JP5750658B2 - CONFERENCE SERVER, CONFERENCE SERVER CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for controlling a conference participation time corresponding to a participant of an electronic conference.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic conference system that performs a conference using a plurality of terminal devices connected via a network is known. Electronic conference system allows users in remote locations to enter a single “meeting room”, send and receive images and audio data of participants ’appearances, and hold meetings without wasting travel time be able to.

  However, the electronic conference system has a problem that it cannot be used after the time when the conference room is reserved is completed. This is because the extension of the use of an arbitrary conference room has the problem of annoying subsequent conference groups.

  In Patent Document 1, if a terminal attending the meeting manages the meeting time, issues a predetermined warning at the scheduled meeting end time to prompt the end of the meeting, and if there is no notice of extension of the meeting from the terminal, the meeting room A technique for terminating the use of is disclosed.

JP-A-6-121060

  The technology described in Patent Document 1 manages conference room use termination and extension based on the conference room reservation end time, and cannot manage the participation time according to the role of the participant. Absent.

  In an organization such as an actual company, for example, working hours for non-managerial employees are restricted, and a manager (supervisor) is required for work outside a predetermined time. In addition, contracted employees, temporary employees, etc. may be restricted from working outside the predetermined time due to the contract.

  For example, if a manager (superior) and a regular employee (subordinate) hold a conference remotely using the electronic conference system, and it is determined that the conference does not end in a predetermined time, the manager The (supervisor) must give permission to work overtime for each participant in some way. In this case, different judgments are required depending on the role of the employee as the participant or the setting of the individual participant.

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 only determines whether or not to extend the usage time of the conference room itself, and does not extend the time for each participant.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of notifying that there is a user exceeding the time limit according to the time limit of the user who is participating in the electronic conference .

The present invention notifies the user identification information of the user participating in the electronic conference, the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information, that some users exceeds the time limit of the user participating in the electronic conference a conference server for Ru comprising storage means for storing the notification destination, based on the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information stored in the current time said storage means, the user identification information that exceeds the time limit When specifying means for specifying and user identification information of a user exceeding the time limit is specified by the specifying means, there is a user who exceeds the time limit for the notification destination stored in the storage means. characterized by comprising a notification unit you a notification, the.

By the present invention lever, in response to a user's time limit for participating in electronic conference, it is possible to provide a mechanism capable of the notification that there is a user that exceeds the time limit.

It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration | structure concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the conference server and client apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the component in the conference system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the screen which registers the conference room displayed on the client apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the screen which reserves the conference room displayed on the client apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the screen which participates in the meeting displayed on the client apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the meeting room information table which manages the information of the meeting room concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the role information table which manages the information of the role of the employee concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the participant information table which manages the information of the participant concerning embodiment of this invention. 6 is an example of a GUI for displaying a dialog for extending or leaving a participation time according to an embodiment of the present invention on a screen of a client device. It is an example of the flowchart which shows the process at the time of login to the conference room concerning embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the flowchart which shows the process which manages the time extension concerning embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the flowchart which shows the process which paid its attention to one participant among the processes which manage the time extension concerning embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the screen displayed on the client apparatus of the user who has the extension authority in order to extend the reservation when the reservation time of the conference room according to the embodiment of the present invention is completed. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the meeting information table which manages the meeting information concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the flowchart which shows the process which manages the time extension concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

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

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The client apparatus 102 of the present invention is, for example, a personal computer, has a network communication function, and can perform data communication with the conference server 101 (conference support server, video conference server) via the network 103 (LAN, WAN, etc.). is there.

  The conference server 101 is a server for realizing a conference between the client devices 102. By accessing the conference server 101, the client device 102 can acquire a conference screen (interface) and hold a conference.

  The client device 102 is a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a mobile terminal, or the like operated by a user who uses a conference system (a conference support system or a video conference system), a client-side application for accessing the conference server 101, and a dedicated device Module (application) is installed. When the conference system is a web conference system using the web, the client-side application may be configured to use a web browser. That is, the dedicated module may be an ActiveX (registered trademark) component downloaded from the conference server 101 via a web browser, for example. In the conference system, when a moving image is distributed from the client device 102 to another client device 102 (including itself) used by a conference participant through the conference server 101, an imaging device (not shown) is used. When transmitting audio, a microphone (not shown) is connected. Also, a speaker (not shown) is connected to view the other party's voice.

  Further, the conference server 101 and the client device 102 may be configured in the same casing so that one of the client devices 102 also serves as the conference server 101.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of an information processing apparatus applicable to the conference server 101 and the client apparatus 102.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the conference server 101 and the client device 102 are connected via a system bus 204 to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, an input controller 205, A configuration is adopted in which a video controller 206, a memory controller 207, a communication I / F controller 208, and the like are connected.

  The CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204.

  Further, the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 will be described later, which is necessary for realizing the functions executed by each server or each PC, such as BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) and OS (Operating System) which are control programs of the CPU 201. Various programs are stored. Further, information necessary for carrying out the present invention is stored. The external memory may be a database.

  The RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program or the like necessary for executing the processing from the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 to the RAM 203 and executing the loaded program.

  The input controller 205 controls input from a keyboard (KB) 209 or a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown).

  The video controller 206 controls display on a display device such as the display 210. The display device may be a display device such as a liquid crystal display. These are used by the administrator as needed.

  The memory controller 207 is an external storage device (hard disk (HD)), flexible disk (FD), or PCMCIA (Personal Computer) that stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, and the like. Controls access to an external memory 211 such as a Compact Flash (registered trademark) memory connected to a Memory Card International Association (Card Memory) card slot via an adapter.

  The communication I / F controller 208 connects and communicates with an external device via the network 103, and executes communication control processing in the network. For example, communication using TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) is possible.

  The CPU 201 can display on the display 210 by executing an outline font rasterization process on a display information area in the RAM 203, for example. Further, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction using a mouse cursor (not shown) on the display 210.

  Various programs to be described later for realizing the present invention are recorded in the external memory 211 and executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used when the above program is executed are also stored in the external memory 211, and a detailed description thereof will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing components in the conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, all users and rooms (conference rooms) belong to a group (301, 303).

  A system administrator 302 is an administrator of the entire conference system, and registers, changes, and deletes groups and group administrators, and performs various settings related to the conference system.

  The group manager 304 is a manager in the conference system, and registers, changes, and deletes general users and hearing users, rooms, and tags in the group.

  The general user 305 is a user who actually performs a conference within the group, and can reserve, change, and delete the conference room, and can participate in the reserved conference and participate in the free space. Note that the group manager can reserve a conference room and participate in a conference in the same manner as a general user.

  In addition, for example, there are “guest users” who can participate only in meetings invited by e-mail, and “listening users” who listen to meetings held in groups. In addition, in order to hold a conference, it is necessary to register a room, and the room manager registers the room.

  The room is a room that participates by restricting the date and time and conference participants, and the conference room 306 that needs to be reserved before the conference, and the conference room 306 does not have to be reserved regardless of the date and time or the conference participants. There are two types of “free space” 307 where a conference can be held at any time. The user can use “conference room” and “free space” depending on the content of the conference.

FIG. 4 is an example of a screen for registering a conference room displayed on the client device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
A method for setting a virtual conference room (referred to as “room” in the present specification) in which a conference is performed according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a room registration screen for setting a conference room for conducting a conference in the present embodiment. The room registration screen in this figure is displayed by logging in to the system with the account of the administrator user (administrator) of the conference system who operates the client apparatus 102 and pressing the room management area on the left side of the screen. It appears on the display.

  The room name 401 receives a name input of an arbitrary room name. The room type 402 accepts selection of whether to set as “conference room” or “free space”. In the embodiment of the present invention, the “conference room” refers to a room that needs to be reserved by determining the participants of the conference and the start time. “Free space” refers to a room in which anyone can participate in the conference without a reservation for the conference and no particular setting of participants or the like.

  The capacity 403 receives the setting of the room capacity. The setting of the hearing function 404 accepts a setting as to whether or not to allow a hearing user of the conference, separately from the user invited to the conference. A user who listens to the conference can enter the room if there is a vacant capacity, but the authority to speak is limited.

  The setting of the recording function 405 accepts a setting as to whether or not to allow recording of a conference held in the room. In a room where recording is permitted, the conference can be recorded by receiving a press of a “recording start” button during the conference.

  The profile 406 receives selection of a profile to be applied to the room. Specifically, when the right call button is pressed, a list of profiles registered on the above-described profile registration screen in FIG. 3 is displayed, and selection of a profile to be applied to the room for which detailed settings are currently being made can be accepted. it can. When the pressing of the registration button 407 is accepted, the room and the room detailed settings are registered in the management table (not shown) of the conference server 101.

FIG. 5 is an example of a screen for reserving a conference room displayed on the client apparatus 102 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
A conference room can be reserved for a conference. This is the “meeting room” type that needs to be determined and reserved among the types of rooms assumed in the embodiment of the present invention, such as “meeting room” or “free space”, as described above. This is a reservation process required when using a room.

  The conference system reservation screen is displayed on the display device of the client device 102 by logging in to the system with the general user account of the conference system of the present embodiment and pressing the “conference room reservation 501” area on the left side of the screen. The

  The conference room name 502 accepts the selection of the room (conference room or free space) registered on the room registration screen of FIG. The usage schedule of the corresponding room is set with the usage date 504 and the usage time 505. The participant 506 calls the user information registered in the conference system of the present embodiment and selects a conference participant (a person invited to the conference). If “Limit” is selected in 506, an invitation (participation) user selection screen is displayed, and user information is searched to select a user to invite. When the participants are not limited, the setting of the participants is not particularly accepted. In addition, the case where the participant to a meeting is not limited means the meeting like the opinion exchange meeting implemented in the room of a free space format, for example.

  The guest participant 507 invitation setting is set when an invitation notification (for example, a mail address linked to user information is transmitted as a destination) is transmitted to a user who wants to participate in the conference. When inviting a guest participant, a user selection screen (not shown) is displayed, and user information is searched and a user to be invited is selected.

  The conference recording setting 508 receives a setting as to whether or not to permit recording of a conference to be reserved. In the room registration screen of FIG. 4, if the recording function is set to “not permitted” in 405, each item of 508 is grayed out and cannot be selected.

