JP2007122361A - Network conference server device and network conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make progress of a network conference smoothly without need of a manager. <P>SOLUTION: A server 1 sends utterance permission identification information at a network conference to a client who operates a PTT switch first from clients. A client of destination is entitled to create white board information after he/she receives the utterance permission identification information. The white board information created and sent by the client is received by a communication interface 13 of the server 1, a control unit 11 sends the information to the respective clients via communication interface 13. When communication interfaces of the respective clients receive the information from the server 1, they display the information to displays. Only the client who has thus obtained a right of utterance is entitled to create white board information according to input operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network conference server device and a network conference system that distribute information based on distribution requests from a plurality of communication terminals connected via a network.

  Conventionally, a network conference system in which a plurality of communication terminals operated by a user and a server device are connected via a network is known.

  In this network conference system, one of the communication terminals of the participants in the network conference requests the server device to distribute information regarding the contents of the network conference such as character information and graphic information input on the terminal side to each communication terminal. . The server device distributes the information that has received the distribution request to each communication terminal, and displays it on the display device of the communication terminal.

In such a network conference system, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a network conference manager communication terminal is connected to the network so that the network conference can proceed smoothly. Some of the above-described communication terminals are given the authority to request information distribution.
JP 2001-331431 A

  However, in the configuration in which the communication terminal for the administrator as described above is provided, the authority of the information distribution request in the network conference is entrusted to the operation of the communication terminal by the administrator, so the number of participants In the case where there are many cases, the burden on the administrator becomes heavy, and there is a possibility that the progress of the network conference may not be smoothly performed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a network conference server device and a network conference system that enable a network conference to proceed smoothly without requiring an administrator.

  That is, the network conference server device according to the present invention receives the speech reservation identification information in the network conference transmitted from any of the plurality of communication terminals connected via the network, and the received speech reservation identification information. The speech permission identification information is transmitted to a single communication terminal as a transmission source, the display information from the communication terminal as the transmission destination of the speech permission identification information is received and distributed to each communication terminal.

  In the server device for a network conference according to the present invention, a speech is permitted to a single communication terminal that has made a speech reservation in a network conference from any of a plurality of communication terminals connected via the network. Since the display information is received and distributed to each communication terminal, only the client who has obtained the right to speak can create the whiteboard information according to the input operation. Therefore, a network conference can be smoothly advanced without requiring an administrator.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention, a server 1, clients 2, 3, 4, 5 and other clients (not shown) are connected via a network 10. Each client including the clients 2, 3, 4 and 5 is, for example, a desktop personal computer. Each client may be another type of device as long as it is a communication terminal having a communication function with the server 1.

  The server 1 manages input / output of various information including identification information unique to each client and whiteboard information. Whiteboard information is information such as characters and figures that are displayed in common on the display device of each client as information relating to the contents of the network conference.

  The whiteboard information is created or updated by operating the input device of the client that has acquired the right to speak the network conference. The right to speak in a network conference means the right to input voice and output the input voice to each client.

  Any one of the clients acquires the right to speak the network conference. The server 1 and each client communicate by wire or wireless after encrypting the various information described above.

  Among the clients, the client who has not acquired the right to speak is stored in the server 1 according to the operation of the input device from the user who intends to make the speech reservation, with reservation identification information indicating the speech reservation in the network conference by the user of the client. It has a function to transmit.

  When the server 1 receives the speech reservation identification information, the server 1 transmits speech permission identification information for granting a speech right in the network conference to a single client that is the transmission source of the speech reservation identification information. The server 1 receives the whiteboard information transmitted through creation or update on the transmission destination, that is, the client side that has acquired the right to speak, and distributes it to each client. This distributed information is displayed on the display device of each client.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the server 1 of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the server 1 includes a control unit 11 that controls the entire apparatus. The server 1 also includes a storage unit 12 and a communication interface 13. The control unit 11, the storage unit 12, and the communication interface 13 are connected to each other via a bus 14.

