JPH09116885A - Communication load management equipment for video conference system, its method and terminal equipment for video conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the communication load management equipment for video conference system in which a load for the video conference system and a communication channel used for it is relieved. SOLUTION: A communication load management processing unit for a video conference system decides a data format to image data from an image input device 19 and voice data from a voice input output device 20 based on priority stored in a RAM 14 by referencing a data format management table and processes the image data and voice data in response to the data format and sends the processed data. A data format of the image data and the voice data is described in the data format management table in cross reference with priority. As low priority is placed, a transmission frame number per unit time of image data is reduced and a transmission bit number of the voice data is reduced as lower priority is placed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to communication load management of a video conference system for managing the load of communication between a conference participant participating in a video conference using a video conference system and a conference participant at each point. The present invention relates to a device, a method thereof, and a terminal device of a video conference system for constructing a video conference system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A video conference system is a system which is installed at each point and executes a conference by communicating between terminal devices via a network. This system operates on a multi-window activated by each terminal device. To do.

Multimedia data including image data and audio data is transmitted and received between each terminal device of the video conference system, and the amount of the transmitted and received multimedia data becomes enormous.

Therefore, in addition to the method of compressing and transmitting each data in order to communicate a huge amount of data,
A method of using a dedicated line such as an ISDN line or providing a dedicated communication path for each data for individually transmitting and receiving image data and audio data is used.

[0005]

However, when there are many participants in the conference, communication with a much larger amount of data is performed, so that the load on the network further increases and the communication delay occurs due to the increase in the load. , Or the image and sound may be interrupted.

Further, when the communication data amount becomes enormous, the load on the video conference system becomes large, that is, the load on the terminal device constructing the system becomes large, and the execution of other applications by the terminal device becomes large. The operating environment of the terminal device is affected by the video conference system, such as being restricted.

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication load management apparatus and method for a video conference system capable of reducing the load on the video conference system and a communication line used therein.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device of a video conference system capable of reducing the load on the communication line.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
An information processing apparatus having an image input unit, a voice input unit, and a network communication unit connected to a communication line connecting a plurality of points is used in a video conference system constructed in a multi-window system, and a television using the video conference system. In a communication load management device of a video conference system that manages a communication load between a conference participant who participates in a conference and a conference participant at each point, a priority serving as a reference of a communication level for the conference participant is held. Priority holding means for changing the priority held in the priority holding means according to the state of speech of the conference participant, and updating the priority, and the image input means according to the priority. Set the data format to specify the communication data amount of the image data input to, and based on the data format, Image processing means for processing the image data input to the image input means, and a data format for defining the communication data amount of the audio data input to the audio input means according to the priority, and setting the data format. Audio processing means for processing the audio data input to the audio input means based on the format; and the network communication for transmitting the image data processed by the image processing means and the audio data processed by the audio processing means. And a communication control means for controlling the means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication load management device of the video conference system according to the first aspect, the number of frames per unit time, the number of colors, etc. are designated in the data format for the input image data. An item is included, and the data format for the input audio data includes an item for specifying a volume and the like.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication load management device of the video conference system according to the first or second aspect, the priority changing means sets the priority in accordance with a decrease in the frequency of speech of the conference participants. The image processing unit sets the data format so that the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input unit becomes smaller as the priority becomes lower. The processing means sets the data format so that the communication data amount of the voice data input to the voice input means decreases as the priority decreases.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video conference system in which an information processing device having an image input means, a voice input means, and a network communication means connected to a communication line connecting a plurality of points is constructed in a multi-window system. A communication load management method for a video conference system, wherein the conference participant manages a load of communication between a conference participant who participates in a video conference using the video conference system and a conference participant at each point, comprising: Holding priority in the priority holding means, which is the reference of the communication level, and changing the priority held in the priority holding means according to the utterance status of the conference participant, and updating the priority. The data format for defining the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means is set according to the priority, and A step of processing the image data input to the image input means based on the data format, and setting a data format for defining the communication data amount of the audio data input to the audio input means according to the priority. And processing the audio data input to the audio input means based on the data format, and controlling the network communication means to transmit the processed image data and the processed audio data. It is characterized by including.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the communication load management method for the video conference system according to the fourth aspect, the number of frames, the number of colors, etc. per unit time are designated in the data format for the input image data. An item is included, and the data format for the input audio data includes an item for specifying a volume and the like.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication load management method for a video conference system according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the priority is changed so as to decrease as the utterance frequency of the conference participants decreases. Then, the data format for the image data is set so that the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means decreases as the priority decreases, and the data format for the audio data is set to the priority. It is characterized in that the communication data amount of the voice data inputted to the voice input means becomes smaller as the degree becomes lower.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in a terminal device of a video conference system, image input means, audio input means, and network communication means connected to a communication line connecting a plurality of points are provided, and a multi-window system is provided. In a terminal device of a video conference system for constructing a video conference system, a communication load for managing a load of communication between a conference participant participating in a video conference using the video conference system and a conference participant at each point. Management means, wherein the communication load management means holds priority holding means for holding a priority that is a reference of a communication level for the conference participants, and holding the holding means in the holding means in accordance with a speech state of the conference participants. Communication of image data input to the image input unit according to the priority, and a priority changing unit that changes and updates the generated priority. A data format for defining the amount of data, image processing means for processing the image data input to the image input means based on the data format, and image processing means for inputting to the voice input means according to the priority. A data format for defining the communication data amount of the voice data, the voice processing means for processing the voice data input to the voice input means based on the data format, and the image processed by the image processing means. Communication control means for controlling the network communication means so as to transmit the data and the voice data processed by the voice processing means.

