WO2006085703A1

WO2006085703A1 - Automatic photographing protable electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2006085703A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/002230
Authority: WO
Inventors: Byong Seop Yoo; Hak Man Do
Original assignee: Know-How Bank Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2004-09-06
Filing date: 2005-07-11
Publication date: 2006-08-17
Also published as: JP2008512743A; KR20070058585A

Abstract

An automatic image capture portable electronic device is disclosed which has an automatic image capture function to enable an automatic image capture mode immediately after being coupled to a vehicle charger, and to store data of a captured image in an image database. Accordingly, it is possible to conveniently record captured images without a separate operation of the user, and thus, to achieve a convenience in use and to obtain an evidential image usable as an objective material associated with an event such as a traffic accident. The portable electronic device is chargeable, and can automatically capture an image of a peripheral situation and store the captured image, thereby effectively coping with problems caused by user's carelessness. The configuration of the portable electronic device implementing the automatic image capture function is simple.

Description

AUTOMATIC PHOTOGRAPHING PORTABLE ELECTRONIC

DEVICE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a portable electronic device, and more particularly, to an automatic image capture portable electronic device which automatically performs an image capture operation during charging of a battery included in the portable electronic device, to easily obtain and store an image of a peripheral situation around the portable electronic device, in particular, a peripheral situation associated with running of a vehicle. Background Art

[2] Recently, a portable electronic device such as a PDA or a mobile phone, in which a camera is mounted, has been developed, by virtue of the advance of the associated technologies. Such a portable electronic device can obtain a still or moving image through an image capture operation of a camera, store the obtained image, and externally output the stored image.

[3] In a conventional portable electronic device provided with a camera, it is possible to capture a desired image as the user selects an image capture mode, and to store data of the captured image in a memory provided in the portable electronic device. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[4] In such a portable electronic device, however, there is a drawback in that image capture can be achieved by operating keys or buttons several times to input an image capture command. Furthermore, there is another drawback in that, under the condition in which there is insufficient memory to store a captured image in the memory, it is impossible to store the captured images unless the image stored in the memory is deleted. For this reason, although the conventional portable electronic device can support a simple image capture mode, there is a limitation in supporting various image capture modes.

[5] Furthermore, when an image capture mode is carried out for a prolonged period of time, the conventional portable electronic device cannot perform the natural function thereof (wireless communication function in the case of a mobile communication terminal) because the power consumption of the image capture mode is considerable. Accordingly, it is also necessary to cope with such a problem. Technical Solution

[6] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide an automatic image capture portable electronic device wherein an image capture mode is automatically executed to obtain and store an image when the portable electronic device is charged through an external power supply such as a vehicle power supply, thereby easily achieving a black box function.

[7] Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic image capture portable electronic device wherein image data is stored in a memory included in the portable electronic device in a first-in-first out (FIFO) manner, thereby enabling continuous data storage within a limited memory capacity.

[8] In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a portable electronic device comprising a terminal battery which is chargeable through a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, and an image capture unit which captures an image, further comprising:

[9] an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit;

[10] an image controller which controls the image database to store the image data, and manages the stored image data;

[11] a voltage detector which detects a level of power noise contained in electric power charged through the vehicle charger when a vehicle generator operates in accordance with an operation of a vehicle ignition key, determines whether or not the vehicle is in operation, based on the detected power noise level, and outputs a signal representing the results of the determination; and

[12] a main controller which controls the image capture unit to operate in accordance with the signal output from the voltage detector, and controls the image controller to store the captured image data, whereby the portable electronic device can perform an automatic image capture operation.

[13] In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a portable electronic device comprising a terminal battery which is chargeable through a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, and an image capture unit which captures an image, further comprising:

[14] an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit;

[15] an image controller which controls the image database to store the image data, and manages the stored image data;

[16] a voltage detector which detects a level of power noise contained in electric power charged through the vehicle charger when a vehicle generator operates in accordance with an operation of a vehicle ignition key; and

[17] a main controller which determines whether or not the vehicle is in operation, based on the power noise level detected by the voltage detector, controls the image capture unit to operate when it is determined that the vehicle is in operation, and controls the image controller to store the captured image data, whereby the portable electronic device can perform an automatic image capture operation.

[18] In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a portable electronic device comprising a terminal battery which is chargeable through a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, and an image capture unit which captures an image, further comprising:

[19] an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit;

[20] the terminal battery which is provided with a plurality of battery terminals to re ceive vehicle electric power from the vehicle charger;

[21] a terminal voltage detector which detects a level of a voltage applied among the battery terminals; and

[22] a controller which determines whether or not the terminal battery is connected to the vehicle charger, based on the terminal voltage level detected by the terminal voltage detector, controls the image capture unit to operate when it is determined that the terminal battery is connected to the vehicle charger, and controls the image controller to store the captured image data, whereby the portable electronic device can perform an automatic image capture operation.

[23] In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a portable electronic device usable in a state of being coupled to a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, comprising:

[24] a terminal battery which supplies electric power charged in the terminal battery;

[25] a detector which outputs a coupling voltage when the terminal battery is coupled to the vehicle charger;

[26] an image capture unit which receives the electric power from the terminal battery, and captures an image;

[27] an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit; and

[28] a controller which compares the coupling voltage output from the detector with a predetermined reference voltage, determines whether or not the terminal battery is coupled to the vehicle charger, based on the results of the comparison, enables an automatic image capture mode when it is determined that the terminal battery is coupled to the vehicle charger, to operate the image capture unit to capture an image, and to store data of the captured image in the image database, and disables the automatic image capture mode when it is determined that the terminal battery is separated from the vehicle charger, to stop the operation of the image capture unit, and to stop the storage of the image data.

