JP3130532B2 - Video phone - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a videophone capable of simultaneously transmitting audio and video.

(Prior art) With the international standardization by CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee), the construction of ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is progressing, and in the future, ordinary households will be used as a basic communication network replacing the current telephone network. Is also expected to spread.

In this ISDN, a plurality of information (B) channels used for information transmission between terminals and one signal used for transmitting signal information for controlling transmission / reception between terminals and a network (switch) are provided on one line.
By multiplexing and transmitting the two signal (D) channels, it is easy to realize multimedia communication.

The ISDN basic interface specified in CCITT recommendation I.430 has two channels with a capacity of 64 Kbps.
2B + D multiplexing with D channel having 16Kbps capacity
This is a significant feature in that it can be transmitted by a conventional two-wire metallic cable.

By the way, there is a videophone as one of the operations of a terminal device that can effectively use the characteristics of the ISDN. In this videophone, by assigning one of the B channels for the transmission of digitally encoded audio and the other B channel for the transmission of digitally encoded video, audio and video are transmitted on a single line. At the same time.

This videophone, while watching each other's facial expressions,
Since voice calls can be made, more intimate communication can be expected.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Although the above-mentioned video telephone enables simultaneous communication of audio and video with a single line, it is demanded that the price is high and more functions can be realized. Was.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a videophone having more useful functions while utilizing the basic configuration of the videophone.

[Configuration of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The video telephone according to the present invention described in claim (1) has a plurality of information channels for transmitting audio and video between terminals. And a signal channel for transmitting a call control signal for controlling transmission and reception between the terminal and the network, wherein the signal channel is connected to a communication network capable of transmitting user information between the terminal and the terminal. The videophone includes transmission means for transmitting, via the signal channel, incoming operation mode information for selecting manual incoming or automatic incoming on the receiving side.

A video telephone according to the present invention as set forth in claim (2) is characterized in that a plurality of information channels for transmitting audio and video between terminals and a call for controlling originating and terminating between terminals and a network. And a signal channel for transmitting a control signal. In the signal channel, a videophone connected to a communication network capable of transmitting user information between terminals can receive a signal from a calling side via the signal channel. Selecting means for selecting manual incoming or automatic incoming based on the received incoming operation mode information.

The video telephone according to the present invention described in claim (3) further sounds a ringing tone in the case of a manual incoming call, accepts the incoming call by a user's response operation, and does not ring in the case of an automatic incoming call. Now accepts incoming calls automatically.

In the video telephone according to the present invention described in claim (4), the receiving side operation mode information transmitted from the transmitting side via the signal channel is further provided with a password, and the receiving side is registered in advance on the receiving side. The password is compared with the password assigned to the incoming call mode information received from the calling side, and only when the passwords match, the mode is switched to the incoming call mode specified by the incoming call mode information.

The video telephone according to the present invention described in claim (5) further has a two-way communication mode for audio and video, and a one-way communication mode for audio and video. It can be set selectively.

(Operation) According to the present invention, it is possible to normally operate as a general videophone in the manual call receiving operation mode, and to switch to the automatic incoming call from a remote place according to the incoming call operation mode information transmitted via the signal channel as necessary. As a result, the videophone can be used for remote monitoring.

In addition, when receiving an automatic call, it is possible to set a non-ringing incoming call and assign a password to the information on the incoming call operation mode so that only the user on the specific incoming call side can specify the incoming call mode remotely. , Privacy can be protected.

Further, it is possible to selectively switch between a two-way communication mode of audio and video and a one-way communication mode of either audio and video or any one of audio and video.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a videophone to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a microprocessor 1
Executes connection control for outgoing and incoming calls of the videophone, and this control software is stored in a read only memory (ROM) 2. Microprocessor 1
According to the provisions of CCITT recommendation Q.931, ISDN and ROM2 execute connection control for voice and video communication by exchanging ISDN call control signals (messages) with a network (switch). The call control signal of the microprocessor 1 is converted into serial data of 16 Kbps as an ISDN interface 4 described later.
Are connected to the D channel. The dial key 3 is for inputting the other party number when making a call. When the user inputs the dial key, the microprocessor 1
It is incorporated as a called number in the call setting signal of the transmission request. Further, the dial key 3 includes other function keys for designating an incoming call operation mode. The ISDN interface (ISDN I / F) 4 has two B channels having a transmission capacity of 64 Kbps and 16 B according to the channel structure of the ISDN basic interface defined in CCITT Recommendation I.430.
In addition to multiplexing and demultiplexing a D-channel having a transmission capacity of Kbps, the D-channel further has a data link control function specified in CCITT Recommendation Q.921. Transmission control of the transmitted control signal is performed.

