JP2011082694A - System and device for communication conference - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system and device for communication conferences which control transmission of image data, voice data, or the like according to an installed communication device such as horizontal or erection installation to suppress transmission and reception of unnecessary data. <P>SOLUTION: Terminals 5a, 5b have inclination angle detection parts which detect an inclination angle of a casing which is provided with a display part and a camera, and determine installation states of the terminals 5a, 5b based on the detected inclination angle. The terminals 5a, 5b perform transmission of the image data picked up with the camera and the voice data collected with a microphone in the casing of an erected state, and stop transmission of the image data and the voice data in the casing of a horizontal installation state. In addition, when receiving the image data, the terminals 5a, 5b store the image data in a RAM, and when not receiving the image data, read and display the image data stored in the RAM. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention allows a plurality of users at remote locations to hold a communication conference by transmitting and receiving image data captured by a camera, audio data collected by a microphone, and the like from one communication device to another device. The present invention relates to a communication conference system that enables the communication, and a communication device used in the system.

  With the development of network technology, it becomes possible to send and receive large volumes of data such as images (video) and audio between multiple communication devices installed at two remote sites or at multiple sites over three sites. A communication conference system (so-called a video conference system or a Web conference system) in which a remote user can hold a conference by using the communication device has been put into practical use.

  In a conventional communication conference system, one communication device establishes a direct connection with another device by specifying a telephone number or an IP (Internet Protocol) address, etc., and the two communication devices have a one-to-one image, voice, etc. The communication conference is realized by exchanging data. Also, using three or more communication devices, one communication device as a parent device, other multiple communication devices as child devices, a plurality of child devices each establishing a connection with the parent device, There is a communication conference system that realizes a communication conference at three or more bases by relaying data exchange between slave units. In addition, in order to realize communication conferences between more bases, multiple communication devices are connected in a star shape to an MCU (Multipoint Control Unit) and the MCU relays data exchange between the communication devices. There is a teleconferencing system configured. In a communication conference system using an MCU, the number of sites that can participate in a communication conference depends on the capability of the MCU (the number of communication devices that can be connected, for example, the number of communication ports).

  Further, a server device for communication conference and a plurality of communication devices (client devices) connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet are used. There is a server & client type teleconference system that realizes a teleconference by relaying data exchange. The server & client type teleconferencing system is limited in server processing capacity and network communication speed, but compared with the teleconference system using MCU, the increase and decrease of the number of bases participating in the teleconference is compared. There is an advantage that it can be performed easily.

  In a communication conference system capable of exchanging data such as images or voices between a large number of devices, a single communication device can be used by one (or a small number of users) to hold a communication conference. The communication device used by each user includes a display such as a liquid crystal display, a camera, a microphone, a speaker, and the like, and performs transmission / reception of image data obtained by imaging the user, transmission / reception of audio data related to the user's speech, and the like.

  As an apparatus provided with a camera, for example, in Patent Document 1, an image input unit that inputs image data of a subject is installed in a laptop computer body, thereby simplifying operations associated with adjustment of the position and direction of the subject. There has been proposed a laptop computer with an image input device that can improve the convenience of the device.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a television that displays video data captured by a TV camera with a turning function for capturing conference participants provided in a first conference room on a monitor provided in the second conference room. In the conference system, there has been proposed a conference partner video switching method in which transmission of video data is suppressed while the TV camera is turning, and the received video data before the camera is turned is displayed on the monitor.

  As a liquid crystal display device, for example, in Patent Document 3, a liquid crystal module front cover, a liquid crystal module back cover, a detachable base portion, and a detachable back cover constitute a liquid crystal unit, and the liquid crystal module back cover has a smooth surface. A liquid crystal display device having a curved surface has been proposed. Since this liquid crystal display device can promptly provide the use state of direct placement or flat placement, it can cope with diversification of the use scene of the liquid crystal display device, such as providing video information to a plurality of people at the same time.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-066855 JP-A-5-260463 JP-A-9-238293

  A communication device used for a communication conference system includes a display for displaying an image, and is often used in a state of being supported by a support member such as a stand or a pedestal (see Patent Document 3). Also, in recent years, the display device has been made thinner and lighter, and the portability and portability of communication devices have increased, so that the user can grasp the outer frame portion of the display without using a support unit such as a stand or a stand. Communication devices to be used have been put into practical use.

  In such a communication device that does not have a support member, a display is provided on one surface of a thin plate-like housing, a camera is integrally provided on a frame portion around the display, and a microphone and a speaker are provided in the housing. It is done. Furthermore, the communication apparatus may be provided with input receiving means such as a touch panel or a pen tablet that receives contact input on the surface of the display. The user can use the communication device in a flat installation state where the communication device is placed on a desk or the like, or can use the communication device in an installation state such as standing upright by gripping the casing of the communication device. That is, the user can use the communication device at an appropriate inclination angle.

  When the user grips this communication device and uses it in an upright state (or a steep angle close to the upright), it is assumed that the user is viewing information displayed on the display alone. On the other hand, when the communication device is used in a flat state on a desk or the like (or a gentle angle close to flat), the user is performing hand-drawn input work with a touch panel or a pen tablet, or It is assumed that a plurality of users are negotiating by looking at information displayed around the communication device.

  The camera provided in the communication device is for capturing an image of a user who uses the communication device, and image data captured by the camera is transmitted to the communication devices of other users participating in the communication conference. When the communication device provided on the frame around the display is placed flat on a desk or the like, the camera captures the upper part (for example, the ceiling of the room) and is not related to the communication conference that does not include the user. There is a possibility that an image is transmitted.

  The voice collected by the microphone of the communication device is transmitted to the communication device of another user who participates in the communication conference. When multiple users are discussing surrounding a flat communication device, multiple users speak at the same time, so the sound collected by the microphones is a combination of the voices of multiple users. There is a possibility that it is difficult for a user who uses another communication device to hear.

  On the other hand, each communication device transmits image data captured by the camera and sound data collected by the microphone, and the server device receives image data and sound data from each communication device and performs image processing and sound processing such as synthesis. It is necessary to transmit the processed image data and audio data to all the communication devices participating in the communication conference. Since image data and audio data have a large amount of data, when a large number of communication devices participate in a communication conference, there is a problem that the load on the communication line and the processing load on the server device increase, and there is a problem between the communication device and the server device. It is desirable to reduce the transmission and reception of unnecessary data.

  In the conference partner video switching method described in Patent Document 2, by suppressing the transmission of video data while the TV camera is turning, it is possible to suppress the transmission of useless video data and save the communication cost. However, the control device that controls the turning of the TV camera is configured to turn off the output of the TV camera during the turning, and can perform processing according to a change in the installation state of the communication device due to a change in the user's work state or the like. However, it is not possible to reduce unnecessary transmission / reception of data when the communication apparatus is placed flat.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to control transmission of image data or audio data according to the installation state of a communication device such as flat or upright, An object of the present invention is to provide a communication conference system capable of suppressing transmission / reception of unnecessary data and a communication apparatus constituting the system.

  A communication conference system according to the present invention includes a transmission side communication device having a casing provided with a display unit for displaying an image and transmission means for transmitting image data obtained by imaging of the camera, and the transmission side communication device. In the communication conference system, comprising: a receiving unit that receives the image data; and a receiving-side communication device that includes a display processing unit that performs a process of displaying the image data received by the receiving unit. And a transmission control unit for stopping transmission of the image data by the transmission unit according to a detection result of the detection unit, and the reception-side communication device stores the image data. And when the transmission of the image data from the transmission side communication device is stopped, the display processing means displays the image data stored in the storage means. Characterized in that that is the other.

  In the communication conference system according to the present invention, the storage means of the receiving communication device stores the image data received by the receiving device, and the display processing means of the receiving communication device is configured to transmit the transmission data. When the transmission of the image data from the side communication device is stopped, the image data stored in the storage means before the stop of the transmission is displayed.

  In the communication conference system according to the present invention, the storage unit of the receiving communication device stores image data of a predetermined image, and the display processing unit of the receiving communication device is the transmitting side. When the transmission of the image data from the communication device is stopped, the predetermined image stored in advance by the storage unit is displayed.

  The communication conference system according to the present invention is characterized in that the predetermined image is an image including a character message or an image message indicating information related to an installation state of the transmission side communication device.

  Further, in the communication conference system according to the present invention, the transmission unit of the transmission side communication device transmits the audio data obtained by the sound collection of the sound collection unit together with the image data. The transmission control unit is configured to stop transmission of image data and audio data by the transmission unit according to a detection result of the detection unit, and the reception unit of the reception side communication device is configured by the transmission side communication device. The transmitted image data and audio data are received, and the receiving-side communication device includes an audio output processing unit that performs an audio output process on the audio data received by the receiving unit.

  In the communication conference system according to the present invention, the detection unit of the transmission side communication device detects the installation state according to the inclination angle of the casing, and the transmission control unit of the transmission side communication device Is characterized in that data transmission by the transmission means is stopped depending on whether the inclination angle detected by the detection means is closer to horizontal or vertical than the threshold angle.

  In the communication conference system according to the present invention, the transmission-side communication device includes a camera provided on a frame portion surrounding the display unit of the housing, and the transmission unit is obtained by imaging of the camera. The image data is transmitted.

  The communication apparatus according to the present invention is a communication apparatus comprising: a receiving unit that receives image data transmitted from another device; and a display processing unit that performs a process of displaying the image data received by the receiving unit. Storage means for storing image data, and when the transmission of the image data from the other device is stopped, the display processing means displays the image data stored in the storage means. Features.

In the present invention, a means for detecting the installation state of the housing is provided in the transmission side communication device that transmits the image data captured by the camera, and control for stopping the transmission of the image data is performed according to the detected installation state. It is possible to detect a flat state or an upright state of the transmission side communication device. For example, transmission of image data is stopped when the transmission side communication device is flat, and image data is transmitted when the transmission side communication device is upright. It can be configured. Accordingly, it is possible to stop transmission of unnecessary image data captured by the camera in the flat state of the transmission side communication device, and it is possible to reliably transmit an image of the user captured in the upright state.
When the transmission of the image data of the transmission side communication device is stopped, the reception side communication device cannot receive the image data and cannot perform image display. If the image display is suddenly interrupted, there is a risk that the user who uses the receiving side communication device may feel uncomfortable or uneasy. Therefore, the receiving communication device is provided with storage means such as a memory for storing image data, and image data to be displayed when transmission of the image data of the transmitting communication device is stopped is stored in the storage device in advance. . As a result, when the transmission side communication device is transmitting image data, the reception side communication device receives and displays the image data, and the transmission side communication device stops transmitting the image data. In this case, it is possible to perform processing for displaying the image data stored in the storage means.
Therefore, in the communication conference system of the present invention, the image data suitable for the use mode of the transmission side communication device by the user can be transmitted, and the image display suitable for the transmission state of the image data by the transmission side communication device can be received on the reception side. A communication device can do.

  In the present invention, the received image data is stored in the storage means of the receiving communication apparatus. Thereby, it can be estimated that the image data memorize | stored in a memory | storage means is an image which was able to image a user's figure appropriately with the camera of the transmission side communication apparatus. Therefore, when the transmission of the image data of the transmission side communication device is stopped, the reception side communication device displays the image data stored in the storage means before the transmission is stopped, so that the user who uses the transmission side communication device The figure can be displayed on the receiving side communication device. Note that the image data stored and displayed in the storage means by the receiving communication device may be a still image or a moving image.

  In the present invention, a predetermined image is stored in the storage unit of the receiving communication apparatus. The predetermined image can be, for example, an image including a message notifying that the transmission of the image data of the transmission side communication device has been stopped. Thereby, when the transmission of the image data of the transmission side communication device is stopped, the reception side communication device can display a predetermined image and notify that the transmission of the image data is stopped.

  In the present invention, as the predetermined image stored in advance in the storage unit, information relating to the installation state of the transmission side communication device (which may be the installation state itself or estimated from the installation state of the transmission side communication device) An image including a text message or an image message (such as an icon or an illustration) indicating the user's work status may be used. As a result, it is possible to notify the user who uses the receiving communication device of the usage status of the transmitting communication device by the other user.

Further, in the present invention, when the transmitting communication device collects the user's conversation voice by sound collecting means such as a microphone and transmits it to the receiving communication device, depending on the installation state of the transmitting communication device, Stop sending audio data as well as image data. The receiving side communication device receives the audio data transmitted by the transmitting side communication device and performs audio output processing related to the received audio data. However, when the transmission of the audio data by the transmitting side communication device is stopped, the audio output is performed. What is necessary is just to stop a process.
Thereby, it is possible to prevent the transmission-side communication device from transmitting voice data that is difficult for the user who uses the reception-side communication device to hear, such as a conversation when a plurality of users are discussing.

In the present invention, in order to detect the installation state of the casing, the transmission-side communication device detects the tilt angle of the casing and determines whether the detected tilt angle is close to horizontal or vertical. . Thereby, when the tilt angle is close to the horizontal, it can be determined that the transmission side communication device is used in a flat state, and when the tilt angle is close to the vertical, it is determined that the transmission side communication device is used in an upright state.
Therefore, it is possible to reliably transmit the image data suitable for the usage mode by reliably determining the usage mode of the transmission-side communication apparatus and stopping the transmission of the image data when the inclination angle is nearly horizontal.

  In the present invention, the transmission side communication device is provided with a camera in a frame portion surrounding the display portion of the housing. When the display unit and the camera are integrally provided in the housing in this way, the camera imaging direction is likely to change according to the usage mode of the transmission-side communication device. It is preferable to perform transmission control of image data captured by the camera according to the state.

