JP2000115354A - Handset device internet phone call - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a handset device for Internet phone call, that is used for satisfaction an internet telephone system, easy to ensure secrecy confidentiality of a speech and excellent in operability. SOLUTION: This handset device 11 consists of a main body section 20 having a loudspeaker 22 and a hook switch 23 and a handset 21 which is a voice input output means and connected to the main body section 20. The main body section 20 is connected to voice input output ports 15a, 15b and an MIDI port 15c of a sound card 15 attached to an extension slot of a personal computer 12 and connected to the handset 21 and the loudspeaker 23 to configure a voice input output form in response to a signal representing on-hook information or off-hook information from the hook switch 23 so as to realize an internet telephone system that ensures confidentiality of telephone call speech and offers user-friendliness by combining the handset with an existing internet telephone set.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an Internet telephone handset device used as a personal computer, a sound card, a microphone, a speaker, and an Internet telephone dedicated option device for realizing an Internet telephone function by using Internet telephone software. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An Internet telephone can be easily realized simply by adding Internet telephone software to an existing personal computer system. As a conventional example of such an Internet telephone system, there is one having a configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example. The conventional example shown in FIG.
2. A sound card 55 is inserted into an expansion slot (not shown) of the personal computer 54 to which the mouse 53 and the like are connected.
And a LAN card 56, and a sound card 55
The microphone 57 and the speaker 58 are connected to the audio input port 55a and the audio output port 55b, respectively, and Internet telephone software (application) 59 is installed in the personal computer 54, thereby realizing the Internet telephone function. . Note that a configuration in which a headset is used instead of the microphone 57 and the speaker 58 may be adopted. The conventional example shown in FIG. 3 has an advantage that an Internet telephone system can be easily realized because an Internet telephone function can be realized only by adding existing Internet telephone software using an existing personal computer system. .

[0003] In the prior art shown in FIG. 4, an Internet telephone 62 connected to a handset 61 is directly connected to a LAN line. The conventional example of FIG. 4 has an advantage that the secrecy of a call can be maintained by using a handset.

[0004]

The conventional example shown in FIG. 3 is as follows.
Since the Internet telephone function is realized by software using the existing personal computer system, the voice of the other party is unconditionally output from the speaker 58, and the contents of the call are intercepted by a third party. It is not suitable for office use because secrecy cannot be secured. In the conventional example of FIG.
If a headset is used in place of the speaker 7 and the speaker 58, the confidentiality of the call can be ensured, but in this case, the headset must be worn at all times just to wait for an incoming call when it is unknown when the incoming call will be received. Instead, the user interface gets worse. In addition, wearing the headset itself is troublesome for the user, and is inconvenient.

On the other hand, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 4, an IP (internet protocol) is used for each Internet telephone.
Since it is necessary to obtain an address, for example, when a large amount of Internet telephones are required as in the case of introduction into a large-scale office, the amount of installation work and installation time by a network administrator and the like become enormous, Since the cost of the Internet telephone alone is high, the cost of introducing the Internet telephone becomes enormous. After all, introduction to large offices is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a low-cost Internet telephone handset device for constructing an easy-to-use Internet telephone system that can ensure the confidentiality of a call. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a personal computer, a sound card inserted into an expansion slot of the personal computer, and a sound input / output of the sound card. A voice input / output means connected to a port, and an Internet telephone software that realizes an Internet telephone function by means of Internet telephone software installed in the personal computer; a handset device, A main unit including a speaker and a hook switch, and a handset as an audio input / output unit connected to the main unit. The main unit includes a sound card having a MIDI port as the sound card. The MIDI port and the audio It is connected to the handset and the speaker is connected to the output port, characterized in that it has to take audio input and output forms according to the on-hook information or off-hook information from the hook switch.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, power is supplied from a keyboard terminal of the personal computer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, on-hook information and off-hook information from the hook switch are respectively transmitted to the MI.
It is characterized in that input is made to the personal computer via a DI port.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the main body includes on-hook information and off-hook information from the hook switch in addition to the speaker and the hook switch. A hooking detection unit for detecting information, a MIDI conversion unit for converting an output signal of the hooking detection unit into a MIDI signal, and an output destination of an audio output signal from the sound card according to the on-hook information or the off-hook information. A switch unit for switching to one of a speaker and a handset, and a power supply unit for supplying power to each of the components are provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the main unit constituting the Internet telephone handset device together with the handset as voice input / output means in the Internet telephone system includes a speaker and a hook switch, and includes a MIDI port as the sound card. When the sound card is used, the handset and the speaker are connected to the MIDI port and the audio input / output port when the sound card is used, and the audio input / output mode corresponding to the on-hook information or the off-hook information from the hook switch is taken. Thus, it is possible to construct an Internet telephone system having the same confidentiality and ease of use as the Internet telephone. Further, since the simplified configuration including the main body and the handset is employed as described above, the Internet telephone handset device can be manufactured at low cost.

According to the second invention, power is supplied to the handset device for Internet telephone from the keyboard terminal of the personal computer.
Abolition of AC adapter etc. to reduce cost,
The power supply other than when the personal computer is started can be cut off to realize energy saving.

According to the third invention, on-hook information and off-hook information from the hook switch are respectively
Since the input is made to the personal computer via the MIDI port, information indicating the on-hook / off-hook state of the handset can be transmitted to the personal computer through an input path independent of a voice input / output path. .

According to the fourth invention, the main body unit outputs the output signal of the hooking detection unit for detecting on-hook information and off-hook information from the hook switch, respectively, to M
Since the IDI conversion section converts the output signal into a MIDI signal and outputs the MIDI signal, and switches the output destination of the audio output signal from the sound card to one of the speaker and the handset by the switch section according to the on-hook information or the off-hook information. A voice input / output mode according to the on-hook information or the off-hook information according to the first aspect can be realized.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an Internet telephone system in which the Internet telephone handset device of the first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated as a dedicated optional device. The Internet telephone system according to the present embodiment includes a portion utilizing an existing Internet telephone and a portion constituting the Internet telephone handset device 11 which is a characteristic portion of the present embodiment.

A portion in which the above-described existing Internet telephone is diverted is configured as a so-called Internet phone as in the conventional example of FIG. That is, a display 13, a mouse 14 and the like are connected to the personal computer 12 shown in FIG. 1, and a sound card 15 and a LAN card 16 are attached to an expansion slot (not shown) of the personal computer 12, and
A LAN line is connected to the N card 16, and software (application) 17 for Internet telephone having a call management function, a dial management function, and the like is installed in the personal computer 12. The sound card 15 includes a sound input port (line out) 15a and a sound output port (microphone in) 1
It is assumed that a sound card (see FIG. 2 described later) having a MIDI port 15c in addition to 5b is used. In addition, the Internet telephone handset device 11
, The keyboard 18 is not directly connected to the keyboard terminal 19 of the personal computer 12,
It is connected to the keyboard terminal 19 via the Internet telephone handset device 11.

The part of the Internet telephone handset device 11 includes a main body 20 and a handset 21 connected to the main body 20 as voice input / output means. The main body 20 incorporates a speaker 22 and a hook switch 23 as shown in the detailed view of FIG. 2, and has a hooking detection unit 24 for detecting signals indicating on-hook information and off-hook information from the hook switch 23, respectively, and a hooking detection unit. 24 output signals to MI
A MIDI conversion unit 25 for converting into a DI signal; and a switch unit 26 for switching an output destination of an audio output signal from the sound card 15 to one of the speaker 22 and the handset 21 according to a signal representing the on-hook information or the off-hook information. , And a power supply unit 27 for supplying power to the respective components. The hook switch 23, the hooking detection unit 24, and the MIDI conversion unit 2
The series circuit of No. 5 transmits signals representing on-hook information and off-hook information from hook switch 23 to MI
Personal computer 12 via DI port 15c
, And constitutes an input path independent of the call voice input / output path.

2, a connector for connecting a connector (not shown) of the keyboard 18 and a cable 28 connected to the keyboard terminal 19 of the personal computer 12 are connected to the main body 20. A connector for connection and a cable 29 connected to the MIDI port 15c of the sound card 15 are connected to the MIDI converter 25.
A connector for connecting the cable 30 connected to the audio output port 15b of the sound card 15 to the switch unit 26;
5, a connector for connecting the cable 31 connected to the audio input port 15a to the handset 21, and
A connector for connecting the handset 21 and the switch unit 26 is provided.

Next, the operation of the Internet telephone system according to the present embodiment, which takes a voice input / output mode according to a signal representing on-hook information / off-hook information from the hook switch 23, will be described for each call state.

(A) Incoming call waiting state Normally, in the incoming call waiting state, since the handset 21 is in the on-hook state, the hook switch 23, which continuously monitors the on-hook state / off-hook state of the handset 21, constantly transmits the on-hook information signal. Output.
At this time, based on the detected on-hook information signal, the hooking detection unit 24 switches the switch unit 26 so as to connect the audio output port 15 b of the sound card 15 and the speaker 22 of the main unit 20. If the telephone software (application) 17 is running, an audio output signal from the sound card 15 (application 17)
(Including sound effects, notification sounds, and ringtones of Internet telephone calls) are output from the speaker 22.

(B) Incoming Call When an incoming call is made to the Internet telephone system,
A ring tone is emitted from the speaker 22 of the main body 20. At this time, when the user who hears the ring tone picks up the handset 21 on the hook switch 23 of the main body unit 20, the hooking detection unit 24 performs a communication between the sound output port 15b of the sound card 15 and the handset 21 based on the detected off-hook information signal. The switch unit 26 is switched so as to connect the terminal and the off-hook information signal is output to the MIDI conversion unit 25. This off-hook information signal is MIDI
After being converted into a MIDI signal by the conversion unit 25, the MIDI signal is taken into the personal computer 12 through the MIDI port 15 c of the sound card 15, and the
Can be used. During a call, the voice of the other party is output to the handset 21, and the voice of the user of the Internet telephone handset device 11 is transmitted from the handset 2 to the other party by the application 17 via the voice input port 15 a of the sound card 15. You.

(C) Termination of Call When the call is terminated and the user of the Internet telephone handset device 11 places the handset 21 on the hook switch 23 of the main unit, the on-hook information signal detected by the hooking detection unit 24 is , MIDI conversion unit 25
After being converted to the IDI signal, the
Since the data is taken into the personal computer 12 through the DI port 15c, the application 17 of the personal computer 12 can perform the process at the end of the call. At the end of the call, the hooking detection unit 24
Switches the switch unit 26 so as to connect the audio output port 15ab of the sound card 15 and the speaker 22 of the main body unit 20 based on the on-hook information signal.

In the present embodiment, a confidential function is added to an existing Internet telephone simply by adding an Internet telephone handset device equipped with a minimum necessary function as described above to the existing Internet telephone. By improving the user interface (usability) at the same time, an Internet telephone system with enhanced functions can be constructed at low cost. Further, the Internet telephone handset device itself can be manufactured at low cost because the internal configuration is simplified.

Further, in the Internet telephone system of the present embodiment, since an existing Internet telephone having an IP address is diverted, it is not necessary to obtain a new IP address as in the case of using an Internet telephone. Therefore, even when a large amount of Internet telephone system is required as in the case of introduction into a large-scale office, the amount of installation work and the amount of time required for the introduction by a network administrator are not enormous. It is particularly advantageous in the case of introducing.

The personal computer 12 is connected to the Internet telephone handset 20 of the present embodiment.
Since the power is supplied from the keyboard terminal 19, the cost can be reduced by eliminating the AC adapter and the like, and the energy can be saved by cutting off the power supply other than when the personal computer is started.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Just by adding an Internet telephone handset device with the minimum necessary functions to an existing Internet telephone, an Internet telephone system that secures the confidentiality of the call and improves the usability as well as the Internet telephone at low cost. can do

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an Internet telephone system incorporating an Internet telephone handset device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view showing the configuration of the Internet telephone handset device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional Internet telephone system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional Internet telephone system.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 11 Handset device for Internet telephone 12 Personal computer 15 Sound card 15a Audio input port (line out) 15b Audio output port (microphone in) 15c MIDI port 17 Internet telephone software (application) 18 Keyboard 19 Keyboard terminal 20 Main unit 21 Handset 22 Speaker 23 Hook switch 24 Hooking detection unit 25 MIDI conversion unit 26 Switch unit 27 Power supply unit 28, 29, 30, 31 Cable

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A personal computer, a sound card inserted into an expansion slot of the personal computer, audio input / output means connected to an audio input / output port of the sound card, and an Internet telephone installed in the personal computer Handset device for use in an Internet phone that realizes an Internet phone function by using software for the phone, the handset device comprising: a main unit having a speaker and a hook switch; and a voice input connected to the main unit. A handset as output means, wherein the main unit is a MIDI device when a sound card having a MIDI port is used as the sound card.
An Internet telephone connected to the port and the voice input / output port and connected to the handset and the speaker, so as to take a voice input / output mode according to on-hook information or off-hook information from the hook switch. Handset device. 2. The handset device for an Internet telephone according to claim 1, wherein power is supplied from a keyboard terminal of said personal computer. 3. An internet telephone handset device according to claim 1, wherein on-hook information and off-hook information from said hook switch are input to said personal computer via said MIDI port. . 4. A hooking detecting section for detecting on-hook information and off-hook information from the hook switch, in addition to the speaker and the hook switch, and an output signal of the hooking detecting section.
A MIDI conversion unit for converting into a DI signal; a switch unit for switching an output destination of an audio output signal from the sound card to one of the speaker and the handset according to the on-hook information or the off-hook information; The handset device for an Internet telephone according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a power supply unit for supplying power.