JPH06284420A - Video conference system and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the video conference system in which each terminal equipment registers effectively time schedule data for actual video conference and to facilitate adjustment of communication schedule among the terminal equipments. CONSTITUTION:When a closing time of data transmission is reserved by sender terminal equipments 11-1 to 11-N, a multi-point control unit 12 reserves an idle time of destination before the closing time from the destination terminal equipment and registers the information to a central storage section 13. When plural destination terminal equipments are set, each destination terminal equipment information and transmission closing time information are registered. The multi-point control unit 12 sends data registered in the central storage section 13 via a line at a transmission reservation time. Moreover, idle time information of each terminal equipment is registered in the central storage section and the multi-point control unit 12 adjusts communication schedule.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video conferencing system for transmitting video conferencing data such as image and voice and computer data between terminals in order to conduct a conference between remote places, and particularly reserves a data transmission time. The present invention relates to a video conference system having a function of transmitting video conference data to a partner terminal and a communication system for reserving a time for communication and connecting a line to the partner terminal at the reserved time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of video conference system is known as a system for advancing a conference between a plurality of remote locations. However, this system reserves a transmission time to transmit data for video conference to a partner station (a partner station). Terminal).

The operation of the conventional example in which the transmission source terminal selects transmission data and registers the transmission time in both schedules will be described with reference to FIG. First, the deadline time by which the data stored in the storage unit from the terminal of the own station is sent to the terminal of the partner station is registered (step S1). The deadline time is registered in units of 30 minutes, for example.

Then, in the time zone before the deadline time registered in step S1, a free time zone on the local station side is searched (step S2), and all free time zones are secured (step S3). Then, after establishing a line to the partner station terminal to which the data is transmitted, a command for obtaining the data is sent from the partner station terminal, and waits until registration information is obtained from the partner station terminal.

When the registration information is obtained from the terminal of the partner station, the free time zone of the terminal of the partner station is searched (step S
4) Secure all available time slots (step S)
5). Then, it is searched whether or not there is a matching time zone with the free time zone secured on both sides (step S6), and if there is a matching time zone, the time zone is reserved on both terminals (step S8). The process ends.

If there are a plurality of matching time zones in step S6, the earliest matching time zone is searched (step S7) and the time zone is reserved for both terminals (step S8). ), And step S6
If there is no coincident time zone in step S1, the process returns to step S1 to re-register the deadline time. Then, when the reserved time comes, the own station terminal reads the data accumulated in the accumulation section and transmits it to the partner station terminal.

On the other hand, in the case of adjusting and registering the communication schedule, conventionally, it has been necessary to call the partner terminals side by side and determine the schedules of the terminals.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional video conference system, when transmitting data to a plurality of partner station terminals, the free time zone of the own station side and the free time zones of the respective partner stations are registered. Therefore, the transmission time of the same data is registered in the time schedule of the local station, and in the worst case, the storage section becomes full with only the time schedule data of the transmission data, and the time for conducting the important video conference is There is a problem that the schedule data cannot be registered.

On the other hand, it is inconvenient if there is a time lag or the like if the other party is called to decide when adjusting or registering the communication schedule.

In view of the above conventional problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a video conference system capable of effectively registering time schedule data for conducting an actual video conference at each terminal. .

A second object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of easily registering schedule data for actually holding a video conference at each terminal.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a video conference system in which each terminal has means for accumulating video conference data, and the video conference data is transmitted between the terminals. Central control means connected to each terminal via a network, the central storage means, the transmission destination, the transmission deadline time and the transmission destination when the transmission data is reserved by the transmission source terminal, A means for storing the transmission deadline time and transmission data in the central storage means; means for searching a free time of the destination terminal before the stored transmission deadline time and registering it in the central storage means as the transmission time. Central control means having means for reading transmission data from the central storage means at the registered transmission time and transmitting the transmission data to the destination terminal.

