Portable electronic device and portable cellular phone

• US 7,176,961 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2002
• Issued: 02/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Shimamura, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ometz; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, NHAN T
• Application Number:
  US10/329,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20030125080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,509 Days
• Field of Search: 396/376
• US Class Current: 348/207.99
• 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 1/0245 using open/close detection
• 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 2250/16 including more than one display unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters

Abstract

A portable electronic device is provided which an operator (photographer) has not an abnormal but favorable feeling from a design (aesthetic) viewpoint and which enables the operator to know an area in which a photograph can be successfully taken or a position of a subject to be photographed. A control section has an auxiliary display section display present time, notification of arrival of data and/or messages, or a like when no photograph is taken. When the operator presses down a photographing mode selecting key, the control section controls a liquid crystal panel so that its all pixels are put into a light transmitting state and causes reflected light from a mirror reflecting plate to be visually viewed by the operator. That is, the auxiliary display section operates as the mirror to look therein at an image of a subject to be photographed. The operator, if wishing to take a photograph of himself/herself, holds a portable cellular phone and directs a camera lens toward himself/herself, and corrects a posture of the portable cellular phone so that his/her face may be looked in such a manner that has a desired size or a desired position in the auxiliary display section operating as the mirror. After the operator has determined photographic composition of the subject, the operator presses down the shutter button.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device comprising:

a camera to take a photograph of a subject to be photographed;

a composition determining mirror to look therein at said subject to be photographed, hereby determining photographic composition of said subject to be photographed; and

a selectable photography mode function,

wherein said composition determining mirror is selectively kept in one of a specular state as a whole in response to a user selecting said photography mode function, and a non-specular state as a whole when said photography mode function is not selected, by an electro-optically controlled switching process.

2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein said composition determining mirror includes a mirror reflector so configured as to be electro-optically controlled alternatively in one of an appearing state and a hiding state as a whole.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein on a front of said mirror reflector is provided a light-controlling layer which is put one of into a transparent state in which incident light is allowed to pass by being controlled electro-optically and into a light-intercepting state in which the incident light is intercepted by being at least one of absorbed and scattered.

4. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein on a front of said mirror reflector is provided a light-controlling layer, light transmittance of which is controlled in accordance with an applied voltage.

5. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein said light-controlling layer is constructed so that micro-capsules in which liquid crystals are put hermetically are dispersed in base materials.

6. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein said composition determining mirror is placed on a same side as a lens window on which incident light fed from said subject to be photographed is incident and is used when a photograph is taken of at least one of a photographer and a subject to be photographed existing behind said photographer.

7. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a display unit which is able to display characters and/or images and includes said mirror reflector and serves as said composition determining mirror as needed; and

a control unit which controls said display unit to put one of a part of and all of regions of said mirror reflector into an appearance state mainly while a photograph is being taken.

8. The portable electronic device according to claim 7, wherein said display unit comprises said mirror reflector arranged on a rear of a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of pixels and wherein said control unit puts all of said display unit into a light-transmitting state and all of said mirror reflector into an appearance state at least one of before and while a photograph is being taken, and has said display unit display characters and/or images while the photograph is not being taken.

9. The portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein a light-controlling layer is placed between said liquid crystal panel and said mirror reflector and wherein said control unit puts said light-controlling layer into a light transmitting state mainly while the photograph is being taken and said light-controlling layer into a light-intercepting state mainly while the photograph is not being taken.

10. The portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein a surface illuminating device is placed on a front of said liquid crystal panel.

11. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein said control unit puts one of a part of and all of regions of said mirror reflector into an appearance state so that, in said subject to be photographed, only a part of which a photographer desires to take a photograph may be determined by the photographer.

12. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein said control unit sets a region of said mirror reflector which is put into an appearance state depending on types of camera lens.

13. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, comprising:

a display unit being provided with a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of pixels being able to display characters and/or images, a semi-transparent mirror layer being placed on a rear of said liquid crystal panel, and a surface illuminating device being placed on a rear of said semi-transparent mirror layer, and serving also as said composition determining mirror; and

a control unit to control said display unit so that said pixels in said display unit are put into a light transmitting state mainly while the photograph is being taken and so that characters and/or images are displayed mainly while the photograph is not being taken.

14. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, comprising:

a display unit being provided with a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of pixels being able to display characters and/or images, a light-controlling layer being placed on a front of said liquid crystal panel, a semi-transparent mirror layer being placed on a front of said light-controlling layer, and a surface illuminating device being placed on a rear of said liquid crystal panel, and serving also as said composition determining mirror as needed; and

a control unit to control said display unit so that, mainly while the photograph is being taken, said light-controlling layer is put into a light-intercepting state and so that, mainly while the photograph is not being taken, characters and/or images are displayed and said light-controlling layer is put into a light-transmitting state.

15. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a foldable housing comprised of an upper housing and a lower housing, both being coupled to each other through a hinge portion.

16. The portable electronic device according to claim 15, further comprising a first display unit being placed on a side serving as an inside of said housing while said housing is being closed and a second display unit being placed on a side serving as an outside of said housing while said housing is being closed in a folded manner and wherein at least one of said first and second display units serves also as said composition determining mirror as needed.

17. The portable electronic device according to claim 7, wherein said display unit is placed in a region surrounding a lens window.

18. The portable electronic device according to claim 15, further comprising an opening and closing detecting device to check to see opening and closing states of said housing, wherein a control unit controls a display unit according to a detecting signal fed from said opening and closing detecting device.

19. The portable electronic device according to claim 18, wherein said control unit, at least when said housing is changed from its closed state to its opened state, puts said display unit into a specular state.

20. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further including a function of providing for data communications.

21. A portable cellular phone providing for voice communications comprising:

a camera to take a photograph of a subject to be photographed;

a composition determining mirror to look therein at said subject to be photographed, hereby determining photographic composition of said subject to be photographed; and

a selectable photography mode function,

wherein said composition determining mirror is selectively kept in one of a specular state as a whole in response to a user selecting said photography mode function, and a non-specular state as a whole when said photography mode function is not selected, by an electro-optically controlled switching process.

22. The portable cellular phone according to claim 21, wherein said composition determining mirror includes a mirror reflector so configured as to be electro-optically controlled alternatively in one of an appearing state and a hiding state as a whole.

23. The portable cellular phone according to claim 22, wherein on a front of said mirror reflector is provided a light-controlling layer which is put on of into a transparent state in which incident light is allowed to pass by being controlled electro-optically and into a light-intercepting state in which the incident light is intercepted by being one of absorbed and scattered.

24. The portable cellular phone according to claim 22, wherein on a front of said mirror reflector is provided a light-controlling layer, light transmittance of which is controlled in accordance with an applied voltage.

25. The portable cellular phone according to claim 24, wherein said light-controlling layer is constructed so that micro-capsules in which liquid crystals are put hermetically are dispersed in base materials.

26. The portable cellular phone according to claim 21, wherein said composition determining mirror is placed on a same side as a lens window on which incident light fed from said subject to be photographed is incident and is used when a photograph is taken of one of a photographer and a subject to be photographed existing behind said photographer.

27. The portable cellular phone according to claim 22, further comprising a display unit which is able to display characters and/or images and includes said mirror reflector and serves as said composition determining mirror as needed and a control unit which controls said display unit to put one of a part of and all of regions of said mirror reflector into an appearance state mainly while a photograph is being taken.

28. The portable cellular phone according to claim 27, wherein said display unit comprises said mirror reflector arranged on a rear of a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of pixels and wherein said control unit puts all of said display unit into a light-transmitting state and all of said mirror reflector into an appearance state at least one of before and while a photograph is being taken, and has said display unit display characters and/or images while the photograph is not being taken.

29. The portable cellular phone according to claim 28, wherein a light-controlling layer is placed between said liquid crystal panel and said mirror reflector and wherein said control unit puts said light-controlling layer into a light transmitting state mainly while the photograph is being taken and said light-controlling layer into a light-intercepting state mainly while the photograph is not being taken.