JP4230166B2 - Strobe for portable information terminal - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a strobe used by connecting to a portable information terminal with a camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, various types of portable information terminals with cameras have been invented. In a conventional portable information terminal with a camera, subject light that has passed through an imaging lens provided in the main body of the portable information terminal is converted into an electrical signal by an imaging element provided behind the imaging lens, subjected to signal processing, and monitored. Is displayed. The user determines the shooting range by looking at the through image displayed on the monitor.
[0003]
However, in such a portable information terminal with a camera, it is necessary to reduce the size of the image sensor with the portability of the portable information terminal, and the number of image sensors is generally as small as about 170,000 pixels. For this reason, the sensitivity of the image sensor is low, so that not only a clear image cannot be captured in a dark place, but also the through image is difficult to see and it is difficult for the user to determine the imaging range.
[0004]
In order to make it easy to shoot in dark places, a strobe that can be used by connecting to the jack terminal of a portable information terminal has been released. By using this strobe, it is possible to photograph a dark subject clearly. However, the problem that it is difficult to determine the shooting range in a dark place still remains.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a strobe for a portable information terminal that can easily determine a shooting range even in a dark place.
[0006]
A strobe for a portable information terminal employing the present invention can be used by directly connecting to a jack terminal of the portable information terminal, and includes an optical finder, a strobe light emitting unit that emits strobe light toward a subject, A strobe body provided with a recess for fitting the cover of the jack terminal to fix the orientation of the strobe body, and a connection terminal projecting from the strobe body.
[0007]
The viewfinder is arranged near the photographing lens and at the same height as the photographing lens, and the strobe light emitting unit is arranged at a position away from the photographing lens. By doing so, parallax can be reduced and red-eye reduction can be suppressed.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable information terminal strobe 10 employing the present invention when connected to a camera-equipped mobile phone 12. The camera-equipped mobile phone 12 performs a mobile phone module unit 14 having a mobile phone function, a camera module unit 16 having a camera function, power ON / OFF, and switching between use of the mobile phone module unit 14 and the camera module unit 16. A switch 18 is included. Further, the mobile phone module unit 14 is connected to units such as a monitor 20, a speaker 22, and a microphone 24 that are the same as those of a normal mobile phone. The camera module unit 16 includes a photographing lens, an image sensor, an AD conversion unit, a signal processing unit, a buffer memory unit, and the like. As will be described in detail later, the strobe 10 for portable information terminal of the present invention is used by being connected to a jack terminal provided in the cellular phone module section 14. The jack terminal is equivalent to an earphone microphone terminal provided on a normal mobile phone, and can also be used as an earphone microphone terminal.
[0009]
FIG. 2 is a front external view of the portable information terminal strobe 10 employing the present invention. In FIG. 2, a strobe 10 for a portable information terminal according to the present invention includes a strobe body 26 and a connection terminal 28 that is inserted into a jack terminal of the portable information terminal to electrically connect the strobe body 26 and the portable information terminal. The strobe body 26 is fitted with an objective-side finder window 32 constituting the finder 30, a strobe light emitting unit 34 that emits strobe light toward the subject, and a cover that is put on the jack terminal at the time of connection. A recess 36 is provided to fix the orientation of the. The viewfinder 30 is disposed on the central axis 38 of the connection terminal. In FIG. 3 showing the rear appearance, a finder window 40 that is paired with the object side finder window 32 and constitutes the finder 30 is provided on the back surface of the strobe body 26.
[0010]
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a connection portion between the portable information terminal strobe 10 and the portable information terminal. The mobile phone main body 42 is provided with a jack terminal 44 that is also used as an earphone microphone terminal and a lid 46 that covers the jack terminal 44 when the jack terminal 44 is not used. One end of the lid 46 is bonded to the mobile phone main body 42. The portable information terminal strobe 10 is used by inserting the connection terminal 28 into the jack terminal 44. The connection terminal 28 has four contacts such as a voltage portion, a ground portion, a clock line portion, and a data line portion. When the connection terminal 28 is inserted into the jack terminal 44 to a predetermined position, each contact is inside the jack terminal 44. It is possible to send and receive current and signals by contacting each other with the same kind of contacts provided in the.
[0011]
When the connection terminal 28 is inserted into the jack terminal 44, the cover 46 of the jack terminal is folded and accommodated in a recess 36 provided in the strobe body 26. Thereby, the direction of the strobe body 26 can be fixed.
[0012]
5 and 6 show a state in which the portable information terminal strobe 10 is connected to a jack terminal 44 provided on the left side of the mobile phone main body 42. FIG. In FIG. 5 showing the front surface of the mobile phone main body 42, the mobile phone main body 42 serves as a display screen of a conventional mobile phone when the telephone function is used, and a through image and photographing data are displayed when the camera function is used. 20. An operation unit 48 is provided for the user to operate the mobile phone main body 42.
[0013]
In FIG. 6 showing the back surface of the mobile phone main body 42, a photographing lens 50 and a rechargeable battery 52 are configured on the back surface of the mobile phone main body 42. The portable information terminal strobe 10 is mounted with its front side facing, and the photographing lens 50, the strobe light emitting unit 34, and the viewfinder 30 have the same orientation.
[0014]
When the mobile information terminal strobe 10 is connected to the jack terminal 44 on the left side of the mobile phone main body 42, the finder 30 is positioned closer to the photographing lens 50 provided on the mobile phone main body 42 than the strobe light emitting section 34. To do. In addition, since the photographic lens 50 and the jack terminal 44 are arranged to have the same height, and the finder 30 is arranged on the central axis 38 of the connection terminal, the finder 30 is as high as the photographic lens 50. Located in. These have the effect of reducing the parallax that occurs because the finder 30 that determines the photographic range and the photographic lens 50 that actually shoots are at different positions when photographing using the optical finder. On the other hand, the strobe light emitting unit 34 is disposed at a position away from the photographing lens 50. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the red-eye phenomenon that is likely to occur when the flash light emitting unit 34 is at a distance close to the shooting lens 50 in flash photography.
