JP2005190413A - Display control server, display control system, display control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display control system of status information interlocked with a scheduler capable of automatically changing status information. <P>SOLUTION: This display control system is configured by connecting a display control server through a network to an information processor. The display control server is provided with: a storage means which stores a schedule corresponding to a time; an acquiring means which acquires a current time; a comparing means which compares the current time with the time of a schedule; and a changing means which changes the display of an image on the basis of schedule contents when a time matches by the comparing means. The information processor is provided with: a registering means which registers the schedule in the display control server; and a display means which displays the presence status of the information processor and an image corresponding to this status according to the instruction of the display control server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to display control, and more particularly to a schedule information display control server, a display control system, a display control method, and a program.

  Conventionally, there is an RTC (Real Time Communicator) server as one of communication tools for people existing in a distributed space. It is used as a tool for people in distributed offices to easily share each other's presence status with camera images.

  As one of them, Patent Document 1 discloses a system for sharing situation information. This system is characterized in that the schedule information is automatically changed as described in paragraph [0010] and the like. Similarly, the schedule information is also described in detail in paragraph numbers [0012] to [0015].

  Also, Patent Document 2 discloses a system for sharing situation information. In particular, a situation information sharing system that can accurately provide situation information of other users is realized. This system is characterized by means for storing schedule information as described in paragraph number [0024] and the like. Similarly, the schedule information is also described in detail in paragraph numbers [0031] to [0032].

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-319018 JP 2001-344389 A

  However, in the system for sharing status information described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to check the presence status, but it is unknown whether the person is present.

  In order to grasp the reason why the person is absent when he / she is absent, there is a problem that it is necessary to check a schedule of a person who wants to confirm or to confirm by telephone or the like.

  In addition, since a moving image is displayed even when the user is absent, it has been difficult to determine whether the user is absent or not at a glance.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a status information display control server, a display control system, a display control method, and a program that can change status information automatically in conjunction with a scheduler. For the purpose.

The display control server of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a schedule according to time, an acquisition unit that acquires a current time, a comparison unit that compares the current time with the time of the schedule, And a changing means for changing the display of the image based on the contents of the schedule.
The display control system of the present invention is a display control system in which a display control server and an information processing apparatus are connected via a network, and the display control server includes a storage unit that stores a schedule according to time, An acquisition means for acquiring the current time, a comparison means for comparing the current time with the time of the schedule, and a change means for changing the display of the image based on the schedule contents when the comparison means matches the time. The information processing apparatus includes: a registration unit that registers the schedule in the display control server; and a display unit that displays an attendance status of the information processing apparatus and an image corresponding thereto according to an instruction from the display control server. It is characterized by having.
The display control method of the present invention includes a storage step for storing a schedule according to time, an acquisition step for acquiring a current time, a comparison step for comparing the current time with the time of the schedule, and the comparison step. And a change step for changing the display of the image based on the schedule contents.
The program of the present invention includes a program code of a storage step for storing a schedule according to time, a program code of an acquisition step for acquiring the current time, and a comparison step for comparing the current time with the time of the schedule. A program for causing a computer to execute a program code and a program code of a changing step for changing display of an image based on the contents of the schedule when the times coincide in the comparing step.

  If a schedule according to time is registered, the image display is automatically changed to the schedule content. Accordingly, it is possible to easily identify whether the user is absent or present, and it is possible to provide and share accurate presence information. In addition, the user can save time and effort to manually change the schedule display, and even if the user manually forgets to change the schedule display, the display is automatically changed to the display according to the schedule.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a status display control system linked to a scheduler according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, for example, a plurality of user terminals 101 and 102 and one server 200 are connected via the network 100, and a virtual office space having the same effect as opening an office space is created on the network. It is a presence information sharing system used in a virtual office or the like to be constructed, and particularly relates to a status display control system linked to a scheduler.

  The terminal 101 is an RTC client terminal that provides presence information. The terminal 102 is an RTC client terminal that enjoys presence information. The presence information providing terminal 101 can transmit / receive data to / from the RTC server 200 and the terminal 102 via the network 100. For example, the presence information providing terminal 101 belongs to the office A, and the presence information receiving terminal 102 belongs to the office B. As shown in the lower right of FIG. 1, each office can be displayed in a hierarchical structure as an office in a company (company) group, and the user can designate a terminal in each office. A plurality of terminals connected to the network 100 can transmit their own user presence information to other terminals and their own terminals via the RTC server 200. Therefore, all the terminals are the presence information providing terminal 101 and the presence information receiving terminal 102. Note that the configuration of various terminals connected to the network 100 in FIG. 1 is an example, and it goes without saying that there are various configuration examples depending on applications and purposes.

