JP2003198915A - Mobile phone with camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile phone with a camera, which is superior in operability for photographing. <P>SOLUTION: A camera 42 is provided on the front side of a receiver-side case 301, and a shutter key 311b is provided on the side face of a transmitter- side case 303. When the main body is set to the camera mode, the camera 42 is operated with both cases closed to enable a user to photograph a target by depression of the shutter key 311b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera-equipped mobile phone, and more particularly to a camera-equipped mobile phone capable of performing a predetermined operation even when a case is closed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image data communication has become frequent through a mobile communication network, and along with this, mobile phones with cameras (hereinafter referred to as mobile phones with cameras) have become popular. is there. The user presses an operation key that corresponds to the shutter (hereinafter referred to as the shutter key) to take a picture of himself or another person with the camera attached to the main body and use the taken image as a standby screen, or other Can be sent to the machine. When shooting a subject using these mobile phones, the shutter key is pressed while checking the image displayed on the display unit with the main body opened. Then, when taking a picture of himself / herself, he / she looks at a mirror provided beside the camera lens, and when there is no mirror, the position which seems to be reflected is sensuously indexed and the shutter key is pressed.

[0003]

However, in the conventional camera-equipped mobile telephone, only the operation key that comes inside when the telephone body is folded is assigned as the shutter key. Therefore, although the user cannot use the display unit, it is necessary to open the main body and press the shutter key. In this case, the operation key must be pressed with a finger while the body is thin, and the position of the body becomes unstable, and the target may be displaced.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera-equipped mobile phone having excellent operability during camera shooting.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the camera-equipped mobile phone according to the present invention comprises a first case and a second case connected to each other in a swingable manner. It is characterized in that a shutter key is provided on the surface of the first case or the second case which is the outer side when both cases are closed. The shutter key of the camera-equipped mobile phone operates as a shutter when both cases are closed in the camera mode.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of a camera-equipped mobile phone according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a camera-equipped mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a camera-equipped mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is an external view when the mobile phone with a camera which is an embodiment is opened.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a functional block diagram of a camera-equipped mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a transmission / reception circuit unit 10 to which an antenna is connected is used to perform transmission / reception processing in a mobile communication terminal by a CPU
It is a circuit that is controlled by the control unit 12 that incorporates the. That is, the transmission / reception circuit unit 10 modulates voice or character mail or various information or control signals and sends them out from the antenna, or demodulates voice mail or character mail or various information or control signals received from the antenna to control unit. 12
Output to.

The control unit 12 is, for example, the flash memory 1
4 operates according to control signals from the key operation unit 24 and the transmission / reception circuit unit 10 according to the programs and data stored in the control unit 4 to control the transmission / reception circuit unit 10, the display unit driver 18, and the voice processing unit 26. Further, the control unit 12 has the RAM 1
6 and uses the RAM 16 as a work area when executing the program stored in the flash memory 14. The flash memory 14 stores font information such as character mails and character patterns (including English and numbers) / icons (graphics) received from the mail center,
It is also used as a telephone directory memory and stores a plurality of telephone numbers, names, and the like.

The display driver 18 drives the display 22 under the control of the controller 12 to display it. That is, the display driver 18 reads a character pattern (including English and numbers) and an icon (graphic) pattern corresponding to the control signal from the control unit 12 from the flash memory 14 and displays it on the display unit 22. The audio processing unit 26 is connected to the speaker 28 and the microphone 30, and amplifies the audio signal input from the control unit 12 and outputs the amplified audio signal from the speaker 28.
A process of amplifying the audio signal input by the microphone 30 and outputting the amplified audio signal to the control unit 12 is performed.

The illumination 32 is turned on and off by the control unit 12 when a key is pressed or when a call arrives, and when illuminated, the key operation unit 24 and the display unit 22 are illuminated brightly. The vibrator 34 is connected to the control unit 12, and under the control of the control unit 12, it vibrates when an incoming call is received to notify it. The ringer or speaker 36 is controlled by the control unit 12 and sounds when a call arrives to notify it. An incoming LED (incoming light emitting diode) 38 is connected to the control unit 12, and under the control of the control unit 12, it blinks at the time of an incoming call or the like to notify it.

The image captured by the camera 42 is the image processing unit 4
After processing with 0, it is stored in the flash memory 14. The shooting timing is set by pressing a shutter key, which is one type of the key operation unit 24. A camera-equipped mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that one or more shutter keys are provided, and at least one of them is provided so as to be located outside when the main body is folded.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a camera-equipped mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows a state in which the case 301 on the receiver side and the case 303 on the transmitter side are closed, and the antenna 31 is attached to the connecting portion of both cases.
5 are provided. On the other hand, the camera 42 is provided on the surface of the handset-side case 301, and the transmitter-side case 3 is provided.
A shutter key (here, referred to as a second shutter key 311b) is provided on the side surface of 03.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the camera-equipped mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention when it is opened. Referring to the figure, the receiver side case 301 and the transmitter side case 303
And are connected at their respective ends.
Handset-side case 301 that is inside when the main body is folded
The display unit 22 and the speaker 36 are provided on the surface of the. On the other hand, on the surface of the transmitter side case 303, there are provided a ten-key 305, an on-hook key 307a, an off-hook key 307b, which is used when inputting a destination telephone number, and a menu key 311a which is used when calling various functions. There is.

In this embodiment, the menu key 311a is used.
The shutter key (here, the first shutter key 3
11a). In addition, the transmitter case 3
A shutter key (here, referred to as a second shutter key 311b) is also provided on the side surface of 03.

As described above, the camera-equipped mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention having two shutter keys is:
By setting the camera mode, it is possible to operate as follows in the states of and. When both cases are closed (FIG. 2): When the second shutter key 311b is pressed, the camera 42 operates and the target is photographed. Therefore, it is possible to start the shooting operation instantly by folding the camera mode. When both cases are open (FIG. 3): The camera 42 can be operated and the target can be photographed by pressing any of the first shutter key 311a and the second shutter key 311b.

The first shutter key 311a and the second shutter key 311b may be operated only as a shutter key at all times, or may be designed to satisfy other functions depending on the state of the camera-equipped mobile phone. Good. For example, in a mode other than the camera mode, the first shutter key 311a functions as a menu key used when calling various functions, and the second shutter key 311b corresponds to a call environment different for each person. It functions as the best voice key for optimum sound quality. Further, the second shutter key / best voice key 311b may be designed to operate as a shutter key for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) when folded after being set to the camera mode.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
The number and position of the shutter keys are not limited to the above description and drawings, and at least one or more may be provided on the surface of the case on the side of the transmitter or the surface of the case on the side of the receiver that is outside when both cases are closed. In addition, the camera-equipped mobile phone according to the present embodiment includes the handset-side case 301 and the transmitter-side case 3.
The case 03 is connected so as to be foldable, but the same applies to the case where the case on the receiver side slides to cover the case on the transmitter side.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a camera-equipped mobile phone which is excellent in operability when photographing with a camera.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a mobile phone with a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a camera-equipped mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a state in which the camera-equipped mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention is opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

301 Handset side case 303 Transmitter side case 311a Shutter key 311b Shutter key

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera-equipped mobile phone constituted by connecting a first case and a second case in a mutually swingable state, wherein the first case is an outer side when the both cases are closed. A mobile phone with a camera, wherein a shutter key is provided on the surface of the case or the second case. 2. The camera-equipped mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the shutter key operates as a shutter when both cases are closed in a camera mode setting state. .