Patent Description:
It is well known that a mobile terminal in the related art is typically provided with a light module, and a light source in the light module is typically a light-emitting diode LED or a laser chip. The light source is not allowed to emit light directly to the outside when the light source has a relatively strong light intensity. Therefore, a light-transmitting element is typically provided, and light rays emitted by the light source can enter the outside only after passing through the light-transmitting element. Generally, the light-transmitting element is directly exposed to the outside. If the light-transmitting element breaks, falls off, or shifts due to the falling of or impact on a mobile terminal, light rays emitted by the light source are likely to directly enter the outside, resulting in poor use safety of the light module.

<CIT> discloses a light source module comprising an optical element that diffuses laser light. A light detector is located between the light source and the optical element. The light detector receives the laser beam to form a light detection electric signal. A processor obtains the light detection electric signal to judge a damage condition of an optical element according to difference between the light detection signals.

Embodiments of this disclosure provide a light module and a mobile terminal, so as to address relatively poor use safety of the light module caused when a light-transmitting element of the mobile terminal breaks, falls off, or shifts.

As defined in claim <NUM>, the invention provides a light module, including:.

Another embodiment of this disclosure further provides a mobile terminal, including the light module described above, the detection module, and a driver module configured to control light emission of a light source of the light module, where the driver module is electrically connected to the detection module.

In the embodiments of this disclosure, the photosensitive coating is provided on the light-transmitting element so as to connect to the first electrical contact point and the second electrical contact point, and when the light-transmitting element breaks, falls off, or shifts, the detection module detects an abnormal voltage across the first electrical contact point and the second electrical contact point, and the driver module controls the light source to stop emitting light, thereby effectively avoiding direct emission of light rays from the light source. Therefore, the light module provided in the embodiments of this disclosure improves use safety of the light module.

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments of this disclosure. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and those of ordinary skill in the art can still obtain other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this disclosure.

Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this disclosure should have general meanings understood by a person of ordinary skill in the field to which this disclosure pertains. "First", "second", and like words used in this disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish between different components. Similarly, "a" or "an" or like words do not indicate a quantitative limitation, but indicate at least one. "Connect" or "connected" or like words are not limited to a physical or mechanical connection, but may include an electrical connection, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right", and the like are merely used to indicate a relative positional relationship, and the relative positional relationship changes accordingly when an absolute position of the described object changes.

With reference to <FIG>, an embodiment of this disclosure provides a light module, including:.

It should be noted that in an optional embodiment, the foregoing detection module may be provided on the foregoing substrate <NUM>; in another optional embodiment, the foregoing detection module may alternatively be an external detection module, and the external detection module is a component in a mobile terminal other than the light module, for example, may be a part of a circuit of a main board of the mobile terminal, which is not further limited herein.

The foregoing light module may be applied in different scenarios. In this embodiment, the foregoing light module may be a floodlight module. A structure of the foregoing light source <NUM> may be set based on actual requirements. For example, the light source <NUM> may be a laser chip or a light-emitting diode. The laser chip may be a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser, VCSEL) or a laser diode (Laser Diode, LD). The light-emitting diode may be an infrared LED. In the following embodiments, a detailed description is provided by using an example in which the light source <NUM> is a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser.

The foregoing substrate <NUM> may be a substrate for packaging the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. The substrate is provided with a circuit structure inside and may be electrically connected to the light source <NUM>. The light source <NUM> may be connected to a driver module <NUM> by means of the substrate <NUM>, and light emission of the light source is controlled by the driver module <NUM>.

The foregoing support body <NUM> may be a hollow structure having openings at both ends, and the hollow part forms the light path channel <NUM>. Specifically, a shape of the support body <NUM> may be set based on actual requirements, as long as the support body <NUM> can support the light-transmitting element <NUM>.

In this embodiment of this disclosure, the foregoing support body <NUM> may be fixedly bonded to the light-transmitting element <NUM>. A connection relationship between the foregoing support body <NUM> and the substrate <NUM> may be set based on actual requirements. For example, in an optional embodiment, the support body <NUM> and the substrate <NUM> may be integrally formed. In other embodiments, an adhesive may alternatively be provided for fixed bonding.

