JP2004159028A - Information processing terminal with camera built-in mobile phone function - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To detect a state in which a user approaches a terminal by using a signal of a built-in camera without providing a dedicated sensor, and in this state, invalidate an input from an input means such as a touch panel. To prevent malfunction.
An input unit using a touch panel, a camera for photographing a subject, a subject approach determining unit for determining whether the subject approaches the camera based on a degree of focusing based on a signal from the camera, and a transmitting unit In an information processing terminal with a built-in mobile phone function having a mobile phone function provided by a mobile phone, a receiver and a communication unit, the subject approach determination unit determines a subject camera based on the degree of focus during a call using the mobile phone function. Is recognized, the input signal from the input means is invalidated.
[Selection] Fig. 2

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing terminal such as a PDA with a mobile phone function having at least a camera, a touch panel, and a mobile phone function, and particularly has a function of preventing a malfunction due to an erroneous press of the touch panel during a call by the mobile phone function. And an information processing terminal with a built-in camera mobile phone function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an information processing terminal represented by a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) (an information processing terminal is referred to as a PDA in the following description, an information processing terminal to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a PDA). It is common to provide a function that can add functions, and to provide functions other than the so-called call to talk with the other party, for example, e-mail, Internet browser, and the like. There is a tendency. In addition, it uses many functions, such as a secretary to manage personal schedules, a function to help organize ideas using pen input, a reference function that can be searched at any time with a built-in dictionary and manual, and an interactive function. 2. Description of the Related Art In general, PDAs with built-in functions as education and presentation tools have a touch panel as input means in order to improve operability. Furthermore, in recent years, a PDA with a mobile phone function (hereinafter, referred to as a mobile PDA) which has a receiving section and a transmitting section provided in the PDA, has a built-in mobile phone function, and can be used as a mobile phone has appeared. .
[0003]
On the other hand, many mobile phones have a built-in camera and can capture an image from the camera and send the image data to the other party. In response to this market trend, in the case of a portable PDA with a built-in camera that incorporates a camera in the portable PDA, an image is taken from the camera and transmitted as it is, or the PDA processes the image data and sends it to the other party. And convenience has been gaining attention.
[0004]
By the way, in these PDAs and mobile phones, a mechanism has been conceived such that a malfunction does not occur due to an unintended button input by the user when carrying the device. As an example of this, for example, as the protection of the button and the display unit, a folding type, a method of simultaneously rotating the cover of the button part to protect the display unit, and a removable transparent protective cover are provided. That exist. These are used to protect the display unit when not in use, such as when storing or carrying, and during use, expand from the folded state, move the cover to the open state, or remove the cover. It does not prevent malfunction due to unintended erroneous input during use.
[0005]
Here, in the case of using various functions as a PDA during a call using a mobile phone function in a portable PDA such as a portable PDA with a built-in camera, for example, a telephone number registered in the PDA is called and displayed during a call. When confirming this and notifying the other party, for example, the portable PDA is separated from the head (ear) and an input operation using input means such as a touch panel is performed. As described above, in the portable PDA, an input from the touch panel may be performed even during a call, so that it is general to set the input from the touch panel to be valid even during the call. However, when the user talks, the earlobe, a part of the face, or a piercing or earring touches the large touch panel provided on the front of the portable PDA so that the ear contacts or approaches the earpiece. It is considered that an input operation has been performed, and an unexpected PDA function is activated during a call, which may cause an unintended operation of the call operation or a malfunction such as erroneous deletion of data in some cases. Was. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that malfunction may lead to an early decrease in power consumption.
[0006]
As a technique for solving such a problem, it is detected that an earlobe or a part of a face contacts or approaches a portable PDA during a call, and invalidates an input from a touch panel when the contact or approaches. The following techniques are known (see Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 2, Patent Literature 3).
[0007]
Patent Literature 1 discloses a method in which a touch-type sensor is provided in the vicinity of a receiving unit (speaker unit), and it is determined that a call is in progress by directly touching the sensor with the skin.
[0008]
Further, in Patent Document 2, a movable member of a switch is provided in a speaker unit via an elastic member such as a leaf spring, and when a switch is pressed by an ear, it is determined that a call is in progress, and input from a touch panel is invalidated. There is disclosed a technique for achieving such a situation.
[0009]
Further, Patent Literature 3 discloses a method in which an optical sensor or the like is disposed near a speaker unit to detect that the user is putting on or approaching an ear, thereby determining that the user is talking. I have.
