JPH07115481A - Image input/output device for public tv telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide open interactive environment by displaying an image in a real image at the front of a talker, and performing communication with an opposite TV telephone set in a state where a line of sight coincides. CONSTITUTION:The talker 10 uses a TV telephone set in a public TV telephone BOX 1. A visual field control type display 3 is provided at the upper part of the BOX 1, and a semi-transparent mirror 5 inclined obliquely is provided at the front of the talker 10. The display image a 20 of the display 3 comes to the front as a virtual image at the front of the talker 10 by reflecting on the semitransparent mirror 5. A small video camera 2 is arranged at the rear side of the semi-transparent mirror 5, and the image of the talker and the peripheral scene of the talker are sent to a communication opponent. The coincidence of the light of sight can be obtained by placing the camera 2 in the neighborhood of the position of the face of the image a 20 of the communication opponent being displayed as the virtual image. Also, the contrast of the virtual image of the image a 20 can be increased by required height and it can be prevented from being observed by persons 11, 12, and 13 in the neighborhood of the BOX 1 by providing a light control transparent plate 4 between the talker 10 and the image a 20, and decreasing the light transmissivity of the plate 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image input / output device for a public TV telephone which does not allow an image being communicated to be seen by a third party despite its open structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A TV telephone is an excellent communication device capable of transmitting and receiving not only voice but also images, so that it can convey the facial expression of the other party and the atmosphere of the place.

Therefore, if the TV telephone is installed not only in a home or office but also as a public telephone on the street, its usability is further improved.

Various types of TV phones, which are supposed to be used in homes and offices, are currently on the market, and it is not so difficult to install them in a public phone box or the like.

[0005]

However, the public TV
When performing image communication with a telephone or the like, there is a possibility that another person may look into the image being communicated, and the TV is simply placed at the position of the public telephone.
There was a problem that the confidentiality of communication could not be maintained by placing the telephone.

[0006] A simple way to avoid being peeped is to cover the caller and the TV phone with a dark box-shaped object, which is dangerous for crime prevention and also
Since the camera of the V telephone cannot photograph the surroundings other than the caller, there is a problem that the utility of using the TV telephone is greatly reduced.

Further, in the image of the conventional TV telephone,
Since the display device is arranged in front of the caller, the display device obstructs the view of the caller, and as a result, it is difficult to create an open atmosphere.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to make public T
An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables an open dialogue environment in an image input / output device for a V telephone.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the means (1) of the present invention comprises a visual field control type display for displaying an image only in a specific direction and an image of the visual field control type display. It is characterized by comprising a semi-transparent mirror for displaying the image of the communication partner as a real image to the caller and a video camera for taking the image of the caller reflected by the semi-transparent mirror.

The means (2) of the present invention is a public TV.
In a telephone image input / output device, a field-of-view control type display that displays an image only in a specific direction, and a semi-transparent display that reflects the image of the field-of-view control type display to the caller to display the image of the communication partner as a virtual image It is characterized by comprising a mirror and a video camera which captures an image of a caller transmitted through the semitransparent mirror.

The means (3) of the present invention is a public TV.
In a telephone image input / output device, a field-of-view control type display that displays an image only in a specific direction, and a semi-transparent display that reflects the image of the field-of-view control type display to the caller to display the image of the communication partner as a virtual image A mirror, a video camera that captures the image of the caller that has passed through the semi-transparent mirror, a transparent plate that can be controlled between the virtual image display position and the caller, and the light transmittance of the transparent plate. And means for changing.

[0013]

According to the above means, in the image input / output device for the public TV telephone, the image is displayed in front of the caller as a real image by using the display and the semitransparent mirror for limiting the field of view, and the video camera is used. By using it to communicate with the other party's TV phone in a line-of-sight condition, an open dialogue environment can be realized, which allows an image to be seen by a third party who is nearby even though it is an open communication environment. There is no such thing.

Further, in the image input / output device for public TV telephones, a display for limiting the field of view and a semitransparent mirror are used to display the image as a virtual image in front of the caller. , The communication partner floats up with the surrounding environment of the other party on top of the originally visible scene, and the actual scene can be seen at the same time around the displayed virtual image, and a more open dialogue environment can be realized. .

Further, since the transparent plate whose light transmittance is controllable is used as the transparent plate in the direction in which the virtual image can be seen, by reducing the light transmittance of the transparent plate when the front of the caller is sufficiently bright. It is possible to increase the contrast of the virtual image.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, parts having the same function are designated by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a public TV which is an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the image input / output device for telephones.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a public TV telephone box,
2 is a video camera, 3 is a visual field control type display, 4 is a dimming transparent plate, 5 is a semi-transparent mirror, 10 is a caller (A), and 20 is an image (a) of a communication partner.

The image (a) 20 of the communication partner is a virtual image.

As shown in FIG. 1, the caller (A) 10 is
Use the TV phone by entering the public TV phone BOX1 surrounded by transparent glass or the like.

A field-of-view control type display 3 for limiting the field of view is provided above the public videophone BOX 1, and a semitransparent mirror 5 which is obliquely tilted is provided in front of the caller (A) 10.

Therefore, the display image of the visual field control type display 3, for example, the image (a) 20 of the communication partner is displayed on the semitransparent mirror 5.
Is reflected by and appears as a virtual image in front of the caller.

A small video camera 2 is arranged behind the semi-transparent mirror 5 to photograph the image of the caller and the scenery around the caller and send it to the communication partner.

By placing the video camera 2 near the position of the face of the image (a) 20 of the communication partner displayed as a virtual image, line-of-sight matching is possible.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 seen from above, and is a diagram for explaining the function of the image input / output device for the public TV telephone of this embodiment.

In FIG. 2, the field-of-view control type display 3 on the upper part of the public TV phone BOX 1 is omitted for easy viewing.

In FIG. 2, 10 is a caller (A), 1
People 1, 12, 13 are waiting for the turn of the public TV phone, or people (B) around the public TV phone BOX1,
(C) and (D).

In this embodiment, the display field of view control type display 3 is set so as to be narrowed toward the front.

The display surface of the field-of-view control type display 3 and the displayed image (a) 20 of the communication partner appear as a virtual image in front of the caller (A) 10, but since the display field of view is narrowed, Waiting for the turn of the public TV phone, or public TV
Person (B) 11, (C) 12 who is around telephone BOX1
(D) 13 is invisible.

On the other hand, the caller (A) 10 can see the image (a) 20 of the communication partner and also the public TV telephone BO.
Person (B) 11, who is waiting around the X1 and the turn of the public TV phone, or around the public TV phone BOX1.
The presence of (C) 12 and (D) 13 naturally comes into view.

If the front of the caller (A) 10 is not a very bright scene, the virtual image (a) 20 of the communication partner looks bright with sufficient contrast, but the front of the caller (A) 10 However, in the case of a very bright scene, the image (a) 20 of the communication partner is a virtual image, so it blends into the scene and cannot be seen with sufficient contrast.

Therefore, the dimming transparent plate 4 is provided between the caller (A) 10 and the image (a) 20 of the communication partner, and the light transmittance of the dimming transparent plate is reduced to reduce the light transmittance of the communication partner. The contrast of the virtual image of the image (a) 20 is increased as much as necessary.

As the light control transparent plate 4 capable of controlling the light transmittance of this embodiment, there are various light control glass plates and other transparent plates.

The light control glass plate is a device for controlling the light transmittance by utilizing the refractive index change of the polymer dispersed liquid crystal, the coloring change of the electrochromic element, the coloring change of the photochromic element and the like.

Of these, the polymer-dispersed liquid crystal and the electrochromic element control the operation by applying a voltage, and must be used in combination with some kind of optical sensor.

On the other hand, since the photochromic element absorbs light and is colored, there is an advantage that it cannot be combined with other sensors and can be used alone.

FIG. 3 is a view control type display 3 in FIG.
It is a figure which shows schematic structure of.

In FIG. 3, 3 is a visual field control type display, 3
1 is a video projector, 32 is a double lenticular screen, and 33 is a diffusion layer.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image projected from the video projector 31 is formed on the double lenticular screen 32 in which lenticular lenses are symmetrically provided on the front side and the back side and a diffusion layer 33 is provided between them.

However, due to the symmetry of the lenticular lens, the projection light is emitted by the double lenticular screen 32.
The video projector 31 is condensed on the opposite side to the position where the video projector 31 is folded back.

Therefore, if the caller (A) 10 stands in the vicinity of the condensing position, the entire display image can be seen, but in other places, the display image cannot be seen at all, or only a part thereof can be seen.

In this embodiment, the public TV telephone box is used.
The visual field control type display 3 for limiting the visual field is provided on the upper part of 1, and the video camera 2 is arranged behind the semitransparent mirror 5, but the video camera 2 is arranged on the upper part of the public TV phone BOX1. However, a visual field control type display device 3 for limiting the visual field may be provided behind the semitransparent mirror 5.

In that case, the caller (A) 10 can see the real image of the display image on the visual field control type display 3, and there is an advantage that the dimming transparent plate 4 is not necessary, but it is a public TV.
The field of view of the telephone BOX 1 on which the field-of-view control type display 3 is provided is blocked, and the open atmosphere of the public TV telephone BOX 1 is slightly impaired.

Further, as the visual field control type display device 3 using a lenticular lens as the display screen of this embodiment, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-22722, "I / O device for image communication", and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-68246. It is also possible to use a visual field control type display device using a lenticular lens as a display screen, which is described in the publication "Display / Imaging System for Image Communication".

A liquid crystal display having a sufficiently narrow viewing angle can be used as the viewing control type display 3 of this embodiment.

Although the present invention has been specifically described based on the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a public TV phone image input / output device, a display device that limits the field of view and a semi-transparent mirror are used to display the image in front of the caller as a real image, and a video camera is used to match the line of sight with the other party's TV phone. Since the communication is performed in the state, an open dialogue environment can be realized, so that an image cannot be seen by a third party who is nearby even though the communication environment is open.

Further, in the image input / output device for the public TV telephone, the display and the semitransparent mirror for limiting the field of view are used to display the image as a virtual image in front of the caller. , The communication partner floats up with the surrounding environment of the other party on top of the originally visible scene, and the actual scene can be seen at the same time around the displayed virtual image, and a more open dialogue environment can be realized. .

Furthermore, since the transparent plate whose light transmittance is controllable is used as the transparent plate in the direction in which the virtual image can be seen, the light transmittance of the transparent plate can be reduced when the front of the caller is sufficiently bright. It is possible to increase the contrast of the virtual image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of an image input / output device for a public TV telephone, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 seen from above.

3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a visual field control type display device 3 in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Public videophone box, 2 ... Video camera, 3 ... View control type display device, 4 ... Dimming transparent plate, 5 ... Semi-transparent mirror, 10 ...
Callers (A), 11, 12, 13 ... People (B), (C), (D), 20 ... Waiting for the turn of the public TV phone or around the public TV phone BOX1 ... a), 31 ... Video projector, 32 ... Double lenticular screen, 33 ... Diffusion layer.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A visual field control type display which displays an image only in a specific direction, and an image of the visual field control type display,
A semi-transparent mirror that displays the image of the communication partner to the caller as a real image,
An image input / output device for a public TV telephone, comprising: a video camera that captures an image of a caller reflected by a semitransparent mirror. 2. A visual field control type display which displays an image only in a specific direction, and an image of the visual field control type display which is reflected,
A semi-transparent mirror that displays the image of the other party as a virtual image to the caller,
An image input / output device for a public TV telephone, comprising: a video camera that captures an image of a caller transmitted through a semitransparent mirror. 3. A field-of-view control type display which displays an image only in a specific direction, and an image of the field-of-view control type display which is reflected,
A semi-transparent mirror that displays the image of the other party as a virtual image to the caller,
A video camera that captures the image of the caller that has passed through the semi-transparent mirror, a transparent plate that is provided between the virtual image display position and the caller and that has a controllable light transmittance, and a means that changes the light transmittance of the transparent plate. An image input / output device for public TV phones, comprising: