Online meeting system, online meeting terminal, and chat control method for an online meeting system

Abstract

To provide an online conference system configured to reliably notify specific participants in a conference about content of chat messages.SOLUTION: In an online conference system including a conference server and a plurality of conference terminals which are connected to communicate with each other, the conference server includes: a chat communication unit which receives chat information signals transmitted by a chat transmission unit of a transmitting conference terminal out of the multiple conference terminals; a character / voice conversion unit which converts character data in the chat information signals to voice data for output; and a voice communication unit which transmits the voice data output by the character / voice conversion unit, as voice information signals, to a conference terminal which is to receive the received chat information signals. The conference terminal includes: a voice transmitting / receiving unit which transmits / receives voice information signals via the conference server; and a voice reproducing unit which reproduces and outputs, as voice, the voice data in the voice information signals received by the voice transmitting / receiving unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an online conference system having a chat function, an online conference system, Online meeting terminal used and a chat control method for an online conference system.

Background Art

[0002] Recently, the use of online conference systems has been increasing. An online conference system enables a conference using voice and images between terminals such as personal computers connected to an exchange or a server, and not only one-on-one conferences but also participation from a large number of terminals is possible. In such a conference system, in addition to conferences using voice and images, it is possible to use additional functions such as screen sharing of terminals such as personal computers, sharing of applications operating on each terminal, and a chat function, and the conference system has become multifunctional.

[0003] Due to the multifunctionalization of the conference system and the expansion of the number of participants, in recent years, it has also been used for corporate seminars, school lectures, etc. as applications other than conferences. As these usage scenes, in many cases, a specific participant such as a moderator, lecturer, or explainer makes a speech and other participants listen to it. In this case, usually, the listener keeps the microphone of his or her own terminal muted and does not talk to other participants. However, even in such an operation, there may be a case where information transmission between specific participants is required. Therefore, for information transmission between such specific participants, for example, a technique of making a private call between terminals by a specific operation as shown in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0005] However, in the conventional online meeting system as shown in Patent Document 1, the secret conversation destination is a specific person, and only one-on-one conversations can be made. Therefore, in operations such as seminars and lectures, it could not be applied when it was desired to notify a plurality of meeting participants. For example, when prompting a meeting participant who has forgotten to mute the microphone during a seminar or lecture to mute the microphone, there are many cases where there are a large number of people to be notified. Also, as a countermeasure in such cases, there is a method of notifying by chat, which is a function of the meeting system. However, in seminars and lectures, since the meeting participants are referring to the explanatory materials displayed on the screen, many of the meeting participants often do not notice that a chat notification has arrived.

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to focus on such problems and be able to reliably notify a specific meeting participant of the chat content Online meeting system, online meeting terminal and to provide a chat control method for an online meeting system.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The online conference system of the present invention is an online conference system including a conference server and a plurality of conference terminals that are communicably connected to each other. Each of the plurality of conference terminals includes an audio input unit that inputs audio and outputs audio data indicating the input audio, an audio transceiver unit that transmits and receives an audio information signal including the audio data via the conference server, an audio playback unit that plays back and outputs the audio data in the audio information signal received by the audio transceiver unit as audio, a character input unit that outputs character data indicating characters by operation input, and a chat transceiver unit that transmits and receives a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating the destination conference terminal among the plurality of conference terminals via the conference server. The conference server includes a chat communication unit that receives the chat information signal transmitted by the chat transceiver unit of the source conference terminal among the plurality of conference terminals, a character-to-audio conversion unit that converts the character data in the chat information signal received by the chat communication unit into the audio data and outputs it, and an audio communication unit that transmits the audio data output by the character-to-audio conversion unit to the destination conference terminal of the received chat information signal as the audio information signal.

[0008] The online meeting system of the present invention is an online meeting system including a meeting server and a plurality of meeting terminals that are communicably connected to each other. Each of the plurality of meeting terminals includes an audio input unit that inputs audio and outputs audio data indicating the input audio, an audio transceiver that transmits and receives an audio information signal including the audio data via the meeting server, an audio playback unit that plays back and outputs the audio data in the audio information signal received by the audio transceiver as audio, a character input unit that outputs character data indicating characters by an operation input, a chat transceiver that transmits and receives a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating a destination meeting terminal among the plurality of meeting terminals via the meeting server, and a character-to-audio conversion unit that converts the character data in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver into the audio data and outputs it. The audio playback unit is characterized by playing back and outputting the audio data converted from the character data by the character-to-audio conversion unit as audio.

[0010] The online meeting terminal of the present invention is an online meeting terminal communicably connected to a meeting server. It includes an audio input unit that inputs audio and outputs audio data indicating the input audio, an audio transceiver that transmits and receives an audio information signal including the audio data via the meeting server, an audio playback unit that plays back and outputs the audio data in the audio information signal received by the audio transceiver as audio, a character input unit that outputs character data indicating characters by an operation input, and the character data and information indicating a destination meeting terminal among the plurality of meeting terminals , additional information indicating whether the processing method of the character data is either normal processing or voice conversion processing, and A chat transceiver that transmits and receives a chat information signal including the above via the meeting server, and when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver indicates audio conversion processing, a character-to-audio conversion unit that converts the character data in the chat information signal into the audio data. The audio playback unit is characterized by playing back and outputting the audio data converted from the character data by the character-to-audio conversion unit as audio. the including a character-to-audio conversion unit that converts the character data in the chat information signal into the audio data when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver indicates audio conversion processing. The audio playback unit is characterized by playing back and outputting the audio data converted from the character data by the character-to-audio conversion unit as audio.

[0011] The chat control method of the online meeting system of the present invention is a chat control method of an online meeting system including a meeting server and a plurality of meeting terminals that are communicably connected to each other. Each of the plurality of meeting terminals includes an audio input step of inputting audio and outputting audio data indicating the input audio, an audio transmission / reception step of transmitting and receiving an audio information signal including the audio data via the meeting server, an audio reproduction step of reproducing and outputting the audio data in the audio information signal received in the audio transmission / reception step as audio, a character input step of outputting character data indicating characters by an operation input, and a chat transmission / reception step of transmitting and receiving a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating the destination meeting terminal among the plurality of meeting terminals via the meeting server. The meeting server includes the chat transmission / reception of the source meeting terminal among the plurality of meeting terminals step a chat communication step of receiving the chat information signal transmitted thereby, a character-to-audio conversion step of converting the character data in the chat information signal received in the chat communication step into the audio data and outputting it, and an audio communication step of transmitting the audio data output in the character-to-audio conversion step to the destination meeting terminal of the received chat information signal as the audio information signal. It is characterized by including these steps.

[0012] The chat control method of the online meeting system of the present invention is a chat control method of an online meeting system including a meeting server and a plurality of meeting terminals that are communicably connected to each other. Each of the plurality of meeting terminals includes: a voice input step of inputting voice and outputting voice data indicating the input voice; a voice transmission and reception step of transmitting and receiving a voice information signal including the voice data via the meeting server; a voice reproduction step of reproducing and outputting the voice data in the voice information signal received in the voice transmission and reception step as voice; a character input step of outputting character data indicating characters by operation input; a chat transmission and reception step of transmitting and receiving a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating the destination meeting terminal among the plurality of meeting terminals via the meeting server; and a character-voice conversion step of converting the character data in the chat information signal received in the chat transmission and reception step into the voice data. The voice reproduction step step is characterized by reproducing and outputting, as voice, the voice data converted from the character data by the character-voice conversion.

