member 61 is higher than the thickness of the circuit board 50, and thus the tops of the supporting members 61 are higher than the circuit board 50. The image sensor 10 mounted on the supporting members 61 is higher than the circuit board 50 and thus is spaced from the circuit board 50. The connection of the image sensor 10 and the circuit board 50 no longer affects positioning of the image sensor 10, and thus the image senor 10 can be accurately mounted to the circuit board 50.

Referring to FIG. 5, the image sensor module 300 according to a third embodiment is shown. The difference between the third embodiment and the first embodiment is that the protrusion formed on the supporting board 70 includes three supporting members 73, and the circuit board 85 defines three through openings 75 for extension of the supporting members 73 therethrough. The three supporting members 73 include a pair of parallel first supporting members 731, and a second supporting member 732 arranged between and non-parallel to the parallel first supporting members 731. A front end of the second supporting member 732 is located near a front end of one first supporting member 73, and a rear end of the second supporting member 732 is located near a rear end of another first supporting member 73. The three through openings 75 of the circuit board 85 also include a pair of parallel first through openings 751 and a second non-parallel through opening 753. After assembling the image sensor module 300, the image sensor 10 is arranged on the three supporting members 73 and thus is spaced from the circuit board 85. The second supporting member 732 is configured for increasing contact area between the image sensor 10 and the supporting board 70, and thus improve stability of the image sensor 10.

FIG. 6 shows the image sensor module 400 according to a fourth embodiment. Similar to the third embodiment, the image sensor module 400 includes a circuit board 87, an image sensor 10 being electrically connected to the circuit board 87, and a supporting board 70 arranged under the circuit board 87 for supporting the image sensor 10. The supporting board 70 forms three supporting members 73, which include a pair of parallel first supporting members 731 and a second non-parallel supporting member 732. The difference between the fourth embodiment and the third embodiment is that the circuit board 87 only defines one square-shaped through opening 77 for all of the supporting members 73 extending therethrough. It is to be understood that the block 31, the supporting members 61, 73 are configured for supporting the image sensor 10 thereon, the shape or number of the block 31 and the supporting members 61, 73 can be varied according to the size of the image sensor 10.

It can be understood that the above-described embodiment are intended to illustrate rather than limit the disclosure. Variations may be made to the embodiments and methods without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. An image sensor module comprising:

a circuit board defining a through opening therein;

an image sensor electrically connected to the circuit board; and

a supporting board arranged on one side of the circuit board and comprising a protrusion extending outwardly from the supporting board, the protrusion comprising a square-shaped block having a size no larger than that of the image sensor, the block passing through the through opening of the circuit board, the image sensor being mounted on the block and spaced from the circuit board.

2. The image sensor module of claim 1, wherein the block has a planar top mounting surface, the image sensor is positioned on the planar top mounting surface.

3. The image sensor module of claim 1, wherein an adhesive layer is applied between the image sensor and the block, the adhesive layer being one of thermosetting adhesive, UV adhesive and black adhesive.

4. The image sensor module of claim 1, wherein the protrusion extends from a central portion of the supporting surface, a concave is defined in a bottom side of the supporting board corresponding to the protrusion.

5. The image sensor module of claim 1, wherein the through opening is the same size or larger than the block, and smaller than the image sensor.

6. An image sensor module comprising:

a supporting board comprising a supporting surface and a protrusion, the protrusion extending upwardly from the supporting surface, the protrusion comprising at least one square-shaped block;

a circuit board arranged on the supporting surface of the supporting board, the circuit board defining at least one through opening for extension of the at least one square-shaped block therethrough, a thickness of the circuit board being smaller than that of the at least one square-shaped block; and

an image sensor arranged on the at least one square-shaped block, the image sensor being spaced from the circuit board and being electrically connected to the circuit board, the image sensor covering the at least one square-shaped block.