Material usage management device and online conference system

Abstract

To provide a data use management device, an online conference system, and a program that manage possibility of viewing and operating shared data for each user who participates in an online conference.SOLUTION: An online conference server 12 includes a main body 30, a first storage unit 32, and a second storage unit 34, in which a plurality of pieces of related information is registered in a related information DB 40. Each piece of the related information indicates a relationship between a pair of users. A relationship determination unit 46 determines, on the basis of a plurality of pieces of related information, whether or not each user participating in an online conference has a direct or an indirect relationship with a sponsor user. A use management unit 48 restricts use of shared data by a user who is not recognized to be related to the sponsor user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a material utilization management device and an online conference system including the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Online meetings are used in business, education, government, and more. Online meetings are remote meetings, also known as web conferences. In online meetings, materials are usually shared among multiple users (i.e., multiple participants). In such cases, the materials are shared with all participants.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for setting the scope of information sharing on a sociogram (which can also be called a user network). Patent Document 2 discloses a device for detecting the relevance between meetings. These patent documents do not describe the management of materials shared in online meetings. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-52557 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-141752 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In an online conference, if materials are made available to all participating users uniformly, it may pose a security risk. The same problem arises if all users are allowed to access materials (e.g., download them). It is desirable to develop technology that can manage the scope of shared materials by taking into account the connections and relationships between users (e.g., their relationship with the host user who is the organizer of the online conference).

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can manage the use of materials shared in an online conference for each user who participates in the online conference. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention according to claim 1 is The online meeting information is registered, a storage unit in which association information indicating an association between users for each user pair is registered; Complex Based on a number of relevant information, The aforementioned a processor that manages, for each user who participates in an online conference, the use of materials shared in the online conference. the processor identifies a host user who hosted the online conference based on conference information registered in the storage unit, and also identifies a participation range consisting of multiple users who participated in the online conference, creates a user tree starting from the host user within the participation range based on multiple pieces of related information registered in the storage unit, determines a sharing range of the material based on the user tree, and manages the use of the material for each user who participated in the online conference based on the sharing range. It is characterized by:

[0008] The invention according to claim 2 is a material utilization management device according to claim 1, wherein the relationship between the users in each piece of related information is a direct relationship not via an intermediary user. ri, front The processor creating the user tree by sequentially tracing a plurality of direct relationships based on the plurality of pieces of related information; It is characterized by:

[0009] The invention according to claim 3 is the material utilization management device according to claim 2, The user tree includes: Hosted the online conference The aforementioned To the host user and the said host user Te1 Or it is related to a specific user connected through multiple intermediary users. Indirect associations are included, It is characterized by:

[0010] The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that, in the material usage management device described in claim 3, the processor restricts the use of the material by the specific user if, after allowing the specific user to use the material based on the indirect relationship, any of the one or more intermediary users in the indirect relationship leaves the online conference.

[0015] Claim 5 The invention according to claim 1In the material utilization management device described, The aforementioned When the participation range changes Before The shared range is updated.

[0016] Claim 6 The invention is characterized in that, in the material usage management device described in claim 2, each of the related information includes information identifying the first user and second user who have the direct relationship.

[0017] Claim 7 The invention relates to: 7. The material utilization management device according to claim 6, Each piece of related information further includes a time condition for the direct relationship.

[0018] Claim 8 The present invention includes an online conference management device that provides an online conference service to a plurality of users, and a material usage management device that manages the usage of materials shared in an online conference held based on the online conference service, wherein the material usage management device: The online meeting information is registered, a storage unit in which association information indicating an association between users for each user pair is registered; Complex Based on a number of relevant information, The aforementioned a processor that manages, for each user who participates in an online conference, the use of materials shared in the online conference. the processor identifies a host user who hosted the online conference based on conference information registered in the storage unit, and also identifies a participation range consisting of multiple users who participated in the online conference, creates a user tree starting from the host user within the participation range based on multiple pieces of related information registered in the storage unit, determines a sharing range of the material based on the user tree, and manages the use of the material for each user who participated in the online conference based on the sharing range. It is characterized by:

[0019] Claim 9 The invention according to claim 8 In the online conference system described above, the material usage management device is a device that restricts the usage of the material, or a device that instructs other devices to restrict the usage of the material.

