Meeting support system, meeting support method, and meeting support program

Abstract

To provide a conference support system, a conference support method, and a conference support program capable of starting a conference at a scheduled time.SOLUTION: A conference support system includes: a first acquisition processing part for acquiring position information on a first user; a second acquisition processing part for acquiring conference schedule information on the first user; a first determination processing part for determining whether a first conference to be held in a first conference room corresponding to the position information is registered in the conference schedule information; a second determination processing part for determining whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the firsts conference; and a notification processing part for notifying a participant of a second conference that is currently held in the first conference room of prescribed information in the case that the first conference is registered in the conference schedule information and that the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference in the conference schedule information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conference support system, a conference support method, and a conference support program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, systems that support meetings based on meeting plan information (schedule information) are known. For example, a system is known that calculates an estimated travel time to a destination and notifies a user of a reminder based on the calculated estimated travel time and a notification time set in a calendar (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This system makes it possible to notify meeting participants so that they arrive on time for the meeting start time, for example. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2015-528933 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In this case, for example, if a previous conference is taking place in a conference room used for a conference and that conference does not end at the scheduled time, a situation may occur in which the participants of the next conference are unable to start the conference at the scheduled time. Conventional technology can notify conference participants of the upcoming conference (reminder), but if the previous conference does not end at the scheduled time, the start of the conference may be delayed.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a conference support system, a conference support method, and a conference support program that enable a conference to start at a scheduled time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A conference support system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a conference support system that supports a conference in which multiple users participate, and includes a first acquisition processing unit that acquires location information of a first user, a second acquisition processing unit that acquires conference schedule information for the first user, a first determination processing unit that determines whether a first conference to be held in a first conference room corresponding to the location information is registered in the conference schedule information, a second determination processing unit that determines whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference, and a notification processing unit that notifies participants of a second conference currently being held in the first conference room of specified information if the first conference is registered in the conference schedule information and the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference.

[0007] Another aspect of the conference support method of the present invention is a conference support method for supporting a conference in which multiple users participate, in which one or more processors execute the following steps: a first acquisition step for acquiring location information of a first user; a second acquisition step for acquiring conference schedule information for the first user; a first determination step for determining whether a first conference to be held in a first conference room corresponding to the location information is registered in the conference schedule information; a second determination step for determining whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference; and a notification step for notifying participants of a second conference currently being held in the first conference room of specified information if the first conference is registered in the conference schedule information and the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is a conference support program that supports a conference in which multiple users participate, and is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the following steps: a first acquisition step for acquiring location information of a first user; a second acquisition step for acquiring conference schedule information for the first user; a first determination step for determining whether a first conference to be held in a first conference room corresponding to the location information is registered in the conference schedule information; a second determination step for determining whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference; and a notification step for notifying participants of a second conference currently being held in the first conference room of specified information if the first conference is registered in the conference schedule information and the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a conference support system, a conference support method, and a conference support program that enable a conference to start at a scheduled time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conference support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a conference support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a conference schedule information management table according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conference room information management table according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a user information management table according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of a conference support process executed in the conference support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conference support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of a conference support process executed in the conference support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a notification displayed on a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments are examples of specific embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0012] The conference support system according to the present invention can be applied to, for example, conferences in which multiple users participate in one or more locations (such as conference rooms). The conference support system according to this embodiment is an example of the conference support system of the present invention. For example, in the conference room, user terminals (e.g., smartphones) used by users participating in the conference, displays displaying conference screens such as materials to be used in the conference, and the like are arranged. In addition, communication tags (e.g., NFC) capable of communicating with the user terminals are installed near the entrance and exit of the conference room. The conference support system also includes a management server that manages information about the conference, the conference room, the equipment used in the conference, and the like.

[0013] [Conference Support System 100] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conference support system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The conference support system 100 includes a management server 1, a user terminal 2, and a display 3. The conference support system 100 is a system that supports a conference in which multiple users participate.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows conference rooms R1 and R2. Here, users A and B are shown holding a conference in conference room R1. In conference room R1, two user terminals 2a and 2b, each owned by user A and B, and a display 3a (an example of the first display device of the present invention) capable of displaying conference materials, etc., are arranged. In addition, a communication tag Tg1 is installed near the entrance and exit of conference room R1.

[0015] Additionally, outside conference room R1 (in front of conference room R1), user C, a conference participant in the next conference, is waiting with user terminal 2c. Additionally, outside conference room R2 (in front of conference room R2), users D and E, who will be holding a conference with user C, are waiting with user terminals 2d and 2e, respectively. A display 3b (an example of the second display device of the present invention) capable of displaying conference materials and the like is provided in conference room R2. Additionally, a communication tag Tg2 is installed near the entrance / exit of conference room R2.

