JP2007116361A - Mobile terminal with camera, and imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal provided with a camera unit capable of executing both ordinary photographing and self-portrait photographing with an inexpensive and easy configuration without the need for increasing the number of components such as a camera and a display screen. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile terminal includes: the camera unit 16; an enclosure 11; a first photographing window 13 for the self-portrait and a second photographing window 14 for the ordinary photographing; a light shield member 15 for shielding each photographing window; and a first and second reflection members 17, 18 for refracting photographing light made incident from the first photographing window to deliver the refracted light to the camera unit 16, and interlocking the light shield member 15 with the first reflection member 17 to switch the position of the light shield member 15 can execute both the ordinary photographing and the self-portrait photographing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and an imaging apparatus suitable for application to, for example, a mobile phone terminal incorporating a camera unit.

  In recent years, cameras have been mounted on mobile communication terminals. Among them, there are those that have a function of taking a picture of the photographer himself (hereinafter referred to as selfie) as well as taking pictures of a landscape and a person. It has become widespread. Since the shooting direction differs between the normal shooting for shooting landscapes and the like and the self-portrait, the shooting in both shooting directions has been realized with the following various configurations.

  FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are examples of the front and back appearance of a mobile phone of the type in which two cameras for normal shooting and self-portrait are built. As shown in FIG. 11, on the front surface of the housing 1 constituting the mobile phone, a display unit 2 is arranged at the center, and an operation unit 3 composed of operation keys and the like is arranged on the lower side. . And the 1st camera part 4 is arrange | positioned at the upper part. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the second camera unit 5 is disposed on the back surface of the housing 1. With such a configuration, normal shooting is performed by the second camera unit 5 shown in FIG. 12, and self-shooting is performed by the first camera unit 4 shown in FIG. The composition at the time of shooting is confirmed on the display unit 2 during both normal shooting and self-shooting.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of the appearance of the back side of the case where both normal shooting and self-portrait are performed through a single camera provided on the back side of the housing. In this example, the camera unit 5 is disposed only on the back side of the housing 1, and the camera unit is not disposed on the front side (not shown). A mirror 6 is disposed beside the camera unit 5. In this configuration, both the normal shooting and the self-portrait are performed by the camera unit 5, and the composition at the time of shooting is confirmed by a display unit on the front side of the housing (not shown) at the time of normal shooting, and when the self-portrait is taken, This is done through a mirror 6 arranged horizontally.

  FIG. 14 is an example of the back side of the camera that can perform both normal shooting and self-shooting with a single camera, as in FIG. In this example, the camera unit 5 is arranged on the back surface of the housing 1 and the second display unit 7 is arranged on the back surface. A display unit is provided on the front side (not shown), and the second display unit 7 is used as a sub-screen. In the case of this configuration, up to the point where both the normal shooting and the self-portrait shooting are performed by the camera unit 5, it is the same as the example of FIG. 13, but the second display unit 7 (sub-screen ).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 discloses a technique in which a normal mirror and a self-portrait photographing can be switched by using a reflector module without installing a plurality of cameras and screens.
JP 2005-110196 A

  However, when a plurality of cameras and screens are arranged in the housing, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases accordingly.

  Also, especially when checking the composition when taking a selfie through a mirror, the size of the mirror is often kept as small as the camera, making it difficult to determine the composition through a small mirror. .

  In the case of the configuration described in Patent Document 1, since the incident light to the camera is transmitted through the reflector during both normal shooting and self-portrait, not only during self-portrait but also during normal shooting There has been a problem that distortion occurs and the amount of light decreases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to enable both normal shooting and self-portrait shooting with an easy configuration and low cost.

  The present invention relates to a camera unit, a housing that holds the camera unit, first and second shooting windows provided on the front and back surfaces of the housing, and light shielding that exclusively shields the respective shooting windows. A structure including a member and first and second reflecting members that refract photographing light incident from the first photographing window and transmit the light to the camera unit, and a structure in which the light shielding member and the first reflecting member are interlocked with each other. And

  In this way, by operating the light shielding member, it is possible to prevent the incident light from the photographing window opposite to the photographing direction, and the first reflecting member is normally photographed in conjunction with this movement. By moving to a position where the optical axis is blocked or not blocked, shooting in both normal shooting and self-portraits can be performed.

  According to the present invention, since the light shielding member and the first reflecting member are interlocked and the position is switched, it is possible to allow both the front and back photographing light of the housing to enter the camera unit. Both normal shooting and self-portrait shooting can be realized with a single camera unit without installing multiple display screens or multiple display screens, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  In this case, the shooting light for both normal shooting and self-portrait is captured by the camera unit and displayed on the display unit. Therefore, the composition can be checked on the large main display screen for both normal shooting and self-portrait. it can.

