Patent Publication Number: US-2007120960-A1

Title: Portable electronic device with a rotatable camera module

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present invention relates to a portable electronic device with a rotatable camera module which can preview an object conveniently and can take photos from various angles.  
     BACKGROUND  
      With the development of wireless communication and information processing, portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), are now in widespread use. These electronic devices enable consumers to enjoy high technology services anytime and anywhere. The camera module has been an important member of portable electronic devices.  
       FIG. 1  shows a typical portable electronic device which is a mobile phone  30  including a keypad  31 , a screen  33  and a camera module  35 . The keypad  31  is defined in the face of the mobile phone  3  for inputting instructions. The screen  33  is also defined in the face of the mobile phone  30 . The camera module  35  is defined in mobile phone  30  for taking photos. The camera module  35  includes a lens module  351  defined on the top surface or the back surface of the mobile phone  30 .  
      When using the camera module  35  to take photos, an optical image signal enters the camera module  35  through the lens module  351 . The optical image signal is focused on an image sensor module (not shown) and the image sensor module transforms the optical image signal into an electronic image signal that can be shown in the screen  33 . However, the mobile phone  30  can only be used to screen objects in front of the lens module because light travels in a straight line. Therefore the mobile phone  30  can not easily to be used for screening objects departing from an axis of the lens module, and it is difficult to preview the picture when users use the mobile phone  30  to take a picture of themselves.  
      What is needed, therefore, is a portable electronic device with a camera module which can preview an object conveniently and can take photos from various angles.  
     SUMMARY  
      In an embodiment thereof, a portable electronic device comprises a body, a camera module and a rotatable component. The camera module is rotatably installed on the body. The rotatable component is rotatably mounted to the body. The camera module is installed in the rotatable component. Orientation of the camera module can be adjusted via rotating the rotatable component.  
      Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Many aspects of the portable electronic device 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 portable electronic devices. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through out the several views.  
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a typical portable electronic device;  
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a portable electric device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a partial isometric cut-away view of the portable electric device shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a disassembled view of a rotatable component and a camera module of the portable electric device shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 ; and  
       FIG. 5  is an assembled view of the rotatable component and the camera module shown in  FIG. 4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PERFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 2  shows a portable electronic device  100  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The portable electronic device  100  is a mobile phone that includes a body  50 , a rotatable component  70  and a camera module  90 . The rotatable component  70  is rotatably installed on the body  50 . The camera module  90  is securely installed in the rotatable component  70 . Also referring to  FIG. 3 , the body  50  is a cuboid case that can be divided into two parts (not shown). The body  50  includes a first surface  51 , a second surface  53  and four sides  55 . The first surface  51  is positioned opposite to the second surface  53 . The body  50  defines a rectangular cutout  57  through an intersection of two adjacent sides  55  thereby forming a first side wall  571  and a second side wall  573 . The second side wall  573  is perpendicular to the first side wall  571 . The first side wall  571  defines a fixing hole  5711  therein. Alternatively, the fixing hole  5711  can be defined in the second side wall  573 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the rotatable component  70  is a hollow cylinder that can be divided into two parts (not labeled). The rotatable component  70  includes a cylindrical housing  71 , a closed off end  73  and a partly closed off end  75 . The closed off end  73  is positioned opposite to the partly closed off end  75 . A wire hole  751  is defined in the center of the partly closed off end  75 . An annular groove  711  is defined around the housing  71 , and the annular groove  711  is located adjacent to the partly closed off end  75 . The housing  71  defines a lens hole  713  between the closed off end  73  and the partly closed off end  75  therein.  
      The camera module  90  installed in the rotatable component  70  includes a lens barrel  91 , a holder  93  and an image sensor module  95 . The lens barrel  91  is a cylinder including a sleeve barrel  911  and a cover  913 . The sleeve barrel  911  is a cylinder and the cover  913  is a round board that partly closes off an end of the sleeve barrel  911 . Some screw thread (not shown) is formed on an outer surface of the sleeve barrel  911 . A plurality of lenses (not shown) are installed in the sleeve barrel  911 . A first through hole  9131  is defined in the centre of the cover  913 . The holder  93  is a cylinder with two open ends. The holder  93  includes a pipe  931  and a base  933 . The base  933  is a board that defines a second through hole  9331  therein, and the diameter of the second through hole  9331  is same as the inner diameter of the pipe  931 . The pipe  931  is installed on one side of the base  933  perpendicularly. Some screw thread (not shown) corresponding to the screw thread on the outer surface the sleeve barrel  911  is formed on an inner surface of the pipe  931 . The lens barrel  91  is engaged to be installed in the pipe  931 . The image sensor module  95  is installed on another side of the base  933  to transform optical image signals entering into the lens barrel  91  into electronic image signals. A signal wire  951  is installed on the image sensor module  95  and the signal wire  951  connects the image sensor module  95  with a circuit board (not shown) of the body  50 . The signal wire  951  transmits electronic signals from the image sensor module  95  to the circuit board of the body  50 .  
      In assembly, firstly, the lenses are installed in the sleeve barrel  911  of the lens barrel  91 , and the lens barrel  91  is installed into the pipe  931  of the holder  93 . The sleeve barrel  91  is adjusted to a proper place along an axis of the pipe  931  via the screw thread correspondingly formed on the outer surface of the sleeve barrel  911  and the inner surface of the pipe  931 , thus the sleeve barrel  91  is held in the pipe  931 . Secondly, the image sensor module  95  is installed on the base  933 , and then the camera module  90  is assembled. Thirdly, the assembled camera module  90  is securely mounted into the rotatable component  70 . The sleeve barrel  91  extends out from the lens hole  713  so that an incident light path of the camera module  90  is perpendicular to an axis of the housing  71 . The signal wire  951  installed on the image sensor  95  extends out from the wire hole  751 , and the two parts of the rotatable component  70  are coupled together. Finally, the rotatable component  70  containing the camera module  90  is rotatably mounted on the first side wall  571 . The housing  71  cooperates with the fixing hole  5711  to hold the rotatable component  70  rotatably. The partly closed off end  75  is installed in the fixing hole  5711  and the closed off end  73  extends out from the fixing hole  5711 . The first side wall  571  is engaged in the annular groove  711 , and the two parts of the body  50  are connected. Alternatively, the second side wall  573  is engaged in the annular groove  711  if the fixing hole  5711  is defined in the second side wall  573 . In this way, the rotatable component  70  can rotate around the axis of the housing  71  and cannot become separated from the first side wall  571 , thus the camera module  90  is rotatably installed on the body  50  via the rotatable component  70 .  
      In use, rotatable component  70  is rotated, and the camera module  90  installed in the rotatable component  70  is driven to rotate on the body  50 . In this way, when using the camera module  90  to take photos, the user can rotate the rotatable component  70  to preview objects in various angles without rotating the body  50 . The user can also rotate the rotatable component  70  to adjust orientation of the camera module  90  to screen himself conveniently. Alternatively, the portable electronic device  100  can be a PDA (personal digital assistant) or a laptop, etc.  
      It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, 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 invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.