Patent Publication Number: US-7722266-B2

Title: Camera apparatus having shutter control apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a divisional of and claims priority benefit of an application Ser. No. 11/308,719, filed on Apr. 26, 2006, which claims the priority benefits of both the U.S. provisional application titled “A SHUTTER DEVICE FOR PHOTOGRAPHING SYSTEM” filed on Dec. 16, 2005, Ser. No. 60/751,154, and the Taiwan application serial no. 95105879, filed on Feb. 22, 2006. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of Invention 
   The present invention relates to a shutter control apparatus of a camera apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shutter control apparatus, which turns on/off the shutter with a single switch, and the method thereof. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   The design of mobile communication apparatuses or consumer electronic products (for example, digital camera) is usually towards lightness and smallness, and along with the increase of additional functions, the space in the device for circuit is getting smaller and smaller. Thus, how to accomplish the same functions with least circuit components or structure design within a limited space is the major subject of the development of mobile communication device. 
   Nowadays, the function of digital camera has become an important additional function on mobile apparatuses. However, the shutter of a general digital camera is usually controlled by 2-step switch.  FIG. 1  is a diagram of a conventional shutter control circuit. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the switches S 1  and S 2  respectively control the output voltage levels of the output terminals OUT 1  and OUT 2 . While the switch S 1  is turned on, the voltage level of the output terminal OUT 1  is high voltage level, and here the digital camera focuses. While the switch S 2  is turned on, the voltage level of the output terminal OUT 2  is high voltage level, and here the digital camera takes a picture. 
   However, since the circuit illustrated in  FIG. 1  requires many components, a lot of space is needed if this circuit is adopted for the shutter control of a mobile communication device. If the shutter control with the same function can be achieved with fewer components or with the help of software, the space efficiency of mobile communication device can be increased and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a shutter control apparatus of a camera apparatus, which controls the auto focus and the on/off of the shutter of a camera apparatus according to the timing between two triggers of the switch (switching from on status to open circuit status and from open circuit status to on status), so as to simplify the circuit design and to reduce the component cost. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, a shutter control apparatus of a camera apparatus is provided, which respectively controls the auto focus and the on/off of the shutter of the camera apparatus according to two statuses of the switch, so as to simplify the circuit design and to reduce the component cost. According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a shutter control method for a camera apparatus is provided, which controls the auto focus and the on/off of the shutter of the camera apparatus according to the timing between two trigger statuses of the switch so as to simplify the circuit design and to reduce the component cost. 
   According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a camera apparatus is provided, wherein the auto focus and the on/off of the shutter of the camera apparatus are respectively controlled according to the timing of a single button being pressed, so as to simply the circuit design and to reduce the component cost. According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a camera apparatus is provided, wherein the auto focus and the on/off of the shutter of the camera apparatus are respectively controlled according to two trigger statuses of the switch, so as to simplify the circuit design and to reduce the component cost. 
   The present invention provides a shutter control apparatus, which is suitable for controlling the shutter of a camera apparatus, and the shutter control apparatus includes an output terminal, a voltage source, a ground voltage source, a switch, and a resistor. The switch is coupled between the voltage source and the output terminal, and the resistor is coupled between the output terminal and the ground voltage source. 
   Wherein the switch has a first trigger status and a second trigger status. While the switch produces the first trigger status, the camera apparatus automatically focuses. Next, while the switch produces the second trigger status, if the timing between the adjacent first trigger status and second trigger status locates between an upper limit and a lower limit, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter of the camera apparatus so that the camera apparatus takes a picture. In an embodiment of the present invention, the foregoing first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from open circuit status to on status, and the foregoing second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, a shutter control method is provided, which is suitable for controlling the shutter of a camera apparatus. The camera apparatus has a switch which has a first trigger status and a second trigger status. The foregoing shutter control method includes the following steps. First, the first trigger status and the second trigger status are produced sequentially. When the first trigger status is produced, the camera apparatus automatically focuses. Then, when the second trigger status is produced, the timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status is estimated. If the timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status locates between an upper limit and a lower limit, the shutter of the camera apparatus is turned on/off so that the camera apparatus takes a picture. In an embodiment of the present invention, the foregoing first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switched from open circuit status to on status, and the second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status. 
   In overview, the present invention further provides a camera apparatus, which includes a lens module, an image detecting module, a shutter, a signal processing module, and the foregoing shutter control apparatus. The foregoing signal processing module is coupled to the image detecting module for processing the output signal of the image detecting module. The shutter is disposed between the lens module and the image detecting module. The foregoing shutter control apparatus has a switch which has a first trigger status and a second trigger status. 
   While the switch produces the first trigger status, the camera apparatus automatically focuses. While the switch produces the first trigger status and the second trigger status sequentially, if the timing between the adjacent first trigger status and second trigger status locates between an upper limit and a lower limit, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter of the camera apparatus, and the image detecting module detects an image through the lens module and outputs a signal to the signal processing module so that the camera apparatus takes a picture. In another embodiment of the present invention, the foregoing first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from open circuit status to on status, and the second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status. 
   In another embodiment of the present invention, the camera apparatus may also automatically focus while the switch produces the first trigger status. Next, while the switch produces the second trigger status, the camera apparatus turns on/off the shutter so that the image detecting module detects an image through the lens module. 
   According to another embodiment of the present invention, the foregoing first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from open circuit status to on status, and the second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status. 
   According to the present invention, the shutter is controlled through timing method, and the shutter of a camera apparatus is controlled according to the timing between two trigger statuses (from on status to open circuit status and from open circuit status to on status) of a single switch, thus the function of the conventional dual switches control can be achieved. Accordingly, the present invention can be applied to small volume digital cameras or used for controlling the shutter of a mobile communication device which has the function of digital camera. With the technology of the present invention, the space efficiency of the mobile communication device can be increased and the component cost thereof can be reduced. 
   In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, a preferred embodiment accompanied with figures is described in detail below. 
   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 THE 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 drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram of a conventional shutter control circuit. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of a camera apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a circuit diagram of the shutter control apparatus in the present embodiment. 
       FIG. 4  is a signal waveform of the shutter control apparatus in the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of a camera apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The camera apparatus  200  includes a lens module  210 , a shutter control apparatus  220 , a shutter  225 , an image detecting module  230 , and a signal processing module  240 . The shutter  225  is disposed between the lens module  210  and the image detecting module  230 , and the shutter control apparatus  220  is coupled to the shutter  225  for turning on/off the shutter  225 . The signal processing module  240  is coupled to the image detecting module  230  for processing the output of the image detecting module  230 , and the image detecting module  230  detects an image through the lens module  210  while the shutter  225  is turned on and outputs a signal to the signal processing module  240 . 
   Since the shutter  225  is only turned on for a short while when the camera apparatus  200  is taking picture, the shutter control apparatus  220  has to turns on and off the shutter  225  within a short time, that is, the operation of turning on/off the shutter  225  has to be completed within a short time, so that the camera apparatus  200  can take a picture within a short time. 
   In the present embodiment, the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225  mainly according to the timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status of a switch. In the present embodiment, the first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from open circuit status to on status, and the second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status. After the switch produces the first trigger status, the signal processing module  240  outputs an auto focus signal AFS to the lens module  210 , so that the lens module  210  automatically focuses between the camera apparatus  200  and the object to be taken picture of. 
   Next, when the switch produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus  220  estimates the timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status of the switch and sets the timing as detection timing. If the detection timing is between an upper limit and a lower limit, the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225 , so that the image detecting module  230  detects an image through the lens module  210 , and the camera apparatus  200  takes a picture through the detect of the image detecting module  230 . If the detection timing is greater than the upper limit or smaller than the lower limit, the shutter control apparatus  220  controls the camera apparatus  200  to cancel the picture-taking operation. 
   The foregoing upper limit and lower limit can be set according to system requirement and user requirement, wherein the upper limit is greater than the lower limit, and the upper limit and the lower limit are both positive. In the present invention, whether the detection timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status is smaller than the upper limit can be detected and the relation thereof with the lower limit can be ignored according to system requirement and user requirement. In another embodiment of the present invention, the first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status, and the second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from open circuit status to on status. Similarly, the shutter of the camera apparatus can be controlled according to the timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status. Those with ordinary skill in the art should be able to understand from the present disclosure, so will not be described again. 
   The main component of the foregoing shutter control apparatus  220  is a switch.  FIG. 3  is a circuit diagram of the shutter control apparatus in the present embodiment. The shutter control apparatus  220  includes a voltage source VCC, a switch S 3 , a resistor  310 , a control unit  320 , and an output terminal OUT. The switch S 3  is coupled between the voltage source VCC and the output terminal OUT, and the resistor  310  is coupled between the output terminal OUT and a ground voltage source GND. The control unit  320  is coupled to the output terminal OUT and used for detecting a trigger status change of the switch according to an output voltage at the output terminal. While the switch S 3  is turned on, the output terminal OUT is at high voltage level, and while the switch S 3  is in open circuit status, the output terminal OUT is at low voltage level. The control unit  320  of the shutter control apparatus  220  can estimate the timing, i.e. detection timing, between the first trigger status and the second trigger status of the switch S 3  according to the change of the voltage level at the output terminal OUT. 
   While the switch S 3  produces the first trigger status, the camera apparatus  200  automatically focuses. Next, while the switch S 3  produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus  220  determines whether to turn on/off the shutter  225  according to timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status of the switch S 3 , that is, determines whether to turn on/off the shutter  225  according to the detection timing. If the detection timing is between an upper limit and a lower limit, the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225  of the camera apparatus  200 , so that the camera apparatus  200  takes a picture. If the detection timing is greater than the upper limit or smaller than the lower limit, the camera apparatus  200  cancels the picture-taking operation. The detection timing can be estimated from the change of the voltage level at the output terminal OUT. 
   In the present embodiment, the switch S 3  can be turned on/off by a button, the switch S 3  is switched from open circuit status to on status (i.e. producing the first trigger status) while the button is pressed, and the switch S 3  is switched from on status to open circuit status (i.e. producing the second trigger status) while the button is released. Thus, when the user presses the button, the camera apparatus  200  starts focusing automatically. Then, when the user releases the button, the shutter control apparatus  220  estimates the timing of the user pressing the button. If the timing is between the upper limit and the lower limit, the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225 , so that the camera apparatus  230  can detect an image through the lens module  210 . The image detecting module  230  transmits the converted signal to the image processing module  240  for processing the signal, so that the camera apparatus  200  takes a picture. If the timing of the user pressing the button is smaller than the lower limit or greater than the upper limit, the camera apparatus  200  cancels the picture-taking operation. 
   The foregoing lower limit and upper limit can be set by the user. The lower limit is for preventing the user from mistakenly pressing the button, and the upper limit can be set according to the auto focus time of the camera apparatus  200  and the user&#39;s habit. Both the lower limit and the upper limit can be set according to user requirement, but the upper limit has to be greater than the lower limit and both are positive. Certainly, in the present invention, only the relation of the timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status and the upper limit can be detected according to system requirement and user requirement, and the relation with the lower limit can be ignored. The technology details should be understood by those with ordinary skill in the art so will not be described again. 
   Next, the main waveform signal in the shutter control apparatus  220  will be further described below.  FIG. 4  is a signal waveform of the shutter control apparatus in the present invention. Signals W 1 , W 2 , and W 3  are the signal waveforms of the output terminal OUT. Signal W 1  is the signal waveform under normal operation, switch S 3  produces the first trigger status (from open circuit status to on status) at time ta, and produces the second trigger status (from on status to open circuit status) after timing T 1 , i.e. at time t b . 
   The switch S 3  is turned on during detection timing T 1 , thus, signal W 1  is at high voltage level during the detection timing T 1 . The timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status of the switch S 3  (i.e. the detection timing T 1 ) can be estimated according to the voltage level change of the signal W 1 . As illustrated by signal W 1 , the signal processing module  240  output an auto focus signal AFS to the lens module  210  after time t a  to automatically focus between the camera apparatus  200  and the object to be taken picture of. Since the detection timing T 1  is between the lower limit T d  and the upper limit T u , the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225  after time t b , so that the camera apparatus  200  detects an image and takes a picture. 
   Signal W 2  is the signal waveform when the detection timing T 2  is smaller than the lower limit T d . As illustrated by signal W 2 , switch S 3  is turned on during the detection timing T 2 . Since the detection timing T 2  is smaller than the lower limit T d , the camera apparatus  200  cancels the picture-taking operation after the detection timing T 2  has passed. Signal W 3  is the signal waveform when the detection timing T 3  is greater than the upper limit T u . As illustrated by signal W 3 , switch S 3  is turned on during the detection timing T 3 . Since the detection timing T 3  is greater than the upper limit T u , the camera apparatus  200  cancels the picture-taking operation after the detection timing T 3  has passed. 
   In the present embodiment, the technology of the present invention is explained with the timing of the switch S 3  being turned on as example. In another embodiment of the present invention, the timing of the switch S 3  at open circuit status can also be used to implement the present invention, and the timing of the switch S 3  at open circuit status can also be estimated according to the voltage level change of the output terminal OUT, and the shutter  225  of the camera apparatus  200  is turned on/off according to this timing. The implementation method thereof should be understood by those with ordinary skill in the art, so will not be described here. In addition, whether the timing between the first trigger status and the second trigger status is smaller than the upper limit T u  can be detected according to system requirement and user requirement, and the lower limit T d  is ignored. In this case, the signal W 1  and signal W 2  as shown in  FIG. 4  both take pictures. The various methods for controlling the focus and the shutter with two trigger statuses of a single switch are all within the spirit and scope of the present invention and should be understood by those with ordinary skill in the art, so will not be described again. 
