Conference screen display control device, method, and program

Abstract

When multiple meetings are scheduled, this system allows for easy and reliable verification of meeting identification information and participants before joining a meeting, and enables a screen display suitable for use when participant terminals are used as meeting terminals. [Solution] For each meeting room, meeting room information is generated, including room identification information and participant identification information, and this is displayed on the participant's terminal as meeting room list information. When a participant requests to display information while the meeting room list information is displayed, participant list information is generated based on the participant identification information included in the meeting room information and displayed on the participant's terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] One aspect of this invention relates to a conference screen display control device, method, and program for displaying an online conference screen on a conference terminal when a participant terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal is used as the conference terminal, for example.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in companies, schools, etc., due to the diversification of work styles and lecture methods, and the prevention of infectious diseases, etc., the number of cases of introducing an online conference system that does not require a place to participate such as a workspace or a lecture space is increasing.

[0003] An online conference system, for example, connects terminals of a plurality of conference participants to a server device on the cloud or the Web via a network, and the server device appropriately selects or edits the voices and images of each conference participant to compose a conference screen and transfers it to each terminal, thereby enabling conference communication between a plurality of terminals (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, typical online meeting systems use a system where meetings are specified by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) included in emails or messages, and participants join the meeting by accessing this URL. Therefore, when multiple meetings are scheduled and a participant wants to identify the one they want to attend, they have to check the contents of each email or message individually, which is not only cumbersome but also prone to selecting the wrong meeting. Furthermore, if a participant wants to confirm the other attendees before joining a meeting, they have to check the contents of emails or messages or make separate inquiries, which is also a cumbersome process.

[0006] Furthermore, when using smartphones or tablet devices as conference terminals, the display screen size is smaller compared to stationary personal computers. Therefore, how to display various conference-related information, such as conference screens and participant lists, is one of the issues that needs to be considered.

[0007] This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a technology that allows for easy and reliable confirmation of meeting identification information and participants before joining a meeting when multiple meetings are scheduled, and that enables a screen display suitable for use when participant terminals are used as meeting terminals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, one embodiment of the conference screen display control device or method according to the present invention, when conducting conference communication via a network between multiple participant terminals, including a mobile terminal, first generates conference room information for each conference room, including room identification information and participant identification information, and also generates conference room list information that displays the multiple generated conference room information in a list, and displays the generated conference room list information on the participant terminal. Then, when a request to display the participants in any conference room is input while the conference room list information is displayed, participant list information is generated based on the participant identification information included in the corresponding conference room information, and the generated participant list information is displayed on the participant terminal.

[0009] According to one aspect of this invention, when multiple meeting rooms are available, meeting room information including room identification information and participant identification information is generated for each meeting room, and the generated meeting room information is displayed in a list. For example, prospective participants can understand the meeting room's identification information, such as its type and name, from the list of meeting room information, and can also check the list of participants from the participant list information. As a result, prospective participants can easily and quickly check information about the meeting room before attending, and can also attend the correct meeting room without making a mistake.

[0010] Furthermore, the above-mentioned list of meeting rooms and participant information are displayed hierarchically, one piece at a time, on each participant's device. This ensures that even when participants use mobile devices with small screens, the information is displayed clearly and with high visibility. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] In other words, according to one aspect of this invention, it is possible to provide a technology that allows for easy and reliable confirmation of meeting identification information and participants before joining a meeting when multiple meetings are scheduled, and that enables a screen display suitable for use when a participant terminal is used as a meeting terminal. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an online meeting system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a conference server used as a conference screen display control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a conference server used as a conference screen display control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content for conference screen display control performed by the control unit of the conference server shown in Figure 3. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and content of the information generation and display process related to the meeting configuration, which is part of the meeting screen display control shown in Figure 4. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and content for generating and displaying information related to regular participants, which is part of the conference screen display control shown in Figure 4. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and content for generating and displaying information related to observers, which is part of the conference screen display control shown in Figure 4. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of the meeting room list information, meeting bubble screen information, regular participant list information, and observer list information that are displayed on the participant's terminal before joining a meeting. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows examples of meeting bubble screen information, regular participant list information, and observer list information that are displayed on a participant's terminal during a meeting. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Embodiments of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [One Embodiment] (Configuration Example) (1) System FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an online conference system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] The online conference system includes a conference server SV used as a conference screen display control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. A plurality of participant terminals UT1 to UTn used by conference participants can be respectively connected to the conference server SV via a network NW.

[0016] As the participant terminals UT1 to UTn, for example, mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablet terminals are used, but notebook or desktop personal computers may also be included. Since the participant terminals UT1 to UTn basically have the same configuration, hereinafter, the participant terminals UT1 to UTn will be collectively referred to as the participant terminal UT.

