JPH0522724A - Video conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a video conference system where a speaking person is clearly recognized on a screen. CONSTITUTION:When a voice signal is inputted for fixed continuous time from an input signal which is from a microphone 1 set in accordance with the seats of respective conference participants to an input detecting part 2, the user of the microphone 1 is recognized as the speaking person and the channel number of the microphone 1 is transmitted to a control part 9. The control part 9 collates a control data memory 14 and a turntable 4 and a motor driven lens 5 are shifted in accordance with the content of control data where content is set so as to take the one or plural speaking persons on the whole screen so that the close-up photographing of the one or plural speaking persons is executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video conference system for holding a conference using a television screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional video conference system disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-87489, in which 1 is provided for each of a plurality of conference participants. A plurality of microphones, 2 is an input detection unit that detects a speaker in a conference based on a sound signal from the microphone 1, 3 is a camera configured to capture a plurality of conference participants one by one, and 4 is a camera. A turntable for rotating the camera 3 to move it to a shooting position, 5 is an electric lens for adjusting the focus of the camera 3, 6 is a panoramic camera fixed at a position for shooting all conference participants, 7 is the camera 3 or panoramic camera 6 is a switch for switching and selecting the video signal from 6.

Reference numeral 8 is a control data memory in which control data including direction data of the rotary table 4 for determining the photographing position of the camera and focus information of the electric lens 5 for each of a plurality of conference participants is registered in advance, and 9 is an input. The control unit 10 refers to the control data memory 8 according to the speaker detected by the detection unit 2 and controls the turntable 4 and the electric lens 5 based on the corresponding control data. The control unit 10 mixes the audio signals from the microphones 1. An audio mixer 11, which is an image for synthesizing and outputting the video signal from the camera 3 or the panoramic camera 6 obtained from the switch 7 and the audio signal mixed by the audio mixer 10.
The voice transmission device 12 is a line for transmitting the image / voice synthesis signal obtained from the image / voice transmission device to a plurality of monitors (not shown). FIG. 8 shows an example of a video conference room, and # 1 to # 5 show a plurality of conference participants.

Next, the operation will be described. In the video conference room as shown in FIG. 8, the microphone 1 of FIG. 7 is set corresponding to the seats of the participants # 1 to # 5.
The voices of the conference participants are picked up by the respective microphones 1 and input to the input detection unit 2. At the same time, the output of each microphone 1 is also input to the audio mixer 10, and the audio signals of all the microphones 1 are mixed. The input detection unit 2 recognizes the user of the microphone 1 as a speaker when an audio signal is continuously input from each microphone 1 for a certain period of time, and sends the channel number of the microphone 1 to the control unit 9. When the controller 9 receives the channel number from the input detector 2, the controller 9 queries the control data memory 8. The control data memory 8 stores control data including direction data of the turntable 4 and focus information of the electric lens 5 corresponding to each microphone 1. Based on the information read from the control data memory 8, the control unit 9 controls the turntable 4 and the electric lens 5 of the camera 3 so that the speaker 3 can photograph the speaker. The video signal from the camera 3 is taken out through the switch 7. Here, when there are a plurality of speakers, the control unit 9 switches the switch 7 to select the video signal from the panoramic camera 6. The panoramic camera 6 is a camera fixed in advance so that all the participants in the video conference room can be photographed. The outputs of the audio mixer 10 and the switch 7 are the video / audio transmission device 11
Is input to and transmitted through the line 12.

[0005]

Since the conventional video conference system is configured as described above, when there are a plurality of speakers, the camera is always switched to the panoramic camera, which causes an uncomfortable feeling, and all the participants are displayed on the screen. There was a problem that it was difficult to understand who was making a speech, and there was a problem that the image while the camera 3 was moving was output as it was.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and even when there are a plurality of speakers in a video conference, it is possible to take a picture so that the speakers are clear, and obtain a screen with no discomfort. The purpose is to obtain a video conferencing system that can be used.

[0007]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video conferencing system which uses one camera and has a control data memory in which the number of speakers is one to two or three. Up to this, camera control data for all combinations are registered in advance.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the video conference system uses two cameras, and the control data memory has all the combinations from one speaker to two speakers, three speakers and a plurality of speakers. The control data of two cameras are registered in advance, and when one camera is moving to the shooting position, the video signal of the other camera is used.

