Title: Camera device with selectable image paths
Abstract: A combination mobile terminal and camera with multiple light apertures in the housing. One aperture is disposed on a front side of the housing while another aperture is disposed on a rear side of the housing. The device has an image sensor disposed within the housing for converting images formed by light directed onto the image sensor into electrical signals. The device also has a movable optical system for selectively directing light passing through one of the light apertures onto the image sensor. The device also includes an image processor coupled to an output of the image sensor for processing the electrical signals from the image sensor to produce image signals. The device also has a position detector to detect the position of the movable optics and for directing the image processor to invert the images as needed.
Patent Number: 6,992,699 Issued on 01/31/2006 to Vance, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Vance; Scott L (Cary, NC);
Hunt; Charles C (Raleigh, NC)
|
| Assignee:
|
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (SE)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
631175 |
| Filed:
|
August 2, 2000 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
348/207.99; 348/375 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
H04N 5/22.5 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
348/1401,140.2,140.5,140.7,140.8,141.6,207.99,374,375,376
359/212,618,872
396/322,429,447
455/550.1,556.1,557
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 4303322 | Dec., 1981 | Someya.
| |
| 4704022 | Nov., 1987 | Nozawa et al.
| |
| 5150215 | Sep., 1992 | Shi.
| |
| 5491507 | Feb., 1996 | Umezawa et al.
| |
| 5825408 | Oct., 1998 | Yuyama et al.
| |
| 5940126 | Aug., 1999 | Kimura.
| |
| 6137525 | Oct., 2000 | Lee et al.
| |
| 6177950 | Jan., 2001 | Robb.
| |
| 6339508 | Jan., 2002 | Nozawa et al.
| |
| 6532035 | Mar., 2003 | Saari et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 19736675 | Feb., 1999 | DE.
| |
| WO97/26744 | Sep., 1997 | WO.
| |
| WO98/19435 | May., 1998 | WO.
| |
Primary Examiner: Tran; Thai
Assistant Examiner: Nguyen; Luong T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Coats & Bennett, P.L.L.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A combination mobile terminal and camera comprising:
a housing having a first light aperture formed in a first side of said housing
and a second light aperture formed in a second side of said housing;
a wireless transceiver disposed within said housing for transmitting and receiving signals;
an image sensor fixedly disposed within said housing for converting images formed
by light on said image sensor into electrical signals;
a movable optical system for selectively directing light passing through said
first and second light apertures onto said image sensor; and
an image processor coupled to an output of said image sensor for processing the
electrical signals from said image sensor to produce image signals.
2. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 1 wherein said optical
system comprises a mirror assembly having at least one movable mirror, said mirror
assembly being movable between a first position to direct light entering through
said first light aperture along a first image path onto said image sensor and a
second position to direct light entering through said second light aperture along
a second image path onto said image sensor.
3. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 2 wherein said mirror
assembly comprises at least one movable mirror rotatable between at least first
and second positions.
4. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 3 wherein said movable
mirror directs light entering through said first light aperture along said first
image path onto said image sensor when disposed in the first position and directs
light entering through said second light aperture along said second image path
onto said image sensor when disposed in the second position.
5. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 2 wherein said mirror
assembly comprises at least first and second movable mirrors.
6. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 5 wherein said first and
second movable mirrors slide between the first position and the second position.
7. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 5 wherein said first movable
mirror directs light entering through said first light aperture along said first
image path onto said image sensor when said first and second movable mirrors are
disposed in said first position and wherein said second movable mirror directs
light entering through said second light aperture along said second image path
onto said image sensor when said first and second movable mirrors are disposed
in said second position.
8. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 2 further comprising a
position detector to detect the position of said mirror assembly, said image processor
being responsive to a signal from said position detector to invert said images
when said mirror assembly is in one of said first and second positions.
9. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 1 wherein said optical
system further comprises at least one lens.
10. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 9 wherein said lens is
movable between a first position along a first image path to a second position
along a second image path.
11. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 10 further comprising
a movable mirror assembly having at least one movable mirror, said mirror assembly
being movable between the first position to direct light entering through said
first light aperture along said first image path onto said image sensor and the
second position to direct light entering through said second light aperture along
said second image path onto said image sensor.
12. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 9 comprising a first
lens disposed along said first image path and a second lens disposed along said
second image path.
13. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 12 wherein said first
and second lenses are fixed.
14. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 1 further comprising
a display.
15. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 10 wherein said first
light aperture faces in the direction of a display and said second light aperture
faces in the direction opposite said display.
16. A camera comprising:
a housing;
a display mounted in said housing;
a first light aperture formed in a first side of said housing and facing in the
direction of said display;
a second light aperture formed in a second side of said housing and facing in
a direction opposite said display;
an image sensor fixedly disposed within said housing for converting images formed
by light on said image sensor into electrical signals;
a movable optical system for selectively directing light passing through said
first and second light apertures onto said image sensor; and
an image processor coupled to an output of said image sensor for processing the
electrical signals from said image sensor to produce image signals.
17. The camera of claim 16 wherein said optical system comprises a mirror assembly
having at least one movable mirror, said mirror assembly being movable between
a first position to direct light entering through said first light aperture along
a first image path onto said image sensor and a second position to direct light
entering through said second light aperture along a second image path onto said
image sensor.
18. The camera of claim 17 wherein said mirror assembly comprises at least one
movable mirror rotatable between at least first and second positions.
19. The camera of claim 18 wherein said movable mirror directs light entering
through said first light aperture along said first image path onto said image sensor
when disposed in said first position and directs light entering through said second
light aperture along said second image path onto said image sensor when disposed
in said second position.
20. The camera of claim 17 wherein said mirror assembly comprises at least first
and second movable mirrors.
21. The camera of claim 20 wherein said first and second movable mirrors slide
between a first position and a second position.
22. The camera of claim 20 wherein said first movable mirror directs light entering
through said first light aperture along said first image path onto said image sensor
when said first and second movable mirrors are disposed in said first position
and wherein said second movable mirror directs light entering through said second
light aperture along said second image path onto said image sensor when said first
and second movable mirrors are disposed in said second position.
23. The camera of claim 22 further comprising a position detector to detect the
position of said mirror assembly, said image processor being responsive to a signal
from said position detector to invert said images when said mirror assembly is
in one of said first and second positions.
24. The camera of claim 16 wherein said optical system further comprises at least
one lens.
25. The camera of claim 24 wherein said lens is movable between a first position
along a first image path to a second position along a second image path.
26. The camera of claim 25 further comprising a movable mirror assembly having
at least one movable mirror, said movable mirror assembly being movable between
the first position to direct light entering through said first light aperture along
said first image path onto said image sensor and the second position to direct
light entering through said second light aperture along said second image path
onto said image sensor.
27. The camera of claim 24 comprising a first lens disposed along a first image
path and a second lens disposed along a second image path.
28. The camera of claim 27 wherein said first and second lenses are fixed.
29. A method for selectively displaying images seen through first and second
apertures of a camera facing in opposing directions, said method comprising:
providing a movable mirror assembly for selectively directing light entering
through said first and second apertures onto an image sensor to capture an image;
positioning said movable mirror assembly in a first position to direct light
entering through said first light aperture along a first image path to capture
an image seen through said first light aperture; and
positioning said movable mirror assembly in a second position to direct light
entering through said second light aperture along a second image path to capture
an image seen through said second light aperture.
30. The method of claim 29 wherein said movable mirror assembly comprises a movable
mirror and wherein positioning said movable mirror assembly in said first and second
positions comprises moving said mirror between said first and second positions.
31. The method of claim 30 wherein said movable mirror is rotatable and wherein
moving said movable mirror between said first and second positions comprises rotating
said movable mirror between said first and second positions.
32. The method of claim 30 wherein moving said movable mirror between said first
and second positions comprises sliding said movable mirror between said first and
second position.
33. A method of directing multiple images through multiple apertures onto an
image sensor comprising:
positioning a movable mirror assembly in a first position:
recording a first image by directing the first image through a first aperture
onto the movable mirror assembly;
reflecting the first image from the mirror assembly disposed in the first position
to direct the reflected first image onto the image sensor;
positioning the movable mirror assembly from the first position to a second position;
recording a second image by directing the second image through a second aperture
onto the movable mirror assembly; and
reflecting the second image from the mirror assembly disposed in the second position
to direct the reflected second image onto the image sensor.
