Minutes-taking device

Abstract

To provide a convenient minutes creation device in a video conference system.SOLUTION: A video conference system in which users of a plurality of user terminals participate comprises a server comprising: a group creation unit that in addition to a whole group, receives creation of an individual group in which some users participate; a communication unit that communicates with the plurality of user terminals and acquires voice data on utterance of a user participating in the whole group or the individual group and utterance time; a voice recognition unit that analyzes the voice data and converts the voice data into text data; a minutes creation unit that creates minutes on the basis of the text data; and a control unit for controlling the respective units. The control unit makes the minutes creation unit create whole minutes on the basis of text data on utterance of a user participating in the whole group, create individual minutes on the basis of text data on utterance of a user participating in the individual group, and create minutes in which the individual minutes are incorporated in the whole minutes in a distinguishable manner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a minutes-taking device, and more particularly to a minutes-taking device for a video conference system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the use of video conferencing systems has been increasing, which allows multiple users to share documents displayed in real time on information display devices such as TV monitors and personal computers (PCs) installed in remote locations via a network.

[0003] For example, in the case of corporate users, a video conferencing system may be used by users with various positions, such as executives, managers, and general employees, belonging to various departments and groups.

[0004] In such video conference systems, a tool is known that automatically creates minutes of the conference contents by extracting text information from audio data based on the content of user remarks and transcribing the text.

[0005] As an invention for such a minutes-taking device, a minutes-taking device has been disclosed that includes a participant information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying users as participant information indicating the participants of the meeting, a voice acquisition means for acquiring voices spoken by the participants of the meeting, a speaker identification means for identifying the user who spoke the acquired voice from among the users identified by the acquired participant information, a voice conversion means for converting the acquired voice into text information, and an association means for associating the converted text information with the participant information of the identified user (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-069172 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, in a video conference involving users from various groups, it is difficult to determine to what extent the content spoken only within an individual group should be recorded in the minutes in relation to the content spoken in the entire conference. Furthermore, if the statements of all the individual groups were recorded, there was a possibility that the statements made by each individual group would not match, which could be problematic.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a minutes creation device that is more convenient than conventional devices in a video conference system in which multiple groups of users participate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] (1) A minutes-taking device according to the present invention is a videoconferencing system in which a meeting is held as an overall group in which users of multiple user terminals participate via a network, and comprises: a group creation unit that accepts the creation of individual groups in which some of the users will participate in the meeting in addition to the overall group; a communication unit that communicates with the multiple user terminals and acquires audio data and speech times of users participating in the overall group or the individual groups; a voice recognition unit that analyzes the voice data and converts it into text data; a minutes-taking unit that takes minutes based on the text data; and a control unit that controls the group creation unit, the communication unit, the voice recognition unit, and the minutes-taking unit, and the control unit causes the minutes-taking unit to take overall minutes based on the text data of speech of users participating in the overall group, to take individual minutes based on the text data of speech of users participating in the individual groups, and to take minutes in which the individual minutes are distinguishably incorporated into the overall minutes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to this invention, in a video conferencing system in which users from multiple groups participate, individual minutes corresponding to individual groups can be distinguishably incorporated into the overall minutes corresponding to the overall group, thereby realizing a minutes creation device that is more convenient than conventional devices. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video conference system according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the user terminal of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the server in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a process for creating minutes of a meeting in the video conference system of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a minutes viewing process of the server of FIG. 1. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a minutes viewing process of the user terminal of FIG. 1. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of display of the overall minutes of the video conference system of FIG. 1. [Figure 8] An explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the overall minutes and individual minutes in the video conference system of Fig. 1. Fig. 8(A) shows an example in which an expandable display button for individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes, and Fig. 8(B) shows an example in which individual minutes are expanded and displayed within the overall minutes. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a minutes viewing process of the server in the video conference system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a minutes viewing process of a user terminal in the video conference system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11]11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams showing examples of the display of the overall minutes and individual minutes of the video conference system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 11A shows an example in which an expandable display button for the individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes, and Fig. 11B shows an example in which a participating user of individual group 1 expands and displays the individual minutes of the group in the overall minutes. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video conference system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams showing examples of the display of the overall minutes and individual minutes of the video conference system of embodiment 3 of the present invention. Fig. 13A shows an example in which buttons for expanding the display of the individual minutes of individual groups 1 and 2 are displayed in the overall minutes, and Fig. 13B shows an example in which the individual minutes of individual groups 1 and 2 are expanded and displayed within the overall minutes. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing a minutes viewing process of a server according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the overall minutes and individual minutes of the video conference system according to embodiment 4 of the present invention. Fig. 15(A) shows an example in which an expandable display button for the individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes for users who have participated in individual group 1, and Fig. 15(B) shows an example in which an expandable display button for the individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes for users who have participated in individual group 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] In this invention, "the individual minutes are incorporated into the overall minutes in a distinguishable manner" means that the overall minutes and the individual minutes are displayed in different positions, or with or without underlining, or with different fonts or colors. In addition, an expand display button that expands and displays the individual minutes when a predetermined button is pressed may be inserted inside or outside the text of the overall minutes.

