KR20110062788A - Camera, video conference device and video conference method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A camera, a video conference device, and video conference method are provided to transceive a text in a video conference system without equipping a data communication function by transceiving image data. CONSTITUTION: An image pickup unit(120) photographs a subject and generates a photographed image signal. A text input unit inputs a text. An OSD generating unit(160) generates an OSD image including the inputted text. A mixer(180) synthesizes the photographed image signal and the generated OSD image. An output unit(190) outputs the synthesized photographed image signal. The OSD image includes a text string.

Description

Camera, video conference device and video conference method {Camera, video conference device and video conference method}

The present invention relates to a camera, a videoconferencing terminal, and a videoconferencing method, and more particularly, to a camera for photographing a subject for videoconferencing, and a videoconferencing terminal and videoconferencing method for transmitting and receiving captured images and recorded voices. will be.

Currently, a system for multi-party video conferencing in a mobile environment consists of a terminal and a video conference server. When two or more participants attended a videoconference, an early stage was developed in which a speaker was selected from the participants and the video of the speaker was transmitted to all videoconference participants. This method has a problem of low computational complexity and complexity because the video conferencing server requires a function of selecting a speaker and relaying the selected speaker's image to other users.

However, in the case of small video conference with less than 5 attendees, there is a need for a method that satisfies the requirement of viewing the video of all attendees on the terminal. Currently, the most widely known method is to exclude each terminal user from each terminal. In order to generate the images of the remaining participants, a video image encoded by each terminal is received and decoded by a server, and then a new image is formed by combining the decoded images, recoded, and transmitted to each user. This method requires a video encoding server that decodes video images received from multiple terminals and encodes a new image suitable for each receiver in order to generate images of the other participants except the terminal user in each terminal. As a result, there is a delay in transmission time due to high computational amount and decoding / coding in the server.

In order to solve this problem, in the case of H.261, H.263 and H.264 (type of video data standard) standards, a method of generating a new bitstream without recoding by analyzing the syntax of the bitstream has been proposed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a camera, a videoconferencing apparatus, and a method for enabling text transmission and reception.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing a videoconferencing method on a computer.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a camera for a videoconferencing system includes: an imaging unit for capturing a subject to generate a captured image signal, a character input unit for receiving the character, and the input character; And an OSD generator for generating an OSD image, a mixer for synthesizing the generated OSD image with the generated captured image signal, and an output unit for outputting the synthesized captured image signal.

Preferably, the OSD image may include a character string input for a preset time.

Preferably, the OSD image may include an input string before the enter key is input.

Preferably, the mixer may synthesize the same OSD image to the captured image signal generated during a preset time.

Preferably, the camera may further include a storage unit for storing the input text.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a video conferencing device according to the present invention generates a captured image signal by capturing a subject, generates an OSD image including the input character when a character is input, and captures the captured image. And a camera unit for synthesizing the generated OSD image to an image signal, an image processor for compressing the synthesized captured image signal to generate an image signal, and a network interface unit for transmitting the generated image signal.

Preferably, the camera unit, an imaging unit for photographing the subject to generate a captured image signal, a character input unit for receiving the character, an OSD generator for generating an OSD image including the input character, the generated image And a mixer for synthesizing the generated OSD image to a signal, and an output unit for outputting the synthesized captured image signal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a videoconferencing method comprising: generating a captured image signal by capturing a subject, generating an OSD image including the input characters, Synthesizing the generated OSD image with the generated captured image signal, compressing the synthesized captured image signal to generate an image signal, and transmitting the generated image signal.

Preferably, the OSD image may include a character string input for a preset time.

Preferably, the OSD image may include an input string before the enter key is input.

Preferably, in the synthesizing step, the same OSD image may be synthesized with the captured image signals generated for a preset time.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a videoconferencing receiver comprising: a network interface unit for receiving a video signal including an image frame obtained by synthesizing an OSD image including a character; and restoring the received video signal. And a display unit for displaying the restored image signal.

Preferably, the image frame may be obtained by synthesizing the same OSD image with each other in successive image frames for a predetermined time.

According to the camera, videoconferencing apparatus, and videoconferencing method of the present invention, since video data having characters inserted therein is transmitted and received, text transmission and reception are also possible on a videoconferencing system without a data communication function.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention that can specifically realize the above object will be described. At this time, the configuration and operation of the present invention shown in the drawings and described by it will be described as at least one embodiment, by which the technical spirit of the present invention and its core configuration and operation is not limited.

The terms used in the present invention have been selected as general terms widely used as possible in consideration of the functions in the present invention, but may vary according to the intention or custom of a person skilled in the art or the emergence of a new technology. In addition, in certain cases, there is also a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, in which case the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the terms used in the present invention should be defined based on the meanings of the terms and the general contents of the present invention rather than the names of the simple terms.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a camera according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the camera 100 according to the present invention includes a lens unit 110, an imaging unit 120, an analog signal processor 130, a user interface unit 140, a storage unit 150, an OSD (On). Screen Display) generation unit 160, the control unit 170, the mixer 180 and the output unit 190 is provided.

Incident light from the subject is guided to the imaging unit 120 through the lens unit 110. The lens unit 110 may include a plurality of optical lens groups such as a cover lens, a focus lens, and a zoom lens. In addition, the lens unit 110 may include a transfer mechanism for transferring the focus lens and the zoom lens in the optical axis direction, and may include an aperture mechanism.

The light flux from the subject passes through the lens unit 110 to form an image on the imaging unit 120.

The imaging unit 120 photoelectrically converts an image of an image to be imaged, and outputs a captured image signal corresponding to the image of an image. The imaging unit 120 has a rectangular imaging area composed of a plurality of pixels, and sequentially outputs an image signal, which is an analog signal corresponding to the charge accumulated in each pixel, to the analog signal processing unit 130 in pixel units. . A charge coupled device (CCD) sensor array, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor array, or the like may be used as the imaging device of the imaging unit 120.

The analog signal processor 130 may include a correlated double sampling (CDS) circuit, an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit, and the like. The analog signal processor 130 performs predetermined analog processing on the image signal input from the imaging unit 120.

The user interface 140 receives a command or data from a user. The command input to the user interface unit 140 may be a command for setting a text processing time. When the text processing time is set according to the command input to the user interface 140, the OSD generator 160 generates an OSD image including the text input during the set text processing time. If the user does not input a command for setting the text processing time, the text processing time set as the initial value may be used.

The command input to the user interface unit 140 may be a command for setting location information and size information. When the location information and the size information are set according to the command input to the user interface unit 140, the mixer 180 may synthesize the OSD image by varying the position and size on the captured image signal according to the set location information and the size information. have.

Data input to the user interface unit 140 may be letters, symbols, numbers, and the like. In addition, in order to receive data from the user, the camera 100 may include a keyboard. In this case, the user may click the keyboard on the keyboard to input the key value assigned to the keyboard to the camera 100.

The storage unit 150 stores the data output from the user interface unit 140. In addition, the storage 150 may store the set character processing time, size information, and location information.

The OSD generator 160 generates an OSD image including characters stored in the storage 120. Here, the OSD generator 160 may generate a text string input during the character processing time as one OSD image. In addition, the OSD generator 160 may generate the input character string as one OSD image before the enter key is input. That is, the OSD generator 160 may generate the input string as one OSD image after the enter key is input and then the next enter key is input.

The controller 170 checks whether a character is input to the user interface unit 140 and controls the OSD generator 160 to generate an OSD image when the character is input. In addition, the controller 170 controls the mixer 180 to synthesize the OSD image generated by the OSD generator 160 with the captured image signal output from the analog signal processor 130.

The controller 170 sets the character processing time according to the input user command. The controller 170 controls the OSD generator 160 to generate an OSD image according to the character processing time. In addition, the controller 170 controls the mixer 180 to synthesize the OSD image with the captured image signal according to the character processing time.

The controller 170 sets location information and size information according to the input user command. The controller 170 may control the mixer 180 to synthesize the OSD image by varying the position and the size on the captured image signal according to the set position information and the size information according to the set position information and the size information.

The mixer 180 synthesizes the OSD image output by the OSD generator 160 to the captured image signal output from the analog signal processor 130. The mixer 180 may synthesize the same OSD image to the captured image signal generated during the character processing time.

In addition, the mixer 180 may synthesize the OSD image by varying the position and size on the captured image signal according to the position information and the size information stored in the storage 150.

The output unit 190 outputs the captured image signal output from the mixer 180 to the outside. The output unit 190 may include an A / D converter that converts an analog signal into a digital signal. When the A / D converter is provided in the output 190, the camera 100 may output a digital signal.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the video conferencing device 200 according to the present invention includes a camera unit 210, an image processor 220, a voice receiver 230, a voice processor 240, a controller 250, and a network interface unit ( 260.

The camera unit 210 photographs a subject to generate a captured image signal. In addition, when the camera unit 210 receives the text, the camera unit 210 generates an OSD image including the input text and synthesizes the generated OSD image on the captured image signal. Here, the camera unit 210 may be implemented with the camera 100 shown in FIG. 1.

The image processor 220 compresses the synthesized captured image signal to generate an image signal. Here, the image processor 220 may compress the captured image signal using H.261, H.263, and H.264 which are international standard algorithms.

If the signal output from the camera unit 210 is an analog signal, the image processing unit 220 includes an A / D converter to convert the analog signal output from the camera unit 210 into a digital signal and convert the digital signal. The signal can be compressed.

The voice receiver 230 records the voice and outputs the recorded voice signal. The voice receiver 230 may be implemented as a microphone.

The voice processor 240 compresses the voice signal output by the voice receiver 230. Here, the speech processor 240 may compress the speech signal using H.261, H.263, and H.264 which are international standard algorithms.

The controller 250 controls the video signal output from the image processor 220 and the audio signal output from the audio processor 240 to be transmitted to another video conference apparatus or video conference server connected to the communication network through the network interface unit 260. do.

The network interface unit 260 transmits the video signal output from the image processor 220 and the audio signal output from the audio processor 240 to another video conferencing device connected to a communication network. Here, the network interface unit 260 may transmit a video signal and an audio signal through different lines. In addition, videoconferencing devices and videoconferencing servers may be connected to a communication network such as a Public Switched Data Network (PSDN), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and an Ethernet.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the video conferencing device 300 according to the present invention includes a network interface unit 310, a controller 320, an image processor 330, an audio processor 340, and a display 350.

The network interface unit 310 receives a video signal and an audio signal including an image frame obtained by synthesizing an OSD image including text. Here, OSD frames that are consecutive for a predetermined time among the image frames may be synthesized with the same OSD image.

The controller 320 controls the received video signal and the audio signal to be transmitted to the image processor 330 and the audio processor 340, respectively.

The image processor 330 restores the image signal output from the network interface 310. Here, the image processor 330 may reconstruct the image signal by using the corresponding algorithm according to the algorithm in which the image signal is compressed, and H.261, H.263, and H.264 may be used as the compression algorithm.

The voice processor 340 restores the voice signal output from the network interface 310. Here, the speech processing unit 340 may restore the speech signal using the corresponding algorithm according to the algorithm in which the speech signal is compressed, and H.261, H.263, and H.264 may be used as the compression algorithm.

The display unit 350 displays the restored video and audio signals.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the video conferencing apparatus according to the present invention includes a camera unit 410, an image processing unit 420, an audio receiving unit 430, a control unit 450, a network interface unit 460, and a display unit 470. Equipped.

The camera unit 410 photographs a subject to generate a captured image signal. In addition, the camera unit 410 generates an OSD image including the input character when the character is input, and synthesizes the generated OSD image on the captured image signal. In this case, the camera unit 410 may use the camera 100 shown in FIG. 1.

The image processor 420 compresses the synthesized captured image signal to generate an image signal. Here, the image processor 420 may compress the captured image signal using H.261, H.263, and H.264 which are international standard algorithms.

If the signal output from the camera unit 410 is an analog signal, the image processing unit 420 includes an A / D converter to convert the analog signal output from the camera unit 410 into a digital signal and convert the digital signal. The signal can be compressed.

The image processor 420 restores an image signal output from the network interface unit 460. Here, the image processor 420 may reconstruct the image signal using the algorithm according to the algorithm in which the image signal is compressed.

The voice receiver 430 records the voice and outputs the recorded voice signal. The voice receiver 430 may be implemented as a microphone.

The voice processor 440 compresses the voice signal output by the voice receiver 430. Here, the speech processor 440 may compress the speech signal using H.261, H.263, and H.264 which are international standard algorithms.

The voice processor 440 restores the voice signal output from the network interface unit 460. Here, the voice processor 440 may restore the voice signal using the corresponding algorithm according to the algorithm in which the voice signal is compressed.

The controller 450 controls the video signal output by the image processor 420 and the audio signal output by the audio processor 440 to be transmitted to another video conferencing apparatus or server connected to a communication network through the network interface 460.

In addition, the controller 450 controls the video signal and the audio signal received by the network interface unit 460 to be transmitted to the image processor 420 and the audio processor 440, respectively.

The network interface unit 460 transmits the video signal output from the image processing unit 420 and the audio signal output from the audio processing unit 440 to another video conference apparatus or video conference servo connected to a communication network. Here, the network interface unit 460 may transmit a video signal and an audio signal through different lines. In addition, video conferencing devices may be connected to a communication network such as a Public Switched Data Network (PSDN), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and an Ethernet.

In addition, the network interface unit 460 receives an image signal and an audio signal including an image frame obtained by synthesizing an OSD image including text, and receives the image signal and the audio signal from the image processor 420 and the audio processor, respectively. And output to 440. Here, OSD frames that are consecutive for a predetermined time among the image frames may be synthesized with the same OSD image.

5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the camera unit 410 photographs a subject (S500). In operation S510, the camera unit 410 generates a captured image signal of an image of a subject of an image. Then, the camera unit 410 performs predetermined analog processing on the generated captured image signal (S520).

The camera unit 410 checks whether a character is input (S530).

If a character is input, the camera unit 410 generates an OSD image including the input character (S540). The generated OSD image may include a character string input during the character processing time. Also, the generated OSD image may include an input string before the enter key is input.

The camera unit 410 synthesizes the generated OSD image on the generated captured image (S550). Here, the camera unit 410 may combine the same OSD image with the captured image signals generated during the character processing time.

The camera unit 410 generates a video signal by compressing the synthesized captured image signal or the generated captured image signal (S560).

The voice receiver 430 records a voice to output a voice signal (S570).

The voice processor 440 compresses the output voice signal (S580).

The network interface unit 460 transmits the generated video signal and the compressed audio signal (S590).

 The present invention can also be embodied as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording apparatuses in which data that can be read by a computer apparatus is stored. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like, and may be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission via the Internet) . The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed to networked computer devices so that computer readable code can be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific preferred embodiments described above, and the present invention belongs to the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims. Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and such changes are within the scope of the claims.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a camera according to the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing apparatus according to the present invention;

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing apparatus according to the present invention;

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing apparatus according to the present invention;

5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a videoconferencing method according to the present invention.

Claims (13)

In the camera for a video conference system, An imaging unit which picks up a subject and generates a captured image signal; A text input unit to receive the text; An OSD generator which generates an OSD image including the input characters; A mixer for synthesizing the generated OSD image with the generated captured image signal; And And an output unit configured to output the synthesized captured image signal. The method of claim 1, And the OSD image comprises a string input for a preset time. The method of claim 1, The OSD image camera, characterized in that including the input character string before the enter key. The method of claim 1, The mixer, And synthesizing the same OSD image with the captured image signal generated during a preset time. The method of claim 1, The camera, And a storage unit for storing the input text. A camera unit for generating a captured image signal by capturing a subject, generating an OSD image including the input character when receiving a character, and synthesizing the generated OSD image with the captured captured image signal; An image processor which generates an image signal by compressing the synthesized captured image signal; And And a network interface unit for transmitting the generated video signal. The method of claim 6, The camera unit, An imaging unit which picks up the subject and generates a captured image signal; A text input unit to receive the text; An OSD generator which generates an OSD image including the input characters; A mixer for synthesizing the generated OSD image with the generated captured image signal; And And an output unit for outputting the synthesized captured image signal. Imaging the subject to generate a captured image signal; Receiving an input of text and generating an OSD image including the input text; Synthesizing the generated OSD image with the generated captured image signal; Compressing the synthesized captured image signal to generate a video signal; And And transmitting the generated video signal. The method of claim 8, And the OSD image comprises a character string input for a preset time. The method of claim 8, And the OSD image comprises an input character string before an enter key is input. The method of claim 8, In the synthesizing step, And synthesizing the same OSD image with the captured image signals generated during a preset time. A network interface unit configured to receive an image signal including an image frame obtained by synthesizing an OSD image including characters; An image processor which restores the received image signal; And And a display unit for displaying the restored video signal. The method of claim 12, The video frame is a video conferencing device, characterized in that the same OSD image is synthesized from the consecutive video frames for a preset time.

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