Further, the present invention is, in a communication system for communicating between a plurality of terminals, a receiving means for receiving communication information data inputted from the plurality of terminals, and a transmission partner by referring to the communication information data. A schedule adjusting means for adjusting the schedule of the video conference with the terminals, a storing means for storing the schedule data of each terminal, and a registering means for registering the communication time determined by the schedule adjusting means in the storing means are provided. It is characterized by

[0014]

In the video conference system of the present invention, the central control means stores the transmission destination, the transmission deadline time, and the transmission data reserved by the transmission source terminal in the central storage means, and stores the data before the stored transmission deadline time. Of the destination terminal is searched for and registered as the transmission time in the central storage means, and the transmission data is read from the central storage means at the registered transmission time and transmitted to the destination terminal. in this way,
Since the central storage means stores the schedule data when the transmission time is reserved and the data is transmitted to the partner station terminal,
It is possible to effectively register time schedule data for conducting an actual video conference in each terminal.

Further, in the communication system of the present invention, the schedule of the video conference is adjusted by referring to the communication information data input from a plurality of terminals, the communication time is determined,
The line is registered in the storage means, and when the registered time comes, the line between the terminals for the video conference is automatically connected.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a video conference system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the terminal of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a configuration of a codec section of FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing in detail, FIG.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing schedule data when a data transmission time is reserved, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of transmitting data at the reservation time.

In FIG. 1, the system of the present embodiment is a plurality (= N) of transmitting video conference data such as image and voice and computer data for conducting a conference via a network.
Terminals 11-1 to 11-N and the terminals 11-1 to 11
-Multipoint control unit (MCU) 12 that manages and controls each terminal connected to N via a network, and terminal 11-
1 to 11-N and a central storage unit 13 for storing the data shown in FIG. 5 reserved for transmission.

The information reserved for transmission is, as shown in FIG. 5, a data area 210 in which the data itself is stored.
And its transmission deadline time information area 211, partner terminal (transmission destination) information area 212, and transmission time information area 2
13 and a header area 214.

In each of the terminals 11-1 to 11-N, as shown in FIG. 2, a microphone 1 for inputting voice is provided.
A speaker 2 for reproducing the voice of the other party, a video camera 3 for capturing the conference room, a document camera 4 for capturing the original document, and a monitor for displaying the conference room of the other party. 5, an input / output device 6 such as a document camera, a digitizer for drawing input, an input device of another auxiliary device or a sub monitor for displaying an image of another auxiliary device, a moving image,
A storage unit 7 capable of storing and reproducing still images, voices, and other data is connected to a codec unit 100, and the codec unit 100 is connected to a partner station terminal and a multipoint control unit (MCU) 12 via a network. ing.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the codec section 100 is provided with a video input / output section 101 which is an interface between the video camera 3 and the monitor 5, and the video codec 110 is connected to the video input / output section 101. The video signal picked up by the video camera 3 is input to the video codec 110 via the video input / output unit 101 to be compressed and coded, and the image code from the partner station terminal is decompressed and decoded by the video codec 110.
It is output to the monitor 5 via the video input / output unit 101.
The video codec 110 is also provided with an image processing unit having a function such as screen division.

Further, an audio input / output unit 102 which is an interface between the microphone 1 and the speaker 2 is provided, an audio codec 111 is connected to the audio input / output unit 102, and an audio signal converted by the microphone 1 is input to the audio input / output unit. The audio codec is input to the audio codec 111 via 102 and is compression-encoded.
The audio input / output unit 102 is expanded and decoded by 11
Is output to the speaker 2 via. The audio codec 111 is also provided with an audio processing unit such as an echo canceller, and the delay circuit 112 is also provided.
Is connected to the audio codec 111 and corrects the delay caused by the video codec 110 to obtain lip sync.

