Video teleconferencing system
First Claim
1. A video teleconferencing system providing a video teleconference among plural participants having corresponding faces and located at respective, plural different work locations, the video teleconferencing system comprising:
- at each work location, a respective image pick-up and processing unit having left and right image pick-up elements positioned at symmetrically displaced, oblique viewing angles to the left and right of a frontal view of the face of the respective participant and producing corresponding left and right picked-up images of the face of the participant and, further, processing the left and right picked-up images to produce, without conversion, corresponding left and right direct image outputs and, with conversion, corresponding left and right mirror image outputs;
at each work location, a respective image display unit having left and right image display elements selectively providing left and right image displays of an individual participant, relative to and for viewing by the respective participant;
at each work location, a respective image specifying unit specifying image outputs to be selected for display, selectively and respectively, on the left and right image display elements of the respective image display unit and in common for the image display units respectively associated with the plurality of work locations, and in accordance with selected, specific participants whose corresponding images are to be displayed, out of the plural participants of the video teleconferencing system, and in accordance with selectively displaying;
i. the corresponding image of the specific participant, as picked-up by the left image pick-up element, on the right display element and the corresponding mirror image thereof for display on the left display element, andii. the corresponding image of the specific participant, as picked-up by the right image pick-up element, on the left display element and the corresponding mirror image thereof for display on the right display element; and
a determination and selection unit determining the specific participants whose corresponding images are to be displayed on a respective one of the left and right image display elements, in common for the plural image display units on which the corresponding images of the respective, specific participants are to be displayed, the image specifying units correspondingly specifying the image outputs to be selected and displayed and the determination and selection unit, further, selecting and supplying the specified image outputs to the respective left and right image display elements of each image display unit of the plural different work locations for viewing by the respective, plural participants.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A video teleconferencing system is adapted to make a video conference among a plurality of participants located at different work locations. The video teleconferencing system includes a plurality of image pickup devices provided at each work location for picking up the participant at each work location, a plurality of image displays provided at each work location for displaying images of the participants, an image converter provided for each work location for converting the image picked up by the image pickup means into a mirror image thereof, and an image selector provided for each work location for selecting the image to be transmitted to the image displays at every work location from the images picked up by the image pickup devices and the mirror images thereof obtained from the image converter.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A video teleconferencing system providing a video teleconference among plural participants having corresponding faces and located at respective, plural different work locations, the video teleconferencing system comprising:
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at each work location, a respective image pick-up and processing unit having left and right image pick-up elements positioned at symmetrically displaced, oblique viewing angles to the left and right of a frontal view of the face of the respective participant and producing corresponding left and right picked-up images of the face of the participant and, further, processing the left and right picked-up images to produce, without conversion, corresponding left and right direct image outputs and, with conversion, corresponding left and right mirror image outputs; at each work location, a respective image display unit having left and right image display elements selectively providing left and right image displays of an individual participant, relative to and for viewing by the respective participant; at each work location, a respective image specifying unit specifying image outputs to be selected for display, selectively and respectively, on the left and right image display elements of the respective image display unit and in common for the image display units respectively associated with the plurality of work locations, and in accordance with selected, specific participants whose corresponding images are to be displayed, out of the plural participants of the video teleconferencing system, and in accordance with selectively displaying; i. the corresponding image of the specific participant, as picked-up by the left image pick-up element, on the right display element and the corresponding mirror image thereof for display on the left display element, and ii. the corresponding image of the specific participant, as picked-up by the right image pick-up element, on the left display element and the corresponding mirror image thereof for display on the right display element; and a determination and selection unit determining the specific participants whose corresponding images are to be displayed on a respective one of the left and right image display elements, in common for the plural image display units on which the corresponding images of the respective, specific participants are to be displayed, the image specifying units correspondingly specifying the image outputs to be selected and displayed and the determination and selection unit, further, selecting and supplying the specified image outputs to the respective left and right image display elements of each image display unit of the plural different work locations for viewing by the respective, plural participants. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A video teleconferencing system providing video teleconferences between plural participants located at respective, plural different work locations, the video teleconferencing system comprising:
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plural image pick-up and processing units respectively associated with the plural different work locations, each image pick-up and processing unit at a respective work location being disposed, relatively to the respective participant thereat, for picking up left and right symmetrically angularly separated images of the respective participant and processing same to produce, without conversion, corresponding left and right direct image outputs and to produce, with conversion, corresponding left and right mirror image outputs; plural image display units respectively associated with the plural different work locations, each image display unit having left and right display elements disposed relatively to the respective participant for providing left and right, symmetrically angularly separated image displays relatively to, and for viewing by, the respective participant; an image specifying unit specifying, in common for each of the plural image pick-up and processing units, the image output thereof to be supplied to the plural image display units for producing an image display of the respective participant in accordance with which of the left and right symmetrically angularly separated images of the respective participant, as picked-up, is selected for display and which of the left and right image display elements is selected for providing the selected image output display; and a unit determining, from the plurality of participants, specific participants whose corresponding respective images are to be displayed at respective display elements, in common at the plural image display units respectively associated with the plural different work locations, and, further, selecting for each specific participant and in common for each of the plural image display units a respective one of the left and right display elements for display of the image of the specific participant, and supplying, in common to the plural display units for display by the respective, selected display elements, the specified ones of the left and right direct and mirror image outputs, thereby to produce displays, in common, of the corresponding images of the specific participants at the plural work locations. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification