Communication apparatus, communication system, video image display control method, storage medium and program

• US 7,231,603 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2002
• Issued: 06/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Yuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo; Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Theriault; Steven B.
• Application Number:
  US10/165,320
• Publication Number:
  US 20030001878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,828 Days
• Field of Search: 715/720, 715/716, 715/856, 715/762, 348/14.15
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/125 wherein one of the images is motion video
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A communication apparatus of the present invention has a function of displaying a plurality of video images on a same screen. The communication apparatus includes a first synthesizing unit with synthesizing video data transmitted from a remote communication terminal and video data on a local communication terminal so that a video image on the remote communication terminal and a video image on the local communication terminal are displayed on the same screen in accordance with display layout information common to the remote communication terminal to the local communication terminal that is determined based on a display video image number on the remote communication terminal and a display video image number on the local communication terminal, and a display unit which displays video images corresponding to the synthesized video data obtained by the first synthesizing unit.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus with a video image display function, for transmitting and receiving data to and from an other communication apparatus, said apparatus comprising:

communication means for receiving, from said other communication apparatus, video data and data indicating a number of display video images to be displayed on said other communication apparatus;

determining means for determining a display layout in accordance with the received data indicating the number of display video images to be displayed on said other communication apparatus and data indicating a number of display video images to be displayed on said communication apparatus so that a video image on said other communication apparatus and a video image on said communication apparatus are displayed on the same screen;

first synthesizing means for synthesizing the video data received from said other communication apparatus with video data on said communication apparatus in accordance with the display layout determined by said determining means; and

display control means for effecting control so as to display a first synthesized video image obtained by said first synthesizing means on a display means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication means transmits information as to the display layout determined by said determining means to said other communication apparatus, and

said apparatus further comprises second synthesizing means for synthesizing the video data on said communication apparatus in accordance with the display layout determined by said determining means,

wherein said communication means transmits the video data obtained by said second synthesizing means to said other communication apparatus.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first synthesizing means further synthesizes the video data synthesized by said second synthesizing means with the video data on said other communication apparatus which is received by said communication means.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

selecting means for selecting an arbitrary video image from the first synthesized video image displayed on said display means; and

control means for effecting control so as to perform a predetermined operation on the video image selected by said selecting means, and to further control a video image corresponding to the selected video image displayed on said other communication apparatus.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said control means effects control so as to perform a predetermined operation on a video image corresponding to the video image selected on said other communication apparatus, among the first synthesized video image displayed on said display means.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determining means displays a predetermined video image from among the display video images on said other communication apparatus at a predetermined position on a screen on said communication apparatus, and determines the display layout so as to display the predetermined video image from among the display video images on said communication apparatus, at the predetermined position on a screen on said other communication apparatus.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined video image on said communication apparatus is a video image obtained by a video camera associated with said communication apparatus, and the predetermined video image on said other communication apparatus is a video image obtained by a video camera associated with said other communication apparatus.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determining means re-determines the display layout in accordance with a change instruction of the number of display video images on said communication apparatus and/or the number of display video images on said other communication apparatus.

9. A video image display control method for controlling display of a plurality of video images obtained from at least a first video image processing system and a second video image processing system each having a communication function, said method comprising:

a receiving step for receiving, from the second video image processing system, video data and data indicating a number of display video images to be displayed on the second video image processing system;

a determining step for determining a display layout of the plurality of video images in accordance with the received data indicating the number of display video images to be displayed on the second video processing system, and data indicating a number of display video images to be displayed on said first video image processing system so that the plurality of video images obtained from said first video image processing system and said second video image processing system are displayed on a samc screen;

a synthesizing step for synthesizing the plurality of video images obtained from said first video image processing system and said second video image processing system on the basis of the display layout determined in said determining step; and

a displaying step for displaying the synthesized video images obtained in said synthesizing step.

10. A computer readable storage medium on which is stored code for a computer executable program for a video image display control method for controlling display of a plurality of video images obtained from at least a first video image processing system and a second video image processing system each having a communication function, said method comprising:

a receiving step for receiving, from the second video image processing system, video data and data indicating a number of display video images to be displayed on the second video image processing system;

a determining step for determining a display layout of the plurality of video images in accordance with the received data indicating the number of display video images to be displayed on the second video processing system, and data indicating a number of display video images to be displayed on said first video image processing system so that the plurality of video images obtained from said first video image processing system and said second video image processing system are displayed on a same screen;

a synthesizing step for synthesizing the plurality of video images obtained from said first video image processing system and said second video image processing system on the basis of the display layout determined in said determining step; and

a displaying step for displaying the synthesized video images obtained in said synthesizing step.