Next, the hardware configuration of the RTC server 200 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the RTC server 200.
The CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204. In the ROM 202 or the external memory 211, a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) that is a control program of the CPU 201, an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as an OS), and various types of functions described later that are necessary for realizing functions such as a Web conference. A computer program or the like is stored. The RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program necessary for execution of processing into the RAM 203 and executing the program.

  The input controller 205 controls input from a pointing device such as a keyboard 209 or a mouse (not shown). A video controller (VC) 206 controls display on a display device such as a CRT display (CRT) 210. The display device may be a liquid crystal display as well as a CRT. These are used by the administrator as needed. The present invention is not directly related. The memory controller (MC) 207 is a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (registered trademark FD), or a PCMCIA card slot for storing a boot program, browser software, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, and the like. Controls access to an external memory 211 such as a compact flash (R) memory connected via an adapter. A communication I / F controller (communication I / FC) 208 is connected to and communicates with an external device via a network, and executes communication control processing in the network. For example, Internet communication using TCP / IP is possible. Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the CRT 210 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 203, for example. In addition, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 210.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the presence information providing terminal 101 and the presence information receiving terminal 102. The same components as those in FIG. In the terminals 101 and 102, a USB interface (I / F) controller 901 and a camera 902 are added to the server 200 (FIG. 2). The USB I / F controller 901 controls the camera 902. The camera 902 is a photographing device for checking the presence status, and for example, photographs (captures) a moving image of the user displayed in FIG. The image of FIG. 8 is displayed on the CRT 210 of the terminals 101 and 102. Each terminal displays a moving image of a user of another terminal, and the presence of the user can be confirmed. Note that the presence information receiving terminal 102 may not have the camera 902.

Next, a basic processing flow of the Web conference system will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a basic processing flow of status display control in conjunction with the scheduler according to the embodiment of this invention. The process on the left side of the figure is the process of the terminal 101 or 102, and the process on the right side is the process of the RTC server 200.

  As described above, the presence information providing terminal 101, the presence information receiving terminal 102, and the RTC server 200 are connected to each other via the network 100. Then, the presence information providing terminal 101 and the presence information receiving terminal 102 execute various processes related to presence information via various operation screens provided from the RTC server 200. One example will be described below.

  First, the presence information providing terminal 101 requests the RTC server 200 to log in in step S301. The RTC server 200 accepts login of the presence information providing terminal 101 in step S302.

  Next, in step S303, the presence information providing terminal 101 requests the RTC server 200 to register default work status status information and an image still image file linked to the status. The process in step S303 is not necessarily performed, but may be performed arbitrarily by the user, or may be performed at the first login and may not be performed at the second and subsequent logins. The RTC server 200 receives the input in step S304, and in step S305, the RTC server 200 registers work status status information and a still image file linked to the status.

  Here, FIG. 5 is a screen of a terminal for registering default work status status information and a still image file linked to the status. For example, the working status includes sitting, closing work, vacation, going out, meeting, resting, leaving seat, and the like. Each user registers a still image in association with each individual work situation. Different registrations can be made for each user.

  In step S306, the presence information providing terminal 101 requests the server 200 to register a schedule according to time from the input screen. The RTC server 200 receives the input in step S307, and registers and saves the schedule in the external memory 211 in step S308.

  Note that the processing in step S306 is not necessarily performed in the same manner as in step S303, but may be performed arbitrarily by the user, or may be performed at the first login and not at the second and subsequent logins. You may do it.

  The schedule is registered by the user on the terminal screen as shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, the schedule attributes can be selected in a pull-down format. For example, the date and work status (conference, vacation, outing, break, etc.) can be registered as a schedule.

  When the absence detection information is received from the presence information providing terminal 101 (step S309), the current date and time is acquired in step S310. The time can be acquired by, for example, an API function GetSystemTime.

  It is checked whether there is a schedule registration that matches the date and time acquired in step 310 and the date and time acquired from the schedule registered by the presence information providing terminal 101 (step S311). If there is a schedule registration, the process proceeds to step S312, and if there is no schedule registration, the process returns to step S309, and the display of the current work status status information and the corresponding image display are maintained without change.

  Note that absence detection is constant between frames of each image when the image is taken by the USB camera 902 (FIG. 9) attached to the presence information providing terminal 101 itself and the image is transmitted to the RTC server 200 via the network. When there is no time difference (motion), the presence information providing terminal 101 automatically detects absence and transmits the absence information to the RTC server 200.

  The RTC server 200 acquires the attribute of the schedule in step S312, and transmits an instruction to the terminals 101 and 102 to change the absence status and the still image information corresponding to the attribute in step S313.

  The schedule attribute may be the attribute specified in the pull-down in FIG. 10, or the schedule content described in the comment field (eg, title, message) in the text box in FIG. You may judge whether there is a certain keyword. For example, if there is a description of xx conference in the comment column and the word “conference” is registered in the keyword setting of the RTC server 200, the schedule has the attribute of conference.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the user status on the management screen of the RTC server 200 that provides the current status information. This status information is stored in the external memory 211 of the RTC server 200. The status information includes work status. This work situation becomes the work situation designated by the pull-down in FIG. This work situation can be an attribute of the schedule. If the work status is an absent status (absent status of a meeting or the like other than being present), an instruction to change to a corresponding still image is given.

  The terminals 101 and 102 receive the absence status display and the still image change instruction sent from the RTC server 200 in step S314 (HTML format).

  FIG. 8 shows office view screens before and after absence detection (after receiving information from the RTC server 200). The video is playing until it is changed. In other words, a moving image is displayed when “present”, and a still image matching the schedule attribute is displayed when absent (for example, “meeting”). The change from the moving image to the still image is changed corresponding to the one registered in FIG. The server 200 makes the determination using the table shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the terminals 101 and 102 switch the display in step S315. When there is an event that the user returns to his / her seat while there is an input signal from a camera image or keyboard / mouse (step S316), the presence information providing terminal 101 sends the presence information to the RTC server in step S317. Send to 200. Details of this processing will be described later with reference to FIG. The RTC server 200 receives presence information from the presence information providing terminal 101 in step S318, and registers the status in step S319. The status registered information can be confirmed on the management screen of FIG. In step S320, the RTC server 200 transmits to switch the display to the presence status and the moving image, and the terminals 101 and 102 receive the presence status and the moving image change in step S321, and switches the display in step S322. . This moving image is a real-time moving image captured by the camera 902 (FIG. 9) of the presence information providing terminal 101.

  When the presence information providing terminal 101 logs out, the system ends in step S324. If not logged out, the process returns to step S309 to repeat the same processing. That is, as the current time elapses, the work status status is displayed according to the registered schedule, and the corresponding still image is displayed on each terminal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the process in step S316 of FIG.
First, in step S401, the presence information providing terminal 101 waits for input from an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. When there is an input, in step S402, absence detection is automatically performed using the camera 902 (FIG. 9) of the terminal 101 or the like. For example, the camera 902 captures a moving image of a subject, compares frames of the moving image with a predetermined interval, and performs absence detection according to the difference. If there is a change in the frame image, it is determined that the user of the terminal is present, and if there is no change, it is determined that the user of the terminal is absent. Specifically, it is effective to detect the absence based on the difference in human skin color in the image. If it is determined that the user is present, the process proceeds to step S403, and the process of step S317 in FIG. 3 is performed. If it is determined that the user is absent, the process returns to step S401.

  Note that the presence may be determined by only one of steps S401 and S402, but when there is an input from the keyboard or mouse by another person or unexpected operation by detecting the absence by both steps. Even in (Step S401), if the person is not reflected in the camera (Step S402), it can be determined that the person is absent. The above-described absence detection processing is performed by each terminal, and each terminal transmits the information to the server 200, and is recorded as absence detection information in the database of the server 200. The server 200 may receive an image or the like and detect presence.

  As another embodiment, when a schedule as a group is registered in the schedule, at that time (step S311 in FIG. 3), a person absent in the group switches to a still image registered as a group. Change.

  Further, when there is a personal schedule at the same time, the personal schedule may be prioritized, or when there is no person, it may be configured to switch to a still image registered by the individual.

  By displaying the same still image in the group schedule, you can see at a glance who is attending the group schedule, for example, who is not attending the meeting. The displayed still image is displayed, which can reduce the possibility of misunderstanding for the viewer.

  Even if you intend to check each person's schedule, it is easy to overlook the schedule displayed in letters. In particular, when only one person in a group is attending another meeting, it is easy to overlook that everyone is attending the same meeting. In this embodiment, other users can see at a glance that everyone is attending the same meeting, and do not check each schedule one by one.

  In addition, it is possible to grasp who is attending the same meeting at a glance, and misunderstandings and oversights by other users are reduced.

  Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or storage medium, and specifically includes a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to a system including a single device.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an RTC server capable of executing status display control in conjunction with a scheduler, and a control method, system, and program thereof. In particular, if the schedule is registered even if you forget to change the status information, the status display automatically changes to the work status status that matches the schedule, and the display of the image display area that matches the schedule changes. As a result, it is possible to easily identify whether the user is absent or present, and it is possible to provide / share accurate presence information. When the user is present, the moving image of the user is displayed, and when the user is absent, a still image is displayed, so that the user can easily grasp whether the user is present or absent.

  In addition, it eliminates troublesome manual changes to the status display, checks the schedule when the absence or absence is detected, and changes the status and image display according to the schedule, so only the conventional absence detection function This also has the effect of providing more accurate information than the presence status display.

  This embodiment can be realized by the computer of FIGS. 2 and 9 executing a program. Also, means for supplying a program to a computer, for example, a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM recording such a program, or a transmission medium such as the Internet for transmitting such a program is also applied as an embodiment of the present invention. Can do. A computer program product such as a computer-readable recording medium in which the above program is recorded can also be applied as an embodiment of the present invention. The above program, recording medium, transmission medium, and computer program product are included in the scope of the present invention. As the recording medium, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  The above-described embodiments are merely examples of implementation in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical idea or the main features thereof.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the status display control by scheduler cooperation of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the RTC server of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the basic processing flow of the status display control by scheduler cooperation of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of a process when there exists input from the keyboard, mouse, etc. of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure of the screen which registers the default work status status information of the embodiment of the present invention and the still image file linked to the status. It is a figure of the schedule registration screen of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which can confirm the user condition of the management screen of the RTC server which provides the present status information of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure of an office view screen before absence detection of an embodiment of the present invention, and after absence detection (after receiving information from an RTC server), respectively. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the presence information provision terminal and presence information receiving terminal of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure of the schedule registration screen of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 Network 101 Attendance Information Providing Terminal 102 Attendance Information Receiving Terminal 200 RTC Server 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 System bus 205 Input controller 206 Video controller 207 Memory controller 208 Communication interface controller 209 Keyboard 210 CRT display 211 External memory 901 USB interface controller 902 Camera

Claims (10)

Storage means for storing a schedule according to time;
An acquisition means for acquiring the current time;
A comparison means for comparing the current time with the time of the schedule;
A display control server, comprising: a changing unit that changes the display of an image based on the contents of the schedule when the comparison unit matches the time.   The display control server according to claim 1, wherein the changing means further includes means for changing based on presence information from the information processing apparatus.   The display control server according to claim 1, wherein the schedule content includes a schedule attribute.   The display control server according to claim 3, wherein the changing unit switches between a still image and a moving image based on the schedule information and the presence information.   The display control server according to claim 4, wherein the changing unit changes the presence status simultaneously with switching between a still image and a moving image.   The display control server according to claim 4, wherein the still image is stored in association with the attribute of the schedule. A display control system in which a display control server and an information processing apparatus are connected via a network,
The display control server
Storage means for storing a schedule according to time;
An acquisition means for acquiring the current time;
A comparison means for comparing the current time with the time of the schedule;
A change means for changing the display of the image based on the contents of the schedule when the time matches in the comparison means,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Registration means for registering the schedule in the display control server;
A display control system comprising: a presence status of the information processing apparatus and display means for displaying an image corresponding to the presence status of the information processing apparatus in response to an instruction from the display control server. The information processing apparatus includes:
And means for capturing a moving image;
Means for transmitting presence information to the server based on a difference between predetermined frames of the moving image,
The change means of the display control server receives presence information from the information processing apparatus and displays the schedule information and an image corresponding to the schedule information when the current time coincides with the time of the schedule. The display control system according to claim 7, wherein the display control system is instructed. A storage step for storing a schedule according to time;
An acquisition step for acquiring the current time;
A comparison step of comparing the current time with the time of the schedule;
And a changing step of changing the display of the image based on the contents of the schedule when the time matches in the comparing step. A program code of a storage step for storing a schedule according to time;
Program code of acquisition step to acquire the current time,
A program code of a comparison step for comparing the current time and the time of the schedule;
A program for causing a computer to execute a program code of a changing step for changing the display of an image based on the contents of the schedule when the time matches in the comparing step.

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