Portable communication device with camera interface for image transmission and reception

• US 6,795,715 B1
• Filed: 03/23/2000
• Issued: 09/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kubo, Yoshimi, Motoki, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc M.
• Application Number:
  US09/534,431
• Time in Patent Office: 1,643 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556, 455/557, 455/90, 455/575, 455/3.06, 455/550, 455/566, 455/344, 455/128, 455/556.1, 348/220, 348/211, 348/207, 348/372, 348/375, 348/14, 348/552, 386/117, 386/120-121
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• 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

A portable telephone set includes an image pickup unit, an input terminal for inputting an image from the outside, a display unit for displaying an image, an image input switching key for performing a switching operation in which any one of an image photographed by the image pickup unit and the image input from the input terminal is displayed on the display unit and transmitted from the portable telephone set, and an output terminal for outputting the image photographed by the image pickup unit. The image pickup unit is detachably connected to a portable telephone body by a plug and a jack, whereby there is provided such a portable telephone set which is capable of photographing and transmitting an image by only the portable telephone set and easily performing photographing at a desired angle even during speech communication using the portable telephone set.

Claims

1. A portable telephone communication device comprising:

a housing;

means including a microphone, a speaker, and a plurality of keys representative of predetermined characters for enabling a user to perform telephone communications;

image pickup means having a rotatably mounted camera for photographing a first image;

an input terminal for inputting a second image from the outside;

display means for displaying a selected one of the first image and the second image;

image input switching means for performing a switching operation in which any one of the first image photographed by the image pickup means and the second image from the input terminal is displayed on the display means and transmitted from the portable telephone communication device;

means for receiving image data transmitted in a wireless manner from a transmitting apparatus at a remote location representative of one of an image data sequence and a static data image, for automatically determining whether the received image data is representative of the image data sequence or the static data image, and for processing the received image data in accordance with a first processing method when the received image data is determined to represent the image data sequence and for processing the received image data in accordance with a second processing method which is different from the first processing method when the received image data is determined to represent the static data image;

wherein said user is permitted to simultaneously view said image data sequence and transmit one or more static data images from said image data sequence by activating one of said plurality of keys; and

an output terminal for outputting one of the image photographed by the image pickup means and the processed image data,

whereby the enabling means and said display means are arranged in said housing.

2. A portable communication device comprising:

a main body;

means including a microphone, a speaker, and a plurality of keys representative of predetermined characters for enabling a user to perform telephone communications;

image pickup means pivotally or rotatably and/or detachably connected to said main body of the portable communication device by attaching means;

an input terminal for inputting an image from the outside;

display means for displaying the image; and

image input switching means for performing a switching operation in which any one of an image photographed by the image pickup means and an image input from the input terminal is displayed on the display means and transmitted from the portable communication device;

means for receiving image data transmitted in a wireless manner from a transmitting apparatus at a remote location representative of one of an image data sequence and a static data image, for automatically determining whether the received image data is representative of the image data sequence or the static data image, and for processing the received image data in accordance with a first processing method when the received image data is determined to represent the image data sequence and for processing the received image data in accordance with a second processing method which is different from the first processing method when the received image data is determined to represent the static data image;

wherein said user is permitted to simultaneously view said image data sequence and transmit one or more static data images from said image data sequence by activating one of said plurality of keys; and

an output terminal for outputting one of the image photographed by the image pickup means and the processed image data,

whereby the enabling means and said display means are arranged in said main body.

3. A portable communication device according to claim 2, further comprising:

storing means for storing an image;

transmission/storage switching means for performing a switching operation in which the image is transmitted from the portable communication device or stored in the storage means.

4. A portable communication device according to claim 2,

wherein the display means is commonly used to display an image and to display information obtained in a standard operation in the portable communication device, and

further comprising display switching means for performing a switching operation in which any one of the image and the information obtained in the standard operation is displayed on the display means.

5. A portable communication device according to claim 4,

wherein the image pickup means is image pickup means for photographing an image sequence or moving image,

the input terminal is a video input terminal, and the output terminal is a video output terminal, and further comprising:

static image capture means for capturing a static image from the image sequence; and

image sequence/static image switching means for performing a switching operation in which any one of the image sequence and the static image captured by the static image capture means is transmitted from the portable communication device.

6. A portable communication device according to claim 5, further comprising:

storage means for storing an image; and

transmission/storage switching means for performing a switching operation in which the image is transmitted from the portable communication device or stored in the storage means.

7. A portable communication device according to claim 4, further comprising:

storage means for storing an image; and

transmission/storage switching means for performing an operation in which the image is transmitted from the portable communication device or stored in the storage means.

8. A portable communication device according to claim 2,

wherein the image pickup means is image pickup means for photographing an image sequence or moving image,

the input terminal is a video input terminal, and

the output terminal is a video output terminal, and further comprising:

static image capture means for capturing a static image from the image sequence; and

image sequence/static image switching means for performing a switching operation in which any one of the image sequence and the static image captured by the static image capture means is transmitted from the portable communication device.

9. A portable communication device according to claim 8, further comprising:

storage means for storing an image; and

transmission/storage switching means for performing a switching operation in which the image is transmitted from the portable communication device or stored in the storage means.

10. A communication method for a portable communication device, comprising:

the step of enabling a user to perform telephone communications by use of a telephone means which includes a microphone, a speaker, and a plurality of keys representative of predetermined characters;

the step of selecting one of images respectively input from image pickup means having a rotatably mounted camera and an image input terminal provided on the portable communication device;

the step of displaying the selected image on display means;

the step of selecting one of an image sequence transmission mode or a static image transmission mode;

the step of, when the selected mode is the image sequence transmission mode, transmitting an image sequence when a transmission instruction is set and temporarily storing the image sequence when the transmission instruction is not set;

the step of, when the selected mode is the static transmission mode, capturing static image for the image sequence and transmitting the static image when a transmission instruction is set, and temporarily storing the static image in a memory when the transmission instruction is not set, and

the step of receiving image data transmitted in a wireless manner from a transmitting apparatus at a remote location representative of one of an image data sequence and a static data image, for automatically determining whether the received image data is representative of the image data sequence or the static data image, and for processing the received image data in accordance with a first processing method when the received image data is determined to represent the image data sequence and for processing the received image data in accordance with a second processing method which is different from the first processing method when the received image data is determined to represent the static data image, wherein said user is permitted to simultaneously view said image data sequence and transmit one or more static data images from said image data sequence by activating one of said plurality of keys; and

whereby the telephone means and said display means are arranged in a common housing.