JP2003152848A - Mobile communication terminal with camera, imaging control method for the terminal, program, and recording medium recording the program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile phone with camera that can easily pick up an image of an object. SOLUTION: Since a camera 22 is fitted to a rear side of a lower terminal body 20, the camera 22 can easily pick up an image of an object placed in front of a user. Furthermore, when the upper terminal body 10 is rotated, turned over and folded, the camera 22 can pick up an image. Then when the camera picks up an image of an object, a display device 12 is placed on the front side. Thus, the user can easily confirm the photographed image by the camera 22 at imaging.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile phone with a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a mobile phone equipped with a camera to enable image pickup. An example of such a camera-equipped mobile phone is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 7, mobile phone 10
A display 110 and keys 130 are provided on the front side of 0, and a camera 120 is provided on the back side. To image a subject in front of the user, point the camera 120 at the subject, check the captured image on the display 110, and press the key 13
Image 0 by operating 0.

[0003]

However, according to the operation of the mobile phone 100, the user can operate the mobile phone 10.
It is common to grasp the side of 0
It is difficult to press the key 130 on the front of the.

Further, when the user himself / herself is imaged by using the camera 120, the mobile phone 100 must be turned over so that the camera 120 faces the user. In this case, the display 110 and the keys 130 are the back side of the user. Therefore, it is difficult to confirm the captured image on the display 110, and it is difficult to operate the key 130.

As described above, it is difficult to capture an image.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable communication terminal with a camera which makes it easy to image a subject.

[0007]

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal with a camera. The camera-equipped mobile communication terminal according to the present invention has a lower body, an upper body, a display, a rotation detecting means, a folding detecting means, and an imaging control means.

A camera is attached to the back side of the lower body. The upper body is attached to the upper end of the lower body,
The lower body is rotatable with respect to the lower body so as to be turned upside down while being positioned on the upper body, and is foldable so as to face the lower body. The display is provided on the front side of the upper main body and displays an image captured by the camera. The rotation detecting means detects the rotation of the upper main body. The folding detection means detects folding of the upper body. The image pickup control means enables the image pickup by the camera when the rotation detection means detects and the folding detection means detects.

According to the invention configured as described above, since the camera is attached to the back side of the lower main body, it is easy to image a subject in front of the user. In addition, when the upper body is rotated and folded, it is possible to take an image with a camera. Therefore, when taking an image with a camera,
The display is on the front side. Therefore, it is easy to confirm the image captured by the camera during image capturing.

Further, in the present invention, the shutter may be provided on the side surface of the upper body or the lower body.

According to the invention configured as described above, it is easier to press the shutter during image capturing than when the shutter is on the front side or the back side of the mobile communication terminal with camera.

Further, the present invention may include an image pickup operation enabling instruction means. The image pickup operation possible instruction means gives an instruction to enable image pickup by the camera. Moreover, the image pickup control means is made to enable the image pickup by the camera in response to the detection by the rotation detection means and the instruction of the image pickup operation enabling instruction means.

According to the invention configured as described above, the display and the camera are on the back side when the image is picked up by the camera. Therefore, the display and the camera are oriented in the same direction, which is suitable for taking a picture of oneself.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view, a plan view and a rear view of a camera-equipped mobile phone 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The camera-equipped mobile phone 1 has an upper main body (second casing).
10, display 12, lower body (first housing) 2
0, a camera 22, a shutter (imaging operation means) 24, a key 26, and a hinge (first axis) 30.

The upper body 10 is attached to the upper end of the lower body 20 via a hinge 30. Upper body 10
Is rotatable with respect to the lower body 20 so as to be turned upside down while being positioned above the lower body 20 (see FIG. 2), and is foldable so as to face the lower body 20 (see FIG. 3). The rotation and folding of the upper body 10 will be described later.

The display 12 is provided on the front side of the upper body 10 and displays an image picked up by the camera 22.

The lower body 20 includes a camera 22 and a shutter 2.
4, having keys 26. The camera 22 is provided on the back side of the lower body 20. The shutter 24 is the lower body 20.
It is provided on the side of. However, the shutter 24 may be provided on the side surface of the upper body 10. Shutter 2
Reference numeral 4 denotes a shutter of the camera 22. The key 26 is provided on the front side of the lower body 20. The key 26 is a well-known key, and for example, a number from 0 to 9 can be input.

The hinge 30 includes an upper body 10 and a lower body 2.
Combine with 0.

The rotation of the upper body 10 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the upper main body 10 is located above the lower main body 20, and the center line (second axis) is maintained.
It can rotate around 14 as an axis. Center line 14 on the upper body 10
When rotated about the axis as shown in FIG. 2B, the upper main body 10 is turned upside down.

Folding of the upper body 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a side view of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 when the upper body 10 is rotated. The surface 10a of the upper body 10 on which the display 12 is provided
Is located on the back side. Further, the surface 20a of the lower body 20 provided with the camera 22 is also located on the back side. Here, the upper main body 10 can be folded in the arrow direction with the hinge 30 as an axis.

When the upper body 10 is folded in the direction of the arrow, the upper body 10 and the lower body 20 face each other as shown in FIG. 3 (b). At this time, the surface 10a is located on the front side. On the other hand, the surface 20a remains located on the back side.

FIG. 3C shows a front view and a rear view when the upper body 10 and the lower body 20 face each other. The display 10 is located on the front side and the camera 22 is located on the back side. The shutter 24 is located on the side surface.

FIG. 4 is a hardware block diagram of the mobile phone 200 and the hands-free communication device 270. The mobile phone 200 and the hands-free communication device 270 are used as the camera-equipped mobile phone 1.

The mobile phone 200 includes a control line 201, a data line 202, an antenna 203, a communication circuit 204,
Microphone 205, speaker 206, connection unit 207, switching control unit 208, ROM 209, RAM 210, operation unit 21
1, display control unit 212, display unit 213, imaging control unit 21
4, the camera 215, the CPU 216, the folding detection unit 218,
The rotation detecting section 220 and the shutter operating section 222 are provided.

The control line 201 is a line for controlling each part. The data line 202 is a line for passing data. The control line 201 and the data line 202 connect the respective units.

The antenna 203 and the communication circuit 204 are
The mobile phone 200 is for performing communication as a phone. The microphone 205 converts a user's utterance into an analog signal or the like when the mobile phone 200 is used as a phone. The speaker 206 outputs the sound received by the mobile phone 200 to the user when the mobile phone 200 is used as a telephone. The connection unit 207 connects the switching control unit 208 and the hands-free communication device 270. The switching control unit 208 includes a microphone 205 and a speaker 206.
And a call by the hands-free communication device 270 are switched. ROM (Read Only Memory) 209,
It is a read-only memory. RAM (Random Acc
The ess memory) 210 is a readable / writable memory.

The operation section 211 is a section that receives user operations. The operation unit 211 corresponds to the key 26.
The display control unit 212 controls the display content of the display unit 213. The display unit 213 is a display that performs display according to the control of the display control unit 212.
Equivalent to.

The image pickup controller 214 controls the image pickup by the camera 215. The camera 215 takes an image under the control of the imaging control unit 214. The CPU 216 controls each unit.

The folding detector 218 detects folding of the upper body 10. The rotation detector 220 detects the rotation of the upper body 10. The shutter operation unit 222 is the shutter 2
4 and electronic circuits attached to it.

The hands-free communication device 270 has a connection terminal 2
71, a remote controller with a microphone 272, and a speaker 273.

The connection terminal 271 is a terminal for connecting the hands-free communication device 270 and the mobile phone 200.

The remote control unit 272 with a microphone is used for the mobile phone 2
A remote controller for operating 00, and a microphone for converting a user's voice into an analog signal or the like when the mobile phone 200 is used as a telephone is also attached.

The speaker 273 outputs the voice received by the mobile phone 200 to the user when the mobile phone 200 is used as a telephone.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the mobile phone 1 with a camera. The camera-equipped mobile phone 1 has a display unit 21.
3, imaging control unit 214, camera 215, folding detection unit 21
8, a rotation detection unit 220, a shutter operation unit 222, and an imaging operation enable instruction unit 224.

The display unit 213 is the same as the display 12, and receives the image captured by the camera 215 from the image capturing control unit 214 and displays it. The imaging control unit 214 includes the fold detection unit 21.
When the folding of the upper body 10 is detected by 8 and the rotation of the upper body 10 is detected by the rotation detecting unit 220, the camera 215 can capture an image. However, even if there is no detection by the folding detection unit 218, the rotation detection unit 220
If there is a detection by the camera, and if there is an instruction from the image capturing operation instructing section 224, the camera 215 can capture an image. The image capturing control unit 214 enables the shutter operating unit 222 to operate immediately after the camera 215 enables image capturing.

The camera 215 is the same as the camera 22. The folding detection unit 218 detects the folding of the upper body 10. The rotation detector 220 detects the rotation of the upper body 10. Whether or not the shutter operation unit 222 can be used is determined by the imaging operation enable instruction unit 224. The image capturing operation instruction section 224 is for instructing that image capturing is desired even if the upper main body 10 is not folded. The imaging operation enable instruction unit 224 may be a part of the operation unit 211. For example, an imaging mode key may be provided in the operation unit 211 and an imaging instruction may be issued by pressing the imaging mode key.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the image pickup controller 214 determines whether or not the rotation of the upper body 10 is detected by the rotation detector 220 (S10). Here, by the rotation detection unit 220,
If the rotation of the upper body 10 is detected (S10,
Y), the imaging control unit 214 determines whether or not the folding of the upper main body 10 is detected by the folding detection unit 218 (S12). When the folding detection unit 218 detects the folding of the upper main body 10 (S12, Y), the imaging control unit 214 enables the camera 215 to perform imaging. That is, the imaging mode is entered (S16). Then, the imaging control unit 214 enables an operation by the shutter operation unit 222. That is, the shutter function is turned on (S18).
Then, the display unit 213 (display 12) is turned on to display the image captured by the camera 215 (S
20).

If the folding detection unit 218 has not detected the folding of the upper main body 10 (S12,
N), the imaging control unit 214 determines whether or not an imaging instruction is given by the imaging operation enable instruction unit 224 (S1).
4). If the imaging instruction is given by pressing the imaging mode key (S14, Y), the imaging mode is entered (S16). If the imaging mode key has not been pressed and the imaging instruction has not been given (S14, N), other processing (S24) is performed.

Further, if the rotation detecting section 220 has not detected the rotation of the upper main body 10 (S10,
N), the folding detection unit 218 determines whether or not the folding of the upper main body 10 is detected (S22). If folding is detected (S22, Y), other processing (S22)
24) is performed. If folding is not detected (S22, N), the process returns to the determination (S10) whether the rotation of the upper body 10 is detected.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the lower body 20
Since the camera 22 is attached to the back side of the, the subject in front of the user can be easily imaged. Also, the upper body 1
When 0 is rotated and folded, the camera 22 can capture an image. Therefore, when the image is taken by the camera 22, the display 12 is on the front side. Therefore, it is easy to confirm the image captured by the camera 22 during image capturing.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the shutter is on the side surface of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1, it is easier to press the shutter 24 at the time of photographing than when it is on the front side or the back side.

Moreover, according to the embodiment of the present invention, if the upper main body 10 rotates and there is an instruction from the image pickup operation enabling instruction section 224, the image pickup can be performed by the camera 22. In this case, when the camera 22 takes an image, the display 12 and the camera 22 are on the back side. Therefore, the display 12 and the camera 22 are oriented in the same direction, which is suitable for taking a picture of oneself.

The above embodiment can be realized as follows. CPU, hard disk, flash memory, media (floppy (registered trademark) disk, C
A medium reading device of a computer equipped with a reading device (D-ROM, memory stick, etc.) is made to read the medium on which the program realizing each of the above parts is recorded, and is installed in a hard disk, flash memory, or the like. Even with such a method, the above function can be realized.

[0046]

According to the present invention, since the camera is attached to the back side of the lower main body, it is easy to image the subject in front of the user. In addition, when the upper body is rotated and folded, it is possible to take an image with a camera. Therefore, when the image is picked up by the camera, the display is on the front side. Therefore, it is easy to confirm the image captured by the camera during image capturing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view, a plan view and a rear view of a camera-equipped mobile phone 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of rotation of the upper main body 10,
A front view and a plan view (FIG. 2) of the upper body 10 before rotation.
(A)), Front view of the upper body 10 after rotation (Fig. 2).
(B)).

3A and 3B are explanatory views of folding of the upper main body 10, a side view of the upper main body 10 after rotation and before folding (FIG. 3A), and a side view of the upper main body 10 after folding (FIG. 3).
FIG. 3B is a front view and a rear view of the upper main body 10 after being folded (FIG. 3C).

FIG. 4 is a hardware block diagram of a mobile phone 200 and a hands-free communication device 270 used as the camera-equipped mobile phone 1.

