Patent Application
20130256926
The present invention generally relates to the arts of optical sensors, and particularly to a method for making an optical sensor with a proximity sensor unit and an ambient light sensor unit.
Optical sensors are known in the art and widely used in portable consumer devices. Generally, such a consumer device includes a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor for detecting a distance between the device and an object, and detecting the ambient brightness of the environment. For meeting the trend of system integration, the proximity sensor and the ambient light sensor are designed to be one integrated module, i.e. the integrated module includes a proximity sensor unit combined with an ambient light sensor unit. Such an integrated module is called optical sensor in this application.
As disclosed in US Pub. No. 20110133941 A1, an optical sensor comprises a carrier, a shield forming a receiving room together with the carrier, a light detector, and a light emitter mounted on the carrier and received in the receiving room, respectively. The shield serves as a light blocking element to provide optical isolation between light emitter and light detector, so that undesired optical cross-talk between emitter and detector is minimized. However, the shield with a complicated shape and geometry is formed by metal stamping techniques, which makes the manufacture of the optical sensor difficult and expensive.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved optical sensor which can overcome the above-mentioned problems.
a)˜2(g) shows steps of a method for making the optical sensor in
Many aspects of the embodiment can be better understood with reference to the drawings mentioned above. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Reference will now be made to describe an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure in detail. Referring to
a)˜2(g) illustrates processes of a method of making a plurality of said optical sensors 100. The processes comprise the steps as follows:
Step 1: referring to
Step 2: referring to
Step 3: referring to
Step 4: referring to
Step 5: referring to 1(f), separate the metal mold 4 from the polymer layer 5 for forming a plurality of first lenses 23 covering the infrared ambient light detectors 21 and the proximity sensors 22, a plurality of second lenses 32 coving the infrared light emitters 31, and a plurality of fixing concaves 43 formed between the first and second lenses 23, 32. Each first lens 23 has a first lens portion 231 shaped by the first concave portion 411 for covering the infrared ambient light detector 21 and a second lens portion 232 shaped by the second concave portion 412 for covering the proximity sensor 22. The fixing concaves 43 are shaped by the projecting portions 43.
Step 6: referring to
Step 7: divide the individual optical sensors by, for example, using sawing techniques well known to those skilled in the art.
The fixing concave is directly formed with the lenses, which makes the assembly process of fixing the light blocking element on the carrier much easier, so that the manufacture of the optical proximity sensor is simple and low-cost.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to the specific embodiment, the description of the disclosure is illustrative and is not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Various of modifications to the present disclosure can be made to the exemplary embodiment by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201210090854.4 | Mar 2012 | CN | national |
