JP2013191075A - Collaborative work setting support device, program, and collaborative work setting support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collaborative work setting support device that supports setting of various items related to collaborative work, a program for realizing the collaborative work setting support device, and a collaborative work setting support system.SOLUTION: A collaborative work setting support device 150 comprises: condition reception means 132 that receives a search condition including a condition regarding a holding form of collaborative work; means 130 that searches for a holdable collaborative work candidate on the basis of the search condition; and output means 134 that outputs result data including one or more found collaborative work candidates.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology that supports setting of joint work such as a conference or collaboration, and more particularly to a joint work setting support device, a program, and a joint work setting support system that support setting of various items related to joint work. .

  In recent years, the Internet environment has been improved, and there is a tendency for opportunities to collaborate remotely via the Internet. In addition, mobile information terminals such as mobile phones and smartphones are becoming more sophisticated and popular, and the range of devices used for collaboration is also expanding. Furthermore, with the diversification of work styles in recent years and the development of cloud computing environments, opportunities to work at home and on the go are increasing.

  Various forms of meetings or meetings in government offices and companies are also diversified. In addition to the traditional face-to-face meeting form where all participants gather in the meeting room, a dedicated terminal is installed in the meeting room and the TV is held between multiple locations. There are also known forms such as a John conference and a telephone conference, and a network conference in which participants can participate from a personal space, away from home or from home.

  In many cases, companies and the like operate schedules and facility reservation tools and services, and manage schedules for individuals and conference rooms. Even in the prior art schedule reservation and facility reservation tools and services, it was possible to search for a member's vacant time, conference room vacant time, etc. by specifying the participating members and the venue. However, in practice, the organizer or the secretariat will need to compare the search results, determine the location and date of the event, make a reservation, and send an event notice to the participating members. . Schedule adjustment is necessary and difficult for busy individuals, and reducing the load of schedule adjustment is a problem from the viewpoint of improving the productivity of work.

  From the background described above, various conventional techniques are known for assisting in comparing and examining the date and time of a meeting based on information on an individual's free time and empty conference room.

  For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-120419 (Patent Document 1) aims to automatically determine a common vacant date / time zone of a participant and a desired vacant conference room to notify the conference date / time zone and the conference room. Disclose technology. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration including holding information reading means, conference room search means, empty conference room date / time zone search means, participant empty date / time zone search means, schedule reservation means, and personal schedule selection means. The vacant date and time zones of all vacant conference rooms that satisfy the conference room facility conditions and the conference holding range conditions are checked, and the common vacant date and time zones of the participant name and the organizer name are checked. The date / time zone where both date / time zones are the same is determined as the conference date / time zone, and the organizer name and the conference name will be in the same date / time zone of the individual schedule information of the participant name and organizer name and the conference reservation schedule information of the empty conference room. And are reserved.

  In addition, technologies related to recent video conferences and network conferences are also provided. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-223650 (Patent Document 2) discloses a technique aimed at facilitating determination of a conference date and time, participation in a TV conference, and adjustment of a TV conference. The TV conference support system disclosed in Patent Document 2 searches for a holding time zone of a date based on a user's schedule, conference room reservation information, and the required time of the conference, and includes required participants who are scheduled to participate. Alternatively, a conference reservation search unit is provided for determining whether to hold a conference when more than a predetermined percentage of participants can be secured.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-190314 (Patent Document 3) discloses a network conference server for the purpose of performing attendance management of a network conference. Patent Document 3 plans to participate by updating the information on attendance of attendees' meetings from the time the meeting notice is sent to each attendee's client terminal until the meeting is held on the date and time Technology to manage information on attendance of attendees' meetings.

  In addition, JP 2007-11479 A (Patent Document 4) discloses an individual schedule for each role of a participant registered in the participant information management DB for the purpose of efficiently holding a conference or the like. Disclosed is a technique for referring to a schedule management DB in which information is stored, examining a participant's schedule, searching for a common free time zone, and determining the schedule.

  According to the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce the load of adjusting the conference schedule somewhat. However, Patent Document 1 is intended only for face-to-face meetings at the same time and at the same place, and cannot deal with TV conferences and network conferences that have been introduced in recent years. In addition, the techniques of Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 described above all target only a video conference or a network conference.

  As described above, in the prior art, since the system that supports the coordination of the face-to-face conference, the video conference, and the network conference is divided, the user decides the form of the conference that seems to be suitable, and then selects the desired system. It was necessary to use. Alternatively, face-to-face, video conferencing, and network conferencing systems need to be run in parallel to select the one that seems to be suitable.

  As described above, recent meetings can be performed at home, on the go, and between other offices. If necessary equipment (such as a headset, microphone, etc.) is available, the meeting can be performed in various forms. is there. In this case, the necessity of the conference room depends on the characteristics of the equipment used and the number of people who can use it simultaneously. However, listing the combinations of shared equipment, meeting rooms, personally managed equipment, etc. and considering the possibilities of any meeting is a complex task, time consuming and inconvenient for the organizer and the secretariat. There is also the possibility of setting up an appropriate meeting.

  From such a background, it is possible to search for “meeting forms” themselves, search for systems and equipment to be used, and make reservations across various meeting forms including face-to-face meetings, video conferencing and network meetings. It was desired to provide the technology. In addition to a conference, a technique capable of searching for collaborative work and other forms of collaborative work performed by a plurality of other people in the same place or in different places via communication means has been desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the insufficiency in the prior art described above, and the present invention provides the user with the search condition based on the search condition including the condition related to the form of joint work. It is an object of the present invention to provide a joint work setting support device, a program, and a joint work setting support system that can present matching joint work.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a collaborative work setting support apparatus for supporting collaborative work setting having the following features. This collaborative work setting support device includes a condition accepting unit that accepts a search condition including a condition related to a joint work holding mode. The collaborative work setting support device further includes search means for searching for collaborative work candidates that can be held based on the search conditions, and output means for outputting result data including one or more found collaborative work candidates. including.

  According to the above configuration, based on the search condition including the condition for the joint work holding mode, the candidate for the joint work that matches the search condition can be presented to the user.

The functional block diagram of the meeting setting assistance system by this embodiment. The figure which shows the data structure of the table managed by the equipment reservation management part by this embodiment. The figure which shows the data structure of the table managed by the equipment reservation management part by this embodiment. The figure which shows the data structure of the reservation management table managed by the equipment reservation management part and equipment reservation management part by this embodiment. The figure which shows the data structure of the management table managed by the user information management part and schedule management part by this embodiment. The flowchart (1/5) which shows the meeting setting assistance process which the meeting setting assistance apparatus by this embodiment performs. The figure which illustrates the search condition input screen of the meeting setting displayed in this embodiment. The figure which illustrates the data structure of the time zone list and candidate time zone list which are generated in this embodiment. The flowchart which shows the conference acquisition process which can be participated which the conference setting assistance apparatus by this embodiment performs. The figure explaining the process which enumerates the establishment which a member can participate in a time slot | zone. The figure which shows typically the data structure of the candidate time slot | zone list to which the priority and the increase amount of the movement were added. The flowchart (2/5) which shows the meeting setting assistance process which the meeting setting assistance apparatus by this embodiment performs. The flowchart (3/5) which shows the meeting setting assistance process which the meeting setting assistance apparatus by this embodiment performs. The flowchart (4/5) which shows the meeting setting assistance process which the meeting setting assistance apparatus by this embodiment performs. The flowchart (5/5) which shows the meeting setting assistance process which the meeting setting assistance apparatus by this embodiment performs. The figure which illustrates the search result display screen of the meeting candidate displayed in this embodiment. The figure which illustrates the participation condition list display screen displayed in this embodiment. The hardware figure of the meeting setting assistance apparatus by this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated with embodiment, embodiment of this invention is not limited to embodiment described below. In the embodiment described below, as a joint work setting support device and a joint work setting support system, a conference setting support device 150 for a conference as a joint work, and a conference setting support system including the conference setting support device 150 100 will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the conference setting support system according to the present embodiment. The conference setting support system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an equipment reservation management unit 102, an equipment reservation management unit 108, a user information management unit 114, a schedule management unit 120, a conference setting support unit 130, and a condition reception unit 132. The result output unit 134, the reservation receiving unit 136, and the storage unit 138 are included.

