JP2840577B2 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a communication device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a videophone device has recently been put to practical use as a conventional transmission device.

In such a device, when making a call, a telephone number is input in the same manner as a normal telephone, or a telephone number of a destination is assigned and stored in, for example, a number button, and the button is automatically pressed just by pressing the button. There was a method of calling the telephone number of the other party and making a call.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the telephone number is input, the line number is forgotten or erroneously input, and the line is connected to a different party than the desired party. There were drawbacks. In order to solve such a problem, it is only necessary to register the other party's telephone number and information (name, image, etc.) for identifying the other party in correspondence and perform communication operation with reference to the information for identification. Registration functions and operations are required in addition to communication functions and operations. However, on the other hand, depending on the operator, registration errors may occur due to an increase in this function or an increase in the number of operations. As a result, despite having a registration function, the operator may not be able to use the function or may avoid using this function. Problems also arise on the other. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention stores a plurality of communication partner images and a communication partner number corresponding to each of the communication partners, stores the correspondence, and selects a communication partner image to make a call. In addition to providing a configuration that reduces the possibility of performing communication, the above problem is also provided by providing a configuration that reduces the load on the operator caused by the increase in the configuration, thereby providing an easy operation environment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication device that solves the above.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides at least one of a plurality of communication partner images and a storage medium storing communication partner numbers corresponding to the respective communication partners. Means for reading the communication partner image and supplying it to the monitor as a visible image (in this embodiment, FIG.
21, 25, 10, paragraph number [0028]), means for selecting a desired image from the supplied visible image (in this embodiment, FIGS. 1, 36, paragraph number [0028]), A communication device having means for calling a communication destination corresponding to the selected image in accordance with the communication destination number (corresponding to FIGS. 1, 28 and 13 and paragraph number [0029] in this embodiment). When a registration mode for associating and registering the communication partner image and the communication partner number in the storage means is set, at least inputting the communication partner number to associate and store with the communication partner image and Means for sequentially generating a character that prompts registration of a communication partner image in accordance with an instruction from the operator (in the present embodiment, FIG.
13, corresponding to paragraph numbers [0033] and [0035]),
Means for inputting the operator's instruction (corresponding to the OK / NG switch of paragraph numbers [0034] and [0035] in the present embodiment).

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following embodiments, an example in which the present invention is applied to an apparatus having an image display monitor such as a videophone will be described. The device may be configured as a separate device. or,
Similarly, the storage unit for storing the partner image may be provided in the main body, or may be configured separately.

In this embodiment, an apparatus using a magnetic disk as a storage medium is disclosed. However, the medium may be another type of medium, for example, a solid-state memory such as a semiconductor memory. Good.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a video camera for capturing an image, 2 denotes an amplifier for amplifying an output signal from the video camera 1, and 3 denotes an analog signal of the image amplified by the amplifier 2 which is converted into digital data. A / D for
A converter 4 is a serial / parallel conversion circuit for converting serial data from the A / D converter 3 into parallel data, 5 is a memory controller for controlling data transfer, and 6 is an image converted to digital data. A memory for accumulating data, 7 an address counter for generating a memory address, 8 a parallel-serial conversion circuit for converting parallel data from the memory 6 into serial data via a memory controller, 9 a parallel-serial conversion circuit A digital-to-analog converter for converting data from the converter 8 to an analog signal,
Reference numeral 10 denotes a video buffer for buffering the analog signal from the D / A converter 9, and reference numeral 11 denotes a motor for reproducing and displaying the buffered analog signal as a visible image. 12 is a modulator for modulating an analog signal from the D / A converter 9 to a frequency of 300 to 3400 Hz suitable for a telephone line. Even if the modulator 12 is a circuit for directly modulating the output from the P / S 8, Good. Reference numeral 13 denotes an N for connecting a telephone line to the system or a telephone 15.
CU and 14 are terminals for connecting to a telephone line.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a demodulator for demodulating a signal input from a telephone line via a terminal 14 and an NCU 13;
Is an A / D converter for converting the demodulated signal into digital data.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a still video floppy disk 2
A motor for rotating 0 when recording or reproducing 0,
19 is a motor servo circuit for keeping the motor at a constant speed, 21 is a head for recording or reproducing signals on a still video floppy disk 20, and 22 is a head 2
A head access circuit for displacing 1 radially,
Reference numeral 23 denotes a changeover switch for switching between supplying a recording signal to the head 21 and outputting a signal from the head to the amplifier 24, and 24 amplifies the signal from the head 21 via the A terminal of the changeover switch 23. An amplifier 25 for separating the signal amplified by the amplifier 24 into ID data and a video signal,
The video processing circuit, such a processing circuit 25, includes a filter for separating the frequency of the signal from the amplifier 24, a demodulation circuit for ID data, and a demodulation circuit for an image signal. 26 is I
An ID / video recording circuit 27 for superimposing the D data on the video signal and converting it into a recording format, and an amplifier 27 for amplifying the signal from the ID / video recording circuit.
During reproduction, the ID data is transmitted from the process circuit 25 to the CP.
The ID data is sent from the CPU 28 to the recording circuit 26 at the time of recording. 28 is a CPU for controlling the system, 29 is a SW for giving instructions
This is a controller including a group and a display unit.

Reference numerals 30, 32, 34, and 35 denote switches for instructing the apparatus to operate. The switch 30 is a mode for reproducing an image recorded on the disk 20 and displaying the image on the monitor 11 as a visible image. Switch to set. The switch 32 receives the received image signal or the video camera 1
This is a switch for setting the recording of the image signal generated from the on the disk 20. The switches 34 and 35 are connected to the head 21
Is a switch for changing the access position of the disc to the inner side or the outer side. The switch 36 is an image reproduced on the monitor, for example, the switches 34 and 3
5 is an OK / NG switch for selecting an image reproduced from a track accessed as a result of moving the head. Reference numeral 38 denotes a switch for transmitting the image captured in the image memory 6 to the destination.

In a search call mode to be described later, a switch 36 is turned on while a desired image is selected by the switches 34 and 35 while looking at the monitor.
It is also possible to make a call operation by dialing the telephone number of the other party corresponding to the desired image.

Reference numerals 50 and 51 denote switching circuits for switching image signals, respectively.

Next, the operation of each part of the apparatus will be described.

When used as an ordinary videophone, a call is made to the other party by the telephone 15 and the line is connected to make a telephone call. In the case of transmission, an image signal from the video camera 1 is amplified by the amplifier 2, converted into digital data by the A / D converter 3, and designated by the address counter via the S / P conversion circuit 4 and the memory controller 5. The image is written in the memory 6 at the address to be set. The data written in the memory 6 is sequentially buffered by the video buffer 10 via the P / S conversion circuit 8 and the D / A converter 9 via the memory controller 5 according to the address of the address counter 7 and can be monitored by the monitor 11. . When transmitting image data, the CPU 28 controls the NCU 13 according to a command from the controller 29, disconnects the telephone line from the telephone 15, and connects the transmission line T to the telephone line. Prior to transmitting the image data from the memory 6, a command indicating that the data to be transmitted is image data is added to the image data.
Read from the memory 6, the memory controller 5, P /
The signal is sent to the modulator 12 via the S conversion circuit 8 and the D / A converter 9. The signal modulated by the modulator 12 is output from the terminal 14 via the NCU 13 to the telephone line.

When receiving image data, the image data input from the terminal 14 is demodulated by the demodulator 16 via the NCU 13 and converted into digital data by the A / D converter 17. The converted digital data is S
The data is converted into parallel data by the / P conversion circuit 4, and the CPU 28 reads a command added to the head of the image data via the memory controller 5, and controls image data reception. Subsequently, the image data is sequentially written to the memory 6.
When the writing is completed, the written image data is monitored by the monitor 11 via the memory controller 5, the P / S conversion circuit 8, the D / A converter 9, and the video buffer 10. After the transmission and reception of the image data, the NCU 13 automatically switches the telephone line 14 from the demodulator 16 to the telephone 15 to perform a telephone conversation.

Next, an operation when ID data is recorded together with an image signal recorded on a still video floppy disk will be described.

That is, the still video floppy disk using this embodiment as a storage means has 50 tracks, and a video signal is recorded on each track one screen at a time, and data is superimposed (frequency multiplexed) on an image signal. Can be recorded. As shown in FIG. 2, the ID data of one track is frequency-multiplexed as digital data into an image signal in the order of an initial bit, a field / frame selection bit, a track No., a date, and a user area 28H after the VSYNC start position in one track. . In this embodiment, for example, DPSK modulation is performed, and is superimposed on the low frequency band of the video signal. Note that the area from the initial bit to the date area is one bit in 4H, and the user area is one bit in 2H.

The user area has 54 bits, and when displaying a number, one digit of 4 bits (φ-9) is required, so that 13 characters can be input. Therefore, for example, when a telephone number is written, it can be sufficiently input because it is about 10 digits including the area code.

Here, the bit allocation in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, the first 4 bits are an identification code for identifying the type of information written in the user area. If this bit is, for example, "1111", the next 50 bits indicate a telephone number. It is data.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of bits allocated to the telephone number is 50, which is a capacity for 12 digits.

Next, the overall operation of the apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, the videophone of this embodiment is started, and a desired mode is set. The modes include a normal videophone mode, a search call mode, and a partner registration. Each mode corresponds to the state of the switches 30 and 32 described above in step 1 (S
It is determined in 1). First, a mode in which the mode by the switches 30 and 32 is not set, that is, a normal videophone mode will be described. In such a case, the flow proceeds to A in FIG. In S2, a handset (receiver) is usually placed and is waiting for transmission or reception. Here, if a call is received from the other party, a reception mode is entered, and a bell rings in S3 to urge the user to answer the call. If the other party hangs up without answering the call, the line is disconnected in S4, the process proceeds to FIG. 5, and the process proceeds to an end operation. If the call is answered, the flow moves from S4 to S5, at which point the line is connected (S5). In this state, the user talks to the other party in the same manner as a normal telephone, and does not transmit or receive an image even if the other party's telephone is a normal telephone or a videophone, and obtains a signal from the other party to transmit the image. I can't. Alternatively, if the switch for specifying the mode for transmitting the image to the other party is not operated, the flow proceeds from S6, S7 to S4, and it is determined whether or not the line connection has been disconnected. When the line is disconnected, the process proceeds to the end operation. When the transmission in S5 is determined, the user sets the transmission state by instructing the image transmission mode switch, and in S6, the transmission is determined, and the process proceeds to S9.

In S9, the image signal output from the video camera is output to the D / A 9 via the memory 6. Accordingly, for example, the user can input his / her own face with the video camera 1 and check it on the monitor 11. OK / NG in S10
If the image displayed on the monitor 11 is inconvenient according to the instruction from the switch, the flow moves to S9 to input another image. When the transmission image is determined while looking at the image on the monitor 11, the operator freezes the image in the memory 6 in S11 by operating OK with the OK / NG switch. After the freeze, in step S12, the NCU 13 is switched from the telephone 15 to the modulator 12, a dual tone signal is generated, and the other party is set to the image receiving mode.
The PU 28 converts its telephone number into a pulse, sends it to the other party, and then sends the frozen image to the memory 6.
S12 is repeated until image transmission is completed in S13,
When the transmission is completed, the flow moves to S4. In S4, it is determined whether or not the line is connected, and if it is, the process returns to S5. If no call is made, the flow shifts to the step, disconnects the line, and shifts to the end operation (S4).

On the other hand, in the case of the call in S5, if the image reception has been successfully arranged, that is, if a signal indicating that the image is to be transmitted is obtained from the other party, the flow proceeds to S6 and S7. It proceeds to S15 and enters the image receiving operation. Such a determination is sent from the other party. For example, this is performed depending on the presence or absence of a dual tone signal. At the time of receiving such an image, first, the NCU 13 switches the telephone 15 to the demodulator 16 side, converts a pulse transmitted from the other side into a telephone number of the other side, stores it in a register inside the CPU, and stores the image in the memory 6. Try to take in. The images stored in the memory 6 can be viewed on the monitor 11, for example, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a display example on the monitor 11.
The image data is displayed as shown, the numbers imposed on the image are generated by the character generator 41, A) is the date data displayed by the calendar circuit inside the CPU 28, and B) is displayed. This is phone number data corresponding to the image. If the image reception has not been completed in S16, S15 is repeated. If the reception has been completed, the line is switched to the handset side to enable conversation with the partner side, and then the flow proceeds to S4. Also, in S2, when making a call, the handset (receiver) of the telephone 15 is picked up, and in S17, a calling operation, that is, dialing is performed, and the other party is called. If no opponent is found in S18, the process proceeds to an end operation. If the other party comes out, the process proceeds to S5 and thereafter, and a call and image transmission / reception are performed.