  The storage unit 12 stores a control program, a conference participation client table, and a speech reservation list. The conference participation client table and the speech reservation list will be described later. The communication interface 13 communicates with each client.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the conference participation client table stored in the storage unit 12 of the server 1 of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention in a table format. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the client 2 of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the client 2 includes a control unit 21 that controls the entire apparatus, a storage unit 22, an imaging device 23, a display device 24, a microphone 25, a PTT (Push to Talk) switch 26, an audio output unit 27, and an input. A device 28 and a communication interface 29 are provided. These are connected to each other via a bus 30. The input device 28 is a keyboard or a mouse.

The storage unit 22 stores a control program. The imaging device 23 images the face of the user of the client 2. The display device 24 displays information for identifying participants in the network conference and whiteboard information in individual windows. The information for identifying the participant is a face image or name of the participant.
The communication interface 29 communicates with the server 1. The internal configuration of each other client is the same as the internal configuration of the client 2.

The conference participation client table stored in the storage unit 12 manages the IP address of the client that performs the network conference via the server 1.
The control unit 21 of each client transmits information indicating a request for joining or leaving a network conference to the server 1 via the communication interface 29 through an operation on the input device 28 by the user.

  When the communication interface 13 of the server 1 receives the information indicating the participation request, the control unit 11 registers the IP address of the transmission source client of this information in the conference participation client table stored in the storage unit 12.

  The control unit 11 of the server 1 transmits participation identification information including information indicating a participant in the network conference to the client corresponding to the registered IP address via the communication interface 13. The control unit 21 of the client that has received this information through the communication interface 29 causes the display device 24 to display information indicating the participants in the network conference described above.

  On the other hand, when the communication interface 13 of the server 1 receives the information indicating the request to leave the network conference, the control unit 11 uses the conference participation client table stored in the storage unit 12 to store the IP address of the transmission source client of this information. delete.

  The content of the whiteboard information is managed by the server 1 being stored in the storage unit 12, and the server 1 distributes this information to each client, whereby the same information is stored in the storage unit 22 of the client.

  Each client displays the whiteboard information distributed from the server 1 in a whiteboard information window provided on the screen of the display device 24. As a result, the whiteboard information created or updated on the single client side is displayed in common on the screen of the display device 24 of each client.

  The user of the client who has obtained the right to speak the network conference among the clients causes the display device 24 to display a new window for whiteboard information by performing a predetermined operation on the input device 28, and within the displayed window. By inputting character information or the like using the input device 28 and transmitting this information to the server 1, the information is displayed on the display device 24 of each client.

  The client user who has acquired the right to speak is displayed on the display device 24 of each client by performing additional input such as character information using the input device 28 in the displayed whiteboard information window. Whiteboard information can be updated. On the other hand, even if an operation is performed on the input device 28 of a client who has not acquired the right to speak, information cannot be input into the whiteboard information window displayed on the display device 24.

  The PTT switch 26 is a switch operated by the user in order for the client to acquire the right to speak. In this network conference system, the voice input from the microphone 25 of the client that has acquired the right to speak is output from the voice output unit 27 of each other client via the server 1. On the other hand, the microphone 25 of each client that has not acquired the right to speak does not accept voice input.

  Next, the operation of the network conference system having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the server 1 has registered the client IP addresses for five units in the conference participation client table in the storage unit 12, and that no client has acquired the right to speak.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation of the server 1 of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the speech reservation list stored in the storage unit 12 of the server 1 of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention in a table format.

  In the speech reservation list, the IP address of the client on which the PTT switch 26 is operated is managed as the speech request source IP address together with the order of registration of the IP address in the speech reservation list.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a network conference screen displayed on the display device 24 of each client of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
When an IP address is registered in the conference participation client table and the participation identification information transmitted from the control unit 11 is received by the communication interface 29 of each client, the control unit 21 displays on the display device 24 as shown in FIG. The speech right window 31, the speech status window 32, and the speech switching icon 33 are displayed.

  The speaking right window 31 is a window indicating whether or not the speaking right is given to the client. The speech status window 32 is a window that indicates whether whiteboard information can be created or updated and voice input to the microphone 25 can be performed by an operation on the client side.

  Among the clients, the “right to speak” characters are displayed in the right to speak window 31 displayed on the display device 24 of the client that has acquired the right to speak, and are displayed on the display device 24 of the client that has not acquired the right to speak. In the displayed right-to-speak window 31, characters “No right to speak” are displayed.

  In the speech state window 32, either “speaking” or “speech OFF” is displayed. In the initial state, the character displayed in the speech status window 32 is “speech OFF”.

  When the “speaking right” character is displayed in the speaking right window 31 and the character displayed in the speaking state window 32 is “speaking”, the whiteboard according to the operation of the input device 28 by the user. Information can be created and updated, and voice input to the microphone 25 can be performed.

  On the other hand, if the character “speaking right” is displayed in the speaking right window 31 but the character displayed in the speaking state window 32 is “speaking OFF”, the whiteboard information is created or updated and the microphone is used. Voice input to 25 cannot be performed.

  When the PTT switch 26 is operated, the control unit 21 of each client transmits the speech reservation identification information to the server 1 via the communication interface 29 (YES in step S1). This information includes information on the IP address individually given to the client that sent the information.

  The control unit 11 of the server 1 receives the speech reservation identification information described above via the communication interface 13. The control unit 11 registers the IP address included in this information on the speech reservation list stored in the storage unit 12 (step S2).

  The control unit 11 uses the communication interface 13 to transmit the speech permission identification information for granting the speech right in the network conference to the client corresponding to the IP address associated with the first registration order on the speech reservation list stored in the storage unit 12. (Step S3).

  When the communication interface 29 of the client receives this identification information, the control unit 21 recognizes that the right to speak has been acquired, and updates the character displayed in the right to speak window 31 to “with right to speak”.

  The speech switching icon 33 is an icon that is selected using the input device 28 when switching between valid / invalid between creation and update of whiteboard information and voice input to the microphone 25.

  When the message switching icon 33 displayed on the display device 24 of the client that has acquired the speaking right is selected in accordance with an operation on the input device 28 by the user, the control unit 21 displays the message status window 32 displayed on the display device 24. The displayed character is updated from “speaking OFF” to “speaking”.

  When the character of the speech status window 32 displayed on the display device 24 of the client is switched to “speaking”, the whiteboard information window W1 is displayed on the network conference screen displayed on the display device 24 as shown in FIG. Is displayed. The display device 24 displays participant windows W2 to W5 for displaying each participant's face image, name, and the like.

  The control unit 21 of each client always transmits image information of the user's face taken by the imaging device 23 to the server 1 via the communication interface 29. When the communication interface 13 of the server 1 receives this image information, the control unit 11 of the server 1 stores the image information in the storage unit 12 and displays this image information in each of the windows W2 to W5 of the display device 24.

  In a state where the character displayed in the speech state window 32 is switched to “speaking”, the user of the client including the display device 24 displaying the window displaying “speaking” uses the input device 28 to perform white By inputting information into the board information window W1, whiteboard information can be created or whiteboard information already stored in the storage unit 22 can be updated. In addition, voice input to the microphone 25 is effective.

  On the other hand, in a state where the character displayed in the speech state window 32 is “speech OFF”, the user of the client including the display device 24 on which the window displaying “speech OFF” is displayed operates the input device 28. Even if this is done, information cannot be entered into the whiteboard information window W1. In addition, voice input to the microphone 25 is invalid.

  The control unit 21 transmits the whiteboard information created or updated as described above to the server 1 via the communication interface 29 through selection of a transmission menu in accordance with an operation on the input device 28. Further, the control unit 21 of the client transmits the audio information input to the microphone 25 to the server 1 via the communication interface 29 separately from the whiteboard information.

  When the communication interface 13 of the server 1 receives the whiteboard information transmitted from the client that has received the speech permission identification information, that is, the client to which the IP address corresponding to the first registration order in the speech reservation list is assigned (step S4). The control unit 11 stores this information in the storage unit 12, and distributes the stored information to other clients via the communication interface 13 (step S5).

  When the communication interface 13 of the server 1 receives the voice information transmitted from the client that has received the speech permission identification information, the control unit 11 stores this information in the storage unit 12, and stores the stored information in the communication interface 13. To each client.

  When the communication interface 29 of each client receives the whiteboard information from the server 1, the control unit 21 of the client stores this information in the storage unit 22 and causes the display device 24 to display the stored information.

  Further, when the communication interface 29 of each client receives the audio information from the server 1, the control unit 21 of the client stores this information in the storage unit 22 and causes the audio output unit 27 to output this information.

  When the user who has finished the speech selects the speech switching icon 33 displayed on the display device 24 by operating the input device 28, the control unit 21 changes the character displayed in the speech status window 32 displayed on the display device 24 to “Speak”. After updating to “OFF” and updating the character displayed in the right-to-speak window 31 to “no right to speak”, the end-of-speaking identification information indicating the abandonment of the right to speak is transmitted to the server 1 via the communication interface 29.

  When the communication interface 13 of the server 1 receives the speech end identification information from the client, the control unit 11 deletes the IP address of the client that is the transmission source of the speech end identification information from the speech reservation list stored in the storage unit 12. (Step S6).

  Then, the control unit 11 outputs the speech permission identification information via the communication interface 13 to the client corresponding to the IP address associated with the first registration order on the speech reservation list where the IP address has been deleted. As a result, another client can acquire the right to speak and update whiteboard information or input voice.

  As described above, in the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display device 24 of each client is displayed according to the operation from the client that has acquired the right to speak according to the operation of the PTT switch 26 among the clients. The wide-board information is created or updated, and the wide-board information is not created or updated even if an operation is performed on each other client side. Therefore, only the client who has obtained the right to speak in the network conference can create or update the whiteboard information according to the input operation. Therefore, the network conference can be smoothly advanced.

  In the above-described embodiment, even when the “right to speak” character is displayed in the right to speak window 31 displayed on the display device 24, the character displayed in the speech state window 32 is “speak off”. It has been described that whiteboard information cannot be created and updated on the client side including the display device 24 and voice input to the microphone 25 cannot be performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and if the “right to speak” character is displayed in the right to speak window 31, even if the character to be displayed in the speech state window 32 is “speak off”, the display of the right state window 32 is displayed. The user of the client having the previous display device 24 may be able to create or update the whiteboard information by performing an operation on the input device 28.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of the network conference screen displayed on the display device 24 of each client of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Each client may have a function for creating draft information of whiteboard information by operating the input device 28. In this case, the client intends to create a whiteboard information draft by performing a predetermined operation on the input device 28 regardless of whether or not the PTT switch 26 is operated. The new window W6 is displayed on the display device 24, and an operation is performed on the input device 28 to display characters and figures in the window. The control unit 21 temporarily stores these character and graphic information in the storage unit 22.

  When the communication interface 29 receives the speech permission identification information from the server 1 through the operation of the PTT switch 26 of the client, the control unit 21 allows the user to perform an operation on the input device 28, so that the above-described draft draft is used. The whiteboard information is transmitted to the server 1 through the communication interface 29 as the second whiteboard information. When the communication interface 13 of the server 1 receives the second whiteboard information, the control unit 11 transmits this information to each client via the communication interface 13.

  When the communication interface 29 of each client receives the second whiteboard information from the server 1, the control unit 21 stores this information in the storage unit 22, and displays this information on the window W6 of the display device 24. Accordingly, the user of each client can create whiteboard information regardless of whether or not the PTT switch 26 is operated, so that the network conference proceeds more smoothly.

  In addition, the server 1 recognizes the difference between the information before and after each update of the whiteboard information so that the creator of each item of the whiteboard information created or updated by each client becomes clear. The creator of each item of the whiteboard information may be distinguished by reflecting a predetermined color on the IP address of the transmission source of the difference information in the characters and figures.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

The block diagram which shows the structural example of the network conference system according to embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the server 1 of the network conference system according to embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structural example of the meeting participating client table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 12 of the server 1 of the network conference system according to embodiment of this invention in a table format. The block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the client 2 of the network conference system according to embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the processing operation of the server 1 of the network conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the structural example of the speech reservation list | wrist memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 12 of the server 1 of the network conference system according to embodiment of this invention in a table format. The figure which shows an example of the screen for network meetings displayed on the display apparatus 24 of each client of the network meeting system according to embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the screen for network meetings displayed on the display apparatus 24 of each client of the network meeting system according to embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server, 2-5 ... Client, 10 ... Network, 11, 21 ... Control part, 12, 22 ... Storage part, 13, 29 ... Communication interface, 14, 30 ... Bus, 23 ... Imaging device, 24 ... Display device 25 ... Microphone, 26 ... PTT (Push to Talk) switch, 27 ... Audio output unit, 28 ... Input device, 31 ... Speak right window, 32 ... Speak status window, 33 ... Speak switch icon.

Claims (4)

A speech reservation receiving means for receiving speech reservation identification information in a network conference transmitted from any of a plurality of communication terminals connected via a network;
A speech permission transmitting means for transmitting the speech permission identification information in the network conference to a single communication terminal that is a transmission source of the speech reservation identification information received by the speech reservation receiving means among the plurality of communication terminals;
Display information receiving means for receiving display information on each display device of the communication terminal transmitted from the communication terminal of the transmission destination of the speech permission identification information by the speech permission transmitting means;
A network conference server apparatus comprising: a distribution unit that distributes the display information received by the display information reception unit to each of the communication terminals. Received from the single communication terminal that is the transmission source of the speech reservation identification information among the plurality of communication terminals, is audio information transmitted to the respective audio reproduction devices of the communication terminals independently from the speech reservation identification information Voice receiving means for
2. The network conference server device according to claim 1, further comprising voice distribution means for distributing voice information received by the voice reception means to the respective communication terminals. Management means for managing the identification information specific to the communication terminal that is the transmission source of the speech reservation identification information received by the speech reservation receiving means in association with the reception order of the identification information,
The speech permission transmitting means includes
Transmitting the statement permission identification information to a communication terminal to which identification information associated with the first reception order managed by the management unit is given;
The management information changing means for excluding the identification information given to the communication terminal that is the transmission source of the display information distributed by the distribution means from being managed by the management means. Network conference server device. A network conferencing system in which a server device and a plurality of communication terminals are network-connected,
The server device
A speech reservation receiving means for receiving speech reservation identification information in a network conference transmitted from any of the plurality of communication terminals;
A speech permission transmitting means for transmitting the speech permission identification information in the network conference to a single communication terminal of the transmission source of the speech reservation identification information received by the speech reservation receiving means among the plurality of communication terminals;
Display information receiving means for receiving display information on each display device of the communication terminal transmitted from the communication terminal of the transmission destination of the speech permission identification information by the speech permission transmitting means;
Distribution means for distributing the display information received by the display information receiving means to the respective communication terminals,
Each of the communication terminals is
A display device for displaying the display information distributed by the distribution means of the server device;
A speech reservation input means for receiving an input of a speech reservation in the network conference;
With this input, the speech reservation transmitting means for transmitting the speech reservation identification information to the server device,
A speech permission receiving means for receiving the speech permission identification information transmitted by the speech permission transmitting means of the server device;
Display information input means for receiving input of the display information after receiving the speech permission identification information by the speech permission receiving means;
A network conference system comprising: display information transmitting means for transmitting the input display information to the server device.

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