JP2016039507A - Communication management device, communication management method and communication management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide communication management device, program, communication management method and communication management system capable of performing fine access control with less labor.SOLUTION: A communication management device performing access control among a plurality terminals has registration means for accepting registration of terminals permitting access in units of group with a hierarchic relationship, and access control means performing access control so as to permit access by a terminal inputted authentication information that has been set in association with other lower group, when the authentication information has been set in the group information storing the information about the group, in association with other lower group than that registered by the registration means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication management device, a program, a communication management method, and a communication management system.

  2. Description of the Related Art A conference system including a host computer installed in a conference room that manages a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network is conventionally known.

  In a conventional conference system, the host computer calculates a password unique to the conference and displays it on the display means. When a request for participation in the conference including the password is received from the terminal, the received password and the password displayed on the display means are displayed. And the terminal that has transmitted a request for participation in the conference when they match is permitted to use the terminal in the conference (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In a conventional conference system, access control using an account or access control using a password may be performed. However, access control by an account has a problem that it takes time to manage the account. In addition, there is a problem that access control using a password cannot perform finer access control than access control using an account.

  Such a problem exists in common in a communication management system that needs to perform access control between a plurality of terminal devices, as in the conference system.

  Embodiments of the present invention have been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a communication management device, a program, a communication management method, and a communication management system that can perform fine access control with less effort. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, claim 1 of the present application is a communication management device that performs access control between a plurality of terminal devices, and that accepts registration of the terminal devices that permit access in units of groups having a hierarchical relationship. And the group information in which information related to the group is stored in the case where authentication information is set in association with another group lower than the group registered by the registration means, Access control means for performing access control so as to permit access by the terminal device to which authentication information set in association with a group is input.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, fine access control can be performed with little effort.

It is a lineblock diagram of an example of a conference system concerning this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the computer which concerns on this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of an example of a meeting management apparatus. It is a block diagram of an example of a group information table. It is a schematic diagram which shows the hierarchical relationship of a group. It is a block diagram of an example of a meeting information table. It is a block diagram of an example of a material information table. It is an image figure of an example of a meeting registration screen. It is a sequence diagram of an example of a conference participation process. It is an image figure of an example of a meeting participation screen. It is a flowchart of an example of the process which determines necessity of password input. It is a flowchart of an example of the process which performs a password coincidence determination.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, a conference system is described as an example of a communication management system that needs to perform access control between a plurality of terminal devices. The conference system according to the present embodiment performs fine access control with little effort by designating participants in a conference by a group having a hierarchical relationship and performing access control with a password for each group.
[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conference system according to the present embodiment. 1 has a configuration in which a conference management device 10, a system manager terminal 11, a conference manager terminal 12, a organizer terminal 13, and one or more participant terminals 14 are connected to a network N1 such as a LAN. It is shown as an example. The conference system 1 may be any electronic conference system such as a TV conference system or a Web conference system.

  The conference management apparatus 10 manages conference information, group information, and material information. In addition, the conference management apparatus 10 performs conference holding and participation control. The conference management apparatus 10 can be realized by software or service that operates on one computer. The conference management apparatus 10 may be software or a service that operates on a plurality of computers. The conference management apparatus 10 can also take the form of a so-called cloud service. The conference management device 10 is realized by, for example, a device dedicated to the conference system 1 or an information processing device such as a general workstation or a personal computer (PC).

  The system administrator terminal 11 has a function of registering group information described later in the conference management apparatus 10. A system administrator or a group administrator (hereinafter simply referred to as a system administrator) can register group information and the like in the conference management apparatus 10 from the system administrator terminal 11. The system administrator terminal 11 may be a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a terminal device such as a PDA, a virtual machine, or a device dedicated to the conference system 1.

  The system administrator terminal 11 can be realized by software or a service operating on one terminal device. Further, the software or service that operates on the system administrator terminal 11 may be a native application that operates alone, or a Web browser and a Web application that operates on the Web browser.

  The conference manager terminal 12 has a function of registering conference information, document information, etc., which will be described later, in the conference management device 10. The conference manager can register conference information, document information, etc. in the conference management device 10 from the conference manager terminal 12. The conference manager terminal 12 may be a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a terminal device such as a PDA, a virtual machine, or a device dedicated to the conference system 1.

  The conference manager terminal 12 can be realized by software or a service operating on one terminal device. Further, the software or service that runs on the conference manager terminal 12 may be a native application that runs alone, or a web browser and a web application that runs on the web browser.

  The organizer terminal 13 has a function of holding a conference. The organizer can hold a conference from the organizer terminal 13 by requesting the conference management apparatus 10 to hold the conference. The organizer terminal 13 may be a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a terminal device such as a PDA, a virtual machine, or a device dedicated to the conference system 1.

  The organizer terminal 13 can be realized by software or a service that operates on one terminal device. Further, the software or service that operates on the organizer terminal 13 may be a native application that operates alone, or a Web browser and a Web application that operates on the Web browser.

  The participant terminal 14 has a function of acquiring conference information and conference materials from the conference management apparatus 10 and participating in the conference. Participants of the conference can participate in the conference from the participant terminal 14. The participant terminal 14 is a device dedicated to the conference system 1 in addition to a terminal device such as a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone or a mobile phone, a PDA, a display device such as a virtual machine or an electronic whiteboard, a projection device such as a projector. Also good. The participant terminal 14 may be an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral. For example, during participation in the conference, the participant terminal 14 can receive an input operation from the other participant terminal 14 from the conference management device 10 in real time, and can share the display screen with the other participant terminals 14.

  In the conference system 1, the conference management apparatus 10, the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, and one or more participant terminals 14 can perform data communication via a network N 1 such as a LAN. The network N1 may be the Internet, a dedicated line, a wired line, or a wireless line in addition to the LAN.

<Hardware configuration>
The conference management device 10, the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, and the participant terminal 14 are realized by a computer 100 having a hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2, for example. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer according to the present embodiment.

  The computer 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, an external I / F 103, a RAM 104, a ROM 105, a CPU 106, a communication I / F 107, an HDD 108, and the like, which are connected to each other via a bus B. .

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard and a mouse and is used to input each operation signal to the computer 100. The display device 102 includes a display and the like, and displays a processing result by the computer 100.

  The communication I / F 107 is an interface that connects the computer 100 to the network N1. Thereby, the computer 100 can perform data communication with another computer 100 via the communication I / F 107.

  The HDD 108 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS that is basic software for controlling the entire computer 100, and application software that provides various functions on the OS.

  The external I / F 103 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 103a. Accordingly, the computer 100 can read and / or write the recording medium 103a via the external I / F 103. Examples of the recording medium 103a include a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The ROM 105 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores programs and data such as BIOS, OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the computer 100 is started up. The RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory that temporarily stores programs and data.

  The CPU 106 is an arithmetic unit that realizes control and functions of the entire computer 100 by reading a program and data from a storage device such as the ROM 105 and the HDD 108 onto the RAM 104 and executing processing.

  The conference management device 10, the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, and the participant terminal 14 execute various programs as will be described later by executing a program on the computer 100 having the above hardware configuration, for example. Processing can be realized.

<Software configuration>
The conference management apparatus 10 of the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment is realized by the following functional blocks.

《Conference management device》
The conference management apparatus 10 is realized by functional blocks as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an example of the conference management apparatus. The functional blocks in FIG. 3 show the functions for managing conference information, group information, and conference rooms among the functions provided by the conference management apparatus 10, and other functions may exist. Absent.

  The conference management apparatus 10 implements the communication unit 21, the conference management unit 22, the group management unit 23, the conference room management unit 24, the conference information management unit 25, the group information management unit 26, and the database management system 27 by executing the program. To do.

  The communication unit 21 is a part that communicates with the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, and the participant terminal 14. The communication unit 21 follows the transmission contents from the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, and the participant terminal 14, and sends the transmission contents to the conference management unit 22, the group management unit 23, or the conference room management unit 24. Sort out. In addition, the communication unit 21 sends a response to the transmission content from the conference management unit 22, the group management unit 23, or the conference room management unit 24 to the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, and the participation. To the person terminal 14 or the like.

  The conference manager 22 receives the transmission content from the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, or the participant terminal 14. The conference management unit 22 performs conference creation, conference change, conference deletion processing, and the like while manipulating the conference information and group information based on the received transmission content.