[0020] Claim 10 The invention according to claim 9In the online conference system described above, the restrictions on the use of the materials include at least one of restrictions on viewing the materials and restrictions on operations on the materials.

[0021] Claim 11 The present invention is a program executed in an information processing device, the program including: Register meeting information for online meetings, a function of registering association information indicating the association between users for each user pair; Complex Based on a number of relevant information, The aforementioned A function for managing the use of materials shared in an online conference for each user who participates in the online conference. identify a host user who hosted the online conference based on conference information registered in the storage unit, and identify a participation range consisting of multiple users who participated in the online conference; create a user tree starting from the host user within the participation range based on multiple pieces of related information registered in the storage unit; determine a sharing range of the material based on the user tree; and manage the use of the material for each user who participated in the online conference based on the sharing range. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] According to the invention of claim 1, the use of shared materials can be managed for each user participating in an online conference. In addition, the participation range and the sharing range are defined separately.

[0023] According to the invention of claim 2, Multiple Direct Relationship In a row based on The user tree is created .

[0024] According to the invention of claim 3, the use of shared materials can be managed based on an indirect association with the host user.

[0025] According to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to restrict the use of materials by specific users after the fact.

[0030] Claim 5 According to the invention, the shared range can be updated in response to a change in the participation range.

[0031] Claim 6 According to the invention, a first user and a second user who are directly related to each other can be identified from each piece of related information.

[0032] Claim 7According to the invention, the use of shared materials can be managed while taking into account time conditions.

[0033] Claim 8 , 9 and 10 According to the invention, when providing an online conference service, the use of shared materials can be managed for each user who participates in the online conference. In addition, the participation range and the sharing range are defined separately.

[0034] Claim 11 According to the invention, the use of shared materials can be managed for each user who participates in an online conference. In addition, the participation range and the sharing range are defined separately. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0035] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an online conference system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conference management table. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a user management table. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a related information database. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a sharing range defined based on a user tree. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a participation range, a related range, and a shared range. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart showing a material usage management method according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system operation when related information is registered. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system operation when materials are shared. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates several restriction methods. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the related information database. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an online conference system according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0037] (1) Overview of the embodiment A material usage management device according to an embodiment includes a storage unit and a processor. The storage unit stores association information indicating an association between users for each user pair. The processor manages the usage of materials shared in an online conference for each user who participates in the online conference based on one or more pieces of association information stored in the storage unit.

[0038] A user pair is a basic unit for identifying personal connections among a group of multiple users. Related information is registered in a storage unit for each user pair. Based on one or more pieces of related information registered in the storage unit, personal connections across all of the multiple users participating in an online conference can be identified. Based on these personal connections, the use of materials shared in the online conference is managed for each user participating in the online conference. For example, it is determined whether each user participating in the online conference is related to the host user, and the use of materials for each user is permitted or restricted based on the result of this determination.

[0039] Looking at it from another perspective, the above configuration determines the scope of document sharing (which can also be called the sharer scope) based on the personal connections in the online conference, separate from the scope of participation in the online conference (which can also be called the participant scope).

[0040] As will be explained later, there are two types of relationships between users: direct relationships and indirect relationships. A direct relationship is a relationship between users that does not involve an intermediary user. An indirect relationship is a relationship between users that involves one or more intermediary users, which corresponds to a chain of multiple direct relationships. An intermediary user is a common user that connects two direct relationships.

[0041] The processor determines each direct relationship based on each piece of related information registered in the storage unit, and determines an indirect relationship based on multiple pieces of related information registered in the storage unit, i.e., multiple direct relationships. For example, a user who is recognized as having a direct or indirect relationship with the organizer is permitted to use the materials, and a user who is recognized as having neither a direct nor an indirect relationship with the organizer is restricted from using the materials. Direct and indirect relationships may be identified starting from users other than the organizer user.

[0042] The concept of materials includes various types of data such as text data, drawing data, and table data. The concept of users may include user groups. The concept of managing the use of materials may include restrictions on viewing and reference, and restrictions on operations. In addition to the relationship with the source user, the use of materials may be managed for each user based on the attributes of the source user, the attributes of the materials being shared, etc. In general, sharing refers to the act or state of providing materials designated for sharing by one participant to other participants so that the other participants can refer to the materials, etc.