[0010]
In other words, in Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above, a dedicated sensor or switch is provided, that is, a dedicated detecting means is provided, so that when a device having a mobile phone function is in a call state, the user can hear When talking to the other party while touching or approaching the device, temporarily disable the input from the touch panel, etc., and when the user keeps the device away from the ear but holding it in his hand, the input from the touch panel etc. Make the input valid.
[0011]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-135369
[0012]
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2000-13478
[0013]
[Patent Document 3]
JP 2001-352395 A
[0014]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional technology, it is necessary to add a sensor or switch dedicated to detection in order to detect whether or not the user is in a state where the user is in contact with or approaching a device having a mobile phone function to the ear and talking with the other party. However, there is a problem that the cost is increased. Furthermore, miniaturization is an important issue for an information processing terminal such as a PDA, and the addition of a dedicated detection means impairs the space factor on the external surface arrangement and the internal arrangement, and hinders miniaturization. There was also a problem that it became a factor.
[0015]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a built-in camera without providing a dedicated sensor for grasping the state of a user in an information processing terminal with a built-in camera mobile phone function. In the state where the user is talking with the other party by touching or approaching the terminal to his / her ear by using the above signal, invalidating the input from the input means such as the touch panel can surely prevent malfunction and the like. It is in.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in a typical invention of an information processing terminal with a camera-equipped mobile phone function according to the present invention,
At least input means using a touch panel, a camera for photographing the subject, subject proximity determining means for determining whether the subject is approaching the camera based on a degree of focusing based on a signal from the camera, and at least a transmitting unit and a receiving unit In the information processing terminal with a camera built-in mobile phone function function having a mobile phone function by the unit and the communication unit,
If the subject approach determination means recognizes the approach of the subject to the camera based on the degree of focus during the call by the mobile phone function, the input signal from the input means is invalidated. ,
Or
At least input means using a touch panel, a camera for photographing the subject, subject proximity determining means for determining whether the subject approaches the camera based on distance measurement information of the subject based on a signal from the camera, and at least a transmitting unit An information processing terminal with a built-in camera-based mobile phone function having a mobile phone function with a receiver unit and a communication unit,
If the subject approach determination unit recognizes the approach of the subject to the camera based on the distance measurement information during a call using the mobile phone function, the input signal from the input unit is invalidated.
[0017]
With such a configuration, the information processing terminal with a built-in camera mobile phone function can use the signal of the built-in camera to detect the state of the user without providing a dedicated sensor for grasping the state of the user. In a state where the user grasps and talks with the other party by touching or approaching the mobile phone to his / her ear, a malfunction or the like can be prevented by invalidating an input from an input unit such as a touch panel.
[0018]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0019]
1 to 3 relate to a portable PDA with a built-in camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an external view of the portable PDA with a built-in camera of the present embodiment.
[0020]
In FIG. 1, 1 is a portable PDA with a built-in camera, 4 is a speaker (receiver) for outputting voice from the other party, 5 is a microphone (transmitter) for inputting voice to be sent to the other party, and 6 is a keyboard for performing various inputs. , 8 an antenna, 14 a touch panel for performing various inputs using a stylus pen or the like, and 20 a camera (electronic camera) for capturing images. A liquid crystal panel for display, not shown, is arranged on the back side of the touch panel 14.
[0021]
The speaker 4 and the camera 20 are arranged close to each other, and the speaker 4, the lens unit of the camera 20, the keyboard 6, and the touch panel 14 are arranged on the same surface (front surface side).
[0022]
In the mobile PDA 1 with a built-in camera of the present embodiment, the user can input necessary information by operating buttons on the keyboard 6 or the touch panel 14, and input characters by tracing the touch panel 14. It is also possible to do.
[0023]
It is needless to say that the camera function by using the camera 20 is the same as that of the mobile phone with a built-in camera. However, by turning the camera 20 toward the subject, it becomes possible to capture image data of the subject. The image data can be transmitted as it is, processed, and the processed image data can be transmitted.
[0024]
In addition, it goes without saying that the mobile phone function is also used. In this function, a numeric key (numerical button) displayed on a liquid crystal panel (not shown) or a numeric key (numerical button) displayed on a liquid crystal panel (not shown) is pushed by the touch panel 14 to push the other party. After entering the number, make a call to the other party by pushing the send key, or select the other party with the phonebook function, and then call the other party by pressing the send key. The microphone 5 can be used to talk with the other party. When a call is received, after a receiving key is pushed, a call can be made with the other party using the speaker 4 and the microphone 5. At the time of a call using the mobile phone function, the user talks with the other party by bringing the speaker 4 into contact with or close to the ear.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part configuration of the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3 denotes a liquid crystal panel, 7 denotes a wireless audio processing unit, 9 denotes a PDA control unit which controls the entire operation. In the PDA control unit 9, 9a denotes an object approach determination unit, and 9b denotes a touch panel input detection unit. In the camera 20, reference numeral 20a denotes a focus detection unit.
[0026]
An antenna 8, a microphone 5, and a speaker 4 are connected to the wireless audio processing unit 7, and a mobile phone function is realized with this configuration. The wireless audio processing unit 7 is further connected to a PDA control unit 9 for controlling a function as a PDA, and mutually transmits various information including information from an antenna 8. The liquid crystal panel 3, the keyboard 6, the touch panel 14, and the camera 20 are connected to the PDA control unit 9, respectively.
[0027]
In the present embodiment, the camera 20 has an automatic focusing function. When the camera 20 is activated, the camera 20 automatically performs a focusing operation on a subject, and the focus detection unit 20a of the camera 20 performs focusing. If it succeeds, it outputs a focus signal, and if it does not succeed, it outputs an out-of-focus signal. The output signal from the focus detection unit 20a is used for the original photographing by the camera 20, and when the mobile phone function is used, the subject approach determination unit 9a enables or disables the input signal from the touch panel 14. It is used to determine whether to do. That is, the subject approach determination section 9a detects whether or not the touch panel input detection section 9b for detecting a signal when the touch panel 14 is operated and appropriately converting the signal is operated or not. When an out-of-focus signal arrives during a call, the subject approach determination section 9a sets the touch panel input detection section 9b in a non-operating state, thereby performing control to invalidate an input signal from the touch panel 14. Is supposed to do it.
[0028]
Supplementary information on focusing and non-focusing of the camera 20 will be added. In general, the focus performance of a camera depends on the configuration of the lens. In the case of a small camera built in a PDA or the like, the focusable range in which focusing can be performed is limited due to the lens configuration of the camera. Is done. That is, it is generally set so that focusing can be performed from a predetermined shortest distance to an infinite distance. Therefore, when the subject is closer than a predetermined shortest distance (for example, 10 cm) at which focusing can be performed, focusing cannot be performed, and the above-described out-of-focus signal is output from the focus detection unit 20a to the subject approach determination unit 9a. . When the subject approaching determination unit 9a receives the out-of-focus signal during a call using the mobile phone function, the camera 20 placed near the speaker 4 cannot focus on the subject, so that the user can place the speaker 20 Is determined to be in a state of talking to the other party by touching or approaching the device, and an input signal from the touch panel 14 is invalidated.
[0029]
Here, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the camera 20 has the automatic focusing function. However, the camera 20 does not perform the focusing operation, and sets a captured image that can be several tens cm to an infinite distance. In the case of a single focus lens configuration, although not shown, the video signal processing circuit that processes the video signal from the camera 20 outputs the high-frequency component amount information to the subject approach determination unit 9a. When there is almost no high-frequency component (when it can be considered that contour extraction is not substantially performed), the subject approach determination unit 9a is out of focus (it is determined that the image is blurred due to defocus), and in this case, the user It may be determined that the speaker 20 is in contact with or close to the ear and is in a state of talking with the other party.
[0030]
Next, in the present embodiment, an outline of the operation in which the in-focus state of the camera 20 incorporated in the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 is determined so that a malfunction does not occur even if an earlobe or a face touches the touch panel 14 during a call. explain.
[0031]
In the mobile PDA 1 with a built-in camera according to the present embodiment, the camera 20 is activated when a call is started from a call or an incoming call. Further, the display on the liquid crystal panel 3 at this time is performed only when the user desires. The image of the camera 20 can be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 3. In addition, at the start of the call, the subject approach determination section 9a takes a mode of monitoring the output from the focus detection section 20a of the camera 20.
[0032]
When the user enters the talking state and talks with the other party by bringing the speaker 4 into contact with or close to the ear, the focus detection unit 20a outputs an out-of-focus signal to the subject approach determination unit 9a. The subject approach determination section 9a disables the input signal from the touch panel 14 while the function of the touch panel input detection section 9b is inactive even when the touch panel 14 is pushed while receiving the out-of-focus signal. Control is performed. As described above, in the present embodiment, a dedicated sensor for detecting a state in which the user contacts or approaches the ear 4 with the speaker 4 and is talking with the other party is not required, and the out-of-focus state is obtained using the signal from the camera 20. Is detected, it is possible to recognize that the user is talking on the phone while talking with the other party in the call state, and thereby, even if the earlobe or the face touches the touch panel 14 during the call, it is ensured that a malfunction occurs. So that it can be prevented.
