KR20060073330A - Mobile communication terminal with high-pixel camera for automatically controlling photographing pixel size according to digital zoom and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and method incorporating a high-pixel camera for automatically controlling a photographing pixel size in accordance with digital zoom.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal with a built-in high-pixel camera that automatically controls the shooting pixel size in accordance with the digital zoom, a mobile communication terminal with a built-in high-pixel camera that automatically controls the shooting pixel size in accordance with the digital zoom, Provides key selection function for dialing, menu selection, call termination, and command input with numeric key, letter key, call key, and end key of, and captures and displays images according to ambient light A key input unit for selecting a mode setting key, a shooting key, and a function mode for performing a digital zoom function, and setting an environment of a digital zoom magnification; Displays the use level of the power, the reception strength of the radio wave, the overall operating state of the mobile communication terminal, and obtains and outputs an image signal through the camera, when the user requests a zoom screen through the key input unit, A display unit configured to enlarge or reduce the received image signal and display the same; When the user sets the magnification information for the digital zoom in the camera mode provided in the mobile communication terminal, and transmits the set magnification information to a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), the DSP stores the same prestored digital as the magnification information. A memory having a built-in pixel size adjusting program for retrieving zoom magnification information of the zoom and automatically converting the magnification information to the photographed pixel size; And controlling data to be transmitted and received according to a predetermined communication protocol, receiving the video signal from the camera, and outputting the image to the display through signal / video processing according to a user's request through the key input unit. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile communication terminal having a high-pixel camera for automatically controlling a photographing pixel size according to a digital zoom.

According to the present invention, a mobile communication terminal equipped with a high pixel camera can save a storage space by storing an appropriate number of pixels, and has an effect of preventing deterioration of image quality due to digital zoom photographing.

Camera, pixel, pixel, magnification, zoom, pixel count

Description

Mobile Communication Terminal with High-Pixel Camera for Automatically Controlling Photographing Pixel Size According to Digital Zoom And Method Therefor}

1 is a schematic diagram showing a change in a photographing pixel size according to a digital zoom magnification of a mobile communication terminal having a built-in camera in a conventional method;

2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a view showing the flow of the pixel size taken in accordance with the digital zoom magnification of a mobile communication terminal having a high pixel camera according to an embodiment of the present invention,

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of automatically controlling a photographing pixel size according to a digital zoom according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

200: camera 210: signal processor

220: image processing unit 230: digital signal processing unit

240: flash memory 250: EEPROM

260: ROM 270: control unit                 

280: key input unit 290: display unit

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and method incorporating a high-pixel camera for automatically controlling a photographing pixel size in accordance with digital zoom. More specifically, a mobile communication terminal having a high-pixel camera that automatically controls the shooting pixel size according to a digital zoom that can automatically convert the shooting pixel size according to the digital zoom magnification in the mobile communication terminal having a high-pixel camera; It is about a method.

Mobile communication terminals are rapidly increasing in use due to portability and convenience of communication, and various functions such as wireless Internet access, text messaging, and camera functions are being added. In particular, as demand for mobile communication terminals equipped with cameras is rapidly increasing, the image quality of the camera is emerging as an important factor in the selection of the mobile communication terminal.

Digital cameras developed to be mounted in mobile communication terminals are now embodying advanced complex functions, such as auto focusing and digital zoom, to implement almost the same functions as general digital cameras in mobile communication terminals. However, the mobile communication terminal does not yet have an optical zoom mounted on a general digital camera, which does not reach the quality of the digital camera. Optical zoom is a zoom using the angle of refraction of a lens used in a general film camera or a digital camera. When optical zoom is used, the distortion of the image is almost the same as that of viewing a distant object using a telescope. However, the digital zoom installed in the mobile communication terminal enlarges the existing image as if the image is enlarged in Photoshop, resulting in distortion of the image and deterioration in image quality due to the reduction of the pixel size. The camera provided in the conventional mobile communication terminal is implemented with a part for selecting a photographing pixel size and a digital zoom part for enlarging a photographing target. In the conventional method, the pixel size is set in the initial menu when the camera is photographed. Once the pixel size is set, the digital zoom function is implemented according to the set pixel size. You must set up the environment again.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a change in a photographing pixel size according to a digital zoom magnification of a mobile communication terminal in which a camera is embedded in a conventional method.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a user sets a pixel size through a pixel size setting procedure in an initial menu. In this case, when the user uses the digital zoom function of the camera, the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) stored data outputting the image signal through the camera is set to 250,000 pixels, 1 million pixels, etc. according to the pixel size setting procedure. Digital zoom functions such as 2x and 3x in pixel size are applied. When the user digitally zooms 4 times, the display saved data reduced to 1/4 the pixel size of the CCD stored data is output on the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen of the mobile communication terminal. Will fall. Since the number of pixels of the image data of one screen output from the camera and the number of pixels of the image data of the one screen displayed on the display unit of the mobile communication terminal are different, the former is called CCD storage data, and the latter is called display storage data. Therefore, the digital zoom deteriorates the image quality due to the reduction of the pixel size according to the zoom magnification based on the selected pixel size. Even when a high-pixel camera is mounted, when the pixel size is initially set to a small pixel size, the original mobile communication terminal possesses There is a problem of not using all the image storage space.

In order to solve this problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a function for automatically converting a photographing pixel size according to a digital zoom magnification in a mobile communication terminal having a high pixel camera.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a mobile communication terminal with a built-in high-pixel camera for automatically controlling the size of the shooting pixel in accordance with the digital zoom, comprising a built-in high-pixel camera for automatically controlling the shooting pixel size in accordance with the digital zoom In the mobile communication terminal, a plurality of numeric keys, text keys, call keys and end keys are provided to provide a key selection function for dialing, menu selection, call termination, and command input, and to display an image according to ambient illumination. A key input unit for selecting a mode setting key for performing a shooting and displaying function, a function mode for performing a shooting key and a digital zoom function, and setting an environment of a digital zoom magnification; Display the degree of use of the power, the reception strength of the radio wave, the overall operating state of the mobile communication terminal, and obtains and outputs an image signal through the camera, when the user requests a zoom screen through the key input unit, to the camera A display unit for enlarging or reducing the received image signal from the display unit; When the user sets the magnification information for the digital zoom in the camera mode provided in the mobile communication terminal, and transmits the set magnification information to a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), the DSP stores the same prestored digital as the magnification information. A memory having a built-in pixel size adjusting program for retrieving zoom magnification information of the zoom and automatically converting the magnification information to the photographed pixel size; And transmitting and receiving data according to a predetermined communication protocol, receiving the image signal from the camera, and outputting the image to the display through signal / image processing according to a user's request through the key input unit. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile communication terminal having a high-pixel camera for automatically controlling a photographing pixel size according to a digital zoom.

According to another object of the present invention, there is provided a method for automatically controlling a photographing pixel size in accordance with digital zoom, the method comprising: (a) entering a camera mode of a mobile communication terminal according to a user input; (b) checking whether the digital zoom function is operating in the camera mode; (c) if it is determined in step (b) that the digital zoom function is operating, setting and storing information on the digital zoom magnification in an environment setting menu; (d) automatically converting and storing a storage pixel size according to the pre-stored information on the digital zoom magnification and the photographing pixel size corresponding thereto; And (e) executing a digital zoom function according to the stored pixel size stored therein.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used as much as possible even if displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related well-known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

A mobile communication terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a camera 200, a signal processor 210, an image processor 220, a digital signal processor 230, a flash memory 240, and an EEPROM 250. And a ROM 260, a controller 270, a key input unit 280, a display unit 290, and the like.

The camera 200 includes a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor or a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor. The camera 200 captures image data and converts the photographed optical signal into an electrical signal.

DSP (hereinafter referred to as "DSP") 230 is an integrated circuit capable of processing digital signals in hardware, initially used for modems, facsimile, simple sound control, and echo cancellation. , Motor recognition for voice recognition, medical and military image processing, and industrial robot control. In recent years, its use has been widened and used for voice coding for digitizing voice signals, which are analog signals, and used in digital mobile communications, answering machines, video telephones, and multimedia. In the present invention, the DSP 230 includes a signal processor 210 and an image processor 220.

The signal processor 210 receives and amplifies an analog image signal output from a sensor of the camera 200, converts and amplifies the amplified analog image signal into digital image data, and converts the digital image data into image data in RGB or YUV format. Convert and output. In the present invention, it is assumed that digital image data is converted into YUV format.

In general, the number of pixels of image data of one screen output from the camera 200 is different from the number of pixels of image data of one screen displayed on the display unit 290.

Therefore, the image processor 220 performs a function of interfacing digital image data between the signal processor 210 and the display 290. The digital image data is YUV211 (16 bit) format, and is fixed to the CIF (352 x 288) size. The image processor 220 scales the image signal captured by the camera 200 to be displayed on the display unit 290 according to the control signal output from the controller 270. Here, in the scaling, the number of pixels of the image signal generated by the camera 200 is the CIF size (352 × 288), and the number of pixels of the image signal that can be displayed on the display unit 290 is 128 × 112 or 128 × 96. Therefore, it refers to a function of reducing and cropping the pixels of the image signal output from the camera 200 to the number of pixels of the image signal output to the display unit 290. For example, since the number of pixels of an image signal of one frame photographed by the camera 200 differs from the number of pixels of an image signal of one frame that can be displayed by the display unit 290, the number of pixels photographed by the camera 200 is different. Assuming that the number of pixels that can be displayed on the display unit 290 is greater than the number of pixels photographed by the camera 200 to display the number of pixels of one frame photographed by the camera 200 on the display unit 290. Some of the pixels may be removed or a partial area of the number of pixels may be selected as the size of the display unit 290 to be displayed in a zoom form. The YUV data output from the image processor 220 may be converted to RGB and output to the display unit 290. In addition, the image processor 220 performs a function of compressing and decompressing an image signal input from the camera 200 in a JPEC format.

The flash memory 240 stores an operating system (OS) software having a real-time processing function for the operation of the mobile communication terminal and call processing software for processing functions related to call processing. If the user sets the digital zoom ratio in the camera 200 mode provided in the mobile communication terminal, and the data about the set digital zoom ratio is transmitted to the DSP 230, the DSP 230 Stores a pixel size adjustment program that can retrieve the same pre-stored digital zoom magnification data and automatically convert the same to the photographing pixel size. In other words, for example, a 500 million high-pixel mobile communication terminal may store data in a memory of a mobile communication terminal such as 300,000 pixels in 1x digital zoom, 1 million pixels in 2x digital zoom, and 4 million pixels in 4x digital zoom. If it is set, when the user sets the digital zoom magnification to 2x zoom, the DSP 230 of the mobile communication terminal receives the 2x zoom as magnification information, and the pixel size corresponding to the previously stored digital magnification information. It automatically converts image storage space to a size of 1 million pixels. Conventionally, when the camera 200 is photographed in a mobile communication terminal of 500 million high pixels, a pixel size setting procedure of an initial menu is provided so that a user can set a pixel size such as 1 million pixels and 2 million pixels. When a user having a terminal selects a pixel size of 1 million pixels from a menu of a mobile communication terminal, the camera 200 is photographed in a small pixel size mode of 1 million even though a 5 million high pixel camera 200 is mounted. . However, in the present invention, the pixel size is converted according to the digital zoom magnification, thereby fully utilizing the camera 200 function of the mobile communication terminal.

The pixel size adjusting program is a software program for automatically adjusting the shooting pixel size according to the digital zoom magnification of the camera 200 provided in the mobile communication terminal. The user selects a camera mode and sets the environment for the magnification in the digital zoom function. If set, the function automatically converts to the captured pixel size according to the pre-stored digital zoom magnification. Here, the size of the photographing pixel according to the pre-stored digital zoom magnification may be input or set by a user in an environment setting mode or may be preset when designing a mobile communication terminal.

