JP2000253124A - Information portable terminal provided with image- pickup function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need for preparing newly a mechanism or parts to attach an image pickup member freely turnably and accordingly to decrease the number of parts and to simplify the configuration of an information portable terminal by providing a hinge part, where the 1st and 2nd terminal main bodies are collapsibly connected together and the image pickup member which is prepared at the hinge part. SOLUTION: A display side main body 101 and a push-button side main body 104 are collapsibly connected together via a hinge part 200. Then a camera main body 105 is attached in a single body with the part 200 by means of a turning shaft of the part 200. Thus, the main body 150 is set on the turning shaft of the part 200, and according the photographing lens of the main body 150 is set at an angle to catch a user, when a collapsible portable telephone set is unfolded. Furthermore, the main body 105 is attached freely turnably via the turning shaft of the part 200, and accordingly the number of part items is decreased together with a simple constitution secured for an information portable terminal, in comparison with a case where the main body 150 is attached to the main body 101.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable wireless communication device with a camera function which can be applied to a portable telephone or the like having a camera function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the field of portable telephones, due to the remarkable improvement in data transmission capability, there has been a movement to use portable telephones not only as terminals for voice calls but also as data communication terminals.

At present, as a form of using a portable telephone as a data communication terminal, a terminal which has a camera function in the portable telephone and communicates image data in real time has been proposed.

In a portable telephone, components such as a display, various buttons, a microphone, a speaker, and an antenna must be efficiently arranged in a limited space. Therefore, the mounting position of the camera body is greatly restricted as in the case of other components. Heretofore, there has been a case where a rectangular notch is formed on a side surface or an upper end surface of a housing constituting a telephone main body, and a camera main body is rotatably attached thereto. The reason why the camera body is rotatably mounted is that the camera can be aimed at the subject.

[0005]

However, in a structure in which the camera body is rotatably mounted on the housing of the telephone body, a special mechanism and components for rotatably mounting the camera body on the housing are separately required. Therefore, there is a problem that the configuration of the device itself and the manufacturing process are complicated. Also,
There is a problem that the camera body greatly restricts the arrangement position of other components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the camera body does not greatly restrict the arrangement of other components. It is an object to provide an information portable terminal with an imaging function that can be incorporated.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a mechanism and parts for rotatably attaching an imaging member are provided by attaching the imaging member to a hinge for folding the terminal body.
It is not necessary to newly prepare, and the number of parts can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first aspect of the present invention relates to a first terminal body having a display, a second terminal body provided with operation buttons, the first terminal body and the second terminal. A configuration including a hinge portion that foldably connects the main body and an imaging member provided in the hinge portion is adopted.

According to this configuration, by attaching the imaging member to the hinge portion where the terminal body is folded, it is not necessary to newly prepare a mechanism and parts for rotatably attaching the imaging member, and the number of parts is reduced. And the configuration can be simplified.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information portable terminal with an imaging function according to the first aspect, the imaging member is provided when the first terminal main body and the second terminal main body are opened.
A configuration is adopted in which the imaging direction is directed to the direction facing the display.

[0011] With this configuration, when the foldable portable information terminal is opened, the imaging direction of the imaging member is directed to the direction facing the display, so that the subject of the user watching the display can be captured.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable information terminal with an imaging function according to the first or second aspect, the imaging member is such that the first terminal body and the second terminal body are folded. In this case, the first terminal body and the second terminal body cover each other.

[0013] With this configuration, when the foldable portable information terminal is closed, the imaging member is covered by the first terminal body and the second terminal body. It can be prevented from being stained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there are provided the first, second, and third aspects.
In the information portable terminal with an imaging function according to the aspect, the imaging member is rotatably supported on a rotation axis of the hinge portion.

According to this configuration, since the imaging member is rotatably supported by the rotation shaft of the hinge portion, the user can arbitrarily adjust the imaging direction by rotating the rotation shaft.

Hereinafter, a portable telephone equipped with a camera function as an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a portable telephone with a camera function according to the present embodiment. In the mobile phone with a camera function according to the present embodiment, the display-side main body 101 and the operation button-side main body 104 are foldably connected by the hinge 200. The camera body 105 is attached integrally with the hinge unit 200 using the rotation axis of the hinge unit 200.

A display-side main body 101 has a display 10 capable of displaying an image picked up by a camera described later.
2 are provided on the inner surface. Also, the antenna element 103
Are mounted so as to protrude from the upper portion of the display-side main body 101. In FIG. 1, the display-side main body 101 is not provided with operation buttons,
An operation button may be provided.

On the operation button side main body 104, several function buttons 106 including a manner button are arranged near the hinge portion 200, and a cursor button 107 is arranged below the function button 106. A plurality of buttons 10 including a numeric keypad in the center of the operation button side main body 104
8 are provided. A microphone 109 is provided at an end of the operation button side main body 104.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a sectional structure of the hinge portion 200. FIG. The rotating shaft 201 of the hinge part 200 is formed by a large diameter part 201a and a small diameter part 201b having a diameter one step smaller than the large diameter part 201a.

The large-diameter portion 201a has an image pickup element 203 fixed inside a hollow portion. Also, the large diameter portion 20
An imaging lens 204 is fitted into a hole formed on the outer peripheral wall of the first lens 1a. The camera body 105 includes an imaging lens 204
The elephant captured by the device is projected onto the image sensor 203 to convert the elephant into an electric signal.

A holding ring 205 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the small diameter portion 201b is formed at the center of the folding side end of the display side main body 101.
In addition, the holding ring 2
A bearing surface is formed to extend to a tip end position of the bearing 05. This bearing surface has almost the same shape as the small diameter portion 201b of the rotating shaft 201, and is formed at a position concentric with the holding ring 205.

On the other hand, the holding ring 20 of the display-side main body 101 is attached to the folding-side end of the operation button-side main body 104.
A holding ring 202 that fits between the bearing surface 5 and the bearing surface is formed. The holding ring 202 is provided with a small-diameter portion 201.
b has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter.

The holding ring 202 of the operation button side main body 104
Is inserted between the holding ring 205 of the display-side main body 101 and the bearing surface, and the small diameter portion 201 b of the rotating shaft 201 is inserted.
Is inserted from the holding ring 205 side. Thus, the display-side main body 101 and the operation button-side main body 104 are foldably connected.

Here, the photographing angle of the camera body 105 (the position of the imaging lens 204) will be described. The portable telephone of the present embodiment is in a folded state shown by a solid line in FIG. 3 when not in use. In the use state, an open state (a state in which the display-side main body 101 is inclined obliquely, a state in which the display-side main body 101 is tilted until it is flat) is indicated by a dashed line in FIG.

In this embodiment, when the portable telephone is folded, the imaging lens 204 of the camera body 105 is completely covered with the display-side body 101 and the operation button-side body 104 as shown in FIG. State. Thereby, since the imaging lens 204 is completely protected when not in use, it is possible to prevent the imaging lens 204 from being dirty or damaged.

When the folded portable telephone is opened, the image pickup lens 204 of the camera body 105 is adjusted to an angle at which the user can see the face of the user looking at the display 102 as shown in FIG. You. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the display-side main body 101 and the operation button-side main body 104 are opened by 90 degrees or more, and a stationary state in which the operation button-side main body 104 is set down on a desk or the like. If the user speaks toward the display-side main body 101 in this state, the user's face can be captured by the imaging lens 204 and transmitted wirelessly to the other party. That is, a portable videophone can be realized.

Since the rotating shaft 201 into which the imaging lens 204 is fitted is supported by the holding rings 202 and 205, the user can directly rotate the rotating shaft 201 by hand. An image captured by the camera body 105 is displayed on the display 102 in real time. Therefore, the user can rotate the rotation shaft 201 while watching his / her own image displayed on the display 102 to set an appropriate angle.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the camera body 105 is provided on the rotation shaft 201 of the hinge portion 200 of the foldable mobile phone, the user can open the foldable mobile phone when opening the foldable mobile phone. The imaging lens 204 of the camera body 105 can be set at a captureable angle.

Further, since the camera body 105 is rotatably provided using the rotating shaft 201 of the hinge portion 200 of the mobile phone, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the camera body 105 is provided on the display side body 101. And the structure can be simplified.

In the above embodiment, the camera body 1
05 to the hinge unit 200 of the mobile phone.
Has been described on the right side of the camera body 105.
The position of the (imaging lens 204) is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it may be arranged at the center of the hinge section 200.

In the above embodiment, a portable telephone has been described as an example, but if it is a foldable portable information terminal,
The present invention is similarly applicable to other portable information terminals having a voice communication function or portable information terminals not having a voice communication function.

[0033]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the camera body does not greatly restrict the arrangement of other components, and can be easily incorporated into a conventional manufacturing process with a simple structure. A portable information terminal with a camera function can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a portable telephone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a hinge part in the portable telephone according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an open / closed state of the mobile phone according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the portable telephone according to the embodiment in a closed state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the portable telephone according to the embodiment in an open state;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary perspective view showing an appearance of a mobile phone according to a modification in an open state;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Display side main body 102 Display 103 Antenna element 104 Operation button side main body 105 Camera main body 200 Hinge part 201 Rotating axis 202, 205 Holding ring 203 Imaging element 204 Imaging lens

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first terminal main body having a display, a second terminal main body provided with operation buttons, and a hinge portion for connecting the first terminal main body and the second terminal main body in a foldable manner. An information portable terminal with a camera function, comprising: an imaging member provided in the hinge portion. 2. The image pickup member according to claim 1, wherein said folded first terminal body and said second terminal body are opened.
The information portable terminal with an imaging function according to claim 1, wherein an imaging direction is directed to a direction facing the display. 3. The imaging member is covered by the first terminal main body and the second terminal main body when the first terminal main body and the second terminal main body are folded. An information portable terminal with an imaging function according to claim 1 or 2. 4. An information portable terminal with an imaging function according to claim 1, wherein said imaging member is rotatably supported on a rotation axis of said hinge portion. .