JPH04238493A - Remote control system for picture audio signal storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow a communication terminal equipment at a visiting place to confirm picture information and audio information by bringing a picture audio storage device into a reproducing state when an external terminal equipment controls the picture audio storage device. CONSTITUTION:A telecontrol unit 1 uses a password storage means 114 collates a password and a PB tone identification means identifies a function number and an infrared ray signal transmission means 113 sends a relevant infrared ray signal to a picture audio storage device 2. The device 2 outputs a picture signal and an audio signal when the received infrared ray signal represents a reproduction function and both signals are given to a picture CODEC 108 and an audio CODEC 107 via a video input means 101 and an audio input means 103, in which they are converted into digital signals, and they are sent to a caller via a network interface means 106 and a public network 4. Thus, the caller confirms the picture information and the audio information stored in the device 2.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is a remote control system for an image and audio storage device such as a video tape recorder that enables remote control of an image and audio storage device from an external communication terminal device connected to a telephone communication line. Regarding.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, devices have appeared that allow users to control home appliances such as air conditioners and electric kettles from outside the home using telephone lines. This is, for example, the PB of a touch-tone phone.
It uses tones and is associated with numbers and on/off switches, etc. in advance. Specifically, by making a call from a touch-tone phone outside the home, pressing a push button to enter a password, etc., and then pressing a predetermined number, the device can be turned on/off or checked for operation.

[0003] Similarly, systems have also appeared that allow users to reserve programs on a video tape recorder from outside the home. For example, A manufactured and sold by Victor Japan Co., Ltd.
V telephone controller (product name: TN-V100)
The system enables video reservations to be made by remote control by connecting a cord between the central office line of a home telephone and the telephone set, and a cord for exchanging control signals with a video tape recorder equipped with a telephone reservation terminal. In addition, in order to enable program reservations for video tape recorders that do not have telephone reservation terminals, the system also has a function to transmit remotely controlled reservation details to the video tape recorder by wireless infrared rays.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, such devices do not have a means for checking what kind of information is recorded on the videotape installed in the videotape recorder, so in some cases There has been a problem in that important information is erased when other information is overwritten on the tape. The present invention solves this problem, and when an audio storage device is operated from outside through a communication terminal device, the contents of image information and audio information recorded in the image and audio storage device are transferred to the outside communication terminal device. The purpose of this system is to transmit the image information and audio information to a communication terminal device outside the home and to make it possible to check the image information and audio information.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides that when controlling an image and audio storage device from an external terminal device, the image and audio storage device is brought into a playback state in advance and the playback signal is It is designed to transmit.

[0006]

[Operation] By operating the external communication terminal, the operator can check the audio information and image information stored in the image and audio storage device. That is, if the external communication terminal is a still image videophone capable of transmitting and receiving still images, the image recorded in the image and audio storage device can be confirmed as a still image through the screen of the videophone. If the external communication terminal is a normal touch-tone telephone, the voice recorded in the image/audio recording device can be checked from the handset of the touch-tone telephone.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a telecontrol unit, 2 is an image and audio storage device, 4 is a public network, and 5 is an external communication terminal. The telecontrol unit 1 is connected to a public network 4 and controls the image and audio storage device 2 by means of PB tone sounds transmitted by operating an external communication terminal 5 also connected to the public network 4.

[0008] The image and audio storage device 2 records and records images and audio.
A device that can be played and remotely controlled, such as a video tape recorder. Here, remote control is performed using infrared signals, and the public network 4 includes an analog telephone network and an ISDN network.

The external communication terminal 5 is a device installed at a location different from that of the image/audio storage device 2 and the telecontrol unit 1, and transmits a PB tone sound to the telecontrol unit 1 from this device. In addition, the external communication terminal 5
Even if the terminal itself does not have a PB tone generation function, it is possible to transmit a PB tone sound to the telecontrol unit 1 by bringing a device capable of generating a PB tone close to the mouthpiece of the terminal. be.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the telecontrol unit 1 connected to the ISDN network, in which 101 is a video input means, 103 is an audio input means, 105 is a PB tone identification means, 106 is a network interface means, and 107
108 is an audio codec, 108 is an image codec, 111 is an infrared signal receiving means, 112 is a function storage means, 113 is an infrared signal transmission means, 114 is a password storage means, 11
5 is a control means, 116 is a keyboard such as a numeric keypad or function keys, and 118 is a response means. In addition, Figure 2
In the figures, solid lines indicate the flow of information, and dotted lines indicate the flow of control signals. Although not shown, the image and audio storage device 2 is provided with infrared signal receiving means and infrared signal transmitting means.

The video input means 101 is for inputting image signals from the image and audio storage device 2. The audio input means 103 is for inputting audio signals from the image and audio storage device 2. Network interface means 10
6 separates the multiplexed B channel and D channel at the ISDN user/network interface, sends the B channel audio signal to the audio codec 107, the B channel image signal to the image codec 108, and the D channel signal to the control means 115. Sort it out.

The audio codec 107 converts a digital audio signal into an analog audio signal, or converts an analog audio signal into a digital audio signal. The image codec 108 converts a digital image signal into an analog image signal, or converts an analog image signal into a digital image signal. The response means 118 is for responding to a call when an automatic call is received, and for returning a message to the caller instructing the next operation.

The PB tone identification means 105 is for identifying a PB tone signal pressed by the calling side to input a password or function number. Infrared signal receiving means 1
Reference numeral 11 is for receiving an infrared signal from the remote control 3 used to operate the image and audio storage device 2. The function storage means 112 is for storing infrared signals in association with functions and function numbers. The infrared signal transmitting means 113 is for transmitting infrared signals corresponding to the functions. The password storage means 114 is for storing a password. The control means 115 is for controlling the above means. Reference numeral 121 denotes a video input cable, which is connected to the video output terminal of the image and audio storage device 2. Reference numeral 123 denotes an audio input cable, which is connected to the audio output terminal of the image and audio storage device 2.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure for registering and storing infrared signals in the storage means 112 in accordance with the functions. A function number is a number expressing a function, and is associated with a function in a function table as shown in Table 1. In FIG. 3, first, as shown in step 51, a function number is input using the keyboard 116. Next, by pressing the function button corresponding to the function number of the remote controller 3 of the image and audio storage device 2, the remote controller 3 outputs an infrared signal corresponding to the function, and the telecontrol unit 1 outputs the signal as shown in step 52. The infrared signal receiving means 111 receives the signal. The infrared signal is stored in the function storage means 112 along with the corresponding function number.

[0015]

By the way, among the ISDN user/network interfaces, the basic interface is 192 kb/
Communication is performed at a transmission rate of s. The basic interface uses two B channels and one D channel to communicate, and by assigning audio and images to each of the two B channels, simultaneous audio and image communication is possible. Therefore, the telecontrol unit
If the phone can be connected to the SDN user/network interface and the external communication terminal can also be connected to the ISDN user/network interface, images and audio recorded in the image and audio storage device can be accessed by operating the external communication terminal. can be checked at the same time.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation when the external communication terminal 5 is a terminal capable of simultaneously receiving audio and images connected to the ISDN network. First, as shown in step 1, a call is made to the telecontrol unit 1 from the external communication terminal 5. Hereinafter, the external communication terminal device 5 will be referred to as the caller side. Upon receiving the call, the telecontrol unit 1 automatically responds as shown in step 2 according to the response means 118.

Next, as shown in step 3, when the caller presses the PB and inputs the PIN number, the PB tone identifying means 105 identifies the PB tone, determines the number, and then inputs the number as the PIN number. The password is compared with the password stored in the storage means 114, and if the verification is correct, Step 4 becomes YES, and as shown in Step 5, the response means 118
A message will be sent to the caller prompting them to enter the function number. Therefore, the caller enters the function number by pressing PB as shown in step 6, so the caller enters the function number by pressing PB.
If the B tone identification means 105 identifies the function and the function number is stored in the function storage means 112, step 7 is YES.
Then, the infrared signal sending means 113 sends the corresponding infrared signal to the image and audio storage device 2, as shown in step 8.

The image/audio storage device 2 that has received the signal operates the corresponding function as shown in step 9. If the function is a playback function in step 10, the image and audio storage device 2 outputs an image signal and an audio signal, and both signals are sent to the image codec 108 and the audio codec 107 via the video input means 101 and the audio input means 103. The signal is converted into a digital signal and transmitted to the caller via the network interface means 106 and the public network 4, as shown in step 11. Then, the sender side performs D/A conversion on the digital image signal and the digital audio signal, and outputs the image and audio. Here, as shown in step 17, if the call disconnection is not received, the process moves to step 5, and a message prompting the caller to input the function number is sent again.

[0020] If there is no corresponding function number in step 7, a message indicating that the corresponding function number does not exist is sent to the caller side as shown in step 12 according to the response means 118, and the process moves to step 5. If the passwords do not match in step 4, or if call disconnection is received in step 17, call release processing is performed as shown in step 18.

In this embodiment, the telecontrol unit 1
is connected to the ISDN network, and the external communication terminal 5 is also connected to the ISDN network.
Although the explanation has been given on the case where it is possible to connect to the network and simultaneously receive audio and images, even when the telecontrol unit 1 is connected to the analog telephone network or the external terminal device 5 is connected to the analog telephone network, If the external communication terminal 5 is a terminal capable of sending and receiving still images, the information recorded in the image/audio storage device 2 can be transferred to the audio and still images by operating the external communication terminal 5, although it is not possible to simultaneously receive audio and images. Needless to say, it can be confirmed by

Furthermore, even if the external communication terminal 5 does not have an image communication capability, it goes without saying that confirmation can be made only from the audio information recorded in the image and audio storage device 2. Further, in this embodiment, the remote control operation of the image and audio storage device was performed using an infrared signal, but the same effect can of course be obtained even if the device is connected directly.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, an operator can confirm image information or audio information stored in an image/audio storage device by operating a communication terminal device outside the home. That is, if the communication terminal device outside the home is a video telephone connected to the ISDN network, the user can check the images recorded in the image/audio storage device along with the audio. Further, even if the communication terminal device at the place of departure is a normal touch-tone telephone, the present invention has the effect that the voice recorded in the image/audio storage device can be checked from the handset of the touch-tone telephone.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Fig. 1] System configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention

[Figure 2
]Block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention

[Figure 3] Flowchart showing the operation of the device in Figure 2

[Fig. 4] Flowchart showing the operation procedure using an external communication terminal device

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Tele control unit 2 Image and audio storage device 4 Public network 5 External communication terminal 101 Video input means 103 Voice input means 105 PB tone identification means 107 Audio codec 108 Image codec 111 Infrared signal receiving means 112 Memory means 113 Infrared signal transmission means 114 PIN number storage means 115 Control means 118 Response means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A remote control system for an image and audio storage device in which an image and audio storage device capable of recording and playing back audio and images and capable of remote control is operated from an external communication terminal via a telecontrol unit, wherein the telecontroller The unit includes function storage means for storing a signal for remotely controlling the image and audio storage device in association with the function and function number of the image and audio storage device, and a function storage means that automatically answers an incoming call and a signal that is inputted. A number recognition means detects a PB tone and outputs a password and a function number, and if the password input from the external communication terminal matches the pre-stored password, a signal corresponding to the function number is transmitted. A signal transmitting means for outputting, and a signal transmitting means for transmitting the image and sound reproduced by the image and audio storage device to the external communication terminal via a public network when the function number corresponds to a reproduction function. A remote control system for an image and audio storage device.