JPH0222986A - Image transmission equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect the privacy of a communicator in a television telephone for personal use by transmitting picture data obtained by a television camera after substituting a prescribed background image for insertion stored in advance for the image of background in the picture data. CONSTITUTION:The image obtained by the television camera is supplied to a comparator 7, and is compared with the picture data supplied from a background memory circuit 8 at the comparator. And when the image is recognized as the background by the comparator 7, the picture data supplied from the television camera 1 and recognized as the background is substituted by the picture data supplied from an insertion background memory circuit 10 by a switching means 9. Therefore, the picture data of the background is substituted by the picture data for insertion stored in advance automatically. In such a way, it is possible to protect the privacy of a transmission side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image transmission device that transmits image data obtained by a television camera, and particularly to improvements in the content of the image data to be transmitted.

[Background Art] With the recent advances in various communication media and devices, video conference systems and devices that exchange not only audio but also images using communication lines are becoming popular. Such a video conference is a conference method in which conference rooms located at different locations are connected to each other by communication lines, and a plurality of participants participate. According to videoconferencing, efficient meetings can be held between remote locations without the need for mutual travel, such as business trips, and with the same communication of intentions and information as in regular meetings. In addition, since it is possible to understand facial movements, etc. not only in a meeting but also in a one-on-one telephone conversation, it is possible to convey intentions and information in a sophisticated manner.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention C] As described above, image transmission devices are becoming widely popular because they bring about various effects. However, there are also disadvantages brought about by such image transmission. In other words, all of the images captured by the television camera within a predetermined range are transmitted to the other party. Therefore, even if there is a background image that is not desired to be transmitted, there is a problem in that the image is transmitted to the other party.

In order to solve this problem, it was necessary to check the surrounding situation before transmitting an image. In particular, in videophone calls for personal use, there is a desire to omit the transmission of the background in order to protect the privacy of the person communicating.

This invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems a!
The object of the present invention is to provide an image transmission device that can extract background information from image data obtained by a television camera and replace it with another predetermined image.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An image transmission device according to the present invention, before transmitting image data,
Image data regarding the background obtained by the television camera is stored in advance in the background memory, and a specific background image for insertion is stored in the insertion background memory, and the image data obtained by the television camera and the background memory are supplied. The background data is compared with a comparator, and the image data recognized as background in the input image data is replaced with image data from the inserted background memory. The present invention is characterized in that an image regarding the background can be replaced with a predetermined insertion background image stored in advance and transmitted.

[Operation] Since the image transmission device according to the present invention has the above configuration, the image obtained by the television camera is supplied to the comparator, where the image data supplied from the background memory is compared. . When the background is recognized by the comparator, the switching means replaces the image data supplied from the television camera recognized as the background with the image data supplied from the insertion background memory.

Therefore, the image data regarding the background is automatically replaced with the pre-stored insertion image data, and the privacy of the sender can be protected.

[Embodiment] Next, an image transmission device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an image transmission device according to an embodiment. In the figure, (1) is a television camera, (2) is a preprocessing circuit, (3) is a background identification insertion circuit,
(4) is an encoding circuit, (5) is a variable tone encoding circuit, (6
) is the send buffer. In such a device, signals for images captured by a television camera (1) are supplied to a pre-processing circuit (2). The signal obtained by this television camera (1) is usually an analog video signal. Therefore, the preprocessing circuit (2) performs analog-to-digital conversion or performs predetermined sampling. The signal that has undergone such preprocessing is then supplied to the background identification and insertion circuit (3), where the background image is identified and replaced.

Here, regarding the configuration of this background identification insertion circuit (3),
This will be explained based on FIG. The image data supplied from the preprocessing circuit (2) is first inputted to the comparator (7).

This comparator (7) is for recognizing the background image. That is, background recognition is performed by comparing data about the current image obtained by the television camera (1) inputted from the preprocessing circuit (2) with data about the background supplied from the background memory (8). conduct.

This comparison is performed by comparing data of each individual pixel of commercial broadcasting that constitutes the image. That is, if the difference in data between two pixels to be compared falls within a predetermined range, that pixel is considered to be the background.

Here, the background memory circuit (8) must store an image corresponding to the background of the image currently being captured by the television camera (1).

