Hinged-case sound and vision communications terminal, in particular a video-phone

Claim 1

A terminal for sound and vision communications, of the type associated, in particular, with a telephone set, and comprising a case, said case consisting of: (a) a first, fixed part via which said terminal is supported on a support surface, said first, fixed part containing an electronic assembly for control, coding/decoding, and telephone line interfacing and control means; and (b) a second, movable part which is hinged to said first part about a substantially horizontal axis and which receives a display screen monitor and a camera provided with optics, said second part being capable of assuming a first, closed angular position resting against said first part and at least two open angular positions relative to said first part corresponding to two different aiming directions for said camera; (c) said second part being substantially flat and elongated and receiving said camera so that an aiming direction of said camera is perpendicular to a plane of said second part, said optics including means provided in a region of said second part that is most remote from said hinge for deflection through 90° of an image sensed by said camera; (d) said display screen monitor being also provided in said region of said second part that is most remote from said hinge and close to said deflecting means; (e) whereby the thickness of said second part of said case is minimized and said aiming direction of said camera provided with said optics is displaced, in use, well above said support surface; and (f) wherein, in the utilization position, said camera optics is offset laterally relative to said display screen monitor, and wherein said terminal includes parallax correction means comprising a camera lens disposed in such a manner that the aiming direction of said camera is laterally inclined by a predetermined angle, with a sensitive plane of said camera being inclined by approximately the same angle relative to the plane perpendicular to said aiming direction.