JP2003069664A - In-vehicle TV phone system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] To provide an in-vehicle TV telephone system that regulates a ringtone according to a driving situation and does not have a risk of hindering safe driving. SOLUTION: On-vehicle navigation device and on-vehicle TV
It consists of a telephone. For example, when a vehicle is guided along a guidance route, an in-vehicle navigation device displays an enlarged view on a display at an intersection where a right or left turn is required. At the timing of displaying such an enlarged view, the in-vehicle navigation device activates the busy signal. The in-vehicle TV phone does not sound a ring tone even if a call is received while the busy signal is active, and notifies the user of the incoming call after the busy signal becomes inactive.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted TV (television) telephone system having a function of controlling a ringing tone while a vehicle is driving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of communication equipment has been remarkable, and it has become possible to easily communicate with the outside from the passenger compartment of an automobile using an on-vehicle telephone or a mobile telephone. Further, in recent years, a mobile phone having a built-in camera capable of capturing still images and moving images has been put into practical use, and it has become possible to have a conversation while looking at the face of the other party.

Along with these demands, telephones used in the interior of automobiles are also required to have a function of talking while looking at the face of the other party.

[0004]

If the telephone is a home telephone, the ringing tone (ringing tone) of the telephone is not a problem,
In the case of a V-phone, the ringtone may surprise the driver depending on the driving situation of the driver, which may interfere with safe driving.

JP-A-10-304464 and JP-A-20
No. 00-298031 proposes a telephone system which automatically puts the telephone on hold when the vehicle approaches an intersection where a vehicle should turn left or right during the telephone call. However, these telephone systems are not satisfactory because they do not regulate the ringing tone while the vehicle is driving.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle TV telephone system which regulates ringing tones according to the driving situation and does not hinder safe driving.

[0007]

A vehicle-mounted TV telephone system according to the present invention comprises a vehicle-mounted navigation device and a vehicle-mounted TV telephone connected to the vehicle-mounted navigation device. When a predetermined signal output from the vehicle-mounted navigation device is active, a ring tone does not sound even when a call is received.

In the present invention, a predetermined signal output from the vehicle-mounted navigation device becomes active at a place where it is necessary to concentrate on driving. When this predetermined signal is active, the in-vehicle videophone does not ring the incoming call even when a call is received. After that, when a portion to concentrate on driving passes, a predetermined signal output from the vehicle-mounted navigation device becomes inactive. As a result, the on-vehicle videophone sounds a ring tone and notifies the user of the incoming call.

Conventionally, an on-vehicle navigation system has an enlarged view on a display when a vehicle approaches an intersection or a confluence or branch point on a highway while traveling along a guide route. Was displayed to guide the vehicle. For example, by activating the aforementioned predetermined signal at the timing of displaying such an enlarged view, it is possible to avoid alarming the driver with a ring tone while the driver needs attention.

When a call is received while a predetermined signal is active, the line may be connected without making a ringing tone to put it on hold. In this case, it is preferable to display a preset screen in order to notify the other party that the place requiring attention has been put on hold due to driving.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle-mounted TV telephone system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing configurations of a vehicle-mounted navigation device 10 and a vehicle-mounted TV telephone 20.

The vehicle-mounted TV telephone system of this embodiment comprises a vehicle-mounted navigation device 10, a vehicle-mounted TV telephone 20, and a display 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle-mounted navigation device 10 includes a map database 11, a vehicle position / speed detection unit 12, a control unit 13, a navigation image generation unit 14, and an image signal control unit 15. It is configured.

The map database 11 is, for example, a DVD-R.
It is stored in a recording medium such as OM. In this map database 11, roads and intersections are recorded as a set of vertices (nodes) represented by latitude and longitude. In addition, the map database 11 includes landmark data of public facilities, main buildings, shops, etc., which serve as landmarks during traveling.

The vehicle position / speed detection unit 12 uses a GPS (Gl
obal Positioning System) Consists of a GPS receiver that receives position information sent from a satellite, a gyro that detects the rotation angle of the vehicle, a mileage sensor that detects the mileage of the vehicle, and a speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle. ing.