[0016] Each user using the conference room holds their user terminal 2 over the communication tag Tg to enter the conference room. The user terminal 2 communicates with the communication tag Tg to transmit predetermined information corresponding to their own location information (e.g., identification information (tag ID) of the communication tag Tg) to the management server 1. In the example of FIG. 1, if conference room R2 is vacant, users D and E can also hold their user terminals 2d and 2e over the communication tag Tg2 to enter conference room R2 (see FIG. 10). The communication tag Tg is an example of a reading target in the present invention.

[0017] Conference M2, in which users C, D, and E participate, is an online conference held by connecting conference rooms R1 and R2. The conference support system 100 enables online conferences to be held in conference rooms R1 and R2 by executing a conference support application installed on each of user terminals 2c, 2d, and 2e. The conference support system 100 is configured such that microphone / speaker devices and cameras are connected to conference rooms R1 and R2, enabling two-way communication of audio and camera images. The microphone / speaker devices and cameras may be built into the user terminal 2.

[0018] In addition, for a conference between users A and B in a single conference room R1, it is possible to hold an online conference in conference room R1 by connecting user terminals 2a, 2b, display 3a, etc. and running the conference support application installed on each of user terminals 2a, 2b.

[0019] The management server 1 is configured, for example, with one or more server devices (for example, cloud servers). The user terminal 2 is a terminal device that a user who participates in a conference brings into the conference room, such as a smartphone or a personal computer (PC).

[0020] The management server 1 and the user terminal 2 are connected to each other via a network N1. The network N1 is a communication network such as the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, or a public telephone line. The user terminal 2 and the conference room equipment (display 3, microphone / speaker device, camera, etc.) may be connected via a wired LAN or a wireless LAN.

[0021] [Management Server 1] 2, the management server 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an operation display unit 13, and a communication unit 14. The management server 1 may be one or more virtual servers (cloud servers), or one or more physical servers.

[0022] The communication unit 14 is a communication unit that connects the management server 1 to the network N1 by wire or wirelessly and executes data communication with other devices (e.g., the user terminal 2) via the network N1 in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol.

[0023] The operation display unit 13 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays various information, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations. The operation display unit 13 accepts operations from, for example, an administrator of the management server 1.

[0024] The storage unit 12 is a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a flash memory that stores various types of information. The storage unit 12 stores a control program such as a conference support program that causes the control unit 11 to execute a conference support process (see FIG. 9, etc.) described below. For example, the conference support program is non-temporarily recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD or a DVD, and is read by a reading device (not shown) such as a CD drive or a DVD drive provided in the management server 1 and stored in the storage unit 12. The conference support program may be distributed from a cloud server and stored in the storage unit 12.

[0025] Furthermore, management tables containing various information for supporting conferences are stored in the storage unit 12. Specifically, the storage unit 12 stores data such as a conference schedule information management table T1 that manages conference information related to conference schedules (reservations), a conference room information management table T2 that manages conference room information related to devices installed in the conference room, and a user information management table T3 that manages user information related to users.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the conference schedule information management table T1. The conference schedule information management table T1 stores, for each conference, conference information associated with information such as the date, time, conference room, conference name, participants, conference URL, and conference materials. The conference room is information (conference room name, conference room ID) that indicates the conference room where the conference is held. The participants are information (user names, user IDs, etc.) that indicates the users participating in the conference. The conference URL is access information (connection information) used to connect to an online conference. For example, a conference support application accesses the conference URL to launch an online conference application (such as a general-purpose conference application) corresponding to the conference URL and connect to the destination ID (conference ID). The conference materials are materials used in the conference. For example, when a user (reservation holder) who registers conference information decides to hold a conference, the user registers conference information including the above-mentioned information on his / her user terminal 2. The control unit 11 registers the conference information in the conference schedule information management table T1 in response to the reservation holder's registration operation. Note that the management server 1 does not necessarily have to include a function for managing the conference schedule information, including the conference information. For example, if an external server other than the management server 1 provides a service (e.g., a calendar service) that manages the meeting schedule information, the management server 1 may access the external server, refer to the meeting schedule information, and obtain the meeting information corresponding to the user ID.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the conference room information management table T2. In the conference room information management table T2, conference room information is registered for each conference room, in which information such as a communication tag and a display is associated with each other. The communication tag is information (tag name, tag ID, etc.) that indicates a communication tag Tg that is installed near the entrance / exit of the conference room. The display is identification information of the display 3 installed in the conference room. "DP1" represents the display 3a in conference room R1, and "DP2" represents the display 3b in conference room R2. Conference room information for each conference room is registered in advance in the conference room information management table T2 by a registration operation by an administrator or the like.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the user information management table T3. In the user information management table T3, user information is registered for each user, in which information such as a user ID, user name, authentication information, and location information is associated with each other. The user ID and authentication information (such as a password) are used as login information when logging in to the conference support application. The location information is information indicating the location of the user (user terminal 2). The location information is location information identified based on information transmitted from the user terminal 2, and is updated according to the location of the user terminal 2. In the user information management table T3, user information for each user (user ID, user name, authentication information) is registered in advance by the user's registration operation, and location information according to the location of the user terminal 2 is registered and updated. Note that information (terminal ID) of the user terminal 2 used by the user may also be registered in the user information management table T3.

