JPH09200350A - Electronic conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly progress a conference, in which many conference members at mutually separate places are participated in, in more natural presence. SOLUTION: Before the start of electronic conference, the attributes of operating authorities corresponding to the posts of conference members are set to respective conference participant terminals. During the electronic conference, the drag-and-drop operations of conference participant terminals are accepted according to these attributes. A control window for controlling the application of speaking right to the other conference members is provided on the screen of conference participant terminal of a host. A conference member state icon. expressing the speaking state of that conference member is always displayed on the screens of all the conference participant terminals, and a private window is provided for referring to non-opened personal materials. A message written into common materials by the conference member is recorded in a virtual transparent sheet area provided corresponding to that conference member.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic conference system, and more particularly to an electronic conference system for facilitating a conference by a large number of conference members who are distant from each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various electronic conferencing systems have been proposed in which a plurality of terminal devices, workstations, etc. are connected to each other via a network to enable smooth communication between a large number of conference members located far from each other. Has been done. Among such electronic conferencing systems, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-84905 discloses a technique for notifying each conference member participating in a conference that a discussion regarding a specific material is being made, by a visual user interface. The "meeting screen display control method" described in the publication is known.
In the above conventional technology, a terminal device (hereinafter, referred to as a terminal device) for participating in an electronic conference with each of the conference members as a participant object.
While displaying on all screens of "conference participation terminal"), an OHP object for displaying or sharing each material used in the meeting as a material object is prepared. For example, when a conference member participating in a conference superimposes a material object corresponding to a material to be shared and executed on the OHP object by drag-and-drop operation (hereinafter, abbreviated as “D & D operation”), all the meetings are performed. The specified material is displayed in the shared window on the screen of the participating terminal.

[0003]

Since the above-mentioned prior art does not consider the position of each conference member, no matter which conference member performs the D & D operation of the material object,
The designated material is displayed in real time on the screens of all the terminals participating in the conference. Therefore, a large number of conference members can freely think of D & D of the data object in the actual electronic conference.
When the operation is performed, the designated materials are randomly displayed on the conference participation terminals of all conference members without restriction, and there is a large possibility that the smooth progress of the conference is disturbed. On the other hand, when a conference member speaks by voice, the other conference members only hear the speech sent via a telephone line or the like. Therefore, the conference member who is listening cannot visually confirm the conference member who is speaking, and the presence is significantly inferior to the conventional face-to-face conference held in one place. was there.

Further, when a conference member who is making a speech gives a more detailed explanation while presenting materials to other conference members, he / she prepares his / her own personal materials along with common materials that are officially presented to other conference members, and prepares this. There are many explanations with reference to them. However, since the above-mentioned conventional technology does not assume such a case, there is a problem in that the meeting members who explain must prepare the necessary personal materials separately. Further, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, all the conference members can write an arbitrary message to the material displayed on the conference participation terminal, but since the identification and recording of the conference member who wrote the message were not considered, There is a problem that it is difficult for a conference member who is absent from the electronic conference to grasp the progress of the actual conference in detail even if the conference progress record is reproduced later.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and smoothly proceed and reproduce an electronic conference by a large number of conference members with a natural presence similar to a face-to-face conference held in one place. , It is to provide an electronic conference system capable of collectively managing all materials required for a conference on each conference participation terminal.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic conference system of the present invention comprises a plurality of conference participation terminals connected to each other via a network, and one conference participation terminal is used. An electronic conferencing system that, when accepting a drag-and-drop operation for a conference object on the display screen, displays the result of the processing performed according to the drag-and-drop operation on the display screens of all conference participants. In the above, prior to the electronic conference, an attribute relating to the operation authority corresponding to the position of the conference member is set for each conference participation terminal assigned to the participating conference members, and during the execution of the electronic conference, each conference participation terminal Accepts drag and drop operations for the conference object according to the attribute related to the operation authority It is intended.

In addition to the above configuration, in order to control the granting of the speaking right to other conference members on the display screen of the conference participation terminal assigned to a specific conference member who participates in the electronic conference from the standpoint of the moderator. It was designed to have an air control window.

In addition to any of the above-mentioned configurations, a conference member status icon indicating the current speaking state of the conference members participating in the electronic conference is always displayed on the display screen of the conference participating terminal. It was done.

In addition to any of the above-mentioned configurations, the personal material prepared prior to the electronic conference is not disclosed to other conference members on the display screen of the conference participation terminal assigned to the conference member of the electronic conference. A private window is provided for reference.

In addition to any of the above-mentioned constitutions, during the discussion on the common material distributed prior to the electronic conference, a message to be written to the common material is provided for each conference participant terminal of the input source, which is a virtual transparency. The information is recorded in a sheet area, and the common material and the arbitrarily designated message in the virtual transparent sheet area are overlapped and displayed on the display screen of each conference participant terminal.

With the above configuration, an electronic conference by a large number of conference members via a conference participation terminal can smoothly proceed and be reproduced with a natural presence, and common materials and private personal materials necessary for the conference can be stored in each conference. All can be managed collectively at the participating terminals.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an electronic conference system of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In the electronic conference system of the present invention, a plurality of personal computers are mutually connected as a conference participation terminal via a network such as a LAN, and electronic document information individually created by conference members participating in the conference is mutually transferred. The conference is promoted by. In addition, when each conference member holds a conference by himself / herself without gathering in the conference room, it is assumed that the voice is delivered in synchronization with the electronic document information. Review of design documents is assumed as a typical agenda of electronic conferences. The review, which requires a large amount of various design documents to be read, is a subject that can be a headache in any workplace, and the implementation of the electronic conferencing system described later frees you from the constraints of meeting locations. At the same time, it will lead to the saving of paper resources, and the possibility of clear control from the viewpoint of information management is also expected.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing main constituent functions in an embodiment of an electronic conference system of the present invention. In the figure, the classification for broadly dividing the constituent functions is “position”,
There are four types: "input", "output", and "communication tool". In addition, the keywords for classifying the "position" in detail are "moderator", "reporter",
There are three types of "auditors", and there are two types of keywords to classify "input" in detail: "common materials" and "personal materials", and keywords to classify "output" in detail. There are three types of "current minutes", "red writing sheet", and "sticky notes", and the keywords for detailed classification of "communication tools" are "reporter window", "private window", and "pointer pointer". There are three types. The attributes to be set for each of the above-mentioned keywords are "distribution right", "reference form",
There are seven types: "update / writeable", "verifiable", "owner display", "air control", and "speaking right".

The user interface of the electronic conference system not only displays common materials prepared by the moderator on the screen shared by all conference members at each conference participation terminal, but also has the following functions. desirable.
That is, similar to the face-to-face meeting held in the meeting room, such as the function to display the materials brought in immediately before the meeting on the screen, and the function to individually organize the personal notes and redlines created by each meeting member. This is a function to realize a natural electronic conference. Further, since the electronic conference progresses through the screen, it is necessary to sufficiently display the intentions of the conference members on the screen and control the proceedings smoothly. For example, if a conference member reproduces the operation of pointing the object on the screen with the mouse pointer on all the conference participating terminals, the clear intention of the conference member can be transmitted to all the members. Countless pointers fly around, confusing the proceedings of the proceedings. Therefore, the electronic conferencing system of the present invention enables a moderator with “air control” to control the speech operation of each conference member as the proceedings progress, thereby ensuring sufficient communication and smooth communication between conference members. To harmonize with the proceedings of the proceedings.

With the classification keyword "position" in FIG. 1, the "participation right" for distributing the common material to the conference participating terminals assigned to the only "moderator" among the conference members, and the speech operation of the conference members are controlled. The attributes relating to all the operating rights of the “air control right” and the “speak right” to speak to other conference members are set to “permitted”. On the other hand, "reporters" who mainly report materials to be reviewed among meeting members
For the terminals participating in the conference, which are assigned to the “judgment officer” who receives the report and makes some decisions or instructions, set only the attribute related to the operation authority of the “speak right” to “OK”, and set the “distribution right” and the “air control right”. Set the attribute related to the operation authority of to "No".

The classification keyword "input" in FIG.
Then, in the "common material" distributed by the "moderator" with the "distribution right", the attributes (attributes of "reference form sharing") that can be shared on the screens of the conference participants of all conference members,
The attributes that allow only individual references (attributes of “reference form individual”) are set in the “personal materials” brought in by other conference members. Then, the attribute of "capable of redlining" is set to "permitted" for both "common material" and "personal material". Further, in the classification keyword “output” in FIG. 1, the “update / writeable” attribute exclusively for the “moderator” is set to “permitted” in the “current minutes”, while the “red writing sheet” and In the "sticky note", the "update / writeable" attribute is set to "OK" for all conference members. Furthermore, in the classification keyword “communication tool” in FIG. 1, the “reporter window” has the attribute “reference form sharing”, and the “private window” has “reference form individual”.
Set the attribute and "owner display" in "pointing pointer"
Set the attribute to "Yes".

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the display on the screen of the conference participation terminal assigned to the moderator in the electronic conference system of the present invention. In the figure, 210 is an air control window, 220 is a reporter window, 230 is a common material box, 240 is a private window, 250 is a personal material box, and 260 is a drawing tool group.

In both the face-to-face meeting and the electronic meeting, the "moderator" is given the authority to control the remarks of all the meeting members who are participating in the meeting (= "air-control right"). The electronic conference system of the present invention is provided with the air control window 210 for controlling the granting of the "speaking right" to other conference members only to the conference participating terminals assigned to the "moderator". For example, when the "judgment member" requests to speak at a general conference participation terminal, the conference object representing the "judgment" is displayed in the air control window 210 displayed on the screen of the "moderator" conference participation terminal. A conference member status icon flashes to inform the "moderator" that a request for speech is in progress. Therefore, when the "moderator" performs the D & D operation on the "speak setting" button 212 for the conference member status icon, the "speak right" is given to the corresponding "judge" and the air control window 210 The conference member status icon therein changes from a blinking display to a "talking icon" display indicated by reference numeral 213a. After that, when the "moderator" once again performs the D & D operation on the "speak setting" button 212 for the conference member status icon, the speaking right of the "judge" is deleted, and the conference members in the air control window 210 are deleted. The status icon is 213 from the "talking icon" display.
The display changes to the "Mutsuri icon" display shown in b. Also,
When the "reporter" is to be replaced as the proceedings progress, the "moderator" performs a D & D operation on the "reporter setting" button 211 for the conference member status icon representing the next "reporter". In this embodiment, a "speaking right" is always given to any "reporter".

Except for the air control window 210, which is displayed only on the conference moderators of the "moderator", the other displays are commonly displayed on the conference moderators of all conference members. For example, in the common material box 230, the "moderator" registers in advance materials to be considered by all meeting members during the electronic meeting. The “reporter” who has been given the “right to speak” by the “moderator” is the common document box 23.
By performing a series of D & D operations of taking out (dragging) the materials required for the report from 0 and opening (dropping) them in the reporter window 220, they will be provided on the screen of the conference participation terminal used by other conference members. The reporter window 220 is also opened with the data subject to the D & D operation. At this time, the reporter window 220 can be operated only by the “reporter” who is given the “speaking right”, and the “judgment member” can watch the reporter window 220 displayed on the terminal participating in the conference. Just do. However, depending on the situation, the "auditor" may also want to speak. In that case, the "judgment member" performs a click operation on the meeting member status icon ("Mutsuri icon" display) corresponding to him, and informs the "moderator" that he wants to speak. Then, after being given the "speaking right" by the "chairperson", the utterance of the real voice through the microphone, for example, is auditorily transmitted to other conference members, and at the same time, the reporter window 22
Send a visual message by overwriting the material in 0 with the pointing icon.

The reporter window 220 and the common material box 230 were places for all the members of the conference to exchange materials and messages, whereas the private window 240 and the personal material box 250 were used for the conference participation terminals. It is a place for individual conference members who are using it. That is, materials that are not disclosed to other conference members and are to be referred to personally are registered in advance in the personal material box 250 before the electronic conference. Then, during the electronic conference, a personal material box 250 is provided for necessary materials.
After performing a D & D operation from the to the private window 240, an arbitrary editing operation can be performed on the material without being known by other conference members. The same applies to the materials registered in the common material box 230.

The drawing tool group 260 is the reporter window 2
20 is a group of tools used as a tool for writing an arbitrary message to the 20 or the private window 240. As a concrete tool group, "color pencil for red writing", "magnifying glass", "eraser", etc. are prepared in advance. The conference member writes an arbitrary message for the displayed material by designating these tools and performing a writing operation in the reporter window 220 or the private window 240. Note that the writing at this time is not directly performed on the material itself, but is performed on a virtual transparent sheet area (hereinafter referred to as a “red writing sheet”) attached on the material. That is, the redlining sheets are overlapped on the reporter window 220 by the number of the conference members who are participating, and even if the progress record of the electronic conference is reproduced at a later date, it is written. It is possible to determine which conference member the sage is attributed to.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display on the screen of a conference participation terminal assigned to a reporter or a judge in the electronic conference system of the present invention. The display on the screen shown in the figure is different from the case of FIG. 2 in that there is no air control window 210 and the conference member status icon 310 is always displayed in the lower right corner. Further, the display of the conference member status icon 310 is different between the reporter and the judge. That is, on the reporter's screen, there are displayed as many meeting member status icons (“talking icons” display) as the names of the judges who are currently given the right to speak. , Only one conference member status icon indicating whether or not the user has the right to speak is displayed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of the display on the screen of the conference participant terminal assigned to the reporter in the electronic conference system of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is the moderator of the electronic conference system of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the display on the screen of the conference participating terminal allocated to the person. Next, based on FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the user interface of the electronic conference system at a remote place from the standpoint of each conference member (reporter A, judge M, moderator S) will be explained by concrete proceedings. .

First, an explanation will be given according to the proceedings of proceedings from the position of the reporter A. In FIG. 4, the reporter A is
Send the design document file prepared by himself to the moderator S prior to the electronic conference. Specifically, if you double-click the title bar of the common material box 230, you will be asked for the file name you want to register or delete, so select the file name corresponding to the design document file from the displayed list and click "OK." By clicking the "" button, the design document file will be sent. Further, the reporter A registers the catalog or the like that he or she personally brought in the personal material box 250 by the same operation as described above.

When the electronic conference starts, the reporter A D & Ds the design document from the common material box 230 to the reporter window 220 and opens the first page of the design document. Then, by dragging the page slider, the page of the design document is advanced to a page related to the agenda of the day (here, “4. Product usage environment [page 11]”). At this time, an image similar to that displayed in the reporter window 220 on the screen of the reporter A is also displayed on the reporter window 220 on the screens of all the conference members. When the target page is opened, the reporter A starts the audio description. Since this voice is sent to all conference members via the communication line, the judge M hears the voice through the speaker. Along with the explanation, the reporter A points the design document with the mouse, and when he / she wants to emphasize it, he / she paints it in red with the tools of the drawing tool group 260. Each one of these actions is also simultaneously displayed in the reporter window 220 on the screen of all meeting members.

At the electronic conference, explanations are made while cutting the speech as short as possible. If there is a request from the judge M to make a comment at the break in the statement, the meeting member status icon (displaying a "talking icon") corresponding to the judge M will be given a meeting along with the name, etc. after the speaking right is given by the permission of the moderator S. It is displayed on the screens of all the members, and the pointing pointer of the judge M who is given the right to speak is displayed on the reporter window 220 on the screens of all the meeting members. , The nickname of the judge M (such as “KM”) is added according to the member registration of the moderator S. The judge M has a problem using the blue pencil in the drawing tool group 260 while making a voice statement. Write a message for the part, while reporter A also writes a message required for supplement using a red pencil along with supplementary explanation by voice. Along with the audio discussion between A and Judge M, the writing action by the two pointing pointers is conveyed by the reporter window 220 on the screen of all the meeting members point by point. D & D the catalog registered in 250 to the private window 240
did. This is because a more appropriate explanation can be made by referring to this. While the explanation progresses, if the judge M requests that he also refer to it, by specifying the part that the reporter A may refer to and pasting it in the reporter window by D & D operation , That part can be referred to by all meeting members.

