JPH07123390A - Controller for video conference system and image input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a controller for an image input device which is suitable when it is used in a video conf erence system where the operations of plural cameras are easy and systems like this. CONSTITUTION:Each moving picture information on plural connected stations is displayed as window screens 13A, 13B, 13C and 13D on a monitor 12. The station corresponding to the moving pictures of the window screens displayed on this monitor 12 is selected by a pointing device on the monitor 12. The operation and control of the camera of this selected station is made possible by the camera operation panel window 15 on the monitor 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video conference system and a controller for an image input device suitable for use in such a system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital communication lines have become widespread, and a videophone / conference system using a digital line network has attracted attention. Standardization is a prerequisite for the spread of communication systems. There are five recommendations regarding video and audio communication. H. 221 is 64 Kbit / s to 1,920
The frame structure of the Kbit / s channel is specified, and Two
30 designates a frame synchronization control signal and a notification signal,
H. 242 defines an interconnection procedure up to 2 Mbit / s. In addition, H. 261 is P × 64 Kbit / s (P =
1 to 30), the H.264 standard is defined. Reference numeral 320 defines a voice and video communication system configuration.

Further, in a multi-point video conference system, at present, a star-shaped connection type is generally used as shown in FIG. The method of displaying moving images from the other station is to switch multiple stations in a time-sharing manner, to display the one from the station that made a statement, and to set multiple windows so that the moving image from the other station is displayed. There is a method of fixedly assigning an image to each window.

[0004]

However, in the method of time-divisionally switching the moving image from the partner station and the method of displaying the moving image from the speaking station, the partner camera can be freely operated (pan, tilt). And zoom). That is, when trying to operate the partner camera, the moving image from the partner station must be set to be fixedly displayed on the monitor screen, and the advantage of multipoint communication cannot be utilized.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate such inconvenience, and to provide a video conference system in which a plurality of cameras can be easily operated and a control device for an image input device suitable for use in such a system. And

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a video conference system according to the present invention is a video conference system for performing a video conference between multiple points by mutually communicating at least images and sounds. Display means for displaying moving image information of a plurality of connected stations on a window screen, station selecting means for selecting a station corresponding to the moving image on the window screen displayed on the displaying means, and this station selecting means And a camera operation control means for controlling the operation of the camera of the station selected by.

In the above arrangement, the display means is controlled so that the selected station can be identified.

Further, in the above structure, the camera operation control means is constructed to have a control window displayed on the screen of the display means.

From another point of view, the video conference system according to the present invention is a video conference system for conducting a video conference between multiple points by mutually communicating at least images and voices, and a plurality of connected video conference systems. Display means for displaying moving picture information of each station on a window screen, station selecting means for selecting a station corresponding to the moving picture on the window screen displayed on the display means, and moving picture transmitted from the plurality of stations. A first mode in which information is displayed in a time-sharing manner, a second mode in which only stations in which speech is made are displayed in moving images, and other stations are displayed in still images, and only stations selected from a plurality of stations are displayed. It is configured to have a mode selection unit capable of selecting one of the third modes displayed in the moving image.

Further, in the above structure, a control means for controlling the operation of the camera for obtaining the image is provided.

Further, in the above structure, the cameras of stations other than the own station can be controlled by the control means only when the mode selecting means selects the third mode.

Further, in the above structure, when the mode selection means selects the first or second mode, the camera of only the own station can be controlled by the control means.

From another point of view, a control device for controlling a plurality of image input devices according to the present invention comprises a display means for displaying moving image information obtained from the plurality of image input devices on a window screen. A selection means for enabling selection of an image input device corresponding to a moving image on a window screen displayed on the display means, and a control means for controlling operation of the image input device selected by the selection means. It

In the above structure, the display means is controlled so that the selected image input device can be identified.

In the above structure, the control means includes a control window displayed on the screen of the display means.

In the above structure, the selecting means includes a pointing device for selecting an image input device on the screen of the display means.

[0017]

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

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention as a video conference terminal. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a video camera for photographing a participant in a conference of the own station, 11 is a pan head for controlling operation of pan and tilt of the video camera 10, and 12 is a station and / or a conference participating station. A monitor that is a display unit for displaying a captured image, 14 is a speaker, 16 is a microphone, and 18 is an operation unit for controlling panning, tilting, zooming, and the like of the local camera 10 and cameras of other stations, and switching control of the cameras. Is. This operation unit 18
In the present embodiment, is displayed as a window on the display screen 12a of the monitor 12 as described later. 1
Reference numeral 9 denotes a switching control unit for switching and displaying the transmitted video signal in a corresponding window, as shown in FIG. This switching control unit 19 is provided on the operation unit 18
Control signal from the multi-point connection device 6 via the main body 22
Transmit to 0. Reference numeral 20 is an input / output device terminal such as a computer keyboard, a still image input device, a digitizer for drawing input, and a sub-monitor for displaying an image of another auxiliary device or an image of another auxiliary device, and 22 is a video conferencing system. It is the main body. Each station is provided with the system shown in FIG. 1 and can communicate with each other via the communication network 58.

FIG. 2 shows details of the body 22. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 30 is a video interface for connecting the camera 10 and the monitor 12, and has image processing functions such as screen division, image composition and character composition. A video encoding / decoding circuit (codec) 32 encodes the video signal from the video interface 30 and decodes the received encoded video information.

Reference numeral 34 is a voice interface for connecting the speaker 14 and the microphone 16, and has a voice processing function such as an echo / cancel function. Reference numeral 36 is a voice encoding / decoding circuit (codec) for encoding the voice signal from the voice interface 30 and decoding the received encoded voice information. 38 is a voice encoding / decoding circuit 3
6 is a delay circuit that delays the encoded audio information according to 6 and the received encoded audio information for a predetermined period, and is provided to synchronize with the video information.

Reference numeral 40 is a computer that provides a video conference function and a computer conference function, 42 is a still image / drawing control unit that controls the still image input / output and drawing input / output of the auxiliary input / output device terminal 20, and 44 is each terminal device. It is a device control unit that executes control. 46 is a computer 40, a still image /
It is a data port that transfers data to and from the auxiliary input / output device terminal 20 via the drawing control circuit 42 and the device control unit 44.

Reference numeral 48 is an interconnection procedure control unit for controlling interconnection via a network, 50 is a network signal control circuit for controlling end / end control for establishing a common mode for communication between terminals, 52 Is a communication control unit that generally controls communication using the interconnection procedure control unit 48 and the network signal control unit 50.

Reference numeral 54 is a demultiplexing circuit for multiplex transmission of data, and 56 is a network interface for connecting to a communication network 58.

The multipoint connection control device 60 interconnects the multipoint video conference terminals via the communication network 58 to enable multipoint video conference.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the multipoint control unit 60. Numerals 70, 72, and 74 are multiplexing / separating circuits for multiplexing and separating information to be transmitted (image, voice, and others), and 76 is an image selection control for selecting data to be distributed from moving image data from each station. And 78, a voice mixer for synthesizing voices from each station, 80
Is a data selection control unit that selectively distributes other data such as still image data and computer data, and 82 is a control unit that controls the image selection control unit 76, the audio mixer 78, and the data selection control unit 80.

Reference numerals 84, 86 and 88 denote network interfaces for connecting the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 to the communication network 58 (FIGS. 1 and 2), and 90 denotes a communication control unit for controlling network access with each station. is there.

FIG. 4 shows a display example of a moving image in this embodiment.
FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the display control unit, and the operation will be described based on the configuration.

First, in order to conduct a video conference between multiple points,
Each station makes a call to the multipoint connection control device 60 (issues a command to connect to the conference system) to connect between the multipoints and start a conference. At the start of the conference, the system is set to the time-division moving image display mode (first mode). At that time, before connecting the video of your own station,
The image from the camera 10 is displayed in the window 13D of the display screen 12a of the monitor 12. Then, when a call is made to the multipoint control unit 60 to make a connection, the moving image transmitted from the station already connected to the multipoint control unit 60 is as shown in FIG. On the monitor 1
2 on each display screen 12a (in this embodiment, A, B,
Windows 13A and 13 associated with each of C stations)
It is displayed on B and 13C. At this time, for the moving image sent immediately after the connection to the multipoint connection control device 60, the image selection control unit 76 is switched by the control unit 82 shown in FIG. Is coming. When the capacity of the line is small, only image information from one station is sent at a certain moment, so images from other stations at that time are displayed in a still image state. As a result, the image displayed in the window of the other station can be sequentially switched between the still image state and the moving image state with the passage of time by the control unit 82 shown in FIG. 3 switching the image selection control unit 76. Become.

As another display mode, there is a mode in which a displayed image of a station that has made a speech is a moving picture (speaking station moving picture display mode: second mode). When a conference participant at a certain station speaks, audio information is transmitted to the multipoint control unit 60 together with image information. The voice information separated from the multiplexing / separation circuit 70 (72, 74) shown in FIG. 3 enters a voice mixer 78, and the voice mixer 78 discriminates which station the voice is from, and the controller 82 controls the image selection. The part 76 is switched and controlled. That is, the image of the window of the station that made the statement becomes a moving image in sequence.

In the first and second modes, the icon of the camera operation panel window 15 on the display screen 12a shown in FIG. 4 is operated with a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch pen to operate the camera 10 and the camera of the selected station. The camera platform 11 is controlled. The pan / tilt / zoom / focus control of the camera 10 and the pan / tilt head unit 11 is possible only for the camera of the own station. This control is performed by inputting a signal obtained by operating the icon of the camera operation panel window 15 (operation unit 18) with the pointing device to the device control unit 44 of the main body 22.

Therefore, a mode in which the selected camera can be controlled (selected station moving image display mode: third mode) will be described as still another mode. In FIG.
Any one of the windows 13A, 13B, 13C and 13D of the respective stations displayed on the display screen 12a of the monitor 12 is selected by the pointing device. The selected window is flashed as shown in FIG. 4, the color of the window (for example, the color of the frame) is changed, or a window 21 indicating which window of the selected station is provided is provided. Easy to identify. These controls are executed by the device control unit 44. Further, the signal indicating the selected station is transmitted to the multipoint control device 60 by the switching control unit 19, and the control unit 82 (FIG. 3) controls the switching of the image selection control unit 76. The multipoint connection control device 60 includes the camera 10
The window of the selected station, that is, the station in which the user wants to operate the camera is displayed as a moving image with respect to the station whose station is selected regardless of time or speech. These configurations constitute the station selection means in the claims of the present application. In this state, the camera operation panel window 15
Operate the icon of with a pointing device,
The camera 10 and the camera platform 11 of the selected station are controlled. The selection of the camera of the own station can be performed via the multipoint connection control device 60 or not, but it is easier to perform the process directly by the device control unit 44 without the intervention. It can be done in a short time.

In the first, second and third modes, the icon 17 of the mode switching window 17 on the display screen 12a is displayed.
The information can be switched by selecting a, 17b, or 17c, and the information selecting the icon is processed by the device control unit 44. FIG. 6 shows the transition states of these modes. At the start of the multipoint video conference, the first mode (time-division video display mode) is set as described above, and it is possible to mutually change the speaking station video display mode and the selected station video display mode. In time-division video display mode and utterance station video display mode, it is possible to control the camera of only its own station, and in the selected station video display mode, it is possible to control the camera selected from its own station and other stations. Become.

In this embodiment, various operations can be performed on the display screen 12a while controlling the camera while confirming the image input on the display screen 12a, so that the operability is very good.

As shown in FIG. 4, the groups of the own station and other stations are displayed separately (display window 13).
(A, 13B, 13C, 13D), the distinguishability between the own station and other stations is improved. Further, since the display windows 13A, 13B, 13C and 13D of the own station and the groups of the other stations are arranged separately as described above, the camera operation panel window 15 and the mode switching window 17 are effective near the own station window 13D. Can be placed as desired.

[0035]

As can be easily understood from the above description, according to the present invention, the images of all the stations to be connected are displayed in the individual windows, and the camera (the image input device of the arbitrary station) is displayed. ) Can be operated remotely.

Further, since a time-division moving image display mode, a comment station moving image display mode, and a selected station moving image display mode are provided so that the respective modes can be selected according to the intended use, a television with improved operability is provided. A conference system can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic block diagram of a main body 22. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a multipoint connection control device 60.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a monitor screen of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a window switching control system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a transition state of a display mode.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of star connection in a multipoint video conference.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 video camera 12 monitor 14 speaker 16 microphone 18 operation unit 20 auxiliary input / output device terminal 22 main body 40 computer 42 still image / drawing control unit 44 device control unit 46 data port 48 interconnection procedure control unit 50 network signal control unit 52 Communication control unit 56 Network interface 58 Communication network 60 Multipoint connection control device 76 Image selection control unit 78 Audio mixer 80 Data selection control unit 82 Control unit

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A video conference system for carrying out a video conference between multiple points by mutually communicating at least images and voices, and a display means for displaying moving image information of a plurality of connected stations on a window screen. And a station selection means for selecting a station corresponding to a moving image on the window screen displayed on the display means, and a camera operation control means for operating and controlling the camera of the station selected by the station selection means. A featured video conference system. 2. The video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the display means is controlled so that the selected station can be identified. 3. The video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the camera operation control means includes a control window displayed on the screen of the display means. 4. A video conferencing system for performing video conferencing between multiple points by mutually communicating at least images and sounds, and displaying means for displaying moving image information of a plurality of connected stations on a window screen. A station selecting means for selecting a station corresponding to a moving image on the window screen displayed on the display means; a first mode for displaying moving image information transmitted from the plurality of stations in a time division manner; A second mode in which only stations that are displayed are displayed as moving images, and other stations are displayed as still images.
The third which displays only the selected station among a plurality of stations as a moving image
A video conferencing system comprising: a mode selection unit capable of selecting one of the modes. 5. The video conference system according to claim 4, further comprising control means for operating and controlling a camera for obtaining the image. 6. The video conference according to claim 5, wherein the cameras of stations other than the own station can be controlled by the control means only when the mode selection means selects the third mode. system. 7. The camera according to claim 5, wherein when the mode selection means selects the first or second mode, the camera of only the own station can be controlled by the control means. Video conferencing system. 8. A control device for controlling a plurality of image input devices, the display device displaying each moving image information obtained from the plurality of image input devices on a window screen, and a window displayed on the display device. An image input device comprising: a selection unit that enables selection of an image input device corresponding to a moving image on a screen; and a control unit that enables operation control of the image input device selected by the selection unit. Control device for. 9. The control device for an image input device according to claim 8, wherein the display means is controlled so that the selected image input device can be identified. 10. The control means according to claim 8,
A control device for an image input device, comprising a control window displayed on the screen of the display means. 11. The selecting means according to claim 8,
A control device for an image input device, comprising a pointing device for selecting an image input device on a screen of the display means.