JP2016045792A - Image reading device, conference information registration method, program and conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reading device, a conference information registration method, a program, and a conference system capable of facilitating creation of a conference from the image reading device.SOLUTION: An image reading device which performs communication through a network with a conference management device for performing management of a conference held in a plurality of terminal devices includes: conference information recognition means for recognizing conference information for performing conference creation on the conference management device from image data which is read from a manuscript; and conference creation request means for, on the basis of the recognized conference information for performing conference creation on the conference management device, generating conference creation information for creating a conference on the conference management device and transmitting the information to the conference management device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus, a conference information registration method, a program, and a conference system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a conference support system that can easily use a document displayed on a shared screen of a conference is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  A conventional conference support system has a conference sheet creation system for creating a conference sheet and a conference sheet utilization system for using the conference sheet. When the conference is held, the conference sheet creation system registers the conference ID, the conference summary information, and the shared document displayed on the shared screen display in association with the progress of the conference, and registers them in the database. The conference sheet displaying the conference summary information is output to the multifunction device. The conference sheet utilization system acquires an image of the conference sheet, recognizes a conference ID from the acquired image, acquires a shared document associated with the recognized conference ID from the database, and outputs the document.

  For example, in a conference system, a document is displayed on a participant terminal such as a PC or a smart device, and the conference is advanced while a display page is synchronized between the participant terminals. Materials used in the conference system are electronically documented in advance in PDF or the like, and are registered and used in advance in a conference management apparatus such as a conference server. If the material is paper material, the paper material is read from an image reading device such as a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having a scanner function, converted into an electronic document, and registered in advance in the conference management device for use.

  However, in the conventional conference system, when registering electronic documented material in the conference management device, it is necessary to select a conference for registering the electronic documented material. Therefore, a conference must be created in the conference management device in advance. I had to. Usually, when a conference is created in the conference management apparatus, it is performed by a conference registration terminal.

  Therefore, in a conventional conference system, when a conference for registering electronic document data is to be selected by the image reading device, if a conference has not yet been created, the conference registration device is used to contact the conference management device. Had to create. Even if it is possible to create a meeting from the operation panel of the image reading apparatus to the meeting management apparatus, it is very troublesome to input bibliographic information related to the meeting from the soft keyboard of the operation panel.

  Embodiments of the present invention have been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an image reading apparatus, a meeting information registration method, a program, and a meeting system that can facilitate the creation of a meeting from the image reading apparatus. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, claim 1 of the present application is an image reading device that communicates via a network with a conference management device that manages a conference that is performed between a plurality of terminal devices. A conference information recognition means for recognizing conference information for creating a conference in the conference management device, and causing the conference management device to create a conference based on the conference information for creating the conference in the recognized conference management device And a conference creation requesting means for generating conference creation information for transmission to the conference management device.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, creation of a conference from the image reading apparatus can be facilitated.

It is a lineblock diagram of an example of a conference system concerning this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the computer which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. 2 is a functional block diagram of an example of a multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of an example of a meeting management apparatus. It is a block diagram of an example of a meeting information table. It is a block diagram of an example of a material information table. It is an image figure of an example of a program selection screen. It is an image figure of an example of the top screen of a meeting application. It is an image figure of an example of a start waiting screen. It is an image figure of an example of the sheet | seat for meeting creation. It is a flowchart of an example of a meeting creation process. It is an image figure of an example of an error message screen. It is an image figure of an example of a confirmation screen. It is a block diagram of an example of a meeting creation message. FIG. 6 is an image diagram of an example of a document set in a multifunction peripheral when a meeting creation process and a material registration process are performed at a time. It is a flowchart of an example of a meeting creation and material registration process. It is explanatory drawing showing the agenda in this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the other example of the multifunctional device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of an agenda information table. It is a block diagram of the other example of a material information table. It is an image figure of an example of the agenda creation sheet. It is a flowchart of an example of an agenda creation process. It is a block diagram of an example of an agenda creation message. FIG. 6 is an image diagram of an example of a manuscript set in a multifunction peripheral when an agenda creation process and a material registration process are performed at a time. It is a flowchart of an example of agenda preparation and material registration processing.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conference system according to the present embodiment. The conference system 1 in FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration in which a conference management apparatus 10, a multifunction peripheral (MFP) 11, a conference registration terminal 12, and one or more participant terminals 13 are connected to a network N1 such as a LAN. Yes.

  The conference management apparatus 10 receives a conference creation request and a material registration request, and stores conference information and material information, which will be described later. In addition, the conference management apparatus 10 performs conference holding and participation control. The conference management apparatus 10 can be realized by software and services that operate on one or more computers. The conference management apparatus 10 can also take the form of a so-called cloud service. The conference management device 10 is realized by, for example, a device dedicated to the conference system 1 or an information processing device such as a general workstation or PC.

