JPH01233944A - Telephone terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the time of remote listening and to decrease the talking charge by detecting a remote control signal sent by a caller selectively, and selecting a voice signal and a video signal stored in a reception message storage section selectively to a telephone line. CONSTITUTION:When a call signal is inputted, an incoming call detection section 18 detects it to close the telephone line. Then a replay message transmission section 19 sends a reply message to a caller. Then when only the voice signal is desired to be listened by remote control, the operator sends a remote signal listened remotely for the voice only during reply message transmission. An automatic answering telephone control section 27 controls a reception message reproduction section 21 and a reception message transmission switch 30 and only the video signal is reproduced by the value stored in a start position storage section 31 counted by a rotational frequency count section 27a at the time of recording. Moreover, when only the video signal is desired to be reproduced, the operator sends a remote control signal to view only the video remotely to start the operation during the transmission of the reply message.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telephone terminal device, such as a video telephone, which transmits and receives audio and video through a telephone line.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been video telephones, for example, which transmit and receive audio and video through telephone lines, and in recent years this type of device has been attracting attention as the amount of information has increased.

However, with the above configuration, even if an incoming call occurs while you are not available, you cannot receive a message from the other party, in other words, it is impossible to automatically receive messages. The applicant has proposed a still image video telephone that is equipped with an answering machine function, automatically stores audio and video signals from the other party, and is configured to output the stored information from an audio output section and a video display section. did.

Hereinafter, a still picture video telephone, which is an example of a telephone terminal device proposed by the present applicant, will be explained.

The configuration of the videophone proposed by the present applicant is, for example,
It looked like this and Figure 5.

In the figure, 1 is a video input section composed of a CCD (charge-coupled device), an image pickup tube, etc., 2 is a video display section composed of a CRT (cathode ray tube), a liquid crystal display panel, etc., 3 is the main body of the device, and 4 is a video an image sending button 5 to be operated when sending the image captured by the input unit 1 to the other party via the telephone line;
is a cassette tape deck for storing received audio and video signals on a cassette tape 6.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration. In the figure, 7 is a telephone line, 8 is a line interface section,
Reference numeral 9 denotes an audio signal/video signal changeover switch for switching the flow of signals arriving through the telephone line between the audio side (A) and the video side (B), and 10 represents the audio signal/video signal changeover switch connected to the audio side. This is a video signal discriminator that detects whether or not there is a video signal in the signal sent from the other party via the telephone line, and when there is a video signal, it outputs a signal indicating that The signal is sent to the signal changeover switch 9. 11 is an audio output section such as a speaker, 12 is an audio input section such as a microphone, 13 is a video signal modulation section that modulates the video signal taken in by the video input section 1 into a signal that can be transmitted over a telephone line, and 14 is an audio input section such as a microphone. A video signal demodulation section demodulates a modulated video signal sent through a telephone line, and 15 and 16 are first video memories, respectively.

The second video memory 17 is an answering machine function switch that manually selectively switches between the videophone section and the answering machine section, and is connected to the (D) side in the on state and to the (C) side in the off state. . 18 is an incoming call detection unit that detects a calling signal arriving from the telephone line 7, and 19 is a voice synthesis IC.
20 and 21 are a received message storage section and a received message playback section using the above-mentioned set tape deck 5. Further, in the figure, the part surrounded by a broken line 22 shows the audio communication section, the part surrounded by 23 shows the video communication part, and the part surrounded by 24 shows the answering machine part.

Next, the operation of the still picture video telephone configured as described above will be explained. In the following description, a plurality of video telephones having the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are connected via the telephone line 7.

First, when you are at home, the answering machine function switch 17 is set to the (C) side, and the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 is connected to the audio side (A>. In this state, when a call is made or received, the call is The person and the called party are connected via a telephone line,
Thereafter, normal voice communication is performed between the voice output section 11 and the voice input section 12.

Also, if you want to send a video to the other party, press the video send button 4 to activate the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 to switch the signal flow from the audio side (A) to the video side (B). The video information taken into the first video memory 15 by the video input section 1 is modulated by the video signal modulation section 13 into a signal that can be transmitted over a telephone line. After that, the modulated video signal is added with a signal for audio/video switching at the beginning, and is added to the line interface section 8.
The message is then sent to the other party via the telephone line 7. Then, the audio/video switching signal is detected by the video signal discrimination unit 10 of the telephone terminal device of the other party, and the audio/video signal switching switch 9 is operated to change the flow of the signal from the audio side (A) to the video side (B). ), the video signal demodulation section 14 demodulates the video signal, stores it in the second video memory 16, and displays it on the video display section 2.

