JPH05344498A - Video conference equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain a video conference with excellent information transmitting characteristics in which the conference is held in a natural sense of face to face by providing a dynamic image display section suitable for face to face conversation and a still picture display section employing a display device integrated tablet to the equipment. CONSTITUTION:A dynamic image picked up by a camera 101 is compression- coded and the coded image is sent to a conference equipment of the other party via a line interface. Furthermore, a dynamic image sent from the conference equipment of the other party is decoded into an original image at a dynamic image coder via a similar path and displayed on a display device 102. Furthermore, the display device 102 is installed in a vertical direction across from the operator. Moreover, an output of an integrated tablet 103 is given to a system control section being an entire control section, in which the data are divided into image drawn data and control data and they are processed respectively. A display section of the tablet 103 is divided into an image drawn area and an operation icon area and all operations are attained by pointing out each icon 108 by using an operation pen 107.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a videophone and a videoconference device that simultaneously transmit voice information, moving images, and still images using a telephone line or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An external view of a conventional video conference apparatus is shown in FIG. Since a conventional video conference device has one display unit and mainly uses a CRT, it is installed in the front of the operator so that the screen is almost vertical as shown in FIG. The structure is attached.

The image of the operator's face taken by the camera is
The image encoded by the compression encoder and transmitted to the partner terminal and received by the partner is displayed on the CRT screen. When the document of the conference material is displayed, as shown in the display example of FIG. 4, a device for displaying the person image of the receiving party in a window and displaying the document in the remaining part is devised.

There is also an apparatus for correcting a document directly on a CRT screen using a light pen as shown in FIG. In addition, some devices have a mouse connected to specify the position. Alternatively, some have an external tablet for correction only.

[0005]

There are several methods for adding and correcting the displayed document. First of all, there is a method of writing with a mouse. The mouse is convenient for specifying the position but not suitable for writing characters. Therefore, after the position is designated with the mouse, the character to be corrected must be input by other means, for example, the keyboard, which causes a problem that the operation is troublesome twice.

The second method is to write directly on the CRT using a light pen. However, as shown in FIG. 4, since the display surface of the CRT is arranged at a substantially vertical angle, it is difficult to write characters and graphics.

Thirdly, there is a method for inputting a corrected character by externally attaching a tablet for inputting a character, but the display section displaying the original image and the tablet for inputting the corrected character are integrated. Since there is no, the original image on the display,
Both the correction characters on the tablet must be watched and corrected while aligning each other, which makes complicated correction extremely difficult. Further, since operations such as transmission function and correction function selection are performed by the main body operation unit and correction input is performed by an external tablet, there is a problem that the operation of the entire apparatus becomes complicated.

It is an object of the present invention to solve these problems and to provide a video conference apparatus which is easy to modify and has excellent operability.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, a video conference apparatus according to the present invention includes a voice information input section for inputting voice information, a moving image information input section for inputting a moving image, document information or A still image information input unit for inputting a still image, an encoder for compression encoding / decoding the input audio information, moving image information, and still image information, and an audio information output unit for outputting the audio information. A moving image information output unit that displays the moving image information, a still image information output unit that displays the still image information, and a multiplexing unit that multiplexes a signal of the encoder and a control signal for control. A line interface unit that serves as an input / output interface between the multiplexing unit and the transmission path; an operation instruction unit that inputs operation instructions for selecting and executing various functions of transmission, image editing, and image correction; In a video conference device that comprises a control unit that performs control based on a work instruction, and that mutually communicates each of the above information via a transmission line, a scanner, and a display-integrated tablet having a display unit and an operation pen, The still image input unit is configured from the scanner and the display integrated tablet, the still image output unit and the operation instruction unit is configured from the display integrated tablet, on the display integrated tablet, Display of still images,
It is configured such that input and correction can be performed and the operation instruction can be performed.

[0010]

The still image such as a document or figure read by the scanner is displayed on the display-integrated tablet.
The display-integrated tablet is installed almost horizontally in consideration of operability, and it is possible to easily add or correct the displayed still image with the operation pen.

The correction content is detected by the control unit and reflected in the still image. In accordance with an image transmission instruction, the still image information is encoded by an encoder and sent to a transmission line via a multiplexer and a line interface. In the other party conference apparatus, this is decoded by the encoder and the other party conference apparatus is transmitted. Display on the integrated tablet.

The still image transmitted from the other party conference device is also displayed on the display-integrated tablet, and the same addition and correction as described above can be performed.

The moving image display section is installed almost vertically and displays a person image of a conference partner. The moving image input section
It is installed at a position where an image of the operator facing the moving image display section is captured. Therefore, it is possible to have a conversation in a very natural state as a conference in which the line of sight of the conference partner displayed on the moving image display unit is mutually matched.

Further, since the correction and correction operations for the document can be performed on the display-integrated type tablet installed horizontally, it is possible to draw as if writing in a notebook on the table, and the conference is held while confirming the drawing contents by both parties. be able to.

On the display screen of the display-integrated tablet, operation icons for dialing operation, document operation, that is, input, delete, send, filing, printout, addition, correction, rotation, etc. are displayed. All operations can be performed by pointing the icon with a pen.

[0016]

EXAMPLE FIG. 1 is an external view showing an example of this apparatus.
Reference numeral 101 is a camera for capturing an image of an operator, 102 is a display device for displaying a partner image, 103 is a display-integrated tablet,
4 is a scanner for inputting documents and still images, 105
Is a speaker for outputting voice information, 106 is a microphone for inputting voice information, 107 is an operation pen for tablet operation,
Reference numeral 108 denotes an operation icon displayed on the display screen of the tablet.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
Shown in. 101 to 106 correspond to FIG. The display-integrated tablet 103 functions as a display unit 1
03a and 103b functioning as an input unit and an operation unit.

Reference numeral 201 is a moving image encoder for encoding and decoding moving images, 202 is a document encoder for encoding and decoding still images and documents, and 203 is a 103.
b is a handwritten character encoder that encodes and decodes handwritten characters, graphics, etc., 204 is a voice encoder that encodes and decodes voice information, 205 is a system control unit that controls the entire device, and 206 is A multiplexing unit 207 that multiplexes the audio information and the image information is a line interface unit that interfaces with a transmission path.

First, the moving image captured by the camera 101 is compression-encoded by the moving image encoder 201, and the multiplexing unit 20
6. It is sent to the other party's conference device via the line interface 207. Further, the moving image sent from the other party conference device is restored to the original image by the moving image encoder 201 through the same route and is displayed on the display 102.

The voice information is input through the microphone 106, compression-encoded by the voice encoder 204, and sent to the other party conference device via the multiplexer 206 and the line interface 207. Further, the voice information sent from the other party conference device is restored to the original voice by the voice encoder 204 through the same route and is output to the speaker 105.

In this way, the operator can hold a video conference using images and voice. In carrying out a conversation, it is the most natural for a conference that the other party's speaker is in front of him and having a conversation by looking at the face of the other party. Therefore, in the video conferencing apparatus, the display device 102 is not the operator. The camera 101 is installed in a vertical direction so as to face it, and the camera 101 is installed at a position where an operator can easily capture an image facing the display unit.

This device has the document transmission function and the telewriting function in addition to the above teleconferencing device. FIG. 4 shows a conventional example device in which the display unit is composed of one screen. However, in order to improve the operability at the time of drawing in this device,
A display-integrated tablet 103 is used instead of the conventional dial operation unit in FIG.

The output of the display-integrated tablet 103 is connected to the system control unit 205, which is the overall control unit, and is divided into drawing data and control data for processing. As shown in FIG. 4, the display unit of the tablet 103 is divided into a drawing area and an operation icon area. The operation unit, dials, function keys and the like of the conventional device are realized by the icons displayed on the tablet in the device of the present invention, and all operations can be performed by pointing the icons with the operation pen.

An example of the calling operation is shown below. Figure 4
(A), (b) is a display example of the display part of the tablet 103, 401 shows a drawing area, 402 shows the displayed icon. When the "dial" icon is selected with the operation pen in FIG. 4A, the dial menu shown in FIG. 4B is displayed. By selecting the destination telephone number using this dial menu, the call is automatically sent. After connection is complete, the dial menu disappears and the drawing area reappears.

Next, an example of the document transmission function will be shown. When a document is set on the scanner 104 and the “input” icon of the operation icon 402 is selected, the document is read and displayed in the drawing area 401 of the tablet 103.
When the "send" icon in the operation icons 402 is selected here, the document displayed in the drawing area is read out, compression encoded by the document encoder 202, and transmitted via the multiplexing unit 206 and the line interface 207. , To the conference terminal of the other party. The document information received from the opposite conference apparatus received through the opposite route is decoded by the document encoder 202 and displayed in the drawing area 401.

When the transmission of the document is completed, the same document is displayed on the display units 103a of the tablets of both terminals, so that a conference can be held using the document as a material. At this time, the line is assumed to be connected.

Finally, the telewriting function will be described. In the above, when a character is written in the drawing area 401 with a pen, the system control unit reads the position information of the pen and displays the trajectory of the pen in the drawing area 401 of the terminal. At the same time, after being encoded by the handwritten character encoder 203, it is transmitted to the partner terminal by the procedure described above. Similarly, the data received from the partner terminal is decrypted at 203 and displayed on the tablet 103. Therefore, the drawing data of both conference device terminals are the same, and the conference can be advanced while confirming the same image by both conference participants.

[0028]

As described above, in the video conference apparatus according to the present invention, two display units, which are a vertically installed moving image display unit suitable for a face-to-face conversation and a still image display unit using a display-integrated tablet, are provided. In addition, the display-integrated tablet is installed almost horizontally in consideration of operability, and it is as if a user inputs a document or figure and adds or corrects the displayed document or figure in a notebook. In addition, the same document or figure can be shared by both conferencing devices by transmitting corrections and corrections, so that you can have a natural face-to-face meeting and It became possible to have a video conference with excellent communication.

Further, not only the operation instruction of the transmission function for the conference but also the operation instruction of the editing function such as addition and correction of the document and the figure can be all performed by the display-integrated tablet. That is, since all the operations of function selection, position designation, and information input can be performed by a single device, it is possible to provide a video conference device having a significantly improved man-machine interface.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen display example of a display-integrated tablet.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a conventional videophone device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 camera 102 display 103 display-integrated tablet 104 scanner 105 speaker 106 microphone 107 operation pen 108 operation icon 201 moving image encoder 202 document encoder 203 handwritten character encoder 204 voice encoder 205 system control unit 206 multiplexing unit 207 line interface

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04M 11/06 8627-5K

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A voice information input unit for inputting voice information, a moving image information input unit for inputting a moving image, a still image information input unit for inputting document information or a still image, and the input voice information, An encoder that compresses / encodes moving image information and still image information, an audio information output unit that outputs the audio information, a moving image information output unit that displays the moving image information, and the still image information. A still image information output unit for displaying, a multiplexing unit for multiplexing the signal of the encoder and a control signal for control, and a line interface unit serving as an input / output interface between the multiplexing unit and the transmission path. An operation instruction section for inputting operation instructions for selecting and executing various functions of transmission, image editing, and image correction, and a control section for performing control based on the operation instruction,
A video conferencing apparatus that mutually communicates each of the above information via a transmission line, having a scanner and a display-integrated tablet having a display unit and an operation pen, wherein the still image input unit includes the scanner and the display-integrated type. In addition to being configured from a tablet, the still image output unit and the operation instructing unit are configured from the display-integrated tablet, and display, input, and correction of a still image can be performed on the display-integrated tablet, A teleconferencing device characterized by being able to give operation instructions.