Mobile phone

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a mobile phone equipped with a camera suitable for situations requiring precise photographs of small areas to be photographed.

Background

Mobile phones equipped with a camera enable users to share photos and videos on data transmission networks to which mobile phones are connected via radio, via an integrated sharing infrastructure. The cellular phone camera may comprise, for example, a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor "CMOS" image sensor, a Charge Coupled Device "CCD" image sensor, or a Back Side Illuminated CMOS image sensor. Modern smartphones come with a variety of connectivity and data transfer options with rich picture and video attachment capabilities. The aforementioned connection and data transfer options may include, for example, Internet access, web browsers, and e-mail programs.

Most of the mobile phones on the market are suitable for producing photos and videos of people, landscapes and other subjects at a distance from the mobile phone such that a short, fixed focal length camera is suitable for producing quality photos. However, in many situations, there may be different types of shooting tasks that can be performed with a mobile phone camera. For example, it may be necessary to have accurate pictures of small areas of the subject so that the camera is close to the subject, for example the distance between the camera and the subject may be as short as, for example, 5 cm to 10 cm. A need of the type mentioned above may occur, for example, when a person wants to send a doctor or other health professional a detailed photograph of a wound or other abdominal area, a sore throat or another detailed photograph for a doctor or other health professional to take. diagnosis and plan additional measures.

Summary

The following is a simplified summary to explain a few aspects of the various embodiments of the invention at the basic level. The summary is not a comprehensive description of the invention. It is not intended to identify the most important or crucial elements of the invention nor to define the scope of the invention. The following summary merely outlines some of the concepts of the invention in simplified form as an introduction to a more detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. In this application, the geometric attributes "length", "width" and "thickness" are attributes having size and orientation. The length direction is the direction of the geometric line along which the length is measured, the width direction is the direction of the geometric line along which the width is measured, and the thickness direction is the direction of the geometric line along which the thickness is measured.

The invention relates to a new cellular telephone, comprising: - a case having a length, a width, and a thickness such that the thickness is less than a width and a width less than a length, and - a camera which is housed inside the housing the axis is perpendicular to the direction of the thickness of the housing, and the housing comprises a camera light inlet on a wall parallel to the direction of the housing thickness.

Said camera has a fixed focal length so that the sharpest shooting distance from the camera lens to the subject is within the range of 4 cm to 8 cm, i.e., the camera is designed to produce accurate photographs of small areas near the mobile phone.

In the above-mentioned mobile phone, the focal length of the camera may be significantly longer than in mobile phones in which the optical axis of the camera is parallel to the direction of the housing thickness. On the other hand, the thickness limits one dimension of the imaging plane of the electronic imaging sensor in the mobile phone described above. Thus, the electronic imaging sensor in the mobile phone described above cannot be the same as in a mobile phone having an optical axis parallel to the thickness direction, and the imaging plane of the electronic imaging sensor is thus perpendicular to the thickness direction. However, in cases where sharp images of small areas are needed, a longer focal length offers more advantages than a larger electronic imaging sensor. The electronic imaging sensor of the mobile phone described above preferably has a high pixel density, i.e., pixels / cm 2.

Various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in the appended dependent claims.

Brief description of the figures

Non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the invention and their advantages will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1a and 1b illustrate a cellular telephone according to one non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Description of non-limiting exemplary embodiments

Figure 1 is a partially exploded view of a cellular telephone 100 according to a non-limiting embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1b is a view along the negative z-axis of a cellular telephone 100 coordinate system 199. The cellular telephone 100 comprises a housing 101 having a length L, a width W and a thickness T. The thickness T is less than the width W and the width W is less than the length L. In Figures 1a and 1b, the direction L is parallel to the z direction of the coordinate system 199. the direction W of the width is parallel to the x-direction of the coordinate system, and the direction of the thickness T is parallel to the y-direction of the coordinate system 199. The cellular telephone 100 comprises a camera 102 within the housing 101 such that the optical axis of the camera 102 is perpendicular to the direction T of the thickness, and the housing 101 comprises a camera light inlet 103 on a wall 104 parallel to, or non-intersecting. The optical axis of the camera 102 is perpendicular to the imaging plane of the electronic image sensor 105 of the camera 102. Figure 1a is thus a side view of the electronic image sensor 105. The electronic image sensor 105 may be, for example, a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor "CMOS" image sensor, a Charge Coupled Device "CCD" image sensor, or a Back Side Illuminated CMOS image sensor.

In the cell phone 100 described above, the focal length of the camera 102 may be significantly longer than in cell phones in which the optical axis of the camera is parallel to the direction of the housing thickness. On the other hand, the thickness T limits one dimension of the imaging plane of the electronic image sensor 105 in the mobile phone 100. Thus, the electronic image sensor 105 may not be as large as a camera having an optical axis parallel to the thickness T direction, and the image plane of the electronic image sensor is thus perpendicular to the thickness T direction. However, in cases where accurate images of small areas are needed, longer focal lengths have more advantages than a larger electronic image sensor. The electronic image sensor 105 preferably has a high pixel density, for example at least 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 70 megapixels / cm2.

1a and 1b, the wall 104 comprising the light input port 103 of the camera 102 is perpendicular to the length L of the housing 101, and the optical axis of the camera 102 is parallel to, i.e. non-intersecting, the length L of the housing 101. In a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the invention, the distance Le from the light input port 103 to the electronic image sensor 105 is at least 50% of the length L of the case 101.

The camera 102 has a fixed focal length suitable for producing clear images of subjects near the mobile phone 100. The fixed focal length is such that the sharpest shooting distance from the camera lens to the subject is between 4 cm and 8 cm. The camera 102 is thus designed to produce accurate photographs of small areas near the cellular phone 100. 1a and 1b, the exemplary mobile telephone 100 further comprises a second camera 109 suitable for producing photographs of, for example, people and landscapes. The optical axis of the camera 109 is parallel or non-intersecting with the direction T of the thickness T of the housing 101, and thus the imaging plane of the electronic image sensor of the camera 109 is perpendicular to the direction T of the thickness.

The cellular telephone 100 comprises means for implementing communication and data transmission services with image stitching capabilities. The communication and data transmission services make it possible to deliver photographs via data transmission network 107 to receiving devices 108. The receiving devices 108 may comprise, for example, a computer system allowing a physician or other health professional to receive a photograph of a wound or other abnormal skin, which will allow a doctor or other health professional to diagnose the situation and plan follow-up.