Mobile phone

• US 7,862,185 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2007
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citizen Electronics Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Citizen Electronics Company Limited
• Inventors: Noba, Koya
• Primary Examiner(s): Epps; Georgia Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOWDHURY, SULTAN U.
• Application Number:
  US11/731,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20080014995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 353/39, 353/46, 353/119, 353/122, 353/100, 353/101, 359/204.1, 359/205.1, 348/14.01, 348/455, 348/556.1, 348/744, 348/789, 348/836, 348/838, 348/14.16, 348/373, 348/376, 455/550.1, 455/556.1, 455/566, 455/575.1, 455/573.3, 455/899, 349/5, 349/7, 349/8, 349/16
• US Class Current: 353/119
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/147 Optical correction of image distortions, e.g. keystone
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/30 adapted to collapse or fold, e.g. for portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• 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 1/0272 for a projector or beamer module assembly constructional features of projectors per se G03B21/00; constructional details of projectors using electronic spatial light modulators per se H04N9/31

Abstract

A casing 20 of a mobile phone body is provided with a sub-liquid-crystal display panel 23, a projector lens 26, a light source 35 including an LED. The sub-liquid-crystal display panel 23 and the projector lens 26 are movable between a normal position contained within the casing 20 and a raised position raised from the normal position. The sub-liquid-crystal display panel 23 is fixed at the raised position roughly perpendicularly to the light axis Q between the-sub-liquid-crystal display panel 23 and the light source 35 so that the light axis of the projector lens 26 is substantially aligned with the light axis Q. The illumination light from the light source is set to be parallel rays.

Claims

1. A mobile phone comprising:

a mobile phone body; and

image projecting means provided in the mobile phone body, the image projecting means including;

a light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel displaceably attached to the mobile phone body and being displaceable to a light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position where the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is raised from a surface of the mobile phone body;

a light source for emitting light to illuminate the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that is positioned at the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position; and

a projector lens raised from the surface of the mobile phone body and positioned at a projector lens'"'"'s raised position to oppose a display surface of the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that is positioned at the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position so as to perform an image projection by letting the light emitted from the light source pass through the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel and the projector lens.

2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein a light axis of the projector lens is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the display surface of the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that is positioned at the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position.

3. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein a light axis of the light source is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the display surface of the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that is positioned at the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position.

4. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the projector lens is attached to the surface of the mobile phone body and movable to the projector lens'"'"'s raised position and the light source is attached to the surface of the mobile phone body and movable to a light source'"'"'s raised position with light axes of the projector lens and the light source substantially aligned with each other at the respective raised positions.

5. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the projector lens is displaceable between a normal position in that the projector lens is put within the surface of the mobile phone and the projector lens'"'"'s raised position.

6. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the projector lens is detachably attached to the mobile phone body.

7. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the projector lens comprises a plurality of lenses.

8. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the projector lens has at least one of a focusing function and a field-angle adjusting function.

9. The mobile phone according to claim 6, wherein the mobile phone body is provided with a storage part for accommodating the projector lens detached from the mobile phone body.

10. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the light source comprises at least one light-emitting diode.

11. The mobile phone according to claim 10, wherein the light-emitting diode comprises a red-color light-emitting diode element, a green-color light-emitting diode element, and a blue-color light-emitting diode element.

12. The mobile phone according to claim 10, wherein the light emitting diode comprises a package containing a red-color light-emitting diode element, a green-color light-emitting diode element, and a blue-color light-emitting diode element.

13. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the light source comprises at least one light-emitting diode, and when red-color light, green-color light, and blue-color light are sequentially emitted from the light-emitting diode, the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is synchronously operated so as to project multi-color images from the display surface of the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel.

14. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the mobile phone is adapted to be supplied with electric driving power for the light source from a mobile phone battery charger.

15. The mobile phone according to claim 14, wherein the mobile phone body is detachably mountable on the mobile phone battery charger.

16. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is movable between a normal position where the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is used at the surface of the mobile phone body to display an information in a normal use of the mobile phone and the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position to perform the image projection.

17. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the mobile phone body comprises a first casing having first and second opposite surfaces and the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is movable between a normal position where the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is put within the first surface of the first casing and the light-transmissive liquid crystal panel'"'"'s raised position where the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is raised from the first surface at a predetermined angle, and

wherein the projector lens is attached on the first surface of the first casing so that a light axis of the projector lens positioned at the lens'"'"'s raised position is normal to the display surface of the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that is positioned at the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position.

18. The mobile phone according to claim 17, wherein the projector lens is movable between a normal position where the projector lens is held in parallel with the first surface within the first surface of the first casing and the projector lens'"'"'s raised position wherein the projector lens is raised from the first surface of the first casing at a predetermined angle.

19. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the light source is positioned at the surface of the mobile shone bod and the surface is the same surface at which the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel is disposed with a space between the light source and the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel.

20. The mobile phone according to claim 19, wherein the light source includes a light-emitting diode, a prism sheet, and a reflective polarizing plate, which are disposed successively in a direction toward the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel along a light axis of the projector lens, and

wherein the light source is in contact with and combined with the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel to form a light source and display panel unit.

21. The mobile phone according to claim 20, wherein the light source of the light source and display panel unit is positioned adjacent to a periphery of the light guide plate.

22. The mobile phone according to claim 21, wherein the light source and display panel unit is movable between a normal position where the light source and display panel unit is held within the surface of the mobile phone body and a raised position where the light source and display panel unit is raised from the surface of the mobile phone body at a predetermined angle.

23. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the mobile phone body comprises a first casing having first and second opposite surfaces and a second casing connected to the first casing with a hinge, the first casing being pivotable between a folded position where the second surface of the first casing is in contact with a surface of the second casing and an unfolded position where the first casing is pivotably moved relative to the second casing to extend in a longitudinal direction of the second casing, and

wherein the second casing has an end positioned adjacent to the hinge, and the light source is disposed at the end so as to illuminate the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel that is positioned at the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel'"'"'s raised position on the first surface of the first casing with a light axis of the light source perpendicular to the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel at the unfolded position.

24. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the mobile phone body comprises a first casing having first and second opposite surfaces, and the first casing is provided with a main liquid crystal display panel on the second surface of the first casing for displaying information about the mobile phone, and wherein the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel and the projector lens are arranged on the first surface of the first casing.

25. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the mobile phone body comprises a first casing having first and second opposite surfaces and a second casing connected to the first casing with a hinge, the first casing being pivotable between a folded position where the second surface of the first casing is in contact with a surface of the second casing and an unfolded position where the first casing is pivotably moved relative to the second casing to extend in a longitudinal direction of the second casing,

wherein the first casing is provided with a main liquid crystal display panel on the second surface of the first casing for displaying information about the mobile phone, and a sub liquid crystal display panel for displaying information about the mobile phone on the first surface of the first casing,

the second casing is provided with an operation panel arranged on a surface that the second surface of the first casing is brought into contact with when the first casing is located at the folded position, and

the sub liquid crystal display panel serves as the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel of the image projecting means.

26. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the light emitted from the light source is a substantially collimated light and substantially perpendicularly enters the light-transmissive liquid crystal display panel.

27. The mobile phone according to claim 1,

wherein the projector lens is detachably mountable on the surface of the mobile phone body and comprises a plurality of lenses for enabling at least one of a focusing function and a field-angle adjusting function.