[0017] The participant terminal UT includes, as a hardware configuration, a control unit including a processor, a storage unit storing various programs and data, a communication interface unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from the network NW, a data input / output unit including an input device and a display device, and an audio input / output unit including a microphone and a speaker. Further, as software used for an online conference, it includes a browser and an application program for an online conference operating on this browser.

[0018] The application program for online meetings collaborates with the online meeting control program of the meeting server SV to execute predetermined control processes related to online meetings on the participant terminals UT. Specifically, the application program transmits and receives various data such as the voices, images, and documents of meeting participants while an online meeting communication link is established between the application program and the meeting server SV. Note that the application program for online meetings may utilize, for example, the mechanism of the WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) function.

[0019] The network NW is based on, for example, the Internet and includes an access network for connecting the meeting server SV and a plurality of participant terminals UT to the Internet. As the access network, for example, a public communication network using wired or wireless, or a LAN (Local Area Network) using wired or wireless is used, but other networks such as a CATV (Cable Television) network may also be used.

[0020] (2) Meeting Server SV FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are block diagrams showing an example of the hardware configuration and software configuration of the meeting server SV, respectively.

[0021] The meeting server SV is composed of, for example, a server computer installed on the cloud or the Web, and includes a control unit 10 that uses a hardware processor such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The meeting server SV has a storage unit having a program storage unit 20 and a data storage unit 30, and a communication interface (hereinafter abbreviated as I / F) unit 40 connected to the control unit 10 via a bus 50.

[0022] The communication interface unit 40, under the control of the control unit 10, uses a communication protocol defined by the network NW, such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), to send and receive information data related to the online meeting with multiple participant terminals UT.

[0023] The program storage unit 20 is configured, for example, as a storage medium, by combining a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read at any time, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), with a non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory). In addition to middleware such as an OS (Operating System), it stores an online meeting control program necessary for executing various control processes according to one embodiment of this invention, and a meeting screen display control program that executes display control of various screen information related to online meetings.

[0024] The data storage unit 30 is, for example, a combination of a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read at any time, such as an HDD or SSD, and a volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), and includes a conference registration information storage unit 31 as the main data storage unit necessary for executing conference screen display control according to one embodiment of this invention.

[0025] The meeting registration information storage unit 31 is used to store meeting registration information set by, for example, the meeting organizer when setting up a meeting room. The meeting registration information includes meeting room identification information and participant identification information. The meeting room identification information may be, for example, the name of the meeting room or an icon equivalent thereto. The participant identification information may be, for example, the participant's name or a photograph or icon equivalent thereto. Participants are also classified into regular participants who attend the meeting for the purpose of conversation and observers who attend for the purpose of listening, that is, participants who only listen without speaking at the meeting, and the participant identification information also includes information that identifies the above purpose of participation.

[0026] Furthermore, the data storage unit 30 includes a conference room information storage unit 32, a conference configuration information storage unit 33, a regular participant information storage unit 34, and an observer information storage unit 35 for temporarily storing information data generated during the conference screen display control process.

[0027] The control unit 10 includes, as processing functions necessary to perform conference screen information display control according to one embodiment of this invention, a request identification processing unit 11, a conference registration information acquisition processing unit 12, a conference room information generation and display processing unit 13, a conference configuration information generation and display processing unit 14, a normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15, and an observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16. All of these processing units 11 to 15 are realized by causing the hardware processor of the control unit 10 to execute an application program stored in the program storage unit 20.

[0028] Furthermore, some or all of the above-mentioned processing units 11 to 16 may be implemented using hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0029] The request identification processing unit 11 receives various display requests transmitted from participant terminals UT via the communication interface unit 40 when displaying the conference screen, identifies the type of request, and passes the identified display request to processing units 12 to 16 that execute the corresponding processing.

[0030] The meeting registration information acquisition processing unit 12, for example, when it receives a meeting room registration request from a participant terminal UT of a host participant who is hosting a meeting, receives the meeting registration information transmitted from the participant terminal UT following the registration request via the communication I / F unit 40 and stores the received meeting registration information in the meeting registration information storage unit 31.

[0031] The meeting room information generation and display processing unit 13 generates meeting room information for each meeting room based on the meeting registration information stored in the meeting registration information storage unit 31, and stores the generated meeting room information in the meeting room information storage unit 32. Each meeting room information is configured to include, for example, the name of the meeting room and the identification information of the participants currently in that meeting room. If there are multiple participants, the participant identification information is arranged separately for regular participants and observers.

[0032] Furthermore, when the conference room information generation and display processing unit 13 receives a conference screen display request from the participant terminal UT, it reads the conference room information from the conference room information storage unit 32, generates conference room list information for displaying them in a list, and transmits the generated conference room list information to the requesting participant terminal UT via the communication I / F unit 40 for display.

[0033] The meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 generates meeting configuration information that displays the meeting room configuration using a diagram, in response to a display request sent from a participant terminal UT used by a participant before or during a meeting. The meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 then transmits the generated meeting configuration information from the communication interface unit 40 to the requesting participant terminal UT for display. An example of this meeting configuration information generation and display process will be explained in the operation example.

[0034] The regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 generates regular participant information for displaying a list of regular participants in the meeting room in response to a display request for regular participants sent from a participant terminal UT used by a participant before or during a meeting. The regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 then transmits the generated regular participant information from the communication I / F unit 40 to the requesting participant terminal UT for display. An example of this participant information generation and display process will also be explained in the operation example.

[0035] The observer information generation and display processing unit 16 generates observer information to display a list of observers currently in the meeting room, in response to a display request for observers transmitted from a participant terminal UT used by a participant before or during the meeting. The observer information generation and display processing unit 16 then transmits the generated observer information from the communication I / F unit 40 to the requesting participant terminal UT for display. An example of this observer information generation and display process will be explained in the operation example.

[0036] (Example of operation) Next, we will explain an example of how the conference server SV configured as described above operates. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure and processing details for screen display control related to online meetings, which is executed by the control unit 10 of the conference server SV.

[0037] (1) Registration of information related to the meeting When setting up a meeting room, the meeting organizer accesses the meeting server SV and then enters the meeting registration information on their participant terminal UT. The meeting registration information includes schedule information such as the planned start and end times of the meeting, as well as the meeting room identification information and the identification information of the participants scheduled to attend the meeting room. As mentioned earlier, the meeting room identification information may be, for example, the name of the meeting room or an equivalent icon. The participant identification information may be, for example, the participant's name or an equivalent photo or icon. Note that it is not always necessary to enter the identification information of the scheduled participants.

[0038] In step S10, the control unit 10 of the conference server SV detects a conference registration request sent from the conference organizer's participant terminal UT using the request identification processing unit 11. In step S11, under the control of the conference registration information acquisition processing unit 12, the control unit 10 receives the conference registration information sent from the conference organizer's participant terminal UT via the communication I / F unit 40 and stores the received conference registration information in the conference registration information storage unit 31. Thereafter, each time a new conference room registration request is received, the conference server SV receives the conference registration information and stores it in the conference registration information storage unit 31.

[0039] (2) Generation and display of meeting room information The control unit 10 of the conference server SV generates conference room information for each conference room in step S12, under the control of the conference room information generation and display processing unit 13, for example, before the conference starts, based on the conference registration information stored in the conference registration information storage unit 31. The conference room information is configured to include the name of the conference room and the icons of the participants currently in the conference room. However, since there are no participants yet before the conference starts, the conference room information only includes the name of the conference room.

[0040] When a meeting room is created and the meeting begins, the icons of the participants who have joined that meeting room are read from the corresponding meeting room registration information in the meeting registration information storage unit 31 and added to the meeting room information.

[0041] Now, suppose a prospective participant, in this state, sends a request to the conference server SV from their participant terminal UT to display the conference screen in order to confirm the conference room they will be joining before participating.

[0042] In response, when the control unit 10 of the conference server SV receives the conference screen display request by the request identification processing unit 11 in step S13, under the control of the conference room information generation and display processing unit 13, in step S14, it reads the conference room information from the conference room information storage unit 32 and generates conference room list information for displaying them in a list. The conference room information generation and display processing unit 13 then transmits the generated conference room list information to the requesting participant terminal UT via the communication I / F unit 40.

[0043] As a result, the requesting participant terminal UT's display device will show the above-mentioned meeting room list information. Figure 8 shows an example of the meeting room list information. In this example, the meeting room information is displayed in descending order of the number of participants (total of regular participants and observers), from top to bottom. In this example, icons for regular participants and observers (listeners) are displayed horizontally up to a predetermined number, and if the number of participants exceeds the predetermined number, the total number is displayed at the end of the icons.

[0044] (3) Generating and displaying detailed information about the meeting room With the above list of meeting rooms displayed, prospective participants select their desired meeting room to confirm the room they will be attending, and then specify either the "Room Name," "Inside the Room," or "Listen" for that meeting room.

[0045] In step S15, the control unit 10 of the conference server SV determines, using the request identification processing unit 11, which conference room information from the conference room list information has been selected, and also determines whether "room name," "inside the room," or "listening" has been specified for that conference room information. Then, according to this determination result, it executes a process to generate and display one of the following as detailed information for the conference room: conference configuration information, regular participant information, or observer participant information.

[0046] (3-1) Generation and display of meeting configuration information In step S15 above, once the "room name" of a meeting room is specified, the control unit 10 of the meeting server SV, under the control of the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14, executes a series of processes in step S20 to generate and display meeting configuration information as follows.