  The group management unit 23 receives transmission contents from the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, or the participant terminal 14. Then, based on the received transmission content, the group management unit 23 performs group creation, group change, group deletion processing, and the like while operating group information.

  The conference room manager 24 receives the transmission contents from the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, or the participant terminal 14. Then, the conference room management unit 24 creates a conference room, deletes the conference room, and the like while operating the conference information and the group information based on the received transmission content. The conference room represents a virtual ongoing conference that is created in response to a conference request and is discarded in response to a conference termination request. The conference information management unit 25 receives requests from the conference management unit 22 and the conference room management unit 24, and operates the conference information stored in the database via the database management system 27. The group information management unit 26 receives requests from the conference management unit 22, the group management unit 23, and the conference room management unit 24, and operates the group information stored in the database via the database management system 27.

  The database management system 27 manages conference information and group information stored in the database, and operates the conference information and group information based on requests received from the conference management unit 22, the group management unit 23, and the conference room management unit 24. To do.

  Note that the functional blocks shown in FIG. 3 are merely examples, and some of the functional blocks included in the conference management apparatus 10 in FIG. 3 may operate on another information processing apparatus. In that case, the functional blocks communicate with each other as necessary to exchange information.

<< Group information table >>
For example, a group information table shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the database. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an example of the group information table. The group information table in FIG. 4 manages group information that is information about groups. A group represents a unit constituting an organization or a project. The group in FIG. 4 represents a unit constituting a hierarchical organization or project.

  The group information table in FIG. 4 has items such as a group ID, a name, a parent group ID, and a password. The group ID is identification information for uniquely identifying a group. The name is the name of the group that constitutes the organization or project. The password is authentication information set for the group.

  The parent group ID represents the vertical relationship of each group. The parent group ID represents a group one level above each group. The group with the parent group ID “none” represents the highest level. For example, the group information table in FIG. 4 represents the hierarchical relationship of the groups shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the hierarchical relationship of groups. The group information table manages a group ID having a hierarchical relationship in which a password is set and a password in association with each other.

《Conference information table》
For example, the conference information table shown in FIG. 6 is stored in the database. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of the conference information table. The conference information table in FIG. 6 manages conference information that is information related to the conference.

  The conference information table in FIG. 6 includes items such as conference ID, name, start date and time, conference status, holding password, participation password, participation group ID, and material ID. The conference ID is an example of identification information that uniquely identifies the conference. The name is the name of the meeting. The start date / time is the start date / time of the conference. The conference status represents the status of the conference before, during, or after the conference.

  The host password is an example of authentication information necessary for holding the conference. The participation password is an example of authentication information necessary for participating in the conference. The participation group ID is a group ID of a group of participants who can participate in the conference. The material ID is an example of identification information of the conference material used for the conference. Note that “None” set in the event password, participation password, or participation group ID in the conference information table of FIG. 6 represents an example in which the event password, participation password, or participation group ID is not set.

《Material information table》
For example, a material information table shown in FIG. 7 is stored in the database. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of an example of the material information table. The material information table in FIG. 7 manages material information that is information related to conference materials. The material information table of FIG. 7 has items such as material ID, name, and storage location.

  The material ID is an example of identification information for uniquely identifying the conference material. The name is the name of the meeting material. The storage location is an example of information on the location where the substance of the conference material (conference material data) is stored. In addition, although the material information table of FIG. 7 has shown the example which has the information of the place which stores meeting material data, meeting material data itself may be memorize | stored.

<Details of processing>
Below, the detail of the process of the conference system 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated.

《Conference registration process》
The conference manager needs to register conference information and document information in the conference management device 10 before holding the conference. The conference manager operates the conference manager terminal 12 to request access to the conference registration screen of the conference management apparatus 10. The conference manager terminal 12 accesses, for example, the URL of the conference registration screen of the conference management device 10.

  Based on the conference registration screen data received from the conference management device 10, the conference manager terminal 12 displays, for example, the conference registration screen in FIG. FIG. 8 is an image diagram of an example of a conference registration screen. The conference registration screen is a screen for allowing the conference manager to register conference information.

  The conference registration screen of FIG. 8 shows an example having a column for inputting a conference name, start date / time, holding password, participation password, and participation group, and a column for adding conference material data such as a file as a conference material. Yes.