[0016]

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a terminal device of a video conference system of the present invention.

A terminal device for constructing a video conference system on a multi-window system is, as shown in FIG.
The information processing apparatus 10 includes a CPU 12 that executes calculations and processes based on control programs, application programs, data, etc. stored in the OM 11.

The control program stored in the ROM 11 includes an OS program for constructing a multi-window system, and the application program includes a video conference system program operating on the multi-window system.

The CPU 12 calculates and processes the data in R
The calculation and processing results of the CPU 12 are performed by expanding the work area provided in the AM 14 to the CRT 13.
And is stored in the external storage device (MD) 15.

Instructions to the CPU 12 are made by operating the keys of the keyboard (KB) 16 or the pointing device (PD) 17 connected to the keyboard 16. The keyboard 16 has various function keys, a numeric keypad, etc., and a pointing device 17
Consists of a mouse, etc.

The information processing device 10 includes an image input device (VC) 19 including a video camera for capturing images,
Audio input / output device (SND) 2 for recording and playing sound
0 and a network communication device (NSC) 18 for transmitting and receiving multimedia data including image data and audio data via a communication line 21 are connected.
A microphone and a speaker (not shown) are connected to the voice input / output device 20.

The information processing device 10 cooperates with the image input device 19, the audio input / output device 20, and the network communication device 18 to form a terminal device of the video conference system.

Next, a multi-window system constructed by the information processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the characteristics of the multi-window system constructed by the information processing apparatus of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the multi-window system has a screen 13 of a CRT 13 which is a physical display device.
A plurality of windows 2 which are virtual display areas on a
In this system, 3, 24 and 25 are independently formed. For example, the window 23 is composed of a logical screen buffer 26 having the number of lines and the number of digits corresponding to the number of lines and the number of digits that define the display area of the CRT 13, and the logical screen buffer 26 stores the data of the application 27 and the processing result thereof. Etc. are stored. The data of the application 27 stored in the logical screen buffer 26, the processing result thereof, and the like are displayed in the window 23.

Next, the video conference system constructed by the terminal device of the video conference system on the multi-window system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a video conference system constructed by a terminal device of the video conference system of FIG. 1 on a multi-window.

As shown in FIG. 3, the information processing device 10 connecting the image input device 19, the audio input / output device 20, and the network communication device 18 has hardware 30 (CPU).
12, including ROM 11, RAM 14, and the like), and software such as a multi-window system 31 and a video conferencing system 32 that operates on the multi-window system 31.

The video conference system 32 executes a communication load management process for managing the load of communication between the conference participants who participate in the video conference using the video conference system and the conference participants at each point.

In this communication load management process, a priority holding process for controlling the priority of the communication level for the conference participants to be held in the RAM 14 and a priority holding process in the RAM 14 according to the utterance status of the conference participants. The priority management processing for changing and updating the specified priority and the data format for defining the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input device 19 according to the priority are set, and the data format is set based on the data format. The image processing for processing the image data input to the image input device 19 and the data format for defining the communication data amount of the audio data input to the audio input / output device 20 according to the priority are set, and the data is set. Audio processing for processing audio data input to the audio input / output device 20 based on the format, processed image data and processed audio data. Includes a communication control process that controls the network communication device 18 to transmit audio data.

