JP4327737B2 - Mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foldable portable terminal device (a mobile phone terminal, a PDA, a digital camera, etc.) provided with a camera.

  Patent document 1 (Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2003-304308) discloses the foldable portable terminal device provided with a camera. The portable terminal device includes an upper casing on which a display is disposed, a lower casing on which a key operation unit is provided on a surface, and a coupling unit that foldably connects the upper casing and the lower casing. A first camera is provided on the front surface of the upper housing, and a second camera is provided on the back surface of the lower housing. When the upper housing and the lower housing are folded, the surface of the upper housing and the surface of the lower housing overlap, and the first camera is not exposed to the outside.

  When the user shoots himself / herself, the user opens the upper casing and the lower casing and shoots himself / herself using the first camera. Since the monitor image is displayed on a display provided on the surface of the upper housing, the user can photograph himself while confirming the composition.

  When the user shoots a subject that is not himself, the user opens the upper housing and the lower housing, points the second camera toward the subject, and shoots the subject. Since the monitor image is displayed on a display provided on the surface of the upper housing, the user can photograph himself while confirming the composition.

  It is desirable that the portable terminal device be as compact and thin as possible and have a small number of parts. This is because portability can be increased and costs can be reduced. However, since this configuration is based on the premise that two or more cameras are provided in the mobile terminal device, it is difficult to meet such a request.

  Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-60764) discloses a portable terminal device that allows a user to photograph both himself and a subject that is not himself with only one camera. That is, the coupling portion has a rotatable camera holder, and one camera is provided in the camera holder. By doing so, the user can turn the camera holder and turn the camera to himself or to a subject other than himself, so the number of parts can be reduced.

However, in this case, since the thickness of the coupling portion is set to be considerably large, the technical problem of forming the mobile terminal device as thin as possible cannot be solved.
JP 2003-304308 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-60764

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a foldable portable terminal device that can be formed as compact and thin as possible and has a small number of parts.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal device comprising: an upper housing having a first surface and a first back surface; a lower housing having a second surface and a second back surface; A coupling portion that foldably connects the upper housing and the lower housing so that the surface of the first surface and the second surface overlap, a first display portion provided on the first surface, and the upper housing A camera holder provided so that it can be drawn out and housed inside from one end surface of the camera housing and a camera disposed on the first surface side of the camera holder. In a state where the camera is stored, the camera can be exposed to one of the first surface and the second surface, the camera holder is stored, and the upper housing and the lower housing are folded. The surface of the camera is one of the upper and lower housings. Covered, in a state where the upper housing and the lower housing is opened, the first display unit displays the image captured by the camera.

  With this configuration, since the camera can be shared in both the folded state and the opened state, the user can shoot subjects other than himself and the subject without increasing the number of cameras. In addition, since the camera is slid for each camera holder without being provided in the coupling portion, the portable terminal device can be formed compactly without increasing the thickness of the coupling portion.

  In addition, if the camera holder is not pulled out, the camera is protected from damage and breakage by the upper housing and the lower housing.

In the portable terminal device according to the second invention, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, the portable terminal device further includes a second display unit provided on the first back surface, and the upper housing and the lower housing are folded. The second display unit displays an image captured by the camera.

  With this configuration, when the user folds the upper housing and the lower housing, slides the camera holder, and points the camera toward a subject other than himself, the image captured by the camera is displayed on the second display unit. The user can shoot a subject other than himself while checking the composition.

  In addition to the structure of 1st invention, the portable terminal device which concerns on 3rd invention is further provided with the illumination part arrange | positioned beside the camera.

  With this configuration, the illumination unit can be turned on to supplement the amount of light, and a good photographing result can be obtained even in a dark environment.

  In addition to the structure of 1st invention, the portable terminal device which concerns on 4th invention is further equipped with the finder arrange | positioned beside a camera.

  With this configuration, the user can check the composition by looking through the viewfinder without providing a display unit that is not the first display unit. Therefore, the portable terminal device can be configured more compactly.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the camera can be shared in both the folded state and the opened state, and the camera holder is slid without being provided in the coupling portion. Thus, the portable terminal device can be thinned without increasing the thickness of the coupling portion. When the upper housing and the lower housing are folded, the camera hidden by the upper housing and the lower housing can be used effectively, and the camera is sandwiched between the upper housing and the side housing. It can be protected from damage or dirt.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
The mobile terminal device according to the first embodiment is assumed to be a mobile phone terminal, and this mobile phone terminal will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1A is a perspective view seen from the front side when the upper housing and the lower housing of the mobile terminal device in Embodiment 1 are in an open state, and FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at it from the back side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this mobile terminal device includes the following elements. The upper housing 2 has a first front surface 2a and a first back surface 2b. The lower housing 1 has a second front surface 1a and a second back surface 1b. The coupling portion 30 foldably connects the lower end portion of the upper housing 2, the lower housing 1, and the base end portion so that the first surface 2 a and the second surface 1 a overlap in the folded state. A key operation unit 5 is provided on the surface 1 a of the lower housing 1.

  The first display unit 3 is provided on the first surface 2 a of the upper housing 2, and the second display unit 4 is provided on the first back surface 2 b of the upper housing 2. These display parts 3 and 4 are comprised from a liquid crystal display etc., for example.

  The camera holder 6 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out linearly upward from the upper housing 2. In this embodiment, a slide switch 9 is provided on the side surface 2 c of the upper housing 2.

  When the user presses the slide switch 9, the camera holder 6 changes from the state shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B (non-sliding state) to the state shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B (sliding state). It is supposed to be.

