JP2003304518A - Electronic conference system, electronic conference method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic conference system in which participants can take participation without the need for a special work and which can prevent a malicious act by a third party such as interception of contents of the conference. <P>SOLUTION: A conference sponsor makes a reservation for a conference at a conference system server 2 (S101) and registers electronic mail addresses of conference participants (S102). The conference system server 2 issues conference purpose setting information such as accounts and passwords different from the participants (S201), and transmits electronic mail describing the contents of the information to the conference sponsor and the conference participants (S202). Each participant starts a conference system installed on its own terminal 4 and allows the conference system to read the conference purpose setting information described in the notified electronic mail to take participation in the conference. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic conferencing system, a electronic conferencing method, a program, and a storage medium for sharing a conference by sharing electronic data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a conference is generally carried out by distributing a document as a material. However, in recent years, an electronic conferencing system has been known in which electronic data is exchanged instead of a document and the material is electronically modified to proceed. For example,
In the electronic conferencing system using a wired network disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-081489, it is proposed that even if a conference cannot be attended, only materials of persons who cannot attend the conference can be used in the conference.

[0003]

However, the conventional electronic conferencing system has the following problems, and the improvement thereof has been demanded. When bringing a terminal such as a computer into a conference room and connecting the terminal to a wired LAN for a conference, it is necessary to change network settings such as an IP address, and there is the trouble of pulling a LAN cable into the conference room. there were.

In order to eliminate such annoyance, a method has been proposed in which wireless communication is adopted between the conference server and the terminals of persons participating in the conference. In general, IEEE
A wireless LAN defined by E802.11 is used.

However, since the radio propagates in a wide range, it cannot be sent only to a specific partner, and there is a risk of being intercepted by a malicious third party. Also,
If a malicious third party knows the wireless settings, there is a possibility that a wireless-specific problem of being penetrated into the network may occur.

The electronic conference system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-081489 is premised on a wired network, and the vulnerability of security due to wireless communication is not considered. Further, a method has been proposed in which all the groups have a group list having the same content, and an encryption key is generated based on the group list. It was not so easy to use when the members were changed every meeting like the meeting.

In the electronic conference system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-48746, a method of issuing a code number for each conference and inputting the code number when participating in the conference is proposed. However, in the case of wireless communication, it was difficult for the third party to easily know that the code was short and easy to remember, and it was difficult to secure the security of the conference contents. Furthermore, like wired
Various settings such as network settings were required.

Therefore, the present invention allows an electronic conference system, an electronic conference method, and a program in which participants can participate in a conference without performing any special work and can prevent malicious behavior such as wiretapping of the conference content by a third party. And a storage medium.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic conferencing system of the present invention is an electronic conferencing system in which a conference server and a client are connected via a network and a conference is held by sharing electronic data. In the above, the registration means for making a reservation for the conference and registering the participants in this conference, the issuing means for issuing the identification information unique to each of the registered participants, and the issued identification information are registered. Notifying means for notifying the terminal owned by the participant, acquisition means for acquiring the notified identification information when the terminal connected to the network is activated as the client, and authentication of the identification information of the client Requesting means for requesting the conference server, determining means for determining whether the identification information requested for authentication is valid, and the identification information If it is effective, characterized in that a permission means for permitting the participation in the conference to the client.

The electronic conferencing method of the present invention is an electronic conferencing method in which a conference server and a client are connected via a network and a conference is held by sharing electronic data. Registering the registered participant, issuing a unique identification information to each registered participant, notifying the issued identification information to a terminal owned by the registered participant, and connecting to the network. When the designated terminal is started as the client, the steps of acquiring the notified identification information, requesting the conference server to authenticate the identification information of the client, and the identification information requested to be authenticated are Determining if it is valid, and joining the conference with the client if the identification is valid Characterized by a step of permitting.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an electronic conference system, an electronic conference method, a program, and a storage medium of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a view showing the arrangement of an electronic conference system according to the first embodiment. In the figure, 1 is a wireless LAN access point. 2 is a conference system server. Reference numeral 3 is a wired LAN. Four
Is a terminal used in the conference.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operation processing procedure from the reservation of the conference to the start of the conference. In the present embodiment, a case where a wireless LAN defined by IEEE 802.11 is used as a wireless communication system is shown.

A normal wireless LAN access point (AP) 1 is present in the conference room, and a server 2 for operating the conference system is present in another place. Here, this server 2
Is referred to as the conference system server 2. The AP 1 and the conference system server 2 are connected by a wired LAN 3.

The conference system server 2 has a conference reservation function, and the organizer of the conference reserves the conference on the conference system server 2 (S101). When making this reservation, the date and time of the conference, the conference room, and the email addresses of the participants are registered (S10).
2).

