JPH06141312A - Video conference equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a video conference equipment in which the relation of position of plural conference participants is surely recognized with excellent operability of an image pickup camera through an economical configuration. CONSTITUTION:The still video image of persons A, B, C, D is stored in a picture memory 15 and inserted, synthesized on a substantial motion video image to areas A, B, C, D of a subscreen 17 through a picture-in-picture circuit 16 and displayed. Thus, even when a television camera 2 at a remote location picks up the person B and the video image of the person B is formed on a monitor television receiver 12 as a displayed person 13, a conference participant at the remote location is always observed on a subscreen 17. On the other hand, since the arrangement of the person of the subscreen 17 and the arrangement of the conference participant at the remote location are displayed with cross reference, the relation of position of persons is also recognized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video conference device,
Particularly, the present invention relates to a video conference device suitable for a plurality of conference participants to hold a conference between remote places.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventionally known video conference apparatus. This figure (A) is the first
2B, this figure (B) shows the second state, and this figure (C) shows the third state. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a plurality of conference participants on the remote side, for example, a case where there are four persons A, B, C, and D. 2 is a TV camera for picking up the image of the conferees 1, 5 is the TV camera 2 placed on a pan head (not shown) for panning,
A camera control device 3 arranged so that the panning position can be freely changed, 3 is a moving picture codec for coding a video signal captured by the television camera 2, and 4 is added to the coded video signal from the moving picture codec 3. Communication control section 7 for transmitting the control signal including other control information to the station line 6, a communication control section 7 for receiving the encoded video signal and other control information from the station line 6, and 10 for being received by the communication control section 7. A moving image codec that decodes the encoded video signal and sends it to the monitor television 12, and 13 is a display person displayed on the monitor television 12.

Reference numeral 8 is a camera operation unit for changing the orientation of the television camera 2 by giving a control signal to the camera control device 5 through the communication control unit 7, the office line 6 and the communication control unit 4.

In the above configuration, the television camera 2, the moving image codec 3, the communication control unit 4, and the camera control device 5 are arranged on the remote side, and the communication control unit 7 and the moving image codec 10 are provided. The monitor television 12 and the camera operation unit 8 are arranged on the side of the own station which communicates with a remote place through the station line 6. Further, in the drawing, for simplification of description, only a portion for picking up the image of the conference attendee 1 is extracted on the remote side, and only a portion for displaying the image is extracted on the own station side. Needless to say, includes voice systems, data systems, and various operation systems.

The operation of the above-described structure will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 11 (A), it is assumed that the television camera 2 picks up an image of the person B in the conference attendee 1 with the person B at the center. In this case, the image of the person B captured by the television camera 2 is encoded by the moving image codec 3 and transmitted from the communication control unit 4 to the local station side through the station line 6. On the local station side, when the video is received from the station line 6 through the communication control unit 7, it is decoded into a video signal through the moving image codec 10 and displayed on the monitor television 12 as a display person 13.

In the conference attendee 1, the speaker is the person D.
1, the local station operates the camera operating section 8 to transmit a control signal to the camera control device 5, and the direction of the television camera 2 is changed through a panning operating means (not shown).
As shown in FIG. 1 (B), the conference attendee 1
The person D in the image is placed in the center so as to be imaged. In this case, the image of the person D captured by the television camera 2 is transmitted to the local station side through the moving image codec 3, the communication control unit 4, and the station line 6, and on the local station side, from the station line 6 to the communication control unit 7, Obtain the video signal through the video codec 10,
It is displayed as a display person 13 on the monitor TV 12.

Furthermore, when the speaker of the conference attendee 1 changes to the person A, the camera operating section 8 is operated on the local station side to transmit a control signal to the camera control device 5 to change the direction of the television camera 2. Instead, as shown in FIG. 11 (C), the television camera 2 is set in a state in which the person A of the conference attendees 1 is placed at the center of the image. In this case, the image of the person A captured by the television camera 2 is transmitted to the local station side through the moving image codec 3, the communication control unit 4, and the station line 6, and on the local station side, from the station line 6 to the communication control unit 7, A video signal is obtained through the moving image codec 10 and displayed as a display person 13 on the monitor TV 12.

As described above, by operating the camera operation unit 8 on the local station side and panning the television camera 2 through the camera control device 5, the person speaking in the conference attendees 1 is centered. Since the image picked up by the user can be displayed on the monitor TV 12 on the local station side, the person on the monitor TV 12 on the local station side who is speaking out of the conference attendees 1 at the remote location with the display person 13 on the monitor TV 12 You can choose to watch.

[0010]

Since the conventional video conference apparatus is configured as described above, it has the following problems.

The control as to which person of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side determines the panning position of the television camera 2 is controlled by the speaker identification control, the control by the operation means on the remote side, or the own station. Although various controls such as control by the operating means on the side are applied, even if the television camera 2 pans and the person to be imaged changes among the conference attendees 1, the display on the monitor television 12 is on the local station side. Since only the person 13 is changed, there is a problem that the local station cannot accurately grasp the positional relationship of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side.

In reality, although the conference attendees 1 are in different positions side by side, the monitor television 12 on their own station side.
Since it is fixedly displayed at the position, there is no sense of realism, and when you try to search for a specific person by changing the panning position of the TV camera 2 from your own station, operate the TV camera 2 in the opposite direction. It causes inconvenience such as being lost

In order to solve such an inconvenience, a plurality of TV cameras 2 are installed, and the monitor TV 1 is installed on the own station side.
There is also a method in which all of the conference attendees 1 are always displayed by using two as a plurality, but the amount of transmitted information becomes enormous, which is not a realistic method considering the number of station lines 6 and equipment costs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a video conference apparatus which has an economical structure and can accurately grasp the positional relationship of a plurality of conference participants, and which has a good operability of an imaging camera. To provide.

[0015]

In order to achieve such an object, a video conference apparatus according to the present invention is an image pickup camera means for picking up an image of a subject, and an image pickup direction for predetermining a plurality of image pickup directions of the image pickup camera means. Registering means, memory means for storing a plurality of images corresponding to individual imaging directions set based on the imaging direction registration means, and correspondence with individual imaging directions registered in the imaging direction registration means A plurality of stored images read from the memory means,
A display control unit for displaying the image in an image picked up by the image pickup unit is provided.

Further, in another video conference apparatus according to the present invention, an image pickup camera means for picking up an image of a subject, an image pickup direction registration means for presetting a plurality of image pickup directions of the image pickup camera means, and the image pickup direction registration means. Memory means for storing a plurality of images corresponding to individual imaging directions set on the basis of a plurality of images read from the memory means in association with the individual imaging directions registered in the imaging direction registration means. A display control means for displaying the stored image of the image stored in the captured image from the image capturing means, and an image corresponding to the captured image of the image capturing camera means among the plurality of stored images displayed by the display control means. It is provided with a conversion means for displaying in a state different from other stored images.

[0017]

According to the video conference apparatus of the present invention, in displaying the image signal of the subject imaged by the image pickup camera means through the display control means, the image pickup direction is associated with each image pickup direction registered in the image pickup direction registration means. , A plurality of images stored in the memory means can be inset and displayed.

Further, according to another video conference apparatus of the present invention, in displaying the video signal of the object imaged by the imaging camera means through the display control means, the individual imaging directions registered in the imaging direction registration means. In correspondence with
The plurality of images stored in the memory means are inset-displayed, and the plurality of inset-displayed storage images corresponding to the captured image of the imaging camera means are displayed by the conversion means in a state different from other registered images.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 9 is a still image codec that encodes the image from the TV camera 2 as a still image on the remote side and sends it to the station line 6 through the communication control unit 4, and 11 is the communication control unit from the station line 6 on the local station side. 7, a still image codec for decoding the encoded video signal received through 7 and outputting it as a still image video signal, 15 an image memory for storing a plurality of still image video signals from the still image codec 11, 14 an image memory 15 A memory controller that controls various signals and sends out various synchronization signals.
Reference numeral 16 is a picture-in-picture circuit that fits and combines a plurality of video signals from the image memory 15 with a moving picture video signal received from the station line 6 through the communication control unit 7, and 18 is sent to the communication control unit 4. This is a panning position memory which is provided correspondingly and stores a plurality of panning positions of the television camera 2.

Reference numeral 17 is a sub-screen fitted into the screen on which the display person 13 is displayed on the monitor television 12. By the way, the camera operation unit 8 is a panning operation signal S for operating the panning position of the television camera 2 on the remote side, a conference participant setting signal N for setting the number of conference attendees 1 on the remote side, and a conference on the remote side. Based on an operation by a conference participant on the local station side, a preset command signal P for presetting the panning position corresponding to the attendee 1 and a participant selection signal SEL for selecting the panning position corresponding to the conference attendee 1 on the remote side are operated. It is given to the communication control unit 7.

Further, the communication control section 7 sends to the memory controller 14 a storage number command signal NS for setting the number of screens to be stored, and an image writing command signal WR instructing storage of a video signal. Further, the memory controller 14 controls the writing of the number of screens corresponding to the stored number command signal NS from the communication control unit 7 in the image memory 15 based on the image writing command signal WR, and these stored screens are predetermined. The image memory 15 is controlled so as to be read out as a video signal that comes to a position, and the picture-in-picture circuit 16 is further controlled by the video signal switching signal CH.
For the output of, the timing control for switching the video signal from the moving image codec 10 or the video signal from the image memory 15 is performed.

