Patent Publication Number: US-2005122404-A1

Title: [portable communication device]

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a portable communication device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable communication device with an acoustic-controlled camera.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In this information explosion era, electronic communication has become indispensable. People rely heavily on electronic devices to transmit messages. With the invention of portable devices such as cellular phone or other wireless communication devices, portable communication is even more popular.  
      As innovative manufacturing techniques continue to be discovered, additional functions are added to a cellular phone. Aside from receiving signals, many types of cellular phone are now provided with a camera. Through a wireless communication service system, a user may capture a digital image of a particular object or scenery using a cellular phone and then transmit the image to another person. In this way, users may capture images and transmit the images to remote users through their cellular phones.  
      Although most conventional cellular phone has a camera, however when a user wish to operate the button of the cellular phone camera for taking a group picture including himself/herself or taking a picture of himself/herself is often limited due the button-activated setup of the cellular phone. In other words, the cellular phone camera can be at most positioned at an arm&#39;s length while taking a picture of himself/herself. With the limited distance between the target object(s) and the cellular phone camera, the captured image of the target object(s) is likely to be distorted. When the camera is inconvenient to use and produces distorted images, the desire for purchasing a cellular phone with image capturing functionality may be not be attractive to the consumers. Therefore, it is highly desirable to overcome the above defects of the conventional cellular phone with image capturing functionality and improve the quality of images captured by a cellular phone with image capturing functionality in order to stimulate consumers&#39; desire for purchasing the cellular phone with improved image capturing functionality features.  
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
      Accordingly, at least one objective of the present invention is to provide a portable communication device with image capturing functionality having acoustic-controlled activation features to remotely control the image capturing functions.  
      To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a portable communication device. The portable communication device comprises a casing, a host module, a wireless communication module, an image-capturing unit, a man-machine interface, an acoustic-controlled camera module and a voice-input unit. The host module is set inside the casing. The wireless communication module and the acoustic-controlled camera module are set inside the casing and electrically coupled to the host module. The wireless communication module is used to receive/transmit a communication signal. The acoustic-controlled cameral module is used to control the image-capturing unit. The image-capturing unit and the man-machine interface are mounted on the casing and are electrically coupled to the host module. The image-capturing unit is used to capture an optical image of an object. The man-machine interface is used to control the host module. The voice-input unit is mounted on the casing and is electrically connected to the acoustic-controlled camera module for receiving a voice message.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, the portable communication device further comprises a first connecting port mounted on the casing and electrically connected to the host module and the image-capturing unit has a second connecting port that can be removable connected to the first connecting port.  
      In addition, the man-machine interface comprises an instruction-input unit and an image-output unit. However, these two units need not be simultaneously installed. Furthermore, the instruction-input unit may be integrated with the image-output unit for a touch-control display screen. The man-machine interface may further include a voice-output unit.  
      In brief, an acoustic-controlled camera module is set inside a portable communication device with image capturing functionality of the present invention. The portable communication device with acoustic-controlled camera module allows the user to place the portable communication device at a desired distance and not limited to only arm-length of the user, and can be acoustically activated to take picture of himself/herself or any objects remotely. Hence, the user of the portable communication device can easily take a group picture including himself/herself without the crowding and image distortion problems that occur using a conventional button-activated cellular phone camera. In other words, by setting up the acoustic-controlled camera module of the present invention in a portable communication device, the camera can be remotely activated and therefore the activation of the camera is not only limited to manual activation.  
      It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The following drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable communication device with acoustic-controlled image capturing functionality according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the configuration between the host module and the man-machine interface of the portable communication device with acoustic-controlled image capturing functionality according the first embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable communication device with acoustic-controlled image capturing functionality according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable communication device with acoustic-controlled image capturing functionality according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the portable communication device  100  mainly comprises a casing  110 , a host module  120 , a wireless communication module  130 , an image-capturing unit  140 , a man-machine interface  150 , an acoustic-controlled camera module  160  and a voice-input unit  170 .  
      The host module  120  is set inside the casing  110 . The host module  120  may include a microprocessor, a memory and a power supply (not shown) to serve as a principal power source for functional components inside the portable communication device  100 . The wireless communication module  130  is set inside the casing  110  and electrically connected to the host module  120 . The wireless communication module  130  is used for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals. The communication may be carried out by using a single protocol at a single waveband. In a more sophisticated system, the communication may be carried out automatically by switching between various communication protocols at different wavebands so that different wireless communication signals can be transmitted and received.  
      The image-capturing unit  140  is set on the casing  110  and is electrically connected to the host module  120  for taking still images or recording videos or moving images. The image-capturing unit  140  comprises a set of lens and an image-capturing device, for example. The acoustic-controlled camera module  160  is set within the casing  110  and is electrically connected to the host module  120 . The voice-input unit  170  is set on the casing  110  and is electrically connected to the acoustic-controlled camera module  160 . The voice-input unit  170  may be a microphone suitable for receiving acoustic signals from the surrounding and transferring the signals to the acoustic-controlled camera module  160 . The acoustic-controlled camera module  160  is activated by the acoustic signal received by the voice-input unit  170 . For example, the acoustic-controlled camera module  160  activates the image-capturing unit  140  when the waveform of the acoustic signal picked up by the voice-input unit  170  fits a preset profile or the intensity of the acoustic signal exceeds a preset value.  
      The voice-input unit  170  may also serve as a voice receiver when the user voice communication using the portable communication device  100 . The voice-input unit  170  receives the voice produced by the user and transmits the voice signal to the host computer  120  so that voice signal can be broadcast through the wireless communication module  130 . In other words, the voice receiving function of the portable communication device  100  can be provided through the voice-input unit  170 .  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the configuration between the host module and the man-machine interface of the portable communication device with acoustic-controlled image capturing functionality according a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the man-machine interface  150  is set on the casing  110  and is electrically connected to the host module  120  for controlling the host module  120 . The man-machine interface  150  essentially comprises an instruction-input unit  150   a  and an image-output unit  150   d . The instruction-input unit  150   a  may be a digital writing board or a keyboard and the image output unit  150   d  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electro-luminescent display (OELD) or other flat display. Furthermore, the instruction-input unit  150   a  may be integrated with the image-output unit  150   d  for a touch-control display screen that expands the display area and facilitates input. In addition, the man-machine interface  150  may further include a voice-output unit  150   c . The voice-output unit  150   c  is a speaker, for example.  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable communication device with acoustic-controlled photographing function according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the portable communication device  100   a  differs from the portable communication device  100  of the first embodiment mainly in the setting of the image-capturing unit  140   a  on the casing  110 . In the second embodiment, the portable communication device  100   a  further comprises a first connecting port  180  set on the casing  110  and is electrically connected to the host module  120 . The image-capturing unit  140   a  has a second connecting port  144  that can be removable connected to the first connecting port  180 . Hence, the image-capturing unit  140   a  may serve as an image capturing device for taking still images or video or motion images recording center after connecting the image-capturing unit  140   a  to the casing  110  as an external device through the second connecting port  144  and the first connecting port  180 .  
      In summary, the present invention provides a portable communication device with acoustic-controlled image capturing functionality for hands free remote activation in addition to the conventional press-button activation. Furthermore, with acoustic control, a group photo including the user himself can be taken at a suitable distance and not limited to only arm-length to prevent image distortion.  
      It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.