JP2006287816A - Conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conference system wherein all users to be participated in or being participated in a Web conference can be easily grasped. <P>SOLUTION: The conference system comprises terminal devices 101, 102 interconnected via a network 103 and a server device 104. The terminal device 101 is equipment such as a PC capable of being entered or logging in the Web conference of the server device 104, and the terminal device 102 is equipment such as a telephone set capable of making a voice conversation. The server device 104 is comprised of a PC for server or the like and includes a communication function inside. Furthermore, the server device 104 holds Web conference server device program data. In accordance with whether a user participated in the Web conference is entered or logs in the Web conference, a corresponding image is transmitted to Web conference participants, respectively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a conference system, and more particularly to a conference system capable of simultaneous communication among a plurality of conference participants.

  With the development and popularization of fixed telephone networks, Internet networks, intranet networks, mobile communication networks, etc., conference systems that can communicate by voice or video and voice using these communication network networks have become widespread. Specific examples include a telephone conference application using a telephone and a Web conference application that converts data for communication into IP.

  The conference call application is an application that enables communication among a large number of people by calling a conference call to a conference call server, mixing the voice in the server, and distributing it to all participants. This is a system realized by using a fixed telephone or the like, and can be used without requiring a special device on the user side (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Web conferencing application is an application that installs a conference server on the Internet / intranet, etc., and allows conference participants to access the conference server using terminals with abundant input / output devices such as PCs, enabling communication among many people It is. In these cases, by using a multifunctional device or server, not only voice conversation with a large number of people but also face-to-face communication can be performed through a screen (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).
JP 2002-232575 A JP 2004-147127 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-307935

  However, the telephone conference application and the web conference application as shown in the above prior art each have the following problems.

  The teleconference system enables communication with a large number of people using a popular device called a telephone, but even if it participates with a telephone equipped with a display device or a photographing device, it can communicate with the conference participants. I can't. While this is easy for everyone to use, there is a problem that it is difficult to check who is participating. In addition, the Web conference application requires a special device that can input and output video and audio on the conference participant side, or even if the device is supplemented by a PC, it cannot be participated unless it is accessed from the PC to participate in the conference. In order to participate, a person who is registered in advance in a server for performing a web conference or a logged-in person can participate. This is because security is considered to prevent outsiders from participating by allowing them to communicate face-to-face with participants and providing an authentication function, but conference participants register and log into the system. Moreover, it is limited to those who have input / output devices. For example, if you are out and are not in an environment where you can log in, but you can join a voice-only meeting over the phone, or if you want to hear the planner's opinion at a developer meeting, there is no problem if the planner is logged in. If the planner does not register or log in to the system, he will need to register for that. In addition, even if a person who has not logged in can participate by telephone or the like, the information of that person is not displayed in the server as a conference participant because it is not registered. There is a problem of disappearing.

  The objective of this invention is providing the conference system which can grasp | ascertain easily all the users who participate in a conference or are participating.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a conference system comprising a server device and a plurality of user terminal devices connected to each other via a network, wherein the server device participates in a conference of the conference system. Determining means for determining whether a user associated with one of the devices is registered in the conference or logged in; and a user associated with one of the user terminal devices from one of the user terminal devices And receiving means for receiving predetermined image information relating to the image, and transmitting predetermined other image information relating to the state of the user relating to one of the user terminal devices to another user terminal device based on a result of discrimination by the discrimination means. And a transmission means.

  According to the present invention, it is determined whether or not a user related to one of the user terminal devices participating in the conference of the conference system is registered in the conference or logged in, and from one of the user terminal devices. Predetermined image information related to the user related to one of the user terminal devices is received, and predetermined other image information related to the state of the user related to one of the user terminal devices is received based on the determination result by the determining means. Since it transmits to the other thing of an apparatus, it can grasp | ascertain easily all the users who participate in a meeting or are participating.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a conference system via the Internet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes terminal apparatuses 101 and 102 and a server apparatus 104 connected to each other via a network 103.

  The terminal device 101 is a device such as a PC that can be registered or logged in to a Web conference of the server device 104, which will be described later, and the terminal device 102 is a device such as a telephone that can perform a voice call. Further, the terminal devices 101 and 102 belong to a group in which the contents of the conversations that they have made can be heard from each other.

  The server device 104 is configured by a server PC or the like and has a communication function therein. The server device 104 also has program data for the web conference server device.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the terminal device 101 in FIG.

  The terminal device 101 includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a storage device 203 that stores program data 208 for Web conference terminal device, an input device 204, a communication device 205, and a display device 206, which are connected to each other via a bus 207. ing.

