Carrier frame and circuit board for an electronic device

• US 9,746,636 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2012
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cognex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Cognex Corporation
• Inventors: Flgge, Kai, Nunnink, Laurens, Reuter, Richard, King, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): SPINKS, ANTOINETTE T
• Application Number:
  US13/655,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20140111682A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,775 Days
• Field of Search: 348345, 250566
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/08 adapted to co-operate with a remote control mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/02 Bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/12 with means for supporting objectives, supplementary lenses, filters, masks, or turrets
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2217/002 Details of arrangement of components in or on camera body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49769 Using optical instrument [excludes mere human eyeballing]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49863 with prestressing of part

Abstract

An electronic device includes an electronic circuit board containing a processing element and a vision sensor. A carrier frame is used to support the electronic circuit board. An optical element is positioned over the sensor and supported by the carrier frame. The electronic circuit board is bent to reduce the length, thickness and/or width of the electronic device, without increasing the others of the length, thickness and/or width of the electronic device.

Claims

1. An adjustable lens device comprising:

a lens, the lens including a lens base and a lens barrel extending from the lens base;

a carrier frame, the carrier frame including an aperture, the aperture including a rim, the aperture being sized to receive at least the lens base;

a lens focus fix, the lens focus fix including a base, a ratchet portion, and a lens retainer portion;

the ratchet portion including at least one ratchet arm extending from the base, with the at least one ratchet arm including a free end spaced apart from the base, the free end sized to engage at least one of a plurality of mating engagement apparatus positioned about the rim;

the lens retainer portion including an engagement portion, the engagement portion to engage the lens to restrain movement of the lens; and

the lens focus fix being rotatable to adjust a focal position of the lens, such that, when the lens focus fix is rotated a first distance in a first direction, the lens retainer portion causes the lens to rotate a second distance in the first direction;

wherein the plurality of mating engagement apparatus includes a plurality of recesses positioned about the rim; and

wherein, when the lens focus fix is rotated in the first direction, the ratchet portion ratchets to rotate the lens, with the free end of the at least one ratchet arm shifting from one of the plurality of recesses to another of the plurality of recesses to cause a discrete movement of the lens focus fix and a discrete movement of the lens in the first direction.

2. The adjustable lens device according to claim 1:

wherein the lens base is threaded and the aperture is threaded such that the aperture threadably receives the lens, and when the lens focus fix is rotated in the first direction, the lens retainer portion causes the lens to threadably rotate in the first direction with the lens focus fix.

3. The adjustable lens device according to claim 1:

wherein the carrier frame includes a plurality of restraints to support an electronic circuit board.

4. The adjustable lens device according to claim 1:

wherein the rim is a recessed rim, the lens focus fix being sized to fit at least partially within a space defined by the recessed rim, and the lens focus fix being rotatable within the space defined by the recessed rim.

5. The adjustable lens device according to claim 1:

wherein the adjustable lens device is an imaging device, the imaging device further including a vision sensor and a processor to process an image acquired by the imaging device.

6. The adjustable lens device according to claim 5:

wherein the lens focus fix is rotatable to adjust a distance between the lens and the vision sensor.

7. The adjustable lens device according to claim 1:

wherein, when the lens focus fix is disposed inside of the rim, the at least one ratchet arm applies a radially extending force to bias the free end towards at least one of the plurality of mating engagement apparatus.

8. A method for assembling an electronic device, the method comprising:

providing a carrier frame, the carrier frame including a plurality of restraints to support an electronic circuit board and further including an aperture with a rim, the aperture being sized to receive a lens base of a lens, with a plurality of mating engagement apparatus being positioned about the rim, each of the mating engagement apparatus being configured as at least one of a recess and a protrusion;

providing an electronic circuit board, the electronic circuit board including a vision sensor and a processor;

bending the electronic circuit board around at least a portion of the carrier frame;

engaging the electronic circuit board with the plurality of restraints;

positioning the lens over the vision sensor, the aperture receiving a least part of the lens base so that the carrier frame supports the lens over the vision sensor; and

restraining the lens with a lens focus fix disposed at least partly inside of the rim, the lens focus fix including a ratchet portion with at least one ratchet arm that extends from a base of the lens focus fix to a free end that is configured to engage any of the plurality of the mating engagement apparatus, and the lens focus fix contacting the lens and the carrier frame, when the lens focus fix is disposed at least partly inside of the rim, such that ratcheting the lens focus fix a first distance in a first direction causes the lens to rotate a second distance in the first direction;

wherein, when the lens focus fix is disposed at least partly inside of the rim, the at least one ratchet arm applies a radially extending force to bias the free end towards at least one of the plurality of mating engagement apparatus in order to engage the at least one of the plurality of mating engagement apparatus and secure the lens at a select focal distance.

9. The method according to claim 8:

further including acquiring image data, and using the processor for decoding the acquired image data into a decoded image.

10. The method according to claim 8:

further including thermally coupling a heat sink to the processor.

11. The method according to claim 8:

wherein the electronic circuit board comprises a plurality of circuit boards coupled together with flexible circuit board.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein restraining the lens with the lens focus fix includes disposing the lens focus fix at least partly within a rim on an aperture of the carrier frame, with a free end of a ratchet arm of the ratchet portion engaging a first recess of a plurality of recesses positioned about the rim.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein ratcheting the lens focus fix the first distance in the first direction causes the ratchet arm to flex, such that the free end of the ratchet arm shifts from the first recess of the plurality of recesses to a second recess of the plurality of recesses, thereby causing a discrete movement of the lens focus fix and a discrete movement of the lens.

14. An adjustable lens device comprising:

a lens;

a carrier frame, the carrier frame including an aperture with a rim, the aperture being sized to receive at least part of the lens;

a lens focus fix including a ratchet portion with at least one arm, and a lens retainer portion;

the lens retainer portion including an engagement portion configured to engage the lens to restrain movement of the lens; and

the lens focus fix being ratchetable to adjust a focal position of the lens, with the at least one arm of the ratchet portion being configured to engage a plurality of mating engagement apparatus positioned about the rim, such that, when the lens focus fix is ratcheted in a first direction, the lens retainer portion causes the lens to rotate in the first direction to change a focal distance of the lens from a first focal distance to a second focal distance and the at least one arm of the ratchet portion shifts from engaging one of the mating engagement apparatus to engaging another of the mating engagement apparatus to fix the lens at the second focal distance.