Magna Electronics Inc.

Robert A Devota

Matthew C Sesti

Steven V Byrne

John R Garcia

David F Olson

Yuesheng Lu

Joel S Gibson

Brian J Winden

Joseph A Stemmer

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

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 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 lens holder accommodating a lens and an imager printed circuit board (imager PCB). The lens holder includes a plurality of posts protruding from an attaching portion of the lens holder. The imager PCB includes an imager disposed at a first side of the imager PCB, and includes a plurality of apertures therethrough. The attaching portion of the lens holder is positioned at the imager PCB such that the posts protrude through the apertures of the imager PCB. The posts are movable within the apertures while the lens is adjusted relative to the imager to align the lens relative to the imager. With the lens aligned relative to the imager, the posts are heated to deform within the apertures, whereby the deformed posts harden upon cooling to secure the lens holder relative to the imager PCB.

Vehicular camera assembly process using heat staking during active focus and alignment to secure lens relative to imager

A vehicular camera includes a lens barrel accommodating a lens and having at least two radial protrusions protruding radially outward at or near an inner end of the lens barrel. A lens holder includes a passageway for receiving the inner end of the lens barrel and has at least two slots extending longitudinally from a board end of the lens holder. The lens barrel is received in the lens holder and the board end of the lens holder is attached at an imager printed circuit board with the imager facing the lens. The radial protrusions are movable within the slots while the lens barrel is adjusted relative to the imager to align the lens at the imager. After the lens is aligned relative to the imager, the radial protrusions within the slots are welded to the lens holder to secure the lens barrel relative to the imager printed circuit board.

Vehicular camera assembly process using welding to secure lens relative to camera image plane

A vehicular camera includes an imager printed circuit board and a lens having a plurality of optical elements. The lens is held in optical alignment with an imager at the imager printed circuit board via a dual cure one-part, filled adhesive that in its uncured state has an epoxy resin. The adhesive is both UV-curable and thermal-curable. A flexible electrical ribbon cable electrically connects circuitry of the imager printed circuit board with additional circuitry of the vehicular camera. Image data captured by the imager is provided to the additional circuitry of the vehicular camera via the flexible electrical ribbon cable. The additional circuitry includes at least a processor for processing image data captured by the imager and provided to the additional circuitry via the flexible electrical ribbon cable. The vehicular camera, when installed and used in a vehicle, captures image data for use by a vision system of the vehicle.

A vehicular camera includes a lens holder, a plurality of printed circuit boards and a housing portion. The individual printed circuit boards are stacked and overlap one another. Circuitry disposed at a first printed circuit board is electrically connected with circuitry disposed at a second printed circuit board via board-to-board electrical connection. The first side of the first printed circuit board is adhesively bonded to the lens holder via cured adhesive. Thermally conductive material is disposed between and is in thermally-conductive contact with the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board. A first electrical connector is disposed at the second printed circuit board and electrically connects with a second electrical connector of an electrical connector portion of the housing portion as the housing portion is being joined with the lens holder to encase the plurality of printed circuit boards during assembly of the vehicular camera.

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

A vehicular camera for a vehicular vision system 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 that extends 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 radially opposes the inner surface of the lens barrel support structure where the adhesive is disposed. With the adhesive in its uncured state and contacting the opposed surfaces, the imager is optically aligned with the lens accommodated at the lens barrel. With the imager optically aligned with the lens, the adhesive is cured to adhesively attach the lens barrel at the lens barrel support structure.

A camera sub-assembly for a vehicular camera includes a lens barrel having a cylinder accommodating a plurality of lens optics, and an annular flange extending radially outward from the cylinder. The cylinder is received in a receiving structure of a lens holder so that an annular attaching surface of the lens barrel is juxtaposed with an annular attaching surface of the receiving structure with a cured adhesive disposed between and contacting both of the annular attaching surfaces. The cured adhesive includes an adhesive material. With the lens optics aligned with respect to an imaging array of a printed circuit board attached at the lens holder, the adhesive material is cured to a partially-cured state via exposure of the adhesive material to ultraviolet light. With the joined lens barrel and lens holder construction at a further curing station, the adhesive material is further cured from the partially-cured state to a more-cured state.

Growing community of inventors

Durand, MI, United States of America

Robert A Devota