HK1060443B - Foldable portable telephone having a display portion selectively put into a lengthwise state or an oblong state and a pair of front camera portions - Google Patents

Description

Foldable cellular phone having display portion and a pair of front camera portions

This application claims priority from the prior application JP 2002.125370, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a foldable cellular or portable telephone device, and more particularly, to a foldable cellular or portable telephone device including a camera section.

Background

As known in the art, in recent years, portable telephone devices have been used in different ways, i.e., as a browser for the internet or the like, an electronic mail transmission and reception terminal, a portable information terminal (personal digital assistant (PDA)) having a schedule management function or the like, a recording/playback terminal for voice and image data or the like, and a telephone calling tool.

The browser is a piece of software for capturing general images of the data set and the target set and for acquiring a desired piece of information. Electronic mail is a system used by terminals such as personal computers, workstations, and the like to exchange data such as characters (text) and voice and the like in the form of mail (letter) via a computer network. Personal digital assistants are a generic term representing terminals each having an electronic notebook or personal computer function and being carried around.

This type of portable telephone device generally includes a display portion and a console portion such as a numeric keypad. It is also known that the portable telephone device comprises one or more camera sections.

However, a conventional typical portable telephone device having a foldable (folder-type) structure has a disadvantage in that it lacks flexibility and is difficult to operate in the case of displaying an image in a landscape format, for example.

Various folding portable telephone apparatuses and related technical ideas have been proposed. For example, japanese unexamined patent publication Tokkai No.2001-156,893 or JP-2001.156893 (prior art document 1) discloses a "display system of a communication apparatus" in which letters (fonts) are easily read and input. In prior art document 1, the display system of the communication apparatus having a liquid crystal display long in the longitudinal direction is equipped with a display unit section for rotating the liquid crystal display section from the vertical position to the horizontal position and also reversely, and is also equipped with a display switching section that switches the display of the liquid crystal section from the vertical mode to the horizontal mode or vice versa in accordance with the rotation of the display unit section.

However, the prior art document 1 discloses only one technical idea of changing the orientation of the display screen from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation by rotating the display screen (display unit). In addition, prior art document 1 does not disclose how to display image information obtained by the camera section on the display screen.

In addition, japanese unexamined patent publication Tokkai No.2000-270,089 or JP-a2000-270069 (prior art document 2) discloses a "portable information terminal with a digital camera" which can be carried around with its imaging lens and the liquid crystal surface of the display portion facing each other to prevent the fragile portion from being exposed to the outside. A portable information terminal with a digital camera disclosed in prior art document 2 includes: an image capturing section having image capturing means, a display section having display means, and a hinge section having at least one mechanism for allowing the display section to rotate. When a rotation supporting portion of the image pickup section or the display section is rotated about a rotation axis, an image pickup device (lens) of the image pickup section and a display device of the display section are housed relatively to each other, i.e., in a folded state without being exposed. Therefore, the lens and the liquid crystal surface can be prevented from dust, cracks, contamination, and the like.

However, prior art document 2 only discloses a technical idea that the lens of the camera and the liquid crystal surface of the display portion are positioned opposite to each other, and does not give a proposal for rotating the display screen from the portrait state to the landscape state and vice versa.

U.S. patent application publication No. us2002/005160 (prior art document 3) discloses a foldable portable terminal unit including a camera capable of transmitting images and voices, and enabling monitoring through a display device in the case of taking images of himself or herself using the camera and taking images of an external object. In the foldable portable terminal unit disclosed in prior art document 3, one cover portion is made foldable with respect to a housing main body of the portable terminal unit and rotatable with respect to the housing main body. The display device provided in the cover portion is rotated relative to the photographic camera fixed to the back or side of the housing main body corresponding to a state in which an image is taken, so as to enable monitoring.

However, prior art document 3 discloses only a technical idea of enabling monitoring of a display screen in a case where an image of himself/herself is taken by a camera and an image of an external object is taken. That is, prior art document 3 never discloses an idea of shifting the display screen from the portrait state to the landscape state, and discloses a case where only one photographic camera is provided.

In addition, japanese unexamined patent publication Tokkai No. hei 9-116,882 or JP-A9-116882 (prior art document 4) discloses an "audio visual communication apparatus" capable of performing a smooth conversation without interrupting the conversation. In prior art document 4, the technical idea includes a step of fixedly mounting two video cameras on the right and left sides of a video monitoring apparatus, and a step of centrally combining images of the respective camera apparatuses. That is, one object of the prior art document 4 is to perform smooth conversation without any interruption. It is assumed that images of himself and herself are captured by the two video camera devices during a call. Prior art document 4 also discloses a three-dimensional (3-D) image processing. However, in this document, the two video camera devices are fixedly mounted on the right and left sides of the video monitoring apparatus. This document 4 never discloses a method of movably mounting a video camera device relative to a video surveillance device.