  The CPU 201 performs processing calculations. The memory 202 implements a storage area necessary for calculation. The storage device 203 stores Web conference terminal program data itself and data necessary for its operation. The input device 204 receives information input from a user such as a PC keyboard or a mouse. The communication device 205 is a device that connects to the network 103 and exchanges information with the server device 104. The display device 206 displays information input from the terminal device 101 and information received from the server device 104.

  Since the terminal device 102 in FIG. 1 is actually a device such as a general telephone, this device is known and the basic configuration diagram is omitted, but it is a terminal that can participate in the web conference without the authentication of the conference system. Yes, they can talk and have an input device such as a numeric keypad.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the server apparatus 104 in FIG.

  The server device 104 includes a CPU 301, a memory 302, a storage device 303 that stores Web conference server device program data 308, an input device 304, a communication device 305, and a display device 306, which are connected to each other via a bus 307. ing.

  The CPU 301 performs processing calculations. The memory 302 implements a storage area necessary for calculation.

  The storage device 303 stores the web conference server device program data itself. These include programs for registering and storing user terminal information to be called, programs for authenticating users, and the like. The input device 304 receives information necessary for managing a server such as a keyboard and mouse of a PC. However, the input device 304 does not necessarily require this device, and may be managed using a network. The communication device 305 is a device that connects to the network 103 and exchanges information with the terminal devices 101 and 102. The display device 306 displays information received from the terminal devices 101 and 102 and information processed by the server device 104.

  As the communication device 305, an AG2000 board made by NaturalMicroSystems is used for exchanging information with the terminal devices 101 and 102. This can be used for telephone communication connection, telephone calling, connection destination voice control, voice mixing, and the like. However, the communication device 305 is not limited to this, and may be a communication device capable of controlling not only a device having a function equal to or higher than that or a telephone network but also an IP phone.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the participant display process of the server apparatus-side Web conference executed by the conference display system of FIG.

  In FIG. 4, first, when it is detected that a user terminal participating in a web conference is connected (YES in step S401), the detection is performed based on an identification code such as a telephone number notified when the user conference is connected. It is determined whether or not the user of the user terminal is a user registered in the web conference (step S402). When the detected user of the user terminal is a registered user, a user related to the web conference is connected. It is determined that the user is logged in (step S404). When the user is logged in, it is determined that the detected user is the logged in user, and the user is logged in. It is determined whether image information captured by a camera device or the like installed in the terminal has been detected by the Web start system (step S405).

  As a result of the determination in step S405, when reception is detected by the Web start system, information called from the storage device 303 is transmitted to the Web conference participant as shown in FIG. 5 described later (step S409). This process is terminated.

  As a result of the determination in step S404, when a user related to the Web conference is not logged in, or as a result of the determination in step S405, image information captured by a camera device or the like installed in the user terminal is received by the Web start system. If it is not detected, the process proceeds to step S406, and there is no image information sent from the detected user, but it is determined that the user is a user of the Web conference, and the user is registered in the Web conference. It is determined whether or not the information exists. If the information exists, the information is called from the storage device 303 (step S407). If the information does not exist, it can be determined that the user is a web conference user in step S403. An image different from the image information is called from the storage device 3030 (step S408) and then called from the storage device 303. Send 6 to be described later broadcast to the Web conference participants (step S409), the process ends.

  If the result of the determination in step S402 is that the detected user terminal user is not a registered user, it is determined that an external user unrelated to the web conference is connected, and an external image (FIG. 7). Is called from the storage device 303 (step S403), the information called from the storage device 303 is transmitted to the Web conference participant as shown in FIG. 7 described later (step S409), and this process is terminated.

  According to the process of FIG. 4, the user who participates in the web conference corresponds to whether it is a user registered in the web conference (step S402) or a logged-in user (step S404). Since the image to be transmitted is transmitted to the web conference participant (step S409), all users who participate in the web conference can be easily included even when the user who participated in the web conference is a user who is not registered in the web conference. Can grasp.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the image information transmitted in step S409 of FIG. 4, and shows a case where a user who has participated in the web conference is registered and logged in to the web conference.

  In FIG. 5, all of the users 501 to 503 are registered and logged in to the Web conference by the terminal device 101. Since all of the users 501 to 503 are using the camera device, images taken on the spot are sequentially displayed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the image information transmitted in step S409 in FIG. 4, and shows a case where a user who has participated in the web conference is registered in the web conference but is not logged in.

  In FIG. 6, users 601 and 602 are logged in as in FIG. 5, but the user 603 is registered in the Web conference but is not logged in. By displaying an image for a user who is registered but not logged in, or by displaying an image registered by the user of the user 603, the fact that the user is not logged in is displayed. be able to.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the image information transmitted in step S409 of FIG. 4, and shows a case where a user who has participated in the web conference is not registered in the web conference.

  In FIG. 7, users 701 and 702 are joined by the same logged-in users as in FIG. 5. Since the user 703 is a user who is not registered in the web conference, the user 703 has no way of showing his / her own image. Therefore, by displaying an image for an unregistered user registered in advance on the server device side, it is possible to display that the user is participating.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the image information transmitted in step S409 of FIG. 4, and shows a case where a user who participated in the Web conference leaves.

  In FIG. 8, since the user 503 in FIG. 5 has left the conference room, the user does not exist in the conference. Therefore, by not displaying a user image that does not exist in the conference room, the user can It expresses what is not.

  In this way, by displaying what kind of user the conference participant is as an image, the user who sees it can determine at a glance what state the user is participating in. .

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a user connection state transmission process executed by the conference system of FIG.

  This process is a process in which the server device sequentially transmits the connection state of the user to the Web conference participation user. The server device calls and connects to the user terminal device from the server device.

  In FIG. 9, first, when a call request from the user is received (YES in step S901), it is determined whether or not the call has started in response to the call request from the user of the user (step S902), and the call is not started. At this time, the content of “call failed” is transmitted to the users who have already participated in the web conference, and the transmission processing is terminated.

  As a result of the determination in step S902, when calling is started, a message “There is a calling user and is calling” is sent to a user who has already participated in the Web conference as shown in FIG. (Step S904), it is determined whether or not the calling user has answered the phone (Step S905). "The user in the list did not answer the phone" is transmitted (step S906), and the process ends.

  As a result of the determination in step S905, when a call is accepted, a message “The calling user has answered the call” is transmitted to a user who has already participated in the web conference as shown in FIG. In step S907), when the participating user disconnects the telephone (YES in step S908), the fact that “the participating user disconnected the telephone” is transmitted to the user already participating in the web conference (step S909). ), This process is terminated.

  In the above-described embodiment, a person image is used as a display example of the participants participating in the conference. However, in addition to the image, it may be distinguished by color, or may be expressed by a method that allows visual observation of the size and shape of the image. Good.

It is a figure which shows roughly the structure of the conference system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the terminal device in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the server apparatus in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the participant display process of the server apparatus side web conference performed by the conference system of FIG. It is a figure explaining the image information transmitted by step S409 of FIG. 4, and shows the case where the user who participated in the web conference is registered and logged in to the web conference. It is a figure explaining the image information transmitted by step S409 of FIG. 4, and shows the case where the user who participated in the web conference is registered in the web conference but is not logged in. It is a figure explaining the image information transmitted by step S409 of FIG. 4, and shows the case where the user who participated in the web conference is not registered in the web conference. It is a figure explaining the image information transmitted by step S409 of FIG. 4, and shows the case where the user who participated in the web conference leaves. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the user connection state transmission process performed by the conference system of FIG. It is a figure explaining the image information transmitted by step S904 of FIG. It is a figure explaining the image information transmitted by step S907 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

101, 102 Terminal device 103 Network 104 Server device 201, 301 CPU
202, 302 Memory 203, 303 Storage device 204, 304 Input device 205, 305 Communication device 206, 306 Display device 207, 307 Bus

Claims (6)

In a conference system comprising a server device and a plurality of user terminal devices connected to each other via a network,
The server device, a determination means for determining whether or not a user according to one of the user terminal devices participating in the conference of the conference system is registered in the conference, or whether or not is logged in;
Receiving means for receiving predetermined image information relating to a user relating to one of the user terminal devices from one of the user terminal devices;
A conference system comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit predetermined other image information related to a user state relating to one of the user terminal devices to another user terminal device based on a determination result by the determination unit. .   When the user associated with one of the user terminal devices is registered in the conference and is logged in, the transmission means displays the received predetermined image information or image information indicating that the user is logged in. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein the conference system is transmitted.   The transmission means indicates that a user related to one of the user terminal devices is registered in the conference, but when the login is not performed, a user who is not logged in is participating in the conference. 2. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein image information is transmitted.   The transmission means is configured such that when a user associated with one of the user terminal devices is not registered in the conference and the login is not performed, a user who has neither registered nor logged in participates in the conference. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein image information indicating that the image is displayed is transmitted.   The conference system according to claim 1, further comprising a connection status detection unit that detects one connection status of the user terminal device.   6. The conference system according to claim 5, wherein, when one connection of the user terminal device is disconnected, the transmission unit transmits information indicating that one of the user terminal devices is disconnected.

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