Television – Camera – system and detail – Optics
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-04
2004-07-13
Garber, Wendy R. (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
Optics
Reexamination Certificate
active
06762796
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image pick-up module and, in particular, to an image pick-up module with a lens and image pick-up semiconductor chip integrally incorporated in one package.
In recent years, a growing demand has been made for a compact image sensor in various kinds of multimedia fields and for devices including information terminals, such as a monitor camera, tape recorder. As a compact type image sensor unit suitable to this kind of image input devices, there is an integral unit package with a solid-state image pick-up element, lens member, filter, stop member, etc., incorporated therein.
In a conventional sensor unit, after a solid-state image pick-up element has been mounted on a substrate, the substrate is joined to the package with the use of screws, bonding, etc., while, on the other hand, a support frame with a lens member held thereon is mounted on the package. Due to such a structure, no adequate accuracy has been abled to be secured for the positional relation of the lens to the solid-state image pick-up element.
In the conventional sensor unit, the positioning accuracy of the lens relative to the solid state image pick-up element was poor and, therefore, a movable focus adjusting mechanism was incorporated into the package for focus setting and, after the assembly of each component part into the package, the focus setting was made by the focus adjusting mechanism relative to the solid image pickup element.
However, a focus setting operation, that is, the operation of the movable adjusting mechanism after the assembly of each component part, was separately necessary. Further, after such a focus setting, the fixing operation of the lens frame member, etc., was necessary. Since the movable type focus adjusting mechanism is provided, a resultant structure becomes complicated and there was a tendency that the sensor unit become bulkier.
Further, during the focus setting operation, dirt and dust are liable to intrude into the unit via a clearance at a movable section of the focus setting mechanism and the countermeasure is necessary, such as the focus adjusting operation has to be done in a cleaning room, and a poor production results. The movable type focus adjusting mechanism is liable to suffer a vibration, shock, etc., so that a focus setting position is liable to be deviated. This involves a disadvantage of being poor in product reliability.
JPN PAT APPLN KOKAI PUBLICATION NO. 9-232548 has proposed a solid-state image pick-up device of such a structure as to enable a positional accuracy of a lens relative to a solid-state image pick-up element in an optical axis direction to be secured. The solid-state image pick-up device has one support member with a plurality of positioning sections provided in a stepped fashion. In this case, component parts such as a solid-state image pick-up element, lens member, filter, stop member, etc., are individually separately mounted on the corresponding steps and these members are positioned and fixed. As a result, the dimensional error among the respective steps exerts a greater influence on the positioning accuracy of each member.
Forming these positioning sections in the stepped fashion on the support member offers a difficulty in managing the dimensional accuracy and is liable to introduce an error. Further, a higher degree of production technique is required in forming a plurality of such positioning sections on one support member. In the case where the support member is formed with the use of ceramics material, the manufacture is very difficult and at high costs.
It has been considered that, in most cases, such a support member is manufactured by injection-molding a material such as a synthetic resin.
Even if the support member is manufactured with the use of the injection mold, a resultant product is liable to produce a greater dimensional error among the positioning sections composed of the stepped sections. Further, it has been considered that errors are developed due to the aging and that the product obtained involves a poor reliability.
As set out above, in the conventional solid-state image pick-up device, dimensional errors are liable to be produced among the respective positioning sections and their dimensional control is difficult and no adequate positional accuracy can be secured in the optical axis direction of the lens relative to the image pick-up element. The structure obtained is complicated, poor in productivity, high in manufacturing costs and high in product costs.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly the object of the present invention to provide an image pick-up module which improves the mounting accuracy of a lens member relative to a solid-state image pick-up element in an optical axis direction, obviates the need to provide a focus setting adjustment mechanism, is simpler in structure and less in number of component parts involved, improves an assembling operation, size reduction of a product and product reliability, and is low in cost.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim
1
is directed to an image pick-up module comprising an image pick-up lens member; a lens frame member retaining the lens member; a semiconductor circuit section having a photoelectric conversion section comprised of two-dimensionally arranged photoelectric conversion element groups, a drive circuit section sequentially driving the photoelectric conversion elements and obtaining a signal charge, an A/D conversion section converting the signal charge to a digital signal, a signal processing section outputting the digital signal as a video signal, light exposure control means electrically controlling a light exposure time based on an output level of the digital signal, the photoelectric conversion section, drive circuit section, A/D conversion section, signal processing section and light exposure control means being formed on the same semiconductor chip; a substrate holding the semiconductor chip
1
and having electrode groups electrically connected to the semiconductor chip;
a frame member for covering which is connected to the substrate and has a hollow structure covering the semiconductor chip; and
an infrared ray shutting optical member mounted on the frame member, in which
on one surface of the substrate, a positioning reference surface P constituted of an equally flattened surface is defined up to an outer peripheral end of the substrate, the positioning reference surface P includes a semiconductor chip positioning reference surface portion at which the semiconductor chip is joined in a planar way and positioned, a frame member mounting surface portion situated around the semiconductor chip and at which the frame member is joined and mounted, and a lens frame positioning reference surface portion situated outside the frame member and left as a remaining portion at the outer peripheral end portion of the positioning reference surface P and at which the lens frame member is joined upon being mounted and positioned, and in which the semiconductor chip and lens frame member are positioned on the positioning reference surface constituted of the equally flattened surface defined on the one surface of the substrate while using the semiconductor chip positioning reference surface portion and lens frame member positioning reference surface portion.
The invention of claim
2
is directed to an image pick-up module comprising:
an image pickup lens member;
a lens frame member retaining the lens member;
a semiconductor circuit section having a photoelectric conversion section comprised of two-dimensionally arranged photoelectric conversion element groups, a drive circuit section sequentially driving the photoelectric conversion element groups and obtaining a signal charge, and an A/D conversion section converting the signal charge to a digital signal, the photoelectric conversion section, drive circuit section and A/D conversion section being formed on the same semiconductor chip; and a substrate
2
retaining the semiconductor chip and having electrode
Nakajoh Yasuo
Yunoki Yutaka
Frishauf Holtz Goodman & Chick P.C.
Garber Wendy R.
Olympus Optical Co,. Ltd.
Tillery Rashawn N.
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