US-12625416-B2 - Multi-camera module

US12625416B2US 12625416 B2US12625416 B2US 12625416B2US-12625416-B2

Abstract

A multi-camera module includes a housing, camera modules and heating modules. Each of the camera modules includes: a lens holder; a circuit board, disposed on a back surface of the lens holder and having a control element; and a lens module, partially disposed in the lens holder and having a front lens. Each of the heating modules includes: an electrical connector, electrically connected to the control element; a heating element, close to or in contact with the front lens, and electrically connected to the control element through the electrical connector; and a temperature sensor, close to the front lens, and electrically connected to the control element through the electrical connector, in which the temperature sensor is configured to measure a temperature close to the front lens. When the temperature is lower than a set temperature, the control element turns on the heating element.

Inventors

KUAN-PAO TING
Ming-Chih Huang
GUO-CHENG FANG

Assignees

PRIMAX ELECTRONICS LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240507
Priority Date: 20240410

Claims (9)

1 . A multi-camera module, comprising: a housing; a plurality of camera modules, disposed in the housing, wherein each of the camera modules comprises: a lens holder; a circuit board, disposed on a back surface of the lens holder and having a control element; and a lens module, partially disposed in the lens holder and having a front lens located outside the lens holder; and a plurality of heating modules, disposed in the housing and respectively corresponding to the camera modules, wherein each of the heating modules comprises: an electrical connector, electrically connected to the control element of the circuit board; a heating element, close to or in contact with the front lens of the lens module, and electrically connected to the control element of the circuit board through the electrical connector; and a temperature sensor, close to the front lens of the lens module, and electrically connected to the control element of the circuit board through the electrical connector, wherein the temperature sensor is configured to measure a temperature close to the front lens, and the control element turns on the heating element when the temperature is lower than a set temperature, wherein the housing is provided with a transparent portion of a transparent cover covering the heating elements of the heating modules and the front lenses of the lens modules, wherein the transparent portion or the transparent cover is inclined relative to a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of each of the camera modules, and a spacing between the transparent portion or the transparent cover and a lower end of an front end surface of each of the front lenses is greater than a spacing between the transparent portion or the transparent cover and an upper end of the front end surface of each of the front lenses.
2 . The multi-camera module of claim 1 , wherein the housing has an opening exposing the heating elements of the heating modules and the front lenses of the lens modules, and the transparent cover is disposed in the opening.
3 . The multi-camera module of claim 2 , wherein the transparent cover is close to or in contact with a surface of the heating element away from the lens module.
4 . The multi-camera module of claim 1 , wherein the heating elements are inclined relative to the plane perpendicular to the optical axis of each of the camera modules.
5 . The multi-camera module of claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensor is disposed on a surface of the heating element close to or in contact with the front lens of the lens module.
6 . The multi-camera module of claim 1 , wherein the heating elements are a heating sheet having a plurality of openings respectively exposing the front lenses.
7 . The multi-camera module of claim 1 , wherein the heating elements are a plurality of ring-shaped heating elements separated from each other and respectively surrounding the front lenses.
8 . The multi-camera module of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises: a rear housing, accommodating the lens holder, the circuit board and a portion of the lens module of each of the camera modules and a portion of the electrical connector of each of the heating modules; and a front housing, accommodating another portion of the lens module of each of the camera modules and another portion of the electrical connector, the heating element and the temperature sensor of each of the heating modules, and provided with the transparent portion or the transparent cover.
9 . The multi-camera module of claim 1 , wherein an included angle between the transparent portion or the transparent cover and the plane perpendicular to the optical axis of each of the camera modules ranges between 5 degrees and 15 degrees.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates to a multi-camera module, and in particular, to a multi-camera module that automatically heats a front lens. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Although a current single-camera module is equipped with a heater, the heater must be turned on manually. In addition, it cannot replace a visual range, so the current single-camera module still needs to be improved. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a multi-camera module, which includes a housing, a plurality of camera modules and a plurality of heating modules. Each of the camera modules includes: a lens holder; a circuit board, disposed on a back surface of the lens holder and having a control element; and a lens module, partially disposed in the lens holder and having a front lens located outside the lens holder. Each of the heating modules includes: an electrical connector, electrically connected to the control element of the circuit board; a heating element, close to or in contact with the front lens of the lens module, and electrically connected to the control element of the circuit board through the electrical connector; and a temperature sensor, close to the front lens, and electrically connected to the control element of the circuit board through the electrical connector, in which the temperature sensor is configured to measure a temperature close to the front lens, and the control element turns on the heating element when the temperature is lower than a set temperature. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the housing has a transparent portion facing the heating elements of the heating modules and the front lenses of the lens modules. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the housing has an opening exposing the heating elements of the heating modules and the front lenses of the lens modules, and the multi-camera module further includes: a transparent cover, disposed in the opening to cover the heating elements of the heating modules and the front lenses of the lens modules. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the transparent portion or the transparent cover is close to or in contact with a surface of the heating element away from the lens module. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the transparent portion or the transparent cover is not parallel to the front lenses. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the front lenses is not parallel to the corresponding heating element. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the temperature sensor is disposed on a surface of the heating element close to or in contact with the front lens of the lens module. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the heating elements are a heating sheet having a plurality of openings respectively exposing the front lenses. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the heating elements are a plurality of ring-shaped heating elements separated from each other and respectively surrounding the front lenses. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the housing includes: a rear housing, accommodating the lens holder, the circuit board and a portion of the lens module of each of the camera modules and a portion of the electrical connector of each of the heating modules; and a front housing, accommodating another portion of the lens module of each of the camera modules and another portion of the electrical connector, the heating element and the temperature sensor of each of the heating modules. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following embodiments, read in conjunction with accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that in accordance with common practice in the industry, various features have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Indeed, shapes of the various features may be suitably adjusted for clarity, and dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased. FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a multi-camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a multi-camera module (a transparent cover is not shown) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a camera module and a heating module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a camera module and a heating module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a multi-camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a multi-camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The advantages and features of the present disclosure and the method for achieving the same will be described in more detail with reference to