  The multifunction machine 11 is an example of an image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus may be an electronic device having a scanning function, such as a scanner or a multifunction peripheral. The multifunction machine 11 scans the set paper (original), and makes a meeting creation request and a material registration request as described later, based on the scan result. Also, the multifunction machine 11 registers (uploads) electronic document data as data in the conference management apparatus 10.

  The conference registration terminal 12 has a function of registering conference information and document information in the conference management apparatus 10. A user who operates the conference registration terminal 12 can register conference information and material information in the conference management apparatus 10 from the conference registration terminal 12. The conference registration terminal 12 may be a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a terminal device such as a PDA, a virtual machine, or a device dedicated to the conference system 1.

  The conference registration terminal 12 can be realized by software or a service that operates on one or more computers. The software and services that operate on the conference registration terminal 12 may be a native application that operates alone, or a Web browser and a Web application that operates on the Web browser.

  A conference application is activated on the participant terminal 13. The participant terminal 13 has a function of acquiring conference information and material information from the conference management device 10, downloading material data, and participating in the conference. Participants of the conference can participate in the conference from the participant terminal 13.

  The participant terminal 13 is a device dedicated to the conference system 1 in addition to a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a terminal device such as a PDA, a display device such as a virtual machine or an electronic whiteboard, a projection device such as a projector. There may be.

  For example, the participant terminal 13 displays the same material data as the other participant terminals 13 during participation in the conference. In addition, during the participation in the conference, the participant terminal 13 receives an input operation (page turning or the like) from another participant terminal 13 such as a presenter from the conference management device 10 in real time, You can also share the display screen.

  In the conference system 1, the conference management apparatus 10, the multifunction machine 11, the conference registration terminal 12, and the participant terminal 13 can perform data communication via the network N <b> 1. The network N1 may be the Internet, a dedicated line, a wired line, or a wireless line in addition to the LAN.

<Hardware configuration>
The conference management apparatus 10, the conference registration terminal 12, and the participant terminal 13 are realized by a computer 100 having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer according to the present embodiment.

  The computer 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, an external I / F 103, a RAM 104, a ROM 105, a CPU 106, a communication I / F 107, an HDD 108, and the like, which are connected to each other via a bus B. . The input device 101 and the display device 102 may be connected and used when necessary.

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and is used by a user to input each operation signal. The display device 102 includes a display and the like, and displays a processing result by the computer 100.

  The communication I / F 107 is an interface that connects the computer 100 to various networks. Thereby, the computer 100 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 107.

  The HDD 108 is an example of a nonvolatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS that is basic software for controlling the entire computer 100, and application software that provides various functions on the OS (hereinafter simply referred to as an application). The computer 100 may use a drive device (for example, a solid state drive: SSD) that uses a flash memory as a storage medium instead of the HDD 108.

  The external I / F 103 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 103a. Accordingly, the computer 100 can read and / or write the recording medium 103a via the external I / F 103. Examples of the recording medium 103a include a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The ROM 105 is an example of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores programs and data such as BIOS, OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the computer 100 is started up. The RAM 104 is an example of a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data.

  The CPU 106 is an arithmetic unit that realizes control and functions of the entire computer 100 by reading a program and data from a storage device such as the ROM 105 and the HDD 108 onto the RAM 104 and executing processing.

  The conference management apparatus 10, the conference registration terminal 12, and the participant terminal 13 can implement various processes as described later by executing a program on the computer 100 having the above hardware configuration, for example.

  1 is realized by a computer having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. The multifunction machine 11 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a controller 201, an operation panel 202, an external I / F 203, a communication I / F 204, a printer 205, a scanner 206, and the like.

  The controller 201 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, a ROM 213, an NVRAM 214, an HDD 215, and the like. The ROM 213 stores various programs and data. The RAM 212 temporarily stores programs and data. The NVRAM 214 stores setting information, for example. The HDD 215 stores various programs and data.

  The CPU 211 implements control and functions of the entire multifunction peripheral 11 by reading programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 213, the NVRAM 214, the HDD 215, and the like onto the RAM 212 and executing the processing.

  The operation panel 202 includes an input unit that receives input from the user and a display unit that performs display. The external I / F 203 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 203a. Accordingly, the multifunction machine 11 can read and / or write the recording medium 203a via the external I / F 203. Examples of the recording medium 203a include an IC card, a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The communication I / F 204 is an interface for connecting the multifunction machine 11 to the network N1. Thereby, the multi-function device 11 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 204. A printer 205 is a printing apparatus that prints print data on paper. A scanner 206 is a reading device that reads image data (electronic data) from a document.

<Software configuration>
The multifunction peripheral 11 and the conference management apparatus 10 of the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment are realized by the following functional blocks.

《Multifunction machine》
The multifunction machine 11 according to the present embodiment is realized by, for example, functional blocks illustrated in FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an example of a multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment.

  The multifunction machine 11 implements a scanner function 21, a copy function 22, a printer function 23, a communication function 24, an OCR function 25, a barcode reading function 26, and a conference system related function 27 by executing a program.

  The scanner function 21 provides a function of reading image data from a document. The copy function 22 provides a function of reading image data from a document and printing the image data on paper. The printer function 23 provides a function for printing print data on paper. The communication function 24 provides a function of communicating with the conference management apparatus 10 and the like.

  The OCR function 25 provides a function for recognizing optical characters from image data read from a document by the scanner function 21. The barcode reading function 26 provides a function of reading a barcode included in image data read from an original by the scanner function 21. The configuration diagram of FIG. 4 is an example, and a configuration having a function of reading a two-dimensional code (for example, a QR code (registered trademark)) instead of the barcode reading function 26 may be used. The conference system related function 27 provides a related function of the conference system 1 and provides, for example, a conference creation function 31 and a material registration function 32.

  The meeting creation function 31 uses the scanner function 21 to provide a function for creating a new meeting as will be described later. The material registration function 32 provides a function of registering materials in the conference. The material registration function 32 implements a function of accepting a conference selection from the user through a GUI (graphical user interface) of the conference system related function 27. Further, the material registration function 32 realizes a function of receiving a meeting selection from the user as described later by using the scanner function 21 as described later. The material registration function 32 realizes a function of registering material data read from paper material by the scanner function 21 in the conference selected by the user.

  The conference system related function 27 may be realized by a native application, or may be realized by a Web browser and a Web application that operates on the Web browser. The web application is downloaded from the conference management apparatus 10, for example.

《Conference management device》
The conference management apparatus 10 is realized by functional blocks as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an example of a conference management apparatus. The functional blocks in FIG. 5 show the functions of conference information management, material information management, and conference control among the functions provided by the conference management apparatus 10, and other functions may exist.

  The conference management apparatus 10 implements a conference information management unit 41, a material information management unit 42, a conference control unit 43, an information storage unit 44, and a communication unit 45 by executing a program. The conference information management unit 41 receives a conference creation message from the multifunction machine 11 or the conference registration terminal 12 and creates a conference. As the conference is created, the conference information management unit 41 causes the information storage unit 44 to store a conference information table as described below.

  The material information management unit 42 receives a material registration message from the multifunction machine 11 or the conference registration terminal 12 and registers the material. With the registration of the material, the material information management unit 42 stores a material information table and material data as described later in the information storage unit 44.

  The conference control unit 43 uses information such as conference information and document information stored in the information storage unit 44 to control the opening and closing of the conference and the sharing of the display screen at the participant terminals 13 participating in the conference. Do. The information storage unit 44 stores a conference information table, a material information table, material data, and the like. The communication unit 45 provides a function of communicating with the multifunction machine 11, the conference registration terminal 12, the participant terminal 13, and the like.

  Note that the functional blocks shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are examples. For example, a configuration in which some of the functional blocks (for example, the copy function 22 and the printer function 23) included in the multifunction machine 11 of FIG. Also, some of the functional blocks of the conference management apparatus 10 in FIG. 5 may operate on another information processing apparatus. In that case, the functional blocks communicate with each other as necessary to exchange information.

《Conference information table》
The information storage unit 44 stores, for example, a conference information table shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of the conference information table. The conference information table in FIG. 6 manages conference information that is information related to the conference.

  The conference information table of FIG. 6 has items such as conference ID, conference name, date and time, conference status, conference content, and remarks. The conference ID is an example of identification information for uniquely identifying a conference. The meeting name is the name of the meeting. The date and time is the date and time when the meeting is held. The conference status represents the status of the conference before, during, and after the conference. The content of the conference is information representing the content of the conference set by the user who creates the conference. The remarks are information indicating the supplementary notes set by the user who creates the conference.

《Material information table》
The information storage unit 44 stores, for example, a material information table shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of an example of the material information table. The material information table in FIG. 7 manages material information that is information about materials. The material information table in FIG. 7 includes items such as a conference ID, a material ID, a name, and a storage location.

  The conference ID is an example of identification information for uniquely identifying a conference. Each record of the material information table is associated with the meeting information of FIG. 6 by this meeting ID. The material ID is an example of identification information for uniquely identifying the material. The name is the name of the material. The storage location is an example of information on a location where the substance of the material (material data) is stored. Although the material information table of FIG. 7 has shown the example which has the information of the place which stores material data, you may memorize | store material data itself.

<Details of processing>
Below, the detail of the process of the conference system 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated.

《Conference creation process》
In the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is necessary to register conference information and material information in the conference management device 10 before a conference is held. A user who creates a conference from the multifunction device 11 selects a conference application icon from the program selection screen shown in FIG. 8 displayed on the operation panel 202 of the multifunction device 11. FIG. 8 is an image diagram of an example of a program selection screen. The program selection screen in FIG. 8 displays application icons that can be selected by the user, such as a scanner application, a copy application, and a conference application.

  When the conference application icon is selected from the program selection screen, the conference system related function 27 of the multifunction machine 11 causes the operation panel 202 to display a top screen of the conference application as shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is an image diagram of an example of the top screen of the conference application.

  The top screen of the conference application in FIG. 9 displays a conference creation function icon and a material registration function icon that can be selected by the user. When the conference creation function icon is selected from the top screen of the conference application, the conference creation function 31 of the multifunction machine 11 starts a conference creation process. When the material registration function icon is selected from the top screen of the conference application, the material registration function 32 of the multifunction machine 11 starts a material registration process for selecting a conference from the created conference list and registering the material. .

  When the conference creation function icon is selected from the top screen of the conference application, the conference creation function 31 of the multifunction machine 11 causes the operation panel 202 to display a start waiting screen as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an image diagram of an example of a start waiting screen. The start waiting screen in FIG. 10 continues to be displayed until the user has set the meeting creation sheet in FIG. 11 and presses the start button.

  FIG. 11 is an image diagram of an example of a meeting creation sheet. The conference creation sheet 1000 in FIG. 11 is printed with an input field 1001 for bibliographic information necessary for conference creation and a barcode 1002 as an example of discrimination information for causing the multi-function peripheral 11 to identify the conference creation sheet 1000. Has been.

  The conference creation sheet 1000 of FIG. 11 shows an input column for conference name, date and time, conference content, and remarks as an example of an input column 1001 for bibliographic information necessary for conference creation. Further, the barcode 1002 is shown as an example of the discrimination information for causing the multi-function peripheral 11 to determine that the conference creation sheet 1000 is the conference creation sheet 1000. However, the conference creation sheet 1000 is a two-dimensional code, digital watermark, color, or the like. May be. Note that the conference creation sheet 1000 of FIG. 11 may be identification information that causes the multifunction device 11 to identify characters, numbers, symbols, and the like that are identified by optical character identification of the OCR function 25 as being the conference creation sheet 1000.

  The meeting creation sheet 1000 in FIG. 11 is, for example, a paper sheet. The conference system related function 27 of the multifunction machine 11 may have a sheet output function for printing the conference creation sheet 1000. If the multifunction machine 11 has a sheet output function for the conference creation sheet 1000, the user can print out the conference creation sheet 1000 from the multifunction machine 11.

  The user enters the bibliographic information of the conference to be created in the input field 1001 of the conference creation sheet 1000 shown in FIG. 11, sets the conference creation sheet 1000 in the multi-function peripheral 11, and then clicks the start button on the start wait screen shown in FIG. Press. When the start button on the start waiting screen is pressed, the multi-function peripheral 11 starts a conference creation process as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a conference creation process. In step S <b> 11, the scanner function 21 of the multifunction machine 11 scans the set conference creation sheet 1000.

  In step S12, the barcode reading function 26 of the multifunction machine 11 performs barcode reading processing on the scanned image data, and determines the presence / absence of the barcode and the barcode. The conference creation function 31 determines whether or not the scan of the conference creation sheet 1000 has been executed based on the result of the barcode reading process by the barcode reading function 26.

  If the conference creation function 31 determines that scanning of the conference creation sheet 1000 has not been executed, an error message screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the operation panel 202 in step S13. FIG. 13 is an image diagram of an example of an error message screen. When the user presses the return button on the error message screen in FIG. 13, the conference creation function 31 displays the start wait screen in FIG. 10 on the operation panel 202, for example.

  If the conference creation function 31 determines that the conference creation sheet 1000 has been scanned, the process proceeds to step S15, where the OCR function 25 performs optical character recognition on the scanned image data, and bibliographic information entered in the input field 1001. Is converted to character code.

  In step S16, the conference creation function 31 displays a confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 14 based on the bibliographic information converted into the character code by the OCR function 25. FIG. 14 is an image diagram of an example of a confirmation screen. The confirmation screen in FIG. 14 includes bibliographic information converted into character codes by the OCR function 25.

  If the bibliographic information displayed on the confirmation screen in FIG. 14 is not satisfactory, the user presses a cancel button on the confirmation screen in FIG. When the cancel button is pressed, the conference creation function 31 causes the operation panel 202 to display the start wait screen of FIG. 10 in step S18.

  If the bibliographic information displayed on the confirmation screen in FIG. 14 is acceptable, the user presses the OK button on the confirmation screen in FIG. When the OK button is pressed, the conference creation function 31 generates a conference creation message as shown in FIG. 15 based on the bibliographic information in step S19.

  FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conference creation message. The conference creation message shown in FIG. 15 has a header part and a body part. The header part includes information for identifying the conference creation message. The body part includes bibliographic information of the conference to be created. The conference creation message generated by the conference creation function 31 is transmitted to the conference management apparatus 10 by the communication function 24 in step S20.

  The conference management apparatus 10 receives the conference creation message of FIG. The conference information management unit 41 of the conference management apparatus 10 can create a conference by registering the conference information in the conference information table as shown in FIG. 6 based on the received conference creation message.

《Conference creation and document registration processing》
In the above, the example of performing the conference creation process has been described. In the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment, the conference creation process and the material registration process can be performed at a time as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 16 is an image diagram of an example of a document set in the multifunction machine 11 when the conference creation process and the material registration process are performed at once. In the manuscript shown in FIG. 16, the first page is a conference creation sheet 1000, and the second and subsequent pages are materials to be registered in the conference created by the first page conference creation sheet 1000.

  By using the document as shown in FIG. 16, the multi-function peripheral 11 performs the conference creation process and the material registration process in the procedure as shown in FIG. 17, for example. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an example of a conference creation and material registration process.

  In step S <b> 31, the conference creation function 31 performs a conference creation process as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 and transmits a conference creation message to the conference management apparatus 10. In steps S32 and S33, the material registration function 32 of the conference system related function 27 scans one sheet at a time until the set paper (original) is exhausted. When there is no more paper, the material registration function 32 proceeds to step S34, and the scanned image data is converted into, for example, a PDF to form one material data that is converted into an electronic document.

  In step S <b> 35, the material registration function 32 uploads the material data subjected to PDF processing in step S <b> 34 to the conference management device 10 as the conference material created in step S <b> 31.

The material information management unit 42 of the conference management apparatus 10 that has received the material registration message from the multifunction device 11 through the communication unit 45 registers the material information in the material information table as shown in FIG. 7 based on the received material registration message. By doing so, materials can be registered in the conference.
[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, materials are registered in the conference. In the second embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 18, it is assumed that one or more agenda items can be registered in one meeting, and materials can be registered for each agenda item. Each agenda can be set with bibliographic information such as agenda name, presenter, and presentation time.

  Since the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for a part thereof, the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Since the system configuration and hardware configuration are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

<Software configuration>
The multifunction machine 11A of the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment is realized by functional blocks as shown in FIG.

《Multifunction machine》
The MFP 11A according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which an agenda creation function 33 of the conference system related function 27 is added to the MFP 11 of FIG. The agenda creation function 33 provides a function for creating a new agenda using the scanner function 21 as described later.

《Conference management device》
The conference information management unit 41 of the conference management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment receives a conference creation message from the multifunction peripheral 11A or the conference registration terminal 12, and creates a conference. As the conference is created, the conference information management unit 41 causes the information storage unit 44 to store a conference information table as described below.

  Also, the agenda creation message is received from the multifunction machine 11A and the conference registration terminal 12, and the agenda is created. As the agenda is created, the conference information management unit 41 stores an agenda information table as described below in the information storage unit 44.

  The material information management unit 42 receives a material registration message from the multifunction machine 11A and the conference registration terminal 12 and registers the material. With the registration of the material, the material information management unit 42 stores a material information table and material data as described later in the information storage unit 44.

<Agenda Information Table>
The information storage unit 44 stores, for example, an agenda information table shown in FIG. FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of an example of the agenda information table. The agenda information table in FIG. 20 manages agenda information that is information relating to the agenda. The agenda information table in FIG. 20 includes items such as a conference ID, agenda ID, agenda name, presenter, and presentation time.

  The conference ID is an example of identification information for uniquely identifying a conference. Each record of the agenda information table is associated with the meeting information of FIG. 6 by this meeting ID. The agenda ID is an example of identification information for identifying the agenda. The agenda name is the name of the agenda. The presenter represents a user who makes a presentation on the agenda. Announcement time represents the scheduled time for the presentation on the agenda. The agenda ID is automatically created, for example, in the order in which the agendas are created.

《Material information table》
For example, a material information table shown in FIG. 21 is stored in the information storage unit 44. FIG. 21 is a configuration diagram of another example of the material information table. The material information table in FIG. 21 has a configuration in which an agenda ID is added as an item to the material information table in FIG. With this agenda ID, each record in the material information table is associated with the agenda information of FIG.

<Details of processing>
Below, the detail of the process of the conference system 1 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated centering on the difference with the conference system 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

《Agenda creation process》
In the conference system 1 according to the second embodiment, it is necessary to register conference information, agenda information, and material information in the conference management apparatus 10 before holding the conference. A user who creates an agenda from the multifunction machine 11A selects a conference application icon from the program selection screen shown in FIG. 8 displayed on the operation panel 202 of the multifunction machine 11A.