  When the pressing of the reservation button 509 is accepted, the conference reservation is completed. When the conference reservation is completed, the conference server 101 stores the conference reservation information in the storage unit of the server and updates the conference reservation data table (not shown). In addition, when the pressing of the reservation button 509 is accepted, a conference reservation mail may be transmitted to the mail addresses of the user who made the reservation and the user invited to the conference.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a screen for participating in a conference displayed on the client device 102 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Through this screen, the user of the client device 102 can participate in the reserved conference. In the present embodiment, the conference participation screen is displayed on the display by logging in to the system with the general user account of the conference system of the present embodiment and pressing the “conference participation 601” area on the left side of the screen. Is done. The conference room displayed in FIG. 6 is a list of conferences in which the logged-in user account is registered as a conference participant. In FIG. 6, two conference rooms, room A and room B, are reserved, and it is possible to participate in the conference of the selected conference room by accepting pressing of the join button 602.

  The structure of the database according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Three tables to be described later are collectively referred to as a conference information storage unit. That is, the conference information storage unit is a database composed of a conference room information table 700 (conference room information storage unit), a role information table 800 (role information storage unit), and a participant information table 900 (participant information storage unit). is there.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a conference room information table for managing conference room information according to the embodiment of the present invention. This database stores conference room reservation status, and corresponds to storing data set in the GUI of FIG.

  The conference room information table 700 (conference room information storage unit) includes data items such as a conference room number 701, a reservation person 702, a reservation time 703, and the like.

  The conference room number 701 is a number assigned to a virtual conference room managed in the electronic conference room system. In order to participate in a specific conference, the conference room is reserved in advance and the participants are notified. From this conference room number 701, the participant can grasp which conference room to enter.

  The reservation person 702 is an employee who reserved the conference room. Employees who make reservations do not always participate in meetings. If the conference starts, the participants can be grasped by the participant information table 900 described in FIG. 9, but if the participant information is required before the conference starts, one data item of the conference room information table 700 is used. For example, data items such as organizers may be prepared and registered.

  The reservation time 703 is a data item composed of a start time and an end time when a conference room is reserved. As described above, the conference room is a virtual room, but may be configured such that the number can be limited by the setting of the system administrator in terms of license and hardware performance. In this case, the user is not free to create indefinitely, so he reserves the time to use the conference room so that other employees can use it like the actual conference room, and before the next conference starts. You must leave.

  In the following explanation, words such as leaving, leaving, and leaving are used, but all have the same meaning. Further, in the embodiment described later, it is assumed that a conference is performed without using a conference room in the conference system, but even in such a case, in the meaning of “get out of the state participating in the conference” Use the same wording.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a role information table for managing information on employee roles according to the embodiment of the present invention. This is a database for registering information on the authority to use the electronic conference system outside a predetermined time according to the role of the employee (managerial position, general position, other contract employees, temporary employees, etc.).

  The role information table 800 (role information storage unit) includes a role 801, a predetermined time 802 (end), a warning time 803, an extension time 804, an extension instruction authority 805, a predetermined time outside entry authority 806, a conference room reservation time extension authority 807, and the like. It consists of data items.

  The role 801 is a data item indicating the role of the user. For example, as described above, it is possible to store roles classified freely according to the positions of managerial positions, general positions, etc., employment forms, and other operations according to the operation of the conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The predetermined time 802 (end) describes the time when the organization recognizes that the conference system can be used. In the embodiment of the present invention, for a general job, a predetermined end time at which no business operation is performed without an instruction from a manager (boss) in a normal sense is described. However, the operation of the conference system may be set so that, for example, up to “22:00” is permitted as in the managerial position. Further, although only a predetermined end time is described in FIG. 8, a start time may be described. Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 8, the specific time is written. However, it is described as “general job predetermined time (end)” or the like, and is associated with a time table (not shown). The “time (end)” may be associated with the information “17:30”.
In addition, the time limit for the participant is not necessarily specified in the conference system as in the predetermined time 802 of the present embodiment. For example, the time limit is set for each employee (a regular employee who works normally, a short-time employee, a contract employee, etc.). It may be “working hours” stored in a database (for example, a personnel database) that defines the working hours. This information is also assumed to be data registered in the storage unit in the claims of the present invention.

  The warning time 803 is the time when the predetermined time 802 ends or the end time at which the participant can participate is changed by the extended time 804 (hereinafter, both are collectively referred to as “restricted time”). It is a data item that sets whether to warn before. For example, in the case of a general job, “predetermined time 802 (17:30)” − “warning time 803 (0:20)” = 17:10. We warn that there is only 20 minutes later.

Here, the warning time 803 is used to change the end time at which participation is possible before reaching the predetermined time 802. However, the data item such as the warning time 803 is eliminated, and the predetermined time 802 (or the restriction time) is set. You may make it confirm whether it extends at the time of reaching (time). In that case, if there is no response after a certain period of time after confirming whether or not to extend, it may be regarded as not extended and participation of the corresponding participant may be terminated.
In addition, the warning time 803 is not defined for each participant of the conference, but the warning time 803 is defined corresponding to one conference, or a fixed warning time (or only the system administrator is set in the conference system). There may be a configuration in which one warning time) at which the setting can be changed is defined.

