JP7388001B2 - Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Teleconferencing systems that connect multiple locations to realize remote collaborative work have been known. In conventional remote conference systems, a graphical user interface screen is created that displays the base systems that are holding meetings or remote conferences on related themes, and is displayed on the base system that makes the request. There is a system that allows users to grasp what kind of themes are being held at conferences (for example, see Patent Document 1).

With the spread of cloud computing in recent years, users can now use remote conferencing services, for example. Remote conference services allow remote conferences by connecting a personal terminal such as a PC or a shared terminal such as an interactive whiteboard (IWB) to a remote conference connection destination expressed by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), etc. Start. However, when using a shared terminal such as an electronic whiteboard device, inputting a connection destination for a remote conference may take time and effort.

Furthermore, with the recent spread of cloud computing, users can now use external services such as scheduling services. Therefore, for example, it would be convenient for a user who is a participant in a remote conference using an electronic whiteboard device to use information held by an external service available to the user to input into the electronic whiteboard device to which the remote conference is connected. Note that Patent Document 1 does not use information held by an external service available to the user to input a connection destination for a remote conference.

An object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide an information processing device that can be shared and used by a plurality of users and can reduce the effort required to connect to a remote service.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned problem, claim 1 of the present application provides an information processing apparatus that is shared and used by a plurality of users, and includes a detection means for detecting a user, and an external device associated with the detected user. a schedule setting means for acquiring the user's schedule information from an external service using service setting information; and a remote control for controlling connection to a remote service based on remote service connection destination information registered in the user's schedule information. service connection means, and the schedule setting means includes a scheduled start and end time of the user's schedule and a current time when the user selects a schedule for using the information processing device from the user's schedule information. proposes a schedule to use the information processing device based on a comparison with the user , allows the user to select a schedule to use the information processing device from the user's schedule information, and schedule information of the user selected by the user. The method is characterized in that the remote service connection means is caused to control connection to the remote service based on the remote service connection destination information registered for each of the schedules.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the effort required to connect to a remote service.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an electronic whiteboard device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an example of account information. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an example of schedule information. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an example of a user information list. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an example of external service setting information. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an example of a list of participant management information. FIG. 1 is an external view of an electronic whiteboard device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example showing a processing outline of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart of an example of the flow of a meeting using an electronic whiteboard device. FIG. 2 is an image diagram of an example of a UI displayed on an electronic whiteboard device. FIG. 2 is an image diagram of an example of a UI displayed on an electronic whiteboard device. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a process for authenticating and setting a host. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a process for acquiring and proposing a schedule. 3 is a flowchart of an example of schedule proposal processing. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for extracting a proposed schedule. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for adding scheduled attendees of a proposed meeting schedule to participant management information. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a process for connecting to a remote conference service. It is an image diagram of an example of a schedule proposal screen. It is an image diagram of an example of a schedule selection screen. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a process for changing a host. 3 is a flowchart of an example of schedule proposal processing. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a processing procedure when starting to use the electronic whiteboard device. It is a flowchart of an example of the flow of a remote conference using an electronic whiteboard device. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a process for acquiring a connection destination for a remote conference. 3 is a flowchart of an example of a remote conference connection destination search process.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an example of a remote conference using an electronic whiteboard device will be explained, but it is not limited to conferences, and can be used for seminars, lectures, etc. where multiple devices (other electronic whiteboard devices, PCs, smart devices, etc.) are connected to the same conference. It can be applied to various situations where remote sharing such as screen sharing is performed by connecting to a connection destination.

[First embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to this embodiment. The information processing system 1 in FIG. 1 includes a user information server device 10, an external service group system 12, an electronic whiteboard device 14, one or more PCs 15, and one or more remote service server devices 16 connected to the Internet. They are communicably connected via a network 18 such as a LAN.

The user information server device 10 and the electronic whiteboard device 14 constitute an electronic whiteboard system. The electronic whiteboard system provides functions related to the electronic whiteboard device 14 by operating in cooperation with an external service group system 12 outside the electronic whiteboard system. Further, the electronic whiteboard system provides functions related to remote conferences by operating in cooperation with a remote service server device 16 outside the electronic whiteboard system. A remote conference is a conference such as a web conference that uses an electronic whiteboard device 14 or a PC 15 that can be connected to the network 18 to exchange video and audio and share materials, and is also called a remote service or remote connection. Sometimes.

The external service group provided by the external service group system 12 refers to an integrated service such as Office365 (registered trademark), which is composed of, for example, a user service, a storage service, a mail service, a schedule service (calendar service), and the like. The external service group is provided in such a way that services such as user services, storage services, mail services, and schedule services can be used with the same user account. The external service group provided by the external service group system 12 is also called groupware, and each service belonging to the same external service group can be used with the same authentication information (ID and password combination, access token, etc.) . These external service groups may be different for each user, and may be one or more. The external service group system 12 is realized by one or more computers.

The user information server device 10 stores a user information list, external service setting information, etc., which will be described later, and is used by the external service group system 12 or the electronic whiteboard device 14. The user information server device 10 may be shared by a plurality of electronic whiteboard devices 14, and does not need to be on the same network segment. Further, the user information server device 10 may be built in the electronic whiteboard device 14. The user information server device 10 is realized by one or more computers.

The electronic whiteboard device 14 is used in a remote conference in which multiple users participate. The electronic whiteboard device 14 displays images drawn with an electronic pen or hand, for example. Further, the electronic whiteboard device 14 can also display an image of an electronic file read from a USB memory, a PC connected via a cable, or the external service group system 12. Furthermore, the electronic whiteboard device 14 can also display images taken by a camera.

The electronic whiteboard device 14 can participate in a remote conference by connecting to a remote conference connection destination. The electronic whiteboard device 14 can remotely share image data and audio data among multiple devices such as other electronic whiteboard devices, PCs, and smart devices participating in a remote conference. The electronic whiteboard device 14 is one example, and any device may be used as long as it has a remote sharing function, such as a terminal of a remote conference system, a display, or a projector. The electronic whiteboard device 14 is an example of a shared terminal that is shared and used by multiple users.

The PC 15 is an example of a personal terminal, and is an example of a device that can participate in a remote conference by connecting to a remote conference connection destination. In addition to PCs, personal terminals that can participate in remote conferences include smartphones and tablet terminals.

The remote service server device 16 provides remote conference services. A remote conference service enables a remote conference to be held by remotely sharing image data and audio data between devices connected to a remote conference connection destination. For example, the remote service server device 16 allows devices such as the electronic whiteboard device 14 and the PC 15 connected to the same remote conference connection destination to conduct a remote conference.

Note that the configuration of the information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example. For example, at least a portion of the functions of the user information server device 10, the external service group system 12, or the remote service server device 16 may be provided in the electronic whiteboard device 14. The information processing system 1 performs at least part of the functions of the user information server device 10, the external service group system 12, the electronic whiteboard device 14, or the remote service server device 16. The configuration may be realized by an information processing device other than the device 14 and the remote service server device 16.

<Hardware configuration>
"Computer"
The user information server device 10, external service group system 12, PC 15, and remote service server device 16 shown in FIG. 1 are realized, for example, by a computer 500 having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 500 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, an HD 504, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, and a display 506. , an external device connection I/F (Interface) 508, a network I/F 509, a data bus 510, a keyboard 511, a pointing device 512, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, and a media I/F 516.

