KR100200626B1 - The method for self-testing in videophone and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-diagnostic apparatus for a video telephone according to the present invention is disclosed.

A video encoder for compressing image data obtained by digitally processing the video signal of the video signal input from the camera continuously; an audio encoder for processing the audio signal input through the microphone through digital processing to compress the video signal; A video decoder for restoring audio data of the other party, and a self-diagnosis device of a video telephone for transmitting / receiving video / audio data to / from the other party through an integrated information communication network comprises storage means; A first switching means for switching the magnetic video / audio data compressed by the first switching means to transmit to the storage means or the video telephone of the other party; Second switching means for switching the first switching means to the second switching means; And control means for controlling the second switching means to select the video / audio data stored in the storage means so as to select the magnetic video / audio data in the first switching means.

Therefore, as described above, according to the self-diagnostic apparatus of a video telephone according to the present invention, when a call abnormality occurs in a self-visual telephone, the problem can be quickly detected and coped with.

Description

Self-diagnosis method of video phone and self-diagnosis device suitable for it

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video information telephone (ITY-T H-320, hereinafter referred to as 'ITY-T H-320' (CODEC)) and a device suitable for the same.

A video telephone used in a Narrow-Bamd Intrgrated Services Digital Network is a communication means capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving voice / video data to and from a communication network having a transmission rate of up to 2 Mbit / s. This video phone is recommended by the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Sector (ITU-T), an international advisory body.

TUI-T H.320: Narrow-band visual tetephone systems and terminal equipment

TUI-T H.221: Frame structure for a 64-to-1920 kbit / s channel in audiovisual communication services (Frame Structure for a 64 to 1920 Kbit / s Channel in Audiovisual Teleservices.

TUI-T H.242: System for establishing communication between audiovisual terminals using digital channels up to 2 Mbit / s (Digital channels up to 2 Mbit / s.)

TUI-T H.261: Video CODEC for audiovisual services at px64kbit / s, p = 1..30

TUI-T H.230: Frame-synchronous system control and indication signals for audiovisual systems.

TUI-T G.711: Pulse code modulation (PCM) of frequencies.

TUI-T G.722: 7KHz audio coding within 64kbit / s (7KHz audio-coding within 64kblt / s)

TUI-T G.728: Coding od speech at 16 kbit / s using li-delay code excited in linear prophecy.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a conventional video phone operating in accordance with the above recommendations.

In the conventional video telephone shown in Fig. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a transmitting unit of the video telephone, 12 denotes a receiving unit of the video telephone, and 128 denotes a network interface for data interfacing with the integrated information communication network Reference numeral 124 denotes a system controller for controlling the receiving unit 10, the transmitting unit 12, and the network interface 128 of the video telephone.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a camera for photographing its own image; 104, a video preprocessor for processing video data output from the camera 102 into digital data; A video encoder 108 for compressing the output data of the video preprocessor 104, a microphone 108 for transmitting self-voice, 110 an audio encoder for digitally processing and compressing the output audio of the microphone 108, And numeral 122 denotes a multiplexer for multiplexing and outputting the output data of the video encoder 106 and the audio encoder 110, respectively.

In the receiving section 12 of the video telephone, reference numeral 126 denotes a demultiplexer for demultiplexing the video / audio data of the other party received via the general information network, 118 denotes a video (video data) for restoring the video data outputted from the demultiplexer 126 Reference numeral 116 denotes a video post-processor for converting the digital image data restored from the video decoder 118 into analog data and improving the image quality, reference numeral 112 denotes a monitor for displaying output image data of the video post- 120 denotes an audio decoder for restoring the audio signal output from the demultiplexer 126, and an audio decoder 114 denotes a speaker for outputting audio data output from the audio decoder 120, respectively.

The transmission and reception operations of the conventional video telephone will now be described with reference to FIG.

When a caller calls a telephone number of a called party, the called party's telephone is hooked off, and when the caller responds to the call, The video signal of the caller continuously outputted through the video preprocessor 104 is converted into image quality improvement and digital data by the video preprocessor 104 and the digital signal is compressed into digital new data by the video encoder 110 in order to increase the transmission efficiency of the video data . The video / audio data compressed in the digital data is input to the multiplexer 122, multiplexed in accordance with the multimedia transmission, and then transmitted to the callee through the channel allocated by the network interface 128. At this time, the video / audio data to be transmitted is included in the same transmission channel.

The multiplexed digital data transmitted from the other party is outputted through the network interface 128 and then transmitted to the demultiplexer 126 for demultiplexing the video / Demultiplexed into data, and then input to the video decoder 118 and the audio decoder 120, respectively. The received video data is decoded and restored in the video decoder 118, and the video post processor 116 converts the digital video data into analog data, and the recovered digital audio data is converted into an analog signal and output to the speaker 114 .

