Cellular phone

• US 7,937,123 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Yoshitaka, Hamamura, Hiroyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Phu; Sanh D
• Application Number:
  US11/892,125
• Publication Number:
  US 20070298832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,352 Days
• Field of Search: 455/575.1, 455/566, 455/550.1, 455/90.1
• US Class Current: 455/575.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3833 Hand-held transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3877 Arrangements for enabling portable transceivers to be used in a fixed position, e.g. cradles or boosters
• 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 1/0218 The hinge comprising input and/or output user interface means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72466 with selection means, e.g. keys, having functions defined by the mode or the status of the device
• 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 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders

Abstract

A plurality of operation portions are arranged at a surface on a sub-display side of a cellular phone with a camera so that various kinds of setting, selection and control can be performed without opening the cellular phone in its folded state, and the cellular phone can achieve improved operability and convenience. Cellular phone includes a first display portion at a surface of a first body opposed to a second body in the folded state, and includes a second display portion, an image taking portion and a plurality of operation portions arranged at a rear surface of the first body remote from the first display portion.

Claims

1. A cellular phone with a camera mode and an audio reproduction mode, comprising:

a first body;

a second body;

a coupling portion coupling said first body and said second body together, said coupling portion allowing folding of said first body and said second body with respect to each other;

a first display portion arranged on said first body'"'"'s surface opposed to said second body in the folded state;

a second display portion arranged on said first body'"'"'s rear surface remote from said first display portion;

an image-taking portion shooting an object to output an image data, said image-taking portion being arranged on the cellular phone'"'"'s surface in the folded state;

a plurality of keys accepting an input of a number or a character, said plurality of keys being arranged on said second body'"'"'s surface opposed to said first body;

an audio data memory portion storing an audio data;

an audio reproduction portion reproducing the audio data;

at least one reproduction operation portion accepting an instruction related to the reproduction of the audio data in the folded state, said reproduction operation portion being arranged on the rear surface;

at least one operation portion arranged on the outer surface of the cellular phone in the folded state and accepting an instruction input to the cellular phone;

said at least one operation portion being associated to the function to control the shooting by said image-taking portion in the camera mode, and associated to another function different from the function to control the shooting in the audio reproduction mode; and

a key lock switch arranged on the surface to lock an instruction to said audio reproduction portion.

2. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said key lock switch locks said cellular phone when said key lock switch is pressed for a pre-determined time.

3. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said key lock switch unlocks said cellular phone when said key lock switch is pressed for a pre-determined time.

4. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said second display portion displays an image as a viewfinder in the camera mode.

5. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said second display portion displays an image taken by said image-taking portion.

6. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said second display portion visually displays a magnitude of control setting, the magnitude being changeable by a user.

7. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said image-taking portion, said second display portion and said at least one reproduction operation portion are arranged at said first body'"'"'s rear surface remote from said first display portion and located in this order starting from a position near said coupling portion.

8. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said camera mode and said audio reproduction mode are mutually exclusive.

9. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said audio data is an MP 3 formatted data.

10. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said at least one operation portion accepts an instruction to control operation conditions of said image-taking portion.

11. The cellular phone according to claim 10, wherein said operation conditions include a zoom by said image-taking portion.

12. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said at least one operation portion accepts an instruction related to an image display by said second display portion.

13. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said at least one operation portion accepts an instruction to control the volume in the audio reproduction mode.

14. The cellular phone according to claim 1, further comprising a menu item selecting portion on the outer face of the cellular phone.

15. The cellular phone according to claim 1, further comprising:

an incoming call record storing portion storing a plurality of incoming call records, wherein said at least one operation portion displays a first image on said second display portion based on a first incoming call record and said operation portion changes the image on the second display portion to a second image based on a second incoming call record.

16. The cellular phone according to claim 1, further comprising:

a receiving portion receiving a plurality of mails; and

a control portion displaying contents of a received mail received by said receiving portion on the second display portion, wherein said at least one operation portion accepts an instruction to change a mail displayed on said second display portion to another mail.

17. The cellular phone according to claim 16, wherein said at least one operation portion includes a scroll button for longitudinally or laterally scrolling the contents of the mail displayed on said second display portion.

18. The cellular phone according to claim 1, further comprising a control portion controlling the cellular phone'"'"'s operations, wherein said control portion detects an operation onto any of said at least one operation portion or said at least one reproduction operation portion, and switches the cellular phone'"'"'s mode between the camera mode and the audio reproduction mode based on the detection.

19. The cellular phone according to claim 18, further comprising an audio output portion outputting audio, wherein said control portion controls audio output from said audio output portion in the audio reproduction mode.

20. The cellular phone according to claim 1, further comprising a control portion controlling a display by said cellular phone, wherein said control portion outputs an inversion control signal for turning an image upside down, performs half turn the input image data when the inversion control signal is provided, and outputs the input image data without turning the data when the inversion control signal is not provided.