JP3177027B2 - Teleconference equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a teleconferencing apparatus, and more particularly to a teleconferencing apparatus for displaying a marker on a part of a document displayed on a display screen of a conference terminal to instruct or emphasize the document.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional communication conference device connects a plurality of remote locations, exchanges voice information, moving image information, document information, telewriting information, and the like, and allows a conference participant to be present at a different location. It is a convenient device that can hold the event. As such a communication conference device, for example, an AGC (Audio Graphic Conference) terminal device or the like is for performing a conference while displaying the same document on a display screen provided in each terminal. With the introduction of a document system in a video conference apparatus and the like, a conference is performed while a document is displayed on a display screen.

[0003] In the document operation processing on the display screen in these communication conference apparatuses, marker processing is a function that allows a document presenter to point to a certain position of the document like a pointing stick and to instruct / emphasize. It is important. Markers on documents in these communication conference devices are described in T.T. 150.

[0004]

However, the conventional communication conference apparatus described above does not have a function of retaining a marker display when displaying a marker on a document. Even when the user wants to instruct / emphasize while displaying the marker, he / she simply instructs while moving the marker display, and cannot understand unless he / she confirms the pointed position one by one, which is extremely inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is intended for use in displaying a marker for pointing and emphasizing a document displayed on a display screen of each conference terminal during a communication conference. It is another object of the present invention to provide a communication conference apparatus having a function of retaining a marker display displayed on a display screen, thereby improving the convenience of document operation.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A plurality of conference terminals are connected between two points or between multiple points by a communication line, and realize an audiographic conference while exchanging at least voice information and document information with each other.
In a communication conference apparatus capable of instructing / emphasizing a part of a document displayed on a screen by marker display, a marker pattern specifying means for specifying a marker pattern of the marker display, and coordinate information of the marker display to be left on the screen are input. Marker coordinate information inputting means, marker coordinate information storing means for storing the inputted marker coordinate information in a memory, and reading the coordinate information of the marker display in the display area based on the specified marker pattern for marker display. Marker display image information creating means for creating the image information of the above, and residual marker display means for combining the image information of the display area and the marker display image information and displaying the combined information on the screen are provided. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication conference apparatus of the first aspect, when the display area displayed on the display screen is changed, the marker coordinate information outside the new display area is stored in the marker coordinate information storage means. And a marker coordinate information deleting means for deleting the marker coordinate information. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication conference apparatus according to the first aspect, a marker coordinate information storage unit for continuously storing marker coordinate information of a predetermined area including a display area displayed on a display screen is provided, When the display area of the stored marker coordinate information is displayed, the marker is displayed again.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication conference apparatus of the first aspect, when the coordinate information of the remaining marker display is input, the input marker coordinate information is already stored in the marker coordinate information storage means. Marker coordinate information discriminating means for judging whether or not the inputted marker coordinate information is in the vicinity, and when the newly inputted marker coordinate information is near the already stored marker coordinate information, the newly inputted coordinate information is Marker discarding means for discarding marker coordinate information is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the communication conference apparatus according to the fourth aspect, when displaying the stored marker coordinate information in the vicinity of the discarded newly input marker coordinate information, Marker pattern changing means for changing and displaying a marker pattern of the remaining marker display is provided. The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 1.
The marker for deleting the marker coordinate information stored in the marker coordinate information storage means in the vicinity of the input coordinate information when the marker coordinate information for erasing the remaining marker display is input in the communication conference apparatus described in the above. A coordinate information deleting means is provided.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the marker display remains on the display screen even after the marker has passed,
Even when a marker is displayed at a plurality of locations in a document, all of the marker positions can be left on the screen, and other conference participants who proceed with the conference while watching the display screen can receive the document. The point to be instructed / emphasized can be displayed clearly.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the remaining marker display other than the display area displayed on the display screen is automatically deleted, so that only the marker display specified in the document on the display screen remains. Then, the remaining markers other than the display area are automatically deleted. Therefore, if it is sufficient to leave the marker display on the display screen, the above-described configuration can save the trouble of removing the marker display one by one.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the coordinate information of the remaining marker display in a certain area including the display area displayed on the display screen is continuously stored, and the display including the stored marker coordinate information is performed. When the area is displayed, the remaining markers are also displayed, so that even when the display area is moved by scrolling the screen or the like, the saved marker display can be seen.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the new marker coordinate information input for displaying the remaining marker is near the already input remaining marker display coordinate, the new input coordinate is discarded. Thus, even when the operator erroneously displays a marker at the same position in a document, it is possible to prevent the marker from being displayed twice. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the coordinate information input for displaying the residual marker is near the already-displayed residual marker display coordinates, the new input coordinate is discarded and the residual marker in the vicinity is discarded. Since the marker display pattern is changed, it is possible to prevent the marker from being displayed twice, and to change the display pattern so that it is easy to understand that the marker is displayed twice. Can be.

According to the present invention, when marker coordinate information for deleting the remaining marker display is input,
Since the stored remaining marker display coordinates near the input coordinates are deleted, only a specific marker display can be selectively deleted.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is an external view showing a connection example of a communication conference apparatus and its peripheral devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a communication conference device, which is a conference terminal used by conference attendees. Reference numeral 2 denotes an LCD (Liquid Cristal Device) which displays documents and drawings of conference materials and serves as a system monitor. 3 is LCD
2 is set on the screen, and the image displayed on the LCD 2 is added or corrected, or specified at an arbitrary position in the document.
It is a transparent touch panel for handwriting input for displaying a marker or the like for emphasizing.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a touch pen for performing drawing input on the touch panel 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a handset for exchanging voice data. Reference numeral 6 denotes a microphone for voice input for transmitting the contents of a conversation during a meeting. Reference numeral 7 denotes an audio output speaker for outputting audio during a conference transmitted from another conference terminal.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an interface connector for connecting to a peripheral device or connecting to a communication line.
9 is an ISDN for connecting to the ISDN network 10
Line. 11a and 11b are other conference terminals connected to the ISDN network 10. A scanner 12 is connected to the conference terminal 1 via the interface connector 8 and reads image information from a document such as conference material.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a printer which is connected to the conference terminal 1 via the interface connector 8 and prints out image data stored in the memory and received image data. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the conference terminal shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
(Central Processing Unit) 14 is a ROM (Read Onl
y Memory) 15 to control the entire system of the communication conference apparatus according to the program written in the memory.

A DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller 16 controls a transfer operation of image information in a DMA transfer mode. RAM (Random Access Memory) 17
The work area and data required for the operation of the CPU 14 are stored. An audio codec (CODEC) 18 decodes a digital audio signal received through an ISDN line and converts it into an analog audio signal, or encodes an analog audio signal and transmits it as a digital audio signal. The audio codec 18 is connected to the handset 5 in FIG. 2, but is also switchably connected to the handsfree microphone 6 and the speaker 7 in FIG.

The printer interface 19 is a printer
13 and the system bus 30 are connected, and printing is performed based on the input printing data. The scanner interface 20 connects the scanner 12 with the system bus 30 and sends out document data read by the scanner 12 to the system bus 30. The hard disk 21 stores document data and the like in a writable / readable manner.

The timer 22 manages the current time. The interrupt controller 23 controls the interrupt of the CPU 14. The communication control unit 24 executes transmission of image data including marker display data and telewriting data according to a predetermined transmission control procedure via an NCU (network control unit) 25 having an S interface with the ISDN line. The communication control unit 24 is configured so that simultaneous communication can be performed using at least two ISDN B channels (64 Kbit / sec).

A codec (CODEC) 26 encodes image information to be transmitted by a predetermined method to compress the amount of information, and decodes the image information encoded at the time of reception to restore the original image information. . Graphic controller 27
Is for controlling graphic data stored in a video RAM (VIDEO RAM) 28.

Liquid crystal display / touch panel (LCD / T
P) The controller 29 is connected to the LCD 2 or the touch panel 3, and is used to edit and correct image data displayed on the LCD 2 by the terminal having the operation token using the touch panel 3 and the touch pen 4. Control data changes. The system bus 30 is a signal line for data exchanged between the above units.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a connection form of a communication conference apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 (a) shows a point-to-point connection between two points, and FIG. 3 (b) shows a connection between multiple points. This is an example of a multipoint connection via an MCU (Multipoint Control Unit). The control of the ISDN line in such a communication conference apparatus is performed by CCITT
(International Telegraph and Telephone Advisory Committee) Recommendation H. 221 and a multi-frame configuration according to H.221. 242 is realized by a communication setting method.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an H.264 signal on an ISDN line. 1 is a diagram illustrating a frame configuration of a 64K network conforming to H.221. As shown in FIG. 4, the transmission capacity of 64 Kbit / sec is divided into eight sub-channels, and 56 Kbit / sec of sub-channels # 1 to # 7 is used for voice communication, and 6.4 Kbit / sec is used for voice communication.
sec is used for conference control. And this 6.4
The bit / sec capability is used for document information transfer such as document transfer and telewriting as needed. Marker display data for designating / emphasizing a document according to the present invention uses the above-mentioned 6.4 Kbit / sec conference control data portion. Further, the FAS / BAS signal is based on H.264. 221 specifies a frame synchronization signal (Frame Allignment S)
ignal) and bitrate assign signal (Bitrate Assign)
ment Signal).

Next, FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing examples in which markers are displayed on a document displayed on the display screen. FIG. 5A shows a comparative example, and FIG. 5B shows this embodiment. Here, an arrow is used as the marker pattern, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As shown in FIG. 5A, in the conventional marker display, an arrow (marker pattern) indicating a predetermined position of a document image displayed on each terminal during communication has a touch pen 4 placed on the touch panel 3. The marker always moved to the position, and the marker display did not remain on the screen.

However, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), in the communication conference apparatus of the present embodiment, the instruction display is performed by leaving the marker display at a plurality of places of the document displayed on the screen.
Emphasize. Next, FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a processing operation of a display area (memory) for performing marker display.

As shown in FIG. 6, the displayed document is expanded in the display area work area in the area B.
The same contents are also copied and displayed in the display area of the area A. Then, the marker pattern (arrow in FIG. 5) is developed in the marker pattern storage area in the D area, and the marker display coordinates generated by pointing are stored in the marker coordinate storage area in the E area, and the information on the D and E areas is stored in the marker coordinate storage area. Based on this, a C area having the same size as the B area is generated. Furthermore, exclusive OR (exclusive O) is performed in the B and C areas.
R: EXOR) or OR (OR)
By copying to the area, the marker display of the comparative example shown in FIG. 5A can be performed.

The remaining marker display according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5B can also be displayed by the same processing as described above, but in this embodiment, a plurality of marker coordinates are used. Therefore, a larger memory capacity is required in the area E shown in FIG. The communication conference device according to the present embodiment includes:
It is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication conference apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, first, a marker to be left is specified (step 1).
00), when marker display coordinates are input by pointing (step 101), the input coordinate information is added to the E area and stored (step 102).
Based on the area information, a C area having the same size as the B area is generated (step 103). After the C area is generated, exclusive OR (EXOR) is performed on the B and C areas and copied to the A area (step 10).
4) Marker display can be left at a plurality of places in the document.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of the communication conference apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the case of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, when the display area of the LCD 2 is changed by a page break or scroll processing (step 200), first, the marker coordinate information is stored in the E area. Is determined (step 201). If there is marker coordinate information in the E area, the number N of the marker coordinate information is set (step 202), and each coordinate information is checked sequentially.
That is, assuming that the coordinate information is the first to n-th coordinates, n = 1 is first set (step 203), and checks are sequentially performed from the first coordinates.

Therefore, it is determined whether the first coordinates in the E area are marker coordinate information in the new display area (step 2).
04). When the marker coordinate information is not included in the coordinate information of the new display area, the first coordinate of the marker display is deleted from the E area (step 205). For this reason, when the display area is returned to the original display area again, the remaining marker display is automatically deleted, and only the document image is displayed. This eliminates the need to delete the marker display.

Next, n is incremented (+1) (step 206), and the above operation is repeated until n> N, and the coordinate information of all marker displays is checked (step 207). When the n-th coordinate is within the new display area in step 204 described above, the marker coordinate information is left from the E area without being deleted. As a result, the marker display in the display area remains displayed on the display screen.

Next, the case of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
, The "new display area" of "is the n-th coordinate in the new display area?" For example, assuming that the display area is an enlarged display area for one page before and after including the display area, the marker display outside the area displayed on the screen is saved without being deleted. Therefore, even when the hidden area is displayed again by changing the display area, the remaining marker can be displayed.

Further, when the above-mentioned "new display area" is expanded to all pages, YES is always obtained in step 204, and all the marker displays can be saved without deleting the marker displays. At this time, the memory capacity of the area E needs to be large. By the way, if the remaining marker coordinates are directly added as described above, when the same document position is designated by the touch pen, there is a problem that the coordinates of the previously designated remaining marker itself are overlapped, and the displayed document is crushed. .

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication conference apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in place of FIG. 8 for avoiding such a problem. As shown in FIG. 9, first, a marker to be left is specified (step 300), and when marker display coordinates are input by pointing (step 301), the number N of marker coordinate information in the input E area is calculated. Set (step 302), and set n = 1 (step 20)
3), start checking from the first coordinates (step 30)
3).

Then, it is determined whether or not the newly input marker coordinate information is near the n-th coordinate already stored in the memory (step 304). If not, n is incremented (+1) (step 304). (Step 305) The coordinate information of each marker display is sequentially checked until n> N (Step 306), and if it is near, the process ends without storing the input coordinates in the E area.

Thus, even when the same document position is specified by overlapping with the touch pen, the newly input marker coordinates are discarded without being stored in the E area, and the displayed document is crushed by the marker display. Can be prevented. After checking all N pieces of marker coordinate information in this way, if there is no marker coordinate information already stored in the vicinity of the input marker coordinate information, the newly input marker coordinates are replaced with E. The C area is stored in the area (step 307), and a C area having the same size as the B area is generated based on the information of the D and E areas (step 30).
8). Then, after the C area is generated, exclusive OR (EXOR) is performed on the B and C areas and copied to the A area (step 309), thereby displaying the markers at a plurality of places in the document without overlapping the marker displays. Can be left.

Next, FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication conference apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, when a remaining marker is designated (step 400) and marker display coordinates by pointing are inputted (step 401), the number N of marker coordinate information in the inputted E area is set (step 400). (Step 402), the marker coordinate is set to n = 1, and the variable is set to m = 0 (Step 403).

If the newly input marker coordinates are not near the marker coordinates already stored in the memory (step 404), n is incremented (+1) (step 405), and n> N. The check is sequentially repeated for the coordinate information of each marker display until (Step 408). If the input coordinates are near the n-coordinate in step 404, the n-th coordinate is stored in a new area (for example, F area) not shown (step 406).
Then, in this case, after the variable m is incremented (step 407), the process proceeds to step 408.

After all the N pieces of marker coordinate information have been checked in this way, it is determined whether or not the variable m has been incremented (step 409). That is, m = 0
When there is no nearby coordinate, all the marker coordinates are stored in the E area as in the normal marker display processing (step 4).
10) Generate a C area having the same size as the B area based on the information of the D and E areas (step 412), and after generating the C area, take an exclusive OR (EXOR) with the B and C areas. Then, copy to area A (step 413).

If m ≠ 0 in step 409, that is, if there is at least one nearby coordinate, the region E
The neighborhood coordinates stored in the area are deleted (step 41).
1). Then, in step 414, it is determined whether or not the variable m has been incremented again (step 414).
If m ≠ 0, after waiting for a certain time (step 41
5) Add coordinates in area F to area E (step 4).
16) A C area having the same size as the B area is generated based on the information on the D and E areas (step 417). After the C area is generated, an exclusive OR (EXOR) is calculated for the B and C areas. Then, copy to area A (step 418).

When m = 0, the process is terminated. As described above, when the newly input marker coordinate information is in the vicinity of the marker coordinate information already stored in the memory, the marker coordinates are temporarily deleted from the E region, displayed, and then displayed again (blink display). , It can be displayed that the marker is newly displayed. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this marker pattern, and another marker pattern can be displayed.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication conference apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, first, a remaining marker to be deleted is designated (step 500). That is, the marker coordinates to be erased by pointing with a touch pen at a predetermined position on the touch panel are input (step 50).
1).

Next, the input coordinates of the remaining marker to be deleted are represented by E
Compare with the coordinates stored in the area. That is, E
The number N of marker coordinates stored in the area is set (step 502), n = 1 (step 503), and it is determined whether or not the newly input marker coordinate is near the already stored marker coordinate ( (Step 504) If it is near, the n-th coordinate is deleted from the E area (Step 50).
5).

Then, n is incremented (step 506), and the above operation is repeated until n> N.
The marker coordinates of the E area are sequentially checked (step 50)
7). After checking all marker coordinates,
Based on the information on the D and E areas, a C area having the same size as the B area is generated (step 508). After the C area is generated, exclusive OR (EXOR) is performed on the B and C areas.
Copy to area A (step 509).

In this way, it is possible to selectively delete only the specific remaining marker display.

