JP2000098986A - Presentation system, presentation control method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a presentation system capable of preventing the deviation in display timing at the time of displaying plural pieces of information. SOLUTION: A scenario analyzing section 3 analyzes the scenarios having plural scenario steps by each scenario step and digs up what control items exist with respect to the respective display devices. The control timing of respective equipment and materials is calculated in such a manner that the switching of the images of the plural display devices is simultaneously executed by referencing the timing table recording the time after the control of the respective operations of the respective equipment and materials is started before the operation ends. The results thereof are recorded in a memory section 4. A control section 5 transmits a control signal to the switching control section 6 so as to control the respective equipment and materials according to the calculated control timing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a presentation system in which information recognizable by five human governments, such as still images and moving images, is transmitted to the five government officials for giving a presentation, and more particularly to a plurality of input devices. The present invention relates to a presentation system for simultaneously displaying image information from a plurality of display devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a presentation system that sequentially displays image information generated by a personal computer or the like and moving image information from a VTR is often used for giving presentations such as product introductions and research presentations. It has become to.

[0003] Such a presentation system,
It has predetermined definition information called a “scenario” that defines what is displayed in what display device in what order, and image information and the like are sequentially displayed on each display device based on the scenario.

As one of typical examples of the presentation system, a presentation system having a plurality of displays as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-181815 has been proposed (hereinafter referred to as a first conventional example). ). FIG. 30 shows a system block diagram of the first conventional example.

In this system, an overall management computer 101 for managing the control of the entire system, a server computer 102 storing a data file storing an image information source used for presentation, and reading the data file from the server computer to read an image. It includes display computers 103A, 103B, 103C for generating and displays 104A, 104B, 104C for displaying the images from the respective display computers.

[0006] The system further comprises a VTR 105A, 105B for providing a moving picture, and an HDTV (high definition television).
A VTR 105C, a video source computer 106 controlling their operation, and the VTRs 105A,
A switcher 107 for switching the moving images from 5B and 105C and transmitting them to any of the display computers 103A, 103B and 103C is included.

[0007] By the switching by the switcher,
When a moving image is output from the VTR 105A to, for example, the display computer 103C, the display computer 10
3C superimposes the moving image reproduced by the VTR 105A on the image generated by reading the data file, combines the two, and outputs the synthesized image to the display 104C.

Here, VTR groups 105A, 105B,
The moving image from 105C can be switched to any display computer via the switcher and output, but the image generated by the display computer or the synthesized image is connected to the display computer. It can only output to a single display.

As another example of the presentation system, there is a presentation system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-76728 (hereinafter, referred to as a second conventional example). FIG. 31 shows a system block diagram of the second conventional example.

This system comprises a scenario information recording unit 111 for recording scenario information, a scenario information recording unit 111
A scenario content analysis unit 112 that reads out scenario information from the
It includes a scenario execution control unit 116 that controls the execution of the scenario according to the scenario information and the time schedule information, and a scenario progress time management unit 117 that manages the progress time of the scenario being executed. Further, in the second conventional example, an image information recording unit 118 that temporarily records image information used for presentation before display, an image reading control unit 119 that controls reading of necessary image information from the image information recording unit 118, Display memory units 120 and 121 for temporarily recording the image information for display, a display control unit 123 for controlling display of image information from the display memory units 120 and 121, and display memory units 120 and 12
1, an instruction input unit 125 for inputting an instruction relating to selection of a scenario, a schedule, or the like, and a CP for controlling the entire system.
U126. In this system, control is performed on a single display 124.

The presentation procedure is recorded in advance in the scenario information recording unit 111 as scenario information. The image information used for the presentation given along with the scenario information is once created before the display by the scenario content analysis unit 112 and the like, and is temporarily stored in the image information recording unit 1.
18 is recorded.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Presentation systems are a relatively new field of computer applications.
The development history is short, and the performance and operability of each product are also developing. Therefore, the first and second conventional examples also have many problems. First, the problem of the first conventional example will be described.

The first problem is that it is not possible to make adjustments so that each display on a plurality of display devices is performed simultaneously. It is important to give a presentation using a plurality of display devices as in the first conventional example, in order to give a more impressive, easy-to-understand and beautiful presentation. Many of the images displayed on these multiple display devices are highly relevant, and switching of these images to new images at the same time in the course of the presentation is very important for appearance and impression and is very important. Often. However, depending on the type and performance of the input device that provides the image information source, the transmission path, and other differences, even if instructions for displaying a plurality of images are issued at the same time, there is actually a gap between each display on the plurality of display devices. And the difference may be 5 seconds or more. In addition, when an image and a sound are to be simultaneously provided to a spectator, if the output timing is slightly deviated, the presentation becomes unnatural and the intended effect may not be obtained.

The second problem is that the display computer is
This means that an image cannot be selectively output to a plurality of arbitrary display devices. In the configuration of the first conventional example, since the display computer and the display device are connected one-to-one, an image generated by a certain display computer is
It cannot output to another display device that is not directly connected. When an image created by a special computer or application software developed to operate on another OS is to be (temporarily) displayed, the conventional display computer is used instead of the conventional display computer. It is necessary to connect the special computer to the display device and readjust the image signal and the like. Even if the application software is operated as it is on the conventional display computer, there is no guarantee that the application software will operate normally.

The above-mentioned first and second problems are caused by a plurality of display devices.

The third problem is that the quality of image display on a display device is deteriorated by performing superimposition. In the structure of the first conventional example, the display computer is configured to be able to superimpose a moving image from the VTR into a data file from the server computer. In the conversion method from a signal to an RGB signal), deterioration of the image quality is inevitable.

A fourth problem is that the quality of image display on a display device is degraded by compression of an image file. The data file from the server computer, which is the original data for displaying the image, is generally a bitmap image file (a file having a color for each pixel on the display screen as data) or Although similar files are used, files of this format are extremely large and cause various adverse effects such as compression of the storage area in the server computer and increase in transfer time.
In order to reduce the capacity of the file, the data (pixels) of the file is often partially omitted and compressed.
As a result, by the amount of data lost by the compression,
The image quality will be degraded.

Next, the problem of the second conventional example will be considered.

The fifth problem is that an extremely large storage capacity is required because image information to be displayed for a presentation is stored in advance. As can be seen from the description and configuration of the second conventional example, in certain scenario information, all image information to be displayed on the display device is:
It is stored in the scenario information recording unit in advance. Such a configuration requires a very large storage capacity, and as described in the fourth problem, when the display data is a bitmap image, a further large storage capacity is required.

The third problem described above in connection with the first conventional example also becomes a problem when performing superimposing in the second conventional example.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve various problems relating to such a presentation system.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide a presentation system capable of preventing a shift in display timing when displaying a plurality of pieces of information.

Still another specific object of the present invention is to provide a presentation system capable of displaying information from various devices.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a presentation system capable of superimposing different information.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium storing a program capable of realizing various functions required for a presentation.

[0026]

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in a presentation system for sequentially displaying a plurality of different images on a plurality of display devices, the plurality of images are provided to the plurality of display devices. An image providing unit including at least one device for controlling the display device and a control time required for controlling each device of the image providing unit, and an image of the plurality of display devices is simultaneously switched based on a scenario. A timing determining unit that determines a control timing of each device of the display device and the image providing unit, and controls an operation of each device according to the obtained control timing, and simultaneously switches images of the plurality of display devices. It is configured to have a display control unit. Thus, when switching the images of the plurality of display devices, the images can be output at the same time.

According to the present invention, the image providing section may further comprise a plurality of input devices for providing the plurality of image information sources, and a plurality of display devices and the plurality of input devices selectively connected to the input device. And a switch control unit that is connected to the display device, the input device, and the switcher to display an image from the display device on the display device, and that switches the connection to control the operation of the switcher. Can be configured. As described above, since the display devices are connected via the switcher, any one of the plurality of display devices is selected to output an image, or another input device is temporarily connected to the switcher. Thus, the image of the input device can be output to one of the display devices. Further, since the image from the input device is directly output to the display device via the switcher, it is not necessary to provide a storage area in the middle, and as a result, a system with a small storage capacity can be realized.

The present invention further uses a double speed converter to convert the image from the input device from an NTSC signal to an RGB signal. As a result, it is possible to minimize the deterioration of the image quality when converting the image signal.

[0029] The present invention can be further configured so that the input device includes a computer device for providing an image using a presentation file specialized for presentation. As a result, the file used by the input device can have a small capacity without deteriorating the image quality of the image displayed on the display device.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the display of an image, the present invention is applied to all things recognizable by five human beings, such as sound, smell, or vibration, posture, and movement of an object. be able to.

[0031]

Next, a presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes an input operation unit 1, a data server 2, a scenario analysis unit 3, a memory unit 4, a control unit 5, a switching control unit 6, It includes an input device group 7, a switcher 8, and a display device 9. The arrow lines between the elements indicate the direction of control.

The input operation unit 1 is an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard. The data server 2 includes a switching control unit 6,
When controlling the operation of each input device in the input device group 7, including the switcher 8 and the display device 9, from transmitting a control signal for controlling the operation to completing the operation. Timing table 2 in which required time (hereinafter, this time is simply referred to as “control time”) is described for each device.
A, presentation file displayed for presentation by a personal computer, etc. (1)
2B, a presentation file (2) 2C, and a scenario (1) 2D that describes the procedure of presentation (which image is output to which display device at what timing).

The scenario analysis unit 3 is connected to the input operation unit 1 and also connected to the data server 2, and the scenario (1) corresponding to the scenario name specified by the input operation unit 1
2D and the timing table 2A are read from the data server 2, and the control timing of each device is calculated so that the display on the plurality of display devices 9 is performed simultaneously when the image is switched.

The memory unit 4 accessed by the scenario analysis unit 3 temporarily records the control timing of each device, and the control unit 5 controls each device based on the control timing recorded in the memory unit 4. A control signal for controlling is transmitted to the switching control unit 6. In the illustrated example, the control timing of each device is recorded in the memory unit 4. However, when controlling the presentation,
The control timing calculated in advance can be stored in another storage means such as a hard disk or an external storage device. When the presentation is repeated using the same scenario and the same equipment, the control timing temporarily stored in the memory unit 4 is stored in an external storage device, the data server 2, or the like. When the presentation is performed, the control timing may be called from these external storage devices or the like.

The switching control unit 6 performs switching so that a control signal output from the control unit 5 to each device is transmitted to each device. Also, the control unit 5 sends the switching control unit 6
Is also transmitted.

The input device group 7 is a set of input devices for providing images such as still images and moving images used in presentations, and includes a VTR output unit 7A, a DVD output unit 7B,
Personal computer PC (1) 7C, PC (2) 7
D and the like.

Of these input equipment, the VTR output unit 7
A includes a VTR (1) 7A1 and a double-speed converter 7A2 for converting an NTSC signal into an analog RGB signal.
The VD output unit 7B includes a DVD (1) 7B1 and a double-speed converter 7B that converts an NTSC signal into an analog RGB signal.
2 is provided. In the example of this system, the VTR (1)
The 7A1 and the DVD (1) 7B1 output NTSC signals, but use a display device 9 that can output only analog RGB signals. For this reason, the double-speed converter 7 converts the NTSC signal to the analog RGB signal.
A2 and 7B2 are required.

The display device 9 is a display device for displaying and outputting an image provided from the input device group 7, and includes a plurality of projectors as shown by a projector (1) 9A and a projector (2) 9B. In. In the example of this system, a projector is used.
A display and other display devices can also be used.

The switcher 8 switches an image from an arbitrary input device in the input device group 7 to be displayed on an arbitrary projector in the display device 9. In this system, the switcher 8 inputs analog RGB signals from each input device, and in accordance with the designation of the control signal from the control unit 5,
An analog RGB signal is output to one of the display devices 9.

Hereinafter, the detailed operation of the presentation system of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, steps A1 to A11 in FIG. 2 will be described.

First, when the user operates the input operation unit 1 to specify a scenario name to be used for presentation, in step A1, the scenario analysis unit 3 converts the scenario name corresponding to the scenario name from the scenario 2D of the data server 2. Read the scenario to be executed, and furthermore, the timing table 2A
Read. Next, in step A2, if a presentation file (an electronic file in which materials to be displayed in a presentation are created in units of pages) is described in the read scenario, the file is stored in a corresponding input device (for example, a PC ( 1)) and display.

More specifically, the operation is to copy the presentation file stored in the data server to the PC.
Copy to (1), start an application capable of displaying the presentation file, and display the specified page of the presentation file (in PC (1))
It is to display.

Here, the presentation file is a file in which data described based on a convention specialized for presentation, which is defined in an application for presentation, is stored. The still image or the moving image is displayed by evaluating and interpreting the description. According to the rules defined in the application, when a figure to be displayed is, for example, a diagonal line, it is expressed not by a set of all pixels but by a function or color data for expressing the diagonal line. Therefore, a similar expression can be realized with a smaller capacity than the above-described bitmap image or a file of a format basically equivalent thereto.

A typical example of such a presentation application is Microsoft PowerPoint. The file used by this application has an extension of ppt, and the content of the file is in a format unique to PowerPoint.

In step A3, it is determined whether or not an unanalyzed scenario step exists in the read scenario. If not, the process ends (step A3 (N)).
If there is (Step A3 (Y)), the steps from Step A4 to Step A11 are executed, and the scenario steps are analyzed. The analysis processing from step A4 to step A11 is performed for each scenario step.
It is repeated until there are no more scenario steps.

Here, the scenario step defines the contents and order of images to be displayed on each display device in a presentation. For example, in the scenario (1) 2D shown in FIG. ) And the contents and order of images displayed on the projector (2) are defined as scenario steps 1 to 3.

The processing from steps A4 to A11 will be described in more detail. In step A4, it is determined whether or not there is an unanalyzed projector. If not (step A4 (N)), the processing proceeds to FIG. (A4 (Y)), the process proceeds from step A5 to step A11.

The processing from step A5 to step A11 is performed for each projector used in the scenario. In step A5, for a particular projector, the scenario step currently being analyzed is compared with the previous scenario step, and it is determined whether the input equipment is the same between both steps. When the input device is different between these scenario steps (Step A5)
(N)) In step A6, it is stored that the switching control of the switcher 8 and the control of loading the memory of the corresponding projector are necessary.

Here, loading of the memory of the projector means that the contents of the memory in which the adjustment parameters for matching the projector with a specific input signal are registered (part of the memory) are stored in the memory of the projector. Loading to a predetermined storage area. There is no strict standard for the output image signal of a personal computer or the like, and there is a difference depending on the type of the personal computer and between individuals even if the same type. If these images are displayed on a single projector as they are, the image from a certain personal computer may be shifted to the right and the right end image may be cut off, and the image from a certain personal computer may flow out of synchronization without synchronization. Therefore, in order to display these image signals neatly, the adjustment parameters are registered in advance in the memory of the projector so that the adjustment can be performed on the projector side according to the individuality of each signal, and the appropriate adjustment parameters are set according to the input device. Is loaded.
Specific items of the adjustment parameters include horizontal / vertical synchronization timing, RGB color, and the like.

It is desirable that the equipment to be controlled and the control items thereof are collectively stored in the memory unit 4 in a table format as shown in FIG. As will be described later in detail, the tabular data as shown in FIG. 7 is finally added with a control number and a control time as shown in FIG. 11 to display an image used in the presentation. Specifies the control timing.

On the other hand, if it is detected in step A5 that the input devices are the same (step A5 (Y)),
The process proceeds from step A5 to step A7, where it is determined whether the scenario step relating to the projector uses a presentation file. If a presentation file is used (step A7 (Y)), furthermore, step A8
In, it is determined whether the presentation file is the same as in the previous scenario step for the same projector. When a different presentation file is used (Step A8 (N)), Step A
In step 9, the fact that the switching control of the presentation file is necessary is recorded in the same manner as in step A6.

As apparent from the figure, step A
After the process of step 6, the process of step A9 is also performed. When it is determined in step A7 that the presentation file is not used (step A7 (Y)), the process proceeds to the determination in step A10.

As can be easily understood from the illustrated processing, when it is determined in step A5 that the input device is the same as the previous scenario step, and in step A7 it is determined that the presentation file is not used, Alternatively, if it is determined in step A5 that the input device is the same as the previous scenario step, and if the presentation file is determined to be the same as the previous scenario step in step A7, the detailed control items of the presentation file are changed in step A10. It is determined whether it is the same as that of the previous scenario step in the projector.

Here, the detailed control item, when it comes to the presentation file, indicates the number of pages of the presentation file to be displayed described in the column of the detailed control in the scenario (1) 2D shown in FIG.

When the detailed control items are different (step A1)
0 (N)), the fact that control (detailed control) on the item is required in step A11 is recorded in the same manner as in step A6. On the other hand, if the detailed control items are the same (step A10 (Y)), the process proceeds to step A
Returning to step 4, the above processing is repeated for each projector, and as a result, the control items in the scenario step are identified.
This content will be described later in more detail with reference to FIG.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a description will be given of the processing when the analysis processing for all the projectors in a certain scenario step is completed (step A4 (N) in FIG. 2).

First, it is determined in step A12 whether or not a control item exists. While the control item exists (step A12 (Y)), in step A13, the control is switched from the scheduled display completion time to the number of seconds. It is calculated for each control target device whether or not to perform it before.

Next, when it is determined that the control item no longer exists (step A12 (N)), the process proceeds to step A14. In step A14, it is determined whether a switching operation of the switching control unit 6 is necessary. The switching operation is required when the control unit 5 needs to transmit a control signal to a device to be controlled that is different from the previous signal.

If the switching operation is necessary (step A14 (Y)), the switching control timing of the switching control unit 6 is calculated in step A15.

Next, in step A16, it is determined whether or not there is a case where the control times for the same control target device are duplicated throughout the control in the scenario step. When the control time overlaps (step A16)
(Y)), in step A17, one control time is advanced by the overlapping time, and if there is control affected by the adjustment in step A17, step A1
At 8, the control timings are similarly adjusted. These adjustments are repeated until the control time no longer overlaps.

When there is no overlap in the control time (step A1)
6 (N)), since the adjustments in steps A17 and A18 are unnecessary, the process proceeds to step A19. The control timing thus obtained is recorded in the memory unit 4. The control timing thus recorded finally has the content as shown in FIG. 11, which will be described later in detail. Thereafter, the process returns to step A3 in FIG. 2, and the process for the next scenario step is performed.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of execution control of a scenario used in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, a scenario start instruction or a next step instruction is sent from the input operation unit 1 to the control unit 5. The next step instruction is an instruction to advance the next scenario step in the scenario after the scenario is started. When given these instructions, the control unit 5 proceeds to step A2
At 0, the earliest control time of the target scenario step is set as the initial value of the scenario time. The scenario time is counted as the real time elapses from that time, and approaches the time (0 seconds) at which the scenario step is completed.

Next, in step A21, in the target scenario step, it is determined whether a control item exists from the current scenario time to the last time of the scenario step.

If it is determined that the control item exists (step A21 (Y)), the process proceeds to step A22,
Therefore, among the control timings recorded in the memory unit 4 by the processing of each step in FIG. 3, a scenario step (hereinafter referred to as a current step) that matches the current step number (the initial value of the current step number is 1) is selected. It is determined whether the scenario time has reached any of the control timings. The scenario time is counted as the actual time elapses as described above, and approaches zero seconds. If the scenario time has not reached any control timing (step A22 (N)), the process returns to step A22 again, and the determination is repeated until the scenario time reaches any control timing.

When the scenario time reaches one of the control timings of the current step (step A22 (Y)),
In step A23, it is determined whether or not an acknowledgment signal (hereinafter referred to as ACK) needs to be received. This is because, depending on the device to be controlled, before the control of the device, the AC from the control target device, for example, in response to a previous control command or the like,
This is because some devices send K, and in the case of such a device, it is necessary to stop the progress of the scenario time until ACK can be received.

If it is not necessary to receive ACK (step A23 (N)), the process proceeds to step A27, where a control signal is transmitted to the device to be controlled in accordance with the control items, and control is performed.

If the ACK needs to be received (step A23 (Y)), it is determined in step A24 whether an ACK has been received. If no ACK has been received (step A24 (N)), the progress of the scenario time is stopped in step A25, the process returns to step A24, and the determination of the reception is repeated. That is, the progress of the scenario time is stopped until the ACK is received.

When ACK is received (step A24)
(Y)), in step A26, the progress of the scenario time is restarted. Next, as in the case where it is determined that ACK is not necessary in step A23, the corresponding control is performed in step A27.

Thereafter, the processing of steps A21 to A28 is repeated up to the last control item in the current step. If there is no control item in step A21 (step A21 (N)), the process ends after the target scenario step number is increased by 1 in step A28.

In this way, each time the next step instruction is transmitted from the input operation unit 1 to the control unit 5, the presentation proceeds in units of scenario steps.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the presentation system of the present invention will be described more specifically.

As shown in FIG. 1, a timing table 2A, a presentation file (1) 2B, a presentation file (2) 2C,
And scenario (1) 2D is stored.
For simplicity, the display device 9 is assumed to be two projectors (1) 9A and projector (2) 9B. It is possible to cope with N projectors (N> 3).

FIG. 5 shows an example of the timing table 2A, and FIG. 6 shows an example of the scenario (1) 2D.
In the timing table 2A of FIG. 5, an average time from when the various control target devices receive the control signal until the operation of the control target is completed is described (here,
“Equipment” includes the switching control unit 6, the input equipment in the input equipment group 7, the switcher 8, and the display device 9). For example, VTR (1), which is an input device, takes an average of t _VTR1 seconds from receiving a control signal for performing a reproducing operation to actually outputting a reproduced image. In addition, as described above, in the timing table 2A, the average value is used as the time from when the various devices receive the control signal until the operation of the control target is completed. Any given value can be used.

Further, in scenario (1) 2D shown in FIG. 6, which content (image) is output from which input device to which projector is described for each scenario step. For example, in the scenario step 1 of the scenario (1) 2D, the PC (1) 7C is connected to the projector (1) 9A.
Presentation file (1) 2B displayed in
Is displayed, and the projector (2) 9B displays the
(2) The second page of the presentation file (1) 2B displayed in 7D is displayed.

Here, it is considered that the contents of each scenario step of the scenario (1) 2D are applied to the above-described processing of FIGS. 2 to 4. When the scenario (1) 2D is specified from the input operation unit 1, the scenario analysis unit 3 reads the timing table 2A and the scenario (1) 2D from the data server 2 (step A1), and analyzes the scenario (1) 2D. Based on the result, PC (1) 7C
Transfer presentation file (1) 2B to
Presentation file (1) 2B on C (2) 7D
And (2) Transfer and display 2C (Step A)
2).

Next, by analyzing the control of the projector (1) 9A in the scenario step 1, the switching control of the switcher 8 and the memory loading of the projector (1) 9A (steps A5 and A6) and the PC (1) 7C It turns out that switching control and detailed control (steps A9 and A11) are necessary. FIG. 7 shows those control items that are identified for each control target device.

Similarly, the control regarding the projector (2) 9B is analyzed (step A4), and control items in the scenario step 1 are identified. FIG. 8 shows the result together with the control items shown in FIG. That is, the control items for scenario step 1 of scenario (1) 2D are shown.

When the analysis of the control items for all the projectors (projector (1) 9A and projector (2) 9B) used in scenario step 1 (from step A4 to step A11 in FIG. 2) is completed, the processing is terminated.
It moves to the processing in the step of FIG.

Here, the control timing of each device is calculated so that all projectors used in the scenario step can display images at the same time (step A).
12 and A13). Assuming that the image display time is 0 second, the control time of each device is represented by a negative number of seconds before 0 second.
FIG. 9 is a list of control timings in scenario step 1.

Next, the control timing is calculated (steps A14 and A15). FIG. 10 shows the control timing calculated for scenario step 1 (where t _KS <t _SW <t _PJ1 <t _PJ2 <t _PC1P <
t _PC2P <t _PC1F <t _PC2F seconds). Each control timing is arranged in chronological order, and the time is controlled by control numbers 1 to 14.
It goes in the order of. Further, before transmitting the control signal to the control target device, it is necessary to switch the switching control unit 6 so that the control signal is transmitted to the control target device (control of the control timing in FIG. 10). Control items such as numbers 1, 3, and 5). Therefore, immediately after the switching of the switching control unit 6, a control signal relating to a control item for the switched device must be transmitted.

Next, it is checked whether or not each control has a time overlap (step A16). For example, in the control numbers 2 and 3 in FIG. 10, − (t _PC1F + t _PC1P + t _KS ) <− (t
_{If (PC2F} + t _PC2P ) seconds, the other devices cannot be controlled until an ACK is returned by the switching control of the switching control unit 6, so that there is a temporal overlap in the control.
Accordingly, the control of the “presentation file (1) display” for the control number 2 and the PC (2) 7D in FIG.
(T _PC2F + t _PC2P )-(-(t _PC1F + t _PC1P + t _KS ))
= T △ seconds (step A17).

Further, PC (2) 7D at an earlier time
(Control number 1 in FIG. 10) is changed to be controlled at a time earlier by t 早 い seconds (step A18).
After the change, the duplication of the control is confirmed again, and the process is repeated until the duplication disappears (step A18). The control timing calculated as described above is recorded in the memory unit 4 (step A1).
9).

FIG. 11 shows the final control timing of the scenario step 1 thus obtained. The control timing is similarly calculated for scenario step 2 and thereafter (step A3). In the scenario step 2, there is no change in the input device as compared with the scenario step 1, so that the control of the switcher 8, the projector (1) 9A and the projector (2) 9B is unnecessary (step A5). Also, since the PC (1) 7C remains unchanged from the presentation file (1) 2B, file switching control is unnecessary (steps A7 and A8). Since only the page of the presentation file (1) 2B has been changed, only the detailed control items are control items (steps A10 and A11). As a result, the control timings for scenario steps 2 and 3 are the same as those in FIGS.
3 is determined. The above is the preparation for the presentation.

Next, the actual presentation operation of the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that a scenario start instruction has been input from the input operation unit 1. Since the initial value of the current step number is 1, scenario step 1 becomes the target scenario step first. The control unit 5 sets the initial value of the scenario time to the control number 1 of the scenario step 1 shown in FIG.
Control _time− (t _PC2F + t _PC2P + t _KS + t △) seconds,
Advance the scenario time toward 0 seconds (step A2
0). Thereafter, control is started in accordance with the control timing of scenario step 1 recorded in the memory unit 4.

The control number 1 is _{equal to the} control time − (t _PC2F +
At (t _PC2P + t _KS + t △) seconds, it matches the scenario time in the initial state (step A22). This control execution requires ACK
Confirmation (Step A23),
The switching control unit 6 is switched to the PC (2) 7D (step A27). Then, the scenario time progresses _and- (t _PC2F
+ T _PC2P + t △) seconds, the control time of the control number 2 coincides with the control time, so that it is known that the control of the control number 2 should be performed (step A22).

As described above, when the switching of the switching control unit 6 is completed according to the control item of the control number 1, AC
Since K is returned, the reception of ACK is confirmed (step A24). If the reception of the ACK is delayed for some reason, the progress of the scenario time is stopped and the reception of the ACK is waited (step A25). When the reception of the ACK is completed, the progress of the scenario time is restarted (step A2).
6). Thereafter, based on the control item of control number 2, the PC
(2) A control signal is transmitted to 7D to perform "presentation file (1) display" (step A27).

Similarly, control items subsequent to control number 3 are executed. When the control item of control number 14 is executed at scenario time −t _SW seconds, the projector (1) 9A at scenario time 0 second And (2) 9B, the first and second pages of the presentation file (1) 2B are displayed simultaneously. Since all the controls of the current step have been completed, 1 is added to the current step number to obtain 2 (steps A21 and A28).

FIG. 14 shows the scenario step 1 described above.
And the operation of the equipment are shown in chronological order. It can be seen that images are simultaneously displayed on the two projectors (1) and (2) after (t _PC2F + t _PC2P + t _KS + t △) seconds after the instruction to start the scenario.

Next, it is assumed that an instruction of the next step is input from the input operation unit 1 at a certain timing. Since the current step number is 2, the control timing of scenario step 2 is to be controlled. These controls are performed in the same manner as in scenario step 1. As shown in FIG. 15, new images are simultaneously displayed on the two projectors at (t _PC2F + t _PC2P + t _KS ) seconds after the instruction of the next step. It is understood that it is done.

Similarly, when an instruction for the next step is input from the input operation unit 1 at a certain timing, control is performed in accordance with the control timing of the scenario step 3, and FIG.
As shown in ( _1), from the instruction of the next step (t _VTR1
It can be seen that a new image is simultaneously displayed on the two projectors (1) and (2) after + t _KS ) seconds.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show flowcharts corresponding to FIGS. 2 and 3 described in relation to the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the flowcharts shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
2 (FIG. 18) is different from the presentation system according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 19, in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, after the control unit 5 completes the control for each scenario step, it is determined that the control unit 5 ends when there is no control item in the next scenario step. It differs from the presentation system according to the first embodiment in having a section B3. The auto presentation is a function that is automatically executed without instructing the start of the next scenario step from the input operation unit 1, and is realized by specifying the display switching time of the scenario step in the scenario.

The processing in each step up to step A18 in FIGS. 17 and 18 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. Step B1 determines whether the scenario is an auto presentation or not.
(Y)), the control timing of the control item is calculated by converting the scenario step switching time for each scenario step. If not an auto presentation (Step B
1 (N)), the process proceeds to step A19, where the generated control timing is stored in the memory unit 4 as in the first embodiment.

In the flowchart of FIG. 19, when an instruction to start a scenario is actually input from the input operation unit 1,
The control of scenario step 1 is performed. Since this is the same as the first embodiment, the description is omitted. When the control of scenario step 1 is completed, the current step number is set to 2 in step A28, and in step B3, it is determined whether or not there is a control item in scenario step 2. Since the control item exists in the scenario step 2, when the scenario time reaches the control timing of the scenario step 2, the control of the scenario step 2 is automatically and continuously performed.
Similarly, control is sequentially and automatically performed up to the final scenario step.

Next, a more specific form of the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19 again. FIG. 20 shows a scenario for an auto presentation. Compared with the scenario (1) 2D used in the first embodiment, a display switching time for switching to the display of each scenario step is added.

Steps up to step A18 in FIG. 18 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. If it is determined that the presentation is an auto presentation (step B1)
(Y)), calculating how far in advance the control is performed from the display switching time described in the scenario (step B)
2). That is, in the first embodiment, the control timing is as shown in FIG.
Are calculated as shown in FIG. 13 from FIG. 13, which are shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, respectively.

In the flowchart of FIG. 19, when a scenario start instruction is issued from the input operation unit 1, the control of the scenario step 1 is performed, and then the presence or absence of the control item in the scenario step 2 is confirmed, as in the first embodiment. I do. Thereafter, in the control of scenario step 2, as shown in FIG. 22, the scenario time _is- (t _PC2F + t _PC2P + t _KS ) + t _S2
Is automatically started without an instruction from the input operation unit 1. Further, in the control of the scenario step 3, as shown in FIG. 23, the scenario time _is- (t _VTR1 + t _KS ) + t _S3
Is automatically started without an instruction from the input operation unit 1.

As described above, in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the presentation is automatically performed up to the final scenario step without instructing the start of the next step from the input operation unit 1 for each scenario step. Can be implemented.

Next, a presentation system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 24 shows the configuration of a presentation system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
The illustrated configuration is different from the configuration of the presentation system according to the second embodiment in that a WS (workstation) 7E is provided as an input device. WS7E
Is an input device brought in temporarily, and the projector (1) 9A and the projector (2) 9B are assumed to have previously registered the contents of the above-described adjustment parameters for the WS7E in memory.

Next, how the WS7E image is output to the projector will be described. The equipment brought in temporarily is not intended for external control, so it can be used when a dedicated operator performs an operation, or when an operator is unnecessary because it keeps outputting images irrespective of switching timing. . Here, the description will be made assuming the latter case. FIG. 25 shows a scenario (1) used in the presentation system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
2D, WS is described as an input device in scenario step 1 of projector (2) 9B.

As can be seen from FIG. 24, the output of the WS 7E is always input to the switcher 8, so that the control content is only the switching control of the switcher 8. Therefore, as in the third embodiment, when the control items in scenario step 1 are identified and the control timing is calculated, the resulting control timing is as shown in FIG.

FIG. 27 shows actual control when control is performed based on the control timing.
From this figure, it can be seen that at scenario time 0 when the switching of the switcher 8 is completed, the image of the WS 7E and the first page of the presentation file (1) of the PC (1) 7C are displayed simultaneously.

In the third embodiment, the switcher 8
Input devices can be connected as much as there is space on the input side. If the input interface between the input device and the switcher 8 is adapted in terms of the form of terminals and the like (hard surface) and the rules of image signals (soft surface), the type and model of the workstation and the use of the workstation Existing PC (1) 7C or PC without depending on OS or other software or its version
(2) An image or the like by application software unique to the presenter, which may not operate in 7D, can be easily displayed on the projector.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of a presentation system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. This system has not only an image display but also an audio output function.

The system shown in FIG. 28 is different from the system shown in FIG. 1 in that the switcher 8 is divided into an image switcher 8A and an audio switcher 8B, each of the input equipment groups 7 is connected to the audio switcher 8B, and the audio output device 9 is provided. 'Is added, but the other configuration is the same (the display of the same configuration is omitted).

The image switcher 8A corresponds to the switcher 8 of the system shown in FIG. 1, and switches image signals from the respective devices of the input device group 7 to display them on the respective projectors of the display device 9. Although not shown, switching control from the switching control unit is possible as in FIG.

The audio switcher 8B switches audio output from each device of the input device group 7 and outputs it to each speaker of the audio output device 9 '. As with the image switcher 8A, the audio switcher 8B can perform switching control from a switching control unit.

The presentation system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention can not only display images on a plurality of projectors at the same time, but also display images on a plurality of projectors and a plurality of speakers. And voice can be output simultaneously.

Further, the presentation system of the present invention controls output devices for various actions related to the five senses of humans, such as odor, vibration of an object, posture, etc., in addition to the images and sounds, so that the output timing is the same. Can be Such timing synchronization can be realized by similarly applying the control method described above to other output devices.

For example, a presentation in which an image is displayed to a spectator, a sound is output, a smell is emitted, a strong wind is applied, rain falls, light is applied, and a chair in which the spectator is sitting is shaken while tilting. Can be performed "simultaneously".

FIG. 29 shows an example of a hardware configuration of a computer system 10 for realizing the presentation system according to the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention. The computer 10 has a bus 1
9, a storage unit 12, a memory unit 1
3, a recording medium driving unit 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, a printing unit 17, and a switching control unit interface unit 18.

The CPU 11 has a function of executing the processes of the scenario analysis unit 3 and the control unit 5 shown in FIGS. 1 and 24, and stores the scenario (1) 2D and the like from the storage unit 12 as described later. , Read and execute a program or the like for realizing the processing of the scenario analysis unit 3 and the control unit 5, store the intermediate or resulting control timing in the memory unit 13, and store the timing stored in the control timing. , A control signal is transmitted to the input device and the device such as the switcher via the switching control unit interface 18.

The storage unit 12 includes the data server 2 shown in FIG. 2, and stores programs for realizing the processes of the scenario analysis unit 3 and the control unit 5 executed by the CPU 11 and other necessary data. Is done.

The memory unit 13 corresponds to the memory unit 4 shown in FIG. 1, and temporarily stores intermediate data and control timing generated or used by the processing of the present invention. Memory unit 13
In the implementation of the present invention, the program, data in the storage unit 12, and the like are loaded as necessary.

The recording medium drive section 14 reads the contents of a portable recording medium 20 such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, etc., and transmits the data or program therein to the storage section 12 or the memory section 13 (or vice versa). Then, it is recorded on the portable recording medium 20 from the storage unit 12 or the memory unit 13). The present invention may be implemented by reading the program or necessary data from a portable recording medium 20 on which a program or necessary data for realizing the processing of the scenario analysis unit 3 and the control unit 5 is recorded. It is possible.

The input unit 15 corresponds to the input operation unit 1 shown in the figure, and includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like for a user or the like giving a presentation to specify a scenario name or to instruct the start of the next scenario step.

The display unit 16 is an output device such as a CRT, and is used when an instruction and a selection of a scenario name when giving an instruction via the input unit 15 are given via a GUI. The printing unit 17 is a printing device such as a laser printer and is not an essential element of the present invention.

The switching control unit interface unit 18 transmits a control signal for controlling each device such as the switching control unit 6, the input device group 7, the switcher 8 and the display device 9 to the switching control unit 6 in FIG. Interface.
These control signals are sent to the CPU 1 based on the control timing.
1 is output to the device to be controlled.

The bus 19 is a common transmission path for transmitting and receiving data, commands and the like among the components 11 to 18.

[0123]

According to the presentation system of the present invention, the control timing is calculated in consideration of the time required for controlling each device, and when the images of a plurality of display devices are switched, the output of those images is performed substantially simultaneously. It can be carried out.

Further, since all input devices are connected to a display device such as a projector via a switcher by the presentation system of the present invention, one display device can be arbitrarily selected from a plurality of display devices. You can select and display the image. Further, another input device temporarily introduced can be connected to the switcher to display an image on the display device.

Furthermore, according to the presentation system of the present invention, a double-speed converter is used to convert an NTSC signal into an analog RGB signal, so that deterioration in image quality at the time of conversion can be considerably reduced.

Further, the presentation system of the present invention uses a presentation file having a high expressive power and a small capacity specialized for presentation, so that file compression is not required, and as a result, the image quality of a displayed image is degraded. I will not let you.

