KR20020076516A - Portable Phone Having Image Scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable telephone having an image scanner is provided to have a scanner to scan character strings or images as well as names and telephone numbers, thereby enabling a user to easily monitor a scanned procedure and to confirm a scanned result. CONSTITUTION: A portable telephone comprises as follows. A telephone body(2) builds a predetermined circuit therein. A folder(4) is coupled with the body(2), and is folded or unfolded to cover an upper surface of the body(2) in a folded state. The first display is electrically connected to the predetermined circuit, and is installed on a lower side of the folder(4) or the upper surface of the body(2), to display a telephone state. A scanner is coupled with the body(2), and scans an external image to output scanned image data. The second display(8) is installed on an upper surface of the folder(4), and displays an operating state of the scanner. Scanner operators(10a,10b) operate the scanner. The scanner has a scan bar(14) having a light receiver for receiving light from the external image.

Description

Portable Phone Having Image Scanner

The present invention relates to a communication terminal, and more particularly, to a portable voice communication terminal such as a cellular phone, a personal mobile communication (PCS) terminal, an International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) terminal.

A person who wants to make a call, regardless of whether he or she uses a wired / wireless phone, typically dials the telephone number of the person he or she wants to call using a keypad provided in the phone. In particular, in the case of a mobile phone, since it is often used during the movement, it is often impossible to refer to a notebook or diary when making a call. Therefore, a phone book is provided for registering a large number of phone numbers inside the phone. . Therefore, the user can register the telephone numbers of the people he / she frequently dials in the telephone book in advance, and can make calls using the numbers registered by speed dialing.

Some of the telephone numbers registered in the phone book of the cellular phone may be automatically or manually stored in a call-back number included in a message received by a short message service (SMS). In addition, in the case of a user using a caller ID display service, the name and number of the other party may be registered by inputting the owner of the phone number after the end of the call with respect to the other party's phone number displayed and stored when the call is received. However, most of the telephone numbers registered in the telephone book can be said to be stored by the user inputting his / her name and number.

However, registering a phone number in a mobile phone is not a cumbersome task anymore. The biggest reason is that it is difficult to input alphabets or Korean syllables because the keypad of the mobile phone has only a few keys. . On the other hand, wireless communication service users often replace their terminals due to the evolution of communication networks and communication services, changes in taste and fashion of users, or loss of terminals. In the case of replacing the terminal as described above, the user has to re-enter all or part of the telephone numbers stored in the existing terminal into the new terminal, and save the multiple numbers. It's not boring and monotonous.

In this regard, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-193226 (designated name: mobile phone with a scanning function) proposes a terminal equipped with a scanner on one side thereof so as to scan and store a telephone number described in a business card or the like. According to this, it is possible to register another person's name and phone number relatively easily in the phone book without inputting through the keypad. By the way, in this registration notice, although the guidance message and the scanned information are described as being displayed on the display device, there is no mention of the display device and the scanner type that can effectively execute this. For example, most commercially available digital cellular phones have a foldable type. In the case of the foldable terminal, since the display is located inside the folder, it is difficult to check the guidance message and the scanned information in the scanning process when the conventional display is applied. Becomes difficult.

On the other hand, in the specification and drawings related to the registration proposal, there is no mention of any additional functions other than simply scanning the phone number and storing it in the memory. For example, by installing an appropriate program with a scanner, a character string may be scanned and sent to one or more recipients by SMS, or a simple still image may be scanned and transmitted through a cellular network or an IMT-2000 network. In addition, by mounting the electronic dictionary DB to the terminal in addition to the scanner, it is also possible to translate the character string to be scanned and converted into a data code to another language to provide to the user.

