JPH08140076A - Multi-spot television conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To shorten the time required from starting of a multi-spot connection to the completion of the connection as much as possible. CONSTITUTION: A television conference terminal controlling a multi-spot television conference is provided with a conference information notifying means 1 and conference information 13 including the connection information and the opening information of the multi-spot television conference is made to notify in advance from the conference information notifying means 1, and a multi-spot connection means 2 and a conference opening monitoring means 3 are provided on each television conference terminal and the multi-spot connection can be made to perform for a specified television conference terminal based on the connection information. As a result, when the opening time for a preliminarily scheduled multi-spot television conference comes, the television conference terminal which is going to participate in the multi-spot television conference can be made to simultaneously start originating calls and the time required till all the television terminals are connected can be remarkably shortened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multipoint video conference system, for example, multipoint communication by connecting a plurality of video conference terminals via a digital line such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network). It is suitable for use in a multi-point video conferencing system that enables it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of image compression coding technology and I
With the spread of high-speed and high-quality digital circuits represented by SDN, recommendations for AV (audio visual) services are provided by ITU-T Recommendation H.264. 320, H.M. 242,
H. 221 and the like, and various video conference systems have been developed in accordance with those recommendations.

Among these video conference systems is a multi-point video conference system capable of conducting a video conference between three or more multi-points, and as a multi-point connection method, a multi-point conference control device ( Multipoint connection form using the MCU) and the multipoint conference control unit MCU
There is a form of multipoint connection in which the above video conference terminals are connected in a ring shape or a chain shape without using.

In the case of multipoint connection using the multipoint conference control unit MCU, when the multipoint conference control unit MCU is used for another multipoint multipoint video conference, the multipoint multipoint video conference is performed. Cannot be used for.

Further, the multipoint conference control unit MCU
Is expensive because it requires a line control device, an image encoding / decoding device, and the like for the lines that can be accommodated. Further, there is a problem that the number of video conference terminals that can be simultaneously connected is limited due to the function of the multipoint conference control unit MCU, and a multipoint connection method that does not use the multipoint conference control unit MCU is provided. Attention has been paid.

As described above, the multipoint conference control device M
In multipoint connection without using a CU, a videoconference terminal that activates the multipoint connection (hereinafter referred to as a master videoconference terminal) is a multipoint connection of all videoconference terminals that participate in the multipoint videoconference. The form is grasped, and other video conference terminals (hereinafter referred to as slave video conference terminals) participating in the multipoint video conference are sequentially connected one by one under the control of the master video conference terminal.

In FIG. 8, four video conference terminals are connected to ISDN.
An example of connecting multiple points in a ring shape using the basic interface is shown. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 22 is an ISDN basic interface for transferring two information channels of 64 kbps (hereinafter, referred to as B channel) for transferring user information such as voice and data, and mainly for transferring information for line control. One 16-kbps control channel (hereinafter referred to as the D channel).

Reference numeral 23 is a B channel of the ISDN basic interface 22, and reference numeral 24 is a master video conference terminal for controlling the multipoint connection. Also, 25 to 27 are
It is a slave video conference terminal that participates in this multipoint video conference.

As shown by the gray arrow in FIG. 8, in the conventional multipoint connection, from the master video conference terminal 24,
The slave video conference terminals 25 to 27 are connected one by one in the order of (1) to (4) shown in FIG. 5, and an example of a specific connection procedure in this case is as follows. .

That is, (a) the master video conference terminal 2
4 determines the connection form of multipoint connection, that is, which videoconference terminal is connected to which videoconference terminal. (B) The master video conference terminal 24 makes a call to the slave video conference terminal to be connected next, for example, the first slave video conference terminal 25.

(C) Frame synchronization for notifying data is established between the master video conference terminal 24 and the first slave video conference terminal 25.

(D) A slave video conference terminal to be connected next to the first slave video conference terminal 25 newly connected from the master video conference terminal 24, for example, a second slave video conference terminal 26 is connected. Notify me for information.

(E) The first slave video conference terminal 25 that has received the connection information makes a call to the next slave video conference terminal, for example, the second slave video conference terminal 26, based on the connection information. .

(F) Between the first slave video conference terminal 25 which is the calling side slave video conference terminal and the second slave video conference terminal 26 which is the called side slave video conference terminal. Establish frame synchronization for reporting data.

(G) Hereinafter, a newly connected slave video conference terminal, for example, the third slave video conference terminal 2
The above steps (d), (e), and (f) are repeatedly performed until the mobile station 7 makes a call / connection to the master video conference terminal 24.

[0016]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, it is necessary to perform processing such as establishing frame synchronization and transferring connection information each time the video conference terminal is connected. Therefore, when performing multipoint connection in a ring shape, assuming that the time required to newly connect one video conference terminal is “T”, all the time after the master video conference terminal starts the multipoint connection. There is a problem that the time of “T × (the number of video conference terminals connected between multiple points)” is required until the connection of the video conference terminals is completed, and as a result, the user has to wait for a long time. .

The invention according to the present application has been made in view of the above problems, and it is necessary to shorten the time required from the start of multipoint connection to the completion of the connection as much as possible. It is an object.

[0018]

A multipoint video conference system according to the present invention connects a plurality of video conference terminals in a ring shape or a chain via a digital line, and these plural video conference terminals are used for multipoint communication. In a multipoint videoconferencing system for performing interpoint videoconferencing, at least a videoconferencing terminal that manages the multipoint multipoint videoconference is provided to a plurality of videoconferencing terminals that participate in the multipoint multipoint video conference. On the other hand, a conference information notification means for notifying beforehand conference information including connection information and holding information of the multipoint video conference, and multipoint connection to a specific video conference terminal based on the connection information. And a meeting holding monitoring means for activating the above-mentioned multipoint connecting means at a meeting holding time based on the above holding information.

Another feature of the present invention is that
The holding information notified by the meeting information notifying means is the holding time information of the multipoint video conference, and the meeting holding monitoring means measures the holding time information and the current time clocked by the internal clock in the video conference terminal. The feature is that the holding time of the video conference is monitored by comparing with.

Another feature of the present invention is that the holding information notified by the meeting information notifying means is waiting time information until the multipoint video conference is held, and the meeting holding monitoring means is It is characterized by monitoring the time of the meeting by measuring the elapsed waiting time.

Another feature of the present invention is that a call from a participating terminal of the multipoint video conference is waited for while holding the multipoint video conference under the supervision of the conference holding monitoring means. When the call is received, the multipoint connection means is activated by the incoming call.

[0022]

Since the present invention comprises the above technical means, the conference information including the connection information and the holding information of the multipoint video conference is notified in advance from the video conference terminal that manages the multipoint video conference. At the scheduled time of the scheduled multipoint video conference, it becomes possible to make a multipoint connection to a specific video conference terminal based on the above connection information. Since the video conference terminals scheduled to participate in the video conference can start calling all at once, the time required to connect all the video conference terminals can be significantly shortened.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A video conference terminal which is an embodiment of a multipoint video conference system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the main functions of the multipoint video conference system of this embodiment.

In the multipoint video conference system of this embodiment, a plurality of video conference terminals are connected in a ring shape or a chain via a digital line ISDN, and a multipoint video conference terminal is connected by these plural video conference terminals. It's something that you do.

Of these plural video conference terminals, at least the video conference terminal managing the multi-point video conference, as shown in FIG. 1, has a conference information notifying means, a multi-point connecting means, a conference holding monitoring means. , Internal clock device,
It has a communication device section and a RAM 3, and is connected to a plurality of video conference terminals in a ring shape or a chain shape via the line interface 11 as described above.

The conference information notifying means preliminarily provides the conference information 13 (see FIG. 3) including the connection information and the holding information of the multipoint video conference to a plurality of video conference terminals participating in the multipoint video conference. It has a function to notify.

The multipoint connection means is the connection information 13 described above.
It is for performing multipoint connection to a specific video conference terminal based on. The meeting holding monitoring means is provided to activate the multipoint connection means at the meeting holding time based on the holding information in the meeting information 13.

The holding time notified by the meeting information notifying means is, for example, the holding time information of the multipoint video conference, and the meeting holding monitoring means gives the holding time information and the internal clock in the video conference terminal. The time at which the video conference is held is monitored by comparing it with the current time measured by.

The holding time notified by the meeting information notifying means may be waiting time information until the holding of the multipoint video conference, and in this case, the timer provided in the meeting holding monitoring means. The means monitors the meeting time by measuring the elapse of the waiting time.

Further, the multipoint video conference system of the present embodiment, under the supervision of the conference holding monitoring means,
When an incoming call is received from a participating terminal of the multipoint videoconference while the multipoint videoconference is waiting to be held, the multipoint connection means is activated by the incoming call.

Since the video conference terminal of FIG. 1 is a master video conference terminal, it has a conference information notifying means, but other slave video conference terminals do not have a conference information notifying means. In the case of the slave video conference terminal, the connection information 13 is supplied from the master video conference terminal via the line interface.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a concrete configuration of a video conference terminal which is an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 is a CPU, which is for executing a program stored in the ROM 2.

The ROM 2 is provided to store a program for controlling the video conference terminal including the conference information notifying means, multipoint connection means, conference holding monitoring means, etc. of the present invention.

A RAM 3 is provided for use as a storage area for the conference information and other data stored in the conference information storage means and a work area for the CPU 1.

An operation unit 4 has input devices such as a keyboard, a tablet and a mouse used for inputting control information for controlling the video conference system of this embodiment.

A voice input / output unit 5 has a voice input / output unit such as a handset, a microphone, a speaker, etc. for performing analog / digital conversion and digital / analog conversion processing of a voice signal. .

Reference numeral 6 denotes a voice encoding / decoding unit, which is ITU-
According to the audio encoding / decoding compression rate algorithm defined by the T recommendation G series, the encoding process of the transmission audio signal and the decoding process of the reception audio signal are performed.

An image input / output unit 7 includes a CRT monitor,
It has a person camera, a document camera, etc., and is for performing analog / digital conversion and digital / analog conversion processing of image signals.

An image editing unit 8 is for performing processing such as windowing, filtering, combining character data and / or graphic data. An image encoding / decoding unit 9 is an ITU-T recommendation H.264. This is for performing the encoding process of the transmission image and the decoding process of the reception image according to the image encoding / decoding algorithm defined by H.261.

Reference numeral 10 is a demultiplexing unit, which is recommended by ITU-T Recommendation H.264. 221, an audio signal from the audio encoding / decoding unit 6, an image signal from the image encoding / decoding unit 9, and various data signals input via the channel interface 12 according to the current communication capability and communication mode. Separation processing for performing multiplexing processing for multiplexing in transmission frame units, separating reception frames into respective media of constituent units, and notifying the audio encoding / decoding unit 6, image encoding / decoding unit 9, and channel interface 12 Is for doing.

Reference numeral 11 is a line interface, which is an ISD.
It is connected to N lines and controls the lines according to the ISDN user / network interface. Reference numeral 12 is a channel interface for connecting an external device such as a personal computer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of multipoint connection information created by the master videoconference terminal in the videoconference terminal according to this embodiment. In FIG. 3, 1
Reference numeral 3 is conference information created by the master video conference terminal.
Reference numeral 14 denotes a holding information field, which stores time information for holding a conference or waiting time information for holding a conference for simultaneously starting the connection of the multipoint video conference.

Reference numeral 15 is a conference ID field (when necessary) storing a conference ID for distinguishing the multipoint video conference from other multipoint video conferences. 16-18
Is a participation terminal information field in which connection information regarding each video conference terminal participating in the multipoint video conference is stored.

Reference numeral 19 is a part of the participation terminal information field, and is an own address number field in which the own address number of the video conference terminal corresponding to the above field is stored.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a part of the participation terminal information field, which is a user abbreviation field in which a user abbreviation of the video conference terminal corresponding to the field is stored. 21 is a part of the participation terminal information field,
This is a connection destination address number field in which the address number of the connection destination video conference terminal of the video conference terminal corresponding to the above field is stored.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing at the time of an incoming call in the video conference terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. The incoming call processing shown in FIG. 4 is started when an incoming call is received from another video conference terminal to the above video conference terminal.

First, in step S101, it is determined whether the incoming call (reception of the call setup message) is an incoming call for notifying the conference information 13 or a normal incoming call. , Or the ID for call identification set in the inter-user information element.

Then, if the incoming call is an incoming call for notifying the conference information 13 (step S101: Yes), the process proceeds to step S102, and if it is a normal incoming call (step S101: No), the step is performed. It proceeds to S107.

In step S102, the above step S1
A process of accepting an incoming call of 01 is performed, and a communication path for receiving data on the B channel is set if necessary. It should be noted that the above-described incoming call acceptance process is unnecessary when the conference information 13 is notified by the D channel service such as the information notification between users.

In the next step S103, the notified conference information 13 is stored in the data area on the RAM 3 of FIG. Next, in step S104, the holding information 14 of the multipoint conference is extracted from the conference information 13 stored in step S103, and the holding information is the holding time information or the waiting time until the holding of the meeting. To judge.

If the conference holding information is the conference holding time information, the process proceeds to step S105 (step S104: holding time), and if it is the waiting time until the conference is held, the process proceeds to step S106 (step S104:
Waiting time).

In step S105, a holding time monitoring process for making a simultaneous call based on the meeting holding time information shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later, is activated. Further, when the process proceeds to step S106, a waiting time monitoring process for making a simultaneous call according to the waiting time until the conference is held, which will be described later, is activated.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S101 is that the call is a normal incoming call and the process proceeds to step S107, it is checked whether or not the video conference terminal is currently in a waiting state for holding a multipoint video conference. . It should be noted that the holding waiting state here means that the holding time monitoring means or the waiting time monitoring means is in a waiting state for making a simultaneous call to a multipoint video conference.

Then, as a result of the determination in step S107,
If it is in the holding waiting state, the process proceeds to step S108 (step S107: Yes), and if it is not in the holding waiting state, the process proceeds to step S110 (step S107:
No).

In step S108, it is determined whether the terminal is a terminal scheduled to participate. If the terminal is a planned terminal, the process proceeds to step S109. If it is not the planned terminal, the step S109 is performed.
Proceed to 110.

In step S109, in order to process the incoming call as an incoming call of the multipoint video conference waiting for simultaneous call waiting, a conference incoming call acceptance process shown in FIG. 7 described later is activated.

In step S110, it is determined whether the incoming call is accepted. This judgment is made by making an inquiry to the user by voice or characters. Then, if the user permits the reception, step S111.
(Step S110: Yes), and if the acceptance is not permitted, the process proceeds to step S112 (step S11).
0: No).

In step S111, the incoming call is processed as an incoming call from a normal multipoint communication terminal. In step S112, the incoming call is rejected by transmitting an incoming call rejection message (release completion message in the case of ISDN) to reject the incoming call.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of the holding time monitoring process started in step S105 of FIG. In step S201, a flag indicating that the video conference terminal is in a waiting state for a multipoint video conference is set to ON.

In the next step S202, the holding time information in the stored multipoint conference connection information is fetched and set in a variable Ts. In step S203, the current time information from the internal clock of the video conference terminal is taken out and set in the variable Tc.

In step S204, the values of the variable Ts and the variable Tc are compared. Then, when the values of the variable Ts and the variable Tc are equal, the process proceeds to step S206 (step S206).
204: Yes), if not equal, step S2
It progresses to 05 (step S204: No).

In step S205, the above step S2
The flag indicating whether or not the video conference set in 01 is in the meeting holding state is inspected, and if the flag is off (not in the meeting holding state), the main holding time monitoring process ends (step S205: Yes). ) Do. When the flag is on (in the meeting holding state), the process returns to step S203 (step S205: N).
o).

On the other hand, if the process proceeds to step S206,
The flag for indicating the conference holding state set in step S201 is set to off, and then step S2
Proceed to 07. In step S207, a call is sent to an appropriate video conference terminal based on the stored conference information 13 described above.
Start the connection.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of the waiting time monitoring process started in step S106 of FIG. First, in step S301, a flag indicating that the video conference terminal is in a waiting state for a multipoint video conference is set to ON. Next, step S3
In 02, the waiting time information in the stored multipoint conference connection information is retrieved and set in the variable Tw.

In the next step S303, step S3
A standby wait timer for measuring the elapse of the Tw time set in 02 is activated, and then the process proceeds to step S304.
In step S304, it is checked whether the timer activated in step S303 has timed out. And
When the time-out occurs (when the holding time comes), the process proceeds to step S306 (step S304: Yes),
If not, the process proceeds to step S305 (step S304: No).

In step S305, the above step S2
The flag indicating whether or not the video conference set in 01 is in the conference holding state is inspected. If the flag is off (not in the conference holding state), the holding time monitoring process is ended (step S305: Yes). Also,
If the flag is on (in the waiting state for the conference), the process returns to step S304 (step S305: N).
o).

If the process proceeds to step S306 as a result of the determination in step S304, the above step S301.
The flag for indicating the conference holding waiting state set in step 3 is set to off, and then the process proceeds to step S307. In step S307, based on the stored conference information 13, the calling / connection is started to an appropriate video conference terminal.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of the conference call acceptance process in step S109 of FIG. First, in step S401, the flag indicating whether or not the conference holding state set in FIG. 5 or 6 is set to OFF.

In the next step S402, the incoming call is normally accepted as an incoming call of the multipoint video conference waiting for the holding. Further, in step S403, based on the stored conference information 13, the calling / connection is started to an appropriate video conference terminal.

Various modifications can be considered in the above embodiment. For example, step S10 in FIG.
As a means for identifying whether or not a simultaneous call waiting is shown in 7, the time when the above-mentioned incoming call is received is compared with the already held holding time (when the waiting time information is received, the internal clock Calculate the holding time from the time).

Then, only when the time at which the incoming call is received is within a fixed time between the conference holding times, it is considered that the simultaneous call waiting is performed, and the conference incoming call and the normal incoming call waiting for the conference holding are distinguished. It is also possible.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an example is described in which a simultaneous call reservation is made for one multipoint video conference at a time. However, it is also possible to extend the use of the conference ID field 15 shown in FIG. 3 to monitor the holding of a plurality of multipoint video conferences at the same time.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example of using the ISDN basic interface has been described.
Besides this, it is similarly applicable to the ISDN primary interface.

[0074]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the scheduled time of the multipoint video conference is reached, the multipoint video conference is performed. The video conference terminals scheduled to participate in can start calling all at once, and the time required to connect all the video conference terminals can be significantly shortened.

According to the second invention of the present application, each of the multipoint communication terminals participating in the multipoint video conference holds the multipoint video conference according to the current time measured by the internal clock. The effect is that it is possible to identify the time and start calling all at once.

According to the third invention of the present application, since the waiting time information until the multipoint video conference is held is notified, the time of the internal clock of each video conference terminal participating in the multipoint video conference is notified. Even if they are different, there is an effect that it is possible to minimize the time lag between simultaneous calls.

According to the fourth invention related to the present application, since the calling can be started by the calling of another video conference terminal, some of the video conference terminals participating in the multipoint video conference can be started. Even if the value of the internal clock is incorrect, it is possible to minimize the time lag between simultaneous calls.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram for explaining main functions of a multipoint video conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a video conference terminal according to an embodiment of a multipoint video conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of conference information generated and transmitted in the video conference terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an incoming call process in the video conference terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a holding time monitoring processing procedure in the video conference terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a standby time monitoring processing procedure in the video conference terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a conference incoming call acceptance processing procedure in the video conference terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of multipoint connection (ring-shaped) when the multipoint conference control unit MCU is not used.

[Explanation of Codes] Meeting Information Notification Means Other Point Connection Means Meeting Holding Internal Clock Device Communication Device 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 Operation 5 Voice Input / Output 6 Voice Encoding / Decoding 7 Image Input / Output 8 image editing unit 9 image encoding / decoding unit 10 demultiplexing unit 11 line interface 12 channel interface ISDN integrated service digital network

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A multipoint video conference system in which a plurality of video conference terminals are connected in a ring shape or a chain shape via a digital line and a multipoint video conference is performed by these plural video conference terminals. , At least the video conference terminal that manages the multi-point video conference, and the connection information and the holding information of the multi-point video conference for a plurality of video conference terminals that participate in the multipoint video conference. Conference information notifying means for notifying the conference information including in advance, multipoint connection means for performing multipoint connection to a specific video conference terminal based on the connection information, and based on the holding information A multipoint video conference system comprising: a conference holding monitoring means for activating the multipoint connecting means at a conference opening time. 2. The holding information notified by the meeting information notifying means is holding time information of the multipoint video conference, and the meeting holding monitoring means measures time by the holding time information and an internal clock in the video conference terminal. The multi-point video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the time of holding the video conference is monitored by comparing the present time with the current time. 3. The holding information notified by the meeting information notifying means is waiting time information until the multipoint video conference is held, and the meeting holding monitoring means measures the elapsed waiting time to hold the meeting. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein time is monitored. 4. When an incoming call is received from a participating terminal of the multipoint video conference while waiting for the multipoint video conference to be held under the supervision of the conference holding monitoring means, The multipoint video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the multipoint connection means is activated.