Further, the computer unit 103, the still image / drawing control unit 104, and the auxiliary device control unit 105 are connected to the data port 106, and the computer unit 103 has a computer conference function in addition to the basic video conference function. The still image / drawing control unit 104 has a still image transmission and drawing function. Further, the auxiliary device control unit 105 controls other image processing devices. The communication control unit 107 is connected to the multiplex transmission unit 113 via the interconnection procedure control unit 108, and is also connected to the network interface unit 114 via the network signal control unit 109 so that the interconnection procedure control unit 108 can access the network. In addition, the network signal control unit 109 has functions such as end-to-end control for establishing a common mode of signal and operation for proper operation of the terminal.

The multiplexing transmission unit 113 multiplexes a video signal, an audio signal, and a control signal into one bit string and transmits it as a multimedia signal, or separates the received multimedia signal into each of the above signals. The network interface unit 114 performs necessary adaptation between the network 115 such as a telecommunication line and this terminal.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a description will be given of the operation of data transmission reservation for selecting data stored in the storage unit 7 and registering it in the central storage unit 13 in each terminal.

First, when the contents of the data to be transmitted to the partner station terminal are set in the own station terminal, the transmission contents header is written in the header area 214 shown in FIG. 5 and the transmission contents are written in the data area 210 ( Step S1
1).

Next, the destination terminal is set (step S
12) When the deadline time is set (step S1)
3), the respective information is transferred to the destination terminal information area 2 of FIG.
12 and the deadline time information area 211, and the additional information and data are transmitted to the multipoint control unit (MCU) 12 (step S14).

The multipoint control unit 12 stores this data in the central storage 13 together with the additional information (step S1).
5) Further, the destination terminal in the additional information is searched (step S16), and the free time of the destination before the deadline time in the additional information is secured (step S17). Transmission time information area 21 of storage unit 13
3 is registered (step S18). Note that step S1
When a plurality of destination terminals are set in 2, the destination terminal information and the transmission deadline time information are registered.

Next, the data transmission processing of the multipoint control unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG. Central storage unit 1
When the transmission reserved time based on the free time registered in 3 is reached (step S21), first, the transmission destination terminal information area 212 registered in the central storage unit 13 is searched (step S22), and the transmission destination terminal for this transmission destination terminal is searched. The call setup procedure is executed to establish a communication path with the destination terminal (step S23), the pre-transmission procedure is executed (step S24), and the line is secured by negotiating the transmission function (step S24). ). Then, the header information (area 2) registered in the central storage unit 13 via this secured line is
The data (area 210) instructed by 14) is transmitted (step S26), and when the transmission is completed, this process ends.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, when the transmission time is reserved and the data is transmitted to the terminal of the partner station, the terminals 11-1 to 11-N do not store any schedule data. In 11-1 to 11-N, time schedule data for conducting an actual video conference can be effectively registered.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The devices designated by the same numbers as those in FIG. 1 perform the same operation, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 312 is a multipoint control unit of this embodiment, and 313 is terminals 11-1 to 11-.
A central storage unit that stores the time schedule data transmitted from N and stores the stored time schedule data in correspondence with each terminal and its available time, as indicated by 314.

The time schedule data to be transmitted is, as shown in FIG. 9, a transmission deadline time information area 41.
1, a partner terminal (transmission destination) information area 412, a transmission time information area 413, and a header area 414.

Next, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, time schedule data input from each terminal is stored in the central storage unit 3.
The operation of registering in 13 will be described.

First, the agenda and gist of conducting a video conference on the terminal of its own station are written as transmission contents in the header area 414 shown in FIG. 9 (step S111).

Then, the destination terminal is set (step S1
12) When the deadline time is set again (step S11)
3), the respective information is transferred to the destination terminal information area 4 of FIG.
12 and the deadline time information area 411, and the additional information and data are transmitted to the multipoint control unit (MCU) 312 (step S114).