  The extension time 804 is a time during which a participant in a role corresponding to the role 801 can extend the participation time by one extension instruction. For example, in the example of the general office in FIG. 8, when the conference exceeds “17:30”, if the extension is instructed, it is possible to participate in the conference up to “30 minutes extended”, that is, “18:00”.

  The extension instruction authority 805 is a data item for designating whether or not the participant who has no authority to participate in the conference when the conference is extended beyond a predetermined time has the authority to instruct the extension of the available time. is there. It is specified with the authority “Yes” or “No”. For example, when the role 801 is a managerial position, the authority is “Yes”, and the conference system is instructed so that participants of other general positions can participate in the conference by extending.

  Note that, as described in FIG. 15 in the second embodiment, the extension instruction authority 805 is not granted to the role 801, but who has the authority to give an extension instruction to the participant in FIG. May be individually specified (1502 in FIG. 15).

  The predetermined time outside entry authority 806 is a data item for setting whether or not it is possible to enter the conference room even outside the predetermined time of business (specifically, after the predetermined time 802 (end)).

  The conference room reservation time extension authority 807 is an authority for extending the currently ongoing conference within the range before the start of the next conference reservation time when the conference room reservation time ends. Actually, the client device 102 of the authorized participant may be inquired at the end of the reservation time, such as the participation time of the participant, or may be inquired a certain time before a small amount of time. If the inquiry is made a predetermined time ago, the inquiry file may be stored in a setting file or the like (not shown). In this case, for each conference reservation, a reservation person or the like may be set, or one fixed value may be set as the conference system. Further, the system administrator or the like may be changeable.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of a screen displayed on the client device 102 of the user who has the extension authority to extend the reservation when the reservation time of the conference room according to the embodiment of the present invention is completed. As described above, at the end of the conference room reservation time, the user's client apparatus 102 having the authority to extend the conference room reservation may be inquired by presenting the dialog 1400, or may be inquired a certain time before. . The example of FIG. 14 is an example in which an inquiry is made at the end.

  The start time of the next conference reservation is acquired, and a message indicating that it is the end time of the conference and how long it can be extended is displayed on the dialog 1400 as a message. A user who has an extension authority designates a new end time in the time designation 1401 and changes the end time at the time of reservation. When the extend button 1402 is pressed, the change is reflected in the reservation time 703 (end) of the conference room information table. When the extend button 1402 is pressed, the extension is not performed.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, only the time is described in the role information table 800, but it is only an example. For example, information on the day of the week for setting authority for weekdays and weekends, authority for holidays Such information may be registered.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined end time is used. This includes preventing overtime without an instruction as described above as one intention. However,
For the purpose of “shortening the meeting time”, for example, after a certain time has elapsed since the meeting started, or when the meeting end time at the time of reservation has passed, it is extended even if there is no subsequent meeting without an extension instruction. It may not be possible.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a participant information table 900 (participant information storage unit) that manages information on participants according to the embodiment of the present invention. This is a database composed of data items such as a participant 901, an employee ID 902, a role 903, and a participating conference room 904.

  Items such as 901 and 903 may actually refer to an external database of the conference system such as a personnel database or LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). That is, if the information necessary for the operation of the conference system, for example, which conference room the participant 901 in FIG. 9 is participating in (the ongoing conference room 904) can be specified, the other information is the employee ID 902 in FIG. Based on the above, the configuration may be such that information on the role 903 is also acquired from a personnel database or the like.

FIG. 10 is an example of a GUI that displays a dialog for extending or leaving the participation time according to the embodiment of the present invention on the screen of the client device.
The extension confirmation dialog 1000 is a screen for inquiring whether or not to extend the participation time of a user whose meeting participation time has approached the time limit. As described with reference to FIG. 8, the client device 102 logged in by the participant whose extension instruction authority 805 is “present” at a time that is earlier than the time specified by the warning time 803 with respect to the time limit. ) Is notified of the warning. A participant (such as a manager) whose extension instruction authority 805 is “Yes” presses a button 1001 for extending or a button 1002 for not extending.

  When the extend button 1001 is pressed, the time limit of the participants (in the example, Ichiro Yamada and Hanako Suzuki) displayed in the extension confirmation dialog 1000 is extended.

  When a button 1002 that does not extend is pressed, it is not extended. When it is instructed not to extend in this dialog, it may be implemented so that the instruction is not displayed after that as a final judgment. In that case, in the flowchart described later, it can be implemented by setting the “instructed flag” to “true” at the time when the instruction is once given. However, when an instruction to extend is given, the “instructed flag” is returned to “false” when the extended time limit has passed. Alternatively, the extension confirmation dialog 1000 may be a modeless dialog, which may remain displayed even after an instruction is given once, so that the instruction can be changed. Further, a button or the like that can be instructed again may be displayed on the status bar of the GUI.

  The leave instruction message 1010 is displayed on the screen of the client device of the participant who cannot participate when the time limit of the participant is not extended and the time limit is reached. The participant is forcibly logged out and is deleted from the participant information table.

  However, it may be implemented so that it is confirmed again by the extension confirmation dialog 1000 immediately before the forced logout.

  The extension confirmation dialog 1000b is basically the same as the extension confirmation dialog 1000a. However, the extension confirmation dialog 1000a displays the dialog on the client device 102 of the user who has the extension right before the predetermined time 802 in FIG. 8 (set by the warning time 803). As described in the description of FIG. 8, it is confirmed whether or not the extension is performed when the predetermined time 802 is reached. If there are no operational problems such as personnel management, any method may be used.

  The configuration of the related database, the dialog for extending the participant's participation time, and the like have been described above with reference to FIGS.

  Next, processing according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described using the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 to 13.

  FIG. 11 is an example of a flowchart showing processing at the time of login to the conference room according to the embodiment of the present invention. Each step in FIG. 11 is executed by the CPU 201 of the conference server 101.

  In S1101, login information (account (employee ID in this example), password, etc.) input from the client device is acquired.

  In S1102, based on the above-mentioned login information, login information (information of a user who intends to participate in the conference) is acquired from a personnel database or the like, and based on the role described in the user information, a role is recorded from the role information table. Get information.

  In S1103, it is determined whether or not there is a room entry authority based on the room entry authority 806 outside the predetermined time of the role information. If there is a right to enter the room, the process proceeds to S1107. If “NO”, the process proceeds to S1104.

  In S1104, calendar information related to business days of a company (such as an organization to which a user belongs) is acquired. That is, business days, holidays (including regular holidays, summer holidays, holidays, etc.), predetermined hours (start, end, break time) of business days, and the like. In addition, there may be a plurality of calendars for each shift work and role (such as managers, general employees, discretionary labor employees). In any case, information that can be determined based on the acquired user information (and its role) whether or not it is within a predetermined time may be included.

  In S1105, the current time (system date, time) is acquired.

  In S1106, it is determined based on the working time corresponding to the user role acquired in S1104 and the current time acquired in S1105 whether or not it is within a predetermined time. If it is within the predetermined time (in the case of YES), the process proceeds to S1107. If it is not within the predetermined time (in the case of NO), the process proceeds to S1108.

  In step S1107, the logged-in user selects a conference room and enters the conference room. Specifically, the user corresponding to the participant information table in FIG. 9 is registered as a participant (participant information registration unit).

In step S <b> 1108, the logged-in user notifies the logged-in client device 102 that the meeting room has no entry authority (at that time).
Above, description of the flowchart of FIG. 11 is completed.

  FIG. 12 is an example of a flowchart showing processing for managing time extension according to the embodiment of the present invention. Each step in FIG. 12 is executed by the CPU 201 of the conference server 101. In the process of FIG. 12, participants in one conference are monitored as needed or at regular intervals. For this reason, the process of promoting the conference (transmission and reception of voice and images from each terminal, etc.), which is the original function of the conference system, may be executed in a process (monitoring process).

  For example, the aforementioned monitoring process is started in advance for the conference room existing when the conference system is started and each conference room added later, or the reservation start time (or a certain time before that) In addition, an implementation such as starting a monitoring process can be considered. The monitoring process stores which conference room each monitors, and monitors entry / exit of participants in the conference room. A plurality of conference rooms may be monitored by one monitoring process. These methods are merely examples, and other monitoring methods may be used.

  In S1201, a conference room number for monitoring time is acquired. As described above, since the monitoring process in this example stores which conference room is being monitored, the conference room number is acquired.

  In S1202, conference room information corresponding to the above-described conference room number is acquired. Specifically, it is acquired from the conference room information table 700 of FIG. 7 based on the conference room number.

  In S1203, participant information corresponding to the conference room number is acquired. Specifically, it is acquired from the participant information table 900 of FIG. 9 based on the conference room number.

  In step S1204, it is determined whether all the participants have left the conference room and whether the conference reservation time has ended. When all the members leave or the conference reservation time is over, the flowchart of FIG. 12 is completed. If there is a participant who has not left, or if the conference reservation time has not ended, the process advances to step S1205. Here, for example, there is a possibility that the start of the conference is delayed for some reason, and no one has entered the room even if monitoring is actually performed immediately after the start of the conference (immediately after the start reservation time is reached). In this way, it is necessary to distinguish between a state in which no one has left, but no one has yet entered, and a state in which everyone has left. Furthermore, it is also necessary to distinguish the case where the user enters the room once, but the connection is not successful and the user leaves and reconnects. These cases can be solved, for example, by an implementation in which a conference is not completed even if there are no participants for a certain period of time after a conference start start reservation or repeated entry / exit. This implementation is only an example.

  In S1205, based on the conference room information table 700, it is determined whether the next conference is reserved in the same conference room and its start time has not passed. If it has passed (in the case of YES), use of the conference room is completed and the flowchart of FIG. 12 is completed. If not (NO), the process proceeds to S1206.

  In S1206, it is determined whether or not the reservation time for this conference has passed the end time. Specifically, the reservation time 703 (end) time in the conference room information table 700 is compared with the current time (system time, etc.). If the end time has not elapsed (NO), the process proceeds to S1211. If the end time has passed, the process proceeds to S1207. In other words, the processing of S1207 to S1210 extends the current conference end time when there is room until the next conference reservation time (start), but the conference time currently in progress has ended. This is a process for making the user decide whether or not.

  In step S1207, a user who has authority to extend the conference room is acquired. Specifically, the job title 801 described as “Yes” is acquired in the conference room reservation time extension authority 807 of the role information table 800, and the user who has the same role 903 in the participant information table 900 is authorized. Is considered a user. Further, the client apparatus 102 to which the user is logged in is notified and displayed the conference room extension confirmation dialog 1400 of FIG.

  In S1208, the user's response by the conference room extension confirmation dialog 1000 in FIG. 14 is accepted from the client device 102 of the authorized user. The response is either “extend” or “not extend” in the example of FIG. In the case of extension, an extension time (new end time) is also accepted. Specifically, it is the time designated by 1401 in FIG.

  In S1209, it is determined whether or not to extend the response received in S1208. In the case of “extending” (YES), the process proceeds to S1210. If “do not extend” (NO), the process proceeds to S1211.

  In S1210, the scheduled meeting time (end) is extended. Specifically, the reservation time 703 (end) time in the conference room information table 700 is updated.

In the loop processing from S1211 to S1215, the processing for all the participants is repeated. As described above, since the flowchart of FIG. 12 is repeated, for example, at regular intervals, if the participant enters or exits at that time, the number of participants may be changed. Usually, since one participant logs in from one client device and participates in the conference, the number of participants may be the client device.
In S1212, attention is paid to one participant.

  In S <b> 1213, role information corresponding to the role of the participant under attention is acquired from the role information table 800.

In S1214, a time check is performed for the participant who is paying attention. Details will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
Above, description of the flowchart of FIG. 12 is completed.

  FIG. 13 is an example of a flowchart showing a process focusing on one participant among the processes for managing the time extension according to the embodiment of the present invention. This is a process for determining whether or not the participant can continue to participate in the conference room after the determination time based on the authority of the participant under consideration (determined according to the role in the example) and the time limit. The “participant in focus” in the description of the flowchart in FIG. 13 is the same user as the participant in the loop process of the flowchart in FIG. Each step of FIG. 13 is executed by the CPU 201 of the conference server 101.

  In step S1301, it is determined whether or not the role information of the participant who is paying attention has the right to enter the room 806 for a predetermined time. In the case of “Yes”, there is no need to check other items, and the flowchart of FIG. 13 is completed. If “NO”, the process proceeds to S1302.

  In S1302, it is determined whether or not a “restricted time” corresponding to the participant in question is set. If it is set (in the case of “Yes”), there is no need to set, so the process proceeds to S1304. If it is not set (in the case of “None”), the process proceeds to S1303 for setting.

  In S1303, the predetermined time (end) of the participant in question is set as the initial value of the conference time limit (the room-specific exit time). This “restricted time” is a value that is different for each participant, and is therefore a “restricted time” that is specific to the participant in question in the description of this step. Note that the response to the case where the next conference is reserved by another user is the response in S1205 of FIG. 12 described above, and therefore will not be described in the flowchart of FIG.

  In S1304, it is determined whether or not the current time (hardware or OS time; system current time) exceeds the time limit. In the figure, “<” (less than) is used for convenience, but “≦” (less than equal) may be used. If it exceeds (YES), the process proceeds to S1305. If not, the process proceeds to S1308.

  In step S1305, the current participant (the client device 102 that logged in) is notified of the forced exit. At the same time, other client devices 102 may be notified of who (which client device 102) is leaving the room. A display example on the client device 102 is a leaving instruction message 1010 in FIG.

  In step S1306, the participant in question is forcibly logged out from the conference system.

  In step S1307, the participant information under attention is deleted from the participant information table 900 (participant information deletion unit).

  In S1308, it is determined whether or not it is time to warn about the leaving of the participant who is paying attention (warning determination unit). That is, it is determined whether or not the difference between the “warning time” indicating how far before the “restricted time” that is the time to leave the room is smaller than the “current time”. In the formula, “restricted time−warning time <current time”. In the figure, “<” (less than) is used for convenience, but “≦” (less than equal) may be used. If smaller (YES), the process proceeds to S1309. If it is larger or equal (in the case of NO), it is determined that the time to be warned has not yet been reached, and the flowchart of FIG. 13 is completed.

  In S1309, it is confirmed whether or not to extend the time limit of the participant who is paying attention (warning notification unit). Specifically, a notification is given to the client device 102 in which a participant who has the extension instruction authority is logged in. For example, an extension confirmation dialog 1000 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the client device 102 of the participant having the extension instruction authority.

  In S1310, a determination result as to whether or not to extend the time limit of the participant in question is received from the client device 102 of the participant having the extension instruction authority (extension confirmation receiving unit).

  In S1311, it is determined whether or not the received determination result is to extend the time limit (extension permission determination). When extending (in the case of YES), it progresses to S1312. When not extending (in the case of NO), the flowchart of FIG. 13 is completed.

  In S1312, the time limit is extended (time limit extension unit). The extended time has already been acquired from the role table according to the role of the participant. The new time limit is a time obtained by adding the “extended time” to the conventional “time limit”. Further, when the time limit exceeds the reservation time (start) of the next meeting, it may not be extended. In this case, the conventional “restricted time” and “extended time” sum is compared with the reservation time (start) of the next meeting of the same meeting room registered in the meeting room information table 700 ( Extendability determination unit). As another method, although not shown in the flowchart, it is possible to extend the time limit within the range not exceeding the reservation time (start) of the next conference. Specifically, it can be realized by setting a time limit in consideration of a certain grace period such as a reservation time (start) of the next conference or a time required to open the conference room.

