JP2001298718A - Satellite video conference system and satellite video conference management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a satellite video conference system and a satellite video conference management method where it is not required to conduct switching control by a chairman station for every change in an utterance party, it is not required to install reception facilities by a number of utterance stations and the construction cost can be minimized. SOLUTION: The system is configured such that video images of a required number of core stations 200 making frequent utterances are always transmitted in order to efficiently conduct a conference on emergency in the case that number of stations taking part in the conference is 100 stations or over and general stations not making utterances so many receive the utterance video images of the core stations 200 that are synthesized by a control station 100.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for managing a video conference system using satellite communication for connecting multiple points, and particularly to an emergency conference for a case where about 100 or more stations participate in the conference. In order to perform this efficiently, the required number of images of the core station that frequently speaks are constantly transmitted, so that the chair station does not need to perform switching control every time the speaker changes, and general stations that do not speak much The satellite videoconferencing system which can minimize the construction cost by eliminating the need to install receiving facilities by the number of speaking stations by receiving the synthesized images of the speech images of these core stations at the control station. It relates to a satellite video conference management method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional satellite video conference system, all stations always receive the images of the chair station and the speaking station, and each time the speaking station changes, the chair switching station controls the line switching to switch the video distributed to all stations. A technique for performing the above is disclosed.

[0003] Such a prior art is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-271377. That is, the above prior art aims to provide a video conference system that does not require a large number of bidirectional communication lines, has low communication costs, and allows efficient use of a communication network. A plurality of conference terminals each including a television camera for photographing a participant of the video conference, and a display device provided corresponding to the television camera, and display on a display device of each conference terminal. Terminal-side receiving means for wirelessly receiving image information of an image to be made;
An image that receives information of an image captured by each television camera of a plurality of conference terminals via a communication network and combines the image information from each television camera with image information of one screen to generate composite image information. A synthesizing device, and wireless transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the synthesized image information generated by the image synthesizing device to each terminal-side receiving means, wherein the display device of each conference terminal displays the synthesized image received by the terminal-side receiving means. This is a video conference system that composites and displays images from each TV camera on a screen based on information.

Further, the above-mentioned prior art is provided with individual connection control means for individually controlling line connection and line disconnection between each conference terminal and the image synthesizing device in a communication network.

[0005] Further, in the above prior art, the composite image information transmitted from the radio transmitting means is configured to be relayed by an artificial satellite and then received by each terminal side receiving means.

In the prior art, the screen of the display device is divided into a predetermined number of display areas, and the image synthesizing device converts images from the respective television cameras into corresponding images on the screen. Each image information is composed so as to be displayed in the display area.

[0007] In the above prior art, the image synthesizing apparatus comprises:
The number of divisions of the screen of the display device is changed according to the number of the plurality of television cameras that are taking images, and the image of the television camera being photographed is displayed in each of the divided display areas. Thus, each image information is composed.

[0008]

However, the prior art has the following problems. The first problem is that as the number of stations that speak at a meeting increases, the chair station's station requires frequent switching control of the speaking station. Particularly in the case of an emergency response meeting, the proceedings proceed smoothly. Is not possible. The second problem is that, when stations participating in the conference simultaneously receive the utterance images of a plurality of stations, receiving facilities are required in accordance with the number of the stations, which requires construction costs and complicates control. It is.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to efficiently carry out an emergency conference when the number of stations participating in the conference is about 100 or more. In addition, by constantly transmitting the required number of images of the core stations that frequently speak, it is not necessary to perform switching control at the chair station every time the speaker changes, and general stations that do not speak much often use these core stations. A satellite video conference system and a satellite video conference management system that can minimize the construction cost by eliminating the need to install reception facilities by the number of voice stations by receiving the video synthesized by the control station. The point is to provide a method.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The gist of the present invention is that a station participating in a video conference using a satellite communication connecting multiple points serves as a center of discussion and transmits its own video signal and all It is characterized by having a core station capable of simultaneously receiving video signals transmitted from participating stations and a general station limited to transmission of the own video signal and reception of a single video signal, mainly for observation. Being in the satellite video conference system. In addition, the gist of the invention described in claim 2 is that the chair station that proceeds with the meeting selects the plurality of core stations and the general stations that permit video transmission from the agenda and the request status of each station and also establishes a satellite network. Has a control station to manage,
2. The satellite video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the control station has a unit configured to efficiently reconstruct the system by synthesizing an image transmitted from the speaking station on a screen and then retransmitting the synthesized image to the general station. 3. Exists. Further, the gist of the invention according to claim 3 is that the chair station, which proceeds with the conference, selects a plurality of the core stations and the general stations, each of which permits video transmission, from the agenda and the state of a request for speech of each station, and a satellite network. The central station has a means for efficiently constructing the system by re-transmitting to the general station after synthesizing the image transmitted from the speaking station on the screen. A satellite video conference system according to claim 1 or 2. The gist of the invention described in claim 4 is that the required number of images of the core station that makes frequent remarks are constantly transmitted at any time. The present invention resides in the satellite video conference system according to one of the above items. The gist of the invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that the general station that does not make much speech is configured to receive a speech image of the core station synthesized by the control station. The satellite video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The gist of the invention described in claim 6 is that the chair station has means for dividing a station participating in the conference into the core station and the general station in order to select a station participating in the conference. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: receiving means for directly receiving all images of the speaking station including the chair station via a satellite, and transmitting means for speaking by itself. The satellite video conferencing system described. The gist of the invention described in claim 7 is that the general station transmits the video of the speaking station including the chair station synthesized by the control station via the satellite in the order of the speaking station → the control station → the general station. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit for receiving data by double hop and a transmitting unit for making a speech by itself.
The satellite video conference system according to any one of the above. Further, the gist of the invention described in claim 8 is that a station participating in a video conference using satellite communication connecting multiple points,
It is the center of the discussion and is limited to the core station that can transmit the own video signal and the video signal transmitted from all participating stations at the same time, and the transmission of the self video signal and the reception of the single video signal mainly for hearing A satellite video conference management method characterized by having a step of dividing into general stations. The gist of the invention according to claim 9 is to provide an efficient system for re-transmitting the video transmitted from the speaking station to the general station after screen-synthesizing the video, 9. The satellite video conference according to claim 8, further comprising a step of selecting said plurality of core stations and said general stations that permit video transmission from the request status of each station and a control station managing a satellite network. Be in the management method.
The gist of the invention described in claim 10 is that an efficient system construction for re-transmitting to the general station after synthesizing the video transmitted from the speaking station to the general station is provided in the chair station which progresses the conference, and 10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of selecting the plurality of core stations that permit video transmission and the general station based on the request status of each station and performing the core station managing a satellite network. Being in the satellite video conference management method. Further, the gist of the present invention according to claim 11 is to have a step of constantly transmitting a required number of images of the core station that frequently speaks as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10, It is in the satellite video conference management method described. The gist of the invention described in claim 12 is that the general station that does not speak much receives the synthesized video of the speech image of the core station at the control station. Item 12 is the satellite video conference management method according to any one of Items 8 to 11.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A satellite video conference system and a satellite video conference management method according to the present invention have the following features. The first feature is that the chair station can select stations to participate in the meeting. The second feature is that the stations participating in the conference are divided into a core station and a general station, and the core station speaks itself with facilities for directly receiving all images of the speaking station including the chair station via satellite. Is to have a transmission facility. The third feature is that the general station receives the video of the speaking station including the chair station synthesized by the control station in the order of the speaking station, the control station, and the general station by double hop via satellite and the equipment itself. Having a transmission facility to speak. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show examples of the configuration of a satellite video conference system using the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a control station 100, FIG.
3 shows a configuration example of the core station 200, and FIG.
The satellite video conference system according to this embodiment includes a control station 10
0, the core station 200 and the general station 300.

[0013] As shown in FIG.
On the front side, a power feeder 104 is connected to an antenna 106 on a satellite communication device 102 (HUB station), and codecs (encoding / decoding devices) CODEC # 1 to # 6 connected to the satellite communication device 102 (HUB station). , A codec (coding / decoding device) CODEC # 7 connected to the INS backup device, and a matrix switcher 110 connected to the codecs (coding / decoding devices) CODEC # 1 to # 7. Has a function of selecting a station to participate in the conference as the chair station, and dividing the stations to participate in the conference into the core station 200 and the general station 300.

The core station 200, as shown in FIG.
On the front side, a power supply 232 is connected to the antenna 230 on the satellite communication device 220 (VSAT station), and codecs (coding / decoding devices) CODEC # 1 to # 5 connected to the satellite communication device 220 (VSAT station). , INS
A codec (encoding / decoding device) CODEC # 6 connected to the backup device, and a matrix switcher 210 connected to the codecs (encoding / decoding devices) CODEC # 1 to # 6 are mainly configured. It has a facility for directly receiving all the images of the speaking station including the station via satellites, and a transmitting function for speaking by itself. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, four video receiving devices and one video transmitting device are provided. That is, the four video receiving apparatuses and one video transmitting apparatus include codecs (encoding / decoding apparatuses) CODEC # 1 to # 5, modems 201 to 205 connected thereto, and codecs (encoding / decoding). Apparatus) The matrix switcher 210 and the IF combiner / distributor 212 connected to the CODECs # 1 to # 5 are mainly configured. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 240 indicates a main projector.

[0015] As shown in FIG.
On the front side, a power supply 324 is connected to an antenna 322 on a satellite communication device 320 (VSAT station), a codec (encoding / decoding device) CODEC # 1 connected to the satellite communication device 320 (VATA station), INS backup The codec (encoding / decoding device) CODEC # 2 connected to the device, and the matrix switcher 310 connected to the codecs (coding / decoding device) CODEC # 1, # 2 are mainly configured, and the control station 10
It has a facility for receiving the video of the speaking station including the chair station synthesized at 0 in the order of the speaking station, the control station 100, and the general station 300 by double hop via satellite, and has a transmission function for making a speech by itself. I have. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, one video receiving device and one video transmitting device are provided. Specifically, the one video receiving device and one video transmitting device are provided with a codec (encoding / decoding device) CODEC #
1, a modulation / demodulation device 301 connected thereto, a matrix switcher 310 connected to a codec (encoding / decoding device) CODEC # 1, an IF combining / distributing device 312
Etc. In FIG. 3,
Reference numeral 330 indicates a main projector.

[0016] Thus, the combination of stations that constantly transmit video can be selected by the chair station as described above.
Since the speaker images of these stations are always received by each station,
Whenever the speaker changes, the chairperson station does not need to frequently perform the switching control, so that the proceedings can proceed smoothly.

Next, the operation of the satellite video conference system (a satellite video conference management method) will be described. With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, in the present embodiment, with the above-described configuration, the core station 200 that is the main body of the utterance receives the utterance of each station in a single hop. As a result, conversation with no sense of incongruity can be performed with a small propagation delay. At this time, at the same time, the general station 300 mainly for listening receives the utterance of each station by double hop as described above.
For this reason, the propagation delay is doubled, but the progress of the conference can be grasped by a single receiving facility. As a result, there is an effect that when a comment is necessary, a request for a statement can be made to the chairman bureau.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. The first effect is that, in a video conference system using satellite communication, stations participating in the conference serve as a center for discussion and a plurality of video signals NTSC / R.
A core station 200 that can receive GB and a general station 30 that is mainly for hearing and is limited to receiving a single video signal NTSC / RGB.
By dividing the number into 0, the presiding bureau, which proceeds with the conference, will allow video transmission based on the agenda and the request status of each station.
00 and the general station 300 can be sorted out.
0 means that the images of all speaking stations are always
40 can be monitored. And the second
The effect of the above is that the general station 300 monitors the retransmitted image synthesized on the screen with the main projector 330,
A satellite video conference system and a satellite video conference management method capable of responding to an emergency conference with a small construction cost can be constructed.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it is apparent that the above embodiment can be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Further, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to numbers, positions, shapes, and the like suitable for carrying out the present invention. In each drawing, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0020]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained. The first effect is that in a video conference system using satellite communication, the stations participating in the conference are the center of the discussion, and the core station that can receive multiple video signals is limited to the reception of a single video signal mainly for hearing. By dividing them into general stations, the chair station that proceeds with the meeting can select the core stations and general stations that are allowed to transmit video from the agenda and the request status of each station, and the core station can view the images of all the talking stations. That it can be monitored constantly. The second effect is that a general station monitors a retransmitted video image synthesized on a screen, so that a satellite video conference system capable of coping with an emergency conference can be constructed with a small construction cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control station of a satellite video conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining a configuration of a core station of the satellite video conference system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a general station of the satellite video conference system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 control station 102 satellite communication device (HUB station) 104, 232, 324 power supply 106, 230, 322 antenna 200 core station 201-205, 301 modulation / demodulation device 110, 210, 310 matrix switcher 212, 312 IF synthesizer / distributor 220, 320 Satellite communication device (VSAT station) 240, 330 Main projector 300 General station CODEC # 1 to # 7 Codec (encoding / decoding device)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hidekazu Takagi 5-7-1 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo F-term in NEC Corporation (reference) 5C064 AA02 AC04 AC06 AC12 AC16 AC22 AD02 AD06 AD14

