Television – Two-way video and voice communication – Over wireless communication
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-11
2004-09-14
Ramakrishnaiah, Melur (Department: 2643)
Television
Two-way video and voice communication
Over wireless communication
C348S014010, C348S014050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06791597
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a visual telephone unit for transmitting a digital picture signal of an input picture or receiving a digital picture signal from another visual telephone unit. The present invention also relates to a visual telephone system having such a visual telephone unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A visual telephone conference system that allows the users at remote locations to have a conference is known. The visual telephone conference system has visual telephone conference units that are disposed at designated conference points. The designated conference points are connected using for example an ISDN telephone line network or the like so that a digital picture signal and an audio signal are transmitted and received therebetween.
In recent years, as mobile communication units such as cellular phone units are becoming common and technological innovations allow the transmission band to widen, a visual telephone conference may be held using a mobile visual conference unit that is a cellular phone unit having a small photographing unit such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device).
A visual telephone conference is performed using cellular phone units that are connected through an exchange and base stations so that a digital picture signal and an audio signal are transmitted and received therebetween.
FIG. 1
is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a visual telephone conference unit that is structured as a cellular phone unit. Referring to
FIG. 1
, a visual telephone conference unit
901
comprises a picture input unit
902
, a microphone
903
, a liquid crystal display
904
, and a speaker
905
. The picture input unit
902
inputs a picture. The microphone
903
collects a voice. The liquid crystal display
904
displays a picture of a digital picture signal received from another visual telephone unit. The speaker
905
outputs a voice.
When the user uses the visual telephone conference unit
901
, he or she often holds it with his or her hand or places it on a desk. The visual telephone conference unit
901
is placed in such a manner that the frame of the picture input unit
902
is placed sideways or lengthways corresponding to the shape of a photographing object.
However, in the conventional visual telephone conference system, a picture frame that is input from the picture input unit
902
of the transmission side visual telephone conference unit is directly transmitted to the reception side visual telephone visual telephone conference unit, the orientation of the reception side visual telephone conference unit should be matched with the orientation of the transmission side visual telephone conference unit.
Thus, when the user has to place the visual telephone conference unit on a disk that is inclined, the visual telephone conference unit is inclined against a photographing object. As a result, the reception side visual telephone conference unit displays an inclined picture. In such a case, it is necessary to hold the reception side visual telephone conference unit in the inclined state. Thus, the operation of the reception side visual telephone conference unit is inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made from the above-described point of view. An object of the present invention is to provide a visual telephone conference system that does not need to adjust the orientation of a reception side visual telephone conference unit corresponding to the orientation of a transmission side visual telephone conference unit.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided 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.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided 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.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided 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.
In visual telephone unit according to the third aspect, said detecting means may designate 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.
The visual telephone unit according to the third aspect may further comprise: 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.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided 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.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided 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.
In the visual telephone unit according to the fifth aspect, said detecting means may designate 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.
The visual telephone unit according to the fifth aspect may further comprise: 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.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided 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.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided 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 th
Ando Takeshi
Takizawa Masakatsu
LandOfFree
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