Patent Publication Number: US-2007124369-A1

Title: Real-time interactive system for discussion on documents, images, and videos and method for the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention to a real-time interactive system for discussion on documents, images, and videos and method for the same and particularly to a real-time interactive system for an operator to discuss with discussants on documents, images, and videos in a video conference and by means of a handwriting pen to write and method for the same.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      Conventionally, related persons gather together to discuss on documents, images, tables and the like, and although it wastes their time to journey to and fro, they are forced to meet to discuss. The reason for this is that the details on the images, the tables and the like as documents are hardly given by telephone. For example, when an explainer ask the other party to see a numeral in a column of the table or a certain part of the image, the other party must always spend much time in communication with the explainer to figure out what the explainer explains.  
      Through a video telephone or a videoconference system, although the numeral on the table or the part of the image pointed out by the other party is apparent, a bandwidth of network is concerned to reduce so that the resolution is not high and the details are not very apparent. Further, if being added to the images, the tables or the like, patterns or scripts must be in advance portrayed or written with a pen and then taken with a mini-camera of the video telephone or videoconference system, so it is inconvenient for both sides to discuss on documents by using the video telephone or videoconference system.  
      Currently, communication over the so-called real-time AV dynamic frame is achieved to discuss with each other on the network and communicate along with dynamic operation on the screen. Although the effect on communication with each other is satisfactory, at least hundreds of Kbps (generally around 500K˜600 Kbps or even more) are required in a bandwidth for communication with each other; the reason for this is that at least 10˜20 frames per second are required for retrieval of real-time dynamic frames on a screen. Thus, it is to be achieved that both parties discuss on the network in a proper bandwidth.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention is mainly to provide a real-time interactive system for discussion on documents, images, and videos and method for the same. On a document, an image, or a video, discussants of both sides use a handwriting pen as a handwriting module to write and then transmit handwritten tracks occupying a dinky bandwidth of network through a telecommunication module to each other for real-time, convenient interactive discussion.  
      For the object mentioned above, this invention provides the real-time interactive system for discussion on documents, images, and videos and method for the same, comprising a display screen, a telecommunication module, a handwriting module, and a controller. The handwriting module may receive handwritten tracks when sensing the inscribe movement of handwriting pen on a handwriting board. The controller shows the document, the image, and the video in an interactive area of the display screen, and in the interactive areas for the document, the image, and the video as backgrounds, the discussant of the other side gets the tracks through the telecommunication module or the handwriting module. Accordingly, the operator writes on the document, image, or video to discuss with a discussant of the other side interactively through mutual video communication.  
      In order to further know the features and technical means of this invention, refer to the detailed description according to this invention accompanied with drawings; however, the accompanied drawings are provided for reference and illustration only and are not limited to this invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a real-time interactive system for discussion on documents, images, and videos of a preferred embodiment of this invention, and  
       FIGS. 2A  to  2 D are schematic views illustrating interactive discussion according to this invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a real-time interactive system for discussion on documents, images, and videos. As shown in  FIG. 1 , when interactively discussing on the network, discussants of both sides (an operator and a discussant of the other side) respectively have and use the real-time interactive system  10  and  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos of this embodiment. In the embodiment, a display screen  12  and  22 , a telecommunication module  16  and  26 , a handwriting module (a handwriting pen  19  and  29 , a handwriting board  18  and  28 ), a controller  14  and  24 , a video extraction device  13  and  23 , and an audio extraction device  15  and  25  are provided in the real-time interactive system  10  and  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos.  
      In short, when the operator having the real-time interactive system  10  wants to discuss with the discussant of the other side having the real-time interactive system  20  on the document, the image, or the video, as shown in  FIG. 2A  for the document, the image, or the video  30 , the controller  14  may open the document, the image, or the video to be discussed and start interactive discussion on the document, the image, or the video through the handwriting track, and in the course of interactive discussion, video and/or audio may be joined to make the discussion more smooth.  
      In the embodiment, the operator may extract video and audio signals separately through the video extraction device  13  and the audio extraction device  15  and may write on the handwriting board  18  with the handwriting pen to get a handwriting track signal. The controller  14  may transmit the video and audio signals, the handwriting track signal, and the document, the image, or the video to the other party&#39;s real-time interactive system  20  through the telecommunication module  16 , and the controller  14  attaches the handwriting track signal to the document, the image, or the video to be discussed so that the received document, image, or video and the handwriting track signal synchronously shown on the document, image, or video may be shown on the other party&#39;s display screen and the video and audio signals may be received synchronously.  
      In order to reduce the bandwidth of network occupied for transmission, the document, image, or video is transmitted once but not continuously, because continuous transmission consumes the bandwidth, and thus the operator and the discussant of the other side may transmit and show the handwriting track signals on the document, image, or video and join the video and audio signals for detailed explanation. Thus, depending on the handwriting track signal portrayed on the document, image, or video and the attached video and audio signals, the discussant of the other side may figure out what the operator explains. Regarding operation, the real-time interactive system  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos owned by the discussant of the other side is the same as the operator&#39;s system  10 , so detailed description is not made herein. The telecommunication module  16  and  26  may be provided to operate for network transmission.  
      Although the generation or handwriting track is in a conventional art, several embodiments feasible are mentioned herein. In one embodiment, an external handwriting board  18  is provided to sense the inscribe movement of handwriting pen  19  to get the handwritten track, while in the other embodiment, the handwriting board  18  is integrated together with the display screen  12  to similarly sense the inscribe movement of handwriting pen  19  to get the handwritten track, but the handwriting pen  19  writes on the display screen  12  integrated with the handwriting board  18 . Alternatively, a mouse may be used to give the track when moving.  
      There may be two sources of the document, image, or video on which the discussants of both sides, namely two sources of the document, image, or video as the background on the screen  12 , which depends on a party starting the interactive discussion. If the operator uses the real-time interactive system  10  for discussion on documents, images, and videos to start discussion, the document, image, or video may be given from the storage medium owned by the operator and may be shown on the display screen  12  and transmitted to the other party through the telecommunication module  16 . If the discussant of the other side uses the real-time interactive system  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos to start discussion, the document, image, or video is received through the telecommunication module  16  from the real-time interactive system  10  for discussion on documents, images, and videos.  
      Actually, before discussion, the document, image, and video got by the both parties are the same, and the controllers  14  and  24  of both sides will show the given document, image, and video on the display screens  12  and  22 . Next, the operator and the discussant of the other side may on their own write on the document, image, and video by using the handwriting module (the handwriting pen  19  and  29  and the handwriting board  18  and  28 ) and then transmit to each other through the telecommunication module  16  and  26 , thereby the both parties synchronously seeing the handwritten tracks they inscribe by themselves.  
      To sump, between the real-time interactive systems  10  and  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos, on the given document, image, or video, discussants of both sides use a handwriting pen  19  and  29  as a handwriting module to write and then transmit handwritten tracks occupying a dinky bandwidth of network through a telecommunication module  16  and  26  and the video and audio signals extracted through the video extraction device  13  and  23  and the audio extraction device  15  and  25  to each other for real-time, convenient interactive discussion. More than 500 Kbps˜600 Kbps of bandwidth of network may be required to transmit the conventional dynamic AV frames, especially highest in the discussion of groups of people; however, in the system and method of this invention, the document, image, and video (non-dynamic image) and the handwritten tracks are transmitted once only, so the bandwidth of network may be reduced significantly. The video and audio signal, after properly processed, may also be controlled in the range of bandwidth of network in transmission and may be received; what is shown on the display screen  12  and  22  of the real-time interactive systems  10  and  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos is exemplary embodiment for explaining the interactive discussion.  
       FIGS. 2A  to  2 D are schematic views illustrating interactive discussion according to this invention. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the display screens  12  and  22  of the real-time interactive systems  10  and  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos comprise an interactive area  12   a  and  22   a  and a video display area  40  and  42 , respectively, in which the document, image, and video  30  are shown in the interactive area  12   a  of the display screen  12 ; however, the display screen  22  still waits to receive the document, image, and video  30 , so nothing is shown in the interactive area  22   a . In the video display area  40 , the video signal outputted by the interactive system  20  is shown, while in the video display area  42 , the video signal outputted by the interactive system  10  is shown.  
      After the real-time interactive system  10  for discussion on documents, images, and videos transmits the document, image, and video  30  through the telecommunication module  16  as shown in  FIG. 1  to the telecommunication module  26  of the real-time interactive system  20  for discussion on documents, images, and videos, the controller  24  will show them in the interactive area  22   a  of display screen  22 , as shown in  FIG. 2B .  
      Next, the operator holds the handwriting pen  19  in the interactive area  12   a  for the document, image, and video  30  as the background, and thus the handwritten track  32  is shown in  FIG. 2C ; then the handwritten track  32  is shown in the interactive area  22   a  of display screen  22  through the telecommunication module  16  and  26 , as shown in  FIG. 2D .  
      In  FIGS. 2A  to  2 D, in addition to the handwritten track signal used for discussion, the video and audio signals may be added, in which the video signal may be shown in the video display area  40  and  42  for achievement of the AV interactive discussion.  
      Besides, when the operator having the real-time interactive system  10  wants to discuss with the discussant of the other side having the real-time interactive system  20  on another document, image, and/or video, they may again discuss following the descriptions as shown in  FIGS. 2A  to  2 D.  
      However, in the description mentioned above, only the preferred embodiments according to this invention are provided without limit to claims of this invention. For example, although the interactive systems are explained in detail one for one, the one-for-many operation of the systems is also rendered. All those skilled in the art without exception should include the equivalent changes and modifications as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.