[0043] In an embodiment, the processor allows a particular user to use the material based on the indirect association, and then restricts the particular user from using the material if any of one or more intermediary users in the indirect association exits the online conference.

[0044] If a specific user is permitted to use materials under the assumption that the specific user is connected to the host user through the intermediary user, the intermediary user's withdrawal from the online conference could undermine this assumption. Alternatively, it could be said that the intermediary user bears a certain degree of management responsibility regarding the specific user's use of materials. From this perspective, the above configuration restricts the specific user's use of materials after the intermediary user has withdrawn. To allow the specific user to continue or resume using materials, related information indicating the relationship between the host user and the specific user can be registered in the storage unit.

[0045] In an embodiment, a processor constructs a user tree starting from the host user based on multiple pieces of related information registered in a storage unit. The processor identifies indirect relationships by sequentially tracing direct relationships on the user tree. A user tree may be constructed using multiple users participating in an online conference as its components, and then a related range within the user tree within which indirect relationships are recognized may be identified. Alternatively, a user tree may be constructed using multiple users participating in an online conference who meet certain conditions for recognizing indirect relationships as its components. In this case, the constructed user tree itself corresponds to the related range.

[0046] In an embodiment, the processor manages the use of materials shared in the online conference for each user who participates in the online conference, thereby determining the sharing range of the materials as a range separate from the participation range of the online conference. If the sharing range is determined separately from the participation range, problems (e.g., information security problems) caused by uniformly disclosing materials to participants or uniformly allowing participants to use the materials will not occur.

[0047] In an embodiment, the shared range is a related range that is identified based on one or more pieces of related information within the participating range. An overlapping portion of the participating range and the related range that are independently defined may be defined as the shared range.

[0048] In an embodiment, the processor updates the related range when the participation range changes, thereby updating the shared range. This configuration updates the shared range in response to a change in the participation range, i.e., a change in the participant configuration. The shared range may be set when sharing of each document begins, and then updated at regular time intervals.

[0049] In an embodiment, each piece of related information includes information identifying a first user and a second user having a direct relationship. Related information may be shared between multiple online conferences. Each piece of related information may include a timing condition for allowing a direct relationship. The concept of timing condition may include a relationship start time, a relationship end time, a relationship validity period, etc.

[0050] An online conference system according to an embodiment includes an online conference management device and a material usage management device. The online conference management device is a device that provides online conference services to multiple users. The material usage management device is a device that manages the usage of materials shared in online conferences held based on the online conference service. The material usage management device includes a memory unit and a processor. The memory unit stores associated information indicating the relationship between users for each user pair. The processor manages the usage of materials shared in the online conference for each user who participates in the online conference based on one or more pieces of associated information registered in the memory unit.

[0051] In an embodiment, the material usage management device is a device that restricts the usage of materials, or a device that instructs other devices to restrict the usage of materials, and the restriction on the usage of materials includes at least one of a restriction on viewing the materials and a restriction on operations on the materials.

[0052] In an embodiment, a program for implementing the material usage management method is executed in an information processing device. The program is installed in the information processing device via a portable storage medium or a network. The program may also be stored in a non-transitory storage medium. The concept of an information processing device may include devices with information processing functions, such as computers and servers.

[0053] (2) Details of the embodiment FIG. 1 shows an online conference system according to an embodiment. This online conference system is used in various fields such as business, education, and government. An online conference is a broad concept that can include various online meetings. For example, the online conference system shown in FIG. 1 is used in an online conference in which multiple companies cooperate to carry out a project.

[0054] 1, network 10 is, for example, the Internet. All or part of network 10 may be an in-house LAN. Multiple terminal devices 14, 16, and 18 are connected to network 10. Each of terminal devices 14, 16, and 18 is an information processing device, and in the illustrated example, each of terminal devices 14, 16, and 18 has the same configuration.

[0055] As shown in the figure, the terminal device 14 includes a main body 20, an input device 22, a display device 24, a microphone 26, and a speaker 28. The main body 20 includes a processor (e.g., a CPU) that executes a program. The input device 22 is, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and the display device 24 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. In addition to the input device 22 and the display device 24, the microphone 26 and the speaker 28 are also used during an online conference.

[0056] In the illustrated configuration example, for example, terminal device 14 is a device used by a user who hosts an online conference, and the host user is a person in charge of a company (outsourcing company) that has outsourced a specific task. A user who uses terminal device 16 is a manager (supervisor) of a company (outsourced company) that has outsourced a specific task, and a user who uses terminal device 18 is a person in charge of the outsourced company.

[0057] An online conference server 12 is connected to the network 10. The online conference server 12 provides an online conference service. In the illustrated configuration example, the online conference server 12 includes a main body 30, a first storage unit 32, and a second storage unit 34. The main body 30 is configured by a processor (e.g., a CPU) that executes a program. The first storage unit 32 and the second storage unit 34 are each configured by a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, or the like. The first storage unit 32 and the second storage unit 34 may be constructed on a single storage medium.

[0058] A conference management table 36 is constructed on the first storage unit 32. As will be specifically described later, the conference management table 36 corresponds to a conference list made up of multiple pieces of conference information. On the other hand, a user management table 38 and a related information database (DB) 40 are constructed on the second storage unit 34. As will be specifically described later, the user management table 38 corresponds to a user list made up of multiple pieces of user information.

[0059] The related information DB 40 is a DB in which multiple pieces of related information are registered, as will be specifically described later. The related information DB 40 can be shared among multiple online conferences. Each piece of related information is information indicating the relationship between a first user and a second user (i.e., the relationship between a pair of users). This relationship is a direct relationship, which will be described later. Each user is a user of any online conference service and can participate in any online conference. When a user participates in an online conference, that user becomes a participant in that online conference.

[0060] The main body 30 performs multiple functions, which are represented by multiple blocks in Fig. 1. Specifically, the main body 30 functions as a conference management unit 42, a first information management unit 44, an association determination unit 46, a usage management unit 48, and a second information management unit 50.

[0061] The conference management unit 42 executes, manages, and controls the online conference based on the individual conference information registered in the conference management table 36. The conference management unit 42 performs connection management, image and audio distribution, etc. The conference management unit also distributes materials to be shared in the online conference. However, in the embodiment, the use management unit 48, which will be described later, allows or restricts the use of materials for each user participating in the online conference.

[0062] The first information management unit 44 registers conference information in the conference management table 36. In addition, the first information management unit 44 maintains the conference management table 36.

[0063] The relation determination unit 46 determines whether or not each user who participated in the online conference has a relation (specifically, a direct or indirect relation) with the hosting user based on the plurality of relation information stored in the relation information DB. The presence or absence of a relation with a user other than the hosting user may also be determined. Such users include a project manager, a commission manager, etc.

[0064] The usage management unit 48 allows users who are recognized as being related to the host user to use materials shared in the online conference, and restricts users who are recognized as not being related to the host user from using materials shared in the online conference. The usage management unit 48 may execute the restriction itself, or may instruct another device or another module to execute the restriction.

[0065] The second information management unit 50 registers user information in the user management table 38, and also registers related information in the related information DB 40. When user information and related information are sent from a specific terminal device to the online conference server 12, the second information management unit 50 registers the information. A variant is also possible in which the second information management unit 50 automatically generates and registers related information when a certain user satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0066] 1, the part designated by reference numeral 12A corresponds to an online conference management device, and the part designated by reference numeral 12B corresponds to a material utilization management device.

[0067] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a conference management table. The illustrated conference management table 36 has multiple pieces of conference information 54 corresponding to multiple online conferences. Each piece of conference information 54 includes information such as a conference ID 56, a host 58, a conference name 60, participants 62, and a start time 64. In the illustrated example, as indicated by reference numeral 66, employee A is a host user (host) belonging to a subcontracted company. The user ID of the host is registered as the host 58. As indicated by reference numeral 68, employee B is a user (participant) belonging to a cooperating company (contracted company), and the user ID of the participant is registered as the participant 62. The person who registers the conference information is the host user or a user with certain authority.

