Patent Publication Number: US-2009225162-A1

Title: Monitoring apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to an anti-theft device, in particular, to a monitoring apparatus. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In the recent years, due to the soaring semiconductor technology, surveillance cameras utilizing cheap and reliable semiconductor device such as CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) or CCD (charge-coupled device) have been widely used as anti-theft devices. A conventional monitoring apparatus includes a surveillance camera and an infrared light emitting device (LED) array. The infrared LED array projects an invisible light on the object, so the surveillance camera can capture the image and movement of the object even in dim ambient illumination, without the awareness of the object. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a monitoring apparatus, which has a smaller volume and a lower manufacturing cost. 
     The present invention provides a monitoring apparatus including a circuit board, a light emitting diode array, and a sensor. The light emitting diode (LED) array and the sensor are disposed on the circuit board and are electrically connected with the circuit board. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring apparatus further has a lens module disposed over the sensor. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the lens module includes a lens holder and a lens. The lens holder is connected with the circuit board, while the lens is disposed on the lens holder and over the sensor. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the circuit board has a plurality of through holes and the lens holders are assembled with the circuit board through the through holes. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring apparatus further includes a flexible circuit board, electrically connected with the circuit board. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring apparatus further includes a communication system disposed on the circuit board. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication system is a voice controlling system. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication system is remote control system. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the LED array is an infrared LED array. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the circuit board includes an aluminium board or a ceramic board. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sensor comprises a plurality of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor devices. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sensor comprises a plurality of charge-coupled devices. 
     As described above, in the present invention, the sensor and the LED array is disposed on the same circuit board, and thus achieve a smaller volume and lower cost. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a monitoring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view along line AA in  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a monitoring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a monitoring apparatus according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the monitoring apparatus  100  includes a circuit board  110 , a sensor  120 , and a light emitting diode (LED) array  130 . Both of the light emitting diode array  130  and the sensor  120  are disposed on the circuit board  110  and electrically connected with the circuit board  110 . 
     In the present embodiment, the sensor  120  may be an array of light sensing devices, such as CCDs (charge-coupled devices), or CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) devices. The LED array  130  may consists of a plurality of LEDs, which may be infrared LEDs. The quantity of the LEDs in the LED array  130  is not limited by the present embodiment. People having ordinary skilled in the art should be able to arrange desired numbers of LEDs according to different situation, such as only one LED in the LED array. What is more, the LEDs  132  emitting light of other wavelengths are also applicable, such as visible light LEDs. 
     Moreover, in the present embodiment, the circuit board  110  may be an aluminium board. Nonetheless, in other embodiment, people having ordinary skill in the art may utilize other circuit boards, ceramic board among them. 
     Since the light emitting diode array  130  and the sensor  120  are disposed on the same circuit board  110 , which leads to more compact structure and simpler manufacturing process. Thus, the monitoring apparatus  100  has a smaller volume and a lower cost. 
     Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the monitoring apparatus  100  may further include a flexible circuit board  140 , which electrically connects between the circuit board  110  and the data storage  50 , so that the data captured by the sensor can be stored in the data storage  50 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a monitoring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view along line AA in  FIG. 2 . It is to be noticed that the following embodiment is partially similar to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . In the following embodiment and the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , same or similar reference character refers to same or similar part. The difference between the following embodiment and the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  will be disclosed in the following paragraphs. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , in the present embodiment, the monitoring apparatus  100   a  may further include a lens module  150  disposed on the circuit board  110  and over the sensor  120 . The lens module  150  may include a lens holder  152  and a lens  154 . The lens holder  152  is connected with the circuit board  110 , while the lens  154  is disposed on the lens holder  152  and over the sensor  120 . The circuit board  110  may have a plurality of through holes  112 , and the lens holder  152  is assembled with the circuit board  110  through the through holes  112 . 
     Moreover, the monitoring apparatus may have a communication system disposed on the circuit board. The users can use the communication system to control the monitoring apparatus. For example, the communication system maybe a voice controlling system or a remote control system.  FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a monitoring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is to be noticed that the following embodiment is partially similar to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . In the following embodiment and the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , same or similar reference character refers to same or similar part. The difference between the following embodiment and the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  will be disclosed in the following paragraphs. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in the present embodiment, the monitoring apparatus  100   b  further has a voice controlling system  160   a , which is disposed on the circuit board  110  and electrically connected with the circuit board  110 . Through the voice controlling system  160   a  the user  200  can control the monitoring apparatus  100   b  with voice commands. The communication system is not limited to voice controlling system  160   a  in the present embodiment, other controlling system, such as a remote control system is also applicable. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a monitoring apparatus according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. It is to be noticed that the following embodiment is partially similar to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 . In the following embodiment and the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , same or similar reference character refers to same or similar part. The difference between the following embodiment and the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  will be disclosed in the following paragraphs. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in the present embodiment, a remote control receiver  160   b  is disposed on the circuit board  110  and electrically connected with the circuit board  110 . The user  200  can use the remote control  300  to control the monitoring apparatus  100   c.    
     In summary, in the present invention, the sensor and the LED array are disposed on the same circuit board, thorough such arrangement, the volume of the monitoring apparatus can be decreased, and the cost of the monitoring apparatus can be lowered. 
     Furthermore, the monitoring apparatus may have varieties of communication system disposed on the circuit board. Thus, the users can conveniently control the monitoring apparatus without increase the volume of the monitoring apparatus. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.