JPH0263287A - Television telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the image pickup range of an image pickup means easily independently of the talking position of a talker by using a control means so as to allow the image pickup means to pick up and image according to the result of the detection of the detection means while the position of a light emitting means provided to a handset is detected by the detection means. CONSTITUTION:A light emission section 16 of a handset 3 is subject to intensity modulation at a predetermined frequency and driven. The infrared-ray is detected by a position sensor 14 accommodated in a camera case 15 of a telephone set main body 1, the motor-driven universal head 17 is subject to position control by the operation of a control system and a television camera 6 is controlled to image-pick up the direction of the light emission section 16, that is, the talker being an object. Thus, the image of the talker is displayed on a display device 7 of an opposite party and the opposite party can make communication while observing the image of the talker.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a television telephone device that is connected to other telephones via a communication medium.

[Prior Art] With the development of communication technology, not only conventional telephones for telephone calls but also video telephone devices that can image each other's parties and transmit the imaged information to the other party have appeared in recent years. A fourth perspective view of this conventional television telephone device is shown below.
FIG. 5 shows an explanatory diagram of its usage state.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, l is the telephone main body, 2 is a line connection cord that is a communication medium that connects the telephone main body 1 to the public telephone line network 10, and 3 is a telephone handset.
, 4 is an elastic curl cord that connects the handset 3 and the telephone main body 1, 5 is a telephone number button for inputting a telephone number, etc., and 6 is a television for capturing images of callers 11A and IIB.・Camera (imaging lens), 7 is the caller 11A imaged by the television camera 6;
A display (television monitor) for displaying the image of IIB or the image transmitted from the other party through the line;

An image transmission button 11B is used to send the image to the other party, and a monitor switching button 9 is used to select an image to be displayed on the display 7. This is for selecting whether to display the images taken by the caller 11A or IIB, or the received image transmitted from the other party through the line.

Next, call control of a conventional telephone with such a configuration will be explained. The following explanation will be made using an example in which the caller 11A calls the caller 11B and makes a phone call.

The caller 11A first picks up the handset 3 from the telephone body 1), creates a DC loop in the connection line, issues a call request to the public line network 1o, and checks the dial tone sent from the network. The telephone number of the telephone of the caller 11B is input using the telephone number button 5. The telephone main body 1 outputs a telephone number signal corresponding to the incoming call, and the switching equipment of the public telephone line 10 sends a called signal to the telephone of the caller 11B specified by the telephone number. As a result, the calling bell on the telephone main body 1 side of the caller 11B rings. When the caller 11B responds to the call by the ringing bell and takes the handset 3 off-hook from the telephone main body 1, the response is detected by the switching equipment of the public telephone network 10, a communication path is formed between the two telephones, and the call is started. becomes possible.

In addition, on the telephone main body 1 side, when off-hook of the handset 3 is detected, the circuit for transmitting and receiving images including the television camera 6 and the display 7 is powered on, and becomes ready for transmitting and receiving images.

Therefore, when the handset 3 goes off-hook, the television camera 6 captures images of the callers 11A and IIB, and the captured images are displayed on the display 7 of the corresponding telephone body 1. Displayed as a video.

Here, the caller 11A is imaged and confirms the displayed image displayed on the display 7, and if he or she thinks it is okay to send the displayed image to the other party, press the image transmission button 8. Instruct the other party to input the image data at that time and send it to the other party. As a result, the imaged data when the image transmission button 8 is pressed is stored in the memory device built into the telephone main body 1. For example, when the caller 11A presses the image transmission button 8, the imaged data of the caller 11A is stored in the memory device built into the telephone main body 1. The data is stored in a memory device provided inside the computer. The information is then edited into a known transmission format and transmitted to the other party via a connected public telephone line in accordance with known transmission control procedures.

At the same time, the transmitted image data stored in the memory device is displayed as a still image on the display 7, and control is performed so that the caller 11A can confirm the transmitted data.

On the other hand, the telephone body 1 of the caller 11B, which has received the imaging data from the caller 11A, stores the received imaging data in its built-in memory device and displays it on the display screen of the display 7. do.

By performing the above operations, the image of the caller 11A is displayed on the display screen of the display 7 of the telephone 1 on the caller 11B side, and the caller 11B makes a call while looking at the image of the caller 11A. be able to.