Among these, the CPU 501 controls the overall operation of the computer 500 according to a program. The ROM 502 stores programs used to drive the CPU 501 such as IPL. RAM 503 is used as a work area for CPU 501. The HD 504 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls reading and writing of various data to the HD 504 under the control of the CPU 501.

The display 506 displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, characters, or images. External device connection I/F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The external device in this case is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a printer, or the like. The network I/F 509 is an interface for data communication using the network 18. The data bus 510 is an address bus, a data bus, etc. for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 501.

The keyboard 511 is a type of input means that includes a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, and the like. The pointing device 512 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like. The DVD-RW drive 514 controls reading and writing of various data on a DVD-RW 513, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that it is not limited to DVD-RW, but may be DVD-R or the like. The media I/F 516 controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 515 such as a flash memory.

《Electronic whiteboard device》
FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the electronic whiteboard device according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic whiteboard device 14 includes a CPU 601, a ROM 202, a RAM 603, an SSD (Solid State Drive) 604, a network I/F 605, and an external device connection I/F 606.

Among these, the CPU 601 controls the entire operation of the electronic whiteboard device 14 according to a program. The ROM 602 stores the CPU 601 and programs used to drive the CPU 601 such as IPL. RAM 603 is used as a work area for CPU 601. The SSD 604 stores various data such as programs for the electronic whiteboard device 14.

Network I/F 605 controls communication with network 18 . External device connection I/F 606 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The external devices in this case are, for example, the USB memory 630 and external devices (microphone 640, speaker 650, camera 660).

The electronic whiteboard device 14 also includes a capture device 611, a GPU 612, a display controller 613, a contact sensor 614, a sensor controller 615, an electronic pen controller 616, an IC card reader 617, a short-range communication circuit 619, and an antenna for the short-range communication circuit 619. 619a, a power switch 622, and selection switches 623.

Among these, the capture device 611 causes the display of the external PC 670 to display video information as a still image or a moving image. A GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 612 is a semiconductor chip that specializes in graphics. The display controller 613 controls and manages screen display in order to output the output image from the GPU 612 to the display 680 or the like.

The contact sensor 614 detects the contact of the electronic pen 690, the user's hand H, etc. on the display 680. A sensor controller 615 controls the processing of the contact sensor 614. The contact sensor 614 performs coordinate input and coordinate detection using an infrared cutoff method. This method of inputting and detecting coordinates is such that two light receiving and emitting devices installed at both ends of the upper side of the display 680 emit a plurality of infrared rays in parallel to the display 680. This is a method of receiving light that is reflected by a reflecting member and returns along the same optical path as the light emitted by the light receiving element.

The contact sensor 614 outputs the ID of the infrared rays emitted by the two light receiving and emitting devices blocked by the object to the sensor controller 615, and the sensor controller 615 identifies the coordinate position that is the contact position of the object. The electronic pen controller 616 communicates with the electronic pen 690 to determine whether or not the display 680 has been touched with the tip of the pen or the end of the pen.

The IC card reader 617 reads identification information unique to the IC card 700 from the RF tag embedded in the IC card 700 by wireless communication. The IC card reader 617 may be built into the electronic whiteboard device 14 or may be externally attached to the electronic whiteboard device 14. Note that the IC card 700 may be built into a smart device such as a smartphone. Further, the electronic whiteboard device 14 may use a device other than the IC card reader 617 as long as it can acquire identification information that can identify the user, such as a biometric authentication device (fingerprint, palm print, iris, face, etc.) or a barcode reader. etc. may also be used.

Further, the short-range communication circuit 619 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The power switch 622 is a switch for switching the power of the electronic whiteboard device 14 on and off. The selection switches 623 are, for example, a group of switches for adjusting the brightness, shade, etc. of the display 680.

Further, the electronic whiteboard device 14 includes a bus line 610. The bus line 610 is an address bus, a data bus, etc. for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 601 shown in FIG. 3.

Note that the contact sensor 614 is not limited to the infrared cutoff type, but can also be a capacitive type touch panel that identifies the contact position by detecting changes in capacitance, or a capacitive touch panel that identifies the contact position by voltage changes between two opposing resistive films. Various detection means may be used, such as a resistive touch panel that uses a resistive film, or an electromagnetic induction touch panel that detects electromagnetic induction caused by a contact object coming into contact with the display section to specify the contact position. Furthermore, the electronic pen controller 616 may determine whether or not a portion of the electronic pen 690 that the user grasps or other portions of the electronic pen is touched, in addition to the pen tip and pen tail of the electronic pen 690.

<Functional configuration>
The information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment is realized by, for example, the functional configuration shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to this embodiment. In the functional configuration of FIG. 4, configurations unnecessary for the description of this embodiment are omitted as appropriate.

The information processing system 1 in FIG. 4 has a configuration including a user information server device 10, an external service group system 12, electronic whiteboard devices 14A and 14B, a PC 15, and remote service server devices 16A and 16B. FIG. 4 shows an external service group system "office.example.com" as an example of the external service group system 12.

The external service group system 12 exemplifies a user service 30, a schedule service 32, and a mail service 34 as external service groups provided to users. The user service 30 of the external service group system 12 stores account information as shown in FIG. 5, for example. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an example of account information. As shown in FIG. 5, the user service 30 of the external service group system 12 stores the user ID, name, and email address as account information.

The schedule service 32 stores schedule information as shown in FIG. 6, for example. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of schedule information. The schedule service 32 manages the user's activity schedule and meeting schedule based on the schedule information shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the schedule service 32 stores schedule ID, schedule name, schedule type, owner user, start time and period, scheduled attendees, and remote service connection destination information as schedule schedule information. The schedule ID is an example of schedule identification information. The schedule name is the name of the schedule. The schedule type is an example of information that distinguishes a schedule between a user's action schedule and a user's meeting schedule. The owner user is an example of information that identifies the user who owns the schedule information for the schedule.

The start time and period are examples of information indicating the date and time when the schedule starts and the period from the start to the end of the schedule. represents. A scheduled attendee is an example of information representing a user who is scheduled to attend (participate in) a schedule, and is an example of a scheduled participant.

The remote service connection destination information indicates the remote conference service and the remote conference connection destination, and is expressed by, for example, an https URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or an ID in a unique format. In the remote service connection destination information "https://remoteservicea.com/meetingroom/134565" shown in the schedule information in Figure 6, the domain part "remoteservicea.com" indicates the remote conference service, and the number string part "134565" indicates the connection. It shows the future. When the electronic whiteboard device 14A is connected to the connection destination "134565" of the remote conference service "remoteservicea.com", the other electronic whiteboard device 14B and PC 15 are connected to the connection destination "134565" of the same remote conference service "remoteservicea.com". By connecting to the remote conference, you can conduct a remote conference between the devices connected to the remote conference connection destination.

In addition, in the other remote service connection destination information "https://remoteserviceb.com/room/marysroom" shown in the schedule information in Figure 6, the domain part "remoteserviceb.com" indicates the remote conference service, and the character string The part "marysroom" indicates the connection destination.

The email service 34 manages email addresses for each user in the external service group system 12 and provides email functions to the users. The mail service 34 stores e-mail addressed to the e-mail address of the user in the external service group system 12.

The user information server device 10 has an external service setting information section 20 and a user information section 22. The user information section 22 stores a user information list shown in FIG. 7, for example. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of an example of a user information list. As shown in FIG. 7, the user information list stores a user ID, name, email address, external service setting ID, and identification information.

The e-mail address is different from the e-mail address shown in FIG. 5, and is, for example, an e-mail address used in an intranet. The external service setting ID is information that identifies external service setting information, which will be described later. The identification information is, for example, identification information unique to the IC card 700. According to the user information list in FIG. 7, the user's user ID and external service setting information can be specified from the identification information read from the user's IC card 700.

The external service setting information section 20 stores external service setting information as shown in FIG. 8, for example. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an example of external service setting information. The external service setting information shown in FIG. 8 is setting information that differs for each user for using the external service group system 12. The external service setting information stores an external service setting ID, user ID, address information, external service user ID, and external service authentication token.

The address information and the external service user ID are examples of connection information to the external service group system 12. The authentication token of the external service is an example of authentication information of the external service group system 12.

The electronic whiteboard device 14A includes a conference schedule setting section 40, remote service clients 42A and 42B, a participant management section 44, a writing display section 46, and an IC card detection section 48. The IC card detection unit 48 reads identification information from the detected user's IC card 700. The participant management unit 44 manages the participants of the remote conference using a list of participant management information as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of an example of a list of participant management information. The participant management information list stores the user IDs of users recognized as participants in the remote conference, and information indicating whether the participant with the user ID is the host. For example, the participant management unit 44 uses the identification information read by the IC card detection unit 48 to identify user information from the user information list in FIG. 7, and uses the user ID of the identified user information as the participant's user ID. Save in the management information list.

The participant management information list in FIG. 9 shows an example in which the participant with the user ID "user001" among the participants with the user IDs "user001", "user002", and "user003" is the organizer.

The writing display unit 46 accepts the user's writing on the electronic whiteboard device 14A, and displays the contents of the writing. The conference schedule setting unit 40 has a user interface for setting a conference schedule, communicates with the schedule service 32 to acquire the schedule schedule information shown in FIG. 6, displays the user's conference schedule, and allows the user to select the conference schedule. to be set. Further, the conference schedule setting unit 40 proposes a conference schedule selected from a plurality of user conference schedules in the schedule schedule information to the user as described later.

The remote service client 42A functions as a client for using the remote conference service provided by the remote service server device 16A. The remote service client 42B functions as a client for using the remote conference service provided by the remote service server device 16B. The remote service clients 42A and 42B are realized by an application, a web browser, etc. for using the remote conference service.

Further, FIG. 4 shows remote service clients 42A and 42B of the electronic whiteboard device 14B and remote service clients 50A and 50B of the PC 15. The remote service client 50A functions as a client for using the remote conference service provided by the remote service server device 16A. The remote service client 50B functions as a client for using the remote conference service provided by the remote service server device 16B.

Note that the configuration in FIG. 4 is an example, and other configurations may be used. For example, each part of the electronic whiteboard device 14A may be composed of two devices, and each part of the electronic whiteboard device 14A other than the IC card detection section 48 and the writing display section 46 may be implemented by a server device. Further, without changing the device configuration, the user information server device 10 may have a configuration in which each section other than the IC card detection section 48 and the writing display section 46 of the electronic whiteboard device 14A is included, or the user information section of the user information server device 10 22 and the external service setting information section 20 may be provided in different devices. Furthermore, the number of remote conference service server devices 16 is not limited to two, and may be one, or may be composed of three or more devices. The number of remote conference services is also not limited to two, and may be one, or three or more. The configuration is not limited to one server device per remote conference service, and one remote conference service may be configured with a plurality of devices.

<Functional overview of electronic whiteboard device>
FIG. 10 is an external view of an electronic whiteboard device according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the electronic whiteboard device 14 includes a display 680, a camera 660, and an IC card reader 617. Furthermore, an operation panel 900, which will be described later, is displayed on the display 680. The electronic whiteboard device 14 according to one embodiment has at least the following functions 1 to 5.

《Function 1: Electronic whiteboard function》
The electronic whiteboard device 14 allows writing on the electronic whiteboard using an electronic pen 690 or a finger. The electronic whiteboard device 14 can send image data of the content written on the electronic whiteboard by email or store it in the storage provided by the storage service of the external service group system 12. . Note that the electronic whiteboard device 14 can also display files such as conference materials and edit files.

《Function 2: Authentication function》
The electronic whiteboard device 14 can acquire authentication information and the like using an IC card reader 617, a camera 660, a biometric authentication device, and the like, and perform user authentication based on the authentication information and the like. The electronic whiteboard device 14 may perform the user authentication itself, or may have an external device perform the user authentication. The IC card reader 617 acquires authentication information such as identification information unique to the IC card 700 from the IC card 700, and performs user authentication by referring to the user information list in FIG. 7 and determining whether the authentication information matches. It can be carried out. User authentication can also be performed by extracting feature amounts from the face image photographed by the camera 660 and determining whether they match the feature amounts registered in the user information list.

《Function 3: External service cooperation function》
The electronic whiteboard device 14 can cooperate with the external service group system 12. For example, the electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the user's schedule information from an external service using the external service setting information of the user who has been authenticated by the above-mentioned authentication function, and sends the meeting to the email address of the scheduled meeting attendee. You can send information on the board, files, etc. inside by email. Further, for example, the electronic whiteboard device 14 accesses the storage provided by the storage service of the external service group system 12 of the user who has been authenticated, obtains files, shares the files with other devices, etc. You can transfer files to other devices.

《Function 4: Remote sharing function》
The electronic whiteboard device 14 allows sharing and collaborative editing ( It is possible to remotely execute an electronic whiteboard function), share images and videos of participants in a remote conference captured by the camera 660, share audio from the microphone 640, etc. Screen sharing refers to displaying the same content on each information processing device (remote sharing) between multiple information processing devices installed in separate locations, and using that content for discussion in a remote conference. etc. Collaborative editing of a screen means writing on the same screen from multiple information processing devices, file editing, etc.

《Function 5: Other functions》
The electronic whiteboard device 14 may include applications similar to those running on general PCs and smart devices, such as a browser and an email application.

Note that each of the above functions is realized by the cooperation of the hardware and software of the electronic whiteboard device 14. The software also includes multiple pieces of software on the electronic whiteboard device 14 and external devices that work together.

<Processing overview of the information processing system>
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an example showing an outline of processing of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. In step S1, participants in the remote conference perform personal authentication on the electronic whiteboard device 14. Personal authentication can be an authentication method that participants voluntarily perform, such as IC card authentication or ID/password authentication, or an authentication method that allows participants to be authenticated simply by being present, such as facial recognition. good.

Proceeding to step S2, the electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the schedule information of the first authenticated user (for example, the organizer) from the schedule service 32. The schedule information includes the scheduled meeting time and duration, scheduled attendees, and remote service connection destination information. Note that FIG. 11 shows an example in which different remote conference services, called remote conference services A and B, are used.

Proceeding to step S3, the electronic whiteboard device 14 first determines a meeting schedule whose current time matches the start time and period. As a result, if there is only one meeting schedule, that meeting schedule is proposed (recommended display). The electronic whiteboard device 14 also displays remote service connection destination information for the proposed meeting schedule.

Proceeding to step S4, the conference schedule in the schedule information including, for example, remote service connection destination information is selected as a remote conference to be held. Then, the electronic whiteboard device 14 reads remote service connection destination information from the schedule information of the conference schedule selected as the remote conference to be held, and connects to the remote conference service A based on the remote service connection destination information to start the remote conference. Controls the start.