On the other hand, the pixel size adjusting program may be mounted in the flash memory 240 in the production stage of the mobile communication terminal, or may be downloaded and installed by accessing the mobile communication service provider server through a wireless Internet connection.                     

EEPROM (250) is a memory that can be electrically erased or re-stored, and is a nonvolatile memory in which data for storage such as NAM (Number Assignment Module) parameters, telephone numbers, names, and short messages are recorded.

The ROM 260 stores variable or state information of a program generated in connection with driving various software, such as a pixel size adjusting program installed in the flash memory 240.

The control unit 270 controls the overall operation of the mobile communication terminal so that the communication protocol is processed according to a predetermined protocol of network transmission and reception data. In particular, the controller 270 sets the shooting mode by controlling the signal processor 210 when the user changes the mode setting through the key input unit 280, and scales the captured image data according to the set shooting mode. Outputs to the image. In addition, when the user selects the digital zoom function mode among the camera modes, the controller 270 provides a menu for setting the digital zoom magnification, and drives the pixel size adjusting program to adjust the photographing pixel size according to the pre-stored digital zoom magnification. The DSP 230 provided in the mobile communication terminal is controlled to automatically convert the photographing pixel size.

The key input unit 280 is provided with a plurality of numeric keys, character keys, call keys and end keys, and provides a key selection function for dialing or menu selection, call termination, and command input. Selects a mode setting key for capturing and displaying an image according to the ambient light, a function mode for performing a shooting key and a digital zoom function, and sets a digital zoom magnification environment.                     

The display unit 290 displays the overall operating state of the mobile communication terminal, including the degree of use of the power, the reception strength of the radio wave, the date and the time, and, in the embodiment of the present invention, obtains an image signal through the camera 200. When the user requests a zoom screen through the key input unit 280, the user can enlarge or reduce the received image signal and display the same.

3 is a diagram illustrating a flow of photographing pixel sizes according to a digital zoom magnification of a mobile communication terminal having a high pixel camera according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In general, digital magnification is defined as up to 4x zoom.

For example, for 1.3 million pixels (1280 * 1024), the lowest resolution is usually 320 * 240, so digital magnification is 1.25x for (1024 * 768), 1.6x for (800 * 600), (640 * 480 is about 2 times zoom, (320 * 240) is possible to about 4 times zoom.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the image signal is captured by using the built-in mobile communication terminal of 1 million pixels, when the user sets the magnification information of the digital zoom of the mobile communication terminal to 1x zoom, The mobile communication terminal transmits the input magnification information (1x zoom) to the DSP 230, and the DSP 230 retrieves the magnification information of the pre-stored digital zoom that is the same as the magnification information and corresponds to the photographing pixel size (digital). 1x zoom is set to 250,000 pixels, which is 250,000 pixels, and digital 4x zoom is 1 million pixels. In other words, the image storage data of the mobile communication terminal can be up to 1 million pixels, of which 250,000 pixels, which is 1/4, is the CCD storage data, and under the control of the controller 270, the display storage data is 250,000 pixels on the LCD screen. Will be displayed.                     

Since the number of pixels of image data of one screen output from the camera 200 and the number of pixels of image data of one screen displayed on the display unit 290 of the mobile communication terminal are different, the former is called CCD storage data, and the latter is a display. It is called stored data.

When the user sets the digital zoom factor of the mobile communication terminal to 4x zoom, the DSP 230 automatically converts the photographing pixel size to 1 million pixels and sets the CCD according to the pixel size corresponding to the pre-stored digital magnification. The data will be 1 million pixels, and the display data stored on the LCD screen will be displayed as 250,000 pixels, which is 1/4 sized according to the form of 4x zoom. Therefore, the digital zoom in the present invention is a case of 1x zoom or 4x zoom, or because the display stored data output on the LCD screen is 250,000 pixels, so that the image signal is output without changing the resolution, thereby reducing the image quality according to the magnification. There is an advantage that can be reduced.

