JPH08275136A - Conference equipment and conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve the re-utility of a content of a conference by providing an image storage means and a common share information means storing write information to a shared board in time series in addition to the shared board to which writing is made and the storage means. CONSTITUTION: When recording of a shared board is commanded via a user interface section 5 by the user input, a CPU 1 stores write data to the shared board together with time data obtained from a clock 7 to an external storage device 6. When a video recording end is commanded via the user interface section 5 by the user entry, the video recording operation by a recording and reproducing control section 10 is finished. Furthermore, when the end of shared board recording is commanded via the interface section 5 by the user input, the recording operation of the shared board is finished. Thus, write information to the shared board is stored in addition to image and voice data to read only the data of the shared board under the control of the CPU 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conference device and a conference system, and more particularly to a conference device and a conference system having a shared board function and an image recording function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of recording the contents of a video conference, the screen and sound of a monitor are directly recorded on a video, the information written on a shared board is saved or printed by a user's operation, and a partner image is recorded. And the method of recording only the sound on the video was used.

[0003]

However, the recording results obtained by the conventional recording method are all low in reusability. That is, in the method, since the contents of the conference are saved as video information, for example, the information written to the shared board at a certain point can be extracted and stored in the file. Could not be used on a computer, etc.

In the method (1), when the result of saving the write information on the shared board is confirmed later, the contents of the conference such as the explanation about the write information cannot be obtained, and the contents of the conference are reproduced. The sex was low.

In the method (1), the information written in the shared board is not known, and the content of the meeting cannot be accurately recognized only by the reproduced video information.

Further, even if the above methods are combined, it is inconvenient because the recording means cannot be linked.
For example, in the case of combining the method of and, even if the video information and the write information of the shared board are compared, there is no information on the temporal correspondence between the two, so that a person can trace the correspondence relationship. It was difficult to understand the contents of the meeting, such as when it was necessary to make a decision.

The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object thereof is to enable recording / reproducing of the contents of a conference with improved reusability.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a conference device and a conference system which store both the writing information of the shared board and the input image information.

Further, according to the present invention, the write information of the shared board and the input image information are separately stored in correspondence with each other in time so that the write information and the image information of the shared board at the time of reproduction can be reproduced. The purpose is to improve usability.

A further object of the present invention is to improve the operability when reproducing the write information and the input image information of the shared board which are separately stored.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a conference device and a conference system having a new function.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, a conferencing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises an image storage means for storing image information input in a conference, and a partner device of the conference. A shared board that shares the same screen with the present apparatus and is writable from both the partner apparatus and the present apparatus, and a storage means different from the image storage means. Shared information means for storing the write information of the above in a time series manner.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the conference apparatus according to the first aspect, the image information input in the conference is the image information of the other party transmitted from the other apparatus of the conference.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the conference device according to the first aspect, further comprising reproducing means for reproducing the information written in the shared board.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the conference apparatus according to the third aspect, the reproduction means has a retrieval means for retrieving the write information at a designated time, and the reproduction means after the designated time. The writing information is reproduced.

According to a fifth aspect of the conference apparatus, in the conference apparatus according to the third aspect, the reproducing means has a retrieval means for retrieving the write information according to a character string, and the retrieved write information. It is characterized in that the write information after the time when is stored is reproduced.

A conferencing apparatus according to a sixth aspect is the conferencing apparatus according to the third aspect, further comprising full frame storage means for storing the writing information to the shared board as a full frame bitmap, and the full frame bitmap. Is used for a search screen when the write information is reproduced by the reproducing means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the conference apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the full frame storage means stores an image on the shared board at a predetermined time as a bit map of the full frame. To do.

In the conferencing apparatus according to claim 8, in the conferencing apparatus according to claim 6, the full frame storage means uses the image on the shared board at the timing determined by the user's designation as the full frame bitmap. It is characterized by storing.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the conferencing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the full frame storage means stores an image obtained by reducing an image on the shared board at a predetermined time by a predetermined magnification. And

According to a tenth aspect of the conference device,
In the conferencing apparatus according to, the search screen is a multi-image screen of the image reduced to the predetermined magnification.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the conference apparatus, the image storage means for storing the image information input in the conference in association with the time information, and the other apparatus of the conference and this apparatus share the same screen. A shared board writable by both the partner device and the present device, and shared information means for storing the write information to the shared board in association with the time information.

The conference apparatus according to claim 12 is the same as claim 11.
In the conferencing apparatus according to the present invention, there is provided reproduction means for synchronously reproducing the image information stored in the image storage means and the writing information of the shared board stored in the shared information storage means according to the time information. And

In the conferencing apparatus according to claim 13, claim 1
In the conference device according to No. 2, the reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information at a designated time, and reproduces the write information after the designated time.

In the conferencing apparatus according to claim 14, claim 1
In the conference device according to No. 2, the reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information according to a character string, and reproduces the write information after the time when the searched write information is stored. It is characterized by

A conferencing apparatus according to claim 15 is the conferencing apparatus according to claim 12.
In the conferencing apparatus according to, there is provided full frame storage means for storing write information to the shared board as a full frame bitmap, and the full frame bitmap is used when the write information is reproduced by the reproducing means. ,
It is characterized in that it is used for a search screen.

In the conferencing apparatus according to claim 16, claim 1
In the conference device according to No. 5, the full-frame storage means stores the image on the shared board at a predetermined time as a bitmap of the full frame.

According to the conferencing device of claim 17,
In the conference device according to No. 5, the full frame storage means stores the image on the shared board at the timing determined by the user's designation as the full frame bitmap.

According to the conferencing apparatus of claim 18,
In the conference device according to No. 5, the full-frame storage means stores an image obtained by reducing the image on the shared board at a predetermined time to a predetermined magnification.

According to the conferencing apparatus of claim 19, claim 1
In the conference device according to No. 8, the search screen is a multi-image screen of the image reduced to the predetermined magnification.

A conference system according to claim 20 is a conference system comprising a plurality of conference devices, wherein the conference device stores image information input in the conference in association with time information, and the conference. The same screen is shared between the partner device and this device, and the shared board that can be written from both the partner device and this device, and the write information to the shared board correspond to the time information. And a shared information means for storing the information.

A conference system according to a twenty-first aspect is a conference system including a plurality of conference devices, wherein the conference device stores an image storage unit for storing image information input in the conference, a partner device of the conference, and this device. A shared board that shares the same screen with other devices and is writable by both the partner device and the device, and a storage unit that is different from the image storage unit and that is written on the shared board. Shared information means for storing the embedded information in time series.

[0033]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

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

In FIG. 1, 1 is a CPU that controls the entire operation of the apparatus, 2 is a ROM in which an operating system is preset, and 3 is used as a work area when the CPU 1 performs various controls, and an external storage device 6 is also provided. It is a RAM in which the program loaded from is stored. Four
Is a line control unit for transmitting and receiving image and voice data via the communication network N, 5 is a user interface unit to which a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse (not shown) is connected, and 6 is a recording / reproducing function described later. An external storage device for storing a corresponding program and storing write information to the shared board described later, 7 is a clock, and the write information to the shared board described later is recorded together with time information (data). Used for saving.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an image processing section for variously processing the received image data of the other party (image data of the conference partner input by the other party camera) and the image data of the apparatus taken by the camera 12, and 9 denotes a receiving section. The voice processing unit performs various processes such as outputting the voice data of the other party and the voice data of the apparatus input from the microphone 14 from the speaker 15. Reference numeral 10 denotes a recording / reproducing control unit that records the image data of the other party and the audio data of the other party and this apparatus together with the time information (time code) in the time coded recording / reproducing apparatus 13.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a monitor, which displays a partner image under the control of the CPU 1 and the image processing section 8 and also displays a shared board by window control. The writing information to the shared board is also stored in the external storage device 6 together with the time information. Reference numeral 16 denotes a computer that performs processing when editing the data of the shared board and storing it in a removable disk, and can be controlled by an instruction from the user interface unit 5.

An example of the shared board in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The shared board is for sharing the same screen between the device on the other side and the device on the self side, and is used for writing text (characters) by the user interface unit 5 and drawing graphics such as straight lines and circles. Further, the color and shape of the writing on the partner side and the writing on the self-terminal are changed, and which device the writing is on is displayed in a distinguishable manner.

As shown in FIG. 2, the write information to the shared board is stored in the external storage device 6 in the structure of a pair of the leading time data (time code) and the following tag and data. Here, the tag indicates the type of data, and the data of the type indicated by this tag follows the tag.

The tag and the type of data indicated by this tag include, for example, those shown in FIG. That is, a tag indicating the input type (the tag code No. is 0
1. In this paragraph, the following numerical values are similarly code No. Characters (01), a straight line (02), a circle (03), and a rectangle (04) exist as data corresponding to (. In addition, the tag code No. "02", "03", "04",
“06”, “08”, “09”, and “20” indicate the start point, end point, direction, character size, line thickness, radius, and input character string, respectively. Tag code No. indicating the character type
The data corresponding to “05” is Gothic (0
1), Mincho type (02), and brush type (03). Tag code No. indicating the line type Data corresponding to “07” includes a solid line (01), a dotted line (02), and a dashed line (0
3), a broken line (04) and a double line (05) are present.

For example, in the case of characters, "01", "0"
2 ”,“ 03 ”,“ 04 ”,“ 05 ”,“ 06 ”,“ 2 ”
The character information written in the shared board by "0" etc. is memorize | stored, and in the case of a straight line,
The line information is stored by "04", "07", "08", or the like.

For example, when the character string and the line as shown in FIG. 4 are written on the shared board, they are stored in the form as shown in FIG. That is, regarding the character string portion, FIG.
The data of the first column corresponding to the time of 00:10:05 to 00:25:03 is stored, and further, the data of the second column is stored for the solid line portion written thereafter. In this way, the writing information to the shared board is stored in the form of the data item representing the writing content in correspondence with the time information.

In the case of character input, the storage in the external storage device 6 is performed at the timing when a line feed is performed after the character input. The time information is the time from when the character input is started to when a line feed is made after the character icon in FIG. 9 is selected.

Next, regarding the writing of a line or a figure, whether to draw a line or a figure (circle, rectangle, triangle, etc.) is designated by pointing the input switching icon shown in FIG. 9 with a cursor operated by a mouse. When you select and draw a line with the mouse, you specify the start and end points, when you write a circle, when you specify the center and radius, when you write a rectangle, when you specify two diagonal points, you draw a triangle. When writing, it is done by designating 3 points. The storage in the external storage device 6 is performed every time one graphic is written.

Next, the recording process of the conference contents will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The conference starts, and a user input instructs to start video recording via the user interface unit 5. The CPU 1 is an external storage device 6
According to the program loaded from the RAM 3 to the RAM 3, the data from the partner device transmitted via the communication network N is received via the line controller 4. Then, the received data is processed by the image processing unit 8 and the voice processing unit 9 to extract the partner image data and the partner voice data, respectively. The CPU 1 further extracts the other party's voice data and the microphone 1.
The voice processing unit 9 mixes with the voice data of the apparatus input from 4. Then, the recording / reproducing control unit 10 records the partner image data and the audio data related to the mixing in the recording / reproducing device 13 with the time code together with the time code indicating the time obtained from the clock 7 (step S1).

When the user inputs an instruction to record (save) the shared board via the user interface unit 5, the CPU 1 externally stores the write data to the shared board together with the time data obtained from the clock 7. The data is recorded in the device 6 (step S2). Then, when the end of video recording is instructed through the user interface section 5 by the user input, the video recording operation by the recording / reproducing control section 10 is ended (step S3). Further, when the end of recording of the shared board is instructed through the user interface section 5 by the user input, the operation of recording the write information on the shared board is ended (step S4). In this way, by storing the writing information to the shared board separately from the image / sound data, only the data of the shared board is stored in the CPU 1.
Read from the computer 16 under the control of
The processing can be performed by the computer 16.

Next, the reproduction processing of the contents of the video conference will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the reproduction of the contents of the video conference is instructed via the user interface section 5, the monitor 11 displays the screen shown in FIG. Next, the CPU 1 identifies the selection information of the reproduction pattern designated by the mouse of the user interface unit 5 (step S11).

As a result, when the icon 100 is clicked and selection information for reproducing from the beginning of the conference is input, the recording / reproducing control unit 10 rewinds the video in the time coded recording / reproducing device 13. , The partner image data from the time when the recording of the video conference is started, and the audio data (video recording data) related to the mixing are read. At the same time, the write data to the shared board relating to the conference is read from the external storage device 6, and the image data of the other party and the write data to the shared board are multi-windowed in the image processing unit 8 and reproduced and displayed on the monitor 11. .

The monitors for displaying the partner image data and the writing data to the shared board do not necessarily have to be common, and the monitors may be separately used.

Also, the audio data relating to the mixing is reproduced and output from the speaker 15 via the audio processing unit 9.

In this case, the partner image data and the writing data to the shared board are reproduced and displayed on the monitor 11 in synchronization with each other based on the time data (time code) relating to both data. Further, the audio data related to the mixing is also reproduced in synchronization with the write data to the shared board and the time data. That is, the video recording data including the partner image data and the audio data related to the mixing and the writing data to the shared board are reproduced and output in synchronization with each other based on the time data. The reproduction display processing of the write data to the shared board is executed according to the application program for reproducing the shared board loaded in the RAM 3.

In step S11, when the reproduction pattern selected by designating the icon 101 is identified as the time designation, the window 103 is displayed under the control of the CPU 1 and the user can select the time to reproduce. Input with the keyboard (step S13). CPU1 is R
Under the program of AM3, first, the write data to the shared board until the designated time is reproduced and displayed at high speed (step S14). The subsequent write data to the shared board is reproduced and output together with the video recording data in synchronization with the time data (step S15).

When the reproduction pattern selected by pointing the icon 102 is identified as the keyword search in step S11, the keyword is designated and input (step S16). Under the program of the RAM 3, the CPU 1 searches the write data for the shared board stored in the external storage device 6 for the specified keyword, and obtains the time data when the keyword is written in the shared board ( Step S17).

Then, the writing data to the shared board until the writing time of the keyword is reproduced and displayed at high speed (step S18). The subsequent write data to the shared board is reproduced and output together with the video recording data in synchronization with the time data (step S19). still,
The keyword is designated by displaying the list of character input strings shown in FIG. 5 stored in the external storage device 6 on the monitor as shown in FIG. 12, and inputting from the desired character string user interface among them.

If the storage capacity of the external storage device 6 is large, the shared board data may be stored in a predetermined format (for example, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.), or depending on the purpose used by the user during or after the meeting. The full frame data of the desired shared board designated by the user interface unit 5 may be added to the time data separately from the data of FIG. 5 and stored in the external storage device 6.

At the time of retrieval, the data of the shared board for each predetermined time is displayed as a representative screen in chronological order, for example, every 30 seconds. The user can select the desired shared board data by inputting an instruction from the user interface section when the desired representative screen is displayed.

The CPU 1 reproduces the data of the shared board shown in FIG. 5 at high speed according to the time data of the selected shared board data, while rewinding and fast-forwarding the video recording data according to the time data. The shared board data and the video recording data are synchronously reproduced on the monitor 11.

There is also a method in which the representative screen is not a full frame, and the CPU 1 performs a reduction process to, for example, a quarter size, and stores it in the external storage device 6. In this case, a screen obtained by combining four representative screens into a multi-screen by the CPU 1 can be used as a search screen.

When the user inputs an instruction through the user interface section 5 when the desired representative screen is displayed, the CPU 1 again reads out the four instructed representative screens from the external storage device 6 and displays them in time series.

In the same manner as described above, the shared board data is reproduced at high speed until the representative screen time according to the representative screen designated by the user, and the video recording data corresponding to the shared board data is synchronously reproduced.

The switching of the storage formats of the above two types of shared board data depends on whether the conference is short and does not require a large number of representative screens, or whether the conference is long and requires a large number of representative screens. Can be input from the user interface section.

In this way, the video recording data consisting of the partner image data and the audio data relating to the mixing is recorded in the time coded recording / reproducing device 13 together with the time data.
The write data to the shared board is saved (recorded) in the external storage device 6 together with the time data, and the video recording data and the write data to the shared board are reproduced and output in synchronization with the time data. I am trying to do it.

Therefore, the contents of the video conference are faithfully recorded and
Since it will be played back, the content of the video conference can be easily and accurately recognized at the time of playback, and since the data of the shared board is stored in the memory independently, the reusability of the data of the shared board is improved. Can be improved.
The storage / reproduction device with time code 13 is not limited to analog recording, and may be one using a semiconductor memory capable of digital storage.

In the present embodiment, the external storage device 6
Although the recording / reproducing device 13 with the time code is provided separately, the recording / reproducing device 13 with the time code is used as a digital recording medium, so that the external storage device 6 and the recording / reproducing device 13 are separated.
It is also possible to have a configuration in which and are separately used by the same address.

[Modification of Application of Embodiment] The write data to the shared board should not be saved as data such as character strings and line segments, but should be saved in the form of an input event according to the user's input operation. Is also possible. As the type of this input event, keyboard input operation, mouse movement, click, etc. can be considered. As shown in FIG. 8, each time these input events occur, the time and the type of the input event are It may be saved in the external storage device 6.

Further, at the time of reproduction, it is preferable to use an application program for reproduction for the shared board, which shows the same reaction as that at the time of input with respect to the input event stored in the external storage device 6. That is, the application program reads the input event from the external storage device 6, interprets and executes the input event, so that the same description content as when writing to the shared board can be reproduced.

[0068]

According to the conferencing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, the same screen is displayed between the image storage means for storing the image information input in the conference and the partner apparatus of the conference and this apparatus. A shared board that is shared and writable by both the partner apparatus and the apparatus, and a storage unit different from the image storage unit, and stores write information to the shared board in time series. Since the shared information means for storing information is provided, the content of the conference can be recorded / reproduced in a form with improved reusability. Therefore, it is possible to provide the conference device that stores both the writing information of the shared board and the input image information.

According to the conferencing apparatus of the second aspect, since the image information input in the conference is the partner image information transmitted from the partner device of the conference, the image information can be acquired from the partner device of the conference.

According to the conferencing apparatus of the third aspect, since the reproducing means for reproducing the write information to the shared board is provided, the write information of the shared board can be confirmed.

According to the conferencing apparatus of claim 4, the reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information at a designated time, and reproduces the write information after the designated time. Therefore, the write information according to the user's request can be immediately obtained.

According to the conference device of the fifth aspect, the reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information according to a character string, and after the time when the searched write information is stored. Since the above-mentioned write information is reproduced, the write information according to the user's request can be immediately obtained.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the conferencing apparatus comprises full frame storage means for storing the writing information to the shared board as a full frame bitmap, and the full frame bitmap is reproduced by the reproducing means. When the write information is reproduced, it is used for the search screen, so that the operability in searching the write information can be improved.

According to the conferencing apparatus of claim 7, since the full-frame storage means stores the image on the shared board at a predetermined time as a bit map of the full frame, the writing information at a predetermined time is searched. The operability when doing can be improved.

