JPH11136368A - Electronic conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic conference system by which three parties or more at remote places portiapates virtually in an electronic conference, without requiring a multi-point video conference controller. SOLUTION: Companies A, B, C introducing an electronic conference system in common utilizing an ISDN 1 for conducting an electronic conference. Conventional personal computers 10A, 10B, 10C are installed respectively to the companies, and the personal computers are provided respectively with electronic conference channels 11A, 11B, 11C and interrupt notice channels 12A, 12B, 12C. Each personal computer is provided with a software, including a function of making an interrupt notice to an opposite party, when the opposite party has already made an electronic conference, a function where a party receiving the interrupt notice automatically starts a conference to the opposite party making the interrupt notice after the end of the current conference, a function of recording an agenda of the electronic conference, and various functions attending with a basic function in addition to an electronic conference software commercially available on market.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic conferencing system for connecting remote computers to each other via an ISDN or the like to execute an electronic conference.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic conference system based on a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a "personal computer"), electronic conferences at remote locations have conventionally been performed by connecting one personal computer to an ISDN or analog public telephone line, Alternatively, it is most common to connect them to each other via a communication network such as a dedicated line and hold a one-on-one electronic conference.

As described above, in an electronic conference system in which personal computers are connected one-to-one, for example, when a company A and a company B hold an electronic conference using a personal computer, another company C sends a personal computer of the company A. Is displayed, it is displayed that the telephone line connected to the personal computer of company A is busy because the telephone line is busy, and company C cannot call company A. In that case, Company C needs to perform an operation of calling again at appropriate time intervals.

With respect to such a one-to-one electronic conference system, there is also known an electronic conference system in which three or more parties can simultaneously participate in an electronic conference at three or more locations. In the case of such an electronic conference system, conventionally, as shown in FIG.
CU (Multipoing Control Uni)
t) It was necessary to prepare dedicated hardware of 100. The multipoint connection device 100 plays a role as a kind of exchange. This multipoint connection device 100 is connected to a personal computer 10 of company A via a public telephone line.
1. PC B of Company B, PC 103 of Company C,
By connecting.., Three or more parties can simultaneously participate in an electronic conference from a remote location. In addition, as the multipoint video conference control device, Video Server
A product known as MCU2000 is known.

[0005]

By the way, the above-mentioned multipoint video conference control device 100 is in contrast to the case where a high-performance personal computer is dramatically reduced in cost.
It is very expensive, which is an obstacle to introducing an electronic conferencing system that allows three or more parties from multiple locations to simultaneously attend a conference.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above circumstances, and does not require a multipoint video conference control device, and allows three or more remote parties to virtually participate in an electronic conference. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic conference system.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic conference system which connects a plurality of computers via a communication network and controls the electronic conference software. In the electronic conference system for performing an electronic conference, an electronic conference line for performing an electronic conference via the communication network, and a destination for performing the electronic conference to the respective computers via the communication network. An interrupt notification line for transmitting an interrupt notification, or receiving the interrupt notification, and, when receiving the interrupt notification, an interrupt notification unit for notifying that and the other party that issued the interrupt notification, Is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic conference system according to the first aspect, when each of the computers receives the interrupt notification during the execution of the electronic conference, the electronic conference currently being executed is executed. A first calling means for calling the other party who issued the interrupt notification via the electronic conference line when the call is completed. The electronic conference system according to the third aspect of the present invention is the electronic conference system according to the first or second aspect, wherein when the computer receives the interrupt notification during the execution of the electronic conference, the electronic conference currently being executed is executed. A second calling means for interrupting and calling the other party who issued the interrupt notification via the electronic conference line is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic conference system according to the first, second, or third aspect, the minutes of recording the minutes of the electronic conference executed using the computers are recorded in the respective computers. Recording means is provided. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic conference system according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, the interrupt notification line is used as a data communication line in addition to the transmission and reception of the interrupt notification. It is characterized by doing.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic conference system according to the first, second, third, fourth or fifth aspect, a server computer is connected to the communication network in addition to the plurality of computers. Recording minutes of a meeting executed between the computers. 8. A recording medium according to claim 7, wherein a computer program for performing an electronic conference by each computer connected via a communication network is recorded, wherein said computer program stores said computer program in said computer. Using an electronic conference line provided in, a function to make an electronic conference via the communication network, and using an interrupt notification line provided in the computer separately from the electronic conference line, A function of transmitting an interrupt notification via the communication network or receiving the interrupt notification to the other party that is executing the conference, and a counterpart that issued the interrupt notification when the interrupt notification was received. And a function of informing the user of the notification.

The recording medium according to the eighth aspect of the present invention is the recording medium according to the seventh aspect, wherein the computer program is executed when the computer receives the interrupt notification during the execution of the electronic conference. A feature is provided in which, when the middle electronic conference ends, the other party that has issued the interrupt notification is called via the electronic conference line.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium according to the seventh or eighth aspect, when the computer program receives the interrupt notification during the execution of the electronic conference, It has a function of interrupting the currently executed electronic conference and calling the other party who issued the interrupt notification via the electronic conference line.

[0013] The recording medium according to the tenth aspect of the present invention comprises:
The invention according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the computer program has a function of causing each computer to record minutes of an electronic conference executed using the computer on a predetermined recording medium. It is characterized by having. A recording medium according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the recording medium according to the seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth aspect, wherein the computer program transmits the interrupt notification line to each of the computers by transmitting and receiving the interrupt notification. In addition, it has a function of using it as a data communication line.

The recording medium according to the twelfth aspect is:
In the invention according to claim 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11,
The computer program has a function of causing a server computer provided in addition to the plurality of computers and connected to the communication network to record minutes of a meeting executed between the plurality of computers. .

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the entire configuration of an electronic conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the simplest procedure for switching the party of the electronic conference to the person who issued the interrupt notification. It is a flowchart.

In the case of FIG. 1, an electronic conference is held among the three companies A, B and C. Company A, Company B, and Company C have close business relationships with each other, and assume that they jointly introduce the electronic conference system of the present embodiment. That is, each of these companies can hold an electronic conference with a partner company by using the electronic conference system of the present embodiment as necessary. However, the implementation of the electronic conferencing system is not limited to such a case between different companies, but also when introducing the electronic conferencing system jointly between different branches and branches of one company or between different universities. The electronic conference system of the invention can be applied.

Company A, Company B, and Company C each hold an electronic conference using the ISDN public telephone network 1 as a communication network.
The company, general personal computer 10 _A, 10 _B, 10 _C is installed. At present, a large number of electronic conference software installed on a personal computer are commercially available. In the present embodiment, the electronic conference itself uses such commercially available electronic conference software. That is, it is assumed that the personal computer of each company participating in the electronic conference has the same commercially available electronic conference software. When you purchase such electronic conferencing software, the corresponding ISDN
In general, a sales form that includes a board is also included.

As such commercially available electronic conference software, for example, “ProShare” manufactured by Intel Corporation is available.
As an example, the electronic conference system of the present embodiment can also use the electronic conference software “ProShare”. Furthermore,
In this embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned commercially available electronic conference software, a function of notifying the other party of an interrupt when the other party has already performed an electronic conference, and a person receiving the interrupt notification is set to end the current conference. A function to automatically start a conference with the person who issued the interrupt notification later, a function to interrupt the current conference by the person who received the interrupt notification and automatically start a conference with the person who issued the interrupt notification, an electronic conference The software that has the function of recording the minutes of the meeting and various functions associated with these basic functions is mounted on the personal computers of the companies that have jointly introduced the electronic conference system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic conference of the present embodiment
Computers of companies A, B, and C that have introduced the system
10_A, 10_B, 10_CHas an electronic conference line 11_A,
11 _B, 11_CAnd the interrupt notification line 12_A, 12_B, 1
2_CIs provided. That is, one PC
And two lines, one for the electronic conference and one for the interrupt notification
Can be used simultaneously. Time for electronic conference
Line 11_A, 11_B, 11_CAnd interrupt notification line 12_A,
12_B, 12_CAre connected to the ISDN public telephone network 1.
Has been continued.

In normal use, it is not common to use two lines for one personal computer. But,
Electronic conference line 11 _A, 11 _B, 11 ISD for _C
In addition to the N connection board, the interrupt notification lines 12 _A and 1
Network card for _{2 B, 12 C (TCP /} I
By purchasing a PC that supports P) and plugging it into each personal computer, it is possible to easily and simultaneously use two lines with one personal computer. In the present embodiment,
As will be described later, communication other than the interrupt notification is also performed by using the interrupt notification line. In this case, three or more lines may be used depending on the capacity of the data to be transferred.

Furthermore, personal computers 10 _A , 10 _B , 1
At 0 _C , a small camera (not shown) for capturing an image of the person in charge of the electronic conference and sending it to the other party is installed. Here, an outline of a processing procedure when there is an interrupt notification will be described with reference to FIG.

First, Company A holds an electronic conference with Company B.
In pursuit of this, the personal computer 10 of Company A _ABut for electronic conference
Line 11_AUsing company PC 10_B(St
ep10), 10_BResponds to this (Step 11), A
An electronic conference is started between Company B and Company B (Step 12).
While Company A and Company B are conducting an electronic conference, Company C's
Sokon 10_CIs the electronic conference line 11_AUsing A
PC 10_A(Step 13), company A
Receive notification that the line is in use. Therefore, the company C
Sokon 10_CIs the interrupt line 12_CUsing the
Sokon 10_ASend an interrupt notification to
4). Then, the personal computer 10 of company A_AThe screen shows an interrupt
Is displayed (Step 15).

After that, when the electronic conference between the company A and the company B is completed (Step 16), the personal computer of the company A is connected to the electronic conference line 1.
Using 1 _A, automatically calls the C's PC 10 _C (Step 17). When PC C of Company _C responds to this call (Step 18), an electronic conference is started between Company A and Company C (Step 19). When the electronic conference ends (Step 20), the line between them is disconnected.

In the above description, as shown in Steps 16 and 17, Company A held an electronic conference with Company C after the electronic conference with Company B was completed. , Even during a meeting with Company B,
It is also possible to interrupt the meeting with the company and start the meeting with the company C. Next, a screen image when operating the electronic conference system of the present embodiment and an operation procedure will be described.

FIG. 3 shows an image of a first screen when operating the electronic conference system of the present embodiment, that is, an image of a system selection screen. In FIG. 3, three options are “cooperative design”, “collaboration ordering”, and “read drawing /
Each button of "Transfer" is prepared. In the following, several companies (A company, B company, C company, ...
The description will be made on the assumption that an electronic conference is held for the purpose of designing and manufacturing a certain mechanical part. Therefore, here
"Collaborative design" and related "drawing / transfer of drawings"
And the description of “collaboration ordering” is omitted.

The electronic conference system according to the present embodiment
It is based on a normal personal computer and has Microsoft Windows 95 installed on it as its basic OS. The above-mentioned "ProShare" made by Intel also runs on this OS ("Windows" is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation). , "ProShare" is a trademark of Intel Corporation). Therefore, the electronic conference system of the present embodiment is also created as application software that runs on this OS. Therefore, the basic operation system of the electronic conference system according to the present embodiment is Windows
It is common with that of ws95. However, the OS and the electronic conference software are merely examples, and it is of course possible to use other software.

In FIG. 3, when the button of "co-design" is clicked, a co-design / manufacturing support menu selection screen shown in FIG. 4 appears. As shown in FIG. 4, various selection buttons are prepared on the screen 20 of the cooperative design / manufacturing support menu. On this screen, “Registration of person in charge” on the leftmost side is a button to select a person in charge of the company of the electronic conference to be registered in advance before the conference. Click this button to register the person in charge (not shown)
Is displayed.

The information of the person in charge of the destination, which is entered and registered on this screen, is used as it is, for example, when automatically creating the minutes and history information of the electronic conference. This eliminates the need for the person in charge of inputting the name of the person in charge of the other party each time the electronic conference is held.
In this way, by registering the name of the person in charge of the partner company in advance and preventing other persons from being called, each company (company A, (Company B, Company C, Company D, Company E ... Company N)
It is possible to secure the security by restricting the range of persons who can participate in the electronic conference only between them.

The next “call between two companies” button is
This button is selected when a meeting between two specific companies is desired. The “monitoring between two companies meeting log” button is a button selected when referring to the log of the minutes of the past two-company meeting and performing other operations related to the minutes. "close"
The button is a button that is selected when the operation is completed and the screen 20 in FIG. 4 is closed. The “CAD start” button, “CAM start” button, “whiteboard” button, and “application sharing” button will be described later.

When the person in charge of Company A clicks on “calling a conference between two companies” on the screen 20 of FIG. 4 and selects the execution of the conference between the two companies, the personal computer of Company A displays the screen of FIG. 21 is displayed. Here, in the window 22 of the "company name to call", the company B, which is the destination of the last electronic conference, is displayed. If you want to hold an electronic conference with another party, click the downward triangle mark on the right side of the window 22 to display a list of the company names of the parties registered in advance,
When a desired partner is clicked in the window, the partner is displayed in the window 22. If the current partner is the same company B as the previous one, the “call” button 23 is clicked as it is.
On the other hand, if the user wants to stop the process, he or she clicks a “cancel” button 24.

When the "call" button 23 is clicked,
The personal computer of the company A starts an operation of automatically calling the company of the other party displayed on the window 22. At this time, the screen 25 is displayed on the personal computer of the company A. This screen 25
When the "Cancel" button 26 is clicked, the calling of the company B is canceled and the screen returns to the screen 21. Assuming that the destination called by Company A is Company B, a call is made to Company B.
The telephone line used at this time is the above-described electronic conference line.

On the other hand, a screen 27 is displayed on the personal computer of the company B to notify that the call of the conference between the two companies has been received from the company A. When the person in charge clicks the "OK" button 28 on the personal computer of Company B, an electronic conference between Company A and Company B starts. At the same time, the cooperative design meeting managers are activated on the personal computers of both companies, and the images of the person in charge of the other party captured by the small camera are displayed as moving images on the screens of the respective personal computers.

FIG. 6 shows a screen 30 of the co-design manager of the company A and a screen 31 of the co-design manager of the company B. On these screens, an image of the person in charge of the other party is displayed as a moving image on the remote video, and an image of the user is displayed as a moving image on the local video together with the name. Various operations can be performed on this screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, by unchecking the "send video" check box on the side of company A, it is possible to prevent the screen of company A from being displayed on the remote video of company B. The same operation can be performed on Company B side. Whether or not to send audio can also be selected by a “send audio” checkbox.
By operating the "volume" button 32 with the mouse, the volume can also be adjusted. Also, "Remote Video Size"
By operating the button 33, the screen size of the remote video in which the person in charge of the other party appears can be selected.

Next, a case is described in which another company C calls for company A in hopes of holding an electronic conference with company A while company A and company B are holding an electronic conference. The following describes the personal computer screen and operation procedure. FIG. 7 shows a state of the personal computer screen at this time. First, the company A is called on the screen 40 of FIG. This call is made using an electronic conference line. The screen 40 is the same as the screen 21 in FIG. When the "call" button 41 is clicked to automatically call the company A, it is understood that the company A is currently in a meeting with the company B, and the electronic conference line of the company A is busy and blocked. At this time, an interrupt notification transmission screen 42 is displayed on the PC of company C.

On the screen 42 shown in FIG. 7, when the processing is terminated without sending an interrupt notification to the company A, for example, in the case of an urgent matter, the person in charge of the company C clicks the "No" button 43. click. On the other hand, when transmitting the interrupt notification to the company A, the “Yes” button 44 is clicked. When the "Yes" button 44 is clicked, the personal computer of company C transmits an interrupt notification to the personal computer of company A using an interrupt notification line different from the electronic conference line. At this time, the state of the electronic conference is displayed on the personal computer of Company A, and an interrupt reception display 45 for notifying that the interrupt notification has been made is additionally displayed on the display. At this time, as a means of interrupt notification,
A predetermined sound may be emitted in conjunction with the interruption reception display 45. Alternatively, it is also possible to omit the screen display and use only audio.

As described above, even when the called party has an electronic conference with another party, it is possible to use the ISDN public telephone network based on TCP / IP separately from the electronic conference line. By installing this line on each company's PC as a line for interrupt notification, it is possible to realize a new function of interrupt notification that did not exist in the past, It immediately becomes apparent that an interrupt notification has been received.

When the person in charge of Company A clicks the OK button 46 of the interrupt notification reception display 45 shown in FIG. 7, a screen 47 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the personal computer of Company A. The screen 47 is a screen that displays a list of two-company conference interrupt notifications. The explanation here is based on the assumption that an interrupt notification has been received from only the company C. However, in practice, for example, the companies D, E,
.. May also receive an interrupt notification. For this reason, the screen 4 is displayed so that the person in charge of company A can easily know from where the interrupt notification is received.
A list of interrupt notification destinations is displayed as shown in FIG. This list is displayed in order of arrival, and when the list becomes empty, the screen 47 is automatically erased. Items displayed in the list include the time at which the interrupt notification was issued, the destination of the interrupt notification, and the name of the person in charge.

Even when the interrupt notification is received from the company C, the A
Company is still in an electronic conference with Company B. However, if the person in charge of Company A decides to cancel the meeting with Company B in agreement with Company B and hold a meeting with Company C, the “Call” button on the screen 47 is displayed. Click 48. Then
The confirmation screen shown on the screen 50 is displayed on the personal computer of the company A. When the “Yes” button 51 is clicked here, the cooperative design conference manager opened with the company B is closed, and the screen 53 is simultaneously displayed. It is displayed and the call of the company C is started. At this time, the screen 55 is displayed on the personal computer of the company C.

Here, the person in charge of the company C clicks the "OK" button 5
Clicking on 6 starts an electronic conference between Company A and Company C. At the same time, the co-design meeting managers are activated on the personal computers of both companies, and the images of the persons in charge of the other party are displayed on the screens of the respective personal computers. Also, if Company A wants to hold an electronic conference with Company B after completing the electronic conference with Company C or Company C after finishing the electronic conference with Company A, By registering that fact, the personal computer of Company A or Company C automatically calls Company B after the electronic conference of Company A and Company C, and conducts the electronic conference with Company B. Can be performed immediately.

On the other hand, when the company A suspends the interruption notification from the company C and continues the conference with the company B as it is, the user clicks the “iconify” button 49 on the screen 47. As a result, the display of the screen 47 is reduced to an icon at the end of the personal computer screen, and the personal computer of the company A
The fact that the company has received an interrupt notification is stored. Then, the company C is notified that the electronic conference with the company C is to be started after the electronic conference with the company B is completed. This notification may be sent together with a message such as “call company C after 30 minutes”.

When the electronic conference between Company A and Company B ends, a screen 62 shown in FIG. 9 appears on Company A's personal computer. The screen 62 is a screen that displays the same list of the two-company conference interrupt notification as the screen 47 in FIG. When the person in charge of the company A selects the company C and clicks the “call” button 63 on the screen 62, a screen 65 is displayed and the call of the company C is started. On the other hand, an “iconize” button 64 on the screen 62
By clicking, the display of the screen 62 is reduced to a small icon at the end of the personal computer screen.

When the "call" button 63 is clicked, a screen 67 is displayed on the PC of company C. On the other hand, when the person in charge of the company A clicks the “Cancel” button 68 on the screen 65, the screen returns to the screen 62. On screen 67,
When the person in charge of Company C clicks the "OK" button 69,
The electronic conference between Company A and Company C is started, the co-design conference manager is started on the personal computers of both companies, and the image of the person in charge is displayed on the screen of each personal computer.

As described above, when viewed at each moment of holding the electronic conference, only two parties hold the electronic conference. However, this also applies to a case where three parties simultaneously participate in an electronic conference using the multipoint video conference controller. In this embodiment, an electronic conference that automatically calls a person who issued an interrupt notification immediately after a conference ends can be performed. Moreover, as described below,
Since the detailed minutes of a conference held between the two parties in the past can be easily transferred to the person who will conduct a new electronic conference, a new conference can be held after grasping the flow of the previous discussion,
By repeating such an interrupt operation, in the course of the electronic conference, the electronic conference will be performed almost in the same way as three or more persons at different locations virtually participating in the electronic conference. A meeting can be held. In the present embodiment, at least two telephone lines are required, but the cost of adding one line is far less than preparing a multipoint video conference controller. Therefore,
According to the present embodiment, it is possible to inexpensively construct an electronic conference system that enables an electronic conference by three or more parties virtually.

The above is a description of the most basic functions of the electronic conference system of the present embodiment regarding the screen images of the personal computers of the respective companies and the operation procedures. Next, other functions of the electronic conference system of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the overall hardware configuration of the electronic conference system shown in FIG. 1 in more detail. In the configuration shown in FIG. 10, one server 8 is connected to the ISDN public telephone network 1.
0, and n (n ≧ 3) clients 81 _i (i =
1, 2,..., N) are connected. Clients are installed for each of the companies A, B, C,..., N that have jointly introduced the electronic conference system of the present embodiment, and an electronic conference is held between the clients.

The server 80 has a printer 82 of A3 size.
Consists of a general server personal computer 83 connected to
This personal computer 83 includes a dial-up router 84, DS
U (Digital Service Unit) 85
Is connected to the ISDN public telephone network 1. Inside the personal computer 83, a hard disk, DAT (Di
A data recording medium such as a digital audio tape is provided, and the history information of all the electronic conferences performed between the clients is recorded on the data recording medium. However, the server 80 is not essential in the present invention, and therefore, an embodiment without the server 80 is also possible.

The client personal computer 86 of each client 81 _i has two lines, an electronic conference line 11 and an interrupt notification line 12. The latter interrupt notification line 12 uses TCP / IP used on the Internet.
It can be used not only for interrupt notification but also for various data transfers and as a line for Internet connection.

Further, each client personal computer 86 has:
An A3 size printer 87 and scanner 88 are connected. For example, if you want to send drawings or notes written by the person in charge during the electronic conference,
It is read by the scanner 88 and the interrupt notification line 12 is read.
It can be used to send a detailed image to another party via the Internet, or to send a fine image at a time completely different from the electronic conference. Each client personal computer 86 also has
A data recording medium such as a hard disk or a DAT is provided, and records history information of an electronic conference conducted by the client.

The CPU and memory mounted on the server personal computer 83 and the client personal computer 86 are sufficient as those mounted on the most general personal computer at the present time. Is Wi
WindowsNT Server, each client personal computer 86 has Microsoft Windows 9
5 is installed as a basic OS.

FIG. 11 shows, on a personal computer screen, the master data of each company which has introduced the electronic conference system jointly. In the case of FIG. 11, six companies are currently registered, and the company code, company name, transfer ID, ISDN number (INS
No.), the ISDN number of the interrupt notification line (TCP / IP), the IP address of each client, and the host name of each client are displayed. Here, the “client host name” refers to a name given to identify each computer.

In this embodiment, in addition to the electronic conference line,
Since the interrupt notification line is used, two ISDN numbers are thus required. The master data of FIG. 11 is recorded on the server personal computer 83 and each client personal computer 86. If the registered company does not fit on one screen, the user can click the "next page" button or the "previous page" button to move to the previous or next page. Clicking the "Close" button will bring up Figure 1
1 can be closed.

In the electronic conference system of the present embodiment, when an electronic conference is held, the minutes of the electronic conference are automatically created as a conference log. In Fig. 4, "Monitoring of conference log between two companies"
When the button is clicked, a function related to the history of the electronic conference held in the past is executed. "Monitoring of conference log between two companies"
When the button is clicked, first, a screen of the two-company conference log shown in FIG. 12 is displayed.

In the screen shown in FIG. 12, each line corresponds to each electronic conference actually held, and for each conference, “date”, “day of the week”, “start time”, “end time”, Items of “other party” and “comment” are recorded. Of these items, the items other than “comments” are automatically captured and recorded by the personal computer automatically as information already input or information extracted from the system clock of the personal computer. On the other hand, regarding the “comment”, a comment input screen shown in FIG. 13 appears separately after the end of the electronic conference, and when the person in charge inputs necessary matters, the content is recorded as a comment.

At the bottom of the screen shown in FIG. 12, buttons for selecting various functions that can be executed in the monitoring of the conference log between the two companies are displayed. By clicking the "display minutes" button, the minutes of the designated log can be displayed. Clicking the "print minutes" button allows you to print the minutes of the specified log. Clicking the “Close Minutes” button will close the displayed minutes. Click the "Log Print" button.
You can print all of the meeting log. If you click the "Delete" button, you can delete the specified log via the confirmation dialog box and delete the minutes at the same time.

In FIG. 4, when the “CAD start” button is clicked, the CAD software starts. Similarly, when the "CAM start" button is clicked, the CAM software starts. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which CAD / CAM application software is incorporated as an example. However, if the application software operates on the same OS as the electronic conference system of the present embodiment, the CAD / CAM software is used. The present invention is not limited to this, and arbitrary application software, for example, word processing software or the like may be incorporated and activated as appropriate.

In FIG. 4, when a "whiteboard" button is clicked, a whiteboard function is activated. This whiteboard function is used when you want to keep a drawing created by CAD software while exchanging various information between the two parties during an electronic conference. Using this function, a drawing or the like can be recorded as a meeting log and left as history information as if it were an actual electronic whiteboard. The “whiteboard” button is not displayed except during the execution of the electronic conference.

In FIG. 4, "application sharing"
Clicking the button activates the application sharing function. This function is a function in which both parties having a remote meeting share and execute one application software at the same time. This function itself utilizes the function of the commercially available electronic conference software described above. For example, when the CAD software is shared and activated, not only the pointer of the user's own mouse but also the pointer of the partner's mouse is displayed on the screen, and the state of the operation is displayed on both sides. As a result, it is possible to create a drawing in cooperation with each other while discussing and performing trial and error. Alternatively, if you are sharing and running word processing application software,
After writing a certain sentence, the other person can continue writing the next one. Note that this button is not displayed except during the execution of the electronic conference.

For the interrupt notification line, for example, a joint ordering / ordering system in a case where a certain number of companies perform ordering / ordering together can be constructed using the interrupt notification line. Originally, the frequency of using the interrupt notification line for interrupt notification is not so high, so by allocating the idle time to these other uses, the line can be used efficiently.

Further, since the conventional electronic conference system uses a protocol based on international standards, which specializes in efficiently transmitting and receiving image data and audio data, during the electronic conference, Even if I wanted to transfer some data between them, I couldn't transfer the file using the teleconference line. Also in the present embodiment, the electronic conference line is a line using a protocol based on the same international standard as the conventional one. However, in this embodiment, in addition to the electronic conference line, a general TC
A line connected to the ISDN public telephone network based on P / IP is used as an interrupt notification line, and file transfer can be performed using this line. For example, CAD / C
It is easy to transfer AM data and minutes recording the contents of an electronic conference using an interrupt notification line.

In this embodiment, since the number of telephone lines is two or more, hardware corresponding to the number is required. However, on the contrary, the multipoint video conference control device, which has always been necessary, becomes unnecessary. Compared with this multipoint video conference control device, the cost for using two telephone lines is extremely low, and by providing an interrupt notification function, it is virtually possible for a plurality of parties to electronically communicate with each other. A meeting can be held. For this reason, a function with high use value can be realized with a small investment. In addition, a line (interruption notification line) provided in addition to the electronic conference line can be used not only for interrupt notification but also for various other data transfers. Various functions associated with the electronic conference can be realized.

The program for executing the above-described operation is recorded or stored in whole or in part on a portable medium such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk. The program is read by a personal computer, and all or part of the operation is executed. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made within the scope of the gist.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In addition to the electronic conference line, an electronic conference is sent between the two parties by sending an interrupt notification to the other party that is executing the electronic conference or by providing an interrupt notification line for receiving the interrupt notification. If another party issues an interrupt notification to one party during the meeting, the other party wishes to execute the electronic conference even though the party is performing the electronic conference. Therefore, the current electronic conference can be interrupted or the current electronic conference ends, and then a new electronic conference can be immediately started with the third party. In addition, at this time, if necessary, the detailed minutes of the past conference between the two parties can be easily transferred to the person who will hold the new electronic conference. A new conference can be held after grasping the flow. By repeating such an interrupt operation, the electronic conference progresses in a manner similar to that of three or more persons at different locations virtually simultaneously participating in the electronic conference. It can be performed. In addition, since an expensive multipoint video conference control device is not required, an electronic conference system capable of virtually conducting an electronic conference by three or more parties can be constructed at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an overall configuration of an electronic conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the simplest procedure for switching a partner of the electronic conference.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an initial screen image when operating the electronic conference system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a selection screen of a collaborative design / manufacturing support menu.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a personal computer screen when a call between two companies is selected and clicked.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen of a co-design manager of Company A and a screen of a co-design manager of Company B;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a case where another company C calls a company A while another company C wants to hold an electronic conference with a company A while a company A and a company B are holding a teleconference. It is a figure showing a screen displayed on personal computers of A company and C company.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on personal computers of companies A and C when a person in charge of company A clicks an OK button for interrupt notification reception display.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on a personal computer of a company C when the electronic conference between the companies A and B ends.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the hardware of the electronic conference system shown in FIG. 1 in more detail.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which master data of each company which has jointly introduced the electronic conference system is displayed on a personal computer screen.

12 is a diagram showing a screen of a conference log between two companies that appears when a “monitoring conference log between two companies” button in FIG. 4 is clicked.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a comment input screen that appears separately after the end of the electronic conference.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional electronic conference system using a multipoint video conference controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ISDN public telephone network 10 Personal computer 11 Electronic conference line 12 Interrupt notification line 80 Server 81 Client 82, 87 Printer 84 Dial-up router 85 DSU 88 Scanner 100 Multipoint video conference control device 101, 102, 103 Personal computer

Claims (14)

[Claims] An electronic conference system in which a plurality of computers are connected via a communication network and an electronic conference is performed under the control of electronic conference software, wherein each computer is provided with an electronic conference via the communication network. An electronic conference line for performing, an interrupt notification line for transmitting an interrupt notification via the communication network to the other party performing the electronic conference, or receiving the interrupt notification, and the interrupt An electronic conferencing system comprising: an interrupt notifying unit that, when receiving a notification, notifies that effect and the other party that has issued the interrupt notification. 2. When the computer receives the interrupt notification during the execution of the electronic conference, the computer issues the interrupt notification via the electronic conference line when the electronic conference currently being executed ends. 2. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, further comprising first calling means for calling the other party. 3. When the computer receives the interrupt notification during the execution of the electronic conference, the computer interrupts the currently executing electronic conference and issues the interrupt notification via the electronic conference line. 2. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, further comprising second calling means for calling the other party. 4. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein each computer is provided with minutes recording means for recording the minutes of an electronic conference executed by using said computers. . 5. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein the interrupt notification line is used as a data communication line in addition to the transmission and reception of the interrupt notification. 6. The electronic conference system according to claim 5, wherein the data transmitted / received through the data communication line includes at least minutes. 7. The server according to claim 1, wherein a server computer is connected to the communication network in addition to the plurality of computers, and a log of a conference executed between the computers is recorded. , 4, 5 or 6. 8. A recording medium on which a computer program for performing an electronic conference by each computer connected via a communication network is recorded, wherein the computer program is provided in each computer for an electronic conference provided in the computer. Using a line, a function of performing an electronic conference via the communication network, and a destination that is executing the electronic conference using an interrupt notification line provided in the computer separately from the electronic conference line. To transmit an interrupt notification via the communication network,
Or a function of receiving the interrupt notification, and a function of, when receiving the interrupt notification, notifying of the fact and the party that issued the interrupt notification. 9. The computer program, when receiving the interrupt notification to each of the computers during execution of the electronic conference, when the electronic conference currently being executed ends, via the electronic conference line. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 8, further comprising a function of calling a partner who has issued the interrupt notification. 10. The computer program, when the computer receives the interrupt notification during the execution of the electronic conference, suspends the electronic conference currently being executed, and executes the electronic conference via the electronic conference line. 9. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 8, further comprising a function of calling the other party who issued the interrupt notification. 11. The computer program according to claim 8, wherein the computer program has a function of causing each of the computers to record, on a predetermined recording medium, minutes of an electronic conference executed using the computer. 11. The computer-readable recording medium according to item 10. 12. The computer program according to claim 8, wherein the computer program has a function of causing each computer to use the interrupt notification line as a data communication line in addition to transmitting and receiving the interrupt notification. 12. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 9, 9, 10, or 11. 13. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12, wherein the data transmitted / received through the data communication line includes at least minutes. 14. The computer program having a function of causing a server computer provided in addition to the plurality of computers and connected to the communication network to record a log of a conference executed between the plurality of computers. The method of claim 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 1
3. The computer-readable recording medium according to 3.