JPH02237385A - Still picture video telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and accurately confirm the reception capability of an opposite equipment prior to the transmission of a picture by receiving reception function information from an opposite equipment and displaying it on a screen. CONSTITUTION:A central control section 50 detects a dual tone signal DT representing the arrival of picture information for each prescribed period at all times even at voice communication. When no DT is detected and the depression of a transmission button 21a is detected, a transmission request signal requesting the transmission of the reception function information is sent to the opposite equipment. When the reception function input signal is detected, it is decoded and data is written to a capability display picture memory 52. When the capability display is commanded by a capability/opposite picture changeover switch 51 after the transmission of the picture information, a picture data as to the capability of the opposite equipment is read from the memory 62 to apply capability display 19. Thus, the reception capability is easily confirmed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a still image videophone device, and particularly to a still image taken by a camera during a call, which is modulated and transmitted/received via a telephone rotation. The present invention relates to a still image videophone device that displays a still image inside.

[Prior Art] In recent years, a still image captured by a television camera is modulated into an audio frequency signal, converted into image data, and the image data is sent to a public telephone line, thereby transmitting the image to the other party. Many still image videophone devices capable of transmitting still images have been put into practical use.

As an example of such a still image videophone device, the one shown in the September 1988 issue of TV Technology is shown in FIGS. 5 to 9.
This will be explained based on the diagram.

FIG. 5 is a system configuration diagram of a still picture video telephone device.The still picture video telephone device (10) is installed between a telephone line (1) and a telephone set (2), and a desired still picture Send and receive. Further, as shown in the figure, by connecting a recording device (3) to the still image video telephone device (10), still images can be recorded and saved on a cassette tape.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the still picture video telephone device (10), in which (11) is a network control unit, (12)
) is a modem unit, (13) is a central control unit, (14) is an image control unit, (15) is an image memory unit, (16) is a camera,
(17) is an A/D converter, (18) is a D/A converter, (
19) is a CRT, (20) is a power supply, and (21) is each operation button.

Note that the network control unit (11) connects the recording device to the telephone line (1) via line terminals (1a) and (1b) and to the telephone set (2) via telephone terminals (4a) and (4b). (3) via external device terminals (5a) and (5b), respectively, and performs call control and input/output control of image information to and from the telephone line (1) and the recording device (3).

When sending and receiving images, etc., the user must:
First, pick up the handset of the telephone (2) and dial. At this time, the network control unit (11) transmits the dial signal input from the telephone terminal (4a) to the line terminal (1
a) to the telephone line (1) to establish a connection with the telephone line of the other party 11j and put the device (10) into a talking state. The signal of the telephone line (1) is sent to the network control unit (11).
The information is sent and received via the telephone (2).

On the other hand, images taken by the camera (16) are displayed on the CRT (19) via the image control section (14).

In this state, if you want to send a still image to the other party, press the sending operation button (2 1 a). Then, the central control unit (13) detects that the operation button (2 1 a) has been pressed. And the central control unit (13)
drives the image control unit (14) and converts the A/D converter (1
The pixel data read in from the camera (16) via 7) is stored in the image memory section (15) as one field of image data for transmission.

Further, the central control unit (13) transmits image control information (CO) such as a dual tone (DT) indicating the arrival of image information, a frame synchronization signal, and the number of pixels to be transmitted to the modulation/demodulation unit (13), respectively.
), the image data for transmission is sequentially read out for each pixel from the image memory section (15) via the image control section (14), and a signal is given to the modulation section of the modulation/demodulation section (12).

Note that the network control unit (11) controls the transmission operation button (2).
When 1 a) is pressed, switch the phone (2) to mu 1-
L. Send the modulated signal to the telephone line (1).

Therefore, the image information sent to the telephone line (1) is dual tone (DT) and
It consists of transmission image control information (CD) and an image information section (P) consisting of modulated image data.

When the transmission of the transmission image data is completed, the network control unit (11) switches the connection of the telephone line terminals (1a) and (1b) to the telephone set (2), and returns to a talking state.

Next, reception of image information will be explained.

The network control section (11) sends the signal of the telephone line (1) during the call to the telephone (2), and also sends it to the central control section (13) via the demodulation section of the modulation/demodulation section (12).

When the central control unit (13) detects reception of a dual tone signal (DT) during a call, the central control unit (13)
Connect the telephone (2) to mu1 via the telephone line (1)
The signal is taken in as an image signal via the modulation/demodulation section (12). Then, this image signal is stored in the image memory section (15) via the image control section (14), and the C
RT (19).

After the reception of the image information is completed, the central control unit (13) connects the transmission and reception signals of the telephone line (1) to the telephone set (2) via the network control device (11), and switches to a talking state.

In this way, the conventional still image videophone device can send, receive, and display a still image of 96 (horizontal) XIOO (vertical) pixels in approximately 6 seconds during a call.

The basic procedure for transmitting and receiving image information is the handshake omitted type, in which only the image control information (CO) of the transmitted image information is added to the image information, as shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 8B, before sending the image information, the transmission request (C1) and the reception capability exchange information (C2),
There is a handshake type in which the receiving function of the partner device is sent and the image information is transmitted only when the receiving function of the partner device is compatible.

In order to enable even devices that use the handshake omitted type to transmit and receive data with devices that use the handshake type, the handshake omitted type shown in Figure 8A is used when transmitting images, and when receiving can also be received using either handshake type or handshake omitted type.

That is, this device (10) corresponds to the part shown by the dashed dot line in FIG.
As shown in , when the other device transmits an image using a handshake type, that is, a dual tone signal (
When receiving (CI), which is a reception function transmission request, next to DT), a response process is performed to transmit reception function control information (C2) to the destination device.

Therefore, after receiving the reception capability information (C2) during this handshake, the partner device confirms the reception capability of the partner device, and then transmits the image signal shown in FIG. 7.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventional still image videophone devices are configured as described above, so in devices that do not use handshake, it is difficult for the user to know the receiving function of the other party's device. The only way to do this is for the user to confirm it during a voice call, which is complicated and has problems such as sending unnecessary image information.

Additionally, with handshake type devices, it is possible to check the reception capabilities of the other device and prevent the transmission of image signals that do not match the capabilities, but these operations are only performed inside the device. Therefore, the user can only know whether or not the other device can receive the image signal that the other device is trying to send; in order to know the functions of the other device,
There was a problem in that it was difficult to use because it had to be confirmed during a voice call.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides an easy-to-use still image videophone device by receiving receiving function information of the other party's device and displaying it on an image display device. The purpose is to

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the still picture video telephone device according to the present invention includes a reception function transmission requesting means for transmitting a transmission request of reception function information to the other party's device; a receiving capability information receiving means for receiving receiving capability information of the device; and a capability displaying device for decoding the received receiving capability information and displaying it on a display device on its own side, and displaying the capability of the other device. It is.

[Function] The still image videophone device according to the present invention is configured as described above, so that by receiving reception function information from the other party's device and displaying it on the screen, the user can check the other party's information before transmitting the image. The reception capability of the device can be easily and accurately confirmed, improving usability.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the still picture video telephone device according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the still image video telephone device according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a procedure diagram for transmitting and receiving image information by the device of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the central control section.

In the drawings, the same parts as those in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

(50) is a central control unit which has the same function as the central control unit (13) in the conventional device; It has a function to display the reception capability of the device.

(52) is an image memory for displaying ability.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the central control unit (50)
Before sending image information, send reception function information (C2) to the other device.
A transmission request (CI) is sent to send the . Whether the conventional device is a handshake type or a handshake omitted type, when it receives a transmission request (C1), it responds with reception function information (C2). Therefore, on the sending side, the received reception function information (C2)
can be decoded, written into the ability display image memory (52), and displayed.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be explained based on FIG.

First, the central control unit (50) always detects a dual tone signal (DT) indicating the arrival of image information at regular intervals even during a voice call (step 100).

Then, in step 100, the dual ton signal (
DT) is not detected, press the send button (2).
1 a) Determine whether or not is pressed (Step 1
10).

If it is detected in step 110 that the send button (2 1 a) has been pressed, first a send request signal (CI) is sent to request the other device to send reception function information (step 200). .

When receiving this transmission request signal (C1), the other device should reply with reception function information (C2).
It is detected that receiving function information (C2) is returned from the partner device (step 210).

Note that in this step 210, it is necessary to wait for a sufficient time for the signal from the partner device to normally arrive, and the state of waiting for reception function information (C2) is maintained for a predetermined period of time.

When reception of the reception function information (C2) is detected, the central control unit (50) decodes the reception function information (C2) and writes the data into the capacity display image memory (52) (step 220).

After that, after transmitting the image information (step 230), if capability display is instructed by the capability/recipient image changeover switch (51), image data regarding the capability of the partner device is stored from the capability display image memory (52). is read out and the ability is displayed, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 (step 300).
. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a table regarding the capabilities of the other device is stored in advance, and the table is displayed by writing a circle in the corresponding section of the table (the column on the right side of the screen).

On the other hand, on the receiving side, when the dual 1-tone signal (DT) is detected in step 100, a subsequent control signal is determined (step 400).

and a control signal or an image control signal (CO) for the transmitted image.
In this case, normal image reception processing is performed (step 410).
, in the case of a transmission request signal (C1), reception function information (C2)
is sent back (step 420).

Therefore, according to the device of the present embodiment, it is possible to receive the receiving function information (C2) of the other device, transmit its own image signal (D), and then display it. You can check the receiving ability.

In this embodiment, the capability is displayed (step 300) after the image transmission process is completed (step 230), but it may be better to check the reception capability of the other device before completing the transmission. .

In this case, if the ability display is ready in steps 210 and 220, step 230 is omitted and the ability display is performed in step 300, and then the image transmission process is stopped and the voice call is resumed.

At this time, the partner device enters a state of waiting for reception of the image signal (P), but if the partner device does not receive the image signal, the partner device
There is no problem with automatic return to active status. Furthermore, presses of the send button during one call are counted in step 200 (recognition may be done by setting a flag), and image information is not sent the first time (step 230 is omitted); For subsequent presses of the send button, it is preferable to configure the system so that the handshake is omitted, that is, the control signal (CO) and the image signal (P) are sent without sending the send request (C1). .

Further, it is preferable that the transmission request (C1) is sent only when the ability display is instructed by the ability/other party image changeover switch (51).

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the ability display image memory (52)
Although an example was shown in which the image memory section (15) and the image memory section (15) are provided separately,
By applying a part of the image memory section (15) υ7A, it becomes possible to share the ability/partner image changeover switch (51) with the screen changeover switch (21c), without any special equipment changes. ”The effect as mentioned above can be obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to display the reception capability of the other party's device, so when transmitting image information, the optimal image signal according to the receiving capability of the other party's device can be displayed. can be sent.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a preferred embodiment of the still image video telephone device according to the present invention, FIG. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the central control unit of the embodiment device; Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the capability display screen according to the embodiment; Figure 5 is a system configuration diagram of a conventional still image videophone device; FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a still image video telephone device; FIG. 7 is a diagram of the configuration of image data transmitted by the conventional device; FIG. 8 is a basic procedure diagram when transmitting and receiving image information; and FIG. 9 is an explanation of the operation of the central control unit of the conventional device. It is a diagram. In the figure, (1) is a telephone line, (10) is a still image video telephone device, (11) is a network control unit, (12) is a modulation/demodulation unit, (13) and (50) are a central control unit, and (15) is a network control unit. (19) is a CRT, (51) is a capability/other party image changeover switch, and (52) is an image memory for displaying capabilities. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent: Patent attorney Masuo Oiwa (2 others) Sending side Receiving side

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a still image videophone device that transmits and receives image data input from a camera during a call via a telephone line and displays the image data, a request to transmit receiving function information is sent to the other party's device. comprising: a receiving function transmission requesting means; a receiving function information receiving means for receiving receiving function information of a device on the other side; and a capability display means for decoding the received receiving function information and displaying it on a display device on the own side; A still image videophone device characterized by displaying the capabilities of the other party's device.