Before punch-hole displays became mainstream in the smartphone industry, we had phones with pop-up cameras, in addition to devices with various types of notches. However, Samsung did not release a single pop-up camera handset but did launch a rotating camera mobile called Galaxy A80. But now, the company has patented a unique pop-up camera module for smartphones.
According to LetsGoDigital, Samsung Electronics filed a patent titled ‘Electronic device including camera module’ with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in mid-2020. This patent got approved and published on January 14.
This design patent demonstrates a rotatable pop-up camera module. According to the documentation, the module may house at least three cameras. In the normal state, all these sensors will face backward.
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But in the selfie mode and video calls, this cylindrical module will rotate to face the front and will slightly pop-up out of the phone’s body to expose a single sensor at the top. The documentation also mentions an option to disclose the second sensor as well by rising the module even further.
This system uses a motor, two gears, and a long propeller shaft. It also includes a movable frame that shifts to the void place when the camera module rises. This frame house a flexible printed circuit board.
Having said that, we don’t expect Samsung to release a commercial smartphone with this solution. Because it sounds more fragile than the regular pop-up camera system. That said, the above renders are created by Jermaine Smit (Concept Creator) for LetsGoDigital.
