JP2997590B2 - Electronic conference system and terminal device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic conference system using a telephone, a television, a workstation , and the like.
And a terminal device used in such an electronic conference system
It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, companies and the like have put into practical use an electronic conference system that allows users to exchange opinions with each other by using a telephone, a television, a workstation, and the like even if they are far away. .

In such an electronic conference system, the participants are connected to each other by a predetermined channel so that the opinion of each conference participant reaches all other participants at the same time. Apart from this, for example, some have a function that allows confidential communication (secret talk) using a different channel between specific participants.

[0004] By the way, in a conference where ordinary participants gather in the same place, if the neighbors are telling a secret story, the third party can know who the story is. And who was telling the secret story.

[0005] However, when the above-described electronic conference system is used, when a participant talks secretly using a secret communication function, the other participants are asked who and who are talking secretly. Can not know. This often led to anxiety during the meeting that someone might be talking in secret, which could hinder the smooth progress of the meeting.

[0006]

As described above, in a conventional electronic conference system having a confidential communication function, it is assumed that other participants are using a different channel for a secret story. However, since it is not possible to know this, there is a problem that anxiety about the progress of the meeting is scattered and hinders the smooth progress of the meeting.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even in the case where two participants are performing confidential communication (secret talk) during an electronic conference, who is the secret talk. It was and whether it is possible that other participants know, the electronic conference system and such can realize a smooth conference progress
Providing a terminal device used in an electronic conference system
With the goal.

[0008]

An electronic conference system according to the present invention.
System establishes a predetermined connection between a plurality of terminals connected via a transmission path.
Realize electronic conferencing by connecting via communication channels
Electronic conference system for use in the electronic conference
Specific terminal by communication channel different from communication channel
Confidential communication means for performing confidential communication between
User information of the specific terminal performing confidential communication
And confidential communication disclosing means for disclosing information.
The terminal device of the present invention includes a plurality of terminals connected via a transmission path.
By connecting terminals with a predetermined communication channel,
The terminal device of the electronic conference system
To encrypt the signal to be confidentially communicated,
Adds the destination and caller information of the other party
And packetization by this means
Means for transmitting the transmitted information to the transmission path.
ing. In addition, the terminal device of the present invention connects via a transmission path.
Connect multiple connected terminals with a predetermined communication channel.
Of an electronic conferencing system that realizes electronic conferencing by
A transmission device for transmitting the packetized information through the transmission path.
Means to receive via the information and information received by this means
Of the confidential communication to yourself by comparing the
A means to determine if it is a signal and this means
If the information is determined to be confidential communication information,
Encoding means. Furthermore, the present invention
A terminal device connects a plurality of terminals connected via a transmission path.
An electronic conference can be established by connecting via a predetermined communication channel.
A terminal device of an electronic conference system to be realized,
Means for receiving the converted information via the transmission path,
The destination of the information received by this means and the meeting participants
Compare to determine if it is a signal for confidential communication addressed to your terminal.
Means for confidential communication addressed to your terminal
If it is determined that the information is not information, destination and caller information
And means for taking in and displaying.

[0009]

As a result, according to the present invention, confidential communication (secret story)
Even if competitors are using a secret function to tell a secret story, the name of the conference participant who is telling the secret, the tone and contents of the secret are also told to other conference participants. Since a fragment or the like can be disclosed, the feeling of anxiety of other conference participants who have not participated in the secret story can be resolved, and the conference can proceed smoothly with the same naturalness as a normal conference.

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the embodiment. In the figure, reference numerals 1a to 1d denote electronic conference terminals including workstations (including a camera and a microphone) used for the electronic conference. These electronic conference terminals 1a to 1d are connected via communication control nodes 2a to 2d to transmission lines. 3 is connected. With this configuration, each of the electronic conference terminals 1a to 1d
By making a round of the transmission path 3 via the respective communication control nodes 2a to 2d, mutual communication is enabled.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the electronic conference terminals 1a to 1d and the communication control nodes 2a to 2d. In this case, the electronic conference terminals 1a to 1d
1, a monitor 12, a microphone 13, a speaker 14, a keyboard 15, and the like. Also, if it is necessary to send a video to the person who performs the secret story, a camera 111 for that purpose is required.
Is added, and a microphone 131 is added when it is necessary to send a voice to the person who performs the secret talk. Here, when the communication destination can be appropriately designated for the video of the camera 11 and the sound of the microphone 13, the camera 111 and the microphone 131 dedicated to the secret talk are not required.

In the communication control nodes 2a to 2d,
A video signal from the camera 11 is supplied to a video synthesis processor 22 via a video A / D converter 21, where the video signal is synthesized, encoded by a video encoder 23, packetized by a video packet assembler 24, and packetized. The signal is given to the multiplexer 25. On the other hand, the audio signal from the microphone 13 is transmitted to the audio A / D converter 26.
To the speech addition processor 27, where the addition processing is performed, the speech is coded by the speech encoder 28, and the speech packet assembler 2
In step 9, the packet is given to the packet multiplexing device 25.
Then, the video and audio packetized by the packet multiplexing device 25 are multiplexed and transmitted to the transmission path 3.

A video signal from the camera 111 dedicated to secret talk is digitized by the video A / D converter 211, encoded by the video encoder 231, and given to the video encryption device 30.
After being encrypted here, it is packetized by the video packet assembler 241 and given to the packet multiplexing device 25. On the other hand, the audio signal from the microphone 131 dedicated to the secret talk is digitized by the audio A / D converter 261 and converted to the audio code The audio signal is encoded by an audio packetizer 281 and supplied to an audio encryption device 31, where it is encrypted, packetized by an audio packet assembler 291 and supplied to a packet multiplexer 25, where the video and audio are multiplexed and the transmission path 3 To be sent out.

On the other hand, the packet received from the transmission line 3 is
This is supplied to a packet separation device 32, where the video and audio are separated. Then, the video is provided to the video packet separator 33,
Here, the packet is separated, and further decoded by the video decoder 34 and provided to the video synthesis processor 22, where the video D / A converter 35
To be analogized and reproduced on the monitor 12. On the other hand, the voice is supplied to a voice packet separator 36, where it is separated into packets, further decoded by a voice decoder 37, and supplied to a voice addition processor 27, converted into an analog signal by a voice D / A converter 38, and reproduced by the speaker 14. I will be.

The secret talk packet is supplied to a packet separation device 32, where the video and audio are separated. The video is supplied to a video packet separator 331, where the packet is separated and the video is decrypted. After the device 39 performs the decryption of the encryption, the video is decrypted by the video decoder 341 and supplied to the video synthesis processor 22, converted into an analog signal by the video D / A converter 35, and reproduced on the monitor 12. The packet is supplied to a voice packet separator 361, where the packet is separated, the voice is decrypted by a voice encryption / decryption device 40, then decoded by a voice decoder 371 and supplied to a voice addition processor 27, and the voice D / A conversion is performed. The data is converted into an analog signal by the device 38 and reproduced by the speaker 14.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a keyboard 15 and a control unit 42.
Is an interface that connects between The control device 42 is for centrally executing the control of each circuit in accordance with various commands from the keyboard 15.

In this case, each of the communication control nodes 2a to 2d
Multiplexing device 25 and packet demultiplexing device 3
As shown in FIG. 3, data of a conference type 3a, names of conference participants (may be addresses for communication) 3b, and secret story disclosure flags 3c as disclosure information are stored in each of them.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the format of a packet 4 transmitted to the transmission line 3. In this case, the packet 4 is composed of a destination 4a, a sender 4b, and a packet body (character, audio, video) 4c. Then, in the case of ordinary conference contents that are not a secret, the names of all the participants except the sender are written in the column of the destination 4a by the storage of the packet multiplexer 25 as shown in the A packet, The name of the sender is written in 4b, and the information of audio and video to be transmitted is written in the packet body 4c. In the case of a secret story, as shown in the B packet, only the name (Suzuki) of the secret story partner is written in the destination 4a by the storage of the packet multiplexer 25, and the sender (Takahashi) is written in the sender 4b.
Is written, and information of audio and video to be transmitted is written in the packet body 4c. Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

First, the case of a normal conference will be described. For example, when a video signal from the camera 11 is given to the video A / D converter 21 in the electronic conference terminal 1a,
Here, it is digitized, given to the video synthesis processor 22, subjected to the synthesis process, and further encoded by the video encoder 23,
The packets are packetized by the video packet assembler 24 and supplied to the packet multiplexing device 25. On the other hand, the audio signal from the microphone 13 is supplied to the audio addition processor 27 via the audio A / D converter 26, where the addition processing is performed, and the audio encoder 2
8 and packetized by a voice packet assembler 29 to be provided to a packet multiplexer 25. And
Video and audio are multiplexed by the packet multiplexing device 25 and sent out to the transmission path 3 as a packet 4.

In this case, since the packet 4 is a normal conference content, the sender is excluded from the conference participant names stored in the packet multiplexer 25 in the column of the destination 4a as shown in the packet A of FIG. The names of all members are written and the sender 4b
, The name of the caller is written, and information of audio and video to be transmitted is written in the packet body 4c.

On the other hand, when the other electronic conference terminals 1b to 1d receive the packet 4 from the transmission line 3, the
It is checked whether the terminal user's name exists in the destination 4a. If there is no corresponding name, the process skips to the next packet.

If there is a corresponding name, it is checked whether or not the contents of the destination 4a and the sender 4b of the packet 4 are equal to the conference participant 3b in FIG. Here, if they are equal, it is determined that the story is not a secret story.

The packet separating device 32 separates video and audio from the main body 4c of the packet 4. Then, the video is supplied to a video packet separator 33, where it is packet-separated, further decoded by a video decoder 34 and supplied to the video synthesis processor 22, converted to an analog by a video D / A converter 35, and monitored. 12 is reproduced. On the other hand, the voice is supplied to a voice packet separator 36, where the packet is separated,
Further, the audio signal is decoded by the audio decoder 37 and
7 is converted to an analog signal by the audio D / A converter 38 and reproduced by the speaker 14.

In this case, a display example on the monitor 12 may be as shown in FIG. In this example, the display is such that the participants of the electronic conference are actually at a distant place, but feel as if they are sitting around the conference desk and having a conference. That is, in this case, the face photographs 121 to 125 of the participants are arranged on the circumference so that it is possible to know who is participating in the conference. In this case, it is possible to use the characters of the participant's name instead of the photograph, or to use a video image or graphics created in advance by computer graphics.

Next, a case of a secret talk will be described. For example, when a secret talk is instructed in the electronic conference terminal 1a and a video signal from the camera 111 dedicated to the secret talk is supplied to the video A / D converter 211. Are digitized and sent to the video encoder 231 where they are encoded and provided to the video encryption device 30 for encryption, and then packetized by the video packet assembler 241 and provided to the packet multiplexer 25. Can be On the other hand, the audio signal from the microphone 131 dedicated to the secret talk is digitized by the audio A / D converter 261, encoded by the audio encoder 281, provided to the audio encryption device 31, and is encrypted there. , And packetized by the voice packet assembler 291 to be provided to the packet multiplexer 25. Then, the video and audio are multiplexed by the packet multiplexing device 25, and are multiplexed as packets into the transmission path 3.
Will be sent to

In this case, since the packet 4 is a secret story, as shown in the B packet of FIG. 4, the conference participant name 3b stored in the packet multiplexer 25 in the column of the destination 4a indicates the name of the secret story partner. (Suzuki) is written, the sender 4b is written with the name of the sender (Takahashi), and the packet body 4c is written with audio and video information to be transmitted.