[0068] FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a user management table. The illustrated user management table 38 has multiple pieces of user information 70 corresponding to multiple users. Each piece of user information 70 includes information such as a user ID 72, employee name 74, department 76, and job title 78. As indicated by reference numeral 80, employee B is the manager of a cooperating company (contracted company), and as indicated by reference numeral 82, employee C is a person in charge at the same company. Prior to an online conference, the user information of each user who will participate in the conference is registered in the user management table 38. The person who registers the user information is the host user or a user with certain authority.

[0069] FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of a related information DB. The illustrated related information DB 40 has multiple pieces of related information 84-1, 84-2 corresponding to multiple user pairs. Each piece of related information 84-1, 84-2 is information indicating the connection or relationship between the user pairs. Each piece of related information 84-1, 84-2 includes information such as a related information ID 86, a user ID 88 of the first user, a user ID 90 of the second user, a related start date 92, and an expiration date 94. The first user is one user in the user pair, and the second user is the other user in the user pair. In the illustrated configuration example, the order in which users are written, i.e., the directionality between user pairs, is not taken into consideration.

[0070] More specifically, the related information 84-1 is information indicating the relationship between employee A (user ID: 0001) and employee B (user ID: 0002), as indicated by reference numerals 96 and 102. This relationship is a direct relationship that does not go through an intermediary user. The related information 84-2 is information indicating the relationship between employee B (user ID: 0002) and employee C (user ID: 0003), as indicated by reference numerals 104 and 105. This relationship is also a direct relationship that does not go through an intermediary user. The registration of the related information 84-1 and 84-2 corresponds to the registration of a direct relationship.

[0071] Between the two pieces of related information 84-1 and 84-2, employee B (user ID: 0002) is common (see reference numeral 106). In this case, from the perspective of employee A (user ID: 0001) and employee C (user ID: 0003), and particularly from the perspective of employee C (user ID: 0003), employee B is an intermediate user (which can also be called a common user). Employee A (user ID: 0001) and employee C (user ID: 0003) are connected via the intermediate user, employee B (user ID: 0002), which is an indirect relationship.

[0072] There is no direct relationship between employee A (user ID: 0001) and employee C (user ID: 0003), but there is an indirect relationship. An indirect relationship can also be recognized when two users are related through multiple intermediary users rather than a single intermediary user. By setting the search conditions described below, it is possible to freely determine the extent to which indirect relationships are recognized. The scope of permitted use of materials is determined by indirect relationships. The scope of permitted use of materials can also be limited to direct relationships.

[0073] Related information is registered by the hosting user or a user with certain authority. Related information may be registered with the approval of a third party. For example, approval from the hosting user may be required when a user with certain authority registers related information. Related information may also be registered automatically. For example, the second information management unit may automatically register related information indicating the relationship between each user and the hosting user in the related information DB based on the amount of conversation, participation time, etc. of each user who participated in the online conference. Approval from the hosting user may be sought at this time.

[0074] 5 shows a user tree 109 created by the relatedness determination unit. The user tree 109 is created based on multiple pieces of related information in the related information DB. In the embodiment, the user tree 109 is created within the participation range 114 of the online conference, but the user tree 109 may be created without narrowing it down to the participation range 114.

[0075] The user tree 109 is a tree that starts or reaches the top at the organizer (user A) 116, and is constructed by tracing the direct relationships from the organizer 116. In the illustrated example, there is a direct relationship between the organizer 116 and a participant (user B) 118, and there is also a direct relationship between the participant 118 and a participant (user C) 120. Reference numeral 200 indicates a primary range that starts at the organizer 116, and reference numeral 202 indicates a secondary range that starts at the organizer 116.

[0076] For example, if a secondary range 202 is specified as the search condition 108, the range indicated by the reference numeral 110 is identified as the related range. Within the participating range 114, the related range 110 becomes the shared range 112, or the overlapping portion between the participating range 114 and the related range 110 becomes the shared range 112.

[0077] The user tree is also called an adjacency list. A breadth-first search algorithm or a depth-first search algorithm may be used when creating the user tree or searching the user tree. Conditions other than the degree may be specified as the search condition 108.