  One or more groups of participants who are allowed to participate in the conference can be entered from the column for entering the participation group. From the column for adding conference material data such as a file as conference material, one or more conference materials can be registered corresponding to the conference information.

  In the conference system 1 that simply shares the screen of the participant terminal 14, the conference material may not be registered. The conference manager can not perform access control by the host password, the participation password, and the participation group by not inputting the host password, the participation password, and the participation group on the conference registration screen of FIG.

  The conference manager operates the conference manager terminal 12 to input conference information on the conference registration screen, and then presses the save button at the bottom of the conference registration screen. When the save button is pressed, the conference manager terminal 12 requests the conference management apparatus 10 to register the conference information input on the conference registration screen.

  The communication unit 21 of the conference management apparatus 10 distributes the conference information registration request from the conference manager terminal 12 to the conference management unit 22. The conference management unit 22 requests the conference information management unit 25 to add the conference information and the material information to the conference information table of FIG. 6 and the material information table of FIG. 7 based on the registration information registration request received from the communication unit 21. To do. The conference information management unit 25 creates a conference by adding the conference information and the material information to the conference information table of FIG. 6 and the material information table of FIG. 7 via the database management system 27.

  As described above, the conference manager can create a conference for performing access control in units of groups from the conference manager terminal 12.

《Meeting process》
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram of an example of a conference participation process. In step S1, the conference participant activates the participant terminal 14 and requests access to the conference participation screen. In step S <b> 2, the participant terminal 14 accesses the URL or the like of the conference participation screen of the conference management apparatus 10.

  In step S <b> 3, the communication unit 21 of the conference management apparatus 10 establishes a session with the participant terminal 14 based on access from the participant terminal 14. When the communication unit 21 of the conference management apparatus 10 successfully establishes the session, the communication unit 21 notifies the participant terminal 14 of the successful start of the session, and further transmits conference participation screen data to the participant terminal 14.

  In step S <b> 4, the participant terminal 14 displays the conference participation screen on the display device 102 or the like based on the conference participation screen data received from the conference management device 10. FIG. 10 is an image diagram of an example of the conference participation screen. The conference participation screen in FIG. 10 includes a column for searching for conferences according to search conditions and a column for displaying a list of conferences as search results.

  The conference participation screen in FIG. 9 is an example in which a conference list of conferences with conference IDs “M01” to “M04” is displayed. In step S <b> 4, the participant instructs a search for a conference using the conference state “currently being held” as a search condition. The participant terminal 14 makes a conference search request to the conference management apparatus 10 using the conference state “currently being held” as a search condition.

  In step S <b> 5, the communication unit 21 of the conference management apparatus 10 distributes the conference search request from the participant terminal 14 to the conference management unit 22. Based on the conference search request received from the communication unit 21, the conference management unit 22 requests the conference information management unit 25 to acquire conference information whose conference state is “in progress” from the conference information table of FIG. 6. The conference information management unit 25 acquires the conference information whose conference state is “in progress” from the conference information table of FIG. 6 via the database management system 27 and provides it to the conference management unit 22. The conference management unit 22 transmits, as a search result, conference information whose conference state is “in progress” to the participant terminal 14 that is the conference search request source via the communication unit 21.

  In step S <b> 6, based on the search result received from the conference management apparatus 10, the participant terminal 14 displays conference information whose conference status is “currently being held” in a column for displaying a list of conferences that are search results on the conference participation screen.

  In step S7, the participant of the conference selects a conference to join from the conferences listed on the conference participation screen of FIG. 10, for example, and presses the participation button at the bottom of the conference participation screen. In step S8, the participant terminal 14 sends a request for participation in the conference selected by the participant to the conference management apparatus 10.

  In step S <b> 9, the communication unit 21 of the conference management apparatus 10 distributes the request for participation in the conference from the participant terminal 14 to the conference room management unit 24. The conference room management unit 24 determines the necessity of password input based on the conference information of the conference requested by the participant. Details of the determination of the necessity of password input will be described later. Here, a case where it is determined that password input is necessary will be described. If it is determined that the password needs to be input, the processes in steps S10 to S13 are omitted, and the process proceeds to step S14.

  The conference room management unit 24 notifies the participant terminal 14 that is the request source for participation in the conference through the communication unit 21 that password input is necessary. In step S10, the participant terminal 14 displays a password input screen. In step S11, the conference participant inputs the password on the password input screen. In step S <b> 12, the participant terminal 14 transmits the password input on the password input screen to the conference management apparatus 10.

  In step S <b> 13, the communication unit 21 of the conference management apparatus 10 distributes the password from the participant terminal 14 to the conference room management unit 24. The conference room management unit 24 performs password matching determination based on the password from the participant terminal 14. Details of the password matching determination will be described later. Here, a case where participation in a conference is permitted by password matching determination will be described. In addition, when participation in a meeting is not permitted, participation failure is notified to the participant terminal 14 that has requested to participate in the meeting.

  When participation in the conference is permitted, the conference room management unit 24 performs a change to add the information of the participant terminal 14 that requested the participation in the conference to the participant list of the conference that requested the participation in step S14. The participant list is for managing the participant terminals 14 of the participants participating in the conference for each conference room.

  The conference room management unit 24 notifies the participant terminal 14 that is a requester of participation in the conference through the communication unit 21 that participation is permitted. The processing of the participant terminal 14 after the notification of participation permission is different depending on the conference system 1.

  For example, in the conference system 1 that shares a screen, the screen to be shared is displayed on each participant terminal 14. Further, in the conference system 1 that shares the conference material registered in the conference management apparatus 10 or the like, the shared conference material is displayed on each participant terminal 14. In the conference system 1 for sharing conference materials, an input operation of a presenter or the like is distributed from the conference management device 10 to the participant terminals 14 of the participants participating in the conference, so that the display screen of the conference materials can be turned. Can also be linked.

  The conference management apparatus 10 and the participant terminals 14 participating in the conference exchange information necessary for sharing screens and conference materials using the established communication path. A typical example of such a communication path is a protocol called XMPP.

  XMPP is standardized as RFC 3920 (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol: Core) and RFC 3921 (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol: Instant Messaging and Presence) in IETF, and the extended specification is documented as XEP.

  XMPP can provide a service called group chat (Multi-User Chat [XEP-0045]). In the group chat, when a participant terminal 14 participating in a conference room (room) provided by XMPP sends a message to the conference management device 10, all of the messages participating in the conference room from the conference management device 10 are transmitted. This is a function distributed to the participant terminals 14. In addition to XMPP, for example, protocols such as BOSH, WebSocket, and Comet, which are extensions of XMPP, can be used as such communication paths.

  BOSH (Bidirectional-streams Over Synchronous HTTP) [XEP-0206] is a technique for transmitting and receiving messages using HTTP in XMPP. These protocols can realize the Push function from the conference management apparatus 10. The Push function is a function for transmitting information asynchronously from the conference management apparatus 10 to the participant terminal 14 and receiving information at the participant terminal 14 instead of receiving a request from the participant terminal 14 and sending information. . In general HTTP communication, a similar function can also be realized by periodically retrieving information from the participant terminal 14.

  Next, the process for determining the necessity of password input in step S9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example of processing for determining the necessity of password input.

  In step S <b> 21, the conference room management unit 24 determines whether or not a participation password is specified in the conference information of the conference for which a participant has requested to participate. If the participation password is specified in the meeting information of the meeting for which the participation request has been made, the meeting room management unit 24 determines that the password input is necessary.

  If the participation password is not specified in the meeting information of the meeting for which the participation request has been made, in step S22, the meeting room management unit 24 determines whether or not the participation group ID is specified in the meeting information for the meeting for which the participation request has been made. judge. If the participation group ID is not specified in the meeting information of the meeting for which the participation request has been made, the conference room management unit 24 specifies neither the participation password nor the participation group ID in the meeting information for the meeting for which the participation request has been made. Determine that no input is required.

  If the participation group ID is specified in the conference information of the conference for which the participation request has been made, the conference room management unit 24 performs the process of step S23. In step S23, the conference room management unit 24 refers to the group information table in FIG. 4 and determines whether or not a group ID for which no password is specified is specified as a participation group ID.

  If a group ID for which no password is specified is specified as the participation group ID, the conference room management unit 24 determines that the password input is unnecessary. This corresponds to the fact that the participant belonging to the group for which the password is not specified cannot be identified because the group ID of the group to which the participant belongs is not specified in the password match determination in step S13. It is.

  Therefore, regarding a participation request for a conference in which a group ID for which no password is specified is specified as a participation group ID, it is determined that password input is unnecessary for all participants.

  If the group ID for which no password is specified is not specified as the participation group ID, the conference room management unit 24 performs the process of step S24. In step S <b> 24, the conference room management unit 24 determines whether or not there is a child group for which no password is specified in the child (lower layer) group of the group specified in the participation group ID.

  If there is no group ID for which no password is specified in the group ID of the child group of the group specified in the participation group ID (parent group), the conference room management unit 24 determines that the password input is necessary. That is, the conference room management unit 24 determines that it is necessary to input the password of the group to which the participant belongs.

  On the other hand, if there is a group ID for which no password is specified in the group ID of a child group of the group specified as the participation group ID, the conference room management unit 24 determines that the password input is unnecessary. This corresponds to the fact that the participant belonging to the group for which the password is not specified cannot be identified because the group ID of the group to which the participant belongs is not specified in the password match determination in step S13. It is. Therefore, regarding a participation request for a conference in which a group ID of a parent group having a child group for which no password is specified is specified as a participation group ID, it is determined that password entry is unnecessary for all participants.

  The child group of the group designated as the participation group ID is a group having a group ID having the participation group ID as a parent group ID in the group information of FIG. Although the flowchart of FIG. 11 shows an example in which a participation password can be specified for the conference, the participation password may not be specified for the conference. In this case, the process of step S21 is deleted from the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, the process of performing password matching determination in step S13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a process for performing password matching determination.

  In step S <b> 31, the conference room management unit 24 determines whether or not a participation password is specified in the conference information of the conference for which a participant has requested to participate. If the participation password is specified in the conference information of the conference for which the participation request has been made, the conference room management unit 24 determines whether the password from the participant terminal 14 matches the participation password.

  If the password from the participant terminal 14 matches the participation password, the conference room management unit 24 permits participation in the conference. On the other hand, if the password from the participant terminal 14 does not match the participation password, the conference room management unit 24 does not permit participation in the conference. Thus, when participating in a conference whose participation password is specified in the conference information, the participant is not permitted to participate in the conference unless he or she enters a password that matches the participation password on the password input screen.

  In step S31, if the participation password is not specified in the meeting information of the meeting for which the participation request has been made, the meeting room manager 24 proceeds to step S33. In step S33, the conference room management unit 24 determines whether there is an unconfirmed group ID among the parent group ID specified in the participation group ID of the conference information of the conference for which the participation request has been made or the child group IDs below the parent group ID. Determine whether or not.

  If there is an unconfirmed group ID, the conference room management unit 24 performs the process of step S34 for one of the unconfirmed group IDs. In step S34, the conference room management unit 24 refers to the group information table and determines whether the password from the participant terminal 14 matches the password of the group ID.

  If the password from the participant terminal 14 matches the password of the group ID, the conference room management unit 24 permits participation in the conference. On the other hand, if the password from the participant terminal 14 does not match the password of the group ID, the conference room management unit 24 returns to step S33 and continues the process.

  If it is determined in step S33 that there is no unconfirmed group ID, the conference room management unit 24 determines whether the password from the participant terminal 14 is the parent group or child group specified in the participation group ID in the participation password. It is determined that the password does not match. For this reason, the conference room manager 24 does not permit participation in the conference.

<Summary>
According to the conference system 1 of the present embodiment, instead of individually specifying a group of participants who can participate in the conference for each conference, a higher group can be specified. Specification becomes easy. This is because it is usually easier to grasp the upper group than to grasp the lower group. For example, according to the conference system 1 of the present embodiment, even if a lower group is changed due to an organization change or the like, the participation group ID in the conference information table is not changed, so that there is no need to change the conference information. The change of the lower group may be reflected in the group information.

  As described above, the conference system 1 according to the present embodiment can access a group of participants who can participate in the conference for each conference in units of higher groups, or can be accessed not only with the password of the upper group but also with the password of the lower group. Can be controlled. Since the conference system 1 of this embodiment can perform access control with a password in units of groups having a hierarchical relationship, it can be used along an organizational hierarchy or the like.

  In addition, since the conference system 1 of the present embodiment can set a password for each group, it is less time and effort to manage than access control by account. The conference system 1 of the present embodiment can perform finer access control than access control using a password for each conference.

  For example, the system administrator is less troublesome because the number of groups and the frequency of changes are less in the group such as the organization or project than in the account.

  Since the conference manager can designate the participants who are allowed to participate in the conference by the group, the labor is reduced as compared with the case of designating the participants. For example, the conference manager can specify the participants who can participate in the conference by a smaller number of groups than the account. It is easier for a system administrator to understand a group of participants than to know exactly who can participate in the conference. Even when the number of participants who are allowed to participate in the conference immediately before increases, the increased number of participants belong to the designated group in many cases, so that the conference manager is less likely to add new work. In addition, the conference manager does not need to consider a password for each conference or notify participants. Participants only have to remember one password for the group they belong to, which reduces the amount of work.

  As described above, according to the conference system 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the time required for the system administrator, the conference administrator, the participant, and the like, and perform finer access control than the access control by the password for each conference. Can do.

  The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, in the present embodiment, the conference system 1 is shown as an example of the communication management system, but application to a system that performs access control such as a seminar system or an education system is also possible.

  For example, the conference management device 10 is an example of a communication management device. The participant terminal 14 is an example of a terminal device. The conference management unit 22 is an example of a registration unit. The conference room management unit 24 is an example of an access control unit.

  Note that the conference system 1 having the conference management device 10, the system manager terminal 11, the conference manager terminal 12, the organizer terminal 13, and one or more participant terminals 14 is an example, and there are various types according to applications and purposes. It goes without saying that there are various system configuration examples.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conference system 10 Conference management apparatus 11 System administrator terminal 12 Conference manager terminal 13 Organizer terminal 14 Participant terminal 21 Communication part 22 Conference management part 23 Group management part 24 Conference room management part 25 Conference information management part 26 Group information management Unit 27 Database management system 100 Computer 101 Input device 102 Display device 103 External I / F
103a Recording medium 104 RAM (Random Access Memory)
105 ROM (Read Only Memory)
106 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
107 Communication I / F
108 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
N1 network

JP 2003-333559 A

Claims (7)

A communication management device that performs access control between a plurality of terminal devices,
Registration means for accepting registration of the terminal device permitting access in units of groups having a hierarchical relationship;
When the group information in which information about the group is stored is associated with another group below the group registered by the registration unit and authentication information is set, the group information is associated with the other group below the group. Access control means for performing access control so as to permit access by the terminal device that has entered the set authentication information;
A communication management device. The access control means is configured to input authentication information when authentication information is set in association with another group below the group registered by the registration means in the group information in which information about the group is stored. The communication management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein authentication information is requested from the terminal device by determining that the terminal device needs to be requested. The access control means requests the terminal apparatus to input authentication information when at least one other group for which authentication information is not set is included in a lower level of the group registered by the registration means. The communication management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein access control is performed so as to determine that the terminal apparatus is not necessary and permit access by the terminal apparatus without requesting authentication information from the terminal apparatus. The said communication management apparatus controls participation in a virtual meeting by performing access control by authentication information in units of groups having a hierarchical relationship. Communication management device. A communication management device that performs access control between a plurality of terminal devices,
Registration means for accepting registration of the terminal device permitting access in units of groups having a hierarchical relationship;
When the group information in which information about the group is stored is associated with another group below the group registered by the registration unit and authentication information is set, the group information is associated with the other group below the group. Access control means for performing access control so as to permit access by the terminal device that has entered the set authentication information.
Program to function as. A communication management method executed in a communication management device that performs access control between a plurality of terminal devices,
A registration step of accepting registration of the terminal device permitting access in units of groups having a hierarchical relationship;
When group information in which information related to a group is stored and authentication information is set in association with another group below the group registered by the registration step, the group information is associated with the other group below. An access control step for performing access control so as to permit access by the terminal device that has entered the set authentication information;
A communication management method. A communication management system having a plurality of terminal devices and a communication management device that performs access control between the terminal devices,
Registration means for accepting registration of the terminal device permitting access in units of groups having a hierarchical relationship;
When the group information in which information about the group is stored is associated with another group below the group registered by the registration unit and authentication information is set, the group information is associated with the other group below the group. Access control means for performing access control so as to permit access by the terminal device that has entered the set authentication information;
A communication management system.

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