5 is a functional block diagram of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a conventional camera-equipped mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Camera-equipped mobile phone 10 Upper body (second housing) 12 display 20 Lower body (first housing) 22 camera 24 Shutter (imaging operation means) 26 keys 30 Hinge (first axis) 213 Display 214 Imaging control unit 215 camera 218 Folding detector 220 rotation detector 222 Shutter operation unit 224 Imaging operation enable instruction unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A lower body having a camera attached to the back side, and a lower body attached to an upper end of the lower body and rotatable with respect to the lower body so as to be turned over while being positioned above the lower body, And an upper main body that is foldable so as to face the lower main body, a display that is provided on the front side of the upper main body and displays an image captured by the camera, a rotation detection unit that detects rotation of the upper main body, A fold detection means for detecting folding of the upper main body, and an image pickup control means for enabling the image pickup by the camera when the rotation detection means detects the fold detection and the fold detection means detects the fold detection means. Mobile communication terminal. 2. The camera-equipped mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a shutter provided on a side surface of the upper body or the lower body. 3. The mobile communication terminal with a camera according to claim 1, further comprising an imaging operation enable instruction means for instructing that imaging by the camera is possible, and the imaging control means is configured to perform the rotation. A camera-equipped mobile communication terminal capable of capturing an image by the camera in response to a detection by a detection unit and an instruction from the image capturing operation instructing unit. 4. A lower body having a camera attached to the back side, and a lower body attached to the upper end of the lower body and rotatable with respect to the lower body so as to be turned over while being positioned above the lower body, And an imaging control method in a mobile communication terminal with a camera, comprising an upper main body that is foldable so as to face the lower main body, and a display provided on the front side of the upper main body and displaying an image captured by the camera, A rotation detection step of detecting rotation of the upper body, a folding detection step of detecting folding of the upper body, a detection by the rotation detection step and an image taken by the camera when detected by the folding detection step. And an imaging control method that enables the imaging control method. 5. A lower body having a camera attached to the back side, and a lower body attached to the upper end of the lower body and rotatable with respect to the lower body so as to be turned over while being positioned above the lower body, Further, the computer executes an image pickup control process in a mobile communication terminal with a camera, which has an upper body foldable to face the lower body and a display provided on the front side of the upper body and displaying an image picked up by the camera. A rotation detection process for detecting rotation of the upper body, a fold detection process for detecting folding of the upper body, a detection by the rotation detection process and a detection by the fold detection process. If there is an image capturing control process that enables the image capturing by the camera, Gram. 6. A lower body having a camera attached to the back side, and a lower body attached to the upper end of the lower body and rotatable with respect to the lower body so as to be turned upside down while being positioned above the lower body, Further, the computer performs an image capturing control process in a mobile communication terminal with a camera that has an upper body that is foldable so as to face the lower body, and a display that is provided on the front side of the upper body and that displays an image captured by the camera. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a rotation detection process to detect rotation of the upper body, a folding detection process to detect folding of the upper body, and a rotation detection process. Enables imaging by the camera when there is detection and detection by the folding detection processing Recording medium readable recording a computer program for executing the image control process, to the computer. 7. A first housing having an imaging means on a predetermined surface, a second housing having a display means on a predetermined surface, and the first housing by a first axis. A second housing that is foldably connected to the first housing and is substantially perpendicular to the first axis.
A connecting means for rotatably connecting the first casing and the second casing by means of the axis; and a position where the image pickup means and the display means can be seen from the outside by the rotation and folding. Means for detecting that the housing and the second housing are folded, and an imaging control means for controlling the imaging means so that the imaging can be performed when the detection means detects the imaging means. Portable terminal. 8. The portable terminal with an image pickup means according to claim 7, wherein a surface substantially perpendicular to a predetermined surface of the first casing or the second surface of the first housing.
A portable terminal with an image pickup means, which is provided with an image pickup operation means on a surface substantially perpendicular to a predetermined surface of the casing. 9. The portable terminal with the image pickup means according to claim 7, wherein the image pickup operation enabling instruction means for giving an instruction to enable the image pickup by the image pickup means, the image pickup means and the image pickup means by the rotation. Rotation detection means for detecting that the display means is located on the same plane, and the image pickup control means receives the detection by the rotation detection means and the instruction of the image pickup operation enabling instruction means, and A mobile terminal with an imaging means that enables imaging.