In connection with the latter application, US Pat. No. 6,108,845 (named Hand-held Scanner with Rotary Position Detector) proposes a handheld scanner with electronic dictionary and translation. However, the device described in the above U.S. Patent Publication simply relates to a scanner and is not directly related to a portable terminal. Although the U.S. Patent Publication discloses that a handheld scanner can transmit and receive data to and from an external device via a wireless channel, only the connection to a computer (PC) for storage and display is described. There is no mention of providing a telephone number to a cell phone circuit or sending a message to another cell phone. Furthermore, according to the above US patent, a mobile phone user who wants to use the electronic dictionary function has to carry / equine the scanner separately from the mobile phone.

In addition, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-207508 (designated name: handheld scanner) proposes a handheld scanner that can scan and store internal information such as name and telephone number. According to this, the personal information can be scanned and stored therein and then transmitted to an external device such as an electronic organizer or a computer if necessary. However, as in the above US patent, the handheld scanner according to this registration is only a small scanner, which provides a telephone number to the cell phone circuit for calling, or a cell phone of another person. There is no description of sending a message to. Moreover, there is a problem that a mobile phone user who wants to use a scanner according to the registration proposal must carry / equine the scanner separately from the mobile phone.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, for example, is provided with an image input means such as a scanner to input a name and phone number or other character strings or images, the user can easily monitor the image input process It is a technical problem to provide a portable telephone which can confirm an input result.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable telephone having an image input means such as a scanner, for example, and easily transmitting a character string or an image input by the image input means to a called party through a wireless communication network. do.

1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a portable telephone according to the present invention;

2 is a view showing a state in which the scan bar is drawn out in the portable telephone of FIG.

3 is a block diagram of the portable telephone of FIG.

4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of programs executed by the central processing unit of the telephone module and the scanner module in the portable telephone shown in FIG.

5 is a flow chart showing the overall flow of a scanning operation performed by the scanner module in the portable telephone shown in FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a process of executing a scanning / registration mode illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a process of executing a scanning / calling mode shown in FIG. 5; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a process of executing a scanning / transmission mode illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for describing a process of executing a scanning / translation mode illustrated in FIG. 5.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

2: phone body 4: folder

6: hinge 12: antenna

14: Scan Bar 16: Scan Window

62: first display 8: second display

10a: function selection button 10b: action button

50: telephone module 70: scanner module

The portable telephone of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem has a second display separate from the first display for displaying the phone state. In the portable telephone according to a preferred embodiment, a cover is coupled to a telephone body in which a predetermined circuit is embedded, and the cover can be selectively folded or unfolded to protect the body upper surface in the folded state. The second display is electrically connected to the circuit and is installed on the upper surface of the main body or the lower surface of the cover to indicate the phone state. The scanner is coupled to the main body and outputs the scanned image data by scanning an external image. The second display is installed on the upper surface of the cover and displays the operating state of the scanner, and the scanner operating unit is used to manipulate the operation of the scanner.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the scanner comprises a scan bar having a light receiving portion for receiving light from an external image, the scan bar being detachably mounted to the body. The scanner remains in a deactivated state normally and operates only when a user applies an operation command through an operation unit. In order to prevent the scanner from turning on irrespective of the user's intention, it is preferable to include illuminance detecting means or error input blocking means. The illuminance detecting means detects whether the illuminance around the scanner is higher than a predetermined reference value, and when such illuminance detecting means is employed, the scanner scans only when a predetermined scanning command is applied through the scanner operation unit and the illuminance is higher than the reference value. Will perform the action. The error input blocking means deactivates the scanner when a subsequent operation command is not applied within a predetermined time after the predetermined operation command is applied through the scanner operation unit.

The portable telephone of the present invention for achieving the above another technical problem can perform a phone number registration function and a message transmission request function to the main body by a program mounted and executed therein. In one aspect of such a portable telephone, the telephone body includes a call processing circuit for modulating, encoding and radiating a transmitted signal as radio waves, and decoding and demodulating a received radio signal, and a memory for storing telephone number records. do. The image input means is coupled to the main body and outputs image data by inputting an external image. The operation button is used to manipulate the operation of the image input means, and the display means displays the operation state of the image input means. Character recognition means extracts a corresponding character string from the image data in response to a predetermined character recognition command. The telephone number registration means provides the telephone body with name and telephone number data included in the character string to be stored in the memory. The message transmission requesting means provides the string to the telephone body so that the telephone body transmits the string to a remote terminal.