A block configuration of a video telephone that performs the above-described transmission / reception operation is disclosed under ITU-T U.320.

In the video telephone, the control for the transmission / reception operation is performed by the system controller 124. The control signal C2 generated by the system controller 124 corresponds to the audio encoder 110. The control signal C4 corresponds to the video encoder 106. The control signal C8 corresponds to the video decoder 118. The control signal C10 corresponds to the audio decoder 110, Respectively. The control signal C6 generated by the system controller 124 controls the multiplexer 122 and the control signal C12 controls the demultiplexer 126. The control signal C14 is a signal for controlling the network interface 128 to be.

Implementing the system controller 124 to generate such control signals is a general purpose microprocessor implementation.

In the conventional video phone thus configured, if it is determined that an error has occurred in the other party's video phone at the time of starting the mutual communication after the completion of the call setup, that is, when the reproduction of the video signal or the audio signal fails, There is no way to determine if it has occurred,

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of self-diagnosing a video telephone which diagnoses whether there is an abnormality in a video / audio codec of a magnetic video telephone, Another object of the present invention is to provide a device suitable therefor.

1 is a block diagram of a conventional video phone operating in accordance with the above recommendation.

2 is a view for explaining a self-diagnosis apparatus of a video telephone according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a control flow of the system controller 136 according to the present invention.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for self-diagnosing a video telephone which establishes a communication mode and communicates voice and video with a counterpart using a predetermined channel, comprising the steps of: ; Setting a self diagnostic mode if a call is not set from a result of the determination step; And performing self-diagnosis by the set self-diagnosis mode.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video encoder including: a video encoder for compressing video data of a video signal of a user's own input continuously input from a camera; And a video decoder for restoring video data of the other party and an audio decoder for restoring audio data of the other party, and a video telephone for transmitting / receiving video / audio data to / from the other party through the integrated information communication network The self-diagnosis apparatus comprises storage means; First switching means for switching the magnetic video / audio data compressed by the video / audio encoder to transmit to the storage means or the video telephone of the other party; Second switching means for switching to receive the magnetic video / audio data stored in the storage means or the video / audio data of the other party received; And control means for controlling the second switching means to select the video / audio data stored in the storage means so as to select the magnetic video / audio data in the first switching means.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view for explaining a self-diagnosis apparatus of a video telephone according to the present invention.

2 includes a first switching unit 130 provided between the multiplexer 122 and the network interface unit 128 in the conventional video telephone apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a multiplexer 122, A second switching unit 132 and a first switching unit 130 provided between the network interface 128 and the demultiplexer 126. The memory 134 stores the data (multiplexed audio / video data) The second switching unit 132, and the memory 134. The system controller 136 controls the operations of the first switching unit 132, the second switching unit 132,

The first switching unit 130 transmits the magnetic video / audio data output from the multiplexer 122 to the network interface 128 or to the memory 134 by the control signal C16 from the system controller 136 The second switching unit 132 switches the video / audio data of the other party received from the network interface 128 or the video / audio data of the other video / audio data received from the network 134 by the control signal C18 output from the system controller 136, And switches one of the audio data to be output to the demultiplexer 126. [ Also, the memory 134 stores the multi-preflexed magnetic image / audio data by the control signal C20 output from the system controller 136. [

Accordingly, the video telephone according to the present invention can perform self-diagnosis by the switching units 130 and 132, the memory 134, and the system controller 136 for controlling the same.

In addition, the switching units 130 and 132 shown in FIG. 2 can be configured as a hardware component for converting the flow of data, and the memory 134 can be configured as hardware capable of storing digital data, The system controller 136 can be implemented as a general-purpose microprocessor or a digital signal processor.

Referring to FIG. 2, the operation of the self-diagnosis apparatus of the video phone according to the present invention will be described. When the user sets self-diagnosis through a user interface such as a keyboard or a mouse, the system controller 136 controls the multiplexer 122 and the demultiplexer (B channel: 64 kbit / s) in the case of a basic network in a diagnostic mode, for example, the narrowband integrated information network (ISDN) by outputting control signals C16 and C12 for controlling the frame structure of the In this case, the 1B channel (64 kbit / s) is set as a voice and the other 1B channel is set as an image, and a control signal C16 is generated to be input to the first switching unit 130 Audio data D2 to be stored in the memory 134 and to open the data path D4 to be transmitted to the network interface 128. In this case, Thus, the multiplexed magnetic image / voice data output from the multiplexer 122 is stored in the memory 134. [ The second switch 132 generates the control signal C18 and outputs the data D8 output from the memory 134 and the counterpart video / audio data D10 output via the network interface 128 Selects the path D8 and controls the transmission path D10 to be opened. Accordingly, the magnetic image / audio data stored in the memory 134 is output to the demultiplexer 126. In this process, the system controller 136 generates the control signal C20 to control the memory 134, Or the like.

After the above control is performed, the system controller 136 generates the control signal C4 to operate the video encoder and the control signal C2 to operate the audio encoder 110. [ In addition, the control signal C8 is generated to operate the video decoder 118, and the control signal C10 to operate the audio decoder 120. [

Therefore, the path of the data is stored in the memory 134 via the D1 and D6 paths and then output to the demultiplexer 126 via the data paths D8 and D12, and the demultiplexer And outputs the audio data to the video decoder 118 and the audio data to the audio decoder 120. The audio data is decoded and then output to a monitor (not shown) 112 or the speaker 114 to notify the user of the abnormality of his / her video / audio.

However, in the general communication mode, the system controller 136 generates control signals C16 and C18 to control the first switching unit 130 and the second switching unit 132, respectively, so that the path of the data changes from D2 to D4 ( D6 is in the open state), D10 to D12 (D8 is in the open state) so that the magnetic video / audio data is transmitted to the other party via the network interface 128 and the other party's video / audio data is transmitted to the network interface 128 To be processed and received.

In implementing the present invention, the first switching unit 130 and the second switching unit 132 are implemented using a general gate logic circuit.

3 is a flowchart for explaining the control flow of the system controller 136 according to the present invention, and sets a normal communication mode (step 300)

It is determined whether a call is established between the ISDN and the video telephone of the other party through a predetermined channel according to the communication mode setting in step 300. In step 310,

As a result of step 310, if the call is normally established, communication with the other party is performed (step 320). If the normal call is not set, it is determined whether the self diagnosis mode according to the present invention is set (step 330)

If the self-diagnosis mode is not set in step 330, it is fed back to the initial state, and if self-diagnosis mode is set, the self-diagnosis according to the present invention is performed (step 340)

The operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

First, the control procedure of the system controller 136 for the video telephone call will be described. When the user transmits a call using the telephone number of the other party, the system controller 136 generates the control signal C14 and transmits the control signal C14 to the ITU- According to the recommendation, call setup is performed by transmitting a call through the integrated information communication network. Upon completion of the call setup, the system controller 136 sends an in-band signal according to the ITU-T H.242 recommendation and transmits control channels of the ITU-T H 221 frame structure, that is, Bit Rate Allocation Signal (BAS) Signal). The above recommendation ITU-T H.242 defines the Capability Exchange Procedure for informing the partner video phone of the capability of the self-imaging phone and the optimal communication mode And the procedure for informing the other party of the optimum communication mode. The procedure is as follows. The BAS code defined in the ITU-TH 221 is transmitted / received through the BAS channel of the ITU-T H 221 frame structure, ≪ / RTI >

However, if the video or voice of the other party is not normally received despite the end of this procedure, the call must be terminated and it is necessary to check the abnormal state of the own video telephone or the video telephone of the other party. In particular, it is necessary to check the video encoder, video decoder, audio encoder, audio decoder, etc. of the own video telephone. In addition, self-diagnosis (Self_test) of the own video telephone is essential for confirming the function of the video telephone even before the call is started.

As described above, according to the self-diagnostic apparatus of a video telephone according to the present invention, when a call abnormality occurs in a self-visual telephone, the problem can be quickly detected and coped with.

Claims (2)

A video encoder for compressing image data obtained by digitally processing the video signal of the video signal input from the camera continuously; an audio encoder for processing the audio signal input through the microphone through digital processing to compress the video signal; A self-diagnosing apparatus of a video telephone having a video decoder for restoring audio data of an opponent and an audio decoder for restoring audio data of a counterpart and transmitting and receiving video / audio data to / from a counterpart through an integrated information communication network, Storage means; First switching means for switching the magnetic video / audio data compressed by the video / audio encoder to transmit to the storage means or the video telephone of the other party; Second switching means for switching to receive the magnetic video / audio data stored in the storage means or the video / audio data of the other party received; And Audio data stored in the storage means by the second switching means so as to select the magnetic / video data in the first switching means. A self-diagnostic method of a video telephone set for establishing a communication mode and communicating voice and video with a partner using a predetermined channel, Determining whether a communication mode is set and a call is set through a predetermined channel; Setting a self diagnostic mode if a call is not set from a result of the determination step; And And performing self-diagnosis according to the set self-diagnosis mode