JPH06121060A - Remote conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively reduce conference time by issuing an alarm at the scheduled time of conference end to urge the end of the conference, and disconnecting calls when there is not prolonging request of the conference to refuse any call incoming from an opposite party other than a conference group during the break time of the conference so as to smoothly restart the conference and to visually grasp the remaining time or break of the conference easily by respective conference participants. CONSTITUTION:The user in a conference terminal inputs the conference time by using a keyboard 5 or the like before the start of the conference, stores it in a memory 11 and sets the conference time. A CPU 10 manages the previously set conference data by using a real-time clock 12 and at the set scheduled time of conference and, voice data or buzzer sounds stored in the memory 11 are read by the CPU 10, converted to analog data by a voice processing part 17 and outputted from a speaker 8. Thus, the user in each conference terminal can surely recognize the conference end time. When there is no conference time prolonging request within prescribed time, the calls are automatically disconnected, and the conference is forcedly ended.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a teleconferencing system, and more particularly to a teleconferencing system that manages the conference time and interruption time of a teleconferencing held between a plurality of conference terminals mutually connected via a communication line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when people between remote locations meet together to hold a meeting, the meeting place and date and time are determined, and all attendees are notified of this, and the attendees hold the meeting. I had to move to the ground. However, moving to attend a meeting takes time, especially between remote locations,
It was not easy to determine a convenient venue and date for all attendees.

Therefore, in recent years, by using a communication line such as an ISDN network and connecting a conference terminal to this communication line, it is possible to easily hold a conference even between remote points. Is being developed. In the conference terminal of the remote conference system as described above, in addition to a microphone and a speaker for inputting and outputting voice, a display display capable of visually displaying conference materials and the like, and a telewriting device capable of handwriting input, Alternatively, it is equipped with a keyboard for inputting letters and numbers. Attendees who used this teleconferencing system can talk freely using the microphones and speakers provided in each conference terminal during the conference, and efficiently display the conference materials on the display. You can proceed with the meeting while explaining.

[0006] Conventionally, the management of the meeting time of the held meeting and the break time during the meeting is performed in different ways, and when the meeting time is not managed, the meeting time can be extended freely. Was done in.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional teleconferencing system, when one conference terminal is shared by a plurality of conference groups, the schedule of the conference time is clogged up before and after. However, there is a problem that the extension of the meeting time without permission causes trouble to the subsequent meeting groups.

[0006] Further, when the conference time is long, it is necessary to take a break (for example, about 15 minutes or 30 minutes) between the conferences as one of the reasons for interrupting the conference. To avoid wasting communication costs, the call was cut off during the break. However, when a conference terminal receives an incoming call from a party other than the conference group before the conference is restarted, when communication is started with that party, the call is resumed even when the conference restart time comes. There is a problem that a conference terminal that cannot be set is generated, which prevents the conference from being restarted.

[0007] Furthermore, it is desirable to effectively reduce the conference time, that is, the conference attendees can talk with each other as efficiently as possible and end the conference in a short time, so that the communication cost can be reduced and each conference attendance can be reduced. It is possible to effectively utilize the person's time. Therefore, in order to effectively reduce this meeting time, it is necessary for each meeting attendee to attend the meeting while keeping track of the meeting time, not to extend the meeting time indefinitely. It also leads to activation. In addition, it is also important for the attendees to have a clear understanding of whether they are in a meeting or during breaks. However, conventionally, the remaining time of the conference and the break are not displayed, so that there is a problem that the user cannot fully grasp the progress of the conference.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art. A conference terminal attending a conference manages the conference time and issues a predetermined warning at the scheduled conference end time to prompt the end of the conference. If there is no extension of the conference, the call is disconnected and during the conference break time, incoming calls from parties other than the attendees of the conference are rejected to prevent the conference from being restarted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a teleconferencing system capable of easily grasping things and effectively reducing the conference time.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A plurality of conference terminals are connected between two points or multiple points via a remote point communication line, and voice information, video information, document information, telewriting information, etc. are exchanged with each other,
In a teleconferencing system for conducting a conference while displaying document information, telewriting information, etc. on a display provided in each conference terminal, a conference time setting means for setting a conference time in advance before the conference starts, and a timer for managing the conference time Means, a conference end notifying means for notifying the user of each conference terminal that the scheduled end time of the conference time has arrived by using a voice, a buzzer sound, or the like, and after notifying arrival of the scheduled conference end time to each user, If a request for extending the conference time is not issued within a predetermined time, call disconnecting means for automatically disconnecting the call between the conference terminals is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of conference terminals are connected via a remote communication line between two points or between multiple points, and voice information, moving image information, document information, telewriting information, etc. are communicated with each other. However, in a teleconferencing system that conducts a conference while displaying document information, telewriting information, etc. on the display provided in each conference terminal, an interruption time for setting an interruption time when an interruption request is made to interrupt the teleconference for a predetermined time. Setting means,
Timer means for managing the interruption time, interruption start call disconnecting means for disconnecting the call between each conference terminal at the start of the interruption, and incoming call from a party other than the conference attendee during the interruption of the remote conference in which the call is disconnected. The present invention is characterized in that a means for rejecting an incoming call during interruption for rejecting and a means for setting a call for restarting a conference for setting a call between the conference terminals and restarting the conference after the end of interruption are provided.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the remote conference system according to the description, when the conference time or the interruption time is set, the conference information such as the conference remaining time or the interruption time, or an interruption display indicating that the conference is being interrupted is displayed on the display of each of the conference terminals. It is characterized in that a conference information display means for displaying is provided.

[0012]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the meeting time is set in advance by the meeting time setting means before the meeting is started, and the elapse of the meeting time set by the timer means is monitored to check the arrival of the scheduled ending time of the meeting. By notifying the user by the conference end notifying means using voice, buzzer sound, or the like, each user can surely recognize that the scheduled end time of the conference has arrived.
When there is no request for extension of the conference time, the call disconnection means automatically disconnects the call between the conference terminals, so that unnecessary conference extension is eliminated and the influence on other conference groups can be minimized. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the interruption time setting means sets an interruption time provided between the conferences, and the interruption means manages the interruption time while the interruption start call disconnecting means intervenes between the conference terminals at the start of interruption. Call of the other party is rejected during the interruption by the call rejection means during interruption, and the call is set again between the conference terminals at the end of the interruption time by the conference restart call setting means. Since the conference is restarted by the above, when the conference is restarted after the suspension, the call is surely set between all the conference terminals, and the conference is smoothly restarted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a conference information display means is further provided, and the conference remaining time or interruption time, or a conference such as an interruption display indicating that the conference is being interrupted. Since the information is displayed on the display of each conference terminal, the user of each conference terminal can grasp the progress of the conference at a glance,
Effective meeting time effectively reduces meeting time.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a conference terminal of a remote conference system according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a teleconferencing system which is a conference terminal used by attendees of the conference.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a CRT (Cathod) that displays documents and drawings of conference materials, and acts as a system monitor.
Display devices such as e Ray Tube) and LCD (Liquid Cristal Device). 3 is a display indicator 2
It is a transparent writing pad that is installed on the screen of to input handwriting for telewriting.

Reference numeral 4 is a writing pen for drawing on the writing pad 3. Reference numeral 5 is a keyboard for inputting characters, numbers and the like. 6 is a handset for exchanging voice and data. Reference numeral 7 denotes a voice input microphone for transmitting conversation contents during the conference. Reference numeral 8 is a voice output speaker for playing a voice during the conference sent from another conference terminal.

Reference numeral 9 is an ISDN communication line connecting remote points. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the conference terminal of FIG. In the figure, 10 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program for controlling the entire system of the conference terminal 1, and in this embodiment, system control of the entire remote conference system is performed.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a RAM (Random Access Memory) for storing data and programs, and a ROM (Read Only) for storing basic programs and fixed data.
Memory), V for image information and display buffer to display
RAM (Video Random Access Memory) or a memory including a hard disk as a mass storage device and a Kanji ROM.

Reference numeral 12 is a real-time clock for time management such as conference time and break time in the conference terminal 1. 13
Is a DCR that compresses / decompresses raster data of image information
(Encoding / decoding unit). Reference numeral 14 generates a display timing signal, converts it into a timing required by the display / display unit 2 and displays it in the display / display unit 2 in the VRAM of the memory 11.
In the display interface that transfers the display data from, the format of the control and display data is different depending on the display display 2 used, such as the CRT or LCD, so the display interface corresponding to each display display is used. Be seen.

15 is a writing pad 3 and a keyboard 5
Data input interface (RS232
C). 16 is a communication network interface for connecting a line to the ISDN network. In this way, multi-data communication is realized by performing data demultiplexing recommended by 221. Reference numeral 17 is a voice processing unit for converting voice into analog / digital or digital / analog.

Reference numeral 18 is a data bus for connecting the above-mentioned respective parts to exchange data. FIG. 3 is a network configuration diagram showing a communication line connection state of a plurality of conference terminals holding a conference. In the figure, 19 is a conference terminal attending a conference, and of these conference terminals, 19-1 is the chairman terminal in the conference terminal.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an ISDN network, in which an MCU (multipoint conference unit) that enables not only two-point communication but also multipoint communication
Is included. Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the remote conference system according to the invention described in claim 1.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the user of each conference terminal 19 (see FIG. 3) sets the conference time to start the conference and starts the conference (step 100). Then, the set conference time is managed by the real-time clock 12 of each conference terminal 19 and it is checked whether or not the set time has elapsed (step 101).

Next, when the end time of the set conference time comes, the CPU 10 of each conference terminal 19 reads the fixed message data such as "the conference end time" from the memory 11 and the voice processing unit. It converts to analog data at 17 and outputs a message from the speaker 8 or outputs a buzzer sound to notify the arrival of the meeting end time.
(Warning) to prompt the end of the conference (step 102).

In this embodiment, as described above, the conference time is managed by each conference terminal, but the chairperson terminal 19
It is also possible to configure -1 to centrally manage the conference time on behalf of the conference group. Further, depending on the progress of the conference, it is necessary to extend the conference time. Therefore, if there is a request to extend the conference (step 103), the conference time is reset (step 104), and the reset time elapses. The situation is monitored (step 101), and a warning is given again (step 102) when the reset time comes.

Again, in step 103, when there is no request for extension of the conference time, MC of the ISDN network
The U disconnects the call (step 105) and ends the conference. Next, FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the remote conference system according to the invention described in claim 2.
First, after a conference starts, when a conference interruption request is generated, as in the case of taking a break during the conference (step 20).
0), the telephone number of each conference terminal of the conference group is stored, and the restart time of the conference after the break is set (step 201).

Then, after that, the call is disconnected to enter the break time (step 202). When there is an incoming call at each conference terminal during the break time when the call is disconnected (step 203), it is determined whether or not the other party is a conference group (step 204). As a result, if the incoming call is from a party other than the conference group, the line is disconnected to reject the incoming call (step 205).

If there is no incoming call to each conference terminal during the break time in step 203, it is monitored by the real-time clock 12 of each conference terminal whether or not the set restart time has elapsed (step 206). If the set time has not elapsed, the process returns to step 203 and the above operation is repeated. If the set time has elapsed and the break time has ended, the MCU simultaneously calls the conference terminals of the conference group to restart the conference (step 20).
7) The call is set up (step 208) and the conference is resumed (step 209).

As described above, in the embodiment of claim 2,
Even if there is an incoming call from a party other than the conference group during the break time when the call was disconnected, it was configured to reject it.
When the conference is restarted, the conference terminal that is communicating with another terminal does not occur, and the conference can be restarted smoothly and surely. Next, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a remote conference system according to the invention of claim 3,
(A) is when the remaining time of the conference is displayed, and (b) is when the break mark is displayed.

In the figure, 21 is a display screen, 22 is a meeting remaining time display section, 23 is a current time display section, 24 is a document display window, 25 is a graphic display window, and 26 is a break mark display window. Figure 6 (a)
In the case of the embodiment described in claim 3, the meeting time is managed in claim 1 and the remaining time of the meeting is calculated by the CPU.
Calculated in 10, and by graphically displaying in the remaining conference time display unit 22 on the display screen 21 of each conference terminal,
Each meeting attendee can easily grasp the remaining time of the meeting at a glance. As a result, each attendee of the conference tries to efficiently proceed with the conference while watching it, so that the conference time can be effectively reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG.
In the case of the described embodiment, the break time is managed in claim 2, and a break mark (for example, a coffee mark here) indicating that the conference is in break is displayed on the display screen 21 during the break time. This allows you to recognize at a glance that you are on a break. Of course, in addition to such a break mark, it is also possible to display a character such as "during break time from 14:45 to 15:00" in the break time display portion 26. As a result, even if the conference terminal is not used, it is possible to know that the user is in a break during the conference just by looking at the display, and other users may accidentally use the conference terminal for other purposes. Can be prevented.