In a preferred embodiment, the portable telephone further comprises image transmission requesting means and translation means. The image transmission requesting means compresses the image data into a predetermined format in response to a command via an operation button, and provides the compressed image data to the telephone body so that the telephone body transmits the compressed image data to a remote terminal. . The translation means translates the character string in the first language into a character string in the second language and displays it on the display in response to a translation command via the operation button. In particular, the message transmission requesting means causes the at least one recipient identification code to be scanned according to a user's selection, and then, together with the string, a plurality of identification codes including the recipient identification code extracted by the text recognition means to the telephone body. By providing, the telephone body may also transmit a character string to remote terminals corresponding to each of the plurality of identification codes.

In another aspect, a portable telephone comprises: a telephone body having a call processing circuit for modulating, encoding and radiating a transmitted signal as radio waves, and decoding and demodulating a received wireless signal, and a memory for storing telephone number records; Image input means coupled to the main body and outputting image data by inputting an external image; At least one operation button for operating an operation of the image input means; And display means for displaying an operating state of the image input means, wherein a program for implementing a high level of additional function is executed in connection with the image input means.

The program includes a character recognition function for extracting a corresponding character string from the image data in response to a predetermined character recognition command; A telephone number registration function for providing name and telephone number data contained in the character string to a telephone main body so as to be stored in the memory; Implement the message transmission request function by providing the string to the telephone body so that the telephone body transmits the string to a terminal at a remote location. In particular, the program may be configured to switch the currently executable function among the telephone number registration function and the message transmission request function and to display the currently executable function on the display as the operation button is continuously pressed. do.

In a preferred embodiment, the program comprises: a call origination request function for calling a telephone number record stored in a memory to request call origination; And a translation function for translating the character string in a first language into a character string in a second language in response to a translation command through the operation button to be displayed on the display. In this case, the program causes the phone number registration function, the message transmission request function, the call origination request function, and the translation function to be switched in a predetermined order according to successive pressing of the operation button. The currently executable function is displayed on the display.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding members will be used as much as possible.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a portable telephone according to the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the portable telephone is a foldable telephone in which a folder 4 is coupled via a hinge 6 to one side of the main body 2, and a signal transmission / reception circuit is built in the main body 2. On its upper surface, a keypad (not shown in FIG. 1) is installed and protected by the folder 4. On the outer circumferential surface of the folder 4 in the folded state, a display 8 which can be used for scanning purposes is provided, and two buttons 10a and 10b are provided near the display 8 for manipulating a scanning operation. While not performing a scanning operation, all or part of the display 8 can be used to display the status and time of the phone, and the like. On the other hand, the upper surface of the main body 2 is provided with an antenna 12 for radiating the transmission signal from the signal transmission and reception circuit as radio waves and for receiving radio waves in the atmosphere. In addition, a scan bar 14 for scanning an image is installed at the rear of the antenna 12. In each of the antenna 12 and the scan bar 14, the outwardly projecting portions have a rectangular cross section, so that the antenna 12 and the scan bar 14 are supported by each other through their contact surfaces.

As shown in Fig. 2, in this embodiment, the scan bar 14 is in a detachable form and thus may be drawn out and used. The upper end of the scan bar 14 has a tapered shape in which the cross-section in the front and rear direction gradually narrows upward, and on the back of the tapered end, the light emitted from the light emitting diode or the laser diode is irradiated onto the object and reflected therefrom. The scan window 16 for receiving light is formed. The scan bar 14 is electrically connected to the scanner circuit inside the telephone by the wire 18. On the other hand, the step portion 20 is formed at the lower end of the scan bar 14, it can be inserted and coupled to the hole (3) above the main body 2 by interference fit.

