JPS6333957A - Electronic conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive to simplify the constitution at low cost by providing a central control section applying line control for video image, audio and data so as to connect the central control section and each terminal equipment in a star form. CONSTITUTION:In case of talking from a terminal equipment A to a terminal equipment B, with a talking request switch of a terminal equipment 1 turned on, talking request information R of a serial signal (a) of the terminal equipment 1 is set and sent to the central cntrol section C. Busy monitor information of the terminal equipment 1 as the set state is sent from the central control section C in a form of a serial signal (b) to all terminal equipments, and if the terminal equipment a selects the terminal equipment B, the terminal selection (2) information in the serial signal (a) from the terminal equipment 1 is set and sent to the central control section C. The terminal call information C from the central control section C to a terminal equipment 2 is set and talking request information R of the serial signal (a) from the terminal equipment 2 is set with a talking request switch of the terminal equipment 2 turned on and sent to the central control section C. The central control section C makes a line of video/audio/data between the terminal equipment 1 and a terminal equipment 5 busy and sets busy monitor information of the terminal equipment 2 to send it to all terminal equipments.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an electronic conference system that uses two-way transmission of video, audio, and data between terminal devices on a one-to-one or one-to-H basis.

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an electronic conference system using video, audio, and data performs two-way communication between two terminals using M and B. An example of a conventional configuration is shown in FIG. The terminal section is a TV camera or VT.
A video transmitter 2 that transmits video information such as R, an audio transmitter 3 that transmits audio information such as a microphone, a data transmitter 4 that transmits data information such as an electronic blackboard and e-mail, and a video, audio, A transmission block consisting of a frequency multiplexer 7 for transmitting data information over the same cable, and a frequency multiplexer/separator 7 that separates the frequency multiplexed video/audio/data information to obtain video information, audio information, and data information. 'and,
A video receiver 2' inputs video information and reproduces a video signal from a receiver or VTR, etc., an audio receiver 3' inputs audio information and reproduces a ringing signal from a speaker, etc., and inputs data information. The receiving block includes a data receiver 4' for reproducing recorded signals such as hard copies, and a pair of terminal units are arranged to transmit and receive information.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above system, when a plurality of terminal units are arranged to conduct an electronic conference, a line switching connector 2o is installed at the input/output of each terminal unit as shown in Fig. 7. , meetings are held by telephone, etc., and lines are manually switched at 1-. In order to enable line connections between all the terminals, it is necessary to lay lines in a star shape from each terminal to the other terminals. As described above, in the conventional system, the cost of the transmission path increased and a telephone line for communication was required.

In view of the above problems, the present invention has a line monitoring control function and a video/video
By installing a central control unit with a line switching function for voice and data information and connecting transmission lines in a star shape around the central control unit, a low-cost and simple-configured electronic conference system is provided. The purpose is to

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a first method in which, for example, two cables are used between the central control unit and each terminal, and call request information and terminal selection information are multiplexed. a time division multiplexing means, a second time division multiplexing means for multiplexing call status information and terminal call information, a video information transmission/reception means, and an audio information transmission/reception means.
a receiving means, a data information transmitting/receiving means, first and second frequency multiplexing means for multiplexing video/audio/data information and time division multiplexing information, and performing line switching control based on call request information to determine the call status. A line monitoring control means for outputting information and terminal call information to each terminal, and a video/audio/data information exchange control means are provided to control the exchange of video, audio, and data information between each terminal.

Effects of the present invention With the above-described configuration, the central control unit controls video/audio/data line switching based on call request information between each terminal, and transmits busy state information and terminal call information to each terminal, thereby achieving simple operation. An electronic conference system can be realized.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic conference system of the present invention. In FIG. 1, person is a terminal section, B is a transmission section, and C is a central control section. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal unit includes a first time division multiplexer 1 that multiplexes information from the call request switch and the terminal selection switch and converts it into a serial signal a shown in FIG. 4a, and a video transmitter. 2, an audio transmitter 3, a data transmitter 4, and a transmission block consisting of a first frequency multiplexer 5 that multiplexes video V, audio λN, data D, and line control information a; The serial signal and video V shown in
A second frequency multiplexer/separator 6' that reproduces audio & data DH information, respectively, and a second frequency multiplexer/separator 6' that multiplexes and demultiplexes the serial signal b' to reproduce terminal call information and terminal busy monitor information.
The receiver block includes a time division multiplexer/demultiplexer 6', a video receiver 2', an audio receiver 3', and a data receiver 4'.

The central control unit C is connected to the frequency multiplexer 6 of the terminal unit as shown in FIG.・
a separator 5', and a first multiplexer/separator 1' that multiplexes and demultiplexes the serial signal a' to reproduce call request information and terminal selection information.
and video/audio/video based on call request information and terminal selection information.
a line supervisory controller 10 that generates a data channel switching signal and simultaneously generates terminal busy monitor information and terminal call information; and a second circuit that multiplexes and converts the terminal busy monitor information and terminal call information into a serial signal. A time division multiplexer 6 and a video switching device 1 that inputs video information vN of each terminal and outputs video information V, / to a predetermined terminal by a channel switching signal.
1, an audio switching device 12 which inputs the audio information AM of each terminal and outputs the audio information N' to a predetermined terminal in response to a channel switching signal; Data information DN on the terminal
', and a data switch 13 that outputs a serial signal and an image v
It is composed of a second frequency multiplexer 5 that multiplexes N', voice person N', and data DN' information.

The transmission section B is composed of a coaxial cable or an optical fiber cable. When using an optical fiber cable, an electrical/optical signal converter is connected to the output of the frequency multiplexer 5, and an optical/optical signal converter is connected to the input of the frequency multiplexer/separator 5'. An electrical signal converter is required for each. The procedure for making a call from terminal B to terminal B will be explained using FIGS. 4 and 5.

■When the call request switch of terminal 1 is turned on, terminal 1
The call request information R of the serial signal a turns on and is transmitted to the central control unit C.

■From the central control unit C, the busy monitor information of terminal 1 is turned on and a serial signal is already transmitted to all terminals0. ■When the terminal unit selects terminal B, the terminal selection 2 information of the serial signal color of terminal 1 is sent. turns on and is transmitted to the central control unit O.

(2) Turn on the terminal call information C of the terminal 2 from the central control unit C.

(2) When the call request switch of the terminal 2 is turned on, the call request information R in the serial signal color of the terminal 2 is turned on and transmitted to the central control unit C.

■The central control unit C confirms that the call request information R of the terminal 2 is turned on, and then
At the same time as the data line is put into a call state, the busy monitor information of the terminal 2 is turned on and transmitted to all terminals.

The above procedure puts the two terminals into a conversation state.

For example, even when terminal 1 and terminal 2 are talking, it is possible to talk between other terminals. Further, it is possible to simultaneously select other terminals from the terminal 1, and it is also possible to realize simultaneous calls at multiple points.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, by providing a central control unit that controls lines for video, audio, and data, and by connecting the central control unit and each terminal in a star shape, it is possible to realize a simple electronic configuration at low cost. A conference system can be realized. Additionally, telephone equipment for communication becomes unnecessary, and simultaneous multipoint conferences become possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the electronic conference system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the terminal section of the system, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the central control section of the system, and FIG. The figure is a frame configuration diagram of the line control signal of the system, and Figure 6 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of the construction of the system.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are configuration diagrams of a conventional electronic conference system. Person: Terminal unit, B: Central control unit, C
...Transmission unit, 1, 6...Time division multiplexer, 1/, e/...Time division multiplexer/separator, 2
...Video transmitter, 3...Audio transmitter,
4...De-event transmitter, 2'...Video receiver, 3'...Audio receiver, 4'...
・Data receiver, 5.7... Frequency multiplexer, s
/ , 7/... Frequency multiplexer/separator, 10.
...Line monitoring controller, 11...Video switch, 12...Audio switch, 13...Data switch, 20... Line switching connector. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 2nd
Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A call request switch, a selection switch group for selecting a call terminal, and a busy monitor group for displaying busy terminals;
a terminal paging device that rings in response to a terminal paging signal; at least three terminal units each having a video, audio, and data transmitter/receiver; It consists of a central control unit that operates to connect video, audio, and data lines between terminals according to information from the selection switch, and a transmission unit that accommodates video, audio, data, and line control signals, and the central control unit and An electronic conference system characterized by connecting each terminal part in a star shape. (2) The terminal unit includes a first time division multiplexer that converts the on/off information of the call request switch and the selection switch group into parallel and serial, the first time division multiplexer, a video transmitter, and an audio transmitter. a first frequency multiplexer that frequency multiplexes the respective output signals of the data transmitter and the data transmitter and sends the frequency multiplexed signals to a central control unit; A second frequency multiplexer/separator that reproduces voice, data, and line control signals, and a second frequency multiplexer/separator that inputs the line control signal, converts it into serial/parallel, and then outputs a terminal call signal and a busy monitor signal. A time division multiplexer/separator,
The electronic conference system according to claim 1, comprising a video receiver, an audio receiver, and a data receiver. (3) The central control unit includes a first frequency multiplexer/separator that inputs the first frequency multiplexer output signal sent from the terminal unit and reproduces video, audio, data, and line control signals. , a first time division multiplexer and demultiplexer that inputs a line control signal, converts it into serial/parallel, and then outputs a call request and terminal selection switch information; a line monitoring controller that issues a terminal ringing signal when the call request information of the other party's terminal is in an OFF state, and instructs to connect a line between the terminals when the call request information of the other party's terminal is in the ON state; and the line monitoring controller. A video switch, an audio switch, and a data switch that switch input/output lines based on the commands of and,
Claim 1 comprising a video switch, an audio switch, a data switch, and a second frequency multiplexer that frequency-multiplexes the respective output signals of the second time division multiplexer and sends the frequency-multiplexed signals to each terminal unit. The electronic conference system according to item 1.