JPH11275416A - Portable terminal with image input means - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable computer with an image input means even when a video camera is contained in the portable computer where a video camera container is provided for a flat panel. SOLUTION: A video camera container 6 that is provided for a flat panel 3 of a portable computer 1 contains a video camera that is placed turnably. A mirror 9 is fitted to an upper part of the video camera container 6 in a tilted attitude, and even when the video camera 5 that is contained in the video camera container 6 photographs an object, since the mirror 9 changes an optical path of the object, the video camera can photograph the object. Since an image reflected in the mirror is inverted, an inverted image data correction means built in the video camera corrects the inverted image into a regular image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable terminal device such as a portable computer having a video camera for capturing images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Using a portable terminal device such as a portable computer, a video for inputting image data of a subject in order to perform a remote conference, create presentation materials, create a New Year's card, create an electronic picture album, and the like. A portable terminal device equipped with a camera or an electronic still camera is known.

[0003]

Further, in a portable terminal device equipped with a video camera, a video camera is detached from a video camera storage portion provided in the portable terminal device so that a subject at an arbitrary position can be photographed. There has been proposed a device which is mounted so as to be rotatable or rotatable. However, when the video camera is stored in the storage portion of the portable terminal device, the operator cannot take a picture, which is inconvenient. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has been made in view of the above circumstances. To propose a terminal device for use.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal device with image input means, which stores the image input means in an image input means storage section for storing the image input means for photographing a subject. Optical means for forming an optical path of the subject to the means. Even if the image input unit is stored in the storage unit and cannot directly shoot, the optical path of the subject to the image input unit is changed by the optical unit.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A portable terminal device equipped with image input means such as a video camera will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1A is a view from a video camera housing provided on the right side of a flat panel of a portable computer.
FIG. 1B shows a state in which the CD video camera is rotated and exposed from the storage section, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which the CCD video camera is stored in the video camera storage section.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portable computer 1
Is a flat panel 3 equipped with a flat display 2,
A keyboard 4 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, a CCD is provided on the right side of the flat panel 3.
A video camera housing 6 for accommodating the video camera 5 (hereinafter, referred to as a video camera) is provided, and is rotatably held around a boss 7 provided at a lower portion of the video camera housing 6 as a fulcrum. A cable 5b for communicating with the portable computer 1 is connected to a lower portion of the video camera 5.

Further, a storage detection switch 8 for detecting that the video camera 5 is stored in the video camera storage section 6 is provided on one side of the video camera storage section 6, and the video camera 5 is connected to the video camera 5 as described later. Video camera storage 6
To turn on when it is stored in the camera, and correct the inverted image to a normal image.

According to the present invention, a mirror 9 is tilted above the video camera housing 6 so that an operator can be photographed in the state shown in FIG. It is attached. By providing the mirror 9 above the video camera housing 6, the optical path of the subject to the video camera 5 can be changed by the mirror 9 even when the video camera 5 is housed in the video camera housing 6. The photographing can be performed, and the portable computer 1 can capture the image data as image data through the cable 5b.

As another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, a prism 10 is mounted on the video camera housing 6 in place of the mirror 9. Since the use of the prism 10 can shorten the optical path length compared to the use of the mirror 9,
The volume occupied by the video camera housing 6 can be reduced. As described above, even when the video camera is stored in the video camera storage section, it is possible to shoot the subject, and the usability is improved accordingly.

Here, when the subject is photographed through the mirror 9 or the prism 10 while the video camera 5 is housed in the video camera housing section, the video camera 5 is taken out of the video camera housing section 6 to obtain a regular image. Since the image and the image taken while the video camera is stored in the video camera storage unit are upside down, it is necessary to correct the inverted image to a normal image.

Hereinafter, electrical processing for correcting the inverted image to a normal image will be described with reference to a block circuit diagram shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
Is a camera head unit 5a composed of an optical lens 11, a CCD image pickup device 12, and the like; a DC component clamp of image signals from the CCD image pickup device 12, gamma correction, contour correction,
A video camera signal processing circuit 13 that performs signal processing such as image compression and image expansion, an image data memory 14 that captures image data from the video signal processing circuit 13, and a memory controller that controls input and output of image data to and from the image data memory 14. 15, a microcomputer 16 for processing a signal from the memory controller 15 and including the storage detection switch 8 to constitute an inverted image data correcting means 5c.

Hereinafter, the operation of correcting the inverted image into the normal image by the inverted image data correcting means 5c having the above configuration will be described. The inverted image obtained by photographing the operator with the video camera 5 through the mirror 9 or the prism 10 is subjected to predetermined signal processing in the video camera signal processing circuit 13 and temporarily stored in the image data memory 14 via the memory controller 15. Is done. Here, when the video camera 5 is stored in the video camera storage section 6, the storage detection switch 8 is turned on, and the inverted image stored in the image data memory 14 is taken into the microcomputer 16. Then, the microcomputer 16 corrects the inverted image to a normal image. The corrected normal image is stored in the image data memory 1 via the memory controller 15.
4 and the video camera signal processing circuit 1
3 and subjected to signal processing such as decompression processing, and displayed on the flat display 2 of the portable computer 1.

In the above embodiment, the camera head 5a and the reverse image data correcting means 5c are integrated.
The camera head unit 5a and the inverted image data correction unit 5c can be separately formed and connected by a cable 17 or the like. In this case, the inverted image data correction means 5c is built in the portable computer 1 and communicates with the camera head unit 5a through the cable 17 so that the memory controller, the microcomputer, and the image data memory can be used as data constituting the portable computer. It is also possible to substitute a processing circuit. Further, since only the camera head section needs to be stored in the video camera storage section, the volume of the video camera storage section formed on the flat panel can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the image input means accommodating section and the optical means are provided on the right side of the flat panel. However, the present invention can be practiced by providing them on the upper or lower part of the flat panel. In this case, the image obtained via the optical unit is inverted right and left, but is corrected to the normal image data by the inverted image data correcting unit 5c, similarly to the correction of the vertically inverted image data.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the optical path of the subject can be changed even when the image input means is stored in the image input means storage section, so that the subject can be photographed even in the stored state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a portable terminal device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an image input unit accommodating section of the portable terminal device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a reversed image data correcting unit that corrects reversed image data in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1..portable computer 3..flat panel 5.
・ ・ Video camera 6 ・ ・ Video camera housing 9 ・ ・ Mirror 10 ・ ・ Prism

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A flat panel equipped with a display device,
Image input means for photographing a subject, an image input means housing section formed on the flat panel for housing the image input means, and an image input means for storing the image input means in the image input means housing section. A portable terminal device with image input means, comprising: an optical means for forming an optical path of a subject to the means. 2. The portable terminal device with image input means according to claim 1, wherein said optical means is a mirror. 3. The portable terminal device with image input means according to claim 1, wherein said optical means is a prism. 4. The portable terminal device with image input means according to claim 1, wherein said image input means is rotatably stored in said image input means storage section. 5. The portable device with image input means according to claim 1, further comprising an inverted image data correcting means for correcting the inverted image data photographed by said image input means via said optical means into normal image data. Terminal device.