Virtual conference system and terminal apparatus therefor

• US 5,491,743 A
• Filed: 05/24/1994
• Issued: 02/13/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shiio, Ichiro, Kobayashi, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): PRESSON, THOMAS
• Application Number:
  US08/248,117
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14, 348/15, 348/16, 348/578, 348/19, 348/26, 348/61, 348/577
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/977 Dynamic icon, e.g. animated or live action

Abstract

A terminal apparatus for a virtual conference system comprises: a display means for displaying a virtual conference room used for holding a virtual conference, and for displaying, in the virtual conference room, animated characters representing attendants at the virtual conference; an indication means for indicating an action of an animated character representing the user; an information output means for outputting action information for the animated character representing the user indicated by the indication means; and character control means for actuating the other animated characters in accordance with input action information for the other animated characters, and for actuating the animated character representing the user in accordance with the indicated action.

Claims

1. A terminal apparatus for a virtual conference system, comprising:

a display means for displaying a virtual conference room used for holding a virtual conference, and for displaying, in the virtual conference room, animated characters representing participants at the virtual conference;

an indication means for indicating an action of an animated character representing a particular corresponding participant;

an information output means for outputting action information for the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant indicated by the indication means;

a management means for determining an animated character to be actuated based on input action information for the other animated characters and the indicated action of the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant and for assigning an action right to the determined animated character; and

a character control means for actuating the right-assigned animated character in accordance with at least one of the input action information for the other animated characters and the indicated action of the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant.

2. A terminal apparatus for a virtual conference system, comprising:

a display means for displaying a virtual conference room used for holding a virtual conference, and for displaying, in the virtual conference room, animated characters representing participants at the virtual conference;

an indication means for indicating an action of an animated character representing a particular corresponding participant;

an information output means for outputting action information for the animated character representing a particular corresponding participant indicated by the indication means; and

a character control means for actuating the other animated characters in accordance with input action information for the other animated characters, and for actuating the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant in accordance with the indicated action when receiving permission information corresponding to the output action information.

3. A virtual conference system comprising a plurality of terminal apparatuses connected to each other so that action information can be input to each of the plurality of terminal apparatuses, each terminal apparatus including:

a display means for displaying a virtual conference room used for holding a virtual conference, and for displaying, in the virtual conference room, animated characters representing participants at the virtual conference;

an indication means for indicating an action of an animated character representing a particular corresponding participant;

an information output means for outputting action information for the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant indicated by the indication means;

a management means for determining an animated character to be actuated based on input action information for the other animated characters and the indicated action of the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant and for assigning an action right to the determined animated character; and

a character control means for actuating the right-assigned animated character in accordance with at least one of the input action information for the other animated characters and the indicated action of the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant.

4. A virtual conference system comprising a plurality of terminal apparatuses connected to an intensive control apparatus which determines an animated character to be actuated in accordance with input action information, and sending permission information to a terminal apparatus for a virtual conference system corresponding to the determined animated character, each terminal apparatus including:

a display means for displaying a virtual conference room used for holding a virtual conference, and for displaying, in the virtual conference room, animated characters representing participants at the virtual conference;

an indication means for indicating an action of an animated character representing a particular corresponding participant;

an information output means for outputting action information for the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant indicated by the indication means; and

a character control means for actuating the other animated characters in accordance with input action information for the other animated characters, and for actuating the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant in accordance with the indicated action when receiving permission information corresponding to the output action information.

5. A terminal apparatus for a virtual conference system, comprising:

a display means for displaying a virtual conference room used for holding a virtual conference, and for displaying, in the virtual conference room, animated characters representing participants at the virtual conference;

an indication means for indicating an action of an animated character representing a particular corresponding participant;

an information output means for converting an input voice to voice information for the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant, and for outputting the voice information together with the action information for the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant indicated by the indication means;

a voice output means for judging whether to output a voice based on input action information for the other animated characters, and for outputting the voice based on the voice information when it is judged that the voice should be output; and

a character control means for actuating the other animated characters in accordance with the input action information for the other animated characters, and for actuating the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant in accordance with the indicated action.

6. A virtual conference system comprising a plurality of terminal apparatuses connected to each other so that the voice information and the action information can be input to each of the plurality of terminal apparatuses, each terminal apparatus including:

a display means for displaying a virtual conference room used for holding a virtual conference, and for displaying, in the virtual conference room, animated characters representing participants at the virtual conference;

an indication means for indicating an action of an animated character representing the particular corresponding participant;

an information output means for converting an input voice to voice information for the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant, and for outputting the voice information together with the action information for the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant indicated by the indication means;

a voice output means for judging whether to output a voice based on input action information for the other animated characters, and for outputting the voice based on the voice information when it is judged that the voice should be output; and

a character control means for actuating the other animated characters in accordance with the input action information for the other animated characters, and for actuating the animated character representing the particular corresponding participant in accordance with the indicated action.