Method and arrangement for connecting at least one man-machine interface for manipulating at least one data source connected to a video conferencing system within the scope of video conferences

• US 8,947,496 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2009
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Oertel, Norbert
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khai N
• Application Number:
  US13/121,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20110249084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,958 Days
• Field of Search: 379/14.01, 379/14.02, 379/14.03, 379/14.04, 379/14.05, 379/14.06, 379/14, 379/7, 379/14.08, 379/14.09, 379/14.1, 379/14.11, 379/14.12, 379/14.13, 379/14.14, 379/15.15, 379/14.16, 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 348/14.03, 348/14.04, 348/14.05, 348/14.06, 348/14, 348/7, 348/14.08, 348/14.09, 348/14.1, 348/14.11, 348/14.12, 348/14.13, 348/14.14, 348/15.15, 348/14.16
• US Class Current: 348/14.09
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• 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 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for connecting at least one man-machine interface for manipulating, particularly remotely manipulating, at least one data source connected to a video conferencing system within the scope of video conferences, wherein signals generated by the man-machine interface are transmitted to the video conferencing system via a transmission channel provided for controlling a video camera. The invention further relates to an arrangement comprising means for carrying out the method.

Claims

1. A method of connecting at least one man-machine interface for remote manipulation of application data stored in a data source connected to a video conference system, the method comprising:

generating first signals by a first man-machine interface of a first terminal, the first signals generated to manipulate application data stored in the data source,

transmitting, by the first terminal, the first signals to the video conference system via a transmission channel provided to control a video camera during a video conference, the first and second terminals being communicatively connected to each other for the video conference via the video conference system, the first signals being generated to provide instructions for manipulation of the application data stored in the data source to manipulate the application data;

receiving the first signals sent from the first terminal, by the second terminal, via the transmission channel;

in response to the received first signals, communicating a message by the second terminal to query a user of the second terminal whether the application data is to be controlled by the second terminal via the received first signals,

the second terminal manipulating the application data based on the received first signals when a response to the message indicates the control of the application data based on the received first signals is permitted, and

the second terminal not adjusting the application data in accordance with instructions provided by the first signals when the response to the message indicates the control based on the received first signals is not permitted.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising sending second signals to the first terminal via the transmission channel by the second terminal to indicate availability for application data control to be effected by the first signals of the first terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first man-machine interface is a man-machine interface associated with the video conference system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first terminal is a laptop computer and the second terminal is a laptop computer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission channel provided to control the video camera is a single transmission channel and the first signals are generated to manipulate presentation stream data of the video conference.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission channel is a single transmission channel and the method further comprises operating the transmission channel according to a Far End Camera Control (“

FECC”

).

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the FECC is operated using a protocol selected from the group consisting of H.281 protocol and H.224 protocol.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the data source is not a video camera, and the method further comprises:

receiving the first signals sent by the first terminal by a video conferencing device of the video conference system and the video conferencing device forwarding the first signals received from the first terminal to the second terminal.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising decoding the first signals received via the transmission channel by a decoding device associated with the second terminal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating first signals by the first man-machine interface of the first terminal comprises moving a first mouse connected to the first terminal such that changes in a position of the first mouse results in generation of first signals that instruct the second terminal to cause an adjustment to positioning of a mouse pointer being displayed by the second terminal to occur that corresponds with the movement of the first mouse.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first man-machine interface is comprised of at least one of a keyboard connected to the first terminal and a first mouse connected to the first terminal and wherein the data source is not a video camera.

12. A system for connecting at least one man-machine interface for remote manipulation of application data of an application of at least one data source, the system comprising:

a first terminal having a first non-transitory memory, the first non-transitory memory having the application data for the application;

a second terminal connected to a man-machine interface; and

the first terminal being communicatively connected to the second terminal via a channel of communication provided to control a video camera;

wherein the man-machine interface of the second terminal is configured to generate first signals to manipulate the application data, the first signals being generated for transmission along the channel of communication for sending to the first terminal to effect manipulation of the application data by the first terminal such that the application data manipulated by the man-machine interface of the second terminal is displayed analogously by the first terminal; and

wherein the first terminal is configured to send a message to query a user of the first terminal whether control of the application data by the first terminal via the received first signals is permissible,

the first terminal manipulating the application data based on the received first signals when a response to the message indicates the control of the application data based on the received first signals is permitted, and

the first terminal not manipulating the application data in accordance with instructions provided by the first signals when the response to the message indicates the control based on the received first signals is not permitted.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the man-machine interface of the second terminal is comprised of at least one of a mouse and a keyboard;

and

wherein the second terminal is configured such that movement of the mouse results in generation of the first signals to be transmitted to the first terminal via the channel of communication to instruct the first terminal to cause an adjustment to positioning of a mouse pointer being displayed by the first terminal to occur that corresponds with the movement of the mouse of the man-machine interface.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the first terminal is a laptop computer and the second terminal is a laptop computer.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the application data is not related to functioning of the video camera and wherein data relating to a presentation stream for an ongoing video conference is transmittable between the first and second terminals via the channel of communication.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the first terminal is configured to decode the first signals to reconstruct Far End Camera Control (“

FECC”

) data included within the first signals and is configured to implement an inverse channel protocol using FECC to confirm receipt of the FECC data within the first signals.