Patent Publication Number: US-10763375-B2

Title: Optical assembly and optical module

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 107120028, filed on Jun. 11, 2018. The entire content of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Some references, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references is provided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the disclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates to a bracket, and an assembly having the bracket and a module having the bracket, and more particularly to a bracket, an optical assembly having the bracket, and an optical module having the bracket. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional optical module  9  includes a circuit board  91 , a chip  92 , a bracket  93 , and an optical component  94 . The chip  92  is disposed on the circuit board  91 . The bracket  93  is disposed on the circuit board  91  and surrounds the chip  92 . The optical component  94  is disposed on the bracket  93 . The chip  92  can be selected from a light-emitting chip or a light-sensing chip. When the light-emitting chip is adopted as the chip  92 , the optical component  94  is selected from a lens that has concentration, homogenization, or filtering effect according to particular implementations. When the light-sensing chip is adopted as the chip  92 , the light collection effect or the light guiding path needs to be considered so that a prism, a condenser lens or the like can be selected as the optical component  94 . The kind of the optical component  94  selected seriously influences the performance of the optical module  9 . 
     The conventional optical module  9  has been used in various fields, such as lighting module of a portable electronic device, light source of an indicator light, or light sensing module for a fingerprint identifier. In conventional operation, the optical module  9  is inevitably shaken or collided with, causing the optical component  94  to gradually loosen or even slip out of the bracket  93 . However, the conventional optical module  9  does not have any design for detecting whether the optical component  94  has detached or not, hence necessitating improvement in the relevant art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies, the present disclosure provides a bracket, an optical assembly, and an optical module. 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a bracket adapted to be mounted on a circuit board and support an optical component, including at least two conductive layers separated from each other; wherein the at least two conductive layers are electrically connected to the circuit board. 
     In certain embodiments, the conductive layers are configured on one of the outer surface, the inner surface, and the interior of the bracket. 
     In certain embodiments, the bracket further includes at least two grooves, and each of the conductive layers is respectively disposed in each of the grooves. 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an optical assembly, including a bracket and an optical component. The bracket includes at least two conductive layers separated from each other. The optical component is disposed on the bracket, and the optical component includes at least one light-transmissive conductive layer which is electrically connected to the conductive layers. 
     In certain embodiments, the optical component further includes an optical component body. The at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is disposed on one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the optical component body, and the at least one light-transmissive conductive layer includes two conductive ends disposed on two sides of the optical component body, respectively. The conductive layers are configured on one of the outer surface, the inner surface, and the interior of the bracket. Each of the conductive layers includes a connecting end extending to the inner surface of the bracket, and being electrically connected to the correspondingly conductive end. The at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is electrically disconnected from the conductive layers when the optical component is detached from the bracket. 
     In certain embodiments, the bracket further includes at least two grooves, and each of the conductive layers is respectively disposed in each of the grooves. The optical component further includes an optical component body on which the at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is disposed, the shape of the optical component body is rectangular, and the at least one light-transmissive conductive layer extends from one corner of the optical component body to another opposite corner thereof. The at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is S-shaped or strip-shaped. 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an optical module, including an electronic assembly and an optical assembly. The electronic assembly includes a circuit board and a chip component. The optical assembly is disposed on the electronic assembly, and includes a bracket and an optical component. The bracket surrounds the chip component and includes at least two conductive layers separated from each other. The conductive layers are electrically connected to the electronic assembly. The optical assembly is disposed on the bracket and includes at least one light-transmissive conductive layer which is electrically connected to the conductive layers. 
     In certain embodiments, the optical component further includes an optical component body, and the at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is disposed on one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the optical component body. The at least one light-transmissive conductive layer includes two conductive ends disposed on two sides of the optical component body, respectively. The conductive layers are configured on one of the outer surface, the inner surface, and the interior of the bracket. Each of the conductive layers includes a connecting end extending to the inner surface of the bracket, and being electrically connected to the correspondingly conductive end. The at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is electrically disconnected from the conductive layers when the optical component is detached from the bracket. 
     In certain embodiments, the bracket further includes at least two grooves, and each of the conductive layers is respectively disposed in each of the grooves. The optical component further includes an optical component body on which the at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is disposed. The shape of the optical component body is rectangular, and the at least one light-transmissive conductive layer extends from one corner of the optical component body to another opposite corner thereof. The at least one light-transmissive conductive layer is S-shaped or strip-shaped. 
