KR20100000547A - Method and apparatus for providing multi-party video communication service - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A multilateral video call service providing method and an apparatus thereof using a video call by using a mobile communications terminal are provided to perform the video call and a remote user by using display units and a dual camera. CONSTITUTION: A first camera(100) photographs a first subject. A second camera(102) takes a picture of a second subject. An image processor(104) combines different images through the first and second cameras. A controller controls the electrical transmission of the voice inputted with the combined images. A display unit outputs the image received from the other mobile communications terminal of the remote site.

Description

Method and Apparatus for Providing Multi-Party Video Call Service {Method and Apparatus for providing multi-party video communication service}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing a multi-party video call service, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for enabling a plurality of users to use a video call through one mobile communication terminal.

The mobile communication system is evolving from the second generation Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to the third generation Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service (UMTS).

Currently, UMTS is using Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) based on the European mobile communication system GSM and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS). It provides a consistent service that enables users to transmit packet-based text, digitized voice or video and multimedia data at speeds of more than 2 Mbps wherever they are in the world.

In the UMTS system, a radio access network is called a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and the UTRAN is a circuit service or circuit switched domain or a packet service or packet switched domain. A user equipment (UE) is connected to another network through a configured core network (hereinafter referred to as CN).

Accordingly, as the network transmission bandwidth of mobile communication systems increases and mobile communication terminals equipped with cameras are widely used, not only voice calls but also video call services are being provided.

In a video call service, a mobile communication terminal receives a user's video input through a camera and a user's voice input through a microphone, transmits the received video to a mobile communication network, and outputs a video received from another mobile communication terminal through a display unit. , Sound is output through speaker.

In general, a mobile communication terminal has been provided with a high resolution camera for capturing a subject and a low resolution camera for video calling as a dual camera. However, even though two cameras are provided, only one camera is used for a video call. There is a problem that only the user of the video call service.

The present invention to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, to propose a multi-party video call service providing method and apparatus that a plurality of users can use a video call at the same time by using one mobile communication terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a mobile communication terminal supporting a multi-party video call, comprising: a first camera for photographing a first subject; A second camera for photographing a second subject; An image processor for combining different images captured by the first and second cameras through a preset algorithm; A controller for controlling the transmission of the voice input through the combined video and microphone; And a display unit for outputting an image received from another mobile communication terminal at a remote location.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a multi-party video call control method in a mobile communication terminal, comprising: (a) receiving a first image captured by a first camera; (b) receiving a second image captured by the second camera; (c) combining the first and second images; (d) transmitting the combined image to a remote mobile communication terminal; And (e) outputting the image received through the mobile communication terminal of the remote unit to the display unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is tangibly embodied a program of instructions that can be executed by a digital processing apparatus to support a multi-party video call, and the recording medium can be read by the digital processing apparatus, the method comprising: Activating the first camera and the second camera; degrading the image quality of at least one of the first and second images captured by the activated first and second cameras; (c) combining the first and second images; And (d) outputting the image received through the mobile communication terminal of the remote location to the display unit.

According to the present invention, at least two or more users can simultaneously make a video call with a remote user by using a dual camera provided on one mobile communication terminal and two display units disposed on different surfaces.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements.

When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but other components may be present in the middle. It should be understood. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

 Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, the same reference numerals will be used for the same means regardless of the reference numerals in order to facilitate the overall understanding.

1 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention includes a first camera 100, a second camera 102, an image processor 104, an audio processor 106, an RF communication unit 108, and a display unit ( 110, a control unit 112, and a key input unit 114 may be included.

The first and second cameras 100 and 102 may include a predetermined number of pixels, and may include an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS that outputs an optical signal as an RGB electrical signal.

In addition, the cameras 100 and 102 may further include an image processor that performs processing such as image interpolation and conversion into YUV data on the RGB signal.

As described above, in the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention, at least two cameras are provided in one mobile communication terminal so that at least two or more users can use a video call service with a user located at a remote location.

In this case, the first and second cameras 100 and 102 may be installed to face the mobile communication terminal so as to receive an image for each user.

For example, in the case of a slide type terminal including a body provided with a keypad and a body slidably connected to the body, the first and second cameras 100 may be disposed on one side and the other side of the body, respectively. have.

Even in the case of a foldable terminal including a main body and a body foldably connected to the main body, the first and second cameras 100 and 102 may be disposed on one side and the other side of the body, respectively.

In order to provide a multi-party video call service, the image processor 104 according to the present invention may include a first image A input through the first camera 100 and a second image B input through the second camera 102. ) And combine them into one.

In the present invention, the image combining is to set a boundary surface and adjust the size of each image so that two or more images can be displayed on one screen, and the image processing unit 104 combines as shown in FIGS. 2 to 3. Generated images can be generated.

On the other hand, when two cameras are provided in the mobile communication terminal, each camera may have a difference in performance with each other.

That is, since one is mainly used for video telephony, a low resolution camera is used, and the other is mainly used for imaging, and therefore a high resolution camera can be used.

As such, when the first and second cameras 100 and 102 have different resolutions, the image processing unit 104 according to the present invention uses the first camera 100 or the second camera 102 to meet the transmission bandwidth for the video call. The image quality of the input image is deteriorated and the process of combining the image is performed.

For example, when the resolution of the image photographed by the first camera 100 is QCIF (Quarter Common Interface Format) and the resolution of the image photographed by the second camera 102 is QVGA (Quarter Video Graphic Array), the image The processor 104 decomposes the image having the QVGA resolution among the images received through the cameras 100 and 102 to the QCIF resolution and combines the respective images.

The image processor 104 combines images after deterioration of image quality and generates combined image related information. The image related information may include location information of the boundary surface of the combined image, type of image format, and the like.

Meanwhile, the audio processor 106 is connected to the microphone and the speaker, and receives a voice signal of each user input through the microphone.

In addition, the audio processor 106 includes a PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) and a vocoder, converts the received voice signal into a 64 kbps digital signal, and extracts only the features of the voice from the 64 kbps data generated by the PCM. Do this.

Preferably, the audio processor 106 mixes the voice of each user who uses a video call through each of the cameras 100 and 102.

As described above, the combined image and the mixed voice are converted into a high frequency signal through the RF communication unit 108 and transmitted to another mobile communication terminal located at a remote place through the mobile communication network.

On the other hand, the RF communication unit 108 receives video and audio from another mobile communication terminal located at a remote location. The received image is output to the display unit 110, and the audio is output through a speaker connected to the audio processor 106.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in order to support a multi-party video call in one mobile communication terminal, a double-sided LCD connected to one side of the main body or body may be provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the display unit 110 is configured as a double-sided LCD, the display unit 110 is arranged in a direction parallel to the first camera 100 on the same plane as the first camera 100. The second display unit 402 may be disposed in a direction parallel to the second camera 102 on the same plane as the 400 and the second camera 102.

On the other hand, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the display unit 110 according to the present invention is not necessarily limited to a double-sided LCD, and may include an LCD driven independently if disposed opposite to each other.

According to the present invention, a plurality of microphones connected to the audio processor 106 may be provided.

That is, the first microphone 410 and the second microphone 412 arranged side by side with the first camera 100 may also be provided separately, thereby independently receiving the voice of each user to use different terminals. It can provide the same effect.

The control unit 112 according to the present invention outputs the received images to the first and second display units 400 and 402 when the image information is received from a remote mobile communication terminal.

Meanwhile, in order to support a general video call, the controller 112 uses the image C of the remotely located user C and the first camera 100 as illustrated in FIG. 5 on the first display unit 400. The image A of the (first user) may be controlled to be displayed together.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the second display unit 402 displays an image C of a user located at a remote location and an image B of a user (second user) using the second camera 102 together. Control as possible.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 112 includes both the image C and the image A and B of the first and second users located at remote locations, as shown in FIG. 7. You can control the display.

In the above description, the control unit 112 controls the shape of the image output on the display unit. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the control process can be performed by the image processing unit 104 or other image processing means. something to do.

The key input unit 114 may include a command keypad such as a menu button, a call button, a call end button, and a number keypad including a number, and may include a user's multi-party video call request button.

When there is a multi-party video call request by the user through the key input unit 114, the multi-party video call request message may be transmitted to another mobile communication terminal at a remote location, and when there is approval of the corresponding mobile communication terminal, the multi-party video as described above. The call is made.

