JP2004297660A - Mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal device mounting a compact camera unit which enables static protection of an image pickup device and current control. <P>SOLUTION: In a mobile terminal device mounting a camera unit 22 pivotably on a mobile terminal body, the camera unit 22 has a rotator 23, imaging portions 24 and 25 accommodated within the rotator 23, and a flexible board 26 connected to the imaging portions 24 and 25 and set to the outside of the rotator 23. Imaging portion control parts 24a-24d and 25a-25d are arranged on the flexible board 26 close to the imaging portions 24 and 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a notebook personal computer, and the like, on which a rotatable camera unit is mounted.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for portable terminal devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, digital cameras, and notebook computers equipped with a rotatable camera unit.
As a portable terminal device equipped with the camera unit, for example, a body-side housing and an LCD-side housing are provided, and the body-side housing has a lens unit and a substantially cylindrical camera unit formed at both ends thereof. There is a portable terminal device that is rotatably provided inside while being supported. By operating the camera unit, this portable terminal device can photograph not only the subject on the LCD side but also the subject on the back side of the LCD while looking at the LCD, and stores the lens unit inside the housing. (See Patent Document 1).
[0003]
In addition, as a portable terminal device equipped with a camera unit, for example, a lower housing, an upper housing, a hinge, a photographing unit, and an interlocking mechanism are provided, and the photographing unit is rotatably provided at an end of the hinge. In some cases, the rotation angle can be freely adjusted by the rotation operation of the upper housing and the manual rotation operation by pinching with a finger or the like. This mobile terminal device can easily adjust the direction of the camera unit and can automatically close the camera unit in conjunction with the operation of folding the housing, so that the camera unit can be protected from the outside. It becomes possible. At the end of the hinge portion provided in the portable terminal device, a flexible board for electrically connecting the photographing unit is provided so as to extend from the camera unit to the outside. It is detachable (see Patent Document 2).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-111834 (page 3-4, FIG. 1)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-359678 (page 3-6, FIG. 1)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in a mobile terminal device equipped with a camera unit, when an image sensor is arranged inside a housing, electronic components such as a capacitor, a diode, a ferrite bead, and a resistor are provided for the purpose of measures against static electricity and current control of the image sensor. Needs to be arranged near the image sensor. However, in a portable terminal device having a camera unit as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the electronic component is arranged near an image sensor, the electronic component is generally arranged on a substrate on which the image sensor is mounted. Therefore, the substrate becomes large, and the rotating body constituting the camera unit has to be enlarged. Therefore, not only the mobile terminal device itself becomes large, but also the camera unit protrudes greatly from the housing, There has been a problem that the design of the mobile terminal device is impaired.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a portable terminal device equipped with a small-sized camera unit capable of taking measures against static electricity and controlling current of an image sensor.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The invention according to claim 1 is a portable terminal device in which a camera unit is rotatably mounted on a portable terminal body, wherein the camera unit includes a rotating body, an imaging unit housed in the rotating body, and an imaging unit. A flexible substrate connected to and extending out of the rotating body, wherein an imaging unit control component is disposed on the flexible substrate near the imaging unit.
[0008]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the imaging unit control components are arranged on the flexible substrate near the imaging unit, the size of the substrate on which the imaging unit is mounted can be reduced. Can also be reduced in size. In particular, when a light emitting unit constituting a mobile flash is mounted on the camera unit in addition to the imaging unit, it is preferable because the size of the camera unit can be prevented.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal device according to the first aspect, the flexible substrate includes a first extending portion and a second extending portion extending in an axial direction of the rotating body; A third extending portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and having a substantially T-shape. The imaging portion is connected to the first extending portion, and the second extending portion is connected to the first extending portion. A light emitting unit, and the second extending portion is turned back so that the light emitting unit is juxtaposed with the imaging unit, and the imaging unit, the light emitting unit, and the first and second extending portions are connected to the rotating body. Characterized by being housed in
[0010]
According to the invention according to claim 2, the flexible substrate is branched into two, the imaging section is connected to the first extending section, and the light emitting section is connected to the second extending section. And the light emitting unit are independently connected to the flexible substrate, so that the widths of the first and second extending portions can be reduced. That is, when the imaging unit and the light emitting unit are mounted on one board, the width of the flexible board connected to this board is increased, and it becomes difficult to accommodate the flexible board in the rotating body. In the invention according to claim 2, the width of the first extension connected to the imaging unit and the width of the second extension connected to the light emitting unit can be reduced, and the second extension is folded back. Since the imaging unit and the light emitting unit are arranged side by side, it is possible to prevent the rotating body from increasing in size, and to reduce the size of the camera unit.