[0078] 6 shows a schematic diagram of the three-way relationship between the related range 110, the participation range 114, and the shared range 112. In this embodiment, the related range 110 included in the participation range 114 becomes the shared range 112. When the related range 110A is set completely independently of the participation range 114, the overlapping portion between the participation range 114 and the related range 110A becomes the shared range 112.

[0079] 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the material usage management device, particularly the operation of the association determination unit and the usage management unit. In S10, it is determined whether there has been a change in the participant composition of the online conference. If there has been a change, a series of steps from S12 onwards are executed. Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 7, a series of steps from S12 onwards are executed when material sharing begins. Note that the series of steps from S12 onwards may be executed at regular time intervals, or may be executed in response to the occurrence of another event.

[0080] In S12, the current users participating in the online conference (i.e., the participation range) are identified. In S14, a user tree is constructed based on the identified current users. In S16, a range (related range) that satisfies the search conditions on the constructed user tree is identified as the shared range.

[0081] S18 and S20 are executed in parallel. In S18, sharing of materials by users belonging to the common range is permitted. For example, distribution of materials to the users is permitted. In S20, use of materials by users not belonging to the shared range is restricted. For example, distribution of materials to the users is prohibited, or materials that have been processed to be unreadable are distributed to the users. Each step from S10 onwards is executed repeatedly until termination is determined in S22.

[0082] 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing operations related to document sharing in an online conference server according to an embodiment. Fig. 8 shows operations before the start of an online conference, and Fig. 9 shows operations after the start of an online conference. From left to right, Fig. 8 and 9 show an online conference server 12, a terminal device 14 used by a host user A, a terminal device 16 used by an employee B who is a manager of a cooperating company, and a terminal device 18 used by an employee C who is a person in charge at the cooperating company.

[0083] In FIG. 8, in S30, related information is transmitted from the terminal device 14 to the online conference server 12. In S32, the related information is registered in the related information DB. The related information is information indicating a direct relationship between employee A and employee B (see reference numeral 84-1 in FIG. 4). In the operational example shown in FIG. 8, in S34, other related information is transmitted from the terminal device 16 to the online conference server 12. In S35, other related information is registered in the related information DB. The other related information is information indicating a direct relationship between employee B and employee C (see reference numeral 84-2 in FIG. 4). The other related information may be registered by an operation of a third party with certain authority (e.g., the project manager) (see reference numeral 34a), or the other related information may be registered by an operation of the host user (see reference numeral 34b).

[0084] In S36, the terminal device 14 transmits the conference information to the online conference server 12, and in S38, the conference information is registered in the conference management table (see reference numeral 52 in FIG. 2). In S40, the online conference server 12 distributes a conference guide to the participants of the online conference. In the illustrated example, the conference guide is distributed to the terminal device 14 and the terminal device 16. The conference information may be registered before the related information is registered.

[0085] In FIG. 9, in S42, an online conference is started. At that time, the initial sharing range is determined as necessary. In the illustrated operation example, in S44, conference information including access information is transmitted from terminal device 16 to terminal device 18. This corresponds to a so-called invitation. For example, when user B is participating in an online conference, if user B desires user C to participate, and the invitation operation is permitted, execution of S44 is permitted. In S46, user C of terminal device 18 is participating in the online conference.

[0086] In the illustrated operation example, the sharing range is updated when the participant composition of the online conference changes (see S48). In S50, when host user A starts sharing a document, the document is distributed from online conference server 12 to each participant within the sharing range (see S48). The document is not distributed to participants who are participating in the online conference but do not belong to the sharing range, i.e., participants who are not recognized as related to the host user (see S48). Because the availability of the document is determined for each individual participant, information security incidents in which the document is accidentally disclosed to an unexpected person are prevented. The same operation as above is also performed when other documents are shared.

[0087] In FIG. 9 , in S51, user B leaves the online conference. As the participant composition of the online conference changes, the sharing scope is updated (see S52). In the illustrated operational example, user C is connected to user A through user B, i.e., a relationship between them is recognized. In this case, from user C's perspective, user B is an intermediary user, and when user B leaves the conference room, the connection between user C and user A disappears. In the illustrated configuration example, user C does not belong to the updated sharing scope, and user C's use of materials is prohibited upon user B's departure (see S52). For example, distribution of materials to terminal device 18 may be stopped, or materials that have been rendered unreadable (e.g., blurred) may be distributed to terminal device 18 (see symbol S52a). According to this operational example, in a case where user C is the person in charge and user B is the responsible person, the responsible person's use of materials in the absence of the responsible person is restricted.

[0088] In the above example, when restricting the use of materials, participation in the online conference itself may be restricted. For example, when the inviting user B leaves the conference, the online participation of the invited user C may be forcibly restricted. The organizer, user A, may decide whether to allow the continued online participation.

[0089] Fig. 10 shows restriction types 123 and restriction methods 124. When restricting the use of materials, various restriction methods can be adopted as shown in Fig. 10. For example, when prohibiting viewing, in addition to prohibiting distribution of the materials themselves, it is possible to select masking or blurring all or part of the materials. When prohibiting operations, downloading of materials may be prohibited. In addition, processing or printing of materials may be prohibited.

[0090] FIG. 11 shows another example of the configuration of the related information DB. The related information DB 40A has multiple pieces of related information 84 corresponding to multiple records. Each piece of related information 84 has information such as a related information ID, a related source user ID 88A, a related destination user ID 90A, a related start date 92, an expiration date 94, and additional conditions 122. In the related information DB 40A, directional relationships are managed (see reference numeral 123). Information identifying the related source user is the related source user ID 88A, and information identifying the related destination user is the related destination user ID 88B. If the related destination user ID (e.g., 0002) and the related source user ID (e.g., 0002) match between two pieces of related information, an indirect relationship is determined. An indirect relationship is also determined when there are multiple consecutive matches in three or more pieces of related information.

[0091] Various conditions may be added as the additional condition 122. For example, the association may be affirmed if the attributes of the materials or the organizer satisfy certain requirements, and may be denied if the attributes do not satisfy certain requirements.

[0092] When registering related information, a rank indicating the handling level of the related information may be registered. In this case, the expiration date and usage restrictions of the related information may be changed depending on the rank. For example, in the case of rank A, an unlimited expiration date may be set as the expiration date of the related information, and in the case of rank B, a specific expiration date may be set as the expiration date of the related information. Similarly, a rank may be registered for each user in the user management table. The expiration date and usage restrictions of the related information may be changed depending on the rank held by the user.

[0093] An online conference system according to another embodiment is shown in Fig. 12. In Fig. 12, the same components as those shown in Fig. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

[0094] The online conference system includes an online conference management device 12A, a material usage management device 12B, and a terminal management server 126. Each of these devices 12A, 12B, and 126 is configured by an information processing device including a processor.

[0095] The online conference management device 12A has a sharing management unit 48A in addition to the conference management unit 42. The sharing management unit 48A distributes materials to be shared in the online conference to each participant of the online conference.

[0096] The material usage management device 12B has an association determination unit 46 and a usage management unit 48. The terminal management server 126 has a usage restriction unit 128. The usage restriction unit 128 restricts the usage of materials at each of the terminal devices 14, 16, 18 in accordance with instructions from the usage management unit 48. The terminal management server 126 monitors the status of the multiple terminal devices 14, 16, 18, and restricts their operation and processing as necessary.

[0097] In the illustrated example, materials to be shared are sent from the terminal device 14 to the online conference management device 12A (see S70). The sharing management unit 48A sends the materials to the terminal management server 126 (see S72). If no restrictions on the use of the materials are specified, the terminal management server 126 distributes the materials to each participant (see S74).

[0098] The conference management unit 42 sends information about the participants of the online conference to the relevance determination unit 46 (see S80). The relevance determination unit 46 refers to the relevance information DB 40 and determines, for each participant, whether or not the participant is relevant to the hosting user (see S82). The result of this determination is passed to the usage management unit 48 (see S83). The usage management unit 48 issues instructions for usage restriction to the usage restriction unit 128 (see S84). The instructions include user information. The usage restriction unit 128 does not distribute materials to users who are not relevant, but distributes materials to users who are relevant (see S86).