Hereinafter, a multi-party video call control process in a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a multi-party video call service according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, when there is a multi-party video call request of the user in the first mobile communication terminal (step 800), the first camera 100 and the second camera 102 are simultaneously activated (step 802), and the second A multi-party video call request message is sent to the mobile communication terminal (step 804).

When the acceptance message for the multi-party video call is transmitted from the second mobile communication terminal (step 806), the first mobile communication terminal is the image quality of the high resolution image among the images captured by the first camera 100 and the second camera 102. After deteriorating (step 808), two different images are combined (step 810).

Thereafter, the combined image, the image related information, and the voice received through the microphone of the first mobile communication terminal are transmitted to the second mobile communication terminal (step 812).

On the other hand, when the first mobile communication terminal receives an image and a voice from the second mobile communication terminal (step 814), the audio is output through the speaker via the audio processing unit 106 (step 816), the image is a double-sided LCD or Outputs to the individual display units 400 and 402 disposed on the surface of the body (818).

Through the above process, a plurality of users may use a video call using one mobile communication terminal.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for purposes of illustration, and those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additions should be considered to be within the scope of the following claims.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image combining form according to the present invention;

3 shows another example of an image combining form according to the present invention;

4 is a view showing the position of the first display unit and the second display unit in the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen output to a first display unit according to the present invention;

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen output to a second display unit according to the present invention;

7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen output to the first and second display units according to the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a control process of a multi-party video call service according to the present invention.

Claims (13)

In a mobile communication terminal supporting a multi-party video call, A first camera for photographing the first subject; A second camera for photographing a second subject; An image processor for combining different images captured by the first and second cameras through a preset algorithm; A controller for controlling the transmission of the voice input through the combined video and microphone; And And a display unit for outputting an image received from another mobile communication terminal at a remote location. The method of claim 1, The resolutions of the first camera and the second camera are set differently, and the image processor performs image quality deterioration according to a lower resolution among the resolutions of the first and second cameras. The method of claim 1, The first and second cameras are installed to face each other. The method of claim 1, And the display unit is a double-sided LCD including a first display unit arranged in a direction parallel to the first camera and a second display unit disposed in a direction parallel to the second camera. The method of claim 1, The mobile communication terminal is a folder type mobile communication terminal including a main body and a body that is foldably connected to the main body, The display unit, A first display unit formed on an inner surface of the body and disposed on the same plane as the first camera; And A second display unit formed on an outer surface of the body and disposed on the same plane as the second camera, And the first and second display units simultaneously output an image received from the other mobile communication terminal. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The controller may be configured to simultaneously output an image of a user using the first camera on the first display unit and an image received from another mobile communication terminal at the remote location, and to use the second camera on the second display unit. And a video received from another mobile communication terminal of the remote location to be output at the same time. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The controller controls the first display unit and the second display unit to simultaneously output an image of a user who uses the first camera, an image of a user who uses the second camera, and an image received from another mobile communication terminal at the remote location. Mobile communication terminal. The method of claim 1, A first microphone disposed in a direction parallel to the first camera; And And a second microphone arranged in parallel with the second camera. The method of claim 1, And the image processor generates image related information including at least one of a position and an image type of a boundary surface of a combined image. The method of claim 1, And the control unit transmits a multi-party video call request message to another mobile communication terminal of the remote location, and controls the video combining to be performed when an acceptance message is received from the other mobile communication terminal. In the multi-party video call control method in a mobile communication terminal, (a) receiving a first image captured by the first camera; (b) receiving a second image captured by the second camera; (c) combining the first and second images; (d) transmitting the combined image to a remote mobile communication terminal; And and (e) outputting an image received through the mobile communication terminal of the remote location to a display unit. The method of claim 11, The display unit includes a first display unit disposed in a direction parallel to the first camera and a second display unit disposed in a direction parallel to the second camera. The step (e) of the multi-party video call control method comprising the step of simultaneously outputting the image received from the mobile communication terminal of the remote on the first display unit and the second display unit. In order to support a multi-party video call, a program of instructions that can be executed by a digital processing device is tangibly implemented, and a recording medium that can be read by a digital processing device, (a) activating the first camera and the second camera; degrading the image quality of at least one of the first and second images captured by the activated first and second cameras; (c) combining the first and second images; And (d) a recording medium having recorded thereon a computer readable program for outputting an image received through a mobile communication terminal of a remote location to a display unit.

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