In the case of the present invention, the transmission side communication device is provided with means for detecting the installation state of the casing, and controls to stop the transmission of the image data according to the detected installation state, and the image data is sent to the reception side communication device. By providing storage means for storing and storing in advance the image data to be displayed when transmission of the image data of the transmission side communication device is stopped, the transmission side communication device is placed in a flat state. Thus, transmission of unnecessary image data captured by the camera can be stopped. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in load on the communication line due to transmission / reception of large-capacity data, an increase in processing load on the communication device on the transmission side and the reception side, and an increase in processing load on the server device. In addition, since the receiving side communication device can display the image data stored in the storage means, the transmission side communication device stops sending the image data, so that the user who uses the receiving side communication device may feel uncomfortable or uneasy. Can be prevented.
Therefore, the communication conference system and the communication device of the present invention suppress the transmission and reception of unnecessary image data, and transmit the image data of the transmission side communication device suitable for the usage mode of the transmission side communication device and the image of the reception side communication device. Display can be realized, and a comfortable communication conference in a remote place can be realized.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one structural example of the communication conference system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating transmission / reception of the image data in a communication conference. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating transmission / reception of the document data in a communication conference. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a conference server apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a terminal device. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the signal processing part of a terminal device. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the inclination-angle of a terminal device. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the communication control process which a terminal device performs according to an inclination angle. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the communication control process which a terminal device performs. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process at the time of the data reception which a terminal device performs. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device which concerns on a modification. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the communication control process which the terminal device which concerns on a modification performs according to an inclination angle.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a communication conference system according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a conference server device of a communication conference system, which is connected to a plurality of terminal devices (communication device, transmission side communication device, reception side communication device) 5a, 5b,. . The conference server device 1 can receive image data, audio data, document data, etc. between two or more terminal devices 5a, 5b ... arbitrarily selected from a plurality of terminal devices 5a, 5b ... connected to the network 3. By relaying various types of data transmission and reception, a remote conference can be realized. Each terminal device 5a, 5b,... Corresponds to the communication device of the present invention, and also corresponds to the transmission-side communication device and the reception-side communication device of the present invention because they transmit and receive data to and from each other.

  Moreover, the conference server apparatus 1 can perform a plurality of communication conferences in parallel. In the example shown in FIG. 1, three terminal devices 5a, 5d, and 5e form one group for the conference 1, and the other three terminal devices 5b, 5c, and 5f form one group for the conference 2. It is carried out. That is, the conference server apparatus 1 treats two or more terminal devices 5a, 5b,... As a group for performing a communication conference, and image data and audio between the plurality of terminal devices 5a, 5b,. While relaying data and the like, it is allowed to form a plurality of groups in the network, and relaying of image data, audio data, and the like can be performed simultaneously for the plurality of groups.

  The terminal devices 5a, 5b... Of the communication conference system can be realized by a configuration in which a camera, a microphone, a speaker, and a communication function are mounted on a device having a pen tablet type display unit and an input unit. However, the configuration of the terminal devices 5a, 5b... Is not limited to this, and is realized by, for example, a configuration in which a camera and a speaker are mounted on a notebook PC (Personal Computer), or a configuration in which a camera and a communication function are mounted on a display, for example. be able to. The terminal devices 5a, 5b... May be any devices that have at least a function of communicating with the conference server device 1, a function of capturing images of users, a function of displaying images, a function of outputting sound, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining transmission / reception of image data in a communication conference, and shows a case where four terminal devices 5 a to 5 d perform a communication conference using the conference server device 1. In addition, FIG. 2 shows an example in which images of each user captured by cameras mounted on the terminal devices 5a to 5d are transmitted and received between all the terminal devices 5a to 5d.

  Each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d is provided with a camera at a position where the user's face or upper body can be photographed. Each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d captures a user who uses the terminal device 5a with a camera, creates image data for transmission in which an image (self-terminal image) obtained by the imaging is encoded, and uses the image data as a conference server. Transmit to device 1.

  The conference server device 1 receives image data (four local terminal images) from the four terminal devices 5a to 5d, and performs image processing for adjusting the size or image quality of each image as necessary. The conference server device 1 transmits these image data to the terminal devices 5a to 5d participating in the communication conference.

  Each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d receives image data transmitted from the conference server device 1. However, the image data transmitted from the conference server device 1 to each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d is an image not including the own terminal image of each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d, that is, an image captured by the other terminal devices 5a to 5d ( Only other terminal images). Each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d displays the own terminal image taken by itself and a plurality of other terminal images received from the conference server device 1 side by side on the display. In addition, each terminal device 5a-5d may be the structure which does not display about the own terminal image imaged with its own camera. In the communication conference system, the conference server device 1 and the terminal devices 5a to 5d repeatedly perform the above-described processing, whereby images of all users participating in the communication conference are displayed as moving images on the terminal devices 5a to 5d. Is done.

  In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, transmission / reception can be performed by the same method also regarding transmission / reception of the audio | voice data in a communication conference. Each of the communication terminals 5a to 5d is provided with a microphone, which converts the user's conversation into voice data and transmits it to the conference server apparatus 1. The conference server device 1 receives the audio data from each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d, performs audio processing for adjusting the volume and sound quality as necessary, and transmits the audio data to each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d. Each of the terminal devices 5a to 5d receives the audio data of the other terminal devices 5a to 5d from the conference server device 1, collects the audio data with its own microphone, and a plurality of audio data received from the conference server device 1. And output sound from the speaker.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining transmission / reception of document data in a communication conference. The organizer of the communication conference makes a reservation for the communication conference in advance in the conference server device 1, and registers materials used in the communication conference at this time in the conference server device 1. The material to be registered in the conference server device 1 is document data composed of data such as text or images, and may be in various data formats such as text files, image files, and files for presentation software. The conference server device 1 stores these document data registered in advance by the organizer as the shared material 101.

  Each terminal device 5a, 5b,... Used by the user participating in the communication conference is provided with a display unit 55 such as a liquid crystal display, and the image obtained by capturing the conference participating user is displayed on the display unit 55 as described above. In addition, the document data of the conference material can be displayed. At this time, the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... May be configured to display the user's captured image and document data together by dividing the display unit 55 vertically or horizontally. The user may select and switch which of these is displayed.

  The conference server device 1 manages the shared material 101 for the communication conference for each page, and transmits a predetermined page of the shared material 101 to all the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Participating in the communication conference. Thus, the same page of the shared material 101 can be displayed on the display units 55 of all the terminal devices 5a, 5b. The page of the shared material 101 displayed on the display unit 55 of each terminal device 5a, 5b... Can be changed by the terminal device 5a, 5b... Used by the user of the communication conference organizer. In the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... To be used, the display page of the shared material 101 is changed in synchronization with the page change operation performed by the organizer user. It is also possible for a user other than the organizer to change the page of the shared material 101 asynchronously with the page change by the organizer's user at his / her terminal device 5a, 5b.