     In certain embodiments, the width of the conductive layer is larger than the width of the light-transmissive conductive layer. 
     Therefore, the circuit of the electronic assembly can detect whether the optical component is detached from the bracket through the conductive layers of the bracket, and can perform corresponding protection measures. 
     These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional optical module; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line of  FIG. 2 , illustrating the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view illustrating another configuration of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a top view illustrating an optical component of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view illustrating another configuration of the optical component of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a second embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a third embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view illustrating another variation of the third embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, signals or the like. 
     First Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , a first embodiment of the present disclosure provides an optical module, including an electronic assembly  1  and an optical assembly  2 . 
     The electronic assembly  1  includes a chip component  11  and a circuit board  12 . The chip component  11  is disposed on the circuit board  12  and is driven by a driving circuit (not shown) in the circuit board  12 . The chip component  11  is selected from a light-emitting chip or an optical sensor chip, but is not limited thereto. The light-emitting chip can be exemplified as a light-emitting diode (LED), a resonant-cavity light-emitting diode (RCLED), or a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser chip (VCSEL), but is not limited thereto. The optical sensor chip can be a visible light sensing chip or a non-visible light sensing chip, and can be exemplified but not limited as a CCD chip or a CMOS chip. The chip being applied can be selected according to particular implementations and is not limited by the present disclosure. 
     The electronic assembly  1  can be installed with a detecting circuit (not shown). The detecting circuit can be integrated in the chip component  11 , be disposed inside the circuit board  12 , or be the driving circuit itself which drives chip component  11 . The configuration of the detecting circuit can be adjusted according to particular implementations, and is not restricted hereto. 
     The optical assembly  2  is disposed on the electronic assembly  1 , and includes a bracket  21  and an optical component  23 . The bracket  21  includes a surrounding wall  211 , a flange  212 , and two grooves  213 . The shape of the surrounding wall  211  is substantially a cubic cylinder that surrounds the circuit board  12 , and surroundingly defines a channel  214 . The shape of the surrounding wall  211  can be adjusted according to particular implementations and is not limited to a cubic cylinder, and can also be a cylinder, a polygonal cylinder, or the like. The flange  212  is in the channel  214  and disposed on the surrounding wall  211 , and defines an accommodating region  215  at the top of the channel  214 . The grooves  213  are recessed from the surface of the surrounding wall  211 , and are disposed at different sides of the surrounding wall  211 , respectively. Each groove  213  extends upward from the outside bottom of the surrounding wall  211 , passing the top of the surrounding wall  211 , and extending inward and downward to the flange  212 . 
     The bracket  21  further includes two separated conductive layers  22 . A bottom end  221  of each conductive layer  22  is aligned with the bottom of the bracket  21  and is electrically connected to the circuit board  12 . Each conductive layer  22  includes a connecting end  222  for touching the optical component  23 . The conductive layers  22  are disposed on one of the outer surface, the inner surface, and interior of the bracket  21 . The position of the conductive layers  22  depends on particular implementations, and is not limited thereto. When the conductive layers  22  are configured on the outer surface or the inner surface of the bracket  21 , the conductive layers  22  can be formed on the bracket  21  by electroless plating or can be directly adhered to the metal sheets, but is not limited thereto. The connecting end  222  may extend to the top of the surrounding wall  211 , and point toward and contact with the optical component  23 ; otherwise, the connecting end  222  may extend to the inner surface of the surrounding wall  211  and be in contact with the optical component  23 . In the first embodiment, the connecting end  222  is exemplified as extending to the inner surface of the surrounding wall  211 . 
     It is worth mentioning that the conductive layers  22  can be formed, according to particular implementations, inside the groove  213  or outside the groove  213 . The arrangement of each conductive layer  22  may be, according to particular implementations, the same or different. In the first embodiment, the conductive layers  22  are exemplified as being disposed inside the grooves  213 , respectively. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4 , the optical component  23  is disposed inside the accommodating region  215  of the bracket  21 , and includes an optical component body and a light-transmissive conductive layer  24 . The shape of the optical component body complements that of the accommodating region  215  so that the shape of the optical component body is rectangular in the first embodiment. The optical component body has a lower surface facing the chip component  11  and an upper surface facing outside. The optical component body is selected from, but not limited to, a lens, a prism, or a filter. The lens may be exemplified as a planar lens, a condensing lens and an astigmatic lens, but is not limited thereto. The prism may be exemplified as a dispersion prism, a reflecting prism, and a polarizing prism, but is not limited thereto. The filter may be exemplified as a circular polarizer (CPL), a neutral density filter (ND filter), and a UV filter, but is not limited thereto. The material of the optical component body is transparent plastic or glass. The transparent plastic can be selected from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polyetherimide (PEI), cyclo olefin copolymer (COC), or their mixture. For ease of explanation, a planar lens made of glass is taken as an example for the first embodiment. 
