PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10298820-B2
Application Number: US-201715673253-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Camera module with embedded components

Abstract:
A camera module includes a lens barrel holder and a substrate. The substrate may include a circuit board embedded in the substrate. The circuit board may include multiple electrical components mounted to a first side of the circuit board, where the electrical components are not exposed outside. The circuit board may also include multiple electrical connections on another side of the circuit board, an image sensor mounted to the electrical connections, and an upper opening in the circuit board for light to pass through. The substrate may include an upper opening configured to receive, at least partially inside the substrate, a lower portion of the lens barrel holder. The substrate may include a lower opening connected to the upper opening and configured to receive the image sensor. The lens barrel holder may include extensions, such as a flange or tabs, and an adhesive bond between the extensions and the substrate.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A camera module, comprising:
 a lens barrel holder; 
 an image sensor; and 
 a substrate comprising:
 a circuit board embedded in the substrate, wherein the circuit board comprises:
 a plurality of electrical components mounted on a first side of the circuit board, wherein the plurality of electrical components are not exposed outside the substrate; 
 a plurality of electrical connections on another side of the circuit board, wherein the image sensor is mounted to the plurality of electrical connections; and 
 an opening in the circuit board for light to pass through the circuit board to the image sensor; 
 
 an upper opening, larger than the opening for light to pass through the circuit board, configured to receive, at least partially inside the substrate, a lower portion of the lens barrel holder; and 
 a lower opening configured to receive the image sensor. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The camera module of  claim 1 , wherein the lens barrel holder comprises:
 one or more extensions; and 
 an adhesive bond between the one or more extensions and the substrate; 
 wherein the one or more extensions comprise:
 a flange extending laterally around an outer circumference of the lens barrel holder; or 
 a plurality of tabs extending from respective outer sides of the lens barrel holder. 
 
 
     
     
       3. The camera module of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrical components are mounted in groups at respective corners of the circuit board. 
     
     
       4. The camera module of  claim 1 , wherein the upper opening comprises a circular hole, and wherein the lower portion of the lens barrel holder comprises a cylindrical portion configured to fit inside the circular hole. 
     
     
       5. The camera module of  claim 1 , wherein the lower opening comprises a rectangular hole, and wherein light passes through the lens barrel holder and the rectangular hole to the image sensor. 
     
     
       6. The camera module of  claim 1 , wherein the lens barrel holder is configured to hold a plurality of optical elements comprising one or more lens elements and at least one optical filter. 
     
     
       7. The camera module of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit board comprises one or more external electrical connections on a portion of the circuit board extending outside the substrate. 
     
     
       8. A multifunction device, comprising:
 a central processing unit; 
 a memory coupled to the central processing unit; and 
 a camera module coupled to the central processing unit, wherein the memory stores program instructions executable by the central processing unit to control operation of the camera module, wherein the camera module comprises:
 a lens barrel holder; 
 an image sensor; and 
 a substrate comprising:
 a circuit board embedded in the substrate, wherein the circuit board comprises:
 a plurality of electrical components mounted on a first side of the circuit board, wherein the plurality of electrical components are not exposed outside the substrate; 
 a plurality of electrical connections on another side of the circuit board, wherein the image sensor is mounted to the plurality of electrical connections; and 
 an opening in the circuit board for light to pass through the circuit board to the image sensor; and 
 an upper opening, larger than the opening for light to pass through the circuit board, configured to receive, at least partially inside the substrate, a lower portion of the lens barrel holder. 
 
 
 
 
     
     
       9. The multifunction device of  claim 8 , wherein the lens barrel holder comprises:
 one or more extensions; and 
 an adhesive bond between the one or more extensions and the substrate; 
 wherein the one or more extensions comprise:
 a flange extending laterally around an outer circumference of the lens barrel holder; or 
 a plurality of tabs extending from respective outer sides of the lens barrel holder. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The multifunction device of  claim 8 , the plurality of electrical components are in mounted in groups at respective corners of the circuit board. 
     
     
       11. The multifunction device of  claim 8 , wherein the upper opening comprises a circular hole, and wherein the lower portion of the lens barrel holder comprises a cylindrical portion configured to fit inside the circular hole. 
     
     
       12. The device of  claim 8 , wherein the substrate further comprises a rectangular hole, and wherein light passes through the lens barrel holder and the rectangular hole to the image sensor. 
     
     
       13. The device of  claim 8 , wherein the lens barrel holder is configured to hold a plurality of optical elements comprising one or more lens elements and at least one optical filter. 
     
     
       14. The multifunction device of  claim 8 , wherein the circuit board comprises one or more external electrical connections on a portion of the circuit board extending outside the substrate. 
     
     
       15. A method of manufacturing a camera module, comprising:
 forming a substrate comprising:
 embedding a circuit board in the substrate, wherein the circuit board comprises:
 a plurality of electrical components mounted on a first side of the circuit board, wherein the plurality of electrical components are not exposed outside; 
 a plurality of electrical connections on another side of the circuit board; and 
 an opening in the circuit board for light to pass through; 
 
 forming an upper opening, larger than the opening for light to pass through the circuit board, configured to receive, at least partially inside the substrate, a lower portion of a lens barrel holder; and 
 forming a lower opening connected to the upper opening and configured to receive an image sensor; 
 
 mounting, in the lower opening of the substrate, the image sensor to the plurality of electrical connections of the circuit board; and 
 mounting the lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening, wherein the lens barrel holder is configured for light to pass through the lens barrel holder to the image sensor. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein mounting the lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening comprises an active alignment process, and wherein the active alignment process comprises:
 capturing, by the image sensor, a test image; 
 determining, based at least in part on the test image, a position of the lens barrel holder to focus the test image; 
 aligning the lens barrel holder within the upper opening of the substrate based on the determined position; and 
 performing an initial cure of bonding material on the lens barrel holder in proximity to the upper opening. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising performing, subsequent to the active alignment process, a secondary cure of the bonding material, wherein performing the secondary cure comprises performing a heat curing process. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 16 , wherein performing the initial cure comprises performing an ultraviolet (UV) curing process. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 15 , wherein mounting the lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening comprises bonding one or more extensions of an outer surface of the lens barrel holder to the substrate, and wherein the one or more extensions comprise:
 a flange extending laterally around an outer circumference of the lens barrel holder; or 
 a plurality of tabs extending from respective outer sides of the lens barrel holder. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 15 , wherein forming the substrate further comprises an injection molding process, wherein the injection molding process embeds the circuit board and the plurality of electrical components in the substrate, and wherein the plurality of electrical components are in groups at respective corners of the circuit board. 
     
     
       21. A camera module, comprising:
 an image sensor; 
 a substrate comprising:
 a circuit board embedded in the substrate, wherein the circuit board further comprises an opening for light to pass through the circuit board to the image sensor; 
 a lower opening configured to receive the image sensor; and 
 an upper opening, larger than the opening for light to pass through the circuit board; and 
 
 a lens barrel holder comprising:
 a lower portion of the lens barrel holder configured to fit at least partially inside the upper opening of the substrate; and 
 one or more extensions configured to extend on top of the substrate from a portion of the lens barrel holder above the lower portion. 
 
 
     
     
       22. The camera module of  claim 21 , wherein the lens barrel holder comprises an adhesive bond between the one or more extensions and the substrate, wherein the one or more extensions comprise:
 a flange extending laterally around an outer circumference of the lens barrel holder; or 
 a plurality of tabs extending from respective outer sides of the lens barrel holder. 
 
