JPH10336617A - Video conference system and video conference method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the delay of images to voice and to prevent the exertion of adverse effect on other communication systems. SOLUTION: The voice data and image data of a conference participant and standard image data when a speaker is not specified, etc., are registered in a data memory 22 and photographing conditions are set. When voice input from a present area is present, the voice data are transmitted to the other area through a network 14. Voice recognition is performed in a speech recognition part 36, and when the speaker is specified as the speaker already registered in the data memory 22 as a result, the pertinent image data are loaded from the data memory 22. When the speaker is not specified, corresponding to an image mode, the standard image data are loaded or the image data from an image preparation part 24 are inputted and the image data are transmitted to the other area. On the other hand, when the voice input from the other area is present, the image data from the other area are acquired. Then, in respective units 12 for video conference, corresponding to a recording mode, the voice data and the image data are processed by voice/image output device 40 and the data memory 42 for proceedings.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a TV conference system and a TV conference method, and more particularly to, for example, a TV conference system and a TV conference in which a plurality of districts use a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network to hold a TV conference.
Concerning the meeting method.

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional TV conference, a plurality of distant districts are connected via a network, and when a speech is made during the conference, voice data of the speaker and moving image data of the speaker are transmitted via the network. And sent to other districts.

[0002]

In this case, since the capacity of the moving image data is much larger than the capacity of the audio data,
Processing of moving image data has a delay compared to processing of audio data, and as a result, image delay occurs for audio. In addition, since the amount of communication on the network increases in addition to the load for controlling the TV conference system, in particular, when the TV conference system is configured using a network including a general-purpose line such as a telephone line instead of a dedicated line, However, there is a problem that the performance of another communication system configured using the network is deteriorated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a TV conference system and a TV conference method which have a small image delay with respect to audio and do not adversely affect other communication systems.

[0003]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a TV conference system for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network. In a TV conference system, each TV conference unit stores a first voice data and an image data for each participant of the conference, and a second voice corresponding to the voice when the voice is emitted in the local area. Speaker specifying means for specifying a speaker who has made a voice based on the voice data and the first voice data stored in the storage means, and the image data of the specified speaker and the second voice data are stored in all other areas. Data transmitting means for transmitting to the TV conference unit of the other area, data receiving means for receiving image data and second audio data from the TV conference unit of the other area when a voice is emitted in another area, and And an image data and audio and video output means for outputting an image and a sound corresponding respectively to the second audio data of the word's.

[0004] In this TV conference system, when a voice is uttered in a conference, the second voice data and storage means corresponding to the voice are transmitted by the speaker identifying means included in the TV conference unit in the district where the voice is radiated. The speaker is specified based on the first voice data stored in. The image data and the second voice data of the specified speaker are transmitted to the TV conference units in all other districts by the data transmitting means, and the TV conference units in the other districts transmit the data by the data receiving means. Receive. And each TV
In the conference unit, the corresponding image and sound are output by the sound / image output means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a TV conference system for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network. First for each participant in the conference
Storage means for storing voice data, ID data, and image data; when a voice is emitted in a local area, a voice is generated based on second voice data corresponding to the voice and first voice data stored in the storage means. Speaker identification means for identifying the speaking speaker, data transmitting means for transmitting the ID data of the identified speaker and the second audio data to the TV conference units in all other districts, and voice being emitted in other districts Data receiving means for receiving the ID data and the second audio data from the TV conference unit in another area, means for selecting image data corresponding to the ID data from image data stored in the storage means, And voice / image output means for outputting an image and a voice corresponding to the image data of the speaker and the second voice data, respectively.

In this TV conference system, when a voice is uttered in the conference, the second voice data corresponding to the voice and the storage means are stored in the TV conference unit of the TV conference unit in the district where the voice was uttered. The speaker is specified based on the first voice data stored in. The ID data and the second voice data of the specified speaker are transmitted to the TV conference units in all other districts by the data transmitting means, and the TV conference units in the other districts transmit the data by the data receiving means. Receive. And each TV
In the conference unit, the image data corresponding to the ID data is selected from the image data stored in the storage unit, and the image data and the second image data are output by the audio / image output unit.
Images and sounds corresponding to the sound data are output.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a TV conference system for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network. First for each participant in the conference
Storage means for storing voice data and image data; data transmission means for transmitting second voice data corresponding to voice to a TV conference unit in all other districts when voice is emitted in the own district; When the voice is issued, the data receiving means for receiving the second voice data from the TV conference unit in another area, and the voice is generated based on the second voice data and the first voice data stored in the storage means. A speaker specifying unit for specifying a speaker, and a voice / image output unit for outputting an image and a voice corresponding to the image data and the second voice data of the specified speaker, respectively, are provided.

In this TV conference system, when a voice is uttered in a conference, the data transmission means included in the TV conference unit in the district where the voice is radiated causes the second voice data corresponding to the voice to be transmitted to all other voice data. It is sent to the TV conference unit in the district, and the TV conference unit in other districts is
The second audio data is received by the data receiving means. In the TV conference unit in each district, the speaker is specified by the speaker specifying means based on the second voice data and the first voice data stored in the storage means. And each TV
In the conference unit, an image and a sound corresponding to the image data and the second sound data of the specified speaker are output by the sound / image output means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a TV conference system comprising: a control unit connected to a network;
T to hold a TV conference between multiple districts using a conference unit
A V conference system, wherein the control unit is a storage means for storing first voice data and ID data for each participant of the conference, and when a voice is emitted in any district, a TV conference unit in that district Voice data receiving means for receiving second voice data corresponding to voice from the user, and a speaker for specifying a speaker who has made a voice based on the received second voice data and the first voice data stored in the storage means. Identification means, and data transmission means for transmitting the ID data of the identified speaker and the second voice data to the TV conference units in all the districts, wherein each TV conference unit has an ID for each conference participant. Storage means for storing data and image data,
When a voice is emitted in the own area, voice data transmitting means for transmitting second voice data corresponding to the voice to the control unit, data receiving means for receiving the second voice data and ID data from the control unit, Means for selecting image data corresponding to the ID data from the image data stored in the storage means, and voice / image output for outputting an image and a voice corresponding to the image data of the speaker and the second voice data, respectively Means.

In this TV conference system, when a voice is emitted in the conference, the second voice data corresponding to the voice is transmitted to the control unit by the voice data transmitting means included in the TV conference unit in the district where the voice is generated. And the control unit receives the second audio data by the audio data receiving unit. In the control unit, the speaker specifying the speaker based on the received second voice data and the first voice data stored in the storage unit is specified by the speaker specifying unit. Then, the control unit transmits the ID data and the second voice data of the specified speaker to the TV conference units in all the districts by the data transmission means. Each TV conference unit receives the ID data and the second voice data from the control unit by the data receiving means. Then, image data corresponding to the ID data is selected from the image data stored in the storage means, and an image and a sound corresponding to the selected image data and the second sound data are output by the sound / image output means. Is done.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the TV conference system, the storage means of each TV conference unit further stores standard image data serving as image data when a speaker is unspecified, and each TV conference unit relates to a conference. Image creation means for creating image data, image mode setting means for setting image data to be adopted when the speaker is unspecified, if the image mode is `` mode to adopt standard image data when the speaker is unspecified '',
When the speaker is unspecified, means for outputting an image and a sound corresponding to the standard image data and the second audio data, respectively, and the image mode is "when the speaker is unspecified, adopts the image data created by the image creating means. 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: means for outputting an image and a sound corresponding to the image data and the second sound data created by the image creating means when the speaker is unspecified. Or a TV conference system described in In this TV conference system, standard image data or image data created by image creation means is used as image data when a speaker cannot be identified, depending on the image mode.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in each of the TV conference systems, each TV conference unit includes a recording unit for recording the image data and the second audio data of the speaker, and the image data and the second audio data of the speaker. Further comprising a recording mode setting means for setting whether to record by the recording means,
A TV conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. In this TV conference system, the image data and the second
In addition to outputting an image and a sound corresponding to the sound data, whether to record the data is set according to the processing mode.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the recording mode setting means further comprises means for setting whether to record only the second audio data or both the second audio data and the image data. The TV conference system according to claim 6, comprising: In this TV conference system, when recording data, it is set whether to record only the second audio data or to record both the image data and the second audio data.

[0014] A TV conference method according to claim 8 is a TV conference method for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network. (1) a step of storing voice data and image data, and when a voice is generated in a local area, a speaker who has generated a voice is identified based on the second voice data corresponding to the voice and the stored first voice data. Transmitting the image data and the second audio data of the identified speaker to all the TV conference units in the other districts; Receiving the image data and the second voice data of the speaker, and outputting the image and the voice corresponding to the image data and the second voice data of the speaker, respectively. To run in the door.

In this TV conference method, when a voice is uttered in the conference, the TV conference unit in the district where the voice was uttered converts the second voice data corresponding to the voice and the stored first voice data. The speaker is specified based on the speaker. The image data and the second audio data of the specified speaker are transmitted to all the TV conference units in other districts, and the TV conference units in other districts receive the data. Then, each TV conference unit outputs an image and a sound corresponding to the image data and the sound data of the speaker, respectively.

A TV conference method according to a ninth aspect is a TV conference method for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network. (1) a step of storing voice data, ID data, and image data; when a voice is uttered in the own area, a voice uttered based on the second voice data corresponding to the voice and the stored first voice data Identifying the speaker, transmitting the identified speaker's ID data and the second voice data to all the TV conference units in other districts, and when a voice is uttered in another district,
Receiving the ID data and the second audio data from the V conference unit;
The step of selecting the image data corresponding to the D data and the step of outputting the image and the sound corresponding to the image data of the speaker and the second sound data, respectively, are executed in each TV conference unit.

In this TV conference method, when a voice is uttered in a conference, the TV conference unit in the district where the voice is uttered converts the second voice data corresponding to the voice and the stored first voice data. The speaker is specified based on the speaker. The ID data and the second voice data of the specified speaker are transmitted to all the TV conference units in other districts, and the TV conference units in other districts receive the data. Then, in each TV conference unit, the image data corresponding to the ID data is selected from the stored image data, and the image and the sound corresponding to the image data and the second sound data are output.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a case where a TV conference is carried out between three districts, α district, β district and γ district. The TV conference system 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a TV conference unit 12 in each of an α area, a β area, and a γ area. Each TV conference unit 12 is connected via a network 14 using a telephone line or a dedicated line, and data transmission is performed by, for example, packet communication.

The TV conference unit 12 includes a unit main body 16 composed of a computer such as a personal computer and a workstation, a lens 18 and a microphone 20. The unit main body 16 includes a data memory 22. As the data memory 22, for example, a built-in memory or a PC card is used. In the data memory 22, a program for controlling the operation of the TV conference unit 12 is stored, and in addition, audio data and image data for each conference participant are registered. Standard image data, which is image data when the speaker is unspecified, is registered,
ID data specifying the speaker can also be registered. As the image data, for example, information with a small amount of data such as still image data of the face and upper body (see FIG. 2) of the person who registered the audio data and character information describing the name and profile are used. These image data may be constituted by not only image data but also text data. As the standard image data, information with a small amount of data is used, for example, image data created by taking an overview of the entire conference room in one of the districts, that is, photographing with a composition that overlooks the entirety, etc. Used.
Further, the data memory 22 stores an image mode flag and a recording mode flag described later.

The unit body 16 includes an image forming unit 24.
including. The lens 18 and the image creating unit 24 constitute an image creating unit. The image creation unit 24 includes a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, an amplification circuit, an A / D conversion circuit, a signal processing circuit, and the like (not shown). Then, the brightness of the subject received through the lens 18 is photoelectrically converted by the solid-state imaging device, and the image signal is output as an analog signal. This image signal is amplified by an amplifier circuit, then converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter circuit, and the digitized image signal is processed by a signal processing circuit to perform color adjustment and the like, thereby obtaining image data.
This image data is provided to a data control unit 34 (described later). The image data from the image creating unit 24 is particularly necessary when the speaker who is uttering the voice in the conference cannot be specified as the speaker registered in the data memory 22 (when the speaker is not specified). .

The unit body 16 has an image mode setting section 26. As the image mode setting unit 26, an arbitrary input means such as a keyboard or a mouse is used. For example, "a mode in which standard image data is adopted when the speaker is not specified" or "a mode created by the image generating means when the speaker is not specified" is used. Mode that employs image data ”. This image mode is represented by, for example, a 1-bit flag in the data memory 22. Further, the unit body 16 has a recording mode setting section 28. As the recording mode setting unit 28, any input means such as a keyboard and a mouse is used. Depending on the recording mode, whether to record data or not, and when recording data, whether to record only audio data or both audio data and image data is set. This recording mode is represented by, for example, a 2-bit flag in the data memory 22.

Further, the unit main body 16 has a voice input unit 30 to which a voice from the microphone 20 is input. The voice input unit 30 is an A / D conversion circuit and a filter for cutting off noise and passing the voice of the conference participant (both not shown).
including. The audio of the input analog information is digitally converted by an A / D conversion circuit, and noise is cut off by a filter. Accordingly, digitized voice data of the speaker is output from the voice input unit 30, and this voice data is output to the CPU 32.
, And further to the voice recognition unit 36 via the data control unit 34.

The voice recognition section 36 performs voice recognition by a known technique. The process of voice recognition in the voice recognition unit 36 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The voice recognition unit 36 registers a standard pattern obtained by processing voice data of a conference participant in the same manner as in voice recognition. Referring to FIG. 3, first, voice data obtained by digitizing the voice of the speaker is converted into a series of parameters that more clearly express the characteristics of the speaker (acoustic analysis). The parameters used at this time include speech energy, amplitude, Haltmann frequency, short-time spectrum, frequency spectrum, linear prediction parameter, pitch frequency, fundamental frequency, ceptoram, and the like. Next, averaging in the time axis direction, segmentation,
A fixed-length pattern vector is formed by processing such as associating a time with a standard pattern (pattern conversion).
Then, the distance between the pattern vector and the registered standard pattern of each speaker is calculated (comparison with the standard pattern). Finally, it is determined which speaker is the registered speaker (determination).

The result of the voice recognition by the voice recognition unit 36 is given to the data control unit 34. In the data control unit 34, image data (or ID data) to be output is selected according to the voice recognition result (the image is switched thereby), and the selected image data (or ID data) is output.
Is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34. The data control unit 34 transmits the selected image data (or ID data) and audio data to the data transmitting / receiving unit 3.
Give 8

The data transmission / reception section 38 supplies image data (or ID data) and audio data from the data control section 34 to the audio / image output device 40 and the conference record data memory 42 in accordance with the recording mode. The data transmitting / receiving unit 38 transmits image data (or ID data) and audio data to the TV conference unit 12 in another area via the network 14. Further, the data transmitting / receiving unit 38 receives the image data (or ID data) and the audio data from the TV conference unit 12 in another area, gives the data to the data control unit 34, and, according to the recording mode,
Audio / image output device 40 and conference record data memory 4
Give to 2.

The voice / image output device 40 outputs voice and image corresponding to voice data and image data of a speaker in the conference, respectively. The image is displayed, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows a case where Mr. A in the α area made a comment. In the data memory 42 for meeting minutes,
Depending on the recording mode, the voice data of the speaker at the conference, or both the voice data of the speaker at the conference and the image data related to the speaker are recorded.

Here, as the audio / image output device 40, a device having a speaker and a monitor (or display), for example, a TV receiver or a personal computer is used. Further, as the conference record data memory 42, a large-capacity recording medium such as a hard disk used for a computer is preferable, but a built-in memory or a PC card may be used. When a built-in memory or a PC card is used as the conference record data memory 42, the data memory 22 can also be used as the conference record data memory 42, and in that case, the conference record data memory 42 becomes unnecessary. In addition, the voice data of the speaker in the conference and the image data of the speaker may be recorded on the video recorder.

The TV conference system 1 configured as described above
0 indicates the district where the voice was uttered when the voice was previously recognized in the district where the voice was uttered to identify the speaker, and the voice data and image data of the specified speaker were transmitted to other districts (FIG. 5). When a speaker is identified in advance by voice recognition and the voice data and ID data of the specified speaker are transmitted to another district (FIG. 6), only the voice data is transmitted from the district where the voice is emitted to the other district. Each operation can be performed when transmitting and performing voice recognition in each area (FIG. 7).

First, referring to FIG. 5, each TV conference in the case where voice recognition is performed in advance in a district where a voice is uttered to specify a speaker, and voice data and image data of the speaker are transmitted to another district. The operation of the unit 12 will be described. First, when the power supply (not shown) of each TV conference unit 12 is turned on and the TV conference system 10 is started, the voice data of the conference participants, the corresponding image data, the standard image data when the speaker is unspecified, the voice The photographing conditions (for example, photographing time), the image mode, and the recording mode by the image creating means (lens 18 and image creating unit 24) when the speaker is unspecified are registered in the data memory 22, and when the speaker is not specified. Shooting conditions (for example,
The shooting position, composition, etc.) are set (step S).
1).

[0030] These data may be registered for each district, or data common to all districts may be registered.
When registering common data in all districts, first register data in a certain district, and then transmit the same data to other districts via the network 14, or record common data. There is a method of holding a recording medium for each area and writing data of the storage medium for each area.

If the image data of each participant and the standard image data when the speaker is unspecified are registered in the data memory 22 in advance, the sound corresponding to each participant can be recorded on the spot (for example, a conference hall for each district). ), The audio data corresponding to the image data can be registered in the data memory 22. In this case, the voice data from the microphone 20 can be registered in the data memory 22 and at the same time, the voice data can be subjected to predetermined processing by the voice recognition unit 36 and held as a standard pattern. In addition, necessary voice data and image data can be inputted on the spot using the image creating means and the microphone 20 and registered in the data memory 22. Further, when the speaker is unspecified, not only still image data but also moving image data for a predetermined time can be captured by the image creating means. When capturing moving image data, memory consumption can be reduced by continuously reproducing the captured moving image data when the speaker is not specified. That is, from the viewpoint of suppressing the data amount and the memory consumption, it is preferable that the photographing time when the speaker is unspecified is short.

The image mode and the processing mode can be registered in the same manner as the data described above.
The mode can be switched even during the operation of “0”. If these data and mode are registered in advance, there is no need to perform registration in step S1. These data registration methods and the like can be similarly applied to each operation described later.

Then, it is determined whether or not the registration / setting in step S1 is completed (step S3).
If the setting is not completed, wait until it is completed. When the operation of step S1 is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a voice input (step S5). At this time, the data control unit 3
Reference numeral 4 designates, as the voice input, the first one of the voice data from the voice input unit 30 and the voice data from another district received by the data transmitting / receiving unit 38. The same applies to an operation example described later. In step S5, if there is no voice input, the process waits until there is a voice input, and if there is a voice input, it is determined whether or not it is voice data from another district (step S7). If it is not voice data from another district, that is, if it is voice data of its own district, the voice data is transmitted to another district (step S9), and the voice recognition unit 3
In step 6, speech recognition is performed (step S11).

The data controller 34 determines whether or not the speaker can be specified as a speaker registered in the data memory 22 using the result of the voice recognition (step S13). If the registered speaker can be specified, the image data of the corresponding speaker is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S15), and the image data is transmitted to another area (step S17).

Then, the data control unit 34 determines the recording mode (step S19). If the recording mode is “only output data and do not record”, the data control unit 34 supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 40, and outputs the audio and image data from the audio / image output device 40. An image is output (step S21).
In the "output and record data" recording mode,
The data control unit 34 determines whether to record only the audio data (step S23). If the recording mode is "record only audio data", the audio data and the corresponding image data are supplied to the audio / image output device 40, and the audio data is supplied to the conference record data memory 42. Then, the audio and the image are output from the audio / image output device 40, and the audio data is recorded in the conference record data memory 42 (step S25). If the recording mode is "record audio data and image data", the data control unit 34
Supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 40 and the conference record data memory 42, and outputs the audio and image from the audio / image output device 40. Voice data and corresponding image data are recorded (step S2).
7).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that the speaker cannot be specified as a registered speaker, it is determined whether to adopt the registered standard image data when the speaker is not specified, that is, the image mode is determined (step S13). Step S29). If the image mode employs the standard image data, the standard image data when the speaker is not specified is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S31), and the standard image data is transmitted to another area (step S17). ), Step S
Proceed to 19. Then, as described above, the audio data and the standard image data are stored in step S2 according to the recording mode.
The processing is performed from 1 to S27.

If it is determined in step S29 that the standard image data is not used, that is, if the image mode uses the image data created by the image creating means, the image creating unit 24 outputs the image data when the speaker is not specified. Is input to the data control unit 34 (step S33), the image data from the image creating unit 24 is transmitted to another district (step S17), and the process proceeds to step S19.
Then, as described above, the audio data and the image data from the image creating unit 24 are processed in steps S21 to S27 according to the recording mode.

If it is determined in step S7 that voice data from another district has been input, image data from another district is obtained (step S35), and the flow advances to step S19. Then, as described above, the audio data and the image data from another area are processed in steps S21 to S27 according to the recording mode.

The TV conference system 10 operating as described above
According to the above, when the status of a conference is viewed through the audio / image output device 40 or recorded in the conference record data memory 42, the video data obtained by constantly photographing the video conference speaker is not used. At the time of identification, the data memory 2
When the speaker is unspecified, standard image data registered in the data memory 22 in advance or predetermined image data from the image creating unit 24 is used when appropriate speaker data is used from among the image data registered in step 2. Use image data.

As described above, since the image data having a smaller data amount than the moving image data obtained by constantly photographing the speaker in the conference is used as the image data, the image and audio are output from the audio / image output device 40 of each TV conference unit 12. Is output, the amount of delay of the image with respect to the audio can be reduced, and the user can view the video without discomfort. Further, since the communication amount on the network 14 is significantly reduced, the communication amount between the areas in the TV conference can be significantly reduced without adversely affecting other communication systems, so that the high-speed response TV conference system 10 can be realized. .

Further, when audio data and image data are recorded in the conference record data memory 42, the conference can be recorded with a smaller amount of memory and the minutes can be easily created. In addition, despite using such image data having a small data amount, it is possible to know exactly who is speaking at the meeting. Further, by setting the image mode, the user can select image data to be used when the speaker is unspecified. At this time, if the image data from the image creating unit 24 is used when the speaker is unspecified, it is possible to use image data that is effective in knowing the status of the conference, such as displaying the site of the conference.

By setting the recording mode, the user can either view the data and hold a meeting or record the data while holding the meeting. It is possible to select whether to record or to record both audio data and image data. In this way, utilization according to the needs of the user becomes possible.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, each TV conference in the case where voice recognition is performed in advance in a district where a voice is uttered to specify a speaker, and voice data and ID data of the speaker are transmitted to another district. The operation of the unit 12 will be described. First, when the power supply (not shown) of each TV conference unit 12 is turned on and the TV conference system 10 is started, the voice data of the conference participants, the corresponding image data, the standard image data when the speaker is unspecified, the ID The data, photographing conditions (for example, photographing time) by the image creating means when the speaker is unspecified, the image mode, and the recording mode are stored in the data memory 2.
2 and the shooting conditions (for example, shooting position, composition, etc.) by the image creating means when the speaker is unspecified are set (step S51). These data are desirably common in all districts, and at least the ID data specifying the speaker needs to be common in all districts. The method of registering data common to all districts is the same as the method described in step 1 of FIG.

Then, it is determined whether the registration / setting in step S51 is completed (step S53). If the registration / setting is not completed, the process waits until the registration / setting is completed. When the operation in step S51 is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a voice input (step S55). If there is no voice input, it waits until there is a voice input, and if there is a voice input, it is determined whether or not it is voice data from another district (step S5).
7). If it is not voice data from another district, that is, if it is voice data of the own district, the voice data is transmitted to another district (step S59), and voice recognition is performed by the voice recognition unit 36 (step S61).

The data controller 34 determines whether or not the speaker can be specified as a speaker registered in the data memory 22 using the result of the voice recognition (step S63). If the registered speaker can be specified, the ID data of the corresponding speaker is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S65), and the ID data is transmitted to another area (step S67). Thereafter, the image data corresponding to the ID data is loaded from the data memory 22 (step S69).

Then, the data control section 34 determines the recording mode (step S71). If the recording mode is “only output data and do not record”, the data control unit 34 supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 40, and outputs the audio and image data from the audio / image output device 40. An image is output (step S73).
In the "output and record data" recording mode,
The data control unit 34 determines whether to record only the audio data (step S75). If the recording mode is "record only audio data", the audio data and the corresponding image data are supplied to the audio / image output device 40, and the audio data is supplied to the conference record data memory 42. Then, audio and images are output from the audio / image output device 40, and audio data is recorded in the conference record data memory 42 (step S77). If the recording mode is "record audio data and image data", the data control unit 34
Supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 40 and the conference record data memory 42, and outputs the audio and image from the audio / image output device 40. Audio data and image data are recorded (step S79).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S63 that the speaker cannot be specified as a registered speaker, it is determined whether to use the registered standard image data when the speaker is not specified, that is, the image mode is determined (step S63). Step S81). If the image mode employs the standard image data, the ID data corresponding to the standard image data is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S83), and the process proceeds to step S67. Then, as described above, step S67
Through step S79.

In step S81, if the standard image data is not used, that is, if the image mode is to use the image data created by the image creating means, the image creating unit 24 determines the image data when the speaker is not specified. ID data corresponding to the image data of
(Step S85), and the process proceeds to step S67. Then, as described above, the processing is performed in steps S67 to S79. Step S57
If it is determined that voice data from another district has been input, ID data from another district is obtained (step S87), and the process proceeds to step S69. Then, as described above, the processing is performed in steps S69 to S79.

The TV conference system 10 operating as described above
According to this, the same effect as in the case of performing the operation shown in FIG. 5 can be obtained. In addition, since ID data having a smaller data amount than image data is transmitted from the area where the voice is emitted to other areas, the communication amount on the network is further reduced, and as a result, the influence on other communication systems is also reduced. It becomes even smaller.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, each TV conference unit 1 transmits only voice data from a district where a voice is emitted to another district and performs voice recognition in each district.
Operation 2 will be described. First, the power supply (not shown) of each TV conference unit 12 is turned on and the TV conference system 1 is turned on.
When 0 is activated, the voice data of the conference participant, the corresponding image data, the standard image data when the speaker is not specified, the shooting conditions (for example, shooting time) by the image creating means when the speaker is not specified, the image mode And the recording mode are registered in the data memory 22, and the photographing conditions (for example, photographing position, composition, etc.) by the image creating means when the speaker is not specified are set (step S101).
It is desirable that these data be common to all districts. Figure 5 shows how to register data common to all districts.
This is the same as the method described in step S1.

Then, registration and registration in step S101
It is determined whether the setting has been completed (step S10).
3) If the registration / setting is not completed, wait until it is completed. When the operation in step S101 is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a voice input (step S105). If there is no voice input, it waits until there is a voice input, and if there is a voice input, it is determined whether or not it is voice data from another district (step S107). If it is not the voice data from another district, that is, if it is the voice data of the own district, the voice data is transmitted to the other district (step S109), and the voice recognition unit 36 performs the voice recognition (step S111).
If it is determined in step S107 that the data is audio data from another district, the process directly proceeds to step S111.

The data controller 34 determines whether or not the speaker can be specified as a speaker registered in the data memory 22 using the result of the voice recognition (step S113). If the registered speaker can be specified, the image data of the corresponding speaker is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S115).

Then, the data control section 34 determines the recording mode (step S117). If the recording mode is “output data only and do not record”, the data control unit 34 provides the audio / image output device 40 with the audio data and the corresponding image data.
Output audio and images (step S11).
9). If the recording mode is “output and record data”, the data control unit 34 determines whether to record only audio data (step S121). If the recording mode is "record only audio data", the audio data and the corresponding image data are supplied to the audio / image output device 40, and the audio data is supplied to the conference record data memory 42. Then, the sound and the image are output to the sound / image output device 40.
The audio data output from the
(Step S123). If the recording mode is "record audio data and image data", the data control unit 34 supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 40 and the conference recording data memory 42, Audio and images are output from the output device 40, and audio data and image data are recorded in the conference record data memory 42 (step S12).
5).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S113 that the speaker cannot be specified as a registered speaker, it is determined whether to use the registered standard image data when the speaker is not specified, that is, the image mode is determined (step S113). Step S127). If the image mode employs the standard image data, the standard image data is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S129), and the process proceeds to step S117. Then, as described above, the processing is performed in steps S117 to S125.

If it is determined in step S127 that the standard image data is not used, that is, if the image mode is one in which the image data created by the image creating means is adopted,
Image data from the image creating unit 24 is input to the data control unit 34 as image data when the speaker is not specified (step S131), and the process proceeds to step S117. Then, as described above, the processing is performed in steps S117 to S125. According to the TV conference system 10 operating as described above, the same effect as in the case of performing the operation shown in FIG. 5 can be obtained, and only the audio data is transmitted from the area where the audio is emitted to other areas. The traffic on the network can be significantly reduced, and as a result, the influence on other communication systems is further reduced.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a TV between the three districts α, β and γ using the client / server system.
This shows the case where a meeting is held. The TV conference system 100 shown in FIG. 8 has a TV conference unit 102 serving as a client in each of the α district, the β district, and the γ district, and further, a control unit 104 serving as a server separately from them.
And each TV conference unit 102 and control unit 104 are connected via a network 106. T
The V-conference unit 102 is a unit body 108 composed of a computer such as a personal computer and a workstation.
And a microphone 110 connected to the unit main body 108.

The unit body 108 has a data memory 112
including. As the data memory 112, for example, a built-in memory or a PC card is used. Data memory 112
1 stores a program for controlling the operation of the TV conference unit 102, and also registers the same audio data, image data, ID data, and recording mode as those in the data memory 22 shown in FIG. The unit body 10
8 has a recording mode setting unit 114. The recording mode setting unit 114 is configured similarly to the recording mode setting unit 26,
Used to set the recording mode.

The unit main body 108 is connected to the microphone 11
It has a voice input unit 116 to which voice from 0 is input.
The voice input unit 116 has the same configuration as the voice input unit 30 shown in FIG. 1. The voice input unit 116 outputs digitized voice data of the speaker, and the data control unit 118 includes a CPU. The data is transmitted over the network 106 via the transmission / reception unit 120 and is transmitted to the control unit 1.
04. Further, the data transmitting / receiving unit 120 receives the voice data and the ID data from the control unit 104 via the network 106, and gives the ID data to the data control unit 118. The data control unit 118
The image data corresponding to the D data is loaded from the data memory 112 and provided to the data transmitting / receiving unit 120.

The data transmission / reception unit 120 converts the received image data and audio data into audio / audio data according to the recording mode.
Image output device 122 and conference record data memory 124
Give to. The audio / image output device 122 and the conference record data memory 124 are provided in the audio / image output device 40, respectively.
The configuration is the same as that of the conference record data memory 42.
The control unit 104 includes a computer such as a personal computer and a workstation, and functions as a server.

The control unit 104 includes the data memory 12
6. As the data memory 126, for example, a built-in memory or a PC card is used. Data memory 1
In 26, a program for controlling the operation of the control unit 104 is stored, and in addition, voice data of a conference participant and ID data corresponding thereto are registered. Also,
The control unit 104 has a voice / ID transmitting / receiving unit 128. The voice / ID transmission / reception unit 128 receives voice data from the area where the voice was emitted via the network 106, and provides the voice data to the voice recognition unit 134 via the speaker identification control unit 132 of the CPU 130. The voice recognition unit 134 has the same configuration as the voice recognition unit 36 shown in FIG. 1, and the speaker identification control unit 132 loads the corresponding ID data from the data memory 126 according to the recognition result. The ID data is transmitted together with the voice data from the voice / ID transmission / reception unit 128 to each district via the network 106.

The TV conference system 1 thus configured
The operation of 00 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the operation of the TV conference unit 102 on the client side, that is, in each district, will be described with reference to FIG. When the power (not shown) of each TV conference unit 102 and control unit 104 is turned on and the TV conference system 100 is started, voice data of the conference participants, corresponding image data, standard image data when the speaker is not specified , ID data,
The recording mode is registered in the data memory 112 (Step S201).

These data and mode can be registered in the same manner as in step S1 of FIG. At least the ID data needs to be common to the TV conference unit 102 and the control unit 104 in all areas. I
As a method of registering the D data, for example, first, common ID data is determined and registered between the TV conference unit 102 and the control unit 104 in a certain area, and the I data is registered.
The D data may be registered in the TV conference unit 102 in another area.

Then, it is determined whether or not the registration in step S201 is completed (step S203). If the registration is not completed, the process waits until the registration is completed. Step S
When the operation of 201 is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a voice input (step S205). If there is no voice input, the process waits until there is a voice input. If there is a voice input, it is determined whether or not the data is voice data from the server, that is, the control unit 104 (step S207). If it is not audio data from the server, that is, if it is audio data of your area,
The voice data is transmitted to the server via the network 106 (step S209), and the process returns to step S205. In response, the server performs the operation of FIG. 10 described later.

If it is determined in step S207 that the data is audio data from the server, it is determined whether ID data corresponding to the audio data has been received from the server (step S211). If you can receive ID data,
The image data corresponding to the ID data is stored in the data memory 1
12 to the data control unit 118 (step S
213). At this time, if the ID data is the ID data when the speaker is not specified, the standard image data is loaded.

Then, the recording mode is determined by the data control unit 118 (step S215). If the recording mode is “only output data and do not record”, the data control unit 118 supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 122, and outputs the audio and image data from the audio / image output device 122. An image is output (step S217). If the recording mode is "output and record data", the data control unit 118 determines whether to record only audio data (step S219).
In the “record only audio data” recording mode, the audio data and the corresponding image data are supplied to the audio / image output device 122, and the audio data is stored in the conference record data memory 1.
Give 24. Then, audio and images are output from the audio / image output device 122, and audio data is recorded in the conference record data memory 124 (step S221).
If the recording mode is "record audio data and image data", the data control unit 118 supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 122 and the conference record data memory 124, and outputs the audio / image data. Audio and images are output from the output device 122, and audio data and image data are recorded in the conference record data memory 124 (step S223).