Advantageous Effects

[29] In the portable electronic device according to the present invention, it is possible to securely obtain evidential images because the portable electronic device can store captured images simultaneously with the mode change to the automatic image capture mode. Since the image capture mode is automatically executed without an additional command from the user, an enhancement in use convenience is achieved. Since the configuration implementing the automatic image capture is simple, the manufacturing costs are considerably reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings [30] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [31] FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which a portable electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is coupled to a vehicle charger; [32] FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; [33] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a voltage detector included in the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; [34] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating the voltage detector in the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; [35] FIGS. 5 to 11 are graphs explaining a procedure for detecting power noise by the voltage detector in the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, respectively; [36] FIG. 11 is a flow chart explaining operation of the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; [37] FIG. 12 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a portable electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; [38] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a voltage detector included in the portable electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention; [39] FIG. 14 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a portable electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and [40] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a voltage detector included in the portable electronic device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention [41] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings.

[42] When an electric generator mounted in an engine room of a vehicle operates, a vehicle battery is charged. Electric power from the charged vehicle can be applied to various electric loads such as room lamps, and a vehicle charger mounted in the vehicle to charge a portable electronic device.

[43] Meanwhile, the electric power supplied from the vehicle battery, namely, vehicle electric power, is directly influenced by the operation of the electric generator. In particular, the voltage level of a noise component contained in the vehicle electric power is higher than a predetermined level during operation of the electric generator, and is lower than the predetermined level when the electric generator does not operate.

[44] Taking this principle into consideration, there is provided an automatic image capture portable electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention which is configured to determine whether or not a vehicle including a vehicle charger 200 is in operation, based on the voltage level of the noise component in vehicle electric power, when the portable electronic device, which may be a mobile communication terminal, is coupled to the vehicle charger 200, and to control operation of an image capture unit included in the portable electronic device, based on the results of the determination.

[45] As shown in FIG. 2, the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a main controller 20 which controls the overall operation of the portable electronic device, an input unit 10 which receives a certain command from the user, a wireless communicator 60 which performs wireless communication with a mobile communication network, an image capture unit 30 which captures an image, an image controller 70 which stores the image captured through the image capture unit 30 in the form of a still image or a moving image in an image database 80, and manages the stored image, and a memory 40 which stores a program and data to control the portable electronic device, namely, the mobile communication terminal.

[46] The portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention also includes a voltage detector 90 which not only monitors the voltage of a terminal battery 100 included in the portable electronic device, to send the monitored voltage, as information about a current voltage state, to the main controller 20, but also monitors whether or not the terminal battery 100 is charged, to send information about the results of the monitoring to the main controller 20. The portable electronic device further includes an impact detector 50 which detects impact or vibration applied to the portable electronic device, and an event key 11 which is provided at the input unit 10, to enable the user to manually operate the portable electronic device when it is desired to separately store a desired image. [47] The portable electronic device having the above-described configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention can perform a black box operation to capture an image of an external situation through the image capture unit 30, based on information sent from the voltage detector 90, to store data about the captured external situation image in the image database 80, and to manage the stored data.

[48] For the black box operation, the voltage detector 90 sends a charge detect signal to the main controller 20 when the voltage detector 90 determines that the portable electronic device is in a state in which the terminal battery 100 is charged under the condition that the portable electronic device is mounted to the vehicle charger 200. In response to the charge detect signal applied thereto, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70 to initiate an (still image or moving image) image capture operation.

[49] The image controller 70 is configured to control the image database 80 in an FIFO manner when data of a captured image is stored in the image database 80. That is, when the storage capacity of the image database 80 is exhausted, the image controller 70 controls the image database 80 to delete the image data previously stored therein, so as to store data of a newly captured image. Thus, the image controller 70 enables continuous image capture and storage operations irrespective of the storage capacity of the image database 80.

[50] The image database 80 includes a first storage 81 which stores image data, and a second storage 82 which stores desired image data read from the first storage 81 under the control of the image controller 70 when the impact detector 50 detects impact or vibration or when the event key 11 is operated. In this regard, the image controller 70 controls the first storage 81 of the image database 80 to store image data in an FIFO manner. Also, when impact or vibration is detected through the impact detector 50, and the detected impact or vibration meets a predetermined condition, or when the user manually operates the event key 11, the image controller 70 controls the second storage 82 of the image database 80 to store the image data produced at the point of time when the impact or vibration was detected (or when the event key 11 was manually operated), under the control of the main controller 20.

[51] The predetermined condition may be the case in which a signal representing impact or vibration is continuously detected for more than a predetermined time, the case in which the intensity of the signal detected through the impact detector 50 is not less than a predetermined value, or the like. This condition may be configured by the user.

[52] The image controller 70 extracts, from the first storage 81, image data produced for a period of time from the point of time earlier than the point of time when a signal representing impact or vibration meeting the above-described predetermined condition is detected, namely, a current time point, by a predetermined time, to the point of time later than the current time point by a predetermined time, or for a period of time from the point of time earlier than the current time point by a predetermined time to the point of time when the detection of the impact or vibration is ceased. The image controller 70 then controls the second storage 82 to store the extracted image data.

