Patent ID: 8860832

Claim:
A camera device comprising: a lens; an image sensor, the image sensor optically interfaced to the lens; a processor electrically interfaced to the image sensor; and an orientation sensor interfaced to the processor and detecting a first horizontal orientation of the device and a second upside down horizontal orientation of the device; and said processor running a program that determines whether the device is in said first orientation or in said second orientation, and sets a configuration of operation of the device to a first operating condition that carries out a first function when the first orientation is detected and which carries out a second function when the second orientation is detected, wherein the value read from the orientation sensor is selected from a value representing a portrait orientation of the device, a value representing a left landscape orientation of the device, and a value representing a right landscape orientation of the device wherein if the value indicates the portrait orientation of the device the configuration is set to disable a camera function, if the value indicates the left landscape orientation of the device the configuration is set to still camera function, and if the value indicates the right landscape orientation of the device the configuration is set to video camera function.