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A station which participates in a video conference using satellite communication connecting multiple points is a core station which can be a center of discussion and can transmit its own video signal and simultaneously receive the video signals transmitted from all participating stations. A satellite video conference system comprising: means for mainly listening and dividing into general stations limited to transmission of the own video signal and reception of a single video signal. 2. The chair station that conducts a conference has a plurality of the core stations that permit video transmission from the agenda and the request status of each station, a control station that selects the general stations, and manages a satellite network, 2. The satellite video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the control station has a unit configured to efficiently reconstruct the system by synthesizing an image transmitted from the speaking station on a screen and then retransmitting the synthesized image to the general station. 3. . 3. The chair station, which conducts a conference, has a plurality of the core stations which permit video transmission from the agenda and the request status of each station, and the core station which selects the general stations and manages a satellite network. The method according to claim 1, wherein the core station has a unit configured to efficiently reconstruct a system by synthesizing a video transmitted from the speaking station on a screen and then retransmitting the screen to the general station. 4. Satellite video conferencing system. 4. The satellite video conference according to claim 1, wherein a required number of images of said core station that frequently speaks are constantly transmitted. system. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the general station that does not make much speech receives the speech image of the core station synthesized by the control station.
The satellite video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The chair station has means for separating stations participating in the conference into the core station and the general station in order to select a station participating in the conference, wherein the core station includes a statement including the chair station. The satellite video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a receiving means for directly receiving all the images of the station via a satellite and a transmitting means for making a speech by itself. 7. The general station transmits a video of the speaking station including the chair station synthesized by the control station to the speaking station → the controlling station →
The satellite video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a receiving means for receiving the general stations in order of double hop via a satellite and a transmitting means for making a speech. . 8. A station which participates in a video conference using satellite communication connecting multiple points is a core station which can be a center of discussion and can transmit its own video signal and simultaneously receive the video signals transmitted from all participating stations. A method for managing a satellite video conference, wherein the method is divided into general stations mainly for watching and transmitting the own video signal and receiving only the single video signal. 9. An efficient system for synthesizing an image transmitted from a speaking station on a screen and re-transmitting the synthesized image to the general station, based on an agenda and a requesting state of each station provided in a chair station which is in a conference. 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of selecting a plurality of said core stations and said general stations that permit the communication and performing the steps by a control station managing a satellite network.
The satellite video conference management method described in 1. 10. An efficient system for re-transmitting to a general station after synthesizing a video transmitted from a speaking station to a general station is provided. 10. The satellite videoconference management method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of selecting said plurality of core stations and said general stations that permit the communication, and performing said core station managing a satellite network. 11. The satellite video conference management method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of constantly transmitting a required number of images of said core station that frequently speaks. 12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of receiving the synthesized image of the speech image of the core station by the control station by the general station that does not speak much.
2. The satellite video conference management method according to claim 1.