On the other hand, the two B channels are multiplexed and demultiplexed by the ISDN I / F4. For example, the B1 channel is connected to the audio codec 6 and the B2 channel is connected to the image codec 9 so that the two channels can be applied to audio and video communication between videophones. Is done.

The voice communication system includes a handset (transmitter / receiver) 5 and a voice codec 6, and converts an analog voice signal from the handset 5 into a μ-law defined by CCITT recommendation G.711.
It is connected to the B1 channel of the ISDN I / F4 via an audio codec 6 that converts the digital signal into a 64 Kbps digital signal by an encoding method.

The video signal system includes, for example, a color television camera 7 using a CCD or the like, for example, a color display using an LCD,
And an image codec 9. The image codec 9 compresses the information of the number + Mbps capacity of the color video signal to 64 Kbps according to the digital encoding method of the color video signal specified in CCITT recommendation H.261, and
The received signal is transferred between the image codecs of the other videophone via the B2 channel of the ISDN I / F4.

Next, the ringer 10 is for ringing a ringing tone upon receiving a call, and the microprocessor 1 controls the start and stop of the ringing.

 Hereinafter, the operation will be described.

When the user inserts the other party's dial on the calling side, the microprocessor 1 generates a call setting signal shown in FIG. 2 and transmits it to the network via the D channel of the ISDN I / F4. In accordance with the layer 3 signal coding rules of CCITT recommendation Q.931, the call setting signal includes "unrestricted digital" and "circuit switching" indicating the attribute of communication information in the area of layer 3 signal type 2a as signal content. In the area of the channel identifier 2c, a "B channel unit" indicating that two B channels are used at the same time, and a destination number 2d
In the area of the above, the above information is included when the user performs an operation of designating the incoming call operation mode as a required information element with the "party number" indicating the called number, and when there is no operation of the user, Omitted.

As an operation for designating the incoming call operation mode, one of the function keys provided on the dial key 3 can be used for the designation. Of course, it is also possible to designate by a combination of symbol keys such as * and # and numeric keys.

As described above, when the call setting signal is generated by the microprocessor 1 as a result of the calling operation of the user, FIG.
As shown in (1), a call setting signal is transmitted to the network, the called number is analyzed by the exchange of the network, and the call setting signal is transmitted to the line of the called subscriber as an incoming call notification.

On the receiving side, upon receiving the call setting signal from the network, the microprocessor 1 analyzes the contents of the received call setting signal to identify the incoming call and confirm the presence of the user-user information element.

In the case of FIG. 3a, since the user / user information element is not included, the call setting acceptance signal and the call signal are transmitted to the network as described in CCITT Recommendation Q.931, and the call signal is sounded at the same time. Let it. As with the conventional telephone, when the receiving user goes off-hook, a response signal is transmitted from the receiving side to the network. Immediately after this, using the two channels B1 and B2,
Communication of audio and video becomes possible.

On the other hand, if the receiving side does not specify the receiving operation mode, the receiving side receives the call setting signal from the network and the microprocessor 1 analyzes the received signal as shown in FIG. As a result, when the user / user information element is not included, the response signal is transmitted in response to the absence of the user off-hook following the transmission of the call setting acceptance signal. Immediately thereafter, audio and video communication using the two channels B1 and B2 becomes possible.

In this case, on the receiving side, for example,
A ringing tone may be sounded for several seconds. Alternatively, no sound may be used. This selection can be specified by the user / user information from the calling side. This ringing control can of course be performed regardless of the designation of the incoming call operation mode.