Effects of the Invention

[0013] According to the Online meeting system, online meeting terminal chat control method of the present invention and the online meeting system, the meeting participants of the destination meeting terminal can confirm the chat content input by the meeting participants of the source meeting terminal by voice, so that the situation where the meeting participants of the destination meeting terminal do not notice the chat displayed on the screen of their own meeting terminal during the online meeting can be avoided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of an online conference system to which the present invention is applied. This conference system is composed of an online conference server 100 and online conference terminals 201 to 210 which are clients. Each of the conference server 100 and the conference terminals 201 to 210 can be configured by, for example, a personal computer. In this embodiment, the number of the conference terminals 201 to 210 is 10, but it is not particularly limited. It is assumed that the conference server 100 and the conference terminals 201 to 210 are communicably connected to each other by a communication line 50 including an Internet line. Each of the conference terminals 201 to 210 can participate in an online conference held by the conference server 100. In addition to the conference using voice provided by the conference server 100, it is possible to send and receive text messages by chat.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the conference server 100 constitutes, for example, a chat communication unit 111, a chat control unit 112, a voice communication unit 121, a voice control unit 122, a text-voice conversion unit 131, and a voice engine 132 by processing software for the conference system on the server.

[0017] The chat communication unit 111 and the voice communication unit 121 are connected to the communication line 50. The chat communication unit 111 and the chat control unit 112 are connected, and the chat control unit 112 and the character-voice conversion unit 131 are connected. The voice communication unit 121 and the voice control unit 122 are connected, and the voice control unit 122 and the character-voice conversion unit 131 are connected. The character-voice conversion unit 131 is connected to the voice engine 132.

[0018] The chat communication unit 111 receives the chat information signals transmitted from each of the conference terminals 201 to 210, and supplies the received chat information signals to the chat control unit 112. Also, the chat communication unit 111 transmits the chat information signals to the destination conference terminal among the conference terminals 201 to 210 under the control of the chat control unit 112. The chat control unit 112 analyzes the chat information signals received by the chat communication unit 111, distributes them to the destinations, and controls the chat communication unit 111 such as instructing the transmission destination of the chat information signals.

[0019] The voice communication unit 121 receives the voice information signals transmitted from each of the conference terminals 201 to 210, and supplies the received voice information signals to the voice control unit 122. Also, the voice communication unit 121 transmits the voice information signals to the destination conference terminal among the conference terminals 201 to 210 under the control of the voice control unit 122. The voice control unit 122 analyzes the voice information signals received by the voice communication unit 121, and instructs the voice communication unit 121 to transmit the voice information signals to the destination conference terminal.

[0020] The character-to-audio conversion unit 131 analyzes the character data included in the chat information signal for each character, and generates audio data using the audio engine 132. The audio engine 132 stores the audio data for each character, and converts the character data into audio data in units of characters. That is, the audio engine 132 sequentially converts the character data supplied from the character-to-audio conversion unit 131 in units of characters into audio data, and supplies the audio data to the character-to-audio conversion unit 131. The character-to-audio conversion unit 131 receives the audio data supplied from the audio engine 132, and generates audio data for all the character data included in the chat information signal. Note that the audio engine 132 may convert the character data into audio data in units of words instead of in units of characters.

[0021] On the other hand, each of the conference terminals 201 to 210, for example, by processing the software for the above-described conference system on the client side, as shown in FIG. 3, includes a chat transmission / reception unit 211, a chat control unit 212, a display unit 213, a character input unit 214, an audio transmission / reception unit 221, an audio control unit 222, an audio playback unit 223, and an audio input unit 224.

[0022] The chat transmission / reception unit 211 and the audio transmission / reception unit 221 are connected to the communication line 50. The chat transmission / reception unit 211 and the chat control unit 212 are connected, and the chat control unit 212 is connected to each of the display unit 213 and the character input unit 214. The audio transmission / reception unit 221 and the audio control unit 222 are connected, and the audio control unit 222 and the audio playback unit 223 are connected.

[0023] The chat transceiver unit 211 receives the chat information signal transmitted from the conference server 100 and supplies the received chat information signal to the chat control unit 212. Also, the chat transceiver unit 211 transmits the chat information signal to the conference server 100 under the control of the chat control unit 212. The chat control unit 212 extracts character data from the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver unit 211 and supplies it to the display unit 213. The character input unit 214 outputs character data indicating the characters input by the operation of the conference participants to the chat control unit 212. The chat control unit 212 generates a chat information signal including the character data output from the character input unit 214 and controls the chat communication unit 111 to indicate the transmission destination of the chat information signal, etc. The character input unit 214 consists of, for example, a keyboard and a touch pen.

[0024] The voice transceiver unit 221 receives the voice information signal transmitted from the conference server 100 and supplies the received voice information signal to the voice control unit 222. Also, the voice transceiver unit 221 transmits the voice information signal to the conference server 100 under the control of the voice control unit 222. The voice control unit 222 extracts voice data from the voice information signal received by the voice transceiver unit 221 and supplies it to the voice playback unit 223. The voice playback unit 223 converts the voice data supplied from the voice control unit 222 into an analog audio signal and generates an audio output corresponding to the audio signal via a built-in speaker (not shown). Also, the voice control unit 222 creates a voice information signal based on the voice data supplied from the voice input unit 224 and instructs the voice transceiver unit 221 to transmit the voice information signal to the terminal of the transmission destination. The voice input unit 224 consists of, for example, a microphone.

[0025] Each of the conference terminals 201 to 210 can communicate with the conference server 100 set as the host via the communication line 50 as described above. In this communication state, it is possible to transmit and receive voice information signals and chat information signals between each of the conference terminals 201 to 210 and the conference server 100. As a result, it becomes possible to transmit and receive text messages by chat and voice calls between at least two of the conference terminals 201 to 210, and an online conference is executed by these transmissions and receptions. Here, each of the conference terminals 201 to 210 can add additional information to the chat information signal with respect to the conference server 100. One of the additional information, the chat type, indicates either normal chat or voice conversion chat as a processing method for the text data in the chat information signal, and in the case of voice conversion chat, it is information specifying to convert the chat information signal into a voice information signal. In the case of normal chat, it is information specifying to display the text data in the chat information signal as text.

[0026] The chat information signal includes, for example, the type of information (indicating that it is text data in the case of a chat information signal), the text data of the chat body, in addition to the chat type as additional information, and information on the sender and the recipient. For example, when the conference terminal 201 transmits chat information to the conference terminal 210, the chat destination indicates the conference terminal 210, the sender indicates the conference terminal 201, and the recipient indicates the conference server 100. Similarly, the voice information signal includes, for example, the type of information data (indicating that it is voice data in the case of a voice information signal), the voice data representing the voice body, the voice type distinguishing conference voice and chat conversion voice as additional information, and information on the sender and the recipient. The chat information signal and the voice information signal are transmitted in packet form via the communication line 50, for example.

[0027] Note that the meeting participants of the meeting server 100 can identify the meeting server 100 and the meeting terminals 201 to 210 used by each meeting participant together with the names of all the meeting participants, and the chat information signal including identification information such as addresses and IDs that can identify them as character data is transmitted from the meeting server 100 to the meeting terminals 201 to 210. It is assumed that each meeting participant obtains the identification information via the display units 213 of the meeting terminals 201 to 210 before the meeting starts. In each of the meeting server 100 and the meeting terminals 201 to 210, the identification information is used as the above-mentioned transmission source and destination when transmitting each of the chat information signal and the voice information signal. Also, as will be described later, the chat information signals and voice information signals transmitted from each of the meeting terminals 201 to 210 are once sent to the meeting server 100 regardless of the destination, so the chat information signals and voice information signals may include the identification information of the meeting server 100 as host information separately from the destination.

[0028] Next, an operation example of the meeting system with such a configuration will be described using the sequence diagrams of FIGS. 4 and 5. This operation example is a case where, in a state where the meeting has started (step S10), the meeting terminal 201 transmits chat information to the meeting terminal 210.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, after the meeting starts, first, when the meeting participant of the meeting terminal 201 inputs chat characters to the character input unit 214, the character control unit 212 receives the character input as character data and generates a chat information signal with the chat type set to normal chat (step S11). The meeting terminal 210 is specified as the destination included in this chat information signal. The chat transmission / reception unit 211 transmits the chat information signal generated by the character control unit 212 toward the meeting server 100 (step S12). The chat information signal is transmitted from the meeting terminal 201 to the meeting server 100 via the communication line 50.

[0030] In the conference server 100, the chat communication unit 111 receives the chat information signal transmitted from the conference terminal 201 and supplies the chat information signal to the chat control unit 112 (step S13). The chat control unit 112 determines the chat type included in the chat information signal (step S14). Since the chat type of this received chat information signal is a normal chat, the chat control unit 112 determines the transmission destination of the chat information signal and transmits the chat information signal to the destination conference terminal 210 via the chat communication unit 111 (step S15).

[0031] In the conference terminal 210, the chat transmission / reception unit 211 receives the chat information signal from the conference server 100 (step S16), and the chat control unit 212 determines whether the chat type included in the chat information signal is a normal chat or a voice conversion chat (step S17). If it is a normal chat, the chat control unit 212 supplies the chat information included in the chat information signal to the display unit 213, and thereby the display unit 213 displays the content of the chat information in characters (step S18).

[0032] As a result, the conference participants of the conference terminal 210 can confirm the chat content input by the conference participants of the conference terminal 201 in the characters displayed on the display unit 213.

[0033] Next, as shown in FIG. 5, in the conference terminal 201, when the conference participant operates the character input unit 214 to input chat characters and also makes a voice conversion designation, the chat control unit 212 creates a chat information signal with the chat type set as a voice conversion chat in response to the output including the chat character data and the voice conversion designation of the character input unit 214 (step S21). The chat information signal generated by the character control unit 212 is transmitted toward the conference server 100 (step S22). The chat information signal is transmitted from the conference terminal 201 to the conference server 100 via the communication line 50.

[0034] In the conference server 100, the chat communication unit 111 receives a chat information signal from the conference terminal 201 (step S23), and the chat control unit 112 determines the chat type included in the chat information signal (step S24). Since the chat type of the received chat information signal is a voice conversion chat, the chat control unit 112 supplies the character data in the chat information signal to the character voice conversion unit 131 (step S25). The character voice conversion unit 131 to which the character data is supplied converts the character data into voice data using the voice engine 132 (step S26), and supplies the voice data to the voice control unit 122 (step S27). When the voice data is supplied, the voice control unit 122 generates a voice information signal including the voice data, supplies it to the voice communication unit 121, and instructs the transmission of the voice information signal (step S28). The voice communication unit 121 transmits the voice information signal toward the transmission destination (step S29). Therefore, the voice information signal is transmitted from the conference server 100 to the conference terminal 210 via the communication line 50.

[0035] Note that for the generation of the voice information signal in the voice control unit 122 in step S28, in addition to the data type indicating the voice data and the type indicating the presence or absence of the chat conversion voice, information on the transmission source and the transmission destination is required. Therefore, the voice control unit 122 obtains the information on the transmission source and the transmission destination directly from the chat information signal supplied to the chat control unit 112 or via the character voice conversion unit 131.

[0036] In the conference terminal 210, the voice transceiver 221 receives the voice information signal transmitted from the conference server 100 (step S30). The received voice information signal is supplied to the voice control unit 222, and the voice data included in the voice information signal is supplied from the voice control unit 222 to the voice playback unit 223, and is output as voice by the voice playback unit 223 (step S31).

[0037] As a result, the meeting participants of the meeting terminal 210 can confirm the chat content input by the meeting participants of the meeting terminal 201 from the voice output from the voice reproduction unit 223. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where a meeting participant does not notice the chat displayed on the screen of his or her own meeting terminal during an online meeting.

[0038] In addition, in the above-described Example 1, the destination included in each of the chat information signal and the voice information signal is not limited to one terminal, and a plurality of terminals may be used. If the destination is a plurality of meeting terminals, for example, the meeting participants of the plurality of meeting terminals that have received the voice information signal can simultaneously confirm the chat content from the voice output from the voice reproduction unit. Further, the destination is not limited to the meeting terminals 201 to 210, and of course, the meeting server 100 may also be used. (Example 2) The online meeting system of Example 2 has the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and the online meeting server 100 is as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the online meeting terminals 201 to 210 have, in addition to the configuration already shown in FIG. 3, a character-voice conversion unit 231 and a voice engine 232.

[0039] The character-voice conversion unit 231 and the voice engine 232 are the same as the character-voice conversion unit 131 and the voice engine 132 shown in FIG. 2. The character-voice conversion unit 231 analyzes the character data supplied from the chat control unit 212 character by character, generates voice data using the voice engine 232, and supplies the voice data to the voice control unit 222. The voice engine 232 stores the voice data for each character and converts the character data into voice data in units of characters.

[0040] The configuration of the meeting system of Example 2 other than that is the same as that of the meeting system of Example 1, and the same reference numerals are given to the same parts.

[0041] Next, an operation example of the conference system according to the second embodiment of such a configuration will be described with reference to the sequence diagrams of FIGS. 7 and 8. This operation example is a case where, in a state where a conference has been started (step S40), the conference terminal 201 transmits chat information to the conference terminal 210.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 7, during the conference, first, when a conference participant of the conference terminal 201 inputs chat characters to the character input unit 214, upon receiving the character input, the character control unit 212 generates a chat information signal with the chat type set to a normal chat (step S41). The conference terminal 210 is specified as the transmission destination included in this chat information signal. The chat transmission / reception unit 211 transmits the chat information signal generated by the character control unit 212 toward the conference server 100 (step S42). The chat information signal is transmitted from the conference terminal 201 to the conference server 100 via the communication line 50.

[0043] At the conference server 100, the chat communication unit 111 receives the chat information signal transmitted from the conference terminal 201 (step S43) and supplies the chat information signal to the chat control unit 112. The chat control unit 112 determines the transmission destination of the chat information signal and transmits the chat information signal toward the destination conference terminal 210 via the chat communication unit 111 (step S44).

[0044] At the conference terminal 210, the chat transmission / reception unit 211 receives the chat information signal from the conference server 100 (step S45), and the chat control unit 212 determines whether the chat type included in the chat information signal is a normal chat or a voice conversion chat (step S46). If it is a normal chat, the chat control unit 212 supplies the chat information included in the chat information signal to the display unit 213, and thereby the display unit 213 displays the content of the chat information in characters (step S47).

[0045] Steps S41 to S47 when the chat type included in the chat information signal is a normal chat are the same as steps S11 to S18 except that there is no operation for the meeting server 100 to determine the chat type in step S14 shown in FIG. 4.

[0046] As a result, the meeting participants of the meeting terminal 210 can confirm the chat content input by the meeting participants of the meeting terminal 201 in the characters displayed on the display unit 213.

[0047] Next, as shown in FIG. 8, in the meeting terminal 201, when a meeting participant operates the character input unit 214 to input chat characters and also specifies voice conversion, the chat control unit 212 creates a chat information signal with the chat type set as a voice conversion chat in response to the output including the chat character data of the character input unit 214 and the voice conversion specification (step S51). The chat information signal generated by the character control unit 212 is transmitted toward the meeting server 100 (step S52). The chat information signal is transmitted from the meeting terminal 201 to the meeting server 100 via the communication line 50.

[0048] In the meeting server 100, the chat reception unit 111 receives the chat information signal transmitted from the meeting terminal 201 (step S53) and supplies the chat information signal to the chat control unit 112. The chat control unit 112 determines the transmission destination of the chat information signal and transmits the chat information signal toward the transmission destination meeting terminal 210 via the chat communication unit 111 (step S54).

[0049] At the conference terminal 210, the chat transceiver 211 receives a chat information signal from the conference server 100 (step S55), and the chat control unit 212 determines the chat type included in the chat information signal (step S56). Since the chat type of this received chat information signal is a voice conversion chat, the chat control unit 212 supplies the character data in the chat information signal to the character-voice conversion unit 231 (step S57). The character-voice conversion unit 231 supplied with the character data converts the character data into voice data using the voice engine 232 (step S58), and supplies the voice data to the voice control unit 222 together with a voice playback instruction (step S59). When the voice data is supplied together with the voice playback instruction, the voice control unit 222 supplies the voice data to the voice playback unit 223, whereby the voice playback unit 223 outputs the voice indicated by the voice data (step S60).

[0050] As a result, the conference participants of the conference terminal 210 can confirm the chat content input in characters by the conference participants of the conference terminal 201 from the voice output from the voice playback unit 223. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where a conference participant does not notice the chat displayed on the screen of his / her conference terminal during an online conference.

[0051] Also, the transmission destination can be a plurality of conference terminals 201 to 210, and it is possible to let a plurality of conference participants listen to the chat content in voice at the same time. Furthermore, different from the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, in the conference server 100, the character data in the chat information signal is not converted into voice data, and the character data is converted into voice data in the conference terminals 201 to 210 for voice playback, so it is possible to reduce the load on the conference server 100.

[0052] Note that although the online conference systems of the first and second embodiments are online conferences using voice and chat, the present invention can also be applied to an online conference system that transmits and receives video, voice, and chat between conference terminals.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0053] 50 Communication line 100 Conference server 100 111 Chat communication section 112, 212 Chat control section 121 Voice communication section 122, 222 Voice control section 131, 231 Character - voice conversion section 132, 232 Voice engine 201 - 210 Conference terminals 211 Chat transmission / reception section 213 Display section 214 Character input section 221 Voice transmission / reception section 223 Voice playback section 224 Voice input section

Claims

1. An online meeting system including a meeting server and a plurality of meeting terminals connected to be communicable with each other, wherein each of the plurality of meeting terminals includes: a voice input unit that inputs voice and outputs voice data indicating the input voice; a voice transceiver that transmits and receives a voice information signal including the voice data via the meeting server; a voice playback unit that plays back and outputs the voice data in the voice information signal received by the voice transceiver as voice; a character input unit that outputs character data indicating characters by an operation input; a chat transceiver that transmits and receives a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating the destination meeting terminal among the plurality of meeting terminals via the meeting server, and the meeting server includes: a chat communication unit that receives the chat information signal transmitted by the chat transceiver of the source meeting terminal among the plurality of meeting terminals; a character-to-voice conversion unit that converts the character data in the chat information signal received by the chat communication unit into the voice data and outputs it; and a voice communication unit that transmits the voice data output by the character-to-voice conversion unit to the destination meeting terminal of the received chat information signal as the voice information signal. An online meeting system characterized by including the above.

2. The chat information signal transmitted and received by the chat transceiver includes additional information indicating whether the processing method of the character data is either normal processing or voice conversion processing, the meeting server includes a chat control unit that determines which of the normal processing and the voice conversion processing the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat communication unit indicates, the chat communication unit transmits the received chat information signal to the destination meeting terminal when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat communication unit indicates the normal processing, and the character-to-voice conversion unit converts the character data in the chat information signal and outputs the voice data when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat communication unit indicates the voice conversion processing. The online meeting system according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The online conference system according to claim 2, characterized in that each of the plurality of conference terminals includes a display unit that displays characters indicated by the character data in the received chat information signal when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver indicates the normal process.

4. An online conference system including a conference server and a plurality of conference terminals connected to be communicable with each other, each of the plurality of conference terminals, includes a voice input unit that inputs voice and outputs voice data indicating the input voice, a voice transceiver that transmits and receives a voice information signal including the voice data via the conference server, a voice playback unit that plays back and outputs the voice data in the voice information signal received by the voice transceiver as voice, a character input unit that outputs character data indicating characters by an operation input, a chat transceiver that transmits and receives a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating a destination conference terminal among the plurality of conference terminals via the conference server, and a character-voice conversion unit that converts the character data in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver into the voice data and outputs it, wherein the voice playback unit plays back and outputs the voice data converted from the character data by the character-voice conversion unit as voice, characterized in that it is an online conference system.

5. The chat information signal transmitted and received by the chat transceiver includes additional information indicating whether the processing method of the character data is normal processing or voice conversion processing, each of the plurality of conference terminals, includes a chat control unit that determines which of the normal process and the voice conversion process the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver indicates, and a display unit that displays the chat content in characters according to the character data in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver indicates the normal process, wherein the character-voice conversion unit converts the character data in the chat information signal when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat transceiver indicates the voice conversion process and outputs the voice data, characterized in that it is the online conference system according to claim 4.

6. An online conference terminal communicably connected to a conference server, comprising: a voice input unit that inputs voice and outputs voice data indicating the input voice; a voice transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives a voice information signal including the voice data via the conference server; a voice playback unit that plays back and outputs the voice data in the voice information signal received by the voice transmission / reception unit as voice; a character input unit that outputs character data indicating characters by an operation input; a chat transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives a chat information signal including the character data, information indicating a destination conference terminal among the plurality of conference terminals, and additional information indicating whether the processing method of the character data is normal processing or voice conversion processing via the conference server; a character-voice conversion unit that converts the character data in the chat information signal into the voice data when the additional information in the chat information signal received by the chat transmission / reception unit indicates the voice conversion processing; The voice playback unit is characterized in that it plays back and outputs the voice data converted from the character data by the character-voice conversion unit as voice.

7. A chat control method for an online conference system including a conference server and a plurality of conference terminals communicably connected to each other, comprising: Each of the plurality of conference terminals includes: a voice input step of inputting voice and outputting voice data indicating the input voice; a voice transmission / reception step of transmitting and receiving a voice information signal including the voice data via the conference server; a voice playback step of playing back and outputting the voice data in the voice information signal received in the voice transmission / reception step as voice; a character input step of outputting character data indicating characters by an operation input; a chat transmission / reception step of transmitting and receiving a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating a destination conference terminal among the plurality of conference terminals via the conference server; The conference server includes: a chat communication step of receiving the chat information signal transmitted by the chat transmission / reception step of the source conference terminal among the plurality of conference terminals; a character-voice conversion step of converting the character data in the chat information signal received in the chat communication step into the voice data and outputting it; An audio communication step of transmitting the audio data output in the text-to-audio conversion step as the audio information signal to the conference terminal of the transmission destination of the received chat information signal, and a chat control method characterized by including the same.

8. A chat control method for an online conference system including a conference server and a plurality of conference terminals connected to be communicable with each other, Each of the plurality of conference terminals includes An audio input step of inputting audio and outputting audio data indicating the input audio, An audio transmission / reception step of transmitting and receiving an audio information signal including the audio data via the conference server, An audio reproduction step of reproducing and outputting the audio data in the audio information signal received in the audio transmission / reception step as audio, A character input step of outputting character data indicating a character by an operation input, A chat transmission / reception step of transmitting and receiving a chat information signal including the character data and information indicating the conference terminal of the transmission destination among the plurality of conference terminals via the conference server, A character-to-audio conversion step of converting the character data in the chat information signal received in the chat transmission / reception step into the audio data, and The audio reproduction step is characterized by reproducing and outputting the audio data converted from the character data by the character-to-audio conversion step as audio.

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