Vehicular camera with thermally conductive material disposed between and contacting stacked PCBS

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11897398-B2
Application number	US-202318181599-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2023
Priority date	Jul 6, 2018
Publication date	Feb 13, 2024
Grant date	Feb 13, 2024

Abstract

A vehicular camera includes a lens holder, a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board. The first and second printed circuit boards are stacked and overlap one another. Circuitry disposed at the first printed circuit board is electrically connected with circuitry disposed at the second printed circuit board via board-to-board electrical connection. The circuitry disposed at the first printed circuit board includes an imaging sensor at a first side of the first printed circuit board. Thermally conductive material is disposed between the second printed circuit board and a second side of the first printed circuit board. The thermally conductive material is in thermally-conductive contact with the first and second printed circuit boards. The vehicular camera includes a rear housing, which includes an electrical connector portion. The electrical connector portion of the rear housing may include an electrical plug connector.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular camera, the vehicular camera comprising:
a lens holder comprising a lens;
wherein the lens comprises a plurality of lens optics;
a plurality of printed circuit boards;
the plurality of printed circuit board comprising at least a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board;
wherein the first printed circuit board comprises a first side and a second side opposite the first side that is separated from the first side by a thickness dimension of the first printed circuit board;
wherein the second printed circuit board comprises a third side and a fourth side opposite the third side that is separated from the third side by a thickness dimension of the second printed circuit board;
wherein the first and second printed circuit boards are stacked and overlap one another;
wherein circuitry disposed at the first printed circuit board is electrically connected with circuitry disposed at the second printed circuit board via board-to-board electrical connection;
wherein the circuitry disposed at the first printed circuit board comprises an imaging sensor, and wherein the imaging sensor is disposed at the first side of the first printed circuit board;
wherein the imaging sensor is operable to capture image data;
wherein the first side of the first printed circuit board faces the lens;
wherein the lens is optically aligned with the imaging sensor;
wherein thermally conductive material is disposed between the second side of the first printed circuit board and the third side of the second printed circuit board, and wherein the thermally conductive material is in thermally-conductive contact with the second side of the first printed circuit board and is in thermally-conductive contact with the third side of the second printed circuit board;
a rear housing, the rear housing comprising an electrical connector portion; and
wherein the electrical connector portion of the rear housing comprises an electrical plug connector.

2. The vehicular camera of claim 1 , wherein the vehicular camera comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the imaging sensor.

3. The vehicular camera of claim 2 , wherein, with the vehicular camera mounted at a vehicle, the vehicular camera is disposed at a rear portion of the vehicle and views at least rearward of the vehicle, and wherein, responsive at least in part to processing by the image processor of image data captured by the imaging sensor, an object present rearward of the vehicle is detected.

4. The vehicular camera of claim 3 , wherein, responsive at least in part to processing by the image processor of image data captured by the imaging sensor, an alert is generated to enhance awareness by a driver of the vehicle of the detected object during a driving maneuver of the vehicle.

5. The vehicular camera of claim 4 , wherein the detected object comprises a pedestrian.

6. The vehicular camera of claim 5 , wherein the driving maneuver of the vehicle comprises a reversing maneuver of the vehicle, and wherein the vehicle comprises a display device that displays images representative of image data captured by the imaging sensor during the reversing maneuver of the vehicle.

7. The vehicular camera of claim 6 , wherein the alert generated comprises an overlay that overlays the displayed images to enhance the driver's awareness of the detected pedestrian.

8. The vehicular camera of claim 3 , wherein the vehicular camera disposed at the rear portion of the vehicle is part of a multi-camera surround view system of the vehicle.

9. The vehicular camera of claim 2 , wherein the circuitry disposed at the second printed circuit board comprises the image processor operable to process image data captured by the imaging sensor.

10. The vehicular camera of claim 9 , wherein the image processor comprises an image processing chip.

11. The vehicular camera of claim 1 , wherein the first side of the first printed circuit board is adhesively bonded to the lens holder via cured adhesive.

12. The vehicular camera of claim 11 , wherein the cured adhesive comprises a cured UV-curable adhesive.

13. The vehicular camera of claim 11 , wherein the cured adhesive maintains optical alignment of the lens with the imaging sensor for use of the vehicular camera in a vehicle.

14. The vehicular camera of claim 1 , wherein the first side of the first printed circuit board is adhesively bonded to the lens holder via a plurality of individual dots of cured adhesive, and wherein the individual dots of the plurality of individual dots of cured adhesive are spaced apart one from the other.

15. The vehicular camera of claim 14 , wherein the individual dots of the plurality of individual dots of cured adhesive comprise a cured UV-curable adhesive.

16. The vehicular camera of claim 15 , wherein the individual dots of the plurality of individual dots of cured adhesive maintain optical alignment of the lens and the imaging sensor for use of the vehicular camera in a vehicle.

17. The vehicular camera of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of individual dots of cured adhesive comprises four individual dots of cured adhesive.

18. The vehicular camera of claim 17 , wherein the four individual dots of cured adhesive are arranged in a square.

19. The vehicular camera of claim 18 , wherein the four individual dots of cured adhesive that are arranged in the square each comprise a cured UV-curable adhesive.

20. The vehicular camera of claim 19 , wherein the cured adhesive of each of the four individual dots of cured adhesive that are arranged in the square is initially curable in an initial curing process that comprises exposure to UV light, and wherein the initially-cured adhesive is further curable to a further cured strength in a secondary curing process after the lens is optically aligned with the imaging sensor.

21. The vehicular camera of claim 17 , wherein optical alignment of the lens with the imaging sensor is, at least in part, maintained via the four individual dots of cured adhesive.

22. The vehicular camera of claim 1 , wherein optical alignment of the lens with the imaging sensor is, at least in part, maintained via cured adhesive.

23. The vehicular camera of claim 22 , wherein the cured adhesive comprises a cured UV-curable adhesive.

24. The vehicular camera of claim 23 , wherein the cured adhesive is initially curable in an initial curing process that comprises exposure to UV light, and wherein the initially-cured adhesive is further curable to a further cured strength in a secondary curing process after the lens is optically aligned with the imaging sensor.

25. The vehicular camera of claim 24 , wherein, after the initial curing process, the vehicular camera is moved to the secondary curing process, and wherein, when further cured via the secondary curing process, the cured adhesive maintains optical alignment of the lens with the imaging sensor for use of the vehicular camera in a vehicle.

26. The vehicular camera of claim 22 , wherein the cured adhesive maintains optical alignment of the lens with the imaging sensor for use of the vehicular camera in a vehicle.

27. The vehicular camera of claim 22 , wherein a lens barrel accommodates the plurality of lens optics of the lens.

28. The vehicular camera of claim 1 , wherein the board-to-board electrical connection electrically connecting circuitry d

Assignees

• Magna Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Sesti Matthew C
• Devota Robert A

Classifications

• B60R11/04 Primary

  Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle · CPC title

• B60R1/02

  Rear-view mirror arrangements (periscope arrangements B60R1/10) · CPC title

• H04N23/51

  Housings · CPC title

• H04N23/54 Primary

  Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils · CPC title

• H04N23/55

  Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof · CPC title