JPH06225302A - Television conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to promptly make a minute of a television conference. CONSTITUTION:A conference member inputs his ID number or name, etc., by each personal information input device 16. This input information is stored in a conference information control device 18. The conference information control device 18 stores the progress status of a conference (conference start time, the transmitting direction and time of conference materials information, etc., conference termination times, etc.,) and the information on the moving images, still images, sound and data. After the conference is terminated, a minute report is made from the storage information of the conference information control device 18. The report is displayed on the monitor of each station and is printed by a printer 20 after amendments (corrections, additions) are accepted.

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.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a video conference system can handle image information of moving images and still images, audio information, and character code information such as computer data. One station or a terminal device is used by one or a plurality of conference participants, a plurality of stations are connected via a dedicated or general communication line, and the above information is mutually communicated.

When a plurality of persons participate in one station, it is necessary to pan or zoom the camera to photograph each person, and each terminal has a camera of its own station and / or a communication partner station. An operating device for manually operating the is provided.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Since it is called a conference, it is necessary to create a minutes. In the conventional video conference system, there is no function for creating such a minutes or a report. Not equipped. Therefore, a person who plays the role of a secretary must be prepared, and after the meeting, a minutes and the like must be separately created using a word processor, which complicates the task. Further, with this method, it is difficult to incorporate the still image provided as the conference material into the minutes, and even if it is possible, it takes time to create it.

Further, in the conventional example, when a conference participant or the like in a remote place refers to the created minutes and the like, he has no choice but to request a special distribution by mail or an electronic mail system. In the e-mail system, the station that holds the minutes, sending operation to the terminal that needs the minutes,
Or a write operation to a common file must be performed. In the former case, it is very troublesome to perform transmission operation to each terminal that needs the minutes. Also,
In the latter case, it is necessary to keep the file server storing the common file in an operating state, that is, in a power-on state at all times.

In the conventional example, one terminal device is used by a plurality of people.
When a person is selectively photographed, the pan, tilt and zoom of the camera are controlled by manual operation, which is disadvantageous in that it lacks promptness and the conference does not proceed smoothly.

It is an object of the present invention to present a video conference system that eliminates these disadvantages.

[0008]

A video conference system according to the present invention is a video conference system for carrying out a video conference by mutual transmission of images, voices or data, and successively provides video conference information including progress of the video conference. , Meeting information storage means for storing the information.

The video conference system according to the present invention is also a video conference system for carrying out a video conference by mutual transmission of images, voices or data, and the conference information sequentially storing the video conference information including the progress status of the video conference. Storage means and access control means for controlling access to the conference information storage means are provided, and access to the conference information storage means is remotely controllable so that the conference information storage means can be accessed from a remote place at any time. It is characterized by doing so.

The video conference system according to the present invention further includes
A video conferencing system for performing a video conference by mutual transmission of images, voices, or data, comprising: an imaging unit for photographing a video conference participant; and a person position storage unit for storing the person identification information and the position information of the video conference participant. According to an instruction from a conference participant to be photographed, the image pickup control unit is provided for controlling the image pickup unit with reference to the person position storage unit.

[0011]

The conference information storage means automatically accumulates conference material and conference progress information, so that it becomes easy to prepare a minutes report after the conference. That is, the minutes report can be created in a short time. Further, the access control means makes it possible to refer to the contents of the video conference from a remote place at an arbitrary time, thereby eliminating the influence of the time difference.

The person position storage means and the image pickup control means can control the image pickup means so as to selectively pick up an image of any specific conference participant, so that the conference can proceed smoothly.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a terminal device for automatically creating basic materials for meeting minutes, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a video input / output device including a video camera for shooting a conference participant of the local station and a monitor for displaying a video image of the local station and / or the conference participating station. Reference numeral 12 is a voice input / output device including a microphone and a speaker. Reference numeral 14 denotes a computer keyboard, a still image input device, a digitizer for drawing input, and other auxiliary input devices, and a moving image by a video camera, a computer image, a still image / drawing image, and an input image by the auxiliary input device. Is an input / output device equipped with a sub-monitor for displaying the image.