[0011]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal device according to the first or second aspect, the imaging unit control component includes at least one of a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, and a ferrite bead.
[0012]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, by arranging at least one of the image pickup unit control components of the capacitor, the resistor, the diode, and the ferrite bead on the flexible substrate, it is possible to prevent noise, static electricity, and current control of the image pickup unit. And the like can be performed, and it is possible to effectively prevent the image captured by the imaging unit from being adversely affected and the imaging unit itself from malfunctioning.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view of an open state of a portable terminal device to which the present invention is applied as viewed from the front side.
The mobile terminal device includes a lower housing 1, an upper housing 2, and a hinge 3 as a main body of the mobile terminal.
[0014]
The lower housing 1 has an operation unit 11 having ten-key buttons 11a, a cursor button 11b, and an enter button 11c.
The upper housing 2 includes a display unit 21 and a camera unit 22.
The hinge unit 3 includes a lower hinge 3a integrated with an end of the lower housing 1 and an upper hinge 3b integrated with an end of the upper housing 2, and the lower housing 1 and the upper housing 2 And the upper housing 2 is supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the lower housing 1.
When not in use, the portable terminal device can be folded with the hinge 3 as a fulcrum such that the surface of the lower housing 1 having the operation unit 11 and the surface of the upper housing 2 having the display unit 21 face each other. .
[0015]
The display unit 21 is formed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device, and information such as characters input by the operation unit 11, information such as characters or images stored in a memory (not shown) built in the portable terminal device, and an operation unit. Information such as an image captured by using the camera unit 22 by operating the camera 11 and information such as an image transmitted and received by a transmitting / receiving device (not shown) built in the portable terminal device are displayed.
[0016]
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the camera unit 22 is built in the upper housing 2 and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape so as to extend in the width direction of the upper housing 2. The camera unit 22 includes a rotating body 23 having a shaft 22 a and both ends of the shaft 22 a rotatably supported in the upper housing 2, and a camera module 24 as an imaging unit disposed in the rotating body 23. And a flexible substrate 26 provided at the end of the rotating body 23 and connected to the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25.
[0017]
When the camera unit 22 shoots with the camera module 24 facing the display unit 21 as shown in FIG. 1, the subject on the display unit 21 can be shot while looking at the display unit 21. On the other hand, from the state where the camera module 24 faces the display unit 21, when the end of the rotating body 23 is rotated by 180 degrees in the upper housing 2 while being picked with a finger or the like, as shown in FIG. When the camera module 24 faces the opposite side, and shooting is performed in this state, the subject on the opposite side of the display unit 21 can be shot while looking at the display unit 21.
The camera unit 22 is stored in the casing 2a in the upper housing 2. Outside the casing 2a, a sheet metal 2b for preventing static electricity is stuck.
[0018]
The rotating body 23 includes a large diameter portion 23a and a small diameter portion 23b which are coaxial and have different diameters, and the large diameter portion 23a and the small diameter portion 23b are connected. A plurality of concave portions 23c are provided on the outer periphery of the large-diameter portion 23a at the end on the small-diameter portion 23b side so that the rotating body 23 can be easily rotated by picking it with a finger.
The rotating body 23 is configured to be vertically split so that the camera module 24, the light emitting unit 25, and the flexible substrate 26 can be mounted inside the rotating body 23. Further, openings 23d and 23e are provided on the side surface of the rotating body 23 so that the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25 can be visually recognized from the outside, and the openings 23d and 23e capture images of the camera module 24. Transparent plates 23f and 23g are provided to protect the window and the light emitting surface of the light emitting unit 25, respectively.
[0019]
The camera module 24 is disposed on a first extension 26a of a flexible substrate 26 described later, and is electrically connected to the first extension 26a. The camera module 24 captures an image of a subject by a drive unit (not shown), and uses, for example, a CCD or a CMOS.
The light emitting section 25 is disposed on a second extending section 26b of a flexible substrate 26 described later, and is electrically connected to the second extending section 26b. The light-emitting unit 25 emits light at the same time as the subject is photographed by a driving unit (not shown) when the camera module 24 photographs the subject. For example, a white LED is used.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 7, the flexible substrate 26 has a first extending portion 26a and a second extending portion 26b extending in the axial direction of the rotating body 23, and is perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating body 23. Are formed in a substantially T-shape with a third extending portion 26c extending to the right side. On the flexible board 26, a capacitor 24a, a resistor 24b, a ferrite bead 24c, and a diode 24d as control components (light emitting portion control components) of the camera module 24 are provided on a first extension portion 26a, and a second extension portion is provided. A capacitor 25a, a resistor 25b, a ferrite bead 25c, and a diode 25d as control components of the light emitting unit 25 (light emitting unit control components) are installed in the existing portion 26b. These control components are installed near the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25, respectively. The third extending portion 26c of the flexible substrate 26 electrically connects the camera unit 22 to a circuit board (not shown).
