KR100605970B1 - Mobile communication terminal having camera module and a method for changing camera mode using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of switching a camera mode of a mobile communication terminal including a camera module, the method comprising: detecting a rotation of the camera module; and when rotation of the camera module is detected, rotation of the camera module is preset. And a third process of checking whether the information is satisfied and performing a camera mode when the rotation of the camera module satisfies preset condition information. Accordingly, the present invention provides a mobile communication terminal and a method thereof capable of detecting a rotation of a camera module and switching to a camera mode, so that a user of the mobile communication terminal can utilize a camera function more easily.

Mobile communication terminal, camera, rotation, camera module

Description

       MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL HAVING CAMERA MODULE AND A METHOD FOR CHANGING CAMERA MODE USING THE SAME}             

       1 is a simple internal block diagram of a mobile communication terminal having a camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

       2 is a flowchart illustrating a camera mode switching process of a mobile communication terminal having a camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

       Figure 3a is a perspective view showing a state before the mobile communication terminal having a pop-up camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention before switching to the camera mode.

       3B is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a mobile communication terminal having a pop-up camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention is switched to a camera mode.

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having a camera module and a camera mode switching method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a method for detecting a rotation of the camera module and switching to a camera mode.

In general, a mobile communication terminal is a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal communication services phone (PCS), an IMT-2000 terminal (International Mobile Telecommunication-2000), GSM (Global System For Mobile Communication) It refers to a device that provides a communication function such as a terminal, such as a terminal, to make a call or exchange data while moving. The mobile communication terminal is a device commonly used anywhere in the world regardless of gender, age and age, and is recognized as a necessity to always carry around. Therefore, the mobile communication terminal has become a miniaturized, slim, and light weight in consideration of portability, and is moving toward multimedia for pursuing more various functions. In particular, future mobile communication terminals will be increasingly miniaturized, multifunctional and versatile, and will be modified to adapt to various multimedia environments and the Internet environment.

There are many types of mobile communication terminals currently in use. The most important function of the mobile communication terminal is to talk to the other party, but there are other additional functions as well as the ability to exchange various information. Among these additional functions, a camera is provided in the mobile communication terminal so that a user of the mobile communication terminal can capture and store an image of a desired subject through the camera, or transmit an image of the photographed subject.

 In order to operate a camera function of a mobile communication terminal equipped with a camera, there is a method of allowing the mobile communication terminal user to perform a camera mode through input of a dedicated camera key separately allocated. Alternatively, there is a method of operating a camera mode of the mobile communication terminal through a menu through a user's key input. However, these methods have limited design and waste of unnecessary keys by separately assigning a dedicated camera key for switching the camera mode, and also causes user inconvenience by performing a camera mode through a multi-level menu through key input. There was a problem.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to rotate the camera module to which the mobile communication terminal is automatically exposed to the outside without the user making various menu selections or assigning a separate dedicated camera key to use the camera function of the mobile communication terminal. The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal and a method thereof capable of easily switching to a camera mode by detecting a signal.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a camera mode switching method of a mobile communication terminal having a camera module, the first process of detecting the rotation of the camera module, and if the rotation of the camera module is detected, the camera And a third process of checking whether rotation of the module satisfies preset condition information, and performing a camera mode when the rotation of the camera module satisfies preset condition information.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a mobile communication terminal having a camera module, a camera module for capturing a rotatably installed image, a rotation detecting unit for detecting a rotation of the camera module and outputting a signal indicating whether or not the rotation, and the rotation And a controller for switching the mobile communication terminal to a camera mode according to the output signal of the detector.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a simple internal block diagram of a mobile communication terminal having a camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated mobile communication terminal includes a key input unit 110, a wireless transmission / reception unit 120, a voice processing unit 130, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display unit 140, a control unit (eg, MSM) 150, and a storage unit 160. ), The rotation detection unit 170 and the camera module 200 is configured.

The camera module 200 is referred to as a lens unit 210, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device: hereinafter referred to as 'CCD') 220, and a CDS / AGC (Correlated Double Sampling / Auto Gain Control: hereinafter referred to as 'CDS / AGC'. (230), ADC (Analog to Digital Converter: hereinafter referred to as 'ADC') 240, DSP (Digital Signal Processor: referred to as 'DSP') (250), camera control unit (CPU: Central) A processing unit 260, a first memory unit 270, and a second memory unit 280.

The key input unit 110 includes various function keys, numeric keys, special keys, and the like, and outputs a key input signal corresponding to a key pressed by the user to the controller 150.

The wireless transceiver 120 is responsible for transmitting and receiving voice data, text data, image data, and control data under the control of the controller 150.

The LCD display unit 140 includes an LCD, and outputs various display data generated by the mobile communication terminal and an image of a subject photographed by the camera of the mobile communication terminal to the screen.

The controller 150 controls the overall operation of the mobile communication terminal. In addition, the controller 150 controls the mobile communication terminal to switch to the camera mode when the rotation detector 170 receives the detection signal output by detecting the rotation of the camera module 200.

That is, when the control unit 150 receives a detection signal from the rotation detecting unit 170, the controller 150 determines whether the rotation of the camera module 200 is set as a condition for switching the camera mode in the memory 160 to satisfy previously stored condition information. do. If the rotation of the camera module 200 satisfies the condition information, the controller 150 controls the mobile communication terminal to switch to the camera mode. In this case, the condition information means a rotation range of the camera module 200 for switching the camera mode of the mobile communication terminal. The rotation range of the camera module 200 is preferably set to 90 degrees or more in order to prevent malfunction of the mobile communication terminal.

The memory 160 stores various kinds of information necessary for controlling the operation of the mobile communication terminal. In addition, the memory 160 stores the condition information set by the controller 150 as a camera mode switching condition according to the rotation of the camera module 200.

The rotation detector 170 detects the rotation of the camera module 200 and outputs a detection signal to the controller 150.

In the camera module 200, the lens unit 210 transmits an optical signal of a subject to the CCD 220. The lens unit 210 may include a zoom lens, a focus lens, and an iris, which are typically provided in a digital still video camera, but are simple to carry in a mobile communication terminal. Is implemented. Therefore, the lens unit 210 is simplified to a focus lens and an aperture.

The CCD 220 converts the optical signal of the subject passing through the lens unit 210 into a captured image signal and outputs the converted image signal.

The CDS / AGC 230 correlates double-samples the captured image signal and adjusts gain. The correlated double sampling operation removes noise of the captured image signal generated by the CCD 220. The CCD 220 and the CDS / AGC 230 may also be commonly implemented as a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor chip.

The ADC 240 converts the gain-adjusted captured image signal from the CDS / AGC 230 into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the DSP 250.

The DSP 250 processes the digitally converted captured image signal into an image signal.

The camera controller 260 is implemented as a central processing unit (CPU) and performs an overall operation of the camera module 200. In addition, when a signal corresponding to various keys input from the key input unit 110 is transmitted from the controller 150 under the control of the controller 150, various operations are performed accordingly.

The first memory unit 270 is a memory that stores information for performing various operations of the camera controller 260 and is typically implemented as a static random access memory (SRAM).

The second memory unit 280 is a buffer for temporarily storing the image coming through the lens unit 210 and is usually implemented as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

2 is a flowchart illustrating a camera mode switching process of a mobile communication terminal including a camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the controller 150 stores condition information (that is, a rotation range of the camera module 200) for switching the camera mode of the mobile communication terminal in the memory 160 (S300).

The rotation detector 170 detects the rotation of the camera module 200 and outputs a detection signal to the controller 150 (S310).

When the controller 150 receives the detection signal from the rotation detector 170, the controller 150 rotates the camera module 200 to store the camera mode of the mobile communication terminal based on the condition information previously stored in the memory 160. It is checked whether the condition information (that is, the rotation range of the camera module 200) is satisfied (S320). At this time, the rotation range is preferably set to 90 degrees or more in order to prevent malfunction of the mobile communication terminal. The controller 150 checks the number of times that the camera module 200 is switched like a scroll switch every time the camera module 200 is rotated, and if it is switched for a predetermined number of times, the controller 150 determines that the rotation of the camera module 200 satisfies the rotation range. Can be. Alternatively, when the rotation detection unit 170 continuously outputs a detection signal for a predetermined time or more, the rotation detection unit 170 detecting the rotation of the camera module 200 outputs a detection signal. It may be determined that the rotation of satisfies the rotation range of the condition information.

If the rotation of the camera module 200 does not satisfy the preset condition information, the controller 150 returns to the process of detecting the rotation of the camera module 200 (S310).

If the rotation of the camera module 200 satisfies the condition information previously stored in the memory 160 in step S320, the controller 150 controls the mobile communication terminal to switch from a standby mode to a camera mode to perform a camera function. (S330).

       3A is a perspective view illustrating a state before a mobile communication terminal having a pop-up camera lens module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention switches to a camera mode. Referring to FIG. 3A, reference numeral 402 is a popup type camera module of the mobile communication terminal 400, which is rotatable 180 °, and the popup type camera module 402 is currently exposed to the outside. When the process described above with reference to FIG. 2 is applied to the illustrated mobile communication terminal 400, the camera module 402 of the mobile communication terminal 400 is not currently rotated, and thus the mobile communication terminal 400 changes the camera mode. Do not perform. Therefore, the LCD display unit 404 displays a normal screen indicating the current time.

       3B is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a mobile communication terminal having a pop-up camera module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention switches to a camera mode. Referring to FIG. 3B, the camera module 402 is rotated by 90 degrees or more so that the mobile communication terminal 400 switches to the camera mode. Therefore, the LCD display unit 404 displays an image of the subject being photographed by the camera module 402.

In the above description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be defined by the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As described above, the present invention provides a mobile communication terminal and a method for detecting a rotation of a camera module and switching to a camera mode, so that a user of a mobile communication terminal can utilize a camera function more easily.

Claims (4)

In a camera mode switching method of a mobile communication terminal having a camera module and a scroll switch that is switched in accordance with the rotation of the camera module, A first process of detecting rotation of the camera module; A second process of checking whether the scroll switch is switched more than a predetermined number of times when the rotation of the camera module is detected by checking the number of switching of the scroll switch according to the rotation of the camera module; And a third process of performing a camera mode when the number of times of switching is greater than or equal to the predetermined number of times. delete delete In a mobile communication terminal having a camera module, A camera module for photographing a rotatably installed image, A rotation detecting unit detecting a rotation of the camera module by a scroll switch which is switched according to the rotation of the camera module; And a controller configured to switch the mobile communication terminal to a camera mode when the rotation of the camera module is sensed by the rotation detecting unit and the number of times of switching of the scroll switch is a predetermined number or more. Mobile communication terminal.

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