[0013] Further, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0014] (2) In the minutes-taking device of this invention, the control unit may cause the minutes-taking unit to create minutes in which the individual minutes of the individual group are distinguishably incorporated into the overall minutes by setting a viewing restriction so that only users who participated in the individual group can view the individual minutes of the individual group.

[0015] In this way, in a video conference system in which users from multiple groups participate, only users who have participated in an individual group can view the individual minutes of that individual group, and other users cannot view them due to viewing restrictions, making it possible to realize a minutes-creation device that is more convenient than conventional ones.

[0016] (3) In the minutes-taking device of the present invention, the control unit may cause the minutes-taking unit to take minutes in which the individual minutes are incorporated into the overall minutes in a distinguishable manner by using at least one difference in font, color, or underlining so that the individual minutes can be distinguished from the overall minutes and the individual minutes of the other individual groups.

[0017] In this way, in a video conference system in which users from multiple groups participate, the text of individual minutes of each group can be displayed so that it can be distinguished by differences in at least one of the font, color, and underline, thereby realizing a minutes-taking device that is more convenient than conventional devices.

[0018] When individual minutes are created for a plurality of individual groups, these individual minutes may be displayed so as to be distinguishable from one another by using at least one difference in font, color, or underline.

[0019] (4) In the minutes-taking device of the present invention, the control unit may be configured to create minutes in which the individual minutes are incorporated into the overall minutes so that they can be expanded and displayed by pressing a predetermined expanded display button.

[0020] In this way, in a video conferencing system in which users from multiple groups participate, individual minutes are expanded and displayed when a specified expansion display button is pressed, thereby realizing a minutes creation device that is more convenient than conventional devices.

[0021] (5) In the minutes-taking device of the present invention, the control unit may cause the minutes-taking unit to take minutes in which only the individual minutes of the individual groups in which the user participated are incorporated into the overall minutes in a manner that allows the individual minutes to be distinguished.

[0022] In this way, the overall minutes created in a video conference system in which users from multiple groups participate will only display the expansion display buttons for the individual minutes of the individual groups in which the users participated, thereby realizing a minutes creation device that is more convenient than conventional ones.

[0023] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following description is given by way of example only in all respects and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0024] [Embodiment 1] The schematic configuration of a video conference system 100 including a server 2, which is an embodiment of a minutes creating device of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0025] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video conference system 100 according to the present invention.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, a video conference system 100 of the present invention is made up of user terminals 1A to 1G and a server 2 connected via a network 3.

[0027] In the example of FIG. 1, the user terminals 1A to 1G belong to a general group as a general conference room of the video conference system 100 in which all users participate. Meanwhile, user terminal 1 C、 1 Dbelongs to Individual Group 1 as an individual conference room in which some users participate. Furthermore, the user terminals 1E to 1G belong to an individual group 2 as an individual conference room.

[0028] These three groups (overall group, individual group 1, and individual group 2) exchange information in real time via server 2.

[0029] In the following description, the user terminals 1A to 1G will be collectively referred to as the user terminal 1.

[0030] <Overview of User Terminal 1> Next, the schematic configuration of the user terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the user terminal 1 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 11, an image processing unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, an operation unit 15, a voice acquisition unit 16, and a timer 17.

[0032] Each component of the user terminal 1 will be described below.

[0033] The control unit 10 controls the user terminal 1 in an integrated manner, and is composed of a CPU, RAM, ROM, various interface circuits, and the like.

[0034] The control unit 10 monitors and controls all loads such as the detection of each sensor and the operation unit 15 in order to control the overall operation of the user terminal 1 .

[0035] The storage unit 11 is an element or storage medium that stores information, control programs, and the like required to realize various functions of the user terminal 1. For example, a semiconductor element such as a RAM or a ROM, a hard disk, a flash storage unit, an SSD, or other storage medium may be used.

[0036] The program and the data may be stored in different devices, such as by configuring the area for storing data in a hard disk drive and the area for storing the program in a flash memory unit.

[0037] The image processing unit 12 is a part that converts image data into an appropriate electrical signal and performs processing such as enlarging or reducing the image data so that the signal is suitable for output.

[0038] The communication unit 13 is a part that communicates with other user terminals 1 and external servers 2 via the network 3, and transmits and receives various image data such as materials and documents to be displayed in the video conference. Furthermore, the communication unit 13 transmits to the server 2 the voice data of the user's speech acquired by the voice acquisition unit 16, the speech time, and other data for use in recording the minutes of the video conference system 100.

[0039] The display unit 14 is a part that displays various types of information of the user terminal 1. The display unit 14 is a display device such as a monitor or line display, which is configured by, for example, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or an EL display, and which displays electronic data such as the processing status of the operating system and application software.

[0040] The control unit 10 displays the operation and status of the user terminal 1 through the display unit 14.

[0041] The operation unit 15 is an interface for operating the user terminal 1, and is a part that receives commands from the user.

[0042] The display unit 14 and the operation unit 15 may be composed of a display panel made up of a liquid crystal panel or the like, and a touch panel such as a capacitive type that is placed on top of the display panel and detects the position touched by a finger.

[0043] The voice acquisition unit 16 includes a microphone, receives voice input from the user, and converts it into predetermined voice data.

[0044] The timer 17 obtains the time from an internal clock or via the network 3 . The timer 17 records the time when a user speaks in the video conference system 100.

[0045] <Server 2 schematic configuration> Next, the schematic configuration of the server 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0046] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the server 2 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the server 2 includes a control unit 20, a memory unit 21, an image processing unit 22, a communication unit 23, a voice recognition unit 24, a display unit 25, an operation unit 26, a video conference system management unit 27, a group creation unit 28, and a minutes creation unit 29.

[0047] Each component of the server 2 will be described below.

[0048] The control unit 20 controls the server 2 in an integrated manner, and is composed of a CPU, RAM, ROM, various interface circuits, and the like.

[0049] The control unit 20 monitors and controls all loads such as the detection of each sensor and the operation unit 26 in order to control the operation of the entire server 2 .

[0050] The storage unit 21 is an element or storage medium that stores information, control programs, and the like required to realize various functions of the server 2. For example, a storage medium such as a semiconductor element such as a RAM or a ROM, a hard disk, a flash storage unit, or an SSD may be used.

[0051] The storage unit 21 stores data necessary for carrying out a video conference, such as information about the video conference system 100 and image data.

[0052] The program and the data may be stored in different devices, such as by configuring the area for storing data in a hard disk drive and the area for storing the program in a flash memory unit.

[0053] The image processing unit 22 is a part that converts image data into an appropriate electrical signal and performs processing such as enlarging or reducing the signal so that the signal is suitable for output.

[0054] The communication unit 23 communicates with the external user terminal 1 via the network 3, and transmits and receives material data and the like for the video conference system 100.

[0055] The voice recognition unit 24 is a part that analyzes voice data acquired from the user terminal 1, converts it into text data, and recognizes which user said the voice data.

[0056] The display unit 25 is a part that displays various information of the server 2. The display unit 25 is a display device such as a monitor or line display, which is configured by, for example, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or an EL display, and which displays electronic data such as the processing status of the operating system and application software.

[0057] The control unit 20 displays the operation and status of the server 2 through the display unit 25.

[0058] The operation unit 26 is an interface for operating the server 2, and is a part that receives commands from the user.

[0059] The display unit 25 and the operation unit 26 may be composed of a display panel made up of a liquid crystal panel or the like, and a touch panel such as a capacitive type that is placed on top of the display panel and detects the position touched by a finger.

[0060] The video conference system management unit 27 is a part that manages a system for carrying out a video conference between a plurality of user terminals 1 via the network 3 .

[0061] As shown in FIG. 1, the group creation unit 28 is a part that creates a general group in which all users participate and an individual group in which only some users participate.

[0062] In the example of FIG. 1, there are only two individual groups, but three or more individual groups may be created. Furthermore, one user terminal 1 may participate in multiple individual groups.

[0063] The minutes creating unit 29 is a part that creates minutes based on the content of statements made by users in the video conference system 100 and the time at which the statements were acquired.

[0064] <An example of the minutes creation process of the video conference system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention> Next, an example of the minutes creation process of the video conference system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0065] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the minutes creation process of the video conference system 100 of FIG.

[0066] In step S1 of FIG. 4, when a user logs in to the video conferencing system 100 from the user terminal 1 (step S1), in step S2, the control unit 20 of the server 2 determines whether an individual group has been created by the group creation unit 28 (step S2).

[0067] If an individual group has not been created (if the determination in step S2 is No), in step S3, the control unit 20 causes the minutes creating unit 29 to create the overall minutes (step S3).

[0068] As a specific process for creating the overall minutes, in step S31, the control unit 20 causes the communication unit 23 to acquire the start time of each user's speech (step S31).

[0069] In the following step S32, the control unit 20 causes the voice recognition unit 24 to convert the content of the user's speech into text data (step S32).

[0070] Then, in step S33, the control unit 20 causes the minutes creating unit 29 to add the content of the statement to the overall minutes (step S33).

[0071] Thereafter, the control unit 20 performs the determination in step S7.

[0072] On the other hand, if an individual group has been created in step S2 (if the determination in step S2 is Yes), then in step S4, the control unit 20 assigns display content to each individual group (step S4).

[0073] As for the display content, different fonts, colors, underlines, etc. are assigned to the text to be displayed in the minutes for each individual group. For example, by assigning red text to the text of Individual Group 1 and blue text to the text of Individual Group 2, users can easily tell which individual group's comments are coming from just by looking at the color of the text in the minutes.

[0074] Next, in step S5, the control unit 20 determines whether or not a message has been sent in the individual group (step S5).

[0075] If no speech is made in the individual group (if the determination in step S5 is No), in step S3, the control unit 20 causes the minutes taking unit 29 to take the overall minutes (step S3).

[0076] On the other hand, if a comment is made in the individual group (if the determination in step S5 is Yes), in step S6, the control unit 20 causes the minutes taking unit 29 to take individual minutes (step S6).

[0077] As a specific process for creating the individual minutes, in step S61, the control unit 20 causes the communication unit 23 to acquire the start time of a user's statement (step S61).

[0078] In the following step S62, the control unit 20 causes the voice recognition unit 24 to convert the content of the user's speech into text data (step S62).

[0079] Then, in step S63, the control unit 20 causes the minutes taking unit 29 to add the content of the statement to the individual minutes (step S63).

[0080] Next, in step S7, the control unit 20 determines whether or not individual minutes have been created (step S7).

[0081] If the individual minutes have not been created (if the determination in step S7 is No), in step S9, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the user has logged out from the video conference system (step S8).

[0082] If the user logs out from the video conference system (if the determination in step S8 is Yes), the control unit 20 ends the process.

[0083] On the other hand, if the user has not logged out from the video conference system (if the determination in step S8 is No), the control unit 20 returns the process to the determination in step S2.

[0084] If it is determined in step S7 that individual minutes have been created (if the determination in step S7 is Yes), in step S8, the control unit 20 causes the minutes creation unit 29 to combine the overall minutes and the individual minutes to create the minutes (step S8).

[0085] Thereafter, the control unit 20 performs the determination in step S8.

[0086] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the minutes viewing process of the server 2 of FIG.

