JP2001092818A - Remote screen sharing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable first and second terminals to perform KANA (Japanese syllabary)/Kanji (Chinese character) converting work in cooperation by displaying characters being subjected to KANA/KANJI conversion on the terminal on the other side. SOLUTION: First and second terminals 1 and 2 are connected to each other through a communication network 3. The content of the window 6 displayed on the first terminal 1 is made coincident with that of the window 7 displayed on the second terminal 2 by means of a screen sharing control section 8. When undefined characters before conversion for inputting character conversion is displayed in the window 6, the control section 8 transfers data including the undefined characters to the second terminal 2 and causes the terminal 2 to display the data in the window 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a remote screen sharing system in which two terminals connected by a communication network share a screen and exchange information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a video conference system, a screen called a whiteboard is shared by a terminal on a transmitting side and a terminal on a receiving side, and various information is written on the screen to facilitate communication. In the present invention, such a screen sharing system is called a remote screen sharing system.
In this type of system, for example, when text or graphic information is written on a shared screen at a transmitting terminal, the contents of the screen are transferred and displayed on a receiving side. When new text and graphic information is written on the receiving side, this is transferred to the transmitting side, and the same screen is displayed on the transmitting side.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems to be solved.
A remote screen sharing system as well as a video conference system can be widely used in various fields. For example, one terminal is operated by an operator in charge of data input, and the other terminal is operated by an assistant. When the operator in charge of data entry inputs various information on the shared screen, the assistant monitors the contents and gives advice as needed. By using such a system, it becomes possible for an assistant to give detailed advice on operation of a terminal in a remote place.

However, in this type of system, when an operator in charge of data entry uses the kana-kanji conversion function to input data, if the assistant finds an error in the selected kanji, the assistant re-asserts the operator. It is necessary to prompt the input or to show the correct kanji to the data input operator on the assistant side.

[0005] However, when a kanji selection error is conveyed to the other party by voice, the meaning may not be conveyed accurately, and misinterpretation may occur. If the assistant inputs and shows the correct kanji on the shared screen, the operator in charge of data entry can correctly recognize the kanji, but the operator in charge of data entry refers to the kanji entered by the assistant and writes the kanji in his or her own. Complicated work such as inputting to a terminal was required.

[0006]

The present invention employs the following structure to solve the above problems. <Configuration 1> A first terminal and a second terminal are connected to each other via a communication network, and the first terminal displays the contents of the window displayed on the display of the first terminal. A screen sharing control unit is provided for transferring to the second terminal for display. The screen sharing control unit, when an undetermined character for character conversion input is displayed in the window of the first terminal, A remote screen sharing system, wherein the contents of the window are transferred to the second terminal and displayed, including undetermined characters.

<Structure 2> In the remote screen sharing system according to structure 1, the screen sharing control unit may be configured such that the first terminal displays a drop-down list indicating conversion candidates for character conversion input on a window being shared. Is displayed, the drop-down list is transferred to the second terminal for display.

<Structure 3> In the remote screen sharing system according to Structure 2, the screen sharing control unit, when a drop-down list indicating conversion candidates for character conversion input is displayed on the first terminal, Displaying a virtual keyboard on a second terminal, and generating a key event for selecting a candidate in a drop-down list when any key of the virtual keyboard displayed on the second terminal is clicked. A remote screen sharing system.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using specific examples. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific example of a remote screen sharing system according to the present invention. The first terminal 1 and the second terminal 2 are connected to each other via a communication network 3. Each of the first terminal 1 and the second terminal 2 is composed of a general personal computer, a workstation or the like. A window 6 is displayed on the display 4 of the first terminal 1. A window 7 is displayed on the display 5 of the second terminal 2. The screen sharing control unit 8 and the window control unit 9 provided in the first terminal 1 perform control for matching the contents of the window 6 displayed on the first terminal 1 and the window 7 displayed on the second terminal 2. To realize a so-called remote screen sharing system.

Since the hardware configuration of each terminal is the same as that of a well-known personal computer or the like, a description thereof is omitted, but the screen sharing control unit 8 is configured by an application program running on the first terminal 1. Is done. The window control unit 9 is also configured by a program that controls window display in cooperation with the operating system of the first terminal 1 and the like. As the communication network 3, various types such as a LAN (local area network), a public line, a dedicated line, and the Internet can be used.

Next, the operation of the screen sharing control unit 8 will be described more specifically. A program for transmitting a window displayed on the first terminal 1 as it is to the second terminal 2 and displaying the same is conventionally widely known. This program copies the image of the window 6 displayed on the first terminal 1 into a data file, compresses it, and transmits it to the second terminal 2 through the communication network 3. The second terminal 2 displays the received image of the window 6 on the display 5.
And the window 7 is displayed. There are various possible timings for transmitting the image of the window 6 displayed on the first terminal 1 to the second terminal 2. Here, for example, the following method is adopted.

First, when the first terminal 1 is operated, when a keyboard is pressed and an OnKeyUp event is detected, a character code input to a field for storing characters to be displayed in the window 6 at that timing is changed to a second character. 2 terminal 2. That is, in this case, the screen is shared by transferring the character code every time one character is input. There is also a method in which a timer for activating a character transfer program is set, and all character codes entered in the field are collectively transferred to the partner terminal at regular intervals. In the latter case, the second terminal performs a process of exchanging all character codes in the field.

Another method is to transfer image data of the entire window. This method is the simplest to match the contents displayed in the windows. This is because the display contents of the window may change in addition to the character input. In this case, for example, an OnKeyUp event is detected, the image data of the window is copied at that timing, and this is transferred to the other party. In this way, the contents of the windows displayed on the first terminal and the second terminal are matched each time the key is input. Of course, a method of automatically transferring the image data of the screen to the partner terminal at regular time intervals is also conceivable in this image data transfer method.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the screen sharing control unit according to the present invention. This example shows a case in which, for example, an entire window image is transferred from a first terminal to a second terminal. First, in step S1, it is assumed that the window 6 is displayed on the first terminal in a state where nothing is displayed on the second terminal. This window 6 is copied and transferred to the second terminal (step S1). In the next step S2, the image is displayed as it is in the window 7 of the second terminal.

Here, in step S2, the first
It is assumed that one character "ko" is input at the terminal. In this case, the window 6 of the first terminal is copied as it is and transferred to the second terminal. As a result, in step S3, a window including the character "ko" is displayed. As can be seen from this figure, in the first terminal, undetermined characters for kana-kanji conversion are entered in the name field of the window 6. The dashed underline is a display indicating that it is an undetermined character. Since the content of the image transferred to the second terminal has been determined, the dashed underline is not displayed.

By the processing of steps S2, S3 and S4 in the figure, the operator operating the first terminal inputs the characters "konno", and then converts these characters to kanji in step S5. Conventionally, in step S1, the screen displayed on the first terminal 1 is transferred to the second terminal, and then the operator operating the first terminal ends the kana-kanji conversion, and the window 6 shown in step S5 is displayed. After being displayed, the contents are transferred to the second terminal.

However, according to the present invention, undetermined characters are sequentially transmitted to the second terminal as they are. Even in the undetermined state, the image of the window 6 of the first terminal is completely copied and transmitted to the second terminal, and the content is displayed as it is on the window 7 of the second terminal.

In this way, in the second terminal, the process of performing the kana-kanji conversion process in the first terminal can be clearly read from step S2 to step S6.
Therefore, for example, when the operator operating the first terminal makes a mistake in the kana-kanji conversion operation, at the stage of step S6,
The operator using the second terminal notifies the operator using the first terminal that the kanji is different. The operator operating the first terminal determines in step S6
At this stage, since the converted kanji is not yet determined, another kanji can be selected and displayed again. Therefore, the operator operating the first terminal can select the correct kanji again, and can quickly and efficiently select and confirm the kanji.