On the other hand, if the ID data cannot be received in step S211, the process proceeds to step S215, and only the audio data is stored in step S21 according to the recording mode.
7 to step S223.

Next, the operation of the server side, that is, the operation of the control unit 104 will be described with reference to FIG. When the power (not shown) of each TV conference unit 102 and control unit 104 is turned on and the TV conference system 100 is started, the voice data of the conference participants and the ID corresponding thereto are displayed.
The data is registered in the data memory 126 (step S
251). These data can be registered in the same manner as in step S1 of FIG.

Then, it is determined whether or not the registration in step S251 has been completed (step S253). If the registration has not been completed, the process waits until the registration is completed. Step S
When the operation of S 251 is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a voice input (step S 255). If there is no voice input, the process stands by until there is a voice input, and if there is a voice input, the voice recognition unit 134 performs voice recognition (step S25).
7). The speaker identification control unit 132 determines whether the speaker can be identified as a speaker registered in the data memory 126 using the result of the voice recognition (step S259).
If the registered speaker can be identified, I
D data from the data memory 126 to the speaker identification control unit 1
32 (step S261), and the network 1
Then, the voice data and the ID data are transmitted to each client via 06 (Step S263), and Step S255 is performed.
Return to

On the other hand, if the speaker cannot be identified as a registered speaker in step S259, it is determined whether or not the ID data when the speaker is not specified is registered in data memory 126 (step S265). . If the speaker's unspecified ID data is registered, the speaker's unspecified ID data is loaded from the data memory 126 into the speaker specifying control unit 132 (step S267), and the process proceeds to step S263. In step S265, if the ID data when the speaker is not specified is not registered, only the voice data is transmitted to each client via the network 106 (step S269), and the process returns to step S255. Each client performs the above-described operation of FIG. 9 according to the transmission status from the server.

According to the TV conference system 100, the voice recognition processing is performed only by the server, that is, the control unit 104, but not by the client, that is, the TV conference unit 102. The TV conference system 100 can be configured.
Also, in the TV conference system 100, the TV
As with the conference system 10, an effect obtained by using image data having a small data amount, an effect obtained by using ID data, and an effect obtained by setting a recording mode are obtained.

The TV conference system 100 further includes
If a lens 18, an image creating unit 24, and an image mode setting unit 26 similar to those in the TV conference system 10 are added, the image data created by the image creating means can be used when the speaker is unspecified. As with the conference system 10, the effect of setting the image mode is obtained. In the TV conference system 100 described above, the ID data is transmitted from the control unit 104 to each TV conference unit 102 based on the voice recognition result. However, the image data is transmitted based on the voice recognition result. Is also good. In this case, it is assumed that the control unit 1
The image data is registered in the data memory 126 of FIG.

Further, the TV conference system 10 shown in FIG.
May be used as follows to carry out a TV conference among three districts, α district, β district, and γ district. In the TV conference system 10 shown in FIG.
Among the TV conference units 12 in the district, a TV conference unit 12 that performs voice recognition processing is set, and the other TV conference units 12 do not perform voice recognition processing. That is, a certain TV conference unit 12 is made to have both functions of a client and a server, and other TV conference units are used.
The conference unit 12 functions as a client.
Hereinafter, the TV conference unit 12 serving both as a client and a server is referred to as a server TV meeting unit 12a.

Therefore, if a voice is emitted in a certain area, the voice data is transmitted to the TV conference unit 1 in that area.
2 is transmitted to the server / TV conference unit 12a. Then, the server / TV conference unit 12a performs voice recognition processing, and based on the result, executes the server / TV conference.
The V conference unit 12a transfers the data to the T
It is transmitted to the V conference unit 12.

Since the TV conference operated as described above can be performed using the TV conference system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the description of the configuration is omitted. The operation in this case will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the operation of the TV conference unit 12 functioning as a client will be described with reference to FIG. Each TV conference unit 12
When the power supply (not shown) of the server / TV conference unit 12a is turned on and the TV conference system 10 is started,
Audio data of the meeting participants, corresponding image data,
Standard image data and ID data when the speaker is unspecified, shooting conditions (for example, shooting time) by the image creating means when the speaker is unspecified, an image mode, and a recording mode are registered in the data memory 22. Further, the photographing conditions (for example, photographing position, composition, etc.) by the image creating means when the speaker is unspecified, and the server / TV conference unit 12a are set (step S301).

These data and mode can be registered and set in the same manner as in step S1 of FIG. Then, it is determined whether the registration / setting in step S301 is completed (step S303). If the registration / setting is not completed, the process waits until the registration / setting is completed. When the operation in step S301 is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a voice input (step S305). If there is no voice input, the process waits until there is a voice input. If there is a voice input, it is determined whether or not the voice data is from the server / TV conference unit 12a (step S307). If it is not the audio data from the server / video conference unit 12a, that is, if it is the audio data of the own area, the audio data is transmitted to the server / video conference unit 12a via the network 106 (step S309). It returns to S305. Accordingly, the server / TV conference unit 12
a performs the operation of FIG. 12 described later.

In step S307, the server T
If the audio data is from the V conference unit 12a, it is determined whether ID data corresponding to the audio data has been received from the server / TV conference unit 12a (step S311). If the ID data can be received, the corresponding image data is transferred from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34.
(Step S313). At this time, if the speaker can be specified as a speaker registered in the data memory 22, the image data of the corresponding speaker is loaded from the data memory 22.

On the other hand, if the speaker cannot be specified as a registered speaker, it is determined whether or not to use the registered standard image data when the speaker is not specified, that is, the image mode is determined. If the image mode employs the standard image data, the standard image data when the speaker is not specified is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34. On the other hand, if the image mode does not employ the standard image data, that is, if the image mode employs the image data created by the image creating means, the image data from the image creating section 24 is used as the image data when the speaker is not specified. 34.

Then, the data control section 34 determines the recording mode (step S315). If the recording mode is “output data only and do not record”, the data control unit 34 provides the audio / image output device 40 with the audio data and the corresponding image data.
Output audio and images (step S31).
7). If the recording mode is "output and record data", the data control unit 34 determines whether to record only audio data (step S319). If the recording mode is "record only audio data", the audio data and the corresponding image data are supplied to the audio / image output device 40, and the audio data is supplied to the conference record data memory 42. Then, the sound and the image are output to the sound / image output device 40.
The audio data output from the
(Step S321). If the recording mode is "record audio data and image data", the data control unit 34 supplies the audio data and the corresponding image data to the audio / image output device 40 and the conference recording data memory 42, Audio and images are output from the output device 40, and audio data and image data are recorded in the conference record data memory 42 (step S32).
3).

