JP6365708B2 - WEB CONFERENCE SYSTEM, WEB CONFERENCE SERVER, WEB CONFERENCE SERVER AND WEB CONFERENCE SYSTEM CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a web conference system, a web conference server, a web conference server, a control method of the web conference system, and a program.

  In a web conference system using an Internet line or the like, one of users participating in a conference is a host, and means for sharing the screen of his / her PC with other participating users as guests is provided.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a video conference system that transparently synthesizes a participant's video on a shared screen.

JP 2010-219635

  In a conference in a presentation format using a screen sharing means proposed in Patent Document 1, a speaker that is transparently synthesized on a shared screen is a speaker corresponding to the shared screen in advance. A host user's terminal that shares a screen with a certain user's terminal is not necessarily the same terminal. Under such circumstances, there is a problem that the guest cannot identify which user is the speaker and cannot observe the speaker.

  Therefore, with the technique of Patent Document 1, it is possible to confirm the trends of a plurality of participants, but it is difficult to identify which guest user is a speaker.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a web conference system that allows a guest to easily recognize a speaker and the state of the speaker at the time of screen sharing.

A web conference system capable of sharing and displaying a screen of a host computer as a shared screen on a guest computer , wherein the role setting unit sets a role of a computer including a speaker in the web conference system, and the role setting unit The speaker image acquisition means for acquiring the speaker image by the computer having the role of the speaker set by the computer , and the display control so that the speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition means is shared and displayed on the guest computer A shared screen display control means for controlling the shared display of the speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition means according to the role of the guest computer. And

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a web conference system in which a guest can easily recognize the speaker and the state of the speaker at the time of screen sharing.

It is a system configuration figure showing an example of a system configuration of a web conference system of this example. It is a hardware block diagram of the information processing apparatus applicable to the web conference system of a present Example. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a function structure of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the device setting screen of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the device setting process of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the device state table of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen sharing screen of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the screen sharing process of host PC101 of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen sharing request data of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the screen sharing process of the web conference server 100 of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the screen sharing process of the guest PC102 of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the device status notification process of the guest PC102 of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the device status notification screen of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of each PC of the web conference system of a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the device setting process of the web conference system of a present Example (2nd). It is a flowchart which shows an example of the device state holding process of the web conference server in the web conference system of a present Example (2nd). It is a flowchart which shows an example of the guest PC device state notification process of the web conference system of a present Example (2nd). It is a flowchart which shows an example of the device state check process of the web conference server in the web conference system of a present Example (2nd). It is a flowchart which shows an example of the guest PC screen sharing process in the web conference system of a present Example (2nd). It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transparency control of the speaker display screen in a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the size control of the speaker display screen in a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the speaker image | video analysis process in a present Example. It is an image figure which shows an example of the process concerning a speaker change in a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process concerning a speaker change in a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process by the non-changer side concerning a speaker change in a present Example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  It is a system configuration figure showing an example of a system configuration of a web conference system of this example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the web conference system according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a web conference server 100 to which a personal computer such as an information processing apparatus can be applied, a screen sharing host computer (host PC) 101, a screen sharing guest computer (guest PC) 102.

  The apparatus shown in this system configuration diagram can perform data communication via a LAN 500 (local area network) using a network communication function, and can participate in a web conference by connecting to the web conference system. Although a plurality of apparatuses can be installed, the screen sharing guest computer 102 shown in the figure has a plurality of screen sharing guest computers 102 (A) and (B) as shown in 102 (A) and 102 (B) for convenience. ) And the like are given for explanation.

  The web conference server 100 is a server for realizing a web conference using a web browser, and for example, a personal computer such as an information processing apparatus is applicable. The web conference server 100 and each computer can perform data communication via a public line.

  The host PC 101 and the guest PC 102 can obtain a web conference screen (interface) and conduct a web conference by accessing the web conference server 100. A web browser for accessing the web conference server 100 and a dedicated module are installed in these client PCs (host PC 101 and guest PC 102, the same applies hereinafter). Note that this dedicated module is an ActiveX component that is downloaded from the web conference server 100 via, for example, a web browser.

  In addition, a web camera (not shown) is connected to the client PC when transmitting a moving image of itself in a web conference, and a microphone (not shown) is connected when transmitting a voice, and the other party's voice is viewed. For this purpose, a speaker (not shown) is connected.

  In the web conference system, the screen of the host PC 101 can be displayed on the guest PC 102 and screen sharing can be performed. The shared screen can be designated by the host PC 101. The shared screen may be an application screen or the entire desktop.

  When screen sharing is performed, the screen of the host PC 101 is transmitted to the web conference server 100 and then transmitted to the guest PC 102.

  Here, a speaker of the host computer 101 or the guest computer who makes a statement while watching the screen of the shared host PC 101 is synthesized and output on the displayed shared screen, so that the participant of the video conference can share the shared screen. On the same screen.

  In this embodiment, only one host PC 101 can exist in the web conference system. Therefore, the information processing apparatus that has been the host PC 101 until now becomes the guest PC 102, and the information processing apparatus that has been the guest PC 102 plays a role as the host PC 101. Can be shared with a web conferencing system.

  The web conference system can set a plurality of virtual conference rooms called rooms. Although it is possible to hold a plurality of conferences by setting a plurality of such rooms, in this embodiment, the web conference system will be described as a conference in one room. When there are a plurality of rooms, the corresponding one room means a web conference system.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus applicable to the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in this information processing apparatus, a central processing unit (CPU) 201, a random access memory (RAM) 202, a read only memory (ROM) 203, an input controller 205, and a video controller 206 are connected via a system bus 204. The memory controller 207 and the communication I / F controller 208 are connected.

  The CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204. The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program or the like necessary for executing the processing from the ROM 203 or the external memory 211 to the RAM 202 and executing the loaded program.

  The ROM 203 or the external memory 211 stores a control program executed by the CPU 201 such as a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or an OS (Operating System), a computer-readable program for realizing the present invention, and various necessary data ( Data table). The external memory 211 is a medium for permanently storing information, and the form thereof is not limited to a storage device such as a hard disk. For example, the external memory 211 may be another medium such as an SSD (Solid State Drive). Good.

  The input controller 205 controls input from the keyboard 209. The video controller 206 controls display output to a CRT 210 that is an example of a display unit. The memory controller 207 controls reading of information stored in the external memory 211 and writing of information to the external memory 211.

  The communication I / F controller 208 is connected to a communication line to control data transmission / reception. In the case of a client terminal, the communication I / F controller 208 controls data transmission / reception via the LAN 500. Further, in the case of the web conference server 100, the communication I / F controller 208 similarly performs control of data transmission / reception via the LAN 500 and control of data transmission / reception via the public line 106.

  In the external memory 211 of the host PC 101, a computer-readable executable program for executing a flowchart to be described later is also stored in the external memory 211. In addition, a user database (not shown) that uses the web conference system can be acquired from the web conference server 100 and stored in the external memory 211 of the host PC 101. It is also possible to add to the system an authentication server that stores a user database.

  FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  The web conference system according to the present embodiment is a web conference system in which a host PC 101, a web conference server 100, and a guest PC 102 are connected to be communicable.

  When the host PC 101 participates in the web conference, the device setting unit 301 displays options of the camera, microphone, and speaker connected to the terminal on the screen of the host PC 101 and accepts the selection. When receiving a selection from the user, the host PC 101 performs a web conference using each selected device.

  When the host PC 101 accepts a screen sharing start request operation from the user, the screen sharing accepting unit 302 displays the choice of the user who becomes a speaker and the choice of the screen sharing method on the screen of the host PC 101, and accepts the selection.

  When the host PC 101 receives a selection from the user, the screen sharing request unit 303 creates a screen sharing request and transmits it to the web conference server 100. At this time, when the user who becomes the speaker is selected in the screen sharing reception unit, the ID of the user who becomes the speaker is given to the screen sharing request.

  When the screen sharing request unit 304 of the web conference server 100 receives the screen sharing request from the host PC 101, the screen sharing request unit 304 transmits the screen sharing request from the host PC 101 to the guest PC 102.

  When the guest PC 102 participates in the web conference, the device setting unit 305 displays options of the camera, microphone, and speaker connected to the terminal on the screen of the guest PC 102 and accepts the selection. When the guest PC 102 receives a selection from the user, the guest PC 102 conducts a web conference using each selected device.

  When the screen sharing request processing unit 306 of the guest PC 102 receives the screen sharing request of the host PC 101, the screen sharing request processing unit 306 displays the screen sharing screen and acquires the ID of the user who is a speaker from the screen sharing request. Using the user ID acquired here, the device status notifying unit 308 performs control such as notifying the corresponding user of the device status, or the overlay display processing unit 307 applies to other than the corresponding user. Control is performed such as displaying a captured image of the user on the screen sharing screen.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device setting screen of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  The device setting screen 401 is a screen displayed on each computer when activated by the user when entering or after entering the web conference room. It is a screen for selecting a device used in an information processing apparatus used by a user in a web conference.

  When the pull-down menu of the camera 402 is selected, a list of camera devices recognized by the OS being used is displayed, and the user selects a desired device.

  In addition, a captured image of the connected camera is displayed. For example, the host image 406 is displayed on the setting screen of the host PC 101, and the guest image 407 is displayed on the setting screen of the guest PC 102 used by the speaker.

  When the pull-down menu of the speaker 403 is selected, a list of speaker devices recognized by the OS being used is displayed, and the user selects a desired device.

  When the pull-down menu of the microphone 404 is selected, a list of microphone devices recognized by the OS being used is displayed, and the user selects a desired device. When the OK button 405 is pressed, the setting contents are saved and this screen ends.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a device setting process of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  In S501, when a user requests a device setting screen by a predetermined operation / command, the CPU 201 of the client PC controls to display a device setting screen 401 as shown in FIG. 4 on the screen of the client PC. .

  In S502, when the CPU 201 of the client PC accepts the camera, microphone, and speaker to be used via the device setting screen 401 as shown in FIG. 4, the usage status of each device is saved in the device status table as shown in FIG. Then, the process proceeds to S503.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device status table of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  The device status table 601 holds whether or not the camera, microphone, and speaker are used. In this embodiment, “None” and “Yes” of the connection of each device are stored, but the device type may be stored. The device status table is stored for each client PC.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. In step S503, the CPU 201 of the client PC starts using each selected device. The processing of S501 to S503 corresponds to the functions of the device setting unit 301 and the device setting unit 305 in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen sharing screen of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  In the web conference system, any one (one) user participating in the web conference becomes a host, and the entire desktop displayed on the screen of his computer (PC) or a specific application is transferred to another Participating users (multiple devices allowed) can be shared and displayed as guests.

  When starting screen sharing, the user presses the screen sharing menu 702 from the screen 701 of the web conference system after entering the room. When the screen sharing menu 702 is pressed, a screen sharing condition selection screen 703 is displayed.

  This screen sharing condition selection screen 703 may be displayed in the screen 701 of the web conference system or may be displayed in a separate screen (window).

  In the screen sharing condition selection screen 703, a speaker selection column 704 operates as a speaker computer receiving unit and receives a selection of a user (computer) as a speaker. Options include all participants in the meeting plus none. That is, it can be designated as a speaker whether it is a host PC or a guest PC.

  When the “Share all desktop screens” button 705 is pressed, desktop sharing is selected as the sharing method, and the desktop screen of the host computer is shared and displayed on the screens of the PCs participating as guests.

  When the “Share only the screen of the selected application” button 706 is pressed, the selected application sharing is selected as the sharing method, and the screen of the selected application on the host computer is shared and displayed on the screen of the PC participating as a guest. Is done.

  This screen is displayed on the screen of the host PC 101 where application sharing is performed.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the screen sharing process of the host PC 101 of the web conference system according to this embodiment.

  In step S <b> 801, when the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 receives a screen sharing request by selecting the screen sharing menu 702 by the user via the web conference screen 701 shown in FIG. 7 displayed on the host PC 101, The process proceeds to S802.

  In step S802, the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 performs control so that the screen sharing condition selection screen 703 is displayed on the web conference screen of the client PC that requested the screen sharing in step S801.

  Next, in step S803, when the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 accepts selection of a sharing method with a user serving as a speaker via the sharing condition selection screen 703 of the client PC displayed in step S802, the process proceeds to step S804. . The processing in S801 to S803 corresponds to the function of the screen sharing acceptance unit 302 in FIG.

  In step S804, the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 creates a screen sharing request as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of screen sharing request data of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  The screen sharing request 901 holds the user ID of the host and the user ID of the user who is the speaker. In the initial state, it is not necessary to set a value for the user ID of the user who becomes the speaker. If a speaker has been set as described later in S806, a value is set later.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. In step S <b> 805, the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 determines whether a user who is a speaker is selected (704 in FIG. 7).

  If it is determined in S805 that a user who is a speaker is selected (Yes in S805), the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 advances the process to S806.

