JPH1117843A - Internet television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an internet television receiver which can appropriately deal with a voice call by an external line, a television telephone and a facsimile reception by using effectively a modem circuit. SOLUTION: The device is provided with a circuit changeover relay 1, a modem circuit 2, call detection circuit 3, a video circuit 5, a sound circuit 6, is a call originator identification circuit 7, a speaker 8, a cathode-ray tube(CRT) 9, a controller 10, a microcomputer (an incoming call detection means) 20 where a detection signal (receive information) of a calling sound is supplied by the modem circuit 2 and a memory 21 rewritable for storing a telephone number and a call history. In addition, a video of a camera 24 and a sound of microphone 25 are inputted by way of a video circuit 22 and a sound circuit 23. Furthermore, a detection circuit 26 for detecting a busy tone of an external telephone set is connected to the microcomputer 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an Internet television receiver having an Internet reception function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional Internet television.

In the figure, 1 is a line switching relay, 2 is a modem circuit, 3 is a call detection circuit, 4 is a microcomputer circuit,
5 is a video circuit, 6 is an audio circuit, 7 is a caller identification circuit, 8
Is a speaker, 9 is a CRT, and 10 is a controller.
Here, a description of a conventional functional part for receiving a television broadcast is omitted.

[0004] Next, the operation when Internet reception is performed will be described. In this Internet television receiver, when the line switching relay 1 is switched to the modem circuit 2 side (terminal b side), the modem circuit 2 is connected to the telephone line. When the user makes a call to the telephone number of the provider whose use has been registered, the receiver is connected to the server via the modem circuit 2 and communication between the modem circuit 2 and the server's modem is enabled. The transmitted character and image data are sent to the video circuit 5 by the microcomputer circuit 4,
Displayed on CRT 9. The transmitted audio data is sent to the audio circuit 6 and output from the speaker 8.

When the line switching relay 1 is on the receiver side (terminal a side), that is, when the Internet is not communicating, the call detection circuit 3 detects a ringing tone from an external line. Further, the caller identification circuit 7 identifies the telephone number of the caller from the external line. Based on these detection results and identification results, the operation of the modem circuit 2 is controlled, and the transfer of data with the microcomputer circuit 4 is also controlled.

[0006] The controller 10 is a device for the user to control the operation of the television, and usually uses an input device such as a remote controller or a keyboard.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A modem circuit 2 built in such an Internet television receiver
Usually has a function of detecting an incoming call and a function of receiving a fax signal. However, in the current Internet television receiver, the modem circuit 2 is connected to an external line by the modem circuit 2 and is used only for browsing a homepage and transmitting / receiving e-mail with a server. There is a problem that the various functions possessed by the above are not used effectively.

[0008] Further, when a telephone call is received while watching a television, there is a problem that the sound of the television does not notice that the telephone bell is ringing or interferes with the telephone conversation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and makes effective use of a built-in modem circuit to make a voice call through an external line, a videophone,
It is another object of the present invention to provide an Internet television receiver capable of appropriately coping with fax reception.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems Claim 1 of the present invention provides:
An Internet television receiver having a function of connecting to a telephone line, comprising: an incoming call detecting means for detecting incoming information from a telephone line; and an image processing means for performing image processing to display the incoming information on a television screen. It is.

An Internet television receiver according to a second aspect of the present invention is a storage means for storing caller information together with a caller identification signal, and a corresponding transmission from the storage means based on the caller identification signal from the telephone line. Search means for searching for caller information, and displaying caller information along with incoming call information on a television screen.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the Internet television receiver, the storage means includes a communication history storage unit for storing a plurality of pieces of sender information together with the arrival time.

[0013] An Internet television receiver according to a fourth aspect of the present invention displays a telephone number and a name on a television screen as sender information.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an Internet television receiver comprising a connecting means for externally attaching a telephone to a telephone line, and a volume adjusting means for adjusting an audio volume of a television signal. The volume of the television receiver is reduced during a telephone call made by the user.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an Internet television receiver comprising: a television camera for transmitting a video signal via a telephone line; and a microphone for transmitting an audio signal together with the video signal. When a telephone signal arrives, it automatically functions as a videophone.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an Internet television receiver comprising: a selection means for selecting a telephone number displayed on a television screen; and an automatic transmission means for automatically dialing the selected telephone number. It is provided.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the Internet television receiver, wherein the incoming data from the telephone line is:
A facsimile apparatus for determining whether the signal is a normal voice call signal, a videophone signal including image data, or a facsimile signal; and a conversion means for converting the received facsimile signal to be displayed on a television screen. When a signal arrives, it automatically functions as a fax receiving device.

[0018]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the Internet television receiver of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1, 2, 3, 7, 10
Are the parts corresponding to the blocks of the conventional device, and the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted. What differs from the conventional device is a microcomputer (incoming detecting means) 20 to which a ringing tone detection signal (incoming information) is supplied via the modem circuit 2, and a rewritable memory for storing a telephone number and a call history. A memory 21. Also,
The video of the camera 24 and the audio of the microphone 25 are input to the microcomputer 20 via the video circuit 22 and the audio circuit 23. Further, a detection circuit 26 for detecting that the external telephone is busy is also connected to the microcomputer 20. The memory 21 also differs from the conventional device in that the memory 21 includes a temporary storage unit, a telephone directory storage unit, and a communication history storage unit.

Next, the operation of the Internet television receiver will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

In FIG. 2, in step ST1, the microcomputer 20 determines whether or not an incoming call is received. That is, when a call is received from the outside during non-communication on the Internet, a call sound (incoming signal) is detected by the call detection circuit 3 and a call detection signal is sent to the microcomputer 20 via the modem circuit 3. The detection signal is detected by the microcomputer 20. The caller identification circuit 7 detects a caller identification signal (for example, a telephone number) unique to the caller at the same time as the call detection signal. This caller identification signal is sent to the microcomputer 20 in the same manner. In the microcomputer 20,
Following the call detection, the presence or absence of a caller identification signal is detected (ST2).

When the corresponding caller identification signal is not stored in the memory 21, the microcomputer 20 calls the date and time from the internal clock, and temporarily stores only the date and time of the incoming call in the memory 21. (S
T2a).

If the corresponding caller identification signal is present in the memory 21, the process proceeds to step ST3, where the name corresponding to the caller identification signal (or telephone number) is stored in the telephone directory stored in the telephone directory storage section of the memory 21. Search in the book. If not registered, the telephone number of the caller is stored in the temporary storage unit of the memory 21 together with the date and time (ST3).
a).

Similarly, when the name is registered in the telephone directory, the name of the caller is stored in the temporary storage unit of the memory 21 together with the date, time, and detected telephone number (ST4).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a CRT screen at the time of an incoming call. In the incoming call state in which the call detection signal is detected, the microcomputer 20 sends the above-described S
In T2 to ST4, the caller information stored in the temporary storage unit of the memory 21 is output. The caller information 42 is displayed on the screen of the CRT 9 together with the incoming call symbol 41 as shown in FIG. 4 (ST5). The caller information is stored as a communication history in the communication history storage unit of the memory 21 (ST6).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the memory 21. As described above, the memory 21 includes the temporary storage unit 21a, the telephone directory storage unit 21b, and the communication history storage unit 21c. The communication history storage unit 21c receives a new call each time a new call is made. Caller information is stored sequentially.

In step ST7 of FIG. 3, the microcomputer 20 determines whether or not to connect the Internet television receiver to an external line. That is, by referring to the incoming call symbol 41 and the caller information 42 such as the caller's telephone number and name displayed on the screen of the CRT 9, if the process proceeds to step ST8, a call is made using an external telephone. Determine whether or not. If the user picks up the external telephone, the process proceeds to step ST9.

In step ST9, the receiver (terminal a)
A current flows through the telephone line by the line switching relay 1 which has selected the side, and this current is detected by the detection circuit 26, and a signal to the effect that the external telephone is busy is input to the microcomputer 20. . When the microcomputer 20 detects that the external telephone is busy, the microcomputer 20 adjusts the audio volume of the audio circuit 23 to lower the volume of the television program that the user has been watching up to a certain amount. Make adjustments.

When the call is completed, the microcomputer 20 detects that the call has been completed by the detection circuit 26 in step ST10, and performs readjustment such as returning the audio volume of the audio circuit 23 to the original state again (ST11). . The detailed configuration and operation of the detection circuit 26 will be described later.

If the user inputs command information to talk on the Internet television receiver to the microcomputer 20 using the controller 10 while the incoming call information is displayed on the screen of the CRT 9, the process proceeds to step ST7.
The process proceeds from step ST12 to step ST12, where a telephone call can be made using the microphone 25 and the speaker 8 of the Internet television receiver. That is, in step ST12, the line switching relay-1 is switched to the terminal b side, and the telephone is set to the telephone call mode.

At this time, the microcomputer 20 determines whether the data sent via the modem circuit 2 is a normal voice call signal, a video phone signal including image data, or a fax signal (ST13, ST13). 14,1
5).

If the incoming signal is a voice call signal, the process proceeds from step ST13 to ST16, where the microcomputer 20 switches the voice circuit so that the voice during the call is output from the speaker 8 of the television. In addition, the voice input from the microphone 25 is enabled, and control is performed so that a full-duplex call can be made between the speaker 8 of the television and the microphone 25.

If the incoming signal is a videophone call, the process proceeds from step ST14 to ST17, where the microcomputer 20 switches the image on the CRT 9 to a videophone call. Further, the video input of the camera 24 is made valid. Step ST1
The audio circuit 23 is switched in the same manner as in step 6.

At this time, if the video circuit 22 has a two-screen function, the screen of the CRT 9 is divided and displayed on the broadcast screen of the TV program and the incoming screen of the videophone which were watched before the call. Is also possible.

If the incoming signal is a fax signal, the process proceeds from step ST15 to ST18, where the microcomputer 2
0 and the video signal converted from the facsimile signal to the NTSC signal by the video circuit 22 are displayed on the CRT 9.

When the call is completed, the user sends a signal indicating the end of the call from the controller 10 to the microcomputer 20 (ST).
19). Then, the line switching relay 1 is switched to the terminal a, and the Internet television receiver is disconnected from the external line. In the case of fax communication, the communication is automatically terminated, and the connection with the external line is disconnected (ST
20). After the line is disconnected, if the telephone number of the caller has already been registered in memory 21, a series of operations ends. However, when the name corresponding to the caller's telephone number is not registered in the telephone directory storage unit 21b of the memory 21, the caller's telephone number stored in the temporary storage unit 21a can be newly registered. it can.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a question screen for asking whether to register the name of the sender, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the registration screen. In step ST21, the question screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. If YES is answered here, the process proceeds to step ST22, and the screen changes to the registration screen shown in FIG. Here, when the user inputs an arbitrary name using the controller 10, the process proceeds from step ST23 to ST24, and the telephone number and name at this time are stored in the memory 21 as caller information.
Are stored in the telephone directory storage unit 21b and the communication history storage unit 21c, respectively.

Next, a case where a user makes a telephone call using an Internet television receiver will be described.

FIG. 8 shows the telephone directory storage unit 21b of the memory 21.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a telephone directory screen called from a user. An arbitrary telephone number is selected from the list of names and telephone numbers displayed on the telephone directory screen by operating the controller 10 and moving the movement cursor 81 in the screen. The microcomputer 20 sends the telephone number information to the modem circuit 2, and the modem circuit 2 dials the telephone number. Further, by switching the microphone 25, the speaker 8, the CRT 9, and the camera 24 to the call mode, the user can start a call as a videophone.

When newly registering in the telephone directory, the controller 10 is operated to arbitrarily call the registration screen shown in FIG.
New caller information can be additionally stored in the telephone directory storage unit 21b.

FIG. 9 shows the communication history storage unit 21 of the memory 21.
It is a figure showing an example of the communication history screen called from c. This communication history screen can also be arbitrarily called from the memory 21 by operating the controller 10.

On the communication history screen, the telephone number identified by the caller identification signal, the registered name, the arrival date and the time are displayed in the order of arrival. The number of data items that can be stored in the communication history storage unit 21c is limited by the capacity of the memory 21. Data exceeding the capacity is sequentially deleted (erased) from the oldest one.

Here, similarly to the telephone directory screen described above,
Operating the controller 10 to move the cursor 91 in the screen
By moving, an arbitrary telephone number can be selected and a call can be made.

Next, a specific configuration example of the detection circuit 26 shown in FIG. 1 and an operation for detecting that the external telephone is busy will be described.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the detection circuit 26. In the figure, reference numerals 101 and 102 denote photocouplers connected in parallel to one of two telephone lines such that diodes are opposite to each other, and 103 and 104 denote emitters of the photocouplers 101 and 102 and the ground. A current detection resistor provided therebetween, 105 and 106 are resistors for supplying a base current to the transistor 107, and 108 is a collector resistor for inputting a signal of potential ΗΙ and LO to the input port 109 of the microcomputer 20.

The operation of detecting the busy state of the external telephone by the detection circuit 26 shown in FIG. 10 will be described. There is a DC potential difference of about 45 V between both ends of the two telephone lines drawn from the external line, and the telephone line is open when the external telephone is not talking, that is, when the telephone is in an on-hook state. It has become. When attempting to make a call with an external telephone and picking up the handset, the telephone goes on-hook. Then, both ends of the two telephone lines are connected with a certain impedance inside the external telephone, and a current flows through one of the photocouplers 101 and 102. Since the DC potential of the telephone line may be reversed, the photocoupler 1
The diodes 01 and 102 are provided in opposite directions to each other.

The current flowing through one of the diodes of the photocouplers 101 and 102 causes the photocoupler 10
The collector current flows through one of the first and second transistors 102 and 102 and is converted into a predetermined voltage signal by the current detection resistors 103 and 104. This voltage signal is transmitted to the base of the transistor 107 by the resistors 105 and 106, and the transistor 107 is turned on. The collector resistor 108 of the transistor 107 applies an LO potential to the input port 109 of the microcomputer 20 when the transistor 107 is on, and provides the port 1 of the microcomputer 20 when the transistor 107 is off.
09 is set to the ΔI potential. Therefore, the microcomputer 20 can detect whether or not the external telephone is in a call according to whether the potential of the input port is HΙ or LO.

[0049]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

According to the first aspect of the invention, in an Internet television receiver having a function of connecting to a telephone line, incoming call detection means for detecting incoming information from the telephone line, and displaying the incoming information on a television screen. And an image processing means for performing image processing so that an incoming call can be displayed on the screen when a call is received.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an Internet television receiver, comprising: storage means for storing caller information together with a caller identification signal; and corresponding transmission from the storage means based on the caller identification signal from the telephone line. Since search means for searching for caller information is provided, caller information as well as incoming call information can be displayed on the television screen by effectively utilizing the built-in modem circuit.

In the Internet television receiver according to a third aspect of the present invention, since the storage means includes a communication history storage unit for storing a plurality of pieces of caller information together with the arrival time, the telephone number of the called party and the like are stored. Can be sequentially recorded.

Since the Internet television receiver according to the fourth aspect of the present invention displays the telephone number and the name on the television screen as the caller information, the state of the incoming call can be confirmed later by displaying the screen.

An Internet television receiver according to a fifth aspect of the present invention comprises a connection means for externally attaching a telephone to a telephone line, and a volume adjustment means for adjusting an audio volume of a television signal. Because the volume of the television receiver is lowered during a call made by the telephone set, even if a call comes in while watching the television, the user may not notice that the telephone ringing the telephone by the sound of the television, It does not disturb the call.

The Internet television receiver according to claim 6 of the present invention includes a television camera for transmitting a video signal via a telephone line, and a microphone for transmitting an audio signal together with the video signal. When a videophone signal is received, the mobile phone can automatically function as a videophone.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an Internet television receiver comprising: a selection means for selecting a telephone number displayed on a television screen; and an automatic transmission means for automatically dialing the selected telephone number. With it, you can use it instead of your phone book to make calls easily.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the Internet television receiver, wherein the incoming data from the telephone line is:
Since it has means for determining whether it is a normal voice call signal, a videophone signal including image data, or a fax signal, and a conversion means for converting an incoming fax signal to be displayed on a television screen, When a fax signal arrives, it can automatically function as a fax receiving device, effectively utilizing the built-in modem circuit to properly handle voice calls, videophone calls and fax reception via external lines it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an Internet television receiver of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the Internet television receiver of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the Internet television receiver of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a CRT screen when an incoming call is received.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of a memory in the Internet television receiver of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a question screen for asking whether to register the name of a caller.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a telephone directory screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication history screen.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a detection circuit in the Internet television receiver of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional Internet television.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 line switching relay, 2 modem circuit, 3 call detection circuit, 4 microcomputer circuit, 5 video circuit,
6 voice circuit, 7 caller identification circuit, 8 speaker,
9 CRT, 10 controller, 20 microcomputer, 21 memory, 22 video circuit, 23 audio circuit, 24 camera, 25 microphone, 26 external telephone busy detection circuit, 101, 102 photocoupler, 103 to 106, 108 resistor, 107 transistor , 109 Microcomputer input port.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An Internet television receiver having a function of connecting to a telephone line, an incoming call detecting means for detecting incoming information from the telephone line, and an image for performing image processing to display the incoming information on a television screen. An Internet television receiver comprising: processing means. 2. A storage means for storing caller information together with a caller identification signal, and a search means for searching the storage means for corresponding caller information based on the caller identification signal from a telephone line, The Internet television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the caller information is displayed on a television screen together with the incoming call information. 3. The Internet television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit includes a communication history storage unit that stores a plurality of pieces of caller information together with an incoming time. 4. The Internet television receiver according to claim 2, wherein a telephone number and a name are displayed on the television screen as caller information. 5. A television receiver comprising: connection means for externally attaching a telephone to a telephone line; and volume adjusting means for adjusting an audio volume of a television signal. The Internet television receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the volume is reduced. 6. A video camera for transmitting a video signal via a telephone line, and a microphone for transmitting an audio signal together with the video signal. The Internet television receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the Internet television receiver functions as: 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit for selecting a telephone number displayed on the television screen, and an automatic calling unit for automatically dialing the selected telephone number. 7. The Internet television receiver according to any one of 6. 8. A means for judging whether incoming data from a telephone line is a normal voice call signal, a video phone signal including image data, or a fax signal, and displaying the received fax signal on a television screen. 2. The Internet television receiver according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion unit for converting the display so as to be displayed, and automatically functioning as a fax receiving device when a fax signal is received.