[0015]
Next, a case where flash photography is performed using the portable information terminal strobe 10 employing the present invention will be described. The user performs a predetermined operation on the operation unit 48 to set the mobile phone body 42 to the camera function use mode. Next, when the connection terminal 28 of the mobile information terminal strobe 10 is inserted into a jack terminal 44 provided in the mobile phone main body 42 to a predetermined position, the strobe main body from the battery 52 of the mobile phone main body 42 through the voltage portion of the connection terminal 28. The power is supplied to the power supply 26 and the power is charged for flash photography. When the user looks through the finder window 40 to determine a shooting range and presses a shutter switch provided in the operation unit 48, a flash is emitted from the strobe light emitting unit 34 in conjunction with the shutter, and strobe shooting is performed.
[0016]
In the above embodiment, the jack terminal 44 is provided on the left side of the mobile phone main body 42. However, if the jack terminal 44 is provided on the right side or the upper part, the finder window 40 can be viewed from either the left or right eye. It becomes easier and shooting becomes easier.
[0017]
FIG. 7 shows a state where the portable information terminal strobe 10 is connected to the jack terminal 54 provided on the right side of the mobile phone main body 42. Even in the jack terminal 54 provided on the right side, the jack terminal 54 is provided directly beside the taking lens 50, and the viewfinder 30 and the taking lens 50 are located at the same height. On the other hand, the cover 46 is provided on the upper side of the jack terminal 44 in the jack terminal 44 provided on the left side of the mobile phone main body 42, whereas the cover 56 is provided on the jack terminal 54 in the jack terminal 54 provided on the right side. It is provided on the lower side. For this reason, when the strobe body 26 is connected to the right jack terminal 54, the top and bottom are reversed from when connected to the left jack terminal 44, and the viewfinder 30 is located close to the photographic lens 50 as in FIG. 6. The strobe light emitting unit 34 is disposed at a far position. As described above, even when the mobile information terminal strobe 10 is connected to the jack terminal 54 provided on the right side of the mobile phone main body 42 and the strobe shooting is performed, there is an effect of suppressing the parallax and the red-eye phenomenon.
[0018]
FIG. 8 shows a state where the portable information terminal strobe 10 is connected to the jack terminal 58 provided on the upper part of the mobile phone main body 42. In the case of the jack terminal 58 provided in the upper part, the jack terminal 58 is provided immediately above the photographic lens 50, and the finder 30 is disposed immediately above the photographic lens 50. On the other hand, the cover 60 is provided on the right side of the jack terminal 58 in the jack terminal 58 provided in the upper part. For this reason, when the strobe body 26 is connected to the jack terminal 58, the finder 30 is disposed at a position close to the photographing lens 50, and the strobe light emitting unit 34 is disposed at a position far away, so that parallax and red-eye phenomenon can be suppressed.
[0019]
In the above-described embodiment, power is supplied from the battery 52 on the back of the mobile phone main body 42 to the strobe body 26. However, the strobe main body 26 may include a battery for flash emission.
[0020]
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the strobe 10 for the portable information terminal of the present invention is connected to the camera-equipped mobile phone 12 has been described. However, the connection is similarly made to the portable information terminal with a camera such as PHS, PDA, mobile PC. Can be used.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the optical viewfinder is provided in the strobe for the portable information terminal, the photographing range can be easily determined through the viewfinder when photographing in a dark place. Further, when the connection terminal of the strobe for portable information terminal is inserted into the jack terminal, the viewfinder is arranged in the vicinity of the taking lens, and the height of the viewfinder and the taking lens is the same, so that the parallax can be reduced. On the other hand, the strobe light emitting unit is disposed at a position away from the photographing lens, and has an effect of suppressing the red-eye phenomenon.
[0022]
The strobe for portable information terminal of the present invention can be connected to the jack terminal provided on the left side, right side or upper part of the portable information terminal main body, and it is easy to look into the finder from either the left or right eye. Yes.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram when a strobe for a portable information terminal adopting the present invention is connected to a camera-equipped mobile phone.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a front surface of a strobe for a portable information terminal.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a back surface of a portable information terminal strobe.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a connection portion between a portable information terminal strobe and a camera-equipped mobile phone.
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view showing a state in which a strobe for a portable information terminal is connected to a jack terminal on the left side of the mobile phone main body.
FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the portable information terminal strobe is connected to the jack terminal on the left side of the mobile phone main body.
FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view showing a state where the strobe for the portable information terminal is connected to the jack terminal on the right side of the mobile phone main body.
FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view showing a state where a strobe for a portable information terminal is connected to a jack terminal on the upper part of the mobile phone main body.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Strobe 26 for portable information terminals Strobe body 28 Connection terminal 30 Viewfinder 34 Strobe light emitting part 36 Recess 38 Central axis 44 of connection terminal Jack terminal 46 Cover

Claims (4)

A strobe for a portable information terminal that is used by directly connecting to the jack terminal of the portable information terminal,
A strobe body provided with an optical viewfinder, a strobe light emitting unit that emits strobe light toward a subject, and a recess for fitting the lid of the jack terminal and fixing the orientation of the strobe body;
Strobe portable information terminal characterized by being configured to and a projecting connection pin from the strobe body. The strobe for a portable information terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the finder is arranged on a central axis of the connection terminal. The strobe for a portable information terminal according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the finder is disposed closer to the connection terminal than the strobe light emitting unit. 4. The strobe for a portable information terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the jack terminal is shared with an earphone microphone terminal.

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