JP7519648B1 - Conference system, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] Conventional conference room systems do not have a mechanism for automatically setting up a conference room or automatically guiding users to that conference room, and the selection of users and conference rooms is done only by the administrator or user. [Solution] The conference room system is characterized by having a staff table that can store and call up the names of staff members who can participate in a conference, a virtual conference room generation means that generates the name and fixed code of a virtual conference room, and an allowed entry allocation means that assigns the staff members stored in the staff table to the virtual conference rooms with the names and fixed codes generated by the virtual conference room generation means, and the like, allowing users and staff members to connect without setting or selecting a conference room, and enabling smooth customer service. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a conference system and a control method program thereof, and in particular to a system that features the reservation of conferences and the immediate start of conferences.

In addition to advances in network technology, the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted face-to-face conversations for a period of time, leading to the emergence of a variety of conferencing systems that allow meetings to be held over the network without meeting face-to-face. The most common of these systems are those that allow meetings to be booked in advance by sending a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which is a code identifying the sender.

JP 2006-324925 A JP 2017-084284 A

The above prior art technologies provide methods for users who join mid-conference and conferencing systems that allow users to easily select conference rooms, but they do not provide a mechanism for automatically setting up conference rooms or automatically directing users to those rooms, and selection of users and conference rooms is done solely by administrator or user operations.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and is a service that is primarily for BtoC (Business to Consumer), i.e., businesses (businesses) provide services to general consumers (Consumers), and provides a conference room system that automatically sets up a conference room when a general consumer holds a meeting or discussion with a person in charge of the business.

In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1 is a conference system that can accept entry to a virtual conference room on a network, and is characterized by comprising: a staff table that can store and call up the available dates and times for attending the conference and the names of available staff members; a virtual conference room generation means that generates the name and fixed code of the virtual conference room; an available person allocation means that assigns available staff members whose available dates and times for attending the conference match the current date and time stored in the staff table to the virtual conference room with the name and fixed code generated by the virtual conference room generation means; an available person determination means that assigns a specified number of available staff members from among the multiple available staff members assigned by the available person allocation means to a user using the system; and a virtual conference room connection means that enables a terminal of the user using the system and a terminal of the available staff member selected by the available person determination means to connect to the virtual conference room where the conference will be held.

The invention of claim 2 is the conference system of claim 1, comprising a group table that can store and call up group names that categorize conferences, a virtual conference room entrance display means that selects and displays the group names stored in the group table, and a virtual conference room group selection means that allows a user using the system to select from a terminal of the user from among the multiple group names displayed by the virtual conference room entrance display means, wherein the staff table has a field that links to the group names stored in the group table, and the entry- allowed person assignment means assigns a corresponding staff member who has the group name selected by the virtual conference room group selection means in the field.

Furthermore, the invention of claim 4 is the conference system of claim 1, comprising: calendar generation means for generating a calendar based on the available conference participation dates and times stored in the staff table; virtual conference room date and time selection means for allowing a user using the system to select any date and time from the calendar generated by the calendar generation means from the terminal of the user; entry code generation means for generating a virtual conference room entry code based on the fixed code of the virtual conference room generated by the virtual conference room generation means and the calendar generated by the calendar generation means; and code transmission means for transmitting the virtual conference room entry code generated by the entry code generation means to the terminal of the user using the system, and the virtual conference room connection means is characterized in that it connects the terminal of the user using the system and the terminal of the corresponding staff to the virtual conference room based on the virtual conference room entry code generated by the entry code generation means.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a virtual conference room that allows users and customer service staff to connect without having to set up or select a conference room, allowing for smooth customer service.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a conference system S according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a server 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a manager terminal 20 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a staff table 142 according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a group table 143 according to the embodiment. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for the service staff 3 displayed on the manager terminal 20 according to the present embodiment. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process performed by the server 10 and the manager's terminal 20 according to the present embodiment when registering and setting a service staff member 3. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the server 10 and the manager's terminal 20 according to the present embodiment when registering and setting the service staff 3. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for group G displayed on the manager terminal 20 according to the present embodiment. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process performed by the server 10 and the administrator terminal 20 according to the present embodiment to register and set a group G. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by the server 10 and the administrator terminal 20 according to the present embodiment when registering and setting a group G. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an immediate conference connection screen displayed on a user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment. 1 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process when the server 10, the manager's terminal 20, and the user's terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start an instantaneous conference. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed when the server 10, the manager's terminal 20, and the user's terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start an instantaneous conference. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an entrance connection screen displayed on a user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a processing example when the server 10, the manager terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the embodiment start an entrance conference connection. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed when the server 10, the manager terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start an entrance conference connection. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a calendar reservation connection setting screen displayed on a user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process when the server 10, the administrator terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start a calendar reservation connection setting. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a process when the server 10, the administrator terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start a calendar reservation connection.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. The following embodiment is an example for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention to the embodiment. Furthermore, the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, the same components in each drawing are given the same reference numerals as much as possible, and duplicated explanations are omitted.

[1. Overview of the configuration and functions of the conference system S]
First, the configuration and functional overview of a conference system S according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of a conference system S according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conference system S is capable of transmitting and receiving data between the server 10 (hereinafter abbreviated as "server 10") of the conference system S managed by the administrator 2 (hereinafter abbreviated as "system administrator 2") of the conference system S, the administrator terminal 20 managed by the person who manages the system 2 (hereinafter abbreviated as "system administrator 2") and the staff 3 who handles customers (hereinafter abbreviated as "support staff 3"), and the user terminal 40 managed by the user 4 (hereinafter referred to as "user 4") who uses the system S, via the network NW, for example, using TCP/IP as a communication protocol. The network NW is constructed, for example, by the Internet, a dedicated communication line (for example, a CATV (Community Antenna Television) line), a mobile communication network (including base stations, etc.), and a gateway, etc.

The server 10 is not managed by a specific person, but is managed by a system administrator 2, such as an administrator of a bank system or a customer service system. The server 10 will be described in detail later, but it is constructed from a server device, etc., and has a database of video creators and viewers, processing programs, etc. in its internal memory, and is the core device of the conference system.

The administrator terminal 20 is not managed by a specific person, but is a general-purpose terminal with communication functions that is owned or contracted with, for example, a specific system administrator 2, support staff 3, etc. It may be a general-purpose computer, tablet, smartphone, etc., but considering that it is a management terminal, it is preferable that it is a general-purpose computer. It has an internal web browser application or a dedicated application, and uses these to connect to the server 10 via the network NW and hold meetings on the network and configure the server 10.

The user terminal 40 is a general-purpose terminal with communication functions that is managed, owned, or contracted by the user 4, and may be a general-purpose computer, tablet, smartphone, etc. It has an internal web browser application or a dedicated application, and uses this to connect to the server 10 via the network NW and hold a conference on the network.

2. Configuration of Server 10
Next, the configuration of the server 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the server 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the server 10 includes a communication control unit 101, an input/output interface unit 102, a processing unit 103, and a storage unit 104.

The server 10 may be composed of multiple server devices. For example, a server device that transmits a web page in response to a request, and a server device that manages a database, etc. may be connected to each other via a LAN or the like.

The communication control unit 101 is composed of a general-purpose communication protocol control unit, and is connected to the network NW and other terminals to control the communication state with the administrator terminal 20 managed by the system administrator 2, etc., and the user terminal 40 managed by the user 4, etc.

The input/output interface unit 102 performs interface processing between the communication control unit 101, the processing unit 103, and the memory unit 104.

The processing unit 103 is not shown, but the functions of each means can be realized by a CPU or the like executing a program stored in the storage unit 104. The functions of each means in the processing unit 103 are described below.

The virtual conference room generating means 111 generates a fixed code VN etc. of the virtual conference room V where the staff member 3 and the user 4 etc. hold a virtual conference. It is preferable that the fixed code VN is a unique code generated randomly based on a random number function etc.

The available entry allocation means 112 allocates available staff members 3 from among the available staff members 3 stored in the staff table 142 described below to the virtual conference room V, such as fixed code VN, generated by the virtual conference room generation means 111. There is no particular rule regarding the logic for allocating available entry members, but it is sufficient that the logic is such that the available participation date and time of the available staff members 3 and a link to the group G are set in the staff table 142, and the time or the present specified in the virtual conference room V generated by the virtual conference room generation means 111 matches the available participation date and time of the available staff members 3 and the group G.

The entry person determination means 113 assigns to the user 4, etc., who uses the system S, from among the multiple staff members 3 assigned to the virtual conference room V by the entry person allocation means 112, the number of staff members 3 set in the virtual conference room V or designated by the system administrator 2 and the user 4, etc. It is preferable that one staff member 3 is automatically assigned randomly, and it is preferable to provide a means for manually setting two or more staff members at will, but the number and method of determination are not particularly specified.

The virtual conference room connection means 114 connects the user terminal 40 used by the user 4 of the system S and the manager terminal 20 of the staff member 3 selected by the entry decision means 113 to the virtual conference room V where the conference will be held. The operation of connecting the manager terminal 20 of the staff member 3 entering the virtual conference room V and the user terminal 40 of the user 4, etc., by the virtual conference room connection means 114 without going through the entrance connection screen described below or using the virtual conference room entry code VE, etc., is hereinafter referred to as the "instant connection operation."

