JP2001224000A - Multi-spots tv conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-spots TV conference system provided with a function required for an educational system in addition to an authenticating function concerning the multi-spots TV conference system by which communication is performed between respective terminals by connecting them via a network. SOLUTION: The system is provided with a master set terminal 6 having a video input/output means 6a and a voice input/output means 6b, a plurality of slave set terminals 51-54 having a video input/output means 5a and a voice input/output means 5b, a public line 1 and a private line 2 to which the master terminal and the slave terminals are connected to form the network and an operation server 4 to be connected to the private line. The operation server 4 is provided with an authenticating means 41 for authenticating a user for the master set terminal and the slave set terminals.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multipoint television which can connect a plurality of terminal devices having video input / output means and audio input / output means via a network to enable communication between the terminal devices. It relates to a conference system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a multipoint video conference system in which a plurality of terminal devices are connected via a network, and a plurality of participants mutually speak while watching a television screen of the terminal devices.

[0003] As a form of the conference, for example, a broadcast mode in which the video of the chair terminal is displayed on all the participant terminals, an image of the participant terminal permitted by issuing a speech request to the chair terminal is displayed on all the terminals. There is a chairman control mode, a free talking mode in which the video of the terminal that is speaking is displayed on all terminals, and the like.

[0004]

By using such a multipoint video conference system as, for example, an English conversation education system, a teacher is placed at the chair terminal and students are placed at the participant terminals to provide English conversation education on the network. When doing so, there were some functions that were lacking in the conventional multipoint video conference system.

For example, a grouping function for dividing a plurality of students into several groups so that students of the same level can practice conversation with each other, or a student who is present at a participant terminal is a student who has a valid attendance qualification. An authentication function for recognizing this is, for example.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a multipoint video conference system having functions necessary for an education system such as a grouping function and an authentication function. It is in.

[0007]

A multipoint video conference system according to the present invention comprises a master terminal having video input / output means and audio input / output means, and a plurality of slaves having video input / output means and audio input / output means. A terminal, a public line and a private line connected to the master terminal and the slave terminal to form a network, and an operation server connected to the private line. It has an authentication means for performing authentication.

With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the user of the master terminal and the user of the slave terminal are valid users by the authentication means of the operation server.

Further, the authentication means of the operation server forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention has a configuration for performing terminal authentication together with user authentication for the master terminal and the slave terminal.

With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the terminal connected to the network is a valid master terminal or slave terminal by the authentication means of the operation server.

The operation server forming the multipoint video conference system according to the present invention has a configuration for distributing individual environment data corresponding to a user to a terminal of the user authenticated by the authentication means.

[0012] According to this configuration, when the user of the slave terminal is a legitimate user, individual environment data unique to the user can be distributed from the operation server to the slave terminal in advance.

Further, the operation server forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention has a configuration for receiving and recording individual environment data of each user from the terminal.

With this configuration, the operation server can record individual environment data unique to each user.
It is possible to prepare for a case where the environment data of the slave terminal is destroyed, or a case where the user uses a different slave terminal.

The operation server forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention has a reservation management means for making a reservation for the user to participate in the multipoint video conference.

With this configuration, the operation server registers upon receiving a reservation registration request or a reservation deletion request from the terminal, confirms whether the user and the reservation match at the time of performing the multipoint video conference, and based on the confirmation result. A use permission notice or a use non-permission notice can be sent to the terminal that has requested the multipoint video conference.

Further, the multipoint video conference system of the present invention comprises: a master terminal having video input / output means and audio input / output means; a plurality of slave terminals having video input / output means and audio input / output means; A public line and a private line connected to the terminal and the terminal to form a network;
A multipoint control device connected to a public line or a private line, wherein the multipoint control device receives video signals from a master terminal and a slave terminal, combines the video signals for each terminal, and transmits the synthesized signals to corresponding terminals. Have.

With this configuration, the combination of video signals transmitted to the master terminal and each slave terminal can be controlled for each terminal.

Further, the multipoint control apparatus forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention has a configuration in which audio signals are received from a master terminal and a slave terminal, synthesized for each terminal, and transmitted to the corresponding terminal. Have.

With this configuration, the selection or combination of audio signals to be transmitted to the master terminal and each slave terminal can be controlled for each terminal.

Further, the multipoint control device forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention switches a combination of video signals or audio signals to be synthesized for each terminal under the control of an external hand controller to provide a plurality of slave terminals. Have a configuration to switch to a plurality of groups.

According to this configuration, when a plurality of slave terminals are divided into a plurality of groups, it is possible to transmit only the video signal or the audio signal of the partner terminal in the group to each slave terminal.

The master terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention receives the video signal or the audio signal synthesized for each terminal by the multipoint control device, and selects the video signal or the audio signal under the control of the external hand controller. It has a configuration for outputting a video signal or an audio signal of the terminal.

With this configuration, the master terminal can monitor a video signal or an audio signal transmitted to each slave terminal.

Further, the master terminal and the slave terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention have voice character conversion means for recognizing voice signals and converting them into character data. Is converted into character data and displayed on the video input / output means.

According to this configuration, each terminal displays the received audio signal in characters on the television screen, so that the user can confirm who spoke what and by using characters.

Also, the master terminal and the slave terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention have voice character conversion means for recognizing voice signals and converting them to character data, and output from voice input / output means. The audio signal is converted into character data and transmitted to a network.

According to this configuration, each terminal converts the voice signal to be transmitted into character data and outputs the character data, so that the partner terminal can display the conversation content on the television screen as characters.

Also, the master terminal and the slave terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention have voice character conversion means for recognizing voice signals and converting them to character data, and voice signals received from the network. Is converted to character data and stored as character data on a recording medium.

According to this configuration, each terminal converts the audio signal received from the network into character data and stores it as character data in a recording medium, so that the received audio signal can be stored as minutes.

Further, the master terminal and the slave terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention have voice character conversion means for converting character data input by the operation input means into a voice signal. The audio signal transmitted to the network.

According to this configuration, each terminal converts the character data to be transmitted into a voice signal and outputs the voice signal, so that the voice signal can be output from the speaker of the partner terminal.

Further, the master terminal and the slave terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention have voice character conversion means for converting character data received from the network into voice signals, and input voice signals into voice. It has a configuration for outputting from the output means.

With this configuration, each terminal can convert character data received from the network into a voice signal and output the voice signal from the voice input / output means.

Further, the master terminal and the slave terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention have a speech speed conversion control means for converting the speed of the voice signal without changing the pitch of the sound, and The speed of the voice signal received from the device is converted by controlling the operation input means.

With this configuration, each terminal can convert the received audio signal into a speed that matches the level of the terminal.

Further, the master terminal and the slave terminal forming the multipoint video conference system of the present invention have a speech speed conversion control means for converting the speed of the voice signal without changing the pitch of the sound. The speed of the voice signal received from the network is converted based on the voice speed conversion request data received from the network.

With this configuration, each terminal can convert the received voice signal into a speed based on the received voice speed conversion request data.

[0039]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a multipoint video conference system according to the present invention. The multipoint video conference system according to the present embodiment includes a public line ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) 1 and a private line LAN (Local Area Network).
2 together form a network.

A multipoint control device 3, an operation server 4, a plurality of slave terminals 5 (51 to 54),
The base unit terminals 6 are connected to each other, and the multipoint control device 3 and the base unit terminal 6 are connected to a hand controller 7 operated by an operator of the base unit terminal 6.

Each of the slave terminal 5 and the master terminal 6 is composed of a personal computer, and has video input / output means having a video camera and a monitor television, and audio input / output means having a microphone and a speaker (or a headphone terminal). And

When this multipoint video conference system is used as an English conversation education system, the slave terminal 5 functions as a student terminal and the master terminal 6 functions as a teacher terminal.

(Multipoint Control Device) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the multipoint control device 3.
A configuration including a screen synthesis unit 32, an audio switcher / mixer unit 33, and a load monitoring unit 34 is shown.

The data transmission / reception unit 31 transmits each terminal (slave terminal 5 and master terminal 6) on the ISDN 1 (or LAN 2).
It receives the data sent from ISDN1 and transmits the data to be output to ISDN1, converts the data received from ISDN1 into a video signal, and converts it into a transmission standard corresponding to ISDN1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the screen synthesizing unit 32 includes screen synthesizing means 32a to 32d provided corresponding to the slave terminals 51 to 54, and a screen provided corresponding to the master terminal 6. Combining means 32e.

The screen synthesizing means 32a is connected to the corresponding slave terminal 5
The video signal from the terminal other than the terminal 1 is synthesized and output. Specifically, the video signal from the slave terminals 52 to 54 and the video signal from the master terminal 6 are synthesized, and the data
1 is transmitted to the slave terminal 51 via the ISDN 1 as a video signal of a 4-split screen.

The same applies to the other screen combining means 32b to 32e. For example, the screen synthesizing means 32e corresponding to the master terminal 6
Synthesizes video signals from the slave terminals 51 to 54, and sends the synthesized signals to the master terminal 6 via the ISDN1 from the data transmission / reception unit 31.
It is transmitted as a video signal of the divided screen. Therefore, the video of the other terminal is displayed on the television screen of each terminal in a manner divided into four parts.

The mode of synthesizing video signals in the screen synthesizing circuits 32a to 32e is not limited to this, and can be freely designated by a control signal from the hand controller 7. For example, it is also possible to project only the image of the parent device terminal 6 on the child device terminals 51 to 54 and project the image of the child device terminals 51 to 54 into four parts on the parent device terminal 6.

Next, the audio switcher / mixer unit 33
As shown in FIG. 4, the main parts are shown, audio switcher / mixer units 33a to 33d provided corresponding to the slave terminals 51 to 54,
It has an audio switcher / mixer unit 33e provided corresponding to the master terminal 6.

The audio switcher / mixer unit 33a selects or synthesizes an audio signal from a terminal other than the corresponding slave terminal 51 and outputs the synthesized signal.
A voice signal from the base station terminal 6 and a voice signal from the base station terminal 6 are selected or synthesized, and the data signal is transmitted from the data transmission / reception section 31 to the slave terminal 51 via the ISDN 1 as a voice signal. The same applies to the other audio switcher / mixer units 33b to 33e. Each audio switcher / mixer unit 33a to 33e
Can be freely designated by a control signal from the hand controller 7.

Next, the load monitoring unit 34 checks the load state of the LAN 2, transmits communication speed change request data to each terminal so as not to apply an excessive load to the LAN 2, and controls the communication speed of the transmission data. To instruct.

In addition, between the multipoint control device 3, the master terminal 6, and the hand controller 7, in addition to the above, the data transmission / reception unit 31 sends data to the master terminal 6 to the master terminal 6 in connection with the status notification data. On the contrary, the data of the slave terminal to be connected is input from the master terminal 6 to the data transmitting / receiving unit 31 as the connection control data.

The video signal and the audio signal transmitted to each slave terminal are input to the master terminal 6 from the screen synthesizing unit 32 and the audio switcher / mixer unit 33. These signals are selected by the hand controller 7 and can be monitored by the master terminal 6. As a result, the master terminal 6
Then, the video signal and the audio signal transmitted to each slave terminal can be confirmed.

(Operation Server) Next, the configuration of the operation server 4 connected to the LAN 2 will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. The operation server 4 includes a user authentication unit 41, a terminal authentication unit 42, a content distribution unit 43, a reservation management unit 44, and a recording medium 45, as shown in FIG.

Each of the means 41 to 44 is connected to a recording medium 45. The recording medium 45 has user authentication data, individual environment data, terminal authentication data, recording medium data of each terminal, content data, and a content list. Table data, reservation management data, and the like are recorded.

The user authentication means 41 receives a user authentication request from each terminal (slave terminal 5, master terminal 6), refers to the user authentication data on the recording medium 45, and sends out an authentication result notification. Specifically, the user name and password are received from the user of each terminal to refer to the user authentication data. If the user is registered, the user is accepted, and if not, the user is rejected. In addition, the individual environment data unique to the user is distributed to each terminal, and the individual environment data is received from each terminal and recorded on the recording medium 45.

The terminal authentication means 42 receives terminal authentication request data automatically issued from the terminal when the terminal is activated, refers to the terminal authentication data on the recording medium 45, and sends out an authentication result notification. As a result, unauthorized terminals connected to the network can be eliminated.

The content distribution means 43 receives the content request from the terminal, refers to the recording medium 45, and sends out content data and content list data.

The reservation management means 44 receives a reservation registration request or a reservation deletion request from the terminal and registers it in the recording medium 45, confirms whether the user and the reservation match at the time of the multipoint video conference, and checks the confirmation result. On the basis of this, a use permission notice or a use rejection notice is sent to the terminal that has made the multipoint video conference execution request.

(Slave Terminal) FIG. 6 shows the slave terminal 5 (51 to 51).
FIG. 54 is a block diagram showing the configuration of 54). The slave terminal 5 includes a video input / output unit 5a having a video camera and a monitor television, an audio input / output unit 5b having a microphone and a speaker, an operation input unit 5c having various controls, and a recording medium 5d such as a hard disk. And a data transmission / reception unit 5e connected to a network.

[0062] Further, the handset terminal 5 has a speech speed conversion control means 5f and a voice / character conversion control means 5g connected between the video input / output means 5a and the voice input / output means 5b and the data transmitting / receiving unit 5e. The transmission / reception unit 5e includes a communication speed control unit 5h, a connection control unit 5i, and a speech control unit 5j.
Is connected.

Further, the slave terminal 5 has data control means 5k and authentication control means 5m directly connected to the LAN 2, and has environment construction control means 5n between the authentication control means 5m and the recording medium 5d. ing.

In this configuration, the speech speed conversion control means 5f
Outputs the self-addressed video signal from the multipoint control device 3 received by the data transmitting / receiving unit 5e to the video input / output unit 5a, and outputs the self-addressed audio signal to the audio input / output unit 5b.

Further, the speech speed conversion control means 5f receives the video signal and audio input / output means 5 received from the video input / output means 5a.
b from the data transmission / reception unit 5
e. The data transmitting / receiving unit 5e converts the video signal and the audio signal into digital signals and transmits the digital signals to the multipoint control device 3.

The voice speed conversion control means 5f receives the voice signal received by the data transmitting / receiving unit 5e and output to the voice input / output unit 5b, or the speed of the voice signal received from the voice input / output unit 5b and output to the data transmitting / receiving unit 5e. Has the function of changing

This function changes the voice signal speed without changing the pitch based on the voice speed conversion request data received from another terminal or the voice speed conversion request data input from the operation input means 5c. Function. This allows you to practice English conversation at a speed that matches the student's level. When the speed of the audio signal output from the audio input / output unit 5b is converted and output to the data transmitting / receiving unit 5e, delay time notification data is transmitted.

To extend the time of the audio signal without changing the pitch of the sound, for example, segments A and B having a time length Ts are cut out from the input signal. The correlation function between the two segments is obtained, and the segment B is shifted to a time delay Tc at which the correlation function becomes maximum. Then, a segment (A '+ B') is generated by adding the signals A 'and B' whose amplitudes of the segments A and B are gradually increased or decreased with time, and the segments A and B are formed.
An output signal is inserted in between. Segment (A '+
By changing the frequency of inserting B ′), the time axis conversion ratio α (= time length of output signal / time length of input signal) can be arbitrarily set.

Next, the voice character conversion control means 5g has a function of generating voice data by voice recognition of voice signals and generating voice signals by voice synthesis from the character data. That is, an audio signal is transmitted / received to / from the speech speed conversion control unit 5f, and the audio signal received from the data transmission / reception unit 5e is recognized and converted into character data.
Output to It also recognizes voice signals input from the voice input / output means 5b, converts them into character data, and sends them to the data transmitting / receiving unit 5e. By doing so, it is possible to display who spoke what on the television screen of the video input / output means 5a of each terminal by characters.

Next, the communication speed control means 5h is provided corresponding to the load monitoring unit 34. When receiving the communication speed change request data from the load monitoring unit 34, the data transmission / reception unit 5h
The communication speed of data transmitted from e is controlled so that an excessive load is not applied to LAN2.

Next, the connection control means 5i is operated by the operation input means 5
When a connection instruction to the master terminal 6 is received from c, a connection request signal is output to the data transmission / reception unit 5e. Note that when the terminal is started, the calling control cannot be performed unless the terminal server has been authenticated by transmitting and receiving data relating to user authentication and terminal authentication with the operation server 4 described above.

Next, the utterance control means 5j is operated by the operation input means 5
When receiving a utterance instruction to the parent device terminal 6 from c, it outputs an utterance request signal to the data transmission / reception unit 5e. It receives the speech permission or speech prohibition control data returned from the parent device terminal 6 in response to this request. While the utterance is prohibited, the speech speed conversion control means 5f is controlled so that the voice data from the voice input / output means 5b is not output to the outside.

