Multipoint receiving and data processing apparatus

• US 5,781,248 A
• Filed: 05/16/1995
• Issued: 07/14/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Chida, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan J.
• Application Number:
  US08/441,949
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 348/15-19, 348/12-14, 348/10, 348/21, 348/6, 348/588, 348/584, 348/585, 348/581, 348/580, 348/598, 348/599, 348/578, 348/705, 348/400
• US Class Current: 348/584
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN

Abstract

A multimedium terminal apparatus which can simultaneously communicate with maximum N (N: integer of 2 or larger) terminals through a plurality of lines comprises: a plurality of separating circuits, connected to the lines, for respectively extracting the image data of 1/N-reduction picture plane which has been coded by using L/N unit regions among L (L: value which is integer times as large as the value of N) unit regions forming one picture plane of a predetermined full size; and a display position control circuit for changing position designation information of the unit regions included in the image data in a manner such that up to N 1/N-reduction picture planes can be enclosed in one picture plane of a predetermined full size. When images are simultaneously mutually communicated among multipoints, such a communication can be realized by merely preparing one image decoding unit although the decoding units of the number which is equal to only the number of terminals which simultaneously communicate must have been prepared in the conventional case.

Claims

1. A data processing apparatus comprising:

a) input means for inputting image data from a maximum N (N is an integer of 2 or larger) terminals through a plurality of lines, wherein said input means inputs an image plane of a predetermined size which is block-coded by using L/N blocks (L is a value which is an integral number of times as large as the value of N, L≠

N), from each terminal, wherein an image plane of the predetermined size comprises data of L blocks, and wherein one block comprises a plurality of pixel data; and

b) control means for controlling a display position when the block-coded data input by said input means is displayed in the image plane of the predetermined sizes, wherein head data which corresponds to the display position controlled when the coded data is displayed is added to the coded data from each terminal and said control means controls the display position of the coded data from each terminal by changing the head data.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising designating means for designating the display position of the block-coded data from each terminal, wherein said control means changes the head data according to an output of said designating means.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising decoding means for synthesizing the block-coded data of the image plane from each terminal input by said input means and for decoding the synthesized block-coded data.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the block-coded data is obtained by coding the image data by using an orthogonal transformation.

5. A data processing apparatus comprising:

a) input means for inputting image data from a maximum N (N is an integer of 2 or larger) terminals through a plurality of lines, wherein said input means inputs block-coded data in which image data of a 1/N-reduction image of an image plane of a predetermined size is coded by using L/N blocks (L is a value which is an integral number of times as large as the value of N, L≠

N), from each terminal, wherein one image plane of the predetermined size comprises image data of L blocks, wherein one block comprises a plurality of pixel data, and wherein the block-coded data from each terminal is input to said input means non-synchronously;

b) generating means for generating dummy data for compensating a synchronism difference of the block-coded data from each terminal; and

c) decoding means for decoding the block-coded data input by said input means by using the dummy data.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising display position control means for changing position designation information included in the image data in order to house a maximum N of 1/N-reduction images of image planes in one image plane of the predetermined size.

7. A data processing apparatus comprising:

a) input means for inputting image data from a maximum N (N is an integer of 2 or larger) terminals through a plurality of lines, wherein said input means inputs block-coded data in which image data of a 1/N-reduction image of an image plane of a predetermined size is coded by using L/N blocks (L is a value which is an integral number of times as large as the value of N, L≠

N), from each terminal, wherein one image plane of the predetermined size comprises image data of L blocks, and wherein one block comprises a plurality of pixel data; and

b) generating means for generating block-coded data having dummy image data of the 1/N-reduction image of the image plane of the predetermined size for (N-K) terminals when communication is performed with K (K being an integer less than N) terminals.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said generating means generates a pre-stored message of a fixed form or a white image plane or a black image plane.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising display position control means for changing position designation information included in the image data in order to house a maximum N of 1/N-reduction images of image planes in one image plane of the predetermined size.

11. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said dummy image data comprises data corresponding to white or black.

10. A data processing apparatus, comprising:

a) input means for inputting image data from a maximum N (N is an integer of 2 or larger) terminals through a plurality of lines, wherein said input means inputs an image plane of a predetermined size which is blocked-coded by using L/N blocks (L is a value which is an integral number of times as large as the value of N, L≠

N), from each terminal, wherein one image plane of the predetermined size comprises image data of L blocks, and wherein one block comprises a plurality of pixel data; and

b) control means for controlling a display position when the coded data input by said input means is displayed in the image plane of the predetermined size, without performing reduction processing on the input coded data.