On the other hand, the synchronizing signal SY is output from the moving image codec 10 to the memory controller 14 in order to synchronize the video signals. The communication control unit 4 sends a panning position control signal SR for setting the panning position of the television camera 2 to the still image codec 9, and the camera control device 5 follows the panning position control signal SR to control the television camera 2. Control the panning position.

The operation of the above-described structure will be described below with reference to the explanatory diagram of the display screen shown in FIG. 2 and the preset explanatory diagram shown in FIG.

In a normal state, the image of the conference attendee 1 on the remote side, which is picked up by the television camera 2 on the remote side, is encoded by the moving image codec 3 and sent from the communication control unit 4 to the station line 6. . The coded video signal received from the station line 6 through the communication control unit 7 is a moving image codec 10
Picture-in-picture circuit 1
It is output to the monitor television 12 through 6 and displayed as the display person 13.

When the conference participants on the local side grasp the faces and the numbers of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side and their seating positions, the TV camera 2 is operated through the camera operation unit 8.
Do this through the panning position of the
You will know this through voice communication. In this way, first, when the number of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side can be grasped, this is input from the camera operation unit 8.

As a result, the conference participant setting signal N is sent from the camera operating section 8 to the communication control section 7, and the preset number of panning positions of the television camera 2 is set. Based on this, the communication controller 7 sends to the memory controller 14 a storage number command signal NS for setting the number of still images to be stored in the image memory 15. As a result, the memory controller 14 secures a storage area for the number of images set in the image memory 15.

Next, from the camera operating section 8 to the television camera 2
When an operation is performed to control the panning position of the panning operation signal, the camera operation unit 8 sends a panning operation signal S to the communication control unit 7.
Is sent. The panning operation signal S is sent from the communication control unit 7 to the communication control unit 4 through the station line 6. The communication controller 4 sends the panning position control signal SR to the camera controller 5 based on the sent panning operation signal S.
Is output, and the camera control device 5 controls the television camera 2 based on this, to control the panning position.

In the first embodiment, the conference attendee 1 on the remote side is
There are four persons, person A, person B, person C, and person D, who are sitting side by side from left to right. First, prior to the start of the conference, the seating positions of the persons are sequentially arranged from left to right. register.

In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), by operating the camera operating unit 8 on the local station side, the panning position of the television camera 2 is confirmed on the monitor television 12, and the person A side is confirmed. The display person 13 of the person A is operated so that the person A is in the center of the display screen of the monitor television 12.

When the positioning of the person A is completed, the camera operation section 8 is operated to perform an operation for registering the position. As a result, the preset command signal P is sent from the camera operation unit 8 to the communication control unit 7, and the communication control unit 7 which has received the preset command signal P notifies the communication control unit 4 of this through the station line 6.

As a result, the communication control unit 4 stores the panning position of the TV camera 2 at this point in the panning position memory 18, and the video of the person A of the conference attendees 1 imaged by the TV camera 2 is displayed as a still image codec. It encodes through 9 and sends out to the office line 6. Along with this, the communication control unit 7 decodes the still image coded signal of the person A received through the station line 6 through the still image codec 11 and sends it to the image memory 15.

On the other hand, the image writing command signal WR is output from the communication controller 7 to the memory controller 14,
The image memory 15 stores this still image. as a result,
The image memory 15 stores the image of the person A in the first area of the storage area for four screens. And person A
The video signal having only the image of is output to the picture-in-picture circuit 16. Memory controller 1 at the same time
4 to the picture-in-picture circuit 16, a video signal switching signal CH for selecting the output image of the image memory 15 is output only at the timing of the image area of the person A, and the monitor TV 12 outputs the moving image codec from the TV camera 2 to the monitor TV 12. 3, the communication control unit 4, the station line 6, the communication control unit 7, the display of the moving image of the person A sent through the moving image codec 10 In addition to the person 13 to fit the still image of the person A in the area A as a sub-screen 17 The combined image will be displayed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the camera operating section 8 is operated to operate the panning position of the television camera 2 to the person B side and an appropriate position can be confirmed on the monitor television 12. The user operates the camera operation unit 8 to perform the operation for registering the position.

As a result, the preset command signal P is sent from the camera operating section 8 to the communication control section 7, and the communication control section 7 receiving the preset command signal P informs the communication control section 4 of this through the station line 6. To do.

As a result, the communication control unit 4 stores the panning position of the TV camera 2 at this point in the panning position memory 18, and the still image codec of the image of the person B of the conference attendees 1 imaged by the TV camera 2 is displayed. It encodes through 9 and sends out to the office line 6. Along with this, the communication control unit 7 decodes the still image coded signal of the person B received through the station line 6 through the still image codec 11 and sends it to the image memory 15.