<Processing>
The information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment conducts a remote conference using the electronic whiteboard device 14, for example, in the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example of the flow of a remote conference using an electronic whiteboard device.

In step S10, the electronic whiteboard device 14 starts up, displays, for example, the operation panel 900 shown in FIG. 10, and waits for login using the IC card 700. The host holding the remote conference holds his or her IC card 700 over the IC card detection unit 48 .

When the IC card detection unit 48 detects the IC card 700, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds to step S12, specifies user information from the identification information read from the IC card 700, and authenticates and sets the user as the organizer. In this embodiment, the user who authenticates first is set as the host of the remote conference. The authentication/setting in step S12 may be ID/password authentication or face authentication.

Proceeding to step S14, the electronic whiteboard device 14 displays, for example, an operation panel 1000 as shown in FIG. 13 as a user interface (hereinafter referred to as UI). FIG. 13 is an image diagram of an example of a UI displayed on the electronic whiteboard device. The operation panel 1000 in FIG. 13 displays a participant list 1002, a conference end button 1004, and a schedule selection button 1006. Note that on the operation panel 1000 of FIG. 13 displayed in step S14, only "Mary", the organizer, is displayed in the participant list 1002.

In step S16, users other than the organizer also hold their IC cards 700 over the IC card detection unit 48. When detecting the IC card 700, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds to step S18, specifies user information from the identification information read from the IC card 700, and authenticates and sets the user as a participant in the remote conference. The electronic whiteboard device 14 adds the users who have been authenticated and set as participants of the remote conference to the participant list 1002.

When the schedule selection button 1006 on the operation panel 1000 is pressed, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds to step S20. The electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the organizer's schedule information from the schedule service 32. Note that the operation panel 1000 continues to be displayed even after the schedule selection button 1006 is pressed.

The electronic whiteboard device 14 determines a meeting schedule whose current time matches the start time and period. If there is only one corresponding meeting schedule, the electronic whiteboard device 14 displays and proposes the meeting schedule as shown in the schedule proposal screen 1020 in FIG. 14 . Further, the electronic whiteboard device 14 displays the operation panel 1000 in FIG. 14 along with the schedule proposal screen 1020 in FIG. Note that if there are two or more applicable meeting schedules, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds to step S22 and displays the schedule selection screen 1100 of FIG. 14 for selection.

The schedule proposal screen 1020 in FIG. 14 shows an example in which schedule information with the schedule ID "sch-2" is proposed. On the schedule proposal screen 1020, in order to confirm the contents of the proposed conference schedule, the schedule name, start time and duration, scheduled attendees, remote conference service icon, remote conference service name, connection destination, and whether to connect to the remote conference are displayed. A check box is displayed to specify whether the By pressing the set/read button 1022 while checking the checkbox specifying whether to connect to the remote conference, the organizer can request connection to the proposed remote conference service. Proceeding to step S24, the electronic whiteboard device 14 performs control to connect to the remote conference service based on the remote service connection destination information for the proposed conference schedule.

Further, the operation panel 1000 in FIG. 14 also shows an example in which schedule information with the schedule ID "sch-2" is proposed. On the operation panel 1000, a connection button 1008 to a remote conference service is displayed regardless of the checked state of the checkbox on the schedule proposal screen 1020. Note that the remote conference service icon and connection destination are displayed on the remote conference service connection button 1008 on the operation panel 1000 in FIG. 14 in order to confirm the contents of the proposed conference schedule. Further, the connection button 1008 for remote conference service may display the schedule name, start time and period, scheduled attendees, remote conference service name, and the like.

By pressing the connect to teleconference service button 1008, the host can request connection to the proposed teleconference service. Proceeding to step S24, the electronic whiteboard device 14 performs control to connect to the remote conference service based on the remote service connection destination information for the proposed conference schedule.

If the proposed meeting schedule is not appropriate, the organizer presses the other schedule button 1024 on the schedule proposal screen 1020. When the other schedule button 1024 is pressed, the electronic whiteboard device 14 displays the schedule selection screen 1100 of FIG. 14 to allow the organizer to select a conference schedule. A schedule selection screen 1100 in FIG. 14 shows an example in which schedule information for schedule IDs "sch-1" and "sch-2" is displayed. On the schedule selection screen 1100, multiple conference schedules are displayed, including the proposed conference schedule. On the schedule selection screen 1100 in FIG. 14, in order to confirm the contents of the conference schedule to be selected, the schedule name, start time and duration, scheduled attendees, remote conference service icon, remote conference service name, connection destination, conference schedule to be selected, etc. A check box is displayed to specify. By pressing the setting/read button 1102 with the checkbox checked, the organizer can request connection to the remote conference service. Proceeding to step S24, the electronic whiteboard device 14 performs control to connect to the remote conference service based on the remote service connection destination information for the scheduled conference selected by the organizer.

Proceeding to step S26, the electronic whiteboard device 14 that is currently conducting a remote conference displays the remote conference screen 1040, accepts user operations such as writing on the electronic whiteboard device 14, and communicates between devices participating in the same remote conference. The content displayed on the remote conference screen 1040 is shared remotely.

In step S12 of FIG. 12, the organizer is authenticated and set, for example, in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an example of a process for authenticating and setting a host. FIG. 15 shows processing after the IC card detection unit 48 of the electronic whiteboard device 14 detects the IC card 700 and reads identification information from the IC card 700.

Proceeding to step S30, the participant management unit 44 acquires the identification information read from the IC card 700 by the IC card detection unit 48. Proceeding to step S32, the participant management unit 44 refers to the user information list shown in FIG. 7 and identifies the user of the identification information acquired in step S30 from the user information list shown in FIG. Proceeding to step S34, the participant management unit 44 manages the identified user as the organizer and adds it to the participant list 1002.

For example, the IC card detection unit 48 that has detected the IC card 700 of “Mary Smith” shown in the user information list in FIG. 7 reads the identification information “ICCARD-123” from the IC card 700. In step S30, the participant management unit 44 obtains the identification information “ICCARD-123” from the IC card detection unit 48. Proceeding to step S32, the participant management unit 44 queries the external service setting information unit 20 and user information unit 22 of the user information server device 10 based on the acquired identification information “ICCARD-123”.

The user information unit 22 performs a search using the inquired identification information “ICCARD-123”, specifies the user information of the user ID “user001”, and returns it to the participant management unit 44 of the electronic whiteboard device 14. Further, the external service setting information section 20 performs a search using the specified user ID "user001", specifies the external service setting information "connect1a" shown in FIG. 8, and returns it to the participant management section 44 of the electronic whiteboard device 14. .

In step S34, the participant management unit 44 manages the user with the user ID "user001" as a host and can add it to the participant list 1002, and also manages the external service setting information "connect1a" of the user with the user ID "user001". can. As a result, the host of the remote conference "Mary Smith" is registered in the participant management section 44, and the list of participant management information shown in FIG. 9, the user information of the user ID "user001" shown in FIG. 7, and the user information shown in FIG. The external service setting information of the external service setting ID "connect1a" shown in FIG.

In step S20 of FIG. 12, a schedule is acquired and proposed, for example, in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example of a process for acquiring and proposing a schedule.