The virtual conference room entrance display means 115 selects the name GN of the group G stored in the group table 143 described later, and displays the selected group name GN on the monitor and screen that are the display unit 408 of the administrator terminal 20 or the user terminal 40 of the user 4, etc.

The virtual conference room group selection means 116 selects from the names GN of the multiple groups G displayed by the virtual conference room entrance display means 115 from the user terminal 40 of the user 4 or the like who uses the system S. The specific operation will be described later, but the virtual conference room group selection means 116 displays the names GN of the multiple groups G on the monitor and screen of the user terminal 40, and provides a selectable operation when the user 4 or the like selects and clicks or taps.

The availability determination means 117 determines whether the staff members 3 who have a link to the name GN of the group G displayed by the virtual conference room entrance display means 115 in the field, that is, the staff members 3 who belong to the name GN of the group G, are available to attend the conference based on the number of staff members 3 whose available dates and times stored in the staff table 142 match the current date and time. The specific operation will be described later.

The waiting number setting means 118 allows the number of people who can wait to be set when the availability determination means 117 determines that the number of staff members 3 currently available is zero. The specific operation will be described later, but even if the available number is zero, it is possible to set the number of people waiting using the waiting number setting means 118 and put users 4 on hold to keep them waiting.

The number of waiting users display means 119 displays the number of other users 4 who are actually waiting, as set by the number of waiting users setting means 118. The specific operation will be described later.

The calendar generation means 120 generates a calendar that allows reservations for meetings based on the available dates and times for attending meetings stored in the staff table 142. The specific operation will be described later.

The virtual conference room date and time selection means 121 provides a function that allows the user 4 to select any date and time from the calendar generated by the calendar generation means 120 on the user terminal 40. The specific operation will be described later, but by displaying the calendar and clicking on an available date and time displayed on the calendar, a virtual conference can be booked.

The entry code generating means 122 generates a virtual conference room entry code VE based on the fixed code VN of the virtual conference room V generated by the virtual conference room generating means 111 and the current or specified date and time data D.

The code sending means 123 sends the virtual conference room entry code VE generated by the entry code generating means 122 to a user terminal 40 such as a user 4 who uses the system S. Specifically, the code is sent using e-mail, SNS (Social networking service), SMS (Short Message Service), etc.

The storage unit 104 is composed of, for example, a hard disk drive and a solid state drive (SSD). In this storage unit 104, there are constructed a program 141 for operating the server 10, a staff table 142 in which data on the support staff 3 is stored, a group table 143 for storing date and time data of virtual conferences, and a virtual conference room table 144 for storing data on the virtual conference room V.

3. Configuration of the administrator terminal 20
Next, the configuration of the manager terminal 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the general configuration of the administrator terminal 20 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the administrator terminal 20 includes a communication control unit 201, an input/output interface unit 202, a processing unit 203, a storage unit 204, an audio output unit 205, an audio input unit 206, an image capture unit 207, and a display unit 208.

The administrator terminal 20 may be a general-purpose computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, but considering that it will be used by the system administrator 2, the support staff 3, etc., it is preferable that it is a general-purpose computer, as described above. The administrator terminal 20 may have an internal web browser application or a dedicated application, and each function may be realized by the web browser application or the dedicated application.

The communication control unit 201 is composed of a general-purpose communication protocol control unit, and is connected to the network NW and other terminals to control the communication state with the server 10, etc.

The input/output interface unit 202 performs interface processing between each unit, such as the communication control unit 201, the processing unit 203, the memory unit 204, the audio output unit 205, the audio input unit 206, the imaging unit 207, and the display unit 208.

The processing unit 203 is not shown, but the functions of each means can be realized by a CPU or the like executing a program stored in the memory unit 204.

The storage unit 204 is composed of, for example, a hard disk drive and an SSD.

The audio output unit 205 plays back the voice data of the other party (voice during the virtual conference of the system administrator 2, the support staff 3, etc.) received from the server 10 or the user terminal 40 via the communication control unit 201, and may be a speaker attached to a computer, tablet, or smartphone, or may be earphones connected via USB (Universal Serial Bus), or an external speaker.

The voice input unit 206 converts the user's voice into data (encodes it), and may be a microphone attached to a computer, tablet, or smartphone, or a small microphone connected via USB, or a headset microphone. The input voice data is sent to the server 10 or the user terminal 40 via the server 10 or the communication control unit 201.

The image capturing unit 207 is a series of camera devices that are mainly attached to commercially available computers, tablets, and smartphones, and captures images and videos, encodes them, and transmits them as conference video data to the server 10 or a user terminal 40 via the communication control unit 201.

The display unit 208 is a display device that is mainly attached to commercially available computers, tablets, and smartphones.

4. Configuration of User Terminal 40
Next, the configuration of the user terminal 40 will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the general configuration of a user terminal 40 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the user terminal 40 includes a communication control unit 401, an input/output interface unit 402, a processing unit 403, a storage unit 404, an audio output unit 405, an audio input unit 406, an image capture unit 407, a display unit 408, and a wireless unit 409.

The user terminal 40 may be a PC, a tablet, a smartphone, or the like. It may have a web browser application built in, or a dedicated application, and each function may be realized by the web browser application or the dedicated application.

The communication control unit 401 is composed of a general-purpose communication protocol control unit, and is connected to the network NW and other terminals to control the communication state with the server 10 managed by the system administrator 2, etc. It may also function as the wireless unit 409.

The input/output interface unit 402 performs interface processing between each unit, such as the communication control unit 401, the processing unit 403, the memory unit 404, the audio output unit 405, the audio input unit 406, the imaging unit 407, the display unit 408, and the wireless unit 409.

The processing unit 403 is not shown, but the functions of each means can be realized by a CPU or the like executing a program stored in the memory unit 404.

The storage unit 404 is composed of, for example, a hard disk drive and an SSD.

The audio output unit 405 plays back the voice data of the other party (voice of the corresponding staff member 3 or the like during the virtual conference) received from the server 10 or the administrator terminal 20 via the communication control unit 401, and may be a speaker attached to a computer, tablet, or smartphone, or may be a USB-connected earphone, or an external speaker.

The voice input unit 406 converts the user's voice into data (encodes it), and may be a microphone attached to a computer, tablet, or smartphone, or a small microphone connected via USB, or a headset microphone. The input voice data is sent to the server 10 or the administrator's terminal 20 via the server 10 or the communication control unit 201.

The image capturing unit 407 is a series of camera devices that are mainly attached to commercially available computers, tablets, and smartphones, and captures images and videos, encodes them, and transmits them as conference video data to the server 10 or a user terminal 40 via the communication control unit 401.

The display unit 408 is a display device that is mainly attached to commercially available computers, tablets, and smartphones.

The wireless unit 409 performs communication in accordance with a standardized wireless method such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) that is mainly provided in commercially available computers, tablets, and smartphones, and may be used as a function of the communication control unit 401. In addition, the wireless unit 409 may be equipped with a GPS function for measuring the position and acquiring the position.
[5. Table configuration]

Here, examples of the data structures of the staff table 142 and the group table 143 that stores data of the virtual conference room V will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the staff table 142 according to this embodiment, and Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the group table 143 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, the staff table 142 has one record for each staff member 3, and one field may store the name, available attendance date and time of the staff member 3, a link to the group name GN, and entrance availability. In the figure, the group name GN is written directly for the sake of expression, but a link code on the group table 143 may also be used. The type and number of columns are not particularly specified.

As shown in FIG. 6, the group table 143 has one record for each group, and may store the group name GN, whether the entrance is displayed, the number of people waiting at the entrance, and the link of the linked member of the service staff 3 as one field. The type and number of columns are not specified.

[6. Example of a method for generating the staff table 142 by the server 10 and the administrator terminal 20]
Next, an example of generating the staff table 142 using the server 10 and the manager's terminal 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7 to Fig. 9. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for the service staff 3 displayed on the manager's terminal 20 according to this embodiment, Fig. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process performed when the server 10 and the manager's terminal 20 according to this embodiment register and set the service staff 3, and Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of a process performed when the server 10 and the manager's terminal 20 according to this embodiment register and set the service staff 3.

(Step S11)
The administrator terminal 20 is operated by the system administrator 2 or a staff member such as the staff member 3 to request a registration screen for the staff member 3 from the server 10 .

(Step S12)
The server 10, which has received a request for the registration screen of the service staff 3 from the manager's terminal 20, transmits registration screen data of the service staff 3 to the manager's terminal 20. On the display unit 208 of the manager's terminal 20, a registration screen such as that shown in Fig. 7 is displayed, for example, and is in a waiting state for input.

(Step S13)
The system administrator 2 or a corresponding staff member such as the corresponding staff member 3 enters the name of the corresponding staff member 3 in the staff name column 208a1, the name of the group in which the corresponding staff member 3 will participate in the group name column 208a2, and the corresponding staff member 3's available meeting dates and times in the staff work day columns 208a3 to 208a18, etc., from a registration screen such as that shown in FIG. 7, and finally, the system administrator 2 or the corresponding staff member 3 presses or clicks the registration button 208a20 on the administrator's terminal 20, and the input data is sent to the server 10.

Note that the registration screen example displayed on the display unit 208 in FIG. 7 is just one example, and other items may be provided. Furthermore, scroll bars 208b1 or 208b2 may be provided to provide further items, and the screen configuration is not important.

(Step S14)
When the server 10 receives a request for a registration screen for the service staff 3 from the manager's terminal 20, the server 10 adds data to the staff table 142 in the storage unit 104 and transmits a registration completion notification to the manager's terminal 20.
[7. Example of a method for generating the group table 143 by the server 10 and the administrator terminal 20]
Next, an example of generating the group table 143 using the server 10 and the administrator terminal 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 10 to Fig. 12. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for group G displayed on the administrator terminal 20 according to this embodiment, Fig. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process performed when the server 10 and the administrator terminal 20 according to this embodiment register and set the group G, and Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing an example of a process performed when the server 10 and the administrator terminal 20 according to this embodiment register and set the group G.

(Step S15)
The administrator terminal 20 is operated by the system administrator 2 or a staff member such as the staff member 3 to request a registration screen for group G from the server 10 .

(Step S16)
The server 10, which has received a request for the registration screen for group G from the manager's terminal 20, transmits registration screen data for the staff member 3 to the manager's terminal 20. A registration screen such as that shown in Fig. 10 is displayed on the display unit 208 of the manager's terminal 20 and is in a waiting state for input.

(Step S17)
10, the system administrator 2 or the attendant staff 3 or the like operates the following to select the attendant staff 3 of the group G. The name of the group G is input in the group name column 208g1, the display order of the group G is input in the group name display order column 208g2, and the entrance screen display or non-display button 208g3 for the group G from the registration screen as shown in FIG. 10, and the attendant staff 3 is selected by moving the cursor 208g7 from the attendant staff column 208g6 and pressing the select button 208g8 and the select all button 208g9 to add the attendant staff 3 to the group member column 208g4, or by moving the cursor 208g5 from the group member column 208g4 and pressing the delete button 208g10 and the delete all button 208g11 to delete the attendant staff 3 from the group member column 208g4. When the entrance screen display or non-display button 208g3 is set to "ON" to determine whether the entrance screen of the group G is displayed, the number of people waiting at the entrance may be input in the number of people waiting column 208g12. Finally, the system administrator 2 or the support staff 3 or the like presses or clicks the registration button 208g20. After that, the administrator terminal 20 transmits the registration data to the server 10.

Note that the example registration screen displayed on the display unit 208 in FIG. 10 is just one example, and other items may be provided.

(Step S18)
The server 10, which has received a request for a registration screen for group G from the manager's terminal 20, adds data to the group table 143 in the storage unit 104 and transmits a registration completion notification to the manager's terminal 20. When the entrance screen display for group G is set to "Yes" and the number of people waiting at the entrance is input, the number of people waiting may be set in the group table 143 using the number-of-people-waiting setting means 118.

[8. Example of instant conference connection]
Next, an example of instant conference connection by the server 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 13 to Fig. 15. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an instant conference connection screen displayed on the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment, Fig. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process when the server 10, the manager terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start an instant conference, and Fig. 15 is a flow chart showing an example of a process when the server 10, the manager terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start an instant conference.

As an example, an instant conference connection screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the user terminal 40. The instant conference connection screen may be requested from the server 10 each time a connection is made, or may be prepared in advance as an application on the user terminal 40. Note that the registration screen example displayed on the display unit 408 in FIG. 13 is just one example, and other items may be provided. A scroll bar 408b1 may also be provided to provide further items, and the screen configuration is not critical.

(Step S21)
First, the user 4 or the like operates the conference instant connection screen as shown in FIG. 13 to input the name of the user 4 in the user name column 408a1, the consultation field that the user 4 or the like who belongs to group G would like to consult about in the consultation field column 409a2, and the details of the consultation that the user 4 or the like would like to consult about in the consultation details input column 409a3, and finally, when the user 4 or the like presses or clicks the registration button 408a4, the user terminal 40 transmits the conference instant connection data to the server 10.

(Step S22)
The server 10 receives the instant conference connection data for the instant conference connection example from the user terminal 40, and generates a virtual conference room V using the virtual conference room generating means 111, and adds the virtual conference room V data to the virtual conference room table 144.

(Step S23)
The server 10 that has generated the virtual conference room V uses the entry-allowed person allocation means 112 to search the staff table 142 and allocates one or more available staff members 3 that match the group G of the generated virtual conference room V and the available participation dates and times to the virtual conference room V.

(Step S24)
The server 10, which has generated the virtual conference room V and assigned the staff member 3, transmits to the user terminal 40 that the staff member is available to respond. There is no particular restriction on the transmission screen of the user terminal 40, but it is preferable to display a button or the like on the screen that allows a user to transmit a message indicating that the user understands.

(Step S25)
When a button or the like displayed on the user terminal 40 that can be used to send an understanding is pressed, the user terminal 40 sends an understanding to the server 10, and the server 10 receives data from the user terminal 40 indicating that the connection has been understood.

(Step S26)
The server 10, which has received the data indicating that the connection has been accepted, uses the entry member determination means 113 to determine which staff member 3 will enter the virtual conference room V from among the multiple staff members 3 assigned by the entry member allocation means 112. The entry member determination means 113 preferably automatically assigns one person, but may also manually assign multiple people depending on the type of virtual conference room V.

(Step S27)
The server 10 , which has determined the staff member 3 using the entry determining means 113 , transmits the conference information to the manager's terminal 20 managed or operated by the determined staff member 3 .

(Step S28)
The manager terminal 20 that has received the conference information is operated by the staff member 3 and transmits a connection response to the server 10 .

(Step S29)
The server 10 uses a virtual conference room connection means to establish a connection between the manager terminal 20 managed by the staff member who will be conducting the virtual conference and the user terminal 40 that has made the connection request, and starts the virtual conference.

[9. Entrance connection example]
Next, an example of a connection from an entrance screen by the server 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 16 to Fig. 18. Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of an entrance connection screen displayed on the user terminal 40 according to this embodiment, Fig. 17 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process when the server 10, the administrator terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to this embodiment start an entrance conference connection, and Fig. 18 is a flow chart showing an example of a process when the server 10, the administrator terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to this embodiment start an entrance conference connection.

(Step S31)
The user terminal 40 requests the server 10 to display an entrance screen from a connection button provided on the company's homepage or the like.

(Step S32)
The server 10, which has received an entrance screen request from the user terminal 40, arranges the group names GN of group G with entrance display "Yes" from the group table 143 in the virtual conference room entrance display means 115, and generates an entrance screen as shown in Fig. 16. The virtual conference room entrance display means 115 may generate an entrance screen using the availability determination means 117 and the number of people waiting display means 119, and display the number of people waiting in group G as in 408c11 to 408c14.

Note that the entrance screen example displayed on the display unit 408 in FIG. 16 is just one example, and other items may be provided. Furthermore, a scroll bar 408b1 may be provided to provide further items, and the screen configuration is not important.

(Step S33)
The user terminal 40 selects the connection buttons 408c1 to 408c4 of the desired group G in the virtual conference room V from the displayed entrance screen, and transmits a connection request to the server 10.

(Step S34)
The server 10 uses the availability determination means 117 to determine whether the staff members 3 who have the group G name GN in their field, that is, the staff members 3 who belong to the group G name GN, are available to attend the meeting based on the number of staff members 3 whose available conference attendance dates and times stored in the staff table 142 match the current date and time. If it is determined that they are available, the process proceeds to step S37, and if it is determined that they are not currently available, the process jumps to step S35.

(Step S35)
If the availability determination means 117 of the server 10 determines in step S34 that the call is not currently available but there is one or more available staff members 3 and the number of people waiting is less than the number of people set in group G, the server 10 transmits a screen display of a hold state to the user terminal 40 and waits until a staff member 3 becomes available. If the server 10 determines that the number of people waiting is less than the number of people set in group G, the server 10 displays a screen on the user terminal 40 urging the user to connect later and ends the process.

(Step S36)
If the availability determining means 117 of the server 10 determines that the staff member 3 is available and available to respond to the request, the process jumps to step S37.

(Step S37)
The server 10 that has determined by the availability determination means 117 that it is available generates a virtual conference room V using the virtual conference room generation means 111 and adds the virtual conference room V data to the virtual conference room table 144 .

(Step S38)
The server 10 that has generated the virtual conference room V uses the entry-allowed person allocation means 112 to search the staff table 142 and allocates one or more available staff members 3 that match the group G of the generated virtual conference room V and the available participation dates and times to the virtual conference room V.

(Step S39)
The server 10, which has generated the virtual conference room V and assigned the staff member 3, transmits to the user terminal 40 that the staff member is available to respond. There is no particular restriction on the transmission screen of the user terminal 40, but it is preferable to display a button or the like on the screen that allows a user to transmit a message indicating that the user understands.

(Step S40)
When a button or the like displayed on the user terminal 40 that can be used to send an understanding is pressed, the user terminal 40 sends an understanding to the server 10, and the server 10 receives data from the user terminal 40 indicating that the connection has been understood.

(Step S41)
The server 10, which has received the data indicating that the connection has been accepted, uses the entry member determination means 113 to determine which staff member 3 will enter the virtual conference room V from among the multiple staff members 3 assigned by the entry member allocation means 112. The entry member determination means 113 preferably automatically assigns one person, but may also manually assign multiple people depending on the type of virtual conference room V.

(Step S42)
The server 10 , which has determined the staff member 3 using the entry determining means 113 , transmits the conference information to the manager's terminal 20 managed or operated by the determined staff member 3 .

(Step S43)
The manager terminal 20 that has received the conference information is operated by the staff member 3 and transmits a connection response to the server 10 .

(Step S44)
The server 10 uses a virtual conference room connection means to establish a connection between the manager terminal 20 managed by the staff member who will be conducting the virtual conference and the user terminal 40 that has made the connection request, and starts the virtual conference.

[10. Calendar reservation connection example]
Next, an example of a connection from a calendar reservation connection setting screen by the server 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 19 to Fig. 21. Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a calendar reservation connection setting screen displayed on the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment, Fig. 20 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process when the server 10, the administrator terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start a calendar reservation connection setting, and Fig. 21 is a flow chart showing an example of a process when the server 10, the administrator terminal 20, and the user terminal 40 according to the present embodiment start a calendar reservation connection.

As an example, a calendar reservation connection setting screen as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed on the user terminal 40. The calendar reservation connection setting screen is a screen for selecting a date and time from the calendar screen and reserving a virtual conference room V in advance based on the consultation content.

The calendar reservation connection setting screen may be requested from the server 10 each time a connection is made, or may be prepared in advance as an application on the user terminal 40. Note that the registration screen example displayed on the display unit 408 in FIG. 19 is just one example, and other items may be provided. A scroll bar 408b1 may also be provided to provide further items, and the screen configuration is not critical.

(Step S51)
First, the user 4 or the like operates the user terminal 40 to request a calendar screen from the server 10 via a connection button provided on the company's homepage or the like.

(Step S52)
The server 10 generates, in the calendar generating means 120, a calendar screen on which a conference can be reserved, for example, as shown in Fig. 19, based on the available conference attendance dates and times stored in the staff table 142. A "circle" may be displayed in a field in which a conference attendance date and time exists, for example, field 208d3 in Fig. 19.

(Step S53)
The server 10 that has generated the calendar screen transfers the calendar screen to the requested user terminal 40 and displays it. A virtual conference room date and time selection means 121 is set on the calendar screen, and the virtual conference room date and time selection means 121 provides a function that enables the user 4 to select any date and time from the user terminal 40.

(Step S54)
The user 4 clicks or presses down the desired date and time from among the "circle" displays that are available on the calendar. Finally, when the user 4 or the like presses or clicks the reservation button 408d20, the user terminal 40 or the like transmits the calendar reservation data to the server 10.

(Step S55)
The server 10 receives the calendar reservation data from the user terminal 40 and generates a virtual conference room V using the virtual conference room generating means 111 , and adds the virtual conference room V data to the virtual conference room table 144 .

(Step S56)
The server 10 that has generated the virtual conference room V uses the entry-allowed person allocation means 112 to search the staff table 142 and allocates one or more available staff members 3 that match the attendance dates and times of the generated virtual conference room V to the virtual conference room V.

(Step S57)
The server 10, which has generated the virtual conference room V and assigned the staff members 3, uses the entrant determination means 113 to determine the staff members 3 who will enter the virtual conference room V from among the multiple staff members 3 assigned by the permitted entrant allocation means 112. The entrant determination means 113 preferably automatically assigns one person, but may also manually assign multiple people depending on the type of virtual conference room V.

(Step S58)
The server 10, which has determined the staff member 3 using the entry person determination means 113, uses the entry code generation means 122 to generate a virtual conference room entry code VE.

(Step S59)
The server 10 transmits the generated virtual conference room entry code VE to the user terminal 40 that transmitted the calendar reservation data.

(Step S60)
The server 10 transmits the generated virtual conference room entry code VE to the manager terminal 20 managed by the staff member 3 determined by the entry determination means 113. The virtual conference room entry code VE may be a URL that allows a web connection with just that code, or may be a code managed by the server 10, or may not be specified.

(Step S61)
When the opening time VT of the virtual conference room V reserved on the calendar arrives, the user terminal 40 transmits the transmitted virtual conference room entry code VE to the server 10, and at the same time, the manager terminal 20, which is managed by the support staff 3, transmits the transmitted virtual conference room entry code VE. The server 10, which has received the virtual conference room entry code VE from the manager terminal 20 and the user terminal 40, connects to the manager terminal 20 and the user terminal 40 via the virtual conference room V.

S Conference system 2 System administrator 3 Staff member 4 User D Date and time data G Virtual conference room group GN Group name V Virtual conference room VE Virtual conference room entry code VN Virtual conference room fixed code 10 Server 101 Communication control unit 102 Input/output interface unit 103 Processing unit 104 Memory unit 111 Virtual conference generation means 112 Entry-available person allocation means 113 Entry person determination means 114 Virtual conference room connection means 115 Virtual conference room entrance display means 116 Virtual conference room group selection means 117 Available number of people display means 118 Waiting number of people reception means 119 Waiting number of people display means 120 Calendar generation means 121 Virtual conference room date and time selection means 122 Entry code generation means 123 Code transmission means 141 Program, etc. 142 Staff table 143 Group table 144 Virtual conference room table 20 System administrator terminal 201 Communication control unit 202 Input/output interface unit 203 Processing unit 204 Memory unit 205 Audio output unit 206 Audio input unit 207 Image capture unit 208 Display unit 40 User terminal 401 Communication control unit 402 Input/output interface unit 403 Processing unit 404 Storage unit 405 Audio output unit 406 Audio input unit 407 Image capture unit 408 Display unit 409 Wireless unit

Claims (7)

A conference system capable of accepting entry to a virtual conference room on a network, comprising:
A staff table that can store the dates and times when staff can attend meetings and the names of staff who can be called up,
A virtual conference room generating means for generating a name and a fixed code of the virtual conference room;
an entry-allowed person allocation means for allocating a staff member who can attend the conference and whose current date and time match the available date and time stored in the staff table to the virtual conference room with the name and fixed code generated by the virtual conference room generation means;
an entry decision means for allocating a designated number of staff members to a user of the system from among the plurality of staff members allocated by the entry-authorized staff allocation means;
A virtual conference room connection means for enabling a terminal of a user who uses the system and a terminal of a staff member selected by the entry decision means to connect to a virtual conference room where a conference is to be held;
A conference system comprising: The conference system of claim 1,
A group table that can store and recall group names that categorize meetings;
a virtual conference room entrance display means for selecting and displaying the group name stored in the group table;
a virtual conference room group selection means for allowing a user who uses the system to select from a plurality of group names displayed by the virtual conference room entrance display means;
Equipped with
The staff table is provided with a field that links with the group name stored in the group table,
The entry- authorized person allocation means allocates a corresponding staff member having in a field the group name selected by the virtual conference room group selection means.
A conference system comprising: The conference system of claim 2,
a means for determining the number of staff members who can attend the conference and whose available dates and times stored in the staff table match the current date and time, from among the staff members who have a link to the group name displayed by the virtual conference room entrance display means in their field;
a waiting number setting means for setting a set number of waiting people to be available when the number of available staff members determined by the availability determination means is zero;
a waiting number display means for displaying the number of other users who are actually waiting ;
A conference system comprising: The conference system of claim 1,
A calendar generating means for generating a calendar based on the available dates and times for attending the conference stored in the staff table;
A virtual conference room date and time selection means for allowing a user who uses the system to select an arbitrary date and time from the calendar generated by the calendar generation means;
an entry code generating means for generating a virtual conference room entry code based on the fixed code of the virtual conference room generated by the virtual conference room generating means and the calendar generated by the calendar generating means;
A code transmission means for transmitting the virtual conference room entry code generated by the entry code generation means to a terminal of a user who uses the system;
Equipped with
The virtual conference room connection means connects a terminal of a user who uses the system and a terminal of a corresponding staff member to the virtual conference room based on the virtual conference room entry code generated by the entry code generation means.
A conference system comprising: The conference system of claim 4,
A group table that can store and recall group names that categorize meetings;
Equipped with
The staff table is provided with a field for storing a link of the group name stored in the group table,
the calendar generation means generates a calendar screen on which a conference can be booked for each staff member based on the available conference attendance dates and times stored in the staff table;
A conference system comprising: A method for controlling a conference system that allows a user to enter a virtual conference room on a network, comprising the steps of:
A staff table that can store the dates and times when staff can attend meetings and the names of staff who can be called up,
A virtual conference room generating step of generating a name and a fixed code of the virtual conference room;
an entry-allowed person allocation step of allocating a corresponding staff member whose available conference participation date and time stored in the staff table coincide with the current date and time to the virtual conference room having the name and fixed code generated by the virtual conference room generation step;
an entry determination step of allocating a designated number of staff members to a user of the system from among the plurality of staff members allocated in the entry-allowed person allocation step;
a virtual conference room connection step for enabling a terminal of a user who uses the system and a terminal of a staff member selected in the entry determination step to connect to the virtual conference room where the conference will be held;
13. A method for controlling a conference system comprising: A program that causes a computer to function as a conference system that can accept entry to a virtual conference room on a network,
A staff table that can store the dates and times when staff can attend meetings and the names of staff who can be called up,
A virtual conference room generating means for generating a name and a fixed code of the virtual conference room;
an entry-allowed person allocation means for allocating a staff member who can attend the conference and whose current date and time match the available date and time stored in the staff table to the virtual conference room with the name and fixed code generated by the virtual conference room generation means;
an entry decision means for allocating a designated number of staff members to a user of the system from among the plurality of staff members allocated by the entry-authorized staff allocation means;
A virtual conference room connection means for enabling a terminal of a user who uses the system and a terminal of a staff member selected by the entry decision means to connect to a virtual conference room where a conference is to be held;
A program for causing a conference system to function as a conference system comprising:

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