Also, by adding a password to the operation mode information for the user / user information that specifies the incoming call operation mode,
The receiving side performs comparison and collation with a pre-registered password, and automatically responds only when the password matches, and when the password does not match, a normal manual response operation can be performed. By doing so, the videophone can be used as a remote monitoring device for the purpose of crime prevention or the like, and is not misused by a third party.

In the case of using the incoming call operation mode, a mode in which an automatic response is permitted or rejected may be set on the receiving side. For example, when the user is out of the office, it is preferable to use the incoming call operation mode. However, when the user is at home, it may be preferable that the incoming call operation mode does not result in an automatic incoming call.
Therefore, an automatic incoming call prohibition switch may be provided as a switch of the videophone.

Further, as a modified example of the present invention, a videophone equipped with a one-way communication function of audio and video can be realized. According to this function, when the videophone is used for remote monitoring, only the voice and video of the receiving side are transmitted to the transmitting side, and at the same time, the transmission of the voice and video of the transmitting side is prohibited. It is more effective when a videophone is used for crime prevention or the like.

In the one-way communication, one of the audio and the video can be used for the one-way communication. At the same time, it is also possible for both to be one-way communication.

In order to realize one-way communication, the transmission system operation of the audio codec and the image codec of the video telephone on the transmitting side may be stopped, and a code corresponding to no signal may be transmitted. Specifically, from the viewpoint of the transmission system, two signal sources, for example, a significant signal source and a code source corresponding to no signal are prepared in advance, and a command signal from the microprocessor 1 Just switch. Alternatively, a one-way communication network service may be used. In one-way communication using network services, an information channel for information transmission between terminals is used only in one direction from the terminal to the network on the receiving side, and only in one direction from the network to the terminal on the calling side. It also has an effect that communication cost can be reduced as compared with two-way communication.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a videophone capable of selecting a manual incoming call or an automatic incoming call based on incoming call operation mode information transmitted via a signal channel. The user can check the state of the house from outside and can use the videophone for remote monitoring. In addition, by assigning a password to the no-ringing incoming call designation and the incoming call operation mode designation as necessary, it is possible to prevent misuse by a third party. Further, it is possible to selectively switch between a two-way communication mode of audio and video and a one-way communication mode of either audio and video or audio and video.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a telephone set according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a call setting signal, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation procedure. 1 ... microprocessor 4 ... ISDN I / F 6 ... audio codec 9 ... image codec

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-2-262758 (JP, A) JP-A-2-244962 (JP, A) JP-A-3-155261 (JP, A) JP-A-1-143580 (JP) , U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04M 11/00-11/10 H04N 7/14

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A terminal has a plurality of information channels for transmitting audio and video between terminals and a signal channel for transmitting a call control signal for controlling transmission and reception between the terminal and the network. In a video telephone connected to a communication network capable of transmitting user information between terminals in the signal channel, incoming operation mode information for selecting a manual incoming call or an automatic incoming call on a receiving side is transmitted via the signal channel. A videophone comprising a transmitting means for transmitting. A plurality of information channels for transmitting audio and video between terminals and a signal channel for transmitting a call control signal for controlling transmission and reception between the terminals and the network; A video telephone connected to a communication network capable of transmitting user information between terminals in the signal channel, wherein a manual incoming call or an automatic incoming call is received based on incoming operation mode information received from the calling side via the signal channel; A video phone comprising a selection means for selecting a video telephone. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a ringing tone is sounded in the case of a manual incoming call and the incoming call is accepted by a user's response operation, and an automatic incoming call is received without a ringing in the case of an automatic incoming call. The videophone according to item (1) or (2). 4. A password is assigned to the receiving operation mode information transmitted by the calling side via the signal channel, and the receiving side adds a password registered in advance and the receiving operation mode information received from the calling side to the receiving side. The method according to any one of claims (1) to (3), wherein the password is compared with the received password, and only when the password matches, the mode is switched to the incoming call operation mode specified by the incoming call operation mode information. Videophone described in Crab. 5. A communication system comprising a two-way communication mode for audio and video, and a one-way communication mode for audio and video, wherein the communication mode is selectively set when making or receiving a call. The videophone according to any one of items (1) to (4).