Solid-state image pickup device with a separable circuit board

• US 6,417,885 B1
• Filed: 08/28/1996
• Issued: 07/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Takayuki, Suzuki, Takahisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOE, AUNG SOE
• Application Number:
  US08/697,679
• Time in Patent Office: 2,141 Days
• Field of Search: 348/374, 348/294, 348/87, 348/86, 348/76, 348/75, 348/72, 348/65, 348/61, 348/45, 348/373, 348/375
• US Class Current: 348/374
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/117 Pads along the edge of rigid circuit boards, e.g. for pluggable connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/042 Stacked spaced PCBs; Planar parts of folded flexible circuits having mounted components in between or spaced from each other
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10151 Sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/049 Wire bonding
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0097 Processing two or more printed circuits simultaneously, e.g. made from a common substrate, or temporarily stacked circuit boards H05K3/0052 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/36 Assembling printed circuits with other printed circuits H05K7/142 takes precedence

Abstract

An image pickup section incorporates a solid-state image pickup element chip. Electronic parts for driving or controlling the image pickup section are mounted on a circuit board. First and second electrode pad groups are formed on the circuit board, and a separation band is also formed on the circuit board between the first and second electrode pad groups. The circuit board is used as it is when the image pickup device is not required to be bendable. When the image pickup device is required to be bendable, the circuit board is separated by cutting it at the separation band and the first and second electrode pad groups that are now respectively located on the separated pieces of the circuit board are connected to each other by signal lines.

Claims

1. A solid-state image pickup device comprising:

a solid-state image pickup element chip; and

a unitary circuit board mounted with electronic parts and adapted to be severed into first and second circuit boards which may then be readily re-connected, said unitary circuit board being electrically connected to the image pickup element chip, and extending approximately perpendicularly to a back surface of the image pickup element chip, the unitary circuit board comprising;

first and second electrode pad groups provided adjacent to the image pickup element chip and connected to each other electrically, wherein said first and second electrode pad groups are spaced apart a predetermined distance so as to allow the unitary circuit board to be severed in a width direction thereof, thereby forming the first circuit board with the first electrode pad group disposed thereon and the second circuit board with the second electrode group disposed thereon, whereby the first and second circuit boards may be re-connected by another connection body which re-connects the first electrode pad group to the second electrode pad group.

2. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein a wiring member for electrically connecting the unitary circuit board to the image pickup element chip is integral with a wiring member of the unitary circuit board.

3. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the unitary circuit board is made of an organic or inorganic material and is rigid or bendable.

4. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 1, further comprising a high-frequency-stopping electronic part mounted on the unitary circuit board between the first electrode pad group and an internal electrode pad group that is electrically connected to the image pickup element chip.

5. The solid-state image pickup device of claim 1, wherein the unitary circuit board has opposing surfaces, each of said surfaces having one of the electronic parts mounted thereto.

6. The solid-state image pickup device of claim 1, wherein after the unitary circuit board is severed into the first and second circuit boards, the first circuit board remains electrically connected to the image pickup element chip and extends approximately perpendicularly to the back surface of the image pickup element chip, and the first and second circuit boards are movable relative to each other.

10. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 5, further comprising a high-frequency-stopping electronic part mounted on at least one of the plurality of unitary circuit boards between the first electrode pad group and an internal electrode pad group that is electrically connected to the image pickup element chip.

7. A solid-state image pickup device comprising:

a solid-state image pickup element chip; and

a plurality of unitary circuit boards mounted with electronic parts, electrically connected to the image pickup element chip, and extending approximately perpendicularly to a back surface of the image pickup element chip and approximately parallel with each other, each unitary circuit board being adapted to be severed into first and second circuit boards which may then be readily re-connected and comprising;

first and second electrode pad groups provided adjacent to the image pickup element chip and connected to each other electrically, wherein said first and second electrode pad groups are spaced apart a predetermined distance so as to allow the unitary circuit board to be severed in a width direction thereof, thereby forming the first circuit board with the first electrode pad group disposed thereon and the second circuit board with the second electrode group disposed thereon, whereby the first and second circuit boards may be re-connected by another connection body which re-connects the first electrode pad group to the second electrode pad group.

8. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 7, wherein wiring members for electrically connecting the plurality of unitary circuit boards to the image pickup element chip are integral with wiring members of the unitary circuit boards, respectively.

9. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of unitary circuit boards is made of an organic or inorganic material and is rigid or bendable.