JPH11215479A - Multiple point video conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain simultaneous multiple address conference in a short time at all terminals placed at multiple points. SOLUTION: In a multiple point video conference system, a plurality of communication terminals are arranged hierarchically from a host terminal to subordinate terminals. Since the host terminal registers destination addresses of subordinate terminals to attain simultaneous multiple address transmission from the host terminal toward the subordinate terminals without the use of complicated protocols, the communication channel cost is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice communication between a plurality of communication terminals located at multiple points via a digital communication line.
The present invention relates to video and data communication, and more particularly to a multipoint video conference system in which an upper terminal can call a lower terminal by registering a destination address of the lower terminal in an upper terminal among three or more communication terminals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of simultaneous broadcast transmission in a conventional multipoint video conference system. According to this, in order to transmit a broadcast simultaneously, connection negotiations for sending and receiving must be performed between the highest-order A1 terminal and the relay A2 terminal via one line (ISDN line). After the negotiation is completed, negotiation of a connection with the next terminal is started. For example, to connect this to all terminals on FIG.
It needs 22 times because it is for 2 terminals.

Normally, it takes about 30 seconds for connection negotiation between the highest-order terminal A1 and the relay terminal A2 to be completed. It takes 22 terminals × about 30 seconds = about 660 seconds = 11 minutes to connect for 22 terminals. In other words, this requires a waiting time of at least 11 minutes and a running cost (a line usage fee is charged at the stage of connection) after the connection start operation is started. (1) As a conventional multipoint video conference system, IT
U Association (International Telecom)
Some of them are based on H.Munification Union. The multi-point video conference system includes an MCU (Multi Conference Uni).
t) is used, and all communication terminals provided for each participant of the video conference are connected to this MCU. However, this MCU requires a dedicated terminal for operating a calling number, a called number, a connection state setting value, and the like, and has a problem that a dedicated operator for operating these is required.

(2) Another conventional multipoint video conference system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-22322. Since this does not use an MCU based on the above-mentioned standard H320 having the above-mentioned problem, it provides a multipoint video conference by giving each terminal a function like an MCU. However, since this conventional multipoint video conference system connects each adjacent terminal by complicated negotiation one by one,
It takes a very long time to connect to all the terminals, so that there is a problem that the progress of the video conference is delayed accordingly.

[0005]

The above problems (1) and (2)
As described above, when a multipoint conference and a simultaneous broadcast conference are performed, a troublesome operation requiring a dedicated operator, a long connection time, and a running cost are required. Therefore, the present invention provides easy operation of the system body,
Provided is a broadcast communication system capable of further reducing connection time and running cost compared to a conventional multipoint system.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and a plurality of communication terminals are arranged from an upper terminal to a lower terminal for each layer, and a digital communication line is provided between these terminals. In a multi-point video conference system that can communicate using voice and image data through the upper terminal, the destination address of the lower terminal is registered in the upper terminal in order to call the lower terminal from the upper terminal. Provided is a multipoint video conference system in which simultaneous broadcast transmission is performed from an upper terminal to a lower terminal without performing a complicated protocol from the terminal to the lower terminal.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings and tables. FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram and a signal flow diagram for enabling a multipoint video conference system of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a multipoint system broadcast transmission connection signal incorporating the multipoint video conference system of the present invention. It is a flowchart.

FIG. 2 also shows a flow chart of the simultaneous broadcast transmission. According to the flowchart, the simultaneous broadcast transmission is performed from the highest-order B1 terminal via the ISDN lines 101, 102 and 103. , Relay B2, B3, and B4 terminals are simultaneously negotiated. At the same time, the relay B2, B3, and B4 terminals simultaneously receive a call, and the relay B2, B3, and B4 terminals simultaneously transmit to their lower-order relay terminals. Address area and one-to-one conference address area), and if the conference mode of the reception mode setting register is broadcast, the terminal transmits to the terminal connected to the lower layer at the same time). I have.

That is, in order to connect to all the terminals in FIG. 2, instead of counting 22 terminals, the B1 terminal is in the first layer, the B2 to B4 terminals are in the second layer, and the B5 to B10 terminals are in the third layer. 2 and B11-B22 as the fourth layer, and FIG.
To connect to all the above terminals, the calculation is as follows.
All layers (except the first layer) x about 20 seconds (conventionally about 30
(4 seconds-1 layer) x about 20 seconds = about 60 seconds = 1 minute In other words, the connection time can be significantly reduced and the running cost can be reduced. FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the standard MCU simultaneous broadcast transmission of another company. According to this, each C1 ~
The mode setting of the C10 terminal is set from a T200 dedicated terminal (usually a personal computer terminal) connected to the T100 multipoint device, and connection is sequentially performed from the C1 terminal. In order to connect C1 terminal to C10 terminal, one terminal 3
Since it takes 0 seconds or more, 10 terminals x
It takes 30 seconds or more = 300 seconds or more = 5 minutes or more. Disadvantages of this multipoint device are, in addition to the connection time and running cost, the inconvenience that a dedicated operator is indispensable for operating the T200 dedicated terminal.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a conventional ring-type broadcast. Also in this method, the trouble of the connection procedure, the connection time, and the running cost have not been solved as problems of operability. Only the four terminals D10 to D40 can be connected at the maximum, but as four terminals, four terminals × 30 seconds or more = 120 seconds or more = 2 minutes or more. Disadvantages of this system are that, although the number of terminals is small, connection time is long and running costs are high.