Conventionally, since the user sets the pixel size according to the pixel size setting procedure of the menu of the mobile communication terminal and implements the digital zoom function at the set pixel size, regardless of the image storage space of the mobile communication terminal, deterioration of the screen due to the digital zoom A problem occurred.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of automatically controlling a photographing pixel size according to a digital zoom according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The user enters the camera mode of the mobile communication terminal (S400). It is checked whether the digital zoom function is operating in the camera mode (S402). If it is determined that the digital zoom function is operating, the user sets and stores magnification information for the digital zoom in the configuration menu of the digital zoom function (S404). When the set magnification information is transmitted to the DSP (Digital Signal Processor), the DSP searches the magnification information of the pre-stored digital zoom same as the magnification information and automatically converts and stores the photographing pixel size according to the photographing pixel size corresponding thereto ( S406). For example, digital 1x zoom is set to 300,000 pixels, digital 2x zoom is 1 million pixels, digital 4x zoom is 4 million pixels, and the controller 270 drives the pixel size adjustment program of the flash memory 240. In this case, the pixel size adjusting program automatically converts and stores the captured pixel size corresponding to the magnification information of the pre-stored digital zoom using the DSP 230. The user executes the digital zoom function of the mobile communication terminal according to the set photographing pixel size (S408).

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, a mobile communication terminal equipped with a high pixel camera can save a storage space by storing an appropriate number of pixels and can prevent deterioration of image quality by digital zoom imaging.

Claims (5)

In a mobile communication terminal having a high-pixel camera that automatically controls the size of the photographing pixel according to the digital zoom, Equipped with a number of numeric keys, character keys, call keys, and end keys, it provides key selection functions for dialing, menu selection, call termination, and command input, and captures and displays images according to ambient light. A key input unit for selecting a mode setting key for performing the function, a shooting key and a function mode for performing the digital zoom function, and setting an environment of the digital zoom magnification; Displays the use level of the power, the reception strength of the radio wave, the overall operating state of the mobile communication terminal, and obtains and outputs an image signal through the camera, when the user requests a zoom screen through the key input unit, A display unit configured to enlarge or reduce the received image signal and display the same; When the user sets the magnification information for the digital zoom in the camera mode provided in the mobile communication terminal, and transmits the set magnification information to a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), the DSP stores the same prestored digital as the magnification information. A memory having a built-in pixel size adjusting program for retrieving zoom magnification information of the zoom and automatically converting the magnification information to the photographed pixel size; And Controls data transmission and reception according to a predetermined communication protocol, receives the video signal from the camera, and outputs the signal to the display through signal / image processing according to the user's request through the key input unit, and the pixel Control to control the resizing program A mobile communication terminal having a high-pixel camera for automatically controlling the size of the photographing pixel according to the digital zoom, comprising a. The method of claim 1, The digital zoom magnification information and the photographing pixel size corresponding thereto may be input or set by the user in an environment setting mode, or may be preset in the design of the mobile communication terminal. Mobile communication terminal with a built-in high-pixel camera controlled by. In the method of automatically controlling the shooting pixel size in accordance with the digital zoom, (a) entering a camera mode of a mobile communication terminal according to a user input; (b) checking whether the digital zoom function is operating in the camera mode; (c) if it is determined in step (b) that the digital zoom function is operating, setting and storing information on the digital zoom magnification in an environment setting menu; (d) automatically converting and storing a storage pixel size according to the pre-stored information on the digital zoom magnification and the photographing pixel size corresponding thereto; And (e) executing a digital zoom function according to the stored storage pixel size How to automatically control the shooting pixel size according to the digital zoom, comprising a. The method of claim 3, wherein In the step (d), the function of automatically converting and storing the storage pixel size according to the information about the pre-stored digital zoom magnification and the photographing pixel size corresponding thereto is performed by a digital signal processor (DSP). How to automatically control the shooting pixel size according to the digital zoom. The method of claim 3, wherein The information about the pre-stored digital zoom magnification and the corresponding photographing pixel size may be input or set by a user in an environment setting mode or may be preset when designing the mobile communication terminal. How to control the size automatically.

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