JPH07115634A - Pictorial communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operability at the time of setting by using a setting key to be operated for a voice telephone mode at the time of a call originating operation, setting key for a video telephone mode and setting key for transmission mute to be performed during call origination, communication and call termination in common by a common key. CONSTITUTION:When either a voice key 19 or an image key 20 is operated, it is judged by a telephone set control circuit 6 whether that key is operated during the call originating operation or not. When that signal is operated not during standby, further, it is judged whether the operated key is the voice key 19 or not, in the case of YES, the mute of voice transmission is set and in the case of NO, the mute of image transmission is set. Otherwise, when either the voice key 19 or the image key 20 is operated and the circuit 6 judges that key is not operated during the call originating operation, further, it is judged whether the state at that time is during the standby or not. When it is not during standby, further, it is judged whether the operated key is the voice key 19 or not and in the case of YES, the mute of voice transmission is set but in the case of NO, the mute of image transmission is set.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image communication terminal capable of performing so-called multimedia communication in which voice communication and image communication are simultaneously performed with a partner terminal via a communication line. Can be used as a communication terminal for a videophone, a communication terminal for a video conference device, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When performing multimedia communication, it is considered to be an effective service to visually display the communication state of each medium constituting the multimedia.

Conventionally, in videophone communication as a multimedia communication consisting of voice communication and video communication, a mode setting for performing only voice communication by voice media and a voice mute performed for some reason during voice communication (for example, due to secret information) To temporarily prevent the sound from being transmitted to the other terminal), or a mode setting for performing video communication, and a video mute for some reason during video communication (for example,
If there is a screen that you do not want to show to the other party, you should temporarily set it so that it is not transmitted to the other party's terminal). When setting such a mode, there is a problem in that it is difficult to distinguish the operation key and the operability is not good.

Conventionally, a state such as a transmission state, a transmission mute state, or an unused state (unused state) has been set for each of the audio medium and the video medium. There is also a problem that there is no display means for identifying and displaying, and the state display is not convenient (lacks serviceability).

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and when various operation modes are set,
To provide an image communication terminal that is easy to distinguish the operation keys for that purpose, and that is easy to visually identify the various operation modes that have been set, and that has excellent operability and service in this sense. With the goal.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image communication terminal capable of simultaneously performing voice communication and image communication with a partner terminal via a communication line,

As a mode of communication to be carried out with the partner terminal,
A voice mode designating means for designating a voice communication mode, a videophone mode designating means for designating a videophone communication mode,

When the voice mode designating means or the videophone mode designating means is operated, it is judged whether or not it is operated during the calling operation, and when it is operated during the calling operation, the voice mode is selected. If it is a designated means, set voice call transmission, if it is a videophone mode designation means set videophone call,

If it is not operated during the calling operation, it is judged whether or not it is in the standby state. If it is not in the standby mode, the voice mode designating means (or the videophone mode designating means) is further operated. It is determined whether or not it is set to mute the voice transmission (or image transmission) if the answer is yes, and set mute of the image transmission (or voice transmission) if the answer is no.

Further, in the above image communication terminal, a voice mode display means is provided to the voice mode designating means, and a videophone mode display means is provided to the videophone mode designating means, respectively, and the setting control means is provided with the voice. When the telephone call is set, the voice mode display means is displayed in the first display mode such as lighting, and when the videophone call is set, the video telephone mode display means is displayed in the first display such as lighting. When the mute of the voice transmission is set, the voice mode display means is displayed in a second display mode such as blinking, and when the mute of the image transmission is set, the videophone mode display is displayed. The means is displayed in the second display mode such as blinking.

[0011]

In the image communication terminal according to the present invention, all of the voice telephone mode setting key and the video telephone mode setting key which are operated at the time of the outgoing call operation, and the transmission mute setting key which is performed during the calling, the communication or the incoming call are all provided. Common keys can be used together, improving operability during setting. In addition, since the status of transmission, transmission mute, and non-use can be visually displayed, the serviceability of status display can be improved.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a line control circuit (DSU), 2 is a multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit (specifically, Recommendation H.2 of international standardization).
21 is a multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit), 3 is an image codec (specifically, a codec that meets the specifications of International Standardization Recommendation H.261), 4 is an audio codec,
Reference numeral 5 is a power supply circuit for supplying power to each unit, 6 is a telephone control circuit, 7 is a voice analog circuit, and 8 is an image analog circuit.

In addition, 9 is a transmitter, 10 is a receiver, and 1 is a receiver.
1 is a speaker, 12 is a built-in LCD (liquid crystal display device), 1
2 is a built-in camera, 14 is an LED (light emitting diode), 1
Reference numeral 5 is an external audio output terminal, 16 is an operation key switch (including volume), 17 is a hook switch, 18 is a speaker key, 19 is a voice key, and 20 is an image key.

When making a call from this image communication terminal, when the handsets 9 and 10 are lifted, the hook switch 17 is closed and the telephone control circuit 6 operates to wait for dialing.
After the dial buttons in the operation key switch 16 store the dials once, the dial key is sent out by operating the call key in the operation key switch 16 as well. Make a call to. At this time, the other terminal is being called.
At this time, the image analog circuit 8 can be instructed via the telephone control circuit 6 by a manual operation of the operation key switch 16 to display the face of the user of the own terminal side imaged by the built-in camera 12 on the built-in LCD 12.

When the other terminal responds and communication is started, the operation key switch 16 is used to view an image received from the other terminal.
By switching the switch inside, the image analog circuit 8 is instructed via the telephone control circuit 6 to display the image received from the partner terminal on the built-in LCD 12. LED
Reference numeral 14 is for displaying the line status and the like.

The multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 2 separates the signal from the line control circuit 1 into an image signal and an audio signal at the time of reception, passes the image signal to the image codec 3 and the audio signal to the audio codec 4, respectively, and at the time of transmission. Is a circuit that multiplexes the signal from the image codec 3 and the audio signal from the audio codec 4 and passes them to the line control circuit 1. The multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 2 also exchanges control signals with the telephone control circuit 6 in relation to the exchange with the other terminal such as when receiving a call.

The image codec 3 encodes the image data from the image analog circuit 8 at the time of transmission and passes it to the multiplexing / separation circuit 2, and decodes the image data from the multiplexing / separation circuit 2 at the time of reception to decode the image analog circuit. Pass to 8. The audio codec 4 also performs similar processing on audio data.
The speaker 11 is for speaker communication, and the external audio output terminal 15 is for connecting another audio device or the like.

Next, as an explanation of the operation directly related to the present invention, an explanation relating to the operation of the voice key 19 and the image key 20 will be given. The voice key 19 is a voice mode designating unit that designates a voice communication mode as a mode of communication with the partner terminal, and the image key 20 is a videophone mode designating unit that designates a videophone communication mode.

When the voice key 19 or the image key 20 is operated now, the telephone control circuit 6 judges whether or not it was operated during the calling operation, and if it is operated during the calling operation, the operation is performed. If it is the voice key 19, the voice telephone call is set, and if the image key 20, the video telephone call is set.

Further, when the telephone control circuit 6 determines that the voice key 19 or the image key 20 is not operated during the calling operation, the state at that time is waiting. If it is not in the standby state, it is determined whether the further operated key is the voice key 19, and if yes, mute of voice transmission is set, and if no, mute of image transmission is set.

Alternatively, the telephone control circuit 6 uses the voice key 1
9 or when the image key 20 is operated, if it is determined that it was not operated during the outgoing operation, it is further determined whether or not the state at that time is waiting, and if it is not waiting. Determines whether the further operated key is the image key 20, and if yes, sets mute for image transmission, and if no, sets mute for audio transmission.

The operation flow of the telephone control circuit 6 at this time is shown in FIG. As described above,
In the image communication terminal according to the present invention, all of the common keys are the voice telephone mode setting key and the video telephone mode setting key which are operated at the time of the outgoing call operation, and the transmission mute setting key which is performed during the call origination, communication or call reception. Can be used for both, and the operability at the time of setting can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In addition, 19A is voice LE
D and 20A are image LEDs.

In FIG. 3, the voice key 19 is provided with a voice LED 19A as a voice mode display means, and the image key 2 is used.
0 is an image LED 20 as a videophone mode display means.
A is provided correspondingly (integrally if possible). Then, the telephone control circuit 6 lights up the voice LED 19A when the voice telephone call is set as described above, and displays the image LE when the video telephone call is set.
When the D20A is lit and displayed, and the audio transmission mute is set as described above, the audio LED 19A is displayed in a blinking manner, and when the image transmission mute is set, the image LED 20A is displayed in a blinking manner to indicate that voice communication is not performed. The voice LED 19A is turned off when it is used, and the image LED 20A is turned off when the image communication is not used.

It should be noted that if it is possible to identify whether the call is transmitted, the transmission is muted, or not used, the display mode on the display means is not limited to the above-mentioned lighting, blinking, and extinguishing, and it goes without saying that any display mode may be used. . Further, by constructing each operation key (voice key 19, image key 20) with a transparent body and integrating the LED with the transparent body, the structure can be made easier to see. Thus, in the image communication terminal according to the present invention,
Since the status of transmission, transmission mute, and non-use can be visually displayed for each media, the serviceability of status display can be improved.

[0026]

As described above, in the image communication terminal according to the present invention, a voice telephone mode setting key and a video telephone mode setting key which are operated at the time of a call operation are performed during a call, during communication, or during an incoming call. There is an advantage that the common key can be used for all the transmission mute setting keys and the operability at the time of setting during multimedia communication can be improved. Further, since the status such as transmission, transmission mute, and non-use can be visually displayed, there is an advantage that the serviceability of status display can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Line control circuit (DSU), 2 ... Multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit,
3 ... Image codec, 4 ... Voice codec, 5 ... Power supply circuit, 6 ... Telephone control circuit, 7 ... Voice analog circuit, 8 ...
Image analog circuit, 9 ... Transmitter, 10 ... Receiver, 11 ...
Speaker, 12 ... Built-in LCD (liquid crystal display), 12 ...
Built-in camera, 14 ... LED (light emitting diode), 15 ...
External voice output terminal, 16 ... Operation key switch, 17 ... Hook switch, 18 ... Speaker key, 19 ... Voice key,
19A ... Voice LED (light emitting diode), 20 ... Image key, 20A ... Image LED (light emitting diode)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image communication terminal capable of simultaneously performing voice communication and image communication with a partner terminal via a communication line, and voice mode designating means for designating a voice communication mode as a mode of communication with the partner terminal. , A videophone mode designating means for designating a videophone communication mode, and when the voice mode designating means or the videophone mode designating means is operated, it is judged whether or not it was operated during a dialing operation, and a dialing operation is being performed. If it is operated, the voice call is set if it is a voice mode designating means, and the videophone call is set if it is a videophone mode designating means. Further determines whether it is in the standby state, and if it is not in the standby state, further determines whether the voice mode designating means (or the videophone mode designating means) has been operated. If the answer is YES, the mute of the audio transmission (or the image transmission) is set, and if the answer is NO, the setting control unit that sets the mute of the image transmission (or the audio transmission) is provided, and the image communication terminal. 2. The image communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the voice mode designating means includes a voice mode display means.
A videophone mode display means is provided corresponding to the videophone mode designating means, and the setting control means sets the voice mode display means to a first display mode such as lighting when the voice telephone call is set. When the videophone call is set, the videophone mode display means is displayed in the first display mode such as lighting,
When the mute of the audio transmission is set, the audio mode display means is displayed in a second display mode such as blinking,
An image communication terminal, wherein when the mute of image transmission is set, the videophone mode display means is displayed in a second display mode such as blinking.