[0011]

[Table 1]

[0012]

[Table 2]

The above problems will be described with reference to Tables 1 and 2 and FIG. FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration and a signal flow for enabling the present system. Table 1 is an example of a capability exchange negotiation command table that is normally used (based on a standard recommendation) at the time of connection between terminals. (The mode setting values are different from those of the conventional table.) On the other hand, Table 2 is a capability exchange negotiation command table used in the connection between terminals in the present system.

In Table 1, there is a weight for each mode / setting for bit allocation, and negotiations with connected terminals must be repeated to determine the weight. Judging from Table 1, negotiation must be repeated at least 12 times.

However, in Table 2, the bit weight is fixed, and the negotiation is performed only once. Furthermore, the connection method in the standard method of Table 1 is to input a partner address every time one terminal is connected and to make a connection. Simultaneous simultaneous transmission to terminals (multiple terminals connected to the host) is enabled.

A hardware configuration for realizing these will be described with reference to FIG. This system is an N3 dedicated operation pad (may be a personal computer keyboard), a control device that controls the entire N2, and also includes a CODEC (video / audio compression / expansion processing), an N3 display screen (displays video and operation menus, etc.) , N4 multipoint control devices.

In this system, as a preparation for carrying out a broadcast meeting, a broadcast transmission address setting is selected from the screen menu from the N1 operation pad, and a number which is an address of a lower terminal is inputted from the N1 operation pad. The signal flow is
The data is stored in the broadcast address storage memory of the controller through the signal line L11. At the same time, the address of the other party input earlier from the control device through the signal line L12 is displayed.

Next, simultaneous broadcast transmission is performed.
By selecting the broadcast menu from the N3 screen menu and pressing the communication button from the N1 operation pad, the broadcast address stored in the N2 control device is transmitted to the N4 multipoint via the signal line L13. Input to the control device.

Here, if it is the highest terminal, L15, L1
6. At the same time as the N1 originating / receiving software control unit understands the transmission command signal from the N1 operation pad and the transmission destination address number to the lower terminal connected via the L17 ISDN line, it is stored in the stack (memory) circuit. In addition, a mode setting table shown in Table 2 indicating that the broadcast is in the simultaneous broadcast mode is attached after the destination address number and connected.

In the case of a relay terminal (for example, B2 to B4 in FIG. 2), a reception signal from the upper terminal and the reception signal by receiving the mode setting table are negotiated once to the upper terminal. At the same time, the lower terminal (e.g., B5 to B10 in FIG. 2) determines only the N4 multipoint control device (N2 does not exchange with the control device) and determines the mode after the destination address previously input. Attach a setting table and automatically connect to lower terminals without human intervention.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the introduction of the present system eliminates the need for the dedicated terminal and dedicated operator shown in FIG. , One that anyone can do
Simultaneous broadcast system meetings with multiple terminals are possible by touch operation. Furthermore, with the introduction of this system, the relay terminal automatically connects to the lower terminal (the shortest negotiation) by receiving the incoming call from the upper terminal and the mode setting table, so that the connection time is shorter than the normal connection time. And reduce the unpleasant waiting time. In addition, since outgoing / incoming calls are performed not in each terminal but in hierarchical blocks, running costs (charging) can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram and a signal flow diagram that enable a multipoint video conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a multipoint system broadcast transmission connection signal incorporating the multipoint video conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a signal flow diagram of a conventional multipoint video conference system by simultaneous broadcast transmission connection.

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram of a conventional product of another company by simultaneous broadcast transmission connection of a standard MCU.

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram of a ring type broadcast transmission connection of a conventional product of another company.

[Explanation of symbols]

A1 to A22: Terminals that enable voice, video, and data communication via digital lines 1 to 45: Digital lines connecting terminals B1 to B22: Enable voice, video, and data communication via digital lines Terminals 101 to 145: Digital lines connecting terminals C1 to C10: Terminals that enable voice, video and data communication via digital lines T100: Multipoint device conforming to standard recommendations T200: Control multipoint device Dedicated terminals T50 to T80: Terminals that enable voice, video, and data communication via digital lines N1: Dedicated operation pad N2: Display operation contents, instruct outgoing / incoming calls, communicate with terminal A control device that performs negotiation of video signals and compresses / decompresses video / audio signals. N4: A multipoint control device for transmitting / receiving information and signals to / from each terminal by performing multiplexing / demultiplexing control and the like for transmitting signals from the control device to the ISDN line in a timely manner. N5: Data separation / multiplexing circuit, each channel (L15 to
17) Data generation circuit, outgoing / incoming software control unit, and stack (memory) circuit L11: Calling number signal for displaying the calling number on the screen from the operation pad and connecting to an external terminal L12: Broadcasting destination L13: A composite signal of video, audio and data (bidirectional) L14: A composite signal of bidirectional transmission / reception procedure processing and a signal for connection to the other party A signal that organizes information to external terminals to be separated / multiplexed and sent. L15-17: Digital line (ISDN line)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A multi-point communication system in which a plurality of communication terminals are arranged from an upper terminal to a lower terminal for each layer, and are capable of communicating using voice and image data between these terminals via a digital communication line. In a video conference system, the destination address of the lower terminal is registered in the upper terminal in order to call the lower terminal from the upper terminal, so that the upper terminal can switch from the upper terminal to the lower terminal without performing a complicated protocol. A multipoint video conference system characterized by simultaneous broadcast transmission. 2. The simultaneous broadcast transmission according to claim 1, wherein the time required for connection processing with a plurality of communication terminals is shortened, thereby reducing billing generated during the connection processing time.
The multipoint video conference system described. 3. The multipoint video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal registration for simultaneous broadcast transmission is set and registered from each terminal in accordance with a guidance on a screen menu.