[0021]
The flexible substrate 26 has the second extending portion 26b bent and overlapped on the first extending portion 26a. At this time, both the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25 are juxtaposed so that they can be visually recognized from the openings 23d and 23e of the rotating body 23.
Further, the flexible substrate 26 has the first extension portion 26a and the second extension portion in a state in which the second extension portion 26b is bent and overlapped on the upper portion of the first extension portion 26a. 26b are stored in the rotating body 23.
The second extension 26b is provided with a reflector 25d so as to cover the periphery of the light emitting unit 25 so as to reflect the light emitted from the light emitting unit 25.
[0022]
When the camera module 24, the light emitting unit 25, and other components are housed in the rotating body 23 by joining the rotating body 23 that is divided into upper and lower parts, the third extending portion 26c becomes the rotating body 23. 23 is extended outside. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the third extending portion 26 c is wound around the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 23 b of the rotating body 23 with a gap.
The camera unit 22 is housed in the casing 2a in a state where the third extending portion 26c is wound around the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 23b of the rotating body 23 with a gap.
[0023]
Further, a click mechanism 27 is provided at an end of the large diameter portion 23a constituting the rotating body 23 in order to fix the rotated camera unit 22 at a predetermined position. The click mechanism 27 includes a casing 27a, a spring 27b provided in the casing 27a, and a metal ball 27c pressed against the rotating body 23 by the spring 27b.
[0024]
The spring 27b is pressed from outside the casing 27a by a metal plate 2b provided outside the casing 2a. A notch 23h is provided at an end of the large-diameter portion 23a with which the metal ball 27c contacts, and when the camera unit 22 picked and rotated by a finger is stopped, the large-diameter portion is formed by the elastic force of the spring 27b. The camera unit 22 is fixed at a predetermined position by fitting the metal ball 27c pressed against the end of the portion 23a into the notch 23h.
[0025]
At the end of the camera unit 22, a rotation position detection switch 28 for detecting the position of the camera unit 22 when it rotates is provided. The rotation position detection switch 28 is composed of two switches 28a and 28b, and the position where the transparent plate 23f of the camera module 24 faces one surface, and the position where the transparent plate 23f of the camera module 24 faces the other surface. The position of the camera unit 22 which is set to one of a position where the camera unit 24 is located and a position where the transparent plate 23f of the camera module 24 is hidden is detected.
[0026]
For example, when the transparent plate 23f of the camera module 24 is located at a position facing one surface, the switch 28a is turned on and the switch 28b is turned off. When the transparent plate 23f of the camera module 24 is located at a position facing the other surface, the switch 28a is turned off and the switch 28b is turned on. When the transparent plate 23f of the camera module 24 is located at a position where the transparent plate 23f is hidden, both the switches 28a and 28b are turned off.
[0027]
Next, functions and operations of the portable terminal device having the above configuration will be described.
When photographing a subject using this portable terminal device, after rotating the transparent plate 23f of the camera module 24 provided in the camera unit 22 so that the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25 face the subject, the lower housing An image is taken by depressing a decision button 11c of the operation unit 11 provided in the unit 1.
[0028]
That is, when photographing a subject using the portable terminal device, the upper casing 2 superimposed on the lower casing 1 is opened by hand from the state where the portable terminal device is folded when not in use, and the display unit 21 is opened. The user operates the operation unit 11 while watching to set the shooting, and if necessary, sets the light emitting unit 25 to operate simultaneously with the shooting, and rotates the camera unit 22 provided on the upper housing 2 to set the transparent plate. After turning 23f and the transparent plate 23g in the direction of the subject, the user presses the enter button 11c to take an image.
[0029]
When an instruction to start shooting is transmitted to the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25 at the same time when the enter button 11c is pressed, an electric current flows instantaneously from the power supply (not shown) to the camera module 24 via the flexible substrate 26, and the camera module 24 When the drive unit operates, an electric current instantaneously flows through the light emitting unit 25 simultaneously with the photographing, and the light emitting unit 25 emits light to photograph the subject.
At this time, the current that instantaneously flows through the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25 is suppressed by resistors 24b and 25b provided near the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25, and external static electricity is discharged by the diodes 24d and 24d. The noise from the power supply circuit is prevented by the capacitors 24a and 25a and the ferrite beads 24c and 25c.