In step S40, the conference schedule setting unit 40 of the electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the conference schedule included in the organizer's schedule schedule information for the day from the schedule service 32, based on the organizer's user ID obtained through authentication.

When acquiring the organizer's meeting schedule for the day, the conference schedule setting unit 40 acquires the organizer's external service setting information from the user information server device 10 based on the organizer's user ID obtained through authentication, and the acquired organizer Based on the external service setting information of the user, the meeting schedule information for the day of the user identified by the external service setting information is obtained by requesting the schedule service 32 based on the user's external service setting information.

Alternatively, the meeting schedule setting section 40 may simply specify the host's user ID and request the user information server device 10 to acquire the conference schedule information without acquiring the external service setting information. The user information server device 10 specifies external service setting information based on the acquired user ID of the organizer, acquires meeting schedule information from the schedule service 32 based on the specified external service setting information, and uses the acquired conference schedule information. may be returned to the electronic whiteboard device 14. In other words, the electronic whiteboard device 14 may not directly exchange information with the schedule service 32, but may acquire meeting schedule information from the schedule service 32 via another server or the like.

In step S42, the conference schedule setting unit 40 determines whether there is a conference schedule acquired in step S40. If there is no meeting scheduled, the meeting schedule setting unit 40 skips the process of step S44. If there is a meeting scheduled, the meeting schedule setting unit 40 performs a schedule proposal process in step S44 as shown in FIG. 17, for example.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an example of schedule proposal processing. In step S50, the conference schedule setting unit 40 extracts a proposed schedule to be proposed as a remote conference to be started, as shown in FIG. 18, from the organizer's conference schedule for the day acquired in step S40.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an example of a process for extracting a proposed schedule. In step S70, the conference schedule setting unit 40 extracts conference schedules whose "start time and period" are close to the current time from the organizer's conference schedule for the day acquired in step S40. For example, the conference schedule setting unit 40 extracts conference schedules whose current time is between 15 minutes before the scheduled start time and the scheduled end time. Since there may be a plurality of conference schedules to be extracted in step S70, the conference schedule setting unit 40 extracts the conference schedule with the latest scheduled start time from the extracted conference schedules in step S72.

In step S74, the conference schedule setting unit 40 determines whether there is a conference schedule extracted in step S72. If there is a meeting schedule extracted in step S72, the meeting schedule setting unit 40 proceeds to step S76 and sets the conference schedule as a proposed schedule. If there is no meeting schedule extracted in step S72, the meeting schedule setting unit 40 skips the process of step S76.

Returning to step S52 in FIG. 17, if there is a proposed schedule extracted in step S50, the conference schedule setting unit 40 proceeds to step S54, and selects a remote conference service based on the remote service connection destination information included in the schedule schedule information of the proposed schedule. Make a judgment. Further, the process proceeds to step S56, and the conference schedule setting unit 40 determines the connection destination for participating in the remote conference based on the remote service connection destination information included in the schedule schedule information of the proposed schedule.

The determination of the remote conference service in step S54 and the determination of the connection destination in step S56 are performed, for example, as follows. Here, an example of schedule information with a schedule ID "sch-2" will be explained as an example. The URL "https://remoteservicea.com/meetingroom/134565", which is the remote service connection destination information included in the schedule information with the schedule ID "sch-2", connects the remote conference service A from the domain part "remoteservicea.com". It can be determined that Further, in the case of remote conference service A, since the part after "meetingroom/" indicates the connection destination, the connection destination "134565" can be determined.

In addition, if the remote service connection destination information is expressed by an ID in a unique format, the remote conference service and connection destination can be determined by the character string or number string that is always included in the predetermined position of the ID. You may go. "CID:134565", which is an example of a unique format ID, can be used to determine which remote conference service to use from the character string "CID", and the connection destination that identifies each remote conference can be determined from the number string "134565". can do. As the URL for connecting to the remote conference service, a URL corresponding to the determined remote conference service is used. Note that the URL corresponding to the remote conference service may be stored in advance in the electronic whiteboard device 14 or the user information server device 10.

Furthermore, if the remote conference service name and connection destination are written as text information such as HTML, that text information can also be used. Additionally, if the remote service server device 16 supports an API that returns its own remote conference service name or an API that returns a connection destination, the remote conference service name and connection destination can be obtained using the API. good. If there is an API that can obtain an icon representing a remote conference service, the icon representing the remote conference service is not stored in the electronic whiteboard device 14, but is acquired from the remote service server device 16 using the API, and the icon representing the remote conference service is acquired from the remote service server device 16, It may be displayed on the schedule proposal screen 1020 and the schedule selection screen 1100.

(Example of API that returns own remote conference service name)
HTTPS GET https://remoteservicea.com/displayname
(Example of API that returns connection destination)
HTTPS GET https://remoteservicea.com/meetingroom/134565/displayname
(Example of API that returns an icon representing a remote conference service)
HTTPS GET https://remoteservicea.com/icon
Proceeding to step S58, the meeting schedule setting unit 40 proposes a meeting schedule by displaying a schedule proposal screen 1020 as shown in FIG. The schedule proposal screen 1020 is a screen that is generated based on the schedule information of the proposed schedule, and allows the administrator to enter information such as the schedule name, start time and duration, scheduled attendees, and remote service connection information. You can check.

Further, the schedule proposal screen 1020 in FIG. 14 displays a remote conference service name, a remote conference service icon, a connection destination, and a check box for specifying whether to connect to the remote conference. By pressing the set/read button 1022 while checking the checkbox specifying whether to connect to the remote conference, the organizer can request connection to the proposed remote conference service.

When the set/read button 1022 is pressed, the process advances to step S60, and the meeting schedule setting unit 40 reads schedule information of the proposed meeting schedule. The conference schedule setting unit 40 inputs, for example, an external service setting ID “connect1a” and a list of scheduled attendees “office1”, “office2”, and “office3” to the participant management unit 44.

Note that in the process of the flowchart in FIG. 17, the type of remote conference service in step S54 and the connection destination in step S56 are determined before the schedule is proposed in step S58, but these determinations may be made at different timings. You can. For example, after the connection button 1008 in FIG. 14 is pressed, after the settings/read button 1022 is pressed, or after the settings read button 1102 is pressed, the type of remote conference service is determined in step S54 and the connection is made in step S56. You may make a decision ahead of time.

Proceeding to step S62, the participant management unit 44 performs processing as shown in FIG. 19, for example, to add scheduled attendees of the proposed conference schedule to the participant management information in FIG. FIG. 19 is a flowchart of an example of a process for adding scheduled attendees of a proposed meeting schedule to participant management information.

In step S80, the participant management section 44 queries the external service setting information section 20 for external service setting information of the current participant. Proceeding to step S82, the participant management unit 44 excludes those who match the user ID of the organizer from the list of expected attendees included in the schedule information of the organizer.

The processes of steps S84 to S88 are performed for all scheduled attendees included in the scheduled attendees list from which the organizer's user ID was excluded in step S82. Proceeding to step S84, the participant management unit 44 inquires of the user information unit 22 about user information corresponding to the external service user ID of the scheduled attendee.

If there is user information corresponding to the user ID of the external service, the process proceeds to step S88, and the participant management unit 44 adds the user ID of the scheduled attendee to the participant management information list in FIG. 9. If there is no user information corresponding to the user ID of the external service, the participant management unit 44 skips the process of step S88.

For example, in step S40, the meeting schedule setting unit 40 of the electronic whiteboard device 14 uses the external service setting information “connect1a” of the organizer “Mary Smith” with the user ID “user001” returned from the user information server device 10 to set the schedule. The conference schedule with schedule IDs “sch-1” and “sch-2” included in the organizer's schedule information for the day is obtained from the service 32. The conference schedule setting unit 40 determines whether there is a conference schedule acquired in step S40.

Since there are conference schedules with schedule IDs "sch-1" and "sch-2," the conference schedule setting unit 40 performs the schedule proposal process of step S44 as shown in FIG. 17, for example. The meeting schedule setting unit 40 performs the process of extracting the proposed schedule shown in FIG.

For example, assume that you enter the conference room at 11:55 on November 12, 2018 and start up the electronic whiteboard device 14. In step S70, the meeting schedule setting unit 40 determines that the start time and period are set to the current time from the conference schedules of the schedule IDs "sch-1" and "sch-2", which are the conference schedules of the organizer for the day acquired in step S40. Extract the meeting schedule with the schedule ID "sch-1" that is close to "November 12, 2018 11:55".

Note that conference rooms and conference spaces are generally reserved and operated in 30-minute increments such as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, etc., so if the extraction condition is that the meeting schedule was extracted in step S70, the above example This can be done even if you enter the room a little early and start using it, or if you come in and leave a little later and start using it.

Also, since the threshold is set to 15 minutes, which is half of the 30-minute meeting time, for example, even if you start a huddle-style meeting without setting a meeting schedule at 11:30, the start time will be 12:30. There is no possibility that a meeting schedule for 00:00 will be proposed by mistake. As for the start time of advance preparations, it is rare that advance preparations are started more than 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, so it can be said that this is an appropriate setting value.

Furthermore, if multiple conference schedules are extracted in step S70, the conference schedule with the latest start time is extracted. For example, if you have a meeting scheduled from 11:00 to 12:00, but the meeting ends early and you start preparing for the next remote meeting at 11:55, 11:55 will be It is included in the scheduled start time of the conference schedule from 11:00 to the scheduled end time of 12:00.

Therefore, the two meeting schedules, 11:00-12:00 meeting schedule and 12:00-13:00 meeting schedule "sch-1", fall under this category. Even in that case, by extracting the conference schedule with the latest start time, the conference schedule "sch-1" with the latest start time will be extracted, so the organizer can propose the conference schedule he/she wants to prepare and start. effective. These extraction conditions may be changeable according to the settings of the organizer.

Next, when the setting/reading button 1022 on the schedule proposal screen 1020 shown in FIG. is referred to the external service setting information section 20.

Proceeding to step S82, the participant management unit 44 excludes "office1", which is the user ID of the organizer's external service, from the list of expected attendees included in the schedule information of the organizer "user001".

Next, the process proceeds to step S84, and the participant management unit 44 queries the user information server device 10 for user information corresponding to the external service user IDs "office2" and "office3" of the remaining scheduled attendees.

Since there are user IDs "user002" and "user003" corresponding to the user IDs "office2" and "office3" of the external services, the user information server device 10 proceeds to step S88 and sets the user IDs "user002" and "user003". It is returned to the participant management section 44. The participant management unit 44 adds the user IDs "user002" and "user003" to the participant management information list.

Through these steps, in this embodiment, the schedule schedule information registered in the organizer's schedule service 32 can be set and read as a conference schedule on the electronic whiteboard device 14, so authentication using the IC card 700 is performed. It becomes easy to bring a participant who has not been registered into a participating state, or to bring a participant who does not have an IC card 700 into a participating state.

The process of connecting to the remote conference service in step S24 is performed, for example, according to the procedure shown in FIG. 20. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of an example of a process for connecting to a remote conference service. When connecting to a remote conference service, the conference schedule setting unit 40 uses the domain part included in the remote service connection destination information to determine the remote conference service in step S100.

Proceeding to step S102, the conference schedule setting unit 40 determines the remote service client 42A or 42B to be activated according to the remote conference service determined in step S100, and activates the remote service client 42A or 42B. Note that if the determined remote conference service is not supported, the conference schedule setting unit 40 does not start the remote service client 42A or 42B. In this way, security is improved by not activating the remote service client 42A or 42B when the determined remote conference service is not supported. Furthermore, the method of notifying the remote service client 42A or 42B to be started of the remote conference connection destination differs depending on the remote service client 42A or 42B.

In the case of the remote service client 42A that can connect to the remote conference service A using the dedicated application "remoteservicea.exe", the connection destination can be notified to the remote service client 42A by starting it with the connection destination "134565" as an argument, for example. .

Further, in the case of the remote service client 42A that can connect to the remote conference service A using a web browser, the remote service client 42A can be notified of the connection destination by inputting the remote service connection destination information as a URL into the web browser.

The connection method to the remote conference service, such as whether to use a dedicated application or a web browser, differs depending on the remote conference service, and the remote conference service determined using the connection method according to the remote conference service determined in step S100. Connect to.

Note that the argument and URL for notifying the remote conference connection destination to the remote service client 42A or 42B to be started may use the remote service connection destination information as is, or may extract a part of it and use it. You may use it by rewriting a part of it. For example, the description of "https://" in the URL may be rewritten and used according to the data structure (schema) that can be handled by the remote management service.

Furthermore, if the remote service connection destination information uses a custom URL scheme, the conference schedule setting unit 40 determines a dedicated application to be launched using the custom URL scheme, and launches it with the connection destination as an argument. It is also possible to notify the service client 42A of the connection destination.

If the proposed schedule set in step S76 of FIG. 18 does not include remote service connection destination information, the conference schedule setting unit 40 displays the schedule proposal screen 1020 of FIG. 21. FIG. 21 is an image diagram of an example of the schedule proposal screen. If there is no remote service connection destination information, a message indicating that there is no remote conference connection destination is displayed as shown in FIG. 21.

Further, as shown in FIG. 21, the conference schedule setting unit 40 presents available remote conference services and displays usage method buttons 1026 that display methods for using each of the available remote conference services. When the usage method button 1026 is pressed, the conference schedule setting unit 40 displays a screen 1200 that displays an explanation of how to use the remote conference service. The explanation of how to use the remote conference service includes, for example, information about how to attach remote service connection destination information to schedule information.

Furthermore, the conference schedule setting unit 40 does not directly display the explanation of how to use the remote conference service, but notifies the scheduled participants and the participants of the electronic whiteboard device 14 of the explanation of how to use the remote conference service by e-mail. You may also do so.

Note that the schedule selection screen 1100 when the proposed schedule set in step S76 of FIG. 18 does not include remote service connection destination information is, for example, as shown in FIG. 22. FIG. 22 is an image diagram of an example of the schedule selection screen. If there is no remote service connection destination information, a message indicating that there is no remote conference connection destination is displayed as shown in FIG. 22.

Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the conference schedule setting unit 40 presents available remote conference services and displays usage method buttons 1104 that display the usage methods for each of the available remote conference services. When the usage method button 1104 is pressed, the conference schedule setting unit 40 displays a screen 1200 that displays an explanation of how to use the remote conference service. The explanation of how to use the remote conference service includes, for example, information about how to attach remote service connection destination information to schedule information.

Furthermore, the conference schedule setting unit 40 does not directly display the explanation of how to use the remote conference service, but notifies the scheduled participants and the participants of the electronic whiteboard device 14 of the explanation of how to use the remote conference service by e-mail. You may also do so.

In addition, in this embodiment, the user who first authenticated is set as the host of the remote conference, but for example, as shown in Figure 23, the host can be changed and the schedule information of the changed host can be used. You may also do so. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a process for changing the organizer.

On the operation panel 1000 shown on the left side of FIG. 23, a crown mark 1010 is displayed above the icon of "Mary", the organizer. When the user presses the organizer change button 1012, a organizer selection screen 1060 is displayed on the electronic whiteboard device 14. On the organizer selection screen 1060, participants displayed in the participant list 1002 on the operation panel 1000 are displayed in a selectable manner.

By selecting one participant from the host selection screen 1060, the selected participant can be made the host. FIG. 23 shows an example in which the participant "Sato" is selected from the organizer selection screen 1060. Therefore, on the operation panel 1000 shown on the right side of FIG. 23, a crown mark 1010 is displayed above the icon of "Sato", which is the organizer.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to propose a remote conference starting from the conference schedule of the host of the remote conference, and the remote service connection destination information of the conference schedule selected as the remote conference to be started by the host can be proposed. Based on this, you can connect to the remote conference destination. Therefore, the effort required to connect the electronic whiteboard device 14 to a remote conference connection destination can be reduced.

[Second embodiment]
In the first embodiment, if there is a proposed schedule, a meeting schedule is proposed by displaying a schedule proposal screen 1020 as shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, if there is a proposed schedule, the system automatically connects to the connection destination of the proposed remote conference without displaying the schedule proposal screen 1020 according to the procedure shown in FIG.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of an example of schedule proposal processing. In step S200, the conference schedule setting unit 40 extracts a proposed schedule to be proposed as a remote conference to be started, as shown in FIG. 18, from the organizer's conference schedule for the day acquired in step S40 of FIG.

Proceeding to step S202, if there is a proposed schedule extracted in step S200, the conference schedule setting unit 40 advances to step S204 and reads schedule schedule information of the proposed conference schedule. Proceeding to step S206, the participant management unit 44 performs the process shown in FIG. 19, for example, to add the scheduled attendees of the proposed conference schedule to the participant management information shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, if there is a proposed schedule, it is possible to automatically connect to the connection destination of the proposed remote conference.

[Third embodiment]
In the third embodiment, when starting to use the electronic whiteboard device 14, an application startup screen 1300 as shown in FIG. 25 is displayed to allow the organizer to select an application to be used. FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a processing procedure when starting to use the electronic whiteboard device.

The application startup screen 1300 is displayed when the electronic whiteboard device 14 starts to be used. The application launch screen 1300 displays a "launch only whiteboard" button, a "web browser" button, and a remote conference service button 1302.

If there is a proposed schedule and remote service connection destination information is included in the proposed schedule, a remote conference service button 1302 is displayed on the application startup screen 1300. When the remote conference service button 1302 is pressed, the conference schedule setting unit 40 connects to the remote conference connection destination based on the remote service connection destination information of the proposed schedule. Note that the remote conference service button 1302 may display the schedule name, start time and period, scheduled attendees, and remote conference connection destination as additional information.

Note that when the "Launch only whiteboard" button or the "Web browser" button is pressed, the meeting schedule setting section 40 starts an application or a web browser for functioning as a whiteboard, and then displays the information as shown in FIG. 14. It works like this.

The information processing system 1 according to the third embodiment conducts a remote conference using the electronic whiteboard device 14, for example, in the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 26 is a flowchart of an example of the flow of a remote conference using an electronic whiteboard device.

In step S300, the electronic whiteboard device 14 starts up, displays, for example, the operation panel 900 shown in FIG. 10, and waits for login using the IC card 700. The host holding the remote conference holds his or her IC card 700 over the IC card detection unit 48 .

When the IC card detection unit 48 detects the IC card 700, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds to step S302, specifies user information from the identification information read from the IC card 700, and authenticates and sets the user as the organizer. Proceeding to step S304, the electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the remote conference connection destination from the organizer's schedule information, as will be described later.

Proceeding to step S306, the electronic whiteboard device 14 displays the application launch screen 1300 shown in FIG. 25 using the remote conference connection destination acquired in step S304. Further, the process proceeds to step S308, and the electronic whiteboard device 14 displays, for example, the operation panel 1000 shown in FIG. 13 as a UI.

When the host presses the remote conference service button 1302, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds from step S310 to step S312 and reads schedule information for the proposed conference schedule. Proceeding to step S314, the electronic whiteboard device 14 performs processing as shown in FIG. 19, for example, to add scheduled attendees of the proposed meeting schedule to the participant management information in FIG.

Proceeding to step S316, the electronic whiteboard device 14 performs control to connect to the remote conference service based on the remote service connection destination information for the proposed conference schedule. Proceeding to step S326, the electronic whiteboard device 14 currently conducting a remote conference displays the remote conference screen 1040, accepts operations such as writing on the electronic whiteboard device 14 from the user, and connects devices participating in the same remote conference. The content displayed on the remote conference screen 1040 is shared remotely.

When the organizer presses a button other than the remote conference service button 1302, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds from step S310 to step S318, and starts the application corresponding to the button pressed by the organizer.

When the schedule selection button 1006 on the operation panel 1000 is pressed, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds to step S320. The electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the organizer's schedule information from the schedule service 32.

The electronic whiteboard device 14 determines a meeting schedule whose current time matches the start time and period. If there is only one corresponding meeting schedule, the electronic whiteboard device 14 displays and proposes the meeting schedule as shown in the schedule proposal screen 1020 in FIG. 14 . If there are two or more applicable meeting schedules, the electronic whiteboard device 14 proceeds to step S322, displays the schedule selection screen 1100 of FIG. 14, and allows selection.

For example, by pressing the set/read button 1022 with a check mark in a checkbox specifying whether to connect to a remote conference, the organizer can request connection to the proposed remote conference service. Proceeding to step S324, the electronic whiteboard device 14 performs control to connect to the remote conference service based on the remote service connection destination information for the proposed conference schedule.

Proceeding to step S326, the electronic whiteboard device 14 currently conducting a remote conference displays the remote conference screen 1040, accepts operations such as writing on the electronic whiteboard device 14 from the user, and connects devices participating in the same remote conference. The content displayed on the remote conference screen 1040 is shared remotely.

In step S304 in FIG. 26, the remote conference connection destination is acquired, for example, in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 27 is a flowchart of an example of a process for acquiring a remote conference connection destination.

In step S350, the electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the conference schedule included in the organizer's schedule information for the day from the schedule service 32 based on the organizer's user ID obtained through authentication.

When acquiring the organizer's meeting schedule for the day, the electronic whiteboard device 14 acquires the organizer's external service setting information from the user information server device 10 based on the organizer's user ID obtained through authentication, and the acquired organizer Based on the external service setting information, the schedule service 32 is obtained by requesting the meeting schedule information for the day of the user identified by the external service setting information.

In step S352, the electronic whiteboard device 14 determines whether there is a scheduled meeting acquired in step S350. If there is no meeting scheduled, the electronic whiteboard device 14 skips the process of step S354. If there is a meeting scheduled, the electronic whiteboard device 14 performs a remote conference connection destination search process in step S354 as shown in FIG. 28, for example.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of an example of a remote conference connection destination search process. In step S360, the electronic whiteboard device 14 extracts a proposed schedule to be proposed as a remote conference to be started from the present day's meeting schedule of the organizer acquired in step S350, as shown in FIG.

The process proceeds to step S362, and if the electronic whiteboard device 14 has the proposed schedule extracted in step S360, the process proceeds to step S364. Furthermore, if there is no proposed schedule extracted in step S360, the electronic whiteboard device 14 skips steps after step S364.

In step S364, the electronic whiteboard device 14 determines whether the proposed schedule includes remote service connection destination information. If the proposed schedule does not include remote service connection destination information, the electronic whiteboard device 14 skips step S366 and subsequent steps.

Further, if the proposed schedule includes remote service connection destination information, the process advances from step S364 to step S366, and the electronic whiteboard device 14 determines the remote conference service based on the remote service connection destination information included in the schedule schedule information of the proposed schedule. conduct. Further, the process proceeds to step S368, and the electronic whiteboard device 14 determines the connection destination based on the remote service connection destination information included in the schedule schedule information of the proposed schedule.

The determination of the remote conference service in step S366 and the determination of the connection destination in step S368 are reflected in the display content of the remote conference service button 1302 on the application startup screen 1300 in FIG. 25.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the organizer can press the remote conference service button 1302 displayed on the application startup screen 1300 to connect to the remote conference connection destination. Therefore, the effort required to connect the electronic whiteboard device 14 to a remote conference connection destination can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Note that the information processing system 1 described in this embodiment is one example, and it goes without saying that there are various system configuration examples depending on the usage and purpose.

Each function of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" as used herein refers to a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, or a processor designed to execute each function explained above. This includes devices such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (digital signal processors), FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), and conventional circuit modules.

The devices described in the Examples are merely indicative of one of several computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, user information server apparatus 10 includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. The plurality of computing devices are configured to communicate with each other via any type of communication link, including network 18, shared memory, etc., to perform the processes disclosed herein. Similarly, electronic whiteboard apparatus 14 may include multiple computing devices configured to communicate with each other.

Further, the user information server device 10 and the electronic whiteboard device 14 can be configured to share the disclosed processing steps in various combinations. For example, a process performed by a predetermined unit may be performed by the electronic whiteboard device 14. Similarly, the functions of a given unit can be performed by the electronic whiteboard device 14. Further, each element of the user information server device 10 and the electronic whiteboard device 14 may be combined into one server device, or may be divided into a plurality of devices.

The devices connected to the remote conference connection destination are not limited to the electronic whiteboard device 14 and the PC 15, but include output devices such as projectors (PJs), digital signage, HUD (head up display) devices, industrial machines, and imaging devices. The device may be a device, a sound collector, a medical device, a network home appliance, a connected car, a mobile phone, a game console, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a wearable PC, or the like.

Note that the conference schedule setting unit 40 is an example of schedule setting means described in the claims. Remote service clients 42A and 42B are examples of remote service connection means.

1 Information processing system 10 User information server device 12 External service group system 14, 14A, 14B Electronic whiteboard device 15 PC
16, 16A, 16B remote service server device 18 network 20 external service setting information section 22 user information section 30 user service 32 schedule service 34 mail service 40 conference schedule setting section 42A, 42B remote service client 44 participant management section 46 writing display Part 48 IC card detection unit 617 IC card reader 660 Camera 700 IC card 1000 Operation panel 1008 Connection button 1020 Schedule proposal screen 1022, 1102 Setting/load button 1040 Remote conference screen 1100 Schedule selection screen 1300 Application startup screen

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-5590

Claims (14)

An information processing device that is shared and used by multiple users,
detection means for detecting a user;
a schedule setting means for acquiring schedule information of the user from an external service using external service setting information associated with the detected user;
remote service connection means for controlling connection to a remote service based on remote service connection destination information registered in the user's schedule information;
has
When the schedule setting means allows the user to select a schedule for using the information processing apparatus from the user's schedule information, the schedule setting means compares the scheduled start and end time of the user's schedule with the current time. proposes a schedule for using the information processing device, allows the user to select a schedule for using the information processing device from schedule information of the user, and registers each schedule in the schedule information of the user selected by the user. causing the remote service connection means to control connection to the remote service based on the remote service connection destination information;
An information processing device characterized by : 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said schedule setting means acquires schedule information of said user first detected by said detection means. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the schedule setting means acquires schedule information of one of the users selected from among the plurality of users detected by the detection means. When the schedule setting means has a plan to use the information processing device that can be proposed to the user by comparing the scheduled start and end time of the user's schedule with the current time, the schedule setting unit controls the connection to the remote service from the user. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an icon for accepting the request is displayed. The schedule setting means displays on the icon at least one of a schedule name, scheduled start/end time, participants, and remote service name of a schedule using the information processing device that can be proposed to the user. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 . 2. The schedule setting means, if there is a schedule in which the remote service connection destination information is not registered, notifies the user of a method for adding the remote service connection destination information to the schedule. Information processing device. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said schedule setting means displays a remote service name of said schedule. further comprising remote service determining means for determining the remote service to be connected based on the remote service connection destination information;
8. The remote service connecting means connects to the determined remote service using a connection method according to the remote service determined by the remote service determining means. Information processing device. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remote service connection destination information includes a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the remote service connection destination. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the remote service connection means controls connection to the remote service using the URL included in the remote service connection destination information. The remote service connection means connects to the remote service using information modified according to the data structure of the remote service determined by the schedule setting means based on the URL included in the remote service connection destination information. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the information processing apparatus performs control. An information processing system including an information processing device shared and used by multiple users,
detection means for detecting a user;
a schedule setting means for acquiring schedule information of the user from an external service using external service setting information associated with the detected user;
remote service connection means for controlling connection to a remote service based on remote service connection destination information registered in the user's schedule information;
has
When the schedule setting means allows the user to select a schedule for using the information processing apparatus from the user's schedule information, the schedule setting means compares the scheduled start and end time of the user's schedule with the current time. proposes a schedule for using the information processing device, allows the user to select a schedule for using the information processing device from schedule information of the user, and registers each schedule in the schedule information of the user selected by the user. causing the remote service connection means to control connection to the remote service based on the remote service connection destination information;
An information processing system characterized by : An information processing method executed in an information processing device shared and used by multiple users, the method comprising:
detecting a user;
obtaining schedule information of the user from an external service using external service setting information associated with the detected user;
When the user selects a schedule to use the information processing device from the user's schedule information, a plan to use the information processing device is proposed by comparing the scheduled start and end time of the user's schedule with the current time. the step of
controlling connection to a remote service based on remote service connection destination information registered for each schedule in schedule information of the user selected by the user ;
An information processing method having An information processing device that is shared and used by multiple users,
detection means for detecting a user;
schedule setting means for acquiring schedule information of the user from an external service using external service setting information associated with the detected user;
remote service connection means for controlling connection to a remote service based on remote service connection destination information registered in the user's schedule information;
function as
When the schedule setting means allows the user to select a schedule for using the information processing apparatus from the user's schedule information, the schedule setting means compares the scheduled start and end time of the user's schedule with the current time. proposes a schedule for using the information processing device, allows the user to select a schedule for using the information processing device from schedule information of the user, and registers each schedule in the schedule information of the user selected by the user. causing the remote service connection means to control connection to the remote service based on the remote service connection destination information;
A program featuring .

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