Abstract:
An electronic apparatus with photographing function is disclosed. The electronic apparatus comprises a main body and a sliding structure. The main body comprises a lens module and a controlling module. The sliding structure is movably connected to the main body and comprises an optical module. The optical module comprises two light-incidence openings, and the distance between the two light-incidence openings is substantially equal to the average distance between a human&#39;s eyes. The lens module is capable of obtaining two images via the optical module through movement of the sliding structure. The two images may be processed via the controlling module to form a 3D image.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus with a photographing function, and, more particularly, to an electronic apparatus with a photographing function which is capable of generating images in 3D format. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Recently, with improvements in technology, typical 2D plane display images do not meet demands for high quality visual entertainment; therefore, 3D format images have been developed. For mobile phone applications, the typical 2D plane display device is a well developed technology; currently, many mobile phone manufacturers are developing 3D image display devices. The primary requirement for developing a 3D display device is how to generate 3D format images on the mobile phone. A prior art mobile phone with a 3D image function has another lens module next to an original lens module on the back side of the mobile phone, and the two lens modules obtain two images with a viewing angle difference in between to generate and display a 3D image. However, since most of the mobile phones have a very limited volume to maintain the convenience of portability, the two lens modules of the prior art mobile phone might be disposed too close to each other and obtain two images with an insufficient difference in viewing angle, which affects the quality and effect of the generated 3D image. Furthermore, the additional lens module reduces available space in the mobile phone and also increases the manufacturing cost of the mobile phone. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electronic apparatus with a photographing function which is capable of generating images in a 3D format to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A main objective of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus with a photographing function which is capable of generating images in a 3D format with an optical module. 
     In order to achieve the above mentioned objective, the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention comprises a main body and a sliding structure. The main body comprises a lens module and a control module. The sliding structure is movably connected to the main body and comprises an optical module. The optical module comprises two light-incidence openings, and the distance between the two light-incidence openings is substantially equal to the average distance between a human&#39;s eyes. By moving the sliding structure, the lens module is capable of obtaining two images via the optical module. The two images may be processed via the controlling module to form a 3D image. 
     With this design, the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention uses the lens module and the optical module of the sliding structure to generate 3D format images, and the photographing mode of the electronic apparatus is capable of being switched by moving the sliding structure to improve the convenience and functionality of the electronic apparatus. Furthermore, with the asymmetric design of the optical module, the viewing angle between the two obtained images can be increased to improve the effect of the 3D format image. 
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded structure drawing of an electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention when the photographing function is turned off. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention while in the regular photographing mode. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention while in the 3D photographing mode. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 1  is an exploded structural drawing of an electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a perspective drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , an electronic apparatus  1  comprises a main body  10  and a sliding structure  20 . The main body  10  comprises a lens module  11 , a control module  12 , and a track structure  13 . The track structure  13  enables the sliding structure  20  to be moveably engaged with the main body  10 , and the sliding structure  20  comprises an optical module  22 . The optical module  22  comprises an upper cover  222  and a lower cover  224 , and the upper cover  222  further comprises an indentation  222   a  and two light-incidence openings  222   b . Furthermore, a light reflecting element (not shown) is disposed on the inside surface of the indentation  222   a , and the two light-incidence openings  222   b  are located at the two ends of the upper cover  222 . The distance between the two light-incidence openings  222   b  is substantially equal to the average distance between a human&#39;s eyes. 
     The lower cover  224  comprises a lens hole  224   a  and two inclines  224   b . The lens hole  224   a  corresponds to the indentation  222   a  of the upper cover  222  such that light can be reflected into the lens module  11 . Two inclines  224   b  are located at two ends of the lower cover  224 . Each incline  224   b  corresponds to each light-incidence opening  222   b  of the upper cover  222 , and a light reflecting element (not shown) is disposed on the surface of each incline  224   b . When the sliding structure  20  is moved to a predetermined position, the lens hole  224   a  is aligned with the lens module  11  such that the lens module  11  is exposed. Then outside light enters through the two light-incidence openings  222  into the optical module  22  and is guided to the lens module  11  such that the lens module  11  can obtain two images. There is a viewing angle difference between the two images, and the distance between the two light-incidence openings  222   b  is substantially equal to the average distance between a human&#39;s eyes, so the two images captured are similar to the images captured the user&#39;s eyes. Afterward, the control module  12  processes the two images obtained to form a 3D format image. 
     In order to increase the viewing angle difference between the two images to improve the effect of the 3D format image, in this embodiment, the optical module  22  has an asymmetric design. The indentation  222   a , which can reflect the light to the lens module  11 , is located away from the center of the upper cover  222  to form an asymmetric light reflection path. However, the indentation  222   a  can also be located at other positions on the upper cover  222  for different type of electronic apparatus. 
     Moreover, the sliding structure  20  of the electronic apparatus  1  with photographing function further comprises a sensing module  24 . The sensing module  24  is disposed on the lower cover  224  and interacts with each sensing element  15  disposed on the main body  10 . When the sliding structure  20  is moved, the sensing module  24  can interact with each sensing element  15 , and the photographing mode of the electronic apparatus  1  can be switched. In this embodiment, the sensing module  24  is a metal sheet, and the sensing element  15  can be a metal contact point. When the sliding structure  20  is moved, the metal sheet touches the metal contact point to form an electrical conduction that switches the photographing mode of the electronic apparatus  1 . In this embodiment, the sensing module  24  and each sensing element  15  utilize the electric conduction touch sensing method; however, other sensing methods such as a magnetic induction no-touch sensing method or a light sensing method can also be applied in the present invention. The main body  10  of the electronic apparatus  1  with photographing function of the present invention further comprises an elastic element  14 . The elastic element  14  connects to the main body  10  and the sliding structure  20 , and is used for assisting the sliding structure  20  to move to a predetermined position. The following description explains the different operation modes with drawings. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention when the photographing function is turned off. When the sensing module  24  of the sliding structure  20  is not interacting with the first sensing element  15   a  or the second sensing element  15   b  of the main body  10 , the photographing function of the electronic apparatus  1  is turned off, and the electronic apparatus  1  stops supplying power to the control module  12 . Meanwhile, the sliding structure  20  covers and protects the lens module  11  to prevent damage to the lens module  11 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention while in the regular photographing mode. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the sliding structure  20  can move in the direction of the arrow to increase its distance from the lens module  11  until it reaches a predetermined position. At this predetermined position, the sensing module  24  and the first sensing element  15   a  of the main body  10  interact with each other, and a signal is sent to the control module  12  so that the electronic apparatus  1  enters into the regular photographing mode. At this time, the lens module  11  is exposed, and outside light can directly enter into the lens module  11  to enable the lens module  11  to capture regular images. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing of the electronic apparatus with photographing function of the present invention while in a 3D photographing mode. When the sliding structure  20  moves along another direction until it reaches another predetermined position, the sensing module  24  and the second sensing element  15   b  of the main body  10  interact with each other, and a signal is sent to the control module  12  so that the electronic apparatus  1  enters into the 3D photographing mode. At this time, the lens hole  224   a  of the lower cover  224  is aligned with the lens module  11 . The lens module  11  is exposed and faces the indentation  222   a  of the upper cover  222 . The light reflecting elements  26  are disposed on the two inclines  224   b  of the lower cover  224  and the indentation  222   a  of the upper cover  222 . When light passes through the two light-incidence openings  222   b  into the optical module  22 , the light is reflected into the lens module  11  by the inclines  224   b  and the indentation  222   a , so the lens module  11  obtains two images with a difference in viewing angle. These two images are processed by the control module  12  and thus transformed into a 3D format image. In this embodiment, the light reflecting element  26  is an electroplated layer, but other equivalent elements, such as reflecting mirrors, can also be utilized for the present invention. 
     In addition, the electronic apparatus  1  with photographing function of the present invention further comprises a display device disposed on the main body  10 , and the display device is able to display the 3D format image formed by the control module  10 . The electronic apparatus  1  with photographing function can be a mobile phone or other equivalent electronic apparatus, such as a PDA, GPS or digital camera. 
     Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.