JPS5944184A - Still picture television conference device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the convenience of a still picture television conference, by constituting one total screen with plural combined still pictures, and displaying optionally a part of the total screen by the participants. CONSTITUTION:The information from a color vidicon camera 5 is written in a frame memory 9 via a camera control circuit 7 and a D/A converting section 8. Further, the information from a black-and-white vidicon camera 10 is written in a frame memory 14 via a camera control circuit 12 and a D/A converting section 13. The information is transmitted via decoders 19, 20 and a transmission MODEM18. Plural still pictures are combined at the receiving side and constituted as one total screen and the participants of the conference cut out optionally a part of the entire screen with key operation and display it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a still image is converted into a digital signal on a transmitting side and transmitted via a communication line, and a part of this signal is stored in a memory on a receiving side, and the contents are transferred to a CRT. The present invention relates to a still image teleconferencing device that displays images on various small and medium-sized displays and transmits this image information between a transmitting side and a receiving side to realize a remote conference or the like.

Conventionally, in this type of remote conference device, the receiving side stores the sent digital signals in a memory in the form of one frame of still image as both signals. Alternatively, if a compressed code is used on the transmitting side, the receiving side decodes it back to an image signal and stores it in memory. This memory can be used as a normal large-sized CR.
It can be enlarged using a T or projection CRT display device, and multiple people can view it at the same time, or multiple CRTs can be displayed side by side.
It is displayed as a multi-screen.

In such a method, even if a detailed image is transmitted as a still image, a normal CRT on the receiving side cannot display the fine image, and it is difficult to see a wide range of conditions. Furthermore, even when text drawings such as oaths and blackboards are transmitted, the display range and resolution of CRTs are poor, resulting in a large difference from actually viewing printed materials.

In order to eliminate these drawbacks, the present invention converts conference image information or document information into a normal CRT and transmits a plurality of pages. On the receiving side, all this information is stored in the RAM memory, and conference participants on the receiving side extract one page of this information from any location in the RAM memory and save it on their own CRT. The aim is to improve the convenience of

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

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the present invention which cannot be explained in detail. For example, from page A to page 0 of the RAM memory 1, the image of the arrangement of people in the opponent's proposal is expressed in color and in a horizontal shape. , Pages E to H of the RAM memory 2 are color images as well, but four pages are used to express double the density of the normal image, and are used for sending and receiving real images or color photographs. Furthermore, pages 1 to X of the RAM memory 3 are dedicated to black and white binary documents and are allocated for documents or electronic blackboards. When allocating it as a document, it may be configured as one document with four pages each and used for a total of four pages, or it may be two sheets in portrait format. As an electronic blackboard, four documents may be arranged horizontally and used horizontally.

The method of allocating the RAM memory 3 mentioned above and whether or not to rewrite the above image with new contents each time are all controlled by the sending side.
Regular CR of videos such as portraits of people in meetings using a video camera
Each TI page is monitored, and if it is determined that it is OK to send, the frame memory is fixed and the digital image information is sent to the transmission path. Next, operate the camera, monitor the next image, and send it again.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the transmitter of the present invention.
5 is a color monitor, 5 is a color vidicon camera, and 6 is a camera movement control unit, which is moved horizontally or vertically by an operator controlling transmission by 91 screens. 7 is a camera control circuit, and 8 is a D/A converter that converts one page of CRT to, for example, 400 (
(number of horizontal dots on the CRT) x 300 (number of vertical dots on the CRT) x 8 (color specification) 1:'yl□-960 pinot) K conversion and the contents are written to the frame memory.

Regarding the black and white binary blackboard information, the blackboard information is read out by accurately moving frame by frame memory by the operator's button control using the black and white pinocon camera 10 and the movement control unit 11. 12
is the camera open side j circuit, 13 is the D/A converter, 14 is the main frame memory, 400 (number of horizontal dots on C, RT) x 300 (number of vertical dots on CRT) x
The memory capacity of the focus is sufficient for 1 (color specification) bit - 120. Since much of the information in black and white is still written on paper, a mechanism 15 similar to a facsimile transmitter is used to read the document line by line using a one-dimensional sensor. ) 8 dots) This is stored in the image memory 16. At this time, the black-and-white information of 8 dots in mm is reduced to approximately half by performing appropriate sample filter processing.
One line is stored as a memory of 400x2=800 bits. That is, one screen is accumulated as the width of two pages of a normal CRT. The transmitting side operator uses the above frame memory 9. One of the digital 1 frame memory 141 image memory 16, etc. is transmitted via the Nwitch 17, and the amount of information to be transmitted is compressed between it and the transmission modem 18 depending on whether it is a black and white binary image or a color image. It is transmitted via either Coorg 19 or 20. Immediately before transmission, information such as when to update this frame memory is sent from the operation unit 2 to the receiving side.

Next, the operation on the receiving side will be explained with reference to FIG. A control unit 23 decodes the signal received from the modem 22 to determine the location and nature of the image information to arrive. According to this data 24
, or a decoder 25 is connected to restore the incoming signal to the original image signal. If the memory 26 receives a call for one page with the restored memory for one page, the meeting person (R
AM1) or general color memory (RAM memory 2)
Whether it is blackboard memory (RAM memory 3) or not yet,
It identifies which part it is, and writes the contents at a predetermined location by driving the address control 27. On the other hand, the conference participant on the called side is individually equipped with a normal-sized CRT 28, and uses the up/down movement keys and left/right movement keys of each console 29 to access the memory via the start point address buffer 30 using the memory groups 1, 2 and 3. Memory information for one page is read from the starting point from any location in the group.

Then, 3 memories for the own CRT are written and this is repeatedly displayed on the CRT. The self-console 29 is equipped with a lamp display that shows the status of the entire memory being written, the group of memories that are currently being updated, etc. Participants in the conference can select any memory by operating the keys. You can also call out and search left and right, up and down, just like you would with the naked eye.

In addition, by keying in the name of a speaker who is a conference participant in a remote location, the name can be displayed on the receiving side console 29 or superimposed on the CRT 28 by keying in the name from the console operation section 2. It is.

As explained above, the present invention is effective for a conference system using a plurality of still images, and when using a Dinotal line with a transmission time of 1 page of color images: 64 kb/s, the compression rate A is 960kb/64kbx8 in V2
seconds, and one black and white page is 120kb with a compression rate of 115.
/64 kb x 115 kb/0.4 seconds, and efficient transmission characteristics can be obtained. Further, if a general telephone line is used, the transmission time is 9.6 kb/s, which is seven times the above-mentioned transmission time, but in this case, it is practically appropriate to convert the color image to monochrome.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the present invention without detailed explanation, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a transmitter of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a receiver of the present invention. 1.2.3...RAM memory, 4...color monitor,
5... Color vidicon camera, 6... Camera movement control section, 7.12... Camera control circuit, 8, 13...
D/A conversion (az9... frame memory, lo...
Black and white pinocon camera, 11...Movement control unit, 14...
・Isotal 1 frame memory, 15... Transmission mechanism, 1
6... Image memory, 17... Switch, 18... Transmission modem, 19.20...: 7-da, 21... Operation section, 22... Modem, 23... Control section, 24...
Data, 25...Deco-Rizu, 26...Me%, 2
7.Address control, 28.Normal size C
RT, 29... Console, 3°... Start point address buffer, 3)... Memory for CRT. Patent Applicant: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Representative: Satoshi Suzuki Akira Ibi Figure 1 o Rs, 7 ruvw, x 1 Indication of the incident 1981 Patent Application No. 154552 2 Name of the invention Still image video conference device 3 Amendment Relationship with the case of a person filing a patent application Office (105) 1-7-12 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Name (029) Representative of Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
Director and Company Teru Hashimoto Nankai 4 Agent Address (105) 1-7-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
No. 2, 5. Subject of amendment Column 458- of "Detailed description of the invention" in the specification

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a still image teleconferencing device that transmits and receives a plurality of still images as digital signals and reproduces and displays them on a receiving side, means for combining a plurality of still images to form one entire screen;
A still image teleconference device characterized in that each participant in the conference on the receiving side has means for electrically cutting out and displaying a part of the entire screen as desired on his/her own CRT.