3 shows an electrical configuration of the portable telephone of FIG. The portable telephone includes a telephone module 50 for performing a typical voice call function and a text and video message transmission and reception function, and a scanner module 70 for scanning an external image. The two modules 50 and 70 Are interfaced through the interface units 64 and 90 provided in each.

In the telephone module 50, the central processing unit 52 controls the overall operation of the module 50, and the call processing circuit 54 encodes and modulates the transmitted voice, text or video signal to operate the antenna 55. And demodulate and decode the signal received through the antenna 55. The ROM 56 stores program code for the operation of the telephone module 50, at least some of which may be implemented using recordable memory elements such as flash memory, for example. The RAM 58 stores temporary data generated during the operation of the telephone module 50. Keypad 60 includes a number of buttons for operating telephone module 50. The first display 62 is disposed above the keypad 60 to display the state of the telephone module 50, the dialed number, the received text message and the video message.

On the other hand, in the scanner module 70, the central processing unit 72 controls the overall operation of the module 70. The light emitting diode (74) driver 74 supplies current to the LED 76 under the control of the central processing unit 72 to cause the LED 76 to emit light. The photodiodes PD, 78 receive light reflected from the object being scanned after being emitted from the LED 76 and output a corresponding signal. The analog / digital (A / D) conversion unit 80 converts the output signal of the photodiode 78 into digital scanning data and stores it in the buffer 82.

The central processing unit 72 recognizes a character string from the scanning data stored in the buffer 82 and transmits the character string to the telephone module 50 or translates it into another language. In addition, according to a user's selection, the central processing unit 72 may provide the scanning data itself to the telephone module 50 so that the telephone module 50 may transmit it to another terminal. The ROM 84 stores program codes for the operation of the scanner module 70, and the RAM 86 stores temporary data generated during the operation of the scanner module 70. The operation unit 88 includes at least two buttons, namely, a "select function" button 10a and an "execute" button 10b, and allow a user to operate the scanner module 70. The second display 8 displays a guide message and an operation result during the scanning process. When the scanning operation is not performed, the second display 8 may display the terminal information such as the reception sensitivity and the battery charge amount together with the current time while the folder 4 is folded. In particular, in order to reduce power consumption, the second display 8 may be divided into two parts, and both parts may be operated during the scanning process, and only one part may be operated when scanning is not performed.

As described above, programs executed in the central processing units 52 and 72 are loaded in the ROMs 56 and 84 of the telephone module 50 and the scanner module 50, respectively. 4 shows one embodiment of such programs.

The program 100 executed by the telephone module 50 includes the main control unit 102, the call processing control unit 104, the SMS transmission / reception unit 106, the telephone number search unit 108, the mail transmission / reception unit 110, and an image. The decompression unit 112 is included. The main controller 104 controls the overall flow of the program. The call processing control unit 104 controls the encoding / decoding and modulation / demodulation processes of the call processing circuit 54. The call processing control unit 104 receives the called party's telephone number inputted from the keypad 60 or provided from the telephone number retrieval unit 108 or provided from the scanner module 70 when the call is originated, and a call channel is formed by the number. The call processing circuit 54 is controlled so as to. In addition, when the call processing control unit 104 receives a short message or a mail message from the SMS transmission and reception unit 106 or the mail transmission and reception unit 110, respectively, it is provided to the call processing circuit 54 to be transmitted. In addition, when receiving a short message or a mail message, the call processing controller 104 provides the SMS transmission / reception unit 106 or the mail transmission / reception unit 110 to be displayed on the first display 62, respectively.

