Intercom system

Abstract

To provide an intercom system capable of setting, by operation on a wireless master unit, the wireless master unit itself to a sleep mode.SOLUTION: An intercom system has a slave unit 1 with a function to call a resident and a master unit 2 with a function to respond to calls from the slave unit 1, and the master unit 2 includes a portable wireless master unit 31 in addition to a fixedly installed main master unit 21, and the wireless master unit 31 can respond to calls from the slave unit 1 by wirelessly communicating with the main master unit 21. The wireless master unit 31 has a sleep button 33a that sets the wireless master unit to a sleep mode in which no calling operation is performed. When the wireless master unit 31 is set to the sleep mode, no calling operation is performed even if the slave unit 1 is operated to call and a call signal is sent to the wireless master unit 31 via the main master unit 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an intercom system, and more particularly to an intercom system having a plurality of base units for answering calls from visitors. [Background technology]

[0002] An intercom system in which a visitor calls a resident to communicate comprises a handset operated by the visitor and a base unit that the resident operates to answer the call from the handset, but some systems have multiple base units to make it easier for the resident to respond. In cases where multiple base units are provided, wireless types in which at least one of the base units is portable are becoming widespread. For example, in Patent Document 1, when a call is made from a handset, the call is notified to the base unit and the wireless base unit, and when an answering operation is made on the wireless base unit, a communication path is formed between the handset and the wireless base unit, allowing a call to be made between the visitor and the resident who is operating the wireless base unit. On the other hand, some intercom systems have a mute mode (sleep mode) function that prevents the base unit from ringing even when a call is made to a slave unit (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-176764 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-133899 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the case of an intercom system equipped with a fixed master unit and a wireless master unit, the master unit's sleep mode could be set by operating the master unit, but the wireless master unit's sleep mode was set by operating the master unit. This was because the wireless master unit was normally in energy-saving mode to reduce power consumption because it was powered by a built-in battery, and was set to wake up by a signal sent from the master unit. Therefore, if the wireless base station is set to sleep mode or other settings that do not accept signals from the main base station, it is possible that the main base station will not be able to be started up by operating it. However, in recent years, the power supply situation for wireless base stations has improved, and power consumption is now reduced even without switching to energy-saving mode.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an intercom system that can be set to a sleep mode by operating a wireless master unit so that it does not perform a calling operation even when it receives a call from a slave unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the intercom system of the present invention is configured to have a handset with a function to call a resident and a base unit with a function to respond to calls from the handset, and the base unit is equipped with a portable wireless base unit in addition to a fixedly installed main base unit, and the wireless base unit is capable of responding to calls from the handset by communicating wirelessly with the main base unit.The wireless base unit has a sleep button that sets it to a sleep mode in which no call operation based on the operation of the handset is performed, and when the wireless base unit is set to sleep mode, no call operation is performed even if the handset is operated to call and a call signal is sent to the wireless base unit via the main base unit. This configuration is convenient because it allows the wireless base unit to enter a sleep mode in which calling operations based on the operation of the handset are not performed by operating the wireless base unit itself, without operating the main base unit.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above configuration, the transition to sleep mode due to operation of the sleep button on the wireless base unit is notified to the main base unit, and the main base unit can recognize that the wireless base unit has been set to sleep mode. According to this configuration, the main base unit can recognize that the wireless base unit has been set to sleep mode, so there is no need to check with the wireless base unit, which is convenient. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the wireless base unit can be operated by itself to enter a sleep mode in which it does not accept call signals from the handset, without operating the main base unit, which is very convenient. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an intercom system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main base unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless master unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an intercom system according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the intercom system 10 has a handset 1 installed at the entrance or the like to allow a visitor to call a resident, and a base unit 2 installed in the dwelling unit to respond to the call from the handset 1. However, the base unit 2 is composed of a fixedly installed main base unit 21 and a portable wireless base unit 31. The slave unit 1 and the main base unit 21 are connected by a transmission line L1, and communication between the main base unit 21 and the wireless base unit 31 is carried out wirelessly, for example, by TDMA.

[0011] The slave unit 1 is equipped with a call button 12, a camera 13, a microphone 14, and a speaker 15. When the call button 12 is pressed, a call signal is output and the camera 13 is activated to output a captured image. The output call signal and the captured image of the camera 13 are transmitted to the main base unit 21.

[0012] Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the main base unit 21. As shown in Fig. 2, the main base unit 21 includes a monitor 22 that displays various information including images captured by the camera 13, an operation unit 23 that performs various operations such as call operations, a call unit 24 that includes a microphone 24a and a speaker 24b, a main base unit CPU 25 that controls the main base unit 21, a main base unit communication IF 26 that communicates with the handset 1, a wireless communication IF 27 that communicates with the wireless base unit 31, and the like. Of the operation unit 23, a call button 23a for answering a call is provided independently on the front surface of the case of the main base unit 21, and the other operation unit 23 is a touch panel that is provided integrally with the monitor 22.