In the flowchart of FIG. 13, the user is warned of the time limit earlier only as indicated by the “warning time” than the actual time limit, but as described above with reference to FIG. 8, the predetermined time 802 (or time limit) You may make it notify a warning in the stage which reached.
Thus, the description of the flowchart in FIG. 13 is completed.

  By the processing of the flowcharts of FIGS. 12 and 13, it is possible to determine whether or not to extend the participation time for each participant. In addition to limiting or extending the available time of the conference room, each participant's participation time is judged by an authorized participant (such as a boss), and the conference system controls participation based on that decision. An effect is obtained.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the time limit is set to the predetermined time (business hours), but it is not necessarily limited to the predetermined time. For example, there may be restrictions on days of the week and time periods that can be used in organizational units, and the use of conference rooms may be allocated equally. Specifically, a day of the week and a time zone that can be used in organizational units may be set as the predetermined time in the role table. For example, even if department A is set so that it can only be used in the morning, it defines the “executive authority” whose authority is stronger than “manager” and extends the meeting to the afternoon. It is also possible to do.

  Accordingly, in the present invention, the same meaning as the time limit (initially before extension) including the predetermined time is assumed.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, even when a virtual conference room is reserved in the conference system, the conference is performed within the reserved time range, and the end time is extended, the next conference is performed in the same conference room. In the case where the reservation is made, the start time of the reservation time of the next meeting is described as the extension time limit. In the second embodiment, a description will be given of a meeting without using a meeting room. Therefore, there is no restriction on the reservation time of the conference room (or the reservation time of the next conference).

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conference information table 1500 for managing conference information according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, there is one table. That is, the conference information table 1500 is a conference information storage unit. The conference room information table 700 is not necessary. As will be described later, specific participants form a group and participate in the conference specified by the conference ID. That is, the conference information table 1500 (conference information storage unit) in the second embodiment is configured as a role information table 800 (role information storage unit) and a participant information table 900 (participant information storage unit) as in the first embodiment. It may be composed of two tables.

Actually, the data shown in FIG. 15 is the same as the data items included in the role information table 800 (role information storage unit) and the participant information table 900 (participant information storage unit).
Predetermined time 802 (end), warning time 803, extension time 804, conference room reservation time extension authority 807 (and above, data items indicating the same information as the role information table 800 in FIG. 8), participant 901, employee ID 902 (and above) Description of data items indicating the same information as the participant information table 900 of FIG. 9 is omitted.

In the conference information table 1500 (conference information storage unit) of FIG. 15, a conference ID 1501 and an extension instruction authority holder 1502 are further added to the first embodiment.
The conference ID 1501 is an ID for identifying which conference the participant indicated by the participant 901 is participating in. Accordingly, participants having the same conference ID 1501 form a group that participates in one held conference.

  The extension instruction authority holder 1502 is a participant who has the authority to extend the time limit for participation time to the participants of the conference indicated by the participant 901. Although one or two names are shown in the figure, the number may be limited to one, or a plurality of names may be designated as shown in the figure. Further, in practice, the conference information table 1500 (conference information storage unit) does not have a corresponding data item, and refers to an organization personnel database or the like, for example, “the supervisor has the authority to extend subordinates” or “role It may be implemented such that “the one with higher rank (such as title) has the extension authority of the lower rank”. Regarding these configurations, various data configurations and implementations are possible in the first embodiment as well, and schemes other than those described in the embodiments are included in the configuration of the present invention.

  Even in the second embodiment, the role (not shown) of each participant is set in the conference information table 1500 (conference information storage unit) as in the first embodiment, and further according to the role. The role information table 800 (role information storage unit) in the first embodiment may be referred to indicate whether or not there is an authority to extend the time limit of other participants.

  FIG. 16 is an example of a flowchart showing processing for managing time extension according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Each step in FIG. 16 is executed by the CPU 201 of the conference server 101. Further, the description of the flowchart of FIG. 12 also applies to this flowchart. Steps assigned with the same numbers as those in the flowchart of FIG. 12 perform the same processing and will not be described. Also, as described with reference to FIG. 12, in the process of FIG. 16, participants in one conference are monitored as needed or at regular intervals. For this reason, the process of promoting the conference (transmission and reception of voice and images from each terminal, etc.), which is the original function of the conference system, may be executed in a process (monitoring process).

  In S1601, a conference ID for monitoring time is acquired. As a specific example, the update of the conference information table 1500 is monitored, and monitoring is started when a new conference ID 1501 is added. Specifically, participants of the conference (conference ID 1501 is the same participant as the newly added conference ID) are monitored.

  In S1602, the information of the participants whose meeting IDs match in the meeting information table 1500 is acquired.

  The repetitive processing from S1603 to S1216 is completed when all participants leave. In FIG. 12, there is a time constraint on the conference room, but in the second embodiment, there is no time constraint on the conference room, and therefore, determination is made based on the absence of all participants.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 16, the processing from S1211 to S1216 is the same as that of FIG. This completes the description of the flowchart of FIG.