Next, a description will be given of a case where it is determined in S1 that the mode is the search call mode. In the search call mode, the image of the other party and the telephone number written on the floppy disk are used. When the search call mode is entered, the floppy disk 20 set in S21 is
The rotation is controlled by the
When W is pressed, the head 21 is driven by the command from the CPU 28 to drive the head access circuit 22 in step S23, thereby
Move by truck. If the switch 34 for the track UP is not depressed in S22, the process proceeds to S23. If the switch 35 for the track DOWN is not depressed, the process returns to the mode accepting state, that is, S1. S
If the switch 35 for the track DOWN is pressed at 23, the head 21 is moved at S24 to move by one track. Next, when it is determined in S25 that there are no more tracks to be moved, the above-mentioned shift ending operation is performed. In S26, the switch SW 23 is set to the A side, and the signal from the track being accessed by the head 21 is taken into the ID video process circuit 25, where the reproduction signal is converted into ID and converted into data, and the video signal processing is performed. The video signal is ID and the video is video buffer 10
Is output to the monitor 11 via the. Then, in S27, it is determined whether or not an instruction as a desired image has been made by the operator. If no instruction has been made, the process returns to S22,
The operation to search for the next image is performed. If the video reproduced on the monitor 11 is a video to be searched and an instruction as a desired image is made by the operator using the switch 36, the process proceeds to S.
At step 28, the ID data separated by the ID video process circuit 25 is read into the CPU 28, and the telephone number in the user area shown in FIGS. I in S29
If no telephone number has been entered in the D data, the character generator 41 is driven in S45 to indicate that there is no telephone number, and a display is displayed on the monitor 11 to warn of this. S
At 46, dialing is performed manually using the telephone 15,
Proceed to S40.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S29 that a telephone number is to be entered in the ID code, then in S30 C
The PU 28 drives a relay or a DTMF included in the NCU 13 by a telephone number to perform dialing.
In S40, if there is no other party, the process proceeds to S41, and the power of the apparatus of this embodiment is turned off to end, or the process returns to S1 to be in the mode accepting state. If the line is connected, the communication of the procedure is performed with the other party in S42, and the mode of the image communication is set. If such a mode is set, it is determined in S43 whether the communication mode is a mode for performing image communication, and the process proceeds to step S43, and the above-described image transmission / reception operation is performed. If the image is not transmitted / received, a call is made in S42, and if the end of the call is determined in S43, the line is disconnected in S44, and the process proceeds to S41 to perform an end operation.

Next, the operation when the registration mode is set in S1 will be described with reference to FIG.

In the registration mode, the image and telephone number of the other party are recorded on a floppy disk, and a search disk is created. First, an image input is selected in S50.
For example, if a telephone number is to be added to an image already sent from the other party and stored in the memory and recorded, the memory controller 5 controls the memory controller 5 to read data from the memory 6 in step S51, and The video signal converted to an analog signal via S8, D / A 9 and the switch 51 is applied to the ID video recording circuit 26 for recording.

When recording the image data written in the memory 6 on a floppy disk, the above-described S15
As described above, when receiving image data from the other party, the CPU 28 stores the phone number of the other party in an internal register, and stores the stored phone number in the area shown in FIGS. DPSK modulation and frequency multiplexing with image data for recording.

On the other hand, if the input from the video camera 1 is selected in S50, the image taken from the video camera 1 in S52, for example, the image of the face of the other party to be registered, such as a photograph, is obtained by photoelectric conversion by the video camera 1. The captured image signal is temporarily stored in the memory 6. The image signal taken into the memory 6 is read by the memory controller 5 via the P / S 8 and the D / A 9 and displayed on the monitor 11. In addition to this display, the character generator 41 is displayed on the monitor 11 so as to prompt the operator to input an instruction as to whether or not the image displayed together with the image to be registered is an image to be registered. Drive.

The operator looks at the display on the monitor 11 and
An instruction as to whether or not to register such an image is input by an OK / NG switch. If the input from such a switch is NG, the memory is cleared in S52-4, the switch 51 is switched to the amplifier 2 side, and then the flow moves to S52-1 to determine whether or not the capture switch is on. Then, the image is captured again.

If the input from the OK / NG switch is OK in S53, the switch 51 is set to D in S54.
/ A9 side to prepare for recording. Monitor 11
A display prompting the user to input a telephone number (Tel No) to be registered is displayed together with the image captured in the memory 6.

This display is performed by the CPU 28 driving the character generator 41. Further, it may be performed by the handset 15 or by a numeric keypad connected directly or indirectly to the CPU 28. T
If the input of El No is completed, the flow from S56 to S57
Then, the switch 23 is switched to the amplifier 24 side and the level determination circuit 50 determines whether the track accessed by the head 21 is an unregistered track (S5).
8). If it is not unrecorded, it is determined in S59 whether the current track is the last track. If it is not the last track, the head 21 is shifted by one track and the determination is made again (S5).
7).

If the track accessed by the head 21 has not been recorded, the flow moves from S58 to S59, the switch 23 is switched to the B side, the image signal is read from the memory 6, and the telephone number input in S55 and S56 is read. The image signal is frequency-multiplexed and recorded.

When it is determined in S59 that the track is the last track, the character generator 41 is driven to display on the monitor 11 that registration is not possible (S60). If the registration mode set by the switch 32 has not been released, the flow returns from S62 to S50. On the other hand, if the registration mode is cancelled, the flow returns to.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the above-described partner search mode, a telephone number is recorded in advance on each track of the disk 20 as a recording medium together with an image of the partner, and the recorded image is stored as one. By playing back the tracks one by one and observing the reproduced image, the other party to be called can be selected, and by making such a selection, the other party can be accessed without dialing the other party's telephone number.

Therefore, there is no need to dial the telephone number of the other party when making a call as in the prior art. Further, it is not necessary to remember the name of the other party or the number of the speed dial, etc., and the user can access the other party simply by observing the reproduced image of the other party on the monitor and selecting the desired one.

According to the present embodiment, the image received from the other party can be recorded on the disk 20. Further, when recording on the disk 20, the telephone number of the other party can also be recorded. Also, the telephone number of the other party can be registered.

According to this embodiment, various displays required for a videophone can be displayed on the monitor 11, so that the configuration can be made very simple. Further, since such various displays are performed on the monitor 11 only when necessary, there is an effect that the display is very easy to use.

[0043]

According to the present invention, at least one communication partner image is read out from a storage medium storing a plurality of communication partner images and communication partner numbers corresponding to the respective communication partners, and the visible image is read. Means for supplying a desired image from the supplied visible image, means for calling a communication partner corresponding to the selected image according to the communication destination number. As a result, it is possible to make a call after confirming the communication partner, and it is possible to reduce the possibility of erroneous communication. When a registration mode for associating and registering the communication partner image and the communication partner number is set in the storage means, at least input of the communication partner number to be stored in association with the communication partner image and the communication partner It has means for sequentially generating characters for prompting image registration in accordance with the operator's instruction, and means for inputting the operator's instruction, so it is necessary to add the function of calling after confirming the communication partner Registration of a communication partner image and a communication partner number, which are additional functions, can be easily realized, and an easy registration process can be provided even for an unskilled operator.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing assignment of ID codes recorded together with image signals.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a display on a monitor 11 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing data allocation of a user area shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a CPU 28 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the CPU 28 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the CPU 28 shown in FIG. 1;

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04M 11/00 H04M 1/274 H04N 7/14

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A means for reading out at least one communication partner image from a storage medium storing a plurality of communication partner images and communication partner numbers corresponding to the respective communication partners, and supplying the same to a monitor as a visible image. A communication device having means for selecting a desired image from the supplied visible image, and means for calling a communication destination according to the selected image, according to the communication destination number, When a registration mode is set to associate and register the communication partner image and the communication partner number in the storage unit,
Means for sequentially generating at least an input of the communication partner number stored in association with the communication partner image and registration of the communication partner image in accordance with an operator's instruction, a means for inputting the operator's instruction A communication device comprising: