Image Pick-Up Module

• US 20090021618A1
• Filed: 07/18/2008
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Storz Endoskop Produktions GmbH (Karl Storz Se & Co. Kg)
• Original Assignee: Karl Storz Se & Co. Kg
• Inventors: Irion, Klaus M., Schwarz, Peter, Graf, Christian
• Granted Patent: US 8,072,537 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/294
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00114 Electrical cables in or with an endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/051 Details of CCD assembly
• 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

Abstract

An image pick-up module, in particular for an endoscope or a miniature camera, has an electronic image sensor, which has a plurality of contact fingers that are arranged in at least one row, and a rigid circuit board to which the contact fingers are electrically contact-connected, the image sensor and the circuit board being arranged approximately parallel to one another, and the contact fingers extending along at least one longitudinal side of the circuit board, which extends approximately transversely to the image sensor, and also a flexible multi-core cable which leads from the circuit board in the direction away from the image sensor and whose cores are likewise electrically contact-connected to the circuit board. The cores are contact-connected at contact-connection points on the circuit board which are closer to the image sensor than that side of the circuit board which is remote from the image sensor.

Claims

1. An image pick-up module, comprising

an electronic image sensor having a plurality of contact fingers that are arranged in at least one row,

a rigid circuit board to which said contact fingers are electrically contact-connected, said image sensor and said circuit board being arranged approximately parallel to one another, and said contact fingers extending along at least one longitudinal side of said circuit board, which longitudinal side extends approximately transversely to said image sensor, and

a flexible multi-core cable leading from said circuit board in direction away from said image sensor, wherein cores of said multi-core cable are electrically contact-connected to said circuit board at contact-connection points on said circuit board which are closer to said image sensor than a side of said circuit board which is facing away from said image sensor.

2. The image pick-up module of claim 1, wherein said circuit board is of parallelepipedal design with four closed longitudinal sides, and wherein said contact-connection points are situated on an outside of at least one of said longitudinal sides which is free of said contact fingers.

3. The image pick-up module of claim 2, wherein said circuit board has at least one blind hole, which accommodates at least one electronic component, between said four longitudinal sides.

4. The image pick-up module of claim 1, wherein said circuit board is of U-shaped design with two open and two closed longitudinal sides, and wherein said contact fingers extend along at least one of said open longitudinal sides, and said contact-connection points of said cores are situated on at least one of said closed longitudinal sides.

5. The image pick-up module of claim 2, wherein at least one longitudinally running depression for accommodating said cores is provided at least on said at least one longitudinal side on which said cores are contact-connected.

6. The image pick-up module of claim 1, wherein said circuit board is of single-part design.

7. The image pick-up module of claim 6, wherein said circuit board is in the form of a multilayer circuit board.

15. The image pick-up module of claim 1, wherein said circuit board has throughplated holes from a side which is facing away from said image sensor to a side which faces to said image sensor.

8. An image pick-up module, comprising

an electronic image sensor,

a rigid circuit board to which said electronic image sensor is electrically contact-connected, said image sensor and said circuit board being arranged approximately parallel to one another, wherein said circuit board is of multi-part design in the form of an arrangement of rigid individual circuit boards which run parallel to one another and parallel to said image sensor, and

a flexible multi-core cable leading from said circuit board in direction away from said image sensor, wherein cores of said multi-core cable are electrically contact-connected to said circuit board at contact-connection points on said circuit board which are closer to said image sensor than a side of said circuit board which is facing away from said image sensor.

9. The image pick-up module of claim 8, wherein said image sensor has a plurality of contact fingers that are arranged in at least one row, by which said image sensor is electrically contact-connected to said circuit board, and wherein said individual circuit boards are connected to one another by means of said contact fingers of said image sensor.

10. The image pick-up module of claim 8, wherein said individual circuit boards are connected to one another by means of individual conductors or conductor tracks.

11. The image pick-up module of claim 8, wherein said individual circuit boards have depressions in the form of at least one of grooves and blind holes for accommodating electronic components.

12. The image pick-up module of claim 8, wherein said contact-connection points of said cores are situated on a side of a last individual circuit board, as seen from said image sensor, which faces to said image sensor.

13. The image pick-up module of claim 8, wherein said contact-connection points of said cores are situated on a longitudinal side of a last individual circuit board which is remote from said image sensor, and said longitudinal side is smaller than a transverse dimension of said image sensor.

14. The image pick-up module of claim 8, wherein at least one of said individual circuit boards is in the form of a multilayer circuit board.

16. An image pick-up module, comprising

an electronic image sensor,

a rigid circuit board to which said image sensor is electrically contact-connected, said image sensor and said circuit board being arranged approximately parallel to one another, and

a flexible multi-core cable leading from said circuit board in direction away from said image sensor, wherein cores of said multi-core cable are electronically contact-connected to said circuit board at contact-connection points on said circuit board which are closer to said image sensor than a side of said circuit board which is facing away from said image sensor, said contact-connection points of said cores are situated on a side of said circuit board which faces said image sensor, and said cores are guided through said circuit board from said side which is facing away from said image sensor to said side which faces said image sensor.

17. The image pick-up module of claim 16, wherein said circuit board is at a distance from said image sensor so that there is a space between said image sensor and said circuit board.

18. The image pick-up module of claim 17, wherein at least one electronic component is arranged in said space between said image sensor and said circuit board.

19. The image pick-up module of claim 17, wherein said space between said circuit board and said image sensor is filled with a curable electrically insulating filling material.

20. The image pick-up module of claim 16, wherein said image sensor has a plurality of contact fingers that are arranged in at least one row, and said contact fingers of said image sensor are contact-connected on at least one longitudinal side of said circuit board on which elongate contacts which are arranged so as to be recessed are provided.

21. An image pick-up module, comprising

an electronic image sensor,

a rigid circuit board to which said image sensor is electrically contact-connected, said image sensor and said circuit board being arranged approximately parallel to one another,

a flexible multi-core cable leading from said circuit board in direction away from said image sensor, wherein cores of said multi-core cable are electrically contact-connected to said circuit board at contact-connection points on said circuit board which are closer to said image sensor than a side of said circuit board which is facing away from said image sensor, said circuit board having a rigid base board which is used to contact-connect said multi-core cable, and at least one first further circuit board part which at least partially extends approximately perpendicular to said base board being flexibly connected to said base board.

22. The image pick-up module of claim 21, wherein said at least one first further circuit board part is used to fasten and contact-connect at least one electronic component.

23. The image pick-up module of claim 21, wherein said at least one first further circuit board part has at least one first section, which extends in an approximately perpendicular manner away from said base board towards said image sensor, and at least one second section which adjoins said first section and extends approximately parallel to said base board.

24. The image pick-up module of claim 21, wherein said base board is flexibly connected to at least two further second and third circuit board parts which lead away from two opposite longitudinal sides of said base board perpendicular to said base board and enclose said multi-core cable.

25. The image pick-up module of claim 21, wherein said base board and said at least one first circuit board part are produced together from a circuit board blank, said base board having a greater material thickness than said at least one first circuit board part.