The multipoint control unit 312 has a function of accessing the central storage unit 313 for managing the time schedule data and adjusting the schedule, and stores the data transmitted from the terminal in the central storage unit 313 (step S
115) Further, the free time of the destination terminal is retrieved from the storage unit 313 (step S116), the free time of the destination before the deadline time is secured (step S117), and the secured time is used as the transmission time information. It is registered in the transmission time information area 413 of the central storage unit 313 stored in step S115 (step S118). When a plurality of destination terminals are set in step S112, each destination terminal information and transmission deadline time information are registered.

If there is no free time to hold a video conference with the partner terminal before the deadline time transmitted to the multipoint control unit 312, the deadline time must be set again in the own terminal. In this case, each terminal may be provided with a function of automatically resetting the deadline time by delaying it by one hour, for example.

The multipoint control unit 312 executes step S
When the communication time registered in 118 comes, the line between the own terminal and the destination terminal is connected.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when determining the time schedule for the video conference, the free time of all the terminals constituting the system is collectively stored in the central storage unit 313, and the multipoint control is performed. A search can be performed by the unit 312, and when setting a video conference at each terminal, it becomes unnecessary to determine the free time of the other terminal by using communication means such as a telephone with the other terminal.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a video conference system in which each terminal has means for accumulating video conference data, and the video conference data is transmitted between the terminals, it Central control means connected via a network between the central storage means and the transmission destination, the transmission deadline time and the transmission deadline time when the transmission data is reserved by the transmission source terminal. A means for storing the transmission data in the central storage means, a means for retrieving an available time of the destination terminal before the stored transmission deadline time, and registering it in the central storage means as a transmission time, and the registered means. Since the central control means having means for reading the transmission data from the central storage means at the transmission time and transmitting it to the destination terminal is provided, the transmission time is reserved and the data is transmitted to the partner station terminal. Central storage means stores schedule data, therefore, can be effectively register the time schedule data for the actual video conference in each terminal when.

Further, according to the communication system of the present invention, the schedule of the video conference is adjusted with reference to the communication information data input from the plurality of terminals, the communication time is determined, and the communication time is registered in the storage means. When the time comes, the line between the terminals that conduct the video conference is automatically connected, so you can easily adjust the communication schedule from the terminals without adjusting the schedule by telephone, etc. Since there is no need to store it, the configuration of the terminal can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a video conference system of a first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the terminal of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a codec section in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of reserving a data transmission time.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing schedule data when a data transmission time is reserved.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of transmitting data at a reserved time.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a video conference system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process of registering a communication time of a video conference.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing transmission data transmitted from each terminal in the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of reserving a data transmission time in the conventional video conference system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11-1 to 11-N Terminal 12 Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) (Central Control Unit) 13 Central Storage Unit (Central Storage Unit)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A video conferencing system in which each terminal comprises means for accumulating video conferencing data, and video conferencing data is transmitted between the terminals, wherein a central part connected to the terminals via a network. A control means, which is a central storage means and a transmission destination when the transmission source terminal reserves transmission destination, transmission deadline time, and transmission data,
A means for storing the transmission deadline time and the transmission data in the central storage means; and means for retrieving the available time of the destination terminal before the stored transmission deadline time and registering it as the transmission time in the central storage means. A video conferencing system comprising: a central control unit having a unit for reading transmission data from the central storage unit at the registered transmission time and transmitting the transmission data to the destination terminal. 2. A communication system for communicating between a plurality of terminals, comprising: a receiving means for receiving communication information data input from the plurality of terminals; and a communication partner terminal with reference to the communication information data. Schedule adjusting means for adjusting the schedule of the video conference, storage means for storing schedule data of each terminal, and registration means for registering the communication time determined by the schedule adjusting means in the storage means are provided. Communication system. 3. The communication system according to claim 2, further comprising a connection control means for automatically connecting a line between terminals for conducting a video conference at the time registered in the registration means. 4. In the schedule adjustment, each terminal is provided with re-input means for changing the communication information data and re-inputting into the storage means if there is no vacant time common to the own terminal and the destination terminal. The communication system according to claim 2.