JPH0311868A - Off-talk communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To relieve the load of the user for channel operation by adopting direct selection operating a selection switch corresponding to a desired channel once. CONSTITUTION:When a selection switch S4 of a channel position, e.g. 2 is operated, a comparison discrimination section 10A compares a channel position 2 and a channel position 1 operated precedingly from a channel display circuit 136 and decides that the position 2 is older than the position 1. Then a control section 135 controls a revision signal generating section 10C from the result and sends a channel revision signal once. When a line state detection circuit 112 of the station side detects it, the channel changeover switch S0 in the channel changeover circuit 113 is advanced from the position 1 to the position 2 to complete the channel switching.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention comprises an information center having a plurality of information channels on the station side, an information receiving facility on the subscriber's house side, and communication between the station side and the subscriber's house side. Off-talk allows information signals of the subscriber's desired channel to be sent from the information center on the station side to the information receiving equipment at the subscriber's home via the communication line during the off-talk period when no communication is taking place with the subscriber. It is related to communication methods.

[Traditional techniques/techniques]

Regarding the off-talk communication method, for example,
This system is well known in the art, as described in Publication No. 1846 ``Broadcasting Control System Using Telephone Line'' and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 178029/1982 ``Cable Broadcasting Service System'', but an outline thereof will be explained below.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional off-talk communication system of this type. As seen in the figure, the off-talk communication method uses an in-office device 1 installed on the exchange 100 side.
10 and an in-home device 130 installed on the subscriber telephone 120 side, which is a terminal, are connected by a communication line 140.

The in-office device 110 also includes an incoming call detection circuit 111, a line state detection circuit 112, and a changeover switch 3 for switching communication lines.
1, and further provided with a channel switching circuit 113 and an information center device 200 connected to the changeover switch S1 via the switching circuit 113. 210 is a line for each channel.

On the other hand, the home device 130 is provided with an operation section 131, an off-footer detection circuit 132, an incoming call detection circuit 133, a changeover switch S2 for switching communication lines, a control section 135, and a channel display circuit 136, and further includes an amplifier 134, and a channel display circuit 136. A speaker 300 is provided which is connected to the changeover switch S2 via 134.

When transmitting information through off-talk communication, the control unit 135 operates the operation unit 131 to guide the switch S2 to the broken line position, and at the same time forms a high resistance loop and transmits the PB double signal to the communication line l40. . This signal from the home device 130 is detected by the line state detection circuit 112 of the home device 110, and a control section (not shown) guides the changeover switch S1 to the position shown by the broken line.

As a result, the information signal from the information center device 200 is sent to the home device 130 via the channel switching circuit 113, the changeover switch 31, and the communication line 140. is output from. To switch channels of the information center 200, the control section 135 operates the operation switch S3 attached to the operation section 131 to send a predetermined signal from a signal sending means (not shown) to the communication line 140, and sends this signal to the communication line 140. Detected by the state detection circuit 112, the changeover is performed by the changeover switch SO in the channel changeover circuit 113 under the action of a control section (not shown).

To end the off-talk communication, the changeover switch S2 is guided to the solid line position by the operation of the control unit 135 by operating the operation unit 131 of the home device 130, and this is detected by the line state detection circuit 112, as shown in the figure. The changeover switch S1 is also guided to the solid line position by the action of the drain control section.

When an incoming call is received on the telephone 120 while using the information transmission service by off-talk communication, the incoming call detection circuit 111 detects an incoming call signal from the exchange 100, and the changeover switch 31 is moved from the broken line position by the action of a control section (not shown). Switch to the solid line position and connect the information center device 2 from the communication line 140.
Separate 00.

As a result, the incoming call signal from the exchange 100 is detected by the incoming call detection circuit 133 of the home device 130, and the controller 135 thereby switches the changeover switch S2 from the broken line position to the solid line position, and the telephone 120 is transferred to the communication line 140. It is connected to the exchange 100 through. Therefore, by taking the telephone 120 off-hook, it is possible to make a telephone call.

Furthermore, if the telephone 120 is off-hook while using the information transmission service by off-talk communication, a DC loop is formed, so the off-footer detection circuit 132 detects this, and the controller 135 moves the changeover switch S2 to the dashed line position. to the solid line position, and connect the telephone 120 to the communication port i.
Connect to a140. Further, this state is detected by the line state detection circuit 112, and the changeover switch S1 is switched from the broken line position to the solid line position by the action of the control section shown, and the telephone 120 is connected to the exchange 100 through the communication line 140. This allows normal outgoing calls from telephone 120.

The operation of switching channels of the information center 200 on the station side will be explained in more detail as follows.

The line state detection circuit 112 of the in-office device 110 has the same function as the off-hook detection circuit 132 of the in-home device 130, and when the telephone 120 is in use (off-hook state),
A channel update signal based on the so-called high-resistance loop standard, which is clearly divided so that it will not be detected erroneously when off-talk communication is taking place between the station side and the subscriber's home side. There is a function to detect a channel reset signal and an off-talk communication end signal, etc., and the off-talk communication end signal is received (detected) from the home device 130 side.
In this case, a control section (not shown) connects the changeover switch SO of the channel changeover circuit 113 to the channel number 0 position, and information transmission from the information center 200 becomes impossible.

When a channel update signal is received from the in-home device 130 once, the control unit operates to change the connection of the selector switch SO from the previous channel number position to the next highest channel number position. That is, channel number position 1→
The position of the switch SO is updated only in the direction 2→3→4→l... Also, the channel reset signal is a signal expressed as (end signal + channel update signal), and when this is received, the channel switching circuit 1 is activated by the control section.
13 switch SO is connected to the channel number 1 position.

Under these conditions of the in-office device 110, the in-home device 1
When starting off-talk communication, the control unit 135 of 30
It generates a channel reset signal and, at the end of off-talk communication, a termination signal and sends them to the station side.

In the home device 130, switch S3 of the operation unit 131
The control unit 135 generates a channel update signal once every time . The channel display circuit 136 manages the channel update status by the operation unit 131 and the control unit 135 on the in-home device 130 side, and displays which channel number position the selector switch SO is located in the channel switching circuit 113 of the in-office device 110. do. Operation unit 13
Switch S3 is the 1st channel changeover switch.
Therefore, when changing the channel from, for example, the state of channel (2) to the state of channel (2), the switch S3 must be sequentially operated three times.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional off-talk communication system, the channel switching operation is performed using the progressive channel update connection method, so that the in-home equipment side Now, if you want to switch channels, use one changeover switch and press the switch multiple times, once for each channel, from the current channel position until you reach the desired channel position.
There is a problem in that the operation has to be performed at a rate of multiple times, making the operation cumbersome and inefficient.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems in the prior art, eliminate the need for multiple switch operations for channel switching, and enable switching to a single switch operation no matter how far apart the channel position is. Channel switching is performed,
An object of the present invention is to provide an off-talk communication system that improves the operational complexity and inefficiency associated with channel switching operations.

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve the above object, in the present invention, in an off-talk communication system, a channel setting operation section is provided on the subscriber's home side,
Reset 7) A signal sending circuit, an update signal sending circuit, and a comparison/judgment section were provided, and on the station side, an information channel switching circuit in the information center and a line state detection circuit were provided.

[Operation] A channel designation operation section for specifying a desired channel number, a reset signal sending circuit, an update signal sending circuit, and a comparison judgment section are provided on the subscriber's home side, and the comparison judgment section is configured to specify a desired channel number in the operation section. Compare the specified channel number with the channel number previously specified on the operation unit,
When the former number is smaller than the latter number, the control section causes the reset signal sending circuit to send a reset signal to the office side via the communication line, and then sends the required number of update signals from the update signal sending circuit. When the number is old, the update signal sending circuit sends out a required number of update signals to the office side via the communication line.

The station side is equipped with an information channel switching circuit in the information center and a line state detection circuit, and when the line state detection circuit detects a reset signal sent from the subscriber's home side via the communication line, , the information channel is returned to the first channel number position in the switching circuit by the action of the control section, and when an update signal is detected, the information channel is returned to the next channel in the switching circuit every time the update signal is detected. Step to number position.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same or corresponding parts as those in FIG. 4 are given the same numbers.

The following explanation assumes that there are four channel positions (■ to ■), and channel switching is performed between these positions.

In FIG. 1, 10 is a specifying operation means, S3 is a channel position ■ selection switch, S4 is a channel position ■ selection switch, S5 is a channel position ■ selection switch,
S6 is a selection switch for channel position ■.

FIG. 2 shows details of the main circuit section M including the designating operation means IO shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, 10A is a comparison/judgment section, IOB is a reset signal generation section, and IOC is an update signal generation section.

The reset signal generator 10B is a circuit that generates a reset signal for returning and resetting the channel changeover switch SO to the channel position O in the channel changeover circuit 113 on the station side in FIG. is a circuit that generates an update signal for stepping the channel changeover switch SO once from the previous channel position to the next channel position.

The channel switching operation will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

When channel switching becomes necessary, the control unit 135
A channel switching control signal based on the high resistance loop standard is sent to the communication line 140 through the switch S2. There are three types of switching control signals: a channel reset signal, a channel update signal, and an end signal.

Here, channel switch S3. S4. S5 and S6 constitute a channel designation operation section.

Immediately after the start of off-talk communication, the control unit 135 sends out a reset signal once as an initial operation, and the channel position display in the channel display circuit 136 displays ▪, regardless of the operation of the switch from the channel designation operation unit. After that, for example, even if the selection switch S3 at the same channel position (2) is operated, the control section 135 does not send out the switching control signal, and the display on the channel display circuit 136 does not change.

Next, for example, when the selection switch S4 of the channel position ■ is operated, the comparison judgment section 10A selects the current selection switch S4.
The channel position (2) operated by 4 and the previously operated channel position (2) are obtained from the channel display circuit 136 and compared, and it is determined that the former (2) is an older number than the latter (2).

The control unit 135, which has learned the determination result, controls the update signal generation unit 10C to transmit the channel update signal once. When the line state detection circuit 112 on the station side detects this, a control section (not shown) advances the channel changeover switch SO in the channel changeover circuit 113 from the channel position ■ to the channel position ■, thereby completing the channel changeover. .

Next, if, for example, the selection switch S6 is operated and the channel position ■ is specified under the state of this channel position ■, the comparison determination unit 10A compares the channel position The channel position (■) operated on is obtained from the channel display circuit 136 and compared, and it is determined that the former (■) is an older number than the latter (2). The control unit 135, which has learned the determination result, controls the update signal generation unit 10C to transmit the channel update signal twice (the difference between ■ and ■). When the line state detection circuit 112 on the station side detects this, a control section (not shown) advances the channel changeover switch SO in the channel changeover circuit 113 from the channel position ■ to the channel position ■, thereby completing the channel changeover. .

Next, a case will be described in which, for example, the state of channel (2) is switched to the state of channel (2). At this time, the comparison/determination section 10A compares the currently operated channel position (■) with the previously operated channel position (2), and determines that the former (2) has a lower number than the latter (2). After knowing the determination result, the control section 135 controls the reset signal generation section 10B.
is controlled to send a reset signal once, and then the update signal generator 10C is controlled to send a channel update signal once (
Difference between ■ and ■) Forces transmission. Station side line status detection circuit 1
When 12 detects these signals, the control unit first returns the channel changeover switch SO in the channel changeover circuit 113 to the channel position ■ and resets it (
(The reset is performed in a progressive manner.) Then, the channel is advanced once to reach the channel position (3), and the channel switching is completed.

The above explanation took the hard image circuit as shown in Figure 2 as an example, but the flowchart in Figure 3 shows the operation sequence executed by the control unit when realizing this with software. Please refer.

In Fig. 3, the current channel position is ■, and the operated channel position is ■ (older number) and ■ (younger number). . The flow of operation is the same as that already explained, so no further explanation is necessary.

Although a four-channel system is illustrated in this embodiment, the direct channel selection system can be similarly implemented in a multi-channel system.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the channel selection (switching) operation on the home equipment side in the off-talk communication method is different from the conventional Unlike the operation of sequentially switching to the desired channel using a single selector switch, the direct selection operation is only required by operating the selection switch corresponding to the desired channel once, so it is easier to switch the channel display as in the conventional method. You don't have to worry about operating the changeover switch as many times as necessary while checking the change, and you can easily change the channel display for example! This has the advantage that switching to the desired (operated) channel is reliably executed without any manual operation, and the burden on the user (operator) in operating the channel can be reduced.

Note that the effect of the present invention becomes greater as the number of usable channels increases.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing details of the main circuit part M in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations executed by the control unit when implemented, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional example of an off-talk communication system. Explanation of symbols 1O...Designation operation means, 10A...Comparison/judgment unit, 1
OB...Reset signal generation section, IOC...Update signal generation section, 135...Control section, 136...Channel display circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) The station side is equipped with an information center having a plurality of information channels, the subscriber's house side is equipped with information receiving equipment, and there is no communication between the station side and the subscriber's house side. In an off-talk communication system that allows an information signal on a channel desired by the subscriber to be sent from an information center on the station side to the information receiving equipment at the subscriber's house via a communication line during the off-talk period, to the subscriber's house, a channel designating operation section for specifying a desired channel number, a reset signal sending circuit, an update signal sending circuit, and comparing the channel number specified at the operation section with the channel number previously specified at the operation section. As a result of the comparison, if the former is a smaller number than the latter, the reset signal sending circuit sends a reset signal to the office side via the communication line, and then the update signal sending circuit sends the required number. A control unit is provided to send an update signal for the number of numbers to the station side via a communication line, and when the number is old, to cause the update signal sending circuit to send a required number of update signals to the station side via the communication line. On the station side, there is an information channel switching circuit in the information center, a detection circuit for reset signals and update signals sent from the subscriber's home side via the communication line, and when the detection result is a reset signal, The switching circuit returns the information channel to the first channel number position, and when the detection result is an update signal, the switching circuit steps the information channel to the next channel number position each time the update signal is detected. An off-talk communication method characterized by having a control unit that allows the off-talk communication to proceed.