JP5915196B2 - Document distribution system, conference system, server, and portable terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to document distribution from a server to a portable terminal device.

  Paper documents are often distributed to participants at meetings and meetings held in companies and other organizations. For example, a printed matter of information related to the agenda is distributed at the meeting. Participants of the conference browse materials distributed in advance or distributed at the conference hall during the conference.

  Electronic documents can be distributed in place of paper documents. The paperless conference system disclosed in Patent Document 1 transmits electronic materials related to a conference being held to a thin client terminal placed in a conference room from a server during the conference. In this system, participants in the conference browse the material displayed by the thin client terminal. Patent Document 2 describes an electronic conference system in which a conference participant logs in to an electronic conference terminal using an IC card. The electronic conference terminal includes a card reader that reads a user ID in a contactless manner from an IC card carried by a participant. When a conference participant logs in, the correspondence between the logged-in electronic conference terminal and the user ID is registered in the management server in the system. In the system, a scanner device that reads information from a paper document also includes a card reader. When a conference participant logs in using an IC card, the scanner device refers to the management server for an electronic conference terminal corresponding to the user ID read from the IC card, and the electronic information is obtained by reading the electronic conference terminal from a paper document and digitizing the information. Send. The transmitted information is displayed by the electronic conference terminal.

  Conventionally, it has been considered to use a portable terminal device owned by each participant for viewing distributed materials for meetings and presentations. In Patent Document 3, it is considered that the material presented by the presenter during the conference is distributed to the portable terminal device during the conference, and it is difficult to transmit the material with a large file capacity. Instead, it has been proposed to transmit information storage location information to a portable terminal device during a meeting. Participants in the conference can obtain the materials using the storage location information acquired during the conference if they wish to view the materials after the conference.

On the other hand, there is disclosure relating to operability of electronic paper which is a portable display device. In Patent Document 4, it is proposed that an operation of overlapping and rubbing two electronic papers as an operation of displaying an image displayed on one of the two electronic papers on the other is proposed. In Patent Document 4, a pressure sensor is provided at the periphery of the electronic paper to detect that a plurality of electronic papers are stacked, and other wireless communication between the stacked electronic papers is performed. The information image is copied to the electronic paper.
JP 2011-182051 A JP 2007-214722 A JP 2002-49595 A JP 2005-266226 A

  When using a terminal device carried by a conference participant as a display means for viewing the document during the conference, “The document creator uploads the document to the server and the participant uploads the document prior to attending the conference. A method of “downloading to its own terminal device” can be employed. This method in which a participant voluntarily takes a document into his / her terminal device is preferable in terms of information security, compared to a method in which a server downloads data to the terminal devices of prospective participants all at once. This is because at least when the material is downloaded, the portable terminal device is under the control of the participant. That is, even if a third party other than the participant has the participant's terminal device, the material is not downloaded to the terminal device in that state. However, in order to prevent unauthorized download by a third party, the server needs to authenticate the user when downloading.

  However, a situation may occur in which “when a conference starts, there are participants among a plurality of participants who have not been able to download materials to their terminal device prior to the conference”. Because it was too busy or suddenly decided to participate, it is possible to attend the meeting without downloading the materials. In such a situation, the participant can download the material from the server by operating the terminal device in the conference hall. However, an operation for user authentication and an operation for specifying a material to be downloaded must be performed during the meeting. As for user authentication, for example, the operation can be simplified to some extent by using an IC card as disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above. However, there is still a need for some operation for user authentication.

  Here, a conference is taken as an example, but the situation is the same for the distribution of documents related to gatherings other than conferences such as meetings, workshops, and presentations.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention allows a participant of a meeting or other gathering to acquire a document for the gathering during the gathering in a terminal device carried by himself / herself without taking time and effort. It is aimed at realizing a system that can.

A document distribution system that achieves the above object includes a server that stores a document for distribution, and a first terminal and a second terminal that are portable devices capable of displaying the document. The server includes a storage unit that stores distribution permission conditions; and when the distribution of the document to the second terminal is requested from the first terminal or the second terminal, the requested distribution is the distribution permission condition. A determination unit that determines whether the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition, and the determination unit determines whether or not the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition, the document includes the second terminal of the first terminal and the second terminal. And a distribution unit to be distributed. When at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal detects a terminal facing state that is in contact with or close to the other terminal, and when the terminal facing state is detected by the detecting unit, A distribution requesting unit for requesting the distribution to the server.

  According to the present invention, a participant of a conference or other gathering can bring a terminal device carried by himself / herself into a terminal device carried by himself / herself only by bringing a terminal device carried by another participant into contact with or approaching the terminal device carried by himself / herself. Documents for the gathering can be acquired during the gathering.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the conference system as a document delivery system. It is a figure which shows the several state which concerns on the simple copy function which can obtain a document, without the user of a terminal device performing input operation. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an MFP including a server. FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of a portable terminal device. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of a function structure of a conference system. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in a conference box. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the simple copy operation | movement of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the simple copy operation | movement of a server. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of a function structure of a conference system. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the simple copy operation | movement of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the simple copy operation | movement of a server. It is a figure which shows the modification of the terminal device which concerns on the simple copy operation | movement distributed to several terminal devices simultaneously. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the principal part of the terminal device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the opposing state of three terminal devices.

  A conference system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a document distribution system that can be used for distributing conference and presentation materials in a company. The conference system 1 is a portable terminal possessed by a server 3 provided in an MFP (Multi-functional Peripheral) 2 which is an information device for business use and a plurality of participants 5A, 5B, 5C attending the conference. It has apparatus 4A, 4B, 4C. The MFP 2 is connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) 6 having wireless communication access points 7A and 7B. In the state shown in the figure, the terminal devices 4A, 4B, and 4C are in the conference room 12 and can communicate with the server 3 via the access point 7A installed in the conference room 12. The server 3 may be outside the conference room 12 as shown, or may be arranged in the conference room 12.

  The terminal devices 4A, 4B, and 4C are tablet personal computers. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other portable information devices capable of displaying documents, such as notebook personal computers, smartphones, mobile phones, electronic book readers, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), are used as the terminal devices 4A, 4B, 4C. Can be used as In the following, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the plurality of terminal devices 4A, 4B, 4C, each of these is referred to as a terminal device 4. The description “a plurality of terminal devices 4” means any two or more terminal devices among the terminal devices 4A, 4B, and 4C.

  The terminal device 4 is used as a display unit for materials (conference documents) in a conference. The material to be displayed by the terminal device 4 is uploaded to the server 3 and downloaded to the terminal device 4 prior to the conference. The document may or may not include a document for presentation projected on the screen 9 by the projector 8.

  In the operation of the conference system 1, each participant downloads conference materials on his / her terminal device 4. Participants 5A, 5B, and 5C obtain their materials from the server 3 by operating their terminal devices 4 in a timely manner within the communication range of the access point 7B outside the conference room 12, for example. At that time, the participants 5A, 5B, and 5C need to perform a login operation to input a user ID and a password, thereby receiving user authentication from the server 3.

  By the way, there is a case where a certain participant attends the meeting without being able to download the material to his / her terminal device 4 for some reason. In such a case, the conference system 1 is provided with a user support function called “simple copy function” so that the participant can easily browse the material with his / her terminal device 4 during the conference. Yes.

  FIG. 2 shows a plurality of states related to the simple copy function.

  FIG. 2A shows a state in which the two terminal devices 4A and 4B brought into the conference room 12 are separated. On the other hand, the terminal device 4A displays a document D1 distributed from the server 3 as a conference material. On the other hand, the document D1 is not displayed on the other terminal device 4B. That is, the terminal device 4A is a “distributed terminal device” in which the document D1 is downloaded from the server 3 prior to the conference, and the terminal device 4B is an “undistributed terminal device” in which the document D1 is not downloaded. These terminal devices 4A and 4B have a proximity sensor 46 for detecting the “terminal facing state”. The “terminal facing state” is a state in which a plurality of terminal devices are in contact with or close to each other. As the proximity sensor 46, for example, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) circuit that communicates with a communication partner approaching within a short distance range of about several centimeters can be used.

  FIG. 2B shows a state in which two terminal devices 4A and 4B are overlapped. Participants 5A and 5B possessing the terminal devices 4A and 4B respectively overlap the terminal devices 4A and 4B in cooperation. Superposition is a form of “terminal facing state”. In the drawing, the non-delivered terminal device 4B is arranged below the distributed terminal device 4A, but is not limited thereto. When the participants 5A and 5B overlap the terminal devices 4A and 4B, the terminal devices 4A and 4B that have detected the “terminal facing state” communicate via the LAN 6. In this communication, the distributed terminal device 4A obtains predetermined terminal information necessary for the server 3 to identify the terminal device 4B as a communication destination from the undelivered terminal device 4B.

  FIG. 2C shows a state in which communication is performed between each of the terminal devices 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B and the server 3. The distributed terminal device 4A requests the server 3 to distribute the document D1 displayed by itself to the undelivered terminal device 4B. The server 3 confirms that the current position of the requesting terminal device 4A is the position in the conference room where the conference where the document D1 is to be displayed is held, and then distributes the document D1 to the terminal device 4B. For confirmation of the current position of the requesting terminal device 4A, ID information of the access point 7A extracted from the communication packet or GPS (Global Positioning System) information from the terminal device 4A can be used.

  FIG. 2D shows a state in which the document D1 is displayed on both of the two terminal devices 4A and 4B. The terminal device 4B, which has not been distributed, displays the document D1 distributed from the server 3. Thereby, the participant 5B who possesses the terminal device 4B can browse the document D1 by his terminal device 4B.

  As described above, according to the conference system 1, even if the conference participant 5 neglects to download the document D <b> 1 that should be performed in advance, the conference participant 5 only brings his / her terminal device 4 closer to the distributed terminal device 4. The document D1 can be distributed. There is no need to perform troublesome input operations for specifying the document D1 to be logged in and distributed to the server. However, the place and time at which the participant can copy the document D1 in the server 3 to his / her terminal device 4 without receiving user authentication are limited to the place and time of the meeting. That is, the simple copy function is based on the idea that “suspicious persons are discovered by participants during a meeting, so that security is substantially ensured even if user authentication is omitted”.

  FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the MFP 2 including the server 3. In the MFP 2, the function of the server 3 is realized by the control circuit 20, the storage 30, and the network interface 38. The control circuit 20 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 21 as a computer for executing a control program and various applications, a read only memory (ROM) 22 for storing the control program, and an S-RAM (Static) as a work area for executing the program. Random Access Memory) 23, NV-RAM (nonvolatile memory) 24 for storing operation setting values, and an integrated circuit 25 for measuring system time. The storage 30 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD). The storage 30 has a memory area for storing control data including screen data for display of control programs and operation screens, and a conference box 70 that is a memory area for storing documents to be distributed and meeting information to be described later. Provided. The network interface 38 connects the MFP 2 to the LAN 6 and enables communication between the MFP 2 and external devices including the terminal device 4 and the projector 8.

  The MFP 2 operates in response to an operation from the operation panel 31 and an access from an external device. An ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 32 conveys a document sheet set on a document table to a reading position of the image scanner 33 in copying, image input, or facsimile transmission. The image scanner 33 optically reads image information recorded on the document sheet. The printer engine 35 prints a monochrome or color image on one or both sides of the paper supplied from the multi-stage paper stacker 36 and discharges the printed paper to the sorter 37.

  In FIG. 4, the hardware configuration of the terminal device 4A is shown as a representative of the terminal devices 4A, 4B, and 4C. The other terminal devices 4B and 4C have the same configuration as the terminal device 4A. However, the configuration of the terminal device 4 does not have to be the same as long as it has elements necessary for the configuration of the conference system 1.

  As illustrated, the terminal device 4A includes a controller 40, an operation input unit 41, a display 42, a storage 43, a network interface 44, a battery circuit 45, and an RFID circuit as a proximity sensor 46. The network interface 44 enables wireless communication. The battery circuit 45 includes a secondary battery as a power source and a circuit for charging it. The proximity sensor 46 has an ID chip that is sensitive to radio waves from an external reader and a reader that emits radio waves that actuate the external ID chip.

  FIG. 5 shows a first example of the functional configuration of the conference system 1. In FIG. 5, the server 3 and the two terminal devices 4A and 4B are depicted. For the first terminal device 4A, a configuration as a distributed terminal device is shown, and for the second terminal device 4B, a configuration as an undistributed terminal device is shown. However, in practice, the terminal device 4A may be an undistributed terminal device, and the terminal device 4B may be a distributed terminal device. That is, each of the terminal devices 4A, 4B, and 4C has a configuration as a distributed terminal device and a configuration as an undistributed terminal device.

  The server 3 includes a determination unit 301 and a distribution unit 302. These elements are functional elements realized by the CPU 21 of the control circuit 20 executing a predetermined computer program. When the distribution of the document D1 is requested from the terminal device 4A, the determination unit 301 determines whether the requested distribution satisfies a distribution permission condition indicated by the setting information 80. The setting information 80 is stored in a conference box 70 as a storage unit. When the determination unit 301 determines that the requested distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition, the distribution unit 302 distributes the document D1 stored in the conference box 70 to the undelivered terminal device 4B.

  In the terminal device 4A that has been distributed, the display control unit 401, the detection unit 402, the terminal information acquisition unit 403, and the distribution request unit 404 are activated. These elements are functional elements realized when a CPU (not shown) as a computer included in the controller 40 executes a predetermined computer program (document viewer). In the undelivered terminal device 4B, the display control unit 401 and the terminal information transmission unit 405 are activated. These elements are also realized by executing a predetermined computer program (document viewer) in the controller 40.

  In this example, in order to detect the terminal facing state, the reader in the proximity sensor 46 in the undelivered terminal device 4B emits a radio wave that searches for an external ID chip as shown in FIG. At this time, the ID chip in the terminal device 4B is made insensitive. Alternatively, the ID chip may be in a sensitive state, and the response of the ID chip may be invalidated based on the ID read from the ID chip of the terminal device 4B by the reader of the terminal device 4B.

  On the other hand, in the distributed terminal device 4A, the display control unit 401 reads the document D1 from the storage 43 and displays it on the display 42. When the document D1 is displayed, the reader in the proximity sensor 46 of the distributed terminal device 4A is deactivated.

  When the terminal device 4A and the terminal device 4B approach each other as shown in FIG. 2B, the ID chip in the proximity sensor 46 of the distributed terminal device 4A is sensitive to radio waves from the terminal device 4B. This sensitivity is detected as a terminal facing state by the detection unit 402 of the terminal device 4A. The detection unit 402 that has detected the terminal facing state instructs the terminal information acquisition unit 403 to acquire terminal information from a nearby terminal device. The terminal information acquisition unit 403 waits for reception of a communication contact request.

  In the undelivered terminal device 4B, the reader in the proximity sensor 46 reads ID information for identifying the terminal device 4A from the ID chip in the proximity sensor 46 of the terminal device 4A, and communicates with the terminal device 4A in the terminal information transmission unit 405. Instruct. The terminal information acquisition unit 403 of the terminal device 4A responds to the communication contact request from the terminal information transmission unit 405 and communication starts. The terminal information acquisition unit 403 acquires terminal information (for example, address information such as an IP address and a MAC address) of the terminal device 4B from the terminal information transmission unit 405 and passes it to the distribution request unit 404.

  The distribution request unit 404 transmits to the server 3 a distribution request including document information for specifying the document D1 displayed on the display 42 by the display control unit 401 and the terminal information of the terminal device 4B. At this time, GPS information indicating the current position of the terminal device 4A may be included in the distribution request. As described above, the determination unit 301 of the server 3 determines whether the distribution requested by the distributed terminal device 4A is appropriate.

  When the document D1 is distributed to the terminal device 4B by the distribution unit 302 of the server 3, the document D1 is stored in the storage 43 in the terminal device 4B. After the storage is completed or in parallel with the storage, the display control unit 401 of the terminal device 4B displays the document D1 on the display 42.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of information stored in the conference box 70. The conference box 70 stores setting information 80, conference information 85, and a plurality of materials D1a, D1b, and D1c as documents D1 to be distributed, which are part of the conditions for permitting distribution by the simple copy function without user authentication. Has been.

  The conditions indicated by the setting information 80 are set as appropriate by the administrator of the conference system 1, for example. In the example, the location of the delivery destination is limited to three locations of “A conference room”, “B conference room”, and “room E”, and the number of attendees of the gathering to be distributed is limited to 15 or less. The administrator can set conditions so that the convenience of the participant is enhanced within a range that does not violate the security policy.

  The meeting information 85 indicates the setting contents of the meeting such as the date and time of the meeting, the place, and the prospective attendee. The conference information 85 is created, for example, by the conference organizer and stored in the conference box 70 before the date of the conference. In the example, a plurality of agenda items and file names of materials D1a, D1b, and D1c related to each agenda item are shown. If the attendees are different depending on the agenda, the attendees are shown by agenda. The server 3 has a utility for sending a meeting notice to the attendees indicated by the meeting information 85. The attendee who has received the notice browses the conference information 85 and downloads the materials D1a, D1b, and D1c indicating the file names to the terminal device 4 possessed by them before the conference starts.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the simple copy operation of the terminal device. When each terminal device 4 detects the terminal facing state (YES in S11), it checks whether or not its own device is a distributed terminal device (S12).

  When the own device is a distributed terminal device (YES in S12), the terminal device 4 acquires terminal information from the nearby non-distributed terminal device 4 (S13). Then, the server 3 is requested to distribute the document D1 to the undelivered terminal device 4 (S14).

  If the own device is not a distributed terminal device (NO in S12), that is, if it is an undelivered terminal device 4, the terminal device 4 responds to a transmission request from the distributed terminal device 4 and responds to the terminal of its own device. Information is transmitted to the requesting terminal device 4 (S15, S16).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the simple copy operation of the server 3. The server 3 waits for a distribution request from the terminal device 4 (S21). When receiving the distribution request (YES in S21), the server 3 confirms the current position of the requesting terminal device 4 (S22), and determines whether the distribution request is appropriate (S23). At the time of the determination, the server 3 confirms whether the current position of the terminal device 4 confirmed earlier corresponds to the location indicated by the setting information 80, whether the current time corresponds to the holding time indicated by the conference information 85 (whether the conference is in progress), and the conference It is checked whether the distribution permission condition that the total number of attendees indicated by the information 85 is equal to or less than the number of attendees indicated by the setting information 80 is satisfied. Only when all the distribution permission conditions are satisfied (YES in S24), the server 3 distributes the document D1 to the undelivered terminal device 4 according to the request (S25).

  FIG. 9 shows a second example of the functional configuration of the conference system. 9, components having the same functions as those in the first example of FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. The first example of FIG. 5 is an example in which the distributed terminal device 4A requests the server 3 to distribute to the undistributed terminal device 4B. In the second example of FIG. 9, the undelivered terminal device 4Bb requests the server 3b to distribute the document D1 to the own device.

  In the conference system 1b of FIG. 9, the distributed terminal device 4Ab includes a display control unit 401 and a document information transmission unit 406. The undelivered terminal device 4Bb includes a display control unit 401, a detection unit 402, a distribution request unit 404, and a document information acquisition unit 407. These elements are functional elements realized by executing a computer program.

  In the distributed terminal device 4Ab, when the document D1 is displayed on the display 42, the ID chip of the proximity sensor 46 waits for radio waves from an external reader. This is the same as the first example. On the other hand, in the undelivered terminal device 4Bb, the reader of the proximity sensor 46 emits a radio wave that searches for an external ID chip.

  When the terminal device 4Ab and the terminal device 4Bb come close to each other and the proximity sensors 46 communicate with each other, the detection unit 402 of the terminal device 4Bb detects the terminal facing state based on the output of the proximity sensor 46, and the document information acquisition unit 407 receives the document. Instructs the acquisition of information. The document information acquisition unit 407 communicates with the document information transmission unit 406 of the terminal device 4Ab that has been distributed, and acquires document information that identifies the document D1 displayed on the terminal device 4Ab. A distribution request including the acquired document information is transmitted to the server 3b by the distribution request unit 404 of the terminal device 4Bb that has not been distributed.

  The server 3b that has received the distribution request distributes the document D1 to the undelivered terminal device 4Bb only when the distribution request satisfies the distribution permission condition depending on the setting information 80. The display control unit 401 of the terminal device 4Bb displays the distributed document D1 on the display 42.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a simple copy operation of the terminal device in the conference system 1b of FIG. When each of the terminal devices 4Ab and 4Bb detects a terminal facing state (YES in S11b), it checks whether or not the own device is an undistributed terminal device 4Bb (S12b).

  When the own device is the undelivered terminal device 4Bb (YES in S12b), the terminal device 4Bb acquires the document information from the distributed terminal device 4Ab (S13b). Then, the server 3b is requested to distribute the document D1 to the own device (S14b).

