JP2004013632A - Electronic conference system and computer-readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To totally support a conference by automatically making preparations before and after the holding of the conference in connection with a conference room reservation, in a network-connected electronic conference system. <P>SOLUTION: In a conference reservation system, a conference server, when receiving reservation data, registers them in a database, and according to the information, makes preparations before the conference is started (transferring files, extracting files to be checked and used, automatically starting applications, preprinting documents for participants, self-checking the system to send the warning or state of a fault point to an administrator by an e-mail, checking whether necessary files have been transferred, automatically extracting compressed files), immediately before the start (putting a projector on standby, automatically starting applications), and after the conference (automatically compressing and deleting requested files, managing minutes creation). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic conference system using a network, in which a file transfer, a check, a decompression of a file to be used, a printing of materials for the number of participants in advance, and a self-diagnosis of the system are performed before a conference is held in cooperation with a conference room reservation. And send warnings and situations to the administrator by e-mail, place the projector in standby just before the start, automatically start the application, and automatically compress and delete unnecessary files and create minutes after the meeting is held. The present invention relates to an electronic conference system and a computer-readable storage medium that automatically execute management and support the entire conference.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional conference room reservation system According to Canon JP-A-2000-20626, when a conference server receives reservation data, it registers the reservation data in a database and, based on the information, sends an e-mail address of a conference participant included in the database. A system for transmitting a meeting notification via a mail server has been proposed, but there is no processing function to support the entire meeting before and after the meeting, such as system self-diagnosis and file compression and decompression.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above conventional example, upon receiving the reservation data, the conference server registers the reservation data in a database, and based on the information, sends a notification of the conference to the e-mail addresses of the conference participants included in the reservation data via the mail server. A system that sends and receives messages has been proposed, but there was no processing function to support the entire meeting before and after the meeting, such as system self-diagnosis and file compression and decompression.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and in conjunction with a conference room reservation, before holding a conference, file transfer, check, and decompression of a file to be used, and printing in advance materials for the number of participants, system Make a self-diagnosis and set the projector to standby immediately before starting to send warnings and status of troubles to the administrator by e-mail, start the application automatically, automatically compress unnecessary files, delete unnecessary files after holding a meeting, and create minutes It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic conference system and a computer-readable storage medium that can improve the convenience of an electronic presentation conference room by automatically executing these processes, such as management, and supporting the entire conference.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the electronic conference system according to the present invention, in a network-connected electronic conference system, a registration unit that receives and registers the reservation information related to the conference, based on the reservation information, Performs self-diagnosis of the electronic conference system, creates a diagnosis result notification, and transmits the diagnosis result notification to at least one of a sender of the reservation information, an administrator of the electronic conference system, and a conference participant. And a notifying unit that performs the notification.
[0006]
A notification unit for periodically diagnosing whether or not a conference material file used in the conference has been received based on the reservation information, and transmitting a result of the diagnosis to a sender of the reservation information; It may be provided.
[0007]
When transmitting the conference material file, the conference material file may be provided with an expiration date, and the expired conference material file may be deleted based on the set expiration date. .
[0008]
A means for compressing and storing the received conference material file; a means for decompressing and using the compressed conference material file as necessary; and a means for compressing and storing the conference material file again after use. May be provided.
[0009]
Further, the reservation information can set the number of conference participants, and when the conference material file is received, includes means for printing the same in advance by the number of conference participants before holding the conference. You can also.
[0010]
Further, based on the reservation information, means for decompressing a material file compressed in advance before holding a meeting, means for automatically starting the electronic conference system, and means for automatically starting an application corresponding to the meeting material file. It is desirable to have.
[0011]
A means for sending a minutes file and a meeting material file to the meeting participants by e-mail after the meeting based on the reservation information may be provided.
[0012]
In addition, in the electronic conference system as described above, a registration step of receiving and registering reservation information related to a conference by a computer, and generating a self-diagnosis notification of the system based on the reservation information, A computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store a computer program for realizing a notification step of transmitting a notification to a sender of the reservation information.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an electronic conference system and a computer-readable storage medium according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
The electronic conference system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a conference server 2 having a mail server and a conference room reservation function, and K users (K is a natural number) connected to a bus network 3 as shown in FIG. It is implemented on a network composed of terminal devices 4 to 6. The network 3 may be a public telephone line network, a network such as ISDN, or the Internet, or a combination thereof. Further, the mail server or the conference room reservation server may exist outside the present system. The conference server 2 is connected with a projector 7 and a printer 8 as a large-screen display.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 2, the conference server 2 includes a personal computer 45, a display 42, a keyboard 43, and a mouse 44.
This personal computer 45 can be replaced with a workstation or a large computer.
[0016]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the personal computer 45.
[0017]
The communication control unit 501 includes a network interface, and exchanges various data with the network 3 via the network interface. The CPU 502 controls the entire apparatus by executing a program stored in the ROM 503 or the RAM 504, and provides a conference reservation service according to a procedure described later. The memory control unit 506 exchanges data and programs between the nonvolatile memory (hard disk, CD, etc.) 505 and the RAM 504.
[0018]
The image data sent from the display control unit 509 is displayed on the display 42. Further, the display control unit 42 appropriately performs processing according to the type of the display device.
[0019]
The codec 510 encodes / decodes audio data. The codec 511 performs encoding / decoding of image data. The keyboard 43 and the mouse 44 are connected to the operation control unit 512. The above blocks are connected by a system bus 507 and a data bus 508.
[0020]
With this configuration, a desired image can be created and displayed on the display 42, a desired program such as reservation of a conference room can be executed, and a keyboard 43, a mouse 44, or other connected to the network 3 can be executed. Necessary data can be input from a personal computer.
[0021]
FIG. 4 shows a conference room reservation input format 1/2. In this embodiment, this format is held on the client side, but may be stored on the server side and downloaded to the client side, or displayed as an HTML document on the client via a WWW server. In the figure, F401 is a conference room name input field, F402 is a reservation person name input field, F403 is a reservation date and time input field, F404 is a conference participant input field, F405 is a conference participation number input field, and F406 is a conference holding purpose input. A form field F407 is a reservation information transmission button.
[0022]
The conference room reservation person inputs data as needed in each of the fields F401 to F406, and then presses a transmission button, so that the data input in this form is transmitted to the conference server 2.
[0023]
In the conference server 2, reservation data is created from the received conference room reservation processing program and registered in the reservation information database.
[0024]
FIG. 5 shows a conference room reservation input format 2/2. This is a display format when conference materials used on the conference room reservation date are uploaded to the server in advance from the conference room reservation data. In the figure, F408 is displayed in a list by uploading it in advance in a conference material file list.
[0025]
When a browse button of F409 is pressed, a folder on the local disk of the client is displayed, and a file can be selected. When the selection is completed, the corresponding file is displayed in the upload file list F411 field.
[0026]
When setting an expiration date in the upload file, inputting an expiration date in the F410 expiration date field displays the corresponding file and the expiration date in the upload file list F411 field when the input is completed. By pressing the F412 file upload button, the client file is transferred to the conference server 2.
[0027]
When receiving the conference room reservation data shown in FIG. 4, the conference room reservation system creates reservation information. Further, the electronic materials can be transmitted to the server in advance by using the conference material upload form shown in FIG.
[0028]
The operation of the system of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0029]
First, in step S601, the conference reservation process is started. The server receives the reservation data from the client, which is written in the input form of the conference reservation page 1/2 in FIG. 4 and the transmission button of F407 is used as a trigger, and proceeds to step S602. .
[0030]
In step S602, the conference material file from the client is uploaded to the server 2 by using the transmission button of F411 as a trigger by the input form of the conference reservation page 2/2 in FIG. Here, if there is no meeting material for a certain period, a file reminder is sent to the meeting reservation person by e-mail.
[0031]
Proceeding to step S604, the server 2 compresses and temporarily stores the uploaded conference material file. For example, three days before the conference reservation, the compressed conference material is printed by the printer 8 for the number of reservations, for example, four, to prepare for the conference.
[0032]
Next, in step S607, a self-diagnosis of the electronic conference system is performed as shown in step S608. For example, is there any abnormality in the operation of the personal computer and peripheral devices? The projector lamp turn on? If any abnormalities are found after the check work, the system notifies the system administrator of the trouble by e-mail and requests repair and replacement work. The contact information can be set not only by the system administrator but also by a plurality of users, such as conference reservation persons and conference participants.
[0033]
Next, in step S610, it is monitored that it is 30 minutes before the start of the conference reservation, and if time has passed, the process proceeds to step S611.
[0034]
In step S611, as a process immediately before the meeting, the compressed meeting material file is decompressed, a necessary application such as PowerPoint is started, and the meeting material file is displayed as a slide show.
[0035]
Next, the conference is started in step S612, the conference is advanced in step S613, the conference is ended in step S614, and the conference participant prepares minutes and stores them in the server.
[0036]
In step S615, the meeting that has expired can be printed or e-mailed to the meeting participants by printing the minutes or meeting material file, compressing and saving unnecessary meeting material, or saving the meeting material with a time limit. Delete material.
Next, the conference ends in step S616.
[0037]
With this system, the reservation person can upload the conference material and the printing is automatically performed for the necessary participant of the conference participant, so that all the participants can participate in the conference empty-handed.
A reminder email for the meeting materials will be sent, so don't forget to send the materials.
[0038]
As long as you make a reservation, the automatic self-diagnosis function will be activated before the event, so you can hope for a meeting without worrying about the system being discovered on the day.
[0039]
The meeting material file is compressed and saved when not in use, and by setting a time limit on the file, unnecessary files are automatically deleted, so there is no burden on the storage capacity of the server and security is convenient. .
(Other embodiments)
The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), but it can be applied to a device including one device (for example, a copier, a facsimile device, etc.). May be applied.
[0040]
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a system or apparatus with a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments, for example, a storage medium storing a program of the procedure of FIG. Alternatively, the present invention is also achieved when a CPU or an MPU reads and executes a program code stored in a storage medium.
[0041]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
[0042]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, and the like can be used.
[0043]
When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. This also includes a case where some or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0044]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, file transfer, checking, decompression of files to be used, pre-printing materials for the number of participants, and Diagnose and send warnings and situations to the administrator by e-mail, and place the projector in standby just before the start, automatically start the app, and manage the automatic compression and deletion of unnecessary files and the creation of minutes after a meeting is started. The purpose is to improve the convenience of the electronic presentation meeting room by automatically executing these and supporting the entire meeting.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for realizing a conference reservation system.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conference reservation server.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic internal configuration of a computer of the conference reservation server.
FIG. 4 is a conference room reservation input format 1/2.
FIG. 5 is a conference room reservation input format 2/2.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conference reservation server.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Conference Reservation System 2 Conference Reservation Server 3 Network 4, 5, 6 Client Terminal 42 Display 43 Keyboard 44 Mouse 45 PC

Claims (8)

In a networked electronic conference system,
Registration means for receiving and registering the reservation information regarding the conference;
Based on the reservation information, a self-diagnosis of the electronic conference system is performed, a diagnosis result notification is created, and the diagnosis result notification is transmitted by the reservation information sender, the electronic conference system administrator, and the conference participants. An electronic conferencing system comprising: a notification unit that transmits to at least one party. Based on the reservation information, periodically diagnoses whether a meeting material file used in the meeting has been received,
The electronic conference system according to claim 1, further comprising: a notification unit configured to transmit a result of the diagnosis to a sender of the reservation information. When transmitting the conference material file, comprising means for setting an expiration date of the conference material file,
The electronic conference system according to claim 2, wherein the conference material file whose expiration date has expired is deleted based on the set expiration date. Means for compressing and storing the received meeting material file;
Means for decompressing and using the compressed meeting material file as necessary;
4. The electronic conference system according to claim 2, further comprising means for compressing and storing the conference material file again after use. The reservation information can set the number of conference participants, and when receiving the conference material file, includes means for printing it in advance by the number of conference participants before holding the conference. The electronic conference system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein Means for decompressing the conference material file which has been compressed before the conference, based on the reservation information,
Means for automatically starting the electronic conference system,
6. The electronic conference system according to claim 2, further comprising: means for automatically starting an application corresponding to the conference material file. 7. The electronic conference system according to claim 2, further comprising: means for sending a minutes file and a conference material file to the conference participants by e-mail based on the reservation information after the conference. . The electronic conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A registration step of receiving reservation information related to the conference by a computer and registering the information;
A computer program for generating a self-diagnosis notice of the system based on the reservation information and transmitting the self-diagnosis notice to a sender of the reservation information. Storage medium.

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