On the other hand, the communication controller 7 outputs an image writing command signal WR to the memory controller 14,
The image memory 15 stores this still image. as a result,
In addition to the image of the person A, the image of the person B is stored in the image memory 15 in the second area of the storage area for four screens.

Then, the video signal having the images of the person A and the person B is output to the picture-in-picture circuit 16. At the same time, the memory controller 14 outputs to the picture-in-picture circuit 16 a video signal switching signal CH for selecting the output image of the image memory 15 only at the timing of the image areas of the person A and the person B.
2 includes a television camera 2, a moving image codec 3, a communication control unit 4, a station line 6, a communication control unit 7, and a moving image codec 10.
In addition to the displayed person 13 of the moving image of the person B sent through, the still image of the person A is displayed in the area A, and the image in which the still image of the person B is embedded and combined in the area B is displayed as the sub-screen 17.

Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the panning position of the television camera 2 is set to the person C and the person D.
By repeating the same operation while operating the same, the images of the person A and the person B are stored in the image memory 15 and the person C and the person D are respectively stored in the third and fourth areas of the storage area for four screens. The image will be stored.

Then, the video signal having the images of the persons A, B, C and D is output to the picture-in-picture circuit 16. At the same time, the memory controller 14 outputs to the picture-in-picture circuit 16 a video signal switching signal CH for selecting the output image of the image memory 15 only at the timing of the image areas of the persons A, B, C, D, and the monitor television 12 In addition to the display person 13 of the moving image of the person imaged by the television camera 2 sent from the television camera 2 through the moving image codec 3, the communication control unit 4, the station line 6, the communication control unit 7, and the moving image codec 10, A still image of the person A is displayed in the area A of the screen 17, a still image of the person B is displayed in the area B, a still image of the person C is displayed in the area C, and a video image in which the still image of the person D is inlaid and combined in the area D is displayed. .

On the other hand, on the remote side, the panning positions of the television cameras 2 corresponding to the persons A, B, C and D are stored in the panning position memory 18.

Through the operations described above, the image memory 1
5, still picture images of persons A, B, C, D are stored, and are displayed in the areas A, B, C, D of the sub-screen 17 through the picture-in-picture circuit 16 so as to be embedded in the original moving picture image. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), the television camera 2 on the remote side is capturing an image of the person B, and the image of the person B is displayed on the monitor television 12 as the display person 13. Even below, the conference attendee 1 on the remote side can always be seen on the sub-screen 17.

On the other hand, since the arrangement of the persons on the sub-screen 17 and the arrangement of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side are displayed in association with each other, the positional relationship of the persons can be known. Further, by displaying the names and symbols corresponding to the respective persons together with the display person 13 on the display screen of the monitor television 12 or in the sub-screen 17 as shown in FIG. The conference attendee 1 can be better understood, but this can be more easily realized by combining the character generators.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2A, the television camera 2 is picking up an image of the person B on the remote side, and the display person 13
When the image of the person B is displayed as a moving image and a request is made to view the image of the person D while watching the sub screen 17 on the local station side, the person D is selected through the camera operation unit 8. Perform similar operations.

As a result, the participant selection signal SEL is sent from the camera operation section 8 to the communication control section 7 and given to the communication control section 4 through the station line 6. The communication control unit 4 receiving this signal reads the panning position of the television camera 2 corresponding to the person D from the panning position memory 18 and gives it to the camera control device 5. As a result, the television camera 2 is controlled to the panning position where the person D is imaged, and the person D is imaged. As a result, the image of the person D is transmitted, and an image in which the person D is the display person 13 is obtained on the monitor television 12 as shown in FIG. The name or symbol displayed at the same time is switched to that corresponding to the person D.

If the number of the attendees 1 changes during the conference, the number of the attendees 1 is newly set from the camera operation unit 8 to change the area of the image memory 15 and perform a preset operation again. good. In this case, it is possible to freely select whether to perform all the operations from the beginning or to perform only the addition / deletion operation by the software installed in the system.

Even if the participant selection signal SEL input from the camera operation unit 8 is an ID signal for directly selecting a person, scan control for selecting right or left of the currently displayed person 13 is performed. It may be a signal.

In the above embodiment, the sub-screens 17 are arranged side by side, but other arrangements are possible.
It is also possible to select other display arrangements that allow the positional relationship of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side to be grasped.

Embodiment 2 In Embodiment 1 described above, the panning position of the television camera 2 is preset on the local station side. However, as shown in the schematic block diagram of FIG. 4, a camera provided on the remote side is shown. Necessary information input through the operation unit 22, for example, the conference participant setting signal N corresponding to the number of the conference attendees 1, the television camera 2
, A panning operation signal S for panning to a preset position, a preset command signal P for presetting the panning position of the television camera 2, a participant selection signal SEL for operating the panning position of the television camera 2 at the preset panning position, and the like can be input. The communication control unit 4 is configured to transmit to the communication control unit 7 through the station line 6,
The camera operation unit 8 or the camera operation unit 22 may be configured to preset the panning position of the TV camera 2 or to subsequently operate to the panning position of the TV camera 2, and the same effect can be obtained. Further, there is an effect that the TV camera 2 can be operated in exactly the same manner on the remote side and on the local side.