Next, upon receiving the content data distribution, reception request and connection request from the operation input means 5c, the data control means 5k sends a content data reception request or connection request to the operation server 4 to the LAN 2, and
And receiving or distributing the content data. The received content display data is output to the video input / output unit 5a, and the content audio data is output to the audio input / output unit 5b.

Next, the authentication control means 5m is operated by the operation input means 5
When an authentication request, a call request, and a reservation request are received from c, authentication request data and reservation request data are sent to the operation server 4 to the LAN 2, and authentication result notification data is received from the operation server 4. When the terminal is started, data related to user authentication and terminal authentication is transmitted and received, and when authenticated, call control from the connection control means 5i is enabled.

Next, the environment construction control means 5 n
The terminal reads and writes the individual environment data with the server d, and transmits and receives the individual environment data of the terminal with the operation server 4 via the authentication control unit 5m. By doing so, the environment setting of this terminal having the personal computer configuration can be performed at any time.

(Master Terminal) FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the master terminal 6. As shown in FIG. The configuration of the master terminal 6 is the slave terminal 5.
And basically the same. That is, video input / output means 6a having a video camera and a monitor television, and audio input / output means 6b having a microphone, a speaker, and the like.
A terminal device having a personal computer configuration including an operation input unit 6c having various operators, a recording medium 6d such as a hard disk, and a data transmission / reception unit 6e connected to a network.

The base unit terminal 6 has a speech speed conversion control unit 6f and a voice / character conversion control unit 6g connected between the video input / output unit 6a and the audio input / output unit 6b and the data transmission / reception unit 6e. The transmission / reception unit 6e includes a communication speed control unit 6h, a connection control unit 6i, and a speech control unit 6j.
Is connected.

Further, there is provided a data control means 6k and an authentication control means 6m directly connected to the LAN 2, and an environment construction control means 6 is provided between the authentication control means 6m and the recording medium 6d.
n.

As described above, the configuration of the parent terminal 6 is the same as that of the child terminal 5, so that only the differences from the child terminal 5 will be described.

First, since the base unit terminal 6 is directly connected to the multipoint control device 3 and the local controller 7 (see FIG. 2), the data transmission / reception unit 31 of the multipoint control device 3
, Data relating to the state of the slave terminal 5 is directly input to the video input / output means 6a and displayed on the television screen. The teacher can grasp the connection status of the slave terminal 5 from this display.

The screen synthesizing section 32 of the multipoint control device 3
And each slave unit terminal 5 from the audio switcher / mixer unit 33.
The synthesized video signal and synthesized voice signal transmitted to 1 to 54 are directly input to the speech speed conversion control means 6f. Then, by selecting the data of an arbitrary slave terminal by the hand controller 7, it is possible to monitor the synthesized video signal and the synthesized audio signal transmitted to each slave terminal on the television screen of the video input / output means 6a. it can.

Next, when the connection control means 6h receives a connection request from the slave terminal 5 via the LAN 2, the connection control means 6h displays the fact on the television screen of the video input / output means 6a. When the teacher receives the request and issues a connection instruction to the slave terminal from the operation input means 6c, the connection control means 6h
And outputs a connection control signal to the data transmission / reception unit 31 of. The data transmission / reception unit 31 receives the connection control signal and controls transmission and reception of video data and audio data of the slave terminal 5 to which the connection instruction has been issued.

Next, when receiving the comment request notification from the slave terminal 5, the comment control means 6j displays the fact on the television screen of the video input / output means 6a. When the teacher receives the request and gives permission to speak to the slave terminal from the operation input means 6c, the speech control means 6j outputs speech permission notification data to the data transmitting / receiving unit 6e. The statement permission notification data is transmitted to the statement control unit 5j of the slave terminal 5 that has requested the statement.

Note that the comment control means 5j of the slave terminal 5 is
While the utterance was prohibited, the speech speed conversion control means 5f was controlled so as not to output the voice data from the voice input / output means 5b to the outside. not going. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the slave terminal 5.