     
     
       23. The camera module of  claim 21 , wherein the upper opening comprises a circular hole, and wherein the lower portion of the lens barrel holder comprises a cylindrical portion configured to fit inside the circular hole. 
     
     
       24. The camera module of  claim 21 , wherein the lens barrel holder is configured to hold a plurality of optical elements comprising one or more lens elements and at least one optical filter. 
     
     
       25. The camera module of  claim 21 , wherein the lower opening comprises a rectangular hole, and wherein light passes through the lens barrel holder and the rectangular hole to the image sensor.

Description:
This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/373,160, filed Aug. 10, 2016, titled “Camera Module with Embedded Components”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, typically include a camera module that utilizes an image sensor to capture images. Conventional camera modules may include various combinations of magnets or motors to physically move the position of a lens, thereby adjusting the object focal distance of the lens to allow objects at different distances to be in sharp focus at the image plane of an image sensor. Consequently, conventional camera modules may be susceptible to mechanical failures and/or may require a large amount of physical space. 
     Demands on improvements to performance of such cameras are constant, as are demands for continued miniaturization, given the added features and applications added to such mobile devices. For example, miniaturized cameras in mobile devices do not typically have enough physical space available for bulky optical components. Furthermore, as the size of mobile devices shrinks, the space available for camera components also decreases. 
     Moreover, the complexity of the manufacturing process for camera modules also increases as the physical footprint of the camera module decreases. Camera modules that include a large number of separate components (e.g., a large bill of materials) are expensive and difficult to manufacture because each of the numerous components in the bill of materials must be tracked, carried in inventory, and assembled during an assembly process with a large number of steps. As the complexity of the camera module assembly process rises, so too does the risk of errors during assembly. For example, parts can get lost, run out of stock, and/or inadvertently be pieced together incorrectly. 
     SUMMARY 
     A camera module and method of manufacturing a camera module are disclosed. In one embodiment, a camera module may include a lens barrel holder, an image sensor, and a substrate. In an embodiment, the substrate may include a circuit board embedded in the substrate. In some embodiments, the circuit board may include multiple electrical components mounted to a first side of the circuit board, where the electrical components are not exposed outside. The circuit board may also include multiple electrical connections on another side of the circuit board configured to mount the image sensor to the circuit board and an upper opening in the circuit board for light to pass through. In one embodiment, the substrate may include an upper opening configured to receive, at least partially inside the substrate, a lower portion of the lens barrel holder. In an embodiment, the substrate may include a lower opening connected to the upper opening and configured to receive the image sensor. 
     In one embodiment, the lens barrel holder may include one or more extensions and an adhesive bond between the one or more extensions and the substrate. In various embodiments, the one or more extensions may include a flange extending laterally around an outer circumference of the lens barrel holder or multiple tabs extending from respective outer sides of the lens barrel holder. In an embodiment, the multiple electrical components may be mounted in groups at respective corners of the circuit board. In one embodiment, the upper opening may include a circular hole, and the lower portion of the lens barrel holder may include a cylindrical portion configured to fit inside the circular hole. In an embodiment, the lower opening may include a rectangular hole, and light may pass through the lens barrel holder and the rectangular hole to the reach image sensor. In some embodiments, the lens barrel holder may be configured to hold multiple optical elements, which may include one or more lens elements and an optical filter. The optical filter may include an element in the bottom of the lens barrel holder or a coating material on the bottom of the lens barrel holder. In various embodiments, the circuit board may include one or more external electrical connections on a portion of the circuit board configured to extend outside the substrate. 
     In an embodiment, a multifunction device may include a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory coupled to the CPU. The memory may include program instructions executable by the CPU to control operation of a camera. In one embodiment, a camera module coupled to the CPU of the multifunction device may include a lens barrel holder, an image sensor, and a substrate. In an embodiment, the substrate may include a circuit board embedded in the substrate. In some embodiments, the circuit board may include multiple electrical components mounted to a first side of the circuit board, where the electrical components are not exposed outside. The circuit board may also include multiple electrical connections on another side of the circuit board, an image sensor mounted to the electrical connections, and an upper opening in the circuit board for light to pass through. In one embodiment, the substrate may include an upper opening configured to receive, at least partially inside the substrate, a lower portion of the lens barrel holder. In an embodiment, the substrate may include a lower opening connected to the upper opening and configured to receive the image sensor. 
     In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing a camera module may include forming a substrate, which may include embedding a circuit board in the substrate. In one embodiment, the circuit board may include multiple electrical components mounted on a first side of the circuit board. The electrical components may not be exposed outside. The circuit board may also include multiple electrical connections on another side of the circuit board and an opening in the circuit board for light to pass through. In an embodiment, the method may include forming an upper opening in the substrate configured to receive, at least partially inside the substrate, a lower portion of the lens barrel holder. In one embodiment, the method may include forming, in the substrate, a lower opening connected to the upper opening and configured to receive an image sensor. In an embodiment, the method may include mounting the image sensor in the lower opening of the substrate and to the electrical connections of the circuit board. In some embodiments, the method may include mounting a lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening. The lens barrel holder may be configured for light to pass through the lens barrel holder to the image sensor. 
     In some embodiments, mounting the lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening may include an active alignment process. In various embodiments, the active alignment process may include capturing, by the image sensor, a test image. The active alignment process may include determining, based at least in part on the test image, a position of the lens barrel holder to focus the test image (e.g., a position that results in a best focus of a test image pattern). The active alignment process may include aligning the lens barrel holder within the upper opening of the substrate based on the determined position, and performing an initial cure of bonding material on the lens barrel holder in proximity to the upper opening. In an embodiment, the method of manufacturing the camera module may include performing, subsequent to the active alignment process, a secondary cure of the bonding material. The secondary cure may include a heat-based curing process. In one embodiment, performing the initial cure may include performing an ultraviolet (UV) curing process. In some embodiments, mounting the lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening may include bonding one or more extension(s) of an outer surface of the lens barrel holder to the substrate. The one or more extension(s) may include a flange extending laterally around an outer circumference of the lens barrel holder, or multiple tabs extending from respective outer sides of the lens barrel holder. In one embodiment, forming the substrate may include an injection molding process (e.g., plastic injection molding). The injection molding process may include embedding the circuit board and the multiple electrical components in the substrate. In some embodiments, the electrical components may be in groups at respective corners of the circuit board. 
     In one embodiment, a camera module may include an image sensor, a substrate, and a lens barrel holder. In an embodiment, the substrate may include an upper opening and a lower opening configured to receive the image sensor. In some embodiments, the lens barrel holder may include a lower portion of the lens barrel holder configured to fit at least partially inside the upper opening of the substrate, and one or more extensions configured to extend on top of the substrate from a portion of the lens barrel holder above the lower portion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a logical block diagram illustrating a cross-sectional view of an example camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  is a logical block diagram illustrating a cross-sectional view of an example camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 7  is a high-level flowchart illustrating various methods and techniques for manufacturing a camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 8  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example portable multifunction device with a camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 9  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example portable multifunction device having a camera module, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 10  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example computer system, according to some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     This specification includes references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment.” The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner consistent with this disclosure. 
     “Comprising.” This term is open-ended. As used in the claims, this term does not foreclose additional structure or steps. Consider a claim that recites: “An apparatus comprising one or more processor units . . . .” Such a claim does not foreclose the apparatus from including additional components (e.g., a network interface unit, graphics circuitry, etc.). 