[0033]
Next, the flow of processing in the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0034]
When making a call, the user calls the other party's telephone number by pressing the numeric key of the keyboard 6 of the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 or the numeric key of the virtual dial projected on the liquid crystal panel 3 from the touch panel 14, and furthermore, the keyboard 6 for starting the call Button to make the other party's number being called, that is, put into a call state. Thereafter, in order to talk with the other party, the portable PDA 1 with a built-in camera is brought closer to his / her ear. In the flowchart of FIG. 3, the time when the communication state is established corresponds to the start.
[0035]
When the communication state is established, the camera 20 performs an automatic focusing operation continuously (or at predetermined time intervals) in step S1, and determines in a next step S2 whether or not a call ending operation has been performed. If the call end operation has been performed, the call end process is performed after the call end processing. If the call termination processing has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S3.
[0036]
In step S3, focus / out-of-focus determination is performed by the focus detection unit 20a, and a focus signal or an out-of-focus signal is output to the subject approach determination unit 9a. If the camera is out of focus, the camera-equipped mobile PDA 1 determines that a call is being made at the user's ear and proceeds to step S4. In step S4, control is performed to invalidate an input signal from the touch panel 14, Return to step 1. This will be repeated while out of focus during a call.
[0037]
If it is determined in step S3 that the in-focus state has been achieved, it is determined that the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 is away from the user's ear, and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, control for making the input signal from the touch panel 14 effective is performed, and the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, it is determined whether or not an input signal from the touch panel 14 is within a predetermined time. If there is an input signal from the touch panel 14, the process proceeds to step S7. If not, the process returns to step S1.
[0038]
In step S7, an input signal from the touch panel 14 is analyzed, and the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, various function information processing corresponding to the analyzed input is performed, and the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, information corresponding to the functional information processing is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 3, and the process returns to step S1.
[0039]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the control is performed such that the input signal from the touch panel 14 is made effective only when it is determined that the focus is achieved in step S3. This is because the user operates the portable PDA 1 with a built-in camera away from his / her ear and uses the PDA function while watching the display on the liquid crystal panel 3 to perform the operation based on the display on the liquid crystal panel 3 during a call. When the portable PDA 1 with built-in camera is brought close to the ear from a state where the portable PDA 1 with built-in camera is separated from the ear, the input signal from the touch panel 14 becomes invalid. When the portable PDA 1 with built-in camera is separated from the ear while the portable PDA 1 with built-in camera is close to the ear, the input signal from the touch panel 14 becomes valid.
[0040]
The incoming call is the same as when making a call. When the user receives the incoming call and presses the call button of the mobile PDA 1 with a built-in camera to answer the call, the call starts, and, as described above, The processing from the start in FIG. 3 is started.
[0041]
Here, a case where the speaker phone is used as a speakerphone without speaking at the ear will be described. The portable PDA 1 with a built-in camera according to the present embodiment includes a speaker having a relatively large volume level on the back thereof, though not shown, so that a call in a speakerphone mode using the speaker on the back can be selected. Is also possible. When the call in the speakerphone mode is selected, the camera 20 is separated from the ear, so that the camera 20 is focused on the user or the surrounding background. Does not perform control to invalidate the input from the touch panel 14, so that the user can operate the touch panel 14 while talking.
[0042]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the user's state is grasped by using the focusing degree information of the built-in camera 20 in the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 without providing a dedicated sensor for grasping the user's state. However, in a state where the user touches or approaches the portable PDA 1 with a built-in camera to his / her ear and talks with the other party, the input from the touch panel 14 is invalidated. Can be. In addition, since such control is performed without any user's awareness during use, it is not necessary for the user to perform an operation of invalidating / validating an input from the touch panel 14 each time, which is user-friendly. .
[0043]
As described above, the video signal processing circuit that processes the video signal from the camera 20 outputs the high / low component information to the subject approach determination unit 9 so that the subject approach determination unit 9 can be used. However, when there is almost no high-frequency component, it may be determined that the image is out of focus. In this case, the processing flow in step S1 in FIG. 3 is a process of extracting the high-frequency component amount of the video signal. 3 is the same as the processing flow of FIG. 3 except that the process of step S3 is a focus / out-of-focus determination by comparing the extracted high-frequency component amount with a preset threshold value.
