Portable communication apparatus with digital camera and personal digital assistant

• US 20030064685A1
• Filed: 06/24/2002
• Published: 04/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Young-Se
• Granted Patent: US 6,999,802 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/021 using combined folding and rotation motions combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings

Abstract

The present invention discloses a portable digital camera communication apparatus which also serves as a PDA. The portable communication apparatus which performs both a phone operation mode and a PDA operation mode and has a digital camera includes: a first housing including an upper portion, a lower portion, a receiving space hollowed between the upper portion and the lower portion, and a planar surface provided at the bottom of the receiving space, a lens housing protruding from the upper portion in a longitudinal direction, a digital camera lens of the digital camera being exposed in a longitudinal direction of the lens housing; a second housing including an upper portion having a phone LCD and a phone keypad with a plurality of keys and a lower portion having a PDA touch screen, the PDA touch screen being adjacent to the planar surface in the phone operation mode, the phone keypad and the phone LCD being adjacent to the planar surface in the PDA operation mode; and a biaxial hinge unit for connecting the second housing to said first housing to allow said second housing to rotate about two perpendicular axes with respect to the first housing.

Claims

1. A portable communication apparatus, operable in a phone operation mode or a PDA operation mode, having a digital camera, a speaker and a microphone, comprising:

a first housing including an upper portion, a lower portion, a receiving space hollowed between the upper portion and the lower portion and having a planar surface at the bottom of the receiving space, a lens housing protruding from the upper portion in a longitudinal direction wherein a lens of the digital camera is exposed in the longitudinal direction of the lens housing;

a second housing including an upper portion having a phone LCD and a phone keypad with a plurality of keys, and a lower portion having a PDA touch screen, wherein the PDA touch screen is adjacent to the planar surface in the phone operation mode, while the phone keypad and the phone LCD are adjacent to the planar surface in the PDA operation mode; and

a biaxial hinge unit for connecting the second housing to the first housing to rotate the second housing about two perpendicular axes with respect to the first housing.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper portion further comprises two side hinge arms, located adjacent to said speaker, for connecting the biaxial hinge unit to allow the second housing to rotate about a first of the two perpendicular axes.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower portion further comprises a PDA keypad having a plurality of keys located adjacent to said microphone.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper portion further comprises a shutter key adjacent to the lens housing for operating said digital camera.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rear surface of the upper portion further comprises a rotatable antenna unit, an end portion of the antenna unit arrayed to be distant from the lens housing in an open state.

6. A portable communication apparatus, operable in a phone operation mode or a PDA operation mode, housing a digital camera, a speaker and a microphone, comprising:

a first housing including an upper portion, a lower portion, a receiving space hollowed between the upper portion and the lower portion and having a planar surface at the bottom of the receiving space, a lens housing protruding from the upper portion in a longitudinal direction wherein a lens of the digital camera is exposed in the longitudinal direction of the lens housing;

a second housing including a planar upper portion and a lower portion having a touch screen, wherein the touch screen is adjacent to the planar surface of the first housing in the phone operation mode and the PDA operation mode; and

a biaxial hinge unit for connecting the second housing to the first housing to rotate the second housing about two perpendicular axes with respect to the first housing.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the upper portion further comprises two side hinge arms, located adjacent to said speaker, for connecting the biaxial hinge unit to allow the second housing to rotate about a first of the two perpendicular axes.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the lower portion further comprises a PDA keypad having a plurality of keys and located adjacent to the microphone.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the upper portion further comprises a shutter key adjacent to the lens housing for operating said digital camera.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the rear surface of the upper portion further comprises a rotatable antenna unit, an end portion of the antenna unit arrayed to be distant from the lens housing in an open state.