Mobile device with selectable camera position

• US 20060105806A1
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Vance, Scott L., Hunt, Charles
• Granted Patent: US 7,565,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/556.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0208 characterized by the relative motions of the body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0264 for a camera module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/20 including a rotatable camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming

Abstract

A combination mobile terminal and camera comprising a housing and a camera device integrated into a first portion of the housing. The camera device and the first portion of the housing in which the camera is integrated are moveable between a first position where the first portion of the housing is substantially aligned with a remaining second portion of the housing and a second misaligned position. In the first position, the camera may be oriented substantially parallel to a keypad, keyboard, or display in the housing. Individual buttons of a keypad on the housing may be used to control mobile terminal functions in one mode and camera functions in another mode. Certain individual buttons of the keypad may be rotatable with the camera. The alignment of the camera is such that it is possible to add additional optical elements to the optical path.

Claims

1. A combination mobile terminal and camera comprising:

a housing;

a wireless transceiver disposed within said housing for transmitting and receiving signals;

a camera device integrated into a first portion of the housing, the camera device and the first portion of the housing in which the camera is integrated being moveable between a first position substantially aligned with a remaining second portion of the housing and a second position in misalignment with the second portion of the housing.

2. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 1 wherein the housing further comprises a keypad having a plurality of buttons, at least one button of the keypad disposed in the first portion of the housing and at least one other button of the keypad disposed in the second portion of the housing.

3. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 2 wherein the at least one button of the keypad disposed in the first portion of the housing controls mobile terminal functions when the first portion is in the first position and the at least one button of the keypad disposed in the first portion of the housing controls camera functions when the first portion is in the second position.

4. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 2 wherein the at least one button of the keypad disposed in the second portion of the housing controls mobile terminal functions when the first portion is in the first position and the at least one button of the keypad disposed in the second portion of the housing controls camera functions when the first portion is in the second position.

5. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 2 wherein the at least one button of the keypad disposed in the first portion of the housing comprises the *, 0, and # buttons of a telephone keypad.

6. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 1 wherein the camera device comprises selectable optics.

7. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 6 wherein the selectable optics comprises an adjustable zoom.

8. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 6 wherein the selectable optics comprises an adjustable focus.

9. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 6 wherein the selectable optics comprises a selectable field of view.

10. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 1 further comprising a display, and when the first position is substantially aligned with the second portion of the housing, the camera is oriented substantially parallel to the display.

11. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 1 wherein the camera device further comprises a viewfinder.

12. A mobile communications device comprising:

a housing;

a wireless transceiver disposed within said housing for transmitting and receiving signals;

a camera rotatable with respect to the housing; and

a keypad having a plurality of buttons for user input, at least one button of the keypad being rotatable with the camera.

13. The mobile communications device of claim 12 wherein the at least one button of the keypad being rotatable with the camera comprises the *, 0, and # buttons of a telephone keypad.

14. The mobile communications device of claim 12 further comprising a position sensor to detect a rotational position of the camera.

15. The mobile communications device of claim 12 wherein the camera is rotatable between a first position where the at least one button of the keypad rotatable with the camera is aligned with a remainder of the keypad and a second position where the at least one button of the keypad rotatable with the camera is not aligned with a remainder of the keypad.

16. The mobile communications device of claim 12 wherein the camera is rotatable 360°

about an axis substantially parallel to the keypad.

17. The mobile communications device of claim 12 wherein the camera is rotatable through a range of approximately 90°

or more about an axis substantially parallel to the keypad.

18. The mobile communications device of claim 12 further comprising movable optical elements in the camera.

19. The mobile communications device of claim 18 wherein the moveable optical elements are moveable into and out of an optical path within the camera.

20. The mobile communications device of claim 19 wherein the moveable optical elements are electronically moveable.

21. The mobile communications device of claim 19 wherein the moveable optical elements are manually moveable.

22. The mobile communications device of claim 18 wherein the moveable optical elements are moveable along an optical path within the camera.

23. The mobile communications device of claim 22 wherein the moveable optical elements are electronically moveable.

24. The mobile communications device of claim 22 wherein the moveable optical elements are manually moveable.

25. The mobile communications device of claim 12 further comprising a viewfinder disposed within the camera.

26. The mobile communications device of claim 25 wherein the viewfinder comprises an LCD display.

27. The mobile communications device of claim 25 wherein the viewfinder comprises a beamsplitter for viewing images directed through the camera.

28. A combination mobile terminal and camera comprising:

a wireless transceiver disposed within said housing for transmitting and receiving signals;

a housing having a user interface;

a camera device having selectable optics integrated into the housing, the camera device oriented in a direction substantially parallel to the user interface.

29. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 28 wherein the user interface is a display.

30. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 28 wherein the user interface is a keypad.

31. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 28 wherein the camera device is integrated into a rotatable portion of the housing.

32. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 31 wherein the rotatable portion of the housing rotates about an axis that is oriented substantially parallel to the user interface.

33. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 31 wherein the rotatable portion of the housing includes at least one button of a keypad.

34. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 33 wherein the at least one button of a keypad comprises the *, 0, and # buttons of a telephone keypad.

35. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 28 wherein the selectable optics comprises a movable lens.

36. A method for selectively operating a mobile communications device, said method comprising:

providing a rotatable camera having selectable optics on a mobile communications device for selectively capturing images from a plurality of directions;

positioning the rotatable camera in a first position and operating the mobile communications device in a communications mode; and

positioning the rotatable camera in a second position and operating the mobile communications device in a camera mode.

37. The method of claim 36 further comprising sensing the position of the rotatable camera to selectively operate the mobile communications device in one of the communications mode or the camera mode.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein positioning the rotatable camera in the first position comprises orienting the camera to be substantially parallel to a keypad of the mobile communications device.

39. The method of claim 36 wherein positioning the rotatable camera in the first position comprises orienting the camera to be substantially parallel to a display of the mobile communications device.

40. The method of claim 36 wherein operating the mobile communications device in the camera mode comprises adjusting the selectable optics.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein adjusting the selectable optics comprises adjusting a zoom level.

42. The method of claim 40 wherein adjusting the selectable optics comprises adjusting a focus level.

43. The method of claim 40 wherein adjusting selectable optics comprises switching optical elements into or out of an optical path.

44. A method of operating a combination mobile terminal and camera comprising:

providing a rotatable camera device behind a user interface panel of a mobile terminal;

selectively rotating the camera to be substantially parallel to the user interface panel and assigning mobile terminal functions to individual buttons of a keypad; and

selectively rotating the camera to a position other than substantially parallel to the user interface panel and assigning camera functions to individual buttons of a keypad.

45. The method of claim 44 further comprising displaying mobile terminal graphics on a display while aligning the optical axis of the camera to be substantially parallel to the user interface panel and displaying camera graphics on the same display while aligning the optical axis of the camera to be substantially parallel to the user interface panel.

46. The method of claim 44 further comprising rotating a portion of the user interface panel while selectively rotating the rotatable camera.

47. The method of claim 46 further comprising disposing buttons of a keypad in the portion of the user interface panel that rotates while selectively rotating the rotatable camera.

48. The method of claim 47 further comprising disposing the bottom row of buttons of a phone keypad in the portion of the user interface panel that rotates while selectively rotating the rotatable camera.

49. The method of claim 44 further comprising uncovering an objective lens of the camera before selectively rotating the camera to a position other than substantially parallel to the user interface panel.

50. The method of claim 44 further comprising covering an objective lens of the camera after selectively rotating the camera to be substantially parallel to the user interface panel.

51. The method of claim 44 further comprising disposing selectable optics in the camera.

52. The method of claim 51 further comprising adjusting the selectable optics with the individual buttons of the keypad.

53. The method of claim 51 further comprising manually adjusting the selectable optics with actuators.