The hardware 30 includes the image input device 19,
When a data input from the voice input / output device 20 or the network communication management device 18 is detected, a hardware interrupt is generated. Input data from these devices is transmitted via the multi-window system 31 to the video conference system 32.
Passed to.

In the video conference system 32, the RAM 14
The data formats for the image data from the image input device 19 and the audio data from the audio input / output device 20 are determined by reading from the data format management table according to the priority held in the Data and voice data are processed and transmitted. The data format management table describes the data formats of the image data and the audio data in association with the priority, and the data format management table is stored in the RAM 14.

Next, the data format of the image data and the audio data associated with the priority will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data format management table used in the video conference system of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, each data format is described in the data format management table in association with the priority, and the data format includes an item for designating the number of frames to be transmitted per unit time of image data. It is composed of items for specifying the number of transmission bits of audio data.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, as the priority decreases, the number of frames of image data transmitted per unit time decreases, and similarly, as the priority decreases, the number of transmission bits of audio data decreases. For example, when the conference participants have the highest frequency of speech, the priority is “10 High.
“Est” is set, and in the data format for this priority, the generation of transmission image data of 30 frames per second is specified and the generation of 16-bit audio data is specified. According to this format, high-resolution moving images are transmitted and clear audio is transmitted.

On the other hand, when there is no speech from the conference participants, "00 Idle" is set as the priority, and the data format for this priority specifies the transmission of a still image and the non-transmission of voice data. To do. When the still image is transmitted once, the next image data is not transmitted until the priority is changed next. In addition, when the conference system is initialized, that is, when the conference starts,
The priority is set to “08 H-Normal”.

In this way, by setting the priority in accordance with the utterance status of the conference participants and determining the data format in accordance with the priority, the transmission data amount of image data and audio data becomes lower as the priority decreases. Will be less.

Next, the operation of the video conference system using the above-mentioned terminal device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of communication performed between each host configured by the terminal device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a flow of image data of a data format set according to priority between each host of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a priority changing process in the terminal device of FIG. In addition, this Embodiment demonstrates as an example the case where a video conference is held among three parties using the terminal device of FIG.

First, in the video conference, as shown in FIG. 5, hosts A, B and C respectively installed at three points participate in the conference, and the hosts A, B and C are the terminal devices shown in FIG. Composed of.

As a preparation before the start of the video conference, one of the hosts, for example, the host A first exchanges system check data with the other host, such as the hosts B and C, connected via the communication line. The system check data includes the data transmission time of each host B, C, and the host A determines each host B, C based on the system check data.
The time required to receive the transmission data is calculated based on the system time. The degree of congestion of the communication line is estimated from this calculated time, and the priority corresponding to the data format that does not increase the load of data transmission and reception is set for the conference participants on the host A side according to the estimation result. To be done. Similarly, in each of the hosts B and C, the priority for each conference participant is set.

When the video conference is started, each host A,
In B and C, the priority is changed according to the utterance status of the conference participants. At the beginning of the meeting, as mentioned above,
Each host A, B, C is set with a priority according to the congestion level of the communication line. However, after the conference starts, the priority of each host A, B, C depends on the state of speech of the participants of the conference. Will be changed accordingly.

In this priority changing process, as shown in FIG. 7, first, in order to estimate the speech state of the conference participants,
Voice input monitoring of the voice input / output device 20 is performed for a predetermined time (step S11).

Next, when there is a voice input from the voice input / output device 20 within the above-mentioned predetermined time (step S12), the priority is raised to the highest level (step S13), and the voice input monitoring of the voice input / output device 20 is again performed. Is performed for a predetermined time (step S11).

On the other hand, if there is no voice input from the voice input / output device 20 within the above-mentioned predetermined time (step S12), the priority is lowered to the next lower level (step S14),
The voice input monitoring of the voice input / output device 20 is performed again for a predetermined time (step S11).

For example, when the conference participants of the host A continue to speak for a predetermined time, the priority of the host A is set to the highest level, that is, "10 High" by the above priority changing process.
"est" and 3 per second depending on this priority
A data format that specifies the generation of 0-frame transmission image data and the generation of 16-bit audio data is determined.