That is, since the operator operating the second terminal can detect a kanji selection error before the kana-kanji conversion is confirmed, the operator operating the first terminal can simply re-convert the kanji. Well, again, step S2 of FIG.
The complexity of repeating the processing in step S5 is eliminated.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the character conversion operation. The above operation will be specifically described in order with reference to FIG. First, in step S1, the first terminal starts character conversion input in the shared window. That is, the operator who operates the first terminal starts the kana-kanji conversion program. Next, in step S2, "CON" is input. Here, in step S3, FIG.
The screen sharing control unit 8 shown in (1) acquires the image data of the window and transmits it to the second terminal in step S4. The second terminal 2 displays the image. In this example, the image data is transferred after input of three characters, not one character at a time. However, as in the description with reference to FIG. 2, these are still undetermined characters.

Next, in step S5, the first terminal performs character conversion. Here, first, for example, "konno" is first converted to "konno". Here, the screen sharing control unit 8 of the first terminal 1 acquires the image data of the window and transmits it to the second terminal 2 (steps S6 and S6).
7). As a result, the second terminal 2 displays “Konno” after the conversion selected first. Here, the operator operating the second terminal 2 notifies the operator operating the first terminal 1 by voice or the like whether or not the converted kanji is correct. If wrong, step S
Then, the process proceeds from step 8 to step S5 to perform reconversion. That is, this time, another kanji is selected, and again the window 6 of the first terminal 1 is selected.
To be displayed.

In steps S6 and S7, the contents are transferred to the second terminal 2 and displayed as before. Here, if the operator of the second terminal approves the contents of the kanji, the process proceeds from step S8 to step S9, and the operator of the first terminal 1 determines the converted character.

<Effects of Specific Example 1> As described above, in this specific example, in step S5 of FIG. 2, the character “Konno” displayed in the window 6 of the first terminal is undetermined. Since this is displayed in the window 7 of the second terminal, if the selected kanji is incorrect, the operator of the first terminal can select another character as it is and re-enter the character from hiragana again. No need. Since the operator of the first terminal and the operator of the second terminal can visually monitor the character conversion input process to each other and determine the character after conversion, unnecessary operation is unnecessary for both, Efficient work can be performed.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, all the steps of the kana input are displayed on the second terminal. In the example of FIG. 3, the hiragana before conversion is displayed on the second terminal. An undetermined character may be displayed on the second terminal. Also,
In the above example, an example in which information such as an image to be shared unilaterally is transmitted from the first terminal 1 to the second terminal 2 has been described, but a similar function is also provided on the second terminal 2 side. It is possible to share the screen by transmitting data bidirectionally.

<Specific Example 2> In the above example, when an undetermined character for character conversion input is displayed on the first terminal, this is displayed on the second terminal. In the following specific example 2, when performing character conversion input on the first terminal, a drop-down list showing conversion candidates is also displayed on the second terminal. Second
This enables the terminal to quickly specify the kanji to be selected.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the second embodiment. In the upper right of FIG. 4, the window 6 and the drop-down list 11 displayed on the first terminal are shown. A window 7 having the same contents as this is displayed on the second terminal (step S1).
Is the same as in the case of, and the drop-down list 11
This indicates a conversion candidate when a character “kon” is input. The window control unit 9 shown in FIG. 1 displays such a drop-down list 11 on the display 4 of the first terminal 1. At this time, the screen sharing control unit 8
A window handle is obtained (step S2). Thereby, the screen sharing control unit 8 copies the image of the drop-down list 11 and transfers the image data to the second terminal (step S3).

As a result, in step S4, the same drop-down list 11 as that displayed on the first terminal is displayed on the second terminal together with the window 7.
Thus, the operator operating the second terminal can recognize the candidates listed during the kana-kanji conversion from the drop-down list 11. The operator operating the second terminal transmits the correct character in the drop-down list 11 to the operator operating the first terminal by voice, for example, by specifying the number. Thus, the operator operating the first terminal can promptly select the correct kanji and determine the content.

<Effect of Specific Example 2> That is, according to the method of specific example 2, when there are a large number of character candidates to be converted, the operator operating the second terminal promptly and accurately switches the first terminal. It becomes possible to inform the operator of the operation.