[0099] The online conference management device may be configured with one or more information processing devices. The material usage management device may be configured with one or more information processing devices. The online conference management device and the material usage simplified device may be configured with one information processing device. As already explained, the material usage management device may restrict the use of materials, or the material usage management device may instruct other devices to restrict the use of materials.

[0100] In the above embodiments, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.). Furthermore, the operations of the processor in the above embodiments may not only be performed by a single processor, but may also be performed by multiple processors located in physically separate locations working together. Furthermore, the order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 10 network, 12 online conference server, 12A online conference management device, 12B material usage management device, 14, 16, 18 terminal device, 32 first memory unit, 34 second memory unit, 36 conference management table, 38 user management table, 40 related information DB, 42 conference management unit, 46 related determination unit, 48 usage management unit.

Claims

1. A storage unit in which conference information of an online conference is registered and in which related information indicating the relationship between users for each user pair is registered; a processor that manages the use of materials shared in the online conference for each user who has participated in the online conference based on the plurality of pieces of related information registered in the storage unit; Including, The processor: Identifying a host user who hosted the online conference based on the conference information registered in the storage unit, and also identifying a participation range consisting of multiple users who participated in the online conference, and creating a user tree starting from the host user within the participation range based on multiple pieces of related information registered in the storage unit; determining a sharing scope of the material based on the user tree; managing the use of the materials for each user who participated in the online conference based on the shared range; A material utilization management device characterized by:

2. 2. The material utilization management device according to claim 1, The relationship between the users in each piece of related information is a direct relationship without an intermediary user; the processor creates the user tree by sequentially tracing a plurality of direct relationships based on the plurality of pieces of related information; A material utilization management device characterized by:

3. 3. The material utilization management device according to claim 2, The user tree includes an indirect relationship between the host user who hosted the online conference and a specific user who is connected to the host user via one or more intermediary users. A material utilization management device characterized by:

4. 4. The material utilization management device according to claim 3, The processor: After permitting the specific user to use the material based on the indirect relationship, if any of the one or more intermediary users in the indirect relationship leaves the online conference, restricting the specific user from using the material; A material utilization management device characterized by:

5. 2. The material utilization management device according to claim 1, When the participation range changes, the shared range is updated. A material utilization management device characterized by:

6. 3. The material utilization management device according to claim 2, Each of the related information includes information identifying a first user and a second user having the direct relationship. A material utilization management device characterized by:

7. 7. The material utilization management device according to claim 6, Each of the related information further includes a time condition for the direct relationship. A material utilization management device characterized by:

8. an online conference management device that provides online conference services to multiple users; a material usage management device for managing the usage of materials shared in an online conference held based on the online conference service; Including, The material utilization management device includes: a storage unit in which conference information of an online conference is registered and in which association information indicating an association between users for each user pair is registered; a processor that manages the use of materials shared in the online conference for each user who has participated in the online conference based on the plurality of pieces of related information registered in the storage unit; Including, The processor: Identifying a host user who hosted the online conference based on the conference information registered in the storage unit, and also identifying a participation range consisting of multiple users who participated in the online conference, and creating a user tree starting from the host user within the participation range based on multiple pieces of related information registered in the storage unit; determining a sharing scope of the material based on the user tree; managing the use of the materials for each user who participated in the online conference based on the shared range; An online conference system characterized by:

9. 9. The online conference system according to claim 8, The material usage management device is a device that restricts the usage of the material, or a device that instructs other devices to restrict the usage of the material. An online conference system characterized by:

10. 10. The online conference system according to claim 9, The restriction on the use of the material includes at least one of a restriction on viewing the material and a restriction on operations on the material. An online conference system characterized by:

11. A program executed in an information processing device, a function of registering, in a storage unit, conference information of an online conference and registering, for each user pair, related information indicating a relationship between the users; a function of managing the use of materials shared in the online conference for each user who has participated in the online conference based on the plurality of related information registered in the storage unit; Including, Identifying a host user who hosted the online conference based on the conference information registered in the storage unit, and also identifying a participation range consisting of multiple users who participated in the online conference, and creating a user tree starting from the host user within the participation range based on multiple pieces of related information registered in the storage unit; determining a sharing scope of the material based on the user tree; managing the use of the materials for each user who participated in the online conference based on the shared range; A program characterized by:

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