  If the own device is not an undelivered terminal device 4Bb (NO in S12b), that is, if it is a distributed terminal device 4Ab, the terminal device 4Ab responds to a transmission request from the undelivered terminal device 4Bb and sends document information. The data is transmitted to the requesting terminal device 4Bb (S15b, S16b).

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a simple copy operation of the server 3b in the conference system 1b of FIG.

  The server 3b waits for a distribution request from the terminal device 4Bb (S21). When receiving the distribution request (YES in S21), the server 3b confirms the current position of the requesting terminal device 4Bb (S22), and determines whether the distribution request is appropriate (S23). Only when the distribution request satisfies the distribution permission condition (YES in S24), the server 3b distributes the document D1 to the undelivered terminal device 4Bb according to the request (S25).

  When the distribution request does not satisfy the distribution permission condition (NO in S24), for example, when the number of participants in the conference is larger than the upper limit of the number of attendees in the setting information 80, the server 3b requests an authentication request from the terminal device 4Bb that is the distribution request source. Is transmitted (S26). That is, the simple copy without user authentication is not applicable, and the user of the terminal device 4Bb is requested to log in to the server 3b. When the authentication data from the terminal device 4Bb is received (YES in S37), the server 3b executes an authentication process for determining whether authentication is possible (S28). At this time, verification of the received authentication data and pre-registered authentication data may be performed in the server 3b, or the authentication server may be in charge of verification. As a login operation, the user may make a handwritten signature on the touch input surface of the terminal device 4Bb. In that case, user authentication is performed by handwriting verification. When the user of the terminal device 4Bb is authenticated (YES in S29), the server 3b distributes the document D1 to the undelivered terminal device 4Bb according to the request (S25). If the user of the terminal device 4Bb is not authenticated (NO in S29), the document D1 is not distributed to the terminal device 4Bb.

  In the above embodiment, the means for detecting the terminal facing state is not limited to the RFID technology. The contact between the terminal devices may be detected by a pressure sensor, or the proximity of the terminal devices may be detected by an optical sensor. Infrared communication technology may be used in which transmission / reception windows are opposed to each other, or a method of reading a QR code (registered trademark) or barcode provided on the outer surface of one device with the camera of the other device may be used. . In the configuration in which the display surface of the display 42 also serves as the touch input surface, it is possible to detect that the touch input surface has been pressed over a wide range of a predetermined area or more as another terminal overlapping.

  The terminal facing state is not limited to the overlapping state, and may be a state in which the terminals are in contact with each other or in close proximity.

  The contents of the setting information 80 are not limited to examples. For example, it is possible to determine which terminal device is recognized as a distribution request source or a distribution destination for one or both of the distribution request source and the distribution destination.

  Although the distribution request unit 404 has been described as transmitting a distribution request including document information to the servers 3 and 3b, it is not always necessary to transmit the document information to the servers 3 and 3b. The servers 3 and 3b can refer to the conference information 85 from the current time and the current location of the distribution request source, identify the conference being held, and distribute the document D1 registered in association with the conference.

  Even if the setting information 85 does not correspond to the setting, if the user of the undelivered terminal device specified based on the terminal information is an attendee indicated by the meeting information 85, the document D1 is distributed. Distribution permission conditions may be relaxed.

  The materials D1a, D1b, D1c can be stored in a memory area other than the conference box 70 in the storage 30, and the storage destination of the materials D1a, D1b, D1c can be stored in the conference box 70. The setting information 80 is not necessarily stored in the conference box 70 as well.

  Moreover, although the example which detects the proximity | contact of the two terminal devices 4 was given in the above-mentioned embodiment, the terminal facing state in which the three or more terminal devices 4 are related is detected, and a plurality of undelivered terminal devices 4 are detected. Documents can also be distributed all at once. In order to realize such distribution, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, a contact detection unit 90 is provided on the front surface SF of the terminal device 4E, and a contact detection unit 95 is also provided on the back surface SB of the terminal device 4E. As shown in the figure, the contact detection unit 95 may be provided so as to be located directly behind the contact detection unit 90, or the contact detection unit 90 and the contact detection unit 95 may be arranged so that the position in plan view is shifted. . As shown in FIG. 13, the contact detection unit 90 on the front surface SF includes two protrusions 91 and 92, two depressions 93 and 94, and a pressure sensor 901. The contact detection unit 95 on the back surface SF includes two depressions 96 and 97, two protrusions 98 and 99, and a pressure sensor 951. The recesses 96 and 97 of the back surface SF are just engaged with the protrusions having the same shape as the protrusions 91 and 92 of the front surface SF, and the protrusions 98 and 99 of the back surface SF are just engaged with the recesses having the same shape as the recesses 96 and 97 of the front surface SF. To do. The pressure sensor 901 on the front surface SF detects that the bottom of the recess 93 is pressed, and the pressure sensor 951 on the back surface SB detects that the bottom of the recess 97 is pressed. If the contact detection units 90 and 95 as shown in FIG. 13 are provided in each of the plurality of terminal devices, it is possible to detect a terminal facing state in which three or more terminal devices 4 are related.

  In FIG. 14, three terminal devices 4E, 4F, and 4G are stacked with their front surfaces facing upward. In the terminal device 4E located at the top, the pressure sensor 951 on the back surface is pushed by the second terminal device 4F from the top. In the second terminal device 4F, the pressure sensor 901 on the front surface is pushed by the uppermost terminal device 4E, and the pressure sensor 951 on the rear surface is pushed by the lowermost terminal device 4G. In the lowest terminal device 4G, the front pressure sensor 901 is pushed by the second terminal device 4F from the top. Each of the terminal devices 4E, 4F, and 4G recognizes the terminal facing state overlapping with other terminal devices and the positional relationship of the upper and lower overlaps based on the outputs of the two pressure sensors 901 and 902 of the own device. it can. Therefore, multiple undelivered terminal devices are stacked under the distributed terminal device so that the distributed terminal device is positioned at the top, or distributed so that the distributed terminal device is positioned at the bottom. A plurality of undistributed terminal devices may be arranged on the terminal device.

As an example, it is assumed that the uppermost terminal device 4E is a distributed terminal device. The terminal device 4E searches for undelivered terminal devices 4F and 4G, for example, by broadcast limited to the communication area of the access point 7A. At this time, the terminal devices 4F and 4G that have already detected the terminal facing state respectively respond to the broadcast. The terminal device 4E requests the server 3 to distribute the document D1 to the terminal devices 4F and 4G that have responded. If the server 3 distributes the document D1 in response to the request, the terminal devices 4F and 4G display the document D1. The terminal device 4E checks the data holding status of each of the terminal devices 4F and 4G,
The contents of the distribution request can be made different for each of the terminal devices 4F and 4G so as to distribute the materials that are not held.

  According to the simple copy function, the operation for downloading the material from the server during the meeting is simplified. The convenience of the conference systems 1 and 1b can be further enhanced by enhancing the simple copy function to perform the following various operations.

  In the case where the document D1 is composed of a plurality of pages, the distributed terminal devices 4A and 4Ab indicate which page of the document D1 is displayed via the servers 3 and 3b or not via the servers 3 and 3b. Directly to the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb. Then, when the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb receive the document D1 from the servers 3 and 3b, the pages notified from the distributed terminal devices 4A and 4Ab are displayed. According to this, when a participant who possesses the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb attends the meeting late in the conference, the page being browsed by other participants at that time is immediately displayed on the own terminal device 4B and 4Bb. Can be viewed.

The simple copy function can be used for the same display page between terminal devices. That is,
When the distributed terminal devices 4A and 4Ab detect the terminal facing state with other distributed terminal devices, which page is passed to the other terminal devices through or without the servers 3 and 3b. Notify if it is displayed. The terminal device that has received the notification displays the notified page.

  When a plurality of materials D1a, D1b, D1c are registered for a certain conference as in the example of FIG. 6, the terminals 4A, 4Ab that have been distributed among these materials D1a, D1b, D1c All materials are distributed from the servers 3 and 3b to the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb. According to this, the participant who possesses the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb can obtain the same information as information that other participants can view.

  Of the plurality of materials D1a, D1b, and D1c, only materials that are not held by the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb are distributed from the servers 3 and 3b to the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb. As a result, communication traffic can be reduced.

  In the case where the meeting information 85 indicates the names of the materials by the agenda of the meeting and the attendees by the agenda, the users of the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb among the plurality of materials D1a, D1b, and D1c Distribute only materials that correspond to the agendas stipulated in. According to this, it is possible to increase the security of information by minimizing the distribution of materials.

  When there is an updated material having the same material name as the material held in the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb and a new update date and time among the plurality of materials D1a, D1b, and D1c, the distribution unit of the servers 3 and 3b 301 distributes the updated material to the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb. Then, after receiving the updated material, the terminal devices 4B and 4Bb delete the material having the same material name as the updated material and having an old update date and time. According to this, the participant who possesses the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb can browse the latest material, and there is no possibility that the old material is browsed by mistake.

  A microphone can be arranged in the conference room 12, the conversation during the conference can be digitized by voice recognition, and the minutes can be created in real time during the conference and stored in the conference box 70. Then, the minutes being created can be sequentially distributed to all the terminal devices.

  By coordinating with the projector 8, it is possible for the servers 3 and 3 b to grasp the progress of the conference such as what the current agenda is and what page of which material is projected during the conference. The servers 3 and 3b that grasp the progress can display the pages projected by the projector 8 in the document D1 to be distributed on the undelivered terminal devices 4B and 4Bb. Of the plurality of materials D1a, D1b, and D1c, the remaining materials can be distributed except for materials related to the agenda that has already been discussed and presented at the time when the distribution request is received. You may extract and distribute the pages (which seem to be important) projected by the projector 8 over a predetermined time in the materials related to the agenda for which the discussion or presentation has ended. As for materials related to the current agenda, only the page projected by the projector 8 and the subsequent pages may be distributed.

  In the conference information 80, if a previous conference is associated with the registered conference (ie, if it is known that the ongoing conference is a continuation of the previous conference), along with the material of the ongoing conference, The meeting materials and minutes may be distributed to the undelivered terminal devices 4A and 4B.

  When distributing materials D1a, D1b, and D1c as a plurality of documents D1, the remaining materials are transferred after transferring the materials being displayed. Accordingly, the document displayed on the distributed terminal devices 4A and 4Ab can be displayed earlier on the non-distributed terminal devices 4B and 4Bb.

  In addition, the configuration of the conference systems 1 and 1b can be changed as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the number of terminal devices 4 is not limited to 3 in the figure, and may be an arbitrary number of 2 or more.

  The conference systems 1 and 1b can be used as a document distribution system for distributing a document related to a presentation to a predetermined terminal device during a presentation in various presentations other than a conference including a seminar and a briefing session.

1,1b Conference system (document distribution system)
D1 Document D1a, D1b, D1c Document 4A, 4B, 4C, 4Ab, 4Bb Terminal device (portable device, first terminal, second terminal)
70 Conference box (storage)
80 Setting Information 85 Meeting Information 301 Determination Unit 302 Distribution Unit 402 Detection Unit 404 Distribution Request Unit 403 Terminal Information Acquisition Unit 405 Terminal Information Transmission Unit 406 Document Information Transmission Unit 407 Document Information Acquisition Unit

Claims (19)

A document distribution system comprising a server for storing a document for distribution, and a first terminal and a second terminal that are portable devices capable of displaying the document,
The server
A storage unit for storing distribution permission conditions;
A determination unit that determines whether the requested distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition when distribution of the document to the second terminal is requested from the first terminal or the second terminal;
A distribution unit that distributes the document to the second terminal of the first terminal and the second terminal when the determination unit determines that the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition;
At least one of the first terminal and the second terminal is configured to detect a terminal facing state in which the terminal is in contact with or close to the other terminal;
A document distribution system, comprising: a distribution request unit that requests the distribution to the server when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit. A document distribution system comprising a server for storing a document for distribution, and a first terminal and a second terminal that are portable devices capable of displaying the document,
The server
A storage unit for storing distribution permission conditions;
A determination unit that determines whether the requested distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition when distribution of the document to the second terminal is requested from the first terminal or the second terminal;
A distribution unit that distributes the document to the second terminal when the determination unit determines that the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition;
The first terminal is
A detection unit that detects a terminal facing state that is in contact with or close to the second terminal when the first terminal is displaying the document ;
A distribution request unit that requests the server to distribute when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit;
A terminal information acquisition unit that acquires terminal information for identifying the second terminal from the second terminal when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit ;
Before SL distribution request unit, when requesting the distribution, it transmits the terminal information acquired by the terminal information acquiring unit to the server,
The server distributes the document to the second terminal specified by the terminal information acquired from the first terminal.
Document distribution system characterized by that . A document distribution system comprising a server for storing a document for distribution, and a first terminal and a second terminal that are portable devices capable of displaying the document,
The server
A storage unit for storing distribution permission conditions;
A determination unit that determines whether the requested distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition when distribution of the document to the second terminal is requested from the first terminal or the second terminal;
A distribution unit that distributes the document to the second terminal when the determination unit determines that the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition;
The first terminal is
In a state where the first terminal is displaying the document, in response to a request from the second terminal, a document information transmitting unit that transmits document information for specifying the document to the second terminal,
The second terminal is
A detection unit for detecting a terminal facing state that is in contact with or close to the first terminal ;
A distribution request unit that requests the server to distribute when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit;
A document information acquisition unit that acquires the document information from the first terminal when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit;
The distribution request unit requests the server to distribute the document specified by the document information acquired by the document information acquisition unit.
Document distribution system characterized by that . A conference system having a server for storing a document to be distributed for a conference, and a first terminal and a second terminal which are portable devices capable of displaying the document,
The server
A storage unit for storing conference information indicating a meeting location, a scheduled start time, and a scheduled end time of the conference;
When distribution of the document to the second terminal is requested from the first terminal, the current location of the first terminal corresponds to the holding location, and the current time is from the scheduled start time to the scheduled end time. A determination unit for determining whether the time is within the time until,
A distribution unit that distributes the document to the second terminal when the determination unit determines that the current position corresponds to the holding location and the current time is a time within the time;
The first terminal detects a terminal facing state in which the first terminal is in contact with or close to the second terminal when the first terminal is displaying the document;
A terminal information acquisition unit for acquiring terminal information for identifying the second terminal from the second terminal when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit;
A distribution request unit that transmits the terminal information acquired by the terminal information acquisition unit to the server and requests the distribution. The first terminal notifies the second terminal of which page of the document is displayed, directly or not via the server,
The conference system according to claim 4, wherein the second terminal displays a page notified from the first terminal in the document distributed from the server. The distribution unit of the server responds to the distribution request from the first terminal when the first terminal has a plurality of documents for the conference including the document. The conference system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein: is distributed to the second terminal. The distribution unit of the server, when the first terminal has a plurality of documents for the conference including the document, the document that the second terminal of the plurality of documents does not have The conference system according to claim 4, wherein the system is distributed to the second terminal in response to the distribution request from the first terminal. The meeting information is information indicating a document by agenda and a prospective attendee by agenda of the meeting,
In response to the delivery request from the first terminal, the delivery unit of the server responds to the delivery request from the first terminal only for a document corresponding to the agenda set by the user of the second terminal as a prospective attendee in the meeting information. The conference system according to claim 4 or 5, which is distributed to two terminals. A server for storing a document used in a system that requests distribution of a document when a portable first terminal device contacts or approaches a portable second terminal device,
A storage unit for storing distribution permission conditions;
A determination unit that determines whether the requested distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition when distribution of the document to the second terminal device is requested from the first terminal device;
A distribution unit that distributes the document to the second terminal device of the first terminal device and the second terminal device when the determination unit determines that the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition. And a server characterized by comprising: A portable terminal device capable of displaying a document,
A detection unit that detects a terminal facing state that is in contact with or close to another portable terminal device when displaying the document ;
A distribution request unit that requests distribution of the document to the other terminal device to the server that holds the document when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit;
A terminal information acquisition unit that acquires terminal information for identifying the other terminal device from the other terminal device when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit;
The distribution request unit, when requesting the distribution, transmits the terminal information acquired by the terminal information acquisition unit to the server . A portable terminal device capable of displaying a document,
A detection unit for detecting a terminal facing state that is in contact with or close to another portable terminal device;
A distribution request unit that requests distribution of the document to the portable terminal device to the server that holds the document when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit;
A document information acquisition unit that acquires, from the other terminal device, document information that identifies the document displayed by the other terminal device when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection unit; And
The distribution request unit requests the server to distribute the document specified by the document information acquired by the document information acquisition unit. A portable terminal device capable of displaying a document,
Upon detecting a state in contact with or close to the portable terminal device, the document information specifying the document displayed by the portable terminal device is acquired from the portable terminal device, and the acquired document information Used with other portable terminal devices that request the server holding the document to deliver the document specified by
A document information transmitting unit configured to transmit the document information for specifying the document to the other terminal device in response to a request from the other terminal device in a state of displaying the document;
A portable terminal device. A document distribution method in a document distribution system comprising a server for storing a document for distribution, and a first terminal and a second terminal that are portable devices capable of displaying the document,
When at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal detects a terminal facing state in which the terminal is in contact with or close to the other terminal, and detects the terminal facing state, the second terminal with respect to the server Request delivery of the document to
The server is
It remembers the distribution permission conditions,
When the front matter Sharing, ABS is requested from the first terminal or the second terminal, distribution which has been requested to determine whether the distribution permission condition is satisfied, the distribution is determined to the distribution permission condition is satisfied The document is distributed to the second terminal of the first terminal and the second terminal ,
Document distribution method characterized by the above. A document distribution method in a document distribution system comprising a server for storing a document for distribution, and a first terminal and a second terminal that are portable devices capable of displaying the document,
The first terminal detects a terminal facing state in which the first terminal is in contact with or close to the second terminal only when the first terminal is displaying the document, and when the terminal facing state is detected, Obtaining terminal information for identifying the second terminal from the second terminal, transmitting the terminal information to the server to the server and requesting distribution of the document to the second terminal;
The server is
It remembers the distribution permission conditions,
When the distribution is requested from the first terminal, it is determined whether the requested distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition, and when it is determined that the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition, the first terminal Distributing the document to the second terminal specified by the terminal information acquired from the document distribution method. A document distribution method in a document distribution system comprising a server for storing a document for distribution, and a first terminal and a second terminal that are portable devices capable of displaying the document,
In a state where the first terminal is displaying the document, in response to a request from the second terminal, document information specifying the document is transmitted to the second terminal,
When the second terminal detects a terminal facing state that is in contact with or close to the first terminal, and detects the terminal facing state, the second terminal acquires the document information from the first terminal, and Requesting the distribution of the document specified by the document information,
The server is
It remembers the distribution permission conditions,
When the distribution is requested from the first terminal or the second terminal, it is determined whether the requested distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition, and when it is determined that the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition Distributing the document to the second terminal. A method for distributing a document. A computer program used for a server for storing a document used in a system that requests distribution of a document when a portable first terminal device contacts or approaches a portable second terminal device There,
To the server,
When distribution of the document to the second terminal device is requested from the first terminal device, a determination process is performed to determine whether the requested distribution satisfies a distribution permission condition,
Distribution processing for distributing the document to the second terminal device of the first terminal device and the second terminal device when the distribution processing determines that the distribution satisfies the distribution permission condition. To execute,
A computer program characterized by the above. A computer program used for a portable terminal device capable of displaying a document,
In the terminal device,
When the document is displayed, a detection process for detecting a terminal facing state that is in contact with or close to another portable terminal device is executed,
When the terminal facing state is detected by the detection process, a terminal information acquisition process for acquiring terminal information for specifying the other terminal apparatus from the other terminal apparatus is executed,
When the terminal facing state is detected by the detection process, the server holding the document is requested to distribute the document to the other terminal device, and the terminal information acquisition process is performed at that time. To execute a distribution request process for transmitting the terminal information acquired by
A computer program characterized by the above. A computer program used for a portable terminal device capable of displaying a document,
In the terminal device,
Execute detection processing to detect the terminal facing state, which is in contact with or close to other portable terminal devices,
When the terminal facing state is detected by the detection process, the document information acquisition process for acquiring the document information specifying the document displayed by the other terminal apparatus from the other terminal apparatus is executed.
Distributing the document specified by the document information acquired by the document information acquisition process to the server that holds the document when the terminal facing state is detected by the detection process Execute distribution request processing that requires
A computer program characterized by the above. A computer program used for a portable terminal device capable of displaying a document,
In the terminal device,
Upon detecting a state in contact with or close to the terminal device, the document information specifying the document displayed by the terminal device is acquired from the terminal device, and the document specified by the acquired document information is sent to itself. In response to a request from the other terminal device in a state where it is used with another portable terminal device requesting the server holding the document to be distributed and displaying the document, Executing document information transmission processing for transmitting the document information specifying the document to the other terminal device;
A computer program characterized by the above.

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