After the end of the electronic conference, the reporter A organizes the results of the conference. For example, the examination items are picked up by displaying only the redline sheet on which the message has been written by the judge M. Then, an answer to the question raised during the meeting is created and sent to each meeting member by e-mail.

Next, an explanation will be given according to the proceedings of proceedings from the standpoint of the examiner M. First, the judge M double-clicks a predetermined program icon to launch the electronic conference system. If the moderator's S-side electronic conference system is up, links are immediately established and the four types of registered files are displayed in the common material box 230. After confirming this, Judge M receives personal data box 2
Register your own business report in 50. When the moderator S hears the voice to start the electronic conference, the reporter window 220 on the screen eventually displays “4. Product usage environment [page 11]” of the design document explained by the reporter A. It Therefore, the auditor M, while listening to the explanation of the reporter A, refers to the business report registered in the personal material box 250 by D & D in the private window 240, and checks the consistency with the reported content. To go. When a stranger is noticed, the judge M requests the moderator S to speak by clicking on his / her conference member status icon ("mutsuri icon" display) displayed in the corner of the screen. Then, after confirming that the "talking icon" is displayed, the judge M starts speaking by voice. At the same time, the judge M is drawing tools 260
Click the blue pencil icon in the inside to make the pointing pointer hold the blue pencil and start writing a message to the reporter window 220.

For example, while the examiner M says, "Is this different from the customer requirement in the business report?", The operation of enclosing the relevant part of the design document displayed in the reporter window 220 in blue. When done, the voice and writing activity is communicated to all conference members. Therefore, the reporter A requests “Please show me the business report.” In response, the judge M D & D the entire page in question within the reporter window 220, and the reporter window 220 is divided. The corresponding page that was dropped is displayed in the right half. This voice and writing operation is also transmitted to all the conference members. After a long time, reporter A said, "I want to answer later."
In response to the allegation that the presenter S has declared progress to the next agenda, the judge M again asks the personal data box 250.
I double-clicked on the title bar of and imported another file.

Finally, an explanation will be given according to the proceedings of proceedings in the mode of the moderator S. Since the moderator S made a reservation to start the program of the electronic conferencing system in advance when it was decided to hold the electronic conference, the moderator will start the electronic conferencing system when the scheduled time is reached, and the moderator in the state of FIG. S
Waiting for instructions from. Therefore, the moderator S double-clicks the title bar of the common material box 230 after confirming that the necessary common material has arrived in the mailbox addressed to him, and performs file registration work for the electronic conference. . Then, the "member registration" button 214 is clicked to register the conference members who participate in the electronic conference of the day in the minutes file from the project member table (meeting members can be registered at the time of start reservation). When the above work is completed, the conference member status icon as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed in the air control window 210. Of these, icons corresponding to conference members who have not yet started up the electronic conference system are displayed in a light color.

Although there is a conference member status icon which is still displayed in a light color, the moderator S decides to start the electronic conference at the start time of the electronic conference. In addition,
The meeting members who launched the electronic conference system after a while can grasp the progress of the meeting in a short time by the messages and voices about the discussions up to that point that are automatically sent at the same interval as the startup. it can. Moderator S is
D & D the conference member status icon corresponding to the first reporter A to the "reporter setting" button 211, and after confirming that it changes to the "talking icon" display, all the conference members who are present can start the conference. Make a declaration. Then, the reporter A is requested to start the report (“Then, we will start a meeting to confirm user needs. Mr. A, please report.”). Shortly after the reporter A started explaining, the conference member status icon corresponding to the judge M displayed in the air control window 210 began to blink, and it was transmitted that the judge M wanted to speak. Therefore, when there is a break in the description of the reporter A, the Judge M's conference member status icon is D & Ded to the “statement setting” button 212, and after confirming that it changes to the “talking icon” display, the judge M
(Please ask Mr. M.'s opinion.)).

The judge M writes a blue message with a pointing pointer on the design document in the reporter window 220 while giving an opinion by voice. Judge K after a while
Since the icon of No. 1 also started blinking, the moderator D & D the icon to the “speak setting” button 212 to change it to the “talking icon” display. As a result, the three persons, the reporter A and the judges M and K, have the right to speak at the same time, the pointing pointers of each of the three persons move on the screens of all the conference members, and each message is written. The person's voice is mixed and can be heard. After that, Judge K judged that he had sufficiently made a voice utterance and wrote a message in the reporter window 220, and abandoned his right to speak by clicking on the conference member status icon in the "talking icon" display.
In this way, it is possible for the judge to give up the right to speak.

As a result of the discussion, when the conclusion on the agenda is not obtained, the moderator S writes the problem, the person in charge, and the redline sheet specific to the moderator with the deadline framed,
Record it as a follow-up item at the next meeting. Then, after all the agenda items to be discussed have been digested, this follow item is confirmed. When the moderator S clicks the “edit minutes” button 215 in the air control window, the record by the moderator S is edited in the form of a review report and then displayed in the reporter window 220. After moderating the review report, the moderator S closes the meeting by reading aloud and keeping in mind who will confirm each meeting member. A few days later, reports from each conference member about the electronic conference gather in the moderator's S mailbox.

According to the above-described embodiment, an electronic conference by a large number of conference members via a conference participation terminal can be smoothly progressed and reproduced with a natural presence, and public materials and private personal materials required for the conference can be obtained respectively. All can be managed collectively at the conference participation terminals.

[0036]

As described above in detail, according to the electronic conference system of the present invention, an electronic conference by a large number of conference members via a conference participation terminal can be smoothly advanced and reproduced with a natural presence so that the conference can be performed. Necessary public materials and private personal materials can be collectively managed at each conference participation terminal.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing main constituent functions in an embodiment of an electronic conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a screen of a conference participation terminal assigned to a moderator in the electronic conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a screen of a conference participation terminal assigned to a reporter or a judge in the electronic conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of the display on the screen of the conference participation terminal assigned to the reporter in the electronic conference system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the display on the screen of the conference participation terminal assigned to the moderator in the electronic conference system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

210 Air Control Window 211 “Reporter Settings” Button 212 “Speaking Settings” Button 213a Conference Member Status Icon (“Talking Icon” Display) 213b Conference Member Status Icon (“Mutsuri Icon” Display) 214 “Member Registration” Button 215 “Meeting” Record edit button 220 Reporter window 230 Common document box 240 Private window 250 Personal document box 260 Drawing tools

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of conference participation terminals connected to each other via a network is provided, and when one conference participation terminal accepts a drag-and-drop operation for a conference object on a display screen, In an electronic conferencing system that displays the results of processing performed in response to drag-and-drop operations on the display screens of all conference participating terminals, prior to the electronic conference, An attribute related to the operation authority according to the position of the conference member, and during the execution of the electronic conference, drag and drop operation for the conference object at each conference participation terminal is performed according to the attribute related to the operation authority. An electronic conferencing system characterized by acceptance. 2. An air control window for controlling the granting of the right to speak to other conference members is provided on the display screen of the conference participation terminal assigned to a specific conference member who participates in the electronic conference as a moderator. Claim 1 characterized by the above.
Electronic conference system as described. 3. The conference member status icon representing the current speaking state of a conference member participating in the electronic conference is always displayed on the display screen of the conference participating terminal. Electronic conferencing system. 4. A private window is provided on a display screen of a conference participation terminal assigned to a conference member of the electronic conference so that other members of the conference can privately refer to personal materials prepared prior to the electronic conference. The electronic conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: 5. During the discussion of the common material distributed prior to the electronic conference, a message written for the common material is recorded in a virtual transparent sheet area provided for each conference participant terminal of the input source, and the common material is recorded. And the message in the virtual transparent sheet area arbitrarily designated are displayed in an overlapping manner on the display screen of each conference participant terminal.
4. The electronic conference system according to any one of 4 above.