According to the conferencing apparatus of the eighth aspect, the full frame storage means stores the image on the shared board at the timing determined by the user's designation as the bitmap of the full frame. It is possible to improve operability when searching for write information according to a request.

According to the conferencing apparatus of the ninth aspect, the full frame storage means stores an image obtained by reducing the image on the shared board at predetermined time intervals by a predetermined magnification, so that a plurality of images can be stored. You can

According to the tenth aspect of the conference apparatus, since the search screen is a multi-image screen of the image reduced to the predetermined magnification, the operability at the time of search can be improved.

According to the conferencing apparatus according to the eleventh aspect, the image storage means for storing the image information input in the conference in association with the time information and the same screen between the other apparatus of the conference and this apparatus. Since a shared board that can be written by both the partner device and the present device and shared information means for storing write information to the shared board in association with the time information are stored, By separately storing the write information of the shared board and the input image information in association with each other in time, the reusability of the write information and the image information of the shared board at the time of reproduction can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to provide the conference device that stores both the writing information of the shared board and the input image information.

According to the twelfth aspect of the conference apparatus, the image information stored in the image storage means and the write information of the shared board stored in the shared information storage means are synchronously reproduced according to the time information. Since the reproducing means is provided, it is possible to improve the operability when reproducing the write information and the input image of the shared board which are separately stored.

According to the conferencing apparatus of claim 13, the reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information at a designated time, and reproduces the write information after the designated time. Therefore, the write information according to the user's request can be immediately obtained.

According to the conferencing apparatus of claim 14, the reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information according to a character string, and after the time when the searched write information is stored. Since the above-mentioned write information is reproduced, the write information according to the user's request can be immediately obtained.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a full frame storage means for storing the writing information to the shared board as a full frame bitmap, wherein the full frame bitmap is reproduced by the reproducing means. When the write information is reproduced, it is used for the search screen, so that the operability in searching the write information can be improved.

According to the conferencing apparatus of the sixteenth aspect, the full frame storage means stores the image on the shared board at a predetermined time as a bit map of the full frame, so that the write information at the predetermined time is searched. The operability when doing can be improved.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, since the full frame storage means stores the image on the shared board at the timing determined by the user's designation as the full frame bitmap, the user's request. It is possible to improve the operability when searching the write information according to.

According to the conferencing apparatus of the eighteenth aspect, since the full-frame storage means stores an image obtained by reducing the image on the shared board at predetermined time intervals by a predetermined magnification, it is possible to store a plurality of images. You can

According to the nineteenth aspect of the conference apparatus, since the search screen is a multi-image screen of the image reduced to the predetermined magnification, the operability at the time of search can be improved.

According to the conference system of claim 20,
In a conference system including a plurality of conference devices, the conference device includes an image storage unit that stores image information input in the conference in association with time information, and the same device between the other device of the conference and the device. Since the screen is shared, the shared board is provided which can be written by both the partner device and the main device, and the shared information means for storing the write information to the shared board in association with the time information. , The shared board write information and the input image information are separately stored in association with each other in terms of time, so that the reusability of the shared board write information and the image information at the time of reproduction can be improved. . Therefore, it is possible to provide the conference device that stores both the writing information of the shared board and the input image information.

According to the conference system of claim 21,
In a conference system including a plurality of conference devices, the conference device shares the same screen between an image storage unit that stores image information input in a conference, a partner device of the conference, and this device, A shared board that can be written from both the partner device and this device, and a storage means other than the image storage means, and shared information means for storing write information to the shared board in time series. Since it is equipped with and, the content of the conference can be recorded and reproduced in a form with improved reusability. Therefore, it is possible to provide the conference device that stores both the writing information of the shared board and the input image information.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data structure in the case of saving write information to a shared board.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a tag and an example of data indicated by the tag.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of write information on a shared whiteboard.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing stored data when the write information of FIG. 4 is written.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a recording process of video conference contents.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a reproduction process of video conference contents.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of saved data in the case of saving write information to a shared board in an input event format.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a shared board.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an initial screen during reproduction.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen when a time designation is used as a reproduction method.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a screen when keyword designation is used as a reproduction method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... CPU 2 ... ROM 3 ... RAM 4 ... Line control unit 5 ... User interface unit 6 ... External storage device 7 ... Clock 8 ... Image processing unit 9 ... Audio processing unit 10 ... Recording / playback control unit 11 ... Monitor 12 ... Camera 13 Recording / playback device with time code 14 Microphone 15 Speaker

