JP2944800B2 - Presentation system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video / audio device such as a VTR, a video disk, an audio tape recorder, an image scanner, a CD-ROM, an AV switcher, or a personal computer (P / P) at a conference or a lecture.
C) and information processing devices such as workstations (WS) and display devices such as CRT monitors and video projectors (hereinafter, each device and device are collectively referred to as information providing devices).
The present invention relates to a presentation system that provides information by combining or mutually associating a plurality of media, and supports an effective presentation while controlling time and progress.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 shows, for example, JP-A-63-250722.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional presentation system (particularly, a configuration related to control of a display order of screen information) disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-15095. In the figure, 1
Is a script storage unit for storing script information in which the display order of a plurality of screens is set in advance, and 2 is a screen information storage unit for storing screen information to be displayed. The script storage unit 1 and the screen information storage unit 2 store information management means 3 Is configured. Reference numeral 4 denotes a keyboard as a means for inputting operation information by a user (hereinafter, referred to as a presenter); 5, a control unit as control means for performing progress control, interrupt control, etc .; 6, a screen number whose display has been interrupted by an interrupt request. , A screen generator for generating and drawing a screen to be displayed, 8a storing a screen generated and drawn by the screen generator 7 and a display controller for generating a screen display signal, 9a Is a CRT as a display device for displaying a screen based on a screen display signal generated by the display control unit 8a. The screen generation unit 7, the display control unit 8a, and the CR
The presentation means 10 is constituted by T9a. 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes a screen script editing apparatus that creates the script information and screen information in advance.

Next, the operation of the conventional presentation system will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method of controlling the display order of the screen information in the control unit 5, and FIG. 9 is a time chart showing the relationship between the progress control of the presentation performed thereby and the interruption control.

Here, FIG. 9 shows that screen information to be displayed is stored in the screen information storage unit 2 in advance, the display order is stored in the script storage unit 1, and the presentation is performed in response to the next screen request by the presenter's keyboard operation. This shows how it is performed. Screen A to be displayed stored in screen information storage unit 2
(Five types of A1 to A5) and the spare screen E (E1) are assigned identification symbols, and the script storage unit 1 sets and stores the correspondence between the display order and the identification symbols. The display order associated with the screen in this way is the screen number, and an integer is usually assigned in order from 1; however, when there is a branch in the screen series or a spare screen, a number corresponding thereto is given.

[0005] The screen information here is typically 1
Screen information storage unit 2
The time required to read and generate the screen and draw
The time required for the presenter to explain the screen is extremely short.

First, a register (hereinafter referred to as COUNT) for storing a screen number is initially set in the control section 5 (step ST1), and when the presenter inputs a next screen request from the keyboard 4 (step ST2), COUNT
Is incremented by 1 (step ST3),
Screen information having the same screen number as the value of COUNT stored in the screen information storage unit 2 is read out (step ST).
4) Display by the presentation means 10 (step ST5). Normally, the control from step ST2 to step ST5 is repeated until there is an end input (step ST12) from the presenter. Thereby, the screen A to be displayed is displayed in the order of the schedule, and the presentation proceeds.

The interrupt control is necessary, for example, when a presenter receives a question during a presentation and immediately responds to the question, or when a viewer gives a response and gives an immediate supplementary explanation. This is executed by inputting a request or return request instruction. If the screen A3 is being displayed (to be exact, while the explanation is being given while the screen generation and drawing are finished and the screen display is continued), an interrupt request is generated, and the display of the screen A3 is interrupted and the spare screen is displayed. Consider the case where E1 is displayed (FIG. 9). When an interrupt request occurs (step ST6), the control unit 5 interrupts the COUNT value (screen A
3 (screen number 3) is stored (evacuated) in the screen number storage 6 (step ST7), and the interrupt display screen E is further stored.
When the screen number 1 is input (step ST8), CO
The input number is set in UNT (step ST
9) The screen E1 is displayed by a normal display operation (steps ST4 and ST5).

When the interruption processing (that is, screen display for interruption display and its explanation) is completed and a return request is input (step ST10), the screen information storage unit 6 is stored in COUNT.
(Step ST1).
1) Display the interrupted screen A3 again (step ST)
4, ST5) The normal progress control is restarted. With this interrupt control, the presenter can avoid the burden of memorizing the screen whose display has been interrupted and searching for it after interrupt processing, and display another screen as if the screen were temporarily evacuated. At the end of the process, the interrupted screen can be displayed again and the explanation can be resumed.

[0009]

Since the conventional presentation system is configured as described above, interrupt control when a question is received or the like is performed by operating input of an interrupt request at the time (status, status, etc.) of the system. In the conventional example, control is performed such that the screen number of the screen whose display has been interrupted is temporarily saved, and when the interrupt processing is completed, the saved status is reset in the system by the operation input of the return request and the presentation is resumed. Will be

[0010] The idea of this interrupt control is that the screen information is simply one stationary character figure or image as described above.
When the time required to call and generate and draw a screen from the information management means is extremely short compared to the time required for the presenter to explain the screen (that is, when the system status is represented only by the screen number) Is valid, but
There is an inconvenience when screen information is extended to so-called multimedia to handle information of a general information providing device.

That is, not only static character figures and images but also information having an essentially continuous time width, such as moving pictures on a VTR or video disc, audio from an audio tape recorder, or animation on a computer, are combined. When considering the screen information that has been displayed, not only the screen number but also the status information of the presentation system
Operating status of VTR, video disk, audio tape recorder such as "play" and "stop", address (frame number and time code) on information medium (tape or disk) being played, program module running computer, access If you do not include the operation status of each device connected to the system and the value of the internal register, such as the control register and address pointer that indicate the type of medium file and the data processing status during the generation and drawing, the system display is interrupted after the interrupt processing is completed Cannot return to previous state and resume presentation.

Even if all necessary statuses are temporarily saved and reset after resetting to the system after interrupt processing, since the screen information has an essentially continuous time width, it is necessary to restore the status. As a result, the screen display suddenly returns to the halfway screen display. This makes it difficult for the presenter to resume the interrupted explanation naturally, and causes the viewer to be confused by suddenly watching the continued explanation.

As described above, the conventional presentation system does not adapt to the interrupt control in the case of handling the screen information in which information having a continuous time width is essentially combined, and the flow of the presentation when the interrupt returns. There was a problem such as performing progress control that did not fit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The present invention provides an interrupt control which can be applied to screen information having a substantially continuous time width, and can proceed in accordance with the flow of a presentation. The purpose is to obtain a presentation system that performs control.

[0015]

A presentation system according to the present invention divides a presentation content into small units with good divisions together with screen information to be displayed on an information management unit, and displays the display information of the screen information for each small unit. And the script information describing the use timing of the device that is the presentation means is stored, and the control means performs the progress control according to the script information,
When an interrupt request is received, the status information of each part of the system at the time of the start of the small unit being executed is held in the status storage unit, an interrupt process is performed, and the interrupted control is returned from the held status information to the start point of the interrupted small unit. Is performed.

[0016]

The status storage unit according to the present invention is a first storage unit for storing and holding status information at the start of the small unit during execution during execution, and is stored in the first storage unit every time an interrupt request is generated. And a second storage unit for sequentially storing (saving) the status information in the stack, so that the description can be restarted by the status information stored in the second storage unit when returning from the interrupt processing. Since the process returns to the easy start point for each small unit, it is possible to control the progress in accordance with the flow of the presentation without suddenly returning to the screen display state at the point of interruption.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 12 denotes status information of each part of the system at the start of the small unit during execution (this status includes all information necessary to determine the state of the system as described above). A first storage unit 12a for storing and holding the status information while the status information stored in the first storage unit 12a is sequentially stored (evacuated) in the form of a stack every time an interrupt request occurs. This is a status storage unit composed of two storage units 12b (FIG. 6).

Here, the small unit is obtained by dividing the content of the presentation into parts having good divisions in advance, and is not only a normal still character figure or image, but also has a substantially continuous time width. A series of display information (for example, a series of moving images, sounds, and animations) from an information providing device is a set of image information incorporated as an element, and is like a paragraph in a sentence. The small unit includes a combination of a plurality of still screens, moving images, and the like, which are arranged on the screen space or arranged on the time axis.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the management of the status information in the control unit 5 of the presentation system, and FIG. 4 is a time chart showing the relationship between the progress control of the presentation performed thereby and the interrupt control.

The contents of the presentation are divided into five small units U1 to U5 by using the screen script editing apparatus 11 in advance, and a spare small unit UX1 is prepared for correspondence to the quality and supplementary explanation. , Screen information (screen drawing data and operation instructions of information providing equipment, etc.) and script information (display order of small units, screen display timing, use timing of information providing equipment, etc.) are grouped into small units, and screen information Are stored in the screen information storage unit 2, and the script information is stored in the script information storage unit 1. In the example of FIG. 4, the screen A (A1 to A9
Are created as conventional still image-like screen information, but the small unit is set as a combination thereof. For example, the small unit U1 includes the screens A1 to A2, and the small unit U2 is Screens A3 to A5 are included, and small unit UX1 includes screens E1 to E2.

First, status information is initialized in the first storage unit 12a of the status storage unit 12 (step ST13). As a normal progress control, when a break of a small unit (start time of a small unit) is confirmed due to an operation input from the keyboard by the presenter or the arrival of the display timing of the screen information specified by the script information (step ST14).
The control unit 5 updates the status information of the first storage unit 12a with the status information of each unit of the system at the confirmed start time (step ST15) and executes the small unit (step ST16). The above-described processing (steps ST14 to ST16) is repeated until the processing is completed (step ST17).

During execution of the small unit, the screen information in the small unit is displayed in accordance with the display timing specified by the script information and the operation input of the presenter while holding the status information at the start of the small unit. For example, in the small unit U1, after first displaying the screen A1 alone, the screen A2 is read out from the screen information storage unit 2 and combined display is performed. In the small unit U2, after the screen A3 is displayed alone, the screen A4 and the screen A5 are simultaneously read out and combined and displayed for a while, and then the screen A4 is erased while leaving the screen A5 (FIG. 4).

As an example of interrupt control, consider a case where the small unit U3 is interrupted (FIG. 4). When an interrupt request is generated (for example, the presenter gives an instruction from the keyboard), the control unit 5 sends the status information S3 of the small unit U3 to be interrupted from the first storage unit 12a of the status storage unit 12 to the second storage unit 12
b (step ST18), and specifies the interrupt small unit UX1 used in the interrupt processing by keyboard input or the like (an interrupt screen to be displayed and described, for example, E1, E
2 in step ST19), and stores the start status information SX1 of the small interrupt unit UX1 in the first storage unit 1.
2a (step ST20), and the interrupt small unit U
Execute X1 (display and description of interrupt screens E1 and E2). When the interrupt processing is completed and there is a return request (for example, a presenter instructs with a keyboard), the second storage unit 1
The start status information S3 of the small unit U3 saved in the second unit 2b is stored again in the first storage unit 12a (step ST2).
21), the presentation is restarted from the beginning of the small unit U3 based on the status information S3.

In the above-described embodiment, only the display means on the CRT 9a is used as the presentation means 10 and screen information combining a conventional still picture screen is displayed in a small unit. By using an information providing device (for example, an audiovisual device) that handles information having a continuous time width, it is possible to provide effective information by multimedia. Further, by managing the time for each small unit, smoother progress control becomes possible.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a presentation system as another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a presentation unit 10 includes a device control unit 13 that controls the operation of an audiovisual device 14, a viewer display unit (a first display control unit 8 a and a first CRT 9).
a) and presenter display means (second display control unit 8b)
And the second CRT 9b), wherein the first display control unit 8a can superimpose and combine the image signal of the audiovisual device 14 and the image signal for the viewer, and the second display control unit 8a The image signal of the audiovisual device 14, the image signal for the viewer, and the image signal for the presenter can be superposed and synthesized. Also, 15
Is a time counter for measuring the display elapsed time of the screen information;
Is a time-elapse management unit that generates predetermined management information by comparing the elapsed time from the time counting unit 15 and the display time of the screen information specified by the script information. 16 constitutes a time management means 17.

The operation of progress control and interrupt control in the presentation system of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. Using the screen script editing apparatus 11 in advance, the contents of the presentation are U1 to U5.
Is divided into five small units, and a small unit UX1 is prepared for correspondence to a question and supplementary explanation, screen coasting information (screen drawing data, operation instruction of information providing equipment, etc.) and script information. (Display order of small units, display timing of screens, use timing of information providing equipment, etc.) are grouped for each small unit, screen information is stored in screen information storage unit 2, and script information is stored in script coast information storage unit 1. ing.

In the example shown in FIG.
There is a switcher (device 3 = not shown) for selectively switching one VTR (VTR 1, VTR 2) and the display output of each VTR. Screen A to be displayed to the viewer (5 of A1 to A5)
Type), and a screen B (five types of B1 to B5) to be displayed only to the presenter corresponding to the screen A is created as conventional still image-like screen information. Is set as a combination with the video of
For example, the small unit U1 includes the screens A1 and B1, and the small unit U2
Includes moving images of screens A2 and B2 and VTR1, and small unit UX1 includes moving images of screen E1 and VTR1.

Further, in the script information in the presentation system of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a predetermined scheduled time T for each small unit of the presentation and a priority P indicating the degree of necessity of presentation (in this example, (The smaller, the higher the priority).

By controlling a video information device (for example, a VTR) using the script information, it is possible to provide more effective information in multimedia including moving images, and to manage time in small units and in the entire presentation. In order to eliminate the difference from the lapse of the scheduled time (accumulation of the required scheduled time T) caused by the interrupt processing, automatic or semi-automatic (for example, the presenter instructs from the keyboard 4) is set in advance. By determining the small unit to be executed according to the priority P, the remaining presentation can be performed without greatly exceeding the scheduled time.

The control unit 5 reads script information from the script storage unit 1 and sequentially executes small units according to the script information. During execution of each small unit, status information of the system at the start of the small unit is held in the status storage unit 12 by the method shown in the flowchart of FIG. In each small unit, the corresponding screen information is read out according to the script information, the screen information is output to the screen generation unit 7, and if there is a device operation in the script information, an operation instruction is issued to the device control unit 13 (presentation means 10). To output screen information or operation instructions).

For example, when the small unit U1 in FIG. 5 is started, the control unit 5 sends the first storage unit 1 of the status storage unit 12 to the first storage unit 1.
The status S1 is stored in 2a (step ST15),
The screens A1 and B1 are read from the screen information storage unit 2 and output to the screen generation unit 7. The first display control unit 8a displays the screen A1 generated and drawn by the screen generation unit 7 on the viewer CRT.
9a, and outputs an image signal to the second display control unit 8b. The second display control unit 8b superimposes the screen information B1 generated and drawn by the screen generation unit 7 on the image signal of the screen A1 input from the first display control unit 8a and causes the presenter CRT 9b to display it. At this time, the control unit 5 instructs the device control unit 13 to search for a moving image of the device 1 (VTR1) (search for a moving image recording position on a video tape) at a predetermined time while monitoring the elapsed time by the time management unit 17. Then, preparation is made in advance so that a smooth presentation can be made from the start of the next small unit U2.

When the small unit U2 starts, the control unit 3 similarly stores the status information S2 in the first state in the status storage unit 12.
(Step ST15), and the screen A
2 and B2 are read and output to the screen generation unit 7 and an operation instruction is issued to the device control unit 13. The audiovisual device 14 (in this case, the VTR 1) outputs a moving image screen signal to the first and second display control units 8a and 8b according to an instruction from the device control unit 13. The first display control unit 8a superimposes the screen A2 generated and drawn by the screen generation unit 7 on the image signal input from the audiovisual device 14 and displays the image on the CRT 9a for the viewer. 2 to the display control unit 8b. The second display control unit 8b further converts the screen B2 generated and drawn by the screen generation unit 7 into the screen A2 input from the display control unit 8a and the audiovisual equipment 14.
CRT 9b for presenter superimposed on image signal input from
To be displayed. Further, the control unit 5 monitors the elapsed time by the time management means 17 and when a predetermined time comes, the screen A2
Is stopped (screen A2 is erased), and the apparatus controller 13 is instructed to search for a moving image of the device 2 (VTR2) to prepare for the start of the next small unit U3 in advance.

When an interrupt request by the presenter's operation input occurs during the execution of the small unit U3 (FIG. 5), the control unit 5 stores the status information S3 of the small unit U3 to be interrupted in the first storage of the status storage unit 12. From the unit 12a to the second storage unit 12b
(Step ST18), the interrupt small unit UX1 used in the interrupt processing is specified by keyboard input or the like (Step ST19), and the start status information SX2 of the interrupt small unit UX1 is stored in the first storage unit 12a (Step ST19). Step ST20), the small interrupt unit UX1 is executed. In the small interrupt unit, the screen E1
Is read out and output to the screen generation unit 7 to display the screen E1 on display means for viewers and presenters, and instruct the device control unit 13 to search for a moving image of the device 1 (VTR1) (to the device 1). Although a movie for additional explanation is recorded, small unit U3
The search is performed when an interrupt occurs because the device 1 is not scheduled to be used.) After completion of the search, a moving image reproduction is instructed to superimpose an image signal on the screen E1. On the other hand, the control unit 5 knows that the device 2 is to be used in the small unit U3 which is scheduled to be restarted after the interruption processing, and instructs the device control unit 13 to search for a moving image of the device 2 (VTR2). The start of U3 is prepared in advance. When the interruption process is completed and a return request (for example, a presenter gives an instruction from the keyboard) is issued, the opening status information S3 of the small unit U3 saved in the second storage unit 12b is stored in the first storage unit 12a. (Step ST21), and the presentation is restarted from the beginning of the small unit U3 based on the status information S3.

At the time when the small unit U3 is restarted, the time management means 17 generates management information to the control unit, and the remaining time of the presentation decreases, and the small unit U4 and the small unit U4 are scheduled as follows. Warn that U5 cannot be performed. In response to this, the control unit 5 compares the priority P of the small unit U4 set in advance in the script information with the priority P of U5, determines that U4 with a lower priority is to be deleted from the presentation, and issues a message to that effect. The information is displayed on the presenter display means via the screen generation unit. In FIG. 5, small unit U
The required time 0 of 4 indicates that the time has been deleted by the time management. As a result, the time required for the entire presentation is adjusted so as not to greatly exceed the scheduled time.

The control unit 5 controls the progress automatically or semi-automatically (in accordance with an instruction from the presenter) according to the script information while managing the time as described above, and controls the necessary information providing equipment. Do.

Next, the multiple interrupt control will be described. In the embodiments described above, the interrupt request is generated during the execution of the scheduled small unit. However, the control corresponding to the case where the interrupt request is further generated during the interrupt processing is the multiple interrupt control.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state of the status information storage unit 12. In the state where no normal interrupt request is generated (FIG. 6 (a)), the first storage unit 12a stores the starting small unit in execution. Status information (provisionally Si) is stored. As described above, when the first interrupt request is generated, the status information of the first storage unit 12a is saved to the second storage unit 12b, and the status information of the first small interrupt unit UX1 to be executed in the first storage unit 12a is stored. Start status information SX1
Is stored (FIG. 6B), and a second interrupt request may be generated during the execution of the first small interrupt unit UX1. In this case, the first storage unit 12
The status information SX1 stored in the first storage unit 12a is saved in the second storage unit 12b in a stack form, and the start status coast information SX2 of the second interrupt small unit UX2 to be executed is stored in the first storage unit 12a. become. When the second small interrupt unit UX2 ends, the control unit 5 deletes the latest status information SX2 from the second storage unit 12b from the second storage unit 12b, and stores the status information SX1 in the first storage unit 12a. And the first small interrupt unit can be executed from the beginning. Similarly, when the first interrupt sub-unit UX1 ends, the control unit 5 executes the interrupted sub-unit from the beginning based on the status information Si saved in the second storage unit 12b, thereby performing normal progress control. I do.

In the above embodiment, the presentation system has one viewer CRT and one presenter CRT, but this does not particularly limit the number of CRTs. The operation information input unit may be another device such as a touch panel or a mouse other than the keyboard, and the display device is not limited to the CRT. Further, the information providing device is not limited to the type of device described in the embodiment,
The manner of combining screens, moving images, animations, and the like constituting the small units is not limited to the types described in the embodiments.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, screen information to be displayed on the information management means and script information including small units are stored, and the status information at the start of the small unit being executed is stored in the status storage unit. Since information is stored during the execution of small units and the status information at the start of the small units during execution interrupted by the occurrence of an interrupt request is retained, information that handles information such as video, which has an essentially continuous time width There is an effect that a presentation system capable of performing interrupt control of a system including a providing device and performing progress control according to the flow of a presentation can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a presentation system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for managing status information in a presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a time chart for explaining a relationship between progress control and duplicate interrupt control of the presentation system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a time chart for explaining the relationship between progress control and duplicate interrupt control of a presentation system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a status storage unit in the presentation system of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional presentation system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating control of the order of screen display in a conventional presentation system.

FIG. 9 is a time chart for explaining a relationship between progress control and interrupt control of a conventional presentation system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 information management means 5 control unit (control means) 10 presentation means 12 status storage unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shunji Nozawa 8-1-1, Tsukaguchi-Honmachi, Amagasaki City Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Industrial Systems Research Institute (56) References JP-A-3-9393 (JP, A) Kaihei 4-98365 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G09G 5/00-5/40 G06F 15/20 G06F 15/40 G06F 15/62 H04N 7/15

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A presentation means for providing information by an information providing device, and screen information provided by the presentation means are divided into a plurality of small units which are well-separated as presentation contents. Information management means for storing script information describing display timing and use timing of the device which is the presentation means; and status information of each part of the system at the time of start of the executing small unit of the plurality of small units. A status storage unit that stores during execution and holds the start status information of the small unit interrupted by the interrupt request, and controls the progress according to the script information, and receives the interrupt request and stores the status information in the status information storage unit. Preserve the starting status of the running small unit And a control unit for performing an interruption process and returning from the held status information to the start point of the interrupted small unit.