CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase of International Patent Application No PCT/JP2017/032392 filed on Sep. 8, 2017, which claims priority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2016-185347 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Sep. 23, 2016. Each of the above-referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to a camera module, a production method, and an electronic device and, more particularly, relates to a camera module, a production method, and an electronic device that can prevent reduction of optical module positioning accuracy or heat dissipation performance, for example.

BACKGROUND ART

As mobile devices become thinner, there has been a greater demand for reducing a size and a height of a camera module mounted in those mobile devices and a package of an image pickup element included in the camera module.

As a technology to meet the demand for reducing the height of the camera module, there is a technology, for example, for composing a camera module by mounting an image pickup element on a circuit board, such as a flexible board having an opening, with flip-chip bonding or the like and attaching an optical module to the circuit board on its face opposite to the face where the image pickup element is mounted.

With such a camera module having a so-called sandwich structure, in which the circuit board is placed between the optical module and the image pickup element, an area of Au lead for chip on board (COB) is not needed and, therefore, downsizing of the camera module or simplification of processes can be realized.

Furthermore, with the camera module having a sandwich structure, a ball grid array (BGA), a cover glass, and the like to be mounted on a chip size package (CSP), are not needed and the height of the camera module can be reduced, as compared to a camera module using a CSP.

Here, in a case where a board having flexibility such as a flexible board or the like is used as the circuit board composing the camera module in a sandwich structure, since the image pickup element or the circuit element such as a chip capacitor or the like are mounted on the circuit board, a stepped part (unevenness) is generated on a face of the flexible board, where the image pickup element is mounted.

Therefore, the flexible board may be deformed about a corner part of the stepped part due to a force applied to the flexible board when an optical module is mounted on a face of the flexible board, which is opposite to the face where the stepped part is generated, and accuracy of the position where the optical module is to be mounted may be reduced.

Furthermore, due to the deformation of the flexible board, stress may be applied to a connection part between the flexible board and the image pickup element and a connection failure may be caused at the connection part.

In view of the above, Patent Document 1 describes a camera module in which a frame member including a conductive electrode that conducts a signal in a thickness direction is provided at a circumference of a circuit board, the conductive electrode of the frame member conducts a signal of an image pickup element mounted on the circuit board to outside from a lower part of the frame member.

CITATION LIST

Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 4,441,211

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

Regarding the camera module having a sandwich structure, it is needed to prevent reduction of optical module positioning accuracy.

Furthermore, according to the camera module described in Patent Document 1, since the circumference of the image pickup element is sealed by the frame member, its air permeability, that is, heat dissipation performance to release heat generated by the image pickup element, is low.

The present technology has been made in view of the above situation and can prevent reduction of the optical module positioning accuracy and heat dissipation performance.

Solutions to Problems

A camera module according to the present technology is a camera module including a flexible board having an opening corresponding to a light receiving surface of an image pickup element, which includes the light receiving surface to receive light, the image pickup element joined to one face of the flexible board so that the light receiving surface is exposed through the opening, an optical module joined to an other face of the flexible board so that the light enters to the image pickup element through the opening, and a reinforcing member joined to the one face of the flexible board at a circumference of the image pickup element and configured to reinforce a joining part of the flexible board where the optical module is joined, in which the reinforcing member is joined so as to face an area including at least a part of the joining part and is formed so that a part of the circumference of the image pickup element is kept open.

A production method according to the present technology is a camera module production method including joining an image pickup element to one face of a flexible board that has an opening corresponding to a light receiving surface of the image pickup element, which includes the light receiving surface to receive light, so that the light receiving surface is exposed through the opening, and joining a reinforcing member on the flexible board at a circumference of the image pickup element to reinforce a joining part of the flexible board where an optical module is joined, and joining the optical module on an other side of the flexible board so that the light enters to the image pickup element through the opening, in which the reinforcing member is joined so as to face an area including at least a part of the joining part and is formed so that a part of the circumference of the image pickup element is kept open.

An electronic device according to the present technology is an electronic device including a camera module configured to capture an image, and a signal processor configured to perform signal processing on the image captured by the camera module, in which the camera module includes a flexible board having an opening corresponding to a light receiving surface of an image pickup element, which includes the light receiving surface to receive light, the image pickup element joined to one face of the flexible board so that the light receiving surface is exposed through the opening, an optical module joined to an other face of the flexible board so that the light enters to the image pickup element through the opening, and a reinforcing member joined to the one face of the flexible board at a circumference of the image pickup element and configured to reinforce a joining part of the flexible board where the optical module is joined, and the reinforcing member is joined so as to face an area including at least a part of the joining part and is formed so that a part of the circumference of the image pickup element is kept open.

In the camera module and electronic device according to the present technology, the flexible board has the opening corresponding to the light receiving surface of the image pickup element, which includes the light receiving surface to receive light, the image pickup element is joined on the one face of the flexible board so that the light receiving surface is exposed through the opening, and the optical module is joined on the other face of the flexible board so that light enters to the image pickup element through the opening. The reinforcing member is joined on the other side of the flexible board at the circumference of the image pickup element and reinforces the joining part of the flexible board where the optical module is joined. The reinforcing member is joined so as to face the area including at least a part of the joining part and is formed so that a part of the circumference of the image pickup element is kept open.

In the production method according to the present technology, the image pickup element is joined on the one face of the flexible board having the opening corresponding to the light receiving surface of the image pickup element, which includes the light receiving surface to receive light, so that the light receiving surface is exposed through the opening, and the reinforcing member that reinforces the joining part of the flexible board where the optical module is joined is joined to the flexible board at the circumference of the image pickup element. Furthermore, the optical module is joined on the other face of the flexible board so that the light enters to the image pickup element through the opening. The reinforcing member is joined so as to face the area including at least a part of the joining part and is formed so that a part of the circumference of the image pickup element is kept open.

Note that the camera module may be an independent device or may be an internal block included in a device.

Effects of the Invention

The present technology can prevent reduction of optical module positioning accuracy or heat dissipation performance.

Note that effects described here should not be limited and there may be any effect described in the present disclosure.