Third Embodiment As shown in the schematic configuration diagram of FIG. 5, necessary information is input by the camera operation unit 22 provided on the remote side, for example, conference participants corresponding to the number of conference attendees 1. A setting signal N, a panning operation signal S that pans the TV camera 2 to a preset position, a preset command signal P that presets the panning position of the TV camera 2, and a participant selection signal SEL that operates the panning position of the TV camera 2 to the preset panning position. And the like can be input, and by controlling the image memory 20 to which the output of the television camera 2 on the remote side is given from the communication control unit 4 through the memory controller 21, the sub screen 17 can be a source of the remote side in advance. A screen is generated in advance, and this screen is used for still image codec 9, communication control unit 4, station line 6, communication control. 7. The same effect can be obtained by setting it in the image memory 15 on the local station side through the still image codec 11. Further, when there are many communicating parties as seen from the remote side, the preset operation can be performed. The effect is that it can be completed once.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 9 is a still image codec that encodes the image from the TV camera 2 as a still image on the remote side and sends it to the station line 6 through the communication control unit 4, and 11 is the communication control unit from the station line 6 on the local station side. 7, a still image codec for decoding the encoded video signal received through 7 and outputting it as a still image video signal, 15 an image memory for storing a plurality of still image video signals from the still image codec 11, 14 an image memory 15 A memory controller that controls various signals and sends out various synchronization signals.
Reference numeral 16 is a picture-in-picture circuit that fits and combines a plurality of video signals from the image memory 15 with a moving picture video signal received from the station line 6 through the communication control unit 7, and 18 is sent to the communication control unit 4. This is a panning position memory which is provided correspondingly and stores a plurality of panning positions of the television camera 2. In addition, 17 is a monitor television 12.
It is a sub-screen fitted in the screen where the display person 13 is displayed.

19 is a picture-in-picture circuit 1
Of the video signals sent from 6 to the monitor TV 12,
The level converter 19 performs level conversion so that the brightness of a specific part is different from that of other parts.

Incidentally, the camera operating section 8 is a panning operation signal S for operating the panning position of the television camera 2 on the remote side, a conference participant setting signal N for setting the number of conference attendees 1 on the remote side, and a remote location. Operation of the preset command signal P for presetting the panning position corresponding to the conference attendee 1 on the local side and the participant selection signal SEL for selecting the panning position corresponding to the conference attendee 1 on the remote side by the conference participant on the local station side. To the communication control unit 7 based on the above.

Further, the communication control section 7 sends out a storage number command signal NS for setting the number of screens to be stored to the memory controller 14, and an image writing command signal WR for instructing storage of a video signal. Further, the memory controller 14 controls the writing of the number of screens corresponding to the stored number command signal NS from the communication control unit 7 in the image memory 15 based on the image writing command signal WR, and these stored screens are at predetermined positions. The image memory 15 is controlled so as to be read out as a video signal such that the video signal from the moving picture codec 10 or the video signal from the image memory 15 is switched by the video signal switching signal CH. Perform timing control to do so.

From the communication control section 4, a level conversion control signal LC is further sent to the level converter 19 so that the level of a specific area in the sub-screen 17 in the image from the picture-in-picture circuit 16 is different from the other areas. To do.

On the other hand, the synchronizing signal SY is output from the moving image codec 10 to the memory controller 14 in order to synchronize the video signals. The communication control unit 4 sends a panning position control signal SR for setting the panning position of the television camera 2 to the still image codec 9, and the camera control device 5 follows the panning position control signal SR to control the television camera 2. Control the panning position.

The operation of the above-described structure will be described below with reference to the explanatory diagram of the display screen shown in FIG. 7 and the preset explanatory diagram shown in FIG.

In a normal state, the image of the conference attendee 1 on the remote side, which is picked up by the television camera 2 on the remote side, is encoded by the moving image codec 3 and sent from the communication control section 4 to the station line 6. The encoded video signal received from the station line 6 through the communication control unit 7 is decoded through the moving image codec 10 and is output to the monitor television 12 through the picture-in-picture circuit 16 and displayed as the display person 13.

When the participants of the conference on the local side grasp the faces and the numbers of the participants 1 of the conference on the remote side and their seating positions, the panning position and the zoom operation of the TV camera 2 are performed through the camera operating unit 8. You will either do this through or you will know this through voice communication. In this way, first, when the number of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side can be grasped, this is input from the camera operation unit 8.

