Television – Two-way video and voice communication – Conferencing
Reexamination Certificate
1995-11-28
2003-03-25
Woo, Stella (Department: 2643)
Television
Two-way video and voice communication
Conferencing
Reexamination Certificate
active
06538684
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a television conference system for holding a television conference by using a plurality of information processing devices capable of communicating with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1
shows an example of the configuration of a conventional television conference system.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth information processing devices
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
, and
6
are so connected via a network
36
as to be able to communicate with each other.
Of these information processing devices, each of the first to third information processing devices
1
to
3
includes a display
25
, a keyboard
27
, a mouse
28
, a video camera
40
, a loudspeaker
41
, and a first terminal
50
. Note that the fourth and fifth information processing devices
4
and
5
have the same arrangement as the first to third information processing devices
1
to
3
, although the illustration of the devices
4
and
5
is simplified in FIG.
1
. The first terminal
50
of each of the information processing devices
1
to
5
comprises, e.g., a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an external storage, and a network transmission and reception unit (none of them is shown). These information processing devices
1
to
5
are used as information processing devices for television conference terminals.
The sixth information processing device
6
includes a display
25
, a keyboard
27
, a mouse
28
, and a second terminal
51
. The second terminal
51
has an identical arrangement with that of the first terminal
50
but incorporates a hard disk with a faster speed and larger capacity than those of the hard disk of the first terminal
50
. Therefore, the second terminal
51
can read and write a large capacity of various data such as image data and audio data at a high speed.
This sixth information processing device
6
is used as a video server and records image data and audio data transmitted from the information processing devices
1
to
5
through the network
36
into respective corresponding files for the information processing devices
1
to
5
. Also, in accordance with requests transmitted from the information processing devices
1
to
5
through the network
36
, the information processing device
6
transmits the image data and the audio data recorded as described above to the information processing devices
1
to
5
through the network
36
.
FIG. 2
illustrates an example of the display contents on the display
25
.
In
FIG. 2
, image display windows
1
a
,
2
a
,
3
a
,
4
a
, and
5
a
display images taken by the video cameras
40
of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth information processing devices
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
, and
5
, respectively.
Various buttons for operating this television conference system are arranged on a control box
10
. Buttons
11
,
12
, and
13
are used to reproduce image data and audio data recorded in the past in the sixth information processing device
6
, i.e., a quick wind button, a normal reproduction button, and a rewind button, respectively. A normal operation button
14
is used to output image data and audio data currently being picked up to the display
25
and the loudspeaker
41
, respectively. These buttons are depressed by a click manipulation using the mouse
28
.
A procedure when a given one of the first to fifth information processing devices
1
to
5
used as the terminals of this television conference system requests reproduction of image data and audio data recorded in the past in the sixth information processing device
6
used as the video server of the system and displays the reproduced image, will be described below with reference to the flow chart shown in
FIGS. 3A and 3B
.
Referring to
FIGS. 3A and 3B
the systems of the information processing devices
1
to
5
are activated in step S
71
. In step S
72
, each of the information processing devices
1
to
5
broadcasts (transmits) input image data from the video camera
40
and input audio data from a microphone (not shown) connected to the video camera
40
to the network
36
. In steps S
73
to S
76
, whether any of the quick wind button
11
, the normal reproduction button
12
, the rewind button
13
, and the normal operation button
14
,
FIG. 2
, is depressed is checked.
If it is determined in step S
73
that the quick wind button
11
is depressed, the flow advances to step S
77
, and a packet containing the number (one of
1
to
5
) of the information processing device corresponding to one of the display windows
1
a
to
5
a
,
FIG. 2
, in which the quick wind button
11
is depressed and also containing the quick wind request, is transmitted to the sixth information processing device
6
as the video server. In step S
78
, the mode of the display window in which the quick wind button
11
is depressed is set to a “recording and reproduction quick wind mode” which quickly reproduces the image data and the audio data recorded in the sixth information processing device
6
.
If it is determined in step S
74
that the rewind button
13
is depressed, the flow advances to step S
79
, and a packet containing the number of the information processing device corresponding to one of the display windows
1
a
to
5
a
,
FIG. 2
, in which the rewind button
13
is depressed and also containing the rewind request is transmitted to the sixth information processing device
6
. In step S
80
, the mode of the display window in which the rewind button
13
is depressed is set to a “recording and reproduction rewind mode” which reproduces the image data and the audio data recorded in the sixth information processing device
6
while rewinding these data.
If it is determined in step S
75
that the normal reproduction button
12
is depressed, the flow advances to step S
81
, and a packet containing the number of the information processing device corresponding to one of the display windows
1
a
to
5
a
,
FIG. 2
, in which the normal reproduction button
12
is depressed and also containing the normal speed reproduction request, is transmitted to the sixth information processing device
6
. In step S
82
, the mode of the display window in which the normal reproduction button
12
is depressed is set to a “recording and reproduction normal speed mode” which reproduces the image data and the audio data recorded in the sixth information processing device
6
at a normal speed.
If it is determined in step S
76
that the normal operation button
14
is depressed, the flow advances to step S
83
, and a packet containing the number of the information processing device corresponding to one of the display windows
1
a
to
5
a
,
FIG. 2
, in which the normal operation button
14
is depressed and also containing the normal operation request is transmitted to the sixth information processing device
6
. In step S
84
, the mode of the display window in which the normal operation button
14
is depressed is set to a “normal mode” which performs a normal television conference.
After the processing corresponding to the depression of any of the buttons
11
to
14
is done as described above, it is checked in step S
85
whether a packet transmitted through the network
36
is received. If no packet is received, the flow returns to the transmission processing in step S
72
. If a packet is received in step S
85
, the flow advances to step S
86
to check whether the received packet is for the television conference.
If the received packet is not for the television conference, the flow advances to step S
87
to check whether the received packet is a reproduction stop request packet sent from the sixth information processing device
6
. If the received packet is the reproduction stop request packet, the flow advances to step S
88
to check which of the windows
1
a
to
5
a
the packet corresponds to. The mode of the corresponding window is then set to the normal mode. If the received packet is not the reproduction stop request packet, normal packet processing is performed in step S
89
.
On
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Woo Stella
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