     “Configured To.” Various units, circuits, or other components may be described or claimed as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is used to connote structure by indicating that the units/circuits/components include structure (e.g., circuitry) that performs those task or tasks during operation. As such, the unit/circuit/component can be said to be configured to perform the task even when the specified unit/circuit/component is not currently operational (e.g., is not on). The units/circuits/components used with the “configured to” language include hardware—for example, circuits, memory storing program instructions executable to implement the operation, etc. Reciting that a unit/circuit/component is “configured to” perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph (f), for that unit/circuit/component. Additionally, “configured to” can include generic structure (e.g., generic circuitry) that is manipulated by software or firmware (e.g., an FPGA or a general-purpose processor executing software) to operate in manner that is capable of performing the task(s) at issue. “Configure to” may also include adapting a manufacturing process (e.g., a semiconductor fabrication facility) to fabricate devices (e.g., integrated circuits) that are adapted to implement or perform one or more tasks. 
     “First,” “Second,” etc. As used herein, these terms are used as labels for nouns that they precede, and do not imply any type of ordering (e.g., spatial, temporal, logical, etc.). For example, a buffer circuit may be described herein as performing write operations for “first” and “second” values. The terms “first” and “second” do not necessarily imply that the first value must be written before the second value. 
     “Based On” or “Dependent On.” As used herein, these terms are used to describe one or more factors that affect a determination. These terms do not foreclose additional factors that may affect a determination. That is, a determination may be solely based on those factors or based, at least in part, on those factors. Consider the phrase “determine A based on B.” While in this case, B is a factor that affects the determination of A, such a phrase does not foreclose the determination of A from also being based on C. In other instances, A may be determined based solely on B. 
     “Or.” When used in the claims, the term “or” is used as an inclusive or and not as an exclusive or. For example, the phrase “at least one of x, y, or z” means any one of x, y, and z, as well as any combination thereof. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A camera module or other image processing device may implement many different techniques or components to focus light captured by an image sensor. In one embodiment, a camera module may include a lens configured to change an optical focus of the camera module. In an embodiment, the lens may be positioned relative to an optical axis (e.g., along the optical axis). In an embodiment, the camera module may include a substrate that is in turn connected to one or more controllers (e.g., processors) via a circuit board (e.g., a flexible circuit board). In some embodiments, the circuit board may be embedded within the substrate (e.g., as a layer of the substrate), and the substrate may include a lower opening shaped to allow an image sensor to fit inside the substrate and be mounted to one or more electrical connections on a bottom of the circuit board. In one embodiment, the image sensor may be flip chip mounted to the bottom of the circuit board. For example, the circuit board may include one or more circuit board electrical connections on a bottom side of the surface board that correspond to one or more respective image sensor electrical connections on a top surface of the image sensor. The electrical connections between the image sensor and the circuit board may include solder balls, electrical bonding pads, and/or other electrical connections. 
     In an embodiment, the circuit board may have an opening (e.g., a central rectangular hole or a central hole of another shape) and/or an optically transparent material in a central area, such that light may pass through the circuit board to the image sensor. In some embodiments, the circuit board may include multiple surface mount electrical components (e.g., capacitors, inductors, resistors, and/or other electrical components) mounted to one or more electrical connection pads on a top surface of the circuit board. In an embodiment, the electrical components may be arranged in groups, and the groups may be located near different corners of the circuit board, such that the groups of electrical components mounted to the circuit board are not exposed outside and do not interfere with the optical opening near the central area of the circuit board. 
     In one embodiment, a lens barrel of the camera module may include one or more optical elements, such as one or more lenses (e.g., a lens stack) and an optical filter (e.g., a Bayer color filter) that are embedded inside the lens barrel. In an embodiment, the lens barrel may be included within a lens barrel holder. In some embodiments, a lower portion of the lens barrel holder may be configured to fit at least partially inside an upper opening of the substrate, such that light may pass through the lens barrel holder, through the one or more optical elements, and through the opening in the circuit board to the image sensor. In an embodiment, the lens barrel holder may include one or more extensions configured to extend on top of the substrate from an upper portion of the lens barrel holder above the lower portion. For example, the lower portion of the lens barrel holder may be configured to fit inside an upper opening of the substrate, and an upper portion of the lens barrel holder that extends upward above the substrate may also include one or more extensions that extend laterally outward on top of the substrate (i.e., horizontally along a top surface of the substrate) from the wall of the lens barrel holder. 
     In some embodiments, a camera module with embedded components may include 4 components: a lens barrel holder, which itself may include embedded optical components, a substrate, which includes embedded components, an image sensor, and a stiffener (e.g., a base and/or grounding plate at the bottom of the camera module). In an embodiment, the substrate may include multiple layers of a polymer material. For example, the substrate may include 6 layers in some embodiments. The top 2 layers may include a circular hole configured to fit a lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the substrate. A circular bond line of adhesive (e.g., epoxy or glue) may affix an extension of the lens barrel holder to the top of the substrate. The bonding material may form an annular ring, thereby ensuring an even distribution of bonding material along the extension(s) of the lens barrel holder and thus providing a stable and level alignment of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening of the substrate. The bottom 4 layers may include a rectangular hole configured to receive the image sensor to be mounted to the embedded circuit board in the substrate. One of the bottom 4 layers may include the embedded circuit board. In addition to the electrical connections between the image sensor and the bottom of the circuit board, a rectangular bond line of adhesive may affix the image sensor to the substrate and/or to the circuit board. In other words, bonding material may be applied to affix the image sensor to the substrate and/or the circuit board after the electrical connections between the image sensor and the circuit board are coupled together (e.g., bonding with adhesive after the electrical connections are made). In some embodiments, the base plate may also be affixed to the substrate with adhesive material. The upper and lower bonding materials may also help prevent dust and/or other contaminants from reaching the inside of the camera module (i.e., bonding the embedded components shields the optical elements and protects the image sensor). The camera module with embedded components may thereby have a low part count and thus a simplified assembly process. Additionally, the camera module with embedded components may occupy a small amount of space in the Z-direction (i.e., have a reduced profile along the Z-axis and/or along the optical axis). 
     In one embodiment, the upper opening and/or the lower opening of the substrate may be formed during an injection molding process (e.g., via plastic injection molding or polymer molding). For example, one or more embedded components, such as the circuit board with its embedded surface mount electrical components, may be placed inside a mold for the substrate, and a polymer or plastic material may be injected into the mold around the circuit board and the embedded electrical components, thereby embedding the circuit board and the embedded components inside the substrate. In some embodiments, a portion of the circuit board with external electrical connections may extend outside the substrate, thereby enabling the circuit board and the image sensor to be coupled to the processor(s) of the multifunction device. In other embodiments, the upper opening, the lower opening of the substrate, and/or the opening in the central area of the circuit board may be formed after the circuit board is embedded in the substrate (e.g., via drilling, grinding, etching, or another physical material removal process). 
     In various embodiments, mounting the lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening of the substrate may include an active alignment process. In an embodiment, the active alignment process may include placing the camera module in a test fixture. The test fixture may include a robotic arm or other automated mechanism capable of holding the lens barrel holder within the upper opening of the substrate and making fine, precise adjustments to the position of the lens barrel holder during the active alignment process. The active alignment process may include activating the image sensor and receiving one or more signals corresponding to a test image pattern from the image sensor (e.g., capturing a test image). The alignment process may include determining, based on the captured test image, a position of the lens barrel holder corresponding to a best focus of the test image. For example, a test fixture may utilize a feedback process to iteratively make fine adjustments to the position of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening of the substrate and to measure various attributes of the received test image, such as distortion and/or focus of various areas of the test image pattern, thereby determining an optimal alignment of the lens barrel holder within the upper opening of the substrate. Once the lens barrel holder is aligned in the substrate, the active alignment process may include performing an initial cure of a bonding material that bonds one or more extensions of an upper portion of the lens barrel holder (e.g., a circular flange or multiple tabs) to a surface of the substrate. In various embodiments, the bonding material may be an adhesive, epoxy, and/or glue. In an embodiment, the initial cure may include an ultraviolet (UV) curing process. After the active alignment process, the camera module may be removed from the test fixture and a secondary curing may be performed (e.g., a heat-based curing in an oven) to firmly affix the lens barrel holder to the substrate. 
     In some embodiments, a camera module may include a lens barrel configured to hold (i.e., support or be attached to) a lens and other optical elements, such as a lens stack. The lens barrel may include an optically transparent center, such as a transparent material, a cavity, or an opening, in the middle of the lens barrel that allows light to pass from the lens through the lens barrel to an image sensor located on the circuit board embedded in the substrate below the lens barrel holder. In an embodiment, the lens barrel may be configured to fit inside a lens barrel holder, which may be one of the externally facing components of the camera module. The lens barrel holder thus supports the lens barrel such that the optical elements are positioned above the image sensor. In various embodiments, lens barrel holder and the corresponding upper opening in the substrate may be various shapes. For example, the lens barrel holder and the upper opening may be circular, square, rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal, oval-shaped, polygons, or other types of shapes. Similarly, the lower opening in the substrate configured to receive the image sensor may be various shapes in different embodiments, including, but not limited to, circular, square, rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal, oval-shaped, polygons, or other types of shapes. 
     In an embodiment, the substrate may have one or more holes or cavities in its center configured to provide space for the image sensor to be attached to the bottom of the substrate via a flip chip mount and/or for the lens barrel holder to fit at least partially inside an upper portion of the substrate. In an embodiment, the substrate may be attached to a flexible circuit board, which may include multiple electrical connections configured to conduct electrical signals (e.g., control signals, data signals, and electrical power) between the substrate and processors and/or other components of a multifunction device that includes the camera module. Examples of multifunction devices are illustrated in  FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 , which are discussed below. In some embodiments, a stiffener (e.g., a metal, ceramic, or plastic component) may be attached to the bottom of the flexible circuit board, thereby forming a rigid protective base for the camera module. In an embodiment, the stiffener may also include one or more electrical ground connections. Examples of the various components of a camera module are illustrated in  FIGS. 1-7 , which are discussed in detail below. 
     The techniques described herein for implementing a camera module with integrated components may be further illustrated in terms of an example system that employs them, as well as in terms of example method of manufacturing them. As noted herein, these techniques may be implemented in any type of camera, apparatus, or computing system that includes the capability to capture and process image data, including video clips. 
     In an embodiment, a stream of raw pixel data collected from an image sensor may be received at an image signal processor (ISP). Raw pixel data may be captured and processed in stream fashion as it is collected at an image sensor. In one embodiment, raw image pixel data, as discussed above, may be formatted such that multiple color components or channels are not included for an individual pixel. An example of raw image data is a Bayer image format (of which there may be many variations) that includes different rows of pixel values for collecting light in different colors, green, red, and blue, which depend on the configuration of the image sensor. These pixel values (e.g., green values, red values, or blue values) may be collected and provided in raster order to the image signal processor, in some embodiments. In various embodiments, one or more image sensor(s) may be included in a camera module, and the image sensor(s) may be complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor(s), charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor(s), photodiode(s), and/or another types of image sensor(s). In some embodiments, the lens barrel holder may include a lens barrel that includes one or more optical elements, such as a color filter (e.g., a Bayer color filter) and one or more lenses. In one embodiment, the color filter may be an optical element inside the bottom of the lens barrel and/or lens barrel holder. In another embodiment, the color filter may be a material coating on the bottom surface of the lens barrel and/or the lens barrel holder. 
     Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that some embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments. 
     Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, and associated processes for using such devices are described. In some embodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as a mobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/or music player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portable multifunction devices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronic devices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitive surfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touch pads), may also be used. It should also be understood that, in some embodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but is a desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screen display and/or a touch pad). In some embodiments, the device is a gaming computer with orientation sensors (e.g., orientation sensors in a gaming controller). In other embodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but is a camera. 
     In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes a display and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should be understood, however, that the electronic device may include one or more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, a mouse and/or a joystick. 
     The device typically supports a variety of applications, such as one or more of the following: a drawing application, a presentation application, a word processing application, a website creation application, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, a gaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencing application, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, a workout support application, a photo management application, a digital camera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsing application, a digital music player application, and/or a digital video player application. 
     The various applications that may be executed on the device may use at least one common physical user-interface device, such as the touch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitive surface as well as corresponding information displayed on the device may be adjusted and/or varied from one application to the next and/or within a respective application. In this way, a common physical architecture (such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the device may support the variety of applications with user interfaces that are intuitive and transparent to the user. 
       FIG. 1  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module  100 , according to some embodiments. As illustrated in this example, camera module  100  may include a substrate  105 , an image sensor  115 , and a lens barrel holder  150 . In an embodiment, substrate  105  may include multiple embedded surface mount electrical components  110 A-N, which are mounted to a top of a circuit board layer  130  of substrate  105  and not exposed outside substrate  105 . In some embodiments, the embedded surface mount electrical components  110 A-N may be mounted in groups in proximity to the corners of the circuit board layer  130  inside substrate  105 , such that the embedded surface mount electrical components  110 A-N are located away from a central optical opening in the circuit board layer  130 . In one embodiment, circuit board layer  130  may be embedded within substrate  105 . As shown, a portion of circuit board layer  130  may extend outside substrate  105 , thereby enabling one or more external electrical connections on the extended portion of circuit board layer  130  to couple to one or more components of a multifunction device. 
     In an embodiment, image sensor  115  may include one or more image sensor electrical connections  120 A-N (e.g., solder balls, bond pads, or the like) on a top surface of image sensor  115 . Similarly, circuit board layer  130  embedded in substrate  105  may include one or more circuit board electrical connections  135 A-N on a lower surface of circuit board layer  130 . As depicted, the one or more circuit board electrical connections  135 A-N may also be located within a lower opening of substrate  105 . The lower opening of substrate  105  may be shaped to receive image sensor  115 . Image sensor  115  may thereby be flip chip mounted to circuit board layer  130  within the lower opening of substrate  105  and coupled to circuit board layer  130  via the respective image sensor electrical connections  120 A-N and circuit board electrical connections  135 A-N. In some embodiments, an adhesive material (e.g., epoxy or glue) may be applied to image sensor  115  (e.g., adhesive on the upper surface of image sensor  115  around the outer edges), such that image sensor  115  may be bonded to circuit board layer  130  and/or substrate  105  once the electrical connections are made. 
     In one embodiment, lens barrel holder  150  may include an optical aperture  155  and a central area configured to allow light to pass through a lens barrel inside the lens barrel holder. In an embodiment, the lens barrel holder  150  may include one or more optical element(s)  160  and an optical filter  175 . The optical element(s)  160  may include one or more lenses and/or a lens stack. Optical filter  175  may be a Bayer color filter or another type of color filter. In various embodiments, lens barrel holder  150  may include one or more extension(s)  165  that extend laterally around an outer edge of lens barrel holder  150 , and a lower portion of lens barrel holder  150  may be configured to fit, at least partially, inside an upper opening in substrate  105 . Light may pass through aperture  155 , optical element(s)  160 , optical filter  175 , and the opening in circuit board layer  130 , thereby reaching one or more optical image sensor(s) of image sensor  115 . In various embodiments, image sensor  115  may include complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor(s), charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor(s), photodiode(s), and/or another types of image sensor(s). 
     In an embodiment, a stiffener  140 , such as a metal grounding plate and/or a firm protective element may be affixed to a bottom of camera module  100  below image sensor  115 , thereby protecting image sensor  115  and providing rigidity and/or stability to camera module  100 . 
     Please note that  FIG. 1  is provided as merely an example of a camera module. Different combinations of the illustrated components (as well as components not illustrated) may be used to implement a camera module. For example, in some embodiments various image sensor shapes, lens barrel holder shapes, and/or various shapes of respective lower and upper openings in the substrate may be implemented. In various embodiments, the shape of the image sensor and lower opening, and/or lens barrel holder and upper opening may be circular, square, rectangular, oval, polygons, parallelograms, or other shapes suitable for implementing a camera module. Thus, the components of  FIG. 1  and their respective layout or ordering is not intended to be limiting to the various other combinations which may be used by a camera module. 
       FIG. 2  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example “exploded view” of various components illustrating an example camera module  200 , according to some embodiments. In one embodiment, camera module  200  may be configured similarly to camera module  100  of  FIG. 1 . In an embodiment, camera module  200  may include lens barrel holder  150 , which has a circular or cylindrical lower portion and an extension  165  (e.g., a flange) around an outer edge of an upper portion of lens barrel holder  150 , where the upper portion of the lens barrel holder is above the lower portion of the lens barrel holder. For example, the lower portion of the lens barrel holder may be configured to fit inside an upper opening of the substrate, and an upper portion of the lens barrel holder that extends upward (e.g., vertically) relative to the substrate may also include one or more extensions that extend laterally outward on top of the substrate (i.e., horizontally along a top surface of the substrate) from the wall of the lens barrel holder. 
     In one embodiment, camera module  200  also includes substrate  105 , which includes a round upper opening  205  configured to enable the cylindrical lower portion of lens barrel holder  150  to fit at least partially inside upper opening  205  of substrate  105 . In an embodiment, camera module  200  may also include a rectangular lower opening  210  configured to receive image sensor  115 . As described above, image sensor  115  may include electrical connections that couple image sensor  115  to circuit board layer  130 . In an embodiment, circuit board layer  130  may include one or more external connections on a portion of circuit board layer  130  that extends outside substrate  105 . In some embodiments, camera module  200  may include a stiffener  140  configured to be mounted to a base of camera module  200 . 
       FIG. 3  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module  300 , according to some embodiments. As depicted, camera module  300  may include substrate  105 , which includes multiple embedded electrical components  110 A-N inside substrate  105  and not exposed to an outside of substrate  105 . Since embedded electrical components  110 A-N are not exposed to an outside, embedded electrical components  110 A-N are thus protected within substrate  105 . Embedded electrical components  110 A-N are coupled to circuit board layer  130  and grouped in respective corners of circuit board layer  130  within substrate  105 , such that embedded electrical components  110 A-N are located away from a central opening in circuit board layer  130  and the upper opening in substrate  105 . As depicted, image sensor  115  may be flip chip mounted to circuit board layer  130  and the light sensitive elements of image sensor  115  may thus be in the optical path of the upper opening in substrate  105  and the opening in circuit board layer  130 . 
       FIG. 4  is a logical block diagram illustrating a cross-sectional view of an example camera module  400 , according to some embodiments. In an embodiment, camera module  400  may be configured similarly to camera modules  100 ,  200 , and  300  of  FIGS. 1-3 , respectively. 
       FIG. 4  is a horizontal cross section of an upper portion of camera module  400  viewed from a perspective where the lens barrel holder has been removed for illustrative purposes. In an embodiment, camera module  400  may include substrate  105  with embedded components. In one embodiment, camera module  400  may include an upper bond material  405  on a top surface of substrate  105  and below an extension of the lens barrel holder. Upper bond material  405  (e.g., adhesive, epoxy, or glue) may thus affix the lens barrel holder to substrate  105  while a lower portion of the lens barrel holder fits at least partially inside substrate  105 . 
       FIG. 5  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module  500 , according to some embodiments. In an embodiment, camera module  500  may be configured similarly to the camera modules of  FIGS. 1-4  and may thus include an embedded circuit board layer with embedded electrical components and an image sensor. In one embodiment, the lens barrel holder of camera module  500  may include a flange extension  505  that extends laterally around an outer circumference of the lens barrel holder. The flange extension  505  thus sits on top of the substrate and enables the lens barrel holder to be affixed to the substrate via a bonding material. 
       FIG. 6  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example camera module  600 , according to some embodiments. In an embodiment, camera module  600  may be configured similarly to the camera modules of  FIGS. 1-4  and may thus include an embedded circuit board layer with embedded electrical components and an image sensor. In one embodiment, the lens barrel holder of camera module  600  may include multiple tabs as extensions  605 A-N that extends laterally from respective outer sides of the lens barrel holder. The tabs extensions  605 A-N thus sit on top of the substrate and enable the lens barrel holder to be affixed to the substrate via a bonding material. 
     Although  FIG. 6  depicts a set of four rectangular tabs as extensions  605 A-N configured to affix the lens barrel holder to the substrate, in other embodiments different numbers and/or shapes of tabs may be included as extensions of the lens barrel holder. 
       FIGS. 1-6  provide examples of a camera module, which may implement a substrate with an embedded circuit board and embedded electrical components, an image sensor mounted to the circuit board, and a lens barrel holder configured to fit at least partially within an upper opening of a substrate. However, numerous other types or configurations of systems or devices may implement a camera module with embedded components, such as camera modules having various shapes of lens barrel holders, upper openings, lower openings, and image sensors. Similarly, camera modules may implement various types of adhesives, epoxies, and/or glues to bond various components of the camera module physically together. In some embodiments, different manufacturing processes may be used to form, deposit, install, or otherwise add the embedded components to the camera module, including, but not be limited to injection molding processes, physical material removal processes, active alignment processes, adhesive curing processes, or the like. 
       FIG. 7  is a high-level flowchart illustrating various methods and techniques for manufacturing a camera module with embedded components, according to some embodiments. The various components described above may implement these techniques (in addition to those described with regard to  FIGS. 8-10  below), as well as various other methods of manufacture. 
     As indicated at  710 , a method of manufacturing a camera module may include forming a substrate that includes an embedded circuit board with multiple electrical components, an upper opening configured to fit a lower portion of a lens barrel holder at least partially inside the substrate, and a lower opening configured to receive an image sensor. 
     As indicated at  720 , the method may include mounting the image sensor in the lower opening of the substrate and to the electrical connections of the circuit board. 
     As indicated at  730 , the method may include mounting a lower portion of the lens barrel holder in the upper opening of the substrate, such that light may pass through the lens barrel holder and the upper opening of the substrate to the image sensor mounted on a circuit board layer embedded within the substrate. 
     As indicated at  740 , the method may include an active alignment process. The active alignment process may include placing the camera module in a test fixture, activating the image sensor (i.e., sending one or more electrical signals to/from the image sensor) and capturing a test image pattern with the image sensor. For example, a test image pattern may be placed in a field of view of the camera module and the image sensor may capture the image and transmit one or more signals (e.g., image data) to the test fixture and/or to a multifunction device coupled to the camera module. 
     As indicated at  750 , the method may include determining, by the test fixture and/or the multifunction device and based at least in part on the received test image pattern, a position of the lens barrel holder to best focus the test image pattern. For example, the test fixture may include a robotic arm or other mechanical component that makes fine adjustments to the position of the lens barrel holder within the upper opening of the substrate, and the test fixture and/or multifunction device may measure and evaluate one or more quality metrics of the received test image pattern (e.g., distortion and/or level of focus of various areas of the test image pattern) based on the movements of the lens barrel holder. In some embodiments, the active alignment process may be iterative and/or include a feedback loop, such that multiple rounds of capturing a view of the test image, evaluating the captured image, and adjusting the position of the lens barrel holder may be performed until an optimal or best image focus is determined. 
     As indicated at  760 , the method may include aligning the lens barrel holder within the upper opening of the substrate based on the determined position. 
     As indicated at  770 , the method may include performing an initial cure of bonding material on the lens barrel holder in proximity to the upper opening of the substrate (e.g., curing adhesive between the extension(s) of the lens barrel holder and the top surface of the substrate). In one embodiment, the initial cure may include an ultraviolet (UV) curing process. After the initial cure, the method may include removing the camera module from the test fixture. 
     As indicated at  780 , the method may include performing, subsequent to the active alignment process (i.e., after the lens barrel holder has been successfully aligned), a secondary cure of the bonding material in proximity to the upper opening. In an embodiment, the secondary cure may include a heat-based curing process, such as cooking the camera module in an oven. 
     In some embodiments, the method may include curing the bonding material of both the upper and lower openings. In one embodiment, the bonding material in proximity to the image sensor and the lower opening may be cured prior to the active alignment process. In other words, the image sensor may be coupled to the circuit board and affixed to the substrate before the lens barrel holder is aligned and affixed to the substrate. 
     Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices with cameras. One example of a system that is configured to implement any or all of the techniques described herein is illustrated in  FIG. 8 . For example, portable multifunction device  800  may include camera  864  in accordance with some embodiments. Camera  864  is sometimes called an “optical sensor” for convenience, and may also be known as or called an optical sensor system. Device  800  may include memory  802  (which may include one or more computer readable storage mediums), memory controller  822 , one or more processing units (CPU&#39;s)  820 , peripherals interface  818 , RF circuitry  808 , audio circuitry  810 , speaker  811 , touch-sensitive display system  812 , microphone  813 , input/output (I/O) subsystem  806 , other input or control devices  816 , and external port  824 . Device  800  may include one or more optical sensors  864 . These components may communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines  803 . 
     It should be appreciated that device  800  is only one example of a portable multifunction device, and that device  800  may have more or fewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. The various components shown in  FIG. 8  may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits. 
     Memory  802  may include high-speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Access to memory  802  by other components of device  800 , such as CPU  820  and the peripherals interface  818 , may be controlled by memory controller  822 . 
     Peripherals interface  818  can be used to couple input and output peripherals of the device to CPU  820  and memory  802 . The one or more processors  820  run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in memory  802  to perform various functions for device  800  and to process data. 
     In some embodiments, peripherals interface  818 , CPU  820 , and memory controller  822  may be implemented on a single chip, such as chip  804 . In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips. 
     RF (radio frequency) circuitry  808  receives and sends RF signals, also called electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry  808  converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry  808  may include well-known circuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RF circuitry  808  may communicate with networks, such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any of a variety of communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. 
     Audio circuitry  810 , speaker  811 , and microphone  813  provide an audio interface between a user and device  800 . Audio circuitry  810  receives audio data from peripherals interface  818 , converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker  811 . Speaker  811  converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves. Audio circuitry  810  also receives electrical signals converted by microphone  813  from sound waves. Audio circuitry  810  converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to peripherals interface  818  for processing. Audio data may be retrieved from and/or transmitted to memory  802  and/or RF circuitry  808  by peripherals interface  818 . 
     I/O subsystem  806  couples input/output peripherals on device  800 , such as touch screen  812  and other input control devices  816 , to peripherals interface  818 . I/O subsystem  806  may include display controller  856  and one or more input controllers  860  for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers  860  receive/send electrical signals from/to other input or control devices  816 . The other input control devices  816  may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s)  860  may be coupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g.,  908  of  FIG. 9 ) may include an up/down button for volume control of speaker  811  and/or microphone  813 . The one or more buttons may include a push button (e.g.,  906  of  FIG. 9 ). 
     Touch-sensitive display  812  provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and a user. Display controller  856  receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen  812 . Touch screen  812  displays visual output to the user. The visual output may include graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output may correspond to user-interface objects. 
     Touch screen  812  may have a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact. Touch screen  812  and display controller  856  (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory  802 ) detect contact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen  812  and converts the detected contact into interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) that are displayed on touch screen  812 . In an exemplary embodiment, a point of contact between touch screen  812  and the user corresponds to a finger of the user. 
     Touch screen  812  may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. Touch screen  812  and display controller  856  may detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a variety of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with touch screen  812 . In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     Device  800  also includes power system  862  for powering the various components. Power system  862  may include a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices. 
     Device  800  may also include one or more optical sensors or cameras  864 .  FIG. 8  shows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller  858  in I/O subsystem  806 . Optical sensor  864  may include charge-coupled device (CCD), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors, and/or photodiodes. Optical sensor  864  receives light from the environment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the light to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module  843  (also called a camera module), optical sensor  864  may capture still images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the back of device  800 , opposite touch screen display  812  on the front of the device, so that the touch screen display may be used as a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, another optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the user&#39;s image may be obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conference participants on the touch screen display. The camera modules of  FIGS. 1-7  may thus be located, positioned, or installed on the front of device  800  and/or on the back of device  800  in various embodiments. 
     Device  800  may also include one or more proximity sensors  866 .  FIG. 8  shows proximity sensor  866  coupled to peripherals interface  818 . Alternately, proximity sensor  866  may be coupled to input controller  860  in I/O subsystem  806 . In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns off and disables touch screen  812  when the multifunction device is placed near the user&#39;s ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call). 
     Device  800  may include one or more orientation sensors  868 . In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors include one or more accelerometers (e.g., one or more linear accelerometers and/or one or more rotational accelerometers). In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors include one or more gyroscopes. In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors include one or more magnetometers. In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors include one or more of global positioning system (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), and/or other global navigation system receivers. The GPS, GLONASS, and/or other global navigation system receivers may be used for obtaining information concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device  800 . In some embodiments, the one or more orientation sensors include any combination of orientation/rotation sensors.  FIG. 8  shows the one or more orientation sensors  868  coupled to peripherals interface  818 . Alternately, the one or more orientation sensors  868  may be coupled to an input controller  860  in I/O subsystem  806 . In some embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one or more orientation sensors. 
     In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory  802  include operating system  826 , communication module (or set of instructions)  828 , contact/motion module (or set of instructions)  830 , graphics module (or set of instructions)  832 , text input module (or set of instructions)  834 , Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set of instructions)  835 , device/global internal state  857 , and applications (or sets of instructions)  836 . Device/global internal state  857  may include one or more of: active application state, indicating which applications, if any, are currently active; display state, indicating what applications, views or other information occupy various regions of touch screen display  812 ; sensor state, including information obtained from the device&#39;s various sensors and input control devices  816 ; and location information concerning the device&#39;s location and/or attitude. 
     Operating system  826  (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components. 
     Communication module  828  facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports  824  and also includes various software components for handling data received by RF circuitry  808  and/or external port  824 . External port  824  (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the 30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices. 
     Contact/motion module  830  may detect contact with touch screen  812  (in conjunction with display controller  856 ) and other touch sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). Contact/motion module  830  includes various software components for performing various operations related to detection of contact, such as determining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-down event), determining if there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased (e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact). Contact/motion module  830  receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which is represented by a series of contact data, may include determining speed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point of contact. These operations may be applied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g., “multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments, contact/motion module  830  and display controller  856  detect contact on a touchpad. 