[0033]

According to the invention of claim 1, the progress of the meeting time set before the start of the meeting is monitored, and the end of the meeting is notified by a voice or a buzzer sound at the scheduled end time of the meeting.
Each user can surely recognize the arrival of the scheduled end time of the conference, and if there is no request for extension of the conference time, the call between the conference terminals is automatically disconnected, so there is no wasteful extension of the conference. , Minimal impact on other conference groups.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, while setting the interruption time and managing the interruption time, the call is disconnected between the conference terminals at the start of the interruption, and the call from the other party than the conference attendee is interrupted during the interruption. By rejecting the incoming call and setting the call again between the conference terminals at the end of the suspension time and restarting the conference, the call is set reliably between all conference terminals when the conference is restarted after the suspension, The meeting can be resumed smoothly.

According to the invention described in claim 3, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the conference information such as the remaining time of the conference, the suspended time, or an interrupted display indicating that the conference is being interrupted is displayed on each conference terminal. Since it is displayed above, it becomes possible for the user of each conference terminal to grasp the progress of the conference at a glance, so that the efficient conference progress can be achieved.
The conference time can be effectively reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a conference terminal of a remote conference system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the conference terminal of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a network configuration diagram showing a communication line connection state of conference terminals holding a conference.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the remote conference system according to the invention described in claim 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the remote conference system according to the invention described in claim 2.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a remote conference system according to a third aspect of the invention, in which (a) is a display of the remaining time of the conference and (b) is a display of a break mark.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Conference Terminal 2 Display Display 5 Keyboard 6 Handset 7 Microphone 8 Speaker 9 ISDN Communication Line 10 CPU 11 Memory 12 Real Time Clock 13 DCR 14 Display Interface 15 Data Input Interface 16 Communication Network Interface 17 Voice Processor 18 Data Bus 19, 19-1 Conference terminal 20 ISDN network

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of conference terminals are connected between two points or multiple points via a remote point communication line, and voice information, moving image information, document information, telewriting information, etc. are communicated with each other, and each conference terminal is connected. In a teleconferencing system for conducting a conference while displaying document information, telewriting information, etc. on a display provided, a conference time setting unit that sets a conference time in advance before the conference starts, a timer unit that manages the conference time, A conference end notifying means for notifying the user of each conference terminal that the scheduled end time of the conference time has arrived by using a voice or a buzzer sound, and after the arrival notification of the scheduled conference end time to each user, within a predetermined time If a request for extension of the conference time is not issued, call disconnection means for automatically disconnecting the call between each conference terminal, and Discussions system. 2. A plurality of conference terminals are connected between two points or multiple points via a remote point communication line, and voice information, moving image information, document information, telewriting information, etc. are exchanged with each other, and each conference terminal is connected. In a teleconferencing system for conducting a conference while displaying document information, telewriting information, etc. on a provided display, an interruption time setting means for setting an interruption time when an interruption request is made to interrupt the teleconference for a predetermined time, and an interruption time. Timer means for managing the call, interruption start call disconnecting means for disconnecting the call between each conference terminal at the start of interruption, and rejecting an incoming call from a party other than the conference attendee during the interruption of the remote conference in which the call is disconnected. It is characterized in that a means for rejecting an incoming call during suspension and a means for setting a call for resuming a conference for setting a call between each conference terminal and resuming the conference after the suspension are provided. Teleconferencing system that. 3. The remote conference system according to claim 1, wherein when the conference time or the interruption time is set, the conference remaining time, the interruption time, or the interruption is displayed on the display of each of the conference terminals. A teleconferencing system characterized in that it is provided with a conference information display means for displaying conference information such as an interruption display indicating that.