Specifically, during normal use, the driver module may control the light source <NUM> to emit light. Light rays from the light source <NUM> are incident on a surface of the light-transmitting element <NUM> through the light path channel <NUM>, and then enter the outside after passing through the light-transmitting element <NUM>. In this case, the foregoing detection module <NUM> may detect that the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM> are electrically connected by means of the photosensitive coating <NUM>. When the light-transmitting element <NUM> breaks or falls off, the detection module <NUM> detects that the electrical connection between the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM> is disconnected, with a voltage being <NUM>. When the light-transmitting element <NUM> shifts, an area of the photosensitive coating <NUM> in the light path channel <NUM> changes, and the detection module <NUM> detects that a voltage across the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM> increases or decreases. In this case, the detection module <NUM> may output a control signal to the driver module <NUM>, to control the detection module <NUM> to turn off the light source <NUM>, such that the light source <NUM> stops emitting light. In this way, direct emission of light rays from the light source <NUM> can be avoided, thereby improving use safety of the light module.

In this embodiment of this disclosure, the photosensitive coating <NUM> is provided on the light-transmitting element <NUM> so as to connect to the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM>, and when the light-transmitting element <NUM> breaks, falls off, or shifts, the detection module <NUM> detects an abnormal voltage across the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM>, and the driver module <NUM> controls the light source to stop emitting light, thereby effectively avoiding direct emission of light rays from the light source <NUM>. Therefore, the light module provided in the embodiments of this disclosure improves use safety of the light module.

A position of the foregoing photosensitive coating may be set based on actual requirements. For example, in an optional embodiment, at least part of the region of the photosensitive coating is located in the light path channel <NUM>.

In this way, the part of the photosensitive coating that is in the light path channel <NUM> may be radiated by the light source, so that light energy can be converted into electrical energy, and a voltage across the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM> is generated. In this embodiment, whether the light-transmitting element <NUM> is intact may be determined by monitoring, by the detection module <NUM>, an electrical signal between the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM>. For example, in this embodiment, the foregoing detection module may be implemented by including a resistor and a control chip. Two ends of the resistor may be directly connected between the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM>. The control chip may perform detection for a voltage across the two ends of the resistor. When the light source <NUM> is in a light emitting state, if the detection module <NUM> detects that the voltage is <NUM>, it may be determined that the light-transmitting element <NUM> is damaged. Certainly, in other embodiments, other detection methods may alternatively be used for detection, and are not described herein one by one.

It should be noted that the foregoing detection module <NUM> and the driver module <NUM> may be designed based on dimension requirements of the light module. For example, in an optional embodiment, the detection module <NUM> and the driver module <NUM> may be arranged inside the light module. In another optional embodiment, the detection module <NUM> and the driver module <NUM> may alternatively be arranged outside the light module, or may be arranged near the light module.

Specifically, a manner in which the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM> are connected to the detection module <NUM> may be set based on actual requirements. For example, in this embodiment, the foregoing light module further includes a first conducting wire and a second conducting wire, where one end of the first conducting wire is connected to the first electrical contact point, and the other end of the first conducting wire is electrically connected to the detection module; and one end of the second conducting wire is connected to the second electrical contact point, and the other end of the second conducting wire is electrically connected to the detection module.

In an optional embodiment, the first conducting wire and the second conducting wire may be provided on the support body <NUM>. Specifically, the first conducting wire forms a first electrical connection point at an end of the support body <NUM> that faces towards the light-transmitting element <NUM>, and the first electrical connection point is electrically connected to the first electrical contact point; and the second conducting wire forms a second electrical connection point at the end of the support body <NUM> that faces towards the light-transmitting element <NUM>, and the second electrical connection point is electrically connected to the second electrical contact point.

In this embodiment, parts of the first conducting wire and the second conducting wire other than the first electrical connection point and the second electrical connection point may be provided on inner and outer surfaces of a side wall of the support body <NUM>, or may be provided inside a side wall of the support body <NUM>, which is not further limited herein. In this embodiment, the first electrical contact point and the second electrical contact point are electrically connected to the substrate by means of the first conducting wire and the second conducting wire, respectively, and then are electrically connected to the detection module <NUM> by means of the substrate. Because the first conducting wire and the second conducting wire are provided on the support body <NUM>, the electrical connection between the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM>, and the detection module <NUM> is implemented, which is simple in structure and easy to mount.

Further, based on the foregoing embodiment, in this embodiment, a region that corresponds to the light path channel <NUM> and that is on the side face of the light-transmitting element <NUM> that faces towards the light source is a light-transmitting region, the light-transmitting region is provided with an optical structure region <NUM> and at least part of the region of the photosensitive coating <NUM>, and the photosensitive coating <NUM> and the optical structure region <NUM> do not overlap.

The foregoing optical structure region <NUM> is usually provided with a specific optical structure for diffusing a small-angle laser beam emitted by the laser chip, into a uniform large-angle light surface or spot, that is, the optical structure region functions to diverge a light beam. A laser originally having good directivity and concentrated energy has reduced energy density after being diffused by the light-transmitting element, making the light module a product that meets safety specifications. Specifically, a size and structure of the optical structure region <NUM> may be set based on actual requirements, which is not further limited herein.

It should be noted that a shape of the photosensitive coating <NUM> may be set based on actual requirements. As shown in <FIG>, in this embodiment, the photosensitive coating <NUM> is provided in a strip shape. Specifically, in an optional embodiment, the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM> are located on a same side of the optical structure region <NUM>, and the photosensitive coating <NUM> is provided around the optical structure region <NUM>.

In <FIG>, the foregoing photosensitive coating <NUM> is provided substantially in a "C" shape. In this way, the optical structure region <NUM> is not affected, and in addition, comprehensiveness of checking whether the light-transmitting element <NUM> is broken can be improved.

Moreover, the first electrical connection point and the second electrical connection point may be metal connecting sheets. To improve contact reliability, the metal connecting sheets may be provided to be elastically connected to the support body <NUM>, such that after the light-transmitting element <NUM> is mounted and fixed, the metal connecting sheets can abut against the respective electrical contact points, thereby implementing the electrical connection.

Further, based on the foregoing embodiment, in this embodiment, the first electrical contact point <NUM> and the second electrical contact point <NUM> are both metal conducting plates.

The metal conducting plate may be provided as a square plate, and a side length of the metal conducting plate may be greater than a width of the photosensitive coating <NUM>, so as to facilitate contact with the first electrical connection point and the second electrical connection point.

It should be noted that to improve a light emitting effect of a light ray, in this embodiment, a collimating element <NUM> may further be provided in the foregoing light path channel <NUM>. The collimating element <NUM> is a lens that can convert incident light rays into substantially parallel emergent light rays. In this way, uniformity of light from the light module can be improved.

Further, an embodiment of this disclosure further provides a mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal includes the foregoing light module, a detection module, and a driver module configured to control light emission of the light source of the light module, where.

In this embodiment, for implementation of structures and functions of the foregoing light module, the detection module, and the driver module, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described herein again. Because the light module in the foregoing embodiment is used, the mobile terminal provided in this embodiment of this disclosure has all the beneficial effects of the foregoing light module.

Claim 1:
A light module, comprising:
a support body (<NUM>), wherein the support body (<NUM>) has a light path channel (<NUM>);
a substrate (<NUM>), wherein the substrate (<NUM>) is connected to the support body (<NUM>) and is located at one end of the light path channel (<NUM>), the substrate (<NUM>) is provided with a light source (<NUM>), and the light source (<NUM>) is located in the light path channel (<NUM>); and
a light-transmitting element (<NUM>), wherein the light-transmitting element (<NUM>) is connected to the support body (<NUM>), so as to seal an opening at the other end of the light path channel (<NUM>); wherein
a side face of the light-transmitting element (<NUM>) that faces towards the light source (<NUM>) is provided with a first electrical contact point (<NUM>), a second electrical contact point (<NUM>), and a photosensitive coating (<NUM>) capable of converting light energy of the light source (<NUM>) into electrical energy, the first electrical contact point (<NUM>) and the second electrical contact point (<NUM>) are electrically connected by the photosensitive coating (<NUM>), and the first electrical contact point (<NUM>) and the second electrical contact point (<NUM>) are configured to connect to a detection module (<NUM>), so that the detection module (<NUM>) detects a value of a voltage across the first electrical contact point (<NUM>) and the second electrical contact point (<NUM>); and
a region that corresponds to the light path channel (<NUM>) and that is on the side face of the light-transmitting element (<NUM>) that faces towards the light source (<NUM>) is a light-transmitting region, the light-transmitting region is provided with an optical structure region (<NUM>) and at least part of the region of the photosensitive coating (<NUM>), and the photosensitive coating (<NUM>) and the optical structure region (<NUM>) do not overlap; characterised in that
the first electrical contact point (<NUM>) and the second electrical contact point (<NUM>) are located on a same side of the optical structure region (<NUM>), and the photosensitive coating (<NUM>) is provided in a strip shape around the optical structure region (<NUM>).