[0029] The conference schedule information management table T1, the conference room information management table T2, and the user information management table T3 may be partly or entirely stored in a server accessible from the management server 1.

[0030] The control unit 11 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various types of arithmetic processing. The ROM stores in advance control programs such as a BIOS and an OS that cause the CPU to execute various types of processing. The RAM stores various types of information and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for the various types of processing executed by the CPU. The control unit 11 controls the management server 1 by having the CPU execute various control programs that are pre-stored in the ROM or the storage unit 12.

[0031] Specifically, the control unit 11 includes various processing units such as a location acquisition processing unit 111, a conference acquisition processing unit 112, a determination processing unit 113, and a notification processing unit 114. The control unit 11 functions as the various processing units by executing various processes in accordance with the conference support program. Some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 11 may be configured with electronic circuits. The conference support program may be a program for causing multiple processors to function as the various processing units.

[0032] The following explanation will be given with specific examples based on the meeting schedule information registered in the meeting schedule information management table T1 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 1 shows a situation in which users A and B are holding a meeting ("Meeting M1") in meeting room R1 at the current time ("10:55"), and user C is waiting in front of meeting room R1 to participate in the next meeting M2 (starting time "11:00").

[0033] The location acquisition processing unit 111 acquires location information of a user. Specifically, the location acquisition processing unit 111 acquires location information of the user when the user terminal 2 carried by the user communicates with a communication tag Tg installed near the entrance / exit of the conference room. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, when user C (an example of a first user of the present invention) arrives at conference room R1 to participate in conference M2 and holds the user terminal 2c over the communication tag Tg1, the user terminal 2c transmits identification information (terminal ID) of the user terminal 2c and identification information (tag ID) of the communication tag Tg1 to the management server 1. When the location acquisition processing unit 111 acquires the identification information of the user terminal 2c and the identification information of the communication tag Tg1 from the user terminal 2c, it acquires location information corresponding to the identification information of the communication tag Tg1. For example, the location acquisition processing unit 111 refers to the conference room information management table T2 to acquire information on the installation location of the communication tag Tg1 (the conference room ID of conference room R1). The location acquisition processing unit 111 registers the acquired location information in the user information management table T3 (see FIG. 5). Here, the installation location of the communication tag Tg1 (for example, conference room R1) is registered as the location information ("P3" in FIG. 5) of user C. The location acquisition processing unit 111 is an example of a first acquisition processing unit of the present invention.

[0034] The conference acquisition processing unit 112 acquires conference schedule information for a user. Specifically, the conference acquisition processing unit 112 references the conference schedule information management table T1 (see FIG. 3) to acquire conference schedule information for a conference in which the user will participate. For example, when user C holds user terminal 2c over the communication tag Tg1 of conference room R1, the conference acquisition processing unit 112 identifies the user based on the identification information of user terminal 2c acquired from user terminal 2c, and acquires conference schedule information for a conference in which the identified user is registered as a participant. In this example, the conference acquisition processing unit 112 acquires conference schedule information for conference M2 in which user C will participate. The conference acquisition processing unit 112 is an example of a second acquisition processing unit of the present invention.

[0035] The determination processing unit 113 determines whether or not a conference to be held in a conference room corresponding to the location information acquired by the location acquisition processing unit 111 is registered in the conference schedule information acquired by the conference acquisition processing unit 112. For example, the determination processing unit 113 determines whether or not a conference to be held in conference room R1 corresponding to the location information of user C acquired by the location acquisition processing unit 111 (for example, a location in front of conference room R1) is registered in the conference schedule information of conferences in which user C will participate acquired by the conference acquisition processing unit 112. Here, the determination processing unit 113 determines that conference M2 to be held in conference room R1 corresponding to the location information is registered in the conference schedule information. The determination processing unit 113 is an example of a first determination processing unit of the present invention.

[0036] Furthermore, the determination processing unit 113 determines whether or not the user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the conference. For example, the determination processing unit 113 determines whether or not user C is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of conference M2. Here, the determination processing unit 113 determines that user C is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of conference M2. The determination processing unit 113 is an example of a second determination processing unit of the present invention.

[0037] When the conference is registered in the conference schedule information and the user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the conference, the notification processing unit 114 notifies the participants of the conference currently being held in the conference room of predetermined information. In this case, conference M1 is being held in conference room R1 (see FIG. 1), so the notification processing unit 114 notifies the predetermined information to users A and B, who are participants in conference M1.

[0038] Specifically, the notification processing unit 114 displays information indicating that user C, a participant in the next conference, is waiting outside conference room R1 on at least one of the user terminals 2a and 2b of users A and B and the display 3a installed in conference room R1. In addition, the notification processing unit 114 displays information regarding the end time of conference M1 of users A and B on at least one of the user terminals 2a and 2b of users A and B and the display 3a.

[0039] Fig. 6 shows an example of the display screen of the user terminals 2a and 2b, and Fig. 7 shows an example of the display screen of the display 3a. The notification processing unit 114 causes at least one of the user terminals 2a and 2b and the display 3a to display the remaining time until the end of conference M1 (here, "5 minutes"), a message indicating that user C is waiting outside conference room R1, and the like.

[0040] The notification processing unit 114 may display the predetermined information until the end of the conference M1, or may delete the predetermined information from the display screen when a confirmation operation is received from the user. The notification processing unit 114 may also display a countdown of the remaining time.

[0041] According to the above configuration, participants of conference M1 can be made aware that the start time of the next conference M2 is approaching, so conference M1 can be ended as scheduled, and the subsequent conference M2 can be started as scheduled.

[0042] The notification processor 114 may also display information on the user terminal 2c of user C indicating that conference M1 is being held (in conference) in conference room R1. FIG. 8 shows an example of the display screen of the user terminal 2c. As shown in FIG. 8, the notification processor 114 displays on the user terminal 2c the remaining time until the end of conference M1 (here, "5 minutes"), a message indicating that users A and B are in a conference in conference room R1, and the like. This allows user C to understand the situation in conference room R1.

[0043] [User device 2] 2, the user terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, an operation display unit 23, a reading unit 24, and a communication unit 25. The user terminal 2 is an information processing device such as a smartphone, a personal computer (PC), or a tablet terminal.

[0044] The communication unit 25 is a communication unit that connects the user terminal 2 to the network N1 by wire or wirelessly and executes data communication with other devices (e.g., the management server 1) via the network N1 in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol. The user terminal 2 is also connected to conference room devices (such as the display 3, microphone / speaker device, and camera) via the communication unit 25 by wired LAN or wireless LAN.

[0045] The reading unit 24 reads the communication tag Tg. For example, the reading unit 24 communicates with the communication tag Tg using NFC (near field communication) and reads the identification information (tag ID) of the communication tag Tg. In another embodiment, the reading unit 24 may be configured with a camera and read an information code (such as a two-dimensional code) placed near the entrance / exit of the conference room. In this case, the reading unit 24 reads the conference room ID associated with the information code.

[0046] The operation display unit 23 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays various information, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations. The operation display unit 23 accepts operations from the user of the user terminal 2, for example.

[0047] The storage unit 22 is a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory that stores various types of information. The storage unit 22 stores control programs such as a conference support program that causes the control unit 21 to execute a conference support process (see FIG. 9, etc.) described below. For example, the conference support program is non-temporarily recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD or DVD, and is read by a reading device (not shown) such as a CD drive or DVD drive provided in the user terminal 2 and stored in the storage unit 22. The conference support program may be distributed from a cloud server and stored in the storage unit 22.

[0048] The control unit 21 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various types of arithmetic processing. The ROM stores in advance control programs such as a BIOS and an OS that cause the CPU to execute various types of processing. The RAM stores various types of information and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for the various types of processing executed by the CPU. The control unit 21 controls the user terminal 2 by having the CPU execute various control programs that are pre-stored in the ROM or the storage unit 22.

[0049] Specifically, the control unit 21 includes various processing units such as a reading processing unit 211 and a display processing unit 212. The control unit 21 functions as the various processing units by executing various processes in accordance with the control program using the CPU. Some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 21 may be configured with electronic circuits. The control program may be a program for causing multiple processors to function as the various processing units.

[0050] The reading processing unit 211 transmits the identification information of the communication tag Tg read by the reading unit 24 to the management server 1. For example, when a user C arrives at the conference room R1 and reads the communication tag Tg1 (see FIG. 1) with the user terminal 2c, the reading processing unit 211 of the user terminal 2c transmits the identification information of the communication tag Tg1 to the management server 1. The reading processing unit 211 may also transmit location information (e.g., the conference room ID) corresponding to the identification information of the communication tag Tg1 to the management server 1.

[0051] When the location acquisition processing unit 111 of the management server 1 acquires the identification information of the communication tag Tg1 from the user terminal 2c, it acquires the location information of user C (user terminal 2c) based on the conference room ID (see Figure 4) associated with the communication tag Tg1.

[0052] The display processing unit 212 displays various types of information on the operation display unit 23. For example, the display processing unit 212 displays a login screen for the conference support application, a conference information screen that displays conference information, an operation screen that accepts operations to start, end, and extend a conference, and a conference screen that is displayed after the conference has started and during the conference.

[0053] Furthermore, the display processing unit 212 displays the predetermined information notified by the management server 1 when a participant of the next conference arrives in the conference room during the conference. For example, as shown in Fig. 6, when a participant of the next conference M2 (user C) arrives in conference room R1 while users A and B are holding a conference in conference room R1, the display processing unit 212 of the user terminals 2a and 2b displays the information notified by the management server 1 on each of the user terminals 2a and 2b. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, when a participant of the next conference M2 (user C) arrives in conference room R1 while users A and B are holding a conference in conference room R1, the display processing unit 212 of the user terminal 2c displays the information notified by the management server 1 on the user terminal 2c.