     The light-transmissive conductive layer  24  extends from one corner of the optical component body to another opposite corner thereof. The light-transmissive conductive layer  24  includes a main segment  241  and two conductive ends  242 . The main segment  241  is disposed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the optical component body. In the first embodiment, the main segment  241  is exemplified as being disposed on the upper surface. The main segment  241  can be in the shape of S (shown as  FIG. 5 ) or be strip-shaped (shown as  FIG. 6 ). In the first embodiment, an S shape is adopted as an example, but is not limited thereto. The conductive ends  242  are electrically connected to the conductive layers  22 , respectively. The conductive ends  242  can be disposed on the same surface as the main segment  241  (shown as  FIG. 3 ), or on the lateral side of the optical component body. The configuration of the conductive ends  242  is not limited by the present disclosure, as long as the conductive ends  242  can be electrically connected to the connecting end  222  of the conductive layer  22 . In the first embodiment, the conductive ends  242  are exemplified as being disposed on the upper surface of the optical component body. The width of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  can be longer, shorter, or equal to the width of the conductive layer  24 , and is not limited by the present disclosure. In the first embodiment, the width of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  is exemplified as being shorter than the width of the conductive layer. 
     The light-transmissive conductive layer  24  is made of a material with light transmission and conductivity, and the material is selected from, but not limited to, metal, indium tin oxide doped tin (In 2 O 3 : Sn, ITO), tin dioxide doped fluorine (SnO 2 : F, FTO), tin dioxide doped yttrium (SnO 2 : Sb, ATO), or zinc oxide doped aluminum (ZnO: Al, AZO). When metal is adopted as the material of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24 , the thickness must be less than 10 nm, and it can be exemplified as gold, silver, platinum, copper, aluminum, chromium, palladium or rhodium, but is not limited thereto. In the first embodiment, ITO is taken as an example. 
     When the optical component  23  is disposed inside the accommodating region  215  of the bracket  21 , the conductive ends  242  of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  are connected to the connecting ends  222  of the conductive layers  22 , respectively, that is, the conductive ends  242  are electrically connected to the detecting circuit through the conductive layers  22  to form a protection circuit. By detecting the resistance or current of the protection circuit through the detecting circuit, it can be determined that whether the conductive layers  22  are electrically connected to the light-transmissive conductive layer  24 . Therefore, when the optical component  23  is loosened and detached from the bracket  21 , the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  would also be detached from the conductive layer  22 , and the protection circuit would be opened. At this time, the detecting circuit detects the open state of the protection circuit, and then shuts down the driving circuit to stop the operation of the chip component  11 , so that the chip component  11  can be prevented from being damaged. Alternatively, when the driving circuit of the chip component  11  is used as the detecting circuit, the driving circuit can also be shut down by connecting the protection circuit and the drive circuit in series to stop the operation of the chip component  11  when the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  is detached from the conductive layer  22 . 
     From the above description, the advantages of the first embodiment can be further summarized as follows: 
     A. The circuit of the electronic assembly  1  can detect whether the optical component  23  is detached from the bracket  21  through the conductive layers  22  disposed on the bracket  21 , and can perform corresponding protection measures. 
     B. The circuit of the electronic assembly  1  can detect whether the optical component  23  is detached through detecting whether the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  is electrically conducted to the conductive layers  22 , and can perform corresponding protection measures. 
     C. Through configuring the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  on the upper surface of the optical component body, the worn condition of the optical component  23  can be detected. Any object scraping against the upper surface of the optical component body, would scrape the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  at the same time; therefore, the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  may be scraped off when the optical component  23  suffers from excessive scraping, which causes the protection circuit to be opened and in turn stops the operation of the chip component  11 . 
     D. An S shape is adopted as the shape of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24 , to ensure full coverage of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  on the optical component body, such as corners, sides, center, and so on. Therefore, this configuration can further ensure that any object scraping the optical element body would also scrape the light-transmitting conductive layer  24  at the same time, thereby improving the ability of detecting the worn condition of the optical component  23 . 
     E. By disposing the conductive layers  22  inside the grooves  213 , the conductive layers  22  can be prevented from being damaged by scraping, which would lead to a stop in the operation of the chip component  11 . In other words, by disposing the conductive layers  22  inside the grooves  213 , it can be ensured that the protection circuit being opened is caused by the optical component  23  detaching from the bracket  21 , or the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  being damaged. 
     F. The conductive ends  242  of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  extending to the lateral side of the optical component body can increase the contact area with the conductive layer  22 , and can ensure an effective electrical connection therebetween. Therefore, only when the optical component  23  is almost or completely detached from the bracket  21  will the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  not be in contact with the conductive layers  23 , so that the protection circuit becomes opened. Accordingly, this configuration can prevent misjudgment of the detecting circuit due to any mismatch from shaking between the conductive layers  22  and the light-transmissive conductive layer  24 . 
     G. Since the width of the conductive layer  22  is larger than that of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24 , the conductive layer  22  and the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  can be electrically connected with each other even when production error is factored in. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , a second embodiment of the present disclosure is approximately the same as the first embodiment, but a main difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the conductive ends  242  of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  extend to the lateral side of the optical components body, and the conductive layer  22  is disposed in the interior of the bracket  21 . Since the conductive layer  22  is disposed in the interior of the bracket  21 , the bracket  21  does not include the grooves  213  (shown at  FIG. 2 ) in the second embodiment. 
     The method by which the conductive layers  22  are disposed inside the bracket  21  can be adjusted based on the material and the process of the bracket  21 . When the bracket  21  is made of thermoplastic material, the method may be: putting the conductive layers  22  in a mold for making the bracket  21 , and then injecting the thermoplastic material into the mold and wrapping the conductive layers  22 ; finally, curing the thermoplastic material to form the bracket  21 . When the bracket  21  is made of ceramic, the method may be: inserting the conductive layers  22  into a blank, and then sintering them together so that the conductive layers  22  are buried in the bracket  21 . However, the method can be adjusted according to any conventional method and is not limited thereto. 
     The structure of the conductive layers  22  buried in the bracket  21  can prevent the conductive layers  22  from damage by scraping, and can further ensure that the protection circuit being opened is due to the optical component  23  detaching from the bracket  21  or the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  being damaged, and is not due to the conductive layers  22  themselves being damaged. 
     Therefore, the second embodiment has the same advantages as the first embodiment, and by burying the conductive layers  22  in the bracket  21 , this structure can further ensure the accuracy of detecting whether the optical component  23  is detached from the bracket  21  or suffering from excessive scraping. 
     Third Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , a third embodiment of the present disclosure is approximately the same as the first embodiment, but a main difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  is disposed on the lower surface of the optical component body. Since the connecting ends  222  of the conductive layers  22  are extended near the lower surface of the optical component body, the connecting ends  222  can be electronically connected to the light-transmissive conductive layer  24 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , in another configuration of the third embodiment, the conductive layers  22  are disposed on the inner surface of the bracket  21 . The bottom ends  221  are electrically connected to the circuit board, and the connecting ends  222  extend to the upper side of the flange  212  of the bracket  21 . Through this configuration, the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  and the conductive layers  22  can be bonded and electrically connected with each other. 
     Therefore, the third embodiment has the same advantages as the first embodiment except that the worn condition of the optical component  23  cannot be detected. Manufacturers can choose any configuration mentioned above according to particular implementations. When the optical module need not have the function of detecting the worn condition of the optical component  23 , the present embodiment may be applied. Accordingly, the third embodiment provides another technical solution that allows the manufacturer to make adjustments according to particular implementations. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is approximately the same as the third embodiment, but a main difference between the present embodiment and the third embodiment is that the conductive ends  242  of the light-transmissive conductive layer  24  extend to the lateral side of the optical component body, and the conductive layers  22  are disposed in the interior of the bracket  21 . The configuration of the conductive layers  22  is the same as the second embodiment, and hence is not described herein. 
     Therefore, the fourth embodiment has the same advantages as the third embodiment. Through burying the conductive layers  22  in the bracket  21 , this structure can further ensure the accuracy of detecting whether the optical component  23  is detached from the bracket  21  or whether the optical component  23  is suffering from excessive scraping. 
     In conclusion, the conductive layers  22  disposed on the bracket  21  can allow the circuit of circuit board  12  to detect whether the optical component  23  is detached from the bracket  21 , and perform corresponding protection measures. 
     The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. 
     The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.