The control unit 13 includes a vehicle position / speed detection unit 12
Based on the information input from, the current position (latitude and longitude), direction, speed, etc. of the vehicle are determined. In addition, when the destination is set by the user, the control unit 13 sets the current position of the vehicle as the starting point, searches for the optimum guide route from the starting point to the destination using the map database 11, and the vehicle guides the vehicle. The user is appropriately provided with guidance information so that the user can travel along the route.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle-mounted T is controlled by the control unit 13.
A busy signal is output to the V telephone 20. The busy signal is
It is active when the driver needs to concentrate on driving, and is inactive otherwise. When the driver should concentrate on driving, it means, for example, when approaching an intersection where a right or left turn is required (for example, when approaching within 300 m), when making a right or left turn, or when approaching a confluence or a branch point on a highway ( For example, when approaching within 300 m), or when merging or branching on an expressway. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an on-vehicle navigation device displays an enlarged view when a vehicle approaches an intersection or a junction branch while guiding the vehicle along a guide route. In the present embodiment, the busy signal is activated at the timing of displaying these enlarged views.

Even when the enlarged view is displayed, when the vehicle is stopped or at an extremely low speed (for example, 2 km / km).
The busy signal may be deactivated when the vehicle is traveling at (h or less). Even when the vehicle is not guiding the route, the vehicle position / angle detected by the vehicle position / speed detection unit 12 and the map data are used when the vehicle is turning right or left at the intersection or at an interchange point or branch of the highway. The busy signal may be activated when it is known that the point is approaching.

The navigation image generator 14 reads out map data of a predetermined area from the map database 11 in response to a command from the controller 13 to generate a map image,
An image for displaying guidance (enlarged view of intersection, etc.) is generated. The image signal control unit 15 switches or combines the image signal output from the image generation unit 14 and the image signal output from the vehicle-mounted TV phone 20, and displays either one of the image signals or the combined image signal. Supply to 30.

The vehicle-mounted navigation device 10 is
It basically has the same configuration as the conventional navigation device except that it has a function of outputting a busy signal to the on-vehicle TV phone 20.

The on-vehicle TV phone 20 is composed of a communication section 21, a hands-free module 22, a control section 23, a camera 24 and a holding database (DB) 25.

The communication section 21 is a section for connecting a radio telephone line to another telephone to transmit and receive a voice signal and a video signal, and the communication section 21 transmits a voice signal and a video signal transmitted from another telephone. Separate from the signal. Hands-free module 2
Reference numeral 2 is connected to the communication unit 21 and transmits / receives an audio signal to / from the communication unit 21. A speaker 31 and a microphone 32 are connected to the handsfree module 22 to enable a handsfree call.

The camera 24 is a camera for taking an image of a vehicle interior. The image captured by the camera 24 is sent to the other party of the telephone via the communication unit 21. The hold database 25 stores data of a hold melody and a hold image to be sent to the other party's phone when the call is put on hold.

The control unit 23 controls the communication unit 21, the camera 24 and the holding database 25. For example, the control unit 2
Reference numeral 3 controls the orientation of the camera 24 and the zoom magnification according to the user's operation, and when the busy signal output from the in-vehicle navigation device 10 is active, the ringing tone is not sounded and the hold database is used. The image for holding stored in (1) is read out and is transmitted to the other party via the communication unit 21.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle-mounted TV telephone system of this embodiment. In the present embodiment, whether or not to use the automatic hold mode is set in advance in vehicle-mounted videophone 20. For example, car TV
The telephone 20 is provided with an "automatic hold" button. When the user presses the "automatic hold" button, the automatic hold mode is set.

First, in step S11, the control unit 23 of the TV phone 20 monitors whether there is an incoming call from another phone. When there is an incoming call, the process moves to step S12, and the state of the busy signal output from the vehicle-mounted navigation device 10 is checked. As described above, the vehicle-mounted navigation device 10 may be, for example, when the vehicle is approaching an intersection where the vehicle makes a right or left turn, or while the vehicle is making a right or left turn at the intersection, or when a vehicle is approaching a confluence or a branch point on a highway. Activate the busy signal when the driver has to concentrate on driving.

If the busy signal output from the navigation device 20 is active, the process proceeds from step S12 to step S13. In step S13, it is determined whether or not the user has set the automatic hold mode. When the automatic hold mode is set, the process shifts to step S14, and the control unit 23 controls the communication unit 21 to put it in a call state. However, at this time, the other party's voice is not output from the speaker 31 and is put on hold. After that, the process moves to step S15, and the control unit 23 reads out the reserved image recorded in the reservation database 25, and the communication unit 21
To send to the other party via. As a result, the hold image as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display of the other party's phone.

