JP2007288671A - Meeting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a load of a recipient so as not to cause inconvenience in a picture or the size of a share window in the recipient. <P>SOLUTION: When a base A of a transmitting side and a recipient's base A are established as an application share mode, and the picture of the application which has started at the base A of the transmitting side is transmitted to a recipient's base B, the size of this application share window 31A is established as a maximum size and making an application share window 31A on a monitor 3A independent of other windows at the base A, and this size information is transmitted to the base B. At the base B, the size of an application share window 31B on a monitor 3B is made in agreement with the size of the application share window 31A of the base A based on the size information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a conference method in which a conference can be performed while watching a monitor between two or more remote locations.

  For example, when a remote conference is held at bases A and B located away from each other, as shown in FIG. 7, a conference system connected to each other via the communication line 1 is installed at each base A and B. The conference system at site A includes a computer 2A for controlling the conference in which a conference system program is written, a monitor 3A for displaying the discussion contents of the conference, a camera 4A for capturing an image of the site, and a microphone for inputting the audio of the site. 5A and a speaker 6A that outputs the sound of another base. Similarly, the base B includes a computer 2B, a monitor 3B, a camera 4B, a microphone 5B, and a speaker 6B. The computers 2A and 2B at the bases A and B are connected to each other by the communication line 1.

  In this conference system, a voice call function, a camera image display function, an application sharing function for transferring and displaying one application image to the other, and an image written using an input device such as a mouse or an electronic pen are exchanged with each other. In addition, all or some of the functions such as a whiteboard function to be displayed are provided, and a meeting or the like can be performed while selecting or switching each function as necessary.

  In the application sharing function, a file or application to be used is selected and started on the sending computer, and then an application window to be shared (hereinafter, application sharing window) or the entire desktop area is designated as a transfer area. Thus, the application sharing window or the entire desktop is transferred to the receiving side. On the receiving side, the transferred image is displayed on the desktop of the monitor as a new window or a part of the display area of the existing window.

  However, when the base A is the transmitting side and the base B is the receiving side and an application sharing window is created and transferred at the base A, as shown in the upper left of FIG. 8, on the desktop 30A of the monitor 3A When the application sharing window 31A is displayed and the non-shared window 32A overlaps a part of the application sharing window 31A, it is displayed on the desktop 30B of the monitor 3B of the base B that has received the transfer of the application sharing window 31A. As shown in the upper right of FIG. 8, the application sharing window 31 </ b> B having the missing part is displayed by the non-shared window 32 </ b> A. That is, it is not possible to transfer the overlapping area portion within the application-existing window 31A.

  Therefore, if the entire desktop 30A is designated as the transfer area, this can be avoided. In this case, as shown in the lower right of FIG. 8, the image of the desktop 30A other than the application sharing window 31A to be originally transferred is displayed. The non-shared window 32A is also transferred, and the base B needs to move the non-shared window 32B that is not necessary, or perform an operation of inverting the top and bottom (Patent Document 1) or deleting an unnecessary image on the desktop 30B.

  Further, when the size of the application sharing window 31B of the monitor 3B at the site B is smaller than the size of the application sharing window 31A transferred from the site A, as shown in FIG. Cannot be displayed.

  Furthermore, when it is necessary to point to a point on the document according to the progress of the meeting or the like, a marker (marking function) using an electronic pen or a mouse or a pointer such as an arrow is used. As described above, when the points are pointed at the respective bases A and B, a plurality of pointers PA and PB are displayed in the application sharing windows 31A and 31B, and it is unclear which of the organizers points to.

  On the other hand, the whiteboard sharing function displays a whiteboard sharing window with a drawing tool menu on the desktop of the monitor and draws an image in the whiteboard sharing window at the sending site. Also, the same image is displayed on the monitor at each site, reflecting the drawing contents.

  However, as shown in FIG. 11, when the sizes of the whiteboard sharing windows 33A and 33B of the monitors 3A and 3B at the bases A and B are different, a part of the image LA written at the base A is not shown at the base B. Things happen. LB is an image displayed in the whiteboard sharing window 33B of the base B.

In addition, the application sharing function and the whiteboard sharing function described above are used by appropriately switching according to the progress of the conference, but conventionally, it is not known by the other that the function switching operation has been performed at one site. . Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the function switching is performed from the application sharing function to the whiteboard sharing function at the site A, the function switching is not found at the site B and the application sharing function remains. It is necessary to detect this by a conference flow or a call from the site A, and to switch to the whiteboard function on the site B side.
JP-A-3-278784

  As described above, in the conventional conference system, the application sharing function has a problem in that the image and size of the application sharing window on the receiving side are inconvenient or many unclear pointers are displayed, and the whiteboard sharing function However, there is a problem in that the image and size of the whiteboard sharing window on the receiving side are inconvenient, and there is also a problem in switching functions between application sharing and whiteboard sharing.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, reduce the burden on the receiving side by avoiding inconvenience in the image and size of the shared window on the receiving side, and point out by limiting the pointer to one. It is to provide a meeting method that makes the point clear.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a computer, a monitor, a speaker, a microphone, and a camera as a set at a plurality of bases, and the computers are connected to each other via a communication line so In the conferencing method of performing a conference between, when the base on the transmitting side and the base on the receiving side are set to the application sharing mode, and the image of the application started at the base on the transmitting side is transmitted to the base on the receiving side, At the transmitting site, the application sharing window on the monitor is made independent of other windows, the size of the application sharing window is set to a predetermined size, and the size information is received as the first size information. Side of the application sharing window on the monitor. The is characterized in that so as to match the size of the application sharing window locations of the transmitting side on the basis of the first size information.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the conference method according to the first aspect, a single pointer is displayed in the application sharing window at the base on the transmission side and the base on the reception side, and direct manipulation of the pointer is performed It is made possible only at the base on the transmission side.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the conference method according to the second aspect, by specifying a specific position in the application sharing window of the base on the receiving side, the information on the position is transmitted to the base on the transmitting side. Transmitted, the pointer of the base on the transmitting side moves to a position according to the position information, the position information of the pointer of the base on the transmitting side is transmitted to the receiving side, and the pointer of the base on the receiving side The pointer is moved to the specific position.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the conference method according to any one of the first, second, and third aspects, the base on the transmitting side and the receiving side are set to the whiteboard sharing mode, and drawing is performed at the base on the transmitting side. When transmitting the image to the receiving site, the transmitting site receives the image drawn on the whiteboard sharing window on the monitor and the second size information that is the size of the whiteboard sharing window. Transmitting to a base, and at the receiving base, matching the size of the whiteboard shared window on the monitor to the size of the whiteboard shared window of the transmitting base based on the second size information, and An image is displayed.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the conference method according to the fourth aspect, in the base on the transmission side, when the application sharing mode and the whiteboard sharing mode are switched from one to the other, the base on the transmission side The mode switching information is transmitted to the receiving-side base, and the receiving-side base switches the mode based on the switching information.

  According to the present invention, there is no inconvenience in the image and size of the shared window on the receiving side, and the burden on the receiving side is reduced. In addition, the pointer is unique and the point to be pointed out becomes clear.

  Hereinafter, the conference method of the present invention will be described. In the present invention, the transmission side monitors the start and end of the application sharing mode. When starting or switching a shared application, close the previous application or minimize the window to remove it from the application sharing window, and the application sharing window on the receiving side is missing or an extra window etc. Is not sent to. Then, the size information of the application sharing window to be activated and transferred is transmitted to the receiving side, so that the size of the receiving side application sharing window matches the size of the transmitting side application sharing window.