  When the conference application icon is selected from the program selection screen, the conference system related function 27 of the multifunction peripheral 11A causes the operation panel 202 to display the top screen of the conference application. On the top screen of the conference application, a conference creation function icon, an agenda creation function icon, and a material registration function icon are displayed.

  When the agenda creation function icon is selected from the top screen of the conference application, the agenda creation function 33 of the multifunction peripheral 11A starts the agenda creation process. When the agenda creation function icon is selected from the top screen of the conference application, the agenda creation function 33 of the multifunction peripheral 11A displays a start wait screen on the operation panel 202 that prompts the user to set the agenda creation sheet and press the start button. Let The start waiting screen continues to be displayed until the agenda creation sheet is set by the user and the start button is pressed.

  FIG. 22 is an image diagram of an example of the agenda creation sheet. The agenda creation sheet 2000 shown in FIG. 22 is printed with an input field 2001 for bibliographic information necessary for agenda creation, and a barcode 2002 as an example of discrimination information for causing the multifunction peripheral 11A to identify the agenda creation sheet 2000. Has been.

  The agenda creation sheet 2000 of FIG. 22 shows an input column for conference ID, agenda name, presenter, and presentation time as an example of an input column 2001 for bibliographic information necessary for agenda creation. Further, the barcode 2002 is shown as an example of the discrimination information for causing the multi-function peripheral 11A to determine that the agenda creation sheet 2000 is the agenda creation sheet 2000. There may be. Note that the agenda creation sheet 2000 of FIG. 22 may be identification information that causes the multifunction peripheral 11A to identify characters, numbers, symbols, and the like identified by optical character identification of the OCR function 25 as being the agenda creation sheet 2000.

  The agenda creation sheet 2000 in FIG. 22 is, for example, a paper sheet. The conference system related function 27 of the multifunction peripheral 11A may have a sheet output function for printing the agenda creation sheet 2000. If the multifunction peripheral 11A has a function for outputting the agenda creation sheet 2000, the user can print out the agenda creation sheet 2000 from the multifunction peripheral 11A.

  The user describes the bibliographic information of the agenda to be created in the input field 2001 of the agenda creation sheet 2000 shown in FIG. 22, sets the agenda creation sheet 2000 in the multifunction peripheral 11A, and then presses the start button on the start wait screen. The multi-function peripheral 11A starts the agenda creation process as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an example of the agenda creation process. In step S51, the scanner function 21 of the multifunction peripheral 11A scans the set agenda creation sheet 2000.

  In step S52, the barcode reading function 26 of the multifunction peripheral 11A performs barcode reading processing on the scanned image data, and determines the presence / absence of the barcode and the barcode. The agenda creation function 33 determines whether or not the agenda creation sheet 2000 has been scanned based on the result of the barcode reading process by the barcode reading function 26.

  If the agenda creation function 33 determines that scanning of the agenda creation sheet 2000 has not been executed, the agenda creation function 33 displays an error message screen prompting the user to set the correct agenda creation sheet 2000 on the operation panel 202 in step S53, for example. When the user presses the return button on the error message screen, the agenda creation function 33 causes the operation panel 202 to display a start wait screen.

  If the agenda creation function 33 determines that the scan of the agenda creation sheet 2000 has been executed, the process proceeds to step S55, where the OCR function 25 performs optical character recognition on the scanned image data, and the bibliographic information entered in the input field 2001 Is converted to character code.

  In step S56, the agenda creation function 33 displays a confirmation screen based on the bibliographic information converted into character codes by the OCR function 25. The confirmation screen includes bibliographic information converted into character codes by the OCR function 25.

  If the bibliographic information displayed on the confirmation screen is not satisfactory, the user presses a cancel button on the confirmation screen. When the cancel button is pressed, the agenda creation function 33 displays a start wait screen on the operation panel 202 in step S58.

  If the bibliographic information displayed on the confirmation screen is acceptable, the user presses the OK button on the confirmation screen. When the OK button is pressed, the agenda creation function 33 generates an agenda creation message as shown in FIG. 24 based on the bibliographic information in step S59.

  FIG. 24 is a configuration diagram of an example of the agenda creation message. The agenda creation message shown in FIG. 24 has a header part and a body part. The header portion includes information for identifying the agenda creation message. The body part also includes bibliographic information on the agenda to be created. The agenda creation message generated by the agenda creation function 33 is transmitted to the conference management apparatus 10 by the communication function 24 in step S60.

  The conference management apparatus 10 receives the agenda creation message of FIG. The conference information management unit 41 of the conference management apparatus 10 can create the agenda by registering the agenda information in the agenda information table as shown in FIG. 20 based on the received agenda creation message.

《Agenda creation and document registration processing》
In the above, the example of performing the agenda creation processing has been described. In the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 25, the agenda creation process and the material registration process can be performed at a time.

  FIG. 25 is an image diagram of an example of a document set in the multifunction machine 11A when the agenda creation process and the material registration process are performed at once. In the manuscript shown in FIG. 25, the first page is the agenda creation sheet 2000A, and the second and subsequent materials 2100A are materials to be registered in the agenda created by the first page of the agenda creation sheet 2000A.

  The document shown in FIG. 25 becomes the agenda creation sheet 2000B on the next page of the material 2100A after the second page, and the material 2100B after the next page of the agenda creation sheet 2000B is created by the agenda creation sheet 2000B. It will be the material to be registered on the agenda. FIG. 25 shows an example of creating a plurality of agenda items and registering materials on the agenda items, but it is also possible to create one agenda item and register materials on the agenda items.

  By using the manuscript as shown in FIG. 25, the multifunction peripheral 11A performs the agenda creation processing and the material registration processing in the procedure as shown in FIG. FIG. 26 is a flowchart of an example of agenda creation and material registration processing.

  In step S71, the conference creation function 31 performs conference creation processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, transmits a conference creation message to the conference management apparatus 10, and creates a conference.

  In step S <b> 72, the agenda creation function 33 performs agenda creation processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 23 and transmits an agenda creation message to the conference management apparatus 10. In steps S73 to S77, the material registration function 32 of the conference system related function 27 scans one by one until the set paper (original) is exhausted or the next agenda creation sheet 2000 is scanned.

  When the next agenda creation sheet 2000 is scanned, the material registration function 32 proceeds to step S78, and the scanned image data is converted into, for example, a PDF to form one document data.

  In step S <b> 79, the material registration function 32 uploads the material data subjected to PDF processing in step S <b> 78 to the conference management apparatus 10 as the agenda material created in step S <b> 72.

  The material information management unit 42 of the conference management apparatus 10 that has received the material registration message from the MFP 11A by the communication unit 45 registers the material information in the material information table as shown in FIG. 21 based on the received material registration message. By doing so, you can register materials on the agenda.

  Then, the agenda creation function 33 returns to step S72, performs agenda creation processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 23, and sends the agenda creation message based on the next agenda creation sheet 2000 scanned in step S76 to the conference management apparatus 10. Send. In steps S73 to S77, the material registration function 32 of the conference system related function 27 scans one sheet at a time until the set paper runs out or the next agenda creation sheet 2000 is scanned.

  When the set paper runs out, the process proceeds to step S74, where the material registration function 32 converts the scanned image data into, for example, a PDF to form one document data.

  In step S <b> 75, the material registration function 32 uploads the material data subjected to PDF processing in step S <b> 74 as the agenda material created in step S <b> 72 to the conference management apparatus 10.

(Summary)
In the first and second embodiments, the conference creation process and the agenda creation process have been described separately. However, the conference creation process, the agenda creation process, and the material registration process for the agenda can be performed at a time. For example, when the conference creation process, the agenda creation process, and the material registration process for the agenda are performed at a time, the first page of the manuscript set in the multifunction machine 11 is used for creating the agenda for the conference creation sheet 1000 and the second and subsequent pages. A sheet 2000 and a document 2100 are used.

  In the conference system 1 of the present embodiment, the electronic device having a scan function reads bibliographic information for creating a conference from the conference creation sheet 1000 and transmits a conference creation message to the conference management apparatus 10. Therefore, the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment can facilitate the creation of a conference from an electronic device having a scan function.

  In the conference system 1 of the present embodiment, the bibliographic information for creating the agenda is read from the agenda creation sheet 2000 by an electronic device such as the multifunction machine 11A having a scan function, and the agenda creation message is sent to the conference management apparatus 10. Send it. Therefore, in the conference system 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to facilitate creation of an agenda from an electronic device having a scan function.

  The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, in the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the conference creation sheet 1000 and the agenda creation sheet 2000 are prepared, but the MFPs 11 and 11A determine that the conference creation sheet 1000 and the agenda creation sheet 2000 are present. The discrimination information may be entered by the user. For example, if the OCR function 25 is used, the characters “conference creation sheet” described in the manuscript can be discriminating information for causing the MFPs 11 and 11A to discriminate that the conference creation sheet 1000 is used. Further, as a function of reading image data from the meeting creation sheet 1000 and the agenda creation sheet 2000, a photographing function can be used in addition to a scanning function.

  In the present embodiment, the conference system 1 is shown as an example, but the present invention can be applied to other systems that register materials for created information (lectures and classes) such as a seminar system or an education system.

  For example, the participant terminal 13 is an example of a terminal device described in the claims. The multifunction machine 11 is an example of an image reading apparatus. The OCR function 25 is an example of a conference information recognition unit. The conference creation function 31 is an example of a conference creation request unit. The barcode reading function 26 is an example of reading means. The conference creation message is an example of conference creation information. The agenda creation message is an example of agenda creation information.

  Note that the conference system 1 having the conference management apparatus 10, the multifunction machine 11, the conference registration terminal 12, and one or more participant terminals 13 is an example, and there are various system configuration examples depending on the application and purpose. Needless to say.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conference system 10 Conference management apparatus 11 Multifunction machine 12 Conference registration terminal 13 Participant terminal 21 Scanner function 22 Copy function 23 Printer function 24 Communication function 25 OCR function 26 Bar code reading function 27 Conference system related function 31 Conference creation function 32 Document Registration function 33 Agenda creation function 41 Conference information management unit 42 Document information management unit 43 Conference control unit 44 Information storage unit 45 Communication unit 100 Computer 101 Input device 102 Display device 103 External I / F
103a, 203a Recording medium 104 RAM (Random Access Memory)
105 ROM (Read Only Memory)
106 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
107 Communication I / F
108 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
201 Controller 202 Operation panel 203 External I / F
204 Communication I / F
205 Printer 206 Scanner 211 CPU
212 RAM
213 ROM
214 NVRAM
215 HDD
1000 Meeting creation sheet 1001, 2001 Input column 1002, 2002 Barcode 2000, 2000A, 2000B Agenda creation sheet 1100, 2100A, 2100B Document B Bus N1 Network

JP 2007-213511 A

Claims (11)

An image reading device that communicates via a network with a conference management device that manages conferences held between a plurality of terminal devices,
Conference information recognition means for recognizing conference information for creating a conference in the conference management device from image data read from a document;
A conference creation requesting unit configured to generate conference creation information for causing the conference management device to create a conference based on conference information for creating a conference in the recognized conference management device, and to transmit the conference creation information to the conference management device; Image reading device. Reading means for reading discrimination information indicating that the document is a conference creation document from the image data read from the document;
When the conference information recognition unit determines that the discrimination information is included in the image data read from the document, the conference information for creating a conference from the image data read from the document to the conference management apparatus The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein Agenda information recognizing means for recognizing agenda information for creating the agenda of the conference in the conference management device from the image data read from the original;
An agenda creation request for generating agenda creation information for causing the conference management device to create a conference agenda based on agenda information for creating a conference agenda for the recognized conference management device and transmitting the agenda creation information to the conference management device The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means. Reading means for reading discrimination information indicating that the document is a document for agenda creation from image data read from the document;
The agenda information recognizing means, when it is determined that the discrimination information is included in the image data read from the original, the agenda information for creating the agenda in the conference management device from the image data read from the original The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: Material for causing the conference management device to register image data read from one or more documents following the conference creation manuscript as a conference manuscript created in the conference management device by transmitting the conference creation information The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a material registration request unit that generates registration information and transmits the registration information to the conference management apparatus. Material for causing the conference management device to register image data read from one or more documents following the agenda creation manuscript as an agenda manuscript created by the conference management device by transmitting the agenda creation information The image reading apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a material registration request unit that generates registration information and transmits the registration information to the conference management apparatus. The conference information recognition means obtains conference information for creating a conference in the conference management device by optical character identification from image data read from the document;
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The agenda information recognizing means obtains agenda information for creating an agenda for the conference management device by optical character identification from image data read from the manuscript;
The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: A conference information registration method performed by a conference management device that manages a conference performed between a plurality of terminal devices and an image reading device that communicates via a network,
A conference information recognition step for recognizing conference information for creating a conference from the image data read from the document to the conference management device;
A conference creation requesting step for generating conference creation information for causing the conference management device to create a conference based on conference information for creating a conference in the recognized conference management device and transmitting the conference creation information to the conference management device. Meeting information registration method. An image reading device that communicates via a network with a conference management device that manages conferences held between a plurality of terminal devices,
Meeting information recognition means for recognizing meeting information for creating a meeting in the meeting management apparatus from image data read from a document;
Based on the conference information for creating a conference in the recognized conference management device, the conference management device generates conference creation information for causing the conference management device to create a conference, and functions as a conference creation request unit that transmits the conference creation information to the conference management device Program for. A conference system in which an image reading device that reads an image from a document and a conference management device that manages a conference performed between a plurality of terminal devices communicates via a network.
The image reading device includes:
Conference information recognition means for recognizing conference information for creating a conference in the conference management device from image data read from a document;
Based on conference information for creating a conference in the recognized conference management device, there is provided conference creation requesting means for generating conference creation information for causing the conference management device to create a conference and transmitting the conference creation information to the conference management device. And
The conference management device
Meeting information management means for creating a meeting based on the received meeting creation information;
Meeting management means for managing a meeting held between a plurality of terminal devices;
Conference system.

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