KR20020036861A - Picture phone with rotatable camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A picture phone with rotatable camera is provided to supply a convenience to a user by supplying a structure capable of adjusting a photographing direction of a camera. CONSTITUTION: A telephone main body has a liquid crystal screen for displaying an image. A camera unit comprises a camera mounted at one side of the telephone main body and a rotation supporting unit for rotatably supporting the camera for a step rotation. Elements of the rotation supporting unit are described as follows. A pair of supporting brackets is protrusively formed at the upper direction of the telephone main body. A bush(40) is mounted at the inner side surface of the supporting brackets and has a plurality of engaging holes(40a) at one side thereof. A plate spring(42) is inserted and mounted in both boss units(321) of the camera, closely contacted to the bush(40), and has a plurality of engaging protrusions(421) engaged in the engaging holes(40a) of the bush(40) at one side surface thereof.

Description

Picture phone with rotatable camera}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile phone, and more particularly to an image mobile phone capable of freely adjusting a shooting direction of a camera.

In general, a mobile phone is a mobile communication device that enables communication through a wireless relay by a relay station. Recently, a mobile phone having a function of transmitting and receiving image signals as well as a simple voice signal has been developed.

Such a so-called image mobile phone is composed of a main body 10 for transmitting and receiving an audio signal and a camera unit 20 for inputting an image, as shown in FIG. 1, and the main body 10 includes an image, various character information, and the like. LCD screen 12 and the like are provided, and the camera unit 20 is provided with a camera 22 for taking an image.

According to the image mobile phone as described above, the image is taken by the camera 22 of the camera unit 20 and transmitted to the call counterpart. On the contrary, the image transmitted by the call counterpart can be viewed through the LCD screen 12. Will be.

However, such a conventional image mobile phone has a structure in which the camera unit 20 is fixedly attached to the main body 10, so that the photographing direction of the camera 22 is fixed in a direction coinciding with the LCD screen 12. When the photographing direction is turned to other than the user himself, there is a problem in that the image transmitted by the call partner cannot be seen through the LCD screen 12.

In addition, since the user cannot see the image transmitted to the call partner, there is a problem that the user cannot confirm whether the image is transmitted as intended.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image mobile phone having improved structure for use by adjusting a photographing direction of a camera.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing the structure of a general video cellular phone.

2 is a perspective view showing the structure of an image cellular phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing the camera unit structure of the image cellular phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exploded perspective view showing a camera mounting structure of the image cellular phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a front view showing a state in which a camera of an image cellular phone according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted.

6A and 6B illustrate a state in which a photographing direction of a camera is changed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: phone body 12: LCD screen

121: receiving area 122: own area

14: support bracket 30: camera

32: case 321: boss section

34: lens 36: camera module

38: support block 40: bush

40a: locking groove 42: plate spring

421: jamming

The image cellular phone provided to achieve the above object includes a telephone main body provided with a liquid crystal display for displaying an image, a camera mounted on one side of the telephone main body, and rotation support means for supporting the camera in a step rotational manner. It comprises a configured camera unit.

Here, the rotation support means is a pair of support brackets protruding upward of the phone body, mounted on the inner surface of the both support brackets, a bush formed with a plurality of engaging holes on one side, and both boss portions of the camera It is fitted in close contact with the bush, a plurality of locking projections caught in the locking hole of the bush is made of a plate spring formed on one side.

In addition, the LCD screen is divided into an area in which a reception image by an image signal received from the outside is displayed and an area in which an own image photographed by an own camera is displayed, and the reception image and the own image are simultaneously displayed through each area. It is made of a structure.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, and the same reference numerals will be given to the same parts as those in the prior art.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an image mobile phone includes a telephone main body 10 having a liquid crystal display 12 for displaying an image as shown in FIG. 2, and a camera mounted on an upper end of the telephone main body 10. 30) and a camera unit including rotation support means for supporting the camera 30 in a step rotational manner.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the camera 30 includes a case 32, a lens 34 mounted on one side of the case 32 to be exposed to the outside, and a lens 34 mounted in the case 32. The camera module 36 and the support block 38 for supporting the camera module 36 in the case 32 to convert the image input through the electrical signal to the main body 10, the case 32 ) Has a structure in which the cylindrical boss portion 321 protrudes from both sides.