Upon receiving the conference reservation, the conference system server 2 receives the wireless group I of the wireless LAN required for the conference.
The encryption key for D and the wireless LAN is determined, and the accounts and passwords valid only in the reserved conference are issued for the participants (201). Then, based on the registered mail address, this information is described in the electronic mail, and the electronic mail is sent to each participant (S20).
2).

As described above, the e-mail addressed to the conference participants includes the date and time of the conference, the wireless group ID used in the conference,
Wireless LAN encryption key, one account and one
The password for each person is listed. The conference setting information described in the e-mail may be ordinary text data, but it is desirable to replace it with a code that is valid only between the conference systems (software).
The conference system server 2 records the wireless group ID used in the conference, the wireless LAN encryption key, the accounts of all the participants, and the passwords corresponding to the accounts in the conference reservation information.

Each conference participant delivers the e-mail sent from the conference system server 2 to the terminal 4 used in the conference, activates the conference system (software) in the terminal 4, and sends it from the conference system server 2. Read the received e-mail. The conference system uses the read e-mail to read the date and time of the conference and the wireless group I
D, an encryption key for wireless LAN, an account for one person, and a password for one person are taken out and stored.

In order to manage a plurality of conferences, conference schedule management as shown in FIG. 3 is performed. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing conference schedule management. The conference participants need only know the date and time information of the conference, and do not need to know the wireless communication setting information of the conference and the account and password, because the conference system manages them. In addition, it is desirable not to let the eyes of the conference participants be visible to the eyes of third parties.

At the time when the conference is reserved, the conference system server 2 changes the setting of the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key in the wireless LAN access point 1 used in the conference (S203).

Participant is a conference system (software)
The terminal 4 equipped with is brought into the conference room, the terminal 4 is activated, and the conference system is activated. The activated conference system sets the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key used in the conference described in the previously read e-mail in the wireless LAN card connected to the terminal 4. If the terminal 4 has a built-in wireless LAN, it is set to the built-in wireless LAN.

The conference system requests the wireless LAN connection (wireless LAN authentication request, S103) and after the connection is completed (wireless LAN authentication confirmation, S104), the conference is performed using the account described in the same e-mail via the wireless LAN. Log in to the system server 2 (user authentication request, S1
05), authenticate with a password (user authentication confirmation, S1
06).

The conference system server 2 refers to the account name and password, and if the account name is valid, causes the conference system server 2 to participate in the conference. Here, when the agent attends the conference, the e-mail sent from the conference system server 2 is transferred or recorded in a recording medium and given to the agent. Then, the agent activates the conference system installed in the terminal 4 to be brought into the conference and reads the e-mail sent from the conference system server 2. Even if the attendees change, it is possible to make the attendant attend easily because it is determined whether or not the attendee is a valid attendee only with the conference account.

When the same account is logged in, one of them may be making an unauthorized login. In order to detect this, the conference system server 2 performs an account login process when the conference starts. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an account login processing procedure. This processing program is stored in the storage medium in the conference system server 2 and is executed by the CPU in the conference system server 2.

First, the process waits until there is a login request (step S1), and when there is a login request, the same login flag is checked (step S2). If the same login flag is not set (not set), it is checked whether or not there is already a login request from the same account as the login request this time (step S3). If there is no login request from the same account, normal login processing is performed (step S4), and step S1
Then, the process returns to and waits for the next login request.

On the other hand, if the login request from the same account has already been made in step S3, the same login flag indicating that the login request has been made from the same account is set (step S5), and the user has already logged in. Examine the presence or absence of meeting attendees (step S6). If there is no conference attendee, the process returns to step S1 to wait for the next login request. On the other hand, if there are already attendees in the conference, the attendee who has successfully logged in is sent a warning that there is an unauthorized login (step S7). Then, the process returns to step S1.

When the same login flag is set in step S5, when the next login request is made,
As a result of checking the same login flag in step S2, a warning indicating that an unauthorized login process is being performed is displayed in this conference (step S8), and the process returns to step S1.

If there is an unauthorized login, the conference system server 2 permits only the conference organizer to access. The meeting organizer who has seen the warning of unauthorized login requests the meeting system server 2 to reissue the meeting setting information. Upon receiving the request, the conference system server 2 newly determines the conference setting information and passes the setting file to the conference organizer. In the passed setting file, a new wireless group ID, wireless LAN encryption key, account and password common to this conference are described. The organizer is
The other participants are notified of the new conference setting information by using the recording medium or the one-to-one communication mode of the wireless LAN. The third party who has made an unauthorized login cannot know the new conference setting information at this time, and therefore cannot know the conference contents. As a precaution, the conference system server 2 checks the number of logins of the participants and compares the number of email addresses registered at the time of reservation with this number of logins.

In addition, the date and time of the meeting,
Instead of describing the conference setting information consisting of the wireless group ID used for the conference, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the password for one person, a file may be attached to the email. Date and time of the meeting in the attached file, wireless group ID used in the meeting, wireless LAN
The same operation can be realized by describing the encryption key for use, the account for one person, and the password for one person.

When all attendees are logged out, the conference system server 2 determines that the conference is over, and discards the account and password for the conference that are determined to be over. Also, the setting of the wireless LAN access point 1 is changed to that for the next conference. Here, if there is no schedule for the next conference, or if there is a long time until the next conference, the wireless group I randomly generated
Change the setting with D and the encryption key for wireless LAN,
Prevent unauthorized access by malicious third parties.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the date and time of the meeting, the wireless group ID used in the meeting, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the account for one person are included in the electronic mail issued at the time of conference reservation. By simply writing the password and reading it into the conference system installed in the participant's terminal, the conference can be automatically joined, and malicious acts such as eavesdropping on the conference contents by a third party can be prevented.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 5 is a view showing the arrangement of an electronic conference system according to the second embodiment. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 3 is a wired LAN. Reference numeral 4 is a terminal used in the conference. 5 is a multifunctional access point.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the multi-function access point. In the figure, 51 is a control unit. 52 is a wireless LAN access point unit. 5
Reference numeral 3 is a non-volatile storage unit. Reference numeral 54 is a removable storage unit. 55 is a wired LAN interface. Wireless L
There may be a plurality of AN access point units 52 in order to disperse traffic when conducting a conference with a large number of people.

Further, processing from the reservation of the conference to the start of the conference,
Further, the processing when there is a login of the same account is the same as that shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in the first embodiment.

Multifunctional wireless LAN access point (MF
The AP) 5 is provided in the conference room, is connected to the wired LAN 3, and can reserve a conference from the wired LAN 3 side. In MFAP5, a conference system (software) having a conference reservation function is operating, and MFAP5
The AP 5 has a function as a wireless LAN access point and a function that enables access to the wireless LAN side and the wired LAN 3 side. Therefore, the function of the conference system server in FIG. 2 is realized by the MFAP 5.

The conference organizer reserves the conference using the MFAP5 installed in the desired conference room (S101). When making a reservation, the date and time of the conference and the mail addresses of the participants are registered (S102). If you accept the conference reservation, MFAP
5 determines the wireless group ID of the wireless LAN and the wireless LAN encryption key required for the conference, and issues the accounts and passwords valid only for the reserved conference for the participants (S201).

Based on the registered mail address, these pieces of information are described in the electronic mail, and the electronic mail is sent to each participant (S202). The e-mail addressed to the participants includes the date and time of the meeting, the wireless group ID used in the meeting, and the wireless LA.
The encryption key for N, the account for one person, and the password for one person are described. The conference setting information described in the e-mail may be ordinary text data, but it is desirable to replace it with a code that is valid only between the conference systems (software). MFAP
The non-volatile storage unit 53 stores, in the conference reservation information, a wireless group ID used in the conference, a wireless LAN encryption key, accounts of all participants, and passwords corresponding to these accounts.

When the MFAP 5 has a plurality of wireless LAN access point units 52, by setting a different wireless group ID and wireless LAN encryption key for each wireless LAN access point unit 52, the MFAP at the time of the conference is set.
It is possible to equalize the number of terminals 4 connected to the wireless LAN access point unit 52 in the AP 5 and prevent a decrease in traffic in the wireless section. In this case, wireless group IDs and wireless LAN encryption keys are determined by the number of built-in wireless LAN access points 52.
Registered conference participants are evenly allocated to the built-in wireless LAN access point unit 52 (S20).
1) Based on the registered mail address, this information is described in the electronic mail and the electronic mail is sent to each participant (S202). In the e-mail addressed to this participant, the date and time of the meeting and the wireless group I which is the setting information of the wireless LAN access point unit 52 assigned by the MFAP 5 in the meeting.
D, the encryption key for wireless LAN, the account for one person and the password for one person used in the meeting are described.

Each conference participant passes the electronic mail sent from the MFAP 5 to the terminal 4 used in the meeting, activates the conference system (software), and reads the electronic mail sent from the MFAP 5. The conference system extracts and stores the date and time of the conference, the wireless group ID used in the conference, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the password for one person from the read electronic mail.

In order to manage a plurality of conferences, conference schedule management as shown in FIG. 3 is performed. Conference participants can only see the date, time and location of the conference,
Since the conference system manages the setting information of wireless communication of the conference, the account and the password, the conference participants do not need to know the information. In addition, it is desirable not to be visible to the conference participants in order to prevent it from being seen by a third party.