On the other hand, when the other electronic conference terminals 1b to 1d receive the packet from the transmission line 3 as described above,
It is checked whether the name of the terminal user is present in the destination 4a of the packet 4.

If there is a corresponding name, the terminal user (Suzuki) matches the contents of the destination 4a and the sender 4b of the packet 4 with the packet separating device 32.
A check is made to see if it is equal to the conference participant 3b in FIG. Here, if they are not equal, it is determined to be a secret story.

The packet separating device 32 separates video and audio from the main body 4c of the packet 4. Then, the video is provided to the video packet separator 331 and packet-separated,
It is provided to the video encryption / decryption device 39, where the encryption is decrypted. Then, it is decoded by the video decoder 341 and provided to the video synthesis processor 22, where the video D / A converter 3
5 and is reproduced on the monitor 12. On the other hand, the voice is packet-separated by the voice packet separator 361 and provided to the voice encryption / decryption device 40, where the encryption is decrypted. Then, the audio signal is decoded by the audio decoder 371 and supplied to the audio addition processor 27, where the audio D / A converter 3
8 and is reproduced by the speaker 14. Next, a method of letting another conference participant know that such a secret story is being described will be described.

In this case, the packet multiplexer 25 in the communication control nodes 2a to 2d of each of the electronic conference terminals 1a to 1d.
As shown in FIG. 3, the packet separation device 32 includes a conference type 3a and a conference participant name 3b.
The secret story disclosure flag 3c is stored. In this case, "A" is stored as the secret story disclosure flag 3c in FIG. Here, assuming that the flag “A” indicates that the name of the teleconference participant who is speaking the secret is disclosed, the electronic conference terminal having no corresponding name in the destination 4a of the packet 4 In the packet separating device 32, the packet 4
Is not addressed to itself, and is a secret story, but determines the secret story disclosure flag A, takes in the name of the field of the destination 4a and the name of the field of the sender 4b of the packet 4, and sends them to the control unit 42. send. In this case, the encrypted body 4c of the packet 4 is skipped without being processed.

Thus, the monitor 12 of each of the terminals 1a to 1d
Discloses the names of the electronic conference participants who are speaking in secret. In this case, a display example on the monitor 12 is shown in FIG.
(B) a photograph of the face of the participant speaking the secret story,
Here, the names of the participants who are speaking in secret are known by highlighting the face photographs 121 and 122.
In this case, when a secret story is being held between a plurality of participants, the background color of the face photograph of the participant can be changed for each secret story. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6A, a face photograph of the participant who is conducting the secret story, here, the face pictures 121 and 122 are displayed by connecting them with a dotted line 121a, or as shown in FIG. 6B. The name of the participant who is talking (in this example, the name of the face photo 121 is Takahashi,
The second name is Suzuki. ) To Windu 121b
It is also possible to display with. FIG. 6 (a)
In the example of FIG. 6, when there are a plurality of secret stories, it can be displayed by changing the type of the line. In the example of FIG. 6B, the plurality of secret stories are displayed by displaying the names separately for each secret story. it can. In this case, a display may be provided so that the name of the participant who speaks in secret can be understood only on the monitor 12 of the conference terminal other than the conference terminal speaking in secret.

The secret talk disclosure flag may be set in advance by the chair of the electronic conference or the user of the electronic conference terminal, or may be set during the conference. If set by the chair, all conference terminals 1
In a to 1d, the flags are rewritten at the same time, and in the case of the user, only the flag of the corresponding conference terminal is rewritten. Rewriting is enabled only when the level of the secret story disclosure flag set by the chair is lower than the level set by the user. And when the chair sets the secret story disclosure flag to "A", when the secret story starts,
5 (b) or 6 described above in each terminal of the participant.
A screen as shown in (a) or (b) is displayed. Also,
If the chair is not set and the user sets the secret story disclosure flag to “A” during the meeting, the request is made only when a request is made.
A screen as shown in (b) or FIG. 6 (a) or (b) is displayed. However, depending on the meeting, it may be possible to change all user settings so that they have priority.

When there are a plurality of levels of the secret story disclosure flag, not only the chairman and the participants can set the secret story disclosure flag for each packet, but also the sender of the secret story can set the secret story disclosure flag for each packet. In this case, packet 7
As shown in, the destination 7a, the sender 7b, the disclosure flag 7c as disclosure information, the packet body (characters, audio, video) 7
d. Here, the sender 7b of the packet 7
Next, the disclosure flag 7c is entered without being encrypted, and the packet separation device 32 performs processing in accordance with the flag. When the disclosure flag 7c is written in the packet 7, the packet separation device 32 does not associate the name 3b of the conference participant with the destination 7a and the sender 7b of the packet shown in FIG. The determination is made in accordance with the type of 7c. in this case,
Even when the level of the disclosure flag 7c written in the packet 7 is lower than the level of the disclosure flag set in the conference terminals 1a to 1d, the secret story is disclosed at the level of the disclosure flag 7c of the packet 7. Here, the following are the levels of the disclosure flag. Disclosure flag "NULL": Encrypts the entire packet body and does not disclose information. Disclosure flag "A": Encrypts the entire packet body, but discloses only the destination and sender.

Disclosure flag "B": A part in which s seconds of encryption is not performed on the packet body every r seconds (where s is a short time such that the contents of the packet body cannot be understood, for example, about 0.1 second) Set and disclose the unencrypted portion along with the destination and sender.

Disclosure flag "C": Keyword, key voice, key image related to the subject of the electronic conference, or keyword, key voice, key image set by the user of the electronic conference terminal for daily information collection. Disclose the unencrypted portion without encryption, along with the destination and sender.

Disclosure flag "D": Disclosure is made by mixing noise. In this case, the information presenting side processes and outputs the data of the packet itself in the same manner as a normal electronic conference packet, but adds a noise signal to voice and images, and randomly removes characters for characters. And garbled characters.

Disclosure flag "E": Characters and images are encrypted, and only the voice is not encrypted, and the pitch is reduced so that only the feeling of whispering voice remains. On the information presentation side, characters and images are skipped, and only sound is output. In addition, only the voice is not encrypted at all, and the information presentation side changes the pitch according to the distance (actual distance or virtually set distance) to the terminal performing the secret talk, and the actual conference When a meeting is being held in the room, it is also possible to make the presentation so that the secret story can be heard. Disclosure flag "Z": Disclosure is performed without encryption.

In the case of the above-mentioned disclosure flags "B" and "C", a method of dividing an encrypted portion and an unencrypted portion for each block of the packet body and further dividing each of them into characters, audio, and video. Is also possible.

Thus, as an image of the secret story based on the addition of the disclosure flag, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a character which is not encrypted is displayed in a balloon 121c beside the face photograph of the participant 121. What should I do? Alternatively, at the same time as displaying the balloon 121c, the unencrypted sound may be output from the speaker.
In this case, if the voice is mixed with the voice of the electronic conference, which is inconvenient, the result of the voice recognition may be displayed in the balloon, like the text.

Further, before or during the electronic conference, for example, when the chair sets the above-mentioned disclosure flag “Z” for all conference participants or for specific participants,
Even if the participant sets the secret story disclosure flag to another level for the secret story, the chairman sets and the disclosure flag takes precedence,
You can even ban all secret stories. This may reduce the chairman's authority in a teleconference because each participant is not physically close, and frequent talks may jeopardize the normal progress of the meeting, but the chairman will By forcibly prohibiting talking, these fears can be eliminated in advance.

Further, in this embodiment, the case where all of voice, text, and video are handled has been described.
The present invention can be applied to only a video image or a combination thereof. In addition, as long as the format of the communication packet and the format other than the example described here are disclosed with a level of a secret story, the present invention is entirely included in the present invention.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when two conference participants are using a secret communication (secret) function, even if the conference participants have a secret, the secret is not transmitted to other conference participants. The conference participants who are not participating in the secret story can always know who and who are in the secret story because they can disclose the name of the conference participant who is speaking, the tone of the secret, and a fragment of the content etc. This makes it possible to eliminate the anxiety of the conference participants regarding the progress of the conference, and achieve a smooth progress of the conference with the same naturalness as a normal conference.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic conference terminal and a communication control node used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing data stored in a packet multiplexer and a packet separator used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a packet format used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a screen display on a monitor for explaining the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a screen display on a monitor for explaining the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a format of another packet used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of screen display on a monitor for explaining the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1a to 1d: electronic conference terminal, 2a to 2d: communication control node, 3: transmission line, 11, 111: camera, 12: monitor, 121 to 125: face photograph, 13, 131: microphone,
14 speaker, 15 keyboard, 21, 211 video A / D converter, 22 video synthesis processor, 23, 231
... video encoder, 24, 241 ... video packet assembler,
25: packet multiplexer, 26, 261: audio A / D
Converter, 27: voice addition processor, 28, 281: voice encoder, 29: voice packet assembler, 30: video encryption device, 31: voice encryption device, 32: packet separation device,
33, 331: Video packet separator, 34, 341: Video decoder, 35: Video D / A converter, 36, 361: Audio packet separator, 37, 371: Audio decoder, 38 ...
Audio D / A converter, 39 ... Video encryption / decryption device, 40 ...
Voice encryption / decryption device, 41 ... interface, 42 ...
Control unit, 4, 7 ... packet, 4a, 7a ... destination, 4b,
7b: sender, 4c, 7d: packet body, 7c: disclosure flag.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04M 3/56

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electronic conference system for realizing an electronic conference by connecting a plurality of terminals connected via a transmission path with a predetermined communication channel, wherein the communication channel is different from a communication channel used in the electronic conference. An electronic conference comprising: secret communication means for performing secret communication between specific terminals; and secret communication disclosing means for disclosing user information of the specific terminal performing secret communication by the secret communication means. system. 2. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein the confidential communication disclosure means discloses user information of the specific terminal to at least terminals other than the specific terminal. 3. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein the confidential communication disclosing means discloses a user name as user information of the specific terminal. 4. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein the confidential communication disclosure means discloses the user information in a format according to the disclosure information given to each terminal. 5. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein the confidential communication disclosing means discloses the user information in a format according to a designation at a terminal instructing confidential communication. 6. The electronic conference system according to claim 1, wherein the confidential communication means has a function of prohibiting confidential communication between all terminals in response to an instruction from the specific terminal. 7. Between a plurality of terminals connected via a transmission line
Electronic conferencing by connecting
In a terminal device of an electronic conference system that realizes encryption, the signal to be confidentially communicated is encrypted and the encrypted signal is concealed.
Add destination and caller information to communicate with
Means for socket of, the information packetized by the unit to the transmission line
Electronic conferencing system having means for transmitting
Terminal device. 8. Between a plurality of terminals connected via a transmission line
Electronic conference by connecting to a predetermined communication channel
Receiving a packetized information via the transmission path in a terminal device of an electronic conference system that realizes
And the destination of the information received by this means and the conference participants
Compare to determine if it is a signal for confidential communication addressed to you
Means, and this means that the information is confidential communication
In this case, a means for decoding this information is provided.
The terminal device of the electronic conference system. 9. Between a plurality of terminals connected via a transmission line
Electronic conferencing by connecting
Receiving a packetized information via the transmission path in a terminal device of an electronic conference system that realizes
And the destination of the information received by this means and the conference participants
Compare to determine if it is a signal for confidential communication addressed to your terminal.
Means to determine that the information is not confidential communication addressed to your terminal.
If rejected, the recipient and caller information is imported and displayed.
Electronic conference system comprising:
Terminal device.