Communicating apparatus providing discriminated voice and/or image communication

• US 5,018,186 A
• Filed: 04/19/1989
• Issued: 05/21/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kimura, Norio, Takei, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Jin F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F.
• Application Number:
  US07/340,261
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: 379/53, 379/54, 379/77, 358/85, 358/341, 358/343, 360/38.1
• US Class Current: 348/14.14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/12 Systems in which the television signal is transmitted via one channel or a plurality of parallel channels, the bandwidth of each channel being less than the bandwidth of the television signal H04N7/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/908 Multimedia

Abstract

There is provided a communicating apparatus such as a television telephone having the absence recording function which can communicate either one or both of an image signal and a voice signal. The apparatus comprises: a memory such as a disk-shaped recording medium to store the voice signal and image signal so as to be concerned with each other; a judgement circuit to discriminate whether or not a personal code number which is input from a destination partner side through a public telephone line coincides with the ID number recorded on the memory; a transmitter to transmit the voice signal and the image signal stored in the memory as a pair to the line in accordance with the result of the discrimination of the judgement circuit; and a reading circuit to read out the voice signal and the image signal from the memory. After the transmitter transmitted the image signal, it transmits the voice signal. Thus, the subscriber can listen to the partner'"'"'s voice while observing the still image by inputting the correct personal code number to the TV telephone.

Claims

1. A communicating apparatus comprising:

a) recording and reproducing means for recording a received signal, including an image signal, onto a recording medium and for reproducing the recorded signal on the recording medium;

b) control means for allowing said recording and reproducing means to execute a recording operation in accordance with the signal reception;

c) position memory means for storing information with respect to a recording position of the recording medium; and

d) control means for allowing said recording and reproducing means to execute the recording and reproducing operation at a position next to a preceding recording position with reference to the stored information in the position memory means when an absence recording mode is set.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

d) reading means for reading out the voice signal and image signal stored in said memory means.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory means is a disk-shaped recording medium.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said line is a public telephone line.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said identifying code is a beep sound which is input through said telephone line.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image signal is a still image signal.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said voice signal is time base compressed and stored into said memory means.

2. A communicating apparatus comprising:

a) memory means for correspondingly storing a voice signal and a corresponding image signal;

b) means for discriminating an identifying code as to signals to be transmitted upon reception of said identifying code, said identifying code being input through a line; and

c) means for transmitting the voice signal and image signal stored in said memory means as a pair to said line in accordance with the result of the discrimination of said discriminating means, said transmitting means transmitting said voice signal and said image signal in time division so that the image signal is transmitted before the voice signal.

9. An apparatus comprising:

a) receiving means for receiving data including a voice signal and an image signal; and

b) discriminating means for discriminating the voice signal and the image signal in the data received by said receiving means; and

c) recording means for recording said voice signal and said image signal onto a medium by different recording systems in accordance with the result of the discrimination of said discriminating means, the voice signal and the image signal being recorded on the same medium in different manners.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said recording means time base compresses said voice signal and then records the compressed voice signal.

11. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said recording means records said voice signal onto the medium in an analog manner.

12. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said recording means digitally records said image signal onto the medium.

13. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said receiving means receives the data through a telephone line.

14. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein when the image signal is recorded onto the medium, said recording means adds an error correction code to the image signal and then records the image signal.

15. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said medium is a disk-shaped recording medium.

16. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said receiving means receives a command indicative of the kind of reception data before said data is received.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said discriminating means discriminates said command, thereby discriminating the voice signal and the image signal in said data.

18. A communicating apparatus comprising:

a) reproducing means for reproducing an image signal stored in memory means;

b) receiving means for receiving an image signal from a common line;

c) discriminating means for discriminating whether the signal from the common line has been received or not; and

d) supplying means for supplying to a monitor at least either one of the image signal reproduced by said reproducing means and the image signal received by said receiving means,

wherein said supplying means changes the image signal to be supplied to the monitor in accordance with the result of the discrimination of said discriminating means.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:

said monitor.

20. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said memory means is a disk-shaped recording medium.

21. An apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:

control means for allowing the image signal received by said receiving means to be stored into said memory means.

22. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said receiving means receives an image signal from a telephone line.

23. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein in the case where it is determined by said discriminating means that the signal from the common line has been received while the image signal reproduced by said reproducing means is being supplied to said monitor, said supplying means switches the image signal to be supplied to the monitor to the image signal received by the receiving means.