Video swivel phone

• US 6,473,631 B1
• Filed: 12/20/1999
• Issued: 10/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Siddoway, Craig F, Richards, Scott H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lee
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Simon
• Application Number:
  US09/466,645
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556-557, 455/575, 455/90, 455/348, 455/349, 455/566, 379/433.02, 348/14-1-
• US Class Current: 455/575.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0264 for a camera module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/035 Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/20 including a rotatable camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals

Abstract

A wireless video swivel phone device includes a pivoting module. The pivoting module includes at least one video camera lens for capturing video images from at least one direction. The pivoting module rotates to allow the at least one video camera lens to capture video images from different directions. The pivoting module includes an ear cup portion that provides audio output to a user'"'"'s ear for using the wireless video swivel phone as an ear-to-mouth audio phone communication device.

Claims

1. A video swivel phone comprising:

a pivoting module rotatably coupled to a handheld portion of the video swivel phone,

the pivoting module including;

an ear cup including an ear audio output for providing audio output to a user'"'"'s ear; and

a video camera input for capturing video images, the video camera input oriented in an opposing direction to the ear cup; and

the handheld portion of the video swivel phone including;

a video display screen for displaying video images to a user; and

a microphone audio input for receiving audio from a user, and wherein the pivoting module is rotatable about an axis to orient the video camera input and the ear cup in a plurality of directions.

2. The video swivel phone of claim 1, wherein the pivoting module is continuously rotatable about the axis.

3. The video swivel phone of claim 1, wherein the video display screen is electrically coupled to video camera input for displaying on the video display screen a representation of the captured video images.

4. The video swivel phone of claim 1, further comprising a wireless transmitter module electrically coupled to the video camera input for wirelessly transmitting messages containing video image information corresponding to the captured images.

5. The video swivel phone of claim 3, further comprising a wireless receiver module electrically coupled to the display screen for wirelessly receiving messages containing video image information and displaying on the video display screen video images corresponding to the video image information.