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. An image storage unit for storing image information input in a conference, and the same screen is shared between the other device of the conference and this device, and both of the other device and this device can share the same screen. A conferencing apparatus comprising: a writable shared board; and storage means other than the image storage means, the shared information means storing time-series write information to the shared board. 2. The conference apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information input in the conference is image information of the other party transmitted from a partner apparatus of the conference. 3. The conference apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a reproducing unit that reproduces information written in the shared board. 4. The reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information at a designated time, and reproduces the write information after the designated time. Conference device described. 5. The reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information according to a character string, and reproducing the write information after a time when the searched write information is stored. The conference apparatus according to claim 3, wherein 6. A full frame storage means for storing write information to the shared board as a full frame bitmap, wherein the full frame bitmap is used when the write information is reproduced by the reproducing means. The conference device according to claim 3, wherein the conference device is used for a search screen. 7. The conference apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the full frame storage means stores an image on the shared board at a predetermined time as a bitmap of the full frame. 8. The conference apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the full frame storage means stores an image on the shared board at a timing determined by user's designation as a bitmap of the full frame. 9. The conference apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the full frame storage unit stores an image obtained by reducing an image on the shared board at a predetermined time to a predetermined magnification. 10. The conference apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the search screen is a multi-image screen of the image reduced to the predetermined magnification. 11. An image storage unit for storing image information input in a meeting in association with time information, and the same screen is shared between the other device of the meeting and this device, and the other device and the other device are shared. A conference apparatus comprising: a shared board writable by any of the present apparatuses; and shared information means for storing write information to the shared board in association with the time information. 12. A reproducing means is provided for synchronously reproducing the image information stored in the image storage means and the write information of the shared board stored in the shared information storage means in accordance with the time information. The conference apparatus according to claim 11. 13. The reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information at a designated time, and reproduces the write information after the designated time. Conference device described. 14. The reproducing means has a searching means for searching the write information according to a character string, and reproduces the write information after a time when the searched write information is stored. The conference apparatus according to claim 12, wherein 15. A full frame storage unit for storing write information to the shared board as a full frame bitmap, wherein the full frame bitmap is used when the write information is reproduced by the reproducing unit. The conference device according to claim 12, wherein the conference device is used for a search screen. 16. The conference apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the full frame storage unit stores an image on the shared board at a predetermined time as a bitmap of the full frame. 17. The conference apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the full frame storage unit stores an image on the shared board at a timing determined by user's designation as a bitmap of the full frame. 18. The conference apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the full-frame storage unit stores an image obtained by reducing an image on the shared board at a predetermined time interval by a predetermined magnification. 19. The conference apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the search screen is a multi-image screen of the image reduced to the predetermined magnification. 20. A conferencing system comprising a plurality of conferencing devices, wherein the conferencing device stores image information input in the conference in association with time information, a partner device of the conference, and this device. A shared board that shares the same screen between them and is writable from both the partner device and this device; and shared information means that stores the write information to the shared board in association with the time information. A conference system comprising: 21. A conferencing system comprising a plurality of conferencing devices, wherein the conferencing device has an image storage unit for storing image information input in the conference, and a screen identical between the partner device of the conference and the device. And a shared board that is writable from both the partner device and the present device, and a storage unit different from the image storage unit, and write information to the shared board in time series. A conferencing system comprising shared information means for storing.