In order to store image data regarding such a background in the background memory circuit (8), the background image may be automatically loaded, for example, when the main power of the image transmission device is turned on and the device is started up. A predetermined switch is provided, and when the switch is pressed, the image data obtained by the television camera (1) at that time is transferred to the background memory circuit (8).
It is also possible to store the information in . Furthermore, image data that does not move for a predetermined period of time may be automatically stored.

The result of comparison by the comparator (7) in this manner is outputted as a control signal S from the comparator (7). and,
This control signal S controls switching in the switching means (9). That is, the switching means (9) is supplied with both image data from the preprocessing circuit (2) and image data from the insertion background memory circuit (10). Then, which one is output is controlled by the control signal S from the comparator (7).

If the control signal from the comparator (7) recognizes that the image data supplied from the pre-processing circuit (2) is background for that pixel, the switching means (9) selects a signal from the insertion background memory circuit (10). Output the supplied image data. If the control signal S is a signal indicating that the image is not a background, the switching means (9) outputs the image data supplied from the preprocessing circuit (2) as is.

In this way, the comparator (7) recognizes whether it is a background or not, and the switching means (9) sequentially replaces the image data regarding the background with the inserted background, so that the image data that has passed through the background identification and insertion circuit is The background in the image obtained by the television camera (1) is replaced with another background. There, a TV camera (1
) can exclude images of the background from the images captured by the camera, making it possible to protect the privacy of the room and other details.

It is preferable that the comparator (7) recognizes whether the image is the background by adjusting the predetermined range for recognizing the background depending on the type of image, and making the adjustment while watching the monitor for the self-image.

Further, it is preferable that a plurality of types of background images are prepared in the insertion background memory circuit (10) so that the background image can be selected as appropriate according to the communication person's selection. in this case,
The type of background image can be a landscape of an arbitrary place, but if you use a plain color such as white or gray,
Subsequent processing becomes easier.

The signal in which the image data regarding the background has been replaced in this way is supplied to the encoding circuit (4). This encoding circuit (4) converts data regarding multiple pixels into one
The image data to be transmitted is quantized and compressed by encoding it as a block and compressing it, or by comparing it with previously encoded data and performing compensation corresponding to the motion. The data subjected to such encoding processing is then assigned a variable length code and encoded in a variable length encoding circuit (5). Image data that has undergone such encoding processing is transmitted via a transmission buffer (6).

Image data transmitted after undergoing such processing is no different from normal image data. Therefore, on the receiving side, the transmitted image can be displayed on the monitor after processing such as variable length decoding, image decoding, and digital-to-analog conversion, as in the normal case.

In this way, in the device of this embodiment, the background can be replaced with a predetermined pre-stored image using the background identification insertion circuit, and there is no need to send an image of the location where the sender is. This makes it possible to protect the privacy of information such as the state of the person.

In addition, since constant data about the background is always supplied, the amount of encoding in the encoding circuit (4) is reduced, and it is possible to transmit a clear screen with good movement tracking for the remaining screen. . Incidentally, it is preferable that an appropriate switch be set so that the user can appropriately select whether or not to replace the image data regarding the background.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the image transmission device according to the present invention, it is possible to replace the background part of the image obtained by the television camera with an arbitrary part, so that it is possible to change the background part of the image obtained by the television camera, so that it is possible to change the background part of the image obtained by the television camera. Can keep secrets.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of an image transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed structure of a background identification insertion circuit (3) in the same embodiment. In the figure, (1) is a television camera, (3) is a background identification insertion circuit, (7) is a comparator, (8) is a background memory circuit,
(9) is a switching means, and (10) is an insertion background memory circuit. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent: Masuo Oiwa, patent attorney (2 others)

Claims (1)

[Claims] An image transmission device that transmits image data obtained by a television camera, which includes, before transmitting the image data, a background memory that stores image data about a background obtained by the television camera as background data; An insertion background memory that stores a background image for insertion in advance; a comparator that receives and compares both the image data obtained by the television camera and the background data supplied from the background memory; and a comparator that compares the input image data. a switching means for replacing image data recognized as background by the comparator with image data from an inserted background memory; An image transmission device characterized by being capable of transmitting a predetermined background image for insertion that is stored.