Further, japanese unexamined patent publication Tokkai No. hei 11-39,131 or JP-a 11-39131 (prior art document 5) discloses a "mobile information communication terminal apparatus" capable of automatically determining whether a display image is suitable for a vertically long (portrait) or horizontally long (landscape) display apparatus state, and also capable of performing suitable image display without any user's operation. In the related art document 5, display apparatus orientation information indicating the use direction of the display apparatus corresponding to each operation mode of the multiple operation modes is stored in one display apparatus orientation information memory area. Then, the operation mode during execution is determined by the operation mode determining means, and the image display control means controls so as to display the image to be displayed at the display means as a prescribed image suitable for using the display means in a direction that is made to correspond to the determined operation mode by the display means orientation information.

Prior art document 5 discloses only a technical idea of automatically determining whether a display image is suitable for a vertically long or horizontally long display device state without user operation. In other words, this document 5 discloses a proposal for automatically determining an appropriate direction of a display image. Rather than the idea of rotating one "display screen" from a portrait state to a landscape state (or reversely) in the manner of the prior art described in the above-mentioned prior art document 1.

Japanese unexamined patent publication Tokkai No. hei 10-155,013 or JP-a 10-155013 (prior art document 6) discloses a "portable communication apparatus" composed of a housing divided into a plurality of parts and a detachable connector for structurally and electrically connecting the parts together, in addition to selecting a connector having a kind and shape suitable for the application. In prior art document 6, a portable telephone apparatus main body is divided into an upper casing and a lower casing. The upper housing and the lower housing are connected by a connector. The upper housing has a front end side surface provided with a receiving portion and a display portion. The lower housing has a front surface provided with a key operation section and a transmission section. The upper and lower housings contain a circuit board on which a connector connection portion is connected to the connection portion of each connector. The upper housing and the lower housing have a gap. Since the shape and standard of the connector portion are unified, a rotary type connector, a linear type connector, or a bending type connector may be selected for connection.

Prior art document 6 discloses only the technical idea of arbitrarily changing a portable communication apparatus between an integral type and a folder type by changing a connector. That is, prior art document 6 never discloses one idea for freely changing the "display screen" between the portrait state and the landscape state.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a foldable cellular phone device capable of converting one image into a portrait state and a landscape state, and changing the orientation of a display screen to the portrait state and the landscape state, and performing image processing in various ways.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent as described below.

In describing the gist of an aspect of the present invention, it can be understood that a foldable cellular phone device includes a lower unit having a console section, an upper unit having a display section, and a hinge section connecting the lower unit and the upper unit to enable opening and closing operations. The display section is capable of being shifted between a portrait state and a landscape state with respect to the lower unit. The foldable cellular phone further includes a pair of front camera portions disposed on the upper unit so as to be positioned above and below the display portion when the display portion is brought into the portrait state and to be positioned to the left and right of the display portion when the display portion is brought into the landscape state.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the above-understandable foldable cellular phone device, the upper unit includes a display part unit, a support part unit, and a rotation mechanism for electrically and structurally connecting the display part unit and the support part unit and rotating the display part unit with respect to the support part unit. In this case, if the display section is brought into the portrait state, the display section can be brought into the landscape state by rotating the display section unit by about 90 degrees using the rotating mechanism. Instead of the rotating mechanism, the upper unit may include a rotating and sliding mechanism for electrically and structurally connecting the display part unit and the support part unit and also for rotating and sliding the display part unit with respect to the support part unit. In this case, if the display section is brought into the portrait state, the display section can be brought into the landscape state by rotating the display section unit by about 90 degrees and sliding the display section using the rotation and sliding mechanism.

The foldable cellular phone device according to the first aspect of the present invention may preferably comprise detection means for detecting whether the display section is brought into the portrait orientation or the landscape orientation to generate a detected signal, and display changeover means for changing over the display contents to adapt the orientation of the display screen based on the detected signal and displaying the changed over display contents on the display section. The sensing means may include a magnet disposed in the display part unit and a plurality of magnetic sensors disposed in the support part unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above-described foldable cellular phone device, the hinge portion is a hinge-type connector detachably connected to the upper unit. The hinge connector has a connector connection portion for connecting the upper unit. The upper unit has a plurality of unit coupling parts coupled to the connector coupling parts at the lower side and the side thereof. By changing the unit connector section to be connected to the connector connection section, it is possible to switch the display section between the portrait state and the landscape state.

