Program, information processing method, terminal, and server

Abstract

To improve the convenience related to outputting audio information and video information transmitted and received in a group.SOLUTION: A program executed by a terminal that outputs audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group causes the terminal to perform: outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group including a user of the terminal by an output unit of the terminal; based on a first input to the terminal by the user of the terminal, performing control, by a control unit of the terminal, to stop outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group; and displaying information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group on a display unit of the terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1-1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, an information processing method, a terminal, a server, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] As a technology for enabling users to communicate with each other, there is, for example, a technology relating to electronic conferences (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-232123 Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a program executed by a terminal that outputs audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group outputs the audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group including the user of the terminal by an output unit of the terminal, controls the control unit of the terminal to stop outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input by the user of the terminal to the terminal, and displays information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group on a display unit of the terminal. According to a second aspect of the present invention, an information processing method for a terminal that outputs sound information and video information transmitted and received in a first group includes outputting the sound information and video information transmitted and received in a first group including a user of the terminal by an output unit of the terminal; controlling a control unit of the terminal to stop outputting the sound information and video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input by the user of the terminal to the terminal; and displaying information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group on a display unit of the terminal. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a terminal that outputs audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group comprises an output unit that outputs the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group including the user of the terminal, a control unit that controls to stop the output of the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input to the terminal by the user of the terminal, and a display unit that displays information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a terminal that outputs audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group includes a processor that reads a program stored in a memory and executes processing based on the program, and the processor performs the following operations: outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group including the user of the terminal by an output unit of the terminal; controlling to stop the output of the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input by the user of the terminal to the terminal; and displaying information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group on a display unit of the terminal. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a server that relays audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group includes a control unit that controls to stop transmitting audio information and video information transmitted from a terminal included in the first group to the first terminal based on a first input by a user of the first terminal, and a communication unit that transmits information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group to the first terminal. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1-1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. [Figure 1-2] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-4] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of account registration data according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-5]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a meeting management database according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-7] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-8] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-9] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-10] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-11] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room video distribution process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-12] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room topic update process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a first modified example. [Figure 2-1] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 2-2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 2-3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 2-4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 2-5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 2-6] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room transfer process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 3-1] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third embodiment. [Figure 3-2] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room topic update process according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-3]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third modified example. [Figure 3-4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third modified example. [Figure 3-5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to a third modified example. [Figure 3-6] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room merging process according to a third modified example. [Figure 4-1] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a meeting management database according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 4-2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 4-3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 4-4] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 5-1] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a meeting management database according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-4] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-5] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process for inviting members of other rooms according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 5-6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fifth modified example. [Figure 5-7] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process for inviting other room members according to a fifth modified example. [Figure 5-8] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process for inviting other room members according to a fifth modified example. [Figure 6-1] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 6-2] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process for inviting members of other rooms according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 6-3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a sixth modified example. [Figure 6-4] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process for inviting members of other rooms according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 7-1] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 7-2] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 7-3] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process for inviting members of other rooms according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 8-1] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the eighth embodiment. [Figure 8-2] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to the eighth embodiment. [Figure 8-3] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process for expressing interest in other rooms according to the eighth embodiment. [Figure 9-1] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the ninth embodiment. [Figure 9-2] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to a ninth embodiment. [Figure 9-3] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room video distribution process according to the ninth embodiment. [Figure 10-1] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a meeting management database according to the tenth embodiment. [Figure 10-2] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a tenth embodiment. [Figure 10-3] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a tenth embodiment. [Figure 10-4] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a tenth embodiment. [Figure 10-5]23 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to a tenth embodiment. [Figure 10-6] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a tenth embodiment. [Figure 10-7] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a tenth embodiment. [Figure 11-1] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to an eleventh embodiment. [Figure 11-2] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to an eleventh embodiment. [Figure 11-3] 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in a communication system according to an eleventh embodiment. [Figure 11-4] 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room video distribution process according to the eleventh embodiment. [Figure 12-1] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the twelfth embodiment. [Figure 13-1] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the thirteenth embodiment. [Figure 13-2] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the thirteenth embodiment. [Figure 13-3] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the thirteenth embodiment. [Figure 13-4] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to the thirteenth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] <Compliance with legal matters> It should be noted that the disclosures set forth herein are subject to compliance with the laws of the country of implementation, such as communications privacy, as required for the implementation of the disclosures.

[0007] <Embodiment> In this specification, for ease of understanding, there are places where the phrase "by way of example and not limitation" is used, but please note that not only those places but also the entire embodiment described below are not limited to the contents of that description.

[0008] An embodiment for implementing a program etc. according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] A system may be, by way of example and not limitation, comprised of multiple devices. The plurality of devices may be a combination of devices of the same type, a combination of devices of different types, or a combination of devices of the same type and devices of different types. Note that a system can be thought of as, for example and not as a limitation, a plurality of devices working together to perform some kind of processing.

[0010] Furthermore, a system relating to a client (client device) and a server can be considered to be, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of the following: (1) Terminals and servers (2) Server (3) Terminal

[0011] (1) is, by way of example and not limitation, a system that includes at least one terminal and at least one server. One example of this is a client-server system.

[0012] The server is configured by the following devices, by way of example and not limitation, and may be a single device or a combination of multiple devices.

[0013] Specifically, the server is configured to have at least one processor (for example, but not limited to, CPU: Central Processing Unit, GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, APU: Accelerated Processing Unit, DSP: Digital Signal Processor (for example, but not limited to, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array), etc.), computer device (processor + memory), control device, arithmetic device, processing device, etc., and may be configured to have multiple of the same type of any one device (for example, but not limited to, CPU + CPU, homogeneous multi-core processor, etc.), or multiple of different types of any one device (for example, but not limited to, CPU + DSP, heterogeneous multi-core processor, etc.), or may be a combination of multiple devices (for example, but not limited to, processor + computer device, processor + arithmetic device, multiple devices made heterogeneous, etc.). The processor may be a virtual processor.

[0014] Furthermore, when a server performs some processing, if the server is configured with a single device, the processing described in the embodiments is performed by the single device. Furthermore, if the server is configured with multiple devices, some processing may be performed by one device, and other processing may be performed by another device. For example, and not by way of limitation, if the server is configured with a processor and an arithmetic device, the processor may perform a first processing, and the arithmetic device may perform a second processing. Furthermore, when a plurality of devices are used, the devices may be located at positions physically separated from one another.

[0015] Furthermore, the functions of the server may be provided in the form of PaaS, IaaS, or SaaS in cloud computing, for example and without limitation.

[0016] The control unit of the system can be at least one of the control unit of the terminal and the control unit of the server, i.e., by way of example and not limitation, the control unit of the system can be either (1A) only the control unit of the terminal, (1B) only the control unit of the server, or (1C) both the control unit of the terminal and the control unit of the server.

[0017] Furthermore, the control and processing (hereinafter collectively referred to as "control, etc.") performed by the control unit of the system may be performed by (1A) only the control unit of the terminal, (1B) only the control unit of the server, or (1C) both the control unit of the terminal and the control unit of the server. In addition, in (1C), as an example and not a limitation, some of the controls performed by the system's control unit may be performed by the terminal's control unit, and the remaining controls may be performed by the server's control unit. In this case, the allocation of controls may be equal or may be allocated in different proportions.

[0018] Furthermore, when referring to the communication unit of a server, if the server is configured with a single device, it may refer to the communication unit itself that the single device has, or if the server is configured with multiple devices, it may be configured to include each communication unit that each device has. As an example and not by way of limitation, if a server comprises a first device and a second device, and the first device has a first communication unit and the second device has a second communication unit, the communication unit of the server may be conceptualized as including the first communication unit and the second communication unit.

[0019] (2) is not limited to, but may be, for example, a system consisting of multiple servers (hereinafter referred to as a "server system"). In this case, the configuration of each server can be similarly applied to the configuration described above.

[0020] The control etc. performed by the server system may be performed by only one of the multiple servers (2A), by only the other servers (2B), or by both the one server and the other servers (2C). In addition, in (2C), as an example and not a limitation, one server may perform some of the control, etc., performed by the server system, and another server may perform the remaining control, etc. In this case, the allocation (allocation) of the control, etc. may be equal or may be allocated in different proportions.

[0021] (3) By way of example and not limitation, the system may be comprised of multiple terminals. The system may be, by way of example and not limitation, a system such as the following: A system that gives server functions to terminals (distributed system). This can be realized using blockchain technology, for example and not by way of limitation. A system in which terminals communicate wirelessly with each other. This can be realized by, for example and without limitation, communicating using a P2P (peer-to-peer) method using short-range wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0022] The above is not limited to the control unit, but also applies to each functional unit such as an input / output unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, and a clock unit that may be components of the system.

[0023] In the following embodiment, a system including a terminal and a server (a client-server system) is illustrated as an example and not as a limitation. It is also possible to apply the server system described in (2) above as the server.

[0024] Furthermore, instead of a system including a terminal and a server, a system not including a server, such as the system in (3) above, can also be applied, but is not limited to this. In this case, the embodiment can be configured based on the above-mentioned blockchain technology, etc. Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, data stored and managed in a server described in the following embodiment is stored on the blockchain. Then, a terminal can generate a transaction to the blockchain, and when the transaction is approved on the blockchain, the data stored on the blockchain can be updated.

[0025] It should be noted that even when the term "terminal" is used, this is not limited to the meaning of a terminal as a client device in a client server. That is, a terminal may include the concept of a device that is not in a client-server context.

[0026] Furthermore, in this specification, the expression "through a communication I / F" is used as appropriate. This is not intended to be limiting, but may also mean, for example, that a device transmits and receives various information and data through a communication I / F (through a communication unit) based on the control of a control unit (such as a processor).

[0027] Furthermore, in this specification, when the terms "related to" or "related to" are used, "B related to A" or "B related to A" may mean, by way of example and not limitation, that "B" has some relationship with "A." Specific examples of this will be described later.

[0028] Furthermore, in this specification, when a device performs processing on two or more objects, such as "sending A and B" or "receiving A and B," this may include performing "A" and "B" at the same time (hereinafter referred to as "simultaneous"), and performing "A" and "B" at different times (hereinafter referred to as "non-simultaneous"). As an example and not a limitation, when referring to transmitting first information and second information, this may include both concepts of transmitting the first information and the second information at the same time, and transmitting the first information and the second information at different times. In addition, taking into account the lag (time lag), "simultaneous" may include "almost simultaneously."

[0029] Note that even though "A" and "B" are performed at different times, this only needs to be done with "A" and "B" as the processing targets, and the purposes do not necessarily have to be the same. By way of example and not limitation, when the first information and the second information are transmitted as described above, it is sufficient to transmit the first information and the second information, and this may include cases where the first information and the second information are transmitted for the same purpose, as well as cases where the first information and the second information are transmitted for different purposes.

[0030] In the following embodiments, an online meeting service will be exemplified as an example of a service that allows users to hold meetings online. An application for realizing the online meeting service will be referred to as an "online meeting application."

[0031] In this specification, content may refer to information transmitted from a source to a destination, and may refer to one or more pieces of content.

[0032] The content may include, by way of example and not limitation, text content in text format, image content in image format (including at least one of still images and moving images), and sound content in sound format (including voice). In addition, it may also include operational content such as buttons and icons for user operation, and link content such as link information (including, but not limited to, URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers)).

[0033] The text may include, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of national characters, extended characters, platform-dependent characters, numbers, symbols, graphics, and symbols, as represented by character codes. The text does not have to include at least one of the above characters, extended characters, machine-dependent characters, numbers, symbols, figures, and codes, and may include other text.

[0034] The image may include at least one of various types of image information such as, for example but not limited to, an icon, a button, a stamp, an emoji, and a banner image.

[0035] <Example> Examples will be described below. Recently, there have been an increasing number of opportunities for users to communicate with each other, such as through conversations, meetings, dinner parties, drinking parties, etc., by way of example and not limitation, using audio and video (or at least audio).

[0036] First, the group will be described. As one concept, a group can be considered to be a group (collection, division) consisting of at least one user when users communicate using an application, etc. Also, since a group is managed as data in a device, it can also be considered to be a type of data (data configuration).

[0037] In the following, an "online meeting application" will be exemplified as an application for users of the terminals 20 to hold online meetings using audio and video, but is not limited thereto. Although the term "meeting" is used, it is not limited to being used for a meeting, but may be used for communication such as conversation, dinner party, drinking party, etc. Also, it may be an application that uses only audio.

[0038] In the following, we will use a "room" as an example of a method for realizing (representing) a group in an online meeting application. Like a group, a room can also be considered a collection of at least one user, and because it is managed as data in a device, it can also be considered a type of data (data configuration). As another example of a method for realizing (representing) a group in an online meeting application, a "team" or a "channel" may be used.

[0039] Rooms may include, but are not limited to, meeting rooms for holding meetings, waiting bench rooms (described later), etc. Note that "Room A, Room B, Room C, etc." refers to meeting rooms, and bench rooms are distinguished from these.

[0040] Based on the above, in the first to twelfth embodiments, a group and a room will be described as being essentially synonymous. That is, users included in a group (hereinafter referred to as "group members") are also users included in a room (hereinafter referred to as "room members").

[0041] From the device (user) perspective, a room can be considered a type of UI (GUI). Therefore, a group represented by a UI (GUI) can be considered a "room." The same can be said for teams, channels, etc.

[0042] In this specification, "moving image information" may refer to information including video information and audio information. Also, video information with audio information may or may not be called moving image information. Alternatively, the moving image information may be information of only moving images (=video information) that does not include sound information.

[0043] <First Example> The first embodiment is an embodiment that enables room members of one meeting room to know information such as topics being discussed in other meeting rooms.

[0044] The contents described in the first embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0045] <System configuration> FIG. 1-1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the communication system 1, for example and not by way of limitation, a server 10 and a plurality of terminals 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, . . . ) are connected via a network 30.

[0046] The server 10 has a function of providing a predetermined service (for example, but not limited to, an online meeting service) to a terminal 20 owned by a user via a network 30. The server 10 can also be expressed as an online meeting server, for example, but not limited to. In this embodiment, an online meeting service provider (operator) is considered to be a user of the server 10.

[0047] The number of servers 10 and the number of terminals 20 connected to the network 30 are not limited.

[0048] The terminal 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, etc.) may be any information processing terminal capable of implementing the functions described in each embodiment. Examples of the terminal 20 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones (feature phones), tablet terminals, computers (such as, but not limited to, desktops, laptops, and tablets), media computer platforms (such as, but not limited to, cable and satellite set-top boxes and digital video recorders), handheld computer devices (such as, but not limited to, personal digital assistants (PDAs), email clients, etc.), wearable devices (such as glasses and watch devices), virtual reality (VR) terminals, smart speakers (voice recognition devices), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The terminal 20 may also be referred to as an information processing terminal.

[0049] The configurations of terminal 20A, terminal 20B, and terminal 20C can be the same, for example and not by way of limitation. Furthermore, as necessary, the terminal used by user X may be expressed as terminal 20X, and user information in a predetermined service associated with user X or terminal 20X may or may not be expressed as user information X. The user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in a predetermined service. The user information includes, but is not limited to, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, an icon image of the user, the user's age, the user's gender, the user's address, the user's hobbies and interests, and a user identifier, which is input by the user or assigned by the predetermined service, and may be any one of these, or a combination thereof, or may not be the same.

[0050] The network 30 serves to connect one or more terminals 20 and one or more servers 10. In other words, the network 30 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the above-mentioned various devices can connect and then send and receive data.

[0051] One or more portions of network 30 may or may not be a wired or wireless network. Network 30 may include, by way of example and not limitation, an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, integrated service digital networks (ISDN), wireless LAN, long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth, satellite communications, etc., or a combination of two or more thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

[0052] The server 10 (which is an example of a server, information processing device, or information management device, but is not limited thereto) has a function of providing a predetermined service to the terminal 20. The server 10 may be any device that is an information processing device that can realize the functions described in each embodiment. The server 10 includes, but is not limited to, a server device, a computer (such as a desktop, laptop, or tablet), a media computer platform (such as a cable or satellite set-top box or digital video recorder), a handheld computer device (such as a PDA or email client), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The server 10 may also be referred to as an information processing device. When there is no need to distinguish between the server 10 and the terminal 20, the server 10 and the terminal 20 may or may not each be referred to as an information processing device.

[0053] [Hardware (HW) configuration of each device] The hardware configuration of each device included in the communication system 1 will be described.

[0054] (1) Hardware configuration of the terminal FIG. 1-1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a storage unit 28, a communication I / F 22 (interface), an input / output unit 23, a clock unit 29A, and a position calculation information detection unit 29B. The HW components of the terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not as a limitation. It is not essential that the HW configuration of the terminal 20 includes all of the components. For example and not as a limitation, the terminal 20 may or may not be configured such that individual components or multiple components are detachable.

[0055] The communication I / F 22 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. The communication I / F 22 has a function of communicating with various devices such as the server 10 via the network 30. The communication I / F 22 transmits various data to various devices such as the server 10 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 21. The communication I / F 22 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as the server 10 and transmits it to the control unit 21. The communication I / F 22 may also be simply referred to as a communication unit. When the communication I / F 22 is configured as a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0056] The input / output unit 23 includes a device for inputting various operations to the terminal 20, a device for outputting processing results processed by the terminal 20, etc. The input / output unit 23 may be an integrated input unit and an output unit, or may be separate input unit and output unit, or may not be so.

[0057] The input unit is realized by any one of or a combination of all types of devices that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 21. Examples of the input unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, hardware keys such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera (operation input via moving images), and a microphone (operation input by voice).

[0058] The output unit is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices that can output the processing results processed by the control unit 21. Examples of the output unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker (audio output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output or hologram output), a printer, etc.

[0059] By way of example only, the input / output unit 23 includes, but is not limited to, a display unit 24, a sound input unit 25, a sound output unit 26, and an imaging unit 27.

[0060] The display unit 24 is realized by any one of all types of devices or a combination thereof that can display according to the display data written to the frame buffer. Examples of the display unit 24 include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)), a head mounted display (HDM), projection mapping, a hologram, and a device that can display images, text information, etc. in air (which may or may not be a vacuum). Note that these display units 24 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D.

[0061] The sound input unit 25 is used to input sound data (including voice data; the same applies below.) The sound input unit 25 includes a microphone and the like. The sound output unit 26 is used to output sound data and includes a speaker and the like. The imaging unit 27 is used to acquire image data (including still image data and moving image data; the same applies below.) The imaging unit 27 includes a camera and the like.

[0062] When the input / output unit 23 is a touch panel, the input / output unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be disposed opposite each other and have approximately the same size and shape.

[0063] The clock unit 29A is a built-in clock of the terminal 20, and outputs time information (timekeeping information). The clock unit 29A is configured to include, for example and not by way of limitation, a clock that uses a crystal oscillator. The clock unit 29A can also be expressed as a timekeeping unit or a time information detection unit, for example and not by way of limitation.

[0064] The clock unit 29A may or may not have a clock that conforms to the NITZ (Network Identity and Time Zone) standard or the like.

[0065] The position calculation information detection unit 29B is a functional unit that detects (measures) information (hereinafter referred to as "position calculation information") necessary for the control unit 21 to calculate (measure) the position of its own terminal 20. The position calculation information detection unit 29B can also be expressed as a position calculation sensor unit, for example and not by way of limitation.

[0066] The position calculation information detection unit 29B includes, by way of example and not limitation, a satellite positioning sensor (satellite positioning unit) which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), an inertial measurement sensor (inertial measurement unit (IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit))) which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using an inertial navigation system, a UWB positioning sensor (UWB positioning unit) which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using UWB (Ultra Wide Band), and the like.

[0067] The satellite positioning unit includes, by way of example and not limitation, an RF receiving circuit that converts RF (Radio Frequency) signals, including positioning satellite signals transmitted from positioning satellites and received by an antenna (not shown), into digital signals, and a baseband processing circuit that performs correlation calculation processing on the digital signals output from the RF receiving circuit to capture the positioning satellite signals, and outputs information such as satellite orbit data and time data extracted from the positioning satellite signals as information for position calculation.

[0068] The inertial measurement unit has an inertial sensor that is a sensor that detects information necessary for calculating the position of the terminal 20 by inertial navigation calculation. The inertial sensor includes, but is not limited to, a three-axis acceleration sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor, and outputs the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor and the angular velocity detected by the gyro sensor as information for position calculation.

[0069] The UWB positioning unit includes, for example and without limitation, an ultra-wideband RF (Radio Frequency) receiving circuit that converts an ultra-wideband RF signal, including an ultra-wideband pulse signal for positioning transmitted from a positioning beacon and received by an antenna (not shown), into a digital signal, and a relative position calculation processing circuit that calculates the relative position between the terminal 20 and the positioning beacon based on the digital signal output from the ultra-wideband RF receiving circuit. By way of example and not limitation, the UWB positioning unit may or may not cause terminal 20 to function as a positioning beacon by transmitting an ultra-wideband RF signal including an ultra-wideband pulse signal for positioning from an antenna not shown.

[0070] For example, and not by way of limitation, control unit 21 calculates the position of its own terminal 20 at regular intervals or specific intervals based on the position calculation information detected by position calculation information detection unit 29B. The terminal position is referred to as the "terminal position," and the calculated terminal position is referred to as the "calculated terminal position." Control unit 21 may, but need not, associate the calculated terminal position with the date and time when the calculated terminal position was calculated and store the calculated terminal position in storage unit 28 as calculated terminal position history data.

[0071] The control unit 21 has a circuit physically structured to execute the functions realized by the code or instructions contained in the program, and is realized by, for example and not by a data processing device built into hardware. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

[0072] The control unit 21 includes, by way of example and not limitation, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0073] The storage unit 28 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, but is not limited to, various storage media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). Furthermore, the storage unit 28 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0074] Terminal 20 stores program P in storage unit 28, and by executing this program P, control unit 21 executes the processing of each unit included in control unit 21. In other words, program P stored in storage unit 28 causes terminal 20 to realize each function executed by control unit 21. Furthermore, this program P may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0075] (2) Server hardware configuration FIG. 1-1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server 10. In FIG. The server 10 includes a control unit 11 (CPU), a storage unit 15, a communication I / F 14 (interface), an input / output unit 12, and a clock unit 19. The components of the HW of the server 10 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not as a limitation. Note that the HW of the server 10 does not necessarily have to include all components as a configuration of the HW of the server 10. For example and not as a limitation, the HW of the server 10 may or may not be configured such that individual components or multiple components are removable.

[0076] The control unit 11 has circuits physically structured to execute the functions realized by the codes or instructions contained in the program, and is realized by, for example and not by way of limitation, a data processing device built into hardware.

[0077] The control unit 11 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC, or an FPGA. In the present disclosure, the control unit 11 is not limited to these.

[0078] The storage unit 15 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, an SSD, and a flash memory. However, in the present disclosure, the storage unit 15 is not limited to these. Furthermore, the storage unit 15 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0079] The communication I / F 14 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. The communication I / F 14 has a function of communicating with various devices such as the terminal 20 via the network 30. The communication I / F 14 transmits various data to various devices such as the terminal 20 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 11. The communication I / F 14 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as the terminal 20 and transmits it to the control unit 11. The communication I / F 14 may also be simply referred to as a communication unit. When the communication I / F 14 is configured as a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0080] The input / output unit 12 includes a device for inputting various operations to the server 10, a device for outputting processing results processed by the server 10, etc. The input / output unit 12 may be an integrated input unit and an output unit, or may be separate input unit and output unit, or may not be the same.

[0081] The input unit is realized by any one of or a combination of all types of devices that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input unit is typically realized by hardware keys such as a keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input unit may or may not include, for example and without limitation, a touch panel, a camera (for operation input via moving images), or a microphone (for operation input by voice).

[0082] The output unit is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices that can output the processing results processed by the control unit 11. Examples of the output unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker (sound output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output or hologram output), a printer, etc.

[0083] By way of example only, the input / output unit 12 includes a display unit 13, by way of example and not limitation.

[0084] The display unit 13 is realized by a display or the like. The display is typically realized by a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)). The display may or may not be a head-mounted display (HDM) or the like. These displays may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D. In the present disclosure, the display is not limited to these.

[0085] The clock unit 19 is a built-in clock of the server 10, and outputs time information (timekeeping information). The clock unit 19 is configured to include, for example and without limitation, an RTC (Real Time Clock) as a hardware clock, a system clock, etc. The clock unit 19 can also be expressed as, for example and without limitation, a timekeeping unit or a time information detection unit. (3) Other Server 10 stores program P in storage unit 15, and by executing this program P, control unit 11 executes the processes of each unit included in control unit 11. In other words, program P stored in storage unit 15 causes server 10 to realize each function executed by control unit 11. This program P may or may not be expressed as a program module. The same applies to other devices.

[0086] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the description will be given assuming that the CPU of the terminal 20 and / or the server 10 executes the program P to realize the present invention.

[0087] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 and / or the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not realize each process not only by a CPU having a control circuit but also by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), or a dedicated circuit. These circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and multiple processes shown in each embodiment may or may not be realized by a single integrated circuit. LSIs may also be called VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc. depending on the degree of integration. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

[0088] Furthermore, the program P (for example, but not limited to, a software program, a computer program, or a program module) of each embodiment of the present disclosure may or may not be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can store the program P in a "non-transitory tangible medium." The program P may or may not be intended to realize part of the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the program P may or may not be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure in combination with a program P already recorded on a storage medium.

[0089] Furthermore, when referring to a system program (a program executed by a system), the system is as described above. The aforementioned system program is a program that can be executed by the entire system, and this program may be composed of individual programs for the devices that make up the system, for example and without limitation, and the programs stored in the individual devices that make up the system may be different from one another. In other words, it is not necessary for the individual devices that make up the system to share a common program. As a non-limiting example, if a system is composed of a terminal and a server, and the system program is P1, then the system program P1 may be composed of a program P2 stored on the terminal and a program P3 stored on the server, and P2 and P3 are for executing the system program and may be different programs. As a non-limiting example, the program P2 stored on the terminal may be a program that performs a first process and sends the results of the first process to the server, and the program P3 stored on the server may be a program that performs a second process on the received results of the first process and sends the results of the second process to the terminal.

[0090] The storage medium may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (such as, by way of example and not limitation, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific ICs (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards, or drives, any other suitable storage media, or any suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, where appropriate. The storage medium is not limited to these examples and may be any device or medium capable of storing the program P. Furthermore, the storage medium may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0091] The server 10 and / or the terminal 20 can implement the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by reading out the program P stored in the storage medium and executing the read out program P.

[0092] Furthermore, the program P of the present disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting a program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The server 10 and / or the terminal 20, by way of example and not limitation, executes the program P downloaded via the Internet or the like to realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment.

[0093] In addition, each embodiment of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a data signal in which the program P is embodied by electronic transmission. At least a part of the processing in the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 may or may not be realized by cloud computing configured by one or more computers. At least a part or all of the processing in the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. In this case, at least a part or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. At least a part or all of the processing in the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. In this case, at least a part or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20.

[0094] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the judgment configuration in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not essential, and a predetermined process may or may not be performed when the judgment condition is met, or when the judgment condition is not met.

[0095] The programs of the present disclosure are implemented using, for example and without limitation, scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), compiler languages ​​such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages ​​such as HTML Living Standard.

[0096] Furthermore, the program executed by the terminal may be, for example and without limitation, a program executed as a native application, a program executed as a web application, or a program executed as a hybrid application.

[0097] <Functional configuration> (1) Server functional configuration FIG. 1-2 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the control unit 11 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The control unit 11 includes, as a functional unit, an application management processing unit 111 for executing application management processing in accordance with an application management processing program 151 stored in the storage unit 15, for example and not by way of limitation.

[0098] FIG. 1-3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The storage unit 15 stores, by way of example and not limitation, an application management processing program 151 executed as application management processing, account registration data 153, and a meeting management database 155.

[0099] The account registration data 153 is registration data related to the account of the application (online meeting application), and an example of the data configuration is shown in FIG. 1-4. In the account registration data 153, for example and without limitation, a user name, an application ID, and other registration information are stored in association with each other.

[0100] The user name is the name of the account of the terminal 20 that uses this application, and as a non-limiting example, the name that the user of the terminal 20 registers when using the application is stored.

[0101] The application ID is information used to identify an application account, or the account itself. This application ID is preferably a value that is unique for each account, and as a non-limiting example, a unique value (proper value) is set and stored by the server 10 for each account. The application ID is information associated with the terminal 20 or the user of the terminal 20, and is an example of information about the terminal or information about the user of the terminal.

[0102] Other registration information may include, but is not limited to, various types of information such as identification information for identifying terminal 20, the telephone number of terminal 20 (terminal telephone number), email address (terminal email address), and authentication information such as passwords (login password, authentication password, etc.) used for various authentications in applications.

[0103] The identification information for identifying the terminal 20 may be, for example and not by way of limitation, a terminal ID (for example and not by way of limitation, an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity)). Furthermore, the identification information for identifying the user of the terminal 20 can be, for example and without limitation, an application ID for a general user or an application ID for an official user.

[0104] Note that the application ID may or may not be replaced by a "user ID." Furthermore, for an application in which only one account can be registered per terminal 20, as an example and not a limitation, the following can be used: "identification information for identifying terminal 20 = identification information for identifying the user of terminal 20 = application ID."

[0105] Also, by way of example and not limitation, it may or may not be possible to assign multiple terminal IDs to one application ID. In this case, it may or may not be possible to simultaneously launch an application on multiple terminals 20 using one application ID as an identification (login) target.

[0106] Furthermore, instead of various IDs such as application IDs, it is also possible to apply a method of managing accounts using information such as terminal phone numbers. In this case, instead of storing information on IDs such as application IDs in account registration data 153, information on terminal telephone numbers and the like can be stored in account registration data 153. It is also possible to have one-to-one correspondence between information on IDs such as application IDs and information on terminal telephone numbers and the like, without replacing information on IDs such as application IDs with information on terminal telephone numbers and the like, but this is not required.

[0107] In the following various embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that one account is registered for one terminal 20. Furthermore, in this case, as described above, "identification information for identifying terminal 20 = identification information for identifying the user of terminal 20 = application ID," so the term "user of the account" used in the following explanation may be considered to be essentially synonymous with "terminal of the account."

[0108] The meeting management database 155 is a database that stores data for managing online meetings in an online meeting application, and an example of the data configuration of a meeting management database 155A is shown in FIG. 1-5. Meeting management database 155A stores meeting management data as management data for each meeting.

[0109] Each meeting management data includes, by way of example and not limitation, a meeting ID, a meeting master ID, and meeting room management data.

[0110] The meeting ID is an ID for uniquely identifying each overall meeting (hereinafter referred to as "overall meeting"), and as a non-limiting example, an ID is set and stored by the server 10 each time a general meeting is held. The general meeting identified by this meeting ID can be a single meeting as a whole, hosted by a meeting master or the like, in which users split into multiple meeting rooms and hold individual meetings (hereinafter referred to as "individual meetings").

[0111] The meeting master may be, by way of example and not limitation, any of the following users: The user who made a request to the server 10 to hold a general meeting (this may also be the user who created the general room) Users who are registered in advance in the server 10 as authorized users when holding meetings within an organization (such as the head or superior of the organization, or users determined by discussion or voting within the organization) A user who is registered in advance on the server 10 as a leader user when holding a meeting among friends Users decided after the meeting starts (during the meeting) (for example, but not limited to, users decided after the meeting starts through discussion or voting among all or some users (including when meetings are held within the above-mentioned organization or among friends)) It should be noted that these are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. The meeting master may also be called a meeting host, organizer, or the like.

[0112] The meeting master ID is the application ID of the user who is the meeting master, and among the application IDs stored in the account registration data 153, the application ID of the user who has become the meeting master is identified and stored by the server 10.

[0113] The meeting room management data is, by way of example and not limitation, data for managing a meeting room for holding individual meetings within a general meeting identified by this meeting ID, and by way of example and not limitation, the room ID, room name, room member ID, and room topic are stored in association with each other.

[0114] In the first to twelfth embodiments, as described above, it is assumed that, within one general meeting, users split into multiple meeting rooms to hold individual meetings, and information regarding multiple meeting rooms is stored in each meeting management data.

[0115] The room ID is an ID for uniquely identifying a meeting room, and as a non-limiting example, a unique ID is set and stored by the server 10 for each meeting room.

[0116] The room name is the name of the meeting room, and by way of example and not limitation, the name is stored by the server 10 based on information received from the terminal 20 of the account that wishes to set the meeting room name. The name may be determined by the meeting master or by any of the room members of each meeting room.

[0117] The room member ID is the application ID of the room member included in the meeting room, and among the application IDs stored in the account registration data 153, the application ID of the user who has become a room member of this meeting room is identified and stored by the server 10.

[0118] The room topic is a topic or topic of a meeting taking place in the meeting room. This room topic is identified and stored by the server 10 based on, for example but not limited to, audio information, video information, etc., sent and received in the meeting room.

[0119] In addition, the meeting room management data may store room information other than that described above, such as, but not limited to, the amount of comments made by each room member (amount of comments made by each room member ID), links shared within the meeting room, and image storage locations.

[0120] In the account registration data 153 of FIG. 1-4, for example and not by way of limitation, the application ID of user AA is stored as "U0001" and the application ID of user BB is stored as "U0002". In addition, in the meeting management data illustrated at the front of the meeting management database 155A in FIG. 1-5, user AA (application ID "U0001") and user BB (application ID "U0002") are stored as room members included in a meeting room with room ID "R0001" and room name "Room A." In other words, a group is made up of multiple room members (or their terminals 20) including user AA and user BB, and this group is configured to hold a meeting in room A.

[0121] Similarly, in the account registration data 153 of FIG. 1-4, by way of example and not limitation, the application ID of user EE is stored as "U0005" and the application ID of user FF is stored as "U0006." In addition, in the meeting management data illustrated at the front of the meeting management database 155A in FIG. 1-5, user EE (application ID "U0005") and user FF (application ID "U0006") are stored as room members included in a meeting room with room ID "R0002" and room name "Room B." In other words, a group is made up of multiple room members (or their terminals 20) including user EE and user FF, and this group is configured to hold a meeting in Room B.

[0122] In the following explanation, for convenience, the terminals 20 of room members included in the same room may be referred to as "room member terminals," and room member terminals other than the target terminal 20 (including terminals 20 not shown in the flowchart) may be referred to as "other room member terminals."

[0123] It should be noted that the number of room member terminals does not necessarily need to be multiple, and may be "one." In other words, as described above, the number of room members may be "one person." In addition to the above-mentioned meeting rooms and bench rooms, there may be rooms with no users. In this case, the rooms may be, for example and without limitation, in an "empty" state.

[0124] In the following description, for convenience, a room that does not include the user may be referred to as an “other room.” The other room may be any of the following rooms: Other meeting rooms when you are included in the meeting room ·Meeting room if you are included in the bench room ·Meeting rooms when you are not included in either the meeting room or bench room The other rooms may or may not include a bench room.

[0125] (2) Functional configuration of the terminal FIG. 1-6 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. The control unit 21 includes, as a functional unit, an application processing unit 211 for executing application processing in accordance with an application processing program 281 stored in the storage unit 28, for example and not by way of limitation.

[0126] FIG. 1-7 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. In the storage unit 28, for example and without limitation, an application processing program 281 to be executed as application processing and an application ID 283 corresponding to the terminal 20 or the account of the user of the terminal 20 are stored.

[0127] The meeting management data of the meeting management database 155 of the server 10 may be stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in a synchronized manner.

[0128] <Display screen> In the following, as an example and not a limitation, a case will be illustrated in which the terminal 20 is a tablet terminal equipped with a display unit 24 that is a landscape display.

[0129] For example, but not by way of limitation, a tablet device has a touch panel that functions as an input unit and is disposed opposite the display, thereby constituting a touch screen. When an element such as an icon, button, item, or input area is displayed on the display, and a part of the touch panel that faces the area where the element is displayed is operated by a user, a program associated with the element or a subroutine of that program is executed.

[0130] The transition of the display screens described below is merely an example of the transition of the display screens for realizing the technique of the present disclosure. In the transition of the display screens exemplified below, some of the display screens may be omitted, or other display screens may be added.

[0131] 1-8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. An application program (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "application") that provides a meeting room to the user is running on the terminal 20, and the words "Online Meeting App" are displayed at the top of the screen as the name of the application. In this example, an application is being executed on the terminal 20A of user AA, and an icon image and user name of user AA are displayed at the top of the screen.

[0132] FIG. 1-8 shows an example in which user AA is participating in a meeting taking place in room A, and three other users, user BB, user CC, and user DD, are also participating in the meeting. In this example, there are provided areas for displaying information related to Room A, including a meeting room area RRA in which video related to the meeting being held in Room A is displayed, and a room participant area PRA in which information related to users participating in the meeting being held in Room A is displayed.

[0133] The meeting room area RRA displays the name of the meeting room (Room A), and images (video information) of each user (User AA, User BB, User CC, User DD), such as, but not limited to, images captured by the imaging unit 27 of each user's terminal 20, are displayed in association with each user's identification information (each user's icon image and user name).

[0134] The room participant area PRA displays the number of users (4) participating in the meeting being held in room A, as well as the icon images and user names of other users (user BB, user CC, user DD).

[0135] Also, as shown in FIG. 1-8, at the top of the screen, there are provided a speaker button SBT that user AA operates to set whether or not his / her own voice (as an example, and not a limitation, the voice input into the sound input unit 25 of terminal 20A) is to be output from the terminal 20 of the user of Room A (as an example, and not a limitation, three other users, which may be four including himself / herself), a video button VBT that user AA operates to set whether or not his / her own video (as an example, and not a limitation, the video captured by the imaging unit 27 of terminal 20A) is to be displayed on the terminal 20 of the user of Room A (as an example, and not a limitation, at least three other users, which may be four including himself / herself), a chat button CHBT that user AA operates to send and receive content (text, voice, image) via chat between himself / herself and the other users (three users), and a share button SCBT that user AA operates to set whether or not some or all of the information displayed on the display unit 24 of his / her own terminal 20A is to be displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 of the other users (three users) (whether or not to share the screen).

[0136] In addition, the room participant area PRA has individual chat buttons for each of the other users (user BB, user CC, user DD). For example, and not by way of limitation, if user AA wants to have a one-on-one chat with user BB, he or she can send and receive chat content (text, audio, images) to and from user BB without users CC and DD knowing by operating the chat button provided corresponding to user BB's icon and username. In this respect, it differs from the function of the chat button CHBT described above.

[0137] In the example of FIG. 1-8, information about other meetings (meetings held in meeting rooms other than room A) in which user AA is not participating is also displayed in the room topic list area TR. At the top of the room topic list area TR, it says "Topics in other meeting rooms," and each word displayed in the room topic list area TR is based on, by way of example and not limitation, information sent and received between the terminals of users participating in other meetings (users different from the user in Room A).

[0138] By way of example and not limitation, the words displayed in the room topic list area TR may be, for example and not limitation, words that appear frequently or words that have appeared most recently, among the words contained in the text sent and received between users participating in other meetings. Furthermore, among words contained in conversations (audio information) between users participating in other meetings, the words may be, for example and without limitation, words that appear frequently or words that have appeared most recently.

[0139] For example, since the room topic list area TR displays "fishing" and "weekend," user AA can infer and understand that "going fishing on the weekend" is being discussed in a meeting taking place in a different room than Room A.

[0140] In the display screen example in this specification, words such as "fishing" and "weekend" are displayed with hashtags, which are a type of set identifier word (predetermined identifier word), added (sometimes referred to as "room tag notification information"). However, adding identifier words is not essential. Also, identifier words different from hashtags may be added. Words are, by way of example and not limitation, examples of room topics and room tag notification information, which will be described later.

[0141] The upper diagram in Figure 1-9 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA. Unlike the example shown in Figure 1-8, an area labeled "Other Meeting Rooms" is provided, and information about other rooms is displayed in that area.

[0142] In this example, for each of the other rooms (Room B, Room C, Room D), the icon images and user names (users EE-HH, users II-KK, users LL-OO) of the users participating in the meeting in that room are displayed in the corresponding other room information display area (MRB, MRC, MRD) in association with the room name, and words related to the topic of that room ("fishing" and "weekend," "nursery school" and "likes and dislikes," "patent" and "unearned income") are displayed in the sub-areas (SRB, SRC, SRD) included in the other room information display area.

[0143] The sound output unit 26 of the terminal 20A of the user AA outputs the voice of the user BB who is participating in the same meeting (the meeting in Room A) as the user AA, saying "I've been into houseplants lately."

[0144] The lower diagram in Figure 1-9 shows an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20E of user EE. Since user EE is participating in a meeting in room B, the meeting room area RRB displays images of each user (user EE to user HH) participating in the meeting in room B.

[0145] On the other hand, for user EE, Room A is another room where a meeting is taking place in which he is not participating, so the icon images and user names of users participating in the meeting in Room A (user AA to user DD) are displayed in the corresponding other room information display area MRA, and words related to the topic of Room A ("hobbies" and "houseplants") are displayed in the sub-area SRA included in the other room information display area.

[0146] The sound output unit 26 of the terminal 20E of the user EE outputs the voice of the user FF who is participating in the same meeting (the meeting in Room B) as the user EE, "Let's go fishing for sea bream on a boat!".

[0147] In addition, the other room information display area MRB has icons for chatting with each user included in Room B, and by tapping these icons, you can send and receive content with that user in a chat format. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and chat icons may not be provided, and content may not be sent or received via chat with room members of other rooms.

[0148] Furthermore, when displaying words (room topics or room tag notification information) in the sub-area, unlike the above example display screen, the video information of the room may be displayed transparently. In other words, the user may be able to see the words while viewing the video information of the room transparently.

[0149] <Processing> In the processing described below, only processing performed by the terminals 20 of some room members in the same meeting room, such as the processing performed by the terminals 20 of users AA and BB in room A mentioned above, and the processing performed by the terminals 20 of users EE and FF in room B, is exemplified, and processing performed by the terminals 20 of other room members in the same meeting room may be omitted.

[0150] FIG. 1-10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment.

[0151] Note that the processes described below are merely examples of processes for realizing the method of the present disclosure, and are not limited to these. Other steps may be added to the processing described below, or some steps may be omitted (deleted) from the processing described below.

[0152] First, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a meeting initial setting process (W110). Specifically, as an example and not a limitation, when a request to start a meeting is received via the communication I / F 14 from the terminal 20 of the user of the meeting master (hereinafter referred to as the "master terminal"), the control unit 11 generates meeting management data associating a meeting ID with a meeting master ID. Furthermore, based on the invitation request from the master terminal, the control unit 11 transmits invitation information to the terminals 20 of the members requested to be invited. Furthermore, the control unit 11 receives a request to create a meeting room from the master terminal and a request to join the meeting room from the member terminals 20 (member terminals). The control unit 11 then stores meeting room management data associating a room ID, a room name, a room member ID, and a room topic in the above meeting management data. At this point, the room topic can be set to "NULL."

[0153] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a process of delivering video images within the room (W120).

[0154] 1-11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the in-room video distribution process in this embodiment. This process shows, from the left, a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E of the user EE, a process executed by the terminal 20F of the user FF, and a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10. Here, the processes performed by the terminals 20 of users included in Room B are shown as processes performed by the terminal 20E of user EE and the terminal 20F of user FF, but the processes performed by the terminals 20 of other users included in Room B can also be similar. Moreover, the processing executed by the terminals 20 of the room members in a meeting room different from room B can be similar.

[0155] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20E transmits video information including video information captured by the imaging unit 27 (for example, but not limited to, the front camera) of the terminal 20E and sound information input by the sound input unit 25 to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (E110). The same applies to terminal 20F (and other room member terminals) (F110).

[0156] When the video information is received by the communication I / F 14, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room video generation process (S110). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, based on the video information received from terminals 20E and 20F (and other room member terminals), the control unit 11 performs a process of generating video information (=sound information+video information) to be transmitted to terminal 20 of a user included in room B as room video information (=room sound information+room video information).

[0157] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs in-room voice analysis processing (S120). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, the control unit 11 performs voice recognition processing or the like on the sound information included in the video information received from terminals 20E and 20F (and other room member terminals), transcribes the voices in the group's room, and performs morphological analysis on the content of the conversation based on the transcribed voices. Then, as a non-limiting example, the control unit 11 determines the frequency of occurrence of each word and stores the word in association with the corresponding room ID in the meeting room management data.

[0158] Thereafter, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the in-room video information generated in step S110 to the terminals 20E and 20F (and other room member terminals) via the communication I / F 14 (S130). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the process.

