United States Patent
`
`[191
`
`McNelley et al.
`
`[111
`
`[45]
`
`Patent Number:
`
`5,550,754
`
`Date of Patent:
`
`Aug. 27, 1996
`
`US005550754A
`
`[54] TELECONFERENCING CAMCORDER
`
`[75]
`
`[73]
`
`[21]
`
`[22]
`
`[51]
`[521
`[58]
`
`[56]
`
`Inventors: Steve McNelley, Capistrano; Eric
`Williams, Altadena, both of Calif.
`
`Assignee: Videoptic Research, San Juan
`Capistrano, Calif.
`
`App]. No.: 242,131
`Filed:
`
`May 13, 1994
`
`Int. Cl.‘5 ..................................................... H05K 11/00
`............ 364/514 A; 348/13
`
`Field of Search .......................... 364/514 A; 348/14,
`348/15, 13, 19
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,400,725
`4,485,400
`4,604,668
`4,819,101
`4,829,555
`4,875,107
`4,894,71 5
`4,899.23 1
`4,928,300
`4,928,301
`4,996,592
`5,032,820
`5,046,079
`5,061,992
`5. l l l ,498
`5,1 1 7,285
`5,142,562
`5,151,727
`
`8/1983
`11/1984
`8/1986
`4/1989
`5/1989
`10/1989
`1/1990
`211990
`5/1990
`5/1990
`2/1991
`7/1991
`9/1991
`10/1991
`5/1992
`5/1992
`8/1992
`9/1992
`
`Tanigaki .
`bemelson et al. .
`Lemelson .
`Lemelson .
`Hashimoto .
`Heidt eta]. .
`Uchikubo et al. .
`Maeda et al. .
`Ogawa et al.
`Smoot.
`Yoshida .
`Tanikawa et al.
`........................ 348/14
`Hashimoto .
`
`348/14
`......................... 348/ 14
`Guichard et a1
`.
`Nelson et a1.
`Guichard et al.
`Sasaki .
`
`............................ 348/14
`
`......................... 348/14
`
`5,157,512
`5,159,445
`5,162,915
`5,170,427
`5,189,691
`5,206,73 1
`5,243,413
`5,249,053
`5,253,286
`5,278,681
`
`10/1992
`10/1992
`11/1992
`12/1992
`2/1993
`4/1993
`9/1993
`9/1993
`10/1993
`1/1994
`
`......................... 348/14
`
`lnada et al. .
`Gitlin et al. .
`ldera et al.
`.
`Guichard et al.
`Dunpal .
`Takaiwa et a].
`Gitlin et al. .
`Jain .
`................................ 348/14
`Sano et al.
`Gitlin et al. .
`
`.
`
`Primary Examiner—Emanuel T. Voeltz
`Assistant Examiner—Thomas Peeso
`
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Price, Gess & Ubel]
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A combination portable recording video camera and video-
`conferencing terminal is described, wherein a video camera
`and lens is adjustable so that it can either produce images of
`an operator‘s surroundings for recording on a medium such
`as video tape, as in normal recording video cameras, or of
`the operator as in video conferencing temtinals. The device
`is preferably provided with a video display screen that
`functions as a viewfinder in video-graphing the surround-
`ings. The device is equipped with communication electron-
`ics that establish a connection over a network, and then
`transmits video and audio signals from the device while
`displaying video signals and reproducing audio signals that
`arrive over the network. Attempts by the network to estab«
`lish a connection with the device result
`in the device
`
`automatically establishing the connection. Then the device
`activates its internal recording systems to play the prere—
`corded video message and transmit it over the network. The
`operator is later able to play the recorded signals and view
`them on the device‘s built-in display.
`
`65 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
`
`
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 1 of 12
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 2 of 12
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`mania
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 4 of 12
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`F/G‘./4
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`F767/3
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 5 of 12
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 6 of 12
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 8 of 12
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`US. Patent
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`F76: 25
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`Sheet 9 of 12
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 10 of 12
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`F761 28
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`Page 11 of 28
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`

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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 11 of 12
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`5,550,754
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 27, 1996
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`Sheet 12 of 12
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`5,550,754
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`5,550,754
`
`
`
`
`1
`TELECONFERENCING CAMCORDER
`
`
`
`
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`
`
`
`
`The present invention relates generally to video telecon-
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ferencing and, more specifically, to devices which make
`
`
`
`
`
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`
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`video teleconferencing less expensive and more convenient:
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`namely, a specially-devised portable video recorder that can
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`
`
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`be used as a regular recording video camera and as a
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`
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`teleconferencing terminal and video answering machine.
`
`
`
`
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`
`
`2. Description of Related Art
`
`
`
`
`The ordinary telephone is now over 100 years old. People
`
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`
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`have come to take for granted and to depend upon the ability
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`to carry on, with ease, conversations with persons located
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`halfway around the world. With the recent blossoming of
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`cellular telephone service, the parties conversing do not have
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`to be tied to any wire connections. Yet a persistent dream for
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`over 50 years has been the ability to add a moving image to
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`a telephone so that the conversation would include sight as
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`7, n
`well as sound. The terms “teleconferencing,” “video tele-
`
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`conferencing,” “video-conferencing,
`video telephone”,
`and “video-phone” all refer to a communication system that
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`provides simultaneous sound and visual communication
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`with a simplicity of operation similar to that of current
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`telephones.
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`Much more business information could be readily trans-
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`mitted if telephones were video as well as audio. Decisions
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`could be made more rapidly and with more certainty if the
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`parties could see and gauge each other’s expressions. In
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`terms of personal conversations, visual contact would allow
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`more rapid and accurate communication of important emo—
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`tions. Technological limitations of the present telephone and
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`TV cable infrastructures have proven to be the primary
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`stumbling blocks to achieving visual contact during a tele-
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`phone conversation. That is, the technology to capture video
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`as well as audio is well developed, but video signals have a
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`large bandwidth which readily exceeds the capacity of
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`present cables and other transmission systems. However, the
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`completion of a fiberoptic infrastructure and the recent
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`advances in signal compression should go a long way to
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`overcoming these problems. In just a few years millions of
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`people may be video conferencing.
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`transmission
`cables
`However,
`fiberoptic
`and other
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`enhancements will not cause teleconferencing to appear
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`overnight. Consumers will need specially designed telecon-
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`ferencing hardware to take advantage of the new commu—
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`nication medium. Imagine the millions upon millions of
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`telephones that will have to be replaced by video-telephone
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`systems. This will result in considerable equipment expense
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`for the consumer. The consumer might solve the problem by
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`using video cameras contained in a housing with a speaker
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`and microphone placed on top or near a television or
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`computer monitor. Another, and possibly more costly, alter-
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`native is the use of special telephones that include a video
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`display, video camera, microphone, and speaker.
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`One can expect a well-equipped video-phone user to have
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`all the accoutrements of the present telephone user. Thus, an
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`additional expense will doubtless be the video answering
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`machine. A complete system may be so costly that many
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`consumers may not have the resources to enjoy teleconfer-
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`encing. Widespread acceptance of new types of consumer
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`electronics is often very cost sensitive. For example, color
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`television, video cassette tape recorders (VCRs), and home
`
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`computers were on the market for a considerable period of
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`time before the availability of inexpensive hardware made
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`10
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`15
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`20
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`25
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`30
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`35
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`40
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`45
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`50
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`55
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`60
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`65
`
`
`2
`
`
`them popular. If economical teleconferencing hardware is
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`
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`available, the acceptance of that technology may be accel-
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`erated.
`
`Although commonly-available hardware like the ubiqui—
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`
`
`tous portable video camera/recorder (camcorder) has some
`
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`of the attributes of a teleconferencing systems, current
`
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`hardware has many drawbacks. The home camcorder can
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`provide audio and visual pickup, but lacks simultaneous
`
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`incoming and outgoing signal processing capabilities, phone
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`ringing, dialing, and answering machine capabilities and, in
`
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`most cases, has an inadequate image display to be useful in
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`teleconferencing. The consumer will need to purchase addi-
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`tional components to even use a camcorder in a teleconfer-
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`encing system.
`
`
`Specialized video-phone hardware developed to date also
`
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`fails to offer an economical solution. US. Pat. No. 5,046,079
`
`
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`
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`to Hashimoto provides a special telephone answering device
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`with a TV telephone. This unit can record an incoming
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`picture as well as an incoming message. Like a stande
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`answering machine, it also transmits a prerecorded message.
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`This device can record an incoming video signal, but has no
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`means for producing or transmitting a video signal in turn.
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`U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,691 to Dunlap teaches the use of a dual
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`deck VCR to act as a video telephone answering machine.
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`Essentially, the unit is a dual VCR with telephone answering
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`machine logic so that a video-phone line will be automati—
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`cally answered, a prerecorded video message will be trans-
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`mitted to the caller, and a video message from the caller will
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`be recorded. There is no provision for facilities to produce
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`the outgoing message.
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`OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE
`
`
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`INVENTION
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`It is an object of the present invention to provide a single
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`unit that economically supplies the basic parts of a video
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`telephone system;
`
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`It is another object of the present invention to also provide
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`the functions of a portable video camera/ recorder or cam-
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`corder in the same unit; and
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`It is a further object of the present invention to also
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`provide a video-phone answering machine in the same unit.
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`Given the scope of the prior art, it is the object of this
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`present invention to provide a device that is both a portable
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`hand-held camcorder and is also a complete teleconferenc-
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`ing device that comprises audio and video-phone circuitry
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`and audio and video answering capability. Economy is
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`achieved by allowing components to be used for multiple
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`purposes. The video camera is used for both camcorder
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`purposes, i.e., on vacations, etc., and teleconferencing pur-
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`poses, i.e., for recording video messages and for transmitting
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`the user’s image during a teleconference. An image display
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`is used as a viewfinder so the user knows exactly what image
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`the video camera is capturing, and also as a teleconferencing
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`display to show the image of the distant caller during a
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`teleconference. The speaker and microphone are also shared
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`between camcorder and teleconferencing modes. The video
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`and audio recorder and playback component is utilized for
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`camcorder recording and for automatic video and audio
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`answering capability.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`The objects and features of the present invention, which
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`are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the
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`appended claims. The present
`invention, both as to its
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`organization and manner of operation, together with further
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`Page 14 of 28
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`SAMSUNG EXHIBIT 1004
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`Page 14 of 28
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`SAMSUNG EXHIBIT 1004
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`

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`objects and advantages, may best be understood by reference
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`to the following description, taken in connection with the
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`accompanying drawings.
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`FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art video—phone;
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`FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art computer teleconferencing
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`system;
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`FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art teleconferencing arrange-
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`ment;
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`FIG. 4 illustrates a prior art camcorder configuration;
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`FIG. 5 illustrates a prior art distortion of a camcorder’s
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`operator who’s image is being captured when viewing a
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`viewfinding screen;
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`FIG. 6 illustrates the preferred placement of camcorder
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`camera in relation to a teleconferencing display;
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`FIG. 7 illustrates a preferred captured image of a con-
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`feree;
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`FIG. 8 illustrates a configuration of a complete telecam-
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`corder terminal;
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`FIG. 9 illustrates a side view of the telecamcorder of FIG.
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`3
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`8;
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`FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of the telecarncorder of
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`FIG. 8 when placed on a surface for teleconferencing;
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`FIG. 11 illustrates the telecarncorder of FIG. 8 that is
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`raised to improve the image while captured while confer-
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`encing;
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`FIG. 12 illustrates a telecarncorder configuration where
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`the camera is rotated by a knob;
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`FIG. 13 illustrates a telecarncorder configuration where
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`the camera is rotated by a spinning turret;
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`FIG. 14 illustrates the telecarncorder of FIG. 8 when
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`placed above or below an external monitor;
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`FIG. 15 illustrates a telecamcorder that is modular;
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`FIG. 16 illustrates a side view of a telecarncorder that is
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`modular;
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`FIG. 17 illustrates a telecamcorder that has a detachable
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`teleconferencing display;
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`FIG. 18‘illustrates a side view of the telecarncorder with
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`a detachable teleconferencing display that is in teleconfer-
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`encing mode;
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`FIG. 19 illustrates a side view of the telecarncorder in
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`camcorder mode with
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`detached;
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`FIG. 20 illustrates a telecarncorder with a partially-sil-
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`vered mirror enabling eye contact;
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`FIG. 21 illustrates a preferred placement of a telecam-
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`corder camera when placed behind a semitransparent dis-
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`play;
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`FIG. 22 illustrates a preferred displayed appearance of a
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`conferee that can achieve eye contact with a local conferee;
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`FIG. 23 illustrates a telecarncorder with a senritransparent
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`display;
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`FIG. 24 illustrates a top view of the telecamcorder of FIG.
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`23;
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`FIG. 25 illustrates a side view of the telecamcorder of
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`FIG. 23;
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`FIG. 26 illustrates a telecarncorder with a serrritransparent
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`display that may detach from the main housing and is raised
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`for improved image capturing while conferencing;
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`FIG. 27 illustrates a side view of the telecarncorder of
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`FIG. 26 in teleconferencing mode;
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`FIG. 28 illustrates a side view of the telecarncorder of
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`FIG. 26 in camcorder mode with the display detached;
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`4
`FIG. 29 illustrates a telecarncorder with a camera that, can
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`be aimed by remote control;
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`FIG. 30 represents a block diagram of a telecarncorder of
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`the present invention; and
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`FIG. 31 represents a block diagram of a telecarncorder
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`with answering machine functions.
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
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`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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`The following description is provided to enable any
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`person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and
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`sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventors of
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`carrying out their invention. Various modifications, how-
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`ever, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art,
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`since the generic principles of the present invention have
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`been defined herein specifically to provide a camcorder
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`which can also act as a video telephone and as a video
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`telephone answering machine.
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`A basic review of teleconferencing terminal configura-
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`tions is helpful in understanding the present invention. The
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`first and best known video-phone configuration is illustrated
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`in FIG. 1. Here a phone unit 120 has a small video display
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`100 and a video camera 102. A phone line 104 carries both
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`incoming and outgoing audio and video signals. A network
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`access control (dial) 106 allows network access to any
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`desired video-phone. A hand-held receiver 108 may be used
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`or a speaker phone arrangement (not shown) may be used.
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`Various adaptations and modifications of this basic configu-
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`ration are well known in the art.
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`Recently personal computers with a GUI (graphical user’ s
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`interface) such as MACINTOSH or WINDOWS have been
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`used in rudimentary teleconferencing. The computer hard-
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`ware and operating system compress and decompress video
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`signals and display in a small “window” on the user’s
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`screen. FIG. 2 shows a GUI computer configured for tele-
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`conferencing. A video conferencing device 110 is placed
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`above or built into a computer monitor 118 with a camera
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`102 placed above and on center with display 100. The device
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`includes a speaker 112 and a microphone 114 that operate
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`like a speaker phone. A computer 116 is connected to a
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`phone network by the line 104 and also supports multitask—
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`ing software which enables the display of a conferee on a
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`monitor 118 during execution and display of various com-
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`puter programs.
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`A final basic teleconferencing configuration is illustrated
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`in FIG. 3. Here a separate teleconferencing phone 122 with
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`network access controls 106 is capable of receiving and
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`sending signals through the phone line 104. A typical phone
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`handset 108 may be employed or a speaker phone arrange-
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`ment (not shown) may be used. The teleconferencing phone
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`122 is connected by a line 124 to a television monitor 126
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`for displaying the image of the'distant conferee on a display
`100. A speaker 112 of the television 126 may also be used
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`for producing the audio portion of the teleconference. A
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`video camera 128 connected to the phone 122 by a line 130
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`is placed on top of the television and captures the image of
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`the local conferee. A tripod 132 or similar device may be
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`used to position the camera.