Reference numeral 16 is a personal information input device for inputting information (name, affiliation, etc.) for specifying a participant (including a clerk, etc.) who participates in a video conference on this terminal. Magnetic card, optical card, which can store information of
You can use a magneto-optical card, a memory card, or a simple keyboard. It may be a device for designating a corresponding record of a personal information file that has been made into a database in advance.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a mass storage device that stores attendee names of the video conference, data used in the conference, attributes of the data (moving image, still image, character data, etc.), and minutes created from these information. It is a conference information management device that stores the information, and has a function of editing the stored information, and the edited result can be printed out by the printer 20.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a terminal device body, the details of which are shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, 30 is a video input / output device 1.
It is a video interface for connecting 0, and has image processing functions such as screen division, image composition and character composition. A video encoding / decoding circuit (codec) 32 encodes the video signal from the video interface 30 and decodes the received encoded video information.

Reference numeral 34 is a voice interface for connecting the voice input / output device 12, which has a voice processing function such as an echo / cancel function. Reference numeral 36 is a voice encoding / decoding circuit (codec) for encoding the voice signal from the voice interface 30 and decoding the received encoded voice information. A delay circuit 38 delays the encoded audio information by the audio encoding / decoding circuit 36 and the received encoded audio information for a predetermined period, and is provided to synchronize with the video information.

Reference numeral 40 is a computer that provides a video conference function and a computer conference function, and 42 is an input / output device 14.
A still image / drawing control circuit for controlling the still image input / output and the drawing input / output, and an auxiliary device control circuit 44 for controlling the auxiliary device of the input / output device 14. 46 is a computer 40,
A data port for transferring data to and from the input / output device 14 via the still image / drawing control circuit 42 and the auxiliary device control circuit 44, and also for transferring data to / from the person information input device 16 and the conference information management device 18. .

Reference numeral 48 is an interconnection procedure control circuit for controlling interconnection via a network, 50 is a network signal control circuit for controlling end / end control for establishing a common mode for communication between terminals, 52 Is a communication control circuit that generally controls communication using the interconnection procedure control circuit 48 and the network signal control circuit 50.

Reference numeral 54 is a demultiplexing / multiplexing circuit for multiplex transmission of data, 56 is a network interface for connecting with a communication network 58, 60 is a multi-point video conferencing terminal interconnected, and multi-point multi-point. It is a multipoint control circuit that enables a video conference.

The operation for conducting a video conference according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

At the start of the video conference, first, at each station or each terminal, the person information input device 16 inputs the names and titles of the conference participants. For example, the personal information input device 16 is equipped with an ID card reader, and each conference participant has an ID card in which a name and a unique identification number are recorded, and each conference participant has his or her own ID card at the beginning of the conference. It suffices to have the ID card reader read the data.

The personal information input by the personal information input device 16 or personal information quoted from another database according to the identification information input by the personal information input device 16 is stored in the storage device of the conference information management device 18. It

The conference information management device 18 has a clock internally, and stores all moving images, still images and character information as conference materials in the internal storage device, and also stores the time of storage. . As a method of collecting the conference material information in the conference information management device 18, for example, the conference information management device 18 of a specific terminal monitors transmission information between the stations participating in the video conference and stores it in an internal storage device. Or, each station participating in the video conference writes all information to be the conference material in the conference information management device 18 of the specific terminal, and the specific terminal collectively transmits the received conference material to the remaining terminals. To

The conference information management device 18 compresses and stores the input moving image by a predetermined compression encoding method, and stores the input still image as it is or after being compressed. A frame memory is provided for this purpose.

In this way, the conference information management device 18
Mm mm nn meeting start mm mm nn moving image communication start mm mm nn still image transmitted from station A to station B mm mm nn computer data transmitted from station A to station mm mm nn meeting Memorize the progress of the proceedings such as the end.

After the end of the conference, the information stored in the conference information management device 18 is output to the monitor of each station. At each station, see the meeting information displayed on the monitor and enter comments, images, etc. This entry information is used again for the conference information management device 18
Is transmitted to and stored in. The minutes creator creates the minutes by appropriately combining the names of the attendees, the documents used as the meeting materials, and the comments entered after the meeting. The created minutes are output to the printer 20 and printed.

In this way, the minutes can be created very quickly in this embodiment. Since the minutes are stored in the storage device connected to the terminal used for the video conference, it goes without saying that the minutes can be transmitted to each station participating in the video conference immediately after the minutes are created.

Needless to say, the receiving side must be ready to receive the minutes before the minutes are transmitted. From this point of view, it is convenient for the side that needs the minutes to read the minutes at an arbitrary time, rather than the side that created the minutes to send the minutes. A modified embodiment for that purpose is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the power supply to each unit of the terminal can be individually controlled by the own station and via the transmission line.

FIG. 3 will be described in detail. 110 is a video input / output device similar to the video input / output device 10, 112 is an audio input / output device similar to the audio input / output device 12, 114 is an input / output device similar to the input / output device 14, 118 is a created meeting It is a conference information storage device that stores a record, and may be an internal storage device of the conference information management device 18 or another dedicated or general-purpose storage device. In the meeting information storage device 118,
All the information material of the video conference may be stored. 122 is a terminal device main body.

Reference numeral 124 is a power supply device for supplying power to each part in FIG. 3, and 126 is a power supply control circuit for controlling power supply to each part by the power supply device 124. Power supply 124
Is a main power supply circuit 128 that generates a power supply voltage for each part from an AC input, an AC-DC converter 130 that generates a DC power supply voltage for the power supply control circuit 126 from an AC input, and each part, that is, a device from the main power supply circuit 128. 110-
The switch device 132 includes a plurality of switches that turn on / off the power supply to the power supply 122. Power control circuit 12
6 is a switch device 1 according to a control signal from the main body 122.
32 switches are opened and closed.

The main body 122 is basically the same as the main body 22 of FIG. 1, but the power supply control circuit 12 receives a power supply control signal input from the input / output device 114 and a received power supply control signal.
It has a function of transferring to the No.6. In this embodiment, it is sufficient to have a function of transferring the received power control signal to the power control circuit 126.

In the terminal shown in FIG. 3, the power supply control circuit 126 is always in the power supply state, and the minutes creator prepares the minutes and stores the created minutes in the meeting information storage device 118. Register a terminal or person who can read the record. The terminal can be specified by its telephone number or operator's password, and can be specified by a password as well as a person. Then, the main body 122 is left and the power supply to the devices 110 to 118 is cut off. That is, only the main body 122 and the power supply control circuit 126 are in the operating state with the power supplied.

From the outside through the communication network, the main body 122
When a power supply control signal for a specific device 110 to 118 is input to the power supply device 1, the main body 122 transfers the power supply control signal to the power supply control circuit 126, and the power supply control circuit 126 causes the power supply device 1 to operate.
The corresponding switch of the 24 switch devices 132 is turned on or off.

A case where the minutes are read from a remote place will be described as an example. In FIG. 4, the terminal A has the configuration shown in FIG. 3 and stores the minutes information in the meeting information storage device 118. It is assumed that terminal B wants to read the minutes information.
The terminal B transmits a power supply control signal for setting the conference information storage device 118 to the power supply state to the terminal A via the communication line.
The terminal A responds to this power control signal as described above,
Power is supplied to the conference information storage device 118 to activate it. The main body 122 confirms whether or not the person who is permitted to read the information by the telephone number or the password of the terminal or the person who wants to read the information, and if the person is the authorized person, the terminal 122 can access the conference information storage device 118. Allow B. Thereby, the terminal B can read the information stored in the conference information storage device 118 of the terminal A.

There is a case where a person who cannot participate in the conference wants to reflect desired contents in the conference. In consideration of such a case, the conference information storage device 11 is assigned to a specific authorized person.
It is advisable to allow additional writing to 8.

The terminal B is the conference information storage device 118 of the terminal A.
When the access to the conference information storage device 118 is completed, a control signal for powering off the conference information storage device 118 is transmitted to the terminal A. In the terminal A, the power supply control circuit 126 cuts off the power supply to the conference information storage device 118 according to the power supply control signal from the terminal B, and notifies the terminal B of the result. The terminal B confirms that the conference information storage device 118 is powered off and terminates the communication.

The configuration of FIG. 3 makes it possible to read conference information such as minutes and conference materials from a remote location at any desired time. This is useful, for example, when the user cannot attend the video conference due to a time difference, but wants to know the detailed content and / or outline of the conference.

When reading the conference information (conference materials, minutes, etc.) stored in the conference information storage device 118 from a remote location, it is very inconvenient if all the information can be read out only in order. You can work efficiently if you have some kind of search method. In that case, the data amount of individual information (for example,
It is useful to know in advance the length of moving images, the number of screens for still images, the amount of computer data, etc. and the data provider.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of a modified embodiment in which the amount of data, the data provider, etc. are used as header information and are integrated with the data itself. Figure 5
The same components as those in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals. However, illustration of the power supply device 124 and the power supply control circuit 126 is omitted. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 140 identifies the data type (moving image, still image, computer data, etc.) of the conference material which is sequentially stored in the conference information storage device 118, and the data type and its continuation are determined. The header information management device stores time (or data amount) as header information in an internal storage device (or conference information storage device 118). 142 is a main body.

The main body 142 supplies the material information (moving image, still image, computer data, etc.) during the video conference to the header information management device 140 by inserting a specific identifier in the eye instead of the data. Header information management device 14
As shown in FIG. 6, 0 determines the alternative of the data type by the identifier, and counts the duration or data amount of each data. The type of data and its duration (or data amount) are stored in the internal storage device as items of the table of contents.

The header information management device 140 includes a main body 142.
The data obtained by removing the identifier from the input data from is applied to the conference information storage device 118, and the conference information storage device 118 sequentially stores the input data.

Thus, at the end of the conference, the internal storage device of the header information management device 140 stores the type and amount of data provided to the conference as a table of contents in chronological order. After the meeting, it is preferable to give an appropriate title to each data and store it as header information.

Either one of the conference information storage device 118 and the header information management device 140 is provided with the conference information storage device 11 of each item of header information (table of contents) and data corresponding thereto.
It is preferable to store a table for associating the storage positions in No.8.

A person who has not participated in the conference or a person who wants to repeat the contents of the conference and who is permitted to read the information accesses the terminal having the conference information storage device 118 through the communication line to obtain necessary information. Can be read. The operation at that time is basically the same as that of FIG. 3, but in response to a read request of the conference information stored in the conference information storage device 118, the main body 142 is first stored in the header information management device 140. Output management information. Thus, the person who wants to read the conference information stored in the conference information storage device 118 first uses the header information to determine the data type of the conference information,
You can know the amount of data. That is, it is possible to obtain the basic information that determines the actually read range of the conference information.

By using a table that associates each item of the header information (table of contents) with the storage position of the corresponding data in the conference information storage device 118, the desired information can be read out quickly.

Next, an embodiment will be described in which any one or a plurality of persons can be quickly selected as a photographing target from a plurality of conference participants.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic block diagram thereof.
210 is a video camera for photographing the participants of the conference, 212
Is a camera control circuit for controlling pan, tilt, zoom and focus of the video camera 210, and 214 is a person position list input device for inputting position information of each conference participant sitting in front of the video camera 210. A monitor 216 displays an image.

Reference numeral 218 is a voice input / output device similar to the voice input / output device 12, 220 is an input / output device similar to the input / output device 14, and 222 is a main body having substantially the same configuration as the main body 22.

The person position list input device 214, as shown in FIG. 8, has a table 224 in front of each video conference participant.
Placed on top. In FIG. 8, it is assumed that there are four conference participants A, B, C, and D. The seating position of the conference participant with respect to each person position list input device 214 on the table 224, in other words, the pan angle, zoom position, and focus position viewed from the video camera 210 are registered in advance for each person position list input device 214. Therefore, in this embodiment, just before the start of the video conference, only the identification information (name, etc.) of the person needs to be input by the person position list input device 214. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the person information recording card 226 held by each conference participant may be inserted into the person position information input device placed in front of the seated position.

Immediately after the start of the conference, the camera control circuit 212
Controls the pan, zoom, focus, etc. of the video camera 210 based on the person information from the person position list input device 214 and the position information thereof so that the angle of view fits all in one screen. This allows the video camera 2
The shooting screen of 10 becomes a wide screen, and as shown in FIG. 10, an image including all of the station is displayed on the monitor 216 of the own station or the communication partner station. At that time, it is preferable to superimpose the number (1, 2, 3, 4 in FIG. 10) for identifying the conference participant and the participant's name.

When it is desired to take a picture of one particular participant in close-up, alphanumeric characters for that person are designated by the keyboard, digitizer, mouse or the like of the input / output device 220. The designated information is supplied to the camera control circuit 212 via the main body 222 or the communication line and the main body 222 in the case of the own station. The camera control circuit 212 compares the designated information with the person position information from the person position list input device 218 to obtain a target person position, and the video camera is controlled so that the target person can enter the center of the screen in an upright position. Control the pan, zoom and focus of 210. For example, "1" in FIG.
When the person specified by is designated, the person is photographed up close as shown in FIG.

When a plurality of persons are designated at the same time, the camera control circuit 212 controls the pan, zoom and focus of the video camera 210 so that all the designated persons are within the photographing screen.

