Magna Electronics Inc.

Matthew C Sesti

Steven V Byrne

Robert A Devota

Richard Rieden

John R Garcia

David F Olson

Yuesheng Lu

Joel S Gibson

Brian J Winden

Brian Dean Brasier

Joseph A Stemmer

Ben Stickler

Clarence Patrick McElroy

Donald W Mersino

Garret F Achenbach

Jonathan David Conger

Rene Dreiocker

Gavin E Skrocki

Martin J Reckker

Jose Luis Zamudio Cabral

Jazmin Hortensia Gallardo Gabaldon

Axel Nix

Clarence P Mcelroy

Neal Jonathan Todd

Laura Betham

A vehicular camera includes a camera housing having a first housing portion and a second housing portion joined together to form a cavity within the camera housing. A first electrical connector is disposed at a circuit board and includes a plurality of pin-receiving sockets. The second housing portion has a second electrical connector having a plurality of pins. With the first housing portion joined with the second housing portion, the first ends of the pins are disposed within the cavity and the second ends of the pins are disposed outside of the cavity. When the second housing portion is being joined with the first housing portion, respective first ends of the pins insert into and electrically-conductively connect with respective pin-receiving sockets at the circuit board. With the vehicular camera mounted at a vehicle, the second ends of the pins electrically-conductively connect with a vehicle wire harness of the vehicle.

Vehicular camera

A vehicular camera includes a camera housing having a front housing portion and a rear housing portion. The front housing portion includes a plurality of optical elements, a CMOS imager, and an imager printed circuit board. The CMOS imager is at a first side of the imager printed circuit board. The plurality of optical elements is held in position relative to the CMOS imager by an adhesive, whereby the imaging array at the outer side of the CMOS imager is devoid of the adhesive. The adhesive is formed by curing an adhesive material that is curable via exposure of the adhesive material to ultraviolet (UV) light. The adhesive maintains the position of the plurality of optical elements with respect to the CMOS imager during use of the vehicular camera assembly on a vehicle equipped with the vehicular camera assembly. The back housing portion is joined at the front housing portion.

Vehicular camera and lens assembly

A vehicular camera includes a PCB having an imager disposed thereat, a lens barrel accommodating a lens, and a lens barrel support structure that protrudes from the PCB and at least partially circumscribes the imager. The lens barrel has an outer surface between the ends of the lens barrel. The outer surface of the lens barrel is adhesively bonded to an inner surface of the lens barrel support structure via adhesive. The outer surface of the lens barrel opposes the inner surface of the lens barrel support structure. With the adhesive in its uncured state and contacting the opposed surfaces, the imager is aligned with the lens accommodated at the lens barrel. With the imager aligned with the lens, the adhesive is cured to adhesively attach the lens barrel at the lens barrel support structure.

Vehicular camera with adhesive disposed between non-axially opposed surfaces of the lens barrel and PCB structure

A vehicular camera includes a lens comprising a plurality of optical elements, a lens holder, and an imager printed circuit board. The plurality of optical elements includes at least one plastic optical element and at least one glass optical element. The imager printed circuit board has circuitry disposed thereat. The circuitry of the imager printed circuit board includes an imager that has an imaging array. The lens is held in optical alignment with the imaging array of the imager via an adhesive. The adhesive bonds the lens barrel to the lens holder. A flexible electrical ribbon cable electrically connects the circuitry of the imager printed circuit board with additional circuitry of the vehicular camera. The vehicular camera, when installed and used in a vehicle, captures image data for a vision system of the vehicle.

Vehicular camera with adhesively bonded construction

A vehicular camera includes a lens holder and a plurality of stacked, overlapping, board-to-board interconnected printed circuit boards that includes at least a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board. 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. Pliable material is disposed between and contacts a second side of the first printed circuit board a third side of the second printed circuit board. The pliable material allows for movement between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board when the plurality of printed circuit boards is being accommodated within a cavity of a rear housing during assembly of the vehicular camera.

Vehicular camera with pliable material disposed between and contacting stacked PCBs

A vehicular camera module includes a front housing member, an imaging array sensor, a lens, a rear housing member, and a circuit board. The rear housing member is mated with the front housing member to form a camera housing. With the circuit board accommodated within the camera housing formed by the mated front and rear housing members, the imaging sensor is closer to a first side of the circuit board than to a second side of the circuit board. The rear housing member includes an electrical plug connector having a plurality of individual electrically-conductive pins that are configured to plug into respective individual pin-receiving sockets of an electrical socket connector disposed at the second side of the circuit board. Individual electrically-conductive pins of the plurality of individual electrically-conductive pins plug into and make electrical-conductive contact with corresponding individual pin-receiving sockets of the plurality of individual pin-receiving sockets.

Vehicular camera module

A vehicular camera includes an imager, a housing having front and rear housing members, a lens member, and a circuit board. A female electrical connector assembly is disposed at the circuit board and includes a set of female electrical connectors. The rear housing member includes a male electrical connector having a set of electrically conductive pins. Each electrically conductive pin includes an inward-extending pin portion and an outward-extending pin portion. The outward-extending pin portions pass outward through a wall portion of the rear housing member into a socket connection portion of the rear housing member and the inward-extending pin portions extend inward from an inner surface of the wall portion of the rear housing member and plug into and electrically connect with respective female electrical connectors of the set of female electrical connectors when the rear housing member is mated with the front housing member.