  It should be noted that the configuration and contents of the various data described above are not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the various data and configurations are configured according to the application and purpose.

  As mentioned above, although the embodiment according to the present invention has been described, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium, and more specifically, a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to a system configured from the above, or may be applied to an apparatus including a single device.

  The program according to the present invention is a program that allows a computer to execute the processing methods of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 and FIG. A computer executable program is stored. The program according to the present invention may be a program for each processing method of each apparatus shown in FIGS.

  As described above, a recording medium that records a program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the program stored in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by executing the reading.

  In this case, the program itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium storing the program constitutes the present invention.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, silicon A disk, solid state drive, or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on an instruction of the program is actually It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. Furthermore, by downloading and reading a program for achieving the present invention from a server, database, etc. on a network using a communication program, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  In addition, all the structures which combined each embodiment mentioned above and its modification are also included in this invention.

101 conference server 102 client device 103 network 301 conference system 302 system administrator 303 group 304 group administrator 305 general user 306 conference room 307 free space

Claims (11)

The user identification information of the user participating in the electronic conference, the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information, and a notification destination that notifies that some users exceeds the time limit of the user participating in the electronic conference a conference server for Ru provided with a storage means for storing for,
Based on the current time and the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information stored in the storage means, specifying means for specifying user identification information exceeding the time limit ,
If the user identification information of a user exceeds the time limit in the specifying unit is identified, to the notification destination which is stored in the storage means, you notice that there is a user that exceeds the time limit through Knowledge means ,
A conference server comprising: The conference server according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies a user who exceeds the time limit to the notification destination stored in the storage unit. The conference server is communicable with a client device that accepts input of the user identification information to allow a user to participate in an electronic conference
The storage means receives the user identification information accepted in the client device by the conference server, stores the user identification information as the user identification information of the user participating in the electronic conference,
The storage means further stores, as the notification destination, user identification information of other users participating in an electronic conference in which the user indicated by the user identification information is associated with the user identification information.
The notifying unit has received user identification information of another user who is participating in an electronic conference in which a user who exceeds the time limit specified is specified using the user identification information specified by the specifying unit. The conference server according to claim 1, wherein the notification is made to the client device. The conference server is capable of communicating with a client device that accepts input of the user identification information;
The storage means stores, as the notification destination, user identification information of a user who holds authority to permit continuous participation in the electronic conference of the user in association with the user identification information,
The notification means, using said user identification information of the user exceeds the specified the time limit in a particular unit, the user holding the right to allow continued participation in the teleconference user indicated by the user identification information for to the client device, which has received the user identification information, a user who exceeds the time limit sends the authorization request to participate to continue in an electronic conference,
The conference server further includes:
In response to the permission request transmitted from the notification means, the user is allowed to continuously participate in the electronic conference in accordance with the instruction that allows the user exceeding the time limit to continue participating in the electronic conference received from the client device. Control means to control as needed
The conference server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The control means stores the user stored in the storage means so that the user indicated by the user identification information specified by the specifying means continues to participate in the electronic conference even after the time limit is exceeded. 5. The conference server according to claim 4, wherein the time limit corresponding to the user identification information is changed. Before Symbol conference server, and the end time storage means for storing the end time of the electronic conference,
With
The notification means, when receiving an instruction to extend the end time, notifies the notification destination stored in the storage means that there is a user exceeding the time limit. The conference server according to any one of 1 to 5 . A time limit user specifying means for specifying user identification information of a user who has exceeded the time limit stored in the storage means;
A deletion means for deleting the user identification information specified by the time limit exceeded user specifying means from the time limit storage means in order to forcibly leave the user who has exceeded the time limit from the electronic conference ;
Conference server according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a. The storage means further stores a role corresponding to the user identification information,
Characterized in that said notification destination, corresponding to the user identification information of the user participating in the stored electronic conference in the storage means, a notification destination specified in accordance with the role that put the organization to which the user belongs The conference server according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . The storage means stores a notification destination to be notified by the notification means in association with the user identification information,
  The conference server according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies a notification destination corresponding to the user identification information of a user who exceeds the time limit. The user identification information of the user participating in the electronic conference, the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information, and a notification destination that notifies that some users exceeds the time limit of the user participating in the electronic conference a method of controlling a conference server that Ru provided with a storage means for storing for,
A specifying step for specifying user identification information exceeding the time limit based on the current time and the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information stored in the storage unit ;
Notification means, if the user identification information of a user exceeds the time limit in the specific step are identified, to the notification destination which is stored in the storage means, notifying that there is a user that exceeds the time limit and a notification step you the,
A method for controlling a conference server, comprising: The user identification information of the user participating in the electronic conference, the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information, and a notification destination that notifies that some users exceeds the time limit of the user participating in the electronic conference a program executable by the conference server Ru provided with a storage means for storing for,
The conference server,
Based on the current time and the time limit of the user indicated by the user identification information stored in the storage means, specifying means for specifying user identification information exceeding the time limit ,
If the user identification information of a user exceeds the time limit in the specifying unit is identified, to the notification destination which is stored in the storage means, you notice that there is a user that exceeds the time limit through conference server program for causing to function as an Shitte stage.

Images