When the data format is determined, the data processing corresponding to this data format is executed,
The processed image data and audio data are transmitted from the network communication device 18 to the other hosts B and C via the communication line 21. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
Image data representing a moving image of 30 frames per second and 16-bit audio data are transmitted from the host A to the hosts B and C.

On the other hand, since the conference participants of the hosts B and C are listening to the conference participants of the host A while the conference participants of the host A are speaking, the hosts B and C have the above-mentioned actions. The priority changing process gradually lowers the priority for each conference participant. The priority is finally set to "00 Idle", and the data format that specifies the transmission of a still image and the non-transmission of audio data is determined for this priority.

In each of the hosts B and C, "00 Idl
When the data format corresponding to the priority of "e" is determined, image data indicating a still image at the time of the determination is generated and the image data is transmitted, but the audio data is not transmitted. Once the image data showing the still image is transmitted, the next image data and audio data are not transmitted until the priority level next rises. Specifically, FIG.
As shown in, the host B sends a still image of the conference participant to the hosts A and C, and similarly, the host C sends a still image of the conference participant to the hosts A and B. To be done. The transmission of the still image from each of the hosts B and C is continued until the conference participant speaks.

As described above, since the priority is set for each of the hosts A, B, and C according to the utterance status of the conference participant and the data format corresponding to the priority is determined, the priority becomes low. As the utterance frequency of the conference participant decreases, the transmission data amount of the image data and audio data of the conference participant can be reduced, and the communication line 21 is not overloaded. Therefore, the load on the communication line 21 can be reduced.

Further, it is possible to reduce the load on each of the hosts A, B, C that construct the video conference system, that is, the terminal device, and the execution of other applications by the information processing device that constitutes the terminal device is restricted. The degree to which the operating environment of the terminal device is affected by the video conference system is reduced.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of image data in a data format set according to the priority between the respective hosts configured from the second embodiment of the terminal device of the video conference system of the present invention.

This embodiment has the same configuration as the terminal device of FIG. 1, and in this embodiment, the data format of image data and audio data associated with the priority is different from that of the first embodiment. .

Specifically, the data format is set so that the number of colors of image data decreases as the priority decreases and the number of transmission bits of audio data decreases. For example, for image data, as the priority decreases, the number of colors of image data becomes full color (636
(635 colors) → 32768 colors → 4096 colors → 256 colors. Note that the audio data has the same setting contents as in the first embodiment.

In the video conference, as shown in FIG. 8, hosts A, B and C respectively installed at three points participate in the conference, and each host A, B and C is composed of the terminal device shown in FIG. To be done.

When the conference participant of host A is speaking,
As shown in FIG. 8, full-color image data and 16
Bit audio data is transmitted from the host A to the hosts B and C. On the other hand, since the conference participants of the hosts B and C are listening to the speech of the conference participants of the host A, the priorities of the conference participants of the hosts B and C are gradually lowered, and Image data of 256 colors is transmitted from B to each of the hosts A and C, and similarly, image data of 256 colors is transmitted from the host C to each of the hosts A and B.

As described above, since the number of colors of image data is set to decrease gradually as the priority decreases, the conference participation decreases as the priority decreases, that is, the speaking frequency of the conference participants decreases. It is possible to reduce the amount of transmission of image data and voice data of a person, and the communication line 21 is not overloaded.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the number of frames or colors of image data and the number of bits of audio data are used as variables for defining the communication data amount according to the utterance status of the conference participants. Although they are used in combination, each of the following methods can be used instead of this.

First, as a first method, a still image of a conference participant is prepared in advance, a moving image is generated when the utterance frequency is high, that is, the priority is high, and the moving image is transmitted to the other party. There is a method of transmitting a prepared still image to the other party when the priority is low.

As a second method, a still image capable of identifying a conference participant is prepared, a moving image is generated when the priority is high and transmitted to the other party, and a moving image is prepared in advance when the priority is low. There is a method to send a still image to the other party.

As a third method, when the priority is high, a close-up image of the conference participant is generated and transmitted to the other party, and when the priority is low, the conference participant is displayed on the display screen of the other party. There is a method of designating the other party to display with an identifiable icon.

Further, as a fourth method, there is a method of changing the compression method of image data and audio data according to the priority.

