Television telephone

• US 5,677,727 A
• Filed: 02/07/1995
• Issued: 10/14/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takizawa, Masaaki, Takahashi, Masahiro, Gotoh, Hiroshi, Ishida, Kiyoshi, Shibata, Yoji, Yokoi, Kenji, Furuya, Jun, Ishinabe, Iwao, Watanuki, Toshiaki, Mikamo, Katsumi, Matsubayashi, Yoshinobu, Yoshimaru, Takushi
• Primary Examiner(s): WOO, STELLA L
• Application Number:
  US08/384,955
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14, 348/15, 348/16, 348/17, 348/18, 348/19, 348/20, 379/96, 379/94, 379/202
• US Class Current: 348/14.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• 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 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• 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: H04N 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0457 Connection protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0471 Terminal access circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13034 A/D conversion, code compression/expansion
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13091 CLI, identification of calling line
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13096 Digital apparatus individually associated with a subscriber line, digital line circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13106 Microprocessor, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13175 Graphical user interface [GUI], WWW interface, visual indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13176 Common channel signaling, CCS7
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13179 Fax, still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13204 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13209 ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1332 Logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13337 Picturephone, videotelephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/204 ISDN protocol; ISO 7
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/337 : Picturephone

Abstract

A television telephone including a movable head section, a support section and a bottom section. The movable head section includes an imaging device for inputting images and a display for displaying images. The bottom section includes a communication controller for transmission and reception of encoded information of at least one of audio and visual signals to and from a communication network, and a telephone controller for controlling transmission and reception functions and including a key console unit. The support section serves for connecting the bottom section and the movable head section and for supporting the movable head section and includes an image encoder/decoder for encoding image input signals and for decoding received image signals.

Claims

1. A television telephone comprising:

an image input apparatus;

an image display apparatus coupled at least to the image input apparatus;

a communication control apparatus coupled at least to the image display apparatus;

a key console apparatus coupled to the communication control apparatus;

a telephone control apparatus coupled to the communication control apparatus; and

an image codec coupled to the image input apparatus, the image display apparatus and the communication control apparatus;

wherein the display apparatus enables display of an input image with the displayed input image being displayed on the display apparatus in point symmetry image rotated by 180°

.

2. A television telephone according to claim 1, wherein the display apparatus is responsive to key operation of the key console apparatus for enabling display of the input image.

3. A television telephone according to claim 1, wherein the input image is a transmitting image to be transmitted to another television telephone and which is inputted from the image input apparatus, the display apparatus enabling display of at least one of a received image and the transmitting image.

4. A television telephone according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting image is one of a held image, freeze image, high quality and low quality image.

5. A television telephone according to claim 1, wherein the display apparatus enables simultaneous display of a received image at one portion of the display apparatus and the input image at another portion of the display apparatus.

6. A television telephone comprising:

an image input apparatus;

an image display apparatus coupled at least to the image input apparatus;

a communication control apparatus coupled at least to the image display apparatus;

a key console apparatus coupled to the communication control apparatus;

a telephone control apparatus coupled to the communication control apparatus; and

an image codec coupled to the image input apparatus, the image display apparatus and the communication control apparatus;

wherein a transmitting image to be transmitted to another television telephone in response to key operation of the key console apparatus is one of a held image, freeze image, high quality image and low quality image, and

wherein the image display apparatus enables display of an image in point symmetry image rotated by 180°

.

7. A television telephone comprising:

an image input apparatus;

an image display apparatus coupled at least to the image input apparatus;

a communication control apparatus coupled at least to the image display apparatus;

a key console apparatus coupled to the communication control apparatus;

a telephone control apparatus coupled to the communication control apparatus; and

an image codec coupled to the image input apparatus, the image display apparatus and the communication control apparatus;

wherein a transmitting image to be encoded/decoded is encoded/decoded in one of a first, second and third mode, wherein in the first mode, said image is at least one of encoded and decoded using a first picture element size and transmitted to another television telephone, in the second mode, said image is at least one of encoded and decoded using a larger picture element size than the first picture element size and transmitted to another television telephone at high speed, and in the third mode, said image is divided into plural parts and each part is at least one of successively encoded and decoded using said first picture element size and transmitted to another television telephone;

wherein the key console apparatus includes key operation means for selecting one of the first, second and third modes, the transmitting image being transmitted in response to the key operations of the key console apparatus.