34. The method of claim 33 wherein the mirror assembly includes a single mirror,
and wherein the first and second images are reflected from the single mirror onto
the image sensor.
35. The method of claim 34 wherein the single mirror is movable between the first
and second positions, and wherein in the first position said single mirror aligns
with said first aperture, and wherein in said second position said single mirror
aligns with said second aperture.
36. The method of claim 35 wherein said single mirror is rotatable between said
first and second positions.
37. The method of claim 33 wherein said mirror assembly includes first and second
mirrors movable between the first and second positions, and wherein in said first
position said first mirror aligns with said first aperture, and wherein in said
second position said second mirror aligns with said second aperture.
38. A combination mobile terminal and camera comprising:
a housing;
a wireless transceiver disposed within the housing for transmitting and receiving signals;
an image sensor fixedly disposed within the housing for converting images formed
by light directed on the image sensor into electrical signals;
a movable optical system for selectively directing light entering the housing
from a first and a second direction onto the image sensor; and
an image processor coupled to an output of the image sensor for processing the
electrical signals from the image sensor to produce image signals.
39. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 38 wherein the optical
system selectively directs light entering the housing through one of two apertures
in the housing.
40. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 38 wherein the optical
system selectively directs light entering the housing through a first aperture
located in the front of the housing and a second aperture located in the rear of
the housing.
41. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 38 wherein the optical
system for selectively directing light comprises a first and second movable mirrors
slidable between a first position and second position to selectively direct light
entering the housing onto the image sensor.
42. The combination mobile terminal and camera of claim 38 wherein the optical
system comprises at least one movable component that is movable between two positions
to selectively direct light entering the housing onto the image sensor and further
comprising a position detector to detect the position of the movable component,
the image processor being responsive to a signal from the position detector to
invert the images when the movable component is in one of the two positions.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to camera devices and, more particularly,
to a camera device having first and second selectable image paths.
Camera phones, which comprise a mobile, hand-held telephone and a digital
camera in the same physical package, have recently been introduced to the market.
At present, the development of digital camera phones is in its infancy. Wideband
Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and other emerging technologies will soon
make it possible to send digital images and live video over wireless communication
networks. These emerging technologies will spawn a new breed of camera phones that
can be used for teleconferencing or for recording video that can be transmitted
over the wireless communications network.
When recording video, the user generally likes to see the image being recorded.
In modern video cameras, the image seen through the lens of the camera is presented
on a liquid crystal display. The display is typically oriented to face the opposite
direction of the lens so that the user can use the display as a viewfinder to view
the image being recorded. However, when the user is participating in a video conference,
a display facing in the same direction as the lens is needed so that the user can
see the other parties while transmitting the user's own image. Modern video cameras
solve this problem by mounting the display on a swivel so that it can be rotated
to face in either direction. While it is technically feasible to make a display
for a camera phone that can swivel, that is not a very practical solution for a
camera phone. Color displays have numerous connections that would require use of
a flexible connector. If a flexible connector is used, the display would need to
swivel in one direction to move from position A to position B, and in the opposite
direction to move back from position B to position A. Also the design of the flex
is difficult to implement and is often unreliable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to camera devices, such as a digital camera or
camera phone, having first and second selectable image paths. The camera device
comprises a housing having a first light aperture formed in a front side of the
housing and a second light aperture formed in the back side of the housing. An
image sensor is disposed within the housing for converting images formed by light
on the image sensor into raw image data. The raw image data is processed by an
image processor to produce formatted image signals for output to a display or for
transmission by a transceiver. An optical system selectively directs light along
either the first or second image paths onto the image sensor. In an exemplary embodiment,
the optical system comprises a rotatable or slidable mirror assembly. When the
rotatable mirror assembly is in a first position, light entering housing through
the first light aperture is directed along the first image path to the image sensor.
When the mirror assembly is in the second position, light entering through the
second light aperture is directed along a second image path to the image sensor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary camera device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the camera device as seen from the front.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the camera device as seen from the back.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a mirror assembly used
in the camera device.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic illustrations showing the mirror assembly in the
forward-looking and rearward-looking positions respectively.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an alternate embodiment of the mirror assembly
including a lens cover.
FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams showing variation of the first embodiment
of the camera device with two fixed lenses.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a second exemplary embodiment of the camera device.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the mirror assembly used in the second
embodiment of the camera device.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a third exemplary embodiment of the camera device.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the mirror assembly used in the third
embodiment of the camera device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary camera device indicated generally
by the numeral
10. The exemplary embodiment of the camera device comprises
a camera phone, which is used as an example to describe one application of the
invention. The present invention is not, however, limited to a camera phone. The
present invention may be embodied in other camera devices including without limitation
a digital camera, a mobile terminal, or other devices incorporating a camera. Mobile
terminals may include cellular radiotelephones, personal communication services
(PCS) devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and palm-top computers.
The camera phone
10 comprises a microprocessor
12, program memory
14, input/output circuit
16, transceiver
18, audio processing
circuit
20, user interface
22, image sensor
32, image processor
34, and optical system
50. Microprocessor
12 controls the
operation of the camera phone
10 according to programs stored in program
memory
14. Input/output circuits
16 interface the microprocessor
12 with the user interface
22, transceiver
18, audio processing
circuit
20, and image processing circuit
34. User interface
22
comprises a keypad
24, display
26, microphone
28, and speaker
30. Keypad
24 allows the operator to dial numbers, enter commands,
and select options. The display
26 allows the operator to see dialed digits,
call status, and other service information. Microphone
28 converts the user's
speech into electrical audio signals, and speaker
30 converts audio signals
into audible signals that can be heard by the user. Audio processing circuit
20
provides basic analog output signals to the speaker
30 and accept analog
audio inputs from the microphone
28. Transceiver
18 is coupled to
an antenna
36 for receiving and transmitting signals.
Image sensor
32 captures images formed by light impacting on the surface
of the image sensor
32. The image sensor
32 may be any conventional
image sensor
32, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary
metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. Image processor
34 processes
raw image data collected by the image sensor
32 for subsequent output to
the display
26 or for transmission by the transceiver
18. The image
processor
34 is a conventional signal microprocessor programmed to process
image data, which is well known in the art.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views illustrating an exemplary embodiment of
the camera phone
10. The camera phone
10 includes a housing
40,
which in the disclosed exemplary embodiment has a front cover
42 and a back
cover
44. The keypad
24, display
26, microphone
28,
and speaker
30 are disposed in the front cover
42. The front cover
42 further includes a first light aperture
46 disposed above the
display
26, which faces in the same direction as the display
26.
Back cover
44 includes a second light aperture
48, which faces in
the opposite direction of the display
26. As will be described more fully
below, the first and second light apertures
46,
48 allow the camera
phone to look forwardly, e.g. the same direction as the display
26, or rearwardly,
e.g. the opposite direction of the display
26.
Contained within housing
40 is a printed circuit board
38
which contains the electronic components of the camera phone
10 such as
the microprocessor
12, memory
14, I/O circuits
16, transceiver
18, audio processing circuit
20, and image processing circuit
34.
Image sensor
32 is also typically mounted to printed circuit board
38.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the optical system
50 in the
exemplary embodiment. The function of the optical system
50 is to selectively
direct light along either a first image path or a second image path to the image
sensor
32. The optical system
50 comprises an objective lens
54,
a double-sided movable mirror
56, and a stationary mirror
58. The
objective lens
54 and movable mirror
56 are part of a rotating mirror
assembly
52. Mirror assembly
52 includes, in addition to the objective
lens
54 and movable mirror
56, a spherical housing
60 mounted
on a shaft
62. A ring
64 is disposed on the outer end of the shaft
62, which extends through the housing
40. Ring
64 provides
a means for the user to rotate the mirror assembly
52. Those skilled in
the art will recognize that the element for rotating the mirror assembly
52
may be located in the front, back, or sides of housing
40 and that a variety
of different elements could be used. Mirror assembly
52 is held by a spring
clip
67 that engages a pair of flat surfaces
68 on shaft
62
of the mirror assembly
52. The flat surfaces
68 function as an index
mechanism to yieldably station the mirror assembly
52 at the forward-looking
and rearward-looking positions as described more fully below.
