Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7583316?dq=%235,519,867
Timestamp: 2014-07-11 10:15:20
Document Index: 319391291

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 42', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 217']

Patent US7583316 - Digital camera and mobile telephone having digital camera - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsIt is an object of the present invention to provide a digital camera and a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera in which while a user views one monitor screen, the user can selectively photograph an image located in the side of the face of the user and an image located in an opposite side...http://www.google.com/patents/US7583316?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7583316 - Digital camera and mobile telephone having digital cameraAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7583316 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/532,399PCT numberPCT/JP2003/013384Publication dateSep 1, 2009Filing dateOct 20, 2003Priority dateOct 24, 2002Fee statusLapsedAlso published asCN1708979A, CN100372365C, EP1560421A1, EP1560421A4, EP2479977A2, EP2479977A3, US20060044396, WO2004039065A1Publication number10532399, 532399, PCT/2003/13384, PCT/JP/2003/013384, PCT/JP/2003/13384, PCT/JP/3/013384, PCT/JP/3/13384, PCT/JP2003/013384, PCT/JP2003/13384, PCT/JP2003013384, PCT/JP200313384, PCT/JP3/013384, PCT/JP3/13384, PCT/JP3013384, PCT/JP313384, US 7583316 B2, US 7583316B2, US-B2-7583316, US7583316 B2, US7583316B2InventorsAkihiro Miyashita, Kiyoshi Nakanishi, Toshiyuki Tsumura, Fumihiro Muramatsu, Michitaka SuzukiOriginal AssigneePanasonic CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (24), Referenced by (4), Classifications (17), Legal Events (6) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetDigital camera and mobile telephone having digital cameraUS 7583316 B2Abstract It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital camera and a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera in which while a user views one monitor screen, the user can selectively photograph an image located in the side of the face of the user and an image located in an opposite side to the face of the user without turning out the digital camera or the portable telephone having the digital camera under a state that the user holds the digital camera or the portable telephone having the digital camera. The digital camera and the portable telephone having the digital camera of the present invention include a first camera mounted on a first surface of a casing member, a second camera mounted on a second surface in the back side of the first surface of the casing member and a camera selecting unit for selecting a photographing camera. Thus, while the user holds the portable telephone having the camera, the user can photograph the face of the user himself or herself by the first camera, can photograph a scene viewed by the user himself or herself by the second camera or can photograph both the face and the scene at the same time. Further, a synthesizing unit is provided for synthesizing the images respectively photographed by the first camera and the second camera. Accordingly, a synthesized photograph obtained by synthesizing both the images can be taken or after the images are photographed, the images can be synthesized.
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a digital camera and a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera on which a digital camera is mounted.
BACKGROUND ART A recent digital camera has been progressively miniaturized and a portable telephone on which the digital camera is mounted to photograph the face of a user or the landscape in a neighborhood has been put to practical use. Further, to photograph both a front side and an opposite side, a method that one digital camera mounted on the portable telephone is rotated or detachably attached to the portable telephone to change its direction has been known (for instance, see Patent Document 1). However, most of the portable telephones that have been used have the cameras fixed on either the front sides or the opposite sides.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-described first problem, a digital camera according to the present invention comprises: a first camera provided on a first surface of a casing member; a second camera provided on a second surface in the back side of the first surface of the casing member; and a camera selecting unit for selecting a photographing camera to photograph an image by selecting the photographing camera.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A digital camera according to the present invention includes: a first camera provided on a first surface of a casing member; a second camera provided on a second surface in the back side of the first surface of the casing member; a control unit for controlling the photographing operations of the first camera and the second camera; a camera selecting unit for selecting a photographing camera; a camera shutter unit; a monitor unit; and an image storing unit. Thus, the photographing camera is selected by the camera selecting unit to photograph an image.
FIRST EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 sows a schematic sectional view of a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the portable telephone 100 equipped with the digital camera of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is greatly different from the structure of the existing example from the viewpoint that two cameras and two liquid crystal display parts are provided in a second casing member 214. However, many parts of the portable telephone 100 having the digital camera are the same as those of the usual example explained by referring to FIG. 16 as well as the basic structures of the first casing member 212 and the second casing member 214. Thus, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and an explanation thereof is omitted.
SECOND EMBODIMENT Now, a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 5 is a conceptual view showing a state that the face of a person A 30 is attempted to be photographed by using a first camera 23 of the portable telephone 100 having the digital camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention and the face of a person B 31 is attempted to be photographed by using a second camera 24 at the same time. The person A 30 holds a first casing member 212 of the portable telephone 100 having the digital camera by a hand to open a second casing member 214 and direct the first camera 23 to the face of the person A 30 himself or herself. Then, the second camera 24 is directed toward the person B 31. At this time, the portable telephone 100 having the digital camera simultaneously displays all part or a part of images caught by the first camera 23 and the second camera 24 on both a first liquid crystal display part 1 and a second liquid crystal display part 2 directly by a display switching part 42 of a driver circuit 4 as monitor images.