As a means for inputting the personal information and its position, a configuration may be considered in which a conference participant attaches a batch capable of wirelessly reading stored data to a chest or the like, and the presence / absence of the batch and the stored information are read out by radio waves. To be

According to this embodiment, the operation is very simple.
Desired person (1 or 2 or more) of your station or communication partner station
You can zoom to. Further, by displaying the names and affiliations of the participants on the monitor screen as well, the names and faces immediately match, and the video conference can proceed smoothly.

The conference information in this embodiment is not limited to each information in the above embodiment. Other information, for example, image information that shows the facial expressions of attendees during the conference may be included in the conference information.

[0060]

As can be easily understood from the above description, according to the present invention, the minutes and reports of the video conference can be easily created, and the minutes and the like can be created in a short time after the end of the meeting. . Also, it becomes easy to refer to conference materials and minutes from a remote location. Furthermore, since it becomes easy to operate the camera during the video conference, the video conference can be smoothly advanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of a main body 22.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram for reading minutes information from a remote location.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an arrangement of a person position list input device 214.

9 is an explanatory diagram of personal information input by the personal information recording card 226. FIG.

FIG. 10 is an example of a screen for photographing everyone.

FIG. 11 is a screen example in which one person is up.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Video input / output device 12: Audio input / output device 14:
Input / output device 16: Person information input device 18: Conference information management device 20: Printer 22: Main body 30: Video interface 32: Video encoding / decoding circuit 34:
Audio interface 36: audio encoding / decoding circuit
38: delay circuit 40: computer 42: still image /
Drawing control circuit 44: Auxiliary equipment control circuit 46: Data port 48: Interconnection procedure control circuit 50: Network signal control circuit
52: communication control circuit 54: demultiplexing circuit 56: network interface 58: communication network 60: multipoint control circuit 110: video input / output device 112: audio input / output device 114: input / output device 118: conference information storage device
122: Main body 124: Power supply device 126: Power supply control circuit 128: Main power supply circuit 130: AC-DC converter 132: Switch device 140: Header information management device 142: Main body 210: Video camera 21
2: Camera control circuit 214: Person position list input device 216: Monitor 218: Audio input / output device 220:
Input / output device 222: Main body 224: Table 226: Personal information recording card

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A video conference system for performing a video conference by mutual transmission of images, voices, or data, comprising conference information storage means for sequentially storing video conference information including progress of the video conference. Video conferencing system. 2. A meeting minutes from a person information input means for inputting information for identifying a conference participant, stored information of the conference information storage means, and person information specified by the input of the person information input means. The video conference system according to claim 1, further comprising: a minutes creating means for creating a report. 3. The video conference system according to claim 2, wherein the meeting minutes report created by the minutes creating means is displayed on each station on a monitor, and after the modification is accepted, it is output by a printer. 4. The video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the video conference information includes predetermined information among images, voices and data transmitted during the video conference. 5. The video conference system according to claim 1, further comprising a catalog information storage unit that stores catalog information of transmission information during the video conference. 6. The video conference system according to claim 5, wherein the inventory information includes information regarding the amount of each information. 7. A video conference system for performing a video conference by mutual transmission of images, voices or data, comprising conference information storage means for sequentially storing video conference information including progress of the video conference, and the conference information storage. Access control means for controlling access to the means is provided, access to the conference information storage means can be remotely controlled, and the conference information storage means can be accessed from a remote place at any time. Video conferencing system. 8. A meeting minutes from a person information input means for inputting information for identifying a conference participant, stored information of the conference information storage means, and person information specified by the input of the person information input means. The video conference system according to claim 7, further comprising: a minutes creating means for creating a report. 9. The video conference system according to claim 8, wherein the conference minutes report produced by the minutes producing means is displayed on each station on a monitor, and after receiving the correction, it is output by a printer. 10. The video conference system according to claim 7, wherein the video conference information includes a predetermined one of image, voice and data transmitted during the video conference. 11. The video conference system according to claim 7, further comprising a catalog information storage unit for storing catalog information of transmission information during the video conference. 12. The video conference system according to claim 11, wherein the inventory information includes information regarding the amount of each information. 13. A video conferencing system for conducting a video conference by mutual transmission of images, voices, or data, which stores image pickup means for photographing a video conference participant, personal identification information and position information of the video conference participant. A video conference system comprising: a person position storage means; and an image pickup control means for controlling the image pickup means by referring to the person position storage means in accordance with an instruction from a conference participant who should shoot.