JPS62200856A - Voice signal and data transmission system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transmit desired data from the receiving side terminal of data and to decrease the calling quality at the time of voice calling by executing the first changing- over in which the second terminal is a transmitting side and the first terminal is a receiving side for a prescribe time, executing the second changing-over in which the first terminals is the transmitting side and the second terminal is the receiving side and executing the transmission of the data in one communication period by repeating the data transmission. CONSTITUTION:A control circuit 40a, when a trigger signal is received during the data transmission, sends a control signal (data) X to show to change over a transmitting side and a receiving side from MODEM 2a and thereafter, the MODEM 2a is changed over to the receiving mode. A control signal X arrives at a control circuit 40b through a telephone line 6, a hybrid circuit 3b and MODEM 2b. Thus, the control circuit 40b changes over the MODEM 2b to the transmitting mode. Continuously, when a switch 12b is turned on, the instructing signal of a voice calling request is given to the control circuit 40b, the control circuit 40b transmits a voice calling request command C based on the above-mentioned signal, transmits a control signal Y to show the changing-over of transmitting and receiving and changes over the MODEM 2b to the receiving mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to improvements in audio signal/data transmission systems that transmit both audio signals and data.

[Technical Preface of the Invention l1l Systems are emerging that require voice calls to be made in some cases, and data to be transmitted in other cases, over a single line. Such a system includes, for example, a combination of a drawing tablet device and a telephone.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the above system.

A telephone set 1 and a hybrid circuit 3 are selectively connected to telephone ports 1 to 6 via a switch 7. , 5 indicates a drawing tablet. When an input is made to the drawing tablet 5 by pressing a pen, for example, the control circuit 4 detects the presence of the input, takes in the coordinate data related to the input, and outputs its own data (not shown). Temporarily held in buffer. Then, the control circuit 4 stores this coordinate data in its own memory (not shown) and switches the switch 7 from the telephone 1 side to the hybrid circuit 3 side. When the control circuit 4 has no coordinate data in its own buffer and has not received coordinate data from terminal B, which is the other party's terminal, the control circuit 4 switches the switch 7 to the telephone R1 side. The hybrid circuit 3 performs 2-wire/4-wire conversion. The coordinate data stored in the buffer is sent to the modem 2 by the control circuit 4, and is also stored in a memory (not shown) of the control circuit 4. The coordinate data stored in this memory is then sent to the display device 11. The modem 2 modulates the coordinate data given from the control circuit 4, sends it to the telephone line 6 via the hybrid circuit 3, and demodulates the coordinate data that has arrived via the telephone line 6 and the hybrid circuit 3. and sends it to the control circuit 4. The control circuit 4 stores the coordinate data given from the modem 2 in its own memory and sends it to the display device 11. Reference numeral 9 indicates a signal transmitter, and this signal transmitter 9 is controlled by the control circuit 4 to transmit a predetermined signal. Reference numeral 10 denotes a signal detector, which detects a predetermined signal arriving via the telephone line 6 and sends a corresponding detection signal to the control circuit 4. Although the configuration described above is illustrated only for terminal A in FIG. 6, the configuration for terminal B is also the same, and illustration thereof is omitted. In the following, numbers with a suffix a are used for the components of the terminal A, and numbers with a suffix b are used for the components of the terminal A.

Next, the operation of the system shown in FIG. 6 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. When coordinate data is not being generated at terminals A and B, switches 7a and 7b are switched to the telephones 1a and Ib, so terminals A and B are not receiving coordinate data.
Between B and B, it is possible to have a voice conversation by operating the telephones 1a and 1b (state operation). In terminal A, when an input is made to the drawing tablet 5a, the control circuit 4a detects the presence of the input and temporarily holds the coordinate data related to the input in its own buffer (not shown). Next, the control circuit 4a gives an instruction to the signal transmitter 9a to transmit a signal indicating the start of one communication period of coordinate data, stores the coordinate data from the buffer into its own memory (not shown), and switches the switch 7a. is switched to the hybrid circuit 3a side (state ■).

The signal sent from the signal transmitter 9a reaches the terminal B via the telephone line 6. The signal detector 10b of the terminal detects the signal K and sends a detection signal to the control circuit 4b. As a result, the control circuit 4b switches the switch 7b to the hybrid circuit 3b side in order to receive coordinate data, and then gives an instruction to transmit a signal indicating reception of the signal to the signal transmitter 9b. As a result, the signal @L is sent out from the signal transmitter 9b and reaches the terminal A via the telephone line 6. The signal detector 10a of the terminal A detects the signal and sends the detection signal of the signal to the control circuit 4a (state ■). This results in
Both terminals A and B are in data communication mode.

