JP4887683B2 - Camera-equipped terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for mounting a focus switching camera on a terminal device, and in particular, two directions for automatically switching the focus of the camera in each direction by switching the direction of the camera to two directions on the terminal device. The present invention relates to a terminal device technology with a focus switching camera.

  With the development of IT technology, digitalization, miniaturization, and low cost of cameras are possible. In addition to mobile phones and mobile terminals, such cameras can be incorporated into terminal devices such as personal computers, intercoms, and monitoring devices. In-camera embedded devices have been developed.

  These camera-equipped terminal devices require various camera functions depending on the application. For example, in a mobile phone for videophone, it is necessary to switch the focus of the camera so that close-up shooting for shooting his / her face and long-range shooting for shooting landscapes and the like are possible. At this time, it is convenient for the operator to change the orientation of the on-board camera while holding the mobile phone for videophones. However, by changing the orientation of the camera, the focus switching of the camera is automatically performed. It is more convenient if done. A camera that has a mechanism for changing the direction of the camera in two predetermined directions and performs predetermined focus switching according to the direction is called a bi-directional focus switching camera in this specification. In addition, a terminal device equipped with such a bi-directional focus switching camera is referred to as a bi-directional focus switching camera-equipped terminal device in this specification.

  As an example of realizing such a bi-directional focus switching camera-equipped terminal device, there is a technical disclosure shown in Patent Document 1 below. The bi-directional focus switching method disclosed here has a focus switching knob of a bifocal switching camera module incorporating a focus switching mechanism on the rotating mechanism side, and this focus switching knob is attached to a cam formed on the terminal device body side. It is used as a rotating cam follower.

  As a bifocal switching type camera module using a magnet, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 below is known. In this known example, a bifocal switching camera module incorporating a movable lens group barrel having a permanent magnet and an electromagnet capable of controlling a magnetic field is used to move the movable lens group barrel by controlling the direction of the electromagnet current. Switching is performed.

In order to switch between the two focal points, it is necessary to move at least one lens or lens group in the optical axis direction. However, as in Patent Document 2, the movable lens group barrel is moved using magnetic force. Patent Document 3 below discloses the use of a magnetic lens made of magnetic plastic or magnetic glass.
JP 2003-5017 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-212453 JP 2004-29668 A

  In a conventional terminal device equipped with a bi-directional focus switching camera, as shown in Patent Document 1, a cam and a cam follower are molded to perform bi-directional focus switching. However, there is a problem in that high accuracy is required for cam processing and device assembly, parts cost is high, and assembly yield is poor.

  Further, even if a method of controlling the direction of the electromagnet current as shown in Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3 as a bifocal switching method, not only an electromagnet or a current control circuit is required, but also the direction of the camera In order to associate the change of the two focal points with the switching of the two focal points, the mechanical association as described in Patent Document 1 is required, and still high accuracy is required for the cam machining and the device assembly, and the parts cost is high. And the problem that assembly yield is bad is not solved.

  In a conventional terminal device equipped with a bi-directional focus switching camera, a cam having a bi-directional focus switching function on the terminal device body side is used to perform bi-directional focus switching using a focus switching knob on the rotating mechanism side as a rotating cam follower. The above-mentioned problems that the apparatus assembly requires high accuracy, the parts cost is high, and the assembly yield is poor, as shown in FIG. 1, when photographing a predetermined first direction d1, a predetermined first focus. A bi-directional focus switching camera-equipped terminal device equipped with a bi-directional focus switching camera BC that functions as a distance camera and functions as a camera with a predetermined second focal length when shooting in the predetermined second direction d2. The two-way focus switching camera-equipped terminal device includes a rotation mechanism 2 that rotates around a predetermined rotation center rc on the terminal device body 1, and the rotation mechanism 2 includes the two-way A bifocal switching camera module 21 which is an optical system portion of the point switching camera BC, and the rotation mechanism 2 sets the optical axis direction d (oa) of the bifocal switching camera module 21 to the predetermined first direction d1 and The bifocal switching camera module 21 can rotate as set in the second direction d2, and the camera tube 211 has a solid-state image sensor 213 at one end and a camera tube 211 at one end. The movable lens group barrel 212 is slidable in the optical axis direction d (oa) within a predetermined movable range mr, and the movable lens group barrel 212 is a magnetic body (in FIG. The terminal device body 1 has a permanent magnet 11, and the permanent magnet 11 attracts the magnetic body of the movable lens group barrel 212 so that the rotating mechanism 2 Perform the predetermined bifocal switching corresponding to the predetermined two directions to be set Countercurrent focus switching camera mounted terminal device, it is solved by.

