1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus, and more specifically, to an image capturing apparatus with laser-framing viewfinder and laser pointer functions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In todays modern information based society, information devices are increasingly following the trends of small size, light-weight, and portability. Examples of such devices include: USB flash drives, recording pens, MP3 players and so on. Manufacturers want to integrate as many functions into a portable device as possible and the digital camera is no exception.
Digital cameras have become popular digital products and are positioned to eventually replace conventional film cameras due to low prices and compatibility with other electronic peripherals. Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a front view diagram illustrating a conventional first digital camera 10. The first digital camera 10 includes a camera lens 12 for capturing an object, an optical viewfinder 14 composed of several lenses for users to view the image of an object refracted by the lenses, and a shutter button 16 for focusing and shooting. Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a rear view diagram of the first digital camera 10. The first digital camera 10 further includes an electrical viewfinder 18 providing users another option to view the image of the object, which can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) display. A control button set 20 allows users to browse and edit images or to set up parameters. The first digital camera 10 differs from conventional film cameras by providing the electrical viewfinder 18. Users can view the image of the object on the electrical viewfinder 18 instead of the smaller optical viewfinder 14. In addition, the users can use the electrical viewfinder 18 to browse the images after shooting.
However, the image displayed on the electrical viewfinder 18 is limited by resolution and size and because it is a result of an image signal captured by an image sensor and then processed by a digital signal processor (DSP), distortion when compared to the actual image is observed. Users may discover blurry images due to non-focusing or hand trembling that is not apparent when shooting them. Moreover, the electrical viewfinder 18 has high power consumption and has a limited angle of view.
Alternatively, users can view the object through the optical viewfinder 14. In this situation users are required to hold the camera close to their face, which is not only inconvenient but also slows down shooting. Additionally, the LCD or LTPS used in the electrical viewfinder 18 costs a significant amount and is not profitable on low-level digital cameras or small-size digital image capturing apparatuses. Thus, there is a need to design a lower cost viewfinder for small-size low-cost digital image capturing apparatuses.
Furthermore, digital cameras have become popular digital products and are divided into high-level and low-level product lines. Low-level digital cameras do not have many functions, such as image zoom or other shooting condition settings, so they can be reduced to a size as small as a pen disk. Because the function of low-level digital cameras only supports image capturing, this product design really needs to be improved to follow the modern trend of integrating many office functions into a single information device. Additionally, portable storage devices only provide functions such as data storage, voice recording, and playing MP3 files and do not provide other office functions like image capturing or laser pointing in a meeting. Thus, there is a need to design an apparatus integrating the many functions mentioned above into a single portable information device.
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide an image capturing apparatus with laser-framing viewfinder and laser pointer functions to solve the problems mentioned above.
Briefly summarized, an image capturing apparatus with laser-framing viewfinder and laser pointer functions includes a housing, a laser source installed inside the housing for generating a laser beam, a first lens group installed inside the housing for diverging the laser beam from the laser source, a reflecting object installed inside the housing in a rotatable manner for reflecting the laser beam from the first lens group, a second lens group installed inside the housing for diverging the laser beam from the reflecting object, a framing mask for masking the laser beam diverged by the second lens group and displaying a laser-framing viewfinder, a third lens group installed on the housing for focusing the laser beam from the first lens group, and a camera lens installed on the housing for capturing an image framed in the laser-framing viewfinder. When the reflecting object rotates to a first location, the reflecting object reflects the laser beam from the first lens group to the second lens group which can diverge the laser beam to the framing mask and the framing mask masks the laser beam for displaying a laser-framing viewfinder. When the reflecting object rotates to a second location, the third lens group focuses the laser bream via the first lens group from the laser source.