  A unique pointer is used at each site. This pointer is managed on the transmission side, transmitted to the reception side together with the image of the application sharing window, and reflected in the application sharing window on the reception side. The pointer moves on the sending side by dragging and dropping with the mouse or electronic pen, or by specifying a moving point. On the receiving side, the moving position is specified by dragging and dropping or specifying the moving point, and its coordinate information is sent. By transmitting to the side, move on the transmission side. This realizes the only movable pointer.

  In the whiteboard sharing function, the size information of the whiteboard sharing window displayed on the sending monitor is sent to the receiving side, so that the receiving side whiteboard sharing window becomes the size of the sending whiteboard sharing window. Match.

  Furthermore, when switching between the application sharing function and the whiteboard sharing function, the switching is automatically performed on the receiving side by transmitting switching information from the transmitting side to which the switching is performed to the receiving side.

  FIG. 1 shows a flowchart when a meeting is held between the bases A and B. The hardware configuration at the sites A and B is the same as that shown in FIG. Here, the base A is the transmitting side and the base B is the receiving side. When the bases A and B are completely activated and the conference is started, sharing of the application X is started at the base A (S101). At this time, the switching information to the application sharing mode is transmitted to the site B (S102), whereby the site B is switched to the application sharing mode (S201). When the application X is activated at the site A (S103), the application that is not to be shared is terminated (S104). Further, the size of the application sharing window is changed to the maximum usable size at the site A (S105), and the size information is transmitted to the site B (S106). As a result, the site B changes the application sharing window according to the size information (S202). Thereafter, during execution of application sharing, the application image is transferred from the site A to the site B as it is (S301).

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the above application sharing function. When there is an application sharing window 31A and a non-shared window 32A for the application X to be shared on the desktop 30 of the monitor 3A at the site A, the non-shared window 32A is erased by terminating the application that is not the sharing target. Only the application sharing window 31A remains. Then, the application sharing window 31A is changed to the maximum size. This size information is transmitted to the site B. When the application sharing window 31B on the desktop of the monitor 3B at the site B is smaller than the size corresponding to the size information, as shown in FIG. The size is changed accordingly. That is, the application sharing windows 31A and 31B have the same size in the monitor 3A at the site A and the monitor 3B at the site B.

  Returning to FIG. 1, after the application sharing is executed (S301), the pointer is moved at the site A (S107), and the pointer image is transferred to the site B together with the application image (S108). Then, the pointer image is displayed together with the application image (S203). Here, at the base B, when the pointer is moved by instructing with a mouse or an electronic pen (S204), the pointer movement information, for example, coordinate information on the application sharing window 31B is transmitted to the base A (S205). . In accordance with this coordinate information, the pointer on the monitor 3A is moved at the site A (S109), and the pointer image is transmitted along with the application image to the site B (S110). Accordingly, at the site B, it is received and an application image and a pointer image are displayed on the application sharing window 31B (S206). From the above, during execution of the application sharing mode, the only pointer is moved as necessary at the sites A and B (S302), and the movement of the pointers on the application sharing windows 31A and 31B at the sites A and B is synchronized at this time. .

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the synchronous movement of the pointer. When the only pointer PA of the application sharing window 31A at the site A is moved on the site A side, the pointer PB on the application sharing window 31B at the site B is also synchronized. When the user moves and designates the next movement position of the pointer PB at the base B with a mouse or an electronic pen (not shown), the coordinate information on the designated application sharing window 31B is transmitted to the base B. This coordinate information In response to this, the pointer PA moves, and the pointer PB of the application sharing window 31B at the site B also moves in accordance with the movement of the pointer PA.

  Returning to FIG. 1, when the whiteboard sharing is started at the site A (S111), the switching information to the whiteboard sharing mode is transmitted to the site B (S112), whereby the site B also enters the whiteboard sharing mode. It is switched (S207). The site A transmits the size information of the whiteboard shared window to the site B (S113), whereby the size of the whiteboard shared window is also changed to a size corresponding to the site B. Thereafter, in the bases A and B, writing on the whiteboard and display are possible (S303).

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the whiteboard sharing function. When the size information of the whiteboard sharing window 33A of the site A is transmitted to the site B, the size of the whiteboard sharing window 33B of the site B is set according to the size information, so the image LA is written at the site A. At the base B, when the whiteboard sharing window 33B is smaller than the size information, a part of the image L is not displayed, but the size of the whiteboard sharing window 33B is changed based on the size information. The whiteboard sharing window 33B is displayed.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of function switching between application sharing and whiteboard sharing. In this case, for example, when the bases A and B are currently operating in the application sharing mode and the base A switches to the whiteboard sharing mode, the switching information is transmitted from the base A to the base B. The base B automatically switches from the application sharing mode to the whiteboard sharing mode.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the sharing function is switched in accordance with the progress of the conference, and the conference proceeds (S304).

It is a flowchart of a process of the Example of the conference method of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of size maximization of the application sharing window of the transmission side of the Example. It is explanatory drawing of size adjustment of the application sharing window of the receiving side of the Example. It is explanatory drawing of the only pointer synchronization of the Example. It is explanatory drawing of size adjustment of the whiteboard shared window of the receiving side of the Example. It is explanatory drawing of switching of the function from application sharing to whiteboard sharing. It is a block diagram of the conference system which consists of two bases. It is explanatory drawing of transmission of the conventional application sharing window. It is explanatory drawing of the size of the conventional application sharing window of the receiving side. It is explanatory drawing of the conventional pointer display. It is explanatory drawing of the whiteboard sharing window of the conventional receiving side. It is explanatory drawing of the switching of the function from the conventional application sharing to whiteboard sharing.

Explanation of symbols

1: Communication line 2A, 2B: Computer 3A, 3B: Monitor, 30A, 30B: Desktop, 31A, 31B: Application shared window, 32A, 32B: Non-shared window, 33A, 33B: Whiteboard shared window 4A, 4B: Camera 5A, 5B: Microphone 6A, 6B: Speaker

Claims (5)

In a meeting method comprising a computer, a monitor, a speaker, a microphone and a camera as a set at a plurality of bases, and connecting the computers to each other via a communication line to hold a conference between the plurality of bases,
When the transmission-side base and the reception-side base are set to the application sharing mode and the image of the application started up at the transmission-side base is transmitted to the reception-side base,
At the transmitting site, the application sharing window on the monitor is made independent of other windows, the size of the application sharing window is set to a predetermined size, and the size information is received as the first size information. To the site on the other side,
The meeting method characterized in that, at the receiving site, the size of the application sharing window on the monitor is matched with the size of the application sharing window at the transmitting site based on the first size information. . The conference method according to claim 1,
A conference method, wherein a unique pointer is displayed in the application sharing window of the transmitting base and the receiving base, and direct manipulation of the pointer is possible only at the transmitting base. The conference method according to claim 2,
By specifying a specific position in the application sharing window of the receiving base, the position information is transmitted to the transmitting base, and the pointer of the transmitting base is in accordance with the position information. The position information of the pointer of the base on the transmission side is transmitted to the reception side, and the pointer of the base on the reception side is moved to the specific position. Method. The conference method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 3,
When sending and receiving sites are set to whiteboard sharing mode and images drawn at the sending site are sent to the receiving site,
The base on the transmitting side transmits the image drawn on the whiteboard shared window on the monitor and the second size information that is the size of the whiteboard shared window to the base on the receiving side,
At the receiving site, the size of the whiteboard sharing window on the monitor is matched with the size of the whiteboard sharing window at the transmitting site based on the second size information, and the image is displayed. The meeting method characterized by having made it. The conference method according to claim 4,
When switching the application sharing mode and the whiteboard sharing mode from one to the other at the transmitting site, the mode switching information is transmitted from the transmitting site to the receiving site, and the receiving side The conference method is characterized in that the bases of the modes switch modes based on the switching information.

Images