Versatile teleconferencing eye contact terminal

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a second conferee image isolated in a black background displayed on the image bearing surface;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• A room environment with common objects providing visual reference to a residing location of the reflection within the room environment when the room environment is viewed by the first conferee through the semireflective transparent panel and its reflection of the black background;
• and
• A portable background positioned in the room environment and disposed on the side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display for providing a color controlled area with dark colors enabling at least one of enhancement to the contrast of the reflection of the image bearing surface and increased brightness of the reflection of the image bearing surface.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display consisting of a projector and a front projection screen;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the front projection screen for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the front projection screen on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a second conferee image isolated in a black background displayed on the front projection screen;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the front projection screen, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the front projection screen-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• A room environment, with common objects providing visual reference to a residing location of the reflection within the room environment when the room environment is viewed by the first conferee through the semireflective transparent panel and its reflection of the black background.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display consisting of a projector and a front projection screen;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the front projection screen for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the front projection screen on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the front projection screen, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the front projection screen-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a projection path means so that the first conferee views the reflection through a projection beam of the projector, the beam not intersecting the semireflective transparent panel and the video camera capturing through the projection beam the image of the first conferee.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a flexible substrate forming the semireflective transparent panel made flat by at least one of attaching to a frame and shrinking, attaching to a frame and stretching, the substrate having a flat memory and will unroll flat and maintain that flatness mounted in a frame, and the flexible substrate affixed to a rigid transparent substrate.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a remote terminal control system operated by the second conferee to command the image display to select the type of image on the image bearing surface by controlling at least one of a computer image, a video image, a picture in picture image, simultaneous imaging of both computer and video images in differing parts of the image bearing screen, and a transparency overlay of the computer image and the video image.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a text presentation system controlled by the first conferee enabling the image bearing surface to display text in the reflection.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a light absorbing substrate disposed on the side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display for darkening the color black in the reflection, the substrate consisting of black fibers serving as light traps to reduce light from reflecting upon the light absorbing substrate.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a horizontal terminal size reduction means for enabling the terminal to be transported through doorways by at least one of repositioning as a part of a supporting structure the image bearing surface to increase its vertical angle, the image bearing display to increase its vertical angle, and the semireflective transparent panel to increase its vertical angle.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• a second display for observation by the local conferee, the second display positioned between the local conferee and the semireflective transparent panel and positioned so as to not obstruct the first conferee from viewing the reflection of the image bearing surface;
• and
• an interactive input means integral to the second display and controlled by the first conferee for controlling at least one of a collaborative computer hardware and software, a videoconferencing communication hardware and software, a speaker, a microphone, a light, the image display and its image bearing surface, and the camera.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• an image blocking means by orienting the image bearing surface in angular relation to the semireflective transparent panel so that the reflection of the image bearing surface is substantially vertical and the image bearing surface is angled substantially away from the first conferee so that the first conferee can not view the image bearing surface.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• A removeable black opaque shield resting on the camera side of the semireflective transparent panel for increasing a quality of the reflection of the image bearing surface.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a supporting structure holding in position the image display and the semireflective transparent panel, the panel and the display having a separation space between them so that a room environment on the camera side of the semireflective transparent panel is visible by the first conferee through the separation space.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a controlled viewing angle means by shaping the semireflective transparent panel as a trapezoid with a narrow side closest to the image bearing surface and a widest side farthest away from the image bearing surface.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• A positioning mechanism means for locating the camera closer and further away from the semireflective transparent panel.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• A first conferee illumination system for improving a camera image quality comprising at least a light affixed to a structure supporting the image display, the camera and the semireflective transparent panel.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• An adhesion means for attaching the semireflective transparent panel to a substrate, wherein the adhesion attaches at least one of the following two sets of combinations 1) a film coated with a semireflective transparent coating attached to a transparent glass substrate and 2) a semireflective transparent panel constructed of glass and attached to a transparent safety film substrate.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a floor resting support structure supporting the camera, the image display and the semireflective transparent panel, wherein the image display is a flat panel display mounted with the image bearing surface aimed upward, the image display forming a canopy over a floor.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a group of first conferees to maintain eye contact with a second conferee(s) imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferees a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a plurality of video cameras disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video cameras capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, images of the first conferees who are disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee(s) to maintain eye contact with a group of second conferees imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• a plurality of image displays with an image bearing surfaces;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image displays for viewing by the first conferee(s) a reflection of the image bearing surfaces of the image displays on the semireflective transparent panel;
• and
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image displays, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee(s) who is/are disposed on the image displays-side of the semireflective transparent panel.

A teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to view an image of a second conferee amongst the first conferee's room environment, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image bearing surface for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a second conferee image isolated in a black background displayed on the image bearing surface;
• a video camera capturing an image of the first conferee;
• and
• a room environment with common objects providing visual reference to a residing location of the reflection within the room environment when the room environment is viewed by the first conferee through the semireflective transparent panel and its reflection of the black background.

A teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to view an image of a second conferee amongst the first conferee's room environment, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• a projector with a semi-transparent projection screen;
• a second conferee image isolated in a black background displayed on the semi-transparent projection screen;
• a video camera capturing an image of the first conferee;
• and
• a room environment with common objects providing visual reference to a residing location of the second conferee image on the semi-transparent projection screen within the room environment when the room environment is viewed by the first conferee through the semi-transparent projection screen and the black background projected upon the semi-transparent projection screen.

An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising:

• an image display with an image bearing surface;
• a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee a reflection of the image bearing surface of the image display on the semireflective transparent panel;
• a second conferee image isolated in a black background displayed on the image bearing surface;
• a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing, through the semireflective transparent panel, an image of the first conferee who is disposed on the image display-side of the semireflective transparent panel;
• a room environment with common objects providing visual reference to a residing location of the reflection within the room environment when the room environment is viewed by the first conferee through the semireflective transparent panel and its reflection of the black background;
• a support structure holding in position at least the image display and the semireflective transparent panel;
• a background shield disposed on the side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display and held in position by the support structure for improving a quality of the reflection, the shield blocking a portion of the room environment viewed by the first conferee through the semireflective transparent panel.

An eye contact teleconferencing fee based system connecting a plurality of eye contact terminals in a network, the system comprising:

• A plurality of eye contact terminals utilized by a plurality of conferees located at the plurality of terminals so that conferees can view eye contact images on an image display located at each terminal and have an eye contact image captured by a camera located at each terminal;
• A plurality of teleconferencing communication devices integral to each terminal having communication between terminals of at least voice so that conferees can hear each other and a image view capability so that the conferees can see each other;
• A teleconferencing network connecting the eye contact terminals;
• A teleconference session enabling the conferees to communicate by voice and by viewing each other utilizing the eye contact terminals;
• and
• A monetary transaction system for a temporary use of the eye contact terminals by the conferees.