Abstract:
An electronic device includes a main body and an image capturing device positioned on the main body. The image capturing device includes a fixing pole, a rotating plate, two lens modules, and an image sensor. The fixing pole is fixed on the main body. The rotating plate is sleeved over the fixing pole and rotates around the fixing pole. The two lens modules are mounted on the rotating plate and symmetrical with the fixing pole. The image sensor is arranged on the main body. The rotating plate is rotated to make the two lens modules be alternated to align with the image sensor.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to electronic devices and, particularly, to an electronic device having one image sensor and two lens modules. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Most electronic devices (e.g. computers and mobile phones) have an image capturing function. Some electronic devices have more than one camera module for capturing images having different resolutions, and each camera module includes a lens module and an image sensor. The image sensor is expensive. Therefore, the cost of the electronic device is increased. 
         [0005]    Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electronic device that can overcome the above-mentioned limitations. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an electronic device, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the electronic device of  FIG. 1   
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line III-III of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , an electronic device  100 , according to an embodiment, includes a main body  10  and an image capturing device  20 . The electronic device  100  may be a mobile phone, a PDA, a computer, or the like. In this embodiment, the electronic device  100  is a mobile phone. 
         [0011]    The main body  10  is substantially cuboid, and includes a front surface  11 , a rear surface  12 , a top surface  13  and a bottom surface  14 , and two side surfaces  15 . The two side surfaces  15  connect the front surface  11 , the rear surface  12 , the top surface  13 , and the bottom surface  14 . A display  30  is arranged on the front surface  11 . 
         [0012]    In this embodiment, the image capturing device  20  is arranged above and to the left of the display  30 . The top surface  13  defines a first cutout  131  and a second cutout  132  to accommodate the image capturing device  20 . Each of the first cutout  131  and the second cutout  132  includes a base surface  131   a  parallel to the top surface  13 . A protrusion  133  is formed between the first cutout  131  and the second cutout  132 . The protrusion  133  defines a blind hole  133   a  perpendicular to the base surface  131   a.    
         [0013]    The image capturing device  20  includes a rotating plate  21 , a fixing pole  22 , a first lens module  23 , a second lens module  24 , and an image sensor  25 . 
         [0014]    The rotating plate  21  defines a through hole  211  and two mounting holes  212 . The two mounting holes  212  are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the through hole  211 . The center of the through hole  211  and the centers of the two mounting holes  212  are on one straight line. 
         [0015]    The fixing pole  22  is substantially a hollow cylinder, and includes a first portion  221  and a second portion  222  extending from the first portion  221 . The diameter of the first portion  221  is larger than that of the second portion  222  and the through hole  211 . The diameter of the second portion  222  is slightly smaller than that of the through hole  211 , and thus the rotating plate  21  can rotate in the second portion  222 . The second portion  222  extends through the through hole  211  to be inserted in the blind hole  133   a,  and thus the fixing pole  22  is fixed on the main body  10 . In this embodiment, the blind hole  133   a  is substantially cylindrical, and the fixing pole  22  is screwed into the blind hole  133   a.  In other embodiments, the fixing pole  22  is an interference fit in the blind hole  133   a.  Other manners of fixing can also be used. 
         [0016]    The fixing pole  22  defines a receiving groove  223  for receiving other accessories  224  (such as a stylus), and thus the configuration of the electronic device  100  can be more compact. 
         [0017]    The first lens module  23  and the second lens module  24  are respectively fixed on or to the two mounting holes  212 , so as to be fixed on the rotating plate  21 . The first lens module  23  includes a barrel  231  and a first lens unit  232  received in the first barrel  231 . The second lens module  24  includes a second barrel  241  and a second lens module  242  received in the second barrel  241 . In this embodiment, the first barrel  231  includes a hollow cylindrical first fixing portion  231   a.  The second barrel  241  includes a hollow cylindrical second fixing portion  241   a . The first lens unit  232  is mounted in the first fixing portion  231   a,  and the external diameter of the first fixing portion  231   a  is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the mounting hole  212 . The second lens unit  242  is mounted in the second fixing portion  241   a,  and the external diameter of the second fixing portion  241   a  is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the mounting hole  212 . In other embodiments, glue or some other fixative method may be used to secure the first lens module  23  and the second lens module  24  to the rotating plate  21 . The protrusion  133  is substantially oval in cross section, to facilitate the rotation of the plate  21 , and to ensure the correct orientation in use of the first lens module  23  and the second lens module  24 . 
         [0018]    The image sensor  25  is arranged on or in the base surface  131   a  or the second cutout  132 . The base surface  131   a  defines a receiving groove  131   b.  In the illustrated embodiment, the receiving groove  131   b  is a square, stepped depression. The image sensor  25  is arranged on the bottom of the receiving groove  131   b,  and a glass plate  26  covers and seals the image sensor  25 . The image sensor  25  can be a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). 
         [0019]    The first lens module  23  has a large aperture which allows more light to pass through. Therefore, a greater number of the image pixels of the image sensor  25  can be activated to form a first image having a higher resolution. The second lens module  24  has a smaller aperture which allows less light to pass through, therefore a smaller number of the image pixels of the image sensor  25  can be activated to form a second image having a lower resolution. Thus, by aligning one or other of the lens modules with the image sensor  25 , images of the same object or scene but with different resolutions can be captured. 
         [0020]    In use, if a user wants a high resolution image, he/she can rotate the rotating plate  21  to align the first lens module  23  with the image sensor  25  and then capture the image with the electronic device  100 . If the user wants to capture a lower resolution image, he/she can rotate the rotating plate  21  to align the second lens module  24  with the image sensor  25  and capture the image with the electronic device  100 . The mounting of the first lens module  23  and the second lens module  24  will be secure and the precise orientation of each lens module will be maintained at all points during the rotation and after any rotation of the plate  21 . 
         [0021]    The electronic device  100  having two interchangeable lens modules  23 ,  24  and one image sensor  25 , the two lens modules can be alternated as desired and the omission of an image sensor with respect to the current electronic device will reduce the cost of the electronic device  100 . 
         [0022]    It will be understood that the above particular embodiments are shown and described by way of illustration only. The principles and the features of the present disclosure may be employed in various and numerous embodiments thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure as claimed. The above-described embodiments illustrate the scope of the disclosure but do not restrict the scope of the disclosure.