[0009]

In the video conference system according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the optimum photographing range can be photographed for all combinations from the case of one speaker to the case of two or three speakers. In the video conference system according to claim 2,
Since the video of the moving camera is not output, a stable image can always be obtained.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Example 1. An embodiment of the invention of claim 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 7 are assigned the same reference numerals and explanations thereof are omitted. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 13 denotes a camera device composed of a camera 3, a turntable 4 and an electric lens 5. The output of the camera 3 is directly added to the image / sound transmission device 11.
Reference numeral 14 is a control data memory, which is the conference participant # 1 in FIG.
~ Control data consisting of direction data of the turntable 4 and focus information of the electric lens 5, zooming information, etc. for each of those combinations when one, two, ... Five of # 5 are speakers Is registered in advance.

Next, the operation will be described. In the video conference room as shown in FIG. 8, the microphones 1 are set corresponding to the seats of the participants # 1 to # 5. The voices of the participants # 1 to # 5 are picked up by the microphones 1 and input to the input detection unit 2. Each microphone 1 at the same time
Is also input to the audio mixer 10, and the signals of all microphones 1 are mixed. The input detection unit 2 recognizes the user of the microphone 1 as a speaker when a voice signal is continuously input from each microphone 1 for a certain period of time, and controls the channel number of the microphone 1 by the control unit 9
Send to. When the controller 9 receives the channel number from the input detector 2, the controller 9 queries the control data memory 14.

The control data memory 14 stores in advance the direction information of the turntable 4 and the electric lens 5 for all combinations of speakers.
Focus information, zooming information, etc. are preset. Here, if only one of the conference participants # 1 to # 5 speaks, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the one speaker of the # 4 is captured within the shooting range A over the entire screen. Thus, the contents of the control data memory 14 are set in advance. When there are a plurality of speakers, for example, as shown in FIG.
When the participants of No. 3 speak, the participants of # 1, # 2, and # 3 are included in the shooting range A, and as shown in FIG.
When the participants of 4 and # 5 speak, the contents of the control data memory 14 are set so that the participants of # 4 and # 5 are within the photographing range A.

The control unit 9 controls the turntable 4 and the electric lens 5 based on the information received from the control data memory 14,
The camera 3 captures a predetermined speaker. The outputs of the audio mixer 10 and the camera 3 are input to the image / audio transmission device 11 and transmitted through the line 12.

Example 2. Although the case where one camera device 13 including the camera 3, the turntable 4 and the electric lens 5 is used in the first embodiment, two camera devices may be used. An embodiment of the invention of claim 2 in that case will be described below with reference to the drawings. 5, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 5, 1
5 is a camera, 16 is a turntable for moving the camera 15 to a photographing position, 17 is an electric lens for determining the focus of the camera 15, 13 is a first camera device, 18 is a camera 15,
The second camera device composed of the rotary base 16 and the electric lens 17, 19 is a switch for selecting the video signal of the camera 3 or the video signal of the camera 15 and adding it to the image / audio transmission device 11, 20 is from the control unit 9. A switch for selectively applying the control data of 1 to the first camera device 13 or the second camera device 18, and switching control is performed by a switching signal from the control unit 9.

Reference numeral 21 is an inverter for inverting the switching signal to control switching of the switch 19.
Further, the control data memory 14 stores the first camera device 13 for each of the combinations of one, two, ... Five speakers.
Alternatively, control data for each photographing person of the second camera device 18 is registered in advance. The control unit 9 and the switch 20
The switch 19 and the inverter 21 constitute the control means.

Next, the operation will be described. The control data memory 14 is preset with the direction information of the turntables 4 and 16, the focus information of the electric lenses 5 and 17 and the zooming information for all combinations of speakers. Here, if only one of the conference participants # 1 to # 5 in FIG. 8 speaks, for example, only one speaker speaks the first camera device 13 or the second camera as shown in FIG. The contents of the control data memory 14 are set so that the device 18 captures the shooting range A. When there are a plurality of speakers, for example, when the participants # 1 and # 3 speak as shown in FIG.
Make sure that the participants # 2 and # 3 are within the shooting range A, and as shown in FIG. 4, if the participants # 4 and # 5 speak, the participants # 4 and # 5 are in the shooting range A. The contents of the control data memory 14 are stored in the first and second camera devices 1 so that
Set separately for 3 and 18.