  Each terminal device 5a, 5b,... Has an input unit 61 using a pointing device such as a pen tablet, a mouse, or a touch panel, and the user enters characters or figures on the conference material displayed on the display unit 55. This can be done by the input unit 61. A character or figure entered in the conference material by the input unit 61 of one terminal device 5a, 5b... By one user is displayed on the display unit 55 of the other terminal device 5a, 5b. Are displayed in a superimposed manner. That is, data such as characters or figures entered by one user for the conference material is shared by all users participating in the communication conference.

  In order to share such document data and user entry data, in this communication conference system, each page of the shared material 101 and data such as characters or figures entered by the user in each of the terminal devices 5a, 5b. Are treated as different layers. The shared material 101 transmitted from the conference server device 1 to each terminal device 5a, 5b... In units of pages is handled as the background layer 151 in each communication terminal 5a, 5b.

  Data such as characters or figures entered by the user using the input unit 61 is handled as the writing layer 155 in each terminal device 5a, 5b. Each terminal device 5a, 5b... Receives the input from the user at the input unit 61, and then transmits the data of the write layer 155 to the conference server device 1. The data of the write layer 155 of each terminal device 5a, 5b ... is stored as the writing information of the terminal information 105a, 105b ... associated with the device 5a, 5b ....

  The conference server device 1 stores the data of the writing layer 155 of each terminal device 5a, 5b... As the writing information of the terminal information 105a, 105b for all the terminal devices 5a, 5b. Further, the conference server device 1 transmits the writing information of the other terminal devices 5a, 5b,... To the terminal devices 5a, 5b,. The terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Receive the data of the writing layer 155 of the other terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Transmitted from the conference server device 1, and the background layer 151 receives the data of the other terminal devices 5a, 5b,. Display data in which the write layer 155 and its own write layer 155 are overlapped is created and displayed on the display unit 55. Thereby, the information written by the user in all the terminal devices 5a, 5b... Participating in the conference can be displayed on the display unit 55 of each terminal device 5a, 5b.

  In each of the terminal devices 5a, 5b, etc., the background layer, the writing layer 155 of the other terminal devices 5a, 5b,. The layer can be arbitrarily selected by the user. Each terminal device 5a, 5b,... Transmits which layer is displayed to the conference server device 1 as browsing information, and the conference server device 1 associates the terminal information 105a with each terminal device 5a, 5b,. , 105b..., Browsing information is stored together with the writing information. Thereby, the conference server apparatus 1 can select and transmit only necessary write information when transmitting the write information of the other terminal apparatuses 5a, 5b... To each terminal apparatus 5a, 5b. .

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the conference server device 1. The conference server device 1 of the communication conference system includes a control unit 11, a signal processing unit 12, an image processing unit 13, an audio processing unit 14, a communication processing unit 15, a network I / F (interface) unit 16, a memory 17, and an input processing unit. 18, a display processing unit 19, a hard disk 20, and the like.

  The network I / F unit 16 has a terminal for connecting a communication cable or the like constituting the network 3 of the communication conference system. In accordance with a communication protocol such as H.323, SIP, or HTTP, communication is performed between the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... And other server devices (for example, a mail server). The network I / F unit 16 provides the received data to the communication processing unit 15 and transmits the data provided from the communication processing unit 15 to a predetermined transmission destination. The conference server device 1 is connected to a wireless communication device 3a that relays a wireless signal via the network 3, and when communicating with the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Having a wireless communication function, Communication can be performed via the wireless communication device 3a.

  The communication processing unit 15 performs processing such as data conversion and encryption related to communication. The communication processing unit 15 converts the data for transmission given from the control unit 11 or the signal processing unit 12 into a data format suitable for the communication protocol, further encrypts it, and gives it to the network I / F unit 16. Send data. Further, the communication processing unit 15 decodes the reception data given from the network I / F unit 16, converts it into a data format suitable for the processing of the conference server device 1, and gives it to the control unit 11 or the signal processing unit 12. To receive data.

  The signal processing unit 12 includes an image encoding unit that encodes image data, an image decoding unit that decodes image data, an audio encoding unit that encodes audio data, and an audio decoding unit that decodes audio data. ing. The conference server device 1 receives the image data from each of the terminal devices 5a, 5b... By the communication processing unit 15, and decodes the received image data by the signal processing unit 12 as necessary. Various image processing can be performed. The image data subjected to the image processing is encoded by the signal processing unit 12 and transmitted to the respective communication terminals 5a, 5b. When there is no need to perform image processing on the received image data, the conference server device 1 transmits the received image data to the communication terminals 5a, 5b,... Without performing image processing.

  Similarly, the conference server apparatus 1 receives the audio data from each of the terminal devices 5a, 5b... By the communication processing unit 15, and decodes the received audio data by the signal processing unit 12 as necessary. Various audio processing can be performed by the unit 14. The audio data subjected to the audio processing is encoded by the signal processing unit 12 and transmitted to each of the communication terminals 5a, 5b. When there is no need to perform voice processing on the received voice data, the conference server apparatus 1 transmits the received voice data to each communication terminal 5a, 5b,... Without performing voice processing.

  The signal processing unit 12 is connected to the H.264. 261, H.H. Image data can be encoded / decoded according to standards such as H.263 or H264. 711, G.G. 722, G.G. 728, G.G. Audio data can be encoded / decoded according to a standard such as 729 or MPEG4. However, the signal processing unit 12 may be configured to encode / decode image data or audio data according to a standard other than the above standard.

  The image processing unit 13 can perform various image processing, such as image enlargement / reduction, edge enhancement, or color adjustment, on the image data given from the signal processing unit 12. The image processing unit 13 gives the image data subjected to the image processing to the signal processing unit 12. The image processing unit 13 performs processing for generating an image to be displayed on the display device 26 connected to the conference server device 1. Similarly, the audio processing unit 14 can perform various audio processes such as noise removal or volume adjustment on the audio data given from the signal processing unit 12. The audio processing unit 14 gives the audio data subjected to the audio processing to the signal processing unit 12.

  Specifically, the control unit 11 is an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and reads and executes various programs installed in the hard disk 20 in advance, thereby The operation of each unit of the apparatus 1 is controlled, and various processes related to the communication conference are performed.

  The memory 17 is composed of a memory element such as an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The memory 17 stores various data generated in the course of processing performed by the control unit 11, the signal processing unit 12, the image processing unit 13, the audio processing unit 14, and the like (however, the signal processing unit 12, the image processing unit 13). Alternatively, the audio processing unit 14 may have a dedicated memory). The memory 17 may be used as a communication buffer that temporarily stores data transmitted and received by the communication processing unit 15.