[0054] In addition to the above-mentioned processing, the control unit 21 executes the conference support application. The control unit 21 also starts up the conference support application and executes login processing. The control unit 21 also connects the user terminal 2 to the display 3, a microphone / speaker device, a camera, and the like. When the user terminal 2 and the display 3 are connected, for example, conference materials are displayed on the display 3. The display 3 also displays the progress of the conference, the time remaining until the end of the conference, and the like. The control unit 21 may also cause the display 3 to display the display screen of the user terminal 2.

[0055] Furthermore, the control unit 21 receives an instruction to end the conference from the user. When the control unit 21 receives an instruction to end the conference from the user, the control unit 21 ends the conference and logs off the user from the conference support application.

[0056] [Meeting support processing] An example of the procedure of the conference support process executed in the conference support system 100 will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0057] The present invention can be understood as a conference support method (one example of the conference support method of the present invention) that executes one or more steps included in the conference support process. One or more steps included in the conference support process described here may be omitted as appropriate. The steps in the conference support process may be executed in a different order as long as the same operational effect is achieved.

[0058] Furthermore, although the following description uses an example in which the control unit 11 of the management server 1 executes each step in the conference support process, in other embodiments, one or more processors may execute each step in the conference support process in a distributed manner.

[0059] Here, as shown in the example above (see Figures 1 and 3), we will explain the situation where users A and B are holding a meeting ("Meeting M1") in conference room R1 at the current time ("10:55"), and user C is waiting in front of conference room R1 to participate in the next meeting M2 (start time of "11:00").

[0060] First, in step S1, the control unit 11 acquires location information of the user (user terminal 2). For example, when user C comes to conference room R1 to participate in conference M2 and holds user terminal 2c over communication tag Tg1, user terminal 2c transmits identification information of user terminal 2c and identification information of communication tag Tg1 to the management server 1. After acquiring the identification information of user terminal 2c and the identification information of communication tag Tg1 from user terminal 2c, the control unit 11 acquires location information (here, the conference room ID of conference room R1) corresponding to the identification information of communication tag Tg1.

[0061] Next, in step S2, the control unit 11 updates the user information management table T3 (see FIG. 5). Here, the control unit 11 registers the acquired location information (for example, conference room R1) in the user information management table T3.

[0062] Next, in step S3, the control unit 11 acquires conference schedule information. Specifically, when user C holds user terminal 2c over the communication tag Tg1 of conference room R1, the control unit 11 identifies the user based on the identification information of user terminal 2c acquired from user terminal 2c, and acquires conference schedule information for the conference in which the identified user is registered as a participant. Here, the control unit 11 acquires conference schedule information for conference M2 in which user C will participate. The control unit 11 also acquires conference schedule information for conference room R1 corresponding to the acquired location information (for example, conference schedule information for conference M1 currently being held in conference room R1).

[0063] Next, in step S4, the control unit 11 determines whether the conference that the user will attend is registered in the acquired conference schedule information. If the conference that the user will attend is registered in the conference schedule information (S4: Yes), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S5. On the other hand, if the conference that the user will attend is not registered in the conference schedule information (S4: No), the control unit 11 ends the process. In this case, conference M2 that user C will attend is registered in the conference schedule information (S4: Yes), so the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S5.

[0064] In step S5, the control unit 11 determines whether the user is a participant in the conference. If the user is a participant in the conference (S5: Yes), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S6. On the other hand, if the user is not a participant in the conference (S5: No), the control unit 11 ends the process. Here, since user C is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant in conference M2 (S5: Yes), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S6.

[0065] In step S6, the control unit 11 notifies the conference participants of predetermined information. In this case, since the conference M1 is being held in the conference room R1 (see FIG. 1), the control unit 11 notifies the predetermined information to the users A and B who are participants in the conference M1.

[0066] Specifically, the control unit 11 causes information indicating that user C is waiting outside conference room R1 to be displayed on at least one of the user terminals 2a and 2b (see FIG. 6) of users A and B and the display 3a (see FIG. 7) installed in conference room R1. In addition, the control unit 11 causes at least one of the user terminals 2a and 2b (see FIG. 6) and the display 3a (see FIG. 7) of users A and B to display information regarding the end time of conference M1.

[0067] After step S6, the control unit 11 ends the process. The control unit 11 executes the above-described process every time it acquires location information (information on the communication tag Tg) from the user terminal 2 of each user.

[0068] As described above, the conference support system 100 according to this embodiment acquires location information of a first user, acquires conference schedule information of the first user, determines whether a first conference to be held in a first conference room corresponding to the location information is registered in the conference schedule information, and determines whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference. If the first conference is registered in the conference schedule information and the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference, the conference support system 100 notifies participants of a second conference currently being held in the first conference room of predetermined information.

[0069] This allows, for example, when a previous conference is being held in a conference room, conference participants in the current conference can be made aware that the start time of the next conference is approaching, etc. This allows the conference to end as scheduled, and the next conference to start as scheduled.

[0070] [Other embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

[0071] FIG. 10 shows a state in which users D and E (an example of a second user of the present invention), who are participants in conference M2, have entered conference room R2. For example, when user D holds user terminal 2d over communication tag Tg2 of conference room R2, user terminal 2d transmits the identification information of communication tag Tg2 to management server 1. After acquiring the identification information of communication tag Tg2 from user terminal 2d, control unit 11 of management server 1 checks the usage status of conference room R2 based on the conference room ID (see FIG. 4) associated with communication tag Tg2. If conference room R2 is vacant, control unit 11 notifies user terminal 2d of information indicating that conference room R2 is vacant. FIG. 11 shows an example of a display screen of user terminal 2d. As shown in FIG. 11, control unit 11 causes user terminal 2d to display a message indicating that conference room R2 is vacant, the time remaining until the start time of conference M2, and the like. When user E holds user terminal 2e over communication tag Tg2 in conference room R2, control unit 11 displays the same information as user terminal 2d (see FIG. 11).

[0072] In addition, as shown in Figure 12, the control unit 11 displays on the display 3b of conference room R2 the remaining time until the end of conference M1 being held in conference room R1 (here, "5 minutes"), a message indicating that user C, who will be joining conference M2 in conference room R1, is waiting outside conference room R1, and so on.

[0073] Furthermore, the control unit 11 may acquire location information of a conference participant when the participant performs a conference start operation on the user terminal 2. For example, when users D and E who have entered conference room R2 log in to the conference support application on user terminals 2d and 2e, the control unit 11 updates the location information of users D and E from "outside the conference room" to "inside the conference room."

[0074] In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 11 causes each of the user terminals 2d and 2e to display the remaining time until the end of the conference M1 being held in the conference room R1 (here, "5 minutes"), a message indicating that user C is waiting outside the conference room R1, and so on.

[0075] 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the conference support process according to another embodiment. In the following, the same processes as those in the conference support process shown in FIG. 9 will be omitted or briefly described as appropriate.

[0076] In step S11, the control unit 11 acquires location information of the user (user terminal 2). Next, in step S12, the control unit 11 updates the user information management table T3 (see FIG. 5).

[0077] Next, in step S13, the control unit 11 determines whether the user is in front of the conference room. If the user is in front of the conference room (S13: Yes), the control unit 11 transitions the process to step S14. If the user is not in front of the conference room (S13: No), the control unit 11 terminates the process. For example, the control unit 11 determines whether the user is in front of the conference room or inside the conference room. Specifically, for example, when a user logs in to the conference support application on the user terminal 2, selects the conference room in which the user is located, and issues an instruction to start the conference, the control unit 11 determines that the user is inside the conference room. In this case, the control unit 11 registers the indoor location information of the conference room in which the user is located in the user information management table T3. In this way, the control unit 11 may acquire the location information of a conference participant when the participant performs a conference start operation on the user terminal 2.

[0078] In step S14, the control unit 11 acquires the conference schedule information (conference schedule information for conference M2). The control unit 11 also acquires the conference schedule information for conference room R1 corresponding to the acquired location information (for example, the conference schedule information for conference M1 currently being held in conference room R1).

[0079] Next, in step S15, the control unit 11 determines whether the conference that the user will attend is registered in the acquired conference schedule information. If the conference that the user will attend is registered in the conference schedule information (S15: Yes), the control unit 11 proceeds to step S16. On the other hand, if the conference that the user will attend is not registered in the conference schedule information (S15: No), the control unit 11 ends the process.

[0080] In step S16, the control unit 11 determines whether the user is a participant of the conference. If the user is a participant of the conference (S16: Yes), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S17. On the other hand, if the user is not a participant of the conference (S16: No), the control unit 11 ends the process.

[0081] In step S17, the control unit 11 determines whether there are people (conference participants) in the target conference room. If there are people in the conference room (S17: Yes), that is, if a conference is being held in the conference room, the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S18. On the other hand, if there are no people in the conference room (S17: No), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S171.

[0082] In step S18, the control unit 11 notifies the conference participants in the conference room of predetermined information. For example, the control unit 11 causes the user terminals 2a and 2b of the users A and B who are in the conference room R1 to display a message indicating that the user C is waiting outside the conference room R1 (see FIG. 6).

[0083] In step S171, the control unit 11 notifies information indicating that the conference room is vacant. For example, the control unit 11 causes the user terminals 2d and 2e of the users D and E who will be participating in the conference in conference room R2 to display a message indicating that the conference room is vacant (see FIG. 11).

[0084] In step S19, the control unit 11 determines whether the location where the next meeting will be held includes a remote conference room. If the location where the next meeting will be held includes a remote conference room (S19: Yes), the control unit 11 proceeds to step S20. On the other hand, if the location where the next meeting will be held does not include a remote conference room (S19: No), the control unit 11 ends the process.

[0085] In step S20, the control unit 11 notifies the participants of the next conference in a remote conference room of predetermined information. For example, the control unit 11 causes the user terminals 2d and 2e of users D and E, who will be participating in conference M2 in conference room R2, to display a message indicating that user C is waiting outside conference room R1 (see FIG. 13). The control unit 11 also causes the display 3b installed in conference room R2 to display a message indicating that user C is waiting outside conference room R1 (see FIG. 12).

[0086] In another embodiment of the present invention, the conference support system 100 may accept a conference extension request from a user currently in a conference. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15 , during conference M1, when user C of the next conference M2 is in front of conference room R1, the control unit 11 displays a message indicating that user C is waiting outside conference room R1, and further displays a request button in the message to accept an extension request for conference M1. When users A and B press the request button to request an extension of conference M1, the control unit 11 (notification processing unit 114) notifies user terminal 2c of user C of a message inquiring whether or not to extend the conference (see FIG. 16 ). User C determines whether or not to approve the extension request on user terminal 2c. If user C approves the extension, the control unit 11 extends the scheduled end time of conference M1. For example, the control unit 11 extends the scheduled end time of conference M1 by a predetermined time (15 minutes). If the scheduled end time of conference M1 is extended, the control unit 11 notifies each of the user terminals 2c, 2d, and 2e of users C, D, and E, who are participants in the next conference M2, of information such as the fact that conference M1 has been extended and the scheduled end time after the extension.

[0087] In this way, when an extension request is made to extend the scheduled end time of conference M1, the control unit 11 (notification processing unit 114) notifies the user terminal 2 of the user of conference M2 of a message inquiring whether the extension is possible.

[0088] In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 11 (notification processing unit 114) may notify information indicating that user C is waiting outside conference room R1 when the time when user C's location information is acquired is between a predetermined time before the scheduled start time of conference M2 and the scheduled start time. Furthermore, the control unit 11 may notify user C's user terminal 2c of warning information when the time when user C's location information is acquired is more than a predetermined time before the scheduled start time of conference M2.

[0089] For example, if user C arrives at conference room R1 and holds user terminal 2c over communication tag Tg1 at 10:55, this is within a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes) from the scheduled start time of conference M2, which user C will be attending, at 11:00. In this case, control unit 11 causes user terminals 2a and 2b of users A and B to display predetermined information (that user C is waiting outside conference room R1), as shown in FIG.

[0090] On the other hand, for example, if user C arrives at conference room R1 and holds his / her user terminal 2c over the communication tag Tg1 at "10:45," this is more than a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes) before the scheduled start time of conference M2, "11:00," in which user C will participate. In this case, as shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 11 causes user C's user terminal 2c to display a message (warning information) indicating that there is still time until the scheduled start time of conference M2 (that user C arrived at conference room R1 too early). In addition, the control unit 11 may notify users A and B that users A and B are in a conference in conference room R1 and that certain information (that user C is waiting outside conference room R1) will not be notified.

[0091] In another embodiment of the present invention, when user C has entered the wrong conference room, the control unit 11 (notification processing unit 114) may cause user terminal 2c to display a message indicating that the conference room is incorrect, as shown in FIG. 18. For example, when user C arrives at conference room R3 (not shown) and holds user terminal 2c over communication tag Tg, the control unit 11 acquires user C's location information (conference room R3). When the acquired location information differs from conference room R1 for conference M2 in which user C is participating, the control unit 11 causes user terminal 2c to display a message indicating that the conference room is incorrect, information about the correct conference room (conference room R1 in this case), the time until the scheduled start time of conference M2, etc. This allows the conference participants to immediately understand that they have entered the wrong conference room.

[0092] In another embodiment of the present invention, when conference M2, which users C, D, and E were scheduled to attend, is canceled, the control unit 11 (notification processing unit 114) may display a message indicating that conference M2 has been canceled on each of the user terminals 2c, 2d, and 2e of users C, D, and E, as shown in Fig. 19. This allows the conference participants to reliably understand that the conference has been canceled.

[0093] In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, when users A and B are in a conference room R1 and users D and E, who are participants in the next conference M2, enter conference room R2 and preparations for conference M2 are complete, the control unit 11 (notification processing unit 114) may notify users A and B of predetermined information. For example, when users D and E log in to the conference support application, the control unit 11 displays a message indicating that preparations for conference M2 are complete on the display 3a of conference room R1, as shown in FIG. 20. This allows conference M1 to end as scheduled and the next conference M2 to start as scheduled.

[0094] As described above, the conference support system of the present invention may be configured with a management server 1 and a user terminal 2 as shown in FIG. 2, or may be configured with the management server 1 alone, or may be configured with the user terminal 2 alone.

[0095] Furthermore, the conference support system of the present invention can be constructed by freely combining the above-described embodiments within the scope of the invention described in each claim, or by appropriately modifying or omitting parts of each embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1: Management Server 2: User device 3: Display 100: Meeting support system 111: Position acquisition processing unit 112: Conference acquisition processing unit 113: Judgment processing unit 114: Notification processing unit 211: Reading processing unit 212: Display processing unit Tg: communication tag

Claims

1. A conference support system for supporting a conference in which multiple users participate, a first acquisition processing unit that acquires, from a first user terminal carried by a first user, location information of the first user and identification information of the first user terminal when the first user terminal reads a reading target installed outside a first conference room; a second acquisition processing unit that acquires conference schedule information of the first user based on identification information of the first user terminal; a determination processing unit that determines whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of a first conference to be held in the first conference room; a notification processing unit capable of notifying predetermined information to participants of a second conference currently being held in the first conference room; Equipped with A conference support system in which, when the first user terminal reads the read target, (1) if the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, the notification processing unit notifies the participants of the second conference of the specified information, and (2) if the first user is not registered as a participant of the first conference, the notification processing unit does not notify the participants of the second conference of the specified information.

2. When the first user terminal reads the read target and the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, the notification processing unit displays information indicating that the first user is waiting outside the first conference room on at least one of a user terminal of a participant of the second conference and a first display device installed in the first conference room. The conference support system according to claim 1 .

3. When the first user terminal reads the read target and the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, the notification processing unit displays information regarding the end time of the second conference on at least one of a user terminal of a participant of the second conference and a first display device installed in the first conference room. The conference support system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. When the first user terminal reads the read target and the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, the notification processing unit further causes the first user terminal to display information indicating that the second conference is being held in the first conference room. The conference support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the notification processing unit notifies the participants of the second conference of information indicating that the first user is waiting outside the first conference room when the first user terminal reads the read target, if the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, and if the time when the location information was acquired is between a predetermined time before the scheduled start time of the first conference and the scheduled start time. The conference support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. the notification processing unit notifies the first user terminal of a message inquiring whether or not to extend the scheduled end time of the second conference when the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference and a participant of the second conference has applied for an extension of the scheduled end time of the second conference after being notified of the predetermined information, when the first user terminal reads the read target; The conference support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. the notification processing unit notifies the first user terminal of warning information when the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference when the first user terminal reads the read target and when the time when the location information was acquired is a predetermined time or more before the scheduled start time of the first conference. The conference support system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. When a second user who will participate in the first conference in a second conference room is registered in the conference schedule information, and when the first user terminal reads the read target and the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, the notification processing unit displays information indicating that the first user is waiting outside the first conference room on at least one of the user terminal of the second user and a second display device installed in the second conference room. The conference support system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. the first acquisition processing unit acquires location information of a conference participant when the conference participant reads the read target using a user terminal and performs a conference start operation on the user terminal; The conference support system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. When the first user terminal reads the read target and the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, the notification processing unit notifies the first user terminal of information indicating that the second conference is currently being held in the first conference room at the time the first user terminal reads the read target, and further notifies at least one of the user terminals of the participants of the second conference and a first display device installed in the first conference room of information indicating that the first user is waiting outside the first conference room at a predetermined time before the scheduled start time of the first conference. The conference support system according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A conference support method for supporting a conference in which multiple users participate, comprising: one or more processors, a first acquisition step of acquiring, from a first user terminal carried by a first user, location information of the first user and identification information of the first user terminal when the first user terminal reads a reading target installed outside a first conference room; a second acquisition step of acquiring conference schedule information of the first user based on identification information of the first user terminal; a determining step of determining whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference to be held in the first conference room; a notification step capable of notifying predetermined information to participants of a second conference currently being held in the first conference room; Run A conference support method in which, in the notification step, when the first user terminal reads the read target, (1) if the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, the specified information is notified to the participants of the second conference, and (2) if the first user is not registered as a participant of the first conference, the specified information is not notified to the participants of the second conference.

12. A conference support program for supporting a conference in which multiple users participate, a first acquisition step of acquiring, from a first user terminal carried by a first user, location information of the first user and identification information of the first user terminal when the first user terminal reads a reading target installed outside a first conference room; a second acquisition step of acquiring conference schedule information of the first user based on identification information of the first user terminal; a determining step of determining whether the first user is registered in the conference schedule information as a participant of the first conference to be held in the first conference room; a notification step capable of notifying predetermined information to participants of a second conference currently being held in the first conference room; on one or more processors, A conference support program that, in the notification step, when the first user terminal reads the read target, (1) notifies the participants of the second conference of the specified information if the first user is registered as a participant of the first conference, and (2) does not notify the participants of the second conference of the specified information if the first user is not registered as a participant of the first conference.

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