[53] Meanwhile, the voltage detector 90 detects whether or not the portable electronic device coupled to the vehicle charger 200 is separated from the vehicle charger 200. When it is determined that the portable electronic device is separated from the vehicle charger 200, the voltage detector 90 sends a charging completion signal to the main controller 20. In response to the charging completion signal applied thereto, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70 to stop the current image capture operation.

[54] The operation for determining the coupling of the portable electronic device to the vehicle charger through the voltage detector 90 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[55] When a vehicle generator 310 operates in accordance with turning-on of an ignition key 300, a vehicle battery 320 is charged. Accordingly, electric power from the vehicle battery 320 is supplied to the vehicle charger 200 installed in the vehicle. When the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger 200, a certain voltage from the vehicle charger 200 is applied to the terminal battery 100, so that the terminal battery 100 is charged.

[56] As described above, the voltage detector 90, which monitors the voltage of the terminal battery 100, is configured to determine whether or not the terminal battery 100 is charged through the vehicle charger 200 during operation of the vehicle, based on the voltage level of the noise component contained in the electric power supplied to the vehicle charger 200.

[57] That is, the voltage detector 90 includes a noise detector 91 which detects the voltage level of the noise component contained in the vehicle electric power output from the terminal battery 100, and a microcomputer 92 which compares the power noise voltage level detected by the noise detector 91 with a predetermined reference voltage level, to determine whether or not the vehicle is in operation. The main controller 20 may be configured to perform the same function as that of the microcomputer 92. In this case, the microcomputer 92 may be dispensed with.

[58] Referring to FIG. 4, the noise detector 91 includes a filter 91a, an amplifier 91b, a converter 91c, and a smoother 9 Id. Hereinafter, the detailed functions of the constituent elements of the noise detector 91 will be described.

[59] The filter 91a shuts off the DC component from the vehicle electric power output from the terminal battery 100 (namely, the electric power supplied from the vehicle charger 200 receiving the electric power from the vehicle battery 320 when the vehicle generator 310 operates), and outputs the noise component of the vehicle electric power. The filter 91a includes a capacitor Cl, a resistor Rl 1, and diodes Dl and D2.

[60] The amplifier 91b amplifies the power noise component output from the filter 91a.

The amplifier 91b includes operational amplifiers OPl and OP2, and resistors R12, R 13, R14 and Rl 5. The operational amplifier OPl performs a buffering operation, whereas the operational amplifier OP2 performs an amplifying operation.

[61] The converter 91c converts the power noise component amplified by the amplifier

91b to a DC component. The converter 91c includes an operational amplifier OP3, resistors R16, R17, R18 and R19, and diodes D3 and D4.

[62] The smoother 9 Id smoothes the power noise component DC-converted by the converter 91c, and outputs the smoothed power noise component to the microcomputer 92. The smoother 9 Id includes an operational amplifier OP4, resistors R20 and R21, and capacitors C2 and C3.

[63] With the above-described configuration, the voltage detector 90 detects the power noise component, thereby determining whether or not the terminal battery 100 is in a charge state. When it is determined that the terminal battery 100 is in a charge state, the voltage detector 90 sends a charging initiation signal to the main controller 20. In response to the charging initiation signal, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70 to initiate an image capture mode.

[64] That is, when the generator 310 of the vehicle operates, the terminal battery 100 is charged with electric power output from the vehicle battery 320. As the terminal battery 100 is charged with the vehicle electric power, electric power is output from the terminal battery 100. The electric power output from the terminal battery 100 contains a DC component, as represented by a signal Sl in FIG. 5, and this DC component is cut off by the capacitor Cl of the filter 91a.

[65] The signal S2 in FIG. 6 represents the component of the vehicle electric power remaining after the cutting-off of the DC component, namely, a power noise component. Since the power noise component, which is output from the filter 91a, is weak, it is amplified to a certain level in the amplifier 91b. The amplified signal is represented by signal S3 in FIG. 7.

[66] The amplified power noise component is then applied to the converter 91c which, in turn, converts the power noise component into a signal S4 in FIG. 8 by inverting the power noise component, and then adding a DC component of a predetermined level to the inverted power noise component. Thereafter, the DC-converted signal output from the converter 91c is smoothed while passing through the smoother 9 Id which, in turn, produces a smoothed detect signal as represented by signal S5 in FIG. 9. The detect signal is applied to the microcomputer 92.

[67] Based on the detect signal from the noise detector 91, namely, the voltage level of the power noise, the microcomputer 92 not only determines whether or not the vehicle is in operation, but also determines whether or not the portable electronic device, namely, the mobile communication terminal, is charged with the electric power from the vehicle battery 320. That is, the microcomputer 92 determines whether or not the mobile communication terminal is charged through the vehicle charger 200 installed in the vehicle.

[68] In a state in which the ignition operation of the vehicle is stopped, the voltage level

Vl of the power noise input to the microcomputer 92 is lower than a reference voltage level Vf. In this state, the microcomputer 92 determines that the operation of the vehicle is stopped, and sends a corresponding signal to the main controller 20. In response to the signal from the microcomputer 92, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70 to stop the current image capture mode.