Similarly, by transmitting the photographed image from the caller 11B side to the caller 11A side, the callers 11A and 11
User B can talk on the phone while viewing each other's photographed images.

Furthermore, in recent years, cordless phonos have been increasingly used, which eliminate the curl cord 4 between the telephone main body 1 and the handset 3, and exchange data between the two by wireless communication.

An example of such a cordless phono is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, this cordless phono is equipped with a handset-side antenna 12 on the handset 3 and a main-side antenna 13 on the phone main body 1. By connecting the handset and handset 3, the caller can talk anywhere freely without having to worry about a cord connecting the two.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Now, when trying to apply such a cordless phono to a television telephone device as shown in FIG. 4, the location of the caller becomes a problem.

In other words, in the television telephone device shown in FIG. 4, the person making the call must be in front of the television camera 6 of the telephone body 1. Therefore, even if the television telephone device is a cordless phono, the person making the call must be at a predetermined position in front of the television camera 6 of the telephone body 1. However, this is a feature of cordless phono, in which the caller can freely communicate without having to worry about the cord connecting the telephone body 1 and the handset 3. It was made with the purpose of achieving the above-mentioned purpose, and has the following configuration as a means to achieve the above-mentioned purpose.

That is, detecting an imaging means for capturing an image of a subject, a handset connected wirelessly to the main body of the telephone device, a light emitting means disposed on the handset, and a position of the light emitting means disposed on the main body of the telephone device. The apparatus includes a detection means, a control means for controlling the imaging range of the imaging means based on the output of the detection means, and a sending means for sending the imaging data from the imaging means to a connected communication medium.

[Operation] In the above configuration, the problems of the above conventional technology are solved,
While the detection means detects the position of the light-emitting means provided on the handset, the control means causes the imaging means to always take images according to the detection results of the detection means, so that the imaging means can easily take images regardless of the calling position of the caller. It is possible to provide a television telephone device with excellent operability that can control the range.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a television telephone device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the same components as in FIGS. 4, 6, and 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

On the handset 3 side in FIG. 1, 5A is a phone number button on the handset side that has exactly the same function as the phone number button 5 on the phone body 1 side, and 8A is the image transmission button 8 provided on the phone body 1 side. The image transmitting button 9A on the handset side having exactly the same function as the monitor switching button 9 provided on the telephone body 1 side is a monitor switching button on the handset side having exactly the same function.

On the telephone main body 1 side in FIG.
4, a camera case that also accommodates 16, a handset 3
a light emitting section 17 disposed in a part of the handset 3 and emitting infrared light whose intensity is modulated by a modulation means built in the handset 3;
is provided between the phone body l and the camera case 15,
This is an electric pan head that changes the direction of the television camera 6 and position sensor 14 in the panning direction and tilting direction.

FIG. 2 shows a control circuit block diagram for embodying this embodiment having the above configuration.

In FIG. 2, 20 is an oscillator that outputs a signal of a predetermined frequency, and 21 is an amplifier that modulates the intensity of an infrared light emitting diode 22 based on the output of the oscillator 20. A light emitting section 16 on the side of the handset 3 is configured.

On the other hand, on the position sensor 14 side of the telephone main body l, a condensing lens 23 is provided for receiving infrared light from an infrared light emitting diode 22 disposed in the handset 3, and based on the received light, the light emitting unit 16 positions are detected. 24 is an infrared transmission filter for separating the infrared light incident through the condensing lens 23 from other external light and increasing the detection S/N of the light from the infrared light emitting diode 22; 25 is the condensing lens 23; In order to detect the condensing position of the infrared light that has passed through the transmission filter 24, a plurality of light receiving sections 25A are provided as shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG.

a position sensor element having 25B, 25C, 25D, 26
A, 26B, 26C, and 26D are respective light receiving portions 25A, 25B, and 25C of the position sensor element 25.

Amplifiers 27A, 27B, 27C that amplify detection signals sA, SB, SC, sll+ from 25D.

27D is a signal separation circuit that filters each output of the amplifiers 26A, 26B, 26C, and 26D to extract only the light component from the infrared light emitting diode 22; 28A, 28B;
28C, 28D are signal separation circuits 27A, 27B, 27C
, 27D, and 29 is an A/D converter 28A.

Each output signal DA from 28B, 28C, and 28D.

A panning motor 32 detects the position of the infrared light emitting diode 22 based on Da, Da, Do, and controls the panning position of the electric pan head 17 to a D/A converter 30.31 based on the detected position. an arithmetic control device that sends a control signal for a tilt motor 33 that controls a tilt position; 3;
0.31 converts the digital control signal output from the arithmetic control unit 29 into a corresponding analog signal and sends it to the drive amplifier 3.
D/A converter that outputs to 4゜35, 34.35 is D/A
This is a drive amplifier that supplies control signals outputted through the converter 30 and the D/A converter 31 to the panning motor 32 and the tilting motor 33, respectively.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained below.

When the caller calls the other party and makes a conversation, the caller picks up the handset 3 from the telephone body 1 (goes off-hook). In this state, the telephone body 1 and the handset 3 are powered on and the telephone is turned off. The main body l and the handset 3 have a main body side antenna 13 and a handset side antenna 12, respectively.
The device will be connected wirelessly via the . When the off-hook state occurs, a DC loop is generated in the line and a call request is made. Next, press the telephone number button 5A on the handset 3 side (
Alternatively, operate the telephone number button 5) on the telephone body l to input the telephone number of the other party. This signal is wirelessly transmitted to the telephone main body 1, and the telephone main body 1 sends a telephone number signal (dial pulse signal or DTMF signal) corresponding to the input telephone number to the connection line 2 according to a known procedure. The switching equipment of the telephone line network receives the telephone number signal and calls the specified destination telephone specified by the telephone number signal.As a result, the ringing bell of the telephone of the destination telephone rings. Recognizes the called call on your own phone, and
By picking up the handset 3 and setting it off-hook, the line is connected and conversation becomes possible.

On the other hand, when the off-hook of the handset 3 is detected on the main body side of each telephone, the circuit including the television camera 6 and the display 7 shown in FIG. become possible.

At the same time, the light emitting section 16 of the handset 3 is intensity-modulated at a predetermined frequency and driven to emit light. This infrared light is detected by the position sensor 14 housed in the camera case 15 on the side of the phone main body l, and the positioning of the electric pan head 17 is controlled by the function of the control system described later, and the television camera 6 is moved to the light emitting unit 16. In other words, the camera is controlled to capture an image of the subject, that is, the side of the caller.

The television camera 6 whose positioning is controlled in this way takes an image of the corresponding caller, and each taken image is displayed as a moving image on the display 7 of the corresponding telephone body l.

Here, if the caller is imaged and decides that it is okay to send his or her image displayed on the display 7 to the other party, press the handset-side image transmission button 8A provided on the handset 3 (
Or press and input the image sending button 8) on the phone's main body,
Instructs to send the image data at that time to the other party.

Such operation signals are wirelessly transmitted to the telephone main body 1, and as a result, the image of the person talking captured by the television camera 6 is transmitted from the telephone main body 1 to the line in a well-known transmission format. At the same time, the transmitted image is displayed on the display 7 on the telephone body 1. At this time, a memory device is provided to temporarily store the imaged data, and the imaged data is stored in this memory device, edited into a known transmission format, and transmitted via the connected public telephone line 10 or the like according to known transmission control procedures. The information may be configured to be sent to the other party.

Through the operations described above, the image of the caller is displayed on the display 7 of the other party, and the other party can talk while looking at the image of the caller.

When the caller operates the handset-side monitor switching button 9A on the handset 3 side, this operation signal is transmitted wirelessly to the telephone main body l side, and the television camera 6 is displayed on the display screen of the display 7. It is possible to switch and display the captured image, the transmitted image to be sent (or has been sent) to the other party, and the received image from the other party.

In this embodiment, even if the caller moves from place to place while holding the handset 3, the position sensor 14 can detect the infrared light from the light emitting section 16. Then, the electric pan head 17 is controlled so that the television camera 6 always faces the caller, and the pan and tilt controls of the television camera 6 are performed. Never go out of range.

Next, a method of controlling the electric pan head 17 corresponding to this caller position will be explained.

Infrared light from an infrared light emitting diode 22, which is intensity-modulated and driven through an amplifier 21 in accordance with a clock signal of a predetermined frequency oscillated from an oscillator 20, is emitted from a light emitting section 16 of the handset 3 and is sent in the direction of the main body of the telephone.

This infrared light is received by a position sensor 14 built into a camera case 15 on an electric pan head 17 of the telephone main body 1. The received infrared light is introduced through the condenser lens 23 , has external light components removed by the infrared transmission filter 24 , and enters the position sensor element 25 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the position sensor element 25 has four light receiving sections 25A, 25B, 25C, and 25D, and the respective outputs are derived as detection signals S A + SB +Sc and So. Each detection signal is transmitted through amplifiers 26A, 26B,
26C, 26D, signal separation circuits 27A, 27
It is input to B, 27C, and 27D. Here, the light is demodulated by filter processing, and as a result, a light component from the infrared light emitting diode 22 separated from external light is obtained.

Each signal from the signal separation circuits 27A, 27B, 27C, and 27D is sent to A/D converters 28A and 28B.

The signals are converted into corresponding digital values at 28C and 28D, and input to the arithmetic and control unit 29 as detection signals DA, Da, DC, and D.

The arithmetic and control unit 29 first outputs a control signal to the D/A converter 31 so that (detection signal DA+detection signal R)=(detection signal Dc+detection signal Do). This control signal is supplied to the tilt motor 33 through a drive amplifier to control the tilt angle of the electric pan head 17.

Second, the D/A converter 30
Outputs a control signal to. This control signal is applied to the drive amplifier 34.
It is supplied to the panning motor 32 through the panning motor 32 to control the panning position of the electric pan head 17.

As described above, the arithmetic control unit 29 controls the electric pan head 17 so that the infrared light received from the infrared diode 22 is always at the strongest position at the center of the position sensor element 25. Therefore, as a result, control is performed so that the center of the imaging range of the television camera 6 is always the position of the light emitting section 16 of the handset 3, that is, the position of the face of the caller.

Since this control is always performed dynamically, the television camera 6 can always track the caller even if the caller moves.

Although the above explanation has been given as an example of a wireless phono in which the handset 3 and the telephone main body are connected wirelessly, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, it can also be applied even when the telephone is connected by a cord. For example, a television telephone with a structure in which the cord connecting the telephone main unit 1 and the handset 3 is very long so that the caller can move freely. It is also applicable to devices.

Furthermore, in the above description, the case where infrared light is used to detect the position has been exemplified, but other types of electromagnetic waves may be used as long as the position of the handset 3 can be detected.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, by providing the television camera 6 provided in the telephone main body 1 with a function of automatically tracking the handset 3, it is possible to ensure that the caller can be contacted regardless of the location of the caller. can be imaged by the television camera 6, and it is possible to provide a television telephone device that takes advantage of the advantages of a cordless phono.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, even when a handset and a telephone device are connected wirelessly, the imaging means can always capture the caller regardless of the caller's location. Therefore, it is possible to provide a television telephone device with good operability and no restrictions on the position of use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a television telephone device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration of the position sensor element of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional television telephone device, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the television telephone device of FIG. 4 in use, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventionally known cordless phono. It is a diagram. In the figure, 1...Telephone body, 3...Handset, 5...
・Telephone number button, 6... Television camera, 7
...Display unit, 8...Image transmission button, 8A...Handset image transmission button, 9...Monitor switching button,
9A...Handset side monitor switching button, 14...Position sensor, 16...Light emitting unit, 17...Electric pan head, 2
2... Infrared light emitting diode, 23... Condensing lens, 24... Infrared transmission filter, 25... Position sensor element, 27A, 27B, 27C, 28D... Signal separation circuit, 28A, 28B, 28C, 28D...-A/D
Converter, 29... Arithmetic control device, 30.31...D
/A converter, 32... Panning motor, 33... Tilt motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A television telephone device connected to another telephone via a communication medium, comprising an imaging means for capturing an image of a subject, a handset wirelessly connected to the main body of the telephone device, and a light emitting device disposed on the handset. a detection means for detecting the position of the light emitting means disposed on the telephone device main body; a control means for controlling the imaging range of the imaging means based on the output of the detection means; and imaging data by the imaging means. 1. A television telephone device, comprising: sending means for sending out to a connected communication medium.