<Specific Example 3> In Specific Example 2, the first terminal 1
To transfer the drop-down list to the second terminal 2 to display the drop-down list, specify the candidate to be selected by the operator operating the second terminal, and notify the operator operating the first terminal, for example, by voice. I made it. At this time, it is more efficient if the operator operating the second terminal can directly select the corresponding candidate. However, it is not easy to directly operate the character conversion input program running on the first terminal on the second terminal.

Therefore, in this example, a virtual keyboard is displayed on the second terminal, this keyboard functions as if it were the same as the keyboard of the first terminal, and candidates in the drop-down list are selected using the virtual keyboard. I chose it.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, first, in step S1, a screen having the same contents as the window 6 of the first terminal is displayed in the window 7 of the second terminal. Further, in step S2, as described in the specific example 2, the drop-down list 1
1 is displayed on the first terminal. At this time, in this specific example, the window control unit 9 shown in FIG. 1 detects the display of the drop-down list 11 on the first terminal (step S3). Then, the detection result is notified to the screen sharing control unit 8.

When the drop-down list 11 is displayed, the screen sharing control unit 8 transfers the image to the second terminal and controls the display of the virtual keyboard 12 for the second terminal in step S4. As a result, in step S5, the virtual keyboard 12
Is displayed. The virtual keyboard 12 is displayed on the display of the second terminal. When a number is specified using a pointing device such as a mouse and the OK button is clicked, the result is notified to the first terminal 1.

That is, the operator operating the second terminal looks at the drop-down list 11 and selects an appropriate one of the conversion candidates for character conversion input. Then, a number corresponding to the character is input using the virtual keyboard 12. When this number is notified to the first terminal 1, this is recognized as a key event through the screen sharing control unit 8 of the first terminal 1. That is, in this step S6, the same signal as when operating the keyboard of the first terminal is generated and recognized by the operating system of the first terminal.

As a result, the same processing as that of operating the keyboard of the first terminal and selecting an appropriate character in the drop-down list is executed (step S).
7). In other words, the same processing as when the operator operating the second terminal selects the conversion candidate by operating the keyboard of the first terminal is realized.

The display of the virtual keyboard is controlled by the first
May be performed by the screen sharing control unit provided in the terminal,
An application program for controlling a virtual keyboard installed in the second terminal may be started by the screen sharing control unit to display the virtual keyboard.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment as described above. First, in step S1, a drop-down list for selecting a conversion candidate is displayed on the first terminal. The processing up to this point is the same as that of the second embodiment. Next, in step S2, display detection of the drop-down list and transfer of the image data are performed. In step S3, the second terminal performs control to display the virtual keyboard together with the drop-down list.

Then, in step S4, a virtual keyboard is displayed on the second terminal, and in step S5, the operator of the second terminal clicks the corresponding key using a pointing device such as a mouse. Second
The terminal transmits information including the number of the clicked key to the first terminal based on the click event. Upon receiving the key event, the first terminal generates a key event exactly the same as when the keyboard of the first terminal is operated, whereby the corresponding conversion candidate in the drop-down list is selected.

Thereafter, in step S8, the selected character is displayed. That is, even if the operator of the first terminal does not perform the kanji conversion process, the selection of the required kanji is completed by the operation of the operator of the second terminal. Therefore, it is possible to more smoothly select the conversion candidate and determine the character than in the case of the specific example 2.

The system as described above can be used, for example, in the following cases. First, an operator operating the first terminal starts an operation of inputting data including his / her name and address according to a certain format. At this time, the operator operating the second terminal monitors the operation contents of the operator operating the first terminal while viewing the shared screen. Then, for example, when the operator operating the first terminal is lost in selecting the personal name kanji, the operator operating the second terminal assists this.

In another case, the operator operating the first terminal hears necessary information while talking to the operator operating the second terminal by voice or the like, and performs data input work. The operator who operates the first terminal mainly performs data input, and inquires of the operator who operates the second terminal, for example, about unknown personal names and kanji.
Then, the operator operating the second terminal selects a kanji as needed. In this way, the operator operating the first terminal completes necessary data while talking with the operator operating the second terminal.

The above system can be used for distance education. For example, a teacher who operates the first terminal inputs hiragana, and shows a drop-down list to the students who operate the second terminal in a state where the kanji has not been determined. The student looks at the drop-down list and selects the kanji that he thinks is correct. If the teacher who operates the first terminal makes a mistake in selecting the student, the teacher informs the student of the fact by voice or the like and shows the student the kanji selected correctly.

Further, for example, in the case of automating a financial window business, it is necessary for a customer to operate a terminal and input his / her name and address. However, there are many customers who are not always familiar with terminal operations. In these cases,
The customer has trouble operating the terminal, which wastes time and causes troubles.

In order to avoid this, the terminal operated by the customer and the terminal of the operator who monitors the operation of the customer at a remote place through the network share the screen. Then, for example, the customer communicates his / her own name to the operator using a microphone, and the operator inputs the customer's name using a keyboard.
Then, the conversion result is displayed to the customer. At this time, the conversion result is left as an undetermined character.

When the customer requests another character, a drop-down list is displayed to the customer to select which kanji. Also at this time, it is more accurate to convey the selected character to the operator by number than to convey the character to be selected by the customer to the operator by voice. The operator selects a corresponding character according to the request of the customer. Since the state is undetermined, the kanji to be selected can be switched many times. That is, re-input is not required.

According to the third embodiment, the above-mentioned virtual keyboard is displayed on the customer terminal, and the customer selects a kanji. Thereby, the corresponding kanji is selected more accurately. In addition, even if the operation is a simple operation, the customer operates the terminal so that the customer becomes interested in the operation of the terminal, gets used to the operation, and thereafter can operate the terminal without the assistance of the operator. There is also an effect.

<Effect of Specific Example 3> As described above, by using the system of the present invention, operators operating two terminals connected by a communication network under various conditions can cooperate with each other to form kana-kanji characters. Character conversion processing such as conversion can be performed. In the above example, the kana-kanji conversion processing in Japanese has been described, but any specific example can be similarly used for the conversion processing of, for example, Chinese or other languages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote screen sharing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a screen sharing control unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a character conversion operation.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of a specific example 2.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of a specific example 3.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of a specific example 3.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st terminal 2 2nd terminal 3 Communication network 4,5 Display 6,7 Window 8 Screen sharing control part 9 Window control part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) // G06F 19/00 G06F 15/20 564P 5E501 H04N 7/15 630 596A 15/30 320 F term (Reference) 5B009 KA00 MA11 RB04 VC04 5B055 PA32 5B069 KA02 5B089 HA01 HA06 HA10 JA16 JB01 KA03 LB01 LB04 LB14 5C064 AA02 AA06 AC05 AC12 AD08 5E501 AA02 BA05 CA02 CB02 CC06 EA05 EA10 EB13 FA19 EB13 FA19

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first terminal and a second terminal connected to each other via a communication network, wherein the first terminal stores contents of a window displayed on a display of the first terminal. A screen sharing control unit is provided for transferring to the second terminal for display. The screen sharing control unit, when an undetermined character for character conversion input is displayed in the window of the first terminal, A remote screen sharing system, wherein the contents of the window are transferred and displayed on the second terminal, including the undetermined characters. 2. The remote screen sharing system according to claim 1, wherein, in the first terminal, a drop-down list indicating conversion candidates for character conversion input on a window being shared is displayed on the first terminal. A remote screen sharing system, wherein when displayed, the drop-down list is transferred to the second terminal for display. 3. The remote screen sharing system according to claim 2, wherein, when a drop-down list indicating a conversion candidate for character conversion input is displayed on the first terminal, And displaying a virtual keyboard on the second terminal, and generating a key event for selecting a candidate in a drop-down list when any key of the virtual keyboard displayed on the second terminal is clicked. Features a remote screen sharing system.