[0030]
In this case, the camera module 24 is disposed on the first extending portion 26a of the flexible substrate 26, the light emitting portion 25 is disposed on the second extending portion 26b, and each control module is disposed near the camera module 24 and the light emitting portion 25. By arranging the components, it is not necessary to increase the size of the substrate on which the camera unit 22 is mounted and to arrange each control component. Therefore, while the camera unit 22 is downsized, static electricity and noise to the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25 are prevented, and the current flowing to the flexible substrate 26 is controlled instantaneously.
[0031]
Further, since the first extension portion 26a and the second extension portion 26b are independently wired, static electricity and noise to the camera module 24 and the light emitting portion 25 can be independently prevented, and the flexible substrate 26 Thus, the current flowing instantaneously is controlled.
Further, the second extending portion 26b is bent and overlapped on the first extending portion 26a, and the first extending portion 26a and the second extending portion 26b are stored in the rotating body 23. Accordingly, the first extension part 26a and the second extension part 26b are independently wired without providing a wide width of the flexible substrate 26, and an extra space is eliminated, so that the camera module 24 and the light emitting part 25 are provided. Are stored in the rotating body 23, so that the camera unit 22 can be downsized.
[0032]
According to the above configuration, the camera unit 22 can be downsized, static electricity and noise that adversely affect the camera module 24 and the light emitting unit 25 can be prevented while the camera unit 22 is downsized, and the Since the current flowing through the camera is controlled, it is possible to provide a portable terminal device equipped with a small camera unit 22 capable of taking measures against static electricity and controlling the current.
[0033]
In the above embodiment, the mobile terminal device may be applied not only to a mobile phone but also to a mobile terminal device having a camera unit, such as a digital camera and a notebook computer.
Further, in the above embodiment, a new function is added to the portable terminal device such as a microphone for inputting a voice or a small liquid crystal screen for allowing a user to visually recognize the operation contents of the portable terminal device, in addition to the light emitting unit. A device for performing this may be built in.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the imaging unit control components are arranged on the flexible substrate near the imaging unit, noise suppression, static electricity countermeasure, current control, and the like for the imaging unit can be performed. In addition, the size of the substrate on which the imaging unit is mounted can be reduced while the size of the camera unit can be reduced. Therefore, the size of the mobile terminal device itself can be prevented, and the protrusion of the camera unit from the housing can be suppressed, so that the design of the mobile terminal device can be improved.
[0035]
According to the invention according to claim 2, the flexible substrate is branched into two, the imaging section is connected to the first extending section, and the light emitting section is connected to the second extending section. And the light emitting unit are independently connected to the flexible substrate, so that the widths of the first and second extending portions can be reduced. In addition, since the image pickup unit and the light emitting unit are arranged side by side by folding the second extending portion, the size of the camera unit can be reduced despite the fact that the image pickup unit and the light emitting unit are mounted in the rotating body. Can be planned.
[0036]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, by arranging the imaging unit control component on a flexible substrate, it is possible to perform measures against noise, static electricity, current control, and the like for the imaging unit. Can be effectively prevented from adversely affecting the image quality or causing a defect in the imaging unit itself.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an open state of a portable terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front side.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the open state of the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the back side.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of a camera unit provided in the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a camera unit provided in the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a development view of a camera unit provided in the mobile terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a development view of a flexible substrate provided in the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a camera unit provided in the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a flexible substrate provided in the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a side.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a click mechanism provided in the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 lower housing 11 operation unit 2 upper housing 21 display unit 22 camera unit 23 rotating body 24 camera module 24a capacitor 24b resistor 24c ferrite bead 24d diode 25 light emitting unit 25a capacitor 25b resistor 25c ferrite bead 25d diode 26 flexible substrate 26a First extension 26b Second extension 26c Third extension

Claims (3)

In a portable terminal device in which a camera unit is rotatably mounted on a portable terminal body,
The camera unit includes a rotating body, an imaging unit housed in the rotating body, and a flexible substrate connected to the imaging unit and extending outside the rotating body, and a flexible substrate near the imaging unit. A portable terminal device having an imaging unit control component disposed thereon. The flexible substrate has a first extending portion and a second extending portion extending in an axial direction of the rotating body, and a third extending portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis. It is formed in a T-shape, and an imaging unit is connected to the first extending portion, a light emitting portion is connected to the second extending portion, and the second extending portion is turned back to emit the light. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit, the light emitting unit, and the first and second extending units are accommodated in the rotating body in a state where the unit is arranged in parallel with the imaging unit. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit control component is made of one or more of a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, and a ferrite bead.

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