[0061]

As described above, according to the communication load management apparatus of the first aspect, the priority holding means holds the priority as the reference of the communication level for the conference participants, and the priority changing means. The priority held in the priority holding means is changed and updated according to the utterance status of the conference participant, and the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means according to the priority is specified by the image processing means. A data format for processing the image data input to the image input means based on the data format, and the audio processing means determines the communication data amount of the audio data input to the audio input means according to the priority. A data format for prescribing is set, the voice data input to the voice input means is processed based on the data format, and is processed by the image processing means by the communication control means. Since the network communication means is controlled so as to transmit the image data and the voice data processed by the voice processing means, the transmission data amount of the image data and the voice data of the conference participant is controlled according to the speech condition of the conference participant. Therefore, the load on the communication line can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce the load on the information processing for constructing the video conference system, and the execution of other applications by the information processing is restricted.
The degree to which the operating environment of the information processing device is affected by the video conference system can be reduced.

According to the communication load management apparatus of the video conference system of the second aspect, the data format for the inputted image data includes the items for designating the number of frames per unit time, the number of colors, etc. Since the data format for the voice data includes items such as volume, the communication data amount can be easily managed by using these data formats.

According to the communication load management apparatus of the video conference system of the third aspect, the priority changing means changes the priority to lower as the utterance frequency of the conference participants decreases, and the image processing means. The data format is set so that the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means becomes smaller as the priority becomes lower, and the data is input to the voice input means as the priority becomes lower at the voice processing means. Since the data format is set so that the communication data amount of the voice data is reduced, the image data of the conference participants,
The amount of voice data to be transmitted can be reduced, and an extra load is not applied to the communication line.

According to the communication load management method of the fourth aspect, the priority serving as the reference of the communication level for the conference participants is held in the priority holding unit, and the priority holding unit is held according to the utterance status of the conference participants. The priority stored in the image input means is changed and updated, and a data format for defining the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means is set according to the priority, and the image input means is based on the data format. The image data input to the voice input means is processed, and the data format for defining the communication data amount of the voice data input to the voice input means is set according to the priority, and the data format is input to the voice input means based on the data format. Process the processed audio data and control the network communication means to transmit the processed image data and the processed audio data. The image data of the conference participants, it is possible to control the transmission data amount of audio data, it is possible to reduce the load on the communication line in accordance with the speech status of persons. In addition, it is possible to reduce the load on the information processing for constructing the video conference system, and to restrict the execution of other applications by the information processing, such as the extent to which the operating environment of the information processing device is affected by the video conference system. Can be made smaller.

According to the communication load management method of the video conference system described in claim 5, the data format for the input image data includes an item for designating the number of frames per unit time, the number of colors, etc. Since the data format for audio data includes an item for designating volume and the like, by using these data formats, it is possible to easily manage the communication data amount.

According to the communication load management method of the video conference system of claim 6, the priority is changed to be lower as the utterance frequency of the conference participants becomes lower, and the data format for the image data is set to the priority. Is set so that the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means becomes smaller as the audio data becomes lower, and the data format for the audio data is set to a lower value. Since the communication data amount is set to be small, the transmission data amount of image data and audio data of the conference participants can be reduced as the conference speaker's speech frequency decreases, and the communication line is not overloaded. It does not hang.

According to the terminal device of the video conference system described in claim 7, the load of the communication performed by the conference participants who participate in the video conference using the video conference system with the conference participants at each point is managed. In the communication load management means, a priority holding means for holding a priority that serves as a reference of the communication level for the conference participants, and the priority held by the priority holding means is changed according to the utterance status of the conference participants, The priority changing means to be updated and a data format for defining the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means according to the priority are set, and the image input to the image input means based on the data format is set. The image processing means for processing the data and the data format for defining the communication data amount of the voice data input to the voice input means according to the priority are set, and A voice processing means for processing voice data input to the voice input means based on the data format, and a network communication means for transmitting the image data processed by the image processing means and the voice data processed by the voice processing means Since the communication control means for controlling the conference participants is provided, it is possible to control the transmission data amount of the image data and audio data of the conference participants according to the state of speech of the conference participants, and reduce the load on the communication line. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a terminal device of a video conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the characteristics of a multi-window system constructed by the information processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a video conference system constructed by a terminal device of the video conference system of FIG. 1 on a multi-window.