  The facility reservation management unit 102 manages shared facilities such as a conference room as resources shared with the conference, and further manages the reservation status of the shared facilities. Shared facilities include rooms, booths, and spaces that can be used to hold meetings. The facility reservation management unit 102 manages a facility management table 104 that stores information on shared facilities such as the number of persons accommodated and a management office, and a facility reservation management table 106. The equipment reservation management table 106 stores information (hereinafter referred to as reservation information) regarding the reservation status of the shared equipment such as the date and time when the shared equipment is used and the user.

  The equipment reservation management unit 108 manages the shared equipment owned by each business office as a resource for the conference, and further manages the reservation status of the shared equipment. Shared equipment includes equipment required for remote conferences between facilities used for telephone conferences, video conferences, web conferences, network conferences, etc., as well as equipment such as an interactive whiteboard to increase conference communication density. be able to. Further, the shared equipment may be equipment provided in a predetermined conference room, or may be equipment rented independently from the conference room. The equipment reservation management unit 108 refers to the equipment management table 110 and the equipment reservation management table 112 that store information related to the shared equipment such as the connection protocol and equipment category of the shared equipment. The equipment reservation management table 112 stores reservation information of shared equipment such as the date and time when the shared equipment is used and the user.

  The user information management unit 114 manages information related to pre-registered individuals who can become members who participate in the conference. The user information management unit 114 manages a user information management table 118 that stores information related to individuals, such as a person's name, affiliated office, and working hours. In the embodiment to be described, personal management equipment such as a smartphone and a personal computer is widely used and can be appropriately procured by each individual, so that it is not managed in this embodiment. However, in other embodiments, the user information management unit 114 may be configured to include a user equipment management table 116 for managing equipment for personal management, as illustrated by a broken line in FIG.

  The schedule management unit 120 includes a schedule management table 122 that stores schedule information of pre-registered individuals who can become members who participate in the conference, and manages the determined schedule of individuals. In the present embodiment, the personal schedule information may include a schedule start time, an end time, and a location. The schedule information may include a schedule specified all day.

  The condition reception unit 132 is a condition reception that receives a search condition for searching for a conference setting. The search condition includes a condition related to a conference form. The search condition may include specification of a member to be participated in, search date and time range, specification of a desired place (for example, business office) where the conference is to be held, specification of the length of the conference, specification of result presentation priority, and search condition parameters. it can. The participation target members specified in the search condition are not particularly limited, but may include essential members that are required to participate in the conference and desired members that are desired to participate in the conference. It is not impeded that only required members are defined without defining essential members, or only required members are defined without defining desired members. In addition, the participation target member may directly specify the user, or may be specified using a user attribute such as a group to which the user belongs.

  As the search condition parameter, there is a specification for permitting a remote conference holding mode, a specification for permitting offline participation (details will be described later) of a participating member, and a search by reducing the length of the conference. You can list specifications that allow you to do. The result presentation priority is for designating how the conference candidates are arranged in the presented search result. The result presentation priority includes the date and time of the event, the communication density that indicates the degree of ease of communication, the mobility that indicates the degree of movement of each participant, and the resource usage that indicates the degree of resources used. A descending or ascending order can be mentioned. Further, it may be specified to perform a composite sort using the index values (the date and time, the communication density, the mobility, and the resource usage) as a primary key and a secondary key, respectively.

  The conference setting support unit 130 communicates with the schedule management unit 120 and acquires schedule information of each participation target member included in the received search condition. The conference setting support unit 130 also communicates with the facility reservation management unit 102 and the equipment reservation management unit 108 to acquire reservation information of resources (including shared facilities and shared equipment) used in the conference. The conference setting support unit 130 uses the acquired schedule information and resource reservation information of each participation target member, and searches for conference candidates that meet the search conditions across a plurality of conference types. The conference setting support unit 130 preferably crosses a plurality of conference forms, on the condition that at least a part of the schedule of the participation target members is met and resources shared with the conference are secured. Search can be done.

  Each type of meeting that is searched across the site includes face-to-face communication within the facility, communication via remote communication between multiple facilities, facilities and individuals (personal space using communication means, away from home, home, etc.) (Including participation)) and various combinations including at least one form of communication by remote communication between individuals and communication by remote communication between individuals. Specifically, the form of meeting is a face-to-face meeting with a single facility, a telephone between a plurality of facilities, a form of remote conferencing via TV or network communication (including face-to-face meetings within each facility) .), Forms of teleconferencing via telephone between individuals, television or network communications, and forms of teleconferencing via telephone, television or network communications between one or more facilities and individuals. Note that the search condition may include, as conditions relating to the meeting form, designation for individually permitting the form including the above-described telephone conference, video conference, and network meeting, and designation for permitting individual participation.

  The remote conference may require equipment for conducting a conference call, a video conference, a web conference, or a network conference. In order to confirm whether the remote conference can be held, the conference setting support unit 130 uses the facility reservation management table 106 and the equipment reservation management table 112 to reserve the facility reservation information of the establishment that is a candidate for the conference and a plurality of facilities. Equipment reservation information that enables communication between the two. The conference setting support unit 130 remotely installs a plurality of business establishments that have vacant facilities and can be used in the vacant facilities and have vacant equipment with a common connection protocol. It can be extracted as a plurality of candidate locations for work.

  When the permission for offline participation is specified as the search condition parameter, the conference setting support unit 130 tries to search for a part of the participation target members as offline participation, for example, when the time of the essential members does not match. be able to. Here, “offline participation” means that members who are not in time schedule submit their opinions and comments on the materials in advance and share the minutes later without attending the meeting date and time. A form of participation in a meeting.

  When a search with a shortened conference length is permitted as the search condition parameter, the conference setting support unit 130 determines that the length is less than the specified conference length in the case where the time of the required members does not match. You can try to search. In the present embodiment, the conference setting support unit 130 constitutes a schedule acquisition unit, a reservation information acquisition unit, and a search unit. Intermediate data or the like generated during the search is stored in the storage unit 138.

  The result output unit 134 outputs search result data including the found conference candidates. The search result data is appropriately processed into display data, and the search result is displayed on a display device used by a person in charge of meeting formulation and reservation. In order to display the search result by reflecting the result presentation priority described above, the search result data can be attached with index values such as the above-mentioned date and time, communication density, mobility, and resource utilization.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the conference setting support unit 130, the condition reception unit 132, the result output unit 134, the reservation reception unit 136, and the storage unit 138 are configured on the conference setting search device 150. The conference setting support device 150 includes an input device 140 and a display device 142. The condition receiving unit 132 and the reservation receiving unit 136 receive an input via the input device 140 included in the conference setting support device 150. Similarly, the result output unit 134 presents the search result via the display device 142 included in the conference setting support device 150.

  In the embodiment to be described, the person in charge can receive the conference setting support through the user interface of the input device 140 and the display device 142 provided in the conference setting support device 150. However, in another embodiment, the conference setting support device 150 may be configured as a web server or the like, and a remote interface may be provided to the external terminal device 160 via a network interface. In this embodiment, the person in charge can receive conference setting support using the external terminal device 160.

  Further, in the embodiment to be described, the equipment reservation management unit 102, the equipment reservation management unit 108, the user information management unit 114, and the scheduled reservation management unit 120 are described as function units inside the system configuring the conference setting support system 100. did. However, in other embodiments, all or part of the facility reservation management unit 102, the equipment reservation management unit 108, the user information management unit 114, and the scheduled reservation management unit 120 may be provided as an external service such as a cloud service. .

  The reservation receiving unit 136 receives a reservation instruction for a conference candidate specified by the person in charge according to the presentation using the search result data output by the result output unit 134. The reservation instruction is transmitted to the conference setting support unit 130. In response to the reservation instruction, the conference setting support unit 130 reserves the schedule of the participating members included in the designated conference candidate, and further reserves the equipment and equipment constituting the conference candidate. The search conditions instructed to be reserved, search result data, and the like may be stored in the storage unit 138 for reuse. By storing the search conditions and search result data, it becomes easy to search under the same conditions when it is necessary to reset the conference, such as when another schedule of the participant is changed.

  Hereinafter, the data structure of the table used in the conference setting support system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4A illustrate the data structure of the table managed by the equipment reservation management unit 108. FIG. FIG. 2A illustrates the equipment management table 110A, and FIG. 2B illustrates the equipment category management table 110B additionally provided in the equipment management table 110A. FIG. 4A illustrates the data structure of the equipment reservation management table 112.

  The equipment management table 110A shown in FIG. 2A includes equipment management identifiers (hereinafter, management identifiers are referred to as IDs), equipment names, categories in which equipment is classified, connection protocols of equipment, It includes a record made up of the establishment ID of the management establishment that manages the equipment, the necessity of the meeting room in cases other than personal use, and the necessity of the meeting room for personal use. A record is created for each piece of equipment to be managed.

  In the connection protocol, a conversation connection protocol and other connection protocols not belonging to the conversation connection protocol are input. The conversation connection protocol refers to a communication protocol for transmitting audio and / or video necessary for a remote conference between facilities. Examples of the conversation connection protocol include a telephone, an IP telephone, and various unified communication protocols. Other connection protocols refer to any connection protocol possessed by equipment that is shared with the conference. Communication between equipment having a common connection protocol by a telephone conference, a video conference, a web conference, a network conference, an electronic blackboard application, or the like can be established between facilities corresponding to a specific protocol. In the embodiment to be described, the conversation connection protocol and other connection protocols are entered in the same column called connection protocol. However, in other embodiments, the conversation connection protocol and other connection protocols are individually managed. May be.

  The necessity of the conference room other than the personal use means the necessity of reservation of the conference room when using the equipment. The necessity / unnecessity of the conference room at the time of individual use means the necessity / unnecessity of reservation of the conference room when the equipment is used in the form of participating in the meeting individually without performing the face-to-face meeting. For example, since equipment provided in a conference room cannot be rented to an individual, whether or not the conference room is necessary for personal use becomes “necessary”.

  The equipment category management table 110B shown in FIG. 2B is indispensable for category identification information, category name, necessary equipment category, connection protocol, personal protocol, personal communication means, and personal use. It includes a record composed of equipment, manual reference information, and a transmission density weighting factor. A record is created for each classified equipment category.

  The necessary equipment category refers to another equipment category that is indispensable for using the equipment of the equipment category. The telecon account (category 20) for the telecon equipment (category 2) shown in FIG. 2 is an example of the relationship of the essential equipment category to the equipment category. The connection protocol includes a conversation connection protocol and other connection protocols that are used between the dedicated devices included in the equipment classified into the equipment category. The transmission density weighting coefficient is weighting information that is the basis for calculating the communication density described later.

  The personal protocol refers to a protocol used by general-purpose communication means that can be used by individuals, not between dedicated equipment. Personal communication means are general-purpose equipment procured by individuals such as smartphones, personal computers, and tablet terminals. Indispensable equipment is equipment necessary for communication using the communication means. The manual reference information is, for example, a URL indicating a storage location of a manual that can be referred to by an individual in order to set the equipment to be communicable. In the embodiment to be described, personally managed equipment is not managed. However, by presenting information registered in the personal protocol in the category information, personal communication means, necessary equipment, and manual reference information to the user. Various settings at the time of individual participation can be facilitated.

  The equipment reservation management table 112 shown in FIG. 4A includes a record made up of equipment reservation ID, equipment ID, user ID, date, equipment reservation ID, schedule ID, and office ID. The equipment ID is a equipment ID registered in the equipment management table 110. The user ID is a user ID for identifying the reserved user. For example, the user ID of the person in charge is registered. On the day, the start date and time and end date and time of use of the equipment are registered. In the facility reservation ID and the scheduled reservation ID, an ID for identifying the facility related to the reservation of the equipment and the schedule information of the user is registered.

  3 and 4B illustrate the data structure of the table managed by the facility reservation management unit 102. 3A illustrates an equipment management table 104A, and FIG. 3B illustrates an office management table 104B additionally provided in the equipment management table 104A. FIG. 4B illustrates the data structure of the facility reservation management table 106.

  The facility management table 104A shown in FIG. 3A includes a facility ID for identifying a facility, a name of the facility, a facility ID of a management facility that owns the facility, the number of people that can be accommodated in the facility, and the facilities. A record including an accessory ID to be included is included. The incidental equipment ID is an ID for identifying equipment provided in the equipment.

  The establishment management table 104B shown in FIG. 3B is a table for managing the movement distance of users between establishments, and the establishment IDs of both the departure and arrival establishments and the preset businesses. It is a record consisting of the time (required time) required to move from place to place. The required time between establishments is a preset time that is typically required when moving between establishments, and may include a margin as appropriate.

  The equipment reservation management table 106 shown in FIG. 4B includes a record including equipment reservation ID, equipment ID, user ID, date and time, contents, and equipment reservation ID. The equipment ID is an equipment ID registered in the equipment management table 104A. The user ID is a user ID that identifies the reserved user. At the time of day, the start date and time and the end date and time for using the equipment are registered. In the equipment reservation ID, an ID for identifying equipment related to the reservation is registered.

  FIG. 5A illustrates the data structure of the user information management table 118 managed by the user information management unit 114. The user information management table 118 shown in FIG. 5A includes a user ID for identifying an individual, the name of the individual, the establishment ID of the establishment to which the individual belongs, and the establishment that the individual desires to hold a meeting. Includes office ID and personal working hours. In addition, the user information management table 118 may include other information such as a contact telephone number and a contact e-mail address.

  The affiliated office ID is information that can be estimated and used as a place where the schedule is performed when the schedule does not include information about the place. The desired business establishment ID registers an establishment that is preferred as a meeting place that can be designated by the individual. A priority may be assigned to each of the conference IDs desired to be held. The working time is information used to exclude a time zone outside the working time from the free time. The user information management table 118 shown in FIG. 5A may further include a field for personal management equipment ID when a user equipment management table 116 for managing personal management equipment is provided.

  FIG. 5B illustrates the data structure of the schedule management table 122 managed by the schedule management unit 120. The schedule management table 122 shown in FIG. 5B relates to a schedule ID for identifying a schedule, a user ID that performs the schedule, the date and time of the schedule, the contents of the schedule, the place where the schedule is performed, and the schedule. A record including an equipment reservation ID and an equipment reservation ID is included. When a conference is reserved, as shown in FIG. 5B, for each member participating in the conference, the date and time of the conference (including the start date and time and the end date and time), the location of the conference (office), and the conference are configured. The equipment reservation ID of the equipment to be used and the equipment reservation ID of the equipment used in the conference are registered. The schedule management table 122 shown in FIG. 5B may include other types of schedules such as going out, sales, and telecommuting, in addition to schedule records related to the conference.

  Hereinafter, the conference setting search process executed by the conference setting support apparatus 150 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6, 12, 13, and 14 are flowcharts showing conference setting support processing executed by the conference setting support device 150 according to the present embodiment. When the user in charge inputs a user ID and password to the conference setting support system 100 and logs in through user authentication, when a menu for setting a new conference is selected from the main screen, FIG. A conference search condition input screen as shown is displayed on the display device 142.

  The search condition input screen 200 shown in FIG. 7 selects a text box 202 that accepts input of a title of a new meeting, text boxes 204 and 208 that accept input of required members and requested members, and an establishment that is desired to be held. A pull-down menu list 212 for specifying a search condition parameter, text boxes 222 and 224 for inputting a desired date and time range to be searched, and a pull-down menu for specifying a conference length. A menu list 226, a pull-down menu list 228 for designating presentation priority, and a search button 230 are included. In FIG. 7, the essential member and the requested member are indicated as “MUST member” and “WANT member”, respectively.

  Search buttons 206 and 210 are attached to text boxes 204 and 208 for inputting required members and desired members. When an operation such as a click is performed on the search buttons 206 and 210, a user list selection screen is called, and a member to be a participation target can be selected from the list display. As the specification of the search condition parameter, FIG. 7 shows a check box 216 for permitting the search range to include a remote conference holding mode, a check box 218 for permitting participatory members to participate offline, and a conference. A check box 220 that permits searching with a reduced length is shown.

  As the priority for presentation, FIG. 7 includes a pull-down menu including options of “high communication density” 228a, “early holding time” 228b, “low moving amount” 228c, and “low use equipment / equipment” 228d. Menu list 228 is illustrated.

  The process shown in FIG. 6 is started from step S100 in response to the search condition being input to the search condition input screen 200 shown in FIG. 7 via the input device 140 and the search button 230 being clicked. In step S101, the condition receiving unit 132 specifies target members including essential members and desired members, specifies a desired date and time range, specifies a desired place, specifies a length of a meeting, specifies a search condition parameter, specifies a presentation priority, Accepts input of other bibliographic items.

  In step S102, the conference setting support unit 130 makes an inquiry to the schedule management unit 120 to acquire the free time within the desired date and time range of the target member (excluding members set to be offline, which will be described later), and the designated conference. A list of time zones in which each member can participate is generated for each target member. FIG. 8A illustrates the data structure of the generated time zone list.

  Each element of the time zone list shown in FIG. 8A includes a user ID, a start candidate date and time, and an end candidate date and time. The start candidate date and time and the end candidate date and time represent a time zone of a specified length that can be fitted within the user's idle time. Here, if a time zone is generated in units of 30 minutes, if there is a free time from 10:00 to 13:00 on a certain day for a certain user, “10:00 to 11:00”, “ Time zones of “10:30 to 11:30”, “11: 0 to 12:00”, “11:30 to 12:30”, and “12: 0 to 13:00” are generated.

  In step S103, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether there is a candidate in the time zone list. When it is determined in step S103 that there is no candidate in the list (NO), a search that permits offline participation (to be referred to as offline search hereinafter) and a search that shortens the length of the conference (hereinafter referred to as “following”). Branch to point A to perform time-reduced search. In this case, nobody can even get time for a conference of a specified length within the desired date and time range. Processing after point A will be described later. If it is determined in step S103 that there is a candidate in the list (YES), the process proceeds to step S104.

  In step S104, the logical product of the time zones in which the essential members can participate is calculated, and at least the mandatory members (except for the offline members described later) all obtain the time zones in which all members can participate, and the candidate time zones are obtained. For each candidate time zone, user ID strings of required members and request members having the candidate time zone as a time zone in which the candidate time zone can participate are obtained, and a candidate time zone list is generated. FIG. 8B illustrates the data structure of the generated candidate time zone list. Each element of the candidate time zone list shown in FIG. 8B includes a start candidate date and time, an end candidate date and time, and an array of user IDs of members who can participate. When an essential member is not specified, it is not particularly limited. For example, it is possible to obtain a logical sum of time periods in which at least two desired members can participate together.

  In step S105, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether there is a candidate in the candidate time zone list. If it is determined in step S105 that there are no candidates in the list (NO), the process branches to point A for offline search and time-reduced search. In this case, there is no time zone in which essential members are aligned in the desired date and time range.

  The point A shown in FIG. 6 is linked to the point A shown in FIG. 12. If it is determined in step S103 or step S105 that there is no candidate in the list (NO), the process proceeds to step S106 shown in FIG. Processing branches. In step S106, the conference setting support unit 130 branches off the process by alternately selecting an offline search or a time shortening search.

  If offline search is selected in step S106 (offline search), the process proceeds to step S107. In step S107, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether offline participation permission is specified in the search condition parameter. If offline participation is not permitted in step S107 (NO), the process loops to step S106. On the other hand, if permission for offline participation is specified in the search condition parameter in step S107 (YES), the process proceeds to step S108.

  In step S108, the conference setting support unit 130 sets an offline flag indicating that offline search has been performed. In step S109, the conference setting support unit 130 counts the number of candidate time zones of the target members (excluding members currently offline), and sorts the members in ascending order of the number of candidates. In step S110, the conference setting support unit 130 sets the target member having the smallest number of candidates as an offline candidate. In step S111, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether all of the essential members are offline when the offline candidate is assumed to be offline participation. If it is determined in step S111 that all the essential members are not offline (NO), the process branches to step S113. In step S113, the conference setting support unit 130 sets the offline candidate target member offline, and loops the process to step S102 in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the time reduction search is selected in step S106 (shortening search), the process proceeds to step S114. In step S114, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether or not the search condition parameter is permitted to search with the conference length shortened. If it is determined in step S114 that the search for shortening the conference length is not permitted (NO), the process loops to step S106. On the other hand, if it is permitted in step S114 (YES), the process proceeds to step S115.

  In step S115, the conference setting support unit 130 sets a shortening flag indicating that the time shortening search has been performed. In step S116, the conference setting support unit 130 generates a shortened time shortened by a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) from the length of the current conference. In step S117, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether or not the generated shortened time is less than a preset shortest time. If it is determined in step S117 that the time is not less than the shortest time (NO), the process branches to step S119. In step S119, the conference setting support unit 130 sets the shortened time to the length of the conference, and loops to step S102 in FIG.

  Referring to step S111 again, on the other hand, if it is determined that all of the essential members are offline when the offline candidate is assumed to participate offline (YES), the offline end reach flag is set in step S112 to Loop through A to step S106. Also, referring to step S117, on the other hand, if it is determined that the generated shortening time is less than the shortest time (YES), the shortest time arrival flag is set in step S118, and the step A Loop to S106.

  In step S106, when the offline search and the time shortening search are not permitted, or the permitted offline search and the time shortening search are further searched because the offline end arrival flag and the shortest time arrival flag are set. If it is determined that the search is not possible (offline search is not possible and time-reduced search is not possible), the process branches to step S120. In step S120, the conference setting support unit 130 answers that there is no candidate corresponding to the search condition, and ends the process in step S121. In this case, the result output unit 134 outputs search result data without candidates corresponding to the search condition, and the search result to that effect is displayed on the display device 142.

  Referring to step S105 in FIG. 6 again, if it is determined in step S105 that there is a candidate in the list (YES), the process branches to step S122. In step S122, the conference setting support unit 130 calls a participation possible conference acquisition process shown in FIG. 9, and obtains establishments where each member can participate in each candidate time zone. The existence of candidates in the candidate time zone list means that at least the required members have free time, and the required members have at least their own place of business, destination office, and outing place (for example, there is a different schedule at the outing place). It is possible to participate from either home (for example, working from home) when there is no conference and participation in the conference can be permitted.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the participation possible meeting acquisition process called in step S122 shown in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 9 starts from step S200 in response to being called, and in the loop of step S201 to step S209, for each candidate time zone shown in FIG. The process shown in S208 is executed. In the loop of step S202 to step S208, for each member who can participate in the candidate time zone (hereinafter referred to as the time zone) to be processed in the loop shown in FIG. The process shown in step S207 is executed.

  In step S203, the conference setting support unit 130 makes an inquiry to the schedule management unit 120, and schedule information describing the schedules before and after the time zone of the member to be processed in the loop (hereinafter referred to as the member). get. In step S204, the conference setting support unit 130 acquires the end date / time and location of the previous schedule and the start date / time and location of the subsequent schedule from the schedule information.

  In step S205, the conference setting support unit 130 uses the data of the business establishment management table 104B shown in FIG. The member can participate in the time zone on the condition that it is in time for the start time of the belt and after the end time of the time zone, taking into consideration the travel time, to the later scheduled location in time for the start time List each office. The participating establishments listed here may include homes and on-the-go.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining processing for listing offices that the member can participate in the time period. FIG. 10 shows schedules for “Mr. A” and “Mr. B”. “Mr. A” is going to work at the office A (office ID = 10) at 9:00 and schedule another meeting at the office B (office ID = 11) from 13:00 to 15:00. Yes. “Mr. B” also went to the office A (office ID = 10) at 9:00 and scheduled another meeting at the office C (office ID = 12) from 13:00 to 15:00. ing. Both of them have free time from 9:00 to 13:00 where they can enter another schedule such as a meeting.

  Here, a total of seven candidate time zones were generated with the two members as essential members, the date and time within the current day as the desired date and time, and the start date and time in 30 minute increments from 9:00 to 12:00. Will be described. In this case, in each candidate time zone starting at 9:00 and 9:30, both “Mr. A” and “Mr. B” can participate only in the A business office (business establishment ID = 10) to which they belong. It is. On the other hand, in each candidate time zone with 10:00 and 10:30 as the start date and time, sufficient travel time can be secured before, so both “Mr. A” and “Mr. B” have three establishments (establishment IDs). = 10, 11, 12) Even if it is held, participation is possible.

  However, “Mr. A” plans another meeting at B office (office ID = 11) from 13:00, so considering the travel time after the meeting, the candidate time for starting 11:00 In the belt, it is impossible to participate in the C establishment (establishment ID = 12), and the A establishment (establishment ID = 10) and the B establishment (establishment ID = 11) can participate. In each candidate time zone starting after 11:30, only the B office (establishment ID = 11) that is planning another meeting can participate. The same applies to Mr. B.

  Referring to FIG. 9 again, in step S206, the conference setting support unit 130, the desired location specified in the search condition, the affiliated business location specified in the user information of the member shown in FIG. Priorities are given to each establishment where the member can participate in the relevant time slot according to the desired establishment. For example, the desired location specified in the search condition can be set to the priority “1”, and the affiliated business location and the conference desired business location can be set to “2” and “3”, respectively. In step S207, the conference setting support unit 130 calculates the amount of increase in travel time based on the previous schedule when a conference is held at each participating business location, and the member can participate in the time zone. Add additional travel time to each new office.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating the data structure of the candidate time zone list to which the priority and the increase in movement are added. As shown in FIG. 11, in association with each user ID of the user ID column for each time zone candidate, an establishment that can participate, its priority, and the amount of increase in its travel time are given. For example, in the case of “Mr. A” shown in FIG. 10, the amount of increase in the travel time is that the travel time for the meeting at the B office already exists as a later schedule. = 12), an increase in travel time is added. The increase in travel time is the difference between the time required to move directly from A to B, and the time required to move from A to C and then to B. Become.

  When the processing for all the members who can participate in the candidate time zone is completed by the loop of step S202 to step S208, and the processing is completed for all the candidate time zones by the loop of step S201 to step S209, this processing is performed in step S210. Then, the process proceeds to step S123 shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 6 again, in step S123, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether or not a designation for permitting the search range to include the form of the remote conference is made. If the remote conference is not permitted in step S123 (NO), the process branches to step S124 shown in FIG. In this case, a search based on a face-to-face meeting is performed.

  In step S124, the conference setting support unit 130 extracts, as candidate business sites, business sites that can participate in at least all of the essential members (excluding offline participation members) for each candidate time zone. Combine with the candidate time zone and the candidate office. Since the candidate offices extracted here are premised on face-to-face meetings, they do not include homes and places to go. In the example of FIG. 10, a set of a candidate time zone “9:00 to 10:00” and a candidate office (establishment ID = 10), a candidate time zone “10: 0 to 11:00”, and a candidate office (10) Each set of candidate establishments (estate ID = 11) and candidate establishments (estate ID = 12) is obtained. In step S125, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether or not there is at least one set of candidate time zones and candidate offices.

  In step S125, if there is no set of candidate time zones and candidate offices (NO), the process branches to step S133. In this case, since there is no time zone and office where all the essential members can be gathered, in this embodiment, in this embodiment, an answer with no candidates is made, and this processing is terminated in step S132. In this case, the result output unit 134 outputs search result data without candidates corresponding to the search condition, and the search result to that effect is displayed on the display device 142. In another embodiment, instead of answering without a candidate, the process branches to step S106 shown in FIG. 12 via point A to search when there is room for offline search or time-reduced search. It is good also as an aspect which continues a process.