  That is, in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 1, the rotation center rc at which the terminal device body 1 and the rotation mechanism 2 are coupled is substantially the movable range mr of the movable lens group barrel 212 of the bifocal switching camera module 21 in the rotation mechanism 2. Taken at the midpoint. The permanent magnet 11 in the terminal device body 1 is arranged below the center of rotation rc in the figure, and the optical axis direction d (oa) of the bifocal switching camera module 21 in the rotation mechanism 2 is the first direction d1 ( (Upward direction in the figure). In such a positional relationship, the magnetic body (magnetic body sliding guide 2122) of the movable lens group barrel 212 is attracted to the lower part in the figure by the permanent magnet 11, and the movable lens group barrel 212 reaches the position of the out stopper 2112. Moving. By this movement, the bi-directional focus switching camera BC becomes the first focal length. On the other hand, when the rotation mechanism 2 is rotated around the rotation center rc from the positional relationship shown in FIG. 1 to change the bifocal switching camera module 21 to an upside down positional relationship, When the optical axis direction d (oa) is oriented in the second direction d2 (the lower direction in the figure), the magnetic body (magnetic body sliding guide 2122) of the movable lens group barrel 212 is also shown by the permanent magnet 11. The movable lens group lens barrel 212 is moved to the position of the in-stopper 2111 coming to the lower part in the drawing. By this movement, the bi-directional focus switching camera BC becomes the second focal length. In this way, the movable lens group barrel 212 is automatically moved and the focus is switched based on the positional relationship of the camera direction switching by the rotation mechanism 2, so that no cam mechanism, electromagnet, current control circuit, etc. are required. Cost and assembly cost are greatly reduced.

  The terminal device equipped with the bi-directional focus switching camera of the present invention uses the fact that the permanent magnet in the terminal device main body attracts the movable lens group barrel of the bifocal switching camera module in the rotation mechanism, and the camera tube by the rotation mechanism. Since the direction switching automatically induces the focus switching, there is no need for a cam mechanism, an electromagnet, a current control circuit, etc., and there is an effect that the parts cost and assembly cost are extremely reduced.

  An embodiment of a terminal device with a bi-directional focus switching camera according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device equipped with a bi-directional focus switching camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device main body 1 is, for example, a telephone main body portion of a mobile phone for videophone, and includes an image processing means and a monitor display means of an on-board camera, in addition to a telephone function means (not shown). In the terminal device body 1 of this embodiment, permanent magnets 11 are arranged at predetermined positions.

  The rotation mechanism 2 is a mechanism that incorporates a bifocal switching camera module 21 that is an optical system portion of the mounted camera and rotates the camera module 21 on the terminal device body 1. For this reason, the rotation mechanism 2 is rotatably connected at a predetermined rotation center rc on the terminal device body 1. The rotation mechanism 2 of the present embodiment is rotated so that the direction of the optical axis direction d (oa) of the bifocal switching camera module 21 is directed to the first direction d1 or the second direction d2 with reference to the terminal device body 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a case where the rotation mechanism 2 is rotated so that the optical axis direction d (oa) is the first direction d1.

  In the present embodiment, the first direction d1 is referred to as an out direction d (out), and the second direction d2 is referred to as an in direction d (in). This is referred to as the out direction d (out) because the direction of the distant view in the operator's line of sight is outside the terminal device body 1 and the operator, based on the terminal device body 1 that is a mobile phone. Since the direction of photographing the face is inside the terminal device body 1 and the operator, it is called an in direction d (in).

  The bifocal switching camera module 21 has a camera tube 211, one end of which is a shooting window, and the other end having a solid-state image sensor 213. In addition, there is a movable lens group barrel 212 that can move in the optical axis direction d (oa) inside the camera tube 211, and an in-stopper 2111, a solid-state image sensor on the shooting window side of the camera tube 211 to define the movable range mr. An out stopper 2112 is provided on the 213 side. The optical system is designed to be a focus for close-up photography when the movable lens group barrel 212 is at the in-stopper 2111 position, and the optical system is designed to be a focal point for far-field photography when the movable lens group barrel 212 is at the out-stopper 2112 position. ing.

  The movable lens group barrel 212 has at least one lens body, usually a plurality of lens bodies 2121, and in this embodiment, the whole is held by a magnetic material sliding guide 2122. The magnetic body sliding guide 2122 is a sliding guide having a magnetic body attracted by the permanent magnet 11. The material and amount of the magnetic material are sufficient to exert a sufficient attractive force for the movable lens group barrel 212 to move in the camera tube 211.

  The bifocal switching camera module 21 shown in FIG. 1 is located in the vicinity of the permanent magnet 11 of the terminal device body 1 so that its focus is determined for either far-field shooting or near-field shooting. 11 forms a bi-directional focus switching camera BC.

  The details will be described below with reference to the bi-directional focus switching operation explanatory diagram of FIG. FIG. 2A shows the basic structure of the camera cylinder 211 and the movable lens group barrel 212 of this embodiment. An in-stopper 2111, and an out-stopper 2112 are provided on the imaging tube side of the camera tube 211 and on the solid-state imaging device 213 side. The movable lens group barrel 212 has a magnetic material sliding guide 2122 so as to be movable left and right in the drawing.

  FIG. 2B shows the operation when the bifocal switching camera module 21 is switched in the in-direction d (in) by the rotation mechanism 2. In this case, the rotation center rc is set so that the permanent magnet 11 of the terminal device body 1 is positioned on the photographing window side of the camera tube 211. Therefore, since the permanent magnet 11 is on the in-stopper 2111 side, the movable lens group barrel 212 is pulled to the right in the drawing and is separated from the solid-state image sensor 213. This brings the focus into close-up mode.

  FIG. 2C shows an operation when the bifocal switching camera module 21 is switched in the out direction d (out) by the rotation mechanism 2. In this case, the rotation center rc is set so that the permanent magnet 11 of the terminal device body 1 is positioned on the solid-state imaging device 213 side of the camera tube 211. Therefore, since the permanent magnet 11 is on the out stopper 2112 side, the movable lens group barrel 212 is drawn to the left in the drawing and approaches the solid-state image sensor 213. As a result, the focus is set to a distant shooting mode.

  Next, the coupling relationship between the terminal device main body 1 and the rotation mechanism 2 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a mounting external view in which a rotation mechanism 2 is mounted on a terminal device body 1 which is a folding mobile phone. As shown in the figure, the rotation mechanism 2 is supported by a rotation center rc at the upper part of the folding hinge of the mobile phone. In FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c), the knurled roller is built by rotating with a finger. The bifocal switching camera module 21 is turned in the out direction d (out) and the in direction d (in). Although not shown in the figure, the permanent magnet 11 is located in the vicinity of the rotation mechanism 2 with a bias toward the inside (the side corresponding to the in direction d (in)) from the rotation center rc of the terminal device body 1.

  FIG. 3B shows an example in which the rotating mechanism 2 is rotated in the in direction d (in). The movable lens group barrel 212 is attracted to the permanent magnet 11 in the terminal device body 1 and the lens is in close-up shooting. It shows moving to a position.