     Graphics module  832  includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on touch screen  812  or other display, including components for changing the intensity of graphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations and the like. Text input module  834 , which may be a component of graphics module  832 , provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications that need text input. 
     GPS module  835  determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications (e.g., to camera  843  as picture/video metadata, and to applications that provide location-based services). 
     Examples of other applications  836  that may be stored in memory  802  include other word processing applications, other image editing applications, drawing applications, presentation applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice replication. 
     In conjunction with touch screen  812 , display controller  856 , optical sensor(s)  864 , optical sensor controller  858 , contact module  830 , graphics module  832 , and image management module  844 , camera module  843  includes executable instructions to capture still images or video (including a video stream) and store them into memory  802 , modify characteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image or video from memory  802 . 
     In conjunction with touch screen  812 , display controller  856 , contact module  830 , graphics module  832 , text input module  834 , and camera module  843 , image management module  844  includes executable instructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate, label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and store still and/or video images. 
     Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to a set of executable instructions for performing one or more functions described above and the methods described in this application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory  802  may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory  802  may store additional modules and data structures not described above. 
     In some embodiments, device  800  is a device where operation of a predefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/or a touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device  800 , the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons, dials, and the like) on device  800  may be reduced. 
     The predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad include navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user, navigates device  800  to a main, home, or root menu from any user interface that may be displayed on device  800 . In such embodiments, the touchpad may be referred to as a “menu button.” In some other embodiments, the menu button may be a physical push button or other physical input control device instead of a touchpad. 
     In different embodiments, device  800  may be any of various types of devices, including, but not limited to, a personal computer system; a desktop computer; a laptop computer; a notebook, tablet, slate, or netbook computer; a mainframe computer system; a handheld computer; a workstation; a network computer; a camera; a set top box; a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, pager, personal data assistant (PDA), tablet device, or music player; an I/O device such as a digital camera, a scanner, a video recorder; a consumer device; a video game console; a handheld video game device; or in general any type of computing or electronic device that includes the functionality of a camera or video camera. Example embodiments of device  800  are illustrated in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , which are discussed below. 
       FIG. 9  is a logical block diagram illustrating an example portable multifunction device, according to some embodiments.  FIG. 9  illustrates a portable multifunction device  800  having a touch screen  812  in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screen may display one or more graphics within user interface (UI). In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user may select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on the graphics, for example, with one or more fingers  902  (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more styluses  903  (not drawn to scale in the figure). 
     Device  800  may also include one or more physical buttons, such as “home” or menu button  904 . As described previously, menu button  904  may be used to navigate to any application  836  in a set of applications that may be executed on device  800 . Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen  812 . 
     In one embodiment, device  800  includes touch screen  812 , menu button  904 , push button  906  for powering the device on/off and locking the device, volume adjustment button(s)  908 , Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card slot  910 , head set jack  912 , and docking/charging external port  824 . Push button  906  may be used to turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device  800  also may accept verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone  813 . 
     It should be noted that, although many of the following examples will be given with reference to optical sensor/camera  864  (on the front of a device), rear-facing camera or optical sensor that is pointed opposite from the display may be used instead of optical sensor/camera  864 . 
       FIG. 10  is a logical block diagram illustrating computer system  1000  that is configured to execute any or all of the embodiments described above. For example, computer system  1000  may be configured similarly to portable multifunction device  800  of  FIGS. 8 and 9 . In different embodiments, computer system  1000  may be any of various types of devices, including, but not limited to, a personal computer system, desktop computer, laptop, notebook, tablet, slate, or netbook computer, mainframe computer system, handheld computer, workstation, network computer, a camera, a set top box, a mobile device, a consumer device, video game console, handheld video game device, application server, storage device, a television, a video recording device, a peripheral device such as a switch, modem, router, or in general any type of computing or electronic device. 
     Various embodiments of a camera module as described herein, may be executed in one or more computer systems  1000 , which may interact with various other devices. Note that any component, action, or functionality described above with respect to  FIGS. 1-9  may be implemented on one or more computers configured as computer system  1000  of  FIG. 10 , according to various embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, computer system  1000  includes one or more processors  1010  coupled to a system memory  1020  via an input/output (I/O) interface  1030 . Computer system  1000  further includes a network interface  1040  coupled to I/O interface  1030 , and one or more input/output devices  1050 , such as cursor control device  1060 , keyboard  1070 , and display(s)  1080 . In some cases, it is contemplated that embodiments may be implemented using a single instance of computer system  1000 , while in other embodiments multiple such systems, or multiple nodes making up computer system  1000 , may be configured to host different portions or instances of embodiments. For example, in one embodiment some elements may be implemented via one or more nodes of computer system  1000  that are distinct from those nodes implementing other elements. 
     In various embodiments, computer system  1000  may be a uniprocessor system including one processor  1010 , or a multiprocessor system including several processors  1010  (e.g., two, four, eight, or another suitable number). Processors  1010  may be any suitable processor capable of executing instructions. In some embodiments, processors  1010  may be configured to send control signals to a solid state lens in a camera module, where the camera module is connected to processors  1010  by a flexible circuit board configured to communicate via I/O interface  1030 . In various embodiments processors  1010  may be general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs), such as the x86, PowerPC, SPARC, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitable ISA. In multiprocessor systems, each of CPU(s)  1010  may commonly, but not necessarily, implement the same ISA. Processors  1010  may employ any microarchitecture, including scalar, superscalar, pipelined, superpipelined, out of order, in order, speculative, non-speculative, etc., or combinations thereof. Processors  1010  may include circuitry to implement microcoding techniques. Processors  1010  may include one or more processing cores each configured to execute instructions. Processors  1010  may include one or more levels of caches, which may employ any size and any configuration (set associative, direct mapped, etc.). 
     System memory  1020  may be configured to store camera control program instructions  1025  and/or camera control data accessible by processor  1010 . In various embodiments, system memory  1020  may be implemented using any type of memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.) SDRAM (including mobile versions of the SDRAMs such as mDDR3, etc., or low power versions of the SDRAMs such as LPDDR2, etc.), RAMBUS DRAM (RDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), etc. One or more memory devices may be coupled onto a circuit board to form memory modules such as single inline memory modules (SIMMs), dual inline memory modules (DIMMs), etc. Alternatively, the devices may be mounted with an integrated circuit implementing system  1000  in a chip-on-chip configuration, a package-on-package configuration, or a multi-chip module configuration. In some embodiments, system memory  1020  may store pixel data or other image data or statistics in various formats. Similarly, while the example system  1000  illustrated in  FIG. 10  may include persistent storage for non-volatile storage of image data or other data used in the system, in other embodiments, the system may include other types of non-volatile memory (e.g. read-only memory (ROM)) for those purposes. In an embodiment, system memory  1020  may include data, such as a camera control program instructions  1025 . In the illustrated embodiment, program instructions  1025  may be configured to implement a lens control application (e.g., camera control program instructions  1025 ) incorporating any of the functionality described above. Additionally, existing camera control data of memory  1020  may include any of the information or data structures described above. In some embodiments, program instructions and/or data may be received, sent or stored upon different types of computer-accessible media or on similar media separate from system memory  1020  or computer system  1000 . While computer system  1000  is described as implementing the functionality of functional blocks of previous Figures, any of the functionality described herein may be implemented via such a computer system. 