4 is a diagram showing a data format management table used in the video conference system of FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a flow of communication performed between each host configured by the terminal device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of image data of a data format set according to a priority between the hosts of FIG.

7 is a flowchart showing a priority changing process in the terminal device of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of image data of a data format set according to priority between the respective hosts configured from the second embodiment of the terminal device of the video conference system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Information Processing Device 11 ROM 12 CPU 13 CRT 14 RAM 15 External Storage Device (MD) 16 Keyboard (KB) 17 Pointing Device 18 Network Communication Device (NSC) 19 Image Input Device (VC) 20 Voice Input / Output Device (SND)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus having an image inputting means, a voice inputting means, and a network communication means connected to a communication line connecting a plurality of points is used in a video conference system constructed in a multi-window system. In the communication load management device of the video conference system that manages the load of communication between the conference participants who participate in the video conference using the system and the conference participants at each point,
A priority holding unit that holds a priority that is a reference of a communication level for the conference participants, and a priority that changes and updates the priority held by the priority holding unit according to the utterance status of the conference participants. And a data format for defining the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means according to the priority, and the image input to the image input means based on the data format. An image processing unit for processing data and a data format for defining the communication data amount of the voice data input to the voice input unit according to the priority are set, and the voice input unit is set based on the data format. Audio processing means for processing the input audio data, the image data processed by the image processing means and the audio data processed by the audio processing means. Communication load management device of the video conference system, characterized in that it comprises a communication control unit which controls the network communication unit to transmit the audio data. 2. The data format for the input image data includes items for specifying the number of frames, the number of colors, etc. per unit time, and the data format for the input audio data specifies the volume and the like. The communication load management device of the video conference system according to claim 1, wherein items are included. 3. The priority changing means changes so that the priority is lowered as the utterance frequency of the conference participants decreases, and the image processing means changes the image according to the lower priority. The data format is set so that the communication data amount of the image data input to the input means is reduced, and the voice processing means sets the communication data of the voice data input to the voice input means in accordance with the lower priority. The data format is set so as to reduce the amount thereof.
A communication load management device for the described video conference system. 4. An information processing apparatus having an image input means, a voice input means, and a network communication means connected to a communication line connecting a plurality of points is used in a video conference system constructed in a multi-window system, and the video conference. In the communication load management method of the video conference system, which manages the load of communication between the conference participants who participate in the video conference using the system and the conference participants at each point,
A step of holding a priority, which is a reference of the communication level for the conference participant, in the priority holding means, and changing and updating the priority held in the priority holding means in accordance with the utterance status of the conference participant And a data format for defining the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means according to the priority, and the image data input to the image input means based on the data format. And a data format for defining the communication data amount of the voice data input to the voice input unit according to the priority, and the data input to the voice input unit based on the data format. Processing the audio data, and using the network communication to transmit the processed image data and the processed audio data. Communication load management method of the video conference system, characterized in that it comprises a step of controlling the means. 5. The data format for the input image data includes items for specifying the number of frames, the number of colors, etc. per unit time, and the data format for the input audio data specifies volume, etc. The communication load management method for a video conference system according to claim 4, wherein items are included. 6. The priority is changed so as to become lower as the utterance frequency of the conference participant becomes lower, and the data format for the image data is input to the image input means as the priority becomes lower. The communication data amount of the input image data is set to be small, and the data format for the audio data is set so that the communication data amount of the audio data input to the audio input unit becomes small as the priority becomes low. The communication load management method of the video conference system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein 7. A terminal device of a video conference system having an image input means, a voice input means, and a network communication means connected to a communication line connecting a plurality of points, and constructing a video conference system on a multi-window system. A communication load management unit that manages a load of communication between a conference participant who participates in a video conference using the video conference system and a conference participant at each point, and the communication load management unit includes the communication load management unit. Priority holding means for holding a priority as a reference of a communication level for a conference participant, and priority for changing and updating the priority held by the priority holding means according to the utterance status of the conference participant Changing means and a data format for defining the communication data amount of the image data input to the image input means according to the priority, Image processing means for processing the image data input to the image input means based on the data format, and a data format for defining the communication data amount of the audio data input to the audio input means according to the priority. And a voice processing unit that processes voice data input to the voice input unit based on the data format, and image data processed by the image processing unit and voice data processed by the voice processing unit are transmitted. And a communication control means for controlling the network communication means so that the terminal device of the video conference system.