Compact Camera Module
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A solid state camera module, comprising:
- an over-moulded circuit board containing an aperture;
an image sensor coupled in flip-chip orientation to the circuit board and including an opticallyactive area that is aligned to the aperture;
a lens barrel coupled to the circuit board and physically aligned to the image sensor; and
electrical interconnections between the circuit board and the image sensor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A miniature camera module component is formed by creating replicated lens shapes on a protective cover wafer and depositing material to form multiple cavities with the replicated lens shapes respectively disposed therein. A carrier wafer is coupled to the protective cover wafer before it is diced. An intermediate wafer is coupled to the protective cover wafer, and the carrier wafer is removed. An image sensor wafer is coupled to the protective cover wafer, and the intermediate wafer is removed.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1. A solid state camera module, comprising:
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an over-moulded circuit board containing an aperture; an image sensor coupled in flip-chip orientation to the circuit board and including an optically active area that is aligned to the aperture; a lens barrel coupled to the circuit board and physically aligned to the image sensor; and electrical interconnections between the circuit board and the image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A solid state camera module, comprising:
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a printed circuit containing an aperture; an image sensor coupled in flip-chip orientation to the circuit board and including an optically active area that is aligned to the aperture; a lens barrel coupled to the circuit board, the lens barrel being physically aligned to the image sensor through the aperture; and electrical interconnections between the circuit board and the image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A miniature camera module, comprising:
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a substrate; an image sensor coupled to the substrate; an optical train including one or more lenses coupled to the substrate and aligned with the image sensor to define an optical path of the camera module; an aperture defined along the optical path between at least one lens of the optical train and the image sensor; and a printed circuit coupled to the image sensor such that a thickness of a printed circuit does not contribute to a physical Z height in addition to a thickness of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A miniature camera module, comprising:
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a substrate; an image sensor coupled to the substrate; an optical train including one or more lenses coupled to the substrate and aligned with the image sensor to define an optical path of the camera module; an aperture defined along the optical path between at least one lens of the optical train and the image sensor; and a printed circuit coupled to the image sensor; wherein at least one lens, of the optical train, that is closest to the image sensor is formed from a protective cover that is disposed over the image sensor, such that a physical Z height is reduced compared with a camera having separate optical elements for protective cover and closest lens to the image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 35)
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30. A miniature camera module, comprising:
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a substrate defining a cavity; an image sensor coupled to the substrate; an optical train including one or more lenses coupled to the substrate and aligned with the image sensor to define an optical path of the camera module; an aperture defined along the optical path between at least one lens of the optical train and the image sensor; a printed circuit coupled to the image sensor; and a protective cover over an active sensor area of the image sensor and disposed within said cavity of said substrate such that at least a significant portion of a thickness of the protective cover does not contribute to a physical Z height in addition to a thickness of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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36. A miniature camera module, comprising:
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a substrate defining a cavity; an image sensor coupled to the substrate and disposed within said cavity such that at least a significant portion of a thickness of the image sensor does not contribute to a physical Z height in addition to a thickness of the substrate; an optical train including one or more lenses coupled to the substrate and aligned with the image sensor to define an optical path of the camera module; an aperture defined along the optical path between at least one lens of the optical train and the image sensor; a printed circuit coupled to the image sensor; and a protective cover over an active sensor area of the image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A miniature camera module, comprising:
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a substrate; an image sensor coupled to the substrate; an optical train including one or more lenses coupled to the substrate and aligned with the image sensor to define an optical path of the camera module; an aperture defined along the optical path between at least one lens of the optical train and the image sensor; a printed circuit coupled to the image sensor for carrying electronic signals corresponding to image data from the image sensor; and a protective cover over an active sensor area of the image sensor, and wherein the miniature camera module is configured such that neither a thickness of (i) the image sensor, (ii) the protective cover, (iii) the printed circuit, nor (iv) a lens of the optical train that is closest to the image sensor contributes to a physical Z height in addition to a thickness of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (43)
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44. A miniature camera module, comprising:
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a substrate; an image sensor coupled to the substrate; an optical train including one or more lenses coupled to the substrate and aligned with the image sensor to define an optical path of the camera module; an aperture defined along the optical path between at least one lens of the optical train and the image sensor; a printed circuit coupled to the image sensor for carrying electronic signals corresponding to image data; and a protective cover over an active sensor area of the image sensor, and wherein the miniature camera module is configured such that a thickness of (i) the image sensor, (ii) the protective cover, (iii) the printed circuit, or (iv) a lens of the optical train that is closest to the image sensor, or combinations thereof, does not contribute to a physical Z height in addition to a thickness of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46)
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47. A miniature camera module, comprising:
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a substrate defining a cavity including an aperture; an image sensor coupled to the substrate at least partially within the cavity and including an active sensor area overlapping the aperture; a transparent protective cover coupled to the image sensor over the active sensor area; an optical housing coupled to the substrate containing therein a train of one or more imaging optics overlapping the aperture and forming an optical path from a first optic of the train through the aperture and transparent protective cover to the active sensor area; and a flexible printed circuit coupled to the image sensor to carry electrical signals corresponding to image data from the image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49)
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50. A method of forming a miniature camera module component, comprising:
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forming multiple replicated lens shapes on a protective cover wafer; providing material onto the protective cover wafer to form multiple cavities with respective multiple replicated lens shapes therein; coupling a carrier wafer to the protective cover wafer on the side with the deposited material; dicing the protective cover wafer; coupling an intermediate wafer to the protective cover wafer on the side opposite the deposited material; removing the carrier wafer; coupling an image sensor wafer to the protective cover wafer on the side with the deposited material; and removing the intermediate wafer. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification