JP2002290818A - Portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal which stops picking up an image when its portable terminal body is slanted at an unnatural angle. SOLUTION: The portable telephone terminal 1 with a digital camera function as a portable terminal detects the tilt angle of a telephone set body by a tilt sensor 12 as a tilt detecting means when a control circuit 13 equipped with an image pickup control function 13a as an image pickup control means for storing a picked-up image in a memory 16 and an image pickup inhibiting function 13b as an image pickup inhibiting means having a previously set image pickup inhibition angle range for inhibiting an image from being picked up is set in image pickup mode and a shutter button is pressed. When the detected tilt angle is within the image pickup inhibition angle range, shutter operation is disabled and a sounder 8 as a warning means outputs a warning sound.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable terminal having a camera function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable telephones, mobile telephones and P
With the spread of portable terminals such as DAs, those provided with a digital camera function (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera function) have been supplied. For example, a mobile phone with a camera function can easily capture a still image and a moving image (hereinafter simply referred to as an image) of an imaging target simply by pointing the camera at the imaging target and pressing a shutter button. . The captured image can be recorded and stored in a memory, for example, as image data, transmitted by attaching it to an e-mail, or displayed as a standby screen or an incoming call screen. Also, image data that is no longer needed can be easily deleted from the memory.

[0003] Such a mobile phone with a camera function makes it easy to take advantage of its portability and convenience, for example, by allowing distant friends to take images of their faces with cameras and transmit the image data to each other. Each other, and the worker at the site, for example, sends the image data of the site taken by the camera to the headquarters, and easily grasps the state of the site while the work instructor is at the headquarters And
It is being used for purposes such as giving appropriate instructions.

[0004]

However, when it becomes possible to easily take images as described above, voyeurism is performed at an unnatural angle on a train, for example, while taking advantage of its portability and convenience. It is also anticipated that malicious users who engage in antisocial acts such as these will appear. In this case, the voyeur image data can be easily erased, so that there is a problem that it does not remain as evidence of malicious intent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal which inhibits image capturing when the portable terminal body is tilted at an unnatural angle. .

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the means described in claim 1 can be employed. According to this means, when the portable terminal body is tilted at an unnatural angle (imaging prohibition angle range), imaging is prohibited, so that anti-social acts such as voyeurism by a malicious user are prevented. Can be. In this case, the image capturing inhibition angle range may be set as, for example, the tilt angle of the portable terminal body when the image sensor is positioned relatively below the shutter button (claim 2).

[0007] Further, as a portable terminal provided with communication means,
For example, the imaging prohibition unit may be applied to a mobile phone having an imaging unit (claim 3). Since this type of mobile phone is expected to become very popular, providing the above-mentioned image capturing prohibition means in such a mobile phone makes it possible to prevent a malicious user from performing antisocial acts such as voyeurism. The effect can be expected.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the control means only needs to detect the tilt angle in one axial direction, the comparison operation between the detected tilt angle and the imaging prohibition angle range is simplified. be able to.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the control means detects the tilt angle of the main body based on detecting the tilt angle in the two-axis direction. The tilt angle of the main body can be more accurately detected as compared with the detection method.

[0010] According to the means described in claim 6, the user can recognize that the imaging has been prohibited by notification. Also, for example, if the people around the user can recognize the notification, the surrounding people can be alerted. In this case, the notification may be such that a warning sound is generated by a warning sound generating means (claim 7).
The light emitting means may emit light (claim 8),
The vibration means may be made to vibrate (claim 9).

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [One Embodiment] An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a mobile phone with a digital camera function (hereinafter simply referred to as a mobile phone) as a mobile terminal will be described with reference to the drawings. I do.

First, FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing the appearance of the mobile phone 1. FIG. In FIG. 2A,
On the front part of the telephone body 2, which is a rectangular portable terminal body,
LED 3 for notifying an incoming call or charging state, speaker 4 for outputting a received voice, liquid crystal display 5 for displaying characters and images (still image and moving image), "call start"
An operation key unit 6 including a key 6a, a "call end" key 6b, a "scroll" key 6c, and "numerical" keys 6d of "0" to "9", and a microphone 7 for inputting a transmission voice are provided. I have. The "0" key 6e functions as a shutter button 6e when an imaging mode described later is set.

Next, referring to FIG.
A sounder 8 serving as notification means (warning sound generating means) for outputting a ringtone (including a ringtone melody) and a warning sound, and a CMOS image sensor (hereinafter, referred to as an image sensor)
An image sensor 9 and a mirror 10 are provided. The shutter button 6e and the image sensor 9 constitute an imaging unit. Also,
An antenna 11 is provided on the upper part of the telephone body 2.

A tilt sensor 12 is mounted in the center of the telephone body 2 as tilt detecting means configured to detect a tilt angle in one axial direction. And FIG.
(B) is set so as to detect the inclination angle of the mobile phone 1 in the rotation direction about the x-axis.

Now, here, the portable telephone 1 shown in FIG.
The state in which the z-axis is parallel or substantially parallel to the vertical direction is defined as the orientation of the mobile phone 1 during normal use. That is, when the user mainly uses the mobile phone 1 by hand, the direction most commonly used is defined as the direction at the time of normal use. In the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, the image sensor 9 and the shutter button 6e are used.
Is mounted such that the image sensor 9 is positioned relatively above the shutter button 6e during normal use.

Next, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the portable telephone 1 and its surroundings. In FIG. 1, a control circuit 13 is constituted by an electric circuit mainly composed of a microcomputer, and controls an overall electric operation of the mobile phone 1 by a control program read from a ROM 14 described later. ing. Also,
As will be described in detail later, the control circuit 13 includes an imaging control function 13a as an imaging control unit for controlling imaging by the image sensor 9, and an image sensor when the inclination angle of the telephone body 2 is within the imaging inhibition angle range. 9 is provided with an imaging prohibition function 13b as an imaging prohibition unit for prohibiting imaging by 9.

The control circuit 13 includes a telephone circuit 15 as communication means for performing communication processing of voice and image data, a ROM 14 in which a control program is written, a microphone 7, a speaker 4, a display 5, an operation key unit 6, LED3,
A sounder 8, an image sensor 9, and an inclination sensor 12 for detecting an inclination angle of the telephone body 2, and a memory 16 for storing captured image data are connected.

The communication by the mobile phone 1 is performed by the control circuit 13.
This is performed, for example, as follows. First, in a state where the power of the mobile phone 1 is turned on, intermittent telephone standby processing is performed based on a predetermined cycle defined by a communication standard. This standby processing is performed by searching the paging channel of the received radio wave received by the base station 17 by the telephone circuit 15 and monitoring whether there is an incoming call directed to itself. When an incoming call directed to itself is detected, the LED 3 flashes and emits, for example, green light, a sound is output from the sounder 8, and the caller telephone number is notified from the base station 17. In this case, the caller's telephone number is displayed on the display 5 to notify the user of the incoming call.

After the notification of the incoming call, the user operates the operation key unit 6
Is pressed, the telephone circuit 15 shifts to a telephone call process. In this case, the audio signal input to the microphone 7 is modulated by the telephone circuit 15 and transmitted to the base station 17. The audio data received from the base station 17 is demodulated by the telephone circuit 15 and output from the speaker 4 as an audio signal. This call processing is completed when the user presses the "call off" key 6b of the operation key unit 6 or when the same operation is performed by the caller on the other side, and the process returns to the standby processing. It should be noted that when the user is the caller and calls a specific other party, the description is omitted, but the telephone circuit 15 performs the same call processing as described above.

<Explanation of Function of Mobile Phone 1> Next, an image capturing control function 13a for capturing an image of an image capturing object in the control circuit 13, and an image capturing inhibition when the tilt angle of the telephone body 2 is within the image capturing prohibited angle range. The operation of the function 13b will be described. Note that the imaging control function 13a and the imaging prohibition function 13b are intermittently performed with the timing of standby processing removed.

Here, first, as shown in FIG.
The tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor 12 when the z-axis of the mobile phone 1 is parallel to the vertical direction is a reference angle (0 °).
Is defined. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3A, the telephone body 2 is moved from the z-axis arrow direction to the y-axis arrow direction with the x-axis as the center from the back side of the paper to the front side.
Is rotated, the tilt angle θ detected by the tilt sensor 12 is 0 ° ≦ θ <360 °. In the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment, the imaging inhibition angle range θf is
90 ° <θf <180 ° is set. Note that this imaging inhibition angle range θf is set in the imaging inhibition function 13b in the control circuit 13. Here, FIG.
FIG. 3B shows an example in which the telephone body 2 is not in the imaging prohibition angle range θf, and FIG. 3B shows an example in which the telephone body 2 is in the imaging prohibition angle range θf.

Next, FIG. 4 shows an image pickup control function 13a when the control circuit 13 is set to an image pickup mode in which an image can be picked up by the image sensor 9 by the user performing a predetermined operation of the operation key section 6. It is a flowchart figure which shows the effect | action of the imaging prohibition function 13b.

When the mobile phone 1 is set to the photographing mode in this manner, an image captured by the image sensor 9 is displayed on the display 5. Then, when the user takes an image without including himself / herself as the imaging target, an operation of turning the image sensor 9 toward the imaging target and pressing the shutter button 6e while checking the image displayed on the display 5 is performed. Done. In addition, when the user takes an image of himself / herself as an object to be imaged, the user turns the image sensor 9 toward himself / herself,
The operation of pressing the shutter button 6e while checking the image projected on the mirror 10 is performed.

In the control circuit 13, the shutter button 6
It is determined whether or not e has been pressed (step S1). When it is determined that the key has been pressed, the tilt angle θ output from the tilt sensor 12 is detected. Then, it is determined whether the detected inclination angle θ is within the imaging prohibition angle range θf (step S2), and the imaging prohibition angle range θf is determined.
If it is determined that there is no such image, the shutter operation is validated, and the still image captured by the image sensor 9 is recorded in the memory 16 as image data (step S3). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that it is within the imaging prohibition angle range θf, the shutter operation is invalidated, and a warning sound is output from the sounder 8 for a predetermined period (step S4).

When the processing in step S3 or S4 is completed, the process returns to step S2, and a series of operations for capturing a still image is repeatedly performed.
In this imaging mode, the interrupt can be released by the user performing a predetermined key operation (step S5).

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
The imaging prohibited angle range θf with respect to the reference angle is set in advance, and when the telephone body 2 is in the imaging prohibited angle range θf (when tilted to an unnatural angle different from that during normal use), the captured image is displayed. Is prevented from being stored in the memory 16 as image data, so that an anti-social act such as voyeurism by a malicious user can be prevented.

Further, since the tilt sensor 12 is configured to detect only the tilt angle in one axis direction, the control circuit 13
The comparison calculation process between the detected inclination angle and the imaging prohibition angle range θf can be easily performed, thereby shortening the design development period of the imaging prohibition function 13b.

When the shutter button 6e is pressed in a state where the inclination angle of the telephone body 2 is within the imaging prohibition angle range θf, the sounder 8 issues a warning sound that imaging is prohibited. Since the notification is made, the user can easily recognize that the imaging is prohibited. In addition, for example, people around the user are also notified, so that the surrounding people can be alerted.

[Other Embodiments] <Part 1> In the present embodiment, the tilt sensor 12 detects the tilt angle in one axis direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The tilt angle in the biaxial direction may be detected. In this case, for example, the x-axis and the y-axis in FIG. And the tilt angle when rotated about the x axis, and y
An inclination angle when rotating about an axis is detected, and when at least one of the detected inclination angles is within the imaging inhibition angle range, imaging is inhibited.

According to such a configuration, the inclination angle of the telephone body 2 is detected based on the detection of the inclination angle in the two-axis direction. The tilt angle of the telephone body 2 can be detected more accurately.

<Part 2> In the present embodiment, the notifying means is constituted by the sounder 8 as the warning sound generating means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the following application can be considered.

First, the notifying means may be constituted by a light emitting means. For example, the LED 3 provided in the mobile phone 1 may be used as a light emitting unit, or the mobile phone 1 may be newly provided with an LED or the like as a light emitting unit. When the shutter button 6e is pressed in a state where the inclination angle of the telephone body 2 is within the imaging prohibition angle range, a warning is issued by blinking or turning on the light emitting means.

Next, the notification means may be constituted by a vibration means. For example, when the mobile phone 1 is provided with a vibrator function for notifying an incoming call, it may be used as a vibrating means, or the mobile phone 1 may be newly provided with a vibrator function as a vibrating means. You may. When the shutter button 6e is pressed in a state where the tilt angle of the telephone body 2 is within the imaging prohibition angle range, a warning is issued by vibrating the vibration means.

Incidentally, the warning sound generating means, the light emitting means and the vibration means may be combined and constituted according to the application. Also, with such a configuration, the same effect as in the case where the notifying unit as in the present embodiment is configured by the warning sound generating unit can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified and expanded as follows. In the embodiment of the present invention, the telephone body is applied to the one constituted by a single body of a rectangular cylinder, but is not limited thereto.
For example, the present invention may be applied to a case where two rectangular cylinders are folded. In this case, for example, when the foldable body is spread in an L-shape, a shutter button (operation key unit) is located in a horizontal portion and an image sensor is located in a vertical portion. , And the imaging prohibition angle range may be set.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the imaging inhibition angle range θ
Although f is set to a value of 90 ° <θf <180 °, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, 90 ° <θf <270
° may be set, or may be set to any value.
Further, even if it is not set in advance, it may be set by performing a predetermined key operation. In the embodiment of the present invention, the tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor when the z axis of the mobile phone 1 shown in FIG. 2B is parallel to the vertical direction is defined as the reference angle (0 °). The invention is not limited to this, and the point is that a reference angle may be defined so that the inclination angle of the portable terminal body and the imaging inhibition angle range can be relatively compared.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in the imaging mode, the captured image is displayed on the display even when the tilt angle of the main body of the portable terminal is within the imaging prohibited angle range. However, the present invention is not limited to this. But, for example,
In the above state, the captured image may not be displayed on the display. Similarly, in the shooting mode, the notification operation is performed when the shutter button is pressed in a state in which the tilt angle of the mobile terminal body is in the imaging prohibition angle range, but is not limited thereto. For example, even when the shutter button is not pressed, the notification operation may be performed when the tilt angle of the mobile terminal main body is within the imaging prohibition angle range. In an embodiment of the present invention,
Although the imaging control unit and the imaging prohibition unit are configured as software by the control program, the invention is not limited to this, and may be configured as hardware using, for example, electronic components.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the portable terminal is applied to a portable telephone having a digital camera function capable of capturing a still image. However, the present invention is not limited to this. You may. In an embodiment of the present invention,
The mobile terminal is applied to a mobile phone with a digital camera function, but is not limited to this.
It is applicable to S and PDA (personal digital assistant) in general. In the embodiment of the present invention, the imaging device is applied to a CMOS image sensor. However, the invention is not limited to this. For example, the imaging device may be applied to a CCD (charge coupled device) camera.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mobile phone.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reference angle and an imaging prohibition angle range.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an imaging control function and an imaging prohibition function.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawings, 1 is a mobile phone (mobile terminal), 2 is a telephone body (mobile terminal body), 3 is an LED, 6e is a "0" key (shutter button, imaging means), and 8 is a sounder (notification means, alarm sound). Generating means), 9 is a CMOS image sensor (imaging element, imaging means), 12 is an inclination sensor (inclination detecting means), 13 is a control circuit, 13a is an imaging control function (imaging control means), 13b is an imaging inhibition function (imaging inhibition) Means).

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H04N 5/225 H04N 5 / 225F // H04N 101: 00 101: 00

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A portable terminal comprising: an image pickup unit for picking up an image of an object to be imaged; and an image pickup control unit for controlling image pickup by the image pickup unit. A portable terminal comprising: an imaging prohibition unit for prohibiting imaging by the imaging unit when the inclination angle detected by the inclination detection unit is within the set imaging inhibition angle range. . 2. An image pickup device comprising: an image pickup device for converting optical information of the object to be picked up into digital information; and a shutter button for determining an image pickup timing. The image pickup device and the shutter button are normally used. Occasionally, the imaging device is mounted on the portable terminal body such that the imaging device is located relatively above the shutter button. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein an inclination angle of the mobile terminal main body when the mobile terminal is located below is set as the shooting prohibited angle range. 3. The portable terminal according to claim 1, further comprising communication means for communicating with the outside via a public line. 4. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein said tilt detecting means is configured to detect a tilt angle in one axis direction. 5. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the tilt detection angle is configured to detect a tilt angle in two axial directions. 6. A notifying unit for performing a notifying operation, wherein the imaging prohibition unit causes the notifying unit to perform the notifying operation when the detected inclination angle is within the imaging prohibition angle range. The mobile terminal according to claim 1. 7. The portable terminal according to claim 6, wherein the notification unit is a warning sound generation unit that generates a warning sound as a notification operation. 8. The portable terminal according to claim 6, wherein said notification means is a light emitting means for performing a notification operation. 9. The portable terminal according to claim 6, wherein the notifying unit is a vibration unit that performs vibration as a notifying operation.