On the other hand, if the ID data cannot be received in step S311, the process proceeds to step S315, and only the audio data is stored in step S31 according to the recording mode.
7 to step S323.

Next, referring to FIG.
The operation of the V conference unit 12a will be described. Each TV conference unit 12 and server / TV conference unit 1
2a is turned on (not shown) and the TV conference system 10 is turned on.
Is activated, the voice data of the conference participants, the corresponding image data, the standard image data when the speaker is unspecified, the ID
Data, photographing conditions (for example, photographing time) by the image creating means when the speaker is unspecified, an image mode, and a recording mode are registered in the data memory 22. Furthermore, shooting conditions by the image creating means when the speaker is unspecified (for example,
The position for shooting, composition, etc.) and the server / TV conference unit 12a are set (step S351).
These data and mode can be registered and set in the same manner as in step S1 of FIG.

Then, the registration /
It is determined whether the setting has been completed (step S35).
3) If the registration / setting is not completed, wait until it is completed. When the operation in step S351 is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a voice input (step S355). If there is no voice input, the process waits until there is a voice input, and if there is a voice input, the voice recognition unit 36 performs voice recognition (step S357). The data control unit 34 determines whether or not the speaker can be specified as a speaker registered in the data memory 22 using the result of the voice recognition (step S359).
If the registered speaker can be identified, I
The D data is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S361), and the voice data and the ID data are transmitted to the TV conference unit 12 in another area via the network 14 (step S363).

Then, the image data corresponding to the ID data is loaded from the data memory 22 (step S36).
5). At this time, if the ID data is the ID data at the time of specifying the speaker, the image data of the speaker corresponding to the ID data is loaded from the data memory 22.

Then, the data control section 34 determines the recording mode (step S367). If the recording mode is “output data only and do not record”, the data control unit 34 provides the audio / image output device 40 with the audio data and the corresponding image data.
Output a voice and an image (step S36).
9). If the recording mode is “output and record data”, the data control unit 34 determines whether to record only audio data (step S371). If the recording mode is "record only audio data", the audio data and the corresponding image data are supplied to the audio / image output device 40, and the audio data is supplied to the conference record data memory 42. Then, the sound and the image are output to the sound / image output device 40.
The audio data output from the
(Step S373). If the recording mode is “record audio data and image data”, the data control unit 34 converts the audio data and the corresponding image data into
Audio / image output device 40 and conference record data memory 4
2, the sound / image output device 40 outputs sound and image, and the meeting record data memory 42 records sound data and image data (step S37).
5).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S359 that the speaker cannot be specified as a registered speaker, it is determined whether or not the ID data when the speaker is not specified is registered in the data memory 22 (step S377). . If the speaker's unspecified ID data is registered, the speaker's unspecified ID data is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34 (step S379), and the process proceeds to step S363, as described above. The processing is performed in steps S363 to S375.

Here, in step S365, the corresponding image data is loaded from the data memory 22. At this time, if the ID data is the ID data when the speaker is unspecified, it is determined whether to use the registered standard image data, that is, the image mode is determined. If the image mode employs the standard image data, the standard image data when the speaker is not specified is loaded from the data memory 22 to the data control unit 34. On the other hand, if the image mode does not employ the standard image data, that is, if the image mode employs the image data created by the image creating means, the image data from the image creating section 24 is used as the image data when the speaker is not specified. 34.

In step S377, if the ID data when the speaker is not specified is not registered, only the voice data is transmitted to the TV conference unit 12 in another area via the network 106 (step S381), and the flow advances to step S367. Proceeding and processing is performed in steps S367 through S375 as described above.

The TV conference system 10 operating as described above
According to the above, the specific TV conference unit 12 is used as the server TV conference unit 12a, so that there is no need to separately provide a control unit serving as a server. Also, in the TV conference system 10 operating as described above, the same effect as in the case of performing the operation in FIG. 5 can be obtained. In the TV conference system 10 performing the operations in FIGS. 11 and 12, ID data based on the voice recognition result is transmitted from the server / TV conference unit 12a to each TV conference unit 12, but based on the voice recognition result. Image data may be transmitted.

As shown in FIG. 13, the output mode of the image from the audio / image output device is such that an area for each district is provided on the screen and only the image of the district where the speaker is present is output. Is also good. FIG. 13 shows a situation where Mr. A made a statement in the α district and no comment in other districts, and “a standard image without sound” is output to each area on the screen of the β district and γ district. Have been. In the embodiments of the invention described above, the TV conference system including the audio / image output device and the conference record data memory has been described. However, both the audio / image output device and the conference record data memory are not necessarily provided. It is not necessary to provide at least an audio / image output device.

Further, in each of the embodiments of the present invention described above, the audio data and the corresponding image data may be associated with each other by time data obtained by measuring the speech time. In this way, an image related to a certain speaker is output while the speaker is speaking, and the image output is switched when the speaker changes. In this manner, the sound and the image are accurately associated with each other based on the time data, and the image can be switched according to the change of the speaker.

For associating the audio data with the image data, for example, the same numbers are assigned to the corresponding audio data and the image data, respectively, and these numbers are used when outputting and recording the audio data and the image data. , The audio data and the image data may be output and recorded in an accurate correspondence. Also, the audio data and the image data may be arranged in the order of input without associating them with special information, and the image data may be switched every time the audio data is switched (the speaker is switched). As described above, audio data and image data can be associated with each other by various means.

Further, the image creating means is not limited to one that creates image data by shooting, but can create image data by any method. Further, during the meeting, each speaker is photographed in each district where the voice was emitted, image data of the speaker is created, and the image data is associated with the voice data of the speaker and transmitted to each district, The audio and image output device may output audio and images, and record the audio data and the image data in the conference record data memory. The image data at this time is preferably still image data or the like from the viewpoint of suppressing the data amount. Further, the standard image data may be recorded in a memory separate from the data memory 22 (112).

[0092]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the image data having a small data amount stored in the storage means in advance is used as the image data, the degree of the delay of the image with respect to the sound can be reduced. In addition, since the amount of communication on the network is reduced, the influence on other communication systems can be reduced even when the network is constructed using a telephone line or the like that is not a dedicated line. According to the second aspect of the invention, the same effect as the first aspect of the invention can be obtained. In addition, since the ID data, not the image data corresponding to the audio data, is transmitted to another area, the traffic on the network can be reduced, and the influence on other communication systems can be reduced.

According to the invention set forth in claim 3, according to claim 1
The same effect as the invention described in (1) is obtained. In addition to it,
Since image data and ID data are not transmitted and only audio data is transmitted, the traffic on the network can be further reduced, and the influence on other communication systems can be further reduced. According to the fourth aspect, the same effect as that of the first aspect is obtained. In addition, since each TV conference unit does not need to perform voice recognition processing,
The V conference unit can be simplified.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even when the speaker is unspecified, any one of "standard image data" or "appropriate image data from the image creating means" is set depending on the image mode setting of the user. Can be selected and used as image data. Therefore, even when the speaker is unspecified, an image according to the user's request can be output. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to set whether to output only sound and images or to also record data by setting the recording mode by the user. Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 7, it is possible to set whether to record only audio data or to record both audio data and image data. Thus, data processing according to the user's request can be performed.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since image data having a small amount of data stored in advance is used as image data, the degree of image delay with respect to audio can be reduced. In addition, since the amount of communication on the network is reduced, the influence on other communication systems can be reduced even when the network is constructed using a telephone line or the like that is not a dedicated line. According to the ninth aspect, the eighth aspect is provided.
The same effect as the invention described in (1) is obtained. In addition to it,
Since ID data, not image data corresponding to audio data, is transmitted to another area, the traffic on the network can be reduced, and the influence on other communication systems can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a TV conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative view showing one example of image data registered in a data memory;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining a speech recognition process in a speech recognition unit.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing one example of an image output from an audio / image output device;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the TV conference system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the TV conference system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the TV conference system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a TV conference system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the TV conference unit of the TV conference system of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control unit of the TV conference system in FIG. 8;

11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the TV conference unit of the TV conference system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server and TV conference unit of the TV conference system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing another example of the image output from the audio / image output device;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 100 TV conference system 12, 102 TV conference unit 12a Server / TV conference unit 14, 106 Network 18 Lens 20, 110 Microphone 22, 112, 126 Data memory 24 Image creation unit 26 Image mode setting unit 28, 114 Recording Mode setting unit 30, 116 Voice input unit 34, 118 Data control unit 36, 134 Voice recognition unit 38, 120 Data transmission / reception unit 40, 122 Voice / image output device 42, 124 Data memory for conference recording 104 Control unit 128 Voice / ID Transceiver 132 Speaker control unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A TV conference system for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network, wherein each of the TV conference units includes a first video conference unit for each conference participant. Storage means for storing voice data and image data; when a voice is emitted in the own area, the voice based on second voice data corresponding to the voice and the first voice data stored in the storage means; Speaker identifying means for identifying the speaker who has issued the data, data transmitting means for transmitting the image data and the second voice data of the identified speaker to all the TV conference units in other districts, Data receiving means for receiving image data and second audio data from the TV conference unit in the other district when a voice is emitted, and the image data and the second audio data of the speaker; Comprising audio and image output means for outputting an image and a sound corresponding respectively to the data, TV conference system. 2. A TV conference system for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts by using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network, wherein each of the TV conference units includes a first TV conference unit for each conference participant. Storage means for storing voice data, ID data and image data, based on second voice data corresponding to the voice and the first voice data stored in the storage means when a voice is emitted in a local area Speaker identification means for identifying the speaker who has uttered the voice, data transmission means for transmitting the ID data and the second voice data of the identified speaker to all the TV conference units in other districts, Data receiving means for receiving ID data and second voice data from the TV conference unit in the other district when voice is emitted in the other district, the image stored in the storage means Means for selecting image data corresponding to the ID data from the data, and audio / image output means for outputting an image and audio corresponding to the image data and the second audio data of the speaker, respectively. , TV conference system. 3. A TV conference system for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network, wherein each of the TV conference units includes a first video conference unit for each conference participant. Storage means for storing voice data and image data; data transmission means for transmitting second voice data corresponding to the voice to all the TV conference units in other districts when voice is emitted in the own district; Data receiving means for receiving the second voice data from the TV conference unit in the other area when voice is generated in the second area, based on the second voice data and the first voice data stored in the storage means. Speaker identifying means for identifying the speaker who uttered the audio, and outputs an image and a sound corresponding to the image data and the second audio data of the identified speaker, respectively. Comprising audio and image output means for, TV conference system. 4. A method for controlling a time interval between a plurality of districts using a control unit and a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network.
A TV conference system for performing a V conference, the control unit comprising: storage means for storing first voice data and ID data for each participant of the conference; T
Voice data receiving means for receiving second voice data corresponding to the voice from the V-conference unit; and outputting the voice based on the received second voice data and the first voice data stored in the storage means. Speaker identifying means for identifying the speaker who has made the speech, and data transmitting means for transmitting the ID data and the second voice data of the identified speaker to the TV conference units in all districts, The TV conference unit has storage means for storing ID data and image data for each participant in the conference, and transmits the second voice data corresponding to the voice to the control unit when a voice is emitted in the own area. Audio data transmitting means, the second audio data from the control unit and the ID
Data receiving means for receiving data and data; means for selecting image data corresponding to the received ID data from the image data stored in the storage means; and the image data and the second voice data of the speaker And audio to output images and audio corresponding to
A TV conference system including an image output unit. 5. The storage means of each TV conference unit further stores standard image data serving as image data when a speaker is unspecified, and each TV conference unit creates image data relating to the conference. Image creating means, image mode setting means for setting image data to be adopted when the speaker is unspecified, if the image mode is "mode to adopt standard image data when the speaker is unspecified", Means for outputting an image and a sound corresponding to the image data and the second sound data, respectively, and if the image mode is "a mode in which the image data created by the image creating means is adopted when the speaker is not specified", Means for outputting an image and a sound corresponding to the image data and the second sound data created by the image creating means, respectively, when the speaker is unspecified The TV conference system according to claim 1, further comprising: 6. The TV conference unit comprises: a recording unit for recording the image data of the speaker and the second audio data; and the recording unit for recording the image data and the second audio data of the speaker. The TV conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a recording mode setting unit that sets whether or not to perform recording. 7. The recording mode setting means according to claim 6, further comprising means for setting whether to record only said second audio data or to record both said second audio data and said image data. The TV conference system according to the above. 8. A TV conference method for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network, wherein first audio data and image data are stored for each participant of the conference. When a voice is uttered in the own area, a step of specifying the speaker who uttered the voice based on the second voice data corresponding to the voice and the stored first voice data, Transmitting the image data and the second audio data of the speaker to all the TV conference units in the other districts; when a voice is uttered in another district, the image from the TV conference unit in the other district is transmitted; Receiving the data and the second voice data, and outputting the image and the voice corresponding to the image data and the second voice data of the speaker, respectively, Run on the meeting unit,
TV conference method. 9. A TV conference method for performing a TV conference between a plurality of districts using a plurality of TV conference units connected to a network, the first voice data, the ID data, and the image data for each participant of the conference. And when a voice is uttered in the own district, a step of specifying a speaker who has uttered the voice based on the second voice data corresponding to the voice and the stored first voice data. Transmitting the ID data and the second voice data of the identified speaker to all the TV conference units in other districts; when a voice is uttered in another district, the TV conference unit in the other district is transmitted; Receiving the ID data and the second audio data from the MFP, selecting image data corresponding to the ID data from the stored image data, and saying Wherein an image and outputting a voice corresponding respectively to the image data and the second audio data executed by the TV conferencing unit, TV conference method.