JPH03216051A - Video conference communication system between multi-points - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain inter-multi-point video conference tying 3 points or over by providing a line speed conversion circuit, a digital signal changeover matrix device and a changeover controller. CONSTITUTION:The system is provided with line speed detection circuits 5a, 5b, 5n detecting the compression ratio of a picture signal and an audio signal subjected to band compression from video conference terminal equipments 1a, 1b, 1n, line speed conversion circuits 4a, 4b, 4n converting a reception signal with diffrent compression rate into a prescribed compression ratio, a digital signal switching matrix device 6 selectively switching a picture signal and an audio signal of a subscriber desired by each conference room and a switching controller 7 receiving a subscriber selection request from each conference room and controlling the digital signal switching matrix device 6. Then the video conference signal is subjected to speed conversion and a video conference signal of plural video conference terminal equipments is sent/received switchingly. Thus, the inter-multi-point video conference tying 3 points or over is attained and the switching operation of a subscriber is facilitated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a video conference communication system, and particularly to a multipoint video conference communication system that connects three or more points. [Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of video conference communication system, a plurality of video conference terminal devices are each connected to a line switching device via a communication line, and system data of the line switching connection device is input from an input device such as a personal computer. By setting the above, it was possible to create a point-to-point video conference system in which the desired video conference terminals were connected in a fixed manner on a one-to-one basis, and the transmission speed of the digital line connecting both video conference terminals was the same. .

In addition, multipoint video conferences were held by installing communication lines for the number of locations participating in the conference at the same time and connecting individual video conference terminals. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional video conference communication system described above requires a fixed connection between two points, so it is impossible to hold a simultaneous conference at three or more points. Furthermore, since the communication line is a fixed connection between two points, changing the connection with another video conference terminal device that is fixedly connected between two points requires a complicated line switching operation, and if you make a mistake, the entire network will be damaged. The impact extended to line connection settings, posing the risk of disconnecting lines in use. Furthermore, there is a drawback that connection is not possible unless the transmission speeds of the digital communication lines between the video conference terminal devices are the same.

An object of the present invention is to provide a multipoint video conference communication system that allows easy line connection operations and allows communication even with video conference terminal devices having different transmission speeds.

[Means to solve the problem]

The video conference communication system of the present invention is a multi-point video conference communication system that connects video conference terminal devices at three or more points, and connects each video conference terminal device and detects individual line speeds. The system is configured to speed-convert the video conference signal between the detected different line speeds and to switch and receive and transmit video conference signals from a plurality of video conference terminal devices.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multipoint video conference communication system showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a book diagram showing an embodiment of the digital signal switching matrix device shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 shows video conference terminal devices 1a, lb. 1n, band compression transmission devices 2a, 2b, 2n for converting image signals and audio signals output by the video conference terminal device into digital signals and compressing the band, and digital communication lines 8a, 8b.
, 8n.
, lb, 1n connection interfaces 3a, 3b, 3n for receiving band-compressed image signals and audio signals.
, line speed detection circuits 5a, 5b, and 5n that detect the compression ratio of the band-compressed image signal and audio signal of the received video conference terminal device, and line speed detection circuits 5a, 5b.
, 5n convert received signals with different compression ratios into predetermined compression ratios according to the detection information detected by the circuits 4a, 4b, and 4n, and speed-converted image signals and audio signals from each video conference terminal device. a digital signal switching matrix device 6 that branches out and selectively switches the destination image signal and audio signal desired by each conference room; and a switching control device that controls the digital signal switching matrix device 6 in response to a destination selection request from each conference room. It consists of device 7. Note that the connection interfaces 3a, 3b, 3n. Line speed conversion circuits 4a, 4b, 4n, line speed detection circuits 5a, 5b
, 5n. It is assumed that the digital signal switching matrix device 6 and the switching control device 7 are installed at a center and connected to a video conference terminal device via a digital communication line. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the digital signal switching matrix device 6 in this embodiment, which includes a digital signal branching circuit 9a for sending image signals and audio signals received from one video conference terminal device to another video conference terminal device; 9b,9
n and digital signal branch circuits 9a, 9b, and 9n.
Changeover switches 10a, 10b, which selectively connect the output image signals and audio signals of each video conference terminal device;
Ion, input terminals 11a, llb, 11n for inputting image signals and audio signals of each video conference terminal device to the digital signal switching matrix device 6, and selectively switched image signals outputted by the digital signal switching matrix device 6. and output terminals 12a, 12b, 12n for outputting audio signals to the video conference terminal device, and input terminals 13a, 13b, 13n for inputting the selection switching control signal outputted by the switching control device 7. Here, a case will be described using as an example a case where a conference room of the video conference terminal device 1a is in session in a three-point video conference connecting the video conference terminal devices 1a, lb, and in.