[69] On the other hand, when the portable electronic device is separated from the vehicle charger 200, there is no voltage applied from the vehicle charger 200 to the portable electronic device. As a result, no power noise component is detected. Accordingly, the voltage detector 90 determines that the charging of the terminal battery 100 is stopped, and sends a corresponding signal to the main controller 20. In response to the signal from the voltage detector 90, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70 to stop the current image capture mode.

[70] Thus, the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention not only performs a charge operation, but also captures an image of the peripheral situation around the vehicle through the image capture unit 30, stores data of captured images in the image database 80, and manages the stored data, in accordance with information received from the voltage detector 90. These operations will be described in the following description associated with the operations and effects of the present invention.

[71] Hereinafter, a procedure for controlling the portable electronic device having the above-described configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 11.

[72] First, the voltage detector 90 of the portable electronic device detects the voltage of the terminal battery 100, to determine whether or not the portable electronic device is in a charge state. The voltage detector 90 then sends information about the results of the determination to the main controller 20 (S400).

[73] The main controller 20 receives the information sent from the voltage detector 90, and determines, based on the received information, whether or not the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger 200 which receives electric power from the vehicle battery 320 (S410).

[74] When it is determined, in operation S410, that the portable electronic device is not coupled to the vehicle charger 200, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70 to release the image capture mode (S411).

[75] When it is determined, in operation S410, that the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger 200 receiving electric power from the vehicle battery 320, and is charged (S420), the image controller 70 of the portable electronic device determines whether or not the image capture unit 30 is turned on (S430). When it is determined, in operation S430, that the image capture unit 30 is not turned on yet, the image controller 70 turns on the image capture unit 30 (S431).

[76] As the image capture unit 30 operates, it captures an image, and sends the captured image to the image controller 70. The image controller 70 processes data of the captured image received from the image capture unit 30 in accordance with a predetermined process (S440). In operation S440, the image controller 70 may control the number of processing frames for the image sent from the image capture unit 30 in accordance with predetermined information.

[77] Subsequently, the image controller 70 stores the image data in the first storage 81 of the image database 80 (S450). In this case, the image controller 70 performs and controls the storage of the image data in an FIFO manner.

[78] Meanwhile, the main controller 20 determines whether or not an event occurs during the running of the vehicle (S460). For the event determined in operation S460, there may be two cases, namely, the first case in which impact or vibration of a certain level is detected by the impact detector 50, and the second case in which an event signal is input through the event key 11 of the input unit 10.

[79] When it is determined, in operation S460, that impact or vibration is detected through the impact detector 50, the main controller 20 determines whether or not the signal detected through the impact detector 50 is continuously detected for more than a predetermined time, or whether or not the signal detected through the impact detector 50 has an intensity more than a predetermined reference value (S470). However, when an event signal is input through the event key 11 in operation S460, operation S470 may be dispensed with.

[80] When it is determined, in operation S470, that the signal detected through the impact detector 50 satisfies one of the predetermined conditions, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70. That is, under the control of the main controller 20, the image controller 70 reads image data meeting a predetermined condition from the first storage 81, and stores the read image data in the second storage 82 (S480).

[81] Image data meeting the predetermined condition in operation S480 may be image data produced for a period of time from the point of time earlier than the current point of time by a predetermined time to the point of time later than the current time point by a predetermined time, or for a period of time from the point of time earlier than the current time point by a predetermined time to the point of time when the condition of the event is released, namely, when the detection of the impact or vibration is ceased or when an event release signal is input through the input unit 10. The predetermined condition may also be set by the user.

[82] During the above procedure, the voltage detector 90 continuously measures the voltage of the terminal battery 100, to determine whether or not the portable electronic device is separated from the vehicle charger 200. When it is determined that the portable electronic device is separated from the vehicle charger 200, the voltage detector 90 sends a corresponding signal to the main controller 20. In response to the signal from the voltage detector 90, the main controller 20 controls the image controller 70 to stop the image capture mode.

[83] In accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, when portable electronic device is charged through the vehicle charger 200 receiving from the vehicle battery 320 of the vehicle which is in operation, an image of the peripheral situation around the vehicle is automatically captured simultaneously with the charging operation. Data of a captured image is automatically stored in the image database 80, so as to be used as an objective material when a traffic accident occurs in association with the vehicle. When the portable electronic device is separated from the vehicle charger 200 due to impact caused by a traffic accident or in accordance with a user s intention, the image capture mode is automatically stopped. Data of images, captured until the image capture mode was stopped, is maintained in a state of being stored in the first storage 81.

[84] Meanwhile, although the voltage detector 90 has been described as determining whether or not the vehicle is in operation, based on the voltage level of the power noise contained in the electric power output from the terminal battery 100, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the voltage detector 90 may detect only the voltage level of the power noise contained in the electric power output from the terminal battery 100, and the main controller 20 may determine whether or not the vehicle is in operation. Of course, in this case, the intended objects of the present invention are accomplished.

[85] Also, although the voltage detector 90 has been described as including the noise detector 91 which detects power noise output from the terminal battery 100, and the microcomputer 92 which compares the voltage level of the power noise detected by the noise detector 91 with a predetermined reference voltage level, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the voltage level comparison function of the microcomputer 92 may be incorporated in the main controller 20.

[86] Hereinafter, a configuration, functions and effects of a portable electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 (the constituent elements of the portable electronic device according to the second embodiment identical to those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be briefly given).

[87] As described in conjunction with the first embodiment, vehicle electric power from the charged vehicle battery can be applied to various electric loads such as a vehicle charger mounted in the vehicle to charge a terminal battery of a portable electronic device such as a mobile communication terminal. The charging of the terminal battery is carried out as a plurality of battery terminals provided at the terminal battery is coupled to charging terminals provided at the vehicle charger.

[88] That is, when the mobile communication terminal is coupled to the vehicle charger, vehicle electric power is supplied to the battery terminals of the terminal battery. When charging electric power from the vehicle charger is supplied to the battery terminals, the level of the voltage applied between the battery terminals is high. On the other hand, when no charging electric power from the vehicle charger is supplied to the battery terminals, the level of the voltage applied between the battery terminals is low.

[89] Taking this principle into consideration, there is provided an automatic image capture portable electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention which is configured to determine whether or not the portable electronic device is coupled to a vehicle charger mounted in a vehicle, based on the voltage level at the battery terminals of the terminal battery, and to control operation of an image capture unit included in the portable electronic device, based on the results of the determination.

[90] As shown in FIG. 12, the portable electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a main controller 20 which controls the overall operation of the portable electronic device, an input unit 10 which receives a certain command from the user, a wireless communicator 60 which performs wireless communication with a mobile communication network, an image capture unit 30 which captures an image, an image controller 70 which stores the image captured through the image capture unit 30 in the form of a still image or a moving image in an image database 80, and manages the stored image, and a memory 40 which stores a program and data to control the portable electronic device, namely, the mobile communication terminal. The portable electronic device also includes a terminal voltage detector 500 which detects the terminal voltage level at a plurality of battery terminals included in a terminal battery 100 of the portable electronic device, and outputs the detected terminal voltage level to the main controller 20.

[91] The portable electronic device further includes an impact detector 50 which detects impact or vibration applied to the portable electronic device, and an event key 11 which is provided at the input unit 10, to enable the user to manually operate the portable electronic device when it is desired to separately store a desired image.

[92] The portable electronic device having the above-described configuration according to the second embodiment of the present invention can perform a black box operation to automatically operate the image capture unit 30, based on the terminal voltage level detected by the terminal voltage detector 500, to capture an image of an external situation through the image capture unit 30, to store data about the captured external situation image in the image database 80, and to manage the stored data.

[93] As shown in FIG. 13, the terminal battery 100 includes a chargeable battery 110 which is charged with electric power, and a plurality of battery terminals, for example, battery terminals 120, 130, and 140. Also, the vehicle charger 200 includes a charger 210, and a plurality of charging terminals, for example, charging terminals 220, 230, and 240. When the portable electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is coupled to the vehicle charger 200, the battery terminals 120, 130, and 140 of the terminal battery 100 are coupled to the charging terminals 220, 230, and 240 of the vehicle charger 200, respectively.

[94] The charger 210 of the vehicle charger 200 outputs vehicle electric power supplied from the vehicle battery 320 through the charging terminal 220 as a power supply terminal and the charging terminal 240 as a ground terminal. The chargeable battery 110 of the terminal battery 100 receives the vehicle electric power, as charging power, through the battery terminal 120 as a power supply terminal and the battery terminal as a ground terminal, so that the chargeable battery 110 is charged. The terminal voltage Vt applied between the power supply terminal 120 and the ground terminal 140 in the chargeable battery 110 when the chargeable battery 110 is coupled to the charger 210 of the vehicle charger 200 is higher than a reference value, namely, the terminal voltage Vt in a state in which the chargeable battery 110 is separated from the charger 210. The terminal voltage Vt is detected by the terminal voltage detector 500, and the results of the detection are sent to the main controller 20, as will be described hereinafter.

[95] Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 13, the terminal voltage detector 500 includes a first voltage-dividing resistor Rl coupled to the terminal battery 100, and a second voltage- dividing resistor R2 coupled to the vehicle charger 200. The first voltage-dividing resistor Rl has one end coupled to the ground terminal 140 of the chargeable battery 110, and the other end coupled to an intermediate one of the battery terminals, namely, the battery terminal 130. The voltage Va at the node between the first voltage-dividing resistor Rl and the intermediate terminal 130 is coupled to the main controller 20. The second voltage-dividing resistor R2 has one end coupled to the power supply terminal 220 of the charger 210, and the other end coupled to an intermediate one of the charging terminals, namely, the charging terminal 230. The first and second voltage- dividing resistors Rl and R2 are connected in series via the intermediate terminal 130 of the chargeable battery 110 and the intermediate terminal 230 of the charger 210 (Although the terminal voltage detector 500 is configured using a plurality of voltage- dividing resistors in the second embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a single voltage-dividing resistor may be coupled between the power and ground terminals 120 and 140 of the chargeable battery 110, to determine whether or not the battery of the portable electronic device is coupled to the charger.).

[96] When the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger 200, the battery terminals 120, 130, and 140 are coupled to the charging terminals 220, 230, and 240, respectively. Accordingly, the first and second voltage-dividing resistors Rl and R2 are coupled to establish a closed circuit. As a result, the voltage level at the node Va is increased. In this state, the main controller 20 recognizes, based on the voltage level of the node Va, that the portable electronic device is correctly coupled to the vehicle charger 200 such that a desired charging operation is carried out. Accordingly, the main controller 20 controls the image capture unit 30 to operate, and controls the image controller 70 to perform an image capture control operation (in this case, the image controller 70 controls the image database 80 to store data of a captured image in an FIFO manner).

[97] The image database 80 includes a first storage 81 which stores image data, and a second storage 82 which stores desired image data read from the first storage 81 under the control of the image controller 70 when the impact detector 50 detects impact or vibration or when the event key 11 is operated. In this regard, the image controller 70 controls the first storage 81 of the image database 80 to store image data in an FIFO manner. Also, when impact or vibration is detected through the impact detector 50, and the detected impact or vibration meets a predetermined condition, or when the user manually operates the event key 11, the image controller 70 controls the second storage 82 of the image database 80 to store the image data produced at the point of time when the impact or vibration was detected (or when the event key 11 was manually operated), under the control of the main controller 20.

[98] The image controller 70 extracts, from the first storage 81, image data produced for a period of time from the point of time earlier than the point of time when a signal meeting the above-described predetermined condition is detected, namely, a current time point, by a predetermined time, to the point of time later than the current time point by a predetermined time, or for a period of time from the point of time earlier than the current time point by a predetermined time to the point of time when the detection of the impact or vibration is ceased. The image controller 70 then controls the second storage 82 to store the extracted image data.

[99] Meanwhile, when the portable electronic device 100 coupled to the vehicle charger

200 is separated from the vehicle charger 200, the terminal voltage level output from the terminal voltage detector 500 to the main controller 20 is lowered. In response to the lowered terminal voltage level, the main controller 20 controls the image capture unit 30 to stop the image capture operation, and controls the image controller 70 to stop the control operation for storage of captured image data.

[100] The automatic image capture control operation of the portable electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is identical to that of the first embodiment, except for the procedure of detecting the terminal voltage level at the battery terminals 120, 130, and 140 by the terminal voltage detector 500, outputting the detected terminal voltage level to the main controller 20, and determining, based on the terminal voltage level, whether or not the terminal battery 100 is coupled to the vehicle charger 200. Accordingly, no detailed description will be given of the automatic image capture control operation.

[101] Thus, in the second embodiment of the present invention, when the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger 200 connected to the vehicle battery 320 in a state in which the vehicle is in operation, a charging operation is carried out, and the image capture unit 30 is automatically operated simultaneously with the charging operation, to capture an image of the external situation around the vehicle. Data of a captured image is automatically stored in the image database 80, so as to be used as an objective material when a traffic accident occurs in association with the vehicle.

[102] When the portable electronic device is separated from the vehicle charger 200 due to impact caused by a traffic accident or in accordance with a user s intention, the image capture mode is automatically stopped. Data of images, captured until the image capture mode was stopped, is maintained in a state of being stored in the first storage 81.

[103] Hereinafter, a configuration, functions and effects of a portable electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15 (the constituent elements of the portable electronic device according to the third embodiment identical to those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be briefly given).

[104] The portable electronic device according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a chargeable terminal battery, and a plurality of terminals which enables the terminal battery to be coupled to a vehicle charger. With this configuration, when the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger, charging and ground terminals provided at the terminal battery are coupled to charging and ground terminals provided at the vehicle charger, respectively.

[105] Taking this relation into consideration, there is provided an automatic image capture portable electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention which is configured to determine whether or not the portable electronic device is coupled to a vehicle charger, to operate an image capture unit included in the portable electronic device, based on the results of the determination, and to automatically store a captured image.

[106] As shown in FIG. 14, the portable electronic device according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a main controller 20 which controls the overall operation of the portable electronic device, an input unit 10 which receives a certain command from the user, a wireless communicator 60 which performs wireless communication with a mobile communication network, an image capture unit 30 which captures an image, an image controller 70 which stores the image captured through the image capture unit 30 in the form of a still image or a moving image in an image database 80, and manages the stored image, and a memory 40 which stores a program and data required for various control operations.

[107] The portable electronic device also includes an impact detector 50 which detects impact or vibration applied to the portable electronic device, an event key 11 which is provided at the input unit 10, to enable the user to manually operate the portable electronic device when it is desired to separately store a desired image, and a detector 600 which detects coupling of the terminal battery 100 to the vehicle charger 200, and outputs a coupling voltage corresponding to the coupling of the terminal battery 100 to the main controller 20.

[108] The portable electronic device having the above-described configuration according to the third embodiment of the present invention can automatically operate the image capture unit 30, based on the results of the detection carried out in the detector 600, store data of a captured image in the image database 80, and manage the stored data.

[109] As shown in FIG. 15, the terminal battery 100 includes a chargeable battery 110, a charging terminal 120, and a ground terminal 140. Also, the vehicle charger 200 includes a charger 210, a charging terminal 220, and a ground terminal 240.

[110] When the charging terminal 120 and ground terminal 140 are connected to the charging terminal 220 and ground terminal 240, respectively, vehicle electric power from the charger 210 is supplied to the chargeable battery 110. As a result, a terminal voltage Vt is applied between the charging terminal 120 and the ground terminal 140.

[I l l] The detector 600 includes a detection terminal 610 provided at the terminal battery

100, and a detection terminal 620 provided at the vehicle charger 200, and a resistor 630 connected to the detection terminal 620. Alternatively, the resistor 630 may be connected to the detection terminal 610 at the side of the terminal battery 100. The resistor 630 may have a resistance set in accordance with the kind of the vehicle charger 200. In this case, it is possible to identify the kind of the vehicle charger 200, based on the coupling voltage output from the detector 600, because the coupling voltage corresponds to the resistance of the resistor 630.

[112] With this configuration, when the detection terminals 610 and 620 of the detector

600 are coupled to each other, a coupling voltage Vl 1 is applied to the main controller 20. The main controller 20 compares the coupling voltage VI l with a predetermined reference voltage, and determines the coupling state of the detection terminals 610 and 620, based on the results of the comparison.

[113] Meanwhile, if the charging power from the chargeable battery 110 can be output even in the state in which no vehicle electric power is output from the charger 210 as the ignition of the vehicle is turned off, the coupling voltage Vl 1 is output from the detector 600, so far as the connection between the ground terminals 140 and 240 and the connection between the detection terminals 610 and 620 are maintained. In other words, the detector 600 outputs the coupling voltage to the main controller 20, irrespective of the vehicle electric power supplied from the vehicle charger 200.

[114] That is, when the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger 200, the charging terminal 120 and ground terminal 140 of the terminal battery 100 are coupled to the charging terminal 220 and ground terminal 240 of the vehicle charger 200.

[115] In this state, the charger 210 of the vehicle charger 200 outputs vehicle electric power supplied from the vehicle battery 320, through the charging terminal 220 and ground terminal 240. Accordingly, the chargeable battery 110 of the terminal battery 100 receives the vehicle electric power, as charging power, through the charging terminal 120 and ground terminal 140, so that the chargeable battery 110 is charged. Meanwhile, the detector 600 outputs a coupling voltage to the main controller 20 in accordance with the coupling of the detection terminals 91 and 92.

[116] The main controller 20 compares the coupling voltage with the predetermined reference voltage. When the coupling voltage is higher than the predetermined reference voltage, the main controller 20 determines that the terminal battery 100 is correctly coupled to the vehicle charger 200 is correct. In this state, the main controller 20 controls the image capture unit 30 to operate, and controls the image controller 70 to perform an image capture control operation.

[117] In this case, the image controller 70 controls the image database 80 to store data of a captured image in an FIFO manner. The image database 80 includes a first storage 81 which stores image data, and a second storage 82 which stores desired image data read from the first storage 81 under the control of the image controller 70 when the impact detector 50 detects impact or vibration or when the event key 11 operates. In this regard, the image controller 70 controls the first storage 81 of the image database 80 to store image data in an FIFO manner. Also, when impact or vibration is detected through the impact detector 50, and the detected impact or vibration meets a predetermined condition, or when the user manually operates the event key 11, the image controller 70 controls the second storage 82 of the image database 80 to store the image data produced at the point of time when the impact or vibration was detected (or when the event key 11 was manually operated), under the control of the main controller 20.

[118] Meanwhile, when the portable electronic device 100 coupled to the vehicle charger

200 is separated from the vehicle charger 200, the coupling voltage output from the detector 600 to the main controller 20 is lowered below the predetermined reference voltage. In response to the lowered coupling voltage, the main controller 20 controls the image capture unit 30 to stop the image capture operation, and controls the image controller 70 to stop the control operation for storage of captured image data.

[119] The automatic image capture control operation of the portable electronic device according to the third embodiment of the present invention is identical to that of the first embodiment, except for the procedure of detecting, by the detector 600, the coupling voltage generated in accordance with the coupling of the terminal battery 100 to the vehicle charger 200, outputting the detected coupling voltage to the main controller 20, and determining, based on the coupling voltage, whether or not the terminal battery 100 is correctly coupled to the vehicle charger 200. Accordingly, no detailed description will be given of the automatic image capture control operation. Industrial Applicability

[120] As apparent from the above description, the automatic image capture portable electronic device according to the present invention begins to perform an image capture mode, along with a charging operation, when the portable electronic device is coupled to the vehicle charger, thereby automatically capturing an image of an external situation, and releases the image capture mode when the coupling of the portable electronic device is released, while permanently storing data of captured images.

[121] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

[122]

Claims

[1] A portable electronic device comprising a terminal battery which is chargeable through a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, and an image capture unit which captures an image, further comprising: an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit; an image controller which controls the image database to store the image data, and manages the stored image data; a voltage detector which detects a level of power noise contained in electric power charged through the vehicle charger when a vehicle generator operates in accordance with an operation of a vehicle ignition key, determines whether or not the vehicle is in operation, based on the detected power noise level, and outputs a signal representing the results of the determination; and a main controller which controls the image capture unit to operate in accordance with the signal output from the voltage detector, and controls the image controller to store the captured image data, whereby the portable electronic device can perform an automatic image capture operation.

[2] The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage detector comprises: a noise detector which detects a voltage level of power noise contained in electric power output from the terminal battery; and a microcomputer which compares the power noise voltage level detected by the noise detector with a predetermined reference voltage level, and determines whether or not the vehicle is in operation, based on the results of the determination.

[3] The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the noise detector comprises: a filter which shuts off a DC component from the electric power output from the terminal battery, and outputs a power noise component of the electric power; an amplifier which amplifies the power noise component output from the filter; a converter which converts the power noise component amplified by the amplifier to a DC component; and a smoother which smoothes the power noise component DC-converted by the converter, and outputs the smoothed power noise component.

