JP3030019B2 - Teleconference 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 communication conference system, and more particularly, to a communication conference system in which independent video telephones and voice data communication terminals are effectively coupled.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of digital networks such as ISDN, terminals capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving a plurality of media have appeared. As an example of such a terminal, ISDN 1
Using the B channel of the book, simultaneously transmit the document image data to the partner terminal while talking by voice and display it on the display device, and then transmit the handwritten information and the like, so that the meeting can be performed while adding or correcting. There is voice data communication to advance. Further, as another example, a videophone device that allows a user to have a conversation while seeing the other person's image by transmitting and receiving moving image information together with voice using ISDN is becoming widespread. Furthermore, a video conference system that can handle audio, video, and information other than video with one device has been put into practical use.
This is to realize the distribution of materials at the same time by confirming the expression of the other party on the display and transferring data while talking by voice.

[0003]

The video conference as described above can be realized by using an independent videophone and a voice data communication terminal. In this case, both the videophone device and the voice data communication terminal output voice. Since it has the function of sending and receiving, it is wasteful that the voice is sent and received redundantly,
In addition, there is a disadvantage that the operator has to operate both of the independent devices and is troublesome. In a video conference system in which both functions are configured as a single device from the beginning, the videophone function and the voice data communication terminal function can be used as independent devices, for example, for different parties simultaneously for different purposes. It cannot be used, and has a problem that the cost is increased because of incorporating both functions.

When the above-described video conference is realized using an independent video phone and a voice data communication terminal, the voice portion is duplicated, so that one of the voices is usually turned off and used. When you need a good quality image, turn off the videophone sound,
This voice channel is used for moving image information transfer, and when high-speed data transfer is required, the voice of the voice data communication terminal is turned off and used for data transfer to efficiently use the line. can do. However, in the former case, since the video decoding time in the videophone differs from the audio decoding time in the audio data terminal, for example, a situation occurs in which the movement of the mouth of the human moving image and the audio are not synchronized. Normally, moving picture decoding requires more time than sound decoding, so that sound is output earlier than image movement, and a delay circuit is required on the sound side to correct this. The delay amount can be fixedly set at the time of design, such as a video phone, but the delay amount can be fixed, but if the audio and video are handled by different terminals,
The delay amount cannot be fixedly estimated due to the difference in decoding processing capability depending on the performance of the connected videophone, and therefore, the video and audio cannot be synchronized simply by simply combining the videophone and the audio data communication terminal. was there.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a video telephone apparatus for transmitting and receiving moving image information and audio information through different channels to realize a dialogue between remote places. A voice data communication terminal that interacts while exchanging information other than video with a voice, wherein the voice data communication terminal includes a voice delay circuit for delaying and reproducing a voice signal and an interface for inputting control information to the television. The telephone device has an interface for outputting control information, and the videophone device transmits voice delay time information to the voice data communication terminal via these interfaces, and controls a voice delay amount of the voice data communication terminal. It is what it was.

With this configuration, the present application transmits a video decoding delay amount peculiar to the terminal from the video telephone to the audio data communication terminal via the interface, while the audio data communication terminal includes an audio delay circuit. The delay amount information is received from the interface, and the voice delay circuit in the terminal is controlled, thereby synchronizing the voice and the moving image to enable a natural conversation.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a communication conference system to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, I is a video telephone device applied to the present system, II is a voice data communication terminal, III is a line connecting the videophone device I and the voice data communication terminal II. In videophone I, 1
Is a multiplexing unit for multiplexing a plurality of channels on one line, 2
Is a moving image processing unit that performs transmission / reception of moving image information and encoding processing using one of the channels, and 3 is a multiplexed 1
An audio processing unit for transmitting and receiving and encoding audio using one channel; 4, a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus; 5, 6, a display and a camera connected to a moving image processing unit for displaying or inputting a human image; Is an operation unit including dial numbers and various operation keys, and 9 and 10 are respective microphones and speakers. The above is the structure of a general videophone. In addition, in the case of the present invention, 8 is provided as an interface for connection with another device.

On the other hand, in the voice data communication terminal II, 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a multiplexing unit that multiplexes a plurality of channels on one line, 22 denotes an audio processing unit that performs transmission / reception and encoding of audio using one channel, and 23 denotes a moving image using one multiplexed channel. A communication processing unit that performs coding of information other than information and communication control; 24, a control unit that controls the entire apparatus;
26 is a speaker and a microphone, 28 is a display for displaying various kinds of transmission / reception information and input guides, 29 is a tablet used for handwriting input and microcomputer control, and 30 is a scanner for reading and inputting documents and the like. Reference numeral 27 denotes an interface used particularly for the present invention. Interfaces 8 and 27 of the two devices I and II are connected by a communication path III.

[0009] These terminals I and II can usually be used for their respective purposes as completely independent terminals. FIGS. 2A and 2B show the channel use status of the communication path IV such as ISDN at this time, wherein FIG. 2A shows a videophone call, and FIG. 2B shows a voice data communication. The communication channel IV such as ISDN includes a moving image channel 41, an audio channel 42, and a data channel 43. In this case, the audio channel 42 is opened in each of the communications (a) and (b).