  If there is at least one set of candidate time zone and candidate office in step S125 (YES), the process branches to step S126. In this case, there will be a time zone and a business office where at least all the essential members can gather. In step S126, the conference setting support unit 130 counts members who can participate (including mandatory members and request members, excluding offline participation members) for each set of candidate time zones and candidate offices, and sets each set. Give the number of participants to.

  In step S127, the conference setting support unit 130 makes an inquiry to the facility reservation management unit 102, acquires a list of free facilities that can be accommodated by the number of participants in the time zone that can be participated in the candidate office for each set, and the candidate time It is added to the set of belts and candidate offices. In step S128, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether there is at least one set having at least one vacant facility that can be accommodated. In the case where at least one vacant facility that can be accommodated is not provided, the combination of the candidate time zone and the candidate office is excluded. If it is determined in step S128 that there is no group having at least one equipment that can be accommodated (NO), the process proceeds to step S133. In step S133, an answer with no candidates is made, and in step S132, the process is terminated. In another embodiment, instead of performing an answer without a candidate, the process may be branched to step S106 illustrated in FIG.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S128 that there is at least one set having at least one vacant facility (YES), the process proceeds to step S129. In step S129, the conference setting support unit 130, for each set of the candidate time zone and the candidate office, the communication density, the movement amount of the participating member and the number of resources used, or an index value representing at least one of these values, The presentation priority score is calculated and added.

  This calculated score indicates the ease of meeting (ease of communication and ease of participation) reflecting the form of the remote meeting. The score can be the communication density, the amount of movement of the participating members, or the number of resources used, or can be calculated from these alone or in combination. In step S130, the conference setting support unit 130 sorts the set of candidate time zones and candidate offices according to the designation of the presentation priority. At this time, if there is a candidate for the same score, the order may be determined according to the priority assigned in step S206 of FIG.

  In step S131, each set of candidate time zones and candidate offices is answered together with a list of participating members and vacant facilities. In step S132, the process is terminated. In this case, the result output unit 134 sets candidate time zones, candidate offices, and a list of facilities that can be accommodated and reserved as conference candidates, and outputs search result data including one or more conference candidates.

  When the offline flag is set, information for identifying offline members is attached to the search result data. When the time reduction flag is set, information indicating that the time reduction search has been performed is further added to the search result data. At this time, the result output unit 134 may attach the calculated communication density, the movement amount of the participating members, the number of used resources, and the presentation priority score to each of the conference candidates. The person in charge can select a desired one from the conference candidates and can make a reservation for the desired equipment from the available equipment list.

  Referring to FIG. 6 again, if the remote conference is permitted in step S123 (YES), the process branches to step S134 shown in FIG. In this case, the search is performed across a plurality of conference forms including the possibility of remote communication.

  In the loop from step S134 to step S153, the processing shown in steps S135 to S152 is executed for each candidate time zone shown in FIG. In this case, since the target members can participate in the respective business establishments, when a plurality of business establishments are allowed to participate, a plurality of combinations can be considered as methods of distributing the target members to the business establishments. In step S <b> 135, the conference setting support unit 130 tries to distribute each target member to each establishment that can participate, and generates one or more combinations of distribution.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 10, regarding the candidate time zone “11:00 to 12:00”, the combination of distributing “Mr. A” and “Mr. B” to the A site (10) together, 10) and C office (12), respectively, a combination of A office (11) and C office (10), and a combination of A office (11) and C office (12). Generated.

  In the loop of step S136 to step S152, the processing shown in step S137 to step S151 is executed for each combination of distribution generated in step S135. In the loop from step S137 to step S144, the processing shown in step S138 to step S143 is executed in order to confirm the resource reservation status at each business site for each business site constituting the distribution combination. Here, out of office and home are excluded from the establishments subject to the loop.

  In step S138, the conference setting support unit 130 makes an inquiry to the facility reservation management unit 102, and acquires a list of vacant facilities that can be accommodated by the allocated number of people in the candidate time zone. In step S139, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether there is at least one vacant facility that can be accommodated. If it is determined in step S139 that there is no free facility (NO), the process branches to step S143. In this case, since the members assigned to this establishment can only participate from the personal space or the like, the conference setting support unit 130 sets the members assigned to the establishment to the individual participation at the establishment. Then, the process proceeds to step S144.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S139 that there is a vacant facility that can be accommodated (YES), the process proceeds to step S140. In the loop shown in steps S140 to S142, the conference setting support unit 130 makes an inquiry to the equipment reservation management unit 108, and for each equipment category shown in FIG. List the available equipment that can be reserved in the candidate time zone and generate a list of available equipment.

  When the free resource confirmation process for all the establishments is completed for the combination of distribution candidates through the loop of step S137 to step S144, the process proceeds to step S145 shown in FIG. In step S145, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether or not there are a plurality of establishments in the combination of distribution. Here, the purpose is to inspect the possibility of connection between the facilities of the establishments, and therefore establishments in which the facilities cannot be reserved and individual members are allowed to participate individually in step S144 are excluded. If it is determined in step S145 that there are a plurality of establishments in the combination, the process proceeds to step S146.

  In step S146, the conference setting support unit 130 enumerates a set of establishments that can secure vacant equipment (including necessary equipment) with a common conversation connection protocol, and creates a record of the conversation connection protocol and the establishment set. . In step S147, the conference setting support unit 130 determines whether there is a record including all offices, that is, whether there is a common conversation connection protocol that can secure equipment at all offices.

  If it is determined in step S147 that there is no common conversation connection protocol (NO), the process proceeds to step S148. In this case, all offices involved in the combination cannot be connected with a common conversation connection protocol, so the next best measure is taken. As a workaround, connect each office with a separate conversation connection protocol, leave a group of offices connected by a separate conversation connection protocol, and for each office that is out of the group, each member will participate individually. List the responses to change. Alternatively, remote communication between offices using the conversation connection protocol can be abandoned, and one member can be changed to a form in which each member individually participates from another office. In this case, compared with individual participation in the personal space of the office, the communication density described later increases as much as there is face-to-face communication in equipment such as a conference room.

  In step S148, in the present embodiment, a group of a plurality of business establishments having vacant equipment that matches a predetermined conversation connection protocol, or if there is no such business group, distribution to other business establishments except for one business establishment. The selected member is set for individual participation in a facility that can be reserved at each office. In another embodiment, the number of suboptimal measures may be divided into cases, a combination of distributions may be generated, and processing may be continued for all.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S145 that there is a single office (NO), the process proceeds directly to step S149. In this case, remote communication between facilities is unnecessary. If it is determined in step S147 that all offices have a common conversation connection protocol (YES), the process proceeds directly to step S149. In this case, remote communication between facilities is possible at all offices.

  In step S 149, the conference setting support unit 130 sets a member who is at home or on the go to the individual participation in the distribution combination. In step S150, the conference setting support unit 130 calculates a presentation priority score for the distribution combination. Details of the score calculation will be described later. In step S151, supplemental information such as a connection protocol for individuals of reservable equipment, communication means, and manual reference information is acquired from the category management table, and the supplemental information is added to the combination of the distribution.

  When the processing for all the distribution combinations is completed by the loop of step S136 to step S152, and when the processing for all candidate time zones is completed by the loop of step S134 to step S153, the process proceeds to step S154. At this time, scores are calculated for the conference candidates that consist of combinations of candidate time zones and sorting, and necessary information is prepared.

  In step S154, the conference setting support unit 130 sorts one or more conference candidates (a set of candidate time zones and distribution candidates) according to the designation of the presentation priority. In step S155, the candidates for each conference are answered together with an empty equipment list, an empty equipment list, and the supplementary information. In step S156, the process is terminated. In this case, the result output unit 134 outputs search result data including one or more conference candidates. When the offline flag is set, information for identifying offline members is attached to the search result data. When the time reduction flag is set, information indicating that the time reduction search has been performed is further added to the search result data.

  The person in charge selects the desired one from the conference candidates, reserves the desired equipment from the list of available equipment linked to the candidate, and supplies necessary equipment and additional equipment from the available equipment list. Equipment reservations can be made. The person in charge can refer to supplementary information. In addition, the result output unit 134 attaches the communication density, the movement amount of the participating members, the number of used resources, and the score to each of the conference candidates.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a search result display screen displayed on the display device 142 based on the search result data. The search result display screen 240 shown in FIG. 16 shows a plurality of tabs 242 to 248 for designating presentation priority. The tab 242 is a tab for displaying the result of sorting the results in the order of “early holding time”. The tab 244 is a tab for displaying the result of sorting the results in the order of “low movement amount”, the tab 246 for the order of “low use equipment / equipment”, and the tab 248 for sorting the results in the order of “high communication density”. In the example shown in FIG. 16, the tab 242 is selected, and the results are displayed in order from the earliest holding time.

  The search result includes a plurality of candidate fields 250a to 250c. Each candidate field 250 includes a content display 252, a bar display 254, a score display 256, and a reservation button 258. The content display 252 includes the date, time, place, participation mode (attendance to the main office, remote attendance, or offline), equipment to be used, and members who participate in each office. The bar display 254 includes a bar that represents the size of the index value of the communication density, mobility, and resource usage as a length. As the equipment to be used, for example, the equipment having the largest coefficient of transmission density among the equipment that can be secured is selected by default.

  Here, the communication density is a value that uses the degree of ease of communication. The communication density is not particularly limited, but can be defined by the following formula (1). The first term in parentheses in the following formula (1) represents the total sum of the products of the weighting factors of participation means and the number of people at all offices (including whereabouts and homes). When an individual participates remotely, the weight by the participation means of each individual is added. The second term in parentheses in the following formula (1) represents the total sum of products of the number of connections by remote communication between offices (excluding going out and home) and the weight coefficient of the remote communication means.

  The difference between the first sum and the second sum is meant to reduce the frustration of remote communication between establishments. When meeting rooms that meet each other are connected by a video conference, each person in each meeting room is connected by a meeting, but since the meeting rooms are connected by a video conference, the communicability is reduced accordingly.

  For example, the weight of participation means for face-to-face communication is “3”, the weight of participation means for video conference communication is “2”, the weight of participation means for teleconference communication is “1”, and the weight of frustration of face-to-face communication is Is set to “0”, the weight of the frustration of the video conference communication is “1”, and the weight of the frustration of the teleconference communication is “2”. As the weight of the remote participation means, the weight of transmission density assigned to each category shown in FIG. 2B can be used.

In candidate 1 shown in FIG.
(Meeting 3 x 2 people (Office A) + Meeting 3 x 2 people (Business B) + Video conference 2 x 1 (Home)-Video conference meeting room connection 1 x 1 connection) x Meeting 1 hour The communication density is 13. If the meeting time is 2 hours, the communication density is 26.

In candidate 2 shown in FIG.
(Meeting 3 × 3 people (establishment A) + Meeting 3 × 2 people (establishment B) −Conference room connection 2 × 1 connection for teleconference) × Meeting 1 hour.

In candidate 3 shown in FIG.
(Meeting 3 × 5 (Office A)) × Meeting 1 hour, so the communication density is 15.

  The mobility can be calculated as the sum of the travel time increments shown in FIG. 11 across the participating members. Resource utilization can be calculated as the sum of the number of equipment and equipment that need to be reserved. A predetermined weight may be given to the equipment and the equipment.

  When a predetermined candidate reservation button 258 is clicked on the search result display screen 240 shown in FIG. 16, a reservation confirmation screen is displayed. On the reservation confirmation screen, for example, the contents of corresponding candidates can be displayed, and changes in equipment to be used, changes in equipment to be used, changes in participating offices, changes in participating members, and the like can be accepted. When the person in charge gives a final reservation instruction via the reservation confirmation screen, the reservation reception unit 136 receives the reservation instruction, and the conference setting support unit 130 includes the equipment reservation management unit 102, the equipment reservation management unit 108, and the schedule. The management unit 120 performs reservation processing for the facilities, equipment, and schedules of participating members that constitute candidates for reservation instructions.

  In the present embodiment, after the reservation process is completed, the person in charge and the participating members can use a schedule confirmation screen (not shown) for confirming the schedule of the meeting. When one candidate is selected on the schedule confirmation screen, the schedule content display screen is displayed according to the schedule management table managed by the schedule management unit 120. The scheduled content display screen includes a “content confirmation / change” button and a “presentation of participating member list” button. When the “Confirm / Change Content” button is clicked, the conference settings recorded in the conference setting support system 100 are displayed, and can be confirmed and changed.

  Further, when the “presentation of member list” button is clicked on the schedule content display screen, a list display screen 270 as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. The list display screen 270 can include a participating member list display composed of participating members, participating means for participating members, participating places, equipment used, equipment used, manuals used, and index values. The list display screen 270 illustrated in FIG. 17 includes an establishment 272, a member name 274, a use equipment 276, a personal protocol 278, a personal communication means 280, a link 282 to a use manual, and a breakdown 284 of communication density. It is displayed.

  By referring to this list display screen 270, the meeting organizer or the secretariat can make use of it for the preparation of the meeting to be held. In addition, the list display screen 270 presents equipment used in the conference room, protocols and communication means that can be used in the case of individual participation, and a use manual. Individual participants can learn environment setting and usage by referring to the list display screen 270, and can prepare for a conference. Also, the participant can display the details of his / her participation mode or display a personal details screen for changing by specifying his / her name on the list screen 270 shown in FIG.

  The personal detail screen includes a GUI part group for manually changing the participation form, participation place, equipment to be used, and equipment of the user, and a “change” button. When the “change” button is clicked, a change in the participation mode of the user, a change in the participation place, a change in equipment to be used, and a change in equipment made using the GUI parts group are reflected. In the example shown in FIG. 17, since only the holding time is secured for “Mr. E” who has participated as an individual, Mr. E refers to the individual protocol 278 and individual communication means 280 columns. The necessary personal equipment will be procured and set by referring to the user manual. Further, in the conference form in which all members participate individually, only time is secured, so that a connection protocol and communication means are separately set between the members.

  Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the conference setting support apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The conference setting support apparatus 150 shown in FIG. 18 is generally configured as a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer, a workstation, a blade type or a rack mount server. The conference setting support device 150 includes a control unit 12 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a main storage unit 14 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The conference setting support device 150 further includes an auxiliary storage unit 16 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and an SSD (Solid State Drive), an external storage device I / F unit 18, and a network I such as a NIC (Network Interface Card). / F section 20 is included. The conference setting support device 150 provides a remote interface for receiving input of various instructions via the network I / F unit 20.

  In the specific embodiment, the conference setting support device 150 further includes an input device 140 and a display device 142, and provides a user interface for receiving input of various instructions from an operator of the conference setting support device 150. . The input device 140 includes input devices such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel. The display device 142 includes a display device such as an LCD display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The conference setting support device 150 reads the OS and the program for realizing the conference setting support device 150 from the auxiliary storage unit 16 and develops them in the work space provided by the main storage unit 14, thereby controlling the control of the control unit 12. Below, each functional unit and each process described above are realized. A configuration similar to that of the conference setting support device 150 can also be adopted for the computer system that implements the management units 102, 108, 114, and 120.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, based on a search condition including a condition related to a joint work holding mode, a meeting that can present a joint work that matches the search condition to the user. A setting support device, a program, and a conference setting support system can be provided. Note that the collaborative work is not limited to a conference, but includes a collaborative work and other work performed by a plurality of people at the same place or at different places through communication means. In a further preferred embodiment, the conference candidate suitable for the user's purpose can be presented to the user while confirming the reservation status of the resources required for the conference across a plurality of conference modes. it can.

  According to the above configuration, by providing various meeting forms, the overwhelmingly increased options for meeting participation are organized, and meeting candidates are extracted and presented in meeting forms that match the search conditions. Is possible. Thereby, the adjustment burden of the conference organizer's conference settings is reduced. In addition, since the search is performed from various forms of holding, it is easy to obtain the result of the earlier holding date. Furthermore, by allowing offline participation and time reduction, candidates can be found even when time adjustment is difficult, and the result of the early date and time can be easily obtained. Furthermore, since the presentation priority can be specified, it is easy to obtain a search result in line with the intention of the organizer.

  The functional unit can be realized by a computer-executable program written in a legacy programming language such as an assembler, C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark), an object-oriented programming language, or the like. EPROM, flash memory, flexible disk, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, Blu-ray disc, SD card, MO, etc. Can be distributed through.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art may conceive other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, and the like. It can be changed within the range that can be done, and any embodiment is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the effects of the present invention are exhibited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Conference setting support system, 102 ... Equipment reservation management part, 104 ... Equipment management table, 106 ... Equipment reservation management table, 108 ... Equipment reservation management part, 110 ... Equipment management table, 112 ... Equipment reservation management table, 114 ... User Information management unit 116 ... User equipment management table 118 ... User information management table 120 ... Schedule management unit 122 ... Schedule management table 130 ... Conference setting support unit 132 ... Condition accepting unit 134 ... Result output unit 136 ... Reservation accepting unit, 138 ... Storage unit, 140 ... Input device, 142 ... Display device, 150 ... Conference setting support device, 160 ... Terminal device, 200 ... Search condition input screen, 202, 204, 208, 222, 224 ... Text Box, 206, 210 ... Search button, 212, 226, 228 ... Pull-down menu , 214 ... display area, 216, 218, 220 ... check box, 230 ... search button, 240 ... search result display screen, 242-248 ... tab, 250 ... candidate column, 252 ... content display, 254 ... bar display, 256 ... score display, 258 ... reservation button, 270 ... list display screen, 286 ... return button, 12 ... control unit, 14 ... main storage unit, 16 ... auxiliary storage unit, 18 ... external storage device I / F unit, 20 ... network I / F section

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-120419 JP 2005-223650 A JP 2005-190314 A JP 2007-11479 A

Claims (11)

A collaborative work setting support device for supporting collaborative work setting,
Condition accepting means for accepting a search condition including a condition regarding the form of holding the joint work;
Search means for searching for joint work candidates that can be held based on the search conditions;
A collaborative work setting support device, comprising: output means for outputting result data including one or more found collaborative work candidates. The search condition further includes designation of members to participate in the joint work, and the joint work setting support device includes:
Reservation information acquisition means for acquiring reservation information of resources shared with the collaborative work;
Schedule acquisition means for acquiring schedule information of each of the participation target members, wherein the search means meets at least a part of the schedules of the participation target members across a plurality of forms of the joint work, and The collaborative work setting support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a search is performed on condition that resources shared with the collaborative work are secured.   Each of the forms of holding the joint work includes face-to-face communication within the holding facility, communication via remote communication between a plurality of holding facilities, communication via remote communication between the holding facility and an individual, and remote communication between individuals. The combination is provided as a combination including at least one form of communication, and each of the collaboration candidates is evaluated using a score indicative of ease of meeting that reflects a remote meeting form. The joint work setting support apparatus according to 1 or 2. The joint work setting support device includes equipment reservation information related to equipment provided in a candidate location for joint work, equipment reservation information related to equipment that is held in each place and enables communication between the plurality of equipment, and Including means for obtaining
The search means extracts a plurality of places having vacant facilities, which can be used in the vacant facilities, and possessing vacant equipment having a common communication connection protocol, as a plurality of holding candidate places for performing remote work. The collaborative work setting support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The search condition includes designation of whether or not to allow offline participation and designation of whether or not to allow reduction of the length of collaboration work, or any one of these,
When the offline participation is permitted, the search means performs a search by trying a part of the members to be participated as offline participation, and when the length reduction is permitted, the condition reception is performed. The collaborative work setting support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a search is performed by trying a length less than or less than the length accepted by the means.   The said output means attaches | subjects the index value showing the communication density calculated about each with respect to each candidate of a joint work, the amount of movement of a participating member, the number of utilization resources, or at least one of these. The collaborative work setting support device according to any one of the above. The collaborative work setting support device further includes:
Reservation accepting means for accepting a reservation instruction for a joint work candidate included in the result data;
A reservation processing means for reserving a schedule of a participating member included in a designated joint work candidate based on the reservation instruction and reserving a resource constituting the candidate. The joint work setting support apparatus according to item 1.   The said output means outputs the participating member list display data comprised from a participating member, the participating means which each participating member participates, a participating place, equipment used, equipment used, a use manual, and an index value. The collaborative work setting support device according to any one of the preceding claims. The schedule information includes, for the member, the end time and location of the schedule before the candidate time zone, and the start time and location of the later schedule,
The search means sets a time zone in which at least essential members among the participation target members can participate as the candidate time zone, and is in time after the end time from the previous scheduled location, and the later scheduled time The collaborative work setting support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a place where each member can participate in time before the start time is extracted. A computer-executable program for realizing a collaborative work setting support device for supporting collaborative work setting, comprising:
Condition accepting means for accepting a search condition including a condition regarding the form of holding the joint work;
A program for functioning as search means for searching for joint work candidates that can be held based on the search condition, and as output means for outputting result data including one or more found joint work candidates. A collaborative work setting support system for supporting collaborative work setting,
Condition accepting means for accepting a search condition including a condition regarding the form of holding the joint work;
Search means for searching for joint work candidates that can be held based on the search conditions;
A collaborative work setting support system, comprising: output means for outputting result data including one or more found collaborative work candidates.