In FIG. 4, an example is shown in which the control unit 23 acquires data indicating the current position of the vehicle via the control unit 13 of the navigation device 10, superimposes the data on the image read from the hold database 25, and transmits the data to the other party. Shows. Instead of the character data indicating the current position of the vehicle, a map image indicating the current position of the vehicle may be acquired from the vehicle-mounted navigation device 10 and sent to the other party.

In the automatic hold mode, instead of the still image shown in FIG. 4, an animation image previously recorded in the hold database 25 or the current image of the driver photographed by the camera 24 may be transmitted. Alternatively, the voice previously recorded by the user may be sent to the other party.

After that, from step S15 to step S1
Moving to 6, the control unit 21 waits until the busy signal becomes inactive. For example, when a vehicle passes an intersection, the busy signal output from the navigation device 10 becomes inactive. As a result, the process proceeds to step S17, and the in-vehicle videophone 20 outputs a message such as "I have a videophone from Mr. XX" from the speaker 31 to notify the incoming call. Then, the process proceeds to step S18, the hold state is released, and the conversation between the driver and the telephone partner is enabled. At this time, since attention is reduced if a moving image is displayed on the display 30 while the vehicle is traveling, a still image of the other party is displayed on the display 30. The current video (video) of is displayed.

If it is determined in step S12 that an incoming call from the other party is not being provided at the intersection or the like, that is, if the busy signal output from the navigation device 10 is inactive, the process proceeds from step S12 to step S20.
Generate a ringtone (ringtone). When the user presses the call button in step S21, step S
The process moves to 18 and the conversation becomes possible.

If the automatic hold mode is not set, the process proceeds from step S13 to step S19 and waits until the busy signal becomes inactive. When the busy signal becomes inactive, the process proceeds from step S19 to step S20 to generate a ring tone, and then step S2
When the incoming call button is pressed at 1, the conversation becomes possible.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the driver concentrates on driving while the busy signal output from the vehicle-mounted navigation device 10 is active, that is, while the vehicle is turning through an intersection. It does not ring the ring tone when it receives a call while it has to, and outputs the ring tone when the busy signal becomes inactive, that is, when you do not need to concentrate so much on the driving. Since the caller is notified to the person, there is no fear of being surprised by the ring tone and making a mistake in driving, and safety can be ensured.

Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to select whether the incoming call is automatically put on hold when the busy signal is active, or only the ring tone is turned off. The user can selectively use these functions according to his or her preference and situation.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a predetermined signal output from the in-vehicle navigation device is active, the ring tone does not sound even when a call comes in, so the ring tone does not surprise the driver when the driver has to concentrate on driving. , Can ensure safety.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an in-vehicle TV phone system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing configurations of a vehicle-mounted navigation device and a vehicle-mounted videophone.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle-mounted TV phone system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a reserved image.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... In-vehicle navigation device, 11 ... Map database, 12 ... Vehicle position / speed detection unit, 13 ... control unit, 14 ... Navigation image generation unit, 15 ... Image signal control unit, 20 ... In-vehicle TV phone, 21 ... communication section, 22 ... Hands-free unit, 23 ... control unit, 24 ... camera, 25 ... Pending database, 30 ... display, 31 ... speaker, 32 ... Mike.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 7/14 H04N 7/14 H04Q 7/38 H04B 7/26 109L F term (reference) 5C064 AA01 AC04 AC12 AC16 AC22 AD06 5K027 AA11 EE15 FF03 HH05 HH26 5K067 BB04 BB36 DD13 DD20 DD52 FF03 FF13 GG11 GG12 HH05 HH12 5K101 KK04 LL12 PP07

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle-mounted navigation device and a vehicle-mounted TV connected to the vehicle-mounted navigation device
A vehicle-mounted videophone, wherein the vehicle-mounted videophone does not emit a ring tone even when a telephone call is received when a predetermined signal output from the vehicle-mounted navigation device is active. system. 2. The vehicle-mounted TV according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-mounted navigation device activates the predetermined signal while displaying an enlarged view on a display to guide the vehicle. Telephone system. 3. The vehicle-mounted navigation device, when detecting that the vehicle is making a right or left turn, or traveling toward a confluence or branch point on an expressway The in-vehicle videophone system according to claim 1, wherein a signal is activated. 4. The vehicle-mounted video telephone according to claim 1, wherein when the telephone is called while the predetermined signal is active, the telephone is automatically put on hold. TV phone system. 5. The vehicle-mounted videophone system according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle-mounted videophone transmits a preset image or sound to a telephone partner during the holding state. 6. The vehicle-mounted videophone system according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle-mounted videophone transmits data indicating the position of the vehicle to the other party during the hold state.