Vehicular camera with electrical connector

A vehicular camera includes a camera housing having a rear camera housing and a front camera housing. The front camera housing includes a lens, an imager and an imager printed circuit board. The lens is held in position relative to the imager by a UV-curable adhesive. With the lens held in position relative to the imager by the adhesive, the outer surface of the imager is devoid of the adhesive and an air gap exists between the lens and the outer surface of the imager. With the adhesive disposed in an uncured state on the imager printed circuit board and laterally outboard of the imager, and with the lens positioned relative to the imager, the adhesive is cured from its uncured state to an at least partially-cured state by exposure to UV light. The rear housing portion is joined at the front housing portion.

An imager assembly for a vehicular camera module includes an imager circuit board and a lens holder. An imager is disposed at the imager circuit board. The lens holder includes a lens holding portion that accommodates a lens. The lens holder includes a plurality of pins extending from an attaching portion and extending in a direction away from the lens holding portion of the lens holder. With the attaching portion of the lens holder at the imager circuit board, individual pins of the plurality of pins are received at least partially through respective apertures of the imager circuit board to locate the lens holder at the imager circuit board. With the pins received at least partially through the apertures of the imager circuit board, and with the lens aligned with the imager at the imager circuit board, the pins are fixedly attached at the imager circuit board.

Imager assembly for vehicular camera with fastenerless lens holder to circuit board attachment

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.

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

A method for testing a vehicular camera for a vehicular vision system includes providing a vehicular camera suitable for use on a vehicle, with the vehicular camera having a field of view. A collimator assembly is provided that includes an optic and a target fixedly disposed within the collimator assembly. The collimator assembly is positioned in the field of view of the vehicular camera such that the camera images light that reflects off the target and passes through the optic. The target has a stepped surface. Image data is captured with the vehicular camera, with the captured image data being representative of the stepped surface of the target. The captured image data is processed, via an image processor, and a defocus of the vehicular camera is estimated based on processing by the processor of the captured image data of the stepped surface of the target.

Vehicular camera testing using a staggered target

A vehicular camera includes (i) a lens barrel accommodating a lens, (ii) a lens holder having a passageway and (iii) an imager printed circuit board attached to the lens holder with the imager facing the lens. The lens barrel at least partially passes through the passageway of the lens holder when attaching the lens barrel to the lens holder. The imager printed circuit board is attached to the lens holder with the imager facing the lens and optically aligned with the lens. A biasing element urges the lens barrel in a direction outward away from the imager printed circuit board. With the imager printed circuit board attached to the lens holder, the lens barrel is fine adjustable relative to the lens holder. A rear housing attached at the lens holder to encase the imager printed circuit board.

Vehicular camera with dual focusing feature

A vehicular camera includes a camera housing having a first portion and a second portion joined together to form a cavity within the camera housing. A first electrical connector is disposed at a circuit board and is in electrically-conductive connection with an imager. The first electrical connector includes a plurality of pin-receiving sockets. A second electrical connector includes a plurality of pins, each including a first end and a second end opposite the first end. When the second portion of the camera housing is being joined with the first portion of the camera housing, respective first ends of pins insert into and electrically-conductively connect with respective pin-receiving sockets at the second side of the circuit board. The first electrical connector and the second electrical connector cooperate to allow for misalignment of the second electrical connector relative to the first electrical connector when the first and second portions are being joined.

Vehicular camera with electrical connectors that allow for misalignment

A vehicular camera module includes a front housing member, an imaging sensor, a lens optically aligned with the imaging sensor, a rear housing member, and a circuit board. With the circuit board accommodated within the camera housing formed by the joined front and rear housing members, the imaging sensor is closer to a first side of the circuit board than to a second side of the circuit board. The rear housing member includes an electrical plug connector having a plurality of individual electrically-conductive pins that are configured to plug into respective individual pin-receiving sockets of an electrical socket connector disposed at the second side of the circuit board. Individual electrically-conductive pins of the plurality of individual electrically-conductive pins are plugged into and make electrical-conductive contact with corresponding individual pin-receiving sockets of the plurality of individual pin-receiving sockets.

A vehicular camera includes a housing having a front and rear housing portions, and a circuit board having a first side and a second side, with a first electrical connector disposed at the second side. The rear housing portion includes a second electrical connector that, with the front and rear housing portions mated together, electrically connects with the first electrical connector. The second electrical connector includes electrically conductive terminals that extend through the rear housing portion and that each have an inner end portion and an outer end portion. The inner end portions of the electrically conductive terminals of the second electrical connector extend from an inner surface of the rear housing portion and the outer end portions of the electrically conductive terminals of the second electrical connector extend through a wall of the rear housing portion into a socket connection portion of the rear housing portion.

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Williamston, MI, United States of America

Matthew C Sesti