Magna International has been granted a patent for a vehicular camera that includes a front housing portion, a first circuit board with an imager, a second circuit board in board-to-board electrical connection, and a rear housing portion with a connector for electrically connecting to a vehicle’s wire harness. The connector includes a multi-pin connector with at least three terminals that establish a ground path to the second circuit board. The camera provides image data to the vehicle’s electronic control unit. GlobalData’s report on Magna International gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
According to GlobalData’s company profile on Magna International, stabiliser bar type suspensions was a key innovation area identified from patents. Magna International's grant share as of June 2023 was 1%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Patent granted for a vehicular camera with improved electrical connection
A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11689795B2) describes a vehicular camera with several unique features. The camera consists of a front housing portion with a lens and two circuit boards, each with its own set of circuitry. The first circuit board contains an imager, specifically a CMOS imaging array with over one million photosensing elements arranged in rows and columns. The second circuit board is in board-to-board electrical connection with the first circuit board and is also electrically connected to an electrical connector.
The camera is designed to be mounted at the rear portion of a vehicle and has a rear housing portion with a connector for electrically connecting to the vehicle's wire harness. When the rear housing portion is joined with the front housing portion, a camera housing is formed with the circuit boards inside. The rear housing portion's connector is a multi-pin connector with at least three pins, including a video signal pin and a ground-connect pin. The connector also includes an electrically conductive metallic clamping element that is in electrically conductive connection with the ground-connect pin and electrically isolated from the video signal pin.
When the camera is mounted on the vehicle and the connector is electrically connected to the wire harness, image data captured by the camera is provided to the vehicle's electronic control unit (ECU) via signal communication. The camera can also capture image data for a multi-camera surround vision system of the vehicle.
Additional features of the camera include an electrically conductive metallic shield element mounted at the rear housing portion, which is electrically conductively connected to the metallic clamping element. The circuitry of the second circuit board is connected to the first circuit board via a flexible ribbon cable. The metallic clamping element is press fit attached to the ground-connect pin and comprises multiple flexible walls that clamp onto the electrical connector.
Overall, this patented vehicular camera offers a unique design and functionality, providing image data to the vehicle's ECU and potentially contributing to a multi-camera surround vision system.
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