[0013] Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of the wireless base station 31. As shown in Fig. 3, the wireless base station 31 includes a monitor 32 that displays various information including images captured by the camera 13, an operation unit 33 that performs various operations such as call operations, a call unit 34 equipped with a microphone 34a and a speaker 34b, a wireless communication IF 35 that communicates with the main base station 21, a wireless base station CPU 36 that controls the wireless base station 31, and a power supply unit 37 that is composed of a storage battery.

[0014] The intercom system configured as described above operates as follows: First, a call from handset 1 in normal mode and the response operation will be described. When the call button 12 of the handset 1 is pressed, a call signal is generated and transmitted to the main base unit 21. At the same time, the camera 13 is activated and the captured image is transmitted to the main base unit 21. Upon receiving the call signal and the image signal, the main base unit 21 sounds a call tone and simultaneously displays the image captured by the camera 13 on the monitor 22. The main base unit 21 also transmits the call signal and the image signal to the wireless base unit 31. In other words, the call signal and the image signal are relayed to the wireless base unit 31.

[0015] The wireless base station 31 receives the call signal and the video information from the main base station 21 and sounds a call tone, and displays the transmitted video on the monitor 32 of the wireless base station 31 .

[0016] When any of the base units 2 is answered during this call operation, a call path is established between the base unit 2 that was answered and the handset 1, allowing the call to be made while viewing the captured image. When any of the base units 2 is answered, the main base unit CPU 25 recognizes this and terminates the call operation of the other base units 2.

[0017] Next, we will explain how to set the sleep mode in which no call tone sounds even when a call is made to the handset 1. Each base unit 2 has a setting button for setting itself to sleep mode, but here we will explain how to set the sleep mode for the wireless base unit 31. The wireless master unit 31 is set to sleep mode when the sleep button 33a in the operation unit 33 is pressed. When the sleep button 33a is pressed, the wireless master unit CPU 36 recognizes that the sleep mode has been set and starts sleep mode operation.

[0018] At the same time, the wireless master unit CPU 36 generates a sleep mode transition signal and transmits it to the main master unit 21. Upon receiving the sleep mode transition signal, the main master unit 21 displays, for example, "Wireless is sleeping" on the monitor 22 to notify that the wireless master unit 31 has started operating in sleep mode.

[0019] When the wireless base unit 31 transitions to the sleep mode, it performs control so that it does not perform a call operation such as sounding a call tone, even if it receives a call signal transmitted from the main base unit 21, such as a call signal transmitted from the slave unit 1 and forwarded by the main base unit 21. However, it accepts other calls, such as call signals generated by a call operation on the main base unit 21, and continues to perform the call operation.

[0020] The sleep mode is cancelled by operating the sleep cancel button. In the wireless base station 31, the sleep button 33a also functions as the sleep cancel button 33b, and when the sleep mode is set, the sleep button 33a is changed to the sleep cancel button 33b under the control of the wireless base station CPU 36. When the sleep release button 33b is operated, the wireless master CPU 36 cancels the sleep mode setting and transitions to normal mode. That is, it resumes accepting call signals from the slave 1 and performs a call operation when the slave 1 is called. In addition, the image captured by the camera 13 is displayed on the monitor 32 in conjunction with the call operation. Then, a sleep mode release signal is sent to the main base unit 21 to notify the main base unit 21 that the sleep mode has been released. Upon receiving this notification, the main base unit 21 ends the display on the monitor 22 indicating that the wireless base unit 31 is in sleep mode, if any.

[0021] In this way, it is possible to operate the wireless base unit 31 without operating the main base unit 21, and thus the wireless base unit 31 can be operated to transition to a sleep mode in which it does not perform a call operation even when it receives a call signal from the handset 1, which is very convenient. Furthermore, since the main base unit 21 can recognize that the wireless base unit 31 has been set to sleep mode, there is no need to check with the wireless base unit 31, which is convenient. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 1··Handset, 2··Base unit, 10··Intercom system, 21··Main base unit, 25··Main base unit CPU, 27··Wireless communication IF, 31··Wireless base unit, 32··Monitor, 33··Operation unit, 33a··Sleep button, 33b··Wake-up button.

Claims

1. An intercom system having a handset having a function of calling a resident and a base unit having a function of responding to a call from the handset, the base unit including a fixedly installed main base unit and a portable wireless base unit, the wireless base unit being capable of responding to a call from the handset by wirelessly communicating with the main base unit, the wireless master unit has a sleep button for setting the wireless master unit to a sleep mode in which calling operations based on operations of the slave unit are not performed; An intercom system characterized in that when the wireless base unit is set to sleep mode, the call operation is not performed even if the handset is operated to call and a call signal is sent to the wireless base unit via the main base unit.

2. The transition to the sleep mode by operating the sleep button of the wireless base station is notified to the main base station, 2. The intercom system according to claim 1, wherein the main base unit can recognize that the wireless base unit has been set to sleep mode.

Images