JPH02238788A - Packet video conference terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a terminal equipment from being susceptible to the effect of network congestion by constituting a transmission control section so as to contain a picture data and an audio data into one packet when network is in congestion. CONSTITUTION:In the case of transmission, picture information from a camera 2 is coded by a picture CODEC section 6, subject to packet processing at a picture CODEC interface section 11, stored in a data memory 17, audio information from a microphone 4 is coded by a voice CODEC section 7, processed as a packet by a voice CODEC interface section 12 and stored in the data memory 17. When the congestion state of the network is less than a threshold level depending on the information of the congestion state of the network reported from a network monitor section 16 to a CPU 13, the picture information and the audio information are processed aa a packet individually and when the state is over the threshold level or over, the picture information and the audio information are contained into one packet. Thus, the effect of the network congestion state is hardly caused.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention... The present invention relates to a teleconference terminal device that encodes image information and audio information and packetizes them for transmission.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional packet communication type video conference terminal device as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-411282. Transmission control unit that disassembles and transmits/receives packets, (2) is a camera, (3) is a monitor, (4)
) is a microphone, (5》 is a speaker, (6) is an image codec unit that encodes/decodes image information, (7) is an audio codec unit that encodes/decodes audio information, and (8) is a line, αυ is the image codec interface 7x-base part, α3
T'! Audio codec Inter 7 Ace part, (I3 is C
P[T, α4 is the program memory, α is the line control unit,
aη is a data memory.

Next, the operation will be explained.

In FIG. 3, the operation in the case of transmission will be explained first.

The image information from camera {2} is sent to the image codec unit (6(
encoded with image codec inter 7 ace part αυ
Packetized and data memo for each packet! j(17
After 1 kg is loaded and a header is added to the data under the control of the CPU αj, the line is transferred from the line controller α9 to the line (8).
sent to.

Next, the operation in the case of reception will be explained. Packets arriving from the line are stored in the data memory αη through the line control unit OS, headers are decomposed under cPUal, and processing according to the protocol is performed. In addition, the image information that is decomposed from the packet by the image codec inter 7 ace unit αυ and decoded by the image codec unit (6) is sent to the monitor (
3).

The audio information from the microphone (4) and the audio data packets received from the line are processed separately but in a similar process to the image information and image data packets, and then sent out as packets from the line. or reproduced by Subika.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional packet video conference terminal equipment is configured as described above. Since image information and audio information are individually packetized regardless of the network status, the problem is that if the network becomes congested, the number of packets (amount of data) that can be sent decreases, making it susceptible to the effects of network congestion. There was a point.

This invention was made to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a packet-based conference terminal device that can change the number of packets to be sent, tg, depending on the state, and is not easily affected by network congestion.

Means for Solving the Cd Problem] The packet video conference terminal device according to the present invention normally packetizes picture information and audio information separately, and
When it is used, it is constructed so that both image information and audio information are contained in one packet.

[Effect]

The packet teleconference terminal device according to the present invention separates image information and audio information into packets if the network congestion is below a threshold value, and packs the image information and audio information into one packet if it exceeds the +ia value. This reduces the number of packets sent when the network becomes congested.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In Figure 1, αe monitors the network congestion and sends the information to C! It is a network monitoring unit that reports to the PU (13).

Incidentally, the same parts or corresponding parts K as in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a packet transmitted from line control unit α9 to line (8)K.
,"'2 '*"5' is C(!ITT X.25
Packet header based on recommendation, “A”, “V”,
"C" is a header that indicates the type of data included in the packet. DT1゜, 'DT3' is audio data, 'DT2
', 'DT4' are image data.

Next, the operation will be explained.

1st≠. In FIG. 2, the operation in the case of transmission will be explained first. Image information from the camera (2) is encoded by the image codec unit (6), packetized by the image codec inter 7 ace unit aυ, and stored in the data memory aη. Similarly, the audio information from the microphone (4) is encoded in the audio codec unit (7), packetized in the audio codec inter 7 ace unit aX5, and is packetized in the data memory αη.
is accumulated in At this time. From the network monitoring unit αe to the CPU (+
Based on the network vergence status information reported in 3. Packetize image data and audio data separately, or
It is determined whether the data will fit into one packet. If the congestion state of the network is below the threshold, the OPCrt13 separates the image data and audio data into packets, and adds a header indicating the type of data (゜vl for image data, ``A'' for audio data) at the beginning of each packet. A packet header based on the x.25 recommendation is added to generate a packet l as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if the network congestion state is above the threshold, CPET+
13 stores the image data and audio data together in one packet, and at the beginning of the packet there is a header ゜C' indicating the type of data.
and further x. A packet header based on the 25 Recommendation is added to generate a packet as shown in FIG. 2 (1)), and the packet is sent from the line control unit to the line (8).

Next, the operation in the case of reception will be explained. The packet arriving from station d+8 is passed through the line control section α9 and stored in the data memory αη, and the packet header is disassembled under cpUas and processed according to the protocol. The destination of the data is determined by the header added to the beginning that indicates the type of data, and if the header is "V", it is treated as image data by the image codec interface section α.
To υ, "A'Naraha audio data is sent to the audio codec inter 7 ace part α Ku, and if it is ゛C゜, after being separated into the image data part and the audio data part, it is sent to the image codec inter 7 ace part aυ and the audio codec interface part, respectively. (It can be divided into one.

The image data subjected to packet decomposition by the image codec interface unit αυ is decoded by the image codec unit (6) and then played back by the monitor (3).

Similarly, the audio data that has been depacketized by the audio codec inter 7 ace unit α2 is processed by the audio codec unit (
After being decoded by the computer, it is played back by the speaker (5).

〔Effect of the invention〕

As above. According to this invention, since the transmission control unit is configured to fit image data and audio data into one packet when the network is congested, the number of packets to be sent can be reduced, and transmission regulation and packet This has the effect of making it less susceptible to the effects of network congestion, such as disposal, and also helping to quickly eliminate network congestion.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a packet teleconference terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a packet generated by the same device, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional device. In the figure, (l) is the transmission control unit, (2) is the camera, (
3) is a monitor, (4) is a microphone, (5) is a speaker, (
6) is the image codec section. (7) is the audio codec section,
(8》 is the line, υ is the image codec interface section, αku is the audio codec inter 7 ace section, Q3
is CPσ, number α is the program memory, (L9 is the line control unit, (le is the network monitoring unit, and (Iη is the data memory.) In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A means for encoding image information using difference information between screen frames, a means for encoding audio information, and a packet for packetizing the encoded image information and audio information and controlling data transmission and reception via a line. In a packet teleconferencing terminal device having a transmission control means, packet transmission is configured such that image information and audio information are individually packetized during normal times, and both image information and audio information are contained in one packet when the network is congested. A packet video conference terminal device comprising a control means.