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

• US 20030203747A1
• Filed: 04/25/2003
• Published: 10/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nagamine, Yasuo
• Granted Patent: US 7,174,195 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/575.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0227 Rotatable in one plane, i.e. using a one degree of freedom hinge
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0233 Including a rotatable display body part
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0235 Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0243 using the relative angle between housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0247 comprising more than two body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/359 Switching between monoscopic and stereoscopic modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display

Abstract

In a foldable portable telephone set including a lower unit (20) having a console portion (12), an upper unit (30) having a display portion (11), and a hinge portion (13) for joining the lower unit to the upper unit so as to enable to open and close them, the upper unit (30) consists of a display portion unit (32), a supporting portion unit (34), and a rotating and sliding mechanism (40). A pair of front camera portions (17a, 17b) is disposed on the upper unit so as to position up and down of the display portion when the display portion is put into the lengthwise state and to position right and left of the display portion when the display portion is put into the oblong state by rotating and sliding the display portion unit using the rotating and sliding mechanism.

Claims

1. A foldable portable telephone set comprising a lower unit (20, 20A) having a console portion (12), an upper unit (30, 30A) having a display portion (11), and a hinge portion (13, 13A) for joining said lower unit to said upper unit so as to enable to open and close them, wherein

said display portion is able to shift arrangement thereof with respect to said lower unit between a lengthwise state and an oblong state,

said foldable portable telephone further comprising a pair of front camera portions (17a, 17b) disposed on said upper unit so as to position up and down of said display portion when said display portion is put into the lengthwise state and to position right and left of said display portion when said display portion is put into the oblong state.

2. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper unit (30) comprises a display portion unit (32), a supporting portion unit (34), and a rotating mechanism (40) for electrically and structurally connecting said display portion unit and said supporting portion unit and for rotating said display portion unit with respect to said supporting portion unit,

said display portion being put into the oblong state by rotating said display portion unit by about 90 degrees using said rotating mechanism in a case where said display portion is put into the lengthwise state.

3. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper unit (30) comprises a display portion unit (32), a supporting portion unit (34), and a rotating and sliding mechanism (40) for electrically and structurally connecting said display portion unit and said supporting portion unit and for rotating and sliding said display portion unit with respect to said supporting portion unit,

said display portion being put into the oblong state by rotating said display portion unit by about 90 degrees and by sliding said display portion using said rotating and sliding mechanism in a case where said display portion is put into the lengthwise state.

4. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 2, wherein further comprises:

detecting means (MG, 111a, 111b, 111c, 112) for detecting whether said display portion is put into the lengthwise state or the oblong state to produce a detected signal; and

display converting means (114, 115, 116) for converting display contents so at to fit to a direction of a display screen according to said detected signal and for displaying converted display contents on said display portion.

5. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 4, wherein said detecting means comprises a magnet (MG) disposed in said display portion unit and a plurality of magnetic sensors (111a, 111b, 111c) disposed in said supporting portion unit.

6. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 3, wherein further comprises:

detecting means (MG, 111a, 111b, 111c, 112) for detecting whether said display portion is put into the lengthwise state or the oblong state to produce a detected signal; and

display converting means (114, 115, 116) for converting display contents so as to fit to a direction of a display screen according to said detected signal and for displaying converted display contents on said display portion.

7. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 6, wherein said detecting means comprises a magnet (MG) disposed in said display portion unit and a plurality of magnetic sensors (111a, 111b, 111c) disposed in said supporting portion unit.

8. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hinge portion is a hinge-type connector (13A) for detachably connecting said upper unit (30A), said hinge-type connector having a connector connection portion (13Aa) for connecting to said upper unit,

said upper unit having a plurality of unit connection portions (30Aa, 30Ab, 30Ac) for connecting to said connector connection portion at a lower side and lateral sides thereof, whereby said display portion is switched between the lengthwise state and the oblong state by changing the unit connection portions to be connected to said connector connection portion.

9. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 8, wherein further comprises:

detecting means (112A) for detecting whether said display portion is put into the lengthwise state or the oblong state to produce a detected signal; and

display converting means (114, 115, 116) for converting display contents so at to fit to a direction of a display screen according to said detected signal and for displaying converted display contents on said display portion.

10. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein further comprises three-dimensional image processing means (115) for carrying out a three-dimensional image processing on an image picked up by said pair of front camera portions when said pair of front camera portions is disposed right and left in the vicinity of said display portion with said display portion put into the oblong state.

11. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper unit (30) further comprises a rear camera portion (18) at a rear face (32a) thereof.

12. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 11, wherein further comprises pickup mode selecting means (115, 116) for carrying out selection of a pickup mode for using at least one of said pair of front camera portions and said rear camera portion in accordance with a disposed condition of said display portion.

13. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 11, wherein further comprises selecting means (12) for selecting any one camera portion among said pair of front camera portions and said rear camera portion according to speech destination information when any one of said pair of front camera portions and said rear camera portion is used to a television telephone.

14. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein further comprises selecting means (12) for selecting one of said pair of front camera portions according to a telephone destination when said pair of front camera portions is used as a television telephone camera in a state where said pair of front camera portions is disposed right and left in the vicinity of said display portion with said display portion put into the oblong state.

15. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 8, wherein said hinge-type connector (13A) further comprises a rear camera portion (18) at a rear face thereof.

16. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 15, wherein further comprises pickup mode selecting means (115, 116) for carrying out selection of a pickup mode for using at least one of said pair of front camera portions and said rear camera portion in accordance with a disposed condition of said display portion.

17. A foldable portable telephone set as claimed in claim 15, wherein further comprises selecting means (12) for selecting any one camera portion among said pair of front camera portions and said rear camera portion according to speech destination information when any one of said pair of front camera portions and said rear camera portion is used to a television telephone.