  Further, if unnecessary light enters the camera, it may cause deterioration in image quality of shooting when it is diffusely reflected and incident on the camera unit. However, in the present invention, the light shielding member is on the side opposite to the shooting direction. Since incident light from the photographing window is shielded, unnecessary light can be prevented from entering the camera.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  An example of the appearance of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. Both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a camera-equipped mobile phone configured with a single housing as an example of a mobile communication terminal. FIG. 1 shows a front appearance, and FIG. 2 shows a rear appearance. The configuration on the front side will be described with reference to FIG. 1. A casing 10 constituting a camera-equipped mobile phone body includes a display unit 11 constituted by a liquid crystal display panel, dial keys such as numerals, and various function keys. The operation unit 12 is arranged, and although not shown, a speaker is arranged at the upper end and a microphone is arranged at the lower end. When used as a telephone, the display unit 11 displays a telephone number, a mail text to be transmitted / received, and the like, and displays a captured image when used as a camera device.

  Further, a first photographing window 13 for taking in the image light of the photographer himself at the time of self-taking is arranged above the display unit 11. As the shooting window, a transparent plate such as glass or acrylic is used. The first photographing window 13 includes a first light shielding portion 15a, and the first photographing window 13 is closed during normal photographing so as to shield incident light from the first photographing window 13. .

  The rear side will be described with reference to FIG. 2. On the rear side of the housing 10, a second shooting window 14 for capturing subject light on the rear side of the housing 10 during normal shooting is arranged. The second photographing window 14 is also provided with a second light shielding portion 15b that closes at the time of self-taking and shields incident light from the second photographing window 14. Both the first light shielding part 15a and the second light shielding part 15b are provided on one light shielding member 15, and the light shielding member 15 shields either the first photographing window 13 or the second photographing window 14. When doing so, the other is open.

  Next, the internal structure of the housing 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the housing. A camera unit 16 is disposed inside the housing 10 so that photographing light incident from the first photographing window 13 or the second photographing window 14 is imaged. A photographing lens is also attached to the camera unit 16. Shooting light at the time of normal shooting enters the camera unit 16 through the second shooting window 14, and shooting light at the time of self-shooting enters from the first shooting window 13, and the second reflecting member 18 and the first reflecting member. The information is transmitted to the camera unit 16 via 17. The first reflecting member 17 and the light shielding member 15 are interlocked with each other. Specific arrangement states of the second reflecting member 18 and the first reflecting member 17 will be described later.

  In addition, since the photographing light at the time of self-photographing is sequentially refracted by the second reflecting member 18 and the first reflecting member 17 and transmitted to the camera unit 16, the vertical position is reversed. Correction is performed. The corrected imaging signal is transmitted to the display unit 11 and displayed as an image.

  Next, the positional relationship between the light shielding material 15 and the first and second reflection members in the housing 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the housing 10 during normal shooting, and FIG. The broken line in FIG. 4 represents the optical path during normal photographing, and the broken line in FIG. 5 represents the optical path during self-shooting. Note that the optical axis direction of the camera unit 16 points to the rear surface direction of the housing 10, and that is the normal shooting direction. The second reflecting member 18 enters a position (the position of the first reflecting member 17 in FIG. 5) that blocks the optical path during normal shooting, so that the first shooting window 13 above the inside of the housing 10 passes the normal shooting optical path. It is made to have a predetermined angle which can be bent in the direction of. In this example, in order to reduce the thickness of the housing 10 by setting the position of the first reflecting member 17 as near as possible in the housing 10, the angle θ is set to 45 ° or more, for example, 50 °. It is.

  Further, the first reflecting member 17 has a mechanism that slides up and down. During normal photographing, the first reflecting member 17 moves to a first position (the position of the first reflecting member 17 in FIG. 4) that does not block the optical path during normal photographing. At the time of self-photographing, it is moved to the second position (the position of the first reflecting member 17 in FIG. 5) that blocks the optical path during normal photographing. In addition, the position of the first reflecting portion 17 is switched by switching the position of the light shielding member 15 by interlocking the first reflecting material 17 and the light shielding member 15. Specifically, when the light shielding member 15 is moved to a position where the first light shielding member 13 is shielded, the first reflector 17 is moved to the first position, and the light shielding member 15 is shielded from the second light shielding member 14. The first reflecting member 17 is moved to the second position when moved to the second position.

  The second reflecting member 18 is provided at an angle that further bends the optical path bent by the first reflecting member 17 in the first photographing window direction.

  Next, operations during normal shooting and self-shooting will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. When performing normal photographing, the light shielding member 15 is moved to a position where the first photographing window 13 is shielded from light. In conjunction with this operation, the second imaging window 14 opens, and the first reflecting member 17 moves to a first position that does not block the optical path during normal imaging. By this operation, the image light of the subject on the back side of the housing 10 enters the camera unit 16 via the second shooting window, and the captured image is displayed on the display unit 11.

  When taking a self-portrait, the light shielding member 15 is moved to a position where the second photographing window 14 is shielded. In conjunction with this operation, the first photographing window 13 is opened, and the first reflecting member 17 moves to a second position where the optical axis of the camera unit 16 is blocked. By this operation, the photographer's own image light is incident from the first photographing window 13, and is sequentially refracted by the second reflecting member 18 and the first reflecting member 17 to form an image on the camera unit 16.

  The imaging light transmitted to the camera unit 16 is subjected to inversion correction processing by a signal processing unit as necessary. Here, the processing in the signal processing unit and the display processing after the processing will be described with reference to FIG. When the image processing signal is received from the camera unit 16 (step S1), the signal processing unit determines whether the image capturing signal is obtained by normal photographing or obtained by self-taking (step S2). If it is based on normal shooting, it is displayed on the display unit 11 as it is (step S3). When it is determined that the self-portrait is taken (step S2), a reversal correction process is performed (step S4), and the corrected image is displayed on the display unit 11 (step S3).

  With this configuration, it is possible to perform shooting from both the front side and the back side with one camera unit. That is, since the light shielding member 15 and the first reflecting member 17 are interlocked and switched in position, it is possible to allow both the front and back photographing light of the housing 10 to be incident on the camera unit 16. Both the normal shooting and the self-portrait shooting can be realized by one camera unit 16 without installing a plurality of images and a plurality of display screens, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In this case, since the shooting light in both the normal shooting and the self-portrait is shot by the camera unit 16 and displayed on the display unit 11, the composition is confirmed on the large main display screen in both the normal shooting and the self-portrait. be able to.

  In addition, if unnecessary light enters the camera, it may cause image quality degradation when it is diffusely reflected and incident on the camera unit 16. In this example, the light shielding member 15 is opposite to the shooting direction. Since the incident light from the photographing window on the side is shielded, unnecessary light can be prevented from entering the camera, and the photographing image quality can be improved. Furthermore, when photographing the photographing light incident from the second photographing window 14, image light that is not reflected by the reflecting members 17 and 18 is directly photographed, so that there is no deterioration in image quality due to the influence of the reflecting members 17 and 18.

  In addition, when the reflection member 17 is arranged on the front surface of the camera unit 16 inside the housing as in the configuration of this example, the number of parts arranged in the housing 10 increases accordingly, and the thickness of the housing 10 increases. In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the reflection member 17 can be arranged in an almost upright state by setting the arrangement angle θ of the reflection member 17 to an angle larger than 45 °, and the casing 10 can be increased accordingly. Can be made thinner.

  In the embodiment described so far, by operating the light shielding member 15, the position of the first reflecting member 17 is switched in conjunction with it, but by operating the first reflecting member 17 side, The position of the light shielding member 15 may be switched. In this case, a changeover switch may be provided in any of the housings 10, and the changeover switch may be linked to the reflection member 15 so that the reflection member 15 can be operated by the changeover switch.

  Although the first position of the first reflecting member 17 is described as being below the camera unit in the housing, it is a position that does not block the normal photographing optical axis of the camera unit and can be moved to the second position by moving up and down. Since the position may be any position, the upper part of the camera unit in the housing 10 may be used. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the first reflecting member 17 ′ may be positioned above the camera unit 16 during normal shooting, and may be positioned immediately before the camera unit 16 as indicated by a broken line during self-shooting. Good.

  Moreover, although the shape of the casing of the mobile communication terminal main body has been described as a single casing, a foldable mobile communication terminal having a shape in which two casings are combined or a slide in which two casings are connected in a sliding manner Type mobile communication terminal. The example of FIGS. 8 to 10 is an example of a mobile phone terminal in which the first housing 30 and the second housing 40 are slidably joined. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, two casings 30, 40 are configured to be slidably connected up and down, and a first photographing window 31 is arranged in the upper part of the front surface of the first casing 30. The display unit 32 is arranged in the center, and the operation unit 33 is arranged in the lower part. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, an operation unit 41 is disposed at the lower part of the front surface of the second housing 40. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a second photographing window 35 is disposed on the upper part of the back surface of the first housing 40.