After the video transmission ends, the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 automatically returns to the audio side (A).

On the other hand, when the other party sends a video, the same process as described above is performed, and the received video is displayed on the video display section 2 on the user's side.

In addition, when the user is absent, the answering function switch 17 is set to ON, that is, to the (D) side. When a calling signal arrives from the telephone line 7 in this state, the calling signal is detected by the incoming call detection section 18, and after the telephone line is automatically closed, the response message sending section 19 is activated and the message is stored in the voice storage tank memory. The response message stored in the IC is sent to the telephone line.

When the sending of the response message is completed, the audio signal sent from the calling side via the telephone line 7 and the video signal modulated into a signal that can be sent over the telephone line are stored in the message storage section 20 and sent to the cassette tape 6. to be memorized. In this way, an incoming call while the user is away is automatically answered, and the audio and video signals from the other party are stored.

Next, when the operator returns home and operates the received message playback unit 21 to start playing back the received message stored on the cassette tape 6 while he was away, the voice message of the playback signal is output from the audio output unit. 11, the video signal is reproduced, and the audio/video switching signal added to the beginning of the video signal is detected by the video signal discriminator 10, the audio/video signal switching switch 9 is switched to the video side (B), and the video signal is demodulated. The second video memory 1 via the section 14
6 and is reproduced on the video display section 2, which is a video display section. When the output of the video signal is finished, the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 is switched to the audio side (A).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the above configuration has the problem that messages recorded while the user is away cannot be checked from outside the home.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and allows the public to check messages recorded while the user is away, as well as to select between listening to only the audio signal, only the video signal, or listening to both. To provide a telephone terminal device capable of listening to only an audio signal even from a telephone without a video receiving device such as a telephone, thereby shortening the time for remote listening and reducing call charges.

Means for Solving the Problems In addition to the configuration of the conventional telephone terminal device described above, the telephone terminal device of the present invention has a remote control system that detects a rapid control signal arriving on a telephone line and determines the content of remote control. control signal detecting means, means for connecting a reproduced signal from the received message reproducing section to the telephone line, and storing a signal indicating a storage start portion of each of the audio signal and video signal received via the telephone line. Selecting at least one of the audio signal and the video signal stored in the received message storage unit by referring to the storage information in the start position storage unit and the signal output from the remote control signal detection means. and a control section for controlling the received message reproducing section to transmit the reproduced signal to the telephone line.

Function: With this configuration, the remote control signal detection unit detects the remote control signal selected and sent by the caller, and the control unit detects the audio signal and video signal stored in the received message storage unit depending on the type of remote control signal. can be selected and sent to the telephone line.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are perspective views of a still image video telephone according to an embodiment of the present invention, and 29 is a reproduction selection switch. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration. In the figure, 25 is a remote control signal detection unit that detects a remote control signal input from the telephone line, and 26 is a remote control signal detection unit that detects the rotation of the reel of the cassette tape 6. It is a rotation detection part, and the reel is 1
Outputs a pulse signal every time it rotates. 27 is an answering machine control section that controls the answering machine section 24, and this answering machine control section biases the rotation number counting section 27a that counts the pulse signal output from the rotation detection section. Reference numeral 28 denotes an answering machine operation switch that supplies power to the answering machine unit 24 and puts it in a standby state. 29 is a playback selection switch, 3
0 is a received message sending switch that sends the received message to the telephone line. Reference numeral 31 denotes a start position storage section in which a signal indicating the number of reel rotations corresponding to the recording start position of each of the audio signal and video signal stored on the cassette tape 6 is stored.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the same parts as in the conventional example described above are given the same numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the still picture video telephone configured as described above will be explained.

In normal operations when the user is at home, it is possible to transmit and receive audio and video as in the conventional example, and in this embodiment, the answering function when the user is absent and the operation of reproducing received messages will be explained.

When the user is absent, by turning on the answering machine operating switch 28, power is supplied to the answering machine section 24 and it becomes operational. When a calling signal arrives from the telephone line 7 in this state, the calling signal is detected by the incoming call detection section 18 and a signal is output to the answering machine control section 27. The answering machine control section 27 closes the telephone line and sends the response message sending section 1.
9 to transmit the response message previously stored in the voice storage memory IC to the telephone line. When the sending of the response message is finished, the answering machine control section 27 controls the received message storage section 20 and modulates the voice signal sent from the calling party via the telephone line 7 into a signal that can be sent over the telephone line. The received message storage unit 20 stores the received video signal on the cassette tape 6. Even when the answering machine section 24 is in operation, the voice signal received is sent to the voice output section 11.
The video signal is output from the calling side, and the video signal is determined by the video signal discriminating section 10, and the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 is switched to the video side (B) and the video display section, so that the video can be monitored. Become. Also, during recording of a received message, the rotation of the reel of the cassette tape 6 in the received message storage section 20 is detected by the rotation detection section 26, and one of the reels is detected by the rotation detection section 26.
One pulse is output to the answering machine control section 27 for each rotation. Then, the rotation speed counting section 27a of the answering machine control section 27
The pulses are counted by. Then, the answering machine control unit 27 determines the rotation speed when the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 switches from the audio side (A) to the video side (B), and the rotation speed when the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 switches from the video side (B) to the audio side (A). The rotational speeds are stored in the start position storage section 31 as the rotational speeds indicating the video signal recording start position and the audio signal recording start position, respectively.

In this way, an incoming call while the user is away is automatically answered, and the audio and video signals from the other party are stored.

Next, when the operator returns home and operates the received message playback unit 21 and starts playing the received message stored on the cassette tape 6 while the operator is away with the playback selection switch 29 set to audio/video, the cassette tape is wound. The returning tape runs at a constant speed from the starting point, and among the reproduced signals, a voice message is reproduced from an audio output section 11, which is an audio output section.
The video signal is converted into an audio/video signal by detecting the audio/video switching signal added to the beginning of the video signal by the video signal discriminator 10.
The video signal changeover switch 9 is switched to the video side (B), and the video signal is stored in the second video memory 16 via the video signal demodulation section 14 and reproduced on the CRT unit of the video display section 2.

When the output of the video signal is finished, the audio signal/video signal changeover switch 9 is switched to the audio side (A). Below, the audio signal and video signal are played back in the same way (.

When reproduction of the received message stored on the cassette tape 6 is started with the reproduction selection switch 29 set to audio, the cassette tape 6 is rewound to its starting end. Then, during the rewinding operation, the answering machine control section 27 decrements the count value by the rotation number counting section 27a every time a pulse arrives from the rotation detection section 26. Then, the reproduction operation is started from the beginning of the cassette tape.

By this reproduction operation, the audio signal recorded on the cassette tape is output from the audio output section 11.

Also, during this playback operation, the pulses output from the rotation detection section 26 are transmitted to the rotation number counting section 27a of the answering machine control section 27.
Among the counted values stored in the start position storage unit 31 at the time of recording the received message,
When the cassette tape reaches just before the rotational speed that indicates the storage start position of the video signal, the cassette tape is fast-forwarded to the rotational speed corresponding to the next storage start position of the audio signal, and then the cassette tape enters the playback state again and the audio signal is played back. . Thereafter, only the audio signal will be outputted from the audio output section 11 in the same manner.

Furthermore, when the reproduction selection switch 29 is set to the video side and the reproduction of the received message stored on the cassette tape 6 is started, the video signals are sequentially reproduced from the storage start position of the video signal and the CRT of the video display section 2 is displayed. The recorded portion of the audio signal will be fast-forwarded while being displayed on the unit.

Next, a case will be described in which a remote signal is sent from outside the home to check the recorded content.

First, when going out, the answering machine operation switch 28 is turned on, and the answering machine section 24 is in a standby state. When a calling signal is input through the telephone line in this state, the incoming call detection section 18 detects it and closes the telephone line. Next, the response message sending unit 19 sends a response message to the caller. At this time, the remote control signal detection unit 25 constantly monitors whether or not a remote control signal arrives on the telephone line, and when a remote control signal indicating remote listening is detected, the answering machine control unit 25
7, a signal indicating this is output.