Further, according to the presentation system of the present invention, since the output image from the input device is directly displayed on the display device via the switch, it is not necessary to hold the output image in the storage device on the way, and the storage capacity is large. It is possible to realize a system that does not require any.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a presentation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a scenario analysis process in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control timing calculation process in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a scenario execution operation in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing contents of a timing table used in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing contents of a scenario used in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a list of control items identified for the projector (1) in scenario step 1 in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a list of control items identified for scenario step 1 in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a list of control timings related to scenario step 1 in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 relates to scenario step 1 in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure showing a list of control timing in consideration of control of a change control part.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a list of final control timings of scenario step 1 in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a list of final control timings of scenario step 2 in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a list of final control timings of scenario step 3 in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a control related to scenario step 1 and an operation relationship of each device in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a control related to a scenario step 2 and an operation relationship of each device in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a control related to scenario step 3 and an operation relationship of each device in the presentation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a scenario analysis process in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a control timing calculation process in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a scenario execution operation in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing contents of a scenario used in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a list of final control timings of scenario step 1 in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a list of final control timings of scenario step 2 in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a list of final control timings of scenario step 3 in the presentation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a presentation system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing contents of a scenario used in the presentation system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a list of final control timings of scenario step 1 in the presentation system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a control related to a scenario step 1 and an operation relationship of each device in the presentation system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing a part of a configuration of a presentation system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer system that implements the presentation system of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in a conventional presentation system.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing another example of a configuration in a conventional presentation system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input operation part 2 Data server 2A Timing table 2B Presentation file (1) 2C Presentation file (2) 2D scenario (1) 3 Scenario analysis part 4 Memory part 5 Control part 6 Switching control part 7 Input equipment group 7A VTR output part 7A1 VTR (1) 7A2 Double-speed converter 7B DVD output unit 7B1 DVD (1) 7B2 Double-speed converter 7C PC (1) 7D PC (2) 7E WS 8 Switcher 8A Image switcher 8B Audio switcher 9 Display device 9A Projector (1) 9B Projector (1) 2) 9 'audio output device 9'A speaker (1) 9'B speaker (2) 10 computer system 11 CPU 12 storage unit 13 memory unit 14 recording medium drive unit 15 input unit 16 display unit 17 printing unit 18 switching control unit I / Reference Signs List 19 Bus 20 Portable recording medium 101 Overall management computer 102 Server computer 103A to 103C Display computer 104A to 104C Display 105A, 105B VTR 105C HDTV / VTR 106 Video source computer 107 Switcher 111 Scenario information recording unit 112 Scenario content analysis unit 113 Scenario Execution management table 114 Scenario display operation unit 115 Operation display 116 Scenario execution control unit 117 Scenario progress time management unit 118 Image information recording unit 119 Image readout control unit 120, 121 Display memory unit 122 Display effect control unit 123 Display control unit 124 Display Display 125 Instruction input unit 126 CPU 127 System bus

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/765 H04N 5/781 510G 5/781

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A presentation system for sequentially outputting a plurality of different outputs to a plurality of output devices, each of which can be recognized by five human beings, according to a scenario, for providing the plurality of outputs to the plurality of output devices. An output providing unit including at least one device, and a control time required to control each device of the output device and the output providing unit, and based on a scenario, so that outputs of the plurality of output devices are simultaneously switched, A presentation system comprising: the output device; and a timing determination unit that determines a control timing of each device of the output providing unit. 2. The output providing unit according to claim 1,
A plurality of output transmission devices are provided, and according to the determined control timing, when the same output transmission device is to be controlled simultaneously among the plurality of output transmission devices, such control is performed. A presentation system further comprising a timing adjustment unit that adjusts one of the control timings so as to change the control timing only during a period in which the control overlaps. 3. The presentation according to claim 1, further comprising an output control unit that controls the operation of each of the devices according to the obtained control timing, and that simultaneously switches the outputs of the plurality of output devices. system. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the output providing unit selectively connects the plurality of input devices that provide the plurality of output information sources, the plurality of output devices, and the plurality of input devices. A presentation system, comprising: a switcher that outputs an output from the input device to the output device; and a switching control unit that controls connection of the output device, the input device, and the switcher. 5. The presentation system according to claim 1, wherein the timing determination unit determines the output switching timing according to the definition of the scenario. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A presentation system, wherein at least one of the outputs is a still image or a moving image, and the output device includes a display device that displays the image. 7. The presentation system according to claim 6, wherein the input device includes a computer device that provides an image using a presentation file specialized for presentation. 8. The input device according to claim 6, wherein the input device has a video device for transmitting an image in the form of an NTSC signal, and a double-speed converter for converting the image into an RGB signal suitable for input to the display device. A presentation system characterized by: 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A presentation system, wherein at least one of the outputs includes at least one of voice, smell, object vibration, object posture, and object movement. 10. A presentation system for displaying a plurality of different images on a plurality of display devices, respectively, wherein: a plurality of input devices for providing the plurality of image information sources; a plurality of display devices and the plurality of input devices; A switcher for selectively connecting and displaying an image from the input device on the display device; and a switching control unit for selectively switching the display device, the input device, and the switcher and connecting to the control target. And the display device, the input device, and a control time required for each control of the switcher, a control time required for switching control in the switching control unit, and a data server that stores a scenario that defines display contents of a presentation. The images of the plurality of display devices are simultaneously switched with reference to the control time and the scenario. As described above, the display device, the input device, the switcher, and a scenario analysis unit that calculates the control timing of the switching control unit, connected to the switching control unit and the scenario analysis unit, based on the control timing A display control unit for transmitting a control signal for controlling the display device, the input device, the switcher, and the switching control unit to the switching control unit. 11. A presentation control method for outputting a plurality of different outputs to a plurality of output devices, each of the plurality of outputs recognizable by five human beings, the control of the plurality of output devices and an output providing unit for providing an output to the output devices. Control time required, and a storage step of storing a scenario, so that the outputs of the plurality of output devices are simultaneously switched, based on the control time and the scenario, the control timing of the output device and the output providing unit. A method for controlling presentation, comprising the step of determining. 12. The control device according to claim 11, wherein according to the determined control timing, among the plurality of output transmission devices constituting the output device and the output providing unit, the same output device and output transmission device are simultaneously controlled. A presentation control method, further comprising the step of adjusting one of the control timings to be changed by a time when the control is overlapped so that such control is not performed when the control is to be performed. 13. The presentation according to claim 11, further comprising a step of controlling an operation of each of the output transmitting devices according to the obtained control timing, and simultaneously switching outputs of the plurality of output devices. Control method. 14. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for realizing a presentation control method of outputting a plurality of different outputs to a plurality of output devices, each of the plurality of outputs being recognizable by five human beings, the program comprising: The plurality of output devices, a control time required to control each device of an output providing unit that provides an output to the output device, and a storage step of storing a scenario, so that the outputs of the plurality of output devices are simultaneously switched. A computer-readable recording medium, comprising: determining a control timing of each of the output device and the output providing unit from the control time and the scenario.