[0049]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the marker display remains on the display screen even after the marker has passed, so even when displaying a plurality of places in the document with the marker, All of the marker positions can be left on the screen, and the part of the document that is to be instructed / emphasized can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner for other conference participants who proceed with the conference while watching the display screen.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the remaining marker display other than the display area displayed on the display screen is automatically deleted. For this reason, only the designated marker display in the document on the display screen is left, and the remaining markers other than the display area are automatically deleted. The trouble of deleting the display one by one can be saved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the coordinate information of the remaining marker display in a certain area including the display area displayed on the display screen is continuously stored, and the stored marker coordinate information is stored. Since the remaining marker is also displayed when the display area including the marker is displayed, the saved marker display can be viewed even when the display area is moved by scrolling the screen or the like.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the new marker coordinate information input for displaying the remaining marker is:
If the marker is near the already entered and stored residual marker display coordinates, the new input coordinates are discarded, so even if the operator erroneously displays the marker over the same part of the document, the marker is double displayed. It can be prevented from being displayed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the coordinate information input for displaying the remaining marker is near the already input and stored residual marker display coordinates, the new input coordinates are discarded. In addition, since the display pattern of the remaining marker in the vicinity is changed, it is prevented that the marker is displayed twice, and by changing the display pattern, the position where the marker is displayed twice is changed. Can be displayed in an easily understandable manner.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when marker coordinate information for deleting the remaining marker display is inputted,
Since the stored remaining marker display coordinates near the input coordinates are deleted, only the specific marker display can be selectively deleted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a connection example of a communication conference apparatus and its peripheral devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the conference terminal illustrated in FIG. 1;

3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating an example of a connection configuration of a communication conference apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a point-to-point connection, and FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a multipoint connection.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an H.264 communication on an ISDN line. 6 based on H.221
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a frame configuration of a 4K network.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating examples in which markers are displayed on a document displayed on a display screen, where FIG. 5A is a comparative example and FIG. 5B is a present example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing operation of a display area for performing marker display.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the communication conference apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the communication conference apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of the communication conference apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention described in claim 4;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of the communication conference device according to one embodiment of the invention described in claim 5.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of the communication conference device according to one embodiment of the invention described in claim 6.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Conference Terminal 2 LCD 3 Touch Panel 4 Touch Pen 5 Handset 6 Microphone 7 Speaker 14 CPU 15 ROM 16 DMA Controller 17 RAM 18 Voice Codec 24 Communication Control Unit 25 NCU

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of conference terminals are connected between two points or between multiple points via a communication line, and an audiographic conference is realized while communicating at least voice information and document information with each other, and is displayed on a screen. In a communication conference apparatus capable of instructing / emphasizing a part of a document by marker display, a marker pattern designating means for designating a marker pattern of the marker display, and a marker coordinate information inputting means for inputting coordinate information of a marker display to be left on a screen A marker coordinate information storage unit for storing the input marker coordinate information in a memory; reading coordinate information of a marker display in a display area based on the specified marker pattern to create image information for marker display Means for creating marker display image information; combining the image information of the display area with the marker display image information and displaying it on the screen A residual marker display means for communication conference device, characterized in that is provided. 2. A communication conference apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the display area displayed on the display screen is changed, marker coordinate information outside the new display area is deleted from said marker coordinate information storage means. A communication conference device comprising a deletion unit. 3. The communication conference apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising marker coordinate information storage means for continuously storing marker coordinate information of a predetermined area including a display area displayed on a display screen. A communication conference device for performing marker display again when the display area of the marker coordinate information is displayed. 4. The communication conference apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when inputting the coordinate information of the remaining marker display, the input marker coordinate information is in the vicinity of the marker coordinate information already stored in the marker coordinate information storage means. Marker coordinate information discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the newly input marker coordinate information is in the vicinity of already stored marker coordinate information, and discarding the newly input coordinate information. Means, and a communication conference apparatus, comprising: 5. The communication conference apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the stored marker coordinate information near the discarded newly inputted marker coordinate information is displayed, a marker pattern of a remaining marker display is displayed. A communication conference device comprising a marker pattern changing means for changing and displaying a pattern. 6. The communication conference apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when marker coordinate information for erasing a remaining marker display is input, said marker coordinate information is stored in said marker coordinate information storage means near said input coordinate information. A communication conference device comprising marker coordinate information deleting means for deleting marker coordinate information that is present.