JPH0219091A - Picture telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To relieve visual load in the occurrence of a fault by storing specific information specifying an opposite party to a terminal equipment and displaying the information in the occurrence of a fault, at calling and in the arrival of a call. CONSTITUTION:The terminal equipment is provided with a key input section 4 able to input an ID number such as an opposite telephone number, an auxiliary information storage circuit 5, an input/output control circuit 6 and a communication control circuit 7 connecting a called party. Then in the case of dialing other terminal equipment, an ID number of the like of one terminal equipment is, sent automatically to other terminal equipment prior to the start of reply and the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 stores the ID number corresponding to the called party and specific information comprising still picture information or the like corresponding to the ID number. Moreover, if picture information from the called terminal equipment is deteriorated or unable to be received during talking, the specific information of the opposite party during talking, e.g., an opposite face picture is read from the auxiliary information storage circuit and displayed on a picture display section. Thus, even if deterioration in a picture due to a line fault or the like, the visual load of the user is relieved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a visual telephone system that allows you to make a call while viewing the other party's face image, etc., and is particularly useful when the displayed image has deteriorated due to line failure, etc. The present invention relates to a visual telephone system that can reduce the visual burden on a person, and also that can easily select and recognize a calling party when making and receiving calls.

[Prior Art] In recent years, a video telephone system has been proposed in which a call is made while viewing the other party's face (moving image). Although it has an information error correction function, there is a problem in that when a failure that exceeds this correction function occurs, the other party's image information remains degraded.

Conventionally, in order to solve this problem, for example,
As described in Publication No. 241436, it has been proposed that when a failure that cannot be corrected occurs in a system that transmits still image information, image correction is performed by replacing degraded image information with error-free still image information in the vicinity. has been done.

In addition, in general telephone systems, the caller who receives a call on his/her own telephone is displayed in text (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6
2-281645, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-281549), calls are made based on the name of the other party rather than the telephone number (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-274963), A device that stores image information in memory and displays this facial image information when making a call or making a call (
For example, JP-A-63-39245) has been proposed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned image correction technology compensates for image deterioration due to transmission path failure by replacing erroneous image information with nearby image information without errors; If the number of images increases significantly or if it becomes impossible to receive image information due to a failure of the other party's terminal device, correction is performed using partial image information immediately before the failure occurs. This change resulted in extremely unnatural images being played back, leading to a problem in which the visual burden on the user increased.

In addition, the technology that allows the caller to be known before answering recognizes the caller by deciphering characters, so the callee can intuitively recognize the caller. The technology involved also required deciphering characters, making it difficult to recognize the other party and creating problems in terms of operability.

Furthermore, the technology to display the face image of the other party when making a call or talking is
This constitutes a pseudo image telephone system, and although it is possible to confirm the other party when making a call, it does not transmit an image, so updating and registering image information had to be done by other means.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the problems caused by the prior art, and even when image deterioration occurs due to a single line failure, it is possible to prevent an increase in the visual burden on the user, and furthermore, it is possible to prevent an increase in the visual burden on the user. Another object of the present invention is to provide a video telephone system in which a user can extremely easily recognize the other party when making a call.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a terminal device constituting a video telephone system that includes a camera that takes a self-image and an image display section that displays an image of the other party from the other party's terminal device. A handset for making a telephone call, a key input section for making a call, etc., an input/output control circuit for controlling the camera, an image display section, the handset and the key input section, and the other party for receiving information from the terminal device of the other party. an auxiliary information storage circuit that stores a plurality of specific information identifying the other party, such as still face image information, and the input/output control circuit stores specific information of the other party in the auxiliary information storage circuit according to specific conditions, or It is read out and displayed on the image display section.

[Operation] When the input/output control circuit of the terminal device deteriorates or becomes unable to receive image information from the other party's terminal device during a call between the own terminal device and the other party's terminal device.

Specific information about the other party during the call, such as an image of the other party's face, is read out from the auxiliary information storage circuit and displayed on the image display section. The specific information to be stored in the auxiliary information storage circuit may be arbitrarily extracted from the moving image information of the other party transmitted during a conversation with the other party, or the names of two still face images sent from the other party as the specific information.

This may be image information such as the name of the other party. This allows the user to use pre-registered specific information, such as a normal image of the other party's face, to reduce the visual burden even if the other party's image has deteriorated. You can know the occurrence.

In addition, when the own terminal device receives a call from the other party's terminal device, the input/output control circuit calls the other party's specific information 6, for example, still face image information, from the auxiliary information storage circuit and displays it on the image display screen before the own terminal device makes a response. to be displayed. Furthermore, when the own terminal device makes a call, when the caller inputs the number of the other party's terminal device into the key input section, the input/output control circuit displays the other party identification information corresponding to the number of the other party on the image display section. At the same time, when the caller starts a call and uses the key input section to instruct the other party's specific information to be displayed on the image display section, the other party's specific information stored in the auxiliary information storage section is displayed. A call is initiated to the destination terminal device selected by the calling party. Therefore, the user can very easily confirm the other party using specific information, such as a facial image, when receiving or making a call.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the video telephone system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one terminal device constituting the video telephone system according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the memory configuration of the auxiliary information storage circuit shown in FIG. 1.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal devices used in the video telephone system according to this embodiment include a handset 1 for making calls, a camera 2 for taking moving images of the caller, and a moving image transmitted from the terminal device of the other party. An image display unit 3 that displays image information (face image of the other party), a key input unit 4 that allows input of an ID number such as a telephone number of the other party, and an auxiliary information storage circuit 5 that stores specific information to be described later. , an input/output control circuit 6 that controls these, and a communication control circuit 7 that is connected to the other party via a communication line (not shown), and a plurality of terminal devices having this configuration are connected through a digital communication line network. As a result, a video telephone system has been constructed. This visual telephone system is connected through a digital communication network, so when one terminal device makes a call to another terminal device, the ID number etc. of one terminal device is automatically transmitted to the other terminal device before the response begins. It is sent in a specific manner.

As shown in FIG. 2, the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 stores an ID number corresponding to the other party and two names of still image information (still image of the other party) corresponding to this ID number.

It is configured to store specific information such as an address. The specific information stored in the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 is for identifying the other party in correspondence with the ID number, and is updated as needed from time to time, including image information sent from the other party. .

Now, in the image telephone system configured as described above, when the terminal device in the initial state makes a call, when the user inputs the ID number of the other party from the key input section 4, the input/output control circuit 6 switches to the communication control circuit 7. Instructs the calling process, and when the call arrives at the other party, displays a moving image of the called party from the other party's terminal device on the image display unit 3, and also takes a video of the calling party itself with the camera 2 and sends it to the other party's terminal device. do. This allows users of each other's terminal devices to talk to each other through the input/output control circuit 6 and the like using the handset 1 while looking at the other party's face displayed on the image display section 3.

The input/output control circuit 6 according to the present embodiment receives face image information of the other party from the other party's terminal device as specific information for identifying the other party (or off-line) and stores it in the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 in correspondence with the ID number.

This specific information is not limited to the other party's face image, but also the other party's name.

It may be image information such as abbreviations and symbols, or it may be still image information extracted from moving image information received from the other party's terminal device. In this case, the input/output control circuit 6 It operates to store still image information of the other party in the auxiliary information storage circuit 5. Further, the information on the name and address of the other party shown in FIG. Also good.

When a call is made with still image information and the like of a plurality of parties stored in the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 in this manner, the present system performs the following operations depending on the situation.

First, in the terminal device using this image telephone system, during a call with the other party's terminal device, an error that cannot be corrected occurs in the input/output control circuit 6 due to a line failure or an abnormality in the other party's terminal device, resulting in significant deterioration of video information. In this case, the input/output control circuit 6 detects this deterioration and reads still image information corresponding to the ID number of the other party from the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 and displays it on the image display section 3 instead of the image information sent from the other party. do. Therefore, even if a failure occurs, the user can see the other party's normally registered face image in place of the degraded face image, thereby reducing visual burden. In addition, when the line failure or the like is recovered, the input/output control circuit 6 outputs the normal moving image transmitted from the other party's terminal device to the image display unit 3 and returns to the normal moving image information transmission state.

In this embodiment, when a fault occurs, the input/output control circuit 6
Although an example has been shown in which the identifying information (face image of the other party) of the other party during the call is read out from the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 after detecting image deterioration, the present invention is not limited to this. It can also be implemented by storing specific information in a buffer from the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 in advance when connecting to the other party's terminal device, and reading the specific information from the buffer when a failure occurs. In this case, since specific information is stored in the buffer in advance, faster screen switching is possible. In addition, the present invention provides that the communication line network
In the case of a visual telephone system that does not transfer numbers, a buffer may be provided to store a still image of the other party when a call is received, and a normal still image of the other party stored in the buffer may be displayed when the image deteriorates.

Next, when the user makes a call using the ID number from his own terminal device, when the user inputs the ID number using the key input unit 4, the input/output control circuit 6 makes the call using the input ID number. It prompts the communication control circuit 7 to perform the process, and reads specific information 1, such as still image information, corresponding to the ID number from the auxiliary information storage section 5 and displays it on its own image display section 3. As a result, when the user inputs an ID number, the user can easily visually confirm the other party using a pre-registered still face image of the other party before the other party responds.

The input/output control circuit 6 continues this state until the other party responds and normal moving image information is transmitted from the other party and becomes displayable.

In addition, in this system, if the user does not remember the ID number, the input/output control section 6 will input the information to the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 when the user instructs the display of specific information (face image) using the key input section 4. The stored still images (faces), etc. are sequentially displayed on the image display unit 3, and the user visually selects the other party from the specific information (face image) to identify the other party and start making a call. The face image display of the other party continues until the other party responds. This selection of the other party can be performed not only by the face image but also by the user inputting the name of the other party into the key input section 4 and searching. Therefore, the user can easily make a call by checking the specific information (face image) of the other party without knowing the ID number.

Furthermore, in this system, when the other party makes a call to its own terminal device, the input/output control unit 6 uses the ID number of the other party as a key, which is received via the communication control circuit 7, before the own terminal device responds. Specific information of the corresponding party is retrieved from the information storage circuit 5 and displayed on the image display section 3. Therefore, the user can confirm the calling party by looking at the caller's identification information before responding.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the explanation focused on the operation of one terminal device of the video telephone system, but in the present system, a plurality of terminal devices constituting the system individually perform the above operations. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the present invention was explained using a video telephone system that transmits moving images.
The present invention can also be applied to a video telephone system that transmits images while updating still images every predetermined time period.

As described above, according to this embodiment, each terminal device constituting the video telephone system is provided with the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 that stores specific information (face image information, etc.) for identifying the other party, and the input/output control circuit 6 is Since the specific information of the other party stored in advance at the time of occurrence is displayed, the visual burden on the user can be reduced. In addition, since specific information about the other party is read out from the auxiliary information storage circuit 5 and displayed using the other party's ID number as a key when making and receiving calls, it is extremely easy for the user to visually confirm the other party when making and receiving calls. can.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, specific information for identifying the other party is stored in the terminal device, and is displayed when a call is made and when a call is received in the event of a failure.

This reduces the visual burden when a failure occurs, and also makes it extremely easy to confirm the other party when making or receiving a call.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a terminal device constituting a video telephone system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of an auxiliary information storage circuit applied to this embodiment. 1: handset, 2: camera, 3: image display section, 4: key input section, 5: auxiliary information storage circuit, 6: input/output control circuit,
7: Communication control circuit.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A camera that takes a self-image, an image display section that displays an image of the other party from the other party's terminal device, a handset for making a call with the other party's terminal device, and a key input section for making a call to the other party. , in a video telephone system in which a plurality of terminal devices each including the camera, an image display section, a handset, and an input/output control circuit that controls a key input section are connected via a communication line network, each terminal device is provided with a communication partner that is specified. An auxiliary information storage circuit is provided to store a plurality of pieces of specific information, and if the image information sent from the other party's terminal device deteriorates or becomes unreceivable during a call between the own terminal device and the other party's terminal device,
A video telephone system characterized in that an input/output control circuit reads out already stored specific information of the other party during a call from an auxiliary information storage circuit and displays it on an image display section. (2) A camera that takes a self-image, an image display section that displays an image of the other party from the other party's terminal device, a handset for making a call with the other party's terminal device, and a key input section for making a call to the other party. In a video telephone system in which a plurality of terminal devices each including the camera, an image display unit, a handset, and an input/output control circuit that controls a key input unit are connected via a communication line network, each terminal device identifies the other party. The input/output control circuit has an auxiliary information storage circuit that stores a plurality of pieces of specific information, and the input/output control circuit stores image information given by the other party as specific information in the auxiliary information storage circuit, and also controls communication between the own terminal device and the other party's terminal device. A video telephone system characterized in that when moving face image information from a terminal device of the other party deteriorates or becomes unreceivable during communication, specific information of the other party during the call is read out from an auxiliary information storage circuit and displayed on an image display unit. . (3) When the own terminal device receives a call from the other party's terminal device, the input/output control circuit reads out the specific information of the other party from the auxiliary information storage circuit and displays it on the image display section before the own terminal device makes a response. The image telephone system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the image telephone system displays the image. (4) When the own terminal device makes a call, when the caller inputs the number of the other party's terminal device into the key input section, the input/output control circuit displays the specific information of the other party corresponding to the number of the other party on the image display section. When the caller instructs to display the other party's specific information on the image display section without inputting the other party's number using the key input section, the auxiliary information storage circuit is scanned. 3. The visual telephone system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of pieces of stored specifying information of the other party are displayed and a call is initiated to a terminal device of the other party selected by the caller.