The SMS transceiver 106 transmits the short message input by the user to transmit the short message to the call processing controller 104, and transmits the short text. The mail transmission / reception unit 110 transmits a mail message to be transmitted by the user to the call processing control unit 104, and receives and displays the received mail message from the call processing control unit 104. In particular, the mail transmission / reception unit 110 may attach and transmit an image file scanned and compressed by the scanner module 70 to the mail. If the mail image to which the compressed image file is attached is received from another terminal, the mail transmitting / receiving unit 110 causes the image decompressing unit 112 to decompress and displays it. The phone number search unit 108 retrieves the phone number or mail address stored in the phone book DB 116 in response to a user's instruction and calls the call processing control unit 104, the SMS transmission / reception unit 106, or the mail transmission / reception unit 110. To provide.

The program 150 executed by the scanner module 70 includes a main controller 152, a scanning controller 154, a character recognition unit 156, a translation unit 158, an image compression unit 160, and a transmission unit 162. ). The main controller 152 controls the overall flow of the program. The scanning controller 154 controls the LED driver 74 to the buffer 82 in the scanner module 70 shown in FIG. 3 so that the scanning operation can be performed smoothly. The character recognition unit 156 recognizes a character included in the scanning object image from the scanning data stored in the buffer 82 and stores the recognized character string in the RAM 86. In general, a number of character recognition algorithm has already been proposed, the character recognition algorithm employed in the portable telephone according to the present invention may be any of the algorithm already proposed or the algorithm to be presented in the future, but due to the nature of the portable device It is desirable that the size is small so that the required memory capacity is small. The present invention does not claim the character recognition algorithm itself, which can be variously modified, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The translation unit 158 translates the character string stored in the RAM 86 into another language with reference to the data stored in the dictionary DB 162 according to the function selection by the user's operation. Meanwhile, the user may directly transmit the scanned image data to another terminal or a wired Internet terminal in the form of image data without converting the scanned image data into a character string. In this case, the image compressor 160 compresses the scanning data stored in the buffer 82 into a predetermined format. The transmitter 162 transmits the converted character string or the compressed scanning data to the telephone module 50 under the control of the main controller 72.

Hereinafter, the operation of the portable telephone shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described.

FIG. 5 shows the overall flow of the operation executed by the scanner module in the portable telephone shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. In the portable telephone, the scanner module 70 operates by operating the operation unit 88 provided on the upper surface, that is, the function selection buttons 10a and 10b, without the folder 4 being opened. In other words, the user operates the function selection buttons 10a and 10b and then scans the object plane through the scan window (16 in FIG. 1). In particular, the illustrated portable telephone includes only two buttons to enhance its aesthetics and ease of use, and as the function selection buttons 10a and 10b are continuously pressed, the operation mode of the scanner module 70 is " scanning / Registration mode "," scanning / calling mode "," scanning / transmission mode "and" scanning / translation mode "in order. In the drawings, the term "key" is used as a term having the same meaning as "button".

Here, the "scanning / registration mode" refers to an operation mode in which a phone number is scanned and registered in the phone book DB 116. The term " scanning / calling mode " refers to an operation mode in which a telephone number is scanned and a call is made using the scanned telephone number. In this case, after scanning the name, the phone number corresponding to the name may be called in the phone book 116 to send a call. The "scanning / transmission mode" refers to an operation mode in which an image or character string is scanned and transmitted. The "scanning / translation mode" refers to an operation mode in which a character string is scanned and translated into another language for display.

The scanning control unit 154 of the program 150 mounted on the scanner module continuously monitors whether the function selection button 10a is pressed while power is supplied to the phone (step 200). If the selection button 10b is pressed after the function selection button 10a is pressed (step 202), the scanning / registration mode (step 204) is executed. On the other hand, if the function selection button 10a is pressed again after the function selection button 10a is pressed (step 206), it is determined whether the selection button 10b is pressed (step 208). If it is determined in step 208 that the selection button 10b is pressed, the scanning / calling mode (step 210) is executed.

If the function selection button 10a is pressed again after the function selection button 10a is pressed in step 206 (step 212), it is determined whether the selection button 10b is pressed (step 214). If it is determined in step 214 that the selection button 10b is pressed, the scanning / transmission mode (step 216) is executed. If the function selection button 10a is pressed again after the function selection button 10a is pressed in step 212 (step 218), it is determined whether the selection button 10b is pressed (step 220). If it is determined in step 220 that the selection button 10b is pressed, the scanning / translation mode (step 222) is executed. If the function selection button 10a is pressed again after the function selection button 10a is pressed in step 218 (step 224), it is determined whether the selection button 10b is pressed (step 226). If it is determined in step 226 that the selection button 10b is pressed, the scanning procedure ends. On the other hand, if the function selection button 10a is pressed again after the function selection button 10a is pressed in step 224, the process returns to step 200 again.

On the other hand, according to a preferred embodiment of the portable telephone according to the present invention, the operation buttons (10a, 10b) are arranged on the upper surface of the telephone to increase the convenience of operation, according to which the user puts the telephone in the pocket By operating the button, the scanner module 70 may be turned on undesirably. In this case, in order to reduce power consumption, in a preferred embodiment, a timer module is provided which deactivates the scanner module 70 again when a subsequent key input is not applied within a predetermined time after the key input is executed. In another embodiment in which this embodiment is modified, an illuminance sensor may be provided in the telephone, such that scanning is performed only when the illuminance is above a predetermined reference value. In addition, the order of each mode is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5, and may be arbitrarily changed.

FIG. 6 specifically shows an execution process (step 204) of the scanning / registration mode shown in FIG. First, the main controller 152 of the program 150 displays a guide message "Scan a name or telephone number", and then instructs the scanning controller 154 to scan (step 300). When scanning is performed (operation 302), the main controller 152 instructs the character recognition unit 156 to recognize a character included in the scanned image data (operation 304). Next, the main controller 152 determines whether only the character, not the telephone number, is included in the converted character string (step 306). If the character string includes only characters other than the telephone number, the main controller 152 regards the character string as a name, displays the scanned name, and displays a guide message "Scan the telephone number" (step 308). ). After scanning is performed and character recognition is completed (step 310), the main controller 152 determines whether only numbers are included in the converted character string (step 312). If the string contains only numbers, the name and phone number are displayed. However, if a character string other than a number is included in the string, the flow returns to step 308 to display a guide message.

On the other hand, if the phone number is included in the character string in step 306, the main controller 152 determines whether only a number is included in the character string (step 316). If it is determined in step 316 that the string contains only numbers, the main controller 152 regards the string as a telephone number, displays the scanned telephone number, and displays a guide message "Scan a name" ( Step 318). After scanning is performed and character recognition is completed (step 320), the main controller 152 determines whether a character is included in the converted character string (step 322). If the string contains characters, the string is considered a full name and the scanned name and phone number are displayed. However, if the string contains only numbers again, the process proceeds to step 318 again to display a guide message. On the other hand, if the non-numeric characters and the telephone number are included in the scanned string in step 316, the character recognition unit 156 separates the name and the telephone number from the string and provides them to the main controller 152 to be displayed on the display. (Step 324).

When the name and the phone number are displayed in step 314, a message asking whether to register the phone book is displayed together. If the user selects registration by pressing the execute button 10b (step 326), the scanner module 70 transmits the name and phone number data to the phone module 50 to be stored in the phone book 116. (Step 328).

FIG. 7 illustrates the execution process (step 210) of the scanning / calling mode shown in FIG.

First, the main controller 152 of the program 150 displays a guide message "Scan a name or telephone number", and then instructs the scanning controller 154 to scan (step 400). When scanning is performed (operation 402), the main controller 152 causes the character recognition unit 156 to recognize a character included in the scanned image data (operation 404). Next, the main controller 152 determines whether only the non-numeric characters are included in the converted character string (operation 406). If the string contains only non-numeric characters (step 408), the main controller 152 considers the string as a name and requests the telephone module 50 for a telephone number corresponding to the name (410). step). If there is a record for the corresponding name and the phone module 50 provides the phone number, it displays the name and the phone number and then inquires whether to call the number (step 414). However, if the record for the name does not exist in the phone book 116 (step 412), a guide message is displayed to scan again.

On the other hand, if a number is included in the converted string in step 406, the main controller 152 determines whether only the number is included in the string (step 416). If it is determined in step 416 that only the number is included in the character string, the main controller 152 considers the character string as a telephone number (operation 418) and displays the telephone number on the telephone module 50 and calls the corresponding number. In step 420, it is inquired whether to send a call. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 416 that the character string and the non-numeric characters are included in the character string, the character string is divided into a name and a telephone number and then displayed, and a query is made whether or not to call the corresponding number. Step 422, step 424)

If the user selects the call origination function (step 426), the main controller 152 requests to send a call to the corresponding phone number through the transmitter 164 (step 428). Accordingly, a call can be initiated according to a general call processing procedure. On the other hand, if the user does not select the call origination function, the user performs the function of reselecting (step 430).

FIG. 8 specifically shows an execution process (step 216) of the scanning / transmission mode shown in FIG. First, the main controller 152 of the program 150 displays a guide message "Scan a message or image to transmit", and then instructs the scanning controller 154 to scan (operation 500). If scanning is performed (step 502), it is queried whether to transmit the text or the image (step 504). When the user selects the text transmission, the main controller 152 causes the character recognition unit 156 to recognize a character included in the scanned image data (step 506). On the other hand, when the user selects the image transmission, the main controller 152 causes the image compressor 160 to compress the scanned image data (step 508).

Subsequently, the main controller 152 provides a guide message to allow the user to select a transmission method, that is, whether to transmit the message through a short message transmission service or through the mail (steps 510 and 512). In this case, since the image transmission can be performed only through an e-mail, when the user selects the image transmission in step 504, steps 510 and 512 may be omitted.

When the user selects the short message transmission in step 512, the main controller 152 accepts the called party's phone number by scanning or calls the number registered in the phone book 116 according to the user's selection (step 514). In this case, a phone number may be added to transmit the same message to multiple called parties. In addition, the scanned character string and / or the called party list may be edited (step 516). If the called party's phone number is determined, the character string is transmitted through the short message transmission service (step 518).

If the user selects the mail transmission in step 512, the main controller 152 accepts the mail address of the recipient by scanning or calls a number registered in the phone book 116 according to the user's selection (step 520). . In this case, a mail address may be added to transmit the same message to a plurality of called parties. In addition, it is possible to edit the scanned character string and / or recipient list (step 522). If the recipient mail address is determined, the character string or image is transmitted through the additional service menu provided by the communication service provider or through a separate WAP server or WTA server (step 524).

FIG. 9 illustrates a process (step 222) of executing the scanning / translation mode shown in FIG.

First, the main controller 152 of the program 150 displays a guide message "Scan a message to be translated", and then instructs the scanning controller 154 to scan (step 600). When scanning is performed (operation 602), the main controller 152 causes the character recognition unit 156 to recognize the character included in the scanned image data (operation 604). Next, the main controller 152 displays the recognized character string on the display to allow the user to check whether the contents are correct (step 606). In this case, when the scanned contents are wrong, the user may cause the scanning to be executed again. In operation 608, when the user confirms that the scanned content is correct and presses the execute button, the translation unit 158 translates the character string (operation 610). When the translation is completed, the translated string is displayed on the display (step 612).

Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are to be understood as illustrative in all respects and not as restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the following claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

As described above, the mobile phone of the present invention is provided with a scanner, so that a user can scan and store a name, telephone number or other character strings or images without having a separate scanner, a notepad or an electronic notebook. In addition, since a display for scanning purpose is separately provided, the user can easily monitor the scanning process and check the scanning result. In addition, since the text or image scanned by the scanner can be easily transmitted to one or more called parties through a wireless communication network, the utility of the portable telephone can be greatly increased.

Claims (14)

A telephone body in which a predetermined circuit is incorporated; A cover coupled to the body and optionally folded or unfolded to protect the body upper surface in the folded state; And A first display electrically connected to the circuit and installed on an upper surface of the main body or a lower surface of the cover to display a phone state; In the portable telephone having a, A scanner coupled to the main body and outputting the scanned image data by scanning an external image; A second display installed on an upper surface of the cover and displaying an operating state of the scanner; And A scanner operation unit for operating the operation of the scanner; Portable phone, characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the scanner A scan bar having a light receiving portion for receiving light from the external image; Includes, the scan bar is a portable telephone detachably installed on the main body. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Illuminance detecting means for detecting whether illuminance around the scanner is higher than a predetermined reference value; More, And the scanner performs a scanning operation only when a predetermined scanning command is applied through the scanner operation unit and the illuminance is higher than the reference value. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Error input blocking means for deactivating the scanner when a subsequent operation command is not applied within a predetermined time after a predetermined operation command is applied through the scanner operation unit; The mobile phone further includes. A telephone main body having a call processing circuit for modulating, encoding and radiating a transmitted signal as radio waves, and decoding and demodulating a received radio signal, and a first memory for storing a telephone number record; Image input means coupled to the main body and outputting image data by inputting an external image; At least one operation button for operating an operation of the image input means; Display means for displaying an operating state of the image input means; Character recognition means for extracting a corresponding character string from the image data in response to a predetermined character recognition command; Message transmitting request means for providing the string to the telephone body so that the telephone body transmits the string to a terminal located at a remote location; Portable phone comprising a. The method of claim 5, Telephone number registration means for providing name and telephone number data included in the recognized character string to the telephone body so as to be stored in the memory; The mobile phone further includes. The method of claim 5, An image in which the image data is compressed into a predetermined format in response to a command through the operation button, and the compressed image data is provided to the telephone body so that the telephone body transmits the compressed image data to a remote terminal. Transmission request means; The mobile phone further includes. The method of claim 5, wherein the message transmission requesting means causes the at least one recipient identification code to be scanned according to a user's selection, and then the plurality of identification codes including the recipient identification code extracted by the text recognition means are read. And providing the telephone body with a string to cause the telephone body to transmit the string to remote terminals corresponding to each of the plurality of identification codes. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, Translation means for translating the character string in a first language into a character string in a second language in response to a translation command through the operation button to be displayed on the display; The mobile phone further includes. A telephone main body having a call processing circuit for modulating, encoding and radiating a transmitted signal as a radio wave, and decoding and demodulating a received radio signal, and a memory for storing a telephone number record; Image input means coupled to the main body and outputting image data by inputting an external image; At least one operation button for operating an operation of the image input means; And Display means for displaying an operating state of the image input means; In the portable telephone comprising a, A character recognition function for extracting a corresponding character string from the image data; A telephone number registration function for providing name and telephone number data contained in the character string to the telephone body and stored in the memory; A message transfer request function for providing the string to the telephone body so that the telephone body transmits the string to a remote terminal; A portable telephone running with a program for implementing the same. The method of claim 8, wherein the program is A call origination request function for requesting a call origination by calling a telephone number record stored in the memory; A portable telephone further comprising. The method of claim 9, wherein the program is A translation function for translating the character string in a first language into a character string in a second language in response to a translation command through the operation button to be displayed on the display; A portable telephone further comprising. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein as the program is continuously pressed, the program executes a function of the telephone number registration function, the message transmission request function, the call origination request function, and the translation function in a predetermined order. A portable telephone which is switched accordingly and the present executable function is displayed on the display. A telephone main body having a call processing circuit for modulating, encoding and radiating a transmitted signal as a radio wave, and decoding and demodulating a received radio signal, and a memory for storing a telephone number record; Image input means coupled to the main body and configured to input an external image; And Display means for displaying an operating state of the image input means; In the portable telephone comprising a, Inputting image data from the image input means; Converting the image data into a corresponding character string; And Transmitting the converted string in a message; Text message transmission method comprising a.