The image signal and audio signal sent from the video conference terminal device 1a are band-compressed by the band-compression transmission device 2a and output to the digital communication line 8a. The band-compressed image signal and audio signal of the video conference terminal device 1a are received by the connection interface 3a. The image signal and audio signal received by the connection interface 3a are connected to a line speed conversion circuit 4a and a line speed detection circuit 5a. The line speed detection circuit 5a detects the band compression ratio of the image signal and the audio signal output by the connection interface 3a, and based on this detection information, the line speed conversion circuit 4a selects a predetermined predetermined, for example, video conference terminal that participates in a conference simultaneously. The speed is converted to the average compression ratio of the digital line connecting the devices. The image signal and audio signal from the video conference terminal device 1a that have been converted to a predetermined compression ratio are input to the input terminal 1 of the switching matrix.
It is connected to the digital signal branch circuit 9a via 1a.

The digital signal branch circuit 9a branches the image signal and audio signal from the video conference terminal device 1a into two, sends one to the changeover switch 10b, and sends the other one to the changeover switch 10n.
Connect to. The switching control device 7 is the video conference terminal device 1b.
and 1n via a control line (not shown), and is actuated by a ground selection request signal sent from the selector switch 10b.
and Ion receives the ground selection switching control signal output from the switching control device 7 via input terminals 13b and 13n, and selectively switches between the branched image signal and the audio signal from the digital signal branching circuit 9a. The image signal and audio signal from the selected video conference terminal device 1a are sent to the line speed conversion circuit 4b via the output terminals 12b and 12n.
and output to 4n. Line speed conversion circuits 4b and 4
n compresses the image signal and audio signal of the video conference terminal device 1a branched and outputted by the digital signal branching circuit 9a to match the line speed specific to the video conference terminal devices 1b and 1n detected by the line speed conversion circuits 5b and 5n. Convert the ratio. The image signals and audio signals of the video conference terminal device 1a, which have been converted to line speeds specific to the video conference terminal devices 1b and 1n, are transferred to the connection interfaces 3b and 3.
n, are input to the video conference terminal devices 1b and 1n via communication lines 8b and 8n, and band compression transmission devices 2b and 2n. The image signal and audio signal output by the video conference terminal device 1b are branched into two by a digital signal branch circuit 9b, and are selectively switched by the changeover switches 10a and Ion in response to the site selection requests from the video conference terminal devices 1a and 1n, respectively, and the line is switched. Video conference terminal device 1 via speed conversion circuits 4a and 4n, connection interfaces 3a and 3n, communication lines 8a and 8n, and band compression transmission devices 2a and 2n.
a and 1n.

Similarly, the image signal and audio signal of the video conference terminal device 1n are branched and selectively switched by the digital signal switching matrix device 6, and inputted to the video conference terminal devices 1a and 1b to set up a three-party video conference.

The selection of the ground image signal and audio signal to be received by the teleconference terminal device is controlled by the switching control device 7 according to a request from the conference room, so that the selection can be made freely. Therefore, it is possible to proceed with the conference while selecting the site currently speaking or any other desired site.

In the above description, the ground switching request from each conference room is sent out using the control line, but it is also possible to multiplex the request into an image signal and an audio signal and send it out.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention allows the digital signal switching matrix device and the switching control device to easily selectively receive terrestrial image signals and audio signals from the video conference terminal device. This makes it possible to conduct multi-point video conferences, and it also makes it easier to switch between stations, eliminating the risk of accidentally disconnecting other lines when switching between stations.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multipoint video conference communication system showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a book diagram showing an embodiment of the digital signal switching matrix device shown in FIG. la, lb, in...TV conference terminal device, 2
a, 2b, 2n...bandwidth compression transmission device, 3a,
3b, 3n... Connection interface, 4a, 4
b4n...Line speed conversion circuit, 5a, 5b, 5
n...Line speed detection circuit, 6...Digital signal switching matrix device, 7...Switching control device, 8a, 8b, 8n...Communication line, 9a
, 9b, 9n... Digital signal branch circuit, 10
a, 10b, Ion...... changeover switch, lla
, llb, lln... Input terminals for image signals and audio signals, 12a, 1 2b, 12n... Output terminals for image signals and audio signals, 1 3a, 1 3b, 13n... ...Input terminal for ground selection control signal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a multi-point video conference communication system that connects video conference terminal devices at three or more points, each video conference terminal device is connected, different line speeds are detected individually, and the difference between the detected different line speeds is A multipoint video conference communication system characterized by converting the speed of video conference signals and switching and connecting the video conference signals of multiple video conference terminal devices.