   In another embodiment of the present invention, referring to both  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the auto focusing operation and the turning on/off operation of the camera apparatus  200  can be respectively controlled with two trigger statuses of the switch S 3  (the first trigger status and the second trigger status). When the switch S 3  produces the first trigger status, the camera apparatus  200  automatically focuses, then, when the switch S 3  produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225  so that the camera apparatus  200  takes a picture. The rest details of the present embodiment should be understood by those with ordinary skill in the art from the present disclosure so will not be described again. 
     FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. The shutter control method is suitable for controlling the shutter  225  of the camera apparatus  200 . The camera apparatus  200  has a switch S 3 , and the switch S 3  has a first trigger status and a second trigger status. The shutter control method includes the following steps. First, in step  510 , the first trigger status and the second trigger status are sequentially produced. In the present embodiment, the switch S 3  produces the first trigger status (switching the switch from open circuit status to on status). Here, the camera apparatus  200  automatically focuses through the signal processing module  240  and the lens module  210 . The switch S 3  produces the second trigger status (switching the switch from on status to open circuit status) after a detection timing. Next, in step  520 , the timing between the foregoing first trigger status and second trigger status, i.e. the detection timing, is estimated. 
   After that, in step  530 , the condition expression is executed. If the detection timing is greater than the upper limit or smaller than the lower limit, step  535  is proceeded to cancel the picture-taking operation. If the detection timing is between the upper limit and the lower limit, step  540  is preceded. In step  540 , the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225 , so that the image detecting module  230  detects an image through the lens module  210 . Next, in step  550 , the image detecting module  230  outputs a signal according to the detected image to the signal processing module  240  to be processed, so that the camera apparatus  200  takes a picture. In the shutter control method of the present embodiment, the rest details has been described in the foregoing description of the shutter control apparatus and can be understood by those skilled in the art, so will not be described again. 
     FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. First, in step  610 , the camera apparatus  200  is initialized. Then, in step  620 , the condition expression is executed, and the shutter control apparatus  220  determines whether the switch S 3  produces a first trigger status (switching the switch from open circuit status to on status), if no, the procedure goes back to step  610 . If the switch S 3  produces the first trigger status, the next step is preceded. In step  630 , the camera apparatus  200  automatically focuses through the signal processing module  240  and the lens module  210 . Next, in step  640 , the condition expression is proceeded, and the shutter control apparatus  220  determines whether the switch S 3  produces the second trigger status, if no, the procedure goes back to step  630 , and the camera apparatus  200  continues to take a picture. If the switch S 3  produces the second trigger status, step  650  is preceded. 
   In step  650 , the shutter control apparatus  220  determines whether the detection timing meets a predetermined condition, wherein the detection timing is the timing between the foregoing first trigger status and second trigger status. In the present embodiment, the predetermined condition includes an upper limit and a lower limit. The detection timing meets the predetermined condition if the detection timing is between the upper limit and the lower limit, otherwise the detection timing doesn&#39;t meet the predetermined condition. In another embodiment of the present invention, different predetermined conditions can be set according to user requirement or system requirement. For example, an upper limit, the detection timing meets the predetermined condition if the detection timing is smaller than the upper limit, and it doesn&#39;t meet the predetermined condition if it is greater than the upper limit. The foregoing upper limit and lower limit can be set according to user requirement or system requirement. 
   Next, if the detection timing meets the predetermined condition, step  660  is proceeded. In step  660 , the shutter control apparatus  220  turns on/off the shutter  225 , so that the image detecting module  230  detects an image through the lens module  210 . Next, in step  670 , the image detecting module  230  outputs a signal according to the detected image to the signal processing module  240  to be processed, so that the camera apparatus  200  takes a picture. In the shutter control method in the present embodiment, the rest details are explained in the description of the foregoing shutter control apparatus, and it should be understood by those skilled in the art, so will not be described again. 
   In the present invention, the shutter of the camera apparatus is turned on/off according to two trigger statuses (from open circuit status to on status and from on status to open circuit status) of a single switch through timing method, so as to simplify the circuit design and components number, which reduces the space required by the circuit and the manufacturing cost of the circuit. Meanwhile, the present invention is more suitable for mobile communication devices. 
   In addition, a shutter control method is further disclosed in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein the step of detecting the timing between the two trigger statuses of the single switch can be skipped, instead, auto focusing and turning on/off the shutter can be performed through detecting the trigger statuses sequence of the signal switch. According to this control method, when the switch produces the first trigger status, the lens module automatically focuses, and if next the switch produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter, so that the image detecting module detects an image through the lens module. According to this embodiment, the timing between the two trigger statuses is not detected, so there is no upper limit or lower limit set. 
   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.