Video camera integration on a portable computer
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsThomas Mario Cipolla, Rama Nand Singh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
On a portable computer, a video camera is integrated as a feature by mounting the camera as an assembly made up of a lens and associated pixel electronics in a camera base that is positioned on the perphery of the display in the cover of the portable computer when the cover is open, and the providing of a cavity in the base portion of the portable computer positioned so that the camera assembly enters the cavity when the cover of the portable computer is closed.
Claims14
A portable computer of the type that is within a package including a computer base portion supporting a keyboard and a cover portion supporting a display, where said cover portion is attached by at least one hinge to said computer base, having an integrated a video camera capability, comprising:
- a video camera assembly,
- said video camera assembly having an optical conversion unit including at least a lens and pixel conversion circuitry,
- said optical conversion unit being positioned in a first end of a mount member having first and second ends with said lens exposed at said first end,
- said video camera assembly further having an approximately rectangular video camera base member having first and second essentially parallel top and bottom surfaces,
- said mount member being positioned with said second end in an opening in said top surface of said video camera base member,
- said video camera base member having a specific thickness between said top and bottom surfaces said specific thickness defining side faces of said video camera base member,
- said video camera base member having at least one opening in at least one of said side faces,
- mounting means for said video camera assembly positioned in the portion of said cover that is most extended when said cover is in the open position,
- said mounting means being adapted for movement of said video camera assembly around an azimuth axis for said movement,
- cabling means for communicating video camera signals from said optical conversion unit to a processor located in said computer base portion, and,
- video camera assembly storage means located in said computer base position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.