JP2014165888A - Conference terminal, conference server, conference system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conference terminal and the like, advantageous in the aspects of cost, space-saving, portability and sound quality by validating a voice input/output function of at least one conference terminal among a plurality of conference terminals when the conference terminals are present in the same location.SOLUTION: In a conference system 1A, a conference is performed by audio communication and a plurality of conference terminals A (11), B (12), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16) and G (17) are connected via a network (terminal network 10). Each conference terminal has a control unit 110 validating a voice input/output function of at least one conference terminal belonging to a predetermined distance range and participating the same conference, among the plurality of conference terminals.

Description

  The present invention relates to a conference terminal, a conference server, a conference system, and a program capable of performing a conference by voice call.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a conference system capable of performing a conference call between a plurality of telephone terminals connected to a telephone communication network is known. In the conference system, a fixed telephone is connected to the conference system via a fixed telephone line, or a mobile phone or a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) is connected to a base station via a wireless line to perform a telephone conference.

  Further, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a mobile phone that performs three-party communication between a mobile phone, a call destination terminal for cellular communication, and another mobile phone. Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, a mobile phone is connected to a mobile phone of the other party via a mobile radio communication system, and a terminal is connected to the mobile phone via a short-range radio communication such as BlueTooth (registered trademark). A technology related to a system that connects and performs three-party communication between a mobile phone, a partner mobile phone, and a terminal is disclosed.

JP 2003-092785 A JP 2002-252874 A

  According to the above-described conventional conference system, or according to the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a fixed telephone provided in a conference room, or a mobile phone brought into the conference room by a conference participant to hold a conference When all the voice input / output functions of terminals such as smartphones, PCs, tablets, etc. are set to the valid (ON) state and used, the following inconvenience occurs. In other words, the conference participants can hear the sound emitted from the speaker in the same conference room directly, and the sound can be heard as an echo because it is transmitted as a packet and reproduced and output from the speaker with a delay. It will be uncomfortable for the conference participants.

  In order to solve this inconvenience, conventionally, it has been necessary to prepare a hands-free speakerphone or the like separately. However, there are inconveniences in terms of cost, space saving, portability, etc., and since a single microphone collects the voices of all conference participants in the same conference room location, microphones were used individually. There has been a problem that the sound quality is very low compared to the case.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention enables the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal when a plurality of conference terminals exist in the same location, thereby reducing cost, space saving, and portability. An object of the present invention is to provide a conference terminal, a conference server, a conference system, and a program that are advantageous in terms of sound quality.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a conference terminal in a conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that perform a conference by voice call are connected via a network, and a predetermined distance range among the plurality of conference terminals. And a control unit that enables the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal that participates in the same conference.

  In the present invention, the control unit specifies another conference terminal located in the predetermined distance range by short-range wireless communication, and the at least one selected from the specified conference terminals according to a certain condition. The voice input / output function of one conference terminal is enabled.

  In this invention, it has an audio | voice transmission process part, The said audio | voice transmission process part unicast-transmits audio | voice output information to the said at least 1 conference terminal selected by the said control part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In the present invention, the audio reception processing unit has an audio reception processing unit, and the audio reception processing unit is not the conference terminal selected by the control unit among the audio output information multicast-transmitted from other conference terminals. The output is prohibited.

  The present invention is also a conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that conduct a conference by voice call are connected via a terminal network, and the conference terminals belong to a predetermined distance range and participate in the same conference. Terminal information on the conference terminal is transmitted to another conference terminal via the terminal network, and the other conference terminal receives voice output information from the conference network via the terminal network. The audio output information is transmitted to at least one conference terminal selected based on the above.

  Further, the present invention is a conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that perform a conference by voice call and a conference server are connected via a client-server network, and the conference terminals belong within a predetermined distance range, and When terminal information regarding other conference terminals participating in the same conference is transmitted to the conference server via the network, and the conference server receives audio output information from the conference terminal via the network, the terminal information is determined from the terminal information. The audio output information is distributed to at least one conference terminal selected based on conditions.

  The present invention also provides a conference server in a conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that conduct a conference by voice call are connected via a client-server network, and is transmitted from the plurality of conference terminals within a predetermined distance range. When receiving terminal information related to other conference terminals belonging to and receiving voice output information from a certain conference terminal via the network, the voice output is output to at least one conference terminal selected from the terminal information based on a predetermined condition. It has a control part which distributes information, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In addition, the present invention is a program used for a conference terminal in a conference system that is executed by a computer and performs a conference by voice call and connected via a network, and the computer includes the plurality of conference terminals. Among them, a process for enabling the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal that belongs to a predetermined distance range and participates in the same conference is executed.

  The present invention is also a program used for the conference server of the conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that are executed by a computer and perform a conference by voice call and a conference server are connected via a client-server network. When receiving the audio output information from the certain conference terminal via the network, a process of receiving terminal information related to other conference terminals belonging to a predetermined distance range transmitted from the plurality of conference terminals to the program, And delivering the audio output information to at least one conference terminal selected from the terminal information based on a predetermined condition.

  According to the present invention, when a plurality of conference terminals exist in the same location, the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal is enabled, which is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality. In addition, a conference terminal, a conference server, a conference system, and a program can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the conference system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an operation | movement sequence diagram of the conference system of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conference terminal of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the basic operation | movement of the conference terminal of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the creation processing operation | movement of the location information of the conference terminal of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the representative audio | voice output terminal determination processing operation | movement of the conference terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the conference system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conference server of FIG. It is an operation | movement sequence diagram of the conference system of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as an embodiment) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conference system 1A according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, conference terminals A (11), B (12), C (13), D (14), E (15), and F (16) constituting the conference system 1A according to the first embodiment. , G (17) each have an IP (Internet Protocol) connection environment, and enable peer-to-peer communication via, for example, P2P (Peer to Peer) via the terminal network 10.

  In addition, a plurality of conference terminals A (11), B (12), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16), and G (17) are close to BlueTooth (registered trademark) or the like. Built-in short-range wireless communication adapter compliant with the range wireless communication standard, for example, communication with other conference terminals with the same short-range wireless communication adapter belonging to (located) within the range of 10 [m] It is possible.

  The conference terminals A (11), B (12), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16), and G (17) used here are PCs, landlines, Any of a mobile phone, a smart phone, and a PC headset may be used.

  In FIG. 1, conference terminals A (11) and B (12) are installed in a room a located in the same range (location) where radio waves of short-range wireless communication can reach, or are carried by members participating in the conference. And In addition, the conference terminals C (13) and D (14) are in a remote place where radio waves by short-range wireless communication do not reach and are carried by members who participate in the same conference. In addition, the conference terminals E (15), F (16), and G (17) are installed in the same room b or carried by members who participate in the conference, and are further connected to the conference terminal E (15). Is connected to an external speakerphone 18 and an external headset 19 is connected to the conference terminal F (16).

  The operation of the conference system 1A of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the operation sequence diagram of FIG. Here, the case where the audio | voice input into conference terminal A (11) is output to conference terminal B (12), E (15), F (16), G (17) is demonstrated and demonstrated.

  The conference terminal A (11) first sends a conference participation notification message to the conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) by multicast (step S101). The conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) that have received the request belong to a range in which radio waves reach from the location where they are located by short-range wireless communication. Other conference terminals are specified, location information listing the specified conference terminals is created, and at least one representative voice output terminal is selected and set (step S102). As the location information, each conference terminal A (11), B (12), C (13), E (15), F (16), G (17) is turned on whether it is in the location. Assume that a flag indicated by / OFF is set.

  Here, it is assumed that conference terminals A (11) and B (12) belong to the same location (room a), and conference terminals E (15), F (16) and G (17) belong to the same location (room b), For this reason, the location flags of the conference terminals A (11), B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) are ON. The selection condition as the representative audio output terminal is, for example, that a terminal connected to the external speakerphone 18 is selected with the highest priority, a terminal using the external headset 19 is excluded, and has the same priority in the same location. When there are a plurality of conference terminals, a conference terminal having a large or small terminal ID is preferentially selected. Here, since the conference terminal E (15) is connected to the external speakerphone 18, it is selected and set as the representative audio output terminal. Thereby, each conference terminal A (11), B (12), E (15), F (16), G (17) is selected as the conference terminal E (15) as the representative voice output terminal set. ) Is stored (step S103).

  Subsequently, conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) that participate in the conference and are located within the radio wave reach by short-range wireless communication are generated by the conference terminal A (11). The voice input / output function of the voice packet transmitted via the terminal network 10 is turned off or muted reproduced except for one conference terminal E (15) selected as the representative voice output terminal. There are two ways to achieve this. One is that the conference terminal A (11) multicasts the generated voice packet to the conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) participating in the conference and receives them. This is a method for controlling voice reproduction with (<Sound reproduction prohibited on reception side>). The other is a method in which the conference terminal A (11) unicasts the voice packet generated only to the conference terminal E (15) selected and set as the representative voice output terminal (<represented on the transmission side). Send only to audio output terminal>).

  In the former case, the conference terminal A (11) uses the conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G that participate in the conference as voice packets generated by assembling the voice output information into packets. Multicast transmission to (17) (step S104). Then, the conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) that have received them reproduce the voice output information if they are not the conference terminals selected as the representative voice output terminals. Is prohibited.

  In the latter case, the conference terminal A (11) unicasts the voice packet generated by assembling the voice output information into a packet to the conference terminal E (15) selected and selected as the representative voice output terminal ( In step S105), it is not transmitted to the other conference terminals B (12), F (16), and G (17). Therefore, the audio output information generated by the conference terminal A (11) is reproduced only from the conference terminal E (15) and is reproduced from the other conference terminals B (12) F (16) and G (17). Absent. Although the conference terminal B (12) is located in the same room a, the voice from the speaker can be heard directly, but the voice output from the built-in speaker is prohibited.

  FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the conference terminal A (11). As shown in FIG. 3, the conference terminal A (11) includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 111, a network processing unit 112, a voice transmission processing unit 113, a voice reception processing unit 114, and a voice input unit 115. The audio output unit 116, the built-in microphone 117, and the built-in speaker 118 are included.

  For example, the control unit 110 is mounted with a microprocessor, and sequentially reads and executes the terminal program according to the present embodiment stored in the program area of the storage unit 111, whereby a plurality of conference terminals A (11), B (12 ), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16), and G (17), the voice of at least one conference terminal that belongs to the predetermined distance range and participates in the same conference Execute processing to enable the I / O function. In addition, the control unit 110 identifies other conference terminals that belong to a predetermined distance range by short-range wireless communication, and at least one conference terminal that permits audio reproduction according to certain conditions from the identified conference terminals. (Here, conference terminal E (15)) is selected.

  Here, the “predetermined distance range” refers to a range where radio waves reach by short-range wireless communication, and “condition” refers to, for example, the conference terminal to which the external speakerphone 18 is connected is selected with the highest priority, and the external head For selecting a representative audio output terminal, such as excluding conference terminals that use the set 19, and when a plurality of conference terminals having the same priority are present, a terminal having a larger or smaller terminal ID is preferentially selected. It is a rule.

  For this reason, the control unit 110 detects a conference terminal that can communicate with the main control unit 110a by short-range wireless communication as shown in FIG. 3 in which the structure of the terminal program to be executed is expanded. A location information detection processing unit 110b and a representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit 110c that selects a conference terminal capable of voice output are included. The main control unit 110a detects location information so that the control unit 110 executes control to enable the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal that belongs to the predetermined distance range and participates in the same conference. The sequence control of the processing unit 110b and the representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit 110c is performed.

  For example, an SDRAM (Synchronous Random Access Memory) is mounted as a memory element in the storage unit 111, a work area is allocated in addition to the program area, the terminal program according to the present embodiment is assigned to the program area, and the work area is assigned to the work area. Various data generated by the control unit 110 in the process of executing the terminal program, such as location information and representative voice output terminal information, are stored.

  The network processing unit 112 communicates with the conference terminals C (13) and D (14) remotely located via the terminal network 10, or the conference terminal B (12 ), E (15), F (16), and G (17). The voice transmission processing unit 113 assembles the voice input via the voice input unit 115 into a voice bucket and outputs the voice bucket to the terminal network 10 via the network processing unit 112. At this time, the generated voice packet is unicast transmitted to the conference terminal E (15) selected as the representative voice output terminal by the control unit 110.

  The voice reception processing unit 114 converts voice packets received from the terminal network 10 via the network processing unit 112 into voice output information, and outputs the voice output information to the voice output unit 116. The audio reception processing unit 114 outputs the audio output of the audio output information multicast-transmitted from the conference terminal A (11) that transmits the audio packet if the own terminal is not the representative audio output terminal selected by the control unit 11. Ban.

  The voice input unit 115 is connected to the external speakerphone 18 or the external headset 19 in addition to the built-in microphone 117, takes in the voice collected by these, converts it into voice input information, and outputs it to the voice transmission processing unit 113. . The audio output unit 116 converts the audio output information output from the audio reception processing unit 114 into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal to the built-in speaker 118, the external speakerphone 18, or the external headset 19.

  The conference terminals B (12), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16), and G (17) have the same configuration as the conference terminal A (11), and therefore will be described. Is omitted.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the conference terminal A (11) according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  First, the control unit 110 (main control unit 110a) multicasts a conference participation notification message to the conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) participating in the conference. (Step S21). At the same time, the main control unit 110a determines other conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) that belong to the radio wave reach through short-range wireless communication via the network processing unit 112. Then, location information is created (step S22), and the location information is stored in the work area of the storage unit 111 (step S23). Similarly, the other conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) that have received the conference notification message are assigned to other conference terminals that belong to the radio wave reach by short-range wireless communication. The location information is created by determination, and stored in the work area of the storage unit 111 that each has.

  The detailed procedure of the location information generation process (S22) is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, when the main control unit 110a activates the location information detection processing unit 110b, the location information detection processing unit 110b controls the network processing unit 112 to perform a conference within the same location (radio wave reachable range) by short-range wireless communication. It is determined whether or not a terminal exists (step S221). Here, when there is no conference terminal in the same location (step S221 “No”), the location information detection processing unit 110b is assigned to the work area of the storage unit 111 for each conference terminal via the main control unit 110a. The corresponding flag of the location information is set to OFF (step S224).

  On the other hand, when a conference terminal exists in the same location (step S221 “Yes”), the location information detection processing unit 110b determines a conference ID uniquely assigned to each conference (step S222), and the same conference ID. If so (step S222 “Yes”), the corresponding flag of the location information assigned to each conference terminal is set to ON in the work area of the storage unit 111 via the main control unit 110a (step S223), and the same conference ID is used. If not (step S222 “No”), the corresponding flag of the location information assigned to each conference terminal in the work area of the storage unit 111 is set to OFF via the main control unit 110a, and the location information generation process is terminated (step S22). S224).

  Returning to FIG. The main control unit 110a generates location information (step S22), stores it as a flag in the work area of the storage unit 111 (step S23), and then joins conference terminals B (12), E (15), and F participating in the conference. A process of determining a representative voice output terminal set to at least one of (16) and G (17) is executed (step S24).

  A detailed procedure of the representative voice output terminal determination process is shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, when the main control unit 110a activates the representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit 110c, the representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit 110c refers to the location information assigned to the work area of the storage unit 11, and sets a flag. It is determined whether or not there is a conference terminal that participates in the conference within the radio wave reach by checking (step S241). Here, when it does not exist (step S241 “No”), the representative voice output terminal reception processing unit 110c selects and sets the conference terminal A (11) as the representative voice output terminal (step S247). On the other hand, if it exists (step S241 “Yes”), the representative voice output terminal reception processing unit 110c further determines whether or not the external headset 19 is connected to these conference terminals (step S242) and is connected. If so (step S242 “Yes”), the conference terminal A (11) is selected as the representative voice output terminal (step S247). If not connected (step S242 “No”), the same conference ID is used. Terminal information of the conference terminals participating in the conference is collected (step S243).

  The terminal information here refers to information necessary for condition determination for determining as a representative audio output terminal. For example, whether or not the external speakerphone 18 is connected or whether or not the external headset 19 is connected. Or the terminal ID etc. uniquely given for every meeting terminal are said.

  Next, the representative audio output terminal reception processing unit 110c gives the highest priority to the conference terminal E (15) to which the external speakerphone 18 is connected from among the conference terminals located in the same location from the collected terminal information. It determines as an output terminal (step S244). Here, conditions are set so that the conference terminal to which the external speakerphone 18 is connected is selected with the highest priority. When there are a plurality of conference terminals having the same priority, the size of the terminal ID is the selection condition. Yes. Note that the conference terminal F (16) to which the external headset 19 is connected is excluded from the selection targets.

  Subsequently, the main control unit 110a determines whether or not the own terminal is selected as the representative voice output terminal (step S245). If the own terminal is selected as the representative voice output terminal (step S245 “Yes”), conference terminal A (11) is set as the representative voice output terminal (step S246), and the own terminal is selected as the representative voice output terminal. If not (step S245 “No”), the conference terminal A (11) is set as a non-representative voice output terminal (step S247). Here, since conference terminal E (15) is selected as the representative voice output terminal, conference terminal A (11) is set as the non-representative voice output terminal.

  Returning to FIG. After executing the representative voice output terminal determination process (step S24), the control unit 110 stores the representative voice output terminal information in the work area of the storage unit 111 of the own terminal, and others via the network processing unit 112 and the terminal network 10. Conference terminals B (12), E (15), F (16), and G (17) (step S25).

  Next, when there is an audio input, the control unit 110 activates the audio transmission processing unit 113 to execute an audio transmission process, and when receiving an input audio via the terminal network 10, activates the audio reception processing unit 114 to receive the audio. In this example, both the voice transmission process and the voice reception process will be described specifically for a mechanism in which both the input voice and the received voice are reproduced only by the conference terminal E (15) set as the representative voice output terminal. .

  That is, during the transmission process (step S26 “transmission”), if there is a voice input from the built-in microphone 117 or the external speakerphone / external headset 18 (19) via the voice input unit 115, the voice transmission processing unit 113 The voice information input process for assembling as a voice packet is executed (step S27). Subsequently, the voice transmission processing unit 113 acquires location information and representative voice output terminal information from the work area of the storage unit 111 via the main control unit 110a (step S28). Then, the voice transmission processing unit 113 unicasts the voice output information via the network processing unit 112 to the conference terminal E (15) whose location flag is set to ON and set as the representative voice output terminal ( Step S29).

  On the other hand, the voice reception processing unit 114 performs voice reception processing that converts voice packets received via the terminal network 10 into voice data and outputs the voice data to the voice output unit 116 during the reception process (step S26 “reception”). (Step S30). At this time, the voice reception processing unit 114 acquires the location information and the representative voice output terminal information from the work area of the storage unit 111 via the main control unit 110a (step S31), and the location flag of the own terminal is ON, If it is selected as the representative voice output terminal (step S32 “Yes”), the voice output by the voice output unit 116 via the built-in speaker 118 or the external speakerphone 18 is permitted (step S33), the location flag is ON, If it is not selected as the representative voice output terminal (step S32 “No”), a process of prohibiting voice output from the built-in speaker 118 or the external speakerphone 18 by the voice output unit 116 is executed (step S34).

  As described above, according to the conference system 1A according to the present embodiment, the plurality of conference terminals constituting the conference system 1A belong to a predetermined distance range, and the terminal information related to other conference terminals participating in the same conference. Is transmitted to another conference terminal via the terminal network 10, and when the other conference terminal receives the audio output information from the certain conference terminal via the terminal network 10, at least one selected from the terminal information based on a predetermined condition Audio output information is sent to the conference terminal. As described above, when there are a plurality of conference terminals at the same location, the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal can be enabled. Therefore, the utterance content of the speaker can be at least one conference terminal. In addition, since there is no output from the speaker, it is possible to provide a conference system 1A that does not give discomfort to the conference participants and is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality. .

  Moreover, according to the conference terminal which concerns on this embodiment, the control part 110 has several conference terminal A (11), B (12), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16). ) And G (17), a process of enabling the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal E (15) belonging to a predetermined distance range and participating in the same conference is executed. Further, the control unit 110 identifies other conference terminals that belong to a predetermined distance range by short-range wireless communication, and at least one conference terminal that permits audio output according to certain conditions from the identified conference terminals. Here, the conference terminal E (15) is selected and determined. Thus, when there are a plurality of conference terminals at the same location, in order to enable the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal E (15), another conference terminal A (11) belonging to the same location is used. , B (12), F (16), and G (17) voice input / output functions are disabled. In this way, when there are a plurality of conference terminals at the same location, the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal can be enabled, so that the utterance content of the speaker is one conference terminal E ( Since there is no output from the speaker except for 15), there is no discomfort to the conference participants, and a conference terminal that is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality is provided. Can do.

  At this time, the voice transmission processing unit 113 unicasts the voice output information to at least one conference terminal selected by the control unit 110, and the voice reception processing unit 114 is multicast-transmitted from another conference terminal. Among the reproduced voices, if the conference terminal is not selected as the representative voice output terminal by the control unit 110, the voice output is prohibited. As described above, the audio output processing unit 113 transmits the audio output information only to the selected conference terminal, or the audio reception processing unit 114 transmits the audio information other than the conference terminal selected as the representative audio output terminal. , The audio output by at least one selected conference terminal is possible, and therefore the utterance content of the speaker is output from the speaker except for one conference terminal E (15). Therefore, it is possible to provide a conference terminal that does not give discomfort to conference participants and is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality.

  According to the conference terminals A (11), B (12), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16), and G (17) according to the present embodiment, the short-range wireless Although other conference terminals belonging to a predetermined distance range are specified using the communication function, the same effect can be obtained even if the system administrator selects and sets the conference terminals by manual input in advance. However, in this case, it is not possible to dynamically specify a conference terminal that belongs to the predetermined distance range and participates in the conference.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the conference system 1B according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, the difference in configuration from the conference system 1A according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is that the conference terminals A (11), B (12), C (13), D (14) constituting the conference system 1B. ), E (15), F (16), and G (17) are all connected via the conference server 30 not by the terminal network 10 but by the client server type network 20 as in the first embodiment. .

  As shown in FIG. 8, the conference server 30 includes a control unit 300, a storage unit 301, a network processing unit 302, an audio transmission processing unit 303, an audio reception processing unit 304, and audio data encoding. / Decoding processing unit 305.

  For example, the control unit 300 is mounted with a microprocessor, and sequentially reads out and executes the server program according to the present embodiment stored in the program area of the storage unit 301, whereby a plurality of conference terminals A (11), B (12 ), C (13), D (14), E (15), F (16), G (17) belong to a predetermined distance range and participate in the conference. For example, conference terminal A (11), Location information and representative voice output terminal information (terminal information) are received from B (12), E (15), and F (16), and the conference terminals A (11), B (12), and E (15) , F (16), the voice output information is indicated by the representative voice output terminal information. For example, the audio output information is distributed to the conference terminal E (15). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 300 has a main control unit 300a, a location information reception processing unit 300b, and a representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit, as shown in FIG. 300c.

  When the location information reception processing unit 300b receives the location information from the conference terminals A (11), B (12), E (15), and F (16) via the client server type network 20 and the network processing unit 302, A flag check is performed, and whether or not each conference terminal is a conference participant is determined by ON / OFF. When the representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit 300c receives the representative voice output terminal information from any one of the conference terminals A (11), B (12), E (15), and F (16), the main control unit 300a Under control, at least one of the conference terminals A (11), B (12), E (15), and F (16) selected as the representative voice output terminal includes the client server network 20 and the network processing unit 302. Control is performed to distribute the audio output information received via.

  In addition, the main control unit 300a, for example, from the conference terminals A (11), B (12), E (15), and F (16) where the control unit 300 belongs to the predetermined distance range and participates in the conference. Terminal information consisting of location information and representative voice output terminal information is received, and voice output information is received from one of the conference terminals A (11), B (12), E (15), and F (16). Upon reception, for example, the location information reception processing unit 300b and the representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit indicate that the voice output information is distributed to the conference terminal E (15) indicated by the representative voice output terminal information. Sequence control with 300c is performed.

  For example, an SDRAM is mounted as a memory element in the storage unit 301, a work area is allocated in addition to the program area, the server program according to the present embodiment is assigned to the program area, and location information and representative voices are assigned to the work area. Various data generated by the control unit 300 in the process of executing the server program, such as output terminal information, is stored.

  The network processing unit 302 communicates with the conference terminals C (13) and D (14) remotely located via the client server type network 20, or the conference terminal B within a range where radio waves by short-range wireless communication reach. (12) A communication adapter that performs communication with E (15), F (16), and G (17).

  The voice transmission processing unit 303 is voice output information transmitted from a certain conference terminal received via the client server type network 20, the network processing unit 302, the voice reception processing unit 304, and the voice data encoding / decoding unit 305. Are output via the network processing unit 302 and the client server network 20 to the conference terminal set as the representative voice output terminal under the control of the control unit 300. The voice reception processing unit 304 receives voice output information transmitted from a certain conference terminal via the client server type network 20 and the network processing unit 302, and outputs it to the voice data encoding / decoding unit 305. The audio data encoding / decoding processing unit 305 is a so-called CODEC that encodes or decodes audio data input / output via the audio transmission processing unit 303 and the audio reception processing unit 304.