In the above-mentioned foldable cellular phone device, the foldable cellular phone device may preferably further include three-dimensional image processing means for performing three-dimensional image processing on one image acquired by the pair of front cameras when the display section is brought into the landscape state with the pair of front camera sections disposed on the right and left sides in the vicinity of the display section. The upper unit may further include a rear camera portion at a rear surface thereof. Instead of including a rear camera portion on the rear of the upper unit, the hinged connector may include a rear camera portion on its rear.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a side view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 1B is a front view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 1C is a side view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2A is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2B is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention when a display section unit is rotated about 90 degrees counterclockwise to bring the display section into a landscape state;

fig. 2C is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention when a display section unit is rotated about 90 degrees clockwise to bring the display section into a landscape state;

FIG. 2D is a rear view of FIG. 2B;

fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4A is a cross-sectional view of fig. 1C:

fig. 4B is a front view showing a rotating and sliding mechanism used in a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4C is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an enlarged rotation and slide mechanism;

fig. 5 is a circuit block diagram showing a circuit part of a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic rear view showing a magnetic sensor device for describing use in a foldable cellular phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart for describing an operation of switching the display mode according to the rotational position of the display section unit detected by the rotational angle detecting section shown in fig. 6;

fig. 8A is a side view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8B is a front view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8C is a side view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8D is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8E is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention when a display portion is brought into a landscape state; and

fig. 9 is a circuit block diagram of a circuit part of a foldable cellular phone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1A to 1C, 2A to 2D, and 3, a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1A is a side view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention; fig. 1B is a front view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention; fig. 1C is a side view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2A is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2B is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention when a display section unit is rotated about 90 degrees counterclockwise CCW to bring the display section into a landscape state. Fig. 2C is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention when a display section unit is rotated about 90 degrees clockwise to bring the display section into a landscape state; FIG. 2D is a rear view of the rear view of FIG. 2B; fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The exemplary foldable cellular phone device 10 shown in fig. 3 mainly includes a lower unit 20 having a console section 12, an upper unit 30 having a display section 11, and a hinge section 13 for connecting the lower unit 20 and the upper unit 30 to open and close the phone device and electrically connecting the lower unit 20 and the upper unit 30 through a suitable connecting means (not shown).

The lower unit 20 has a main surface (a console face) 20a on which the console section 12 and a fingerprint authentication section 14 are mounted. The console section 12 includes a plurality of console keys in order to use the functions of the foldable cellular phone device 10. The fingerprint authentication section 14 is for reading a fingerprint of a user. The control table 20a has an end on which there is a transmitter (microphone) 16, that is to say an opening for a microphone.

On the other hand, the upper unit 30 mainly includes a display section unit 32 and a support section unit 34. The display section unit 32 and the support section unit 34 are electrically connected and structurally connected to each other through a suitable rotating and sliding mechanism, which will be described later.

Referring to fig. 4A, 4B, and 4C, the rotating and sliding mechanism 40 will be described. Fig. 4A is a cross-sectional view of fig. 1C. Fig. 4B is a front view showing the rotating and sliding mechanism 40. In fig. 4B, the rotation shaft 44 is omitted. Fig. 4C is an enlarged sectional view showing the rotating and sliding mechanism 40;

as shown in fig. 4A, the rotating and sliding mechanism 40 is interposed between the display section unit 32 and the support section unit 34. As shown in fig. 4C, the display section unit 32 has a back face 32b having a circular hole 32b-1, while the support section unit 34 has a front face 34b having a longitudinal elliptical hole 34 b-1. In addition, as shown in fig. 4C, the front face 34b of the supporting portion unit 34 has an inner wall on which a slide 42 having a circular hole 42-1 is placed. As shown in fig. 4B, the slide 42 is mounted on the inner wall supporting the front face 34B of the partial unit 34, sliding up and down in a longitudinal groove 34B-2 in the inner wall. That is, the slide sheet 42 has a front face (slide face) 42a which is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the front face 34b of the supporting portion unit 34.

The rotating and sliding mechanism 40 includes the above-mentioned slide plate 42 and a hollow cylindrical rotating shaft 44 which passes through the circular hole 32b-1, the elliptical hole 34b-1 and the circular hole 42-1. As shown in fig. 4C, the rotary shaft 44 has distal ends 44a and 44b, each of which is composed of a flange portion bent radially outward. That is, one flange portion 44a is rotatably in contact with the inner wall of the back surface 32b of the display section unit 32, while the other flange portion 44b is rotatably in contact with the back surface 42b of the slider 42.

With this structure, by rotating the display section unit 32 by about 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction CCW and sliding down S by the rotating and sliding mechanism 40, it is possible to shift the portrait state of the display section 11 shown in fig. 2A to the landscape state of the display section 11 shown in fig. 2B. In addition, by rotating the display section unit 32 by about 90 degrees in the clockwise direction CW and by rotating and sliding the slide mechanism 40 downward S, it is possible to shift the longitudinal state of the display section 11 as shown in fig. 2A to the lateral state of the display section as shown in fig. 2C. Since changing the display section 11 from the portrait state to the landscape state requires not only rotation of the display section unit 32 but also sliding thereof, the foldable cellular phone device has an advantage that it is possible to compress the display section in the landscape state, which is attractive.

Although the switching of the display section 11 between the portrait state and the landscape state is performed by rotating and sliding the display section unit 32 using the rotating and sliding mechanism 40, such a switching may be performed by rotating the display section unit 32 using only one rotating mechanism. Such a rotation mechanism can be easily realized by omitting the slide mechanism from the rotation and slide mechanism 40.

The rotation shaft 44 is hollow, in which a wiring for electrically connecting the display section unit 32 and the support section unit 34 passes.

The display section unit 32 has a main surface (a display surface) 32a on which a substantially rectangular display section 11 is mounted. In addition, the display surface 32 has an end portion on which a receiver 15 (an opening portion of a speaker) is placed. When the display section 11 enters the portrait state, a pair of front camera sections 17a and 17b are placed one on top of the other on the display section 11, as shown in fig. 2A. When the display section 11 is brought into a landscape state by rotating and sliding the display section unit 32 by the rotating and sliding mechanism 40, the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17B are placed one on left and one on right on the display section 11 as shown in fig. 2B and 2C. The display section unit 32 has another main surface (a rear surface) 32b on which a rear camera section 18 is mounted, as shown in fig. 2D. The supporting part unit 34 has an opposite face (a back face) 34a opposite to the display face, on which a small sub-display unit 19 is mounted.

Referring now to fig. 1A to 4, the operation of the foldable cellular phone device 10 will be described according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is used for starting an application such as a browser function of the internet or the like, an e-mail function (mail creation, display of received mail, etc.), a schedule management function, etc.; recording of voice or images; at the time of reproducing (receiving) a content or the like, the display section 11 can be brought into a landscape state by rotating and sliding the display section 11 by the rotating and sliding mechanism 40 as shown in fig. 2B and 2C. This may make it easier to see the displayed information than if the display screen were to be brought into a portrait position (fig. 2A).

In particular, when a predetermined function with a display is used, if the user desires, the display section 11 can be used as a landscape display apparatus by rotating and sliding the display section unit 22 with the display section 11 by the rotating and sliding mechanism 40 to convert the display section unit 22 with the display section 11 from the position shown in fig. 2A to the position shown in fig. 2B or 2C. In this case, a control section, which will be described later, detects that the display section 11 enters the landscape state, and at the same time, displays on the display section 11a content that can be appropriately converted so as to fit the orientation of the display screen that enters the landscape state.

Referring now to fig. 5, a description will be continued of an electronic circuit section in the foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the above-mentioned.

As shown in the circuit diagram of fig. 5, the foldable cellular phone device 10 includes an antenna 104, a Radio Frequency (RF) circuit 105, a modem circuit 106, a baseband processing circuit 107, a codec circuit 108, a control section 109, a microphone 16, a console section 12, and first to third magnetic sensors (hall elements) 111a, 111b, and 111c for detecting the position of the display section unit 32. These respective functional parts are assembled in the lower unit 20.

The above-mentioned control section 109 includes a rotation angle detecting section 112, an opening and closing detecting section 113, a display control section 114, an image processing circuit 115, and a camera input/output control circuit 116. The rotation angle detecting portion 112 determines the rotation angle (rotation position) of the display portion unit 32 based on the outputs of the first to third magnetic sensors 111a to 111c to generate a rotation angle detection signal. The opening and closing detection section 113 detects the opened and closed state of the upper unit 30 including the display section unit 32 with respect to the lower unit 20. The display control section 114 performs display control of one image signal from the image processing circuit 115. In addition, the display control section 114 performs display switching of the display section 11 and the sub display unit 19 in response to one output of the opening and closing detection section 113. The image processing circuit 115 performs an image processing according to a rotation operation and a camera control operation of the display section unit 32. Connected to the front camera sections 17a, 17b and the rear camera section 18, the camera input/output control circuit 116 performs a camera input/output control based on the rotation angle detection signal of the display section unit 32.

The RF circuit 105 includes a receiving circuit, a transmitting circuit, and a frequency synthesizer, which is not shown. The console section 12 includes a known send key, a conversion key for letters/kana (japanese kana list)/kanji (chinese characters)/numerals, a power on/off key, a direction indication key (scroll key) for performing cursor operation, a key for performing camera on/off, and the like.

The foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention further includes a speaker 15, a display portion (a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or an Electroluminescence (EL) unit) 11 serving as a main display screen, and a sub display unit 19.

Referring to fig. 6, the above-mentioned first to third magnetic sensors 111a to 111c for detecting one state (rotation angle, rotation position) of the display section unit 32 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 6 is a schematic rear view illustrating an arrangement of first to third magnetic sensors 111a to 111c used in the foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 6, the display part unit 32 has a back surface 32b on which the magnet MG is placed. On the other hand, the supporting portion unit 34 has a front face 34b in which the first to third magnetic sensors 111a to 111c are placed.

Assume that the display section 11 enters the portrait state (fig. 2A). In this case, the magnet MG and the first magnetic sensor 111a are opposed to each other as shown in fig. 6. That is, by detecting the magnetism of the magnet MG with the first magnetic sensor 111a, it can be detected that the display portion 11 enters the portrait state.

It is assumed that the display section 11 is brought into the landscape state (fig. 2B) by rotating and sliding the display section unit 32 about 90 degrees counterclockwise CCW from the position shown in fig. 6 by the above-mentioned rotating and sliding mechanism 40. In this case, the magnet MG and the second magnetic sensor 111b are opposed to each other. That is, when the display section 11 is rotated counterclockwise by about 90 degrees from the longitudinal state, it can be detected that the display section 11 enters the landscape state by detecting the magnetism of the magnet MG with the second magnetic sensor 111 b.

Assume that the display section 11 is brought into the landscape (fig. 2C) position by rotating and sliding the display section unit 32 about 90 degrees clockwise CW from the position shown in fig. 6 by the above-mentioned rotating and sliding mechanism 40. In this case, the magnet MG and the third magnetic sensor 111c are opposed to each other. That is, when the display section 11 is rotated clockwise by about 90 degrees from the longitudinal state, it is possible to detect that the display section 11 enters the landscape state by detecting the magnetism of the magnet MG with the third magnetic sensor 111 c.

Although the rotational angle position of the display section unit 32 can be detected using the magnetic sensor of the first embodiment of the present invention, the detection of the rotational angle portion is of course not limited to them. For example, other sensors such as reed switches, light sensors, etc. may be used in place of the magnetic sensor.

In the folded state in which the display surface 32a of the upper unit 30 is opposed to the lower unit 20 as shown in fig. 1A to 1B, the foldable cellular phone device 10 becomes so compact that one can conveniently carry the foldable cellular phone device 10 in a folded state similar to that of a conventional foldable cellular phone device. In this case, the display control section 114 controls the display section 11 and the sub display unit 19 by detecting the open and closed states by the open and closed detecting section 113. In particular, when the upper unit 30 is opened with respect to the lower unit 20, the display control section 114 controls the display of information on the display section 11. When the upper unit 30 is closed with respect to the lower unit 20, the display control section 114 controls to display information having a minimum range on the sub display unit 19. When the upper unit 30 is opened with respect to the lower unit 20, it is possible to make a call using the microphone 16 and the speaker 15.

When the display section unit 32 is rotated counterclockwise CCW by about 90 degrees from the position shown in fig. 2A to the position shown in fig. 2B, the display section 11 enters the landscape state. Further, when the display section unit 32 is rotated clockwise CCW by about 90 degrees from the position shown in fig. 2A to the position shown in fig. 2C, the display section 11 can also be brought into the landscape state.

When the display section unit 32 comes into such a positional relationship, the above-mentioned rotation angle detecting section 112 detects the positional relationship, the image processing circuit 115 generates an image signal suitable for the landscape display screen in response to the detection result, and the display control section 114 displays the display contents to be displayed on the display section 11 in the landscape state (or displays the left and right of the display contents as the long side direction of the display section 11). In this case, if there is directivity for processing corresponding to an operation such as a direction key (cursor key) in the console section 12, the corresponding processing contents are appropriate for the display direction.

In the state of fig. 2B and 2C, confirmation of a large amount of character information can be easily performed through the lateral display surface and easily seen when one lateral image is displayed. In the above-described manner, when the display section 11 is brought into the landscape state, the foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to view the display in the open state and perform appropriate operations as needed.

According to the foldable cellular phone device 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention, the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17b are disposed on the main surface (display surface) 32a of the display section unit 32. With the rotating and sliding mechanism 40 of the display section unit 32, the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17b are placed right and left when the display section 11 is brought into the landscape state. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform deformation to a position suitable for 3D image processing (acquiring a 3D image with the pair of right and left placed front camera sections 17a and 17 b). The 3D image processing will be described below.

According to the foldable cellular phone device 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention, the rear camera section 18 is placed on the other main surface (rear surface) 32b of the display section unit 32, as shown in fig. 2D. It is possible to easily acquire a lateral image with the rear camera section 18. In particular, in the prior art, to acquire a lateral image (in which case it is necessary to operate in a lateral state), it is necessary to bring the apparatus into a lateral state. In contrast, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition of the lateral image can be easily performed by rotating the display section unit 32.

In addition, according to the stop state (a kind of apparatus state) of the display section unit 32, it is possible to appropriately select the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17b and the rear camera section 18 by an arbitrary setting by a user in a manner to be described later. For example, it is possible to make a setting by operating the console section 12 so as to operate one front camera section 17a and the rear camera section 18 in the state shown in fig. 2A. It is possible to make a setting by operating the console section 12 so as to operate the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17B in the state shown in fig. 2B. It is also possible to make provision by operating the console section 12 so as to operate only the rear camera section 18 in the state shown in fig. 2C. Therefore, it is possible to easily set an acquisition mode (camera selection and assignment of key functions accompanying the camera selection).

Referring to fig. 7, a switching operation of the display mode according to the detection of the rotational position of the display section unit 32 by the rotational angle detection section 112 will be described. In an example to be described, since the foldable cellular phone device 10 has the first to third magnetic sensors 111a to 111c, the display mode can be switched to 3 modes (mode a, mode b, and mode c).

In particular, it is assumed that the display section 11 is rotated clockwise by about 90 degrees to bring the display section 11 into the landscape state shown in fig. 2C. The third magnetic sensor 111c detects the state to generate a magnetic clockwise rotation detection signal, which is supplied to the rotation angle detecting portion 112. In response to the magnetic clockwise rotation detection signal, the rotation angle detection portion 112 sends a clockwise rotation detection signal indicating that the display portion 11 is rotated clockwise to the image processing circuit 115 and the camera input/output control circuit 116 (Y in step a 1). In response to the clockwise rotation detection signal, the image processing circuit 115 and the camera input/output control circuit 116 set the display mode to the mode a (step S2).

It is assumed that the display section 11 is brought into a landscape state as shown in fig. 2B by rotating the display section 11 about 90 degrees counterclockwise CCW. The second magnetic sensor 111b detects the state to generate a magnetic counterclockwise rotation detection signal, which is supplied to the rotation angle detecting portion 112. In response to the magnetic counterclockwise rotation detecting signal, the rotation angle detecting portion 112 sends a counterclockwise rotation detecting signal indicating that the display portion 11 is rotated counterclockwise to the image processing circuit 115 and the camera input/output control circuit 116 (Y in step a 3). In response to the counterclockwise rotation detection signal, the image processing circuit 115 and the image input/output control circuit 116 set the display mode to the mode b (step S4).

It is assumed that the display section 11 enters a longitudinal state in which the display section 11 is not rotated as shown in fig. 2A. The first magnetic sensor 111a detects the state to generate a magnetic non-rotation detection signal, which is supplied to the rotation angle detecting portion 112. In response to the magnetic non-rotation detection signal, the rotation angle detection section 112 sends a non-rotation detection signal indicating that the display section 11 is not rotated to the image processing circuit 115 and the image input/output control circuit 116 (N in step S1, N in step S3). In response to the non-rotation detection signal, the image processing circuit 115 and the camera input/output control circuit 116 set the display mode to the mode c (step S5).

Now, an example of camera section switching will be described in which the user can set the modes a-c, and the display section 11 displays the actual image in this case. There appear to be 4 kinds of image displays (camera mode, acquisition mode) as image displays, which will be described below. The first camera mode (1) is a mode in which a 3D image is displayed using only the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17 b. The second camera mode (2) is a mode in which a front image is displayed using only one of the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17 b. The third camera mode (3) is a mode in which only one back image is displayed with the back camera section 18. The fourth camera mode (4) is a mode in which the front image and the back image are separately displayed using one of the pair of front camera sections 17a and 17b and the back camera section 18. That is, the user operates the console section 12 to selectively set the first to fourth (1) - (4) camera modes to the modes a-c. It should be noted that: the second to fourth (2) - (4) camera modes are assigned to any one of the modes a-c, while the first (1) camera mode can be assigned only to the mode a or the mode b.

The 3D image processing will now be described. The description can be made by selecting the case where the first (1) camera mode is set to the mode b at the same time. In other words, it is assumed that when the display section 11 enters a landscape state in which the display section 11 is rotated counterclockwise (fig. 2B), such setting is made so that a 3D image is displayed on the display section 11.

The 3D image processing may be implemented by using, for example, ｃA technique described in the above-mentioned prior art 4(JP- ｃA-9-116882). However, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the 3-D image and the general image (2D image) must be displayed by switching them.

The display section 11 includes a screen (not shown) and a mask (not shown) disposed on the front surface of the screen (i.e., between the screen and the user). The screen is divided into a plurality of longitudinal stripe-divided screens on which a left-eye image and a right-eye image are alternately displayed. The shield includes a plurality of slots, each having a width corresponding to a respective one of the divided screens.

With this structure, the left eye image of one user is seen with the left eye while the right eye image of the user is seen with the right eye. When the left-eye image and the right-eye image are images obtained by acquiring the same object and are shifted by a small angle, the user can recognize to see the 3D image.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, a liquid crystal shutter (slit) is used at the shield. In particular, if the 3D image is displayed on the display part 11, the liquid crystal shield is controlled so as to form a plurality of slits therein. If the normal image (2D image) is displayed on the display section 11, the liquid crystal shield is controlled so as to become transparent. Mode switching of one liquid crystal shield is controlled by the display control section 114. Thus, 3D and 2D images can be selectively displayed.

In addition, the above-mentioned 3D image processing is referred to as a parallax barrier (stereoscopic) method in the related art. That is, in the parallax barrier method, before a pair of left-eye and right-eye images are arranged in a striped manner, a parallax barrier having an aperture corresponding to the image through which one left-eye and right-eye can observe the left-eye image and the eye-bearing image, respectively, is disposed. The slit (thin film image separator) is arranged on the liquid crystal plane sold as a product.

In addition, a display device that selectively displays 2D and 3D images on a single screen is disclosed in, for example, japanese unexamined patent publication Tokkai No.10-232,366 or JP-a10-232366 and Hei 10-221,646 or JP-a10-221646, U.S. patent No.5,831,765, and the like.

The operation of the foldable cellular phone device 10 in the case of performing transmission and reception of a voice signal using one phone device function will now be described. The antenna 104 receives a signal from a base station and transmits a signal from the foldable cellular phone device 10. Signals received from the base station through the antenna 104 are provided to a receiving circuit of the RF circuit 105. The receiving circuit selects a signal having a frequency indicated by the frequency synthesizer, while detecting whether or not an incoming call notification signal for itself is included in the selected signal (waiting for reception).

When the receiving circuit detects an incoming call notification signal for itself, the receiving circuit notifies the control section 109 of the occurrence of an incoming call. In response to the notification of the incoming call from the receiving circuit, the control section 109 drives a notification device (not shown) such as a call bell, a vibrator, or the like to notify the user of the occurrence of the incoming call.

In the foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when a phone call button is pressed to answer the incoming call by opening the upper unit 30 and the lower unit 20, the radio circuit is connected and a voice signal is transmitted from an external caller to the modem circuit 106 through the RF circuit 105.

Next, the modem circuit 106 demodulates a voice signal from an external caller, and then supplies the demodulated signal to the baseband processing circuit 107. The baseband processing circuit 107 extracts an original baseband signal from the demodulated signal and then supplies the original baseband signal to the codec circuit 108. The codec circuit 108 performs a digital-to-analog conversion on the supplied baseband signal to supply a digital signal to the speaker (receiver) 15. As a result, the transmitted voice from the external caller is generated from the speaker 15. The codec circuit 108 performs an analog-to-digital conversion process on the voice signal to be emitted from the foldable cellular phone device 10 converted by the microphone 16. Thus, the user can have a telephone conversation.

When the telephone conversation is ended, a user performs an on-hook process by performing an on-hook operation using a predetermined on-hook key.

Now, an operation in the case where transmission and reception of one character data or image data (one still image or one moving image) is performed in the foldable cellular phone device 10 will be described. The foldable cellular phone device 10 monitors (waits for) whether a signal indicating the presence of its own transmission and reception character data or image data is included in the selected signal. When character data or image data of itself is transferred into the foldable cellular phone device 10, information based on the received data from the baseband processing circuit 107 is temporarily stored in the image processing circuit 115 and displayed on the display section 11 through the display control section 114.

More specifically, character data or image data sent from an external caller is supplied to the modem circuit 106 through the RF circuit 105. The modulated data is supplied to the baseband processing circuit 107. The baseband processing circuit 107 extracts transmitted data such as character data from the supplied signal, and then supplies the extracted data to the control section 109.

The image processing circuit 115 of the control section 109 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a VRAM, although not shown. The ROM stores an executable program, data necessary for various processing types, or character font data. The RAM is used as a work area. The VRAM is used to display information on the display section 11.

Based on the data supplied from the baseband processing circuit 107, the image processing circuit 115 creates character information or image signals to be displayed on the display section 11 (or on the sub display unit 19 as needed) while displaying them on the display section 11 through the display control section 114.

In addition, the foldable cellular phone device 10 can create message data by itself to transmit them. More specifically, in the foldable cellular phone device 10 according to this embodiment, the dial operation keys such as 0 to 9, # at the console section 12 are assigned alphabetic characters or kana characters, and the console section 12 has alphabet/kana/kanji/number conversion keys. By operating a set of dial operation keys or shift keys, it is possible to input the message data and transmit them to the other party according to an instruction from the user.

The foldable cellular phone device 10 shown in fig. 5 is capable of performing double reception of a voice signal and an image signal to receive and display an image from the other party during a phone call and transmit its own image. As a result, the foldable cellular phone device 10 can be used as a portable television phone. In this case, one of the front cameras 17a and 17b may be used as a videophone camera (for acquiring image information). In this case, the user can operate the console section 12 to arbitrarily select one of the left and right camera sections according to whether the counterpart phone is from the left or right acquisition direction. In this case, it is possible to distinguish between left-hand expressions and right-hand expressions (i.e., one for serious expressions in business, one for gentle expressions in private, etc.).

Referring to fig. 8A to 8E, a foldable cellular phone device 10A according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described continuously. Fig. 8A is a side view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device 10A according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8B is a front view showing a closed state of a foldable cellular phone device 10A according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8C is a side view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10A according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8D is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10A according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8E is a front view showing an opened state of a foldable cellular phone device 10A according to a second embodiment of the present invention when a display portion is brought into a landscape state.

The exemplary foldable cellular phone device 10A mainly includes a lower unit 20A having a console section 12, an upper unit 30A having a display section 11, and a hinge-type connector 13A for connecting the lower unit 20A and the upper unit 30A so as to be opened and closed, and capable of connecting the lower unit 20A and the upper unit 30A by changing a connection state of the upper unit 30A with respect to the lower unit 20A.

As shown in fig. 8E, the three parts 20A, 30A and 13A are movable relative to each other. The hinge connector 13A has an upper connecting portion 13Aa connected to the upper unit 30A. In the state shown in fig. 8D, the upper unit 30A has first and third upper opening slits 30Aa, 30Ab and 30Ac for inserting the upper connecting portion 13Aa of the hinge connector 13A at the lower, left and right sides thereof, respectively. The lower unit 20A has a lower opening slit 20Aa for inserting the lower connection portion 13Ab of the hinge connector 13A thereon.

Each of the first to third upper opening slits 30Aa, 30Ab and 30Ac has a connector (not shown) for electrical connection to the upper connecting portion 13Aa of the hinge connector 13A at the inside thereof. The lower opening slit 20Aa has a connector (not shown) for electrical connection to the lower connection portion 13Ab of the hinge connector 13A at the inside thereof.

In the exemplary foldable cellular phone device 10A, the rear camera section 18 is disposed on the rear side of the hinge connector 13A as shown in fig. 8B.

Referring now to fig. 9, a description will be continued of one electronic circuit portion of a foldable cellular phone device 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The exemplary foldable cellular phone device 10A is similar in structure and operation to the foldable cellular phone device 10 shown in fig. 5, except that the foldable cellular phone device 10A includes a connector connection detecting portion 112A in place of the rotation angle detecting portion 112 and the first to third magnetic sensors 111a to 111 c. Components that function similarly to those in fig. 5 have the same reference characters as in fig. 5.

In particular, since the display section unit 32 in the foldable cellular phone device 10A according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, it cannot rotate; also, the first to third magnetic sensors 111a to 111c are not essential, although they are essential in the foldable cellular phone device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Although the opening slit and the connecting portion 13Aa are disposed on the display portion 11 side and the hinge connector 13A side, respectively, in the second embodiment, the connecting structure may be reversed.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with several embodiments thereof, various modifications thereof are possible to those skilled in the art.

Claims (8)

1. A foldable cellular phone device comprising a lower unit (20) having a console section (12), an upper unit (30) having a display section (11), and a hinge section (13) for connecting the lower unit to the upper unit so as to enable opening and closing thereof,

the display section is capable of changing its arrangement between a portrait state and a landscape state with respect to the lower unit,

the foldable cellular phone device further includes a pair of front camera sections (17a, 17b) disposed on the upper unit so as to be positioned above and below the display section when the display section is brought into the portrait state and to be positioned to the left and right of the display section when the display section is brought into the landscape state, characterized in that:

said upper unit (30) comprising a display part unit (32), a support part unit (34) and a rotation and sliding mechanism (40) electrically connecting and structurally also connecting the display part unit and the support part unit and rotating and sliding said display part unit with respect to said support part unit,

in the case where the display section is brought into the portrait state, the display section is brought into the landscape state by rotating the display section unit by about 90 degrees and sliding the display section by the rotation and slide mechanism.

2. The foldable cellular phone device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

detection means (MG, 111a, 111b, 111c, 112) for detecting whether the display portion enters the longitudinal state or the lateral state to generate a detection signal; and

display conversion means for converting display contents so as to adapt to the orientation of the display screen in accordance with the detection signal, and for displaying the converted display contents on the display section.

3. A foldable cellular phone device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said detecting means comprises a Magnet (MG) disposed in said display part unit and a plurality of magnetic sensors (111a, 111b, 111c) disposed in said support part unit.

4. The foldable cellular phone device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising three-dimensional image processing means for performing three-dimensional image processing on an image captured by said pair of front cameras when said display section is brought into a landscape state with said pair of front camera sections being disposed on right and left sides in the vicinity of said display section.

5. A foldable cellular phone device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper unit (30) further comprises a rear camera portion (18) at its rear side (32 b).

6. The foldable cellular phone device as claimed in claim 5, further comprising acquisition mode selection means for making a selection of an acquisition mode for using at least one of said pair of front camera sections and said rear camera section according to a placement of said display section.

7. The foldable cellular phone device as claimed in claim 5, further comprising selection means for selecting any one of said pair of front camera sections and said rear camera section based on voice purpose information when any one of said pair of front camera sections and said rear camera section is used for a television phone.

8. The foldable cellular phone device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising selection means for selecting one of said pair of front camera sections in accordance with an opposite side of the phone when one of said pair of front camera sections is to be used as a video phone camera in a state where said display section is brought into a landscape state and said pair of front camera sections are disposed on right and left sides in the vicinity of said display section.