  In step S806, the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 sets the user ID of the user who is the speaker in the screen sharing request created in step S804, and the process proceeds to step S807. FIG. 9 shows an example of a screen sharing request when “user C” is set as the speaker in this step.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S805 that the user who is the speaker is not selected (No in S805), that is, if “None” is selected, the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 directly performs the process in S807. To proceed.

  In step S807, the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 transmits the screen sharing request created in step S804 to the web conference server 100, and advances the process to step S808.

  In step S808, the CPU 201 of the host PC 101 starts screen sharing in accordance with the sharing method (705 or 706) accepted in step S803, and ends the processing of this flowchart. The processing in S804 to S808 corresponds to the function of the screen sharing request unit 303 in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the screen sharing process of the web conference server 100 of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  In step S <b> 1001, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 receives the screen sharing request transmitted from the host PC 101.

  Next, in S1002, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 transmits the screen sharing request received in S1001 to the guest PC 102, and the process of this flowchart ends. The processing of S1001 to S1002 corresponds to the function of the screen sharing request unit 304 in FIG.

  The processing of the guest PC 102 that has received the screen sharing request in this processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the screen sharing process of the guest PC 102 of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  In step S <b> 1101, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 receives the screen sharing request transmitted from the web conference server 100.

  Next, in S1102, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 displays a screen sharing screen, and in S1103, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 acquires the speaker user ID from the screen sharing request.

  In step S1104, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 determines whether or not the speaker user ID has been acquired.

  If it is determined in S1104 that the speaker user ID has been acquired (Yes in S1104), the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 advances the process to S1105.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1104 that the speaker user ID could not be acquired (No in S1104), that is, if the speaker user ID is not set in the screen sharing request, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 The processing of this flowchart is finished as it is.

  In step S <b> 1105, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 determines whether the speaker user ID matches the user ID of the guest PC 102. If it is determined in S1105 that the speaker user ID matches the user ID of the user (Yes in S1105), the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 advances the process to S1106.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1105 that the speaker user ID does not match the user ID of the user (No in S1105), that is, if the speaker user ID is a speaker, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 performs the process in S1107. , The device status notification process is performed, and the process of this flowchart ends. Details of the device status notification processing in S1107 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The processing in S1101 to S1105 corresponds to the function of the screen sharing request processing unit 306 in FIG.

  In S1106, which is processing when the user is not a speaker, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 displays an image of the user (speaker image) that matches the speaker user ID on the screen sharing screen (shared screen display control). The processing of this flowchart is finished as it is. The processing in S1106 corresponds to the function of the overlay display processing unit 307 in FIG. An example of overlay display will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The speaker image acquisition may be acquired when overlaying, or may be acquired in advance at a predetermined timing after being designated as a speaker.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a device status notification process of the guest PC 102 of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  This process is a process that can be set as to whether or not to perform it in a setting menu (not shown), and is not an essential process. This is a process for checking in advance whether the user's camera set as a speaker can normally photograph the speaker.

  In S1201, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 refers to the device status table 601 (device status acquisition), and proceeds to S1202.

  In step S1202, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 determines whether or not the guest PC 102 is using the camera. If it is determined in S1202 that the camera is being used (Yes in S1202), the processing of this flowchart is terminated as it is. It is also possible to insert a process for previewing an image to be overlaid on the screen sharing screen before the process ends. As a result, the speaker can check images displayed on other guest PCs.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1202 that the camera is not used (No in S1202), the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 advances the process to S1203.

  In S1203, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 displays a device status notification (warning screen) as shown in FIG. 13, and when a user response is accepted in S1204, the process proceeds to S1205.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device status notification screen of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  The device status notification 1301 is a screen displayed when the camera device is not used when the device status notification 1301 is selected as a speaker. This is because if the camera device is not connected, the image of the essential speaker is not displayed even if it is set as a speaker even if it is overlaid on the screen sharing screen.

  The text 1302 displays a word prompting the user to change camera settings. When the “Yes” button 1303 is pressed, this screen is terminated and the device setting screen 401 is displayed.

  When a “No” button 1304 is pressed, this screen is terminated. Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S1205, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 determines whether the user desires to change the device setting.

  If it is determined in S1205 that the user desires to change the device setting (Yes in S1205), the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 advances the process to S1206. In S1206, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is performed, and the processing of this flowchart is terminated as it is.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1205 that the user does not want to change the device setting (No in S1205), the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 ends the processing of this flowchart as it is.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of each PC of the web conference system according to the present embodiment.

  A host PC (user A) screen 1401 is a PC screen (screen sharing screen) of user A when user A starts sharing a screen with user C as a host and user C as a speaker. On the host PC (user A) screen 1401, the video of the user C designated as a speaker is not displayed as an overlay.

  A guest PC (user B) screen 1402 is a PC screen of user B when user A starts screen sharing with user C as a host and user C as a speaker. On the guest PC (user B) screen 1402, an image 1403 of the user C designated as a speaker is displayed in an overlay manner.

  A guest PC (user C) screen 1404 is a PC screen of user C when user A starts sharing a screen with user C as a host and user C as a speaker. On the guest PC (user C) screen 1404, the video of the user C designated as a speaker is not displayed in an overlay manner. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the video displayed as a speaker from being overlaid due to screen sharing.

<Second Embodiment>
In the above-described embodiment, the determination process of the presence / absence of the overlay display process and the presence / absence of the device status notification in FIG. 11 is processed by the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102. An embodiment in which processing is performed by the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of device setting processing of the web conference system according to the present embodiment (second).

  S1501 to S1503 in FIG. 15 correspond to the processes in S501 to S503 in FIG. However, it differs from FIG. 5 in the presence or absence of the processing of S1504.

  In S1501, when a user requests a device setting screen by a predetermined operation / command, the CPU 201 of the client PC controls to display a device setting screen 401 as shown in FIG. 4 on the screen of the client PC. .

  In step S1502, when the CPU 201 of the client PC receives the camera, microphone, and speaker to be used via the device setting screen 401 as illustrated in FIG. 4, the usage state of each device is stored in the device state table as illustrated in FIG. Then, the process proceeds to S1503.

  In step S1503, the CPU 201 of the client PC starts using each selected device.

  In step S1504, the CPU 201 of the client PC transmits the device status to the web conference server 100, and ends the process of this flowchart.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a device state holding process of the web conference server in the web conference system according to the present embodiment (second).

  In step S1601, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 receives the device status transmitted from the client PC (host PC 101 and guest PC 102).

  In step S1602, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 stores the device status received in step S1601 in the device status table 1603.

  The device status table 1603 shows an example of the device status table in the second embodiment. In the device status table 1603, the presence / absence of use of the camera, microphone, and speaker of each client PC is held with information “present” and “none”.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a guest PC device state notification process of the web conference system according to the present embodiment (second).

  In step S <b> 1701, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 receives the screen sharing request transmitted from the host PC 101.

  Next, in S1702, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 transmits the screen sharing request received in S1001 to the guest PC 102, and the process proceeds to S1703.

  In step S <b> 1703, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 acquires the speaker user ID from the screen sharing start request received in step S <b> 1701.

  In step S1704, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 determines whether or not the speaker user ID has been acquired.

  If it is determined in S1704 that the speaker user ID has been acquired (Yes in S1704), the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 advances the process to S1705.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1704 that the speaker user ID could not be acquired (No in S1704), that is, if the speaker user ID is not set in the screen sharing start request, the web conference server 100 The CPU 201 advances the process to step S1706.

  In step S <b> 1706, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 transmits a signal (no processing) to the guest PC 102 and ends the processing of this flowchart as it is.

  In step S <b> 1705, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 acquires the device status from the top of the device status table 1603.

  If it is determined in S1705 that the device state has been acquired (Yes in S1705), the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 advances the process to S1707. Details of the device status check processing in S1707 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1705 that the device status could not be acquired (No in S1705), when the acquisition of all the data included in the device status table is completed, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 The process of this flowchart is complete | finished.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a device status check process of the web conference server in the web conference system according to the present embodiment (second).

  In step S <b> 1801, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 determines whether the speaker user ID matches the user ID in the device state.

  If it is determined in S1801 that the speaker user ID matches the user ID in the device state (Yes in S1801), the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 advances the process to S1802.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1801 that the speaker user ID does not match the user ID in the device state (No in S1801), the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 advances the process to S1803.

  In step S <b> 1803, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 transmits a signal (overlay display) to the guest PC 102 and ends the process of this flowchart.

  In step S1802, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 checks the device state and determines whether the corresponding user is using the camera.

  If it is determined in S1802 that the camera is used (Yes in S1802), the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 advances the process to S1804.

  In step S1804, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 transmits a signal (no processing) to the guest PC 102, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S1802 that the camera is not used (No in S1802), the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 advances the process to S1805.

  In step S <b> 1805, the CPU 201 of the web conference server 100 transmits a signal (device state notification) to the guest PC 102 and ends the processing of this flowchart.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a guest PC screen sharing process in the web conference system according to the present embodiment (second).

  In S1901, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 receives the screen sharing request transmitted from the web conference server 100.

  Next, in S1902, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 displays a screen sharing screen, and in S1903, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 receives a signal (S1803 to S1805 in FIG. 18) transmitted from the web conference server 100. .

  In step S <b> 1904, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 determines the type of signal transmitted from the web conference server 100.

  If it is determined in S1904 that the signal type is not processed, the processing of this flowchart is ended as it is.

  If it is determined in S1904 that the signal type is overlay display, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 advances the process to S1905.

  In step S <b> 1905, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 displays an overlay of the user video that matches the speaker user ID included in the screen sharing request on the screen sharing screen, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

  If it is determined in S1904 that the signal type is device status notification, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 advances the process to S1906.

  In S1906, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 displays a device status notification (warning screen) as shown in FIG. 13, and when a user response is accepted in S1907, the process proceeds to S1908.

  In step S1908, the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 determines whether the user desires to change the device setting.

  If it is determined in S1908 that the user wants to change the device setting (Yes in S1908), the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 advances the process to S1909. In S1909, the device setting process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is performed, and the process of this flowchart is ended as it is.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1908 that the user does not want to change the device setting (No in S1908), the CPU 201 of the guest PC 102 ends the processing of this flowchart as it is.

  Next, a process for controlling the transparency of the video screen of the speaker user displayed as an overlay on the guest PC will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the transparency control of the speaker display screen according to the present embodiment.

  The screen displayed on the guest PC is as shown at 1402 in FIG. 14, but the video of the speaker may get in the way when the shared screen is operated. Therefore, in this embodiment, the transparency of the speaker display screen is controlled when the shared screen is being operated. This makes it easier to see the content displayed on the back of the speaker display screen.

  In step S2001, it is determined whether or not the shared screen has changed during display of the shared screen (screen sharing). As a specific example, whether the screen data is received from the server device can be used as a material for determination.

  In the case of a mechanism that transmits screen data when a change occurs in the screen when the screen is shared, if there is no change in the screen, it can be determined that there is no operation.

  In addition, when the screen on which the shared screen is displayed is a presentation application or the like, it may not be considered that the shared screen has changed when screen data accompanying page turning is received.

  If it is determined that there has been a change in the shared screen, the process proceeds to step S2002, and processing is performed to increase the transparency of the speaker video (the screen becomes thinner).

  On the other hand, if it cannot be determined that there has been a change in the shared screen (if there is no change), the process proceeds to step S2003 to lower the transparency of the speaker image (if the transparency has increased, the original state has been increased). If not, the process is performed (in the initial state), and the process proceeds to step S2004.

  In step S2004, the speaker video is displayed as an overlay on the shared screen, and the process ends. This process is a process performed at regular intervals. Further, the transparency of the speaker video may be changed as it is, or a screen with a different transparency may be prepared and switched according to the transparency to be displayed. Good.

  Next, a process for controlling the size of the video screen of the speaker user displayed as an overlay on the guest PC will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of the size control of the speaker display screen in the present embodiment.

  Processing is performed in a state where a speaker video is displayed on the guest PC as indicated by 1402 in FIG.

  In step S2101, speaker video data is received from the server apparatus, and in step S2102, speaker data analysis processing is performed. Details will be described with reference to FIG. 22, but an analysis is performed to determine whether or not the speaker has performed a predetermined action.

  In step S2103, the motion detection unit determines whether or not the speaker has detected a predetermined motion. If the motion detection unit detects the predetermined motion, the process proceeds to step S2104. If not, the process ends.

  In step S2104, an enlarged display of the speaker screen on which the speaker video is displayed is performed, and the process loops until it is determined to end the enlarged display in step S2105. The size to be enlarged can be set in advance.

  If it is determined that the enlarged display is to be terminated, the process proceeds to step S2106, the enlarged display of the speaker video screen is terminated (returned to the original), and the process is terminated.

  The end of the enlarged display can be determined on the condition that a predetermined time has passed since the enlarged display is performed, or when it is determined that the enlarged display is performed, the enlarged display can be determined to end when a predetermined operation is detected.

  This process is a process that is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals when a speaker video is being displayed.

  In this process, the speaker's video screen is enlarged when a predetermined operation of the speaker is detected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Can also be raised.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the speaker video analysis processing in the present embodiment.

  In step S2201, the number of receptions of the speaker video received from the server device is counted, and in step S2202, it is determined whether the amount of change in the received video data is large in the present case from the previous time.

  If the change amount of the video data from the previous time is large, the process proceeds to step S2203. If not, the process proceeds to step S2204.

  In step S2203, the number of changes is counted up, and in step S2204, the number of changes is set to zero.

  In step S2205, it is determined whether the number of receptions and the number of changes exceed a preset detection period threshold. If the number exceeds the threshold, it is determined in step S2206 that the speaker has acted (predetermined condition). Detect and end processing.

  Here, it is determined that the speaker has moved (predetermined movement) when a change that exceeds the threshold value continues for a certain period (number of images).

  As another example of the predetermined movement, the predetermined movement can be determined by taking a predetermined pose by the speaker or generating a predetermined line.

  Next, processing for switching speakers will be described with reference to FIGS. This corresponds to the process of changing the speaker user selected in FIG. 7 and stored in FIG.

  FIG. 23 is an image diagram illustrating an example of processing related to speaker change in the present embodiment.

  Description will be made using the host PC screen 2301 and the guest PC screen 2304. The host PC is the screen of the PC used by the user A and the guest PC is the PC used by the user C. In this embodiment, the speaker user can be changed from either side. It goes without saying that by restricting the access right, it is possible to prevent the change of the speaker from being accepted from the guest PC.

  When the speaker change button 2302 is pressed on the host PC screen 2301, a speaker selection screen 2303 is displayed, and the selection of the speaker can be accepted.

  When the speaker change button 2305 is pressed on the guest PC screen 2304, a speaker selection screen 2306 is displayed, and the selection of the speaker can be accepted.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing relating to speaker change in the present embodiment.

  In step S2401, upon receiving a speaker selection instruction by pressing the speaker selection button, the process proceeds to step S2402. The same processing is performed regardless of whether the selection of the speaker is received from the host PC screen 2301 or the guest PC screen 2304.

  In step S2402, speaker selection screens 2303 and 2306 are displayed, and it is determined in step S2403 whether or not the “change” button has been pressed.

  If the “change” button is pressed, the process proceeds to step S2404. If the “cancel” button is pressed, the process ends.

  In step S2404, it is determined whether or not a speaker is selected on the speaker selection screen. If the speaker is selected, the process proceeds to step S2405. If not, the process ends.

  In step S2405, a user ID is assigned to the speaker specified on the speaker selection screen. In step S2406, a speaker change request is transmitted to the server device in association with the user ID, and the process ends.

When the server apparatus receives the speaker change request from the changer PC in step S2407, the server apparatus transmits the speaker change request to the guest PC in step S2408. The speaker user ID shown in FIG. 9 is updated to the speaker ID to be changed received here. (History may be managed.)
Further, in the present embodiment, the form of accepting the speaker change from the screen of the guest PC or the host PC has been described. In the system, it is possible to automatically identify the speaker and start the speaker changing process from the process of step S2405.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing on the non-changer side for speaker change in the present embodiment.

  When a speaker change request is received from the server device in step S2501, a speaker user ID is acquired from the speaker change request in step S2502.

  In step S2503, it is determined whether or not the speaker user ID has been acquired. If the speaker user ID has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S2504. If the speaker user ID has not been acquired, the process ends.

  In step S2504, it is determined whether the current speaker user ID is different from the current speaker user ID. If they are different, the process proceeds to step S2505. If they are the same, the process ends.

  In step S2505, it is determined whether the speaker is displayed. Whether or not the speaker is displayed is determined, for example, based on whether or not the screen 1403 in FIG. 14 is displayed.

  If a speaker is displayed, the process proceeds to step S2506, and if not, the process proceeds to step S2707.

  In step S2606, the currently performed overlay display is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S2507.

  In step S2507, it is determined whether or not the speaker ID acquired in step S2502 matches the user ID of the user. If they match, that is, if the user ID is a speaker, the process proceeds to step S2509 to notify the device status. The process is performed and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S2508, where the user's video (speaker image) that matches the speaker user ID is overlaid on the screen sharing screen (shared screen display control), and the processing of this flowchart is terminated as it is. To do. The processing in step S2508 corresponds to the function of the overlay display processing unit 307 in FIG.

  Further, the device status notification processing in step S2509 is the same processing as the processing shown in FIG.

  Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or storage medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  Moreover, all the structures which combined said each Example are also contained in this invention.

(Other examples)
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device.

  The program according to the present invention is a program that can be executed by a computer according to the processing method of the flowchart shown in the present invention. The storage medium according to the present invention stores a program that can be executed by a computer. The program in the present invention may be a program for each processing method of each device.

  As described above, a recording medium that records a program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the program stored in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by executing the reading.

  In this case, the program itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium storing the program constitutes the present invention.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, silicon A disk, solid state drive, or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on an instruction of the program is actually It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  Furthermore, by downloading and reading a program for achieving the present invention from a server, database, etc. on a network using a communication program, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  In addition, all the structures which combined each embodiment mentioned above and its modification are also included in this invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not. That is, the present invention includes all the combinations of the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof.

100 Web Conference Server 101 Screen Sharing Host Computer (Host PC)
102 Screen sharing guest computer (guest PC)
103 Web conference listening server (listening server)
104 Web conference client (listening client)

Claims (11)

A web conferencing system capable of sharing and displaying a host computer screen as a shared screen on a guest computer,
Role setting means for setting the role of the computer including the speaker in the web conference system;
Set by the role setting means, and speaker image acquiring means for acquiring the speaker images on a computer that has the role of speaker,
Shared screen display control means for controlling display so that the speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition means is shared and displayed on a guest computer ,
The shared screen display control means controls shared display of a speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition means according to the role of a guest computer . The shared screen display control means is for displaying control the shared screen for a plurality of the guest computer, so as not to share display the speaker image to the computer having the role of the speaker The web conference system according to claim 1, wherein the web conference system is controlled. The web conference system includes:
Device status acquisition means for acquiring device status information connected to the computer having the role of the speaker;
When it is determined that a camera device is not connected to the computer having the role of the speaker according to the acquired device state information, a camera device is connected to the computer having the role of the speaker. Warning means to warn that it has not been done,
The web conference system according to claim 1, further comprising: The shared screen display control means controls the shared image to be displayed when the computer that displays the shared screen and the computer having the role of the speaker are not the same computer, and displays the shared screen. 4. The web conference system according to claim 1, wherein, when the computer having the role of the speaker is the same computer, control is performed so that the speaker image is not displayed . 5. The web conference system further includes overlay means for overlaying the speaker image on a screen to be displayed on the guest computer,
The shared screen display control means, a web conferencing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the speaker image by said overlay means and displaying controls the overlaid screen.   The shared screen display control means changes the transparency of the speaker image when the shared screen is changed while the speaker image is being displayed. The web conference system according to claim 1. Further comprising motion detection means for detecting a predetermined motion of the speaker;
The shared screen display control unit changes the size of the speaker image when the predetermined operation by the speaker is detected by the operation detection unit. The web conferencing system described. A web conferencing server capable of sharing and displaying a host computer screen as a shared screen on a guest computer,
Role setting means for setting the role of the computer including the speaker in the web conference system;
Set by the role setting means, and speaker image acquiring means for acquiring the speaker images on a computer that has the role of speaker,
Shared screen display control means for controlling display so that the speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition means is shared and displayed on a guest computer ,
The shared screen display control means controls shared display of a speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition means according to the role of a guest computer . A control method of a web conference system capable of sharing and displaying a screen of a host computer as a shared screen on a guest computer,
A role setting step for setting the role of the computer including the speaker in the web conference system;
Set by the role setting step, a speaker image acquiring speaker images on a computer that has a role of the speaker,
A shared screen display control step for performing display control so that the speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition step is shared and displayed on a guest computer ,
The shared screen display control step controls the shared display of the speaker image acquired in the speaker image acquisition step according to the role of the guest computer .   A control method of a web conference server capable of sharing and displaying a screen of a host computer on a guest computer as a shared screen,
  A role setting step for setting the role of the computer including the speaker in the web conference system;
  A speaker image acquisition step of acquiring a speaker image by a computer having a role of a speaker set by the role setting step;
  A shared screen display control step for performing display control so that the speaker image acquired by the speaker image acquisition step is shared and displayed on a guest computer,
  The shared screen display control step controls the shared display of the speaker image acquired in the speaker image acquisition step in accordance with the role of the guest computer. The program for functioning a computer as each means of the information processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8.

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