[0087] In step S21 of FIG. 5, if a user terminal 1 logs in to the video conferencing system 100 (step S21), in step S22, the control unit 20 causes the communication unit 23 to transmit a minutes list of conferences in which the logged-in user participated based on the logged-in user information (step S22).

[0088] In the following step S23, when a predetermined minutes is selected from the minutes list (step S23), in step S24, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the selected minutes include an individual minutes (step S24).

[0089] If the selected minutes do not include individual minutes (if the determination in step S24 is No), in step S25, the control unit 20 causes the communication unit 23 to transmit the selected overall minutes (step S25). Thereafter, the control unit 20 ends the process.

[0090] On the other hand, if the selected minutes include individual minutes (if the judgment in step S24 is Yes), in step S26, the control unit 20 incorporates the individual minutes into the selected overall minutes in a manner that allows them to be displayed distinctively and transmits them to the communication unit 23 (step S26).

[0091] Thereafter, the control unit 20 ends the process.

[0092] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the minutes viewing process of the user terminal 1 of FIG.

[0093] In step S31 of FIG. 6, when the minutes data is downloaded (step S31), in step S32, the control unit 10 of the user terminal 1 determines whether or not there are individual minutes (step S32).

[0094] If there are no individual minutes (if the determination in step S32 is No), in step S33, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 14 to display the overall minutes (step S33).

[0095] Thereafter, the control unit 20 ends the process.

[0096] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the overall minutes of the video conference system 100 of FIG.

[0097] In the example of FIG. 1, when the users of the user terminals 1A and 1B participate in only the general group, log in to the video conference system 100, and download the minutes, the general minutes as shown in FIG. 7 are displayed.

[0098] On the other hand, if there are individual minutes in step S32 of FIG. 6 (if the determination in step S32 is Yes), in step S34, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 14 to display the overall minutes so that the individual minutes can be expanded and displayed (step S34).

[0099] In the next step S35, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the button for expanding and displaying the individual minutes has been pressed (step S35).

[0100] If the button for expanding and displaying the individual minutes is pressed (if the determination in step S35 is Yes), in step S36, the control unit 10 expands and displays the individual minutes from the overall minutes on the display unit 14 (step S36).

[0101] Thereafter, the control unit 20 ends the process.

[0102] On the other hand, if the expand display button for the individual minutes has not been pressed (if the determination in step S35 is No), in step S33, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 14 to display the overall minutes (step S33).

[0103] Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the overall minutes and individual minutes in the video conference system 100 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8(A) shows an example in which an expanded display button for the individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes, and Fig. 8(B) shows an example in which the individual minutes are expanded and displayed within the overall minutes.

[0104] In the example of Figure 1, after users of user terminals 1C and 1D join the general group and individual group 1, when they log in to the video conferencing system 100 and download the minutes, the minutes are displayed as shown in Figure 8(A).

[0105] In the example of FIG. 8(A), an expandable display button for the individual minutes is displayed next to the overall minutes, starting from the time when the user starts speaking in the individual minutes.

[0106] The expanded display button displays "Individual minutes available (group 1)" with options "Show this item" and "Show all."

[0107] Here, if the user selects "Show this item", only the individual minutes at the time indicated by the expand display button are expanded and displayed.

[0108] On the other hand, if the user selects "Show all," all the individual minutes within the overall minutes (the bold line part in Figure 8(B)) are displayed in an expanded format, as shown in Figure 8(B).

[0109] In this way, in the video conference system 100 in which users from multiple groups participate, it is possible to realize a video conference system 100 that is more convenient than conventional systems.

[0110] [Embodiment 2] Next, the minutes viewing process of the server 2 in the video conference system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0111] The schematic configuration of the video conference system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 3), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0112] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the minutes viewing process of the server 2 in the video conference system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0113] Note that the processes of steps S41 to S45 in FIG. 9 correspond to the processes of steps S21 to S25 in FIG. 5 (first embodiment), respectively, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0114] Here, the process of step S46 in FIG. 9, which differs from that of the first embodiment, will be described.

[0115] In step S44, if the selected minutes include individual minutes (if the judgment in step S44 is Yes), in step S46, the control unit 20 imposes viewing restrictions on the individual minutes, incorporates the individual minutes into the selected overall minutes in a manner that allows them to be displayed distinctively, and transmits them to the communication unit 23 (step S46).