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`The present invention uses a configuration of components
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`fundamentally different from the configurations previously
`mentioned by restructuring a camcorder so that it may also
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`serve as a complete teleconferencing system. A prior art
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`camcorder consists primarily of an electronic camera, a
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`recording and playback device, a microphone, a viewfinder,
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`and a portable power supply all contained in a housing that
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`Page 15 of 28
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`SAMSUNG EXHIBIT 1004
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`Page 15 of 28
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`SAMSUNG EXHIBIT 1004
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`

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`5,550,754
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`5
`can be held while in use. A camcorder (telecamcorder) of the
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`present invention contains an integral video~phone capable
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`of receiving and sending teleconferencing signals and
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`includes a built-in display to view an incoming teleconfer-
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`encing signal and a video pickup device that can produce an
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`image of the operator for transmission during teleconfer-
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`encing. The telecamcorder operates either as a conventional
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`camcorder or a teleconferencing terminal allowing one
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`single device to have multiple uses. Also, an audio and video
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`answering machine is provided by utilizing the integral
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`recording medium of the camcorder.
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`Quality teleconferencing requires restructuring of the
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`camcorder’s basic elements. The video camera component
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`must be capable of capturing scenes like a typical carn-
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`corder, but must also be capable of capturing an image of the
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`operator during teleconferences. Any camcorder can do this
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`if the camcorder lens is turned towards the operator during
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`teleconferencing. However, the current invention uses the
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`display/viewfinder screen of the camcorder as the display
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`screen of a video telephone. Thus, the device must allow the
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`screen and camera to face in the same direction.
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`There currently are camcorders with viewfinder screens
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`large enough to serve in teleconferencing. Furthermore,
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`some of these devices have flexible camera mounts that can
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`allow the camera to be pointed at the operator viewing the
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`camcorder display. However, these devices, even if they
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`were equipped with electronics for teleconferencing, would
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`have serious limitations. As seen in FIG. 4, such a device has
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`its camera 102 mounted on a handgrip 134 that is attached
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`to the main housing 136 by a rotating pivot 138. The device
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`can capture the image of the operator when the pivot 138 is
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`turned toward the operator as is seen in the figure. The
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`camera 102 is located below and to the right of the right
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`vertical edge of the viewfinding display 101.
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`With such an arrangement a captured image of the opera-
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`tor will be distorted. FIG. 5 illustrates the image of the
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`operator captured while looking at the viewfinding display.
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`A camcorder operator 139 in the display 101 appears to be
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`looking up and to the right and also appears to be facing in
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`that direction, thereby exposing the operator’s 139 left car.
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`This device, even if it were capable of teleconferencing,
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`would provide extremely poor results because the distortion
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`would hinder natural conversation. The conferees would
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`appear to one another as disinterested; the lack of straight
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`face-0n viewing would frustrate comfortable conversation
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`and thereby negate the intent of teleconferencing.
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`The telecamcorder of the present invention serves two
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`distinct functions as a image/audio recording device and as
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`a self-contained teleconferencing terminal. Unlike tradi—
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`tional camcorders where only one signal is processed, the
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`telecamcorder, while in teleconferencing mode, simulta-
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`neously processes an outgoing audio/image signal and
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`incoming audio/image signal. In the teleconferencing mode
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`the device may also serve as an audio phone in the case
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`where the distant caller has an audio—only phone or where
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`either party chooses to suppress the images of incoming
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`and/0r outgoing video signals to ensure visual privacy. A
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`telecamcorder as disclosed here also functions as a telecon-
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`ferencing answering machine, and thereby eliminates the
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`added cost of a separate answering machine.
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`In both the teleconferencing and camcorder modes the
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`same camera optics are used and are designed to allow
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`optimal performance in both modes. Features such as zoom
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`and auto focus and numerous other special features common
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`to camcorders may also be advantageously applied to tele-
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`conferencing. Numerous nonoptical camcorder features,
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`such as video snapshots, time codes, and covers to protect
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`the lens and display, may also be applied as desired to the
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`camcorder configurations of this invention and adapted to
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`teleconferencing when applicable. Or the display may be
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`hinged to the main housing and fold down for protection,
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`rather like the display of a notebook computer.
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`FIG. 6 illustrates the preferred placement of the camera.
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`The camera is placed either above 142 or below 144 the
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`horizontal perimeters of the display 100. The camera is
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`positioned along a perpendicular axis that passes through a
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`center 146 of the display 100. FIG. 7 illustrates the appear-
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`ance of a conferee whose image is being captured by the
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`camera in position 142 of FIG. 6. The appearance is
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`improved over the appearance of the operator 139 in FIG. 5
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`because in FIG. 7 the conferee 140 faces straight ahead and
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`not to the side in the display 100. This permits natural
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`conversation in which people face each other while talking.
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`Even with this improved conversational appearance the
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`conferees cannot achieve eye contact because the camera is
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`directed away from the eyes of the conferee who gazes
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`toward the displayed image of the distant conferee and not
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`toward the camera. This problem is a problem of parallax
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`and frustrates all teleconferencing systems unless specific
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`technologies are employed to overcome it.
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`When the camera in position 142 of FIG. 6 captures the
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`image of the conferee, the conferee appears to be looking
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`downward, as illustrated by the conferee 140 of FIG. 7.
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`Likewise, when the camera in position 144 of FIG. 6
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`captures the image of the conferee, that conferee appears to
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`be looking upward (not shown). Despite the lack of eye
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`contact, mounting the camera above 142 or the camera
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`below 144 the horizontal edges of the display and between
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`the vertical edges, preferably along the center axis, does
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`allow quality straight-on face—to—face conversation.
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`FIG. 8 shows a telecamcorder configured for use as a
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`self-contained teleconferencing terminal as well as a cam-
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`corder. FIG. 8 illustrates the telecamcorder in teleconfer—
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`encing mode where the camera 102 is pointed in the same
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`direction as the viewing side of the display 100 which
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`images the distant conferee from the incoming video tele—
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`phone signal. The display may be of any type, but thin,
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`lightweight displays, such as an active matrix LCD, are
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`preferred. The camera 102 is placed above the display 100
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`along a center axis 150, permitting straight-on face—to—face
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`conversation. The microphone 114, an optional light 152,
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`and a remote sensor 154, along with the camera 102, are
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`contained on a camera boom 156 that can rotate a full 360
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`degrees on a pivot 158. In camcorder mode, the camera
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`boom 156 is turned 180 degrees, allowing the camera 102,
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`the microphone 114, the light 152, and the sensor 154 to be
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`directed toward the action to be videographed while using
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`the display 100 as a camera viewfinder. The camera boom
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`156 may be pointed in any direction in either teleconfer-
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`encing mode or camcorder mode, thus allowing recording of
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`the operator’s own image while in camcorder mode or
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`capturing other images besides the local conferee for trans—
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`mission to the distant conferee while in teleconferencing
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`mode.
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`The camera boom 156 is connected to a rotating hand-grip
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`160 by a pivot 158. The hand-grip 160 is, in turn, connected
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`to a main housing 148 by a pivot 162. The hand-grip 160
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`serves as a battery housing and also contains controls 164 for
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`various features such as camera zoom and record/playback
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`functions. The pivot 162 allows the hand-grip 160 to rotate
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`vertically, and thereby positions camera boom 156 as well.
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`As a result, camera boom 156 can be adjusted vertically by
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`the pivot 162 and horizontally by the pivot 158. Such a
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`Page 16 of 28
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`SAMSUNG EXHIBIT 1004
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`Page 16 of 28
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`SAMSUNG EXHIBIT 1004
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`

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`5,550,754
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`7
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`positioning arrangement allows the camera 102 to provide a
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`multitude of framing options and, particularly, allows con-
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`trol over the