Next, the control circuit 4a sends the coordinate data stored in its own memory to the modem 2a and the display device 11a. Modem 2a modulates the received coordinate data and transmits it to terminal B via hybrid circuit 3a and telephone line 6 (state IV). The coordinate data arriving at terminal B is sent to modem 2b via switch 7b and hybrid circuit 3b.
and is demodulated here.

The demodulated coordinate data is sent to the control circuit 4b, and the control circuit 4b stores the coordinate data in its own memory (not shown) and sends it to the display device 11b. This results in
CRT display device 11a, 11 of terminal A, 8
In b, the same image is played back.

Further, in terminal A, when the input to the drawing tablet 5a is completed, the control circuit 4a sends out the coordinate data temporarily held in its own buffer (not shown), and after detecting that the coordinate data in the buffer is no longer present. , sends an instruction to transmit a signal M indicating the end of one communication period of coordinate data to the signal transmitter 9a (state V).

The signal M sent from the signal transmitter 9a reaches the terminal via the telephone line 6. The signal detector it>b detects the signal M and sends a detection signal of the signal M to the control circuit 4b. This causes the control circuit 4b to switch the switch 7b to the telephone 1b.
After switching to the side, an instruction to transmit a signal N indicating reception of the signal M is given to the signal transmitter 9b (state VI). Signal transmitter 9
The signal N sent from terminal B is sent to terminal A via telephone line 6.
and is detected by the signal detector 10a of terminal A.

The signal detector 10a provides a detection signal of the signal N to the control circuit 4a.

Based on this, the control circuit 4a switches the switch 7a to the telephone 1.
Switch to side a. As a result, both terminals A and B transition to the voice communication mode, and a voice conversation becomes possible between terminals A and B.

The above explanation can also be applied to the case where coordinate data is generated at the terminal. As a result, terminal A.

B's display devices iia and tib always have
The same image is being played.

By the way, in the above system, the control circuit 4
The system is configured such that priority is given to the coordinate data between the audio signal and the coordinate data, and when coordinate data is generated, the coordinate data is transmitted in one communication period. On the other hand, modem 2
A half-duplex modem is used, and the telephone line 6 can only perform one-way communication at a certain moment.

[Problems with the Background Art] Therefore, when coordinate data is generated, voice conversation becomes impossible immediately, and as long as coordinate data is available, one-way data communication ( half-duplex communication) continues. Therefore, in the conventional voice signal/data transmission system, there is no means for transmitting emergency data etc. from the data receiving terminal;
I had no choice but to wait for the irregular communication period to end. To deal with this, switch 7 is switched at certain fixed time intervals,
It is conceivable to have the data communication mode and the voice call mode occur alternately, but since there is time for the voice call mode even when it is not necessary, this results in a decrease in transmission efficiency. However, since the switching sound of the switch 7 can be heard at the same time, a comfortable conversation cannot be guaranteed.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional audio signal/data transmission system, and its purpose is to transmit desired data from the data receiving terminal even within one communication period. It is an object of the present invention to provide a voice signal/data transmission method which can transmit a voice signal and which does not reduce the quality of a voice call.

[Direct form of the invention] Therefore, the present invention has a plurality of terminals having functions of bidirectionally communicating audio signals and unidirectionally communicating data via a half-duplex modem, and connecting these terminals with a transmission path. , in an audio signal/data transmission method in which the audio signal and the data are transmitted preferentially, and all the generated data is transmitted within one communication period, a first terminal among the plurality of terminals; when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the start of one communication in which the data is transmitted with the second terminal as the transmitting side and the second terminal as the receiving side, the second terminal as the transmitting side and the first terminal as the receiving side. After data is transmitted from the second terminal to the first terminal, a first switching is performed to make the first terminal the transmitting side and the second terminal the receiving side. 2 switching, and thereafter repeating the first switching, the second switching, and data transmission at every predetermined time to transmit the data within the one communication period, thereby achieving the above purpose. It is.

[Embodiment of the Invention] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system that employs a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the same components as in FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted.

A switch 12 and an LED 13 for requesting a voice call are connected to the control circuit 40 of the terminal 100A. In addition to the same functions as the control circuit 4 shown in FIG. 6, the control circuit 40 also starts and stops the timer section 8 connected to the control circuit 40, and performs the functions shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 5. It has a function to perform processing related to switching between a transmitting terminal and a receiving terminal within one communication period. The timer section 8 is
When activated by the control circuit 40, a trigger signal is given to the control circuit 40 at predetermined time intervals. Terminal 100A as above
Terminal 100B similarly has the same components, and in order to distinguish them below, terminal 100A has the same components.
A suffix a is used for the components of the terminal 100B, and a suffix b is used for the components of the terminal 100B.

The operation of the system shown in FIG. 2 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the control circuit 40 monitors whether a call is in progress (step 201), whether a drawing input is present (step 202), and whether a signal is detected (step 203). When a signal is detected, transmission control as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is executed, and when a signal is detected, reception control as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is executed. Note that the detection of a call in progress is performed by a signal given from a hook switch (not shown).

When the coordinate data is not generated in the terminals 1008 and 100B, the switches 7a and 7b are
a.

Since the terminals 100A and 1008 are switched to the 1b side, voice conversation is possible between the terminals 100A and 1008 by operating the telephones 1a and 1b. (Figure 1, state construction).

In the terminal 100A, when a figure or the like is input to the drawing tablet 5a, the control circuit 40a detects the input (step 202) and starts executing transmission control (FIG. 4). First, the control circuit 40a temporarily stores coordinate data in its own buffer (not shown) (step 301), and then gives an instruction to the signal transmitter 9a to send a signal indicating the start of a communication period for coordinate data. After that (step 302), the coordinate data is stored from the buffer into its own memory (not shown), and the switch 7a is switched to the hybrid circuit 3a side (
Step 303, state (2) in Figure 1), waits for the arrival of a signal (step 304).

In the above, the signal sent from the signal transmitter 9a reaches the terminal 100B via the telephone line 6. The signal detector 10b of the terminal 100B detects the signal K and sends a detection signal to the control circuit 40b. This (step 2
03), the control circuit 40b starts executing reception control (FIG. 5). First, the control circuit 40b switches the switch 7b to the hybrid circuit 3b side in order to receive coordinate data (step 401), and then gives an instruction to the signal transmitter 9b to transmit a signal indicating acceptance of the message (step 401). 402
). As a result, a signal is sent out from the signal transmitter 9b,
It reaches the terminal 100A via the telephone line 6. Terminal 100A
The signal detector 10a detects the signal and sends the detection signal of the signal to the control circuit 40a (304, state (■) in FIG. 1). The control circuit 40a receives the detection signal and starts the timer section 8a.

As a result of the above, both terminals 100A and 100B enter data communication mode.

Next, the control circuit 40a stores the coordinate data in its own memory and sends the coordinate data to the modem 2a and the display device 11a.
(step 305). The modem 2a modulates the received coordinate data and sends it to the terminal 100B via the hybrid circuit 3a and telephone line 6 (state IV in FIG. 2).
. The coordinate data arriving at the terminal 100B is sent to the switch 7t.
l, reaches the modem 2b via the hybrid circuit 3b,
demodulated. The demodulated coordinate data is sent to the control circuit 40b, and the control circuit 40b stores the coordinate data in its own memory (not shown) and sends it to the display device 11b (step 403).
00B display device 11a.

At 11b, the same image is played back.

After the timer section 8a is started, it counts the clock given by a clock generation section (not shown), and counts one character (data, command, etc.) defined in this system.
A trigger signal is sent to the print circuit 40a every time a predetermined time period sufficient for transmitting the plurality of characters (control signals, etc.) has elapsed. When the control circuit 40a receives a trigger signal during data transmission (step 306), it sends out a control signal (data) X indicating switching between the sending side and the receiving side from the modem 2a (step 307). Switch to reception mode (step 308). The control signal X reaches the control circuit 40b via the telephone line 6, the hybrid circuit 3b, and the modem 2b (step 404). This results in
The control circuit 40b switches the modem 2b to transmission mode (
Step 405, state V in FIG. 1). Here, the control circuit 40
b detects whether there is a transmission command (data) (step 406). In this embodiment, when the switch 12b is turned on, an instruction signal for requesting a voice call is given to the control circuit 40b, and the control circuit 40b transmits a voice call request command C based on the signal and switches between transmission and reception. A control signal Y indicating this is transmitted (step 407). Furthermore, when no instruction signal is given, the control circuit 40
The modem 2b transmits only the control signal Y indicating switching between transmission and reception (step 408), and then switches the modem 2b to the reception mode (step 409). Note that when the control circuit 40b starts transmitting the command control signal Y, the timer section 8b is activated, but the transmission time from the terminal 100B side is sufficiently shorter than the time required for the timer section 8b to send out the trigger signal. , the control circuit 40b does not operate in response to this trigger signal.

The control circuit 40a of the terminal 100A detects whether there is a command (step 309), and if there is a command, performs a predetermined process (step 310). In this embodiment, the command is a voice call request command. When the control circuit 40a receives the above command, it lights up the LED 13 to notify the operator of the terminal 100^ that a voice call request has been made. Operator uses drawing tablet 5
It is determined whether or not to cancel the input to a, and if the input is to be canceled, the switch 7a is switched to the telephone side. When such processing (step 310) is completed or there is no command, the control circuit 40a waits for the arrival of the control signal Y (step 311), and upon receiving the control signal @Y, switches the modem 2a to the transmission mode. (Step 312, state VI in FIG.
) As a result, if the terminal 100A has coordinate data (step 313), it starts transmitting the coordinate data again. After this, the operations from step 305 to step 313 are repeated. During the transmission of such coordinate data, as long as input is performed on the drawing tablet 5a, the coordinate data continues to be stored in the memory. When the input to the drawing tablet 5a is completed, the control circuit 40a detects that the input coordinate data is no longer in the buffer after transmitting the coordinate data (step 313), and indicates the end of one communication period to the signal transmitter 9a. An instruction to send the signal M is given (step 314, state ■ in FIG. 1).

The signal @M sent from the signal transmitter 9a reaches the terminal 100B via the telephone line 6. The signal detector 10b receives the signal M
is detected, and a detection signal of signal M is sent to the control circuit 40b. Upon receiving this detection signal (step 410), the control circuit 40b switches the switch 7b to the telephone 1b side (step 411), and then gives an instruction to send the signal N indicating acceptance of the signal M to the signal transmitter 9b. (Step 412, state ■ in Figure 1). The signal N sent from the signal transmitter 9b reaches the terminal 100A via the telephone line 6 and is detected by the signal detector 10a.

The signal detector 10a provides a detection signal of the signal N to the control circuit 40a. The control circuit 40a receives this detection signal (step 315), and thereby switches the switch 7a to the telephone 1Jia side (31B). Thus, terminal 10
Both terminals 0A and 100B transition to the voice communication mode, and a voice conversation is possible between the terminals 100A and 1008.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the terminals 100A, 100
8 to send and receive control signals X and Y for switching between transmission and reception,
Since switching between transmission and reception is performed, switching can be performed reliably even during one communication period, and necessary commands (data) can be accurately transmitted from the receiving side of coordinate data. In addition, since the necessary commands are sent from the receiving side of the coordinate data instead of switching the switch 7 immediately, there is almost no time when the line is not used, and there is no reduction in transmission efficiency. There is no deterioration in call quality due to switching.

In this embodiment, the amount of data transmitted from the terminal 100B (coordinate data receiving terminal) is one character, but it may be two or more characters if necessary. In addition, the transmission from the terminal 100B may be limited not by the amount of data but by a time limit set by the timer unit 8b.

Note that in this embodiment, the data is coordinate data input from a drawing tablet, but any data may be used, for example, data transmitted by personal computer communication etc. may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, when a voice call request command is received, the LED is turned on to notify the operator, but if the operator can be notified, it may be done by sound, display, etc., and is not particularly limited to the LED.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, desired data can be transmitted from the data receiving terminal even within one communication period, and the quality of the voice call can be reduced. This has the effect of providing an audio signal and data transmission system that does not require the use of conventional audio signals.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a time chart of data transmission operations by a data transmission system that employs an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a data transmission system that is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the main parts of the data transmission system shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a data transmission system that employs the conventional audio signal/data transmission method, and FIG. 7 is a time chart of data transmission operations by the data transmission system shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 1... Telephone 2... Modem 3... Hybrid circuit 5... Drawing tablet 6... Telephone line 7, 12... Switch 8... Timer part 9... Signal transmitter 10. ...Signal detector 11...Display neck mount 13...LED 40...Control circuit 100A, 100B...Terminal agent Patent attorney Noriyuki Chika Yudo Sanno-Yo version Figure 2, Figure 3 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] It has a plurality of terminals having the function of bidirectionally communicating voice signals and unidirectionally communicating data via a half-duplex modem, and the terminals are connected by a transmission path, and the voice signal and the data are transmitted in the same manner as described above. Data is transmitted preferentially and the data generated is an audio signal that is transmitted entirely within one communication period.
In the data transmission method, the first terminal of the plurality of terminals
When a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the start of one communication in which the data is transmitted with the terminal as the transmitter and the second terminal as the receiver, the second terminal is the transmitter and the first terminal is the receiver. after data is transmitted from the second terminal to the first terminal, the first terminal becomes the transmitting side and the second terminal becomes the receiving side. The audio signal is characterized in that the first switching, the second switching, and the data transmission are repeated at every predetermined time period to transmit the data within the one communication period.・Data transmission method.