  The input processing unit 18 processes the input signal from the input device 25 such as a mouse or a keyboard, thereby determining the presence / absence of the input operation by the user, the content of the input operation, and the like and notifying the control unit 11. The control unit 11 can perform processing according to the notification from the input processing unit 18. The display processing unit 19 converts the image data for display given from the image processing unit 13 into an image signal suitable for display on the display device 26 such as a liquid crystal display, and outputs the image signal. Display an image.

  The hard disk 20 is a magnetic storage device having a capacity larger than that of the memory 17, and in addition to an OS (Operating System) not shown and various application software, a conference management program 20a and authentication information 20b for realizing a communication conference system. Such programs and data are stored (installed).

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 5a. The configurations of the other terminal devices 5b, 5c,... Are the same as the configuration of the terminal device 5a, and are not shown. However, the terminal devices 5a, 5b... Need not all have the same configuration, and the communication conference system may include a plurality of types of terminal devices 5a, 5b. 5 shows a configuration in which the terminal device 5a is integrally provided with a camera 52, a microphone 53, a speaker 56, an input unit 61, and a display unit 55. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The terminal device 5a may be detachably provided on the main body.

  In the terminal device 5a, for example, a camera 52 is mounted in the vicinity of the display unit 55, and the user's head or upper body facing the display unit 55 has a frequency of about several tens or several hundreds of times per second. And the image signal related to the captured image is given to the signal processing unit 70. Further, the terminal device 5 a includes a microphone 53 for collecting voice such as a user's speech, and a voice signal collected by the microphone 53 is given to the signal processing unit 70 via the mixer 54. The mixer 54 performs processing such as adjustment of the signal level of the audio signal collected by the microphone 53 and band limitation.

  The terminal device 5 a includes a display unit 55 such as a liquid crystal display, and the display unit 55 displays an image according to an image signal supplied from the signal processing unit 70. Further, the terminal device 5 a includes a speaker 56 that performs audio output, and the speaker 56 performs audio output according to an audio signal provided from the signal processing unit 70.

  The signal processing unit 70 performs processing such as mutual conversion processing between analog image signals and audio signals and digital image data and audio data, and encoding and decoding of image data and audio data. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the signal processing unit 70 of the terminal device 5a. The signal processing unit 70 generates a transmission data obtained by multiplexing the image signal and the audio signal input from the camera 52 and the mixer 54, and converts the reception data multiplexed from another device into the image signal and the audio signal. It has a function of separating and outputting to the display unit 55 and the speaker 56.

  The signal processing unit 70 includes a control signal I / F unit 71, an A / D conversion unit 72, a transmission memory 73, an image encoding unit 74, an A / D conversion unit 75, an audio code as a block related to a function for generating transmission data. And a multiplexing unit 77. The control signal I / F unit 71 receives a control signal from the control unit 51 of the terminal device 5 a, and the multiplexing unit 77 responds to the control of the control unit 51 by giving this control signal to the multiplexing unit 77. Can be processed.

  The A / D conversion unit 72 of the communication processing unit 70 receives an analog image signal obtained by imaging by the camera 52, converts this image signal into digital image data, outputs it, and stores it in the transmission memory 73. To do. The transmission memory 73 is composed of a memory element such as SRAM or DRAM, and has a sufficient storage capacity for storing a large number of image data constituting a moving image. The image data stored in the transmission memory 73 is encoded into data of a predetermined standard by the image encoding unit 74 and given to the multiplexing unit 77.

  The A / D conversion unit 75 of the communication processing unit 70 receives an analog audio signal collected by the microphone 53 from the mixer 54, converts the audio signal into digital audio data, and converts the audio signal into an audio encoding unit. Output to 76. The voice encoding unit 76 encodes the input voice data into data of a predetermined standard, and gives the data to the multiplexing unit 77. The multiplexing unit 77 generates and outputs transmission data obtained by multiplexing the image data input from the image encoding unit 74 and the audio data provided from the audio encoding unit 76. The transmission data output from the multiplexing unit 77 of the signal processing unit 70 is given to the communication processing unit 58 of the terminal device 5a and transmitted to the conference server device 1 via the network.

  The signal processing unit 70 includes a separation unit 78, a speech decoding unit 79, a D / A conversion unit 80, an image decoding unit 81, a reception memory 82, a D / A conversion unit 83, and a control as blocks related to the reception data separation function. A signal identification unit 84 is provided. The separation unit 78 receives reception data from the communication processing unit 58 of the terminal device 5a, and outputs the multiplexed reception data by separating it into image data, audio data, and control data.

  The audio decoding unit 79 of the signal processing unit 70 receives the audio data from the separation unit 78, decodes this audio data, and outputs it to the D / A conversion unit 80. The D / A conversion unit 80 converts the digital audio data provided from the audio decoding unit 79 into an analog audio signal and outputs the analog audio signal to the speaker 56. As a result, audio related to the communication conference is output from the speaker 56.

  The image decoding unit 81 of the signal processing unit 70 receives image data from the separation unit 78, decodes this image data, and stores it in the reception memory 82. The reception memory 82 is composed of a memory element such as SRAM or DRAM, and has a sufficient storage capacity for storing a large number of image data constituting a moving image. The control signal identification unit 84 receives control data from the separation unit 78, and controls the read timing of the image data stored in the reception memory 82 in accordance with the control data. The moving image data stored in the reception memory 82 is read at a predetermined timing in accordance with the control of the control signal identification unit 84 and given to the D / A conversion unit 83. The D / A conversion unit 83 converts the digital image data read from the reception memory 82 into an analog image signal and outputs the analog image signal to the display unit 55. As a result, an image related to the communication conference is displayed on the display unit 55.

  In addition, the terminal device 5 a includes a wireless communication unit 57 and a communication processing unit 58 for transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices, and the signal processing unit 70 transmits data to and from the communication processing unit 58. Exchange of data can be performed with other devices such as the conference server device 1 via the network 3. The radio communication unit 57 transmits the transmission data given from the communication processing unit 58 as a radio signal, receives a radio signal from another device, and gives the received radio signal to the communication processing unit 58 as reception data. The communication processing unit 58 performs processing such as data conversion and encryption related to communication. The communication processing unit 58 converts the transmission data given from the control unit 51 or the signal processing unit 70 into a data format suitable for the communication protocol, further encrypts it, and sends it to the wireless communication unit 57, thereby transmitting the data wirelessly. I do. Further, the communication processing unit 58 decodes the reception data given from the wireless communication unit 57, converts it into a data format suitable for the processing of the terminal device 5a, and gives the data to the control unit 51 or the signal processing unit 70 etc. Receive.

  Specifically, the control unit 51 is an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU or MPU, and by reading and executing various programs stored in advance in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 59, the operation of each unit of the terminal device 5a is performed. To perform various processes related to the communication conference. The ROM 59 is configured by a nonvolatile memory element such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) or a flash memory, for example, and stores programs and data for realizing a communication conference system in advance.

  A RAM (Random Access Memory) 60 is composed of, for example, a memory element such as SRAM or DRAM, and stores various data generated in the course of processing performed by the control unit 51, the signal processing unit 70, and the like. In particular, in the terminal device 5 a of the present embodiment, the image data 60 a received by the communication processing unit 58 is stored in the RAM 60. The RAM 60 has a capacity capable of storing, for example, image data 60a related to a moving image of about 5 minutes, and the terminal device 5a stores the image stored in the RAM 60 when transmission of image data from another device is stopped. The data 60a can be read and displayed on the display unit 55.

  The terminal device 5a also includes an input unit 61 that accepts a user input operation such as a pen tablet, a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch panel, or a keyboard. The input unit 61 inputs a signal corresponding to the input operation by the user. To 62. The input processing unit 62 processes the input signal from the input unit 61 to determine the presence / absence of the input operation by the user, the content of the input operation, and the like and notify the control unit 51 of the determination. The control unit 51 can perform processing according to the notification from the input processing unit 62.

  Further, the terminal device 5a according to the present invention includes an inclination angle detection unit 63 that detects an inclination angle of the apparatus. The inclination angle detection unit 63 can be configured by, for example, a pendulum member and a switch that detects displacement of the pendulum member, and can be configured by, for example, an acceleration sensor. The inclination angle detection unit 63 of the terminal device 5a according to the present embodiment may be anything that can detect at least two states of 0 ° (horizontal) and 90 ° (vertical). The tilt angle detected by the tilt angle detection unit 63 is notified to the control unit 51, and the control unit 51 determines the installation state of the terminal device 5a according to the tilt angle and determines whether to perform transmission processing of image data and audio data. Determine whether.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the inclination angle of the terminal device 5a, and shows an example of the appearance and usage of the terminal device 5a. For example, the terminal device 5a has a configuration in which a display unit 55 such as a liquid crystal display is provided on one surface (hereinafter, referred to as a front surface 92) of a casing 91 having a flat plate shape having a rectangular plate shape. . The terminal device 5a has a front surface 92 having a size of about A4 size and is light enough to be held and used by a user. A substantially rectangular opening for exposing the display unit 55 is formed on the front surface 92 of the terminal device 5a, and the front surface 92 has a rectangular frame shape. The casing 91 of the terminal device 5a is provided with a camera 52 on a frame-shaped front surface 92 surrounding the display unit 55, and the camera 52 is in a direction substantially perpendicular to the display surface of the display unit 55 (broken line in the figure). The arrow indicates the imaging direction.

  The user holds the terminal device 5a to stand the terminal device 5a in an upright state (the front surface 92 (display surface of the display unit 55) is substantially perpendicular to the ground or a desk surface). (See FIG. 7A). When the terminal device 5a is in an upright state, the camera 52 provided on the front surface 92 of the housing 91 can capture an image of a user holding the terminal device 5a. Note that the terminal device 5a is not limited to a configuration in which the terminal device 5a is in an upright state by a user's grip, but may be configured to be in an upright state by leaning on or being fixed to a stand or the like. The upright state includes not only a state of 90 ° (vertical) with respect to the ground or the like, but also a state close to a vertical of about 45 ° to 110 ° (steeply inclined state) with respect to the ground or the like.

  In addition, the user places the terminal device 5a on a desk or the like so that the terminal device 5a is in a flat state (a state in which the front surface 92 (display surface of the display unit 55) is substantially parallel to the ground or a desk surface). (See FIG. 7B). The flat state includes not only a state of 0 ° (horizontal) with respect to the ground or a desk surface, but also a state close to the horizontal of about 0 ° to 45 ° (slowly inclined state). For example, when the terminal device 5a is configured to accept an input operation such as a pen tablet, the user can easily and comfortably perform the input operation by placing the terminal device 5a in a flat state. However, when the terminal device 5a is placed in a flat state, the camera 52 provided on the front surface 92 of the housing 91 may not be able to capture an image of the user by capturing images above the ceiling of the room.

  The tilt angle detection unit 63 of the terminal device 5a detects the tilt angle of the front surface 92 (or the display surface of the display unit 55) of the housing 91 with respect to the ground or the like. For example, the inclination angle detection unit 63 can be configured to output a binary detection signal with an inclination angle of 45 ° as a threshold value. The detection result of the inclination angle detection unit 63 is notified to the control unit 51 of the terminal device 5a, and the control unit 51 determines from the detection result whether the terminal device 5a is used in an upright state or a flat state. be able to.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a communication control process performed by the terminal devices 5a, 5b... According to the inclination angle. Note that FIG. 8 shows a case where only two users A and B hold a communication conference, the user A uses the terminal device 5a, and the user B uses the terminal device 5b. In addition, each user A, B displays the image captured by the camera 52 without displaying the document data on the terminal devices 5a, 5b, and the image captured by the terminal device 5a, 5b. Is a case where only the images captured by the other terminal devices 5a and 5b are displayed without being displayed.

  When it is determined that the terminal devices 5a and 5b are in the upright state based on the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection unit 63, the control unit 51 of the terminal devices 5a and 5b collects the image data captured by the camera 52 and the microphone 53. The voice data thus transmitted is transmitted to the other terminal devices 5a and 5b via the conference server device 1. When image data and audio data are received from the other terminal devices 5 a and 5 b via the conference server device 1, the control unit 51 of the terminal devices 5 a and 5 b displays an image display based on the received image data on the display unit 55. In addition, the speaker 56 outputs sound based on the received sound data.

  When both the users A and B are using the terminal devices 5a and 5b in an upright state (see FIG. 8A), the terminal devices 5a and 5b both transmit image data and audio data. The image data and audio data transmitted from one terminal device 5a, 5b are transmitted to the other terminal device 5a, 5b via the conference server device 1. The terminal devices 5a and 5b that have received the image data and the sound data perform image display (real-time display) and sound output, respectively. The terminal devices 5a and 5b that have received the image data store the received image data in the RAM 60 for a predetermined period (for example, 5 minutes).

  When the user A uses the terminal device 5a in a flat state and the user B uses the terminal device 5b in an upright state (see FIG. 8B), the terminal device 5a in the flat state has image data and audio. Without transmitting data, the terminal device 5b in the upright state transmits image data and audio data. The conference server device 1 transmits the image data and audio data received from the terminal device 5b to the terminal device 5a. Since the image data and audio data from the terminal device 5a are not received, the image data and audio to the terminal device 5b are transmitted. No data is sent. The terminal device 5a that has received the image data and the sound data performs image display (real-time display) and sound output, respectively. The terminal device 5b that does not receive the image data and the sound data reads out the image data 60a stored in the RAM 60 and displays it on the display unit 55 (recording display), and does not perform sound output from the speaker 56.

  When both the users A and B are using the terminal devices 5a and 5b in a flat state (see FIG. 8C), the terminal devices 5a and 5b do not transmit image data and audio data. Since the conference server device 1 does not receive image data and audio data from the terminal devices 5a and 5b, the conference server device 1 does not transmit image data and audio data to the terminal devices 5a and 5b. Therefore, the terminal devices 5a and 5b that do not receive the image data and the sound data read out the image data 60a stored in the RAM 60 and display them on the display unit 55 (recording display), and do not output the sound from the speaker 56. .

  As described above, when the terminal devices 5a and 5b do not receive the image data from the other party having the communication conference, the image data stored in the RAM 60 instead of the real-time display of the other party's image. 60a is recorded and displayed on the display unit 55. Note that the recording display performed by the terminal devices 5a and 5b may display a still image or a moving image. Further, when no audio data is received from the other party, the terminal devices 5a and 5b do not output audio.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of communication control processing performed by the terminal devices 5a, 5b... And processing performed by the control unit 51 of each terminal device 5a, 5b. The control part 51 of terminal device 5a, 5b ... first detects the inclination angle by the inclination angle detection part 63 (step S1), acquires an inclination angle, and the installation state of terminal device 5a, 5b ... from this inclination angle Is determined (step S2). As a result of the determination, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the installation state of the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Has changed (step S3), and if the installation state has not changed (S3: NO), the process proceeds to step S1. The inclination angle is detected and the installation state is repeatedly determined.

  When there is a change in the installation state of the terminal devices 5a, 5b... (S3: YES), the control unit 51 further determines whether or not the installation state determined in step S2 is a flat placement state (step S4). . When the installation state is not the flat placement state (S4: NO), that is, when it is in the upright state, the control unit 51 starts imaging by the camera 52 (step S5) and starts collecting sound by the microphone 53 (step S6). Then, the obtained image data and audio data are multiplexed and transmission of this data is started (step S7), and the process proceeds to step S11.

  When the installation state of the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Is in a flat state (S4: YES), the control unit 51 stops imaging by the camera 52 (step S8) and stops collecting sound by the microphone 53 (step S9). ) Stops transmission of image data and audio data (step S10), and proceeds to step S11.

  Thereafter, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the communication conference has ended (step S11). If the communication conference has not ended (S11: NO), the process returns to step S1, and the above-described step S1. The process of S10 is repeated. When the communication conference ends (S11: YES), the control unit 51 ends the communication control process.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing at the time of data reception performed by the terminal devices 5a, 5b. The control part 51 of terminal device 5a, 5b ... first determines whether data were received from the other apparatus via the network 3 (step S21). When the data is received (S21: YES), the control unit 51 separates the multiplexed received data, and displays the image related to the image data obtained by the separation on the display unit 55 (step S22). Then, the sound related to the sound data is output from the speaker 56 (step S23). Further, the control unit 51 stores the image data obtained by the separation in the RAM 60 (step S24).

  On the other hand, when data from another device is not received via the network 3 (S21: NO), the control unit 51 stops the sound output from the speaker 56 (step S25) and stores it in the RAM 60. The read image data 60a is read (step S26), and the read image is displayed on the display unit 55 (step S27).

  After the process of step S24 or S27 is completed, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the communication conference has ended (step S28). If the communication conference has not ended (S28: NO), the process proceeds to step S21. The process is returned, and the above-described steps S21 to S27 are repeated. When the communication conference ends (S28: YES), the control unit 51 ends the process.

  In the communication conference system configured as described above, the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Have the inclination angle detection unit 63 that detects the inclination angle of the casing 91, and the installation state of the terminal devices 5a, 5b,. By determining and stopping transmission of image data and audio data in the flat state, a plurality of image data collected by the microphone 53 and the image data such as the ceiling imaged by the camera 52 in the flat state are collected. It is possible to prevent unnecessary data such as voice data of a conversation discussed by the user from being transmitted, increase communication load on the network 3, increase processing load on the terminal devices 5a, 5b. An increase in processing load of the apparatus 1 can be suppressed. For example, each user participating in a communication conference speaks with his / her terminal device 5a, 5b... Standing upright when he / she speaks, and in other cases his / her terminal device 5a, 5b. A usage method such as setting a state is conceivable.

  Further, the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Store the image data in the RAM 60 when receiving image data from other devices, and store the image data in the RAM 60 when not receiving image data from other devices. Is configured to be read and displayed, so that users who use the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Are uncomfortable or uneasy when transmission of image data from the other terminal devices 5a, 5b,. It can prevent giving a feeling.

  Therefore, the communication conference system and the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... According to the present invention perform transmission of image data and audio data suitable for the usage mode of the terminal devices 5a, 5b, and image display suitable for the reception status of the image data. Each user can comfortably hold a communication conference at a remote place.

  Moreover, as a structure of terminal device 5a, 5b ... based on this invention, the structure which provides the camera 52 integrally in the frame-shaped front surface 92 surrounding the display part 55 of the housing | casing 91 is suitable. In the case of this configuration, when the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Are used in a flat state, the camera 52 may take an image of the ceiling of the room without taking an image of the user. Transmission of image data can be suppressed. Moreover, as a structure of terminal device 5a, 5b ... based on this invention, the structure provided with input parts 61, such as a touchscreen or a pen tablet which receives the contact input with respect to the display part 55, is suitable. In the case of this configuration, there is a high possibility that the terminal devices 5a, 5b... Are used in a flat state when the user performs contact input, and unnecessary image data is transmitted when performing contact input by applying the present invention. Can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, the camera 52, the microphone 53, and the speaker 56 are integrally provided in the terminal devices 5a, 5b..., But the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the camera 52 includes the terminal device 5a, 5b... May be detachable from the casing 91, or may be configured such that the microphone 53 and the speaker 56 are connected to the casing 91 by a cable or the like separately from the casing 91. It may be.

  In addition, each terminal device 5a, 5b... Is configured to transmit and receive image data and audio data via the conference server device 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of terminal devices 5a, 5b. The configuration may be such that image data and audio data are exchanged by performing communication. Further, the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Are configured to store in the RAM 60 when image data is received. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the received audio data may be stored in the RAM 60. If no audio data is received, audio output related to the audio data stored in the RAM 60 may be performed. In addition, when the terminal devices 5a, 5b,... Change from the upright state to the flat state and stop data transmission, the conference server device 1 or another terminal device notifies the user that the data transmission is to be stopped. It is good also as a structure which transmits to 5a, 5b ... etc.

(Modification)
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal device 105a according to the modification. In the terminal device 105a according to the modification, image data 159a is stored in the ROM 159 in advance. The image data 159a is an image to be displayed on the display unit 55 when the terminal device 105a does not receive image data from another device. For example, “the communication terminal on the transmission side is in a flat state”, “transmission” A text message or image indicating the installation status of the other party's terminal device or the user's work status that can be estimated from this installation status, such as "the user on the other side is discussing" or "the user on the sending side is writing" An image including a message (such as an icon or an illustration) may be stored in advance.

  Therefore, the terminal device 105a according to the modified example does not need to store the received image data in the RAM 60 even when the image data is received from another device. Further, when the terminal device 105 a does not receive image data from another device, the terminal device 105 a reads the image data 159 a from the ROM 159 and displays it on the display unit 55.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining a communication control process performed by the terminal devices 105a, 105b... According to the modification according to the inclination angle. In FIG. 12, as in FIG. 8, only two users A and B hold a communication conference, and user A uses the terminal device 105 a and user B uses the terminal device 105 b. The case is shown.

  When both the users A and B are using the terminal devices 105a and 105b in an upright state (see FIG. 12A), the terminal devices 105a and 105b both transmit image data and audio data. The image data and audio data transmitted from one terminal device 105a, 105b are transmitted to the other terminal device 105a, 105b via the conference server device 1. The terminal devices 105a and 105b that have received the image data and the sound data perform image display (real-time display) and sound output, respectively.

  When the user A uses the terminal device 105a in a flat state and the user B uses the terminal device 105b in an upright state (see FIG. 12B), the terminal device 105a in the flat state has image data and audio. Without transmitting data, the terminal device 105b in an upright state transmits image data and audio data. The conference server apparatus 1 transmits the image data and audio data received from the terminal apparatus 105b to the terminal apparatus 105a. Since the image data and audio data from the terminal apparatus 105a are not received, the image data and audio to the terminal apparatus 105b are transmitted. No data is sent. The terminal device 105a that has received the image data and the sound data performs image display (real-time display) and sound output. The terminal device 105b that does not receive the image data and the sound data reads out the image data 159a stored in the ROM 159 and displays it on the display unit 55 (message display), and does not perform sound output from the speaker 56.

  When both the users A and B are using the terminal devices 105a and 105b in a flat state (see FIG. 12C), the terminal devices 105a and 105b do not transmit image data and audio data. Since the conference server apparatus 1 does not receive image data and audio data from the terminal apparatuses 105a and 105b, it does not transmit image data and audio data to the terminal apparatuses 105a and 105b. Therefore, the terminal devices 105a and 105b that do not receive the image data and the sound data read out the image data 159a stored in the ROM 159 and display it on the display unit 55 (message display), and do not perform sound output from the speaker 56.

  As described above, when the terminal devices 105a and 105b according to the modification do not receive image data from the other party having the communication conference, they are stored in the ROM 159 instead of the real-time display of the other party's image. The displayed image data 159a is displayed on the display unit 55 to display a message. Further, when no audio data is received from the other party, the terminal devices 105a and 105b do not output audio.

  The terminal devices 105a and 105b according to the modified example of the above configuration are configured to read the image data 159a stored in the ROM 159 in advance and display the image data on the display unit 55 when image data from the other party is not received. It is possible to prevent the user who uses the terminal devices 105a and 105b from feeling uncomfortable or uneasy when the transmission of the image data from the other terminal device 105a or 105b is stopped. Further, the image data 159a stored in advance in the ROM 159 is an image including a character message or an image message indicating the installation state of the counterpart terminal devices 105a and 105b or the user's work state that can be estimated from the installation state. Thus, the situation of the other user can be notified to the user who uses the terminal devices 105a and 105b, so that the convenience of the terminal devices 105a and 105b and the comfort of the communication conference can be further improved.

  Note that the terminal devices 5a and 5b according to the first embodiment also store image data including text messages or image messages in the ROM 59, and receive the image data in the ROM 59 and the image received and stored in the RAM 60. The data may be displayed on the display unit 55 together.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conference server apparatus 3 Network 5a-5f Terminal device (communication apparatus, transmission side communication apparatus, reception side communication apparatus)
51 Control unit (transmission control means)
52 Camera 53 Microphone (sound collecting means)
55 Display unit 56 Speaker 58 Communication processing unit (transmitting means, receiving means)
59 ROM
60 RAM (storage means)
60a Image data 63 Inclination angle detector (detection means)
70 Signal processor (display processing means, audio output processing means)
91 Housing 105a, 105b Terminal device (communication device, transmission side communication device, reception side communication device)
159 ROM (storage means)
159a Image data (predetermined image)

Claims (8)

A housing provided with a display unit for displaying an image and a transmission side communication device having a transmission means for transmitting image data obtained by imaging of the camera; and a reception means for receiving image data from the transmission side communication device; In a communication conference system comprising: a receiving-side communication device having a display processing unit that performs processing for displaying image data received by the receiving unit;
The transmission side communication device is:
Detecting means for detecting an installation state of the housing;
Transmission control means for stopping transmission of image data by the transmission means according to the detection result of the detection means,
The receiving communication device is
Having storage means for storing image data;
The communication conference system, wherein the display processing means displays the image data stored in the storage means when the transmission of the image data from the transmission side communication device is stopped. The storage means of the receiving communication device is adapted to store the image data received by the receiving means,
When the transmission of the image data from the transmission side communication device is stopped, the display processing unit of the reception side communication device displays the image data stored in the storage unit before the transmission is stopped. The communication conference system according to claim 1. The storage means of the receiving communication device stores image data of a predetermined image that is determined in advance,
The display processing means of the reception side communication device displays the predetermined image stored in advance by the storage means when transmission of image data from the transmission side communication device is stopped. The communication conference system according to claim 1. The communication conference system according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined image is an image including a text message or an image message indicating information related to an installation state of the transmission side communication device. The transmission means of the transmission side communication device is adapted to transmit the sound data obtained by the sound collection of the sound collection means together with the image data,
The transmission control means of the transmission side communication device is adapted to stop the transmission of image data and audio data by the transmission means according to the detection result of the detection means,
The receiving means of the receiving communication device is adapted to receive image data and audio data transmitted by the transmitting communication device,
The said receiving side communication apparatus has an audio | voice output process means which performs the output process of the audio | voice which concerns on the audio | voice data which the said receiving means received, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Teleconferencing system. The detection means of the transmission side communication device is adapted to detect the installation state according to the inclination angle of the casing,
The transmission control means of the transmission side communication device is adapted to stop data transmission by the transmission means depending on whether the inclination angle detected by the detection means is closer to the horizontal or vertical than the threshold angle. The communication conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The transmission side communication device is:
A camera provided in a frame portion surrounding the display portion of the housing;
The communication conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the transmission unit transmits image data obtained by imaging by the camera. In a communication apparatus comprising: a receiving unit that receives image data transmitted from another device; and a display processing unit that performs a process of displaying the image data received by the receiving unit.
Storage means for storing image data;
The communication device, wherein when the transmission of image data from the other device is stopped, the display processing means displays the image data stored in the storage means.

Images