JP2004129136A - Portable telephone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a dazzlement by the light of a back light on a liquid-crystal display screen in the case of an image pick-up. <P>SOLUTION: A portable telephone 100 has a image pick-up means 24 image-picking up a subject, an optical finder 14 determining an image-pick-up region by the means 24 and a display section 12 being mounted on the ocular section 14a side peeping the optical finder 14 and having the back light. The portable telephone 100 has a detecting means 30 detecting the presence of the use of the finder 14 and a back-light control means 21 controlling the switch-on and switch-off of the back light on the display section 12 on the basis of the detection result of the detecting means 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile phone.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, camera-equipped mobile phones have been proposed in which a user can capture an image of a subject such as a person or a scene, set the image on a standby screen, and transmit the image to a friend.
As one example, a camera-equipped mobile phone has been proposed in which an imaging unit having a lens unit and an optical finder is attached via a spring to an upper portion of a housing of a mobile phone, and the imaging unit can be stored in the housing. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-205761 (Pages 4 and 5, FIGS. 5 and 6)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when an image of a subject is taken by a mobile phone with a camera function described in Patent Literature 1, the user determines the imaging area by looking at the optical viewfinder, but a liquid crystal display screen exists near the optical viewfinder. Therefore, when the backlight of the liquid crystal display screen is turned on, it is dazzled by the light of the backlight, and it is difficult to capture an image.
[0005]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone which is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the liquid crystal display screen during imaging.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, an invention according to claim 1 is provided on an imaging unit for imaging a subject, an optical finder for defining an imaging area by the imaging unit, and an eyepiece side that looks into the optical finder. , A display unit having a backlight, comprising: a detection unit for detecting whether or not the optical finder is used; and turning on a backlight of the display unit based on a detection result of the detection unit. Or backlight control means for controlling turning off.
[0007]
According to the first aspect of the invention, for example, when the detection unit detects that the user is using the optical finder, the backlight of the display unit can be turned off by the backlight control unit. On the other hand, when the detecting unit detects that the user is not using the optical viewfinder, the backlight of the display unit can be turned on by the backlight control unit. Therefore, the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit during imaging.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the mobile phone according to the first aspect, the detection unit includes an eyepiece detection unit configured to detect a user's eyepiece to the optical viewfinder, and the backlight control unit includes the eyepiece detection unit. The backlight is turned off when the detection unit detects an eyepiece of the user.
[0009]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the eyepiece detection unit detects the user's eyesight on the optical viewfinder, the backlight control unit turns off the backlight of the display unit. Therefore, the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit during imaging.
[0010]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the mobile phone according to the second aspect, the backlight control unit controls the eyepiece after the eyepiece detection unit detects a user's eyepiece and turns off the backlight. The backlight is turned on when the detection unit stops detecting the user's eyepiece.
[0011]
According to the invention according to claim 3, after the eyepiece detection unit detects the user's eyepiece and turns off the backlight, after the user stops imaging and the eyepiece detection unit no longer detects the user's eyepiece, The backlight control means turns on the backlight of the display unit. Therefore, when the user who has stopped imaging performs another operation, the backlight is turned on, so that the operation can be easily performed even in a dark place.
[0012]
The invention according to claim 4 is the mobile phone according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a switching unit configured to perform a switching operation between a telephone mode and an imaging mode, and The backlight is turned off when the telephone mode is switched to the imaging mode by an operation of the switching unit.
[0013]
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the telephone mode is set to the imaging mode by operating the switching unit, the backlight control unit turns off the backlight of the display unit. Therefore, the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit during imaging. In addition, the turning on and off of the backlight can be easily controlled by the user's intention.
[0014]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the mobile phone according to the fourth aspect, further comprising an operation invalidating unit for invalidating an operation in the other mode when the one of the telephone mode and the imaging mode is used. It is characterized by the following.
[0015]
According to the invention described in claim 5, the operation invalidating means invalidates the operation in the other mode when using one mode, so that the operation is not interrupted by the incoming call or mail during the imaging, Further, even if an erroneous input operation is performed during a telephone call or e-mail, the operation is not reflected, so that operability can be improved.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the mobile phone 100, a main body 10A and a lid 10B are foldably connected via a hinge 10C. Then, a key operation unit 11 is arranged on a surface 10D (hereinafter referred to as an inner surface) which becomes inside when the main body 10A is folded, a display unit 12 is provided on an inner surface 10E of the lid 10B, and an outer surface 10F of the lid 10B is provided. An imaging lens 13 of an imaging unit 24 described later is provided. In addition, an optical viewfinder 14 that defines an imaging area when imaging an object is provided on the inner surface 10E of the lid 10B. The mobile phone 100 is provided with a telescopic antenna 15 and a power supply unit such as a charging pack (not shown).
These components are connected to an electronic circuit of a circuit board housed inside the main body 10A, and the operation of each unit is controlled by a CPU 21 described later.
[0017]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 100 includes a key operation unit 11, a display unit 12, an optical finder 14, an antenna 15 as well as a CPU 21, a RAM 22, a ROM 23, and an imaging unit for imaging a subject, as shown in FIG. , A key signal input unit 25, a communication unit 26, and the like. Note that the mobile phone 100 is provided with functions for transmitting and receiving voice data, for example, a speaker, a voice processing unit, and the like, as a mobile phone, in addition to the above configuration.
[0018]
The key operation unit 11 includes ten numeric keys from 0 to 9, symbol keys such as * #, four arrow keys for front, rear, left and right, a determination key for determining various functions, a telephone function key, a plurality of function keys, and the like. Various key switches are provided, and a press signal of these key switches is output to the CPU 21 as an input signal by the key signal input unit 25.
[0019]
The display unit 12 includes, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel or the like, and displays display screen data output from the CPU 21. The display unit 12 includes a backlight that emits light from behind the screen. The backlight includes, for example, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel and the like, and is turned on / off based on an ON / OFF signal output from the CPU 21.
[0020]
The optical finder 14 is a window that a user looks through to determine an imaging area when capturing an image of a subject, and is adjacent to the display unit 12 so as to penetrate from the inner surface 10E to the outer surface 10F of the lid 10B. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, an eyepiece detection unit 30 is provided in the optical finder 14 as a detection unit that detects whether the optical finder 14 is used.
[0021]
The eyepiece detection unit 30 detects the user's eye contact with the optical viewfinder 14, that is, detects whether the user is using the optical viewfinder 14, and includes a pair of a light emitting element 31 and a light receiving element 32. ing. The pulse light output from the light emitting element 31 is reflected by the user's eye E, and outputs a high-level detection signal only when the light receiving element 32 receives the pulse light. Since a specific circuit configuration is publicly known, description thereof will be omitted.
[0022]
The antenna 15 is, for example, an inverted F antenna or a whip antenna, and receives a radio signal transmitted from a radio base station (not shown) and transmits a signal output from the communication unit 26 to the radio base station.
[0023]
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 develops an application program designated from among the system program stored in the ROM 23 and various application programs corresponding to each function of the mobile phone 100 in the RAM 22, and Various instructions input from the key signal input unit 25 by operation or various data corresponding thereto are temporarily stored in the RAM 22, various processes are executed according to the application program according to the input instructions and the input data, and the processing results are stored in the RAM 22. Store.
[0024]
The CPU 21 controls the imaging unit 24 to execute imaging of an imaging target range in front of the imaging lens 13 in FIG. 1 and captures image data of a captured image.
The CPU 21 stores the image data generated by the imaging unit 24 in the RAM 22 using an image compression method such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group), PNG (Portable Network Graphics), or the like. The captured image, the stored image, and the like are output to the display unit 12 and displayed.
[0025]
The CPU 21 turns off the backlight when the eyepiece detection unit 30 detects the user's eyepiece, and turns off the backlight when the eyepiece detection unit 30 stops detecting the user's eyepiece after turning off the backlight. Function as backlight control means for turning on.
[0026]
The CPU 21 also functions as an operation invalidating unit that invalidates the operation of the other mode when using one of the telephone mode for making a telephone call and the imaging mode for imaging an object.
[0027]
A RAM (Random Access Memory) 22 has a work memory area for storing and developing application programs executed by the CPU 21, a captured image acquisition processing program, a captured image processing program, input instructions, input data, processing results, and the like.
[0028]
A ROM (Read Only Memory) 23 is constituted by a flash memory or the like, and is a system program, various operation programs such as various application programs corresponding to the system, an image acquisition program, an image compression program such as JPEG and PNG, and an image processing program. , And data related to these programs.
[0029]
The imaging unit 24 includes, as imaging means, the imaging lens 13 of FIG. 1, an imaging device (not shown) such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and the like. Shoot the target area. More specifically, an image input from the imaging lens 13 is converted into an electric signal by a CMOS or the like, and image data as a digital signal is generated by an A / D conversion circuit (not shown) or the like, and the image data is output to the CPU 21. I do.
[0030]
The key signal input unit 25 is connected to the key operation unit 11, generates an input signal in response to depression of various keys on the key operation unit 11, and outputs the input signal to the CPU 21.
[0031]
The communication unit 26 includes a MODEM (Modulator / DEModulator), an RF (Radio Frequency) circuit, and the like, and is connected to the antenna 15 in FIG. The communication unit 26 modulates a signal read from the CPU 21 into the RAM 22 by a modem when transmitting data (for example, audio data, image data, etc.) to another terminal or the like, and converts the modulated signal into an RF unit. The frequency is converted and amplified. When receiving data (for example, audio data, image data, text data, etc.) from another terminal, the signal received by the antenna 15 is amplified by an RF circuit and frequency-converted, and the frequency-converted signal is demodulated by a modem. I do.
When transmitting and receiving data (for example, voice data, image data, text data, and the like), a communication protocol corresponding to a mobile phone system such as a W-CDMA system is communicated with a wireless base station (not shown). Execute.
[0032]
Next, the operation of the mobile phone 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When capturing an image of a subject, the user looks at the inside of the optical finder 14 by looking at the eyepiece 14a side of the optical finder 14 and determines an imaging area. At this time, the eyepiece detection unit 30 causes the light emitting element 31 to emit light, impinges the light on the user's eyes and reflects the light, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving element 32. Here, the light emission pulse of the light emitting element 31 is compared with the light reception pulse of the light receiving element 32, and it is determined whether or not the user is in eye contact with the optical finder 14 based on whether the pulses match (step S1).
[0033]
In step S1, when the detection signal is input from the eyepiece detection unit 30, the CPU 21 determines that the user is in contact with the optical viewfinder 14 (step S1; YES). Then, the CPU 21 determines whether the backlight is on (step 2). If the backlight is on (step S2; YES), the CPU 21 turns off the backlight (step S3). On the other hand, when the detection signal is not input from the eyepiece detection unit 30, the CPU 21 determines that the user is not in the eye finder 14 (step S <b>1; NO), returns to step S <b> 1, and the user Determine if you are.
Further, in step S2, when the CPU 21 determines that the user is in eye contact with the optical viewfinder 14, if the backlight has already been turned off (step S2; NO), the process returns to step S1 and the user returns to the optical viewfinder. It is determined whether or not the eye is in contact with 14.
[0034]
After turning off the backlight, the CPU 21 determines whether the user is looking at the optical viewfinder 14 (step S4).
In step S4, if the user is looking at the optical viewfinder 14 (step S4; YES), the process returns to step S4 to determine whether the user is looking at the optical viewfinder 14. On the other hand, if the user is not looking at the optical viewfinder 14 (step S4; NO), the CPU 21 turns on the backlight again (step S5).
[0035]
Note that, during the above operation, the CPU 21 controls so that all key inputs are invalidated unless the switching unit (not shown) switches to the telephone mode.
Hereinafter, by repeating the above steps S1 to S5, the user can take an image of the subject at any time.
[0036]
According to the mobile phone 100 of the present embodiment, when the eyepiece detection unit 30 detects that the user is using the optical finder 14, the backlight of the display unit 12 can be turned off by the CPU 21. On the other hand, when the eyepiece detection unit 30 detects that the user is not using the optical viewfinder 14 after the backlight is turned off, the backlight of the display unit 12 can be turned on by the CPU 21. Therefore, the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit 12 at the time of imaging, and when the user who has stopped imaging performs another operation, the backlight is turned on. Become.
[0037]
Further, the CPU 21 invalidates the operation of the other mode when using one mode, so that the operation is not interrupted by the incoming call or mail during the imaging, and the wrong input operation is performed during the call or mail. However, since the operation is not reflected even when the operation is performed, the operability can be improved.
[0038]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the mobile phone to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a foldable mobile phone, but can be applied to mobile phones of any shape. In addition, the switching unit turns off the backlight when the telephone mode is switched to the imaging mode, so that the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit during imaging, and the user's intention Thus, the turning on and off of the backlight can be easily controlled. Alternatively, the backlight may be turned on after a predetermined time has elapsed after the backlight is turned off. In addition, the present invention can be freely modified and improved without departing from the gist of the invention.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the detecting unit detects that the user is using the optical finder, the backlight of the display unit can be turned off by the backlight control unit. On the other hand, when the detecting unit detects that the user is not using the optical viewfinder, the backlight of the display unit can be turned on by the backlight control unit. Therefore, the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit during imaging.
[0040]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the eyepiece detection unit detects the user's eyesight on the optical viewfinder, the backlight control unit turns off the backlight of the display unit. Therefore, the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit during imaging.
[0041]
According to the invention according to claim 3, after the eyepiece detection unit detects the user's eyepiece and turns off the backlight, after the user stops imaging and the eyepiece detection unit no longer detects the user's eyepiece, The backlight control means turns on the backlight of the display unit. Therefore, when the user who has stopped imaging performs another operation, the backlight is turned on, so that the operation can be easily performed even in a dark place.
[0042]
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the telephone mode is set to the imaging mode by operating the switching unit, the backlight control unit turns off the backlight of the display unit. Therefore, the user is not dazzled by the light of the backlight of the display unit during imaging. In addition, the turning on and off of the backlight can be easily controlled by the user's intention.
[0043]
According to the invention described in claim 5, the operation invalidating means invalidates the operation in the other mode when using one mode, so that the operation is not interrupted by the incoming call or mail during the imaging, Further, even if an erroneous input operation is performed during a telephone call or e-mail, the operation is not reflected, so that operability can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of the mobile phone according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view and a front view showing an eyepiece detection unit of the mobile phone according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of turning off and on a backlight of the mobile phone in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
12 display unit 14 optical finder 14a eyepiece unit 24 imaging unit (imaging unit)
21 CPU (backlight control means, operation invalidation means)
30 Eyepiece detection unit (detection means)
100 mobile phone

Claims (5)

Imaging means for imaging a subject;
An optical finder for defining an imaging area by the imaging means;
A display unit provided on the eyepiece side that looks into the optical viewfinder and having a backlight,
A mobile phone comprising:
Detection means for detecting the use of the optical finder,
A backlight control unit that controls lighting or extinguishing of a backlight of the display unit based on a detection result of the detection unit,
A mobile phone comprising: The mobile phone according to claim 1,
The detection unit includes an eyepiece detection unit that detects a user's eyepiece to the optical viewfinder,
The backlight control means,
A mobile phone, wherein the backlight is turned off when the eyepiece detection unit detects the user's eyepiece. The mobile phone according to claim 2,
The backlight control means,
The eyepiece detection unit detects the user's eyepiece, and after turning off the backlight, when the eyepiece detection unit does not detect the user's eyepiece, the backlight is turned on. Mobile phone characterized by the following. The mobile phone according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A switching unit that performs a switching operation between a telephone mode and an imaging mode is provided,
The backlight control means,
A mobile phone, wherein the backlight is turned off when a telephone mode is switched to an imaging mode by an operation of the switching unit. The mobile phone according to claim 4,
A mobile phone comprising an operation invalidating unit for invalidating an operation in one of the telephone mode and the imaging mode when the other mode is used.

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