As a result, the conference participant setting signal N is sent from the camera operating section 8 to the communication control section 7, and the preset number of panning positions of the television camera 2 is set. Based on this, the communication controller 7 sends to the memory controller 14 a storage number command signal NS for setting the number of still images to be stored in the image memory 15. As a result, the memory controller 14 secures a storage area for the number of images set in the image memory 15.

Next, from the camera operating section 8 to the television camera 2
When an operation is performed to control the panning position of the panning operation signal, the camera operation unit 8 sends a panning operation signal S to the communication control unit 7.
Is sent. The panning operation signal S is sent from the communication control unit 7 to the communication control unit 4 through the station line 6. The communication controller 4 sends the panning position control signal SR to the camera controller 5 based on the sent panning operation signal S.
Is output, and the camera control device 5 controls the television camera 2 based on this, to control the panning position.

In the fourth embodiment, the conference attendee 1 on the remote side
There are four persons, person A, person B, person C, and person D, who are sitting side by side from left to right. First, prior to the start of the conference, the seating positions of the persons are sequentially arranged from left to right. register.

In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 3A, by operating the camera operating section 8 on the local station side, the panning position of the television camera 2 is confirmed on the monitor television 12, and the person A side is confirmed. The display person 13 of the person A is operated so that the person A is in the center of the display screen of the monitor television 12. When the positioning of the person A is completed, the camera operation unit 8 is operated to perform an operation for registering the position. As a result, the preset command signal P is sent from the camera operation unit 8 to the communication control unit 7, and the preset command signal P
The communication control unit 7 which has received the notification notifies the communication control 4 of this through the station line 6.

As a result, the communication control unit 4 stores the panning position of the television camera 2 at this point in the panning position memory 18, and the video of the person A of the conference attendees 1 imaged by the television camera 2 is displayed as a still image codec. It encodes through 9 and sends out to the office line 6. Along with this, the communication control unit 7 decodes the still image coded signal of the person A received through the station line 6 through the still image codec 11 and sends it to the image memory 15.

On the other hand, the communication controller 7 outputs an image writing command signal WR to the memory controller 14,
The image memory 15 stores this still image. as a result,
The image memory 15 stores the image of the person A in the first area of the storage area for four screens. And person A
The video signal having only the image of is output to the picture-in-picture circuit 16.

At the same time, the video signal switching signal CH for selecting the output image of the image memory 15 is output from the memory controller 14 to the picture-in-picture circuit 16 only at the timing of the image area of the person A.
2 includes a television camera 2, a moving image codec 3, a communication control unit 4, a station line 6, a communication control unit 7, and a moving image codec 10.
In addition to the display of the moving image of the person A sent through the, the sub-screen 17 displays a video in which the still image of the person A is embedded and combined in the area A.

Then, from the communication control unit 4 to the level converter 1
For 9, the level conversion control signal LC is output to set the area A in which the person A mainly displayed on the monitor television 12 is at the normal level and the other areas at a level lower than the normal level, and output the level conversion control signal LC. It is emphasized that the person mainly displayed on the television 12 corresponds to the area A.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the camera operating section 8 is operated and the panning position of the television camera 2 is operated to the person B side, an appropriate position can be confirmed on the monitor television 12. The user operates the camera operation unit 8 to perform the operation for registering the position. As a result, the preset command signal P is sent from the camera operation unit 8 to the communication control unit 7, and the communication control unit 7 which has received the preset command signal P notifies the communication control unit 4 of this through the station line 6.

As a result, the communication control unit 4 stores the panning position of the TV camera 2 at this point in the panning position memory 18, and the still image codec of the image of the person B of the conference attendees 1 imaged by the TV camera 2 is recorded. It encodes through 9 and sends out to the office line 6. Along with this, the communication control unit 7 decodes the still image coded signal of the person B received through the station line 6 through the still image codec 11 and sends it to the image memory 15.

On the other hand, the communication controller 7 outputs an image writing command signal WR to the memory controller 14,
The image memory 15 stores this still image. as a result,
In addition to the image of the person A, the image of the person B is stored in the image memory 15 in the second area of the storage area for four screens. Then, a video signal having the images of the person A and the person B is output to the picture-in-picture circuit 16. At the same time, the memory controller 14 outputs to the picture-in-picture circuit 16 a video signal switching signal CH for selecting the output image of the image memory 15 only at the timing of the image areas of the person A and the person B, and the monitor television 12 displays the television signal. In addition to the display person 13 of the moving image of the person B sent from the camera 2 through the moving image codec 3, the communication control unit 4, the station line 6, the communication control unit 7, and the moving image codec 10, the person in the area A as the sub-screen 17 A still image, area B
A video in which a still image of the person B is fitted and synthesized is displayed on.

Then, from the communication control unit 4 to the level converter 1
For 9, the level conversion control signal LC is output so that the area B in which the person B mainly displayed on the monitor television 12 is displayed as a normal level and the other areas are set at a level lower than normal, and the monitor is displayed. It is emphasized that the person mainly displayed on the television 12 corresponds to the area B.

Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the panning position of the television camera 2 is set to the person C and the person D.
By repeating the same operation while operating the same, the images of the person A and the person B are stored in the image memory 15 and the person C and the person D are respectively stored in the third and fourth areas of the storage area for four screens. The image will be stored. And person A,
A video signal having B, C, and D images is output to the picture-in-picture circuit 16. At the same time, the memory controller 14 outputs to the picture-in-picture circuit 16 a video signal switching signal CH for selecting the output image of the image memory 15 only at the timing of the image areas of the persons A, B, C, D, and the monitor television 12 Has a TV camera 2
From the moving image codec 3, the communication control unit 4, the station line 6, the communication control unit 7, and the moving image codec 10 by the television camera 2, the moving image display person 13 of the imaged person.
In addition, a still image of the person A is displayed in the area A of the sub-screen 17, a still image of the person B is displayed in the area B, a still image of the person C is displayed in the area C, and a still image of the person D is displayed in the area D. It will be.

Also in this case, similarly, the level conversion control signal LC is output so that the area displayed on the display person 13 displayed on the monitor TV 12 is set to the normal level and the other areas are set to the level lower than the normal level. And monitor TV 12
It is emphasized and displayed that the display person mainly displayed in 1 corresponds to the area displayed brighter than other areas.

Through the above operation, the image memory 1
5, still picture images of persons A, B, C, D are stored, and are displayed in the areas A, B, C, D of the sub-screen 17 through the picture-in-picture circuit 16 so as to be embedded in the original moving picture image. become. On the other hand, on the remote side, the panning positions of the television cameras 2 corresponding to the persons A, B, C, D are stored in the panning position memory 18.

As a result of performing the preset operation as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the television camera 2 on the remote side is photographing the person B, and the image of the person B is displayed on the monitor television 12. Even in the situation where the person is displayed as the display person 13, the conference attendee 1 on the remote side is displayed on the sub screen 17
Can be seen at any time in the area B of the sub screen 17
It is possible to clearly identify which area the displayed person 13 corresponds to by displaying only the area brighter than other areas.

On the other hand, since the arrangement of the persons on the sub-screen 17 and the arrangement of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side are displayed in association with each other, the positional relationship of the persons can be known. Further, by displaying the names and symbols corresponding to the respective persons together with the display person 13 on the display screen of the monitor television 12 or in the sub-screen 17 as shown in FIG. The conference attendee 1 can be better understood, but this can be easily realized by combining the character generators.

Now, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the television camera 2 is picking up an image of the person B on the remote side, and the displayed person 13
When the image of the person B is displayed as a moving image and a request is made to view the image of the person D while watching the sub screen 17 on the local station side, the person D is selected through the camera operation unit 8. Perform similar operations.

As a result, the participant selection signal SEL is sent from the camera operation section 8 to the communication control section 7 and given to the communication control section 4 through the station line 6. The communication control unit 4 receiving this signal reads the panning position of the television camera 2 corresponding to the person D from the panning position memory 18 and gives it to the camera control device 5.

As a result, the television camera 2 is controlled to the panning position for picking up the person D, and the person D is picked up. As a result, the image of the person D is transmitted, and the person D is displayed on the monitor television 12 as shown in FIG.
You can get the video. The name or symbol displayed at the same time is switched to that corresponding to the person D.

At the same time, from the communication control unit 4 to the level converter 1
The level conversion control signal LC sent to 9 switches the display brightness of the area D corresponding to the person D to be brighter than the brightness of other areas, so that the person D who is the display person 13 corresponds to the area D. It is possible to clearly discriminate that the person is a person who is in charge, and it is possible to clearly recognize the positional relationship with other regions.

If the number of the attendees 1 changes during the conference, the number of the attendees 1 is newly set from the camera operating unit 8 to change the area of the image memory 15 and perform a preset operation again. good. In this case, it is possible to freely select whether to perform all the operations from the beginning or to perform only the addition / deletion operation by the software installed in the system.

Even if the participant selection signal SEL input from the camera operation unit 8 is an ID signal for directly selecting a person, scan control for selecting right or left of the currently displayed person 13 is performed. It may be a signal.

In the above embodiment, the sub-screens 17 are arranged side by side, but other arrangements are possible.
It is also possible to select other display arrangements that allow the positional relationship of the conference attendees 1 on the remote side to be grasped.

Fifth Embodiment In the above fourth embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the area of the sub-screen 17 corresponding to the display person 13 displayed on the monitor television 12 is displayed brighter than other areas to distinguish it from other areas. Although illustrated, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the area of the sub-screen 17 corresponding to the display person 13 displayed on the monitor television 12 is displayed darker than the other area and the other area is displayed. The display person 1
It is possible to clearly identify the positional relationship and the like with the other areas of No. 3. Further, not only the brightness of the screen of the area corresponding to the display person 13 in the sub-screen 17, but also the hue may be distinguished. In this case, a hue converter is used instead of the level converter 19. The same effect can be realized.

[ Embodiment 6 ] In the above-mentioned Embodiment 5, the configuration in which the panning position of the television camera 2 is preset on the local station side has been exemplified, but as shown in the schematic configuration diagram shown in FIG. 9, the camera provided on the remote side is shown. Necessary information input through the operation unit 22, for example, the conference participant setting signal N corresponding to the number of the conference attendees 1, the television camera 2
, A panning operation signal S for panning to a preset position, a preset command signal P for presetting the panning position of the television camera 2, a participant selection signal SEL for operating the panning position of the television camera 2 at the preset panning position, and the like can be input. The communication control unit 4 is configured to transmit to the communication control unit 7 through the station line 6,
The camera operation unit 8 or the camera operation unit 22 may be configured to preset the panning position of the TV camera 2 or to subsequently operate to the panning position of the TV camera 2, and the same effect can be obtained. Further, there is an effect that the TV camera 2 can be operated in exactly the same manner on the remote side and on the local side.

Embodiment 7 Further , as shown in the schematic configuration diagram of FIG. 10, necessary information is input by the camera operation unit 22 provided on the remote side, for example, conference attendees corresponding to the number of conference attendees 1. A setting signal N, a panning operation signal S that pans the TV camera 2 to a preset position, a preset command signal P that presets the panning position of the TV camera 2, and a participant selection signal SEL that operates the panning position of the TV camera 2 to the preset panning position. And the like can be input, and by controlling the image memory 20 to which the output of the television camera 2 on the remote side is given from the communication control unit 4 through the memory controller 21, the sub screen 17 can be a source of the remote side in advance. A screen is generated in advance, and this screen is displayed on the still image codec 9, the communication control unit 4, the station line 6, the communication control. The same effect can be obtained by setting the image memory 15 on the local side through the unit 7 and the still image codec 11, and further, when there are many communicating parties when viewed from the remote side, the preset operation is performed. There is an effect that it can be completed once.

[0087]

As described above, according to the video conference apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to constantly display and grasp a plurality of conference attendees on the receiving side regardless of the panning position of the camera. Since the panning position of the TV camera on the transmitting side can be selected while watching the sub screen of the monitor TV on the side, it is possible to construct a system with excellent operability and a sense of presence.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen on the receiving side.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of panning positions of conference attendees and image presets.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a display screen on the receiving side.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the display screen on the receiving side.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video conference device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional video conference apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Conference attendees 2 Television camera 3 Moving image codec 4 Communication control unit 5 Camera control device 6 Station line 7 Communication control unit 8 Camera operating unit 9 Still image codec 10 Moving image codec 11 Still image codec 12 Monitor television 13 Display person 14 Memory Controller 15 Image memory 16 Picture-in-picture circuit 17 Sub-screen 18 Panning position memory 20 Image memory 21 Memory controller 22 Camera operation unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup camera means for picking up an image of a subject, an image pickup direction registration means for presetting a plurality of image pickup directions of the image pickup camera means, and an individual image pickup direction set based on the image pickup direction registration means. A corresponding memory means for storing a plurality of images, and a plurality of stored images read out from the memory means in association with the individual imaging directions registered in the imaging direction registration means are captured by the imaging means. A video conferencing apparatus, comprising: a display control unit for displaying an image embedded in an image. 2. The transmission means according to claim 1, wherein the image picked up by the image pickup camera means is encoded and transmitted, the transmitted image is decoded on the receiving side and converted into a video signal, and the image signal is given to the display control means. A video conferencing device characterized by being provided. 3. The video conference apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the memory means is provided on the receiving side. 4. An image pickup camera means for picking up an image of a subject, an image pickup direction registration means for presetting a plurality of image pickup directions of the image pickup camera means, and an individual image pickup direction set based on the image pickup direction registration means. A corresponding memory means for storing a plurality of images, and a plurality of stored images read out from the memory means in association with the individual imaging directions registered in the imaging direction registration means are captured by the imaging means. Display control means for inset display in the image, and conversion for displaying an image corresponding to the imaged image of the imaging camera means among the plurality of stored images insetly displayed by the display control means in a state different from other stored images A video conferencing apparatus comprising: 5. The transmission device according to claim 4, wherein the image captured by the image capturing camera device is encoded and transmitted, the transmitted image is decoded on the receiving side to be converted into a video signal, and the image is transmitted to the display control device. A video conferencing device characterized by being provided. 6. The video conference apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the memory means is provided on the receiving side.