When the conference reservation time comes, MFAP5
Is the wireless LAN access point unit 52 used in the conference.
The setting of the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key in is read from the non-volatile storage unit 53 and changed (S203).

Participants are conference systems (software)
Bring in the terminal 4 on which is installed, start up the terminal 4, and start the conference system. The activated conference system sets the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key used in the conference described in the previously read e-mail in the wireless LAN card connected to the terminal 4. If the terminal 4 has a built-in wireless LAN, it is set to the built-in wireless LAN.

Then, the conference system makes a wireless LAN connection request (wireless LAN authentication request, S103), and after the connection is completed (wireless LAN authentication confirmation, S104), the wireless LAN
Log in to the conference system inside the MFAP 5 using the account described in the same e-mail via (user authentication request, S105), and authenticate with the password (user authentication confirmation, S106).

The MFAP 5 refers to the account name and password, and if the account name is valid, causes the conference to participate in the conference. MFAP if you have delegates attending the meeting
The e-mail sent from 5 is transferred or recorded in a recording medium and given to the agent. The agent activates the conference system installed in the terminal 4 to be brought into the conference to read the electronic mail sent from the MFAP 5. Even if the number of attendees changes, it is possible to make an agent attend easily since it is determined whether or not the attendee is a valid attendee only by the conference account.

When the login of the same account occurs, the process shown in FIG. 4 is performed as in the first embodiment. In other words, if the same account is logged in, one of them may be making an unauthorized login. In order to detect this, the MFAP 5 performs login processing for the same account when the conference starts.

First, the process waits until there is a login request (step S1), and when there is a login request, the same login flag is checked (step S2). If the same login flag is not set (not set), it is checked whether or not there is already a login request from the same account as the login request this time (step S3). If there is no login request from the same account, normal login processing is performed (step S4), and step S1
Then, the process returns to and waits for the next login request.

On the other hand, if the login request from the same account has already been made in step S3, the same login flag indicating that the login request has been made from the same account is set (step S5), and the user has already logged in. Examine the presence or absence of meeting attendees (step S6). If there is no conference attendee, the process returns to step S1 to wait for the next login request. On the other hand, if there are already attendees in the conference, the attendee who has successfully logged in is sent a warning that there is an unauthorized login (step S7). Then, the process returns to step S1.

When the same login flag is set in step S5, when the next login request is made, as a result of checking the same login flag in step S2, an unauthorized login process is performed for this conference. A warning indicating that there is is displayed (step S8), and step S1
Return to processing.

If there is an illegal login, the MFA
P5 permits access only to the meeting organizer. The meeting organizer who has seen the warning of unauthorized login requests the MFAP 5 to reissue the meeting setting information. MF that received the request
The AP 5 newly determines the conference setting information and passes the setting file to the conference organizer. In the passed setting file, a new wireless group ID, wireless LAN encryption key, account and password common to this conference are described. The organizer uses the recording medium or the one-to-one communication mode of the wireless LAN to notify other participants of the new conference setting information. The third party who has made an unauthorized login cannot know the new conference setting information at this time, and therefore cannot know the conference contents. As a precaution, the MFAP 5 checks the number of logins of the participants and compares the number of email addresses registered at the time of reservation with this number of logins.

When all attendees are logged out, the MFAP 5 determines that the conference is over, and discards the conference account and password for which the conference is over.
Also, the setting of the wireless LAN access point unit 52 is changed to that for the next conference. If there is no schedule for the next meeting, or if there is a long time before the next meeting, the settings will be changed with a randomly generated wireless group ID and wireless LAN encryption key to allow unauthorized access by a malicious third party. Prevent. Furthermore, when it is not used for a long time, the wireless LAN access point unit 52 or the wireless L
The power of the AN access point 5 may be turned off to prevent unauthorized access.

It should be noted that the date and time of the meeting,
Instead of writing the wireless group ID, wireless LAN encryption key, one person's account and one person's password to be used in the meeting, attach the file to the e-mail and attach the file to the date and time of the meeting. A wireless group ID to be used, a wireless LAN encryption key, an account for one person and a password for one person may be described, and the same operation can be realized.

In this way, the date and time of the meeting and the wireless group I used in the meeting are included in the e-mail issued when the meeting is reserved.
D, wireless LAN encryption key, one person's account and one person's password can be entered and read into the conference system installed in the participant's terminal to automatically participate in the conference. It is possible to prevent malicious acts such as eavesdropping on conference contents by a third party.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 7 is a view showing the arrangement of an electronic conference system according to the third embodiment. The same components as those in the first and second embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 3 is a wired LAN. Four
Is a terminal used in the conference. 5 is a multifunctional access point. Reference numeral 6 is a conference reservation server.

