JPH03154584A - Still picture transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use the transmitter as a general television receiver as well as a still television telephone set by providing a broadcast wave reception section receiving a television broadcast wave and switching the output and an output of a picture processing circuit of the still picture transmitter and supplying the result to a picture display device. CONSTITUTION:As a broadcast wave reception section, a television tuner 38, a speaker 40 with a voice amplifier circuit, and a reception antenna 4 are provided, and the television tuner 38 receives a general television broadcast radio wave and the video signal and the audio signal are outputted. Then a changeover circuit 44 is switched from a picture processing circuit to a broadcast wave reception section, then the television broadcast received by the broadcast wave reception section is displayed on the picture display device 34. Thus, a general television broadcast is displayed as the picture except when the picture is transmitted and the effective use of the picture display device 34 is attained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a still image transmission device, and particularly to a still image transmission device that is connected to a telephone and transmits and receives still images via a telephone line.

[Prior Art] Still image transmission devices have conventionally been widely used as still image videophones, and these still image transmission devices are equipped with a video camera and an image display device, and can display self-portraits and images taken with the video camera. You can send and receive images of the other party and display them on the image display.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration block of a conventional still image transmission device, in which (10) is a telephone line, external terminals are for connection to a telephone or for tape recording, playback, etc.; ) is an external network control unit that performs switching between the telephone and the still image transmission device, etc. (14) is a function that modulates pixel information into a voice band signal, and a voice band input from the network control unit (12). (16) is a demodulation timing generator, (18) is an A/D converter, and (20) is an operation button for controlling image transmission. The terminal to be connected, (22
) is a central control unit that controls each block in the still image transmission device, controls the communication protocol, detects input from each operation button, and processes it, etc., and (24) is an image control unit that processes image information in the form of digital data. section, (26) is an image memory section that stores image information captured by the video camera, image information transmitted from the line, etc., (28) is an A/D converter,
(30) is a video camera that captures an image of oneself in front of the telephone, (32) is a D/A converter, (34) is an image display that displays a self-portrait and the other party's image, and (36) is a power source.

According to the above configuration, the video camera (30)
The self-portrait taken by is stored in the image memory unit (26), and by switching the line from the base of the tongue to the still image Buddha statue device, the self-portrait can be stored in the modulation/demodulation unit (14).
The image is transmitted to the other party's image transmission device via the network control unit (12). Further, the other party's image is input from the network control section (12) and can be displayed on the image display (34) via the image memory section (26).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in conventional still image transmission devices, when images are not transmitted, the images captured by the video camera (30) are displayed or the images stored in the image memory section (26) are displayed. The problem is that the image display device (34) is not used effectively even though it has an image display device (34) because it can only display the still image that is displayed and is not used for anything other than image transmission. was there.

In recent years, diversity of product functions has become important, and it would be convenient if the image display of a still image transmission device could be used for other purposes as well.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a still image that can effectively utilize an image display device by displaying general television broadcasts as images other than image transmission. The purpose is to provide transmission equipment.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a video camera that captures an image, an image display that displays the image, and an image memory that stores the image obtained by the video camera. an image processing circuit that performs processing for storing and displaying stored images in the image memory on the image display device; A still image transmission device having a modulation/demodulation circuit that demodulates information, a broadcast wave receiving section that receives television broadcast waves, and a switching circuit that switches between an output signal of the broadcast wave receiving section and an output signal of the image processing circuit. It is characterized by having the following.

[Function] According to the above configuration, the broadcast wave receiving unit can receive television broadcasting, and when the switching circuit switches from the image processing circuit to the broadcast wave receiving unit, the television broadcasting received by the broadcast wave receiving unit can be received. can be displayed on the image display.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration block of a still image transmission device (simple still image transmission device) according to an embodiment, and includes a telephone line,
A terminal (10) for connecting an external device to a telephone or for tape recording, playback, etc. is connected to a network control section (12), and this network control section (12) allows the external device to be connected to a telephone and a still image transmission device. Switching is performed.

That is, normally the external telephone is connected to the line and ready for use, and when transmitting images, the network control unit (12) is
) disconnects the telephone from the line in an alternating current manner, passes the signal from the line to the modulation/demodulation section (14) to be described later, and sends the signal from the modem/demodulation section (14) to the line.

In this case, the external telephone is always connected to the line in terms of direct current. This is because when the DC circuit is disconnected, the exchange assumes the telephone is on-hook and disconnects the line, and some telephones operate on four-wire current. This is because it is necessary to connect the telephone to a direct current line in order to prevent the telephone from malfunctioning.

A modulation/demodulation unit (14) is connected to the network control unit (12), and this modulation/demodulation unit (14) is connected to a central control unit (described later).
It has a function of modulating the pixel information sent from the network controller (12) into a voice band signal and a function of demodulating the voice band signal input from the network control unit (12) into digital data such as control information and pixel information. . In the case of this still image transmission device,
The modulation/demodulation format is defined by the TTC standard.

In addition, when the modulation/demodulation section (14) demodulates the signal received from the line, the modulation/demodulation section on the reception side needs to demodulate the signal in synchronization with the operation timing of the modulation/demodulation section on the transmission side, so the demodulation timing is The creation unit (16) reproduces the operation timing of the transmitting side modulation and demodulation from the received signal and gives this to the reception side modulation and demodulation, and in the reception side modulation and demodulation, the operation timing reproduced by the demodulation timing generation unit (16) demodulate the received signal according to

An A/D converter (18) provided after the modulation/demodulation section (14) converts the analog signal output from the modulation/demodulation section (14) into digital data. In other words, the signal transmitted on the line is an analog signal, and the modulation/demodulation section (14)
) is also processed as an analog signal, so A/D conversion is performed when receiving an image. As a result, image display processing is performed in the form of digital data.

The illustrated central control unit (22) includes transmission, pause confirmation,
A control signal is supplied from an operation button (20) for adjusting screen brightness, etc., and an image control section (24) and an image memory section (26) are connected to this central control section (22). The image control section (24) has an A/D converter (2
A video camera (30) and an image display (34) are connected via a D/A converter (32) and a D/A converter (32), respectively.

The central control unit (22) is composed of a one-chip microcomputer or the like, and controls each block within the still image transmission device, controls communication protocols, and detects and processes input from each operation button. When transmitting an image, pixel information is sequentially read from the image memory section (26) via the image control section (24) and given to the modulation/demodulation section (14), or the pixel information demodulated by the modulation/demodulation section (14) is sent to A. /D converter (18
) and sequentially write to the image memory section (26) via the image control section (24).

The image control section (24) processes the image information taken by the video camera (30) in the form of digital data according to a command from the central control section, and writes the digital data into the image memory (26). The image information within is read out and supplied to the image display (34).

The image memory section (26) stores image information captured by the video camera (30), image information transmitted from a line, etc., and is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a dynamic RAM.

The A/D converter (28) converts the video signal output by the video camera (30) into image information of digital data, and the D/A converter (32) converts the video signal output by the video camera (30) into image information of digital data. For this purpose, image information of digital data read out from the image memory section (26) is converted into an analog video signal.

The video camera (3o) uses an image pickup tube and a semiconductor image pickup device (CCDSMO8 type camera, etc.) that convert light into electrical signals, and also includes a circuit for driving them.

The image display device (34) displays a video signal, which is an electrical signal, in a form that is visible to the human eye, and uses a small Braun screen or liquid crystal display, and also includes a circuit for driving a cathode ray tube or liquid crystal. It will be done. In addition, the power supply (36) is A
The power input from the C adapter terminal is supplied to each block in the still image transmission device, and the voltage is stabilized and the power is turned off.
It may also have functions such as N10FF control.

In the present invention, such a still image transmission device is provided with a television tuner (38), a speaker with an audio amplification circuit (4o), and a receiving antenna (42) as a broadcast wave receiving section,
The television tuner (38) can receive general television broadcast waves and output video signals and audio signals.

The TV tuner (38) may be configured to have as many switches and semi-fixed resistors as the number of channels, or may be an electronic tuner controlled by the central control unit (22).

The speaker (40) with an audio amplification circuit amplifies the audio signal output by the TV tuner (38) and outputs the audio signal, and the antenna (42) receives the transmitted radio wave and sends it to the TV tuner (38). supply

Further, the present invention relates to a still image image processing circuit, that is, a D/A
A switching circuit (44) is provided for switching between the video signal output from the converter (32) and the video signal output from the television tuner (38).
may be a mechanical switch, or the central control unit (22
) may be an electronic switch controlled by When the switching circuit (44) is set to the a side, the image display (34) displays the image of the television broadcast received by the TV tuner (38), and when it is set to the b side, the image of the television broadcast received by the television tuner (38) is displayed. The video stored in the image memory section (26) in the still image transmission device will be displayed.

Furthermore, the TV tuner (38) or the speaker (40) with an audio amplification circuit is provided with a function to mute the audio output, and the function is controlled in conjunction with the switching circuit (44) or from the central control unit (22). Therefore, when the device is used as a still image transmission device, it is possible to prevent the sound from the television tuner (38) from being heard.

The embodiment has the above configuration, and when used as a still image transmission device, the switching circuit (44) is switched to the b side and the self-portrait and other party's image stored in the image memory section (26) are displayed on the image display. (34), and by switching the switching circuit (44) to side a, the television image can be displayed on the image display (34) via the television tuner (38). Therefore, the still image transmission device can be used not only as a still video telephone but also as a general television.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, a broadcast wave receiving section that receives television broadcast waves is provided, and the output of the broadcast wave receiving section and the output of the image processing circuit of the still image transmission device are connected. Since the signal is switched and supplied to the image display, it can be used not only as a static videophone but also as a general television, making it possible to provide a convenient device that responds to the diversity of products. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a still image transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional still image transmission apparatus. In the figure, (12) is a network control unit, (14) is a modulation/demodulation unit, (16) is a demodulation timing generation unit, (18) is A,
/ D converter, (22) is a central control unit, (24) is an image control unit, (26) is an image memory unit, (28) is an A/D converter, (30) is a video camera, (32) is A D/A converter, (34) an image display, (38) a television tuner, (40) a speaker with an audio amplification circuit, (42) a receiving antenna, and (44) a switching circuit. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A video camera that captures an image, an image display that displays the image, and a process that stores the image obtained by the video camera in an image memory and displays the image stored in the image memory on the image display. Receiving television broadcast waves in a still image transmission device having an image processing circuit and a modulation/demodulation circuit that reads out image information in an image memory and modulates it into an audio band signal, and demodulates the audio band signal into image information. What is claimed is: 1. A still image transmission device comprising: a broadcast wave receiving section; and a switching circuit for switching between an output signal of the broadcast wave receiving section and an output signal of the image processing circuit.