  Since the gist of the present invention is not related to the slide mechanism itself, a detailed description of the slide mechanism is omitted, but a known slide mechanism may be applied. Note that the slide mechanism may be omitted, and the user may pinch the camera holder 6 with a finger and pull it out or push it in.

  A camera 7 is disposed on the first surface 2 a side of the camera holder 6. A shutter switch 10 is provided below the side surface 2 c of the upper housing 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the first display unit 3 displays an image captured by the camera 7 in a state where the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 1 are opened. In this state, the user can take a picture of himself / herself by pointing the camera 7 at himself / herself and pressing the shutter switch 10. Moreover, since the image at that time is displayed on the first display unit 3, the user can photograph himself / herself while confirming his / her own appearance (composition, etc.).

  In the camera holder 6, an illumination unit 8 is provided on the side of the camera 7. The illumination unit 8 is typically configured by a strobe or the like. The illuminating unit 8 emits light and replenishes the amount of light when the camera 7 is taken.

  Here, the camera holder 6 is not provided in the coupling portion 30, but is provided in the upper housing 2, and is configured so that it can be pulled out linearly. Therefore, even if the camera holder 6 is provided, it can be made substantially the same size (that is, compact) as a portable terminal device not equipped with a camera.

  Further, the mobile terminal device of this embodiment includes the second display unit 4. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, when the camera holder 6 is slid to protrude outward from the upper housing 2 and the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 1 are folded, the camera 7 And the illumination part 8 is exposed outside. At this time, the second display unit 4 displays an image taken by the camera 7.

  When the user points the camera 7 toward a subject that is not his / her own, the second display unit 4 faces the user, and the user can check how the camera 7 is reflected. If the user confirms that the composition is appropriate and presses the shutter switch 10, the user can shoot a subject that is not his / her own.

  As described above, the user can not only shoot himself / herself using only the single camera 8 but also a subject other than himself / herself. In addition, the composition can be confirmed by the first display unit 3 when the user shoots himself / herself, and by the second display unit 4 when the subject other than himself / herself is photographed.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, such a function can be realized without increasing the size of the mobile terminal device or increasing the number of parts.

(Embodiment 2)
4 (a) and 4 (b) relate to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the same components as those in FIGS.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, even if the second display unit 4 in the first embodiment is omitted, substantially the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. it can.

  In the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the camera holder 6 is formed slightly larger, and the finder 11 is provided in the camera holder 6 in addition to the camera 7 and the illumination unit 8. The finder 11 allows the user's eyes to see through the part of the camera holder 6 that protrudes outward from the upper housing 2 from the back surface 2b side of the upper housing 2 toward the back surface 1b of the lower housing 1. Can be sufficient, and a hole with a transparent plate may be used. In principle, a simple cavity may be used.

  The user can know the composition of the image photographed by the camera 7 by looking through the finder 11, so that the second display unit 4 can be omitted, and the mobile terminal device can be configured to be lighter.

  Of course, FIGS. 1 to 4 show only an example, and the subject, the display method, the positions of the shutter 10 and the slide switch 9, and the like can be variously changed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the camera is configured to be shared in both the folded state and the opened state, and the camera holder is slid without being provided in the coupling portion. Thus, the portable terminal device can be thinned without increasing the thickness of the coupling portion.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention can be suitably used in the field of, for example, a folding mobile phone with a camera.

(A) The perspective view which looked at the portable terminal device in Embodiment 1 of this invention from the surface side (The state which is not slid and opened) (b) The portable terminal device in Embodiment 1 of this invention is seen from the back side Perspective view (not slid / open) (A) The perspective view which looked at the portable terminal device in Embodiment 1 of this invention from the surface side (The state which was slid and opened) (b) The portable terminal device in Embodiment 1 of this invention was seen from the back side Perspective view (slide / open state) (A) The perspective view which looked at the portable terminal device in Embodiment 1 of this invention from the surface side (slide / folded state) (b) The perspective view which looked at the portable terminal device in Embodiment 1 of this invention from the back side (Slide / folded) (A) The perspective view which looked at the portable terminal device in Embodiment 2 of this invention from the surface side (slide / folded state) (b) The perspective view which looked at the portable terminal device in Embodiment 2 of this invention from the back side (Slide / folded)

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower housing | casing 1a 2nd surface 1b 2nd back surface 2 Upper housing | casing 2a 1st surface 2b 1st back surface 3 1st display part 4 2nd display part 5 Key operation part 6 Camera holder 7 Camera 8 Illumination unit 9 Slide switch 10 Shutter switch 11 Finder 30 Coupling unit

Claims (5)

An upper housing having a first surface and a first back surface;
A lower housing having a second surface and a second back surface;
A coupling portion that foldably connects the upper housing and the lower housing so that the first surface and the second surface overlap in a folded state;
A first display unit provided on the first surface;
A camera holder provided so that it can be pulled out from one end face of the upper casing and the lower casing and stored inside .
A camera disposed on the first surface side of the camera holder,
In the state in which the camera holder is stored, the camera can be exposed to one of the first surface and the second surface;
In a state where the camera holder is stored and the upper housing and the lower housing are folded, the surface of the camera is covered with one of the upper housing and the lower housing,
In the state where the upper housing and the lower housing are opened, the first display unit displays a picture taken by the camera. First further comprising a second display unit provided on a rear surface, in a state where the upper casing and the lower casing is folded, the second display unit displays the image captured by the camera according Item 2. The mobile terminal device according to Item 1. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising an illumination unit arranged beside the camera. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a finder disposed beside the camera. The camera holder can be pulled out from one end surface of the upper housing and the lower housing and stored inside even when the upper housing and the lower housing are folded. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, which can be performed .

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