[0159] When the in-room video information is received via the communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E causes the output unit to output the received in-room video information (E120). Specifically, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display the in-room video information, and causes the sound output unit 26 to output the in-room audio information as sound. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the process. The same applies to terminal 20F (and other room member terminals) (F120 -> processing ends).

[0160] Returning to FIG. 1-10, after performing the in-room video distribution process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether a set time (for example, but not limited to, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.) has elapsed (W130). Instead of a set time, it may be determined whether a set period divided into fixed intervals has elapsed. As a non-limiting example, it may be determined whether a set period determined by timing such as the minute of each hour or the second of each minute has elapsed. The same applies below.

[0161] If it is determined that the set time has not elapsed (W130: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 proceeds to W160. On the other hand, if it is determined that the set time has elapsed (W130: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room topic acquisition process (W140). Specifically, for example, the top N most frequent words are calculated based on the results of in-room speech analysis in each meeting room at a set time, and the calculated most frequent words are stored in association with the room topic of the record of the corresponding room ID in the meeting room management data included in the meeting management data of the corresponding meeting ID.

[0162] Note that the method is not limited to simply calculating the most frequent word. For example, related words or synonyms related to a word (or a sentence) identified from the analyzed voice may be calculated based on the results of in-room voice analysis in each meeting room at a set time. Furthermore, words may be clustered from the analyzed voice, and representative words may be calculated from the clustered words. The words calculated in this way may then be used as room topics.

[0163] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room topic update process (W150).

[0164] 1-12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a room topic update process. This process shows, from the left, a process performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A of user AA, a process performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B of user BB, and a process performed by the control unit 11 of the server 10. Here, the processes performed by the terminals 20 of users included in Room A are shown as processes performed by terminal 20A of user AA and terminal 20B of user BB, but the processes performed by other room member terminals in Room A can also be similar. Furthermore, the processing executed by the terminals 20 of room members in rooms different from room A can be similar.

[0165] First, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits room topic information including the room topic acquired for each room in the room topic acquisition process of W140 to the terminal 20A and the terminal 20B (and other room member terminals) via the communication I / F 14 (S140). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the room topic update process.

[0166] Note that, for each room, the room topic information of that room does not have to be transmitted to the terminals 20 of the room members of that room. In other words, based on the room ID of the meeting room management data, the server 10 may not transmit the room topic information of the room topic associated with that room ID to the terminals 20 of the users identified by the room member ID associated with that room ID.

[0167] When the communication I / F 22 receives room topic information from the server 10, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A performs a room tag notification information generation process (A110). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, the control unit 21 generates room tag notification information by adding a set or predetermined identifier word (as a non-limiting example, a hashtag (#), etc.) to the room topic included in the room topic information of each room received from the server 10.

[0168] Next, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A causes the display unit 24 to display the room tag notification information generated in A110 (A120). In this case, as shown in FIG. 1-8, for example and not limitation, the room tag notification information may be displayed in an area where topics of other meeting rooms are listed. Also, as shown in FIG. 1-9, for example and not limitation, the room tag notification information of the corresponding room may be displayed in an area where topics of other meeting rooms are displayed by room. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the room topic update process.

[0169] Like the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B also performs the room tag notification information generation process (B110) and the room tag notification information display (B120), and then ends the room topic update process.

[0170] In addition, when server 10 transmits room topic information for room A to terminals 20A and 20B (and other room member terminals), control units 21 of terminals 20A and 20B (and other room member terminals) may not generate room tag notification information for room A in steps A110 and B110, and may not display room tag notification information for room A in steps A120 and B120. The same may be true in the case where the server 10 does not transmit the room topic information of room A to the terminals 20A and 20B (and other room member terminals).

[0171] Returning to FIG. 1-10, after W150, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not to end the meeting (W160), and if it determines that the meeting is not yet to end (W160: NO), the process returns to W120. On the other hand, if it is determined that the meeting should be ended (W160: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the process.

[0172] According to the above process, every time the set time elapses, the room topic is acquired and updated by the server 10. In other words, the room topic is updated as time passes, and the latest updated room topic is displayed on the terminal 20.

[0173] Unlike the above process, the server 10 may generate room tag notification information based on the room topic and transmit it to the terminal 20.

[0174] In the above process, the terminal 20 displays the room tag notification information on the display unit 24, but this is not limiting. Instead, the terminal 20 may display the room topic on the display unit 24. Also, room topics do not necessarily have to be words, but may be, for example and without limitation, sentences or paragraphs.

[0175] Furthermore, the terminal 20 may notify the user of the terminal 20 by outputting the room topic as sound from the sound output unit 26. In other words, the notification is not limited to being realized by display, but may also be realized by sound output.

[0176] In the above process, the room topic information is based on the sound information transmitted and received in the meeting room, but the process is not limited to this. As mentioned above, the room topic may be estimated from text transmitted and received in the meeting room.

[0177] As another example, and not by way of limitation, the room topic may be estimated based on video information transmitted and received in a meeting room. In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, in the room topic acquisition process, perform a motion analysis of people included in the video, and estimate the room topic based on the results of the motion analysis. As a non-limiting example, if people are dancing, the room topic may be estimated as "dance." Note that, since it may be difficult to estimate the room topic based on people's motions alone, sound information may also be used in combination.

[0178] Furthermore, instead of or in addition to the room topic, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may estimate information such as the level of excitement and volume of conversation in the meeting room based on various information transmitted and received in the meeting room as room conversation status information and transmit the information to the terminal 20. The terminal 20 may then issue a notification based on the received room conversation status information. Note that, as with the room topic, the notification may be realized by sound output. While the following mainly illustrates a case where a notification based on the room topic is applied, the same applies to a case where a notification based on the room conversation status information, etc. is applied.

[0179] In addition, information sent and received in a meeting room may also be expressed as information sent and received within a group, information sent and received by room members of a meeting room, information sent and received by the terminals of room members of a meeting room, etc.

[0180] <Effects of the First Embodiment> In this embodiment, terminal 20 outputs video information (not limiting, an example of audio information and video information) transmitted and received in a first meeting room (not limiting, an example of a first group) using audio output unit 26 and display unit 24, and receives information (not limiting, an example of first information) such as room topic information based on information transmitted and received in a second meeting room (not limiting, an example of a second group) using communication I / F 22. Terminal 20 then uses control unit 21 to perform a display or audio output notification (not limiting, an example of a first notification based on the first information) based on the received room topic information. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a terminal receives first information based on information transmitted and received in a second group different from the first group, and then makes a first notification based on that first information, thereby enabling the user of the terminal to guess the information transmitted and received in the second group.

[0181] In addition, the user of the terminal 20 that outputs the video information (not limited to, but an example of audio information and video information) sent and received in the meeting room (group) via the audio output unit 26 or display unit 24 does not necessarily have to be included in that meeting room (group), and may not be included in that meeting room (group).

[0182] In this case, as an example and not as a limitation, the room topic information (an example of the first information, not as a limitation) may include information based on sound information sent and received in the second meeting room (an example of the second group, not as a limitation), and the above notification (an example of the first notification, not as a limitation) may be a display of information such as room topic information and room tag notification information (an example of the first display based on the first information, not as a limitation) displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can receive first information including information based on sound information transmitted and received in the second group, and then display a first display based on the first information, thereby allowing the user of the terminal to infer the sound information transmitted and received in the second group.

[0183] In this embodiment, the server 10 relays transmission and reception of video information (not limiting, an example of video information and audio information) in the first meeting room (not limiting, an example of the first group) and relays video information (not limiting, an example of video information and audio information) in the second meeting room (not limiting, an example of the second group). The server 10 is configured to include a control unit 11 that acquires information such as room topic information (not limiting, an example of first information related to the second group) based on information transmitted and received in the second meeting room, and a communication I / F 14 that transmits information such as the room topic information to the first meeting room. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a server that relays the transmission and reception of video information and audio information in a first group and the transmission and reception of video information and audio information in a second group different from the first group can acquire first information related to the second group and then transmit the acquired first information to the first group.

[0184] Here, the "information transmitted and received in a group" will be explained. The term "information transmitted and received within a group" may be understood to include, but is not limited to, the concept of transmitting information originating from a user included in the group (terminal 20 of the user included in the group) to server 10, and having server 10 generate information such as the above-mentioned in-room video image information and transmit it to the group (terminal 20 of the user included in the group), or transmitting information originating from one user included in the group (terminal 20 of the user) to terminal 20 of another user included in the group other than the one user. Also, the concept may include both transmitting information via server 10 and transmitting information without via server 10.

[0185] Furthermore, the term "sending and receiving audio information and video information in a group" may be understood as a concept that includes, but is not limited to, the following examples. Several patterns are shown as examples, but the present invention is not limited to these. Both the video information and audio information sent by the target user included in the group (hereinafter referred to as the "target user") and the video information and audio information sent by users other than the target user included in the group (hereinafter referred to as the "users other than the target user") are output on the terminal 20 of the target user. Video information sent from users other than the target user is displayed on the target user's terminal 20, but video information sent by the target user is not displayed on the target user's terminal 20 (video information is not sent from the terminal (application) to the server, video information is sent from the terminal to the server but not sent from the server to the terminal, video information is sent from the terminal to the server and video information received from the server is not displayed) Sound information sent from users other than the target user is output as sound on the target user's terminal 20, but sound information sent by the target user is not output as sound on the target user's terminal 20 (sound information is not sent from the terminal (application) to the server, sound information is sent from the terminal to the server but not sent from the server to the terminal, sound information is sent from the terminal to the server and sound information received from the server is not output) · Video information sent by the target user and audio information sent by users other than the target user · Video information is output on the target user's terminal 20, but audio information sent by the target user is not output on the target user's terminal 20 (same as above for audio information) The audio information sent by the target user and the audio and video information sent by users other than the target user are output on the target user's terminal 20, but the video information sent by the target user is not displayed on the target user's terminal 20 (same as above for video information). Neither the audio information nor the video information sent by the target user is output on the target user's terminal 20 (same as above for audio information and video information) At least one of the audio information and the video information sent from some users other than the target user is not output on the target user's terminal 20. The output of video information and audio information can be controlled on the target user's terminal 20 according to the output settings on the target user's terminal 20 (video information "ON / OFF", audio information "ON / OFF", video information "ON / OFF")

[0186] <First Modification Example (1)> The display screen configurations and UIs of the meeting application, including the above-described embodiments and other embodiments, are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Other display screen configuration examples are shown below.

[0187] 1-13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA. Unlike the example shown in FIG. 1-9, information about participants (users AA to DD) in room A, in which the user is participating, is also displayed in the room member list area MLR on the right side of the screen in the same manner as information about participants in other rooms (rooms B, C, and D) in which the user is not participating.

[0188] In the room member list area MLR, information about the participants (user AA to user DD) in room A, which the user is participating in, and information about the participants (user EE to user HH, user II to user KK, user LL to user OO, ...) in each room (room B, room C, room D, ...) that the user is not participating in are displayed vertically. By scrolling up and down, user AA can confirm the participants in room A, which the user is participating in, and the participants in each room (room B, room C, room D, ...) that the user is not participating in.

[0189] Additionally, around the meeting room area RRA, there is provided a room topic area (TRB, TRC, TRD, ...) that displays words related to the topics of each room (Room B, Room C, Room D, ...) that the user AA is not participating in. By checking the room topic area, user AA can see what topics are being discussed in meetings being held in each meeting room that the user AA is not participating in. As a non-limiting example, the room topic area TRC of Room C displays the words "daycare" and "likes and dislikes," allowing users to understand that conversations in Room C are taking place on these topics.

[0190] In addition to room topic areas (TRB, TRC, TRD, ...) corresponding to each room (B, C, D, ...) in which the user is not participating, a room topic area TRA may be provided that displays words related to the topic of room A in which the user is participating (for example, but not limited to, "hobbies" and "houseplants"). Furthermore, by tapping an area corresponding to one of the meeting rooms in the room member list area MLR, the appearance of the room topic area corresponding to that meeting room may change (for example, but not limited to, changing color, changing position, enlarging, etc.). This configuration clarifies the relationship between the participants in each room and the topic of the meeting being held by those participants.

[0191] <First Modification Example (2)> 1-12, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may perform a search process to search for an image based on the room topic, and transmit the image obtained as a search result to the terminal 20 while including it in the room topic information. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A or a room member terminal including the terminal 20A may cause the display unit 24 to display the image included in the received room topic information.

[0192] Also, as an example and not a limitation, in steps A110 and B110 of the processing in Figure 1-12, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A or terminal 20B may perform a search process to search for an image based on the room topic of the room topic information based on the room topic information received from server 10, and display the image obtained as a search result on the display unit 24.

[0193] Also, as an example and not a limitation, in step S140 of the processing of Figure 1-12, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may include information shared in the meeting room, such as information shared on the screen in the meeting room, in the room topic information and send it to the terminal 20.

[0194] These specific examples will be illustrated on the display screen of the second embodiment below.

[0195] <Second Example> The second embodiment is an embodiment relating to a user's exit from the general meeting or moving to another meeting room. There may be a case where a user wants to exit from the general meeting room or move to a meeting room other than the current meeting room.

[0196] The contents described in the second embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0197] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 2-1 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in room A. Here, examples are given in which the room topic is displayed in words, as well as in which information such as that described in the first modified example (2) can be displayed.

[0198] In this example, unlike the example shown in Fig. 1-9, an exit button LBT is provided in the meeting room area RRA at a position corresponding to the name of the room (A) that the user is currently in. Also, join buttons PBT for entering other rooms (Room B, Room C, Room D) that the user is not currently in are provided at positions corresponding to the names of the other rooms (Room B, Room C, Room D).

[0199] In this embodiment, the operation of the leave button LBT can be, for example and not limited to, an example of an operation by user AA to leave the general meeting. In this case, the leave button may be referred to as an "exit button (from the general meeting)."

[0200] In addition, the operation of the exit button LBT may be, by way of example and not limitation, an example of an operation by user AA to leave room A (exiting (leaving) a room, which will be described in detail later), or an example of an operation to leave a meeting (individual meeting) taking place in room A.

[0201] Furthermore, the operation of user AA entering room B (operating the join button PBT corresponding to room B) may be an example of an operation of user AA entering room B, or may be an example of an operation of joining a meeting being held in room B.

[0202] Here, (1) the system may be configured so that user AA can operate the join button PBT corresponding to room B without operating the leave button LBT, or (2) the system may be configured so that user AA cannot operate the join button PBT corresponding to room B unless he operates the leave button LBT.

[0203] (1) In the former case, when user AA taps the join button PBT corresponding to room B, user AA is removed from the participants in room A (user AA to user DD) and is added to the participants in room B (user EE to user HH). That is, user AA is automatically removed from the group in room A. In other words, moving between rooms may be configured not to involve leaving the room. One example of the effect that can be obtained by such a configuration is that the operation and processing for removing a user who wishes to join another group from the group in which the user currently participates can be simplified.

[0204] (2) In the latter case, by tapping the leave button LBT, user AA is temporarily excluded from the participants in room A (user AA to user DD) and placed in a state where user AA is not participating in any room. Then, by tapping the join button PBT corresponding to room B, user AA is added to the participants in room B (user EE to user HH). In other words, even if user AA taps the join button PBT for room B without tapping the leave button LBT for room A, he or she cannot participate in room B. In other words, moving between rooms may be accompanied by leaving the room. One example of the effect that can be obtained by such a configuration is that it can prevent users from being unintentionally excluded from a group they are currently participating in due to misunderstanding or the like, and it can also prevent users from carelessly moving between groups.

[0205] Unlike the upper figure, the lower figure in Figure 2-1 displays information other than words based on information sent and received between the terminals of users participating in meetings in other rooms (Room B, Room C, Room D) in which User AA is not participating.

[0206] As an example, but not as a limitation, in the case of Room B, an image (in this example, an image of a fish (sea bream)) associated with at least one of the most frequently occurring or most recently occurring words contained in the text sent and received between users participating in the meeting in Room B (users EE to HH) is displayed in the corresponding sub-area SRB. The image displayed in this manner may be an image based on the results of the in-room audio analysis process described above, or, for example and without limitation, an image searched based on the room topic estimated as a result of the in-room audio analysis process.

[0207] In the case of Room D, the image of the screen shared (screen shared) among the users (users LL to OO) participating in the meeting in Room D is displayed in the corresponding sub-area SRB.

[0208] The upper diagram in Figure 2-2 shows an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in room A. Unlike the example shown in Figure 2-1, the video of the meeting being held in the other rooms (room B, room C, room D) in which user AA is not participating is displayed in the sub-areas (SRB, SRC, SRD) corresponding to the other rooms.

[0209] As an example, and not as a limitation, in the case of Room B, the meeting images (images corresponding to each of Users EE to HH) displayed in the meeting room area RRB on the terminals 20 of the users (Users EE to HH) participating in the meeting in Room B are displayed in a reduced form in the corresponding sub-area SRB. In this way, user AA can see the video of the meeting taking place in room B, which user AA is not participating in.

[0210] The diagram at the bottom of FIG. 2-2 is an example of a screen that is displayed when user AA performs an operation on sub-area SRB corresponding to room B in the diagram at the top. In this example, while user AA touches and holds sub-area SRB, the video of the meeting taking place in room B (video corresponding to each of users EE to HH) is switched to a display of words ("fishing" and "weekend") related to the topic of room B. When user AA releases his / her finger from the screen, the display returns to the video of the meeting (video corresponding to each of users EE to HH).

[0211] Furthermore, when user AA taps (touches and releases his / her finger) on sub-area SRB, the video of the meeting taking place in Room B (video corresponding to each of users EE to HH) switches to displaying words related to the topic of Room B ("fishing" and "weekend"), and then when user AA taps (touches and releases his / her finger) on sub-area SRB again, the words related to the topic of Room B ("fishing" and "weekend") switch to displaying the video of the meeting taking place in Room B (video corresponding to each of users EE to HH).

[0212] In this way, user AA can grasp the topics of the meeting being held in room B, which user AA is not participating in (topics of users EE to HH who are participating in room B).

[0213] The same may be true for the situation where an image related to the topic of the meeting is displayed in the sub-area SRB (see Figure 2-1) or where a screen shared in the meeting is displayed in the sub-area SRD (see Figure 2-1).

[0214] The upper diagram in FIG. 2-3 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in room A. When user AA in room A taps the join button PBT corresponding to room B, user AA is removed from the participants in room A (user AA to user DD) and added to the participants in room B (user EE to user HH).

[0215] As shown in the lower diagram of Figure 2-3, in response to user AA's room change, the other room information display area MRA corresponding to room A, which user AA will no longer be participating in, is displayed as information on "other meeting rooms." The other room information display area MRA displays the icon image and user name of each of users BB to DD (a total of three people) who are still participating in room A after user AA has stopped participating, but the icon image and user name of user AA are not displayed. Furthermore, the other room information display area MRB corresponding to room B, in which user AA will participate, does not display information about "other meeting rooms."

[0216] Also, a meeting room area RRB corresponding to room B, which user AA has joined, is displayed in place of the previous meeting room area RRA. The meeting room area RRB includes the images of users BB to HH, who were participants before user AA joined, as well as the image of new user AA (a total of five people).

[0217] FIG. 2-4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when user AA of room A taps the join button PBT corresponding to room B. In FIG. As shown in the upper figure, the meeting room area RRA corresponding to room A in which user AA was participating displays images of users AA to DD (a total of four people). However, when user AA taps the join button PBT corresponding to room B, as shown in the lower figure, user AA's image UAI (user AA's image or a still image (icon) generated based on the image) moves while being reduced in size from the meeting room area RRA to the other room information display area MRB corresponding to room B.

[0218] In this example, the image UAI of user AA moves out of the meeting room area RRA, and the area where the image of user AA was displayed becomes blank. After the image of user AA is moved to the other room information display area MRB, the screen may transition to the screen shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 2-3.

[0219] <Processing> Fig. 2-5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. The diagram should be read in the same way as Fig. 1-10.

[0220] After step W120, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs room transfer processing (W210).

[0221] 2-6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the room transfer process in this embodiment. The left side of the figure shows the process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, and the right side of the figure shows the process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10. The control unit 11 of the server 10 performs the following processing for each meeting room. Note that the processing executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can be the same for all terminals 20, so only terminal 20A is shown here.

[0222] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not to move to a different room by determining whether or not an input for moving to a different meeting room has been made by the user via the input / output unit 23 (A201).

[0223] Here, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays, by way of example and not limitation, other room information (which may also be referred to as information indicating other meeting rooms or information indicating other groups) on the display unit 24 via the input / output unit 23. Then, the terminal 20 can determine whether or not to move to another meeting room (whether or not to join another meeting room) based on an input by the user of the terminal 20 itself in response to the displayed other room information.

[0224] Here, the other room information may include at least one of the following, by way of example and not limitation: The meeting room's room topic, room tag notification information, and room conversation status information The name of the meeting room Operational information for joining the meeting room (join button, etc.) Information about the room members of that meeting room -Video information of the meeting room In the examples of Figures 2-3 and 2-4, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 determines whether to move to a different meeting room based on the operation of the join button, but it may also determine whether to move to a different meeting room based on an operation on any of the above information. Also, it may determine whether to move to a different meeting room based on an input by the user of the terminal 20 to an area where other room information is displayed (including, but not limited to, the other room information display area or sub-area).

[0225] If it is determined that the room should not be changed (A201: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the room change process. If it is determined that the room should be changed, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits room change request information including, for example and not limitation, at least the application ID of the user of the terminal 20 and identification information for identifying the room to which the user should move (for example and not limitation, a room ID) to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A203). The room change request information may be expressed as information regarding a request to join another room, or the like. It should be noted that this assumes movement between meeting rooms.

[0226] The control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not room transfer request information has been received via the communication I / F 14 (S201). If it is determined that the information has not been received (S201: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the room transfer process.

[0227] If it is determined that the information has been received (S201: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 deletes the user's application ID included in the received room transfer request information from the room member ID associated with the room ID of the current meeting room in the meeting room management data, and adds the application ID to the room member ID associated with the room ID of the destination meeting room (S203).Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the room transfer process.

[0228] As a non-limiting example, when a user inputs information indicating Room B via the input / output unit 23 on the screen displaying Room A, the terminal 20 of user AA can be configured to transmit room transfer request information including the application ID of user AA and the room ID of Room B to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A203).

[0229] In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can delete the application ID of user AA from the room member ID associated with the room ID of room A in the meeting room management data, and add the application ID of user AA to the room member ID associated with the room ID of room B (S203).

[0230] In this case, when user AA is moved from room A to room B, the application ID of user AA is deleted from the room member ID associated with the room ID of room A. This can be considered as canceling the association of user AA with room A. However, this is not limiting, and when user AA is moved from room A to room B, it is also possible to leave the application ID of user AA in the room member ID associated with the room ID of room A. This can be thought of as not releasing the association of user AA with room A. In other words, user AA may be able to participate in room B while participating in room A. This may also be the case in subsequent processes.

[0231] Returning to FIG. 2-5, after performing the room transfer process in step W210, the control unit 11 of the server 10 moves the process to step W130.

[0232] By executing steps W120 to W160 by control unit 11 of server 10, in-room video information of the destination meeting room (room B as an example, not a limitation) is output (control is performed to switch to output corresponding to room B as an example, not a limitation) on terminal 20A, and room tag notification information (or room topic) of other meeting rooms including the source meeting room (room A as an example, not a limitation) is displayed. Note that in this case, the room tag notification information (or room topic) of room B does not have to be displayed on terminal 20A.

[0233] As explained in the first modified example (2), in the room topic update process of step W150, for example and not by way of limitation, step S140 of the process in FIG. 1-12, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may perform a search process to search for images based on the room topic (including, but not limited to, images that match the room topic or images that are similar to the room topic), include the images in the room topic information, and transmit the same to the terminal 20. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A or a room member terminal including the terminal 20A may cause the display unit 24 to display the images included in the received room topic information.

[0234] Also, as a non-limiting example, in steps A110 and B110 of the processing in Figure 1-12, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A or terminal 20B may perform a search process based on the room topic information received from server 10 to search for images based on the room topic of the room topic information (not limited to, images that match the room topic or images that are similar to the room topic), and display the images obtained as search results on display unit 24.

[0235] 1-12, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may include the information shared on the screen in the meeting room in the room topic information and transmit it to the terminal 20.

[0236] <Effects of the second embodiment> This embodiment shows, as an example and not as a limitation, a configuration in which room topic information (an example of first information, not as a limitation) includes image information based on sound information transmitted and received in a second meeting room (an example of a second group, not as a limitation). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal receives first information including image information based on sound information transmitted and received in the second group, and then displays a first display based on the first information, thereby enabling the user of the terminal to more easily and appropriately infer the sound information transmitted and received in the second group from the image information.

[0237] In addition, this embodiment shows, as an example and not as a limitation, a configuration in which room topic information (an example of first information, not as a limitation) includes information shared in the second meeting room, such as information shared on the screen in the second meeting room (an example of the second group, not as a limitation). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can receive first information including information shared in the second group, and then display a first display based on the first information, thereby allowing the user of the terminal to know the information shared in the second group.

[0238] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the terminal 20 displays video information transmitted and received in the first meeting room (not limited to, but an example of the first group) and information indicating the second meeting room (not limited to, but an example of information indicating the second group) on the display unit 24. Then, based on an input by the user of the terminal 20 in response to this information indicating the second meeting room, the terminal 20 uses the control unit 21 to perform controls such as sending room change request information to the server 10 to the second meeting room and switching to output corresponding to the second meeting room (not limited to, but an example of control for the user of the terminal to join the second group). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, while video information transmitted and received in the first group and information indicating the second group are displayed, control is performed to allow the user of the terminal to join the second group based on input by the user of the terminal regarding the information indicating the second group, thereby enabling the user of the terminal to join the second group and improving convenience.

[0239] <Third Example> The third embodiment is an embodiment that makes it possible to change the display mode of information about other rooms, for example and not by way of limitation, based on information about room members included in a meeting room. For example, and not by way of limitation, a user may be interested in a topic being discussed in another room, and may want to move to that room to join the discussion.

[0240] The contents described in the third embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0241] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 3-1 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A. Based on the user information of user AA, for example and not by way of limitation, that his hobby is "fishing," the word "fishing" displayed in the sub-area SRB corresponding to Room B is displayed in a thicker frame and an icon HIC containing a heart mark is added. In this way, based on the relationship between the user information of user AA participating in Room A and the topic of Room B, the sub-area SRB displaying words related to the topic of Room B is highlighted.

[0242] Also, as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 3-1, when user AA touches sub-area SRB, the audio of the meeting in Room B (as an example, and not a limitation, the audio of user FF, "Let's go fishing for sea bream on a boat!") is output from sound output unit 26 for the duration of the touch. This audio is also the audio output from terminals 20 of users EE to HH who are participating in Room B. In this way, when a topic of interest comes up in Room B, which User AA is not participating in, User AA can be aware of this and listen to the audio in Room B.

[0243] It should be noted that the example shown here is merely an example. Based on the user information of the room member users (for example, but not limited to, the user's attribute information), it is possible to highlight other room information corresponding to rooms with topics relevant to that user.

[0244] The user information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: the user's gender, age, generation, place of residence, occupation, hobbies, tastes, interests, etc., and the relevance may be determined based on at least one of these pieces of information. The relevance may be determined based on one piece of information, or on multiple pieces of information.

[0245] As a non-limiting example, based on the fact that user DD in room A is female and has children (infants) in her family, information about room C, whose room topics are "nursery school" and "likes and dislikes," may be highlighted on user DD's terminal 20D. As a non-limiting example, if the occupation of user CC in room A is related to intellectual property, information about room D, whose room topics are "patents" and "unearned income," may be highlighted on user CC's terminal 20C.

[0246] <Processing> FIG. 3-2 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the room topic update process in this embodiment. Here, the processing executed by the terminal 20A of user AA is shown as the processing executed by the terminal 20 of the user included in room A, but the processing executed by the other room member terminals of room A can also be similar. Furthermore, the processing executed by the terminals 20 of room members in rooms different from room A can be similar.

[0247] After step S140, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether room topic information of another room different from the room of the group to which user AA belongs is related to the user information of user AA (S310). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the relevance (similarity) between the user information of user AA registered in the other registration information of the account registration data 153 and the room topic information of the other room is determined based on, by way of example and not limitation, a method such as a relevance determination algorithm or a similarity determination algorithm. If it is determined that there is a relevance, the determination result is a positive determination. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no relevance, the determination result is a negative determination.

[0248] In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example and without limitation, calculate index values ​​such as relevance and similarity based on a relevance determination algorithm or a similarity determination algorithm, and perform a threshold determination on the index values ​​to determine whether or not there is relevance.

[0249] In addition, the determination of room topic information for other rooms may be performed for all meeting rooms other than the meeting room in which user AA is included, or may be performed for some meeting rooms other than the meeting room in which user AA is included.

[0250] If it is determined that there is relevance (S310: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits room topic emphasis information (for example, but not limited to, information including the room ID of the meeting room) to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 to emphasize the room topic information of the meeting room determined to be relevant (S320). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the room topic update process.

[0251] After A120, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether room topic emphasis information has been received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A310), and if it determines that it has been received (A310: YES), it displays other room emphasis information (A320). Specifically, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls to change the display mode of other room information (as an example, and not a limitation, of information indicating a group) of other rooms determined to be related to the room identified by the room ID included in the received room topic emphasis information.

[0252] Here, the other room information (not limited to, but an example of information indicating a group) is as described in Example 2. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may perform control to change the display mode of at least one of the following information for other meeting rooms determined to be related, as not limited to, examples: The meeting room's room topic, room tag notification information, and room conversation status information The name of the meeting room Operational information for joining the meeting room (such as the "Join" button) Information about the room members of that meeting room -Video information of the meeting room The display mode of the area where other room information is displayed (not limited to, other room information display area and sub-area) may be changed.

[0253] In this case, the display mode of the information to be changed can be changed by at least one of the following methods, as examples and not as limitations. Change the size (for example, but not by way of limitation, make the size larger) Change the color (for example, but not limited to, use a noticeable color such as red) - Lighting or blinking display Add icons and marks However, the present invention is not limited to these, and other methods may be applied.

[0254] After S320, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the audio information of other rooms (hereinafter referred to as "audio information in other rooms") that is determined to be relevant to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S330). After A320, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the sound output unit 26 to output the other-room audio information received via the communication I / F 22 (A330). The voice information in another room that the server 10 transmits to the terminal 20A may be at least a part of the voice information in another room that has been determined to be relevant. As a non-limiting example, the voice information may be voice information during a period when the user is performing an operation such as touching, as shown in FIG. 3-1, or may be voice information obtained by cutting out at least a part of the voice information in another room that has been recorded by the server 10. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the room topic update process.

[0255] If no room topic emphasis information is received at A310 (A310: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the room topic update process without performing steps A320 and A330. In other words, if it is determined that there is no association between the room topic information of the other room and the user information of the user AA, the other room emphasis information is not displayed and the audio in the other room is not played.

[0256] In step S330, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit the other-room voice information based on a request from the terminal 20A, or may transmit the other-room voice information unconditionally.

[0257] Furthermore, in step A330, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may play the other-room audio information based on a user input via the input / output unit 23, or may play it unconditionally. Furthermore, the other-room audio information may be played back by mixing it with the room audio information of room A, or only the other-room audio information may be played back without mixing.

[0258] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may, for example and not by way of limitation, control the volume of at least part of the other-room audio information based on the user information of the user AA. For example and not by way of limitation, if the information of the user AA is determined to be related but low in relevance, or if the amount of information determined to be related among the information of the user AA is small, the control unit 21 may control the playback of the other-room audio information at a first volume. On the other hand, if the information of the user AA is determined to be related highly, or if the amount of information determined to be related among the information of the user AA is large, the control unit 21 may control the playback of the other-room audio information at a second volume higher than the first volume.

[0259] Furthermore, in the above process, the server 10 determines the relevance between the room topic information of another room and the user information of user AA, but this may also be performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20A. In this case, as a non-limiting example, the user information of user AA may be stored in the storage unit 28 of terminal 20A, or the user information of user AA may be acquired from the server 10, and then, as a non-limiting example, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may determine the relevance after step A120 of the above process. Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may proceed to step A310.

[0260] <Effects of the third embodiment> This embodiment shows a configuration in which the control unit 21 performs control such as displaying highlighted information about other rooms based on information about the user of the terminal 20 (this is not a limitation, but an example of control in which the display mode of the first display is changed and displayed on the display unit). As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the display mode of the first display based on the first information can be changed based on the information of the user of the terminal. As a non-limiting example, the first display based on the first information in which the user of the terminal is interested can be highlighted, thereby improving convenience.

[0261] Furthermore, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the terminal 20 receives, via the communication I / F 22, at least a part of the sound information transmitted and received in the second meeting room. As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to receive at least a portion of the sound information transmitted and received in the second group. By way of example and not limitation, it is possible to notify the user of the terminal of at least a portion of the sound information transmitted and received in the second group by outputting the received sound information from the sound output unit.

[0262] In this case, the terminal 20 may control the volume of at least part of the received sound information transmitted and received in the second meeting room by the control unit 21 based on the information of the user of the terminal 20 itself. As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to control the volume of at least part of the sound information transmitted and received in the second group based on information about the user of the terminal. For example, and not by way of limitation, it is possible to output sound information that the user of the terminal is interested in at a higher volume, thereby improving convenience.

[0263] <Third Modification (1)> In step S310 of the processing of Figure 3-2, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example and not by way of limitation, determine the relevance between information related to room A (room A's group) and room topic information of other rooms.

[0264] Specifically, as a non-limiting example, the information related to room A may be the result of the in-room voice analysis process for room A, and control unit 11 of server 10 may determine the relevance between the result of the in-room voice analysis process for room A and room topic information of other rooms. Then, based on the determination result, control unit 21 of terminal 20A may perform steps A310 to A330.

[0265] Furthermore, as a non-limiting example, the information related to room A may be information such as the room name (group name) of room A and the meeting title registered when room A holds an online meeting, and control unit 11 of server 10 may determine the relevance of this information with room topic information of other rooms. Then, based on the determination result, control unit 21 of terminal 20A may perform steps A310 to A330.

[0266] The upper diagram in FIG. 3-3 shows an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in Room A. The audio of the meeting in Room A (for example, and not by way of limitation, the audio of user BB saying, "I've been into houseplants lately") is being output from sound output unit 26.

[0267] Here, based on the fact that the word "potted plant" contained in the audio of the meeting in Room A is related to the word "potted plant" displayed in the sub-area SRB of Room B, the sub-area SRB of Room B is displayed larger than the sub-areas (SRC, SRD) of the other rooms (C, D), as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 3-3. In this way, based on the fact that words related to the topic of Room A in which User AA (Users BB to DD) is participating are related to words related to the topic of Room B in which User AA (Users BB to DD) is not participating, the sub-area SRB of Room B is highlighted, allowing users (AA to DD) participating in Room A to understand that a topic related to Room A has come up in Room B.

[0268] In this modification, terminal 20 displays video information transmitted and received in the first meeting room and information indicating the second meeting room on display unit 24. Terminal 20 is configured such that control unit 21 controls the display mode of the information indicating the second meeting room displayed on display unit 24 based on the information related to the first meeting room. As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to control the display mode of the information indicating the second group based on the information related to the first group.

[0269] In this case, the information related to the first meeting room may include, but is not limited to, in-room audio information of the first meeting room (information based on audio information transmitted and received in the first group). As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, in combination with the above, the display mode of the information indicating the second group can be controlled based on information based on sound information transmitted and received by the first group. As a non-limiting example, when content related to content being spoken in the first group is being spoken in the second group, the information indicating the second group can be displayed in an emphasized manner.

[0270] <Third Modification (2)> In the third embodiment and the third modified example (1), it may be possible for room members to move to other rooms, or for meeting rooms to be merged (integrated). Here, we will use an example of merging meeting rooms with related topics, but it is also possible to merge meeting rooms (groups) by agreement between them, regardless of whether the topics are related or not.

[0271] The upper diagram in FIG. 3-4 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in room A. Area PPR1, which prompts the user to take action based on the fact that the topics of Room A and Room B are related, is superimposed on the meeting room area RRA. Area PPR1 displays the message "Currently, you have a common topic with Room B. Would you like to join Room B?" along with "No" and "Yes" buttons.

[0272] When user AA taps the "Yes" button, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 3-4, each participant in Room B (EE-HH) will be included as a participant in Room A. As a result, images of users AA-HH (a total of eight people) will be displayed in the meeting room area RRA of Room A, and icon images and user names (as well as chat buttons corresponding to each user) of each user in Room A other than user AA (BB-HH) will be displayed in the room participant area PRA. Also, as information about "other meeting rooms," the other room information display area MRB corresponding to Room B is no longer displayed.

[0273] The example in Figure 3-4 shows an example in which Room B (a group consisting of users EE to HH) is merged into Room A (a group consisting of users AA to DD) when User AA, a participant in Room A, performs an operation to merge Room A and Room B. However, this is not limited to this example. This operation may merge Room A into Room B, and the meeting room area RRB of Room B may be displayed on User AA's terminal 20A instead of the meeting room area RRA of Room A.

[0274] In the example of FIG. 3-4, Room A and Room B are merged by an operation of one of the participants in Room A (user AA in this example), but the merger is not limited to this. The merger may be performed by multiple participants (two to all) of Room A performing an operation to allow the merger. The merger may also be performed by a user of the participants in Room A who has been set in advance as a room administrator.

[0275] In addition, by way of example and not limitation, merging with another room may occur when all room members in both Room A and Room B give their permission, when a majority of the room members in both Room A and Room B give their permission, when both the room administrator of Room A and the room administrator of Room B give their permission, when the meeting master gives their permission, etc.

[0276] Also, as a non-limiting example, if user AA is set as the room administrator of room A, area PPR1 for merging operations may be displayed only on user AA's terminal 20A, and area PPR1 may not be displayed (or may not be operable even if displayed) on the terminals 20 of other users (BB to DD).

[0277] FIG. 3-5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this modified example. After step W210, the communication system 1 performs a room merging process (W310).

[0278] FIG. 3-6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the room merging process in this modified example. In this figure, the left side shows the processing executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, and the right side shows the processing executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10.

[0279] Here, the processing executed by the terminal 20A of user AA is shown as the processing executed by the terminal 20 of the user included in room A, but the processing executed by the other room member terminals of room A can also be similar. Furthermore, the processing executed by the terminals 20 of room members in rooms different from room A can be similar.

[0280] The control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not the room topic information of a room other than the room A in which the user AA is included is related to the result of the in-room voice analysis process of the room A in which the user AA is included (S350).

[0281] In the process of FIG. 3-5, since there is no room topic until the first room topic acquisition process is performed, in this case, the above step S350 is skipped.

[0282] If it is determined that there is a relationship (S350: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits room merge confirmation information to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 to confirm with the user whether or not to merge the meeting rooms (S360).

[0283] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether room merging confirmation information has been received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A350). If it is determined that the information has been received (A350: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not to agree to the room merging (A360). Specifically, for example and not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 displays the received room merging confirmation information on the display unit 24, and for example and not by way of limitation, determines whether or not an input by the user AA agreeing to the room merging has been made via the input / output unit 23.

[0284] If it is determined that the room merging is agreed to (A360: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits room merging request information to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A370).

[0285] After S360, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether room merging request information has been received from the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S370), and if it is determined that it has been received (S370: YES), it determines whether to merge the rooms. In this process, by way of example and not limitation, it may be determined that room merging should be performed based on whether any of the following conditions is met: The room merging request information has been received from the terminals 20 of the majority of users included in the target room. The room merge request information has been received from the terminals 20 of all users included in the target room. The room merging request information is received from the terminal 20 of the representative of the target room.

[0286] If it is determined that room merging is to be performed, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a target room merging process (S380). Here, the meeting room to be merged is referred to as the "merge source room," and the meeting room to be merged is referred to as the "merge destination room." In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs one of the following processes, by way of example and not limitation. Delete the data record (data row) of the merged room from the meeting room management data: Delete the merged room In the meeting room management data, empty the room member ID in the data record (data row) of the room to be merged: the room to be merged will be vacant

[0287] In this case, as one example, the rooms can be merged with room A containing user AA as the source room and another room as the destination room.

[0288] However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine the room to be merged in any of the following ways. - The meeting room with the longer room topic will be selected as the room to be merged. The meeting room with the smaller room ID will be the room to be merged. The meeting room with the longest stay time among room members will be selected as the merged room.

[0289] Thereafter, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the room merging process. After A370, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the room merging process.

[0290] <Fourth Example> The fourth embodiment is an embodiment that makes it possible to conceal (hide) the room topic of a meeting room, and to restrict movement to a meeting room. Depending on the user, there may be cases where the user wants to talk about room members of other rooms or other rooms themselves, which the user does not want to be heard talking about.

[0291] The contents described in the fourth embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0292] <Data structure> FIG. 4-1 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the meeting management database 155B, which is an example of the meeting management database 155 in this embodiment. In this meeting management database 155B, the data structure of the meeting room management data in each meeting management data is different from that of the above-mentioned meeting management database 155A.

[0293] Specifically, in addition to the room ID, room name, room member ID, and room topic, the meeting room management data also stores, in association with each other, a topic lock flag and a room lock flag, for example but not by way of limitation.

[0294] The topic lock flag is a flag used to stop the room topic from being updated by the room topic update process described above for the room with the associated room ID, or to prevent the room topic of the associated room ID from being displayed in other rooms (to make it invisible). In this example, a "0" is stored in the data column where the flag is set to "ON", and a "-" is stored in the data column where the flag is set to "OFF".

[0295] The room lock flag is a flag used to prohibit entry and exit to the room of the associated room ID. In this example, a "0" is stored in the data column where the flag is set to "ON", and a "-" is stored in the data column where the flag is set to "OFF".

[0296] It is also possible to set additional restrictions (conditions) for at least one of the topic lock and the room lock. For example, but not limited to, the following restrictions may be set: All rooms are included (your own room may or may not be included) - Targets a specific room that has been set Target specific users who have been set up

[0297] Furthermore, when the topic lock flag is set to "ON", the room lock flag may also be automatically set to "ON". Conversely, when the room lock flag is set to "ON", the topic lock flag may also be automatically set to "ON".

[0298] In addition, the meeting room management data may store other room information besides the above, such as, but not limited to, the amount of comments made by each room member (amount of comments made by each room member ID), links shared within the room, and image storage locations.

[0299] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 4-2 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20E of the user EE participating in Room B. The voice of user EE, "Putting aside the fishing talk, I'd like to tell you something private, so please wait a moment," is output from the sound output unit 26 of the terminal 20E of user EE. A lock icon RIC for restricting participation in Room B by users outside the room is displayed in the upper right corner of the meeting room area RRB of Room B (participants EE to HH).

[0300] When user EE taps the lock icon RIC, the state of the lock icon RIC changes from an invalid state (unchecked state) to an valid state (checked state), as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 4-2. While the lock icon RIC is in the valid state, users outside the room are prohibited from participating in Room B. In this example, user JJ, who is participating in Room C, is prohibited from participating in Room B, so user EE can talk in Room B about things he doesn't want user JJ to hear ("JJ has been mean to me lately...").

[0301] In the example of FIG. 4-2, external users are prohibited from participating in Room B by an operation of one of the participants in Room B (user EE in this example), but this is not limiting, and external users may be prohibited from participating by multiple participants in Room B (two to all participants) operating the lock icon RIC. Furthermore, external users may be prohibited from participating by an operation of a user of the participants in Room B who is set in advance as a room administrator. As a non-limiting example, if user EE is set as the room administrator of room B, the lock icon RIC may be displayed only on user EE's terminal 20E, and the lock icon RIC may not be displayed (or may be displayed but not operable) on the terminals 20 of other users (FF to HH).

[0302] Furthermore, the targets for which participation is prohibited are not limited to all other groups, and participation availability may be set for each group. As a non-limiting example, in the example of FIG. 4-2, if a lock icon RIC corresponding to each room other than Room B is provided and only the lock icon RIC corresponding to Room C is enabled, users (II to KK) participating in Room C may not be able to participate in Room B, but users (AA to DD) participating in Room A may be able to participate in Room B.

[0303] Also, it may be possible to set whether or not each user can participate. As a non-limiting example, in the example of FIG. 4-2, if a lock icon RIC is provided corresponding to each user who is not participating in Room B, and among the users (II to KK) who are participating in Room C, only the lock icon RIC corresponding to user JJ is set to be valid, user JJ cannot participate in Room B, but users II and KK can participate in Room B.

[0304] The upper diagram in FIG. 4-3 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in room A. If user AA wishes to join Room B and taps the join button PBT in the other room information display area MRB corresponding to Room B, user AA will not be able to join Room B because, as shown in Figure 4-2, participation by external users is prohibited for Room B. In this case, the message "Unable to join Room B" will be displayed, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 4-3.

[0305] <Processing> FIG. 4-4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. After step W120, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room topic concealment setting process (W410). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, based on receiving room topic concealment request information for requesting concealment of the room topic transmitted from the terminal 20 via the communication I / F 14, the control unit 11 updates the meeting room management data by storing "0" in the topic lock flag associated with the room ID of the group (meeting room) to which the user of the terminal 20 belongs.

[0306] Thereafter, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room movement restriction setting process (W430). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, based on receiving room entry / exit restriction request information for requesting restriction on entry / exit to the meeting room transmitted from the terminal 20, the control unit 11 updates the meeting room management data by storing "0" in the room lock flag associated with the room ID of the group (meeting room) to which the user of the terminal 20 belongs.

[0307] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room transfer process (W440). In this room transfer process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines, for each meeting room, whether room transfer request information requesting a transfer to that meeting room has been received from the terminal 20, based on the process of FIG. 2-6, for example and not by way of limitation (S201). If it is determined that the information has been received (S201: YES), the control unit 11 refers to the room lock flag stored in the meeting room management data corresponding to that meeting room. If the room lock flag does not have a value of "0", the control unit 11 updates the room member ID of the meeting room management data corresponding to that meeting room by adding the application ID of the terminal 20 (or the user of the terminal 20) to which the transfer is requested, based on the received room transfer request information (S203). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 advances the process to W310.

[0308] After step W140, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room topic update process (W420). In this room topic update process, the control unit 11 of the server 10, for example and not by way of limitation, refers to the topic lock flag stored in the meeting room management data corresponding to each meeting room in step S140 of FIG. 1-12. If "0" is not stored in the topic lock flag, the control unit 11 transmits the room topic information of the meeting room to the terminal 20 (terminal 20A and terminal 20B in the example shown in FIG. 1-12) via the communication I / F 14.

[0309] Note that in the room topic update process (W420), the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example and not limitation, send information indicating that the room topic is locked (for example and not limitation, the room topic flag is "ON") to the target terminal 20 for which the room topic is to be locked before step S140 (or step S140) in FIG. 1-12. Then, for example and not limitation, when the target terminal 20 receives room topic information from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 in FIG. 1-12, the target terminal 20 may determine whether or not it has received information indicating that the room topic is locked from the server 10, and if it determines that it has received information, it may not generate room tag notification information by not performing the room tag notification information generation process (steps A110 and B110 in FIG. 1-12). As a result, the room tag notification information may not be displayed on the terminal 20 (steps A120 and B120 in FIG. 1-12 may not be performed).

[0310] In the room merging process (W310), the control unit 11 of the server 10 may exclude meeting rooms whose room lock flags are set to "ON" from being merged (exclude them from rooms to be merged).

[0311] <Effects of the Fourth Embodiment> This embodiment shows a configuration in which, as an example and not as a limitation, room topic information (an example of first information, not as a limitation) is not sent to terminal 20 if a room member of the second meeting room has made a setting such as setting the topic lock flag for the second meeting room to "ON" (an example of a setting for the second group, not as a limitation). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, when a setting for the second group has been made by a user included in the second group, the first information can be prevented from being transmitted to the terminal. As a non-limiting example, when a conversation within the second group is to be kept secret from a user included in the first group or the entire first group, the content of the conversation can be prevented from being known to the user included in the first group or the first group.

[0312] In addition, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the control unit 21 controls the terminal 20 to set a room lock flag, etc. (not limiting, but an example of setting a user who will join the first group) based on input by the user of the terminal 20, such as, for example, an input to set a room lock flag, but not limiting. As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a terminal can easily and appropriately set users who will participate in the first group based on input by the user of the terminal to the terminal.

[0313] <Fifth Example> The fifth embodiment is an embodiment in which it is possible to invite (solicit) room members of other meeting rooms to one's own meeting room and to move to another meeting room accordingly. There may be cases where a user wishes to invite some or all of the room members of another room to his or her own meeting room to talk together.

[0314] The contents described in the fifth embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0315] FIG. 5-1 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the meeting management database 155C, which is an example of the meeting management database 155 in this embodiment. In this meeting management database 155C, the data structure of the meeting room management data in each meeting management data is different from that of the above-mentioned meeting management databases 155A and 155B.

[0316] Specifically, the meeting room management data stores a room ID, a room name, and a room member ID in association with each other.

[0317] The meeting room management data may also store, as room information other than the above, information such as, but not limited to, the volume of messages sent by each room member (volume of messages sent by each room member ID), links shared within the room, image storage destinations, etc. The above-mentioned room topics, etc. may also be stored.

[0318] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 5-2 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20E of the user EE participating in Room B. Information about Room A is displayed as information about "other meeting rooms," and the other room information display area MRA corresponding to Room A displays an invitation icon IIC corresponding to the icon and user name of each user (AA to DD) participating in Room A, allowing the user to invite that user to the room in which the user is participating.

[0319] When user EE taps the invitation icon IIC corresponding to user AA, a message notifying each user (AA to DD) participating in room A that user AA has been invited from room B is displayed on their respective terminals 20, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 5-2. In this example, on the terminal 20D of user DD, a message "AA has received an invitation from room B" is displayed in an area PPR3 that is superimposed on the meeting room area RRA.

[0320] In this way, when a user participating in Room B invites a user participating in Room A, the user name of the invited user (User AA) and the room name (Room B) of the room in which the inviting user (User EE) is participating are displayed on the terminals 20 of both the users participating in Room A who accepted the invitation and the users who did not accept the invitation.

[0321] In this example, the username of the user who made the invitation is not displayed in area PPR3, so the users (AA to DD) participating in Room A cannot know who in Room B invited user AA.

[0322] The upper diagram in Fig. 5-3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20E of user EE participating in room B. When user EE taps the invitation icon IIC corresponding to user AA, as shown in the lower diagram in Fig. 5-2, a message notifying that user AA has been invited by user EE of room B is displayed on each terminal 20 of each user (AA to DD) participating in room A. In this example, on the terminal 20D of user DD, a message "AA has received an invitation from EE in room B" is displayed in an area PPR4 that is superimposed on the meeting room area RRA.

[0323] In this example, the username (EE) of the user who made the invitation is displayed in area PPR4, so the users (AA to DD) participating in Room A can even find out who in Room B invited user AA.

[0324] <Processing> FIG. 5-4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. After step W120, the communication system 1 performs a process of inviting other room members (W510).

[0325] 5-5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the other room member invitation process. In this process, from the left, there are shown processes executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, and the control unit 11 of the server 10.

[0326] Hereinafter, for convenience, the user making the solicitation (the user requesting the solicitation) will be referred to as the "solicitation request user," and the user being solicited (the user who is the target of the solicitation) will be referred to as the "solicitation target user." Here, as an example and not a limitation, user EE (an example of a first user, not a limitation) in room B will be the solicitation request user, and user AA in room A will be the solicitation target user. Here, an example will be given of the processing in which terminal 20E of user EE transmits member solicitation information (an example of information related to an invitation, not a limitation) to the group in room A (all room member terminals in room A).

[0327] Here, only the processing performed by the terminal 20A of user AA is shown as the processing performed by the terminals 20 of the users included in room A, but the processing performed by the other room member terminals of room A can also be similar. Similarly, here, only the processing performed by the terminal 20E of user EE is shown as the processing performed by the terminal 20 of the user included in room B, but the processing performed by other room member terminals in room B can be similar.

[0328] First, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E transmits member invitation request information including, by way of example and not limitation, the application ID of the user EE and the application ID of the invitation target user (user AA in this example) to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 based on an input by the user EE via the input / output unit 23 (E510). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the other room member invitation process.

[0329] When the communication I / F 14 receives the member invitation request information from terminal 20E, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits, by way of example and not limitation, member invitation information indicating that the invitation target user (user AA in this example) has been invited to Room B to terminal 20A and other room member terminals via the communication I / F 14 (S510). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the other room member invitation process.

[0330] When the member invitation information is received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A causes the received member invitation information to be displayed on the display unit 24 (A510). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room member invitation process. Similarly, the other room member terminals in Room A also display the received member invitation information on their display units 24 .

[0331] In step A510, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may highlight and display information about the room to which the user has been invited (for example, but not limited to, the room name).

[0332] Furthermore, the above member solicitation information may include information about the solicitation requesting user (for example, but not limited to, information such as the username). In this process, information such as the username of user EE, who is the solicitation requesting user, may be included in the member solicitation information, and the server 10 may transmit the member solicitation information to the terminals 20 of each user included in room A.

[0333] Furthermore, the example described here is a process in which user EE (invitation requesting user) in room B invites user AA (invitation target user) in room A, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0334] As a non-limiting example, room B (room B group) may invite user AA (invitation target user) included in room A. In this case, as a non-limiting example, terminal 20 of each user included in room B may transmit member invitation request information (member invitation information), or terminal 20 of the representative user of room B may transmit member invitation request information (member invitation information). In other words, the entity requesting the invitation (invitation) may be a user or a room (group).

[0335] Furthermore, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit member solicitation information as solicitation information from the server 10 (system). In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit member solicitation information for soliciting members to rooms with a small number of room members or rooms with a small amount of conversation (rooms where conversation is not lively), for example and not by way of limitation.

[0336] Furthermore, the content of the member invitation information transmitted to the terminal 20 of the invitation target user included in Room A and the other room member terminals of Room A may be different. As a non-limiting example, information about the solicitation requesting user may be included in the transmission to the terminal 20 of the solicitation target user, but information about the solicitation requesting user may not be included in the transmission to the other room member terminals.

[0337] Returning to FIG. 5-4, after step W510, the control unit 11 of the server 10 advances the process to W210.

[0338] In the above process, the terminal 20 that has received the member solicitation information notifies the user that they have been invited by displaying the member solicitation information on the display unit 24, but this is not limiting. The terminal 20 that has received the member solicitation information may notify the user by outputting the member solicitation information as sound from the sound output unit 26. In other words, the notification is not limited to being realized by display, but may also be realized by sound output.

[0339] Furthermore, by way of example and not limitation, information about each room (group) (by way of example and not limitation, information about the group composition of each group (including information about room members, etc.)) may be stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20. Then, member solicitation information may be sent and received directly between the terminals 20 without going through the server 10. This may also be true for other embodiments and modified examples.

[0340] <Effects of the Fifth Embodiment> In this embodiment, terminal 20A, which outputs moving image information (not limited to this, but an example of audio information and video information) transmitted and received in the first meeting room, receives information such as member invitation information for user AA (not limited to this, but an example of information regarding an invitation to the second group for the user of the terminal) transmitted to the first meeting room via communication I / F 22. Terminal 20A is configured to use control unit 21 to perform control to notify the member invitation information (or control to perform a notification based on the member invitation information). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can notify the user of the terminal that an invitation to the second group has been made to the user of the terminal by notifying information about the invitation sent to the first group. Furthermore, since the information about the invitation is sent to the first group, it is possible to notify (make known) to other users included in the first group that the user of the terminal has been invited to the second group.

[0341] In this case, the member invitation information may be sent from a room member of the second meeting room (an example of the first user, but not limited to this) to the first meeting room, or from the second meeting room to the first meeting room. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, information regarding an invitation can be sent from a first user included in the second group to the first group, or from the second group to the first group.

[0342] In this case, as an example and not a limitation, the member invitation information may be notified by being displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, information regarding the invitation is displayed on the display unit of the terminal, thereby notifying the user of the terminal that the user of the terminal has been invited to the second group.

[0343] In addition, in this embodiment, the server 10 relays video information (not limited to, an example of video information and audio information) sent and received in the first meeting room and video information (not limited to, an example of video information and audio information) sent and received in a second meeting room different from the first meeting room. The server 10 is configured to include a communication I / F 14 that receives information such as member invitation information (not limited to, an example of information related to an invitation) for a room member of the first meeting room (not limited to, an example of a first user) to join the second meeting room, which information is sent by a terminal 20 (not limited to, an example of a second terminal) of a room member of the second meeting room (not limited to, an example of a second user), and a control unit 11 that controls the transmission of the received information such as member invitation information to the terminal 20 of the first meeting room via the communication I / F 14. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the server receives information regarding an invitation to the second group for a first user included in the first group, which information is transmitted by a second terminal of a second user included in the second group, and then controls transmission of the received information regarding the invitation to the terminal included in the first group, thereby making it possible to invite the first user to the second group. Also, by transmitting the information regarding the invitation to the terminal included in the first group, it is possible to notify (make known) to other users included in the first group that the first user has been invited to the second group.

[0344] <Fifth Modification (1)> In the above embodiment, the user to be invited may be asked to confirm whether or not to accept the invitation, and if the user confirms acceptance, the user to be invited may be allowed to move to the room to which he or she has been invited.

[0345] The upper diagram in Figure 5-6 shows an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A. Based on the fact that user AA has been invited by user EE in room B (see Figure 5-3), a cancel button CBT displaying "Do not move" and a move button MBT displaying "Move" are displayed in area PPR5 superimposed on the meeting room area RRA, along with the message "You have received an invitation from EE in room B." The cancel button CBT is a button that is operated to decline participation in the invited room, and the move button MBT is a button that is operated to accept participation in the invited room.

[0346] In addition, the display frame of the sub-area SRB in which the images of the participants in Room B (EE to HH) are displayed is highlighted, so that the invited user AA can understand which users are participating in the room from which he or she received the invitation.

[0347] As shown in Figure 5-2, even if the terminals 20 of the users of Room A who have not received an invitation (BB to DD) are configured so that the username (EE) of the inviting user is not displayed, the username (EE) of the inviting user may be displayed on the terminal 20A of the invited user (AA), as shown in Figure 5-6.

[0348] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5-2, if the terminals 20 of the users of Room A who have not received an invitation (BB to DD) are configured so that the username (EE) of the inviting user is not displayed, the username (EE) of the inviting user may also not be displayed on the terminal 20A of the invited user (AA).

[0349] When user AA taps the move button MBT, user AA moves from room A to room B as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 5-6. On user AA's terminal 20A, the meeting room area RRB of room B, which now has five participants (AA, EE-HH), is displayed in place of the meeting room area RRA of room A, and information about room A, which now has three participants (BB-DD) and in which user AA is not participating, is displayed as information about "other meeting rooms."

[0350] In the upper diagram of Figure 5-6, if user AA taps the cancel button CBT instead of the move button MBT in area PPR5, user AA will not move to room B. In this case, tapping the cancel button CBT will also cause the pop-up display of area PPR5 to disappear.

[0351] In addition, area PPR5 may have an input field for a message to be sent to the invited room (Room B), allowing the invited user (AA) to send a message to the participants (EE to HH) in the invited room (Room B) notifying them that they will participate or notifying them that they will not participate. In addition, area PPR5 may be provided with an input field for a message to be sent to the currently participating room (Room A), allowing the invited user (AA) to send a message to participants (BB to DD) in the current room (Room A) informing them that they will be participating in another room or a message informing them that they will not be participating in another room.

[0352] 5-6, when user AA moves to room B, a message indicating that user AA has moved to room B may be displayed on the terminals 20 of the users (users BB to DD) remaining in room A. This message may be displayed after a set time (for example, 10 minutes, but not limited to this) has elapsed since user AA moved to room B.

[0353] Figure 5-7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process of inviting other room members in this modified example. The diagram should be read in the same way as Figure 1-11.

[0354] After step A510, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether to accept the invitation based on the member invitation information displayed on the display unit 24 in A510, for example, by determining whether a user input accepting the invitation has been made via the input / output unit 23 (A520). If it determines not to accept (A520: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A terminates the other room member invitation process. Note that in this case, in step S510, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can transmit member invitation information including, for example, a message and a move button (information for displaying the move button) used to join the inviting meeting room, as shown in FIG. 5-6, but is not limited thereto. The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A can then determine whether to accept the invitation based on the received message, operation of the move button, etc. by the user AA.

[0355] If it is determined that the invitation is accepted (A520: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits room transfer request information to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A530). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room member invitation process.

[0356] After S510, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether room transfer request information has been received via the communication I / F 14 (S520), and if it determines that it has not been received (S520: NO), ends the other room member invitation process.

[0357] If it is determined that room transfer request information has been received (S520: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs room transfer processing (S530). This room transfer processing is as described above. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the other room member invitation processing.

[0358] In addition, in step A510, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the member solicitation information, the control unit 21 may perform control so that information indicating the second group to which the solicitation requesting user belongs (not limited to, information such as the room name of the second group) is displayed in a different display mode from information indicating other groups (not limited to, information such as the names of other rooms).

[0359] Furthermore, in the above processing, by way of example and not limitation, if a set time has elapsed after the control unit 21 of terminal 20A receives member solicitation information or displays member solicitation information in step A510, it may perform step A530 without performing step A520. Furthermore, in the above processing, as an example and not by way of limitation, when the set time arrives after the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A receives member solicitation information or displays member solicitation information in step A510, the control unit 21 may perform step A530 without performing step A520.

[0360] Furthermore, in the above processing, by way of example and not limitation, if a set time has elapsed after the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives member invitation request information from the terminal 20E or after sending member invitation information in step S510, the control unit 11 may perform step S530 without performing step S520. Furthermore, in the above processing, as an example and not by way of limitation, after the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives member invitation request information from the terminal 20E or after sending member invitation information in step S510, if the set time arrives, the control unit 11 may perform step S530 without performing step S520.

[0361] In this modified example, the member solicitation information (a non-limiting example of information related to an invitation) includes information for accepting the solicitation (a non-limiting example of first information for joining the second group). The solicitation target user's terminal 20 is configured to perform, by means of control unit 21, processing such as sending room transfer request information (a non-limiting example of processing related to joining the second group) based on input by the solicitation target user in response to the information for accepting the solicitation. As an example of the effect of the modified example obtained by such a configuration, the user of the terminal can be allowed to join the second group based on the input by the user of the terminal to the first information for joining the second group.

[0362] In this case, the terminal 20 of the solicitation target user displays information indicating the second meeting room and information indicating the third meeting room on the display unit 24. Then, the terminal 20 of the solicitation target user may use the control unit 21 to perform control to change the display mode of the information indicating the second meeting room based on the reception of the member solicitation information. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, by controlling to change the display mode of information indicating the second group based on the reception of information regarding the invitation, it becomes possible to display the group that received the invitation (second group) separately from other groups (third group), making it easier for the user to recognize the group that received the invitation.

[0363] In this case, as an example and not as a limitation, member solicitation information (an example of information regarding an invitation, not as a limitation) may be sent to the first meeting room from an invitation requesting user (an example of a first user, not as a limitation) included in the second meeting room, and the terminal 20 of the user to be solicited may display the information of the invitation requesting user included in the member solicitation information on the display unit 24. As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to notify the user of the terminal of information about the first user included in the second group who has sent information about the invitation to the first group.

[0364] In this case, the control unit 21 may also perform control such as sending room transfer request information (not limited to this, but an example of control related to joining the second group) when a set time has passed or a set time has arrived after the terminal 20 of the user to be invited has been notified of the member invitation information. As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, after the information regarding the invitation has been notified, if a certain amount of time has passed or if a specific time has arrived, the user of the terminal can be made to join the second group automatically, so to speak.

[0365] <Fifth Modification (2)> In the fifth variant (1), if the invitation is not accepted, information indicating this may be sent to the terminal 20 that requested the invitation, thereby informing the user that the invitation was not accepted.

[0366] 5-8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process of inviting other room members in this modified example, which should be read in the same way as FIG. 5-7. If it is determined in A520 that the invitation is not accepted (A520: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits room transfer refusal information indicating that the room transfer is refused to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A540). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room member invitation process. The room transfer refusal information may include a message entered by user AA (for example, but not limited to, a message indicating the reason for refusal).

[0367] If room transfer request information is not received at S520 (S520: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits member invitation failure information indicating that the member invitation has failed to the terminal 20E via the communication I / F 14 (S540). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the other room member invitation process.

[0368] After E510, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E determines whether member invitation failure information has been received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (E520), and if it determines that it has not been received (E520: NO), ends the other room member invitation process.

[0369] If it is determined that member joining failure information has been received (E520: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E causes the display unit 24 to display the received member invitation failure information (E530). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the other room member invitation process.

[0370] In this modified example, as an example and not as a limitation, member solicitation information (not a limitation, but an example of information related to an invitation) is notified by being displayed on the display unit 24 of the solicitation target user. Then, the control unit 21 of the solicitation target user's terminal 20 performs control to send room transfer refusal information / member solicitation failure information (not a limitation, but an example of information related to refusing an invitation) to the inviter that sent the member solicitation information, based on the input for the member solicitation information. As an example of the effect of this embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to notify the inviter who sent the information about the invitation that the invitation will be declined, based on the input regarding the information about the invitation.

[0371] <Fifth Modification (3)> The fifth modified example (1) and the fifth modified example (2) are examples in which a user who has received an invitation from another meeting room can choose whether or not to participate in the other meeting room, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

[0372] In FIG. 5-6, without limitation, a user AA who has received an invitation from another room B may not be able to choose whether or not to join room B, but may be forced to join room B. In this case, in FIG. 5-6, without limitation, area PPR5 may only display that the invited user AA will join room B, and after a set time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed, the display may transition to the diagram at the bottom of FIG. 5-6.

[0373] In this case, in the example of FIG. 5-6, when user AA moves to room B, a message indicating that user AA has moved to room B may be displayed on the terminals 20 of the users (users BB to DD) remaining in room A. This message may be displayed after a set time (for example, 10 minutes, but not limited to this) has elapsed since user AA moved to room B.

[0374] <Fifth Modification (4)> In the above embodiment, as an example and not a limitation, member solicitation information (an example of information regarding an invitation, not a limitation) is sent to the first meeting room so that users other than the solicited user in the first meeting room are notified that the solicited user has been invited to the second meeting room, but this is not a limitation.

[0375] Specifically, the member invitation information may be transmitted only to the terminals 20 of the invitation target users included in the first meeting room. More specifically, by way of example and not limitation, in the processing example described in the above embodiment, the member invitation information may be transmitted only to terminal 20A of user AA, who is the invitation target user.

[0376] That is, in the above embodiment, terminal 20A, which outputs moving image information (not limited to this, but an example of audio information and video information) transmitted and received in the first meeting room, receives information such as member invitation information for user AA (not limited to this, but an example of information regarding an invitation to the user of the terminal to join the second group) transmitted to user AA via communication I / F 22. Terminal 20A may then use control unit 21 to perform control to notify the member invitation information (or control to perform a notification based on the member invitation information). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the user of the terminal can be notified that an invitation to the second group has been made to the user of the terminal by notifying the user of the terminal of information related to the invitation sent to the user of the terminal. Also, by way of example and not limitation, by sending information related to the invitation only to the user of the terminal and notifying only at the terminal, it is possible to keep the fact that the user of the terminal has been invited to the second group secret from other users included in the first group.

[0377] In addition, in the above embodiment, the server 10 that relays video information (not limited to, an example of video information and audio information) sent and received in the first meeting room and relays video information (not limited to, an example of video information and audio information) sent and received in the second meeting room may be equipped with a communication I / F 14 that receives information such as member invitation information (not limited to, an example of invitation information) for a user (not limited to, an example of a first user) included in the first meeting room to join the second group, sent by a terminal 20 (not limited to, an example of a second terminal) of a user (not limited to, an example of a second user) included in the second group, and a control unit 11 that controls the transmission of the received member invitation information to the terminal 20 of the first user via the communication I / F 14. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the server can receive information regarding an invitation to the second group for a first user included in the first group, which information is sent by a second terminal of a second user included in the second group, and then control transmission of the received information regarding the invitation to the terminal of the first user, thereby inviting the first user to the second group. Also, by way of example and not limitation, transmitting information regarding the invitation only to the terminal of the first user, it is possible to conceal from other users included in the first group that the first user has been invited to the second group.

[0378] <Sixth Example> The sixth embodiment is an example, not a limitation, of the fifth embodiment or the fifth variant, which makes it possible to output video information sent by the solicitation requesting user (terminal 20 of the solicitation requesting user) on the terminal 20 of the solicitation target user.

[0379] The contents described in the sixth embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0380] <Display screen> The upper diagram in Fig. 6-1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20E of user EE participating in room B. When user EE taps invitation icon IIC corresponding to user AA participating in room A, as shown in the lower diagram in Fig. 6-1, on terminal 20A of invited user AA, among the users participating in room A (users AA to DD), a video of user EE who invited user AA, as well as an icon image and user name, are displayed in part of the meeting room area RRA.

[0381] Also, corresponding to the image of user EE, a message ("You've been invited to room B") is displayed informing user AA that he or she has been invited to room B, along with a cancel button CBT and a move button MBT for participating in room B. In this example, by adding the image of user EE and the like to the meeting room area RRA, the images of each user participating in room A (user AA to user DD) are reduced in size. The video of user EE displayed in the meeting room area RRB on the terminals 20 of the users (users EE to HH) participating in room B may be used as the video of user EE to be displayed in the meeting room area RRA.

[0382] In this example, the image of user EE is displayed larger than the images of the users participating in room A (users AA to DD), but the present invention is not limited to this. Conversely, the image of user EE may be displayed smaller than the images of the users participating in room A (users AA to DD).

[0383] In this way, the meeting room area RRA of Room A displays an image of User EE, who is participating in Room B and has invited User AA, providing User AA with a UI that makes it seem as if User EE has left Room B to invite User AA. In this case, (A) User EE temporarily moves to room A to invite user AA. (B) To invite user AA, user EE does not move to room B, and only the video information of user EE is displayed in room A. Either of the above methods may be applied.

[0384] In the case of (A), as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can perform the above-mentioned room transfer process to temporarily delete the application ID of user EE from room B and store it in room A, and based on user AA tapping the transfer button MBT or the cancel button CBT, delete the application ID of user EE from room A and store it in room B. In this case, the application ID of the user EE may be stored in room A but not deleted from room B. Performing such processing may be considered as a temporary change of room.

[0385] In the case of (B), as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may be configured to not delete the application ID of the user EE from room B, and not store the application ID of the user EE in room A, but to transmit the video information of the user EE to room A.

[0386] In addition, on the terminals 20 of the uninvited users (users BB to DD) of room A, images of user EE (excluding the cancel button CBT and move button MBT) may be added to the meeting room area RRA, just like for invited user AA.

[0387] Furthermore, during the period when user EE's image, etc. is added to the meeting room area RRA, in other words, during the period when user EE in room B is inviting user AA in room A, the image of user EE may not be displayed in the meeting room area RRB on the terminals 20 of users participating in room B (users EE to HH), and the icon image and user name of user EE may not be displayed in the other room information display area MRB corresponding to room B on the terminals 20 of users participating in room A (users AA to DD). This configuration ensures uniqueness for each user in the application.

[0388] When user AA taps the move button MBT corresponding to the image of user EE, user AA joins room B, and the screen displayed on user AA's terminal 20A becomes the screen shown in the lower diagram of Figure 5-6. Meanwhile, on the terminals 20 of the users (users BB to DD) who remain in room A, the images of user AA and user EE are not displayed in the meeting room area RRA.

[0389] <Processing> FIG. 6-2 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process of inviting other room members in this embodiment. After E510, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E transmits, for example and not by way of limitation, video information to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (E610). This video information may be, for example and not by way of limitation, information on the video of users E, E.

[0390] Similarly, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the video information to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A610). This video information may be, for example and without limitation, information on the video of the meeting room of Room A.

[0391] When the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives the video information from each of the terminals 20, it performs step S510. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room video generation process (S610). Specifically, in this process example, the video information received from terminal 20E is included in the video information received from terminal 20A to generate the video information as room video information.

[0392] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the generated in-room video image information to the terminal 20E and the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S620). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the other room member invitation process.

[0393] When the in-room video information is received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E causes the received in-room video information to be displayed on the display unit 24 (E620). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the other room member invitation process.

[0394] Similarly, when the communication I / F 22 receives the in-room video information from the server 10, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A causes the display unit 24 to display the received in-room video information (A620). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room member invitation process.

[0395] In the above process, the in-room sound information and in-room video information are output as in-room video image information on the terminal 20 of the solicitation target user, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, only the room sound information may be output as sound, or only the room video information may be displayed.

[0396] <Effects of the Sixth Embodiment> In this embodiment, as an example and not a limitation, member solicitation information (not a limitation, but an example of information related to invitation) is sent to the first meeting room from an invitation requesting user (not a limitation, but an example of the first user) included in the second meeting room. Then, the terminal 20 of the solicitation target user is configured to display on the display unit 24 the information of the invitation requesting user included in the member solicitation information (not a limitation, but an example of the information of the first user). As an example of the effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the information of the first user included in the information about the invitation can be displayed to inform the user of the terminal of the information about the first user who sent the invitation. Furthermore, since the information of the first user who is the inviter is displayed, it may become easier for the inviter user to make an invitation, and for the invitee user to accept the invitation.

[0397] In this case, the information of the solicitation requesting user (not limited to, but an example of information of the first user) may include video information transmitted from the solicitation requesting user's terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of the first terminal of the first user). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to display video information transmitted from the first terminal of the first user contained in the information regarding the invitation, and to inform the user of the terminal of the information about the first user who has invited the invitation while showing the user of the terminal the video information transmitted from the first terminal of the first user who has invited the invitation. Furthermore, since video information of the inviting first user is displayed, it may become easier for the inviting user to make an invitation, and for the invited user to accept the invitation.

[0398] <Sixth Modification (1)> In the above embodiment, the invitation requesting user invites the invitation target user to move to a different room. In this case, the invitation target user may be able to counter-invite the invitation requesting user to his or her own meeting room.

[0399] The upper diagram of FIG. 6-3 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA in room A who has been invited by user EE in room B. Unlike the example shown in Figure 6-1, in correspondence with the image of user EE, a cancel button CBT and a move button MBT for moving to room B are displayed, along with an invite button IBT for inviting user EE to room A in which the user is participating.

[0400] When user AA taps the invite button IBT, an area PPR5 including a message indicating that user AA in room A has invited user AA, and a cancel button CBT and a move button MBT for moving to room A is displayed on user EE's terminal 20E (see Figure 5-6 as an example, not a limitation), and when user EE taps the move button MBT for moving to room A, user EE moves to room A, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 6-3.

[0401] As a result, in the meeting room area RRA of room A on user AA's terminal 20A, in addition to the images of the previous participants (AA to DD), an image of newly joined user EE is displayed. Also, as information on "other meeting rooms," information on room B, in which user EE is not participating and which now has three participants (FF to HH), is displayed.

[0402] In this way, user EE in room B who has invited user AA in room A can in turn invite user EE to room A in which user AA is participating.

[0403] It should be noted that not only user AA of room A, but also other room members of room A (users BB to DD) may be able to invite user EE to room A. In other words, the users who can make a counter invitation may be only the invited user, or any room members in the same room including the invited user. In other words, the users who can make a counter invitation may include not only the invited user, but also other room members in the same room.

[0404] 6-4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process of inviting other room members in this modified example, which can be viewed in the same way as in FIG. 6-2. After step A620, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether to counter-invite the user EE, who is the invitation requesting user, by determining whether an input for counter-inviting the user EE has been made via the input / output unit 23 (A630). If it is determined that a counter-invitation is not to be made (A630: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room member invitation process.

[0405] If it is determined that a counter invitation should be made (A630: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits member counter invitation request information for requesting that the user EE be counter invited to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A640). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room member invitation process.

[0406] After step S620, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not member reverse invitation request information has been received from the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 22 (S630). If it is determined that the information has not been received (S630: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the other room member invitation process.

[0407] If it is determined that the member counter invitation information has been received (S630: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits member counter invitation information indicating that the user EE has been counter invited to the terminal 20E via the communication I / F 14 (S640). In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may also transmit member counter invitation information to the other room member terminals of the second group.

[0408] After step E620, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E determines whether or not member counter invitation information has been received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (E630). If it is determined that the information has not been received (E630: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the other room member invitation process.

[0409] If it is determined that the information has been received (E630: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E causes the display unit 24 to display the received member counter invitation information (E640). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the other room member invitation process.

[0410] The processing when the user EE accepts or does not accept the counter-solicitation can be configured in the same manner as in the above-mentioned Figures 5-7 and 5-8, and therefore illustrations and explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0411] In this modified example, the terminal 20 of the user to be invited is configured to perform processing (not limited to this, but an example of processing to invite to the first group) such as sending member counter-invitation request information (member counter-invitation information) to the invitation requesting user included in the second meeting room based on input by the user to the information of the invitation requesting user (not limited to this, but an example of information about the first user) displayed on the display unit 24. As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can perform a process of inviting the first user included in the second group to the first group based on an input by the terminal user in response to the information of the first user displayed on the display unit, thereby making it possible to reversely invite the first user included in the second group to the first group. This makes it possible to realize a situation where a user intends to invite a user of another group to their own group, but ends up being invited to that other group themselves, which is like saying the hunter becomes the hunted.

[0412] <Seventh Example> The seventh embodiment is an embodiment that enables room members of a plurality of meeting rooms and room members of other meeting rooms to be invited to each meeting room.

[0413] The contents described in the seventh embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0414] <Display screen> The upper diagram in Fig. 7-1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A. Based on the fact that user AA has been invited by user EE in room B and user LL in room D, a message stating "You have received an invitation from another room" is displayed in area PPR6 superimposed on meeting room area RRA, along with a join button PBT corresponding to user EE's icon image, user name, and room name (room B), a join button PBT corresponding to user LL's icon image, user name, and room name (room D), and a cancel button CBT for moving to another room (operated if you do not want to move to either room B or room D).

[0415] In addition, the display frame of the sub-area SRB displaying words related to the topic of Room B ("fishing" and "weekend") is highlighted, and the display frame of the sub-area SRD displaying words related to the topic of Room D ("patent" and "passive income") is highlighted. This allows user AA to understand the words related to the topics of the multiple rooms to which he has been invited and decide which room to join, or whether to join neither.

[0416] When user AA taps the join button PBT corresponding to user EE (room B), user AA moves from room A to room B, as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 7-1. On the other hand, when user AA taps the join button PBT corresponding to user LL (room D), user AA moves from room A to room D.

[0417] The upper diagram in FIG. 7-2 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in room A. If user AA wants to invite user EE, who is participating in room B, to room A, he / she taps the invitation icon IIC corresponding to user EE in the other room information display area MRB corresponding to room B (1), and the icon image and username of user EE, the message input area MIR, and the invitation button IBT are displayed in the area PPR7 superimposed on the meeting room area RRA.

[0418] When user AA inputs a message to inviting user EE in the message input area MIR (for example, but not limited to, "EE, you grow potted plants, right? Why don't you come over here?") and taps the invite button IBT (2), as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 7-2, on user EE's terminal 20E, a message notifying that he or she has been invited from Room A ("Received an invitation from Room A") is displayed in area PPR8 superimposed on the meeting room area RRB, along with user AA's icon image and username, the message input in the message input area MIR, and the cancel button CBT and move button MBT for joining Room A.

[0419] When the user EE taps the move button MBT in the area PPR8, the user EE moves from the room B to the room A.

[0420] <Processing> 7-3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the other room member invitation process in this embodiment. This process shows, from the left, a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E of the user EE in room B, a process executed by the terminal 20L of the user LL in room D, a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A of the user AA in room A, and a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10.

[0421] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20E performs the above-mentioned step E510, and then the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the other room member invitation process. Similarly, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20L transmits member invitation request information requesting the invitation of the user AA to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20L ends the other room member invitation process.

[0422] In step S510, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits member solicitation information designating user EE as the invitation requesting user to the terminal 20A of user AA in room A and other room member terminals, and then transmits second member solicitation information designating user LL as the invitation requesting user to the terminal 20A of user AA in room A and other room member terminals (S710).Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the other room member solicitation process.

[0423] After displaying the member solicitation information designating user EE as the solicitation requesting user in step A510, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A causes the display unit 24 to display the second member solicitation information received from the server 10 (A710). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display information that combines the member solicitation information received from the server 10 and the second member solicitation information also received from the server 10.

[0424] Alternatively, the member solicitation information and the second member solicitation information may be displayed separately. These two pieces of member solicitation information may be displayed at the same time or at different times, or may or may not be displayed together. These two pieces of member solicitation information may also be displayed in different display formats.

[0425] Also, in step S710, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit to the terminal 20A one piece of member solicitation information including information specifying the user EE as the solicitation request user and information specifying the user LL as the solicitation request user.

[0426] After step A710, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room member invitation process. The same applies to the other room member terminals in Room A.

[0427] In this case, it is also possible for user AA of terminal 20A to conversely invite the invitation requesting user. In this case, by way of example and not limitation, if user AA invites user EE who is in room B, then in the processing described in Fig. 5-7, the processing executed by control unit 21 of terminal 20A and the processing executed by control unit 21 of terminal 20E may be interchanged.

[0428] Specifically, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits, to the room B, member invitation request information for inviting the user EE included in the room B to the room A (corresponding to step E510 in FIG. 5-7). Then, based on the member invitation request information received from the terminal 20A, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits, in step S510 in FIG. 5-7, member invitation information designating the user AA as the invitation request user to the terminal 20E of the user EE in the room B and other room member terminals. The same applies when user AA invites user LL who is in room D.

[0429] In this case, as described above, the member invitation request information (member invitation information) may include information about a message to the room to which the invitation target user belongs.

[0430] <Effects of the Seventh Embodiment> In this embodiment, by way of example and not limitation, the member solicitation information (a non-limiting example of information related to an invitation) is one member solicitation information (a non-limiting example of first invitation information). Then, the terminal 20 of the solicitation target user receives second member solicitation information (a non-limiting example of second invitation information), which is member solicitation information different from the one member solicitation information, via the communication I / F 22, and then displays on the display unit 24 information on the solicitation target user corresponding to the one member solicitation information (a non-limiting example of information on the inviter of the first invitation information) and information on the solicitation target user corresponding to the second member solicitation information (a non-limiting example of information on the inviter of the second invitation information). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, when second invitation information different from the first invitation information is received by the communication unit, information on the inviter of the first invitation information and information on the inviter of the second invitation information can be displayed on the display unit of the terminal, thereby informing the user of the terminal of the information on the inviters of the two invitations.

[0431] In this case, the terminal 20 of the user who has received an invitation to the second meeting room may send member invitation information to the second meeting room via the communication I / F 22 to invite one user (not limited to, but an example of a second user) included in the second meeting room to the first meeting room. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal 20 of a user who has received an invitation to the second group can conversely invite a second user who is included in the second group to the first group and make this known to the second group. As mentioned above, the number of room members may be "one person," so the second user included in the second group may be the only user included in the second group. In other words, the second user may be called the first user included in the second group.

[0432] In this case, the member invitation information may include information about a message for the second meeting room. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, by including information about a message for the second group in information regarding an invitation to the first group, it is possible to make it easier for the second group to understand the second user's invitation.

[0433] <Eighth Example> The eighth embodiment is an embodiment that enables a user to notify room members of another meeting room that he or she is interested in that other meeting room.

[0434] The contents described in the eighth embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0435] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 8-1 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA who is participating in room A. When user AA taps on the sub-area SRB that displays words related to the topic of Room B ("fishing" and "weekend") (or displays images of the participants in Room B), as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 8-1, on the terminal 20E of user EE in Room B, a message notifying that user AA in Room A is interested in Room B ("AA in Room A is interested in Room B"), an invite button IBT to be operated if user AA wishes to invite to Room B, and a cancel button CBT to be operated if user AA wishes not to be invited are displayed in an area PPR9 that is superimposed on the meeting room area RRB.

[0436] In addition, in the other room information display area MRA corresponding to room A, the appearance of the area corresponding to user AA changes, so that it is possible to know which users in which groups are interested in group B in which the user (user EE) is participating.

[0437] When user EE taps the invitation button IBT in area PPR9, a move button MBT for moving from room A to room B is displayed in area PPR5 superimposed on the meeting room area RRA on user AA's terminal 20A (see Figure 5-6). On the other hand, if user EE taps the cancel button CBT in area PPR9, the move button MBT (area PPR5) is not displayed on terminal 20A of user AA, and user AA cannot move from room A to room B.

[0438] In this way, by tapping on a sub-area SRB where information of interest is displayed, user AA can notify the users (EE to HH) of room B corresponding to that sub-area SRB that they are interested in room B (that they may participate in room B). Furthermore, the users (EE to HH) of room B can understand that user AA is interested in room B and can invite user AA to room B, or can also not invite user AA.

[0439] The invite button IBT and the cancel button CBT in the area PPR9 may be operable on each terminal 20 of the users (EE to HH) participating in Room B, or the invite button IBT and the cancel button CBT in the area PPR9 may be operable only on the terminal 20 of a predetermined user (a user set as a room administrator, for example, and not limited to) among the users of Room B. Furthermore, the users of Room B may decide by majority vote whether or not to invite user AA, who is interested in Room B, to Room B.

[0440] In addition, the terminals 20 of the users (EE to HH) participating in Room B may be notified that user AA of Room A is interested in Room B, or the notification may be sent only to the terminals 20 of predetermined users of Room B (for example, but not limited to, a user set as a room administrator).

[0441] <Processing> FIG. 8-2 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. After step W510, the communication system 1 performs another room interest presentation process (W810).

[0442] 8-3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the other room interest expression process. This process shows, from the left, a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A of the user AA in room A, a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E of the user EE in room B, and a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10.

[0443] For example, but not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 other room interest presentation request information requesting that the room be presented with the fact that user AA has an interest or concern in that room, based on input via the input / output unit 23 regarding the room topic, room tag notification information, etc. displayed for that other room (A810).

[0444] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may transmit information requesting presentation of interest in other rooms to the server 10 based on an input made in response to video information or the like of the other room displayed about the other room.

[0445] The other room interest presentation request information may include, for example and without limitation, information requesting the server 10 to send other room interest presentation information indicating an interest or concern in the room to the room (group) in which the interest or concern is expressed, or to room members of that room.

[0446] In addition, the other room interest presentation request information may include, for example and without limitation, information equivalent to a "like" used in social networking sites, or information about a message entered by the user indicating an interest or concern.

[0447] In addition, the request information to express interest in other rooms may include information urging the user (in this example, user AA) to invite themselves to that room (in this example, room B including user EE) (or information urging the user to send an invitation more proactively), and, by way of example and not limitation, information requesting the sending of member recruitment request information.

[0448] When the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives the request information for expressing interest in other rooms from the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14, the control unit 11 transmits the corresponding request information for expressing interest in other rooms to the terminal 20E of the second group (and other room member terminals) via the communication I / F 14 (S810).

[0449] In this example, the server 10 may transmit other-room interest presentation information only to the terminal 20E. Also, in relation to the above, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example and not by way of limitation, include in the above-mentioned other room interest presentation information and send information regarding a request to send member invitation request information to invite user AA to a meeting room of a second group including user EE.

[0450] When the other-room interest presentation information is received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E causes the display unit 24 to display the received other-room interest presentation information (E810).

[0451] Thereafter, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E determines whether to invite the user AA to its own meeting room (the meeting room of the second group) based on whether an input to invite the user AA to its own meeting room (the meeting room of the second group) has been made via the input / output unit 23 (E820). If it is determined not to invite the user AA (E820: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20E ends the other room interest presentation process.

[0452] If it is determined that the user AA should be invited (E820: YES), member invitation request information requesting that the user AA be invited is transmitted to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (E520).

[0453] After S810, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether member invitation request information has been received via the communication I / F 14 (S820), and if it determines that it has not been received (S820: NO), ends the other room interest expression process.

[0454] If it is determined that the member invitation request information has been received (S820: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the above-mentioned member invitation information to the terminal 20A of room A (and other room member terminals) via the communication I / F 22 (S510). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 ends the other room interest expression process.

[0455] It should be noted that the member invitation information may be transmitted only to terminal 20A. Furthermore, the member invitation information sent to terminal 20A and the member invitation information sent to other room member terminals may be different information (information with different content).

[0456] After A810, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not member invitation information has been received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A820). If it is determined that member invitation information has not been received (A820: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other-room interest expression process.

[0457] If it is determined that member invitation information has been received (A820: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A causes the display unit 24 to display the received member invitation information (A510). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the other room interest expression process.

[0458] Returning to FIG. 8-2, after performing the other room interest presentation process (W810), the control unit 11 of the server 10 advances the process to W210.

[0459] <Effects of the Eighth Embodiment> This embodiment shows a configuration in which terminal 20 transmits information such as other room interest presentation information (not limited to, but an example of second information indicating interest in the second group) to a second group or a user included in the second group (not limited to, but an example of second information indicating interest in the second group) via communication I / F 22 based on input by the user of terminal 20 to terminal 20. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a terminal can inform a second group, or a second user included in the second group, that it is interested in the second group, based on input by the user of the terminal to the terminal.

[0460] In this case, the other room interest presentation information may include, by way of example and not limitation, information regarding a request to send member invitation information (an example of information regarding an invitation, not a limitation). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, by including information regarding a request to send information regarding an invitation in the second information indicating an interest in the second group, the user of the terminal can request the second group in which the user is interested to invite the user.

[0461] In this case, the terminal 20 displays information such as video information transmitted and received in other rooms, room topic information based on information transmitted and received in other rooms, and room tag notification information (not limited to this, an example of third information based on information transmitted and received in the second group) on the display unit 24. Then, the terminal 20 may transmit other room interest presentation information (not limited to this, an example of second information) via the communication I / F 22 based on input for that information. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, third information based on information being sent and received in the second group is displayed on the display unit of the terminal, and based on input on this third information, second information indicating an interest in the second group is sent, thereby conveying to the second group or a second user included in the second group that the user is interested in the second group.

[0462] <Ninth Example> The ninth embodiment is an embodiment related to a user's exit from a room. In the second embodiment and the like, a user can exit the general meeting, but some users may wish to exit the current room without exiting the general meeting. In this case, a user who has exited the current room may wish to move to another room, rather than returning to the original room.

[0463] In the following examples, leaving the current room is referred to as "leaving the room." Leaving the room may also be referred to as "leaving the room." Leaving the room or leaving the room may mean, but is not limited to, a state in which the interaction in the room has ended and the person can move to another room, or a state in which the person is not included in the room (meeting room / bench room) but is not removed from the general meeting. Note that leaving the room may also be referred to as "leaving one's seat."

[0464] The contents described in the ninth embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0465] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 9-1 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A. In this figure, a room participant area PRA is provided on the right side of the meeting room area RRA, which displays information about users participating in the meeting being held in room A.

[0466] The diagram at the bottom of FIG. 9-1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A when the leave button LBT is tapped in the diagram at the top of FIG. 9-1. In this embodiment, when user AA taps the exit button LBT, user AA leaves room A, and the left side of the display unit 24 of terminal 20A displays a screen that has become blank due to the user's exit from room A.

[0467] To the right of this blank screen, other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, etc. are provided corresponding to each of the other rooms, including the room A that has been left. The other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, etc. are provided with sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, etc. that display video information for the corresponding rooms. In other words, in this example, when user AA leaves room A, user AA can check the video information and participant information for other rooms, including the room A that has been left. Furthermore, by operating a join button displayed in the other room information display area, user AA can join that room. Note that user AA may also be able to join that room by operating information other than the join button among the various other room information described above.

[0468] <Processing> FIG. 9-2 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. After step W110, the communication system 1 executes an in-room video distribution process (W910).

[0469] 9-3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the in-room video distribution process in this embodiment. In this process, from the left, there are shown a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B, and a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10.

[0470] The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not to leave the room (A910) by determining whether or not a user input to leave the room (for example, but not limited to, an operation of the leave button) has been made via the input / output unit 23. If it is determined not to leave the room (A910: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A performs a step of transmitting video information (A920) and a step of displaying in-room video information (A930), and then ends the in-room video distribution process.

[0471] If it is determined that the user is to leave the meeting room (A910: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits, via the communication I / F 22, to the server 10, exit request information for requesting the user to leave the current meeting room (A940).

[0472] After step S920, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not the request to leave the room has been received via the communication I / F 14 (S930), and if it determines that the request has not been received (S930: NO), it performs a step (S940) of transmitting the in-room video information to the terminal 20A, and then terminates the in-room video distribution process.

[0473] If it is determined that the room exit request information has been received (S930: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits other room information, which is information related to other rooms, to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S950). In this case, since user AA is removed from the room members of room A by leaving the room, the other room information can include, by way of example and not limitation, room information for each room including room A. Note that the information that can be included in the other room information is as described above.

[0474] After step A940, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A turns off the display of the meeting room in room A and causes the display unit 24 to display the other room information received from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (A950). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A ends the in-room video distribution process. That is, the terminal 20A performs control to stop outputting the video information transmitted and received in room A and performs control to display other room information including room A, which has been left.

[0475] Returning to FIG. 9-2, after step W910, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a room transfer process (W920). In this room transfer process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether room transfer request information has been received from the terminal 20 via the communication I / F 14 for each room, based on the process of FIG. 2-6, for example and not by way of limitation (S201). If it is determined that the information has been received (S201: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 deletes the application ID of the user of the terminal 20 that sent the room transfer request information from the meeting room management data, from the room member ID associated with the room ID of the current room, and adds the application ID to the room member ID associated with the room ID of the destination room (S203).

[0476] Furthermore, when receiving the room exit request information from the terminal 20 in step W910, the control unit 11 of the server 10 temporarily deletes the application ID of the user of the terminal 20 that sent the room exit request information from the meeting room management data, from the room member ID associated with the room ID of the current room, and stores and holds the application ID in the storage unit 15. As a result, the user who has left the room is no longer included in any room.

[0477] After step W920, the control unit 11 of the server 10 advances the process to step W160.

[0478] In addition, after a user inputs to leave the room via the input / output unit 23, or after the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 sends exit request information to the server 10 and the server 10 receives it, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may allow the user to leave the room if a set time has passed or if a set time has arrived.

[0479] Specifically, as an example and not as a limitation, after a user inputs to leave the room via the input / output unit 23, when a set time (for example and not as a limitation, one minute) has elapsed, or when a set time (for example and not as a limitation, every five minutes past the hour) has arrived, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may send exit request information to the server 10. Also, as a non-limiting example, after the server 10 receives exit request information from the terminal 20, if a set time (for example, one minute) has elapsed or if a set time (for example, five minutes past every hour) has arrived, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may cause the user of the terminal 20 to leave the room.

[0480] This is because the user may feel awkward if they immediately leave the room. This is more noticeable when moving to another meeting room, and if the user is immediately moved to another meeting room, the user may feel even more awkward with the room members of the original meeting room.

[0481] <Effects of the ninth embodiment> In this embodiment, a terminal 20 that outputs video information (not limiting, an example of audio information and video information) transmitted and received in a first meeting room outputs the video information transmitted and received in the first meeting room including the user of the terminal 20 from the display unit 24 and the audio output unit 26. Then, the terminal 20 performs control by the control unit 21 to stop outputting the video information transmitted and received in the first meeting room based on an input from the user of the terminal 20 to leave the room (not limiting, an example of a first input). Then, the terminal 20 shows a configuration in which other room information (not limiting, an example of information indicating a first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group) is displayed on the display unit 24. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a terminal can output audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group including the user of the terminal, and can stop outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input to the terminal by the user of the terminal. In this case, by the terminal displaying information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group, the user of the terminal can confirm the information indicating the first group and the information indicating the second group even when outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group is stopped.

[0482] In the above processing example, when a user leaves a room, the association of the user with the room is cancelled and other room information including information about the room from which the user has left is displayed, but the present invention is not limited to this. When a user leaves a room, the association of the user with the room may not be released, and room information of the room from which the user left and room information of other rooms (other room information) may be displayed. Also, the room information of the room from which the user has left may not be displayed.

[0483] In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to use the control unit 21 to control sending exit request information to the server 10 (not limiting, an example of control to cease participation in the first group) based on an input by the user of the terminal 20 to exit the room (not limiting, an example of a first input). As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can control the user of the terminal to stop participating in the first group based on a first input by the user of the terminal to the terminal. Also, by performing such control, it becomes possible to cause the user of the terminal to leave the first group.

[0484] In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to control participation in another room by the control unit 21 based on input to the other room information (not limited to this, but an example of information indicating the second group). As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can allow a user to join the second group based on an input to the information indicating the second group.

[0485] In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to have the control unit 21 perform control to stop outputting the video information transmitted and received in the first meeting room when a set time has elapsed or when a set time has arrived after the user of the terminal 20 has made an input to leave the room (this is an example of a first input, not limited to this). As an example of an effect of this configuration, the terminal can stop outputting audio and video information transmitted and received in the first group when a set time has elapsed or a set time has arrived after the first input, thereby preventing the user of the terminal from feeling awkward about immediately leaving the group.

[0486] In addition, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the server 10 relays video information (not limited to, an example of audio information and video information) transmitted and received in the first meeting room, and is equipped with a control unit 11 that controls to stop transmitting video information transmitted from a terminal 20 included in the first meeting room (not limited to, an example of a first terminal) to the first terminal based on an input (not limited to, an example of a first input) by a user of the terminal 20 to leave the room, and a communication I / F 14 that transmits other room information (not limited to, an example of information indicating a first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group) to the first terminal. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the server can stop transmitting to the first terminal the audio information and video information transmitted from a terminal included in the first group, based on a first input to the first terminal by a user of the first terminal included in the first group. Furthermore, by transmitting to the first terminal information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group, the server can enable the user of the first terminal to confirm the information indicating the first group and the information indicating the second group, even when the server has stopped transmitting to the first terminal the audio information and video information transmitted from the terminal included in the first group.

[0487] <Tenth Example> The tenth embodiment is slightly different from the ninth embodiment, and is an embodiment relating to moving a user who has left a meeting room to the bench room described above.

[0488] The contents described in the tenth embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0489] <Data structure> FIG. 10-1 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the meeting management database 155D, which is an example of the meeting management database 155 in this embodiment. In the meeting management database 155D, in the meeting room management data included in each meeting management data, for example and without limitation, a room ID, a room name, and a room member ID are stored in association with each other.

[0490] In this embodiment, the room ID is stored, for example and not by way of limitation, as well as the room ID of the meeting room described above, and also the room ID of the "bench room" ("R999" in this example). Furthermore, as a room ID of a bench room, for example and not by way of limitation, "bench room" is stored as the room name, and the application IDs of the users included in the bench room are stored as the room member IDs.

[0491] The meeting room management data may also store, as room information other than the above, information such as, but not limited to, the volume of comments made by each room member (volume of comments made by each room member ID), links shared within the room, image storage destinations, etc. Also, the above-mentioned room topics (excluding bench rooms) may be stored.

[0492] As will be described later, messages and the like may be sent and received in a bench room (bench room members, bench room member terminals, bench room groups). In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may estimate and acquire the room topic of the bench room based on messages and the like sent and received in the bench room. In this case, the room topic may also be stored in the bench room field of the above-mentioned meeting room management data.

[0493] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 10-2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A, and is similar to the upper diagram in FIG. 9-1.

[0494] The lower diagram of FIG. 10-2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A when the leave button LBT is tapped in the upper diagram of FIG. 10-2. When user AA taps the exit button LBT, user AA leaves room A, and a bench room area BRR is displayed on the left side of the display unit 24 of terminal 20A, which differs from the lower diagram in Fig. 9-1 in that it displays the screen of the bench room to which user AA has moved. Also, below the bench room area BRR is provided a bench room participant area PRBR that displays information about users other than user AA who are participating in the bench room (waiting in the bench room), and in this example, information about users PP and QQ who are in the bench room other than user AA is displayed. Also, to the right of these areas, similar to the lower diagram in Figure 9-1, areas are displayed that include other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, etc. for each other room, including sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, etc. in which video information of the corresponding other rooms is displayed. In this case, the room you are in is a "bench room" and the other rooms are "meeting rooms."

[0495] As mentioned above, room members in a bench room may or may not be able to send and receive messages and the like.

[0496] The upper diagram in Figure 10-3 shows an example of a screen displayed on terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A, and is almost the same as the upper diagram in Figure 9-1 and the upper diagram in Figure 10-2. However, in this example, to the right of the meeting room area RRA, other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, ... are displayed for each other room, including sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, ... that display video information of meetings being held in the corresponding other rooms, and areas that include the room name, join button, information about room members, invite button, etc.

[0497] The lower diagram of FIG. 10-3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A when the leave button LBT is tapped in the upper diagram of FIG. 10-3. When the leave room button LBT is tapped, a blank screen is displayed on the left side of the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A, as in the lower diagram of Fig. 9-1. Also, to the right of that, other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, ... for each other room are displayed, which include sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, ... in which words for the corresponding other room (room topic and room tag notification information) are displayed. That is, in this example, when user AA leaves room A, he or she is not moved to the bench room, but is able to check topics in other rooms, including room A, which he or she has left.

[0498] The upper diagram of FIG. 10-4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A, and is similar to the upper diagram of FIG. 10-3.

[0499] The diagram at the bottom of FIG. 10-4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A when the leave button LBT is tapped in the diagram at the top of FIG. 10-4. When the leave room button LBT is tapped, the bench room screen is displayed in the bench room area BRR on the left side of the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A, similar to the diagram in the lower part of Fig. 10-2. Also, on the right side, similar to the screen in the lower part of Fig. 10-3, other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, ... for each other room are displayed, including sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, ... in which words of the corresponding other rooms (room topics and room tag notification information) are displayed. That is, in this example, when user AA leaves room A, he or she moves to the bench room, where he or she can check the topics being discussed in other rooms, including room A, which he or she has left.

[0500] Note that, as an example and not a limitation, images related to room topics or shared images may be displayed in the other room information display area, similar to FIG. 2-1. Also, similar to FIG. 2-2, room topic, room tag notification information, etc. may be displayed based on input for video information, etc. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3-1 and FIG. 3-3, related information about other rooms may be highlighted based on information about a user who has moved to a bench room.

[0501] <Processing> FIG. 10-5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. After step W110, the communication system 1 performs in-room video distribution processing (W1010). In this in-room video distribution processing, when, for example and not by way of limitation, room exit request information is received in the processing of FIG. 9-3 (S930: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits other room information to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S950). In this case, the other room information may include, for example and not by way of limitation, the following information in addition to the information described above. -Information about room members of bench rooms (for example, but not limited to, bench room room member names, room member IDs, and images of room members)

[0502] In addition, in the in-room video image distribution process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can perform any of the following processes. Even if video information is received from the terminal 20 of a room member in the bench room, the video image generation process within the room is not performed. When video information is received from the terminal 20 of a room member in the bench room, the video information generating process within the room is performed, but the generated video information within the room is not transmitted to the terminal 20. By doing so, in the above processing example, it is possible to prevent the in-room video information from being displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A.

[0503] Alternatively, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit the in-room video information to the terminal 20 of the room member of the bench room. In this case, in the in-room video distribution process, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 of the room member of the bench room can prevent the received in-room video information from being displayed on the display unit 24. Alternatively, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 of the room member in the bench room may be configured not to transmit the moving image information to the server 10. By doing so, in the above processing example, it is possible to prevent the in-room video information from being displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A.

[0504] Furthermore, as described above, the terminal 20 of a room member of a bench room may be able to send a message to another user of the bench room via the server 10 based on a user input via the input / output unit 23. In this case, when content such as text content is input via the input / output unit 23 and a send button for the content is tapped, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the input content to the server 10. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can generate message information based on the received content and transmit the generated message information to the terminal 20 of the other user of the bench room.

[0505] After step W1010, the communication system 1 performs a room transfer process (W1040). In this room transfer process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether room transfer request information has been received from the terminal 20 via the communication I / F 14 for each room. If it is determined that the information has been received, the control unit 11 of the server 10 deletes the application ID of the user of the terminal 20 that sent the room transfer request information from the meeting room management data, from the room member ID associated with the room ID of the current room, and adds it to the room member ID associated with the room ID of the destination room.

[0506] Furthermore, when a user inputs an exit request (such as, for example and not limitation, operating an exit button) via the input / output unit 23 at the terminal 20, room transfer request information requesting a transfer to a bench room or room exit request information requesting an exit from the current meeting room is transmitted from the terminal 20 to the server 10. Then, based on the received information, the control unit 11 of the server 10 changes the application ID of the user of the terminal 20 in the meeting room management data from the room member ID associated with the room ID of the current room to the room member ID associated with the room ID of the bench room.

[0507] After step W1040, the control unit 11 of the server 10 moves the process to step W130, and if it determines that the set time has elapsed (W130: YES), it performs a room topic acquisition process (W1020). In this room topic acquisition process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 does not need to acquire a room topic for the bench room, but as described above, and as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 11 may estimate and acquire the room topic of the bench room based on messages (content) sent and received between room members of the bench room.

[0508] Thereafter, the communication system 1 performs a room topic update process (W1030).

[0509] In the room topic update process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can, for example and not by way of limitation, prevent the room topic information from being sent to the terminals 20 of the room members in the bench room. In this way, the room topic and room tag notification information can be prevented from being displayed on the terminals 20 of the room members in the bench room.

[0510] Alternatively, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit the room topic information to the terminal 20 of the room member of the bench room. In this case, in the room topic update process, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 of the room member of the bench room may perform any of the following processes, by way of example and not limitation. Even if room topic information is received, the room tag notification information generation process is not performed and the room tag notification information is not displayed. - Generates room tag notification information based on received room topic information, but does not display the generated room tag notification information -Do not display the room topic of received room topic information (do not display room tag notification information either) In this way, the room topic and room tag notification information can be prevented from being displayed on the terminals 20 of the room members in the bench room.

[0511] After step W1030, the control unit 11 of the server 10 advances the process to step W160.

[0512] <Effects of the Tenth Example> This embodiment shows a configuration in which the control unit 21 controls the terminal 20 to move to a bench room (not limited to, but an example of the third group), which is one of the rooms different from the meeting room in which the terminal 20 is currently located, based on an input (not limited to, but an example of the first input) made by the user of the terminal 20 to leave the room. As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to move the user of the terminal to a third group different from the first group based on the first input.

[0513] In this case, the bench room (group of bench rooms) may be configured so that transmission and reception of moving image information is not possible within the bench room (group of bench rooms). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, after moving to a third group different from the first group based on a first input, audio information and video information can be prevented from being sent or received within the third group, allowing the user to wait.

[0514] In this case, the bench room (group of bench rooms) may be configured to be able to send and receive messages. As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, in combination with the above, it is not possible to send and receive audio information and video information within the third group, but it is possible to send and receive messages, making it possible to carry out simple exchanges via messages within the third group.

[0515] In this case, when the user of terminal 20 is included in a bench room (a group of bench rooms), the control unit 21 may control the display of information indicating the room (group) before moving to the bench room and information indicating other rooms (other groups). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, even if the user of the terminal is included in the third group, information indicating the first group and information indicating the second group can be displayed so that the user of the terminal can confirm the information indicating the first group and the information indicating the second group.

[0516] <Tenth Modification (1)> In the above embodiment, when the set condition is met, a proposal to join the meeting room may be made to the users included in the bench room.

[0517] The upper diagram in FIG. 10-6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A, and is similar to the lower diagram in FIG. 10-4. After the bench room screen in the upper diagram of Figure 10-6 is displayed, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 10-6, in this example, member recruitment information (which may also be called room participation suggestion information) including text encouraging users A,A to join room A (in this example, the text is "Would you like to join room A?"), a move button MBT, and a cancel button CBT is displayed in a pop-up area PPR10 displayed in pop-up format.

[0518] By way of example and not limitation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can transmit this member invitation information to the terminal 20A based on the establishment of a set condition. The set condition can be, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of the following: The set time has passed since the user moved to the bench room. The set time has arrived after the user has moved to the bench room.

[0519] In this case, the proposed destination room can be determined by the control unit 11 of the server 10 to be, for example, any one of the following rooms, but is not limited thereto. A room including the user of the terminal 20 that transmitted the member invitation request information to the server 10 (the terminal 20 that received the member invitation request information). The meeting room where the bench room member was just before moving to the bench room Meeting rooms determined based on the user information of the room members in the bench room (the method is the same as in the previous example) Randomly determined meeting rooms

[0520] Proposing a room containing the user of the terminal 20 that sent member invitation request information to the server 10 as the destination room means proposing to the user that they receive an invitation to be a room member of the bench room and move to the room to which they received the invitation.

[0521] Also, in this example, in the upper diagram of Figure 10-6, the sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, ... of the other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, ... for each other room, which are displayed to the right of the bench room area BRR and bench room participant area PRBR, display the corresponding words of the other room (room topic and room tag notification information). However, based on the above-mentioned set conditions being met, in the lower diagram of Figure 10-6, the displayed words (room topic and room tag notification information) are erased from the sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, ..., and instead, video information of the corresponding other room is displayed. In this case, if the set condition is met, no other room information may be displayed in the other room information display area on the lower screen of FIG. 10-6.

[0522] When the move button MBT is tapped, room move request information is sent from the terminal 20A to the server 10, and the server 10 executes the room move process, thereby moving the user AA to the proposed destination room (room A in this example).

[0523] In addition, instead of the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmitting member solicitation information to the terminal 20A and the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displaying it on the display unit 24, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may determine whether or not the set conditions (similar to those described above) are met, and if it is determined that the conditions are met, the member solicitation information may be displayed on the display unit 24.

[0524] The upper diagram in FIG. 10-7 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A. In this example, to the right of the bench room area BRR and the bench room participant area PRBR, other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, ... are displayed for each other room, including sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, ... where corresponding words for other rooms (room topics and room tag notification information) are displayed.

[0525] Also, in this example, a conversation volume area CAR, which represents the conversation volume for each other room as a bar graph, is displayed within the bench room area BRR. The control unit 11 of the server 10 can, for example and without limitation, tally the conversation volume for each other room based on the speech volume for each room member stored in association with each room in the meeting room management data. Then, information on the conversation volume for each room obtained as a result of the tallying is transmitted from the server 10 to the terminal 20, and in this example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A can display the conversation volume for each other room in graph form based on the received conversation volume information. The control unit 11 of the server 10 may also generate a graph and transmit it to the terminal 20.

[0526] During a meeting in a meeting room, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 transmits speech volume request information requesting information on the speech volume of the user of the terminal 20 to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22. Then, based on receiving the speech volume request information from the terminal 20 via the communication I / F 14, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit information on the speech volume of the user to the terminal 20. The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may then display the received speech volume on the display unit 24. Note that the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may request and obtain information on the speech volume of an arbitrarily selected or designated user, rather than its own speech volume, from the server 10. The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may also obtain the speech volume of the user of its own terminal 20 based on sound information input via the sound input unit 25.

[0527] After the bench room screen in the upper diagram of Figure 10-7 is displayed, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 10-7, in this example, member recruitment information including text encouraging user A,A to join room D (in this example, the text is "Would you like to join room D?"), a move button MBT, and a cancel button CBT is displayed in a pop-up area PPR11 displayed in pop-up format.

[0528] As an example, but not limited to, similar to Figure 10-6, this room participant information can be sent by the control unit 11 of the server 10 to the terminal 20A based on the fulfillment of a set condition (for example, but not limited to, a set time has elapsed since the user moved to the bench room, or a set time has arrived after the user moved to the bench room, etc.).

[0529] In this example, the suggested destination room can be determined by the control unit 11 of the server 10 based on the amount of conversation in each of the other rooms, but is not limited thereto. Specifically, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can determine the room with the least amount of conversation as the suggested destination room, but is not limited thereto.

[0530] Also, in this example, in the upper diagram of Figure 10-7, the sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, ... of the other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, ... for each other room, which are displayed to the right of the bench room area BRR and the bench room participant area PRBR, display the corresponding words of other rooms (room topics and room tag notification information). However, based on the above-mentioned set conditions being met, in the lower diagram of Figure 10-7, the words (room topic and room tag notification information) that were displayed in the sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, etc. in the upper diagram of Figure 10-7 disappear, and instead, video information of the corresponding other rooms is displayed.

[0531] When the move button MBT is tapped, room move request information is sent from the terminal 20A to the server 10, and the server 10 executes the room move process, thereby moving the user AA to the proposed destination room (room D in this example).

[0532] In addition, instead of the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmitting member solicitation information to the terminal 20A and the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displaying it on the display unit 24, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may determine whether or not the set conditions (similar to those described above) are met, and if it is determined that the conditions are met, the member solicitation information may be displayed on the display unit 24.

[0533] In addition, in the examples of Figures 10-6 and 10-7, the room members of the bench room are asked whether they would like to move to the proposed destination room, and if the user agrees to the move, the user is moved to the proposed destination room, but this is not limited to this. The control unit 11 of the server 10 may perform a room transfer process without obtaining the user's approval based on the fulfillment of the set conditions, and may move the user to the proposed destination room (this may be called a forced transfer from a bench room).

[0534] Furthermore, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may forcibly leave a user from a bench room (hereinafter referred to as "forced exit" (forced exit)) based on the establishment of a set condition. In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10, by way of example and not limitation, temporarily deletes the application ID of the user from the room member ID associated with the room ID of the bench room, and stores and retains the application ID in the storage unit 15. This is to make it possible to identify the user who has been forcibly exited from the bench room. As a result, the user is no longer included in any room (including the bench room).

[0535] Furthermore, as described above, when the control unit 11 of the server 10 forcibly leaves a user from a bench room, if the above-described set conditions are met, for example and not by way of limitation, the control unit 11 may stop sending other room information to the user's terminal 20, and other room information may no longer be displayed on the user's terminal 20. In other words, the user who is forcibly left from the bench room may no longer be able to check information about other rooms.

[0536] In this modified example, when the user of terminal 20 is included in a bench room (group of bench rooms) and receives member solicitation information or room participation proposal information (not limited to this, but an example of information related to an invitation) via communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 may perform control to move to a room (group) based on the member solicitation information or room participation proposal information. As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, when the user of the terminal is included in the third group and the terminal receives information about an invitation, the user of the terminal can be moved to the group based on the information about the invitation. Also, by performing such control, it is possible, for example and not by way of limitation, to forcibly move the user from the third group to the invited group.

[0537] In this case, the control unit 21 may control the terminal 20 so that, if the user of the terminal 20 is included in a bench room (a group of bench rooms), other room information (not limited to this, but an example of information indicating the first group and information indicating the second group) is not displayed on the display unit 24 for a set time or longer or until the set time. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, when the terminal user is included in the third group for a set time or more or until a set time, the display unit can be configured not to display information indicating the first group and information indicating the second group, thereby preventing the terminal user from checking the information indicating the first group and information indicating the second group. Furthermore, by performing such control, it becomes possible, for example and not by way of limitation, to forcibly remove the user from the third group.

[0538] In this case, the control unit 21 may also control the terminal 20 to move to a room (group) different from the bench room (group of bench rooms) if the user of the terminal 20 is included in the bench room (group of bench rooms) for a set time or longer or until the set time. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, if the terminal user is included in the third group for a set time or more or until a set time, the user can be moved to a fourth group different from the third group. Furthermore, by performing such control, it is possible to forcibly move the user from the third group to the fourth group, for example, but not limited to, the fourth group.

[0539] In this case, the terminal 20 may acquire the amount of comments made by the user of the terminal 20 by the control unit 21, the communication I / F 22, the sound input unit 25, etc. (not limiting, examples of an acquisition unit). As an example of an effect obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can acquire the volume of comments made by the user of the terminal. Also, by way of example and not limitation, the terminal can display the acquired volume of comments on a display unit, thereby enabling the user of the terminal to grasp the volume of their own comments.

[0540] <Eleventh Example> The eleventh embodiment is an embodiment that makes it possible to make a user leave the room based on the establishment of a set condition.

[0541] The contents described in the eleventh embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0542] As explained in the ninth and tenth examples, a user can leave the room by performing a user input for leaving the room (for example, but not limited to, tapping an exit button, etc.). The performance of this user input may also be considered as one of the set conditions. In this embodiment, the user is allowed to leave the room based on the establishment of a condition other than the user input. As an example, a method is illustrated in which the terminal 20 acquires information about the user of the terminal 20, and automatically causes the user of the terminal 20 to leave the room based on the acquired information about the user.

[0543] <Display screen> The upper diagram in FIG. 11-1 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A. In this example, when user A gets up from his seat during a meeting, an image of user AA leaving his seat (including the image of the chair in which user AA is sitting) captured by the imaging unit 27 is displayed in the area in the meeting room area RRA where the image of user A is displayed.

[0544] The lower diagram in FIG. 11-1 shows an example of a screen that is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A when the set condition is met thereafter. In this example, by way of example and not limitation, it is determined that user AA is away from his / her seat (by way of example and not limitation, a state of being away from his / her seat for a certain period of time or more) based on the fact that no person has been detected for a set period of time or more (or longer than the set period of time) from the video captured by the imaging unit 27 of terminal 20A. Then, in this example, a state is shown in which user AA has been moved to a bench room based on the determination result.

[0545] Specifically, a screen including the bench room area BRR and bench room participant area PRBR is displayed. Also, to the right of the bench room area BRR and bench room participant area PRBR, other room information display areas MRB, MRC, MRD, etc. are displayed, including sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, etc., which display words related to topics in other rooms, including Room A (room topics and room tag notification information).

[0546] The upper diagram in FIG. 11-2 shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 20A of user AA participating in room A. In this example, user A taps the video button VBT on his / her own terminal 20A during a meeting, causing his / her own image (as an example, not a limitation, an image captured by the imaging unit 27 of terminal 20A) to be hidden. Also, in this example, in the area of ​​the meeting room area RRA where the image of user AA is displayed, a slide button is displayed with the words "Automatic Exit," and a state is shown in which this slide button has been turned "ON" by user AA.

[0547] This slide button can be, by way of example and not limitation, a button used to automatically exit oneself (user AA in this example) from room A. In addition, in this example, after the video button VBT is tapped or the slide button is turned "ON", if the set condition is met, the user is moved to the bench room. If the slide button is set to "OFF," the player will not be automatically removed from the room even if the set conditions are met.

[0548] The lower diagram of FIG. 11-2 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A when the above-described set conditions are met. In this example, by way of example and not limitation, it is shown that user AA has been moved to the bench room based on the fact that a set amount of time (or more than the set amount of time) has passed since the video button VBT was tapped or the slide button was turned "ON."

[0549] Here, an example has been shown in which the user AA automatically leaves the room when the user AA operates the video button VBT to set the video to "OFF," but the present invention is not limited to this. As a non-limiting example, user AA may be automatically made to leave the room in the same manner as above when user AA operates the speaker button SBT to set the audio to "OFF" (mute).

[0550] <Processing> FIG. 11-3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed in the communication system 1 in this embodiment. After step W110, the communication system 1 performs in-room video distribution processing (W1110).

[0551] 11-4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the in-room video distribution process in this embodiment. In this process, from the left, there are shown a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B, and a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10.

[0552] After step S920, the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects whether a user has left their seat (S1110). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, it determines whether or not a user has left their seat based on the video information transmitted from terminal 20A and the video information transmitted from terminal 20B (video information transmitted from other room member terminals). "Leaving one's seat" here means that a user has temporarily left their seat for some reason (such as taking a break).

[0553] More specifically, the control unit 11 of the server 10, by way of example and not limitation, performs a person detection process on the video information contained in each piece of video information, and if no person is detected for a set period of time (or longer than the set period of time), determines that the user of the terminal 20 that sent the video information is away from their desk. In this case, if no person is detected by the set time, it may be determined that the user of the terminal 20 that is the sender of the video information is away from his / her seat.

[0554] Furthermore, as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may perform a speaker detection process on the sound information contained in each piece of video information, and if no speaker is detected for a set period of time (or longer than a set period of time), it may determine that the user of the terminal 20 that sent the video information is away from their desk (this may be considered as an absence determination based on the amount of speech made by the user of the terminal 20). In this case, if no speaker is detected by the set time, it may be determined that the user of the terminal 20 that is the sender of the video information is away from his / her desk.

[0555] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine that the user of the terminal 20 is away from the seat if a set time or more (or more than the set time) has passed since the user of the terminal 20 turned the video "OFF." In this case, if the video is turned "OFF" by the user of the terminal 20 and remains "OFF" until a set time, it may be determined that the user of the terminal 20 is away from their desk.

[0556] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine that the user of the terminal 20 is away from the seat if a set time or more (or more than the set time) has passed since the user of the terminal 20 turned the audio "OFF." In this case, if the user of the terminal 20 turns the audio "OFF" and the audio "OFF" remains until a set time, it may be determined that the user of the terminal 20 is away from the desk.

[0557] If it is determined that leaving the seat has been detected (S1110: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 proceeds to S950. On the other hand, if it is determined that leaving the seat has not been detected (S1110: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 proceeds to S940.

[0558] After A920, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not the communication I / F 22 has received in-room video information from the server 10 (A1110).

[0559] If it is determined that the message has been received (A1110: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A moves the process to A930. If it is determined that the message has not been received (A1110: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A moves the process to A950.

[0560] Returning to FIG. 11-3, after step W1110, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs room transfer processing (W920 or W1040). If user AA is not to be moved to a bench room, the room transfer processing of step W920 described above can be applied, and if user AA is to be moved to a bench room, the processing of W1040 described above can be applied. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 advances the process to step W160.

[0561] In the above process, the server 10 detects absence from the seat, but this is not limiting. The terminal 20 may detect absence from the seat. In this case, the terminal 20 can detect absence of the user of the terminal 20 using the same method as above, and upon determining that absence from the seat has been detected, transmit absence detection information indicating that absence from the seat has been detected to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22.

[0562] The detection of absence performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may be realized by, for example and without limitation, person detection processing based on video information (images captured by the imaging unit 27) as described above, or speaker detection processing (determination of the amount of speech by the user of the terminal 20) based on sound information input by the sound input unit 25 as described above. Also, it may be realized based on the video being set to "OFF" or the audio being set to "OFF" as described above.

[0563] Furthermore, when an absence from the seat is detected, instead of moving the user to the bench room and displaying the bench room screen as shown, for example but not limited to, in Figures 11-1 and 11-2, a blank screen may be displayed without moving the user to the bench room as shown, for example but not limited to, in Figures 9-1 and 10-3.

[0564] <Effects of the 11th embodiment> In this embodiment, the terminal 20 acquires information about the user of its own terminal 20 by an acquisition unit, and based on the acquisition, the control unit 21 performs control to stop outputting video information transmitted and received in the first meeting room. The terminal 20 is configured to display other room information (not limited to, but an example of information indicating a first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group) on the display unit 24. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a terminal can acquire information about its own user and, based on the acquisition, stop outputting audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group. In this case, by the terminal displaying information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group, even if outputting audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group is stopped, the user of the terminal can confirm the information indicating the first group and the information indicating the second group.

[0565] In this case, the acquisition unit of the terminal 20 is the imaging unit 27 of the terminal 20, and the terminal 20 may acquire, from the captured image captured by the imaging unit 27, whether or not the user of the terminal 20 is included in the captured image. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can easily and appropriately acquire (detect) whether or not the user of the terminal is included based on an image captured by the terminal's imaging unit, and then, based on that acquisition, can stop outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group.

[0566] In this case, the terminal 20 may acquire the amount of speech by the user of the terminal 20 by the sound input unit 25 (not limiting, but an example of an acquisition unit). As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can acquire the amount of speech made by the user of the terminal and, based on that acquisition, stop outputting the audio information and video information sent and received in the first group.

[0567] In this case, if the video information captured by the imaging unit 27 of the terminal 20 is set to "OFF" for a set period or until a set time (not limiting, but an example of a case where the video information captured by the imaging unit of the terminal is not transmitted to the first group for a set period or until a set time), the control unit 21 controls the terminal 20 to stop outputting the video information transmitted and received in the first group.The terminal 20 is configured to display other room information (not limiting, but an example of information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group) on the display unit 24. As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, if video information captured by an imaging unit of the terminal has not been transmitted to the first group for a set period or by a set time, the terminal can stop outputting the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group. In this case, by the terminal displaying information indicating the first group and information indicating a second group different from the first group, the user of the terminal can confirm the information indicating the first group and the information indicating the second group even when the output of the audio information and video information transmitted and received in the first group has been stopped.

[0568] <Twelfth Example> The twelfth embodiment is an example of what a meeting master can do, by way of example and not limitation.

[0569] The contents described in the twelfth embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0570] <Display screen> 12-1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the meeting master's terminal 20. Here, the meeting master is user BB who is included in room A, and an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of user BB's terminal 20B is shown. This screen is an example of a management screen for a meeting master, and by way of example and not limitation, it displays the words "Meeting Room List" along with room information for each room, including the user's own room.

[0571] In this example, room information display areas MRA2, MRB2, MRC2, etc., similar to the other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, etc., described above, are provided for each room. Furthermore, the room information display areas MRA2, MRB2, MRC2, etc., for each room, are provided with sub-areas SRA, SRB, SRC, etc., similar to the other room information display areas MRA, MRB, MRC, etc., described above. Furthermore, in this example, words related to the topic of the room are displayed.

[0572] In addition, in the upper right corner of the room information display area MRA2 of the top room A, there are displayed a general announcement icon AIC that the meeting master can use to make a general announcement to all rooms, a shuffle icon SIC that can be used to shuffle room members for all or some of the rooms, and an end meeting icon EIC that can be used to end the meeting.

[0573] After the general announcement icon AIC is tapped, the voice for the general announcement of user BB is input by the sound input unit 25 of terminal 20B, and the information of the voice for the general announcement is transmitted to each terminal 20 via the server 10, and the voice is output at each terminal 20. The general announcement may be realized by sending a message.

[0574] Furthermore, when the shuffle icon SIC is tapped, the control unit 11 of the server 10 randomly shuffles the room members, for example and not by way of limitation. It is also possible to allow user BB, who is the meeting master, to specify the room in which the room members are to be shuffled.

[0575] When the meeting end icon EIC is tapped, meeting end information is transmitted to each terminal 20 via the server 10, and then the meetings in all rooms are ended.

[0576] In addition, a room announcement icon RAIC is provided to the right of the room name in the room information display area of ​​each room, allowing the meeting master to make a room announcement for that room.

[0577] After the room announcement icon RAI is tapped, the audio for the room announcement of user BB is input by the audio input unit 25 of terminal 20B, and the audio information for this room announcement is transmitted via server 10 to the terminals 20 of each user included in the target room, and the audio is output at each terminal 20. The room announcement may be realized by sending a message.

[0578] To the right of the sub-area within each room information display area, information about the room members of that room is displayed, including each room member's icon image, user name, chat icon, etc., as well as a forced move icon FIC for forcibly moving the room member to another room, and information about the room member's stay in the meeting room.

[0579] To the right of this is a pie chart showing, by way of example and not limitation, the volume of speech of each room member in the meeting room. By displaying this type of chart, the meeting master can grasp how much speech each room member is making in each meeting room. The message volume graph is not limited to a pie chart, but may be a bar graph, etc. Also, specific numerical values ​​of the message volume (number of times, frequency, etc.) may be displayed.

[0580] In this example, a bench room information display area BRIR containing information about the bench room is provided in the lower left of the screen. The bench room information display area BRIR displays, by way of example and not limitation, information about the room members of the bench room, such as icon images of the room members, user names, chat icons, and time spent in the bench room.

[0581] To the right of the bench room information display area BRIR, there is provided a conversation volume area CAR that displays information about the conversation volume of each meeting room. In this example, the conversation volume area CAR displays a conversation volume graph that shows the conversation volume of each meeting room as a bar graph, by way of example and not limitation.

[0582] Additionally, in the conversation volume area CAR, information to draw attention is displayed in association with the meeting room with the least amount of conversation. In this example, based on the fact that Room D has the least amount of conversation, a warning mark is displayed in association with the bar of the bar graph for Room D in the conversation volume graph. By displaying this information in this way, the meeting master can grasp the level of conversation activity in each meeting room.

[0583] The conversation volume graph is not limited to a bar graph, but may be a pie chart or the like. Specific numerical values ​​of the conversation volume may also be displayed. Instead of displaying a warning mark, the bar of the bar graph for the room with the least conversation volume may be displayed by flashing.

[0584] Also, in this example display screen, in room C, a help sign requesting help from user KK is displayed in the field that displays information about user KK, a room member, and user KK's display field is displayed in a different display mode from the display fields of other users.

[0585] This can be configured so that the help information is displayed on the meeting master management screen based on help information transmitted from user KK's terminal 20K to the server 10. For example, but not limited to, when the user is bored with the meeting in the meeting room or wants to leave the meeting room, the user can operate his / her own terminal 20 to transmit the help information to the server 10. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can transmit the received help information to the terminal 20 of the meeting master user.

[0586] In this example, user BB, the meeting master, can receive help from user KK and, by way of example and not limitation, operate a forced move icon FIC displayed in association with user KK to move user KK to room D, which has the least amount of conversation. Note that this forced move may or may not require the consent of user KK.

[0587] Note that the forced move can be realized by the room move process performed by the control unit 11 of the server 10 described above, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0588] <Processing> In the process of this embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether a request for information for displaying the meeting master management screen has been received from the meeting master terminal 20, for example, but not limited to, at a timing before step W160, during the process executed in the communication system 1, including the process of Figures 1-10. If it is determined that a request for information for displaying the meeting master management screen has been received, the control unit 11 of the server 10 obtains the information necessary to display the meeting master management screen.

[0589] Specifically, as a non-limiting example, the meeting management data in which the meeting master ID of the meeting master is stored is identified from the meeting management database 155. Then, based on the meeting room management data included in the meeting management data, various information about each room, such as the latest room topic, the amount of comments by each room member, and the participation status (ON / OFF) of each room member, is obtained.

[0590] The control unit 11 of the server 10 calculates, for each room, the ratio of the message volume of each room member in the room based on the message volume of each room member included in the room. Furthermore, the control unit 11 of the server 10 calculates the conversation volume of each room by, for example, summing up the number of times that room members have spoken in that room, and sets a low conversation volume flag "ON" for rooms whose conversation volume is equal to or less than a set number (or less than the set number).

[0591] The control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits this information to the meeting master terminal 20 via the communication I / F 14. Then, the meeting master terminal 20 displays a meeting master management screen on the display unit 24 based on the information received from the server 10.

[0592] The server 10 generates display information for displaying a meeting master management screen including graphs and the like, and transmits the generated display information to the meeting master terminal 20. The meeting master user's terminal 20 may then display the meeting master management screen including graphs and the like based on the received display information. Furthermore, based on the information received from the server 10, graphs and the like may be generated on the terminal 20 side of the meeting master and displayed on the management screen for the meeting master. That is, when displaying the meeting master management screen, whether components such as graphs are generated by the terminal 20 or the server 10 can be determined in any way by programming.

[0593] Furthermore, for example and not limitation, the terminal 20 of the meeting master may transmit information on the speech volume of the room members to the terminals 20 of the room members via the server 10. The terminals 20 may then display the received information on the speech volume on the display unit 24.

[0594] In addition, as mentioned above, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may be configured to send information about the amount of speech of a user to the terminal 20 of that user based on a request from the terminal 20 of a use...

Claims

1. A program executed by a terminal that outputs audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group, displaying first information indicating a second group different from the first group on a display unit of the terminal while the audio information and the video information transmitted and received by the first group including the user of the terminal are being output by an output unit of the terminal; performing control by a control unit of the terminal to stop outputting the audio information and the video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input to the terminal in which the first information is displayed on the display unit; displaying information indicating the first group and second information indicating the second group on the display unit based on the first input; The terminal controls the control unit to join the second group based on an input to the first information or the second information.

2. 2. The program according to claim 1, The first information includes information about a topic in the second group.

3. 2. The program according to claim 1, The second information includes information about topics in the second group.

4. 2. The program according to claim 1, The second information includes information that is different from the information included in the first information.

5. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The terminal displays, on the display unit, a first display that shows how the user of the terminal is participating in the second group, based on the input for the first information.

6. 6. The program according to claim 5, The first display is a display using an image of the user of the terminal.

7. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The terminal executes, based on the first input, a control to move to a third group different from the first group by the control unit.

8. 8. The program according to claim 7, The control to join the second group is performed by the control unit based on an input for the second information after the control to move to the third group is performed.

9. The program according to claim 7 or claim 8, When the user of the terminal is included in the third group, the terminal displays, on the display unit, information suggesting that the user of the terminal join a predetermined group.

10. 10. The program according to claim 9, The terminal controls the control unit to participate in the predetermined group based on an input for the proposed information.

11. An information processing method for a terminal that outputs audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group, comprising: displaying, on a display unit of the terminal, first information indicating a second group different from the first group, when the audio information and the video information transmitted and received by the first group including the user of the terminal are output by an output unit of the terminal; performing control by a control unit of the terminal to stop outputting the audio information and the video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input to the terminal in which the first information is displayed on the display unit; displaying information indicating the first group and second information indicating the second group on the display unit based on the first input; The method includes controlling, by the control unit, participation in the second group based on input to the first information or the second information.

12. A terminal that outputs audio information and video information transmitted and received in a first group, a display unit that displays first information indicating a second group different from the first group when the audio information and the video information transmitted and received by the first group including the user of the terminal are output by an output unit of the terminal; a control unit that performs control to stop output of the sound information and the video information transmitted and received in the first group based on a first input to the terminal in which the first information is displayed on the display unit, the display unit displays information indicating the first group and second information indicating the second group based on the first input; The control unit controls participation in the second group based on input for the first information or the second information.

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