The structure of the multi-function access point is the same as that of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. And
When a conference is held with a large number of people, there may be a plurality of wireless LAN access point units 52 in order to distribute the traffic.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure from the reservation of the conference to the start of the conference in the third embodiment. First, a multifunctional wireless LAN access point (MF
The AP 5 is portable and is separated from the wired LAN 3. On the wired LAN 3, there is a conference reservation server 6 that creates conference setting information. here,
A case of making a conference reservation using the conference reservation server 6 will be described. The function of the conference system server is realized by MFAP5.

The conference organizer makes a conference reservation using the conference reservation server 6 (S101). When making a reservation, the date and time of the conference and the mail addresses of the participants are registered (S102). On the other hand, when the conference reservation is accepted, the conference reservation server 6
The wireless group ID of the wireless LAN and the wireless LAN encryption key required for the conference are determined, and the valid accounts and passwords only for the reserved conference are issued for the participants (S201). Then, based on the registered mail address, these pieces of information are described in the electronic mail, and the electronic mail is sent to each participant (S202).

In the electronic mail addressed to the participants, the date and time of the conference, the wireless group ID used in the conference, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the password for one person are described. The conference setting information described in the e-mail may be ordinary text data, but it is desirable to replace it with a code that is valid only between the conference systems (software).

The conference reservation server 6 records the wireless group ID used in the MFAP 5, the wireless LAN encryption key, the accounts of all participants and the passwords corresponding to this account, and sends them to the conference organizer by e-mail ( S
204). Here, when the MFAP 5 has a plurality of wireless LAN access point units 52, a different wireless group ID and wireless LAN encryption key are set for each wireless LAN access point unit 52, so that the M
It is possible to equalize the number of terminals 4 connected to the wireless LAN access point unit 52 in the FAP 5 and prevent a decrease in traffic in the wireless section. In this case, as many wireless group IDs and wireless LAN encryption keys as the number of built-in wireless LAN access point units 52 are determined so that the registered conference participants are evenly distributed in the built-in wireless LAN access point units 52. Assigned to (S20
1) Based on the registered mail address, this information is described in the electronic mail and the electronic mail is sent to each participant (S202).

In the e-mail addressed to the participants, the date and time of the meeting, the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key which are the setting information of the wireless LAN access point section 52 assigned by the MFAP 5 in the meeting, and the 1 used in the meeting. The account for one person and the password for one person are described.

Each of the conference participants delivers the electronic mail sent from the conference reservation server 6 to the terminal 4 used in the conference,
The conference system is activated to read the e-mail sent from the conference reservation server 6. The conference system (software) can read the date and time of the conference from the read email,
The wireless group ID, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the password for one person used in the conference are retrieved and stored. Further, in order to manage a plurality of conferences, conference schedule management as shown in FIG. 3 is performed. A conference participant can know only the date and time information of the conference, but the conference participant does not need to know the conference wireless communication setting information, account, and password because the conference system manages the information. In addition, it is desirable not to let the participants in the conference see it in order to prevent it from being seen by a third party.

The conference organizer records the MFAP 5 setting data and the participant authentication data sent from the conference reservation server 6 in a removable storage medium (removable storage unit) such as a memory card, This is MFA before the meeting starts
Attach to the removable storage unit 54 of P5, and set the conference setting information to M
The FAP5 is read (S205). MFAP5 is
The wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key recorded in the recording medium of the removable storage unit 54 are stored in the wireless LAN.
It is set in the access point unit 52.

The participant brings in the terminal 4 equipped with the conference system, starts up the terminal 4, and activates the conference system. The activated conference system sets the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key used in the conference described in the previously read e-mail in the wireless LAN card connected to the terminal 4. Terminal 4 is wireless L
If the AN is built-in, set it to the built-in wireless LAN.

The conference system requests the wireless LAN connection (wireless LAN authentication request, S103), and after the connection is completed (wireless LAN authentication confirmation, S104), the account described in the same e-mail via the wireless LAN. At MFAP
5 Login to the internal conference system (user authentication request,
S105), authenticate with a password (user authentication confirmation,
S106).

The MFAP 5 refers to the account and password written in the storage medium mounted in the removable storage unit 54, and if the account name is valid, causes the conference to participate. When an agent is to attend the meeting, the e-mail sent from the MFAP 5 is transferred or recorded in a recording medium and given to the agent. The agent activates the conference system installed in the terminal 4 brought into the conference and reads the e-mail sent from the conference reservation server 6. Even if the number of attendees changes, it is possible to make an agent attend easily since it is determined whether or not the attendee is a valid attendee only by the conference account.

When the login of the same account occurs, the process shown in FIG. 4 is performed as in the first embodiment. In other words, if the same account is logged in, one of them may be making an unauthorized login. In order to detect this, the MFAP 5 performs an account login process when the conference starts.

First, the process waits until there is a login request (step S1), and when there is a login request, the same login flag is checked (step S2). If the same login flag is not set (not set), it is checked whether or not there is already a login request from the same account as the login request this time (step S3). If there is no login request from the same account, normal login processing is performed (step S4), and step S1
Then, the process returns to and waits for the next login request.

On the other hand, if a login request from the same account has already been made in step S3, the same login flag indicating that a login request has been made from the same account is set (step S5) and the user has already logged in. Examine the presence or absence of meeting attendees (step S6). If there is no conference attendee, the process returns to step S1 to wait for the next login request. On the other hand, if there are already attendees in the conference, the attendee who has successfully logged in is sent a warning that there is an unauthorized login (step S7). Then, the process returns to step S1.

When the same login flag is set in step S5, when the next login request is made,
As a result of checking the same login flag in step S2, a warning indicating that an unauthorized login process is being performed is displayed in this conference (step S8), and the process returns to step S1.

If there is an illegal login, the MFA
P5 permits access only to the meeting organizer. The meeting organizer who has seen the warning of unauthorized login requests the MFAP 5 to reissue the meeting setting information. MF that received the request
The AP 5 newly determines the conference setting information and writes the new setting file in the recording medium of the removable storage unit 54. On this recording medium, a new wireless group ID, a wireless LAN encryption key, an account and a password common to this conference are recorded. The organizer hands this recording medium to other participants or uses the wireless LAN one-to-one communication mode to notify the other participants of the new conference setting information. The third party who has made an unauthorized login cannot know the new conference setting information at this time, and therefore cannot know the conference contents. As a precaution, the MFAP 5 checks the number of logins of the participants and compares the number of email addresses registered at the time of reservation with this number of logins.

When all attendees are logged out, the MFAP 5 determines that the conference is over, and discards the conference account and password for which the conference is over.
Further, the power of only the wireless LAN access point unit 52 is turned off or all the power supplies of the MFAP 5 are turned off to prevent unauthorized access.

It should be noted that the date and time of the meeting,
Instead of describing the wireless group ID, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the password for one person used in the conference, a file may be attached to the e-mail. This attachment contains the date and time of the meeting,
The same operation can be realized as long as the wireless group ID, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person and the password for one person used in the conference are described.

As described above, in the third embodiment, the date and time of the conference, the wireless group ID used in the conference, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the one person are included in the electronic mail issued at the time of the conference reservation. Just enter the password for the minutes, and let the conference system installed in the terminal owned by the participant read the setting information for these conferences, and you can automatically join the conference. It can prevent malicious acts such as wiretapping.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 9 is a view showing the arrangement of an electronic conference system according to the fourth embodiment. The same components as those in the first, second and third embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 4
Is a terminal used in the conference. 5 is a multifunctional access point.

The internal configuration of the multi-function access point 5 is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 6, this is the same as the second embodiment. That is, the multifunctional access point 5 includes the control unit 51, the wireless LAN access point unit 52, and the non-volatile storage unit 5.
3, a removable storage unit 54 and a wired LAN interface 55. This wireless LAN access point unit 5
When there are a large number of conferences, there may be two or more in order to distribute the traffic.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure from the reservation of the conference to the start of the conference in the fourth embodiment. Multifunctional wireless LAN access point (MFAP)
5 is portable and is connected to the wired LAN 3 at any time. Here, connect to the wired LAN 3 at the time of conference reservation,
The case where a conference is reserved by MFAP5 is shown.

The MFAP 5 has a DHCP client function and sets the DHCP server as well as the information about the electronic mail server so that the network address is assigned to the wired LAN 3 connected at the time of startup. Need to be kept.

The conference organizer uses the MFAP5 as a wired LAN3.
Start with the connection to. The organizer logs in to the MFAP 5 and reserves the conference (S101). When making a reservation
The date and time of the meeting and the mail addresses of the participants are registered (S102). MFAP5 when accepting conference reservations
Determines the wireless LAN wireless group ID and wireless LAN encryption key necessary for the conference, and issues valid accounts and passwords for the reserved conference only for the participants (S201).

Based on the registered mail address, these pieces of information are described in the electronic mail, and the electronic mail is sent to each participant (S202). The e-mail addressed to the participants includes the date and time of the meeting, the wireless group ID used in the meeting, and the wireless LA.
The encryption key for N, the account for one person, and the password for one person are described. The conference setting information described in the e-mail may be ordinary text data, but it is desirable to replace it with a valid code only between the conference systems (software).

The MFAP 5 records the wireless group ID used in the conference, the wireless LAN encryption keys, the accounts of all the participants, and the passwords corresponding to these accounts in the non-volatile storage unit 53 inside the MFAP 5. When a series of reservations is received, the reservation is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the main body of the MFAP 5 or the meeting organizer is notified by e-mail of the end of reservations (S206).

When the MFAP 5 has a plurality of wireless LAN access point units 52, by setting a different wireless group ID and wireless LAN encryption key for each wireless LAN access point unit 52, the MFAP can be used at the time of the conference.
It is possible to equalize the number of terminals 4 connected to the wireless LAN access point unit 52 in the AP 5 and prevent a decrease in traffic in the wireless section. in this case,
As many wireless group IDs and wireless LAN encryption keys as the number of the built-in wireless LAN access points 52 are determined, and the registered wireless LAN access points 52 are allocated so that the registered conference participants are even (S).
201). Then, based on the registered email address,
These pieces of information are described in the electronic mail, and the electronic mail is sent to each participant (S202). The e-mail addressed to the participants includes the date and time of the meeting and the wireless group I which is the setting information of the wireless LAN access point unit 52 assigned by the MFAP 5.
The D and wireless LAN encryption keys, and the account and password for one person used in the conference are described.

Each conference participant passes the electronic mail sent from the MFAP 5 to the terminal 4 used in the meeting, activates the conference system, and reads the electronic mail sent from the MFAP 5. The conference system uses the read e-mail to read the date and time of the conference and the wireless group I
D, an encryption key for wireless LAN, an account for one person, and a password for one person are taken out and stored. Further, in order to manage a plurality of conferences, the conference schedule management shown in FIG. 3 is performed. The conference participants can know only the date and time information of the conference, but the conference system manages the wireless communication setting information and the account and password of the conference, so the conference participants do not need to know the information. . In addition, it is desirable not to be visible to the conference participants in order to prevent it from being seen by a third party.

The conference organizer can make reservations for the MF that made the reservation.
Bring AP5 into the conference room and activate it. When the MFAP 5 is activated, the conference setting information is read from the non-volatile storage unit 53, and the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key are set in the wireless LAN access point unit 52 (S207).

The participant brings in the terminal 4 equipped with the conference system, starts up the terminal 4, and activates the conference system. The activated conference system sets the wireless group ID and the wireless LAN encryption key used in the conference described in the previously read e-mail in the wireless LAN card connected to the terminal 4. Terminal 4 is wireless L
If the AN is built-in, set it to the built-in wireless LAN.

The conference system requests the wireless LAN connection (wireless LAN authentication request, S103), and after the connection is completed (wireless LAN authentication confirmation, S104), the account described in the same e-mail via the wireless LAN. At MFAP
5 Login to the internal conference system (user authentication request,
S105), authenticate with a password (user authentication confirmation,
S106). The MFAP 5 refers to the account and password stored in the non-volatile storage unit 53, and if the account name is valid, causes the conference to participate in the conference.

When an agent is to attend the conference, MFAP
The e-mail sent from 5 is transferred by e-mail or is recorded in a recording medium and given to the agent. The agent activates the conference system installed in the terminal 4 to be brought into the conference, and causes the conference system to read the electronic mail sent from the MFAP 5. Even if the attendees change,
Since it is determined whether or not the attendee is a valid attendee only by the conference account, it is possible to easily allow the agent to attend. Incidentally, the process when the login of the same account occurs is the same as that of the third embodiment.

When all attendees are logged out, the MFAP 5 determines that the conference has ended, and discards the conference account and password that have been determined to be the conference. Further, the wireless LAN access point unit 52 is turned off or all the MFAPs 5 are turned off to prevent unauthorized access.

Instead of describing the date and time of the conference, the wireless group ID used in the conference, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person and the password for one person in the e-mail itself, a file is attached to the e-mail. This attachment may contain the date and time of the meeting, the wireless group ID used in the meeting, the wireless LAN encryption key, the account for one person, and the password for one person. The operation of can be realized.

As described above, the electronic mail issued at the time of conference reservation includes the date and time of the conference and the wireless group I used in the conference.
D, wireless LAN encryption key, one person's account and one person's password can be entered and read into the conference system installed in the participant's terminal to automatically participate in the conference. , It is possible to prevent malicious acts such as eavesdropping on the contents of the meeting by a third party.

The above is a description of the embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the configurations of these embodiments, and the functions shown in the claims or the configurations of the embodiments are not limited thereto. Any structure can be applied as long as it can achieve the function it has.

Further, when the present invention is achieved by supplying a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus,
The program code itself realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the program itself and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention. A storage medium for storing this program code is R
OM, flexible disk, hard disk, CD-
ROM, CD-R, DVD, a non-volatile memory card, etc. can be used.

[0091]

According to the present invention, the participants can participate in the conference without performing any special work, and it is possible to prevent malicious acts such as eavesdropping on the conference contents by a third party.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic conference system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation processing procedure from a conference reservation to the start of the conference.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing conference schedule management.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an account login processing procedure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic conference system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a multifunctional access point.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic conference system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure from a conference reservation to the start of a conference according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic conference system according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure from conference reservation to conference start according to the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Wireless LAN access point 2 conference system server 3 Wired LAN 4 terminals 5 Multi-function access point 6 conference reservation server 51 control unit 52 Wireless LAN access point section 53 Non-volatile storage 54 removable storage

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An electronic conferencing system, in which a conference server and a client are connected via a network, to conduct a conference by sharing electronic data, with a registration means for reserving the conference and registering participants to the conference. An issuing unit that issues unique identification information to each of the registered participants, a notification unit that notifies the issued identification information to a terminal owned by the registered participant, and a terminal connected to the network When the client is activated as the client, an acquisition unit that acquires the notified identification information, a request unit that requests the conference server to authenticate the identification information of the client, and the identification information that is requested to be authenticated are valid. And a permission to permit the client to participate in the conference if the identification information is valid. Electronic conference system, characterized by comprising a stage. 2. A wireless communication device capable of communicating with the conference server via a wired network and capable of communicating with the client via a wireless network, wherein the notifying unit, together with the identification information, the wireless communication. Notifying communication setting information for performing wireless communication with a device, the terminal is configured to change the setting for performing wireless communication with the wireless communication device based on the notified communication setting information. The electronic conference system according to claim 1. 3. The conference server includes wireless communication means for performing wireless communication with the client via a wireless network, the registration means, the issuing means and the notifying means, and communication setting information for performing the wireless communication. Determine, and notify the determined communication setting information together with the identification information, the client includes the acquisition unit, acquires the communication setting information notified from the conference server together with the identification information, the acquisition The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein wireless communication with the conference server is established based on the communication setting information. 4. A reservation server provided on a network different from the conference server includes the registration unit, the issuing unit and the notification unit, and stores communication setting information for performing wireless communication with the conference server. The communication server determines the communication setting information and the identification information, and stores the communication setting information in a removable recording medium, and the conference server communicates wirelessly with the client via a wireless network. A wireless communication unit for performing the wireless communication is provided, and the setting for performing the wireless communication is changed based on the communication setting information stored in the recording medium. The communication setting information is acquired together with the identification information, and wireless communication with the conference server is established based on the acquired communication setting information. 1 electronic conference system described. 5. The conference server includes wireless communication means for performing wireless communication with the client via a wireless network, the registration means, the issuing means and the notification means, and is connected to a network different from the wireless network.・ Releasable and reserved for the conference while connected to the other network, register participants in the conference, and determine communication setting information for wireless communication with the conference server , Notifying the determined communication setting information and the identification information, and changing the setting for performing the wireless communication, the client includes the acquisition unit, and sets the communication setting information notified from the conference server to the communication setting information. The wireless communication with the conference server is established based on the acquired communication setting information together with the identification information. Electronic conference system. 6. The registration means registers the e-mail address of the participant, and the notification means notifies by e-mail to the registered e-mail address. The electronic conferencing system according to any one. 7. When the logout processing of all the participants is performed, it is considered that the conference has ended, and when the next conference is scheduled within a predetermined time, the setting of the wireless communication device is changed to that for the next conference. On the other hand, if the next meeting is not scheduled within the predetermined time, based on the communication setting information randomly generated,
The electronic conference system according to claim 2, wherein the setting of the wireless communication device is changed. 8. When the logout processing of all the participants is performed, it is considered that the conference has ended, and the power of the wireless communication means is turned off, or all the power of the conference server is turned off. The electronic conference system according to any one of claims 3 to 5. 9. The conference server comprises the determination means, and when a participant having the same identification information as the identification information requested to be authenticated already exists, sends a warning to that effect to the participant. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein 10. An electronic conferencing method in which a conference server and a client are connected via a network to perform a conference by sharing electronic data, a step of reserving a conference and registering participants in the conference, Issuing a unique identification information to each of the registered participants, notifying a terminal owned by the registered participant of the issued identification information, a terminal connected to the network is the client And then starting, the step of obtaining the notified identification information, the step of requesting the conference server to authenticate the identification information of the client, and whether or not the identification information requested to be authenticated is valid. And the step of permitting the client to join the conference if the identification is valid. Electronic conference method characterized by having and. 11. A storage medium that holds a computer-readable program code for implementing the electronic conferencing method according to claim 10. 12. A program having a computer-readable program code for implementing the electronic conferencing method according to claim 10.