[0047] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and processing content of the conference configuration information generation and display processing unit 14.

[0048] (3-1-1) Generation and display of bubble screen information for the pre-meeting The meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 first reads the selected meeting room information from the meeting room information storage unit 32 in step S21, and uses the read meeting room information and pre-stored template data for generating meeting configuration information to generate, for example, the meeting bubble screen information shown in Figure 8 before joining. Then, it transmits the generated meeting bubble screen information from the communication I / F unit 40 to the requesting participant terminal UT, and displays it on the display device of the participant terminal UT.

[0049] In the example shown in Figure 8, the screen information is oriented vertically to be displayed on the screen of a smartphone used as a participant terminal (UT). A circular normal participant display area E1 is placed in the center of the display area, and a ring-shaped observer display area E2 is placed adjacent to the outer edge of the normal participant display area E1. The icons of each participant currently in the meeting room are displayed in the normal participant display area E1, and the icons of each observer listening to the conversation in the meeting room are displayed in the observer display area E2. However, the icons of prospective participants who are trying to check the meeting room are not displayed at this point because they have not yet entered the meeting room. The name of the meeting room is displayed at the top of the screen and in the center of the normal participant display area E1.

[0050] Furthermore, a group of selection menus is displayed at the top of the pre-meeting bubble screen, and a group of operation buttons is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The selection menus consist of three types: "Bubble," "In Room," and "Listen." The "Bubble" corresponding to the currently displayed menu is underlined. In addition, the number of regular participants and observers currently participating is displayed for both "In Room" and "Listen."

[0051] The control buttons consist of an "Enter Room" button and an "Eavesdropping" button. The "Enter Room" button is used by prospective participants to enter the meeting room. The "Eavesdropping" button is used by prospective participants to observe the meeting room.

[0052] Prospective participants can view the pre-meeting bubble screen information on their participant terminal (UT) to instantly see the configuration of their selected meeting room, including the composition of regular participants and observers, as well as the relationships between them.

[0053] (3-1-2) Switching the display to show the list of regular participants or the list of observers before joining. With the above pre-meeting bubble screen information displayed, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 monitors the operation of the above selection menu group. When a prospective participant selects, for example, "In Room," the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 notifies the normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15 proceeds to the normal participant information generation and display processing (step S30) described later.

[0054] Furthermore, if a prospective participant selects the "listen" option, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 notifies the observer information generation and display processing unit 16 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the observer information generation and display processing unit 16 proceeds to the observer information generation and display processing (step S40) described later.

[0055] Therefore, prospective participants can, while the pre-meeting bubble screen information is displayed, perform the above menu operations as needed to view more detailed information on the list of regular participants and observers already in the meeting room before joining.

[0056] (3-1-3) When joining a meeting room as a regular participant With the above pre-participation meeting bubble screen information displayed, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 monitors the operation of the "Enter Room" button, the "Listen" button, and the "Return" button in steps S22, S25, and S26, respectively.

[0057] In this state, suppose the prospective participant presses the "Enter Room" button. In this case, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 recognizes that the prospective participant has entered the room as a regular participant, and in step S23, generates meeting bubble screen information for the participant. Then, it sends the generated meeting bubble screen information to the participant terminal UT and displays it.

[0058] Figure 9 shows an example of the meeting bubble screen information for a meeting in progress. Although not shown in Figure 9, the icons of the regular participants who have entered the meeting are read from the meeting room information storage unit 32 and added to the regular participant display area E1 of the meeting bubble screen information for a meeting in progress. In addition, at the bottom of the screen of the meeting bubble screen information for a meeting in progress, instead of the group of operation buttons for the meeting bubble screen information before joining, a group of operation buttons for turning the microphone, camera, audio, etc. on and off is displayed.

[0059] Furthermore, a selection menu consisting of "Bubble," "In Room," and "Listen" is displayed at the top of the screen showing the meeting bubble information for the meeting being attended, similar to the selection menu for the meeting bubble information before joining. The meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 monitors the operation of the above selection menu in step S24.

[0060] Then, if a participant selects, for example, "In Room," the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 maintains the participant status and proceeds to the normal participant information generation and display processing (steps 1 and 30) by the normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15, which will be described later.

[0061] Furthermore, if a participant selects "listen," the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 maintains the participant status and proceeds to the generation and display processing of observer information by the observer information generation and display processing unit 16 (step S40), which will be described later.

[0062] Therefore, even while in a meeting room, participants can view a list of other participants in that meeting room, categorized into regular participants and observers.

[0063] (3-1-4) When attending a meeting in the conference room as an observer On the other hand, suppose that while the meeting bubble screen information before joining is displayed, the prospective participant presses the "Listen" button. In this case, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 recognizes in step S25 that the prospective participant has entered the meeting as an observer and notifies the observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 of this fact. The observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 then performs the process of generating and displaying observer participant information, which will be explained later.

[0064] (3-1-5) How to return the display screen to the list of meeting rooms before joining Furthermore, suppose that while the meeting bubble screen information before joining is displayed, the prospective participant presses the "Back" button to check other meeting rooms. In this case, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 notifies the meeting room information generation and display processing unit 13 of this fact. As a result, in step S14, the meeting room information generation and display processing unit 13 reads the meeting room list information stored in the cache from, for example, the meeting room information storage unit 32, and sends the read meeting room list information to the prospective participant's terminal UT for display.

[0065] (3-2) Generating and displaying participant information Assuming that the above list of meeting rooms is displayed, and a participant selects a meeting room and specifies "within that room," in this case, the control unit 10 of the meeting server SV, under the control of the normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15, executes a series of processes to generate and display normal participant information in step S30 as follows.

[0066] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and processing content of the process normally performed by the participant information generation and display processing unit 15.

[0067] (3-2-1) Generation and display of the list of regular participants before participation The normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15 first reads the selected conference room information from the conference room information storage unit 32 in step S31, and generates a list of normal participants before joining, for example, as shown in Figure 8, based on the read conference room information and the corresponding conference registration information stored in the conference registration information storage unit 31. Then, it transmits the generated list of normal participants before joining from the communication I / F unit 40 to the requesting participant terminal UT and displays it on the participant terminal UT.

[0068] The example shown in Figure 8 illustrates a case where the icons and names of regular participants currently in the meeting room are arranged in a single column vertically. If the number of regular participants is large and cannot be displayed on the participant terminal's display screen at once, all participants can be viewed by scrolling. However, at this point, the scheduled participants have not yet entered the meeting room, so their icons are not displayed in the list of regular participants. The name of the meeting room is displayed at the top of the screen.

[0069] Furthermore, on the screen displaying the list of regular participants before joining, a group of selection menus is displayed at the top of the screen, and a group of operation buttons is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The selection menu consists of three types: "Bubble," "In Room," and "Eavesdropping." The "In Room" option, which corresponds to the currently displayed menu, is underlined, and the number of regular participants currently participating is also displayed. The number of observers currently participating is also displayed under "Eavesdropping."

[0070] The control buttons consist of an "Enter Room" button and an "Eavesdropping" button. The "Enter Room" button is used by prospective participants to enter the meeting room. The "Eavesdropping" button is used by prospective participants to observe the meeting room.

[0071] By viewing the list of regular participants mentioned above before joining, prospective participants can check the composition of the regular participants in their selected meeting room in more detail, including their names.

[0072] (3-2-2) Switching the display to show the meeting bubble screen information before joining or the list of observers. With the above list of regular participants displayed, the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 monitors the operation of the above selection menus. When a prospective participant selects, for example, "Bubble," the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 notifies the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 executes the meeting configuration information generation and display process (steps 20) described earlier in (3-1).

[0073] On the other hand, if a prospective participant selects the "listen" option, the normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15 notifies the observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 proceeds to the observer participant information generation and display processing (step S40) described later.

[0074] Therefore, even when the list of regular participants is displayed before joining, prospective participants can perform the above menu operation to switch the display screen to the pre-joining meeting bubble screen to check the configuration of the meeting room, and also switch the display screen to the pre-joining observer list to check the observers who are currently attending in detail.

[0075] (3-2-3) When joining a meeting room as a regular participant With the above list of regular participants displayed, the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 monitors the operation of the "Enter Room" button, the "Listen" button, and the "Return" button in steps S32, S35, and S36, respectively.

[0076] In this state, suppose the prospective participant presses the "Enter Room" button. In this case, the normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15 recognizes that the prospective participant has entered as a normal participant, and in step S33, generates a list of normal participants who are currently in the room. The normal participant information generation and display processing unit 15 then sends the generated list of normal participants who are currently in the room to the participant terminal UT and displays it.

[0077] Figure 9 shows an example of the list of regular participants currently in the session. In this example, the face images of each regular participant are displayed vertically in two columns. The face image of a participant who has just entered the session is also added to the list of regular participants currently in the session and displayed. The arrangement of each participant's face image in the list of regular participants currently in the session is such that, for example, participants who share their face image are displayed first at the top of the screen, while the images of participants who only share their audio are displayed at the bottom of the screen. In this case, the image of a participant who only shares their audio may be displayed as, for example, their icon.

[0078] Furthermore, on the screen displaying the list of regular participants, a group of buttons for turning the microphone, camera, audio, etc. on and off for the conference will be displayed at the bottom.

[0079] Furthermore, in the list of regular participants currently participating, a selection menu consisting of "Bubble," "In Room," and "Listen" is displayed at the top of the screen, as illustrated in Figure 9. The regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 monitors the operation of the above selection menu in step S34.

[0080] Then, when a participant selects, for example, a "bubble," the participant information generation and display processing unit 15 normally notifies the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 maintains the participant status and executes the generation and display processing of the meeting bubble screen information for the participant, as described in (3-1-3) above.

[0081] Furthermore, if a participant selects the "listen" option, the participant information generation and display processing unit 15 normally notifies the observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 proceeds to the observer participant information generation and display processing (step S40), which will be described later.

[0082] Therefore, even while participating in a meeting room, participants can switch the display screen to the meeting bubble screen information to check the meeting room's configuration, and they can also switch the display screen to the list of observers to see which observers are currently in the meeting room.

[0083] (3-2-4) When attending a meeting in the conference room as an observer On the other hand, suppose that while the list of regular participants before participation is displayed, a prospective participant presses the "Listen" button. In this case, the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 recognizes in step S35 that the prospective participant has entered the room as an observer and notifies the observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the observer participant information generation and display processing unit 16 then executes the process of generating and displaying observer participant information, which will be explained later.

[0084] (3-2-5) How to return the display screen to the list of meeting rooms before joining Suppose that, while the above list of regular participants before joining is displayed, the prospective participant presses the "Back" button to check other meeting rooms. In this case, the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 notifies the meeting room information generation and display processing unit 13 of this fact. As a result, in step S14, the meeting room information generation and display processing unit 13 reads the meeting room list information stored in the cache before the switch from, for example, the meeting room information storage unit 32, and sends the read meeting room list information to the prospective participant's participant terminal UT for display.

[0085] (3-3) Generation and display of the list of attendees Assuming that the above list of meeting rooms is displayed, and a participant selects a meeting room and designates it as an "eavesdropper," in step S40, the control unit 10 of the meeting server SV, under the control of the eavesdropper information generation and display processing unit 16, executes a series of processes to generate and display eavesdropper information as follows.

[0086] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and processing content of the process executed by the observer information generation and display processing unit 16.

[0087] (3-3-1) Generation and display of the list of attendees before participation The attendee information generation and display processing unit 16 first reads the selected meeting room information from the meeting room information storage unit 32 in step S41, and generates, for example, the list of attendees before participation shown in Figure 8, based on the read meeting room information and the corresponding meeting registration information for the meeting room stored in the meeting registration information storage unit 31. Then, it transmits the generated list of attendees before participation from the communication I / F unit 40 to the requesting participant terminal UT and displays it on the participant terminal UT.

[0088] The example shown in Figure 8 illustrates a case where the icons and names of observers currently in the meeting room are arranged in a single column vertically. If the number of observers is large and cannot be displayed on the participant terminal's display screen at once, all observers can be viewed by scrolling. However, at this point, the scheduled participants have not yet entered the meeting room, so their icons are not displayed in the observer list. The name of the meeting room is displayed at the top of the screen.

[0089] Furthermore, on the screen displaying the list of attendees before participation, a group of selection menus is displayed at the top of the screen, and a group of operation buttons is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The selection menu consists of three types: "Bubble," "In Room," and "Eavesdropping." The "Eavesdropping" option, which corresponds to the currently displayed menu, is underlined, and the number of attendees currently participating is also displayed. The number of regular attendees currently participating is also displayed under "In Room."

[0090] The control buttons consist of an "Enter Room" button and an "Eavesdropping" button. The "Enter Room" button is used by prospective participants to enter the meeting room. The "Eavesdropping" button is used by prospective participants to observe the meeting room.

[0091] By viewing the list of observers before attending, prospective participants can confirm the composition of the attendees in their chosen meeting room in more detail, including their names.

[0092] (3-3-2) Switching between displaying meeting bubble screen information before joining or regular participant list information. With the list of prospective attendees displayed, the prospective attendee information generation and display processing unit 16 monitors the operation of the selection menus. When a prospective attendee selects, for example, "Bubble," the prospective attendee information generation and display processing unit 16 notifies the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14. Upon receiving this notification, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 executes the meeting configuration information generation and display process (steps 20) described earlier in (3-1).

[0093] On the other hand, if a prospective participant selects "In Room," the observer information generation and display processing unit 16 notifies the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 accordingly. Upon receiving the above notification, the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 proceeds to the regular participant information generation and display processing (step S30) described earlier in (3-2).

[0094] Therefore, even when the list of observers before joining is displayed, prospective participants can perform the above menu operation to switch the display screen to the pre-joining meeting bubble screen to check the configuration of the meeting room, and also switch the display screen to the pre-joining regular participant list to check the regular participants who are currently attending in detail.

[0095] (3-3-3) When attending a meeting as an observer With the above list of attendees before participation displayed, the attendee information generation and display processing unit 16 monitors the operation of the "Listen" button, "Enter Room" button, and "Return" button in steps S42, S45, and S46, respectively.

[0096] In this state, suppose the prospective participant presses the "Listen" button. In this case, the observer information generation and display processing unit 16 recognizes that the prospective participant has entered the room as an observer, and in step S43 generates a list of observers currently in attendance. The observer information generation and display processing unit 16 then sends the generated list of observers currently in attendance to the participant terminal UT for display.

[0097] Figure 9 shows an example of the list of attendees currently participating in the observation session. In this example, the icon and name of each attending observer are displayed in a single vertical column. The icon and name of any newly joined participant are also added to the list of attending observers and displayed.

[0098] Furthermore, on the screen displaying the list of attendees currently participating in the meeting, a group of buttons for turning microphones, cameras, audio, and other conference functions on and off is displayed at the bottom.

[0099] Furthermore, in the list of attendees currently participating in the observation session, a selection menu consisting of "Bubble," "In Room," and "Listen" is displayed at the top of the screen, as illustrated in Figure 9. The attendee information generation and display processing unit 16 monitors the operation of the above selection menu in step S44.

[0100] Then, when a participant selects, for example, a "bubble," the participant information generation and display processing unit 16 notifies the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 maintains the participant status and executes the process of generating and displaying the meeting bubble screen information for the participant, as described in (3-1-3) above.

[0101] Furthermore, when a participant selects "In Room," the observer information generation and display processing unit 16 notifies the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 proceeds to the generation and display processing of the regular participant information currently being attended, as described in (3-2-3) above.

[0102] Therefore, even while participating in a meeting room, participants can switch the display screen to the meeting bubble screen information to check the meeting room's configuration, and they can also switch the display screen to the regular participant list information to see the regular participants currently in that meeting room.

[0103] (3-3-4) When joining a meeting room as a regular participant On the other hand, suppose that while the list of observers before joining is displayed, a prospective participant presses the "Enter Room" button. In this case, the observer information generation and display processing unit 16 recognizes in step S45 that the prospective participant has entered the room as a regular participant and notifies the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 of this fact. Upon receiving the above notification, the meeting configuration information generation and display processing unit 14 then executes the process of generating and displaying the meeting bubble screen information during participation, as described in (3-1-3) above.

[0104] The observer information generation and display processing unit 16 may also notify the regular participant information generation and display processing unit 15 that a prospective participant has entered the room as a regular participant, thereby causing the regular participant information of the participant to be displayed on the participant terminal UT.

[0105] (3-3-5) How to return the display screen to the list of meeting rooms before joining Suppose that, while the list of attendees before participation is displayed, the prospective participant presses the "Back" button to check other meeting rooms. In this case, the attendee information generation and display processing unit 16 notifies the meeting room information generation and display processing unit 13 of this fact. As a result, in step S14, the meeting room information generation and display processing unit 13 reads the meeting room list information stored in the cache from, for example, the meeting room information storage unit 32, and sends the read meeting room list information to the prospective participant's terminal UT for display.

[0106] (4) End of display The control unit 10 of the conference server SV monitors whether a participant leaves the conference room or ends the display of the conference screen. When a participant leaves the conference room or performs an operation to end the display of the conference screen, the control unit 10 of the conference server SV determines in step S16 that the display has ended and terminates the display of the conference screen.

[0107] (effect) As described above, in one embodiment, meeting room information is generated for each meeting room and this list information is displayed on the participant terminal UT. When the room name of any meeting room is specified while the meeting room list information is displayed, pre-meeting bubble screen information representing the configuration of that meeting room is generated and displayed on the participant terminal UT. Furthermore, when the above meeting room list information or pre-meeting configuration information is displayed and either "in-room" or "listening" is specified, the normal participant list information or the observer list information is generated and displayed on the participant terminal UT, respectively.

[0108] Therefore, for example, prospective participants in a meeting room can understand what kind of meeting room is set up by looking at the list of meeting room information. Furthermore, by selectively displaying meeting bubble screen information, regular participant list information, and observer participant list information, they can check the configuration of the meeting room before participating. Moreover, by separating participants into regular participants and observer participant lists, it becomes possible to check each in detail. As a result, prospective participants can easily and quickly check information about the meeting room before participating, and will not mistakenly attend the wrong meeting room.

[0109] Furthermore, meeting room list information, meeting bubble screen information, regular participant list information, and observer list information are displayed hierarchically on the participant's terminal (UT) according to the participant's actions. Therefore, even when using a mobile device with a small display size as the participant's terminal, it is possible to display highly visible and clear information.

[0110] [Other embodiments] (1) In one embodiment, the meeting room list information displays icons for regular participants and observers who are currently in a meeting room. However, it is not limited to this, and for example, for meeting rooms that have not yet been held, icons for regular participants and observers who are scheduled to attend may be displayed.

[0111] (2) In one embodiment, the design of the meeting bubble screen information and the list of observers information was the same before and during participation, but the design may be made different, for example by changing the color. Doing so makes it easier to distinguish between the screen before and during participation.

[0112] (3) In one embodiment, the case in which all processing related to the display control of the conference screen is performed collectively by the conference server SV was described as an example. That is, the case in which all functions of the screen display control device according to the present invention are provided on the conference server SV was described as an example.

[0113] However, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the conference server SV may be provided with only the function of generating room list information and sending it to the terminals of participants or prospective participants, and each terminal UT may generate and display room details, room participant information, and room observer information based on the conference room list information received from the conference server SV. In this way, it becomes possible to distribute the processing related to screen display control between the conference server SV and the terminal UT, thereby reducing the processing load on the conference server SV.

[0114] Although embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, the above description is merely illustrative in all respects. It goes without saying that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of this invention. In other words, when implementing this invention, specific configurations may be adopted as appropriate depending on the embodiment.

[0115] In short, this invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and materialized without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Moreover, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0116] SV... Conference Server UT1~UTn, UT…Participant terminals NW...Network 10…Control Unit 11... Request identification processing unit 12…Meeting registration information acquisition processing unit 13…Conference Room Information Generation and Display Processing Unit 14…Conference Configuration Information Generation and Display Processing Unit 15…Normal participant information generation and display processing unit 16… Processing unit for generating and displaying information of observers. 20...Program memory unit 30...Data storage unit 31…Meeting registration information storage unit 32…Conference Room Information Storage Unit 33…Meeting Configuration Information Storage Unit 34…Normal participant information storage unit 35... Information storage unit for observers 40…Communication I / F section 50...bus

Claims

1. A conference screen display control device used in an online conference system that connects multiple participant terminals, including mobile terminals, to a server device via a network, and conducts conference communication between the multiple participant terminals under the control of the server device, A first processing unit generates meeting room information for each meeting room, including room identification information and participant identification information, generates a meeting room list information that displays a list of the generated meeting room information, and displays the generated meeting room list information on the participant terminal. A second processing unit, when a request to display the participant in any meeting room is input while the meeting room list information is displayed on the participant terminal, generates participant list information based on the participant identification information included in the corresponding meeting room information and displays the generated participant list information on the participant terminal. A conference screen display control device equipped with the following:

2. The second processing unit is, When the aforementioned meeting room list information is displayed and a request is received to display a list of regular participants who are participating for the purpose of conversation, the process involves generating a list of the regular participants based on the identification information of the regular participants included in the corresponding meeting room information and displaying it on the participant terminal. When the aforementioned list of meeting rooms is displayed, and a request is received to display the list of observers who are attending for the purpose of observing, the process involves generating a list of the observers based on the identification information of the observers included in the corresponding meeting room information and displaying it on the participant's terminal. A conference screen display control device according to claim 1, which performs the following:

3. The meeting screen display control device according to claim 2, further comprising: a third processing unit that, when a request for entry from a new participant is entered while the list of regular participants or the list of observers is displayed, updates the list of regular participants or the list of observers to include identification information of the new participant, generates meeting screen information including the updated list of regular participants or the list of observers and operation menu information related to the meeting, and displays it on the participant terminal.

4. The conference screen display control device according to claim 3, wherein the third processing unit, when generating updated list information of regular participants, classifies the regular participants into a first group of participants who share images and a second group of participants who share only audio, and performs a process to set the display position so that the information relating to the first group of participants is displayed with priority over the information relating to the second group of participants.

5. The conference screen display control device according to claim 4, further comprising the third processing unit, which, when a screen switching request is input while the conference screen information is being displayed, performs a process to switch the display target between the updated list of regular participants and the list of observers.

6. A method for controlling the display of a conference screen, which is performed by a control device used in an online conference system that connects multiple participant terminals, including mobile terminals, to a server device via a network and conducts conference communication between the multiple participant terminals under the control of the server device, The process includes generating meeting room information for each meeting room, including room identification information and participant identification information, generating a meeting room list that displays a list of the generated meeting room information, and displaying the generated meeting room list on the participant's terminal. In the participant terminal, when the meeting room list information is displayed and a request to display the participant in any meeting room is entered, the process of generating participant list information based on the participant identification information included in the corresponding meeting room information and displaying the generated participant list information on the participant terminal is performed. A conference screen display control method comprising the following.

7. A program that causes a processor in the conference screen display control device to execute the processing performed by the first and second processing units in the conference screen display control device according to claim 1 or 2.

8. A program that causes a processor in a conference screen display control device to execute a process performed by the first to third processing units in the conference screen display control device according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

Images