  FIG. 3C shows an example in which the rotating mechanism 2 is rotated in the out direction d (out). The movable lens group barrel 212 is attracted to the permanent magnet 11 in the terminal device body 1 and the lens is photographed at a distance. It shows moving to a position.

  FIG. 4 is a configuration example of the terminal device body 1 and the rotation mechanism 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is also an example in which the bi-directional focus switching camera BC is mounted in the mobile phone for videophone, as in the first embodiment of FIG. 3, but in this embodiment, the function sharing between the terminal device body 1 and the rotating mechanism 2 is performed. Is significantly different from the case of FIG.

  In this embodiment, the configuration block diagram is exactly the same as in FIG. 1, but here the terminal device body 1 is the button operation side of a folding cellular phone as shown in FIG. 4 (a), and the rotation mechanism 2 is shown in FIG. It is the folding side of a folding mobile phone as shown in b). That is, the terminal device body 1 and the rotation mechanism 2 are connected to the hinge mechanism of the folding cellular phone with the rotation center rc. As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the terminal device main body 1 has two windows for camera photography at its hinge portion. When viewed from the user operating the terminal device body 1, a far-field shooting window is opened on the outside, that is, the out direction d (out), and a close-up window is opened on the inside, that is, the in-direction d (in). The permanent magnet 11 is attached so as to be deviated from the rotation center rc toward the close-up photographing window.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, the rotation mechanism 2 has a bifocal switching camera module 21 built in its hinge portion. As shown in the figure, the photographing window of the bifocal switching camera module 21 faces the outside of the terminal device body 1 (out direction d (out)) when the rotating mechanism 2 is folded, and the inside of the terminal device body 1 (in) when the rotating mechanism 2 is extended. (Direction d (in)).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the terminal device main body 1 and the rotation mechanism 2 of this embodiment. FIG. 5A shows the positional relationship when the bifocal switching camera module 21 is set in the out direction d (out). The bifocal switching camera module 21 of the rotation mechanism 2 is viewed from the far-field shooting window of the terminal device body 1. This is the direction in which the out direction d (out) is taken. At this time, since the permanent magnet 11 of the terminal device main body 1 is located on the solid-state imaging device 213 side of the bifocal switching camera module 21, the movable lens group barrel 212 is attracted by the permanent magnet 11 and moved to the position of the out stopper 2112. It becomes the focal length of the far-field shooting mode.

  On the other hand, FIG. 5B shows the positional relationship when the bifocal switching camera module 21 is set in the in direction d (in), and the bifocal switching camera module 21 of the rotating mechanism 2 takes close-up photography of the terminal device body 1. This is the direction in which the in direction d (in) is taken from the window. At this time, since the permanent magnet 11 of the terminal device body 1 is located on the photographing window side of the bifocal switching camera module 21, the movable lens group barrel 212 is attracted by the permanent magnet 11 and moved to the position of the in-stopper 2111. This is the focal length of the shooting mode.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a mechanism for moving the permanent magnet 11 of the terminal device body 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the position of the permanent magnet 11 built in the terminal device body 1 can be changed by an external knob operation in the mobile phone for videophone of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the permanent magnet 11 is normally located at a position closer to the close-up shooting window direction than the rotation center rc. However, when the permanent magnet moving knob is slid as shown by the broken line in the figure, the permanent magnet 11 is Slide to a position that is biased toward the far-field shooting window. This slide can be slid leftward in the figure only when the rotation mechanism 2 is closed. When the rotation mechanism 2 is opened (the folding side is extended), the slide is forcibly returned to the original position.

  By providing such a permanent magnet 11 movable mechanism, the permanent magnet 11 moves to the out direction d (out) side of the rotation center rc when the permanent magnet moving knob is set to the slide position (proximity shooting mode). As a result, the movable lens group barrel 212 in the bifocal switching camera module 21 is attracted by the permanent magnet 11 and moved to the position of the in-stopper 2111 to become the focal length in the close-up mode. That is, normally, when the rotation mechanism 2 is set in the out direction d (out), the bi-directional focus switching camera BC automatically becomes the focal length in the far-field shooting mode, but the user moves the permanent magnet moving knob to the slide position (close-up shooting). Mode), the bi-directional focus switching camera BC is switched to the focal length in the close-up mode. This further increases the degree of freedom in shooting.

  In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, although not shown, a magnetic lens is used for the lens body 2121 in the first embodiment. Accordingly, the sliding guide 2122 does not necessarily need to be a magnetic material, and the degree of freedom in selecting the material of the sliding guide 2122 increases. The magnetic lens is a lens molded using a highly transparent plastic or glass containing a ferromagnetic material, as disclosed in Patent Document 3.

  In the above embodiment, the mobile phone is exemplified as the terminal device equipped with the bi-directional focus switching camera. It goes without saying that the technology can be applied. In addition, although switching of close-up / distant shooting is shown in the embodiment as a bi-directional focus switching camera, switching of wide shooting / distant shooting is performed with this technology by changing the number and types of lenses attracted by magnets. Is also easy.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The terminal device with a bi-directional focus switching camera according to the present invention is used for product differentiation and cost reduction in camera-equipped terminal device vendors such as mobile phones and personal computers, and security vendors such as interphones and monitor devices. there is a possibility.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device with a bi-directional focus switching camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Bidirectional focus switching operation explanatory diagram of the bidirectional focus switching camera BC of the first embodiment of the present invention. Coupling relationship between the terminal device body 1 and the rotation mechanism 2 of the first embodiment of the present invention Configuration example of terminal device body 1 and rotation mechanism 2 of the second embodiment of the present invention Positional relationship between the terminal device body 1 and the rotation mechanism 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Example of permanent magnet 11 movable mechanism of terminal device body 1 of third embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Terminal device body 2 Rotating mechanism
11 Permanent magnet
21 Bifocal switching camera module
211 Camera tube
212 Movable lens group
213 Solid-state image sensor
2111 Inn stopper
2112 Out stopper
2121 Lens body
2122 Magnetic material sliding guide
BC bi-directional focus switching camera
rc center of rotation
d1 first direction
d2 second direction
d (out) Out direction
d (in) In direction
d (oa) Optical axis direction
mr movable range

Claims (3)

A camera cylinder having a solid-state image sensor inside with a shooting window at one end, and with respect to the terminal device main body so that the shooting window faces a predetermined first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction . A camera module installed so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis extending in a direction intersecting the optical axis direction of the camera tube ;
A movable lens group barrel that is slidable with respect to the direction of the optical axis of the camera cylinder, provided within the camera cylinder;
A magnetic body provided in the movable lens group barrel;
A permanent magnet provided in the terminal device main body and disposed at a position shifted in the first direction from the rotation axis with respect to the movable lens group barrel;
The permanent magnet is
When said imaging window is facing forward SL first direction, the photographing window is the than the magnetic body provided in the movable lens barrel of the camera tube when facing the first direction Located on the shooting window side , the movable lens group barrel is moved to the shooting window side by suction of the magnetic body ,
When said imaging window is facing in front Symbol second direction, the photographing window is the than the magnetic body provided in the movable lens barrel of the camera tube when facing the second direction A camera-equipped terminal device that is located on a solid-state image sensor side and moves the movable lens group barrel to the solid-state image sensor side by suction of the magnetic body . The permanent magnet is provided to be movable in the first direction or the second direction within the terminal device body,
The camera-equipped terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a knob coupled to the permanent magnet and configured to move the permanent magnet in the first direction or the second direction by an operation from outside the terminal device body . The movable lens unit barrel is a camera mounted terminal device according to 請 Motomeko 1 or 2 that have a magnetic lens as the magnetic material.

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