[0044]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a camera-equipped portable PDA 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals are used for components equivalent to those of the first embodiment of FIG. The explanation is omitted to avoid duplication. The appearance of the camera-equipped portable PDA of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
[0045]
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 20b denotes a distance detecting unit built in the camera 20, which has a function of measuring a subject distance from the camera 20. That is, in the present embodiment, the camera 20 has a function of automatically measuring a subject distance, and when the camera 20 is activated, the distance detection unit 20b automatically performs a distance measurement operation on the subject. The measured subject distance information is used for the original photographing by the camera 20, and the subject approach determination unit 9 a enables or disables the input signal from the touch panel 14 during a call using the mobile phone function. Used to determine whether to do. That is, the subject approach determination unit 9a controls whether the touch panel input detection unit 9b is operated or not in accordance with the subject distance information input from the distance detection unit 20b during a call. If the detected distance exceeds the threshold as a result of comparison between the detected distance and a preset threshold, it is determined that the subject is not approaching the camera, and When the input signal is enabled and the detected distance is equal to or smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that the subject is approaching the camera, and control is performed to disable the input signal from the touch panel 14. I have.
[0046]
Here, as a distance measuring method of the subject distance by the distance detection unit 20b, an arbitrary method known in a still camera or the like can be adopted. For example, an infrared ray is emitted to the subject, and the infrared ray reflected from the subject is incident on the subject. A method of measuring an angle and calculating a subject distance based on the angle is employed.
[0047]
Next, in the present embodiment, determination of distance measurement information (subject distance information) of the camera 20 incorporated in the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 prevents malfunction even if an earlobe or face touches the touch panel 14 during a call. An outline of the operation performed will be described.
[0048]
In the mobile PDA 1 with a built-in camera according to the present embodiment, the camera 20 is activated in response to the start of a call from an outgoing or incoming call, and the display on the liquid crystal panel 3 at this time is performed only when the user desires. The image of the camera 20 can be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 3. In addition, at the start of the call, the subject approach determination section 9a takes a mode of monitoring the output from the distance detection section 20b of the camera 20.
[0049]
When the user enters a talking state and talks with the other party by bringing the speaker 4 into contact with or close to the ear, the subject distance information from the distance detecting unit 20b becomes a small value, and the subject approach determining unit 9a determines the subject distance information. As a result, it is determined that the measured distance is equal to or smaller than a preset threshold (for example, 10 cm). Therefore, even when the touch panel 14 is pushed while the measured distance is determined to be equal to or less than the preset threshold value, the subject approach determination unit 9a sets the function of the touch panel input detection unit 9b in the non-operation state. , The input signal from the touch panel 14 is invalidated. As described above, also in the present embodiment, a dedicated sensor for detecting a state in which the user contacts or approaches the ear 4 with the speaker 4 to talk with the other party is not required. It is possible to recognize that the user is talking on the phone with the other party, and thereby, even if the earlobe, face, or the like touches the touch panel 14 during the call, malfunction can be reliably prevented.
[0050]
Next, the flow of processing in the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the same processing steps as those in the first embodiment of FIG. 3 are denoted by the same step numbers, and description thereof will be omitted to avoid duplication.
[0051]
In the flowchart of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the process of step S1 in FIG. 3 is replaced by the process of step S11, the process of step S3 in FIG. 3 is replaced by the process of step S12, and the other processes in FIG. It is the same as the flow.
[0052]
In FIG. 5, when a call state is set, the camera 20 continuously performs a distance measurement operation of a subject distance (or at predetermined time intervals) in step S11, and performs a call end operation in the next step S2. It is determined whether or not the call has been terminated, and if a call termination operation has been performed, the call termination processing is followed by a call termination (end). If the call termination processing has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S12. In step 12, the subject approach determining means 9a determines whether or not the subject distance exceeds a preset threshold value. If the subject distance is equal to or less than the threshold value, the portable PDA 1 with built-in camera calls the user at the ear. If it is determined that the object is in the middle state and the process proceeds to step S4, and if the subject distance exceeds the threshold, it is determined that the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 is in a state of being separated from the user's ear, and the process proceeds to step S5. The other processing is the same as the processing flow of FIG.
[0053]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the user's state is grasped by using the distance measurement information of the built-in camera 20 in the camera-equipped portable PDA 1 without providing a dedicated sensor for grasping the user's state. However, in a state where the user touches or approaches the portable PDA 1 with a built-in camera to his / her ear and talks with the other party, the input from the touch panel 14 is invalidated. Can be. In addition, since such control is performed without any user's awareness during use, it is not necessary for the user to perform an operation of invalidating / validating an input from the touch panel 14 each time, which is user-friendly. .
[0054]
Here, in the above-described embodiment, the malfunction of the camera-equipped mobile PDA due to the erroneous pressing of the touch panel 14 has been described. However, if it is detected that the camera-equipped mobile PDA 1 is brought close to the user's ear during a call, the touch panel Along with 14, the input signal from the keyboard 6 may be controlled to be invalidated. In addition, when it is detected that the camera-equipped mobile PDA 1 is brought close to the user's ear during a call, the user can set whether to perform control to invalidate an input signal from the keyboard 6. Good.
[0055]
In the above-described embodiment, an example of application to a PDA with a built-in camera mobile phone function has been described. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to this, as long as the device has at least a mobile phone function and a camera function. The present invention is applicable, for example, the present invention is also applicable to a camera-equipped mobile phone.
[0056]
In addition, the configuration of the block diagram and the flow of the processing of the flowchart described in the above-described embodiment are not limited thereto, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in an information processing terminal equipped with a camera-equipped mobile phone function, the state of the user is determined by using the signal of the built-in camera without providing a dedicated sensor for grasping the state of the user. When the user touches or approaches the mobile phone to the ear and talks with the other party, invalidating the input from the input means such as the touch panel ensures that the occurrence of inconvenience due to erroneous pressing of the input means is ensured. Can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable PDA with a built-in camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the camera-equipped portable PDA according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow in the camera-equipped portable PDA according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a camera-equipped portable PDA according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the camera-equipped portable PDA according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Portable PDA with built-in camera
3 LCD panel
4 Speaker
5 microphone
6 Keyboard
7 Wireless audio processing unit
8 Antenna
9 PDA control unit
9a Subject approach determination unit
9b Touch panel input detector
14 Touch panel
20 cameras
20a Focus detector
20b Distance detector

Claims (8)

At least input means using a touch panel, a camera for photographing the subject, subject proximity determining means for determining whether the subject approaches the camera based on a signal from the camera, at least a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, and a communication unit And an information processing terminal with a camera-equipped mobile phone function having
A camera-equipped mobile phone characterized in that, when the subject approach determination unit recognizes the approach of a subject to a camera during a call by the mobile phone function, an input signal from the input unit is invalidated. Information processing terminal with function. At least input means using a touch panel, a camera for photographing the subject, subject proximity determining means for determining whether the subject is approaching the camera based on a degree of focusing based on a signal from the camera, and at least a transmitting unit and a receiving unit In the information processing terminal with a camera built-in mobile phone function function having a mobile phone function by the unit and the communication unit,
During the call by the mobile phone function, when the subject approach determination unit recognizes the approach of the subject to the camera based on the degree of focus, the input signal from the input unit is invalidated. Information processing terminal with built-in camera mobile phone function. In claim 2,
The subject approach determination means determines that the subject is not approaching the camera when the degree of focus indicates the in-focus state, and indicates that the degree of focus is out of focus. In this case, an information processing terminal with a camera-equipped mobile phone function, which determines that the subject is approaching the camera. At least input means using a touch panel, a camera for photographing the subject, subject proximity determining means for determining whether the subject approaches the camera based on distance measurement information of the subject based on a signal from the camera, and at least a transmitting unit An information processing terminal with a built-in camera-based mobile phone function having a mobile phone function with a receiver unit and a communication unit,
During the call by the mobile phone function, when the subject approach determination unit recognizes the approach of the subject to the camera based on the distance measurement information, an input signal from the input unit is invalidated. Information processing terminal with built-in camera mobile phone function. In claim 4,
The subject approach determination means compares the detected distance with a preset threshold, and determines that the subject is not approaching the camera when the detected distance exceeds the threshold, If the detected distance is equal to or smaller than a threshold value, the information processing terminal with a built-in camera mobile phone function determines that the subject is approaching the camera. In any one of claims 1 to 5,
An information processing terminal with a built-in camera mobile phone function, wherein the receiving section, the lens section of the camera, and the input means are substantially on the same surface. In any one of claims 1 to 6,
An information processing terminal with a camera-equipped mobile phone function, wherein the camera is arranged near the earpiece. In any one of claims 1 to 7,
If the subject approach determination unit recognizes that the subject is not approaching the camera during a call using the mobile phone function, the input signal from the input unit is validated, Information processing terminal with.

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