  Inside the first housing 30, a mechanism capable of photographing with a single camera unit is provided with the same arrangement of reflecting members as the mechanisms shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Here, regarding the first imaging window 31 on the front side, when the light shielding member 34 is arranged inside and the second housing 40 is slid downward (state of FIGS. 9 and 10), the first imaging window 31 is used. When the second housing 40 is slid upward (the state shown in FIG. 8), it is positioned so as to be out of the first photographing window 31.

  With this configuration, self-portrait can be performed when the folded shape shown in FIG. 8 is used, and normal shooting can be performed when the slide shape is opened.

  In the above-described embodiment, the first reflecting member 17 and the second reflecting member 18 are described as separate components, but may be integrated into one component.

  In the embodiment described above, the case where the camera unit is attached to the mobile phone has been described. However, any imaging device having a camera unit can be applied regardless of the form. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where the camera unit is built in various portable terminal devices other than the mobile phone.

It is a perspective view which shows the example of the front of the mobile telephone with a camera by one embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the back surface of the mobile telephone with a camera by one embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the example of an internal structure of the mobile telephone with a camera by one embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the housing | casing at the time of normal imaging | photography by one embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the housing | casing at the time of the selfie by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the mobile telephone with a camera by one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process sequence in the mobile telephone with a camera by one embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the example of the front of the closed state of the mobile phone with a camera by other embodiments of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the example of the front of the open state of the mobile phone with a camera by other embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the example of the back surface of the mobile phone with a camera by other embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the front of the conventional mobile phone with a camera. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the back surface of the conventional mobile phone with a camera. It is a perspective view which shows the other example of the back surface of the conventional mobile phone with a camera. It is a perspective view which shows the further another example of the back surface of the conventional mobile phone with a camera.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing | casing, 2 ... Display part, 3 ... Operation part, 4 ... 1st camera part, 5 ... 2nd camera part, 6 ... Reflecting plate, 7 ... 2nd display part, 10 ... Housing | casing, 11 ... Display part , 12 ... operation unit, 13 ... first shooting window, 14 ... second shooting window, 15 ... light shielding member, 15a ... first light shielding member, 15b ... second light shielding member, 16 ... camera part, 17 ... first Reflecting member, 18 ... second reflecting member, 21 ... signal processing unit, 30 ... first housing, 31 ... first photographing window, 32 ... display unit, 33 ... operating unit, 34 ... light shielding member, 35 ... second Shooting window, 40 ... second housing, 41 ... operation unit

Claims (6)

A camera unit that captures incident photographic light; and
A housing for holding the camera unit;
First and second shooting windows respectively provided on the front and back of the housing;
A first light-shielding portion that shields light from the first photographing window and a second light-shielding portion that shields light from the second photographing window, and selectively shields one of the photographing windows. A shading member to perform,
A first reflecting member that refracts photographing light incident from the first photographing window;
In a state where the second light shielding portion of the light shielding member shields the second photographing window, the photographing light refracted by the first reflecting member is refracted to enter the camera portion, and the light shielding member In a state where the first light-shielding part is shielding the first photographing window, a second reflecting member serving as a position where the photographing light incident from the second photographing window enters the camera part An image pickup apparatus comprising: The imaging device according to claim 1,
An imaging apparatus comprising a display unit that displays an image captured by the camera unit on a front side of the housing. The imaging device according to claim 1,
An imaging apparatus characterized in that an angle formed by the first reflecting member and a photographing optical axis of the camera unit is larger than 45 °. In a mobile terminal equipped with a camera unit that captures incident photographic light,
A housing for holding the camera unit;
First and second shooting windows respectively provided on the front and back of the housing;
A first light-shielding portion that shields light from the first photographing window and a second light-shielding portion that shields light from the second photographing window, and selectively shields one of the photographing windows. A shading member to perform,
A first reflecting member that refracts photographing light incident from the first photographing window;
In a state where the second light shielding portion of the light shielding member shields the second photographing window, the photographing light refracted by the first reflecting member is refracted to enter the camera portion, and the light shielding member In a state where the first light-shielding part is shielding the first photographing window, a second reflecting member serving as a position where the photographing light incident from the second photographing window enters the camera part A portable terminal characterized by comprising. The mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein
A portable terminal comprising a display unit that displays an image captured by the camera unit on a front side of the housing. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4.
A portable terminal characterized in that an angle formed by the first reflecting member and the photographing optical axis of the camera unit is set to be greater than 45 °.

Images