Visual telephone unit and visual telephone system therewith

• US 6,791,597 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2001
• Issued: 09/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ando, Takeshi, Takizawa, Masakatsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US09/757,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20010008412A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,342 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.714, 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 348/14.05, 348/14.08, 348/14.09, 348/14.1, 348/14.11, 348/14.12, 382/289, 382/297
• US Class Current: 348/14.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0218 The hinge comprising input and/or output user interface means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/16 including more than one display unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• 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 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN

Abstract

A visual telephone unit is disclosed, that comprises a first inputting portion for inputting a picture frame, a second inputting portion for inputting a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame, and a rotating portion for rotating the picture frame by the compensation amount.

Claims

1. A visual telephone unit, comprising:

first inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

second inputting means for inputting a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame by the compensation amount.

2. A visual telephone unit, comprising:

first inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

second inputting means for inputting a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame; and

rotating means for rotating said first inputting means by the compensation amount.

3. A visual telephone unit, comprising:

first inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame against an upright picture thereof; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame so that the rotation angle becomes zero.

4. The visual telephone unit as set forth in claim 3,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting both the eyes and the mouth of a face in a recognized picture and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

5. The visual telephone unit as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:

a head set having two speaker portions and a microphone portion each having a light source,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting the light sources in the picture frame and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

6. A visual telephone unit, comprising:

receiving means for receiving a picture frame;

inputting means for inputting a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame by the compensation amount.

7. A visual telephone unit, comprising:

receiving means for receiving a picture frame;

detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame against an upright picture thereof; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame so that the rotation angle becomes zero.

8. The visual telephone unit as set forth in claim 7,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting both the eyes and the mouth of a face in a recognized picture and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

9. The visual telephone unit as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:

a head set having two speaker portions and a microphone portion each having a light source,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting the light sources in the picture frame and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

10. A visual telephone system having a first visual telephone unit and a second visual telephone unit;

wherein the first visual telephone unit comprises;

inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

receiving means for receiving a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame from the second visual telephone unit; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame by the compensation amount, and

wherein the second visual telephone unit comprises;

inputting means for inputting the compensation amount; and

transmitting means for transmitting the compensation amount to the first visual telephone unit.

11. A visual telephone system having a first visual telephone unit and a second visual telephone unit;

wherein the first visual telephone unit comprises;

inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

receiving means for receiving a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame from the second visual telephone unit; and

rotating means for rotating said inputting means by the compensation amount, and

wherein the second visual telephone unit comprises;

inputting means for inputting the compensation amount; and

transmitting means for transmitting the compensation amount to the first visual telephone unit.

12. A visual telephone system having a first visual telephone unit and a second visual telephone unit;

wherein the first visual telephone unit comprises;

inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

receiving means for receiving a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame against an upright picture thereof from the second visual telephone unit; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame so that the rotation angle becomes zero, and

wherein the second visual telephone unit comprises;

detecting means for detecting the rotation angle; and

transmitting means for transmitting the rotation angle to the first visual telephone unit.

13. The visual telephone system as set forth in claim 12,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting both the eyes and the mouth of a face in a recognized picture and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

14. The visual telephone system as set forth in claim 12, further comprising:

a head set having two speaker portions and a microphone portion each having a light source,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting the light sources in the picture frame and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

15. A visual telephone system having a first visual telephone unit and a second visual telephone unit;

wherein the first visual telephone unit comprises;

first inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

second inputting means for inputting a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame; and

transmitting means for transmitting the compensation amount to the second visual telephone unit, and

wherein the second visual telephone unit comprises;

receiving means for receiving the compensation amount from the first visual telephone unit; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame by the compensation amount.

16. A visual telephone system having a first visual telephone unit and a second visual telephone unit;

wherein the first visual telephone unit comprises;

inputting means for inputting a picture frame;

detecting means for detecting a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame against an upright picture thereof; and

transmitting means for transmitting the rotation angle to the second visual telephone unit, and

wherein the second television unit comprises;

receiving means for receiving the rotation angle from the first visual telephone unit; and

rotating means for rotating the picture frame so that the rotation angle becomes zero.

17. The visual telephone system as set forth in claim 16,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting both the eyes and the mouth of a face of a recognized picture and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

18. The visual telephone system as set forth in claim 16, further comprising:

a head set having two speaker portions and a microphone portion each having a light source,

wherein said detecting means designates the angle made by the base of an inverse isosceles triangle formed by connecting the light sources of the picture frame and the horizontal line as the rotation angle.

19. A visual telephone unit, comprising:

a camera, wherein the camera inputs a picture frame;

an operator interface, wherein a compensation amount of a rotation angle of the picture frame around a perpendicular line that passes through the picture frame is an input; and

a processor, wherein the processor rotates the picture frame by the compensation amount using affine transformation.