[4] The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: an impact detector which detects impact applied to the portable electronic device, and sends a corresponding impact detect signal to the main controller, wherein the image database comprises a first storage which stores image data, and a second storage which stores image data in accordance with the impact detect signal from the impact detector, wherein, when the impact detect signal meets a predetermined condition, the main controller controls, in accordance with the impact detect signal, the image controller to read image data meeting a predetermined condition from the first storage, and to store the read image data in the second storage.

[5] The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the image data meeting the predetermined condition is image data produced for a period of time from a point of time earlier than a current point of time when the impact detect signal is output from the impact detector, by a predetermined time, to a point of time later than the current point of time by a predetermined time, or image data produced for a period of time from a point of time earlier than the current point of time by a predetermined time to a point of time when the detection of the impact is ceased.

[6] The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: an input unit provided with an event key which enables manual inputting of an event signal representing generation of an event, wherein the image database comprises a first storage which stores image data, and a second storage which stores image data in accordance with the event signal from the event key, wherein the main controller controls, in accordance with the event signal, the image controller to read from the first storage image data meeting a predetermined condition, and to store the read image data in the second storage.

[7] The portable electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the image data meeting the predetermined condition is image data produced for a period of time from a point of time earlier than a current point of time when the event signal is input through the event key, by a predetermined time, to a point of time later than the current point of time by a predetermined time, or image data produced for a period of time from a point of time earlier than the current point of time by a predetermined time to the current point of time.

[8] The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the image controller performs the control for the image database to store the image data and the management for the stored image data in accordance with a first-in-first-out method in which, when a storage capacity of the image database is exhausted, image data previously stored in the image database is deleted to enable data of an image subsequently captured to be stored in the image database.

[9] A portable electronic device comprising a terminal battery which is chargeable through a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, and an image capture unit which captures an image, further comprising: an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit; an image controller which controls the image database to store the image data, and manages the stored image data; a voltage detector which detects a level of power noise contained in electric power charged through the vehicle charger when a vehicle generator operates in accordance with an operation of a vehicle ignition key; and a main controller which determines whether or not the vehicle is in operation, based on the power noise level detected by the voltage detector, controls the image capture unit to operate when it is determined that the vehicle is in operation, and controls the image controller to store the captured image data, whereby the portable electronic device can perform an automatic image capture operation.

[10] The portable electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the voltage detector comprises: a filter which shuts off a DC component from the electric power output from the terminal battery, and outputs a power noise component of the electric power; an amplifier which amplifies the power noise component output from the filter; a converter which converts the power noise component amplified by the amplifier to a DC component; and a smoother which smoothes the power noise component DC-converted by the converter, and outputs the smoothed power noise component.

[11] The portable electronic device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the main controller comprises a microcomputer which compares the power noise voltage level detected by the noise detector with a predetermined reference voltage level, and determines whether or not the vehicle is in operation, based on the results of the determination.

[12] The portable electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the image controller performs the control for the image database to store the image data and the management for the stored image data in accordance with a first-in-first-out method in which, when a storage capacity of the image database is exhausted, image data previously stored in the image database is deleted to enable data of an image subsequently captured to be stored in the image database.

[13] A portable electronic device comprising a terminal battery which is chargeable through a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, and an image capture unit which captures an image, further comprising: an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit; the terminal battery which is provided with a plurality of battery terminals to receive vehicle electric power from the vehicle charger; a terminal voltage detector which detects a level of a voltage applied among the battery terminals; and a controller which determines whether or not the terminal battery is connected to the vehicle charger, based on the terminal voltage level detected by the terminal voltage detector, controls the image capture unit to operate when it is determined that the terminal battery is connected to the vehicle charger, and controls the image controller to store the captured image data, whereby the portable electronic device can perform an automatic image capture operation.

[14] The portable electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the terminal voltage detector comprises at least one voltage-dividing resistor which divides the voltage applied among the battery terminals.

[15] The portable electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the controller recognizes the level of the voltage applied among the battery terminals, based on a voltage output from the voltage-dividing resistor.

[16] A portable electronic device usable in a state of being coupled to a vehicle charger included in a vehicle, comprising: a terminal battery which supplies electric power charged in the terminal battery; a detector which outputs a coupling voltage when the terminal battery is coupled to the vehicle charger; an image capture unit which receives the electric power from the terminal battery, and captures an image; an image database which stores data of the image captured through the image capture unit; and a controller which compares the coupling voltage output from the detector with a predetermined reference voltage, determines whether or not the terminal battery is coupled to the vehicle charger, based on the results of the comparison, enables an automatic image capture mode when it is determined that the terminal battery is coupled to the vehicle charger, to operate the image capture unit to capture an image, and to store data of the captured image in the image database, and disables the automatic image capture mode when it is determined that the terminal battery is separated from the vehicle charger, to stop the operation of the image capture unit, and to stop the storage of the image data.

[17] The portable electronic device according to claim 16, wherein the detector comprises: detection terminals respectively provided at the terminal battery and the vehicle charger, to output the coupling voltage; and a resistor connected to the detection terminals, whereby the detector outputs the coupling voltage irrespective of vehicle electric power supplied from the vehicle charger.