The controller 9 receives the channel number from the input detector 2 each time it receives the first camera device 13 or the second camera device 13.
The motorized lens 5 or 17 and the turntable 4 in the camera device 18 of
Or move 16. Here, from the control unit 9 to the electric lens 5,
17, control information for the turntables 4, 16 is switched by the switch 20, and at the same time, the first and second camera devices 1
It is not input to both 3 and 18. The video signal from the camera 3 or the camera 15 is switched by the switch 19 and input to the image / audio transmission device 11. Switch 19 here
Since there is an inverter 21 between the switching signal of 1 and the switching signal of the switch 20, the polarities are reversed, and therefore the switching operations of the switches 19 and 20 are always reversed. That is, when the camera 3 of the first camera device 13 is moving, the video signal of the camera 15 of the second camera device 18 is input to the image / audio transmission device 11, and the camera of the second camera device 18 is input. When 15 is moving, the first
The video signal of the camera 3 of the camera device 13 is input to the image / audio transmission device 11.

The above operation will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the channel number changes at the timing of, the camera 3 of the first camera device 13 starts moving. Then, after the movement is completed, the image of the camera 3 is output. Next, when the channel number changes at the timing of,
The camera 15 of the camera device 18 starts to move. Then, after the movement is completed, the image of the camera 3 is switched to the image of the camera 15 and is output. After that, this process is repeated. As a result, the image while the camera 3 or 15 is moving is not output from the switch 19.

[0019]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1,
Since one camera device is used and the control data for one and a plurality of speakers is set in the control data memory, the shooting range can be changed according to the number and position of speakers. it can. For this reason,
It is possible to obtain a screen without a sense of incongruity and to obtain the effect that the speaker is clear on the screen.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, two camera devices are used and the control data for one and a plurality of speakers is set in the control data memory, and one camera is moving. Since the output of the other camera is used, the shooting range can be changed according to the number and position of speakers. For this reason, it is possible to obtain a screen without a sense of incongruity, to clarify the speaker on the screen, and to obtain a stable image because the image of the moving camera is not output.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a video conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a shooting range of a camera when there is one speaker in a video conference room.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a shooting range of a camera when there are two speakers in a video conference room.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a shooting range of a camera when there are two speakers in a video conference room.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a video conference system according to an embodiment of the invention of claim 2.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing the switching timing of two camera devices.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional video conference system.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a video conference room.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 microphone 2 Input detector 9 Control unit (control means) 13 First camera device (camera device) 14 Control data memory 18 Second camera device 20 switches (control means) 21 Inverter (switch means) 19 switch (switch means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of microphones provided for each of a plurality of conference participants, and a camera configured to photograph any one or a plurality of the conference participants among the plurality of conference participants. Device, an input detection unit for detecting a speaker in a conference based on audio signals obtained from the plurality of microphones, and a photographing position, a focus, etc. of the camera device according to a combination of a single speaker or a plurality of speakers. A video conference system including a control data memory in which control data is registered in advance, and a control unit that refers to the control data memory according to the detection of the input detection unit and controls the camera device based on the corresponding control data. . 2. A plurality of microphones provided for each of a plurality of conference participants, and a first unit configured to photograph any one or a plurality of conference participants of the plurality of conference participants. First and second camera devices, an input detection unit that detects a speaker in a conference based on audio signals obtained from the plurality of microphones, and the first and second units depending on a combination of one or a plurality of speakers. The control data memory for pre-registering control data for controlling the photographing position, focus, etc. of the camera device, and the first control based on the corresponding control data by referring to the control data memory according to the detection of the input detection unit. Alternatively, the control means for controlling the second camera device and the output signal of the second camera device are selected while the first camera device is moving to the photographing position under the control of the control means. By the control of the control means, switching control is performed by a switching signal from the control means so as to select the output signal of the second camera device while the second camera device is moving to the photographing position. Video conferencing system with switch means.