THIRD EMBODIMENT Now, a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIGS. 8 and 9 show external appearance views of the portable telephone having the digital camera according to the third embodiment of the present invention in which the information of an image photographed by one camera is displayed in a display area of a frame of a prescribed form at a prescribed position. FIG. 8 is an external appearance view depicted so as to show a second liquid crystal display part 2. FIG. 9 is an external appearance view depicted so as to show a first liquid crystal display part 1. In FIGS. 8 and 9, an image 302 of a person A that is displayed in a first display area 362 is synthesized with a monitor image 312 of a person B that is fitted to a second display area 372 of a heart form. When the display of a monitor image in which both the images of the persons A and B are synthesized is viewed to press a shutter button assigned to a key operating part 217, the information of the image of the person A photographed by a first camera 23 is stored in a memory 27 for the first camera, and the information of the image of the person B photographed by a second camera 24 is stored in a memory 28 for the second camera. The image information of a synthesized photograph in which the images of the persons A and B are synthesized is stored in a memory 29 for a synthesized photograph in the same manner as that of the second embodiment as already described above.
FOURTH EMBODIMENT Now, a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the portable telephone having the digital camera according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, when an opening and closing detecting unit 221 detects a signal showing that a second casing member 214 is closed under a camera mode, the camera mode is finished. When the opening and closing detecting unit detects a signal showing that the second casing member 214 is opened without a direct input of other signal, a mode is returned again to the camera mode.
FIFTH EMBODIMENT Now, a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the portable telephone having the digital camera according to the fifth embodiment, when an image is photographed by a first camera 23 or a second camera 24, a using method is realized in which photograph fitting frames stored in a memory 19 are read to sequentially fit photographed images in blank frames.
SIXTH EMBODIMENT Now, a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the first to fifth embodiments of the portable telephone having the digital camera according to the present invention, a foldable portable telephone is described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a portable telephone except the foldable portable telephone.
SEVENTH EMBODIMENT Now, a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to what is called a straight type portable telephone 400 equipped with a digital camera. A first camera 23 and a second camera 24 are mounted on the front and back surfaces of a casing member 412. This structure is the same as the already described structure of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, according to the present invention, a photographing camera is selected, so that while a user holds a digital camera or a portable telephone equipped with a digital camera by a hand, the user can selectively photograph an image located in the side of the face of the user and an image located in an opposite side to the face of the user without turning out the digital camera or the portable telephone having the digital camera. Further, the image located in the side of the face of the user and the image located in the opposite side to the face of the user can be photographed at the same time.
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2002Mar 11, 2004Noriyoshi SatoPortable terminal deviceUS20050237424 *Jul 1, 2003Oct 27, 2005Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.Device for mobile image communicationUS20060181607 *Mar 16, 2006Aug 17, 2006Videotronic SystemsReflected backdrop display and telepresence networkUS20080218609 *Mar 7, 2007Sep 11, 2008Altasens, Inc.Cross-coupled differential Dac-based black clamp circuitCN21303444A Title not availableGB2379828A Title not availableJP2001245034A Title not availableJP2002176478A Title not availableJP2002209133A Title not availableJP2003060765A Title not availableJP2003115911A Title not availableJP2003274376A Title not availableJP2003283618A Title not availableJP2003298884A Title not availableJP2003319043A Title not available* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS20110304704 *Jun 9, 2010Dec 15, 2011Digilife Technologies Co., Ltd.Imaging ApparatusUS20120008011 *Jul 28, 2009Jan 12, 2012Crambo, S.A.Digital Camera and Associated MethodUS20120050571 *May 5, 2011Mar 1, 2012Digilife Technologies Co., Ltd.Image pickup deviceUS20120120186 *Nov 12, 2010May 17, 2012Arcsoft, Inc.Front and Back Facing Cameras* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification348/376, 348/333.06, 348/333.05International ClassificationH04N5/222, H04M1/02, H04M1/00, H04N5/232, H04M1/725, H04N5/225Cooperative ClassificationH04N5/2259, H04N5/23203, H04N5/2252, H04N2007/145, H04M2250/16European ClassificationH04N5/225C2, H04N5/225V, H04N5/232CLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionOct 22, 2013FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 20130901Sep 1, 2013LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesApr 15, 2013REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedSep 14, 2010CCCertificate of correctionNov 21, 2008ASAssignmentOwner name: PANASONIC CORPORATION, JAPANFree format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.;REEL/FRAME:021897/0570Effective date: 20081001Owner name: PANASONIC CORPORATION,JAPANFree format 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