FIG. 3 shows an operation when the present invention is applied by connecting two terminals I and II, and FIG. 3A shows a communication between voice data communication terminals II through a communication network IV such as ISDN. In this case, voice and data are transmitted and received using different channels 42 and 43, respectively. If you need a moving image of the other speaker during communication,
(B) As shown in the figure, the voice data communication terminal II transmits a control command to its own videophone through a line III connected via an interface to connect to the videophone of the other party. This connection command usually includes the number of the other party's videophone, and the like, so that the videophone can connect (set up a call) to a line with the other party's terminal. As a result, the videophones are connected as shown in (c), but at this time, unlike the connection between the normal videophones, a connection is made such that an audio channel is not opened. The voice has already been exchanged on the voice data communication terminal side, and there is no need to newly use the videophone connection. By not providing an audio channel in this way, a large-capacity transmission path (channel) can be allocated to moving image information transfer, and therefore, compared to a case where a videophone and an audio data communication terminal are used separately, higher quality is achieved. Moving image communication with high performance.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the voice data communication terminal and the videophone to which the present invention is applied.
(A) is a control flow on the voice data communication terminal side. When an operation input is awaited (step 1), a video connection request command is received from an operator (step 2), and a videophone connected via the interface is called to the other videophone. (Step 3). When there is no moving image connection request, a normal predetermined operation is performed (step 4).
On the other hand, on the TV telephone side, as shown in (b), when the connection command is received (step 1), when the voice data communication terminal receives the connection command, the line connection is performed as a video terminal (steps 2 and 3), and only the video channel Is turned on (step 4).
When a connection request is received from the operation unit of the terminal itself, a line connection is executed as a videophone (step 5), and both audio and video channels are turned on (steps 6 and 7). Note that the communication path III for exchanging control information between the two terminals may be wired or wireless, and is not particularly limited.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, both the videophone and the voice data communication terminal are provided with an interface for interconnection, and it is necessary to transmit and receive a moving image during the communication between the voice data terminals. When a call occurs, a control command is sent to the videophone via this interface to request connection with the other videophone, while the videophone establishes a transmission path for both audio and video channels with the other videophone. By assigning and connecting to video channels,
It can send and receive voice, video and data efficiently,
A communication conference system capable of handling high-quality moving images can be constructed as compared with a communication conference using two voice data communication terminals simply.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of another embodiment of the communication conference system to which the present invention is applied.
Reference numeral 1 denotes an audio delay circuit, and the other portions that operate in the same manner as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

In the videophone I, 1 is a multiplexing unit for multiplexing a plurality of channels on one line, and 2 is one of them.
A moving image processing unit that performs coding processing and transmission / reception of moving image information using one channel; a voice processing unit that transmits / receives and codes voice using one multiplexed channel; A control unit for controlling, 5 and 6, a display connected to the moving image processing unit for displaying or inputting a human image, a camera, 7 an operation unit comprising dial numbers and various operation keys, 9 a microphone, 10 a speaker, 11
Is an audio delay circuit for synchronizing audio with a moving image display that has been delayed by the decoding of the moving image. The above is the structure of a general videophone. In the case of the present invention, an interface 8 for connecting to another device is provided.

On the other hand, in the voice data communication terminal II, 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a multiplexing unit that multiplexes a plurality of channels on one line, 22 denotes an audio processing unit that encodes and transmits / receives audio using one channel, and 23 denotes a moving image using one multiplexed channel. A communication processing unit that performs coding of information other than information and communication control; 24, a control unit that controls the entire apparatus;
26 is a speaker and a microphone respectively; 27 is an interface particularly used for the present invention; 28 is a display for displaying various transmission / reception information and input guides; 29 is a tablet used for handwriting input and icon control; Is a scanner for reading and inputting an original or the like, and 31 is a voice delay circuit. These two devices I, I
The respective interfaces 8, 27 of I are connected by a communication path III.

When the videophone I operates alone, the received moving picture information is sent to the moving picture processing section 2 through one channel of the multiplexing section 1, where the compression code is decoded and displayed on the display 5. Usually, this process is very complicated and requires a processing time that is sufficiently perceptible to humans. On the other hand, the received audio information is similarly sent to the audio processing unit 3 through another channel of the multiplexing unit 1 and similarly decoded. However, in the case of audio, the processing is immediately terminated because it does not require so complicated processing. . Therefore, if the sound is reproduced by the speaker 10 as it is, a mismatch occurs between the sound and the moving image on the display 5. Therefore, generally, a sound delay circuit as shown in 11 is inserted to synchronize the two. . By the way, within the same terminal, the delay difference between the two can be estimated in advance at the time of design, so that the delay amount of the audio delay circuit 11 can be fixedly determined.

In order to solve the above problem, when a video conference is realized by using the video function of the video phone and the voice function of the voice data communication terminal using the video phone I and the voice data communication terminal II, A means for informing the audio data communication terminal of the video decoding processing time is required. Therefore, in the present invention, the video data decoding processing time of the videophone is notified to the audio data communication terminal through the line III, and the audio data communication terminal controls the audio delay circuit 31 based on this information, thereby establishing synchronization between the video and the audio. Things.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show the channel usage when the videophone I and the voice data communication terminal II are operating as completely independent terminals. FIG. 6A shows a videophone, and FIG. Indicates data communication. As in the case of FIG. 2, reference numeral 41 denotes a moving image channel, reference numeral 42 denotes an audio channel, reference numeral 43 denotes a data channel, and an audio channel 42 is established for communication between the videophone and the audio data communication terminal.

FIG. 7 shows a state of a channel when the present invention is applied by connecting two terminals. As shown in FIG. It is used for image communication, which enables image communication with higher quality than ordinary videophone. At this time, the voice is handled by the voice data communication terminal side, but as described above, the two terminals are connected via the line III, and the video phone I transmits the video decoding processing delay information via the line III. Is passed to the audio data communication terminal II, whereby the moving image and the audio are synchronized.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the voice data communication terminal and the videophone to which the present invention is applied.
(A) is a flowchart on the audio data terminal side, and (b) is a flowchart on the videophone side. On the videophone side, as shown in (b), when a circuit connection command is received from the operation unit or the voice data communication terminal (step 1),
A line connection is made as a moving image terminal (step 3), and only the moving image channel is turned on (step 4). At the same time, the video data communication terminal is notified of the video decoding processing time information (step 5). On the other hand, the voice data communication terminal waits for an operation input as shown in FIG.
At this time, when a moving image connection request command is received from the operator (step 2), an instruction to connect to the other videophone is sent to the videophone connected via the interface (step 3). Thereafter, input from the videophone is waited for (step 4), and when the video decoding processing time information is received, the audio delay circuit is controlled to delay the audio signal (step 5).

When there is no request for video connection, the voice data communication terminal II executes a normal predetermined operation ((a) step 6).
Videophone call connection ((b) step 6), audio channel ON ((b) step 7), video channel ON ((b)
Step 8) is performed. This flowchart describes an example of the operation. In addition to this, it is also conceivable to read the delay amount from the voice data communication terminal by a polling method when necessary.

As described above, according to this embodiment, a video conference and a voice data communication terminal are used to establish a communication conference using a video image of a video phone and the voice function of the voice data communication terminal. When realizing, the two terminals are provided with an interface for interconnection, and the video phone transmits moving picture decoding delay time information to the voice data terminal, while the voice data communication terminal includes a voice delay circuit and transmits the information. Based on this, it is possible to construct a communication conference system that realizes a natural conversation by controlling a voice delay circuit to synchronize a voice and a moving image.

[0023]

According to the present invention, when a teleconference is realized by using two independent terminals, a videophone and a voice data communication terminal, and utilizing the video function of the videophone and the voice function of the voice data communication terminal, the two terminals are interconnected. For transmitting video decoding delay time information from the video phone to the audio data terminal, while the audio data communication terminal includes an audio delay circuit, and controls the audio delay circuit based on the information. By synchronizing audio and video, a communication conference system that realizes natural conversation can be constructed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a communication conference system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a conventional channel configuration when a videophone and a voice data communication terminal are operating.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing, in chronological order, channel assignment between a voice data communication terminal and a videophone when the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a videophone and a voice data communication terminal when the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the communication conference system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a conventional channel configuration when a videophone and a voice data communication terminal are operating.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing channel assignment of a voice data communication terminal and a videophone when the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the audio data communication terminal and the videophone when the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Video telephone multiplexing part 2 ... Video telephone video processing part 3 ... Video telephone audio processing part 4 ... Video telephone control part 5 ... Video telephone display 6 ... Video telephone camera 7 ... Video telephone operation part 8 Videophone Interface Unit 9 Videophone Microphone 10 Videophone Speaker 11 Videophone Audio Delay Circuit 21 Voice Data Communication Terminal Multiplexing Unit 22 Voice Data Communication Terminal Audio Processing Unit 23 Voice Communication processing unit of data communication terminal 24 ... Control unit of voice data communication terminal 25 ... Speaker of voice data communication terminal 26 ... Microphone of voice data communication terminal 27 ... Interface unit of voice data communication terminal 28 ... Display of voice data communication terminal 29 ... tablet of voice data communication terminal 30 ... scanner of voice data communication terminal 3 ... audio data communication terminal of the audio delay circuit I ... video telephone II ... audio data communication terminal III ... line IV ... communication network for connecting the video telephone apparatus I and the audio data communication terminal II

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A videophone device for realizing a dialogue between remote locations by transmitting and receiving moving image information and voice information on different channels, and voice data for dialogue while exchanging information other than a moving image simultaneously with voice. The audio data communication terminal comprises an audio delay circuit for delaying and reproducing an audio signal, and an interface for inputting control information.The videophone device includes an interface for outputting control information. A communication conference system, wherein the videophone device transmits voice delay time information to a voice data communication terminal via the videophone device, and controls a voice delay amount of the voice data communication terminal.