Patent Publication Number: US-2010110309-A1

Title: Portable electronic device with multimedia function

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to portable electronic devices, particularly, to a portable electronic device having a multimedia function. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), generally have a multimedia function for playing audios, pictures or videos. Generally, people enjoy viewing pictures or watching videos on large screens. But the current development trend of light, thin, short and small makes portable electronic devices have small screens. Therefore, portable electronic devices with built-in projectors are becoming popular. 
     However, built-in projectors create heat and consume a lot of power and so the electronic device can only be used for short periods of time. 
     Therefore, there is a room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present portable electronic device with multimedia function can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present portable electronic device with multimedia function. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of a portable electronic device and a display area, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of the portable electronic device projecting images or videos onto the display area, according to the exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , an exemplary embodiment of a portable electronic device  10  with a projection module  13  for projecting pictures or videos onto any suitable surface such as wall or an included projection surface of the electronic device  10 . In operation, the projection module  13  projects an interactive display area  20  onto the surface. The display area  20  is divided into two sections, an image section  22  and a virtual control section  24 . The control section  24  may be a projection of, for example, a virtual keyboard in proximity of the image section  22 . The image section  22  is configured for displaying the pictures or videos output by the projection module  13 . The virtual control section  24  is used to control the pictures or videos displayed in the image section  22 . 
     The portable electronic device with multimedia function  10  includes a display module  12 , a projection module  13 , a multimedia information management module  14 , a power management module  16 , a central processing unit (CPU)  17 , and a keypad module  18 . The display module  12 , the projection module  13 , the multimedia information management module  14 , the power management module  16 , and the keypad module  18  are electronically connected to the CPU  17 . 
     The display module  12  can display various operation instructions, and display such things as lyrics, pictures, videos etc. In the exemplary embodiment of the portable electronic device  10 , the display module  12  is a display unit of the portable electronic device  10 , such as a liquid crystal display module (LCM), and so on. 
     The projection module  13  is used to project the pictures or videos onto the display area  20 . The projection module  13  includes a projection unit  132  and a sensing unit  134 . The projection unit  132  can be combined with an existing projector chip. The sensing unit  134  can be integrated with an existing virtual keyboard chip. When a user operates any virtual key of the control section  24 , the sensing unit  134  senses/receives a light reflected from the fingers of the user, and the sensing unit  134  converts the reflected light to a corresponding electrical signal and sends the electrical signal to the CPU  17 . 
     The multimedia information management module  14  is configured for classifying the multimedia files stored in the electronic device  10  as audio or picture/video. The multimedia information management module  14  is also configured for reading resolutions of the pictures or videos, and automatically comparing the resolutions of the pictures or videos with the resolution of the display module  12 . The resolutions of the pictures or videos can be displayed on the display module  12 . 
     The power management module  16  is used to manage the power of the electronic device  10 . When the projection module  13  is in use, the power management module  16  enters a high power consumption mode. When the projection module  13  is not in use, the power management module  16  enters a low power consumption mode. 
     Furthermore, if the power management module  16  is in the low power consumption mode by command of the user, but the resolutions of the pictures or videos are greater than the screen resolution of the display module  12 , then the projection module  13  is automatically started under the control of the CPU  17 . The pictures or videos are projected on the image section  22  and the power management module  16  enters the high power consumption mode. If the resolution of the pictures or videos are less than or equal to the screen resolution of the display module  12 , the power management module  16  remains in the low power consumption mode. Understandably, the projection module  13  can be manually controlled by the user to select the power consumption mode. 
     The CPU  17  controls the display module  12  to display various multimedia files. The CPU  17  controls the projection module  13  to project the pictures or not. The multimedia information module  14  is configured for storing, sending and processing the multimedia files under the control the CPU  17 . The power management module  16  selects the power mode under the control of the CPU  17 . 
     The keypad module  18  can be combined with an existing keyboard device. The keypad module  18  is configured for sending a control signal to the CPU  17 , so that the electronic device  10  can enter the multimedia function mode and select the power consumption mode under the control of the CPU  17 . 
     In use, first the keypad module  18  sends a control signal to the CPU  17 , then the electronic device  10  enters the multimedia function mode controlled by the CPU  17 . The user operates the keypad module  18  to select the high power consumption mode or the low power consumption mode. For example, when the audio files are played, the power management module  16  enters the low power consumption mode. If the pictures or videos are played, the multimedia information module  14  firstly reads the resolutions of the pictures or videos, and compares the resolutions of the pictures or videos with the resolution of the display module  12 , then the power management module  16  can enter either the low power consumption mode or the high power consumption mode. 
     If the power management module  16  is in the low power consumption mode, but the resolutions of the pictures or videos are greater than the screen resolution of the display module  12 , then the projection module  13  will start and the pictures or videos can be viewed more clearly. When the projection module  13  is in use, the pictures or videos are projected onto the image section  22  and the power management module  16  enters the high power consumption mode. Thereby, people can selectively use the projection module  13  according to the resolutions of the pictures or videos to manage power and still enjoy viewing the pictures or watching the videos. 
     The multimedia information management module  14  selects to play the multimedia format, such as audios, pictures or videos. The power management module  16  selectively selects whether to start the projection module  13 , so that the projection module  13  can project the pictures or videos onto the display area  20 . Thereby, the electronic device  10  not only can play the pictures or videos clearly, but also can maximally save the power of the electronic device  10  to meet the needs of the users. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even through numerous characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.