Communications terminal having image shooting function and program for the communications terminal

• US 7,432,954 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2003
• Issued: 10/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hama, Mitsuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho; Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): HSU, AMY R
• Application Number:
  US10/523,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20060121850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,889 Days
• Field of Search: 348/211.2, 382/236, 382/232, 455/41.2, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 375/240.1
• US Class Current: 348/211.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging

Abstract

A communications terminal having an image shooting function allows a user to transmit a shot image as an e-mail attachment more easily and conveniently than in a conventional manner. Before being placed into an image shooting mode, the communications terminal first receives an e-mail address specified by the user as a destination of an image to be shot. Then, at a push of a shutter button in the image shooting mode, the communications terminal shoots an image to generate image data, automatically attaches the image data to an e-mail message, and transmits the e-mail message to the e-mail address specified by the user before the image shooting.

Claims

1. A communications terminal having an image shooting function, comprising:

a shooting-mode instruction receiving unit operable to receive, from a user, an instruction to switch the communications terminal into an image shooting mode;

a mail composition unit operable, when the communications terminal is switched into the image shooting mode, to extract from a recording medium, storing one or more mail addresses, an e-mail address that is associated with information indicating image data transmission and to generate an e-mail message directed to the e-mail address;

a shooting instruction receiving unit operable to receive the image shooting instruction from the user;

a generating unit operable to generate the image data by shooting the image based on the received image shooting instruction; and

an attaching unit operable to, on generation of the image data by the generating unit, automatically attach the image data to the e-mail message generated by the mail composition unit.

2. The communications terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the image data is moving image data,

the generating unit generates the moving image data by shooting a moving image for a predetermined duration based on the image shooting instruction received by the shooting instruction receiving unit, and

on generation of the moving image data, the attaching unit automatically attaches the moving image data to the e-mail message generated by the mail composition unit.

3. The communications terminal according to claim 1 wherein the image data is moving image data, the communications terminal further comprises:

a start instruction receiving unit operable to receive from the user a start instruction requesting to start the image shooting; and

an end instruction receiving unit operable to receive from the user an end instruction requesting to end the image shooting,

the generating unit operable to generate the moving image data by shooting a moving image for a duration starting upon receipt of the start instruction and ending upon receipt of the end instruction, and

on generation of the moving image data by the generating unit, the attaching unit automatically attach the moving image data to the e-mail message generated by the mail composition unit.

4. The communications terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit operable to visually present the image data on generation of the image data by the generating unit; and

a save instruction receiving unit operable to receive from the user an instruction as to whether to save the presented image data, wherein

only when the save instruction receiving unit receives an affirmative instruction, the image data is saved and the attaching unit automatically attaches the image data to the e-mail message generated by the mail composition unit.

5. The communications terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit operable to, on generation of the image data by the generating unit, visually present the image data along with the e-mail address extracted by the mail composition unit; and

a transmission instruction receiving unit operable to receive from the user an instruction as to whether to transmit the presented image data as an attachment to the e-mail message directed to the presented e-mail address, wherein

only when the transmission instruction receiving unit receives an affirmative instruction, the attaching unit automatically attaches the presented image data to the e-mail message generated by the mail composition unit.

6. The communications terminal according to claim 1, comprising:

first and second operating buttons each for receiving the image shooting instruction from the user, wherein

at a push of the first operating button, the image shooting is performed to generate the image data, and

at a push of the second operating button, the image data is automatically attached to the e-mail message having been generated by the mail composition unit prior to the image shooting.

7. The communications terminal according to claim 1, comprising:

an operating button for receiving the image shooting instruction from the user, wherein

at a push of the operating button for less than a predetermined time period, the image shooting is performed to generate the image data, and

at a push of the operating button for the predetermined time period or longer, the image shooting is performed to generate the image data, and the image data is automatically attached to the e-mail message generated by the mail composition unit.

8. The communications terminal according to claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of operating buttons each for receiving the image shooting instruction from the user; and

a storing unit operable to store e-mail addresses each in association with one of the operating buttons, wherein

at a push of one of the operating buttons, the image shooting is performed to generate the image data, and the image data is automatically attached to an e-mail message directed to an e-mail address associated with the pushed operating button.

9. The communications terminal according to claim 1, comprising:

a clock unit operable to acquire a current date and time; and

a date and time inserting unit operable to insert the date and time acquired at a time of the image shooting into text of the e-mail message to which the image data is automatically attached.

10. The communications terminal according to claim 1, comprising:

a current location acquiring unit operable to acquire a current location of the communications terminal; and

a location inserting unit operable to insert the location of the communications terminal acquired at a time of the image shooting into text of the e-mail message to which the image data is automatically attached.

12. The communications terminal according to claim 1, further comprising

a transmitting unit operable to transmit the e-mail message on automatic attachment of the image data to the e-mail message by the attaching unit.

13. The communications terminal according to claim 2, further comprising

a transmitting unit operable to transmit the e-mail message on automatic attachment of the image data to the e-mail message by the attaching unit.

14. The communications terminal according to claim 3, further comprising

a transmitting unit operable to transmit the e-mail message on automatic attachment of the image data to the e-mail message by the attaching unit.

15. The communications terminal according to claim 4, further comprising

a transmitting unit operable to transmit the e-mail message on automatic attachment of the image data to the e-mail message by the attaching unit.

11. A computer-readable recording medium encoded with a computer program executable by a communications terminal having an image shooting function, the program comprising code operable to cause the communications terminal to perform:

a shooting-mode instruction receiving step of receiving, from a user, an instruction to switch the communications terminal into an image shooting mode;

a mail composition step of, when the communications terminal is switched into an image shooting mode, extracting from a recording medium storing one or more mail addresses an e-mail address that is associated with information indicating image data transmission and generating an e-mail message directed to the e-mail address;

a shooting instruction receiving step of receiving an image shooting instruction from the user;

a generating step of generating image data by shooting an image based on the received image shooting instruction; and

an attaching step of, on generation of the image data in the generating step, automatically attaching the image data to an e-mail message directed to the e-mail address designated according to the address generated in the mail composition step.

16. A handheld communication terminal having an image shooting function and a telephone function with a telephone keyboard with an array of keys having different modes of operation in addition to entering a phone number, comprising:

a transmission/reception unit for sending and receiving wireless communications;

a camera unit for performing image shooting;

a display unit;

an operation control unit connected to the telephone keyboard, transmission/reception unit, camera unit and display unit and having a memory unit to receive and store in a related manner e-mail addresses, names and telephone numbers;

wherein the operation control unit assigns a plurality of keys in the array of keys to each perform as a shutter button to start an image shooting by the camera unit, each assigned key in the plurality of keys corresponding to a specific name in the memory unit, and the operation control unit enables the transmission/reception unit to attach the shot image as an e-mail attachment to the e-mail address associated with the pushed shutter button and transmit the e-mail attachment.

17. The handheld communication terminal of claim 16 wherein the display unit can display the names associated with each of the plurality of keys set for an image shooting function as a shutter button for the camera unit.