Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates generally to computer systems and to digital cameras and particularly to computer systems and other devices with digital cameras. 
     Digital cameras are useful with personal computer systems and other computer systems. Streaming video may be electronically captured on the computer system or displayed on a display associated with the computer system without the need for film processing. In addition, the resulting images can be manipulated using hardware or software associated with the camera and/or the computer system to create special effects. Also, images may be stored in computer memory or transmitted using available computer transmission methods including modem and Internet communications. 
     Digital cameras have been associated with computer systems in part because of the small size of the digital camera. Digital cameras can be made using charge coupled device (CCD) imaging arrays. They can also be made using conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology so that they may be integrated with other logic components. 
     Currently, cameras may use a cable tether to connect the camera to the computer system. The computer system acts as a host processor to provide advanced processing capabilities and additional peripheral components to augment the camera&#39;s capabilities. While these combinations have many advantages, they tend to be cumbersome and, in connection with a portable computer, may be unwieldy for many users. 
     Thus, there is a continuing need for a better way integrate the digital camera into portable computers, desk top computers, and computer components. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with one embodiment, a computer system includes at least one housed component. A digital camera includes a portion mounted for movement into and out of the component from a first position substantially concealed within the component and a second position extending out of the component. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention incorporated into a portable computer; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention incorporated into a portable computer; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the present invention incorporated into a portable computer 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention incorporated into a portable computer; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the digital camera in a rotated orientation; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 5 with the camera rotated to still another position; 
     FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a display screen for a computer system having a pair of digital cameras incorporated therein; 
     FIG. 8 is a partial, enlarged cross-sectional view taken generally along the line  8 — 8  in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 9 is a partial, enlarged cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 8 when the camera has been extended outwardly; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken generally along the line  10 — 10  in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 11 is a block diagram depiction of the computer system shown in FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 12 is a block depiction of a radio frequency link between a camera and a computer system. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A portable computer  10 , shown in FIG. 1, may include a keyboard housing  12  and a display housing  14  which may be hingedly connected. A digital camera  16  is mountable within a housing of the computer  10  for translation into and out of the housing. The camera  16  may reciprocate in the illustrated embodiment from a first position (shown in dashed lines), concealed within the housing  14 , for example, to a second position extending outwardly from said housing  14  for taking digital still or movie pictures. 
     The camera  16  may include a translating component  18  having a camera lens  20  mounted thereon. The electronics for implementing the digital camera may be movable with the component  18  or they may be retained inside either the housing  12  or  14 , communicating electrically with the lens  20  and associated imaging array. For example, an image processor may be located in proximity to the processor of the computer  10 . A cable may extend from the housing  12  to the lens  20  to communicate with an imaging array associated with the lens  20 . Multiple cameras may be mounted in a single computer system  10 . 
     The component  18  is advantageously mounted so that it extends substantially completely within the housing  12  or  14  and releasably locks therein. When actuated inwardly from this position, the component  18  springs outwardly to its fully extended position, shown in solid lines in FIG.  1 . When pushed back into the housing (but not over extended into the housing), the component  18  again locks in its concealed position within the housing. 
     A variety of known techniques are available for implementing this type of push-button operation. One exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 8, includes a catch  28  mounted on a cantilevered spring arm  22 . When the component  18  is fully extended into the housing  14 , the catch  28  engages a groove  34  in the component  18 . 
     When the component  18  is extended further into the housing  14 , a cam  32  engages a cam  30  on the arm  22 , disengaging the catch  28  from the groove  34 . In this position, a coiled spring  24  is tightly coiled, so that once the catch  28  is disengaged, the component  18  is forcefully ejected from the housing  14 . Because the cam  32  presses upwardly on the arm  22 , by the time the spring arm  22  springs back to the position shown in FIG. 8, the component  18  has already gone past the catch  28  and has assumed the position shown in FIG.  9 . In FIG. 9, the component  18  is spring biased to the outwardly extending position so that when the component  18  is returned into its housing, the spring  24  is compressed. 
     In the position shown in FIG. 9, an electrical contact may be made, for example, between the arm  32  and the catch  28  which contact completes an electrical circuit including the wires  36 . In this way, the outward operation of the camera  16  can also provide power to the camera  16 . As a result, the camera  16  may be powered only when it is ready for use; that is, in one operation, the camera may be both extended and turned on. 
     Referring next to FIG. 2, another orientation of a digital camera with respect to a portable computer is illustrated. In this case, the portable computer  10   a  has a camera  16   a  which translates into and out of the upper edge of the display housing  14  in a direction transverse to that utilized in connection with the camera  16 . The camera lens  20  is then oriented at a higher position on the housing  14  when the component  18   a  is extended outwardly. 
     FIG. 3 shows still another embodiment of a camera  16   b  in a portable computer  10   b . Instead of reciprocating, the component  18   b  rotates out of the housing  14  through an arc of about 90° in the illustrated embodiment. That is, the camera rotates from the dashed line position shown inside the housing  14  to the solid line position shown extending outwardly of the housing  14 . The mechanism for locking and extending the camera may be substantially as described previously except that instead of spring biasing the camera for reciprocation, the spring simply rotates the camera around a hinge  21 . 
     Turning next to FIG. 4, a camera may be mounted for rotation out of the housing  12  from a first vertical orientation transverse to the keyboard  15  to a second vertical orientation sitting up on the keyboard housing  12  and rotated 180° from its stored position. In this orientation, the camera  16   c  is out of the way of the display  14 . The camera  16   c  may overlap the computer housing  12  to some degree and extend outwardly to the side of the housings  12  and  14 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an outward portion  38  of in the component  18  may rotate around an axis extending generally parallel to the length of the component  18  so that the lens  20  may be oriented in a desired way to record an image. Thus, in FIG. 5, the lens  20  is shown pointing straight upwardly, and in FIG. 6, the lens  20  is shown facing oppositely from the orientation shown in FIG.  1 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 10, the component  18  may include a pair of hingedly connected portions  38  and  40  connected by a rotatable tube  42 . The tube allows relative rotation between the portions  38  and  40 . Electrical continuity may be maintained by extending a conductor  44  through the interior of the tube  42 . The conductor  44  may couple the imaging array  74  to the image processor  76  inside a housing  12  or  14 . 
     If desired, the portion  38  may be detachable from the rest of the component  18 . This may be achieved by sliding the portion  38  off of the tube  42  and allowing the connecting wire  44  to feed out of the remainder of the housing so that the lens  20  may be placed at a location remote from the rest of the computer  10 . In addition, the portion  38  may be provided with an wireless link to a receiver within the computer system  10  so that once detached, the portion  38  may communicate, for example, by infrared or radio frequency signals to convey information back to the computer  10 . 
     Turning now to FIG. 7, a computer component  90  is adapted to include a pair of cameras  16   d  and  16   e . In the illustrated embodiment, the component  90  is a desk top computer monitor. The cameras  16   d  and  16   e  are mounted for a reciprocation into and out of the housing of the component  90  so as to extend either above or to the side of the component. In addition, any of the cameras  16   b  or  16   c  could be used in conjunction with the component  90 . Associating the camera with the display screen may be especially advantageous in embodiments using video conferencing. 
     As shown in FIG. 11, the computer system  10  may include a processor  50  coupled to a bridge  52 , in turn coupled to a system memory  54 . The bridge  52  may connect a bus  56  such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. The bus  56  couples a display controller  58  and a display  60 . The display  60  could be any one of the displays illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7. 
     An interface  62  may also be coupled to the bus  56  and through the switch  64  to an image processor  76 . The image processor  76  may operate with an imaging array  74  contained, for example, in the component  18 . As mentioned earlier, an image processor  76  may be contained within the housing of the computer  10  or may be provided in the component  18 . The switch  64 , which may be implemented as illustrated in FIG. 9, may be automatically closed when the component  18  is operated to extend out of the computer system housing. 
     The bus  56  may also be coupled to a bridge  66  which is, in turn, coupled to another bus  68 . The bus  68  may support a serial input/output interface (SIO)  70  which may be coupled, for example, to the keyboard  72 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 12, a radio link  78  may connect the computer system  10  to the camera  16 , for example, when the camera  16  is detached from the computer system  10 . The radio link continues to transmit data back to the computer system  10  through the radio link  78 . The camera  16  may be coupled to a radio  82  by a link controller  80 . The radio  82  transmits a radio frequency signal to a radio  84  connected to the bus  56  by an interface  62 . 
     A variety of conventional radio links may be utilized. One particularly advantageous radio link is the Bluetooth radio link (see www.bluetooth.com) which uses a short-range, cable replacement, radio technology. The Bluetooth radio link uses the 2.4 GHz Instrumentation, Science, Medical (ISM) unlicensed band. The radios  82 ,  84  may be set to a nominal range of 10 meters, augmentable with an external power amplifier to up to 100 meters. Seventy-nine hop frequencies are utilized beginning at the lowest frequency, which is 2402 MHz, and each of the other hop frequencies is 1 MHz above the next lower frequency. 
     A connection may be made between the two radios  82 ,  84  by sending a page message. A page message may include a train of 16 identical page messages on 16 different hop frequencies. The system may use a Synchronous Connection Oriented (SCO) link for point-to-point, full duplex links, normally used in voice communication. For the application described herein, the Asynchronous Connectionless Link (ACL) may be used. 
     ACL provides one frame duration links with full duplex communications. ACL uses a time division duplex scheme. A first slot provides a transmission from the master to the slave and a second slot provides a transmission from the slave to the master. Each slot is transmitted on a different hop frequency. The device initializing the transmission is designated the master and the device receiving the transmission is designated the slave. 
     The link controller  80  includes the hardware for performing the baseband processing and the basic protocols close to the physical layer such as the error correction coding and the automatic repeat request (ARQ). ARQ provides an acknowledgement to the master, in response to a transmission in one slot, in the next following slot which is transmitted from the slave to the master and vice versa. The Bluetooth system uses GFSK modulation and a BT-product of 0.5. The data and symbol rate is 1 Ms/s at the air interface. 
     While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

Technology Category: 3