[0085]

As described above, according to the present invention, whether the user of the master terminal and the user of the slave terminal are legitimate users is determined by the authentication means of the operation server connected to a private line such as a LAN. It is possible to provide a multipoint video conference system in which only authorized users can be permitted to connect, and where necessary, individual environment data unique to the user can be distributed from the operation server to each terminal. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a multipoint video conference system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multipoint control device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main part of a screen synthesis unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main part of an audio switcher / mixer unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation server.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a slave terminal;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a master terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ISDN 2 LAN 3, 3A-3E Multipoint control device 4 Operation server 5, 51-54 Slave terminal 6 Main unit terminal 7 Hand controller 31 Data transmission / reception part 32 Screen synthesis part 33 Voice switcher / mixer part 41 User authentication means 42 Terminal authentication means 43 Content distribution means 44 Reservation management means 45 Recording media 5a, 6a Video input / output means 5b, 6b Audio input / output means 5c, 6c Operation input means 5d, 6d Recording media 5e, 6e Data transmission / reception units 5f, 6f Voice speed Conversion control means 5g, 6g Voice character conversion control means 5h, 6h Communication speed control means 5i, 6i Connection control means 5j, 6j Speech control means 5k, 6k Data control means 5m, 6m Authentication control means 5n, 6n Environment construction control means

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A master terminal having video input / output means and audio input / output means, a plurality of slave terminals having video input / output means and audio input / output means, and a connection between the master terminal and the slave terminal A public line and a private line forming a connected network, and an operation server connected to the private line, wherein the operation server has an authentication unit for performing user authentication for the master terminal and the slave terminal. Multipoint video conference system characterized by the following. 2. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein said authentication means of said operation server performs terminal authentication together with said user authentication for said master terminal and said slave terminal. 3. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the operation server distributes individual environment data corresponding to the user to the terminal of the user authenticated by the authentication unit. 4. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein said operation server receives and records individual environment data of each user from said terminal. 5. The multipoint video conference according to claim 1, wherein the operation server has a reservation management unit for making a reservation for the user to participate in the multipoint video conference. system. 6. A master terminal having video input / output means and audio input / output means, a plurality of slave terminals having video input / output means and audio input / output means, and said master terminal and said slave terminal are connected. And a multipoint controller connected to the public or private line, wherein the multipoint controller receives a video signal from the master terminal and the slave terminal. A multi-point video conference system wherein each terminal is combined for each terminal and transmitted to the corresponding terminal. 7. The multipoint control device according to claim 6, wherein the multipoint control device receives audio signals from the master terminal and the slave terminal, synthesizes the signals for each terminal, and transmits the synthesized signals to the corresponding terminals.
The multipoint video conference system as described. 8. The multipoint control device switches a combination of video signals or audio signals to be synthesized for each terminal under the control of an external hand controller, and switches the plurality of slave terminals into a plurality of groups. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: 9. The master terminal receives a video signal or an audio signal synthesized for each terminal by the multipoint control device and outputs a video signal or an audio signal of the selected terminal under the control of an external hand controller. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: 10. The master terminal and the slave terminal each have a voice-to-character conversion means for recognizing a voice signal and converting the voice signal into character data, converting the voice signal received from the network into character data, 7. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the video is displayed on an input / output unit. 11. The base unit terminal and the slave unit terminal have a voice character conversion means for recognizing a voice signal and converting the voice signal into character data, and convert a voice signal output from the voice input / output means into character data. 7. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the multi-point video conference is transmitted to the network. 12. The master terminal and the slave terminal each have a voice-to-character conversion means for recognizing a voice signal and converting the voice signal into character data, and convert the voice signal received from the network into character data. 7. The multi-point video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the data is stored as character data. 13. The master terminal and the slave terminal each have a voice / character conversion unit that converts character data input by an operation input unit into a voice signal, and transmits the converted voice signal to the network. 7. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein: 14. The master terminal and the slave terminal each have a voice / character conversion unit for converting character data received from the network into a voice signal, and output the voice signal from the voice input / output unit. 7. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein: 15. The master terminal and the slave terminal each have a speech speed conversion control unit for converting a speed of an audio signal without changing a pitch of a sound, and a speech signal received from the network is input to an operation input unit. 7. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the speed is converted by the control of (1). 16. The master terminal and the slave terminal each have speech speed conversion control means for converting the speed of an audio signal without changing the pitch of sound, and convert the audio signal received from the network from the network. 7. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the speed is converted based on the received voice speed conversion request data.