JP2001175575A - Exchange system for entry form - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the write and change of character data on an entry form, which can be mutually shared, and to confirm contents while utilizing a PC speech equipment. SOLUTION: Terminal equipment or server device connected through a communication network is provided with a function, which can correct the entry of the entry form related to a contract on both sides, and various kinds of documents can be cooperatively prepared or preferably, mutual intention communication is performed while using telephone equipment on a computer system. Concerning the telephone equipment on the computer, a voice cutting is prevented by using the transmitting system of a packet to be transmitted/ received at an interval of <=60 msec, preferably, <=20 msec.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system which enables editing such as writing and deletion of characters between terminal devices connected via a network line. Related to the system created while checking the contents.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A terminal device connected to a communication line such as the Internet can take in various data via a server device on the line, but it is difficult to rewrite the data contents during communication. This is because there are reasons for ensuring the security of the data source and for differences in the data format between the devices.

For this reason, data that can be obtained through, for example, an Internet line is basically data browsed by a user (data that cannot be edited just by looking at it). However, in some cases, the data fetched at the time of communication connection can be converted and arbitrarily processed and corrected in its own terminal device after the communication is completed.

[0004] On the other hand, various data from data sources existing on the Web (Web; WWW) can be simply browsed as described above. Therefore, it is basically difficult to simultaneously share the same data screen even between devices connected to each other via a communication line. However, since many users need to participate in a session at the same time, a technique for sharing the same web information between many computers has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-1).
No. 16238).

[0005] This is because a server device on a network line has a function of transmitting a portable code for creating a surrogate (proxy unit) to a user device, and a surrogate (proxy unit) of each terminal device is provided. It functions as an interface between the server device and the browser of the user terminal device. When a browser is changed (a website address is changed) in any of the terminal devices, the updated address is sent to a surrogate of another device via the server device, and the same web information is instantaneously transmitted in a session. Share.

According to such a system, a session participant uses a special browser (application for browsing;
E.g. Internet Explorer)
The progress of the session can be known at any time, and the character data can be browsed and exchanged in real time using a text chat format.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION By the way, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-1162 discloses that web information is simultaneously shared by many users.
The technique of No. 38 is excellent in that a large number of people simultaneously share and browse web information, which was conventionally limited to personal / individual browsing.

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-1162
The technology of No. 38 is a technology for browsing (viewing) common web information to the last, and does not assume rewriting of data between connected computers. Of course, a common viewpoint can be obtained based on images and character data on the web net, but the purpose of communication between computers connected on a communication line is limited to the initial computer communication method. The fact is that it is no longer being done.

For example, at present, various conversational voice communication technologies (PC communication systems) via terminal devices have been proposed, and commercial transactions, sales contracts, provision of valuable data, and the like have been performed via communication lines. In view of the current situation, there is a need for a technique for creating various contract documents between multiple computers connected via a communication network line, and in particular, for simultaneously sharing / creating various entry forms for product ordering and data providing services. become.

On the other hand, as described above, the technique of sharing data in the state of computer interconnection is a proposal for simultaneous browsing of Web information (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-116238) and some PC telephone devices. There is no technology for creating contract documents and slips that can be handled by rewriting character data on both sides.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to write and change (delete, rewrite) character data on a monitor screen in real time on an entry form that can be shared with each other. Confirmation of contents (communication)
For example, a dedicated telephone or a conversation voice communication system (PC communication device) using a computer may be used.

[0012]

To achieve the above object, a system for exchanging an entry form according to the present invention comprises a server device provided on a communication network and at least two terminals connected via the server device. Device,
The terminal device includes at least one of an image data sending unit that sends out the image data of the entry form and an image data receiving unit that receives the image data of the entry form. Character data writing means for inputting, character data sending means for sending at least a character data portion of the data content constituting the entry form to the server device, and update data display for storing and displaying the character data received via the server device And the server device, the server device includes a relay proxy unit for data exchange of image data and character data of the entry form, the relay proxy unit, from any one of the terminal devices that are communicatively connected, When the image data or character data of the entry form is changed, the other Comprising updating data sending means for sending the modified data content to end devices

In some cases, the plurality of terminal devices connected via the server device include a PC communication device for transmitting and receiving conversation voice data via a communication network.
This PC communication device preferably includes a packet control unit for continuously transmitting data packets at a predetermined timing of 60 msec or less, preferably 20 msec or less, and a binary audio signal transmitted from the decoder to the data packet. At the same time as having a data transmission unit for transmitting the data packet on the communication line, a packet receiving unit for constantly sampling a data packet at a predetermined timing of 60 msec or less, preferably 20 msec or less, and transmitting the data packet to a subsequent stage is provided.

[0014]

According to the present invention, there is provided an exchange system for an entry form,
This allows the user to enter / edit characters while viewing the same entry form between terminal devices connected via a communication network. Since it is necessary to proceed with the process while confirming the contents mutually, communication is performed exclusively by telephone. According to a second aspect of the present invention, the terminal device is provided with a voice conversation communication function, and easy processing is ensured by two-way conversation and two-way editing while watching the monitor screen. A third aspect of the present invention relates to a technique for improving the quality of a PC communication device required when creating entry form data, and for 60 msec.
Data packets are transmitted / received at the following predetermined timing, preferably at a timing of 20 msec or less, so as to eliminate sound interruption in conversation.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 illustrates the principle of the implementation of an entry form exchange system according to the present invention.
The system 10 includes a server device 40 of a communication line, for example, an Internet line 11, and at least two or more terminal devices 20 and 30. The connection state is the same as a normal Internet connection. In this embodiment, the terminal device 20 is a user device, and the terminal device 30 is a service providing device (agent terminal device) connected in response to a call from the user.

In this embodiment, a case is shown in which the server 40 is provided with a relay proxy unit 45 that relays and controls an entry form written and edited between the terminal devices 20 and 30. After the terminal devices 20 and 30 are connected on the line, signals can be directly transmitted and received by both terminal devices 20 and 30, so that there is no need to arrange the relay proxy unit 45 in the server device 40, , 30 may be provided with a relay proxy unit 45, but in an actual use form,
Since it is assumed that the terminal device 30 on the agent side needs to switch the connection line to another agent device or a plurality of agent machines need to work together, the server device 40 is an environment in which many terminal devices can work together. A description will be given by providing a relay proxy unit 45 in the first embodiment.

First, a description will be given of the terminal device 30 on the service providing side. The terminal device 30 includes at least a form sending unit 31 for transmitting data of an entry form to the terminal device 20 of the other party, and a terminal for inputting characters on the entry form. Form creation unit 35. In this embodiment, the terminal device 30 includes a PC communication device 37 for transmitting and receiving voice data in real time. 38 is the terminal device 30
Is an external input device for inputting character data, a click signal, and a voice signal. The external input device 38 is specifically composed of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like. As a matter of course, when the PC communication device 37 is mounted, a speaker and a headphone for sound reproduction are connected and arranged (a handset of a normal design may be used).

There is no limitation on the transmission method of the entry form sent from the form transmission unit 31 to the terminal device 20 of the other party. When the original form is sent, only the data relating to the entry form may be simply transmitted, or the data relating to the entry form may be included in screen data that can be browsed (such as a menu screen) and then transmitted. In any case, the terminal device 20 should be in a state where a predetermined entry form can be opened (receivable state).
When the form is written and the contents are updated (for the second time or later), only the data related to the changed part is sent, or the entire changed entry form is sent. The contents are transmitted to the terminal device 20 of the other party. It is to be noted that the transmission timing of the changed entry contents is desirably a real-time transmission method, but may be an accumulation transmission method in which the changed contents are transmitted collectively by a click operation or the like.

Since it is necessary for both sides to be able to write characters, the form creation unit 35 writes and deletes characters based on the data of the update form sent via the server device 40. Therefore, a function of receiving and storing updated form data in a rewritable state is provided.

On the other hand, the terminal device 20 on the user side has basically the same functions as the terminal device 30 on the service providing side. That is, at least the form sending unit 21 for transmitting the data of the entry form to the terminal device 30 of the other party.
And a form creation unit 25 for inputting characters on the entry form. Assuming that the PC communication function is provided as a standard feature, a PC communication device 27 for transmitting and receiving voice data in real time is also provided in the terminal device 20.
Reference numeral 28 denotes an external input device for inputting character data, a click signal, and a voice signal to the terminal device 20. External input device 2
Reference numeral 8 specifically includes a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like. When the PC communication device 27 is mounted, the same applies in that devices such as speakers, headphones, and a receiver for sound reproduction are arranged.

However, since the terminal device 20 on the user side receives the original entry form from the other party, it does not have means for sending out the first entry form. However, the function of transmitting update data (change data) when a form is written to the other party is the same in the form sending unit 21.

The server device 40 includes a relay proxy unit 45 for distributing an entry form written and updated between the terminal devices 20 and 30 to both terminals. When the relay proxy unit 45 receives a change in the image data or character data of the entry form from one of the terminal devices 20 and 30 connected by communication, the relay proxy unit 45 changes the data to the other terminal devices 20 and 30. And an update data transmitting unit for transmitting the data contents thus obtained. Specifically, for example, a form image processing unit 41 that transmits and receives (relays) image data of an entry form;
It comprises a character processing unit 48 that relays the changed character data.

Referring to FIG. 2, the configuration of the server device 40 will be described more specifically. Relay proxy unit 45 in server device
Includes an entry form receiving unit 42, an entry form storage unit 43, and an entry form transfer unit 44 for relaying an entry form sent from the terminal device 30 on the service providing side to the terminal device 20 on the user side. Further, when there is a change in the entry content such as writing or deletion of a character in one of the terminal devices 20 and 30, the writing character receiving unit 32 for storing the changed data and the changed entry content are used. A form updating unit 33 for updating form data;

The form updating section 33 may partially update and change only the character writing field, or may update and change the entire image of the form including the writing field. The updated data contents are temporarily stored in the entry form storage unit 43, and transmitted to the terminal devices 20 and 30, which are the other party, via the update form transfer unit 55. It should be noted that the update form transfer unit 55 may simultaneously transmit the same data to both parties without transferring the data while determining the other party. This is due to the simplicity of the device configuration.

Therefore, according to the system 10, two or more terminal devices 20,
It is possible for the user 30 to create necessary documents while viewing the same entry form and simultaneously confirming the entry contents by telephone voice. The entry forms assumed in this case include, for example, detailed order slips for goods / data services, ordering of concert tickets / air tickets / JR tickets including seat positions, domestic / overseas travel dates / hotels / room ranks / meals. / Detailed orders such as charges, etc. In some cases, not only order slips but also texts can be created simultaneously on a blank text form.

By the way, in order to create an entry form while establishing a two-way conversation while looking at the monitor screen of the computer, the work may be carried out using a general dedicated telephone. There is still an annoyance such as the necessity of performing an entry operation or the like while holding the. Therefore, it is more convenient to adopt a system configuration that can smoothly establish a conversation with a connection partner of the terminal device. Speakers and microphones required for the telephone can also be used as free headphones.

The most demanding aspect of the system 10 according to the present invention is in the case of ensuring data on name, address, payment, etc. in various orders. Although similar data acquisition was possible with conventional telephone responses, the telephone response for individual names, addresses, and payments required a considerable amount of time, resulting in a longer processing time per person,
Fast and efficient order processing was the limit. Filling out the form at the discretion of the orderer causes problems such as errors and omissions, which hinders efficient processing.
According to the system according to the second aspect, it is possible to create an accurate entry form by mutual cooperation while ensuring the accuracy of the entry content by two-way conversation by telephone response, and truly meet the user's wishes. Order slips can be created accurately and quickly, and ordering errors can be minimized.

The specific structure of the PC communication device in this case does not matter, but at present, a high quality communication system without sound interruption has not been realized.

Hereinafter, the reason will be described, and a specific configuration according to the third aspect of the present invention will be exemplified. FIG. 3 illustrates the principle of a conventional PC communication system. Briefly, first, the transmitting side sequentially stores voice data in a voice memory 3 in a PC terminal 2 via a microphone (or a sound collecting unit of a receiver) 1. Next, the voice memory 3
Is converted into binary data sequentially while the data is compressed by the encoder 4, and is transmitted from the audio signal transmitting unit 5 to the external communication line 7. 6 is PC
It is a communication auxiliary device (modem / terminal adapter) for putting data of the terminal 2 on the communication line 7. The communication line 7 may be a normal public line (telephone line) or a dedicated line of the Internet.

On the other hand, the receiving side samples the audio data input from the communication line via the TA or the like 6 at a predetermined timing in the audio signal receiving section 17, and then samples the data.
4, the signal is sequentially restored to the original audio data while decompressing. Then, the restored audio data is transmitted to the audio reproducing unit 1.
In step 3, the signal is further converted into an appropriate signal format, and the sound is reproduced via a speaker (or a headphone or a receiver) 11 so that the receiving side can listen.

This method is basically the same for a telephone device. However, when realizing a two-way conversation using a terminal device, the difference from a normal telephone device is that the PC terminal has been developed with a priority on transmitting and receiving image data and character data, and audio data has been developed. The transmission and reception of voice data tended to be considered as a secondary function in the future, so that various problems still remain in the transmission and reception of voice data. This is particularly noticeable in the case of conversation voice data. For example, in the case of transmitting and receiving music data or just message voice data, a delay of several seconds on the receiving side
In practice there are few problems. The same applies to the problem of delay of image data received via the Internet. Since these only receive a certain chunk of data and reproduce it, even if it takes several seconds to several tens of seconds to receive the data, it does not exceed the allowable limit of the receiving side.

On the other hand, a two-way conversation requires x
When a delay of y seconds occurs in the processing on the receiving side and the receiving side, the total (x +
y) A delay of seconds occurs, resulting in a usability that does not endure practical use. For this reason, the transmission and reception technology of two-way conversation data has a problem how to improve the processing speed of the receiving side and the transmitting side. At the same time, if the sound is interrupted, the conversation becomes very difficult to hear, and the recipient tends to increase mental fatigue.

In order to solve such a problem, the following means have conventionally been taken in transmitting and receiving voice data of a terminal device. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, data for carrying audio data D over a communication line is given the highest priority to realize a processing speed (delay time) that can withstand practical use, and at the same time, to overcome the problem of sound interruption. This is a method in which the data loading amount of the packets P1 to P is increased, a large amount of data is loaded at a time, a large amount of data is transmitted at once, and the data is transmitted at a stretch, and the receiving side sequentially decodes the data.

According to this data transmission / reception method, a large amount of voice data can be loaded in one data packet P1 to P3, so that at least the transmitting side can surely reduce the problem of sound interruption. In addition, since the problem of the processing speed is entirely left to the performance of the terminal device on the transmitting side and the receiving side, it can be said that the technique is an excellent technique for transmitting data. However, in order to smoothly establish a two-way conversation, it is not enough to solve the problem only on the transmitting side, and it is necessary to solve the problems of the speed of data processing and the data loss in the terminal device on the receiving side.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional method for processing conversation voice data.
As shown in the above, the data loading amount of each of the data packets P1 to P3 is increased, and as a result, the transmission timing S of each of the data packets P1 to P3 is increased.
1, the interval between S2 becomes inevitably large. Packet P1
This is because the processing time for mounting the audio data on P3 increases. Inevitably, the probability of dropping of the data packets P1 to P3 on the receiving side increases.

The processing time for loading the audio data in the data packets P1 to P3 depends on the capability of the PC terminal. However, in the conventional processing method, the packet transmission timing is set to about 250 to 400 msec by setting a certain margin. Set. Correspondingly, the sampling timing of the data packet on the receiving side is processed at substantially the same interval time, that is, at an interval of 250 to 400 msec.

However, the transmission interval of the transmitted data packet and the timing of sampling on the receiving side are as follows.
Since each of the transmitting / receiving PC terminals is controlled independently, it is natural that these do not always coincide with each other. As a result, a data packet is inevitably dropped in the terminal device on the receiving side. In addition, in the conventional method, since each packet has a large volume in order to prevent interruption of sound, for example, if 10% of the packets are missed, a reproduced sound which is very hard to hear appears.

That is, although the conventional method is excellent in preventing sound interruption as data processing on the transmission side, it has difficulties in data processing on the reception side, and as a result, the problem of sound interruption cannot be prevented as a whole. is there. In terms of processing speed, as a result of increasing the volume of data packets, delays are likely to occur in the PC terminals on the transmitting side and the receiving side, and this has a significant effect on the total delay.

On the other hand, the communication apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention always transmits data packets transmitted from the transmitting side of conversation voice data at intervals of 60 msec or less, and places the converted voice data on each packet. Send to communication trunk. Since a large amount of data is not mounted in one packet as in the related art, the packet volume may be small, and the mounting processing and the restoration processing speed on the receiving side are significantly improved.

The data packet transmission interval is set to 60
As a result, the sampling interval of the packet on the receiving side is also set to a minimum unit time routine of 60 msec or less. Since the timing of the transmission packet and the sampling of the reception are independently controlled by the PC terminal device, a certain dropout inevitably occurs stochastically.
However, according to the apparatus configuration of the third aspect, even if the drop-out probability is, for example, about 10% as in the related art, the influence is smaller. This is because, since the length of audio data included in each data packet is small, it is possible to reliably prevent an accident in which an important part of a conversation is completely dropped.

The transmission timing of the data packet is 20
It is preferable to set the sampling interval on the receiving side to 20 msec or less. 20 msec for both processing intervals
This is because, if the following conditions are set, the conditions for realizing real-time conversation are intuitively established with almost no sound interruption and no delay. Conversational voice data is different from sound data that needs to reproduce and distinguish minute image data and subtle timbres of sound sources. Practical even if 10% to 30% of the data is lost unless there is a delay and unpleasant sound interruption. There is no harm.

FIGS. 5 to 7 constitute the present invention.
Is a more specific example of the communication device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an example of a communication device according to a third aspect. The basic configuration is the same as the conventionally proposed device principle, but the processing content in the audio signal transmitting unit 51 is different, and the average packet transmission timing is a packet control that transmits a packet at a predetermined speed of 60 msec or less, for example, every 20 msec. A data transmitting unit 53 for sequentially writing binary audio data in a packet in response to the high-speed transmission
And

The audio signal receiving section 61 on the receiving side includes a packet receiving section 65 that performs packet sampling at a predetermined speed of an average of 60 msec or less, for example, every 20 msec. In the figure, the PC terminal 10 on the transmitting side only shows the device configuration for transmitting, and the receiving side (15) shows only the configuration for receiving. Needless to say, the transmitting side also has a receiving function and the receiving side also has a transmitting function and has the same configuration as an apparatus. Further, as long as the condition of 60 msec or less is satisfied, it is not always necessary to set the packet transmission timing and the reception timing to the same processing speed. This is because the shorter the reception timing, the lower the packet drop probability.

FIG. 6 specifically shows the transmission of audio data based on such a configuration. P1 to P8 are packets generated and transmitted from the packet control unit, and symbol S is an interval between the packets P1 to P8, for example, 20 ms on average.
ec. The timing does not necessarily have to be constant, and the interval may fluctuate within a limit not exceeding 60 msec.

Here, the data transmission unit 53 converts the audio data D processed by the encoder 4 into packets P1, P2, P
.., And sequentially sent out to the communication line.
In the present invention, the sending timing is 60 ms.
The size of the packets P1 to P8 is not particularly important as long as it is equal to or less than c. Specifically, for example, one packet is made small, for example, about 200 bytes, and about 1 Kbyte of data is transmitted per second. According to such a method, the data length that can be stored in one packet is short, but the data processing amount per unit time is comparable to that of the conventional device. Further, since the time required for one conversion and writing process is shortened, the processing speed on the transmitting side is hardly delayed.

FIG. 7 exemplifies the operation of the packet receiving section 65. For example, sampling is continuously repeated at intervals of 20 msec without interruption, and received packets are sequentially sent to the decoder 14. D2 is the restored audio data.

When the sampling timing of the packet receiving unit 65 is set to, for example, 20 msec, there is a possibility that a packet sent at a high speed may be missed, but as described above, the data length contained in one packet is short. However, the presence or absence of a dropout cannot be determined by the human ear, and extremely smooth sound reproduction becomes possible. Also, since the amount of data written in one packet is small, there is no delay in the restoration processing time on the receiving side. As described above, since the delays on the transmitting side and the receiving side can be significantly reduced, the total delay can be significantly reduced as compared with the conventional apparatus. In addition, smooth two-way conversation can be realized without harsh noise (interruption sound) due to missing packets.

[0048]

As described above, according to the entry form exchange system of the present invention, character data can be written in real time on entry forms that can be shared / rewritable with each other. In particular, according to the invention of claim 3, since the conversation and the creation of the entry form can be performed smoothly while using the same terminal device, an accident at the time of order or a stagnation of processing due to an entry error can be reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an entry form exchange system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a relay proxy unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a conventional PC communication system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating data transmission in a conventional PC communication system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a communication device according to claim 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of audio data transmission processing;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of audio data reception processing;

[Description of Signs] 5 Audio signal transmission unit 6 Communication auxiliary device (modem / terminal adapter) 7 Communication line 10 System according to the present invention 11 Internet line 13 Audio reproduction unit 14 Decoder 17 Audio signal reception unit 20, 30 Terminal device 21, 31 Form sending unit 25, 35 Form creating unit 27, 37 Communication device 28, 38 External input device 32 Character receiving unit 33 Form updating unit 40 Server device 41 Form image processing unit 42 Filling form receiving unit 43 Filling form storage unit 44 Filling form Transfer unit 45 relay proxy unit 48 character processing unit 51 voice signal transmission unit 52 packet control unit 53 data transmission unit 61 voice signal reception unit 65 packet reception unit D, D2 voice data P1 to P8 packet S packet interval

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A relay for exchanging data related to image data and character data of an entry form to at least one of a terminal device connected via a communication network and a server device accessible to both terminal devices. While providing a proxy unit, the terminal device includes at least one of an image data transmitting unit that sends out image data of the entry form and an image data receiving unit that receives image data of the entry form. Character data writing means for inputting a character to a writing area of the character data, character data sending means for sending at least a character data portion of the data content constituting the entry form to the server device, and character data received via the server device And an update data display unit for storing and displaying The update unit transmits the changed data content to the other terminal device when the data of the image data or the character data of the entry form is changed from one of the communication-connected terminal devices. An entry form exchange system comprising data transmission means. 2. The entry form according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device connected via the communication network includes a PC communication device for transmitting and receiving conversation voice data via the connection line of the communication network. Exchange system. 3. A PC communication device, comprising: a memory means for sequentially storing voice data input via a sound collector; an encoder for converting voice data of the memory means into a binary signal; A voice signal transmitting device for transmitting the converted binary data; anda voice signal receiving device for sequentially storing a voice signal input from an external transmitting device via a communication line. A decoder for restoring and converting the audio signal into an analog signal; and a reproducing means for reproducing a conversational audio signal input via the decoder. The audio signal transmitting means has a predetermined timing of 60 msec or less, preferably 20 msec or less. A packet control unit for continuously transmitting data packets at a timing, and a binary audio signal transmitted from the decoder to the data packet. The voice signal receiving means includes a packet receiving section for constantly sampling a data packet at a predetermined timing of 60 msec or less, preferably at a timing of 20 msec or less, and transmitting the data packet to a subsequent stage. 3. The system for exchanging an entry form according to claim 2, wherein: