Virtual office providing apparatus and virtual office providing method

Abstract

To facilitate smooth communication between users in a virtual office.SOLUTION: A virtual office providing apparatus 20 which provides an environment of virtual office includes: an acquisition unit 221 which acquires, from a first user, a state change instruction to change a state of the first user in the space; an information update unit 223 which updates, when the acquisition unit 221 acquires the state change instruction, state information 43 so as to change the state in the space according to the state change instruction, and updates position information 42 so as to change a position in the space to a position associated with the changed state; and a display control unit 222 which transmits arrangement information indicating an icon corresponding to the first user arranged in a position indicated by the position information 42 changed by the information update unit 223 in the space indicated by map information 41, and the state information 43 changed by the information update unit, to one or more terminal devices 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a virtual office providing device and a virtual office providing method. [Background technology]

[0002] A technology has been disclosed in which location information of people working in a real office is converted into corresponding location information in a virtual office and displayed on the virtual office (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-103906 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, unlike a real office, in a virtual office you cannot see what the person you are trying to communicate with is doing, so it is difficult to find an opportunity to talk to them. This makes it difficult to communicate smoothly.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to facilitate smoother communication between users of a virtual office. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The virtual office providing device according to the present invention is a virtual office providing device that provides a virtual office environment, and comprises: a storage unit that stores map information showing the space of a virtual office, position information showing the positions of one or more users in the space, and status information showing the status of the one or more users in the space; a communication unit that communicates with one or more terminal devices used by the one or more users via a communication path; and an information processing unit that transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information showing the status of icons corresponding to the one or more users placed at the positions indicated by the position information in the space shown by the map information, and the status information; and the information processing unit transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information showing the status of icons corresponding to the one or more users placed at the positions indicated by the position information in the space shown by the map information, and the status information. an acquisition unit that acquires a status change instruction to change the status of the first user in the space from the acquired status change instruction; an information update unit that, when the acquisition unit acquires the status change instruction, updates the status information to change the status of the first user in the space in accordance with the status change instruction and updates the position information to change the position of the first user in the space to a position associated with the changed status; and a display control unit that transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information indicating a state in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed at a position indicated by the position information after change by the information update unit with respect to the space indicated by the map information, and the status information after change by the information update unit.

[0007] A virtual office providing method according to the present invention is a method executed by a computer for providing a virtual office environment, the computer comprising: a storage unit that stores map information showing the space of a virtual office, position information showing the positions of one or more users in the space, and status information showing the status of the one or more users in the space; a communication unit that communicates with one or more terminal devices used by the one or more users via a communication path; and an information processing unit that transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information showing a state in which icons corresponding to the one or more users are placed at positions indicated by the position information in the space shown by the map information, and the status information; and the virtual office providing method is characterized in that the information processing unit transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information showing a state in which icons corresponding to the one or more users are placed at positions indicated by the position information in the space shown by the map information, and the status information. an acquisition step of acquiring, from a first user among the first users, a state change instruction to change the state of the first user in the space; an information update step of, when the information processing unit acquires the state change instruction in the acquisition step, updating the state information to change the state of the first user in the space in accordance with the state change instruction and updating the position information to change the position of the first user in the space to a position corresponding to the changed state; and a display control step of, by the information processing unit, transmitting to the one or more terminal devices placement information indicating a state in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed in the space indicated by the position information after the change in the information update step.

[0008] The present invention can be realized not only as the virtual office providing method described above, but also as a program for causing a computer to execute the virtual office providing method, and further as a computer-readable recording medium storing the program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] This allows for smoother communication between virtual office users. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a virtual office system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of map information of a virtual office according to an embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing location information according to an embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing state information according to an embodiment; [Figure 5] Schematic diagram of a virtual office according to an embodiment [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of a first example of the virtual office providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing updates of state information in a first example of operation of the virtual office providing apparatus according to the embodiment; [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a second example of the virtual office providing apparatus according to the embodiment; [Figure 9] FIG. 10 shows an image displayed in a second example of operation of the virtual office providing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 shows another image displayed in the second operation example of the virtual office providing device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that each of the embodiments described below represents a preferred specific example of the present invention. The numerical values, components, component placement and connection configurations, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components not recited in the independent claims will be described as optional components constituting a preferred embodiment.

[0012] It should be noted that the drawings are schematic diagrams and are not necessarily strict illustrations. In addition, in the drawings, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions may be omitted or simplified.

[0013] [composition] First, a description will be given of the configuration of a virtual office system 10 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a virtual office system 10 according to the embodiment.

[0014] The virtual office system 10 is an information processing system for promoting communication between remote users via a virtual space (virtual office). The virtual office system 10 allows multiple users to visually share information by displaying various information in the virtual space shared by multiple users on each user's terminal device 30. The various information in the virtual space includes map information of the virtual space, location information and status information of users in the virtual space, etc. The virtual office system 10 includes a virtual office providing device 20 and multiple terminal devices 30 used by multiple users.

[0015] The virtual office providing device 20 performs information processing etc. to allow a virtual office to be shared by a plurality of users. The virtual office providing device 20 includes a communication unit 21, an information processing unit 22, and a storage unit .

[0016] The communication unit 21 is a communication circuit (communication module) that enables the virtual office providing device 20 to communicate with multiple terminal devices 30 via a public network 50 such as the Internet. The communication performed by the communication unit 21 is, for example, wireless communication. There are no particular limitations on the communication standard of the communication performed by the communication unit 21.

[0017] The information processing unit 22 performs processing for updating information about the virtual office and processing for displaying images on the display units 35 of the multiple terminal devices 30. The information processing unit 22 is realized, for example, by a microcomputer, but may also be realized by a processor. The functions of the information processing unit 22 are realized, for example, by the microcomputer or processor constituting the information processing unit 22 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 23. Specifically, the information processing unit 22 includes an acquisition unit 221, a display control unit 222, and an information update unit 223.

[0018] The acquisition unit 221 acquires an instruction to change information from the user.

[0019] The display control unit 222 performs processing for displaying the virtual office on the terminal device 30 of the user.

[0020] The information update unit 223 updates the information about the virtual space stored in the storage unit 23 based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 221.

[0021] The storage unit 23 is a storage device that stores the virtual office information 40 and the computer programs executed by the information processing unit 22. The storage unit 23 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory.

[0022] The virtual office information 40 is information relating to a virtual office stored in the storage unit 23. The virtual office information 40 includes map information 41, location information 42, and status information 43.

[0023] Map information 41 is information for constructing a virtual office. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the map information 41 for a virtual office according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the map information 41 is a collection of multiple block data. The block data includes the block name, block coordinates, and the user's status when in the block. The block data is created and updated by an administrative user. The administrative user is a user who uses the virtual office system 10 and has the authority to create and update the map information 41. The "block name" is the name of the block displayed on the image of the virtual office. The "block coordinates" are coordinates indicating the area occupied by the block in the virtual office. The "user status" is information indicating the user's status when in the block and is set by selecting one from among predetermined status information candidates. The status information candidates are, for example, "available," "busy," "away," and "working." The correspondence between the "block name" and the "user status" in this map information 41 corresponds to correspondence information indicating the correspondence between each possible location of the user and the user's status in the virtual office. In other words, the map information 41 in this embodiment is information that combines map information showing the space of the virtual office and correspondence information that shows the correspondence between each of the positions the user can take and the user's state in the virtual office.

[0024] For example, 11 sections are set in the map information 41 shown in Fig. 2. The section named "Office 1" is a section that occupies the coordinates (0, 15, 20, 10) in the virtual office, and the user's status when in "Office 1" is set to "Available." The section named "Conference Room 1" is a section that occupies the coordinates (0, 0, 20, 10) in the virtual office, and the user's status when in "Conference Room 1" is set to "Busy."

[0025] Here, the coordinates are expressed as (X coordinate of the starting point, Y coordinate of the starting point, width of the section, height of the section), but the method of setting the coordinates is merely an example and is not limited to this format.

[0026] Note that the names, locations, types, and numbers of sections given here are merely examples. The administrative user can set the names, locations, types, and numbers of sections as desired. The administrative user can update the map information 41 at any time.

[0027] The location information 42 is a collection of information that associates the name of each user who uses the virtual office with the coordinates indicating the display position of the user's icon. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the location information 42 according to an embodiment. For example, the coordinates indicating the display position of the icon for "Mr. A" in FIG. 3 are (5, 22). Each user can change the coordinates indicating the display position of their own icon in the location information 42. Note that each user does not have to be able to change data in the location information 42 other than the coordinates indicating the display position of their own icon.

[0028] Here, the coordinates are expressed as (X coordinate of the center point of the icon, Y coordinate of the center point of the icon), but the coordinate setting format is merely an example and is not limited to this format.

[0029] The status information 43 is information that associates the name of each user who uses the virtual office with information indicating the status of that user. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the status information 43 according to an embodiment. For example, the information indicating the status of "Mr. A" in FIG. 4 is "Available." Each user can change the information indicating their own status in the status information 43. Note that each user does not necessarily have to be able to change data in the status information 43 other than the information indicating their own status.

[0030] In this embodiment, the status information is one of "Available," "Away," "Busy," and "Working." In other words, the status information is always specified for each user.

[0031] The information indicating the status may be linked to an external application program, and in this case, the candidate information indicating the status may be the same as the candidate information indicating the status in the external application program.

[0032] The terminal device 30 is, for example, an information terminal device such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or personal computer used by a user. The users of the terminal device 30 are users of the virtual office system 10, and include people who work in a shared virtual office and people who visit the virtual office. Users can communicate with other users of the virtual office using the terminal device 30. Specifically, the terminal device 30 includes a communication unit 31, an information processing unit 32, a memory unit 33, an operation reception unit 34, and a display unit 35.

[0033] The communication unit 31 is a communication circuit (communication module) that enables the terminal device 30 to communicate with the virtual office providing device 20 via a public network 50 such as the Internet. The communication performed by the communication unit 31 is, for example, wireless communication. There are no particular limitations on the communication standard of the communication performed by the communication unit 31.

[0034] The information processing unit 32 performs processing such as displaying an image on the display unit 35 in accordance with instructions received from the display control unit 222. The information processing unit 32 is realized, for example, by a microcomputer, but may also be realized by a processor. The functions of the information processing unit 32 are realized, for example, by the microcomputer or processor constituting the information processing unit 32 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 33.

[0035] The storage unit 33 is a storage device that stores computer programs and the like executed by the information processing unit 32. The computer programs stored in the storage unit 33 include dedicated application programs that enable the terminal device 30 to access the virtual office providing device 20. The storage unit 33 is realized, for example, by a semiconductor memory.

[0036] The operation reception unit 34 receives operations from the user and is realized by, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch panel.

[0037] The display unit 35 displays an image. The display unit 35 is realized by a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel.

[0038] [Building a virtual office] First, an administrative user creates map information 41 to build a virtual office.

[0039] The display control unit 222 creates a map image of the virtual office based on the map information 41. The created map image of the virtual office may be transmitted in advance to the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 21 and stored in the storage unit 33 of the terminal device 30. Alternatively, the map information 41 may be stored in the storage unit 33 of the terminal device 30, and the information processing unit 32 may create a map image of the virtual office based on the map information 41.

[0040] Next, the administrative user creates a list of all users who use the virtual office system 10. This list is copied to the location information 42 and status information 43.

[0041] Finally, when each user starts using the virtual office system 10, they select the coordinates that indicate the display position of their own icon. This updates the location information 42, and by referring to the map information 41, the status of each user is identified and the status information 43 is updated.

[0042] Furthermore, each user can register in advance the position (i.e., initial position) where the icon will be displayed when the user starts using the virtual office system 10. For example, each user can register their own seat in the virtual office. In this case, each user does not need to select the display position of their own icon when they start using the virtual office system 10. Furthermore, each user can register in advance a specified section (or coordinates) to which the icon display position will be moved when a specified state is reached.

[0043] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a virtual office according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 5, the virtual office is divided into sections based on map information 41. An icon indicating the user's location is displayed in the section based on location information 42. Status information 43 may be displayed by superimposing an icon indicating the user's location on an icon indicating the status, or may be displayed as a list on a screen separate from the virtual office. The method of displaying status information 43 is not limited here.

[0044] [Example 1] In conventional virtual offices, the display position of a user's icon and the user's status are managed independently. This means that when a user moves between rooms, the user must change the display position and status of the icon separately. This is not only time-consuming, but also leads to frequent forgetting to change either the icon or the status. This can result in the status of people in the virtual office being displayed incorrectly, which can inhibit close communication.

[0045] In contrast, in the virtual office providing device 20, when a user changes the display position of their own icon in the virtual office, the user's status is automatically changed to a status corresponding to the display position of the icon. This means that the user only needs to change the display position of the icon, reducing the effort required and eliminating the need to forget to change the status. This prevents the user's status from becoming inaccurate, making communication between virtual office users smoother. Such an operation example 1 will now be described. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of operation example 1 of the virtual office providing device 20 according to the embodiment.

[0046] First, the acquisition unit 221 acquires a position change instruction issued by the user (S11). The position change instruction is an instruction given by the user to change the display position of an icon in the user's virtual office. The position change instruction is accepted by the operation acceptance unit 34 of the user's terminal device 30. The position change instruction accepted by the operation acceptance unit 34 is transmitted to the virtual office providing device 20 via the communication unit 31, the public network, and the communication unit 21. The position change instruction is accepted, for example, by selecting a section in the virtual office to which the user wishes to move by right-clicking the mouse.

[0047] When the acquisition unit 221 acquires the user's position change instruction, the information update unit 223 updates the position information 42 based on the acquired position change instruction (S12). That is, the information update unit 223 changes the coordinates indicating the position of the icon associated with the user in the position information 42 stored in the storage unit 33.

[0048] Next, the information update unit 223 identifies the state of the user when he / she is in the section corresponding to the changed position based on the map information 41 and the updated position information 42 (S13). Specifically, the information update unit 223 identifies in which section, among the multiple "section names" set in the map information 41, the coordinates indicating the position of the icon changed by the user, which are included in the position information 42, are included, and identifies the "user state" corresponding to the identified section.

[0049] Then, the information update unit 223 updates the status information 43 based on the identified "user status" (S14). That is, the status associated with the user name in the status information 43 stored in the storage unit 33 is changed. The identified "section name" may be registered as an additional item in the location information 42.

[0050] Finally, the display control unit 222 changes the image of the virtual office displayed on the display unit 35 of the terminal device 30 based on the updated position information 42 and status information 43 (S15). Specifically, the display control unit 222 performs processing to display the updated status information 43 and placement information in which an icon corresponding to the user is placed at the position indicated by the updated position information 42 for the virtual office indicated by the map information 41.

[0051] For example, the display control unit 222 creates a post-update image and transmits the created image to the terminal device 30. The display control unit 222 may transmit information indicating the difference between the pre-update location information 42 and status information 43 and the updated location information 42 and status information 43 to the terminal device 30, and the information processing unit 32 may perform processing to change the image of the virtual office.

[0052] In addition, if no section is set in the map information 41 for the coordinates selected by the user in step S11 (for example, if the user selects the location of a "corridor" in an image of a virtual office), a warning message may be displayed to the user without changing the coordinates, or the user's icon may be moved to the section closest to the selected coordinates.

[0053] According to this operation example 1, when a user changes the display position of their own icon in the virtual office, the user's status is automatically changed to a state corresponding to the display position of the icon, thereby making communication between users of the virtual office smoother.

[0054] [Example of Operation 1] For example, the operation of the virtual office providing device 20 when "Person A" in FIG. 3 changes the display position of the icon to "Conference Room 1" will be described.

[0055] First, we will explain the situation before "Mr. A" changes the display position of his icon. In the location information 42 shown in Figure 3, the coordinates indicating the location of "Mr. A" are (5, 22). By referring to the map information 41 shown in Figure 2, we can see that "Mr. A" is in the section named "Office 1" and that his associated status is "Available."

[0056] First, "Person A" performs an operation to change the display position of the icon to "Conference Room 1." This operation is accepted by the operation accepting unit 34 of "Person A's" terminal device 30. Based on the position change instruction for "Person A" acquired by the acquiring unit 221, the information updating unit 223 changes the coordinates of "Person A" in the position information 42.

[0057] The new coordinates are coordinates indicating a location among the candidate locations for displaying a preset icon in "Conference Room 1" where no other user's icon is displayed. At this time, by referring to map information 41, it is found that the coordinates indicating "Mr. A's" new location are within the section named "Conference Room 1." Here, map information 41 includes information indicating candidate locations for displaying an icon in the section named "Conference Room 1," and by referring to location information 42, an unused location among these candidates is identified.

[0058] The destination coordinates may be the coordinates directly indicated by the position change instruction from "A-san," for example, the coordinates where "A-san" right-clicked using the mouse.

[0059] The information update unit 223 identifies that the status of the user in "Conference Room 1" is "Busy" by referring to the map information 41. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the update of the status information 43 in the first operational example of the virtual office providing device 20 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the information indicating the status of "Mr. A" in the status information 43 is updated from "Available" to "Busy." Finally, the display control unit 222 transmits an image of the virtual office in which the location of "Mr. A" has been changed to "Conference Room 1" and the status has been changed to "Busy" to all the users' terminal devices 30.

[0060] As described above, according to the virtual office providing device 20, when "Mr. A" changes the display position of "Mr. A"'s icon in the virtual office to "Conference Room 1," "Mr. A"'s status is automatically changed to "Busy."

[0061] [Example 2] In the virtual office providing device 20, when a user changes their own status in the virtual office, the display position of the user's icon is automatically changed to the display position of the icon associated with the status. This makes it possible to prevent the display position of the user's icon from becoming inaccurate. Such an operation example 2 will be described below. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of operation example 2 of the virtual office providing device 20 according to the embodiment.

[0062] First, the acquisition unit 221 acquires a status change instruction issued by the user (S21). The status change instruction is an instruction for the user to change the user's status in his or her own virtual office. The status change instruction is accepted by the operation acceptance unit 34 of the user's terminal device 30. The status change instruction accepted by the operation acceptance unit 34 is transmitted to the virtual office providing device 20 via the communication unit 31, the public network, and the communication unit 21. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an image displayed in a second operation example of the virtual office providing device 20 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, when the user attempts to change the status, a list of possible statuses that the user can assume may be displayed. The status change instruction is accepted, for example, by selecting the status that the user wishes to change to from the possible statuses by right-clicking the mouse.

[0063] When the acquisition unit 221 acquires the user's state change instruction, the information update unit 223 updates the state information 43 based on the acquired state change instruction (S22). That is, the state associated with the user in the state information 43 stored in the storage unit 33 is changed.

[0064] Next, the information update unit 223 identifies coordinates indicating the location of the user when he / she is in the section corresponding to the changed state, based on the map information 41 and the updated state information 43 (S23). Specifically, the information update unit 223 identifies which section, out of the multiple sections set in the map information 41, the state changed by the user, which is included in the state information 43, is associated with, and identifies coordinates indicating the location of the user in the identified section.

[0065] At this time, the information update unit 223 determines whether the number of specified sections is one (S24).

[0066] If it is determined that one section has been identified (Yes in S24), the information update unit 223 determines coordinates indicating the display position of the user's icon after the change based on the identified section, and updates the position information 42 (S25). That is, the coordinates associated with the user's name in the position information 42 stored in the storage unit 23 are changed.

[0067] If it is determined that the number of identified sections is two or more (No in S24), the information update unit 223 determines whether or not a predetermined section (or coordinates) has been registered (S26). The user can previously register a predetermined section (or coordinates) to which the display position of the icon will be moved when a predetermined state is assumed, and the information update unit 223 determines whether or not this has been registered for the state after the user's change.

[0068] If it is determined that the specified section is registered (Yes in S26), the information update unit 223 determines the coordinates indicating the display position of the user's changed icon based on the identified section (or coordinates), and updates the position information 42 (S25).

[0069] If it is determined that the specified section is not registered (No in S26), the information update unit 223 identifies candidate sections based on the map information 41. The display control unit 222 transmits the identified candidate sections to the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 21, the public network 50, and the communication unit 31, and causes the information processing unit 32 to perform processing to display the candidate sections on the display unit 35, thereby presenting the candidate sections to the user (S27).

[0070] Next, the acquisition unit 221 acquires a section selection instruction issued by the user (S28). The section selection instruction is an instruction for the user to select a section in which to display an icon from the presented section candidates. The section selection instruction is accepted by the operation acceptance unit 34 of the user's terminal device 30 and transmitted to the virtual office providing device 20 via the communication unit 31, the public network, and the communication unit 21. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another image displayed in operation example 2 of the virtual office providing device 20 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, a list of candidate sections in which the user's icon will be displayed may be displayed. The section selection instruction is accepted, for example, by selecting one of the candidate sections in which the user's icon will be displayed by right-clicking the mouse.

[0071] When the acquisition unit 221 acquires the section selection instruction, the information update unit 223 determines the coordinates indicating the display position of the icon after the user's change based on the section selection instruction, and updates the position information 42 (S25).

[0072] Finally, the display control unit 222 changes the image of the virtual office displayed on the display unit 35 of the terminal device 30 based on the updated position information 42 and status information 43 (S29). Specifically, the display control unit 222 performs processing to display the updated status information 43 and placement information in which an icon corresponding to the user is placed at the position indicated by the updated position information 42 for the virtual office indicated by the map information 41.

[0073] According to this second operational example, when a user changes their status in the virtual office, if there is only one display position for the icon associated with the user's status, the display position of the user's icon is automatically moved to the display position of the icon associated with the status, thereby facilitating smoother communication between users of the virtual office.

[0074] [Example 1 of Operation Example 2] For example, the operation of the virtual office providing device 20 when "Person B" changes his / her status information to "Working" will be described. In the virtual office constructed using the map information 41 shown in Figure 2, the only section associated with "Working" is the "Concentration Work Room."

[0075] First, we will explain the situation before "Mr. B" changes his status. In the status information 43 shown in Figure 4, "Mr. B"'s status is "Available." By referring to the map information 41 shown in Figure 2 and the location information 42 shown in Figure 3, we can see that "Mr. B" is in a section named "Office 1" and the associated coordinates are (9, 18).

[0076] First, "Person B" performs an operation to change his / her status to "Working". This operation is accepted by the operation accepting unit 34 of "Person B's" terminal device 30. Based on the status change instruction for "Person B" acquired by the acquiring unit 221, the information updating unit 223 changes the status of "Person B" in the status information 43 to "Working".

[0077] By referring to the map information 41, the information update unit 223 identifies that the only section in which the icon of a user whose status is "Working" is displayed is the "Concentration workroom," and determines one coordinate within the "Concentration workroom." The information update unit 223 updates the coordinates indicating the display position of the icon of "Mr. B" in the location information 42 to the determined coordinates. Finally, the display control unit 222 transmits an image of the virtual office in which the position of "Mr. B" has been changed to the "Concentration workroom" and the status has been changed to "Working" to all users' terminal devices 30.

[0078] As described above, according to the virtual office providing device 20, when "Mr. B" changes his / her status in the virtual office to "Working," the display position of "Mr. B"'s icon is automatically changed to "Concentrated work room."

[0079] [Example 2 of Operation Example 2] For example, the operation of the virtual office providing device 20 when "Mr. C" changes his status information to "Available" will be described. In the virtual office constructed using the map information 41 shown in Figure 2, the sections associated with "Available" are "Office 1," "Office 2," and "Office 3."

[0080] First, we will explain the situation before "Mr. C" changes his status. In the status information 43 shown in Figure 4, "Mr. C"'s status is "Working." By referring to the map information 41 shown in Figure 2 and the location information 42 shown in Figure 3, we can see that "Mr. C" is in a section named "Concentration Workroom" and the associated coordinates are (49, 33). Furthermore, "Mr. C" has previously registered to have his icon displayed in a section named "Office 2" when his status is "Available."

[0081] First, "Mr. C" performs an operation to change his / her status to "available." This operation is accepted by the operation accepting unit 34 of "Mr. C's" terminal device 30. Based on the status change instruction for "Mr. C" acquired by the acquiring unit 221, the information updating unit 223 changes the status of "Mr. C" in the status information 43 to "available."

[0082] By referring to the map information 41, the information update unit 223 identifies that the three sections in which the icons of users whose status is "available" are displayed are "Office 1," "Office 2," and "Office 3." Next, the information update unit 223 confirms that "Mr. C" has previously been registered to display his icon in the section named "Office 2" when his status is "available," and determines one coordinate within "Office 2." The information update unit 223 updates the coordinates indicating the display position of "Mr. C"'s icon in the location information 42 to the determined coordinates. Finally, the display control unit 222 transmits an image of the virtual office in which "Mr. C"'s location has been changed to "Office 2" and his status has been changed to "available" to all users' terminal devices 30.

[0083] As described above, according to the virtual office providing device 20, when "Mr. C" changes his status in the virtual office to "Available," the display position of "Mr. C"'s icon is automatically changed to "Office 2."

[0084] [Example 3 of Operation Example 2] For example, the operation of the virtual office providing device 20 when "Mr. D" changes his status information to "Busy" will be described. In the virtual office constructed using the map information 41 shown in Figure 2, the sections associated with "Busy" are "Conference Room 1," "Conference Room 2," "Conference Room 3," "Reception Room," and "On the Phone."

[0085] First, we will explain the situation before "D-san" changes his status. In the status information 43 shown in Fig. 4, "D-san"'s status is "available." By referring to the map information 41 shown in Fig. 2 and the location information 42 shown in Fig. 3, we can see that "D-san" is in a section named "Office 1" and that the associated coordinates are (9, 22).

[0086] First, "D" performs an operation to change his / her status to "busy." This operation is accepted by the operation accepting unit 34 of "D"'s terminal device 30. Based on the status change instruction for "D" acquired by the acquiring unit 221, the information updating unit 223 changes "D"'s status in the status information 43 to "busy."

[0087] By referring to the map information 41, the information update unit 223 identifies that the five sections in which the icon of a user whose status is "busy" is displayed are "Conference Room 1," "Conference Room 2," "Conference Room 3," "Reception Room," and "On the Phone." Next, the information update unit 223 confirms that "Mr. D" has not previously registered a section (or coordinates) in which an icon should be displayed when his status is "busy." Then, the display control unit 222 presents "Conference Room 1," "Conference Room 2," "Conference Room 3," "Reception Room," and "On the Phone" as candidate sections to "Mr. D."

[0088] From the presented candidate sections, "Mr. D" selects the section name "Conference Room 2" to which he or she wishes to move. The information update unit 223 determines one coordinate within "Conference Room 2" and updates the coordinates indicating the display position of "Mr. D"'s icon in the location information 42 to the determined coordinates. Finally, the display control unit 222 transmits an image of the virtual office in which "Mr. D"'s position has been changed to "Conference Room 2" and his or her status has been changed to "Busy" to all users' terminal devices 30.

[0089] As described above, when "Mr. D" changes his status in the virtual office to "Busy," the virtual office providing device 20 presents "Mr. D" with candidate sections and accepts his selection, thereby changing the display position of "Mr. D"'s icon to "Conference Room 2."

[0090] [Effects, etc.] Hereinafter, examples of inventions that can be obtained from the disclosure of this specification will be given, and the effects and the like that can be obtained from the exemplified inventions will be explained.

[0091] Invention 1 is a virtual office providing device 20 that provides a virtual office environment, and includes a storage unit 23 that stores map information 41 that indicates the space of the virtual office, position information 42 that indicates the positions of one or more users in the space, and status information 43 that indicates the status of the one or more users in the space, a communication unit 21 that communicates with one or more terminal devices 30 used by the one or more users via a communication path, and an information processing unit 22 that transmits to the one or more terminal devices 30 placement information and status information 43 that indicate the status in which icons corresponding to the one or more users are placed at positions indicated by the position information 42 in the space indicated by the map information 41, and the information processing unit 22 changes the position of the first user in the space from a first user of the one or more users via the communication unit 21. The virtual office providing device (20) has an acquisition unit (221) that acquires a position change instruction or a state change instruction to change the state in the space of the first user; an information update unit (223) that, when the acquisition unit (221) acquires a state change instruction, updates state information (43) to change the state in the space of the first user in accordance with the state change instruction and updates position information (42) to change the position of the first user in the space to a position corresponding to the changed state; and a display control unit (222) that transmits to one or more terminal devices (30) placement information in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed at a position indicated by the position information (42) after change by the information update unit (223) in relation to the space indicated by map information (41).

[0092] With this virtual office providing device 20, when a user changes the status of the virtual office, the display position of the user's icon is automatically changed to the corresponding position. This prevents the display position of the user's icon from becoming inaccurate, thereby facilitating smoother communication between virtual office users.

[0093] Invention 2 is the virtual office providing device 20 of Invention 1, further comprising: an acquisition unit 221 acquires a position change instruction to change the position of the first user in the space; an information update unit 223, when the acquisition unit 221 acquires a position change instruction, updates position information 42 to change the position of the first user in the space in accordance with the position change instruction, and updates status information 43 to change the state of the first user in the space to a state corresponding to the changed position; and a display control unit 222 transmits to one or more terminal devices 30 placement information in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed at the position indicated by the position information 42 after change by the information update unit 223 in relation to the space indicated by the map information 41, and the status information 43 after change by the information update unit 223.

[0094] With this virtual office providing device 20, when a user changes the display position of an icon in the virtual office, the user's status is automatically changed to the corresponding status. This prevents the user's status from being inaccurate, thereby facilitating smoother communication between virtual office users.

[0095] Invention 3 is a virtual office providing device 20 of Invention 1 or 2, in which the memory unit 23 stores correspondence information indicating the correspondence between each position a user can take in the space and the user's state in the space, and the information update unit 223 identifies the state associated with the changed position or identifies the position associated with the changed state by referring to the correspondence information.

[0096] Such a virtual office providing device 20 manages the user's location and user's status in association with each other, and can therefore identify the new location of the other when one of them is changed.

[0097] Invention 4 is a virtual office providing device 20 of Invention 3, in which the correspondence information includes a correspondence in which a plurality of different positions are associated with one state, and when the information update unit 223 refers to the correspondence information, if there are a plurality of positions associated with the changed state, it accepts a selection from the plurality of positions from the first user and changes the position to the selected position.

[0098] Even when a plurality of positions are associated with one status, such a virtual office providing device 20 can change the position at which the user's icon is displayed in conjunction with the user's status change.

[0099] Invention 5 is a virtual office providing method executed by a computer for providing a virtual office environment, the computer comprising: a storage unit 23 for storing map information 41 indicating the space of the virtual office, position information 42 indicating the positions of one or more users in the space, and status information 43 indicating the status of the one or more users in the space; a communication unit 21 for communicating with one or more terminal devices 30 used by the one or more users via a communication path; and an information processing unit 22 for transmitting to the one or more terminal devices 30 arrangement information and status information 43 indicating a status in which icons corresponding to the one or more users are arranged at positions indicated by the position information 42 in the space indicated by the map information 41, the virtual office providing method comprising the steps of: the information processing unit 22 receiving, via the communication unit 21, information on the space of the first user from a first user of the one or more users; a display control step in which the information processing unit 22 transmits to one or more terminal devices 30 placement information in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed at a position indicated by the position information 42 after the change in the information update step with respect to the space indicated by the map information 41, the position information being indicated by the position information 42 after the change in the information update step, and the state information 43 after the change in the information update step.

[0100] According to this virtual office provision method, when a user changes the status of the virtual office, the display position of the user's icon is changed to the corresponding position, which prevents the display position of the user's icon from becoming inaccurate, thereby facilitating smoother communication between virtual office users.

[0101] Invention 6 is a program that causes a computer to execute the steps included in the virtual office provision method of Invention 5.

[0102] According to such a program, when a user changes the status in the virtual office, the display position of the user's icon is automatically changed to the corresponding position.

[0103] (Other embodiments) The virtual office providing device and method according to the present invention have been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. As long as they do not deviate from the gist of the present invention, various modifications that would occur to those skilled in the art and other forms constructed by combining some of the components of the embodiments are also included within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0104] The present invention is useful, for example, in a virtual office system that supports remote work. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 10 Virtual Office System 20 Virtual office provision equipment 21 Communications Department 22 Information Processing Department 221 Acquisition Department 222 Display control unit 223 Information Update Department 23 Memory section 30 Terminal Equipment 31 Communications Department 32 Information Processing Department 33 Storage section 34 Operation reception section 35 Display section 40 Virtual Office Information 41 Map Information 42 Location information 43 Status Information 50 Public Networks

Claims

1. A virtual office providing device that provides a virtual office environment, a storage unit that stores map information indicating a virtual office space, position information indicating the positions of one or more users in the space, and status information indicating the status of the one or more users in the space; a communication unit that communicates with one or more terminal devices used by the one or more users via a communication path; an information processing unit that transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information indicating a state in which icons corresponding to the one or more users are placed at positions indicated by the position information in a space indicated by the map information, and the state information; The information processing unit an acquisition unit that acquires, from a first user among the one or more users via the communication unit, a state change instruction that changes a state of the first user in the space; an information updating unit that, when the acquiring unit acquires the status change instruction, updates the status information to change the status of the first user in the space in accordance with the status change instruction, and updates the position information to change the position of the first user in the space to a position associated with the changed status; a display control unit configured to transmit to the one or more terminal devices placement information indicating a state in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed at a position indicated by the position information after the change by the information update unit with respect to the space indicated by the map information, and the state information after the change by the information update unit, Virtual office provision device.

2. Further, the acquisition unit acquires a position change instruction to change the position of the first user in the space, when the acquisition unit acquires the position change instruction, the information update unit updates the position information to change the position of the first user in the space in accordance with the position change instruction, and updates the state information to change the state of the first user in the space to a state associated with the changed position; the display control unit transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information indicating a state in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed at a position indicated by the position information after the change by the information update unit with respect to the space indicated by the map information, and the state information after the change by the information update unit; 2. The virtual office providing device according to claim 1.

3. the storage unit stores correspondence relationship information indicating a correspondence relationship between each of positions that the user can take in the space and a state of the user in the space; the information update unit, by referring to the correspondence relationship information, specifies a state associated with the position after the change, or specifies a position associated with the state after the change.

3. The virtual office providing device according to claim 1.

4. the correspondence information includes a correspondence in which one of the states is associated with a plurality of different positions, When the information update unit refers to the correspondence relationship information and there are a plurality of positions associated with the state after the change, the information update unit accepts a selection from the plurality of positions from the first user and changes the position to the selected position.

4. The virtual office providing device according to claim 3.

5. A virtual office providing method for providing a virtual office environment executed by a computer, comprising: The computer a storage unit that stores map information indicating a virtual office space, position information indicating the positions of one or more users in the space, and status information indicating the status of the one or more users in the space; a communication unit that communicates with one or more terminal devices used by the one or more users via a communication path; an information processing unit that transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information indicating a state in which icons corresponding to the one or more users are placed at positions indicated by the position information in the space indicated by the map information, and the state information; The virtual office providing method includes: an acquisition step in which the information processing unit acquires, via the communication unit, from a first user among the one or more users, a state change instruction to change a state of the first user in the space; an information updating step of updating the state information so as to change the state of the first user in the space in accordance with the state change instruction when the information processing unit acquires the state change instruction in the acquiring step, and updating the position information so as to change the position of the first user in the space to a position associated with the changed state; a display control step in which the information processing unit transmits to the one or more terminal devices placement information indicating a state in which an icon corresponding to the first user is placed at a position indicated by the position information after the change in the information update step with respect to the space indicated by the map information, and the state information after the change in the information update step, How to provide a virtual office.

6. 6. A program that causes a computer to execute the steps included in the virtual office providing method according to claim 5.

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