  The operation of the conference system 1B of FIG. 7 and the conference server 30 of FIG. 8 will be described with reference to the operation sequence diagram of FIG. Here, the case where the audio | voice input into conference terminal A (11) is output to conference terminal B (12), E (15), F (16) is illustrated and demonstrated.

  When the conference terminal A (11) first transmits a conference opening notification message to the conference server 30 (step S201), the control unit 300 (main control unit 300a) of the conference server 14 sends the conference opening notification message. It mediates and transmits to the conference terminals B (12), E (15), and F (15) expressing participation in the same conference via the network processing unit 302 and the client server type network 20. At this time, the conference terminal A (11) generates location information by short-range wireless communication (step S202), and the conference terminal B that receives the conference opening notification message from the conference terminal A (11) via the conference server 30. (12), E (15), and F (16) also generate location information by short-range wireless communication, and execute a process of selecting a representative voice output terminal that matches a predetermined condition, as in the first embodiment. (Step S203). Here, the conference terminal A (11), B (12), E (15), and F (16) all have the location flag ON, and the conference terminal E (15) is selected and set as the representative voice output terminal. To do.

  Next, the conference terminals A (11), B (12), E (15), and F (16) transmit the generated location information and information related to the representative voice output terminal to the conference server 30 (step S204). In the conference server 30, the location information reception processing unit 300b receives the location information, and the representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit 300c receives the representative voice output terminal information. Subsequently, the conference terminal A (11) converts the output voice into a voice packet and transmits it to the conference server 30 (step S205). In the conference server 30 that has received the voice packet, the main control unit 300a performs a flag check based on the location information received by the location information reception processing unit 300b (step S206), and the conference terminals A (11) and B in the same location. When it is confirmed that (12), E (15), and F (16) exist, the conference terminal E (15) selected based on the representative voice output terminal information received by the representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit 300c. In contrast, the voice packet is transmitted via the network processing unit 302 and the client server type network 20.

  As described above, according to the conference system 1B according to the second embodiment, a plurality of conference terminals belong to a predetermined distance range, and terminal information of other conference terminals participating in the same conference is transmitted to the server client network. 20, when the conference server 30 receives the voice output information from the conference terminal A (11) via the client server network 20, for example, the predetermined information is received from the previously received terminal information. For example, the audio output information is distributed to at least one conference terminal E (15) selected based on the above condition. In this way, when there are a plurality of conference terminals at the same location, the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal can be enabled, so that the utterance content of the speaker is one conference terminal E ( Since there is no output from the speaker except for 15), there is no discomfort to the conference participants, and the conference system 1B is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality. be able to.

  In addition, according to the conference server 30 according to the present embodiment, the control unit 300 receives terminal information related to other conference terminals belonging to a predetermined distance range, transmitted from a plurality of conference terminals, and from a certain conference terminal. When the audio output information is received via the client server type network 20, the audio output information is distributed to at least one conference terminal selected from the terminal information based on a predetermined condition. In this way, when there are a plurality of conference terminals at the same location, the voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal can be enabled, and therefore the utterance content of the speaker can be set to one conference terminal E. In addition, since it is not output from the speaker, it is possible to provide a conference server 30 that does not give discomfort to the conference participants and is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality. .

  The program of the present invention is executed by a computer (conference terminal), for example, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, and a plurality of conference terminals A (11), B (12), C for performing a conference by voice call. (13), D (14), E (15), F (16), and G (17) are terminal programs used for each conference terminal in the conference system 1A to which the terminal network 10 is connected. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the terminal program is a voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal that belongs to a predetermined distance range among a plurality of conference terminals and participates in the same conference. The process (S21 to S34) for enabling the is executed.

  According to the program (terminal program) of the present invention, when the control unit 110 sequentially reads and executes the terminal program stored in the storage unit 111, at least one conference is performed when a plurality of conference terminals exist at the same location. The voice input / output function of the terminal can be enabled, and therefore the utterance content of the speaker is not output from the speaker except for one conference terminal, which may cause discomfort to the conference participants. It is possible to provide a conference terminal that is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the program of the present invention is executed by a computer (conference server 30), and a plurality of conference terminals A (11), B (12), and C (13) that conduct a conference by voice call. ), D (14), E (15), F (16), G (17) and a server program used for the conference server 30 of the conference system 1B in which the conference server 30 is connected via the client server type network 20. is there. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the server program receives terminal information related to other conference terminals that are transmitted from a plurality of conference terminals and belong to a predetermined distance range (S201 to S204); When receiving voice output information from a certain conference terminal via the client server type network 20, processing for delivering the voice output information to at least one conference terminal selected from the terminal information based on a predetermined condition (S205, S206); Is executed.

  According to the program (server program) of the present invention, when the conference server 30 (control unit 300) sequentially reads and executes the server program stored in the storage unit 301, there are a plurality of conference terminals at the same location. The voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal can be enabled, so that the speech content of the speaker is not output from the speaker except for one conference terminal. It is possible to provide the conference server 30 that does not give pleasure and is advantageous in terms of cost, space saving, portability, and sound quality.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, it cannot be overemphasized that the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiments. Further, it is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  1A, 1B ... Conference system, 10 ... Terminal network, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 ... Conference terminal (A, B, C, D, E, F, G), 18 ... External speakerphone, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 ... External headset, 20 ... Client server type network, 30 ... Conference server, 110 ... Control part, 110a ... Main control part, 110b ... Location information detection processing part, 110c ... Representative voice output terminal selection processing part, 111 ... Memory 112: Network processing unit, 113 ... Audio transmission processing unit, 114 ... Audio reception processing unit, 115 ... Audio input unit, 116 ... Audio output unit, 117 ... Internal microphone, 118 ... Internal speaker, 300 ... Control unit, 300a ... main control unit, 300b ... location information reception processing unit, 300c ... representative voice output terminal information reception processing unit, 301 ... storage unit, 302 ... Ttowaku processing unit, 03 ... sound transmission processing section, 304 ... voice receiving unit, 305 ... audio data encoding / decoding processing unit.

Claims (8)

The conference terminal in a conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that conduct a conference by voice call are connected via a network,
A control unit that enables a voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal that belongs to a predetermined distance range and participates in the same conference among the plurality of conference terminals;
The controller is
The other conference terminal located in the predetermined distance range is specified by short-range wireless communication, and the voice input / output function of the at least one conference terminal selected based on a predetermined condition is enabled. Conference terminal. Has a voice transmission processing unit,
The voice transmission processing unit
The conference terminal according to claim 1, wherein voice output information is unicast-transmitted to the at least one conference terminal selected by the control unit. Has an audio reception processing unit,
The voice reception processing unit
2. The conference terminal according to claim 1, wherein among the audio output information multicast-transmitted from another conference terminal, the audio output is prohibited unless the conference terminal is the conference terminal selected by the control unit. A conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that conduct a conference by voice call are connected via a terminal network,
The conference terminal
Transmitting terminal information about other conference terminals that belong to a predetermined distance range and participate in the same conference to other conference terminals via the terminal network;
The other conference terminal is:
When receiving audio output information from a certain conference terminal via the terminal network, the audio output information is transmitted from the terminal information to at least one conference terminal selected based on a predetermined condition.
A conference system characterized by that. A conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that perform a conference by voice call and a conference server are connected via a client-server network,
The conference terminal
Sending terminal information about other conference terminals that belong to a predetermined distance range and participate in the same conference to the conference server via the network,
The conference server
When the audio output information is received from a certain conference terminal via the network, the audio output information is distributed to at least one conference terminal selected from the terminal information based on a predetermined condition. A conference server in a conference system in which a plurality of conference terminals that conduct a conference by voice call are connected via a client-server network,
When terminal information related to other conference terminals belonging to a predetermined distance range transmitted from the plurality of conference terminals is received and voice output information is received from the conference terminal via the network, a predetermined condition is determined from the terminal information. A controller that distributes the audio output information to at least one conference terminal selected based on
A conference server. A program used for the conference terminal in a conference system that is executed by a computer and that has a plurality of conference terminals that conduct a conference by voice call connected via a terminal network,
In the computer,
A process for enabling a voice input / output function of at least one conference terminal belonging to a predetermined distance range and participating in the same conference among the plurality of conference terminals;
A program that executes A program used for the conference server of a conference system that is executed by a computer and that connects a plurality of conference terminals and a conference server that perform a conference by voice call via a client-server network,
In the program,
Processing for receiving terminal information related to other conference terminals belonging to a predetermined distance range transmitted from the plurality of conference terminals;
When receiving audio output information from a certain conference terminal via the network, a process of distributing the audio output information to at least one conference terminal selected from the terminal information based on a predetermined condition;
A program that executes

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