KR20090020291A - Apparatus and method for capturing image in mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for photographing an image in a mobile terminal are provided to open a camera shutter and photograph an image by measuring emitting timing of a connected external flash without respect to a kind of an external flash connected to a mobile terminal, thereby stably photographing an image. A controller performs a preview mode which previews an image of a subject to be photographed through a camera unit according to a request of a camera mode(S110). The controller checks whether the external flash is connected to the connector(S120). If the external flash is connected to a connector, the controller transmits an emitting test signal to the external flash and checks a transmission time of the emitting test signal(S130). The controller checks whether a response signal about the emitting test signal is received from the external flash(S140). When the response signal is received from the external flash through the connector, the controller checks a response signal receiving time point through a timer.

Description

Apparatus and method for photographing a mobile terminal {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CAPTURING IMAGE IN MOBILE TERMINAL}

The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus and method for a portable terminal, and more particularly, to an image capturing apparatus and method for a portable terminal which can be connected to an external flash that emits a constant amount of light when capturing an image.

As the use of portable terminals has become common, development and dissemination of portable terminals having various performances are rapidly progressing.

Accordingly, the communication method of the mobile terminal has been developed from the communication method using the voice level signal of the initial mobile terminal to the data communication method of the text message using letters, symbols, numbers, and graphic images. It is evolving into a multimedia class communication method including a signal.

The multimedia communication method has been widely used in accordance with the spread of the liquid crystal display of a color screen, and a portable terminal having a camera function has been developed and popularized for capturing video signals used in the multimedia communication method.

The portable terminal determines a shooting state according to the luminance state of the surrounding environment when shooting a video signal using a mounted camera, but at night or on a cloudy day, the flash unit generates a flash because the surrounding luminance is low. To capture the video signal.

On the other hand, it has been pointed out that in the case of the portable terminal having a built-in flash device as described above, only a close-up photography is possible due to the low flash intensity due to the small battery capacity of the terminal. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, an external flash device having a large capacity battery can be connected to a mobile terminal, thereby enabling remote shooting at night or on a cloudy day.

However, since the types of external flash devices connected to the mobile terminal vary depending on the manufacturer, there is a problem that the shutter opening timing of the camera and the light emission timing control of the external flash device provided in the mobile terminal are incorrect when the image is captured.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method capable of capturing an image by opening a camera shutter according to the emission timing of an external flash regardless of the type of external flash connected to the portable terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method capable of capturing images having various effects by adjusting the opening timing of a camera shutter according to the emission timing of an external flash connected to a portable terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image capturing apparatus of a portable terminal that can be connected to an external flash that emits a certain amount of light during image capturing, wherein the external flash is required to emit light when the external flash is connected. A controller for controlling the time and, if there is a request for image capturing, to shoot an image when the external flash emits light when the measured light emission time elapses; and shooting the image by opening the shutter under the control of the controller It characterized in that it comprises a camera unit.

The present invention also provides a video recording method of a mobile terminal that can be connected to an external flash that emits a certain amount of light when capturing an image. When the external flash is connected, a process for measuring a light emission time which is a time required for the external flash to emit light; And photographing an image when the external flash emits light when the measured light emission time elapses when a request for image capturing is requested.

According to the present invention, regardless of the type of external flash connected to the portable terminal, the user can take a stable image by measuring the light emission timing of the connected external flash and then shooting the image by opening the camera shutter. In addition, according to the present invention, the opening timing of the camera shutter may be adjusted according to the emission timing of the external flash connected to the portable terminal, thereby capturing images having various effects.

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 diagram illustrating a configuration of a portable terminal and an external flash according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The illustrated mobile terminal 100 includes a camera unit 110, a timer 120, a controller 130, and a connector 140.

The external flash 200 is connected to the mobile terminal 100 through the connector 140, and emits a constant amount of light when a light emission signal is input from the mobile terminal 100 during image capturing. In addition, when the emission test signal is input from the portable terminal 100, the external flash 200 transmits a response signal to the portable terminal 100 immediately before emitting light.

The camera unit 110 may include a lens unit (not shown) that can be pulled out and pulled out. When the shutter key is input, the camera unit 110 opens the shutter and captures an image of a subject through the lens unit. In addition, the camera unit 110 includes a camera sensor (not shown) for converting the photographed optical signal into an electrical signal, and a signal processor (not shown) for converting the analog image signal photographed from the camera sensor into digital data.

The camera sensor is assumed to be a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) sensor or a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, and the signal processor may be implemented by a digital signal processor (DSP). In addition, the camera sensor and the signal processor may be integrally implemented or may be separately implemented.

The timer 120 may be included in the controller 130 and checks time according to the control of the controller 130.

The controller 130 controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In addition, when the external flash 200 is connected to the connector 140, the controller 130 measures the time required for light emission, which is the time required for the external flash 200 to emit light.

In this case, the control unit 130 measures the light emission time of the external flash 200 as follows.

When the external flash 200 is connected, the controller 130 transmits the light emission test signal to the external flash 200 through the connector 140 and drives the timer 120. The controller 130 checks the transmission time of the test signal through the timer 120.

When the response signal to the test signal is received from the external flash 200 through the connector 140, the controller 130 checks the reception time of the response signal through the timer 120 and terminates driving of the timer 120. . Subsequently, the controller 130 measures the time required to be half of the time required from the time of transmitting the light emission test signal to the time of receiving the response signal as the light emission time. For example, if the time required from the time of transmitting the light emission test signal to the time of receiving the response signal is 1 second, the light emission time is 0.5 seconds, which is half of 1 second. The controller 130 sets the measured light emission time to the timer 120.

Thereafter, the controller 130 transmits a start signal to the timer 120 while transmitting a light emission signal to the external flash unit 200 through the connector 140 when a user requests a picture to be photographed. Check if the elapsed time.

The controller 130 checks whether the time required for light emission has elapsed through the timer 120, and transmits a photographing signal to the camera unit 110 when the time required for light emission elapses, that is, when the external flash 200 emits light. Control the image to be taken. The timer 120 transmits an end signal to the controller 130 when the set time elapses when the light emission duration is set.

Meanwhile, the controller 130 may control to capture an image before or after a preset time from when the light emission time elapses according to a user's request, or may adjust the preset time step by step according to a user's setting. .

The connector 140 performs an interface for connecting the portable terminal 100 and the external flash 200, and when the external flash 200 is connected, the connector 140 transmits the detected signal to the controller 130.

2 is a flowchart illustrating an image capturing process of a mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the controller 130 performs a preview mode for previewing an image of a subject to be photographed through the camera unit 110 according to a user's camera mode request (S110). The user may request a camera mode by inputting a menu key provided in a key input unit (not shown) or a camera power key used when entering a camera mode.

The controller 130 checks whether the external flash 200 is connected to the connector 140 (S120).

When the external flash 200 is connected to the connector 140, the controller 130 transmits a light emission test signal to the external flash 200 and checks a transmission point of the light emission test signal (S130). That is, the controller 130 transmits the light emission test signal to the external flash 200 and simultaneously drives the timer 120 and checks the transmission time of the light emission test signal through the timer 120. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the controller 130 connects the external flash 200 to the connector 140, the controller 130 drives the timer 120 while transmitting the emission test signal. However, the external flash 200 is connected. After the flash setting request from the user may be controlled to transmit the emission test signal. The flash setting request may be made through a separate flash setting key input or menu.

The controller 130 checks whether a response signal to the emission test signal is received from the external flash 200 (S140).

When the response signal is received from the external flash 200 through the connector 140, the controller 130 checks the reception time of the response signal through the timer 120 (S150). At this time, it is preferable that the controller 130 ends the driving of the timer 120.

The controller 130 measures the time required to be half of the time required from the time at which the light emission test signal is transmitted to the time at which the response signal is received (S160). For example, if the time required from the time when the control unit 130 transmits the SMS light emission test signal to the time when the response signal is received is 1 second, the light emission time is 0.5 seconds, which is half of 1 second, as the light emission time and is stored separately. It sets in the timer 120.

The controller 130 checks whether there is a user's image capture request (eg, a shutter key input) (S170).

If there is an image capturing request, the controller 130 captures an image through the camera unit 110 at the time when the measured light emission time elapses (S180). That is, the controller 130 transmits a start signal to the timer 120 while transmitting a light emission signal to the external flash 200 through the connector 140 when the image capturing request is requested, and the light emission time required through the timer 120. Check if the elapsed time. Subsequently, the controller 130 transmits a photographing signal to the camera unit 110 at the time when the elapse of the light emission time elapses, that is, when the external flash 200 receives the light emission signal and emits light, and controls the image to be photographed.

Meanwhile, the controller 130 may control to capture an image before or after a preset time from when the light emission time elapses according to a user's request, and adjust the preset time step by step according to a user's setting. You can also take pictures of effects such as front and back sync. For example, a user may take a picture of a person running in front of the camera and take a picture of the person's outline after the contour is taken, and in the case of a back curtain, the trail of the person left behind as a trace of light. You can shoot video.

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 by the equivalent of claims and claims.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a portable terminal and an external flash according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating an image capturing process of a mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (8)

An image capturing apparatus of a mobile terminal that can be connected to an external flash that emits a constant amount of light when capturing an image,       When the external flash is connected, the time required for emitting the external flash is measured, and when the image photographing request is made, the image is taken when the external flash emits light at the time when the measured light emission elapses. A control unit for controlling the And a camera unit for shooting an image by opening the shutter under the control of the controller. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit The time required to be half of the time required from the time of transmitting the light emission test signal to the external flash to the time of receiving the response signal to the transmitted light emission test signal is measured as the light emission time. Imaging device. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit       When the image capturing request is transmitted to the external flash after the light emission signal is transmitted, the image capturing device of the mobile terminal characterized in that the control to shoot the image when the external flash is emitted when the elapsed time required . The method of claim 3, wherein the control unit The image capturing apparatus of the mobile terminal according to the user's request, controls to capture an image before or after a preset time from when the light emission time elapses. In the image capturing method of a mobile terminal that can be connected to an external flash that emits a constant amount of light when shooting an image,       Measuring a light emitting time required for the external flash to be emitted when the external flash is connected; And photographing an image when the external flash emits light when the measured light emission time elapses when an image photographing request is requested. The method of claim 5, wherein the measuring process       Transmitting a light emission test signal to the external flash and checking a transmission point of the light emission test signal;       Checking a reception time of the response signal when a response signal to the emission test signal is received from the external flash; And measuring the time required to be half of the time required from the transmission time of the checked light emission test signal to the time of reception of the response signal as the light emission time. The method of claim 5, wherein the photographing process And transmitting an emission signal to the external flash when the image photographing request is made, and then capturing the image when the external flash emits light when the measured light emission time elapses. The method of claim 7, wherein the photographing process The image capturing method of a mobile terminal according to the user's request, wherein the image is taken before or after a preset time from when the light emission time elapses.

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