     In one embodiment, I/O interface  1030  may be configured to coordinate I/O traffic between processor(s)  1010 , system memory  1020 , and any peripheral devices in the device, including network interface  1040  or other peripheral interfaces, such as input/output devices  1050 . In some embodiments, I/O interface  1030  may perform any necessary protocol, timing or other data transformations to convert data signals from one component (e.g., system memory  1020 ) into a format suitable for use by another component (e.g., processor  1010 ). In some embodiments, I/O interface  1030  may include support for devices attached through various types of peripheral buses, such as a variant of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus standard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, for example. In some embodiments, the function of I/O interface  1030  may be split into two or more separate components, such as a north bridge and a south bridge, for example. Also, in some embodiments some or all of the functionality of I/O interface  1030 , such as an interface to system memory  1220 , may be incorporated directly into processor  1010 . 
     Network interface  1040  may be configured to allow data to be exchanged between computer system  1000  and other devices attached to a network  1085  (e.g., carrier or agent devices) or between nodes of computer system  1000 . Network  1085  may in various embodiments include one or more networks including but not limited to Local Area Networks (LANs) (e.g., an Ethernet or corporate network), Wide Area Networks (WANs) (e.g., the Internet), wireless data networks, some other electronic data network, or some combination thereof. In various embodiments, network interface  1040  may support communication via wired or wireless general data networks, such as any suitable type of Ethernet network, for example; via telecommunications/telephony networks such as analog voice networks or digital fiber communications networks; via storage area networks such as Fibre Channel SANs, or via any other suitable type of network and/or protocol. 
     Input/output devices  1050  may, in some embodiments, include one or more display terminals, keyboards, keypads, touchpads, scanning devices, voice or optical recognition devices, or any other devices suitable for entering or accessing data by one or more computer systems  1000 . Multiple input/output devices  1050  may be present in computer system  1000  or may be distributed on various nodes of computer system  1000 . In some embodiments, similar input/output devices may be separate from computer system  1000  and may interact with one or more nodes of computer system  1000  through a wired or wireless connection, such as over network interface  1040 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , memory  1020  may include program instructions (e.g., camera control program instructions  1025 ), which may be processor-executable to implement any element or action described above. In one embodiment, the program instructions may implement the methods described above. In other embodiments, different elements and data may be included. Note that data may include any data or information described above. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system  1000  is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of embodiments. In particular, the computer system and devices may include any combination of hardware or software that can perform the indicated functions, including computers, network devices, Internet appliances, PDAs, wireless phones, pagers, etc. Computer system  1000  may also be connected to other devices that are not illustrated, or instead may operate as a stand-alone system. In addition, the functionality provided by the illustrated components may in some embodiments be combined in fewer components or distributed in additional components. Similarly, in some embodiments, the functionality of some of the illustrated components may not be provided and/or other additional functionality may be available. 
     Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, while various items are illustrated as being stored in memory or on storage while being used, these items or portions of them may be transferred between memory and other storage devices for purposes of memory management and data integrity. Alternatively, in other embodiments some or all of the software components may execute in memory on another device and communicate with the illustrated computer system via inter-computer communication. Some or all of the system components or data structures may also be stored (e.g., as instructions or structured data) on a computer-accessible medium or a portable article to be read by an appropriate drive, various examples of which are described above. In some embodiments, instructions stored on a computer-accessible medium separate from computer system  1000  may be transmitted to computer system  1000  via transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link. Various embodiments may further include receiving, sending or storing instructions and/or data implemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon a computer-accessible medium. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium or memory medium such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM, volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc. In some embodiments, a computer-accessible medium may include transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as network and/or a wireless link. 
     The methods described herein may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof, in different embodiments. In addition, the order of the blocks of the methods may be changed, and various elements may be added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. Various modifications and changes may be made as would be obvious to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. The various embodiments described herein are meant to be illustrative and not limiting. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible. Accordingly, plural instances may be provided for components described herein as a single instance. Boundaries between various components, operations and data stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in the context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within the scope of claims that follow. Finally, structures and functionality presented as discrete components in the exemplary configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of embodiments as defined in the claims that follow. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that system  1000  is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of embodiments. For example, system  1000  may also be connected to other devices that are not illustrated, or instead may operate as a stand-alone system. In addition, the functionality provided by the illustrated components may in some embodiments be combined in fewer components or distributed in additional components. Similarly, in some embodiments, the functionality of some of the illustrated components may not be provided or other additional functionality may be available. In some embodiments program instructions stored in system memory  1020  may be executed by processor(s)  1010  to provide various functions of system  1000 . 
     In other embodiments, various functions may be performed by software components executing in memory on another device and communicating with the illustrated system via inter-computer communication. Some or all of these software components or any data structures described herein may be stored (e.g., as instructions or structured data) in system memory  1020 , in persistent storage, or may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a portable article to be read by an appropriate drive. In some embodiments, instructions stored on a computer-accessible medium separate from system  1000  may be transmitted to system  1000  via transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as a network or a wireless link. Various embodiments may further include receiving, sending or storing instructions or data implemented in accordance with the descriptions herein. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium or memory medium such as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM, volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc. 
     As described above, a camera module with integrated components has a reduced overall part count, and thus a simplified assembly process that is less prone to error. Furthermore, integrating the optical filter in the lens barrel, embedding the circuit board with the image sensor into the substrate, and mounting a lower portion of the lens barrel holder at least partially inside the substrate reduces the height of the camera module (i.e., results in a reduced camera module profile along the Z-axis and/or the optical axis). A camera module with embedded components is thus more desirable for mobile devices since the camera module occupies less physical space and has a low part count. Additionally, the reliability of the camera module is improved since the embedded components are sealed inside the camera module, thereby protecting the embedded components from damage.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20170809
Publication Date: 20190521
Grant Date: 20190521
Priority Date: 20160810
Inventors: HSU, YA WEN
BRODIE, DOUGLAS S.
WEBSTER, STEVEN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04N23/55", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N23/55", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N23/70", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/08", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N23/54", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N23/54", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/646", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N5/2253", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N5/2254", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B13/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G03B13/36", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/64", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N3/155", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N5/235", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G03B17/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/09", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/64", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G03B17/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B13/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/646", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G03B13/36", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/64", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/09", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N3/155", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 61159609