JP2004297736A - Mobile communication terminal with camera and flash functions - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication terminal with camera and flash functions which can impart flash light from a position desirable for a user to an object in photographing and perform a photographing while stabilizing the mobile communication terminal. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile communication terminal with the camera and flash functions is composed of a first case 10 and a second case 11. The cases 10, 11 are made relatively turnable around a shaft 16 in the overlapping direction of both cases. The front side of the first case includes a display screen of a display part, the second case 11 is equipped with an operation part 14 composed of a plurality of operating keys, the main operating keys are disposed on the front side of the second case, and auxiliary operating keys 14b are disposed on a lateral side 11c adjacent to the front side of the second case 11. A rear side 10a of the first case 10 is provided with a flash light emitting window 13, and a rear side 11a of the second case 11 is provided with a camera photographic window 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) in which a camera function and a flash function are separately provided in a housing having an operation unit and a housing having a display unit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) can transmit and receive voice information, character information, and even image information. In particular, since there is an increasing need to transmit and receive image information captured by a camera, mobile communication terminals equipped with a camera are becoming widespread. In addition, illumination is required to capture an image of a subject in a dark place, and an apparatus with a flash function has been proposed (Patent Document 1).
[0003]
By the way, as a portable communication terminal equipped with a camera and a flash, a display unit is provided on a surface other than a surface having a shooting window of a camera, as in the portable communication terminal described in Patent Document 1, and an image projected on the display unit is provided. A display unit is provided on a surface having an image capturing window of a camera and a light-emitting window of a flash, such as a device configured to capture an object other than the user while watching, or a portable communication terminal described in Patent Document 2. There has been proposed a camera which is capable of photographing a user himself while confirming an image projected on the camera, and having an optical finder so that a subject other than the user can be photographed by the optical finder.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-345899 A [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-320454
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in each of the portable communication terminals described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, since the camera and the flash are provided at predetermined positions in the same housing, the method of applying the flash with the flash to the subject is changed. And there is a problem that the degree of freedom of photographing cannot be obtained.
[0006]
In addition, since this type of mobile communication terminal is premised on pressing an operation key with a finger while holding it with one hand when shooting, there is a high possibility that camera shake will occur during shooting, and There was also an inconvenience that it was difficult to carry out satisfactorily.
[0007]
Also, recently, a display unit and an operation unit are provided in separate housings, and a mobile communication terminal in which both housings are connected to each other has a camera and a flash function. Since the camera and the flash are provided at predetermined positions in the same housing, there is no flexibility in photographing as in the portable communication terminals described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, and there is a possibility that camera shake may occur during photography. there were.
[0008]
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a flash light to a subject from a position desired by a user at the time of photographing, and to stabilize a portable communication terminal for photographing. And a portable communication terminal having a flash function.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, the invention according to claim 1 is configured such that the first housing and the second housing that are overlapped with each other are relatively rotatable around an axis along the overlapping direction of the two housings. In a portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function, wherein the first and second housings are provided with an operation unit and a display unit separately, a flash is provided in the first housing and the second A camera is provided in the housing, and the two housings are rotated from the overlapping position so that the photographing window of the camera and the light emission window of the flash can be positioned in a photographable state. And
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable communication terminal having the camera and the flash function according to the first aspect, the two housings are photographed by a superimposed position, a photographing window of the camera, and a light emitting window of the flash. It is characterized in that positioning can be performed at each possible rotation angle position.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable communication terminal having a flash function with the camera according to the first or second aspect, at a position where the two housings overlap each other, the light emission window of the flash is connected to the second housing. It is characterized by being covered by the body.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to any one of the first to third aspects, the surface of the first housing having a light-emitting window of the flash is provided on the surface of the first housing. A display surface of the display unit is provided.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the first side is opposite to a surface having a light emission window of the flash. A display surface of the display unit is provided on a surface of the housing.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to any one of the first to third aspects, an object is provided on a surface of a first housing having a light emission window of the flash. A reflective surface for visually recognizing the image.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, any one of a plurality of operation keys constituting the operation unit is provided. One of the operation keys functions as a shooting button of the camera.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the second housing is opposed to the first housing. A side surface adjacent to the surface is provided with at least one operation key among a plurality of operation keys constituting the operation unit, and one operation key provided on a side surface of the second housing functions as a shooting button of the camera It is characterized by doing so.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto, unless otherwise specified. It is only an example.
[0012]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a camera and a portable communication terminal having a flash function according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the portable communication terminal of FIG. FIG. 4 is a back view of the open state of the communication terminal as viewed from the back side.
The illustrated mobile communication terminal having a camera and a flash function includes a first housing 10 and a second housing 11, and the two housings 10, 11 center on a rotation shaft 16. Are relatively rotatable around an axis along the direction in which they are overlapped. That is, the first housing 10 rotates relatively to the second housing 11 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The state shown in FIG. 1 is a state where the two housings 10 and 11 are overlapped so that the overlapping area is maximized (the relative positional relationship between the two housings 10 and 11 in this state is hereinafter referred to as an overlapping position). .
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 10 of the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention includes a display unit 15, and a front surface 10 b of the first housing 10 has a display surface 15 a of the display unit 15. are doing. The display unit 15 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The second housing 11 is provided with an operation unit 14 including operation keys 14a and 14b. The main operation keys 14a are arranged on the front side 11b of the second housing 11, and The operation keys 14b are arranged on a side surface 11c adjacent to the front surface 11b of the second housing 11. Then, when handling the character information, the user of the mobile communication terminal visually recognizes the information displayed on the display surface 15a, and can operate various functions of the mobile communication terminal with the operation key 14a or the operation key 14b. I have.
[0014]
A flash (not shown) is provided in the first housing 10, a flash emission window 13 is provided on the back surface 10 a of the first housing 10, and a camera ( (Not shown), and a photographing window 12 of the camera is provided on the back surface side 11a of the second housing 11. The photographing window 12 is a photographing lens, and an image pickup device such as a CCD or a CMOS is mounted behind the photographing window 12 to constitute an electronic camera. The light-emitting window 13 of the flash is a transparent plate, and behind the light-emitting window 13, a light-emitting element such as a white LED or a discharge tube, and a reflector for reflecting light from the light-emitting element are mounted. It is supposed to. Then, by rotating the two housings 10 and 11 shown in FIG. 1 relatively from the overlapping position, the states shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be obtained. Both the window 12 and the light emission window 13 of the flash can be exposed, and the camera can be photographed.
[0015]
According to this structure, the user of the portable communication terminal rotates the first housing 10 relatively to the second housing 11 so that the light emission window 13 of the flash is set to the shooting window of the camera. 12 can be arranged at a position desired by the user. That is, flash light can be given to a subject from a position desired by the user.
[0016]
Regarding the relative angular position of the first housing 10 with respect to the second housing 11, the rotation angle position and the overlapping position at which the photographing window 12 of the camera and the light emitting window 13 of the flash can be photographed. Is configured to be positionable. That is, a recess (not shown) is provided at a predetermined position around the rotation shaft 16 on the back surface 10 a of the first housing 10, and the rotation shaft is provided on the front side 11 b of the second housing 11. A protrusion (not shown) that can be fitted into the recess is provided around the periphery of the protrusion 16, and the protrusion is urged toward the first housing 10 by an elastic member such as a spring. Then, when the convex portion comes to the position of the concave portion when the two housings 10 and 11 relatively rotate, the convex portion fits into the concave portion and positions the two housings 10 and 11. ing. When a force greater than a certain level is applied in the rotation direction of the two housings 10 and 11, the protrusion moves to the second housing 11 side, the engagement with the recess is released, and the rotation can be started again. It has become.
[0017]
In order to perform camera photographing using the portable communication terminal, the photographing is performed when the longitudinal direction of the second housing 11 is vertically oriented as shown in FIG. 3 and the second photographing is performed as shown in FIG. In any of the cases where the longitudinal direction of the housing 11 is set to the horizontal direction, the flash emission window 13 can be arranged so as to be located directly above the imaging window 12 of the camera. The flash emission window 13 is located right beside the camera shooting window 12 both when shooting with the longitudinal direction of the camera in the vertical direction and when shooting with the longitudinal direction of the second housing 11 in the horizontal direction. The position of the light emitting window 13 of the flash can be freely adjusted according to the user's preference, and various images can be shot by applying the flash light to the subject from various angles. With That.
[0018]
The mobile communication terminal shown in FIG. 1 assigns a function as a shooting button to any one of the operation keys 14a and the operation keys 14b among the plurality of operation keys 14a and the operation keys 14b constituting the operation unit 14. Depending on the setting, the flash light can be emitted or not emitted from the light emission window 13 when the shooting button is pressed. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate photographing button. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when photographing with the camera in an open state in which the two housings 10 and 11 are rotated 180 ° from the overlapping position, By pressing the operation key 14a to which the button is assigned, it is possible to easily take a picture, and as shown in FIG. When taking a picture with the camera in a state where the casing 10 is rotated by 90 ° with respect to the casing 10, the photographing can be easily performed by pressing the operation key 14b to which the photographing button is assigned.
[0019]
In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, when photographing a subject in a horizontal position, the user's finger easily reaches a photographing button while holding the portable communication terminal with both hands, and the portable communication terminal is operated with one hand. More stable shooting can be achieved. This makes it difficult for photographing defects such as camera shake to occur.
[0020]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the light emission window 13 of the flash is covered by the second housing 11 at the overlapping position of the two housings 10 and 11.
[0021]
Thereby, when not in use, it is possible to prevent the light emitting window 13 of the flash from being damaged, and to always provide clear flash light.
[0022]
In the portable communication terminal according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is preferable to provide a reflection surface 17 on the back surface 10 a of the first housing 10 having the flash light emission window 13. With this configuration, when taking a self-photograph, the user can take a picture while confirming his / her own shape with the reflection surface 17, so that the self-photographing can be performed well.
[0023]
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a display surface 15a of the display unit 15 is provided on the back surface 10a of the first housing 10 having the flash emission window 13 in place of the reflection surface 17, and Even when the image of the user who is the subject is displayed on the display unit 15, a good self-photographing can be performed.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a flash light to a subject from a user's favorite position at the time of shooting, and a camera and a flash function capable of stably shooting a mobile communication terminal. A portable communication terminal having the following can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the portable communication terminal of FIG. 1 in an open state as viewed from the front.
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the portable communication terminal of FIG. 1 in an open state as viewed from the rear side.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state when shooting is performed in a horizontal position in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a photographing method by the mobile communication terminal in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a rear view showing another example of the camera and the portable communication terminal having a flash function according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 first housing 11 second housing 12 camera 13 flash 14 operation unit 14a operation keys 15 display unit 17 reflective surface

Claims (8)

The first housing and the second housing which are overlapped with each other are configured so as to be relatively rotatable around an axis along the overlapping direction of the two housings, and the first and second housings are arranged. In a mobile communication terminal having an operation unit and a display unit separately on a body,
A flash is provided in the first housing, a camera is provided in the second housing, and the two housings are rotated from a superimposed position, so that a photographing window of the camera and a light emission window of the flash are provided. A portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function, wherein the portable communication terminal is configured so as to be able to be positioned in a photographable state. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the two housings can be positioned at an overlapping position, and at respective rotational angle positions at which a shooting window of the camera and a light emission window of the flash can shoot. Mobile communication terminal with camera and flash function. The portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a light emission window of the flash is covered by the second housing at a position where the two housings overlap each other. . 4. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a display surface of the display unit on a surface of a first housing having a light emission window of the flash. Communication terminal. 4. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a display surface of the display unit on a surface of the first housing opposite to a surface having the light emission window of the flash. 5. And a mobile communication terminal with a flash function. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a reflection surface for visually recognizing a subject is provided on a surface of the first housing having a light emission window of the flash. Mobile communication terminal. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein any one of a plurality of operation keys constituting the operation unit functions as a shooting button of the camera. A portable communication terminal having a flash function. The second housing includes at least one operation key among a plurality of operation keys constituting the operation unit, on a side surface of the second housing adjacent to a surface facing the first housing. The portable communication terminal having a camera and a flash function according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein one operation key provided on a side of the camera functions as a shooting button of the camera.

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