JPH0536551U - Desk meeting support system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] A tabletop conference in which the voice of the other party can be heard from the direction corresponding to the position of the other party displayed on the screen display section so that it is easy to understand who is making the voice. Provide a support system. [Structure] A source of a voice signal input from a destination terminal and received through a network is discriminated by a source discriminating unit 5. The sound signal whose source is discriminated is sorted by the volume control unit 6 into appropriate channels according to the source, and two or more channels of sound are output. This voice is associated with the position of the other party participating in the conference displayed on the video display unit 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a tabletop conference support system in which a plurality of terminals such as multi-window workstations are connected to each other via a network.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, relatively inexpensive tabletop conference support systems include those that work cooperatively on a networked multi-window workstation. In this type of conventional system, the information such as the faces of a plurality of opponents displayed on the screen in multiple windows is usually a still image, and the voice is from a plurality of opponents because of the transmission data amount. It was supposed to be mixed and heard.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 For this reason, when a conference is held by three or more people using the conventional system, the more the number of people increases, the more difficult it becomes to know who is making the voice, and as a result, it is difficult to smoothly proceed with the conference. Was sometimes. The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by making it possible to hear the voice from the other party from the direction corresponding to the position of the other party displayed on the screen display unit, and to identify who is making the voice. The purpose is to provide a tabletop conference support system that is easy to understand.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a desk conference support system in which a plurality of terminals are connected to each other via a network, where the terminal is a voice input section for inputting voice and another terminal via a network. A source discrimination unit that discriminates the source of the audio signal input from the terminal, and a volume control unit that distributes the audio signal to one of a plurality of channels according to the source based on the discrimination made by the source discrimination unit. A video display unit for displaying personal information of the other party participating in the conference, and an audio output unit for at least two channels, which operates based on the output of the volume control unit, are provided.

[0005]

[Action]

 According to the above configuration, the source of the voice signals mutually input from the other party's terminal and received through the network is determined by the source determination unit. The sound signal whose source is discriminated is distributed to an appropriate channel by the volume controller according to the source, and at least two or more channels of audio are output based on the output of the volume controller. This distributed voice is made to correspond to the position of the person participating in the conference displayed on the video display section, so that it is easy to understand who is the voice utterer.

[0006]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a tabletop conference support system. In this system example, a plurality of terminals accessed by attendees A, B, C, and D at a conference are connected to each other via a network NW. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the functional configuration of each terminal. Each terminal body is mutually connected to a network NW such as ISDN via a communication interface 7, and an image input unit 1 including a camera that captures the face images of the conference participants, and the audio produced by the conference participants. A voice input unit 2 consisting of a microphone that captures the information, a video display unit 3 such as a display that displays the personal information of the other parties participating in the conference side by side in a multi-window in a multi-window, and two or more channels. The audio output unit 4 is composed of a speaker or the like for outputting.

Further, each terminal body determines a sender based on the video and audio information input through the communication interface 7, and a sender determination unit 5 based on the determination by the sender determination unit 5. The sound volume control unit 6 controls the audio output unit 4. The sound volume adjusting unit 6 distributes the volume from each conference attendee to the L and R channels so that the voice information can be heard from the direction corresponding to the position of the voice caller on the screen. Further, the communication interface 7 converts the video / audio input from each terminal side into a signal for communication and also converts the video / audio communication signal from the network NW into video / audio.

FIG. 3 shows an image display unit (display) 3 of the terminal assigned to the attendee A. As shown in the figure, still images of the faces of the other attendees B, C, and D are displayed side by side on the screen in order. Audio output sections (speakers) 4 composed of L and R channels are arranged on both left and right sides of the video display section 3. It should be noted that the transmission source discriminating unit 5 discriminates the transmission source from the video and audio information, for example, when the information is transmitted through the communication interface 7 of the transmission source, it is possible to identify the transmission source in the header data in the predetermined format data. This can be done by adding an address and deciphering this at the communication interface 7 on the receiving side.

FIG. 4 shows an example of how the volume control unit 6 distributes the volume of each conference participant to the L and R channels. Here, it is assumed that the image display unit 3 is as shown in FIG. Mr. B is located on the left side of the screen, Mr. C is located in the center, and Mr. D is located on the right. Therefore, the L channel output is that of Mr. B's maximum level, and the R channel output. Mr. D's is the maximum level. The volume control unit 6 weights the voice balance in this way.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for determining the video display position on the video display unit 3 and setting the volume distribution by the volume control unit 6. First, in order to register the attendees in the system, enter the number n of attendees from the host terminal (# 1), and enter the address of the i-th attendee (i is incremented sequentially) below. Input (# 2). When i becomes n (YES in # 3), the display position coordinates of each person are determined (# 4), and the face image of the registered i-th (i is sequentially incremented) attendee is output (# 5). ). When i becomes n (YES in # 6), weight calculation is performed to represent the left-right balance of sound volume for each person (# 7). By the above, the initial setting of the system is performed.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, a still image of the face of a conference attendee displayed on the image display unit 3 is the face of that person when logging in to the system. In addition to the method of capturing information with a camera, data registered in advance in the center may be captured with an ID or password. Further, the image displayed on the image display unit 3 can be similarly applied even if it is a moving image. Further, for example, in FIG. 3, a level meter may be displayed or blinked at positions corresponding to the still images of the faces of the attendees B, C, and D according to the volume.

[0012]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, when a conference is held by a plurality of people using this system, the voice from the other party can be heard from the direction corresponding to the position of the other party displayed on the screen. Despite the fact that the system is simple and relatively inexpensive, it is easy to understand who is making the voice and it is possible to recognize the other person unconsciously, and the conference can proceed smoothly. Becomes

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a tabletop conference support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of each terminal of the desk conference support system.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an image display unit of the terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how to distribute sound volumes in a sound output unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a display position on a video display unit and setting a volume on a volume control unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image Input Section 2 Audio Input Section 3 Video Display Section 4 Audio Output Section 5 Source Identification Section 6 Volume Control Section 7 Communication Interface NW Network

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Creator Shinsaku Yanagi, Omron Co., Ltd. 10 Hanazono Dodocho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. In a tabletop conference support system in which a plurality of terminals are connected to each other via a network, the terminal has a voice input unit for inputting voice and a voice input from another terminal via the network. A source discrimination unit that discriminates a signal source, a volume control unit that distributes a voice signal to one of a plurality of channels according to the source based on the discrimination by the source discrimination unit, and a person who is participating in the conference. The tabletop conference support system, comprising: a video display unit for displaying the personal information of 1. and an audio output unit for at least two channels which operates based on the output of the volume control unit.