JPH05244109A - Multiplex communication system between video conference systems - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer the video conference system which can transmit and receive simultaneously FAX data, image, data, etc., while executing a video conference, and whose communication cost is low. CONSTITUTION:A center side video conference system 20 and a thermal side video conference system 10 are connected through a communication circuit 30 so that each video conference system 20, 10 of these center side and terminal side can be accessed by the corresponding personal computers 40, 50 and facsimiles 41, 51. Also, each video conference system 20, 10 is provided with demultiplexing circuits 105, 205 for dividing and multiplexing an image, a voice, FAX data and personal computer data at a prescribed bit ratio by allocating a transmission band of the FAX data and the personal computer data to a transmission band of its video and voice data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multiplex communication system between video conference systems capable of transmitting fax data, image data, etc. during a video conference.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a communication line has been used as a method of holding various meetings between a head office located at a distant place, a branch office, a sales office, and a work site while viewing design drawings and the like. The video conference system used is known. This type of video conferencing system is roughly divided into
It consists of video and audio input / output equipment consisting of camera, monitor TV, microphone, speaker, etc., and transmission device (CODEC) for encoding and compressing video and audio and communicating with the other party through a communication line. It A facsimile is used to transmit design drawings and the like that are the subject of the meeting, and personal computer terminals installed on both sides are used to transmit image data such as CAD data.

[0003]

However, in the prior art,
Data transmission between both facsimiles or personal computer terminals used in the above-mentioned video conference system was carried out individually through a communication line independent of the video conference system, which increases communication costs and equipment costs. , The design drawing or the image data according to the contents of the discussion cannot be immediately transmitted during the video conference, and there is a problem that the responsiveness is lacking and the conference is wasted. Further, if the design drawings and the like are to be made in time for the meeting, it is necessary to transmit the design drawings and the like in advance before the meeting and there is a problem that it takes time.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above points, and provides a multiplex communication system between teleconferencing systems at low communication cost that can simultaneously transmit and receive fax data, image data, etc. while conducting a teleconferencing. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a center side video conference system and at least one terminal side television connected to the center side video conference system via a communication line. A conference system, a facsimile connected to each of the center side and terminal side video conferencing systems, and fax data of the facsimile can be fetched as CAD data. Personal computers connected to each other and provided in the video conference system on the center side and the terminal side, respectively, and the fax data of the facsimile and the computer of the personal computer in the transmission band of video and audio data of the video conference system. By allocating the transmission band of the data, the video, audio data, fax data, and computer data are divided and multiplexed at a predetermined ratio and transmitted to the other side, and the division multiplexed data received from the other side is transmitted as the video and audio data. And demultiplexing means for separating the fax data and the computer data, respectively.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 10 is a terminal-side video conference system installed in a branch office, a sales office, etc., 20 is a video conference system installed in a center side such as a head office, and ISDN is provided between the video conference systems 10 and 20. Communication line 3
0, or connected by a satellite line (not shown) so that transmission and reception is possible.

The video conference system 10 on the terminal side is a center for video and audio input / output equipment 101 including a camera, a monitor TV, a microphone, a speaker, etc., and encoding and compressing video and audio signals from the input / output equipment 101. CODEC (encoding / decoding circuit) 1 for transmitting the encoded and compressed video and audio signals sent from the center side to the input / output equipment 101 and sending them to the input / output equipment 101.
02, a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a personal computer), an input / output interface 103 for interfacing between the video conference system 10 and a terminal device such as a facsimile, and an elastic store for sequentially storing data captured through the input / output interface 103. The video and audio signals sent from the memory 104 and CODEC 102 and the serial data read from the elastic store memory 104 are multiplexed and multiplexed.
A demultiplexing circuit 105 is provided which transmits the signal to the basic interface line of the DN and also demultiplexes the divided and multiplexed signal transmitted from the partner side (center side) to the CODEC 102 and the input / output interface 103.
A personal computer 40 and a facsimile 41 are connected to the input / output interface 103 of the video conference system 10.

The personal computer 40 is constructed so that it can take in the data of the facsimile 41 and store it as a file in the storage device 42, and the filed data is output by the personal computer 40 to the video conference system 10 in the form of image data or fax data. To be done. Further, the facsimile 41 is capable of transmitting a design drawing or the like having a size corresponding to the A1 version, converts an image signal such as characters and figures into a digital signal, compresses the data and outputs the coded signal to the video conference system 10. In addition, it has a function of decoding and recording / reproducing fax data received through the video conference system 10.

The video conference system 20 on the center side is provided with video and audio input / output equipment 201, a CODEC 202, an input / output interface 203, an elastic store memory 204 and a demultiplexing circuit 205 similar to the video conference system 10. Then, the input / output interface 203 of the video conference system 20 is connected with the personal computer 50 and the facsimile 51 having the same functions as described above, and the personal computer 50 is further connected with the storage device 52 for filing fax data as CAD data. There is.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. A case will be described in which data such as design drawings related to this is transmitted by both parties during a video conference. In this case, first, after the line between the terminal side and the center side video conference systems 10 and 20 is established via the communication circuit 30 such as ISDN, both the video conference systems 10 and 20 are operated to enter both lines. Output facility 10
While displaying the image of the other party on the monitor televisions 1, 201, the conversation contents of both parties are output through the respective speakers.

In such a state, when, for example, a design change of a building caused by a drawing is discussed and it becomes necessary to transmit the design drawing of the building from the center side to the terminal side by using a facsimile, the transmission is performed. The design drawing to be set is set in the facsimile 51, and the facsimile 51 is started to access the video conference system 20 on the center side. As a result, when the interface between the video conference system 20 on the center side and the facsimile 51 is established, the fax data sent from the facsimile 51 is sequentially written to the elastic store memory 204 from the beginning through the input / output interface 203. Then, the fax data written in the elastic store memory 204 is sequentially read from the head of the memory by a predetermined number of pits by the clock in the video conference system 20 on the center side, and is fetched in the demultiplexing circuit 205.

In the demultiplexing circuit 205, the CODE is set according to the bit rate of the communication line used for the video conference.
The video and audio data read from the elastic store memory (not shown) in the C202 and the fax data read from the elastic store memory 204 are division-multiplexed at a predetermined bit ratio. In this case, 6
Two B channels for information transfer having a transmission rate of 4 kbps and D channel for signal transmission having a transmission rate of 16 kbps
If a basic ISDN user-network interface consisting of channels is used, the two B channels combined are
Of the 28 kbps, 96 kbps is used for video transmission, 16 kbps is used for audio transmission, and 4 kbps is used.
The ps is divided into bands for fax data transmission and used. As a result, it becomes possible to transmit fax data at the same time without disturbing video and audio.

The divided and multiplexed video, voice and fax data are not shown in the figure, but a terminal adapter (a terminal adapter is not required if the video conference system is equipped with an ISDN line connection function) and a communication line 3
0 to the video conference system 10 on the terminal side.

In the video conference system 10 on the terminal side, the transmitted demultiplexed data is demultiplexed by the demultiplexing circuit 105 into video, voice and fax data. Separated video and audio data is CODEC10
After being demodulated by 2, it is output to the input / output equipment 101. On the other hand, the separated fax data is input to the facsimile 41 via the input / output interface 103, decoded and recorded / reproduced. Also, the facsimile 41
The fax data transmitted to the computer is fetched by the personal computer 40 and filed in the storage device 42 as CAD data. Even when the facsimile data is transmitted from the terminal side to the center side using the facsimile 41, the data transmission is performed by the same operation as described above.

Next, a case will be described in which CAD data, image data or the like stored in the storage device 42 or 52 is transmitted / received during a video conference. In this case, the personal computer 40 or 50 on the terminal side or the center side is operated to access the corresponding video conference system 10 or 20, and the CAD data or the like to be transmitted is stored in the file in the corresponding storage device 42 or 52. Read and convert to image data or fax data. This image data or fax data is taken into the corresponding video conference system 10 or 20, and after being subjected to the same signal processing procedure as in the above case, both are transmitted and received through the communication line 30. The image data received by each other is displayed on the personal computer 40 or 50 of the other party. Then, both fax data are recorded / reproduced in the facsimile 41 or 51 of the other party.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the video and audio data of the video conference system are divided and multiplexed with the data of the personal computer and the facsimile so that both can be transmitted and received. Image data etc. at the same time,
At the same time, it can be transmitted at low cost, and the design drawings necessary for the meeting can be immediately transferred according to the meeting, the time required for the meeting can be shortened, and the communication cost can be reduced. .

In this embodiment, the facsimiles 41 and 5 are used.
1 is directly connected to the input / output interfaces 103 and 203, but the facsimiles 41 and 51 are connected to the personal computer 4
0, 50, and the image data from the facsimiles 41, 51 is transmitted as image data from the personal computers 40, 50 to the other personal computers 50, 40 via the input / output interfaces 103, 203, and the transmitted image data. The same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained even if the configuration is input to the facsimiles 51 and 41.

When the personal computers 40 and 50 are equipped with CAD software and the facsimiles 41 and 51 have a function as a scanner and a plotter, the image data from the facsimiles 41 and 51 are transferred to the personal computers 40 and 50.
It is converted into CAD data at 50, and this CAD data is input from the personal computers 40, 50 to the input / output interfaces 103, 20.
It is also possible to transmit the CAD data to the other party's personal computers 50, 40 via 3 and input the transmitted CAD data from the other party's personal computers 50, 40 to the facsimiles 51, 41. With such a configuration, when the facsimiles 41 and 51 reproduce the data on the recording paper based on the transmitted data, it is possible to perform the reproduction with higher reproducibility than the reproduction based on the image data.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the above embodiment, but can be applied to a case where the center side and the terminal side have a 1: n relationship and does not deviate from the scope described in the claims. As long as it is possible, various changes can be made.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, a video conference system can be accessed from a facsimile and a personal computer, and fax data or computer data can be transmitted in the video and audio data transmission band of the video conference system. By allocating a transmission band, the video, voice and fax data or computer data can be divided and multiplexed and transmitted and received by both sides, so that fax data and computer data such as image data can be transmitted simultaneously during a video conference. In addition to reducing communication costs, it is possible to easily perform fax transmission and the like suitable for a video conference.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 terminal side video conference system 20 center side video conference system 30 communication line 40,50 personal computer 41,51 facsimile 42,52 storage device 101,201 input / output equipment 102,202 CODEC 103,203 input / output interface 104,204 elastic store memory 105,205 demultiplexing circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 7/15 8943-5C

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A center-side video conference system, at least one terminal-side video conference system connected to the center-side video conference system via a communication line, and the center-side and terminal-side video conference systems. A facsimile connected to each of them, a personal computer connected to each of the center-side and terminal-side video conferencing systems so that the facsimile data of the facsimile can be captured as CAD data, and the center-side. And a video conferencing system provided on the terminal side, respectively, and by allocating the transmission band of the fax data of the facsimile and the computer data of the personal computer to the transmission band of the video and audio data of the video conferencing system, Voice data, fax data, and computer data are divided and multiplexed at a predetermined ratio and transmitted to the other party, and the multiplex data received from the other party is separated into video, voice data, fax data, and computer data. A video conferencing system comprising: a separating means.