On the other hand, when this signal is input, the answering machine control section 27 controls the response message sending section to stop sending out the response message and turns the received message sending switch 30 into a conductive state. Furthermore, the received message reproducing section 21 is controlled to rewind the cassette tape 6 to the starting point and then run at a constant speed from the tape starting point. Therefore, the received messages are played back from the received message playback section 21 in the order in which they were recorded and sent to the telephone line 7 through the received message sending switch 30 and the line interface section 8.

Next, if you want to listen to only the audio signal by remote control,
The operator sends a remote signal for remotely listening to only the voice while sending a response message. This remote signal is detected by the remote signal detection unit 25 and sent to the answering machine control unit 2.
7 is output. The answering machine control unit 27 controls the received message playback unit 21 and the received message output switch 3o, and activates the playback selection switch 29 when you are at home based on the value counted by the rotation speed counting unit 27a during recording and stored in the start position storage unit 31. Only the audio signal is reproduced in the same manner as when it is set to the audio side and reproduced, and is output to the telephone line 7 through the line interface section 8. If it is desired to reproduce only the video signal, the operation is started by the operator transmitting a remote control signal for remotely listening to only the video while the response message is being sent. When the remote control signal is detected, the answering machine control unit 27 transmits the video signal according to the rotation speed stored in the start position storage unit 31 in the same way as when the playback selection switch 29 is set to the video side and played back. only to the telephone line 7.

Although the configuration of the remote control signal detection section 25 described above is not particularly illustrated, it is as follows.

In other words, D T M F (Dua! Tone Mu
lti Frequency) signal and outputs data corresponding to the detected DTMF signal.
F detection section, a remote control signal storage section in which data corresponding to each of a plurality of remote control signals is stored in advance, and data detected and output by the DTMF detection section and read from the remote control signal storage section. The output data is compared and when the two match, a match signal is sent to the answering machine control unit 27.
It is composed of a data comparison section that outputs data to the data comparison section. Then, while listening to the response message, the operator presses several dial buttons on the tone-dial telephone, and the DTMF signals sent out into the line are compared by the written data comparison section, and the incoming DTMF signals are It is determined whether the signal is a control signal or not, and if it is a remote control signal, what kind of operation the signal is to cause the telephone terminal device to perform.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention allows you to remotely listen to received messages recorded while you were away from home, and also allows you to listen to three listening operations: listening to only audio signals, listening to only video signals, and listening to both. By being able to select and listen from within, the time required for remote listening can be shortened if necessary, and call charges can be reduced, which is very effective in practice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are perspective views of a still image video telephone, which is a telephone terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing its circuit configuration, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are Perspective view of a still image videophone that is a conventional telephone terminal device, No. 6
The figure is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of a still image video telephone, which is a conventional telephone terminal device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Video input section, 2...Video display section, 3...Device body 4...Picture sending button, 5...Cassette tape deck 6...Cassette tape, 7...Telephone line 8...
・Line interface section 9...Audio signal/video signal changeover switch 10...
・Video signal discrimination unit, 11...Audio output unit 12...Audio input unit, 13...Video signal modulation unit 14...Video signal demodulation unit, 15...First video memory]6.・Second
Video memory 17...Answering function switch 18...Incoming call detection section, 19...Response message sending section 20...Received message storage section 21...Received message reproducing section 22...Voice communication section, 23... Video communication department 24...
・Answering machine section, 25...Remote signal detection section 26・
...Rotation detection section, 27...Answering machine control section 28...
・Answering machine operation switch 29...Playback selection switch 30...Received message sending switch 31...Start position storage section

Claims (1)

[Claims] an audio communication unit including an audio input unit and an audio output unit; a video communication unit including a video input unit and a video display unit; a response message sending unit that sends a pre-stored response message to the telephone line; A received message storage unit that stores audio and video signals arriving on the telephone line; a received message playback unit that plays back the received messages stored in the received message storage unit; and a reception message playback unit that detects remote control signals that arrive on the telephone line. remote control signal detection means for determining the content of the remote control; means for connecting the reproduction signal from the received message reproduction section to the telephone line; and storage for each of the audio signal and video signal received via the telephone line. a start position storage unit that stores a signal indicating a start part; and an audio signal that is stored in the received message storage unit by referring to the information stored in the start position storage unit based on a signal output from the remote control signal detection means. and a control unit configured to select at least one of the video signals and cause the received message playback unit to transmit the playback signal to a telephone line.