Spherical housing
60 of mirror assembly
52 contains a cavity
66 having two openings—an entry opening
70 and exit opening
72. The axis of entry opening
70 is disposed perpendicular to the
axis of shaft
62 so that the orientation of entry opening
70 changes
when shaft
62 is rotated. The axis of exit opening
72 is coincident
or parallel to the axis of shaft
62 so that exit opening
72 remains
oriented in the same direction regardless of the angular position of shaft
62.
Objective lens
54 is mounted within or adjacent the entry opening
70.
Movable mirror
56 is positioned within cavity
66 so that light entering
through entry opening
70 is reflected out through exit opening
72.
Light reflected out of the mirror assembly
52 is then reflected by stationary
mirror
58 onto the surface of the image sensor
32, which is mounted
to the printed circuit board
38.
The rotating mirror assembly
52 allows the objective lens
54 and
movable mirror
56 to move between at least first and second positions. Equivalently,
the objective lens
54 and movable mirror
56 could be mounted for
sliding movement between first and second positions. In the first position, shown
in FIG. 5, light entering through the first light aperture
46 is directed
along a first image path to the image sensor
32. In the second position,
shown in FIG. 6, light entering through the second light aperture
48 is
directed along a second image path to the image sensor
32.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic illustrations showing the operational positions
of the mirror assembly
52. Light from an object is directed along either
a first or second image path depending on the position of mirror assembly
52.
Image sensor
32 picks up the reflected light and converts the reflected
light to raw image data. The raw image data is processed by image processor
34
to provide an image signal which can be formatted for output to the display
26
or for transmission by the transceiver
18.
FIG. 5 illustrates the mirror assembly
52 in the forward-looking position.
Light enters the housing
40 (not shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) through the first
light aperture
46 and passes through the objective lens
54. Movable
mirror
56 reflects the light through the exit opening
72 in the lens
housing
60 in the direction of the stationary mirror
58. Stationary
mirror
58 reflects light exiting lens housing
60 onto the image sensor
32. The path illustrated in FIG. 5 is referred to herein as the first image path.
In FIG. 6, the mirror assembly
52 is rotated 180° from the position
shown in FIG. 5 to the rearward-looking position. In this position, light enters
housing
40 through the second light aperture
48, passes through the
objective lens
54, is reflected by movable mirror
56 through exit
opening
72, and finally is reflected by stationary mirror
58 onto
the image sensor
32. In this case, the image formed on the image sensor
32 will be inverted as compared to the image formed when the mirror assembly
52 is in the forward-looking position. A position sensor
80 detects
the position of the mirror assembly
52 and generates a position signal that
is input to the image processor
34. Based on the input from the position
sensor
80, the image processor
34 inverts image so that the displayed
image is correct.
A variety of different techniques can be used to detect the position of the mirror
assembly
52. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, the position sensor
80 comprises a wiper contact
82 disposed on the shaft
62 of
the mirror assembly
52. When the mirror assembly
52 is rotated to
the rearward-looking position, the wiper contact
82 on the shaft
62
makes an electrical connection between two spaced-apart contacts
84 on the
printed circuit board
38 and causes a signal to be generated indicative
of the position of the mirror assembly
52. In this example, the signal is
a voltage signal. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many other ways
exist to detect position of the mirror assembly
52. Instead of a wiper contact
82, a mechanical switch actuated by rotation of the mirror assembly
52
could be used to determine the position of the mirror assembly
52. Also,
there are many different types of non-contact position sensors
80 that can
be used to detect the position of the mirror assembly
52, including capacitance
sensors, inductance sensors, Hall-effect sensors, magnetic sensors, and optical sensors.
The camera phone
10 of the present invention can be used for video conferencing
or as a conventional video camera. For teleconferencing, the mirror assembly
52
is oriented so that the lens faces forward, i.e., in the same direction as the
display
26. In this orientation, the user's image is transmitted while the
user talks on the camera phone
10. At the same time, the user can view the
image being transmitted from the person at the other end of the call. To use the
camera phone
10 as a video camera, the mirror assembly
52 is rotated
to the rearward-looking position, i.e., facing away from the display
26.
In this position, the user can use the camera phone
10 to record video images
while using the display
26 as a viewfinder. In a preferred embodiment, a
button
86 on the camera phone
10 allows the user to turn imaging
system on and off.
FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of the mirror assembly
52. The embodiment
shown in FIG. 7 is identical to the embodiment of FIG. 4 but with the addition
of a lens cover
90. Lens cover
90 serves to cover the objective lens
54 when not in use. Lens cover
90 is semi-spherical in form and conforms
to the outer surface of spherical housing
60. A small pin
92 extends
outward from the spherical housing
60. When the objective lens
54
is not in use, the mirror assembly
52 is rotated so that the objective lens
54 is covered by lens cover
90. The lens cover
90 can be rotated
to cover either the first light aperture
46 or second light aperture
48.
In FIG. 7, the lens cover
90 is covering the second light aperture
48.
To move the lens cover
90 so as to conceal the first light aperture
46,
the user rotates the mirror assembly
52 in either direction until pin
92
engages the edge of lens cover
90 and then continues to rotate the mirror
assembly
52. Once pin
92 engages the lens cover
90, the lens
cover
90 rotates with the remainder of the mirror assembly
52. The
same procedure is followed to rotate the lens cover
90 back to the position
shown in FIG. 7.
As an alternative to a rotating lens cover
90, the housing
40 of
the camera phone
10 may include movable shutters or other covers. Also,
a separate lens cover
90 or shutter can be eliminated by proper sizing of
the entry opening
70. In this case, the mirror assembly
52 could
be rotated such that the objective lens
54 faces sideways and the spherical
housing
60 closes both light apertures
46 and
48.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other arrangements of lenses
and mirrors are possible for carrying out the present invention. For example, the
objective lens
54 in the mirror assembly
52 can be replaced by two
stationary objective lenses
54′—one for each light aperture
46,
48—as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this variant of the invention,
the stationary lenses
54′ are fixed. Additional lenses or mirrors
could also be used. For example, a focusing lens or special effects lens could
be included in the first or second image paths. Also, by positioning the image
sensor
32 along the axis of the exit opening
72 of the mirror assembly
52, the stationary mirror
58 could be eliminated. In another variation,
the objective lens
54 could be movable between at least first and second
positions while using stationary reflecting mirrors.
It is also possible to replace the movable mirror
56 with a series of
stationary
mirrors and liquid crystal light valves as are commonly used in projection systems.
The light valves could be used to selectively block or transmit light entering
through the first and second light apertures by applying a voltage to the light
valve which alters the transmission characteristics of the light valve. This would
increase the total number of parts while eliminating movable parts. The light valves
could be activated by a switch or button on the camera phone
10.
Thus, the particular arrangement of mirrors and lenses disclosed herein should
not be construed as limiting the invention. The invention encompasses any arrangement
of mirrors, lenses, light valves, or other components which allow light to be selectively
directed along a plurality of image paths to an image sensor.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a second embodiment of the camera
phone
10 of the present invention. The camera phone
10 of FIG. 10
is similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-9 and, therefore, similar reference numbers
are used to indicate similar parts. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, a dial
65 is disposed in the front cover
42 of the camera phone
10.
Dial
65 is part of a mirror assembly
52′ shown in FIG. 11.
Mirror assembly
52′ includes a shaft
62′ and a double-sided
reflecting mirror
56′. Dial
65 is connected to one end of
shaft
62′. Reflecting mirror
56′ is mounted on shaft
62′ so as to rotate with shaft
62′. Dial
65
is turned by the user's thumb to rotate the reflecting lens
56′ between
the first and second positions.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the camera phone
10.
This embodiment is similar to the previous embodiments and, therefore, similar
reference numbers are used to indicate similar parts. In the embodiment of FIG.
13, a sliding mirror assembly
52" is used in place of the rotating mirror
assembly
52 and
52′ of the previous embodiments. Mirror assembly
52" comprises a shaft
62" with a thumb pad
64" at each end
thereof and a pair of single-sided reflecting mirrors
56". The single-sided
reflecting mirrors
56" are mounted to the shaft
62". Reflecting mirrors
56" are disposed at a 90° angle with respect to one another. The mirror
assembly
52" slides along the axis of the shaft
62" as indicated
by the arrows in FIG. 13 to selectively position the reflecting mirrors
56"
in the first and second optical paths, respectively.
The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than
those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics
of the invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all
respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the
meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.
*