The rotation support means includes a pair of support brackets 14 (see FIG. 2) protruding upward from the phone body 10, bushes 40 mounted on the inner surfaces of both support brackets 14, and the camera case. It consists of a plate spring 42 which is fitted to both boss portions 321 of the (32) in close contact with the bush (40).

The bush 40 is a kind of ring-shaped member which is mounted in a manner in which one end thereof is inserted into and fixed to the inside of the support bracket 14, and has a structure in which a plurality of locking grooves 40a are formed on a surface exposed to the outside.

The plate spring 42 is a ring-shaped structure in which a plurality of locking protrusions 421 are formed at one side thereof and is fixedly mounted to the boss 321 of the camera case 32 so that the locking protrusions 421 face outwards.

The locking protrusions 421 of the plate spring 42 and the locking grooves 40a of the bush 40 are each provided at intervals of 90 °.

In the image mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the boss portion 321 of the case 32 is fitted to both support brackets 14 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As a result, the support bracket 14 is rotatably supported by the support bracket 14, and the bush 40 is in contact with the plate spring 42 in the mounted state of the camera 30.

According to the image mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention, the shooting direction can be adjusted by rotating the camera 30 in the front-rear direction.

In addition, the LCD screen 12 of the image mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention has a reception area 121 in which a reception image by an image signal received from the outside is displayed, and an image taken by its own camera is displayed. The received image and the self image are simultaneously displayed through each of the regions 121 and 122 (see a of FIG. 6).

Therefore, according to the image mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the camera 30 is rotated in a state in which the photographing direction of the camera 30 is the same as that of the liquid crystal screen 12 (see FIG. 2). As shown in a and b, the photographing direction of the camera 30 is reversed to that of the LCD screen 12 of the main body 10, and then the image captured by the camera 30 is captured through its own area 122. This allows more accurate video communication.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment the camera 30 is a so-called step rotation to maintain a stable state that is not freely rotated at a specific angle by the rotation support means, which will be described in detail as follows.

First, when the so-called reference angle of 0 °, in which the photographing direction of the camera 30 is kept the same as the scanning direction of the LCD screen 12, is the bush 40 attached to the support bracket 14 and the camera case The plate spring 42 fitted to the boss portion 321 of (32) is 90 ° (upper reference angle) in which the photographing direction of the camera 30 faces upward, and 180 ° (in which the photographing direction is opposite to the liquid crystal display 12). At the rear reference angle), the locking groove 40a and the locking protrusion 421 are coupled to each other to maintain a stable state that is not freely rotated.

When the camera 30 is rotated, the locking protrusion 421 is separated from the locking groove 40a between the respective reference angles so that the plate spring 42 is partially elastically deformed, so that the plate spring 42 is elastic. Although the camera 30 is not freely rotated by the pressing force, the camera 30 is rotated by a light external force so that the shooting direction can be finely adjusted.

As described above, according to the video mobile phone according to the present invention, not only the photographing direction of the camera can be adjusted during a video call, but also the image captured by the user's own camera is displayed on the LCD screen. There is an advantage that the convenience of video calls can be improved, such as making video calls while watching.

Claims (3)

A telephone body provided with a liquid crystal display for displaying an image, Camera unit consisting of a camera mounted on one side of the main body of the telephone, and a rotation support means for supporting the camera to be step-rotable Image cell phone comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the rotation support means A pair of support brackets protruding upward of the telephone body, A bush mounted to the inner side surfaces of both support brackets and having a plurality of engaging holes formed on one side thereof; Plate springs are fitted to both bosses of the camera to be in close contact with the bush, and a plurality of locking springs are formed on one side of the locking protrusions caught by the locking holes of the bush. Image cell phone. A telephone body provided with a liquid crystal screen for displaying an image, An image mobile telephone including a camera mounted at one side of the telephone main body; The LCD screen is divided into a region in which a reception image by an image signal received from the outside is displayed, and a region in which a self image photographed by a camera is displayed. An image mobile phone characterized in that a reception image and a self image are simultaneously displayed through each area.