[0116] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the minutes viewing process of the user terminal 1 in the video conference system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0117] Note that the processes of steps S51 to S54 and S56 in FIG. 10 correspond to the processes of steps S31 to S34 and S36 in FIG. 6 (first embodiment), respectively, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0118] Here, the processing of step S55 in FIG. 10, which differs from that of the first embodiment, will be described.

[0119] In step S55, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the expansion display button for the individual minutes has been pressed by a participating user of the individual group (step S55).

[0120] If the individual minutes expansion display button is pressed by a participating user of an individual group (if the judgment in step S55 is Yes), in step S56, the control unit 10 expands and displays the individual minutes from the overall minutes on the display unit 14 (step S56).

[0121] On the other hand, if the expanded display button for the individual minutes is not pressed by a participating user of the individual group (if the determination in step S55 is No), in step S53, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 14 to display the overall minutes (step S53).

[0122] Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the overall minutes of the video conference system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 11(A) shows an example in which an expandable display button for individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes, and Fig. 11(B) shows an example in which a participating user of individual group 1 expands and displays the individual minutes of the group in the overall minutes.

[0123] In the example of Figure 11 (A), an expandable display button for the individual minutes of individual group 1 is displayed on the first page of the overall minutes, and an expandable display button for the individual minutes of individual group 2 is displayed on the third page of the overall minutes.

[0124] Here, it is assumed that user C of user terminal 1C who has participated in the general group and individual group 1 logs in to the video conference system 100 and downloads the minutes.

[0125] In this case, if user C selects "Show all" in the expand display button for the individual minutes of individual group 1, the individual minutes of individual group 1 (the bold line part in Figure 11(B)) within the overall minutes will be expanded and displayed, as shown in Figure 11(B).

[0126] On the other hand, since User C is not participating in Individual Group 2, the individual minutes of Individual Group 2 are not displayed due to viewing restrictions.

[0127] Furthermore, if user E of user terminal 1E who has participated in the general group and individual group 2 logs in to the video conferencing system 100 and downloads the minutes, the individual minutes of individual group 2 can be expanded and displayed, but the individual minutes of individual group 1 cannot be expanded and displayed due to viewing restrictions.

[0128] In this way, in the video conference system 100 in which users from multiple groups participate, only users who have participated in an individual group can view the individual minutes of that individual group, and other users cannot view them due to viewing restrictions, thereby realizing a video conference system 100 that is more convenient than conventional systems.

[0129] It should be noted that access restrictions may be placed on data such as meeting materials distributed within an individual group so that only users who have participated in the individual group can view the individual minutes of the individual group.

[0130] [Embodiment 3] Next, the minutes viewing process of the server 2 in the video conference system 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0131] The schematic configuration of a video conference system 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 3), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0132] FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video conference system 100 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0133] 12 differs from FIG. 1 (first embodiment) in that the user of user terminal 1E participates in three groups: the general group, individual group 1, and individual group 2. In FIG.

[0134] 13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams showing examples of the display of the overall minutes and individual minutes in the video conference system 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 13A shows an example in which buttons for expanding and displaying the individual minutes of individual groups 1 and 2 are displayed in the overall minutes, and Fig. 13B shows an example in which the individual minutes of individual groups 1 and 2 are expanded and displayed within the overall minutes.

[0135] Here, it is assumed that user E of user terminal 1E logs in to the video conference system 100 and downloads the minutes.

[0136] In this case, if user E selects "Show all" in the expanded display button for the individual minutes of individual group 1, the individual minutes of individual group 1 (the bold line part in Figure 13(B)) within the overall minutes will be expanded and displayed, as shown in Figure 13(B).

[0137] On the other hand, since user E is also participating in individual group 2, the individual minutes of individual group 2 are also displayed, but the text font and color are displayed differently from the individual minutes of individual group 1. Additionally, the individual minutes of different individual groups may be displayed so as to be distinguishable from one another by using different types of underlining or highlighting the background.

[0138] In this way, in a video conference system 100 in which users from multiple groups participate, the text of the individual minutes of different individual groups is displayed in a distinguishable manner, thereby realizing a video conference system 100 that is more convenient than conventional systems.

[0139] [Embodiment 4] Next, the minutes viewing process of the server 2 in the video conference system 100 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0140] The schematic configuration of the video conference system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 3), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0141] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the minutes viewing process of the server 2 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0142] Note that the processes of steps S61 to S65 in FIG. 14 correspond to the processes of steps S21 to S25 in FIG. 5 (first embodiment), respectively, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0143] Here, the processing of step S66 in FIG. 14, which differs from that of the first embodiment, will be described.

[0144] In step S64 of Figure 14, if the selected minutes include individual minutes (if the judgment in step S64 is Yes), in step S66, the control unit 20 incorporates only the individual minutes of individual groups in which the logged-in user participated into the selected overall minutes in a manner that allows them to be distinguishably displayed, and transmits them to the communication unit 23 (step S66).

[0145] Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the overall minutes and individual minutes in the video conference system 100 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 15(A) shows an example in which an expandable display button for the individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes for users who have participated in individual group 1, and Fig. 15(B) shows an example in which an expandable display button for the individual minutes is displayed in the overall minutes for users who have participated in individual group 2.

[0146] When user C of user terminal 1C who participated in individual group 1 logs in to the video conferencing system 100 and downloads the minutes, as shown in Figure 15(A), only the expansion display button for the individual minutes of individual group 1 in which user C participated is displayed in the overall minutes.

[0147] On the other hand, if user E of user terminal 1E who participated in individual group 2 logs in to the video conferencing system 100 and downloads the minutes, as shown in Figure 15 (B), only the expand display button for the individual minutes of individual group 2 in which user E participated is displayed in the overall minutes.

[0148] In this way, in the overall minutes created in the video conference system 100 in which users from multiple groups participate, only the expand display buttons for the individual minutes of the individual groups in which the user participated are displayed, and the expand display buttons for the individual minutes of the individual groups in which the user did not participate are not displayed, thereby realizing a video conference system 100 that is more convenient than before.

[0149] Preferred aspects of the present invention include any combination of the above-mentioned aspects.

[0150] In addition to the above-described embodiment, various modifications of the present invention are possible. These modifications should not be interpreted as not falling within the scope of the present invention. The present invention should include all modifications within the scope of the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0151] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G: User terminal, 2: Server, 3: Network, 10, 20: Control unit, 11, 21: Memory unit, 12, 22: Image processing unit, 13, 23: Communication unit, 14, 25: Display unit, 15, 26: Operation unit, 16: Voice acquisition unit, 17: Timer, 24: Voice recognition unit, 27: Video conference system management unit, 28: Group creation unit, 29: Minutes creation unit, 100: Video conference system

Claims

1. In a video conferencing system in which a conference is held in a group with multiple users participating via a network, a group creation unit that accepts creation of individual groups in which some of the users will participate and hold a conference in addition to the overall group; a communication unit that communicates with the plurality of user terminals and acquires speech data and speech times of users participating in the overall group or the individual group; a voice recognition unit that analyzes the voice data and converts it into text data; a minutes creation unit that creates minutes based on the text data; a control unit that controls the group creation unit, the communication unit, the voice recognition unit, and the minutes creation unit, The control unit causes the minutes creation unit to create overall minutes based on text data of comments made by users participating in the overall group, to create individual minutes based on text data of comments made by users participating in the individual groups, and to create minutes in which the individual minutes are distinguishably incorporated into the overall minutes.

2. The minutes-taking device of claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the minutes-taking unit to create minutes that incorporate the individual minutes in a distinguishable manner into the overall minutes by setting viewing restrictions so that only users who participated in the individual group can view the individual minutes of the individual group.

3. 3. The minutes-taking device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the minutes to be taken by pressing a predetermined expanded display button to incorporate the individual minutes into the overall minutes so that the individual minutes can be expanded and displayed.

4. A minutes-taking device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit causes the minutes-taking unit to take minutes in which only the individual minutes of the individual groups in which the user participated are incorporated into the overall minutes in a manner that allows the individual minutes to be distinguished.

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