DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] Referring to FIG. 2 , an injection molded image sensor of the invention includes a plurality of metal sheets 30 arranged in a matrix, an injection molded structure 32 , a photosensitive chip 34 , a plurality of wires 36 and a transparent layer 38 .

[0033] Each metal sheet 30 has a first board 40 , a second board 42 , a third board 44 , and a fourth board 46 connecting the first board 40 to the second board 42 . The third board 44 is vertically connected with the second board 42 .

[0034] The injection molded structure 32 is formed to encapsulate or seal the metal sheets 30 by way of injection molding so as to form a first molded body 50 and a second molded body 52 . The injection molded structure 32 is of a U-shaped structure and has a cavity 54 . The first boards 40 are exposed from the first molded body 50 to form signal input terminals. The second boards 42 are exposed from the bottom surface of the first molded body 50 to form signal output terminals, which are electrically connected to a printed circuit board 51 by the solder tin 53 using the surface mount technique (SMT). The third boards 44 are exposed from the side surface of the first molded body 50 so that the solder tin 53 may climb to the third board 44 during the SMT process for stably mounting and bonding the metal sheets 30 to the printed circuit board 51 . In addition, a middle board 49 is arranged on the second molded body 52 .

[0035] The photosensitive chip 34 , which is arranged within the cavity 54 of the injection molded structure 32 and adhered to the middle board 49 , has a plurality of bonding pads 56 thereon.

[0036] The wires 36 electrically connect the bonding pads 56 of the photosensitive chip 34 to the first boards 40 of the metal sheet 30 , respectively.

[0037] The transparent layer 38 is mounted to the first molded body 50 to encapsulate or seal the photosensitive chip 34 .

[0038] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 2 , a method for manufacturing the injection molded image sensor includes the following steps. First, a plurality of metal sheets 30 is provided. Each metal sheet 30 includes a first board 40 , a second board 42 , a third board 44 , and a fourth board 46 . Next, a first injection molding process is performed to encapsulate or seal each metal sheet 30 so as to form a first molded body 50 . First engagement portions 58 , which may be projections, are formed at edges of the first molded body 50 . At this time, the first boards 40 of the metal sheets 30 are exposed from the first molded body 50 to form signal input terminals, the second boards 42 are exposed from the first molded body 50 to form signal output terminals. The third boards 44 are connected with the second boards 44 , respectively, and are exposed from the side surface of the first molded body 50 . The fourth boards 46 connect the first boards 40 to the second boards 42 , respectively.

[0039] Then, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 , a connection board 48 is provided. Second engagement portions 60 , which may be slots, are formed at positions corresponding to the first engagement portions 58 of the first molded body 50 so as to engage with the first molded body 50 . In addition, the connection board 48 is also formed with a middle board 49 .

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5 , four first molded bodies 50 are arranged at the periphery of the connection board 48 to form U-shaped sections.

[0041] Please refer again to FIG. 2 . A second injection molding process is performed to mold the connection board 48 and the first molded bodies 50 into a second molded body 52 , which is formed with a cavity 54 and combined with the first molded bodies 50 . The connection board 48 is exposed from the second molded body 52 and is positioned above the second molded body 52 .

[0042] Then, a photosensitive chip 34 , on which a plurality of bonding pads 56 are formed, is placed within the cavity 54 and is mounted and adhered to the middle board 49 of the connection board 48 .

[0043] Next, a plurality of wires 36 electrically connecting the bonding pads 56 of the photosensitive chip 34 to the first boards 40 of the metal sheets 30 is provided to transmit signals from the photosensitive chip 34 to the metal sheet 30 .

[0044] Then, a transparent layer 38 is adhered to the four first molded bodies 50 so that the photosensitive chip 34 may be encapsulated or sealed.

[0045] According to the above-mentioned method, when the image sensor is surface-mounted to the printed circuit board 51 , the solder tin 53 may climb to the third boards 44 along the second boards 42 of the metal sheets 30 such that the image sensor may be firmly combined with and bonded to the printed circuit board 51 .

[0046] According to the above-mentioned structure, the injection molded image sensor and method of the invention has the following advantages.

[0047] 1. A third board 44 is provided in each metal sheet 30 to connect with the second board 42 and is formed on the side surface of the first molded body 50 . So, during the process for surface-mounting the image sensor to the printed circuit board 51 , the solder tin 53 may climb to the third board 44 such that the image sensor may be firmly combined with and bonded to the printed circuit board.

[0048] 2. Since the image sensors may be manufactured by way of injection molding, the manufacturing costs thereof may be effectively decreased using a mass production method.

[0049] 3. Since the frame layer is formed by way of injection molding, it is possible to prevent the glue or adhesive from overflowing.

[0050] 4. Since the metal sheets 30 may serve as the conventional substrate and traces thereon, the material and manufacturing costs may be effectively decreased.

[0051] While the invention has been described by way of examples and in terms of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications.