JP7641136B2 - Electronic conference management device, electronic conference recording system, electronic conference playback system, electronic conference management method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic conference management device, an electronic conference recording system, an electronic conference playback system, an electronic conference management method, and a program.

Electronic conferences (Web conferences), in which multiple people hold a conference using multiple terminal devices without meeting in the same room, have become widely used. In any conference, not just electronic conferences, where multiple people participate, there may be occasions when a conversation between only some of the participants (such as a private conversation) is desired. In response to this, the provision of channels that enable conversation between only some of the participants is being considered.

JP 2016-229902 A

On the other hand, there is also a demand for the reproduction (playback) of the contents of electronic conferences. Although it is possible to reproduce the entire electronic conference by recording the entire conference, it is not very convenient for those who wish to reproduce it, as a reproduction of the entire electronic conference may not be necessary.

The present invention aims to provide an electronic conference management device, an electronic conference recording system, an electronic conference playback system, an electronic conference management method, and a program that contribute to improving the convenience of checking the contents of electronic conferences.

The electronic conference management device according to the present invention is an electronic conference management device used for holding an electronic conference between multiple people using multiple terminal devices connected to each other via a network, and includes a channel setting unit that sets a first channel for a first group of people that can include all of the multiple people, and a second channel for a second group of people that includes only a part of the multiple people, a recording control unit that individually records in a recording device first conference data indicating the contents of the first electronic conference in the first channel and second conference data indicating the contents of the second electronic conference in the second channel, and a playback transmission control unit that can individually transmit the first conference data and the second conference data to a playback device so that the contents of the first electronic conference or the contents of the second electronic conference can be played back on the playback device, and the playback device is any of the multiple terminal devices, or has a configuration different from any of the multiple terminal devices (first configuration).

The electronic conference management device according to the first configuration may further include an authentication information setting unit that sets first authentication information associated with the first channel and second authentication information associated with the second channel, and the playback transmission control unit may be configured (second configuration) to transmit the first conference data to the playback device in response to receiving a first transmission request signal including the first authentication information from the playback device after the first electronic conference and the second electronic conference are ended, or transmit the second conference data to the playback device in response to receiving a second transmission request signal including the second authentication information from the playback device.

The electronic conference management device according to the first or second configuration may further include a personal voice data acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of personal voice data for the plurality of people by acquiring personal voice data representing the speech content of each of the plurality of people for each of the people, and the playback transmission control unit may be configured to selectively transmit any of the plurality of personal voice data to the playback device (third configuration).

In the electronic conference management device according to any one of the first to third configurations, the first conference data includes first voice data representing the speech content of the first group of people on the first channel, and the second conference data includes second voice data representing the speech content of the second group of people on the second channel, and the electronic conference management device may be further configured (fourth configuration) to include a sound adjustment unit that adjusts the playback volume or playback sound quality when the first voice data or the second voice data is played back on the playback device.

In the electronic conference management device according to the fourth configuration, the sound adjustment unit may be configured to be capable of individually adjusting the playback volume of the speech content of the first group of people when the first voice data is played back, or may be configured (fifth configuration) to be capable of individually adjusting the playback volume of the speech content of the second group of people when the second voice data is played back.

In the electronic conference management device according to any one of the first to fifth configurations, the first conference data may include first voice data representing the contents of the speech of the first group of people in the first channel, first image data, and first additional data for the first electronic conference, the first image data being image data of a conference image displayed on each terminal device assigned to the first group of people in the first electronic conference, and the playback transmission control unit may be configured to transmit the first conference data to the playback device in response to a request from the playback device so that the first additional data can be displayed on the display screen of the playback device when the first voice data and the first image data are played back on the playback device (sixth configuration).

In the electronic conference management device according to any one of the first to sixth configurations, the second conference data may include second voice data representing the contents of the speech of the second group of people in the second channel, second image data, and second additional data for the second electronic conference, the second image data being image data of a conference image displayed on each terminal device assigned to the second group of people in the second electronic conference, and the playback transmission control unit may be configured to transmit the second conference data to the playback device in response to a request from the playback device so that the second additional data can be displayed on the display screen of the playback device when the second voice data and the second image data are played back on the playback device (seventh configuration).

In the electronic conference management device according to any of the first to seventh configurations, the second electronic conference is held during a part of the period during which the first electronic conference is held, the first group of people is constituted by all of the plurality of people during the period during which the second electronic conference is not held, and the first group of people is constituted by excluding the second group of people from the plurality of people during the period during which the second electronic conference is held (eighth configuration).

The electronic conference recording system according to the present invention is configured (ninth configuration) to include an electronic conference management device according to any one of the first to eighth configurations, the recording device, and the multiple terminal devices.

The electronic conference playback system according to the present invention is configured (tenth configuration) to include an electronic conference management device according to any one of the first to eighth configurations, the recording device, and the playback device capable of receiving the first conference data or the second conference data and playing back the first conference data or the second conference data.

The electronic conference management method according to the present invention is an electronic conference management method used for holding an electronic conference between multiple people using multiple terminal devices connected to each other through a network, and includes a channel setting step of setting a first channel for a first group of people that can include all of the multiple people, and a second channel for a second group of people that includes only a part of the multiple people, a recording control step of recording first conference data indicating the contents of the first electronic conference in the first channel and second conference data indicating the contents of the second electronic conference in the second channel individually in a recording device, and a playback transmission control step of transmitting the first conference data and the second conference data individually to a playback device so that the contents of the first electronic conference or the contents of the second electronic conference can be played back on the playback device, and the playback device is any of the multiple terminal devices or has a configuration different from any of the multiple terminal devices (11th configuration).

The program according to the present invention is configured (configuration 12) to cause a computing device to realize the electronic conference management method according to configuration 11 above.

The present invention makes it possible to provide an electronic conference management device, an electronic conference recording system, an electronic conference playback system, an electronic conference management method, and a program that contribute to improving the convenience of checking the contents of electronic conferences.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a conference system (electronic conference system) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing how audio signals are output from each terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of participant information according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a server control unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a relationship between a general conference period and a group conference period according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing how conference data is recorded during a normal period (a period when a group conference is not being held) according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing how conference data is recorded during a group conference according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5A shows an outline of audio data of conference data of an entire channel, and FIG. 5B shows an outline of audio data of conference data of a group channel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the structures of conference data of an entire channel and conference data of a group channel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between a general conference period and a plurality of group conference periods according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the relationship between a general conference period and a plurality of group conference periods according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing how conference data of a plurality of group channels is recorded in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between a server device and a playback device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of recording conference data according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart of a group conference start process according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a flowchart of a group conference ending process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the flow of setting an overall channel and a group channel and recording each conference data according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of transmitting each conference data to a playback device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a method for generating personal voice data according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which a personal voice data recording area is provided in a recording device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a transmission and reproduction operation of personal voice data according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Below, examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings referred to, the same parts are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations of the same parts will be omitted as a general rule. In this specification, for the sake of simplicity, a symbol or code referring to information, a signal, a physical quantity, a member, etc. may be written, and the name of the information, signal, physical quantity, member, etc. corresponding to the symbol or code may be omitted or abbreviated. For example, the personal voice data acquisition unit referred to by "170" described below (see FIG. 8) may be written as personal voice data acquisition unit 170 or abbreviated as acquisition unit 170, but they all refer to the same thing.

Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of the system SYS according to this embodiment. The system SYS can be used for various purposes, but in this embodiment, it is assumed that the system SYS is used for holding a conference (conversation) between multiple people PS. In this case, the system SYS functions as a conference system (electronic conference system), and hereinafter, the system SYS is referred to as the conference system SYS. The conference in this embodiment is an electronic conference, and in this embodiment, the conference and the electronic conference refer to the same thing. In an electronic conference, a conversation between multiple people PS is realized through the transmission and reception of signals (including at least audio signals) between multiple terminal devices, without the multiple people PS meeting together. An electronic conference is also generally referred to as a Web conference. Each person PS corresponds to a participant in the electronic conference.

The conference system SYS comprises a plurality of terminal devices 10, a server device 30, and a recording device 50 as components. The server device 30 is an example of an electronic conference management device. Each terminal device 10 is assigned to one of the plurality of persons PS. Each terminal device 10 and the server device 30 are connected to a network 70 including the Internet. In other words, the plurality of terminal devices 10 and the server device 30 are connected to each other through the network 70. Each of the plurality of terminal devices 10 and the server device 30 is capable of two-way communication with any device connected to the network 70.

Each terminal device 10 is an electronic device such as a personal computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. The multiple terminal devices 10 incorporated into the conference system SYS may be the same type of electronic device, or may be different types of electronic devices. However, in the following, it is assumed that the multiple terminal devices 10 have the same configuration.

Figure 2 shows the internal configuration of one terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 includes a communication processing unit 11, a memory unit 12, a terminal control unit 13, a display screen 14, an operation unit 15, a camera 16, a microphone 17, and a speaker 18. In explaining the internal configuration of the terminal device 10, a terminal device 10 that has been focused on will be referred to as a focused terminal device 10 as necessary. Also, a person PS who is a user of the focused terminal device 10 may be referred to as a focused person PS. The focused terminal device 10 is a terminal device 10 that has been assigned to the focused person PS (associated with the focused person PS) in the conference system SYS. Each terminal device 10 incorporated in the conference system SYS can become a focused terminal device 10.

The communication processing unit 11 performs two-way communication with the other device through the network 70. In the attention terminal device 10, two-way communication includes a transmission operation of outputting any information to the network 70 and transmitting the information to the other device, and a reception operation of receiving any information output by the other device to the network 70. The other device for the attention terminal device 10 is the server device 30 or a terminal device 10 other than the attention terminal device 10. The communication processing unit 11 in the attention terminal device 10 can perform two-way communication with each terminal device 10 other than the attention terminal device 10 via the network 70 and the server device 30. The communication processing unit 11 in the attention terminal device 10 may be capable of realizing two-way communication with each terminal device 10 other than the attention terminal device 10 without going through the server device 30. In this way, communication between the attention terminal device 10 and the other device is performed using the communication processing unit 11, but the description of the communication processing unit 11 may be omitted in the following description.

The storage unit 12 is made up of a magnetic disk or semiconductor memory, or a combination of these, and stores and keeps track of various programs and data. The programs stored in the non-volatile memory in the storage unit 12 include the terminal program PG1.

The terminal control unit 13 is made up of a central processing unit (CPU), read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), etc., which are calculation processing devices, and controls the overall operation of each part in the terminal device 10, and realizes various functions by executing programs stored in the memory unit 12 in the calculation processing device in the terminal control unit 13.

The display screen 14 is composed of a liquid crystal display panel or an organic electroluminescence panel, etc., and displays any image (in other words, a video) under the control of the terminal control unit 13. The person of interest PS can view the display contents on the display screen 14 of the terminal device of interest 10. In the following explanation, the display on a certain terminal device 10 means the display on the display screen 14 provided on that terminal device 10.

The operation unit 15 receives various operations from an operator. The operator of the target terminal device 10 is the target person PS. If the terminal device 10 is provided with a touch panel, the display screen 14 and the operation unit 15 may be configured by the touch panel.

The camera 16 captures images within its field of view and outputs an image signal (image data) representing the captured image. The field of view of the camera 16 of the target terminal device 10 may include the entire body or part of the target person PS.

The microphone 17 converts the surrounding sounds into an audio signal and outputs it. In the conference system SYS, the main purpose of the microphone 17 in the target terminal device 10 is to pick up the speech content of the target person PS. Therefore, the microphone 17 in the target terminal device 10 picks up the speech content of the target person PS, converts the picked up sound into an audio signal, and outputs it.

Under the control of the terminal control unit 13, the speaker 18 outputs the audio signal input thereto as sound (as sound waves). The person of interest PS can hear the output sound of the speaker 18 of the terminal device 10 of interest. In the following description, sound output or audio output from a certain terminal device 10 refers to sound output or audio output from the speaker 18 provided in that terminal device 10.

Figure 3 shows the internal configuration of the server device 30. The server device 30 includes a communication processing unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a server control unit 33. The server device SV may be configured with one or more computer devices. The conference system SYS may be configured using so-called cloud computing.

The communication processing unit 31 performs two-way communication with the other device through the network 70. In the server device 30, two-way communication includes a sending operation in which any information is output to the network 70 and transmitted to the other device, and a receiving operation in which any information output by the other device to the network 70 is received. The other device for the server device 30 is any device connected to the network 70. Each of the multiple terminal devices 10 corresponds to a other device for the server device 30. In this way, communication between the server device 30 and the other device is performed using the communication processing unit 31, but the description of the communication processing unit 31 may be omitted in the following description.

The storage unit 32 is made up of a magnetic disk or semiconductor memory, or a combination of these, and stores and keeps track of various programs and data. The programs stored in the non-volatile memory in the storage unit 32 include the server program PG2.

The server control unit 33 is made up of a central processing unit (CPU), read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), etc., which are arithmetic processing devices, and controls the overall operation of each part in the server device 30, and realizes various functions by executing programs stored in the memory unit 32 in the arithmetic processing device in the server control unit 33.

The recording device 50 (see FIG. 1) is a non-volatile recording medium and is connected to the server device 30. The recording device 50 records any data and information under the control of the server device 30. In addition, the server device 30 can read any data and information recorded in the recording device 50.

The conference system SYS can execute a voice transmission process in an electronic conference. In the voice transmission process, the speech content of any person PS is output as voice from a terminal device 10 assigned to another person PS. In the voice transmission process when the person of interest PS speaks, the speech content of the person of interest PS is picked up by the microphone 17 of the terminal device 10 of interest and converted into a voice signal, and the voice signal representing the speech content of the person of interest PS is transmitted from the terminal device 10 of interest to each of the other terminal devices 10 via the network 70 and the server device 30. Then, in each terminal device 10 other than the terminal device 10 of interest, the voice signal representing the speech content of the person of interest PS is output as voice from the speaker 18.

The conference system SYS can execute a conference image display process in an electronic conference. The conference image here is an image shared among all the terminal devices 10 constituting the conference system SYS, and in the conference image display process, in principle, the conference image is displayed on the display screen 14 of each terminal device 10. The conference image is, for example, a presentation material (explanation summary, graph, table, still image, video). The server control unit 33 can set any image displayed on the display screen 14 of the attention terminal device 10 to the conference image according to the operation content of the operation unit 15 of the attention terminal device 10 (assuming a situation in which the attention person PS is granted control authority). In this case, an image signal of the conference image is transmitted from the server device 30 to each terminal device 10 other than the attention terminal device 10. In each terminal device 10 other than the attention terminal device 10, the terminal control unit 13 displays the conference image on the display screen 14 based on the received image signal. Alternatively, the server control unit 33 may set a pre-registered image to the conference image. In this case, an image signal of the conference image is transmitted from the server device 30 to each terminal device 10, and the terminal control unit 13 of each terminal device 10 displays the conference image on the display screen 14 based on the received image signal. The conference image may also include an image captured by the camera 16 of one of the terminal devices 10.

With reference to FIG. 4, in the following, for the sake of concrete explanation, it is assumed that the multiple terminal devices 10 are n terminal devices 10, and of the n terminal devices 10, the first to nth terminal devices 10 are referred to as terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n]. Furthermore, the person PS to which terminal device 10[i] is assigned is referred to as person PS[i]. n represents any integer equal to or greater than 4. However, "n=3" may also be acceptable. i represents any natural number equal to or less than n. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, the communication processing unit 11, memory unit 12, terminal control unit 13, display screen 14, operation unit 15, camera 16, microphone 17, and speaker 18 in the terminal device 10[i] may be referred to as the communication processing unit 11[i], memory unit 12[i], terminal control unit 13[i], display screen 14[i], operation unit 15[i], camera 16[i], microphone 17[i], and speaker 18[i], respectively.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, during the period of an electronic conference, an audio signal output from the terminal device 10[i] to the network 70 is referred to as an audio signal AS[i]. The audio signal AS[i] is transmitted to the server device 30 through the network 70 and received by the server device 30. The audio signal AS[i] may be transmitted to a terminal device 10 other than the terminal device 10[i] without passing through the server device 30. The terminal device 10[i] generates an audio signal AS[i] by performing a predetermined audio signal processing on the output audio signal of the microphone 17[i]. Since the microphone 17[i] picks up the speech content of the person PS[i], the audio signal AS[i] includes an audio signal representing the speech content of the person PS[i]. Each terminal device 10 is provided with an echo canceller. Due to the function of the echo canceller, the signal component of the output sound of the speaker 18[i] is removed or sufficiently reduced in the audio signal AS[i].

Figure 7 shows participant information 510 related to an electronic conference. Participant information 510 includes personal identification information, terminal identification information, and participation location information for each of persons PS[1] to PS[n]. In the conference system SYS, a unique personal identification number is assigned to each of persons PS[1] to PS[n] who are participants in the electronic conference. The personal identification number of person PS[i] is referred to by the symbol "ID_PS[i]".

The terminal identification information associated with the person PS[i] is referred to by the symbol "ID_TM[i]". The terminal identification information ID_TM[i] is the identification information of the terminal device 10 used by the person PS[i] in the electronic conference. Here, since it is assumed that the electronic conference is held with the terminal device 10[i] assigned to the person PS[i], the terminal identification information ID_TM[i] represents the unique identification information assigned to the terminal device 10[i]. However, an electronic conference may also be held with multiple people PS sharing one terminal device 10, in which case a common terminal identification information is associated with the multiple people PS.

The participation location information associated with person PS[i] indicates the location where person PS[i] was located during the period in which the electronic conference was held (corresponding to the general conference period described below; see FIG. 9). The participation location information may be created by person PS[i] inputting the location in which he or she is located into operation unit 15[i], or the participation location information may be created using a GPS (Global Positioning System). Note that the participation location information does not have to be included in participant information 510.

Figure 8 shows a functional block diagram of the server control unit 33. The server control unit 33 has multiple functional blocks, including a participant information acquisition unit 110, a conference period setting unit 120, a channel setting unit 130, a conference data generation unit 140, a recording control unit 150, an authentication information setting unit 160, and a personal voice data acquisition unit 170, as well as an authentication processing unit 210, a playback transmission control unit 220, and a sound adjustment unit 230. Of these functional blocks, the functional blocks referenced by the reference numerals 110 to 170 function effectively mainly during the period in which the electronic conference is held, and the functional blocks referenced by the reference numerals 210 to 230 function effectively mainly when the contents of the electronic conference are played back after the electronic conference has ended. Note that the server control unit 33 does not necessarily have all of the functional blocks referenced by the reference numerals 110 to 170 and 210 to 230.

The participant information acquisition unit 110 creates and acquires the above-mentioned participant information 510 (see FIG. 7). The participant information acquisition unit 110 may create and acquire the participant information 510 in advance before the electronic conference is held (before time _tS0 described later; see FIG. 9), or may create and acquire the participant information 510 at the start of the electronic conference (at time _tS0 described later; see FIG. 9) or thereafter.

The conference period setting unit 120 sets the period during which an electronic conference is held. There are two types of electronic conferences: one type (first electronic conference) is a general conference, and the other type (second electronic conference) is a group conference. Not only in electronic conferences, but in conferences with many people, there may be occasions when a conversation (such as a so-called private conversation) is desired among only some of the participants. An electronic conference with only some of the participants corresponds to a group conference. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the period during which an electronic conference is held includes a general conference period during which a general conference is held, and a group conference period during which a group conference is held.

Times _tS0 and _tE0 respectively represent the start time and end time of the general conference period. Naturally, time _tE0 arrives after time _tS0 . Times _tS1 and _tE1 respectively represent the start time and end time of the group conference period. Naturally, time _tE1 arrives after time _tS1 . Time _tS1 is later than time _tS0 , and time _tE1 is earlier than time _tE0 . That is, a group conference is held during a part of the general conference period. Therefore, the group conference period is included in the general conference period. For convenience, the period during which a group conference is not held (non-group conference period) during the general conference period is referred to as a normal period. In FIG. 9, the period from time _tS0 to time _tS1 and the period from time _tE1 to time _tE0 each correspond to the normal period. The conference period setting unit 120 sets the general conference period and the group conference period. This setting also determines the normal period. For example, if person PS[1] wants to hold a group conference with person PS[2] as the only communication partner, person PS[1] can input a predetermined operation to the operation unit 15[1] to hold a group conference in a group that includes only persons PS[1] and PS[2].

The channel setting unit 130 sets an overall channel, which is a channel for the overall conference, and a group channel, which is a channel for the group conference. The conference data generating unit 140 generates conference data indicating the contents of the electronic conference for each channel. The recording control unit 150 performs recording control on the recording device 50 and causes the recording device 50 to record any data and information at a desired timing. As a characteristic operation, the recording control unit 150 causes the recording device 50 to record the conference data of the overall channel and the conference data of the group channel separately. In other words, the conference data of the overall channel is conference data of the overall conference, and the conference data of the group channel is conference data of the group conference. The conference data of the overall channel is data indicating the contents of the electronic conference (i.e., the overall conference) in the overall channel, and the conference data of the group channel is data indicating the contents of the electronic conference (i.e., the group conference) in the group channel. The contents of the electronic conference (i.e., the overall conference) in the overall channel include the contents of the speech of each member of the overall channel, and the contents of the electronic conference (i.e., the group conference) in the group channel include the contents of the speech of each member of the group channel.

The contents recorded in the recording device 50 during the normal period will be described with reference to Figure 10. During the normal period, all of the persons PS[1] to PS[n] become participants in the general conference. That is, during the normal period, all of the persons PS[1] to PS[n] become members of the overall channel, and conference data including the speech content of each member of the overall channel is generated as conference data for the overall channel. The recording control unit 150 sets a recording area 51 for the overall channel in the recording device 50, and records the conference data for the overall channel during the normal period in the recording area 51.

The contents recorded on the recording device 50 during the group conference will be described with reference to FIG. 11. In the example of FIG. 11, persons PS[h+1] to PS[n] are participants in the group conference. That is, during the group conference period in the example of FIG. 11, persons PS[h+1] to PS[n] are included in the members constituting the group channel, and persons PS[1] to PS[h] are not included in the members constituting the group channel. The members constituting the group channel are a portion of persons PS[1] to PS[n], where h is an integer that satisfies "h+1<n". During the group conference period in the example of FIG. 11, the members constituting the entire channel are only persons PS[1] to PS[h].

Therefore, it can also be expressed as follows. The channel setting unit 130 sets a first channel (whole channel) for a first group of people among people PS[1] to PS[n], and a second channel (group channel) for a second group of people among people PS[1] to PS[n]. The first group of people may include all of people PS[1] to PS[n], whereas the second group of people includes only a part of people PS[1] to PS[n]. In other words, the second group of people is composed of a part of people PS[1] to PS[n] (people PS[h+1] to PS[n] in the example of FIG. 11). A group conference is held during a part of the general conference period. During the period when the group conference is not held (normal period) during the general conference period, the first group of people is composed of all of people PS[1] to PS[n] (i.e., all of people PS[1] to PS[n] are included in the members of the general channel). On the other hand, during the group conference period, the members of the general channel are temporarily reduced. That is, during the group conference period, the first group of people is formed by excluding the second group of people (people PS[h+1] to PS[n] in the example of Figure 11) from people PS[1] to PS[n].

During the group conference period, conference data including the speech content of each member of the overall channel (persons PS[1] to PS[h] in the example of Fig. 11) is generated as conference data for the overall channel. In the example of Fig. 11, the conference data for the overall channel during the group conference period of Fig. 9 does not include the speech content of persons PS[h+1] to PS[n]. The conference data for the overall channel during the group conference period is also recorded in the recording area 51 for the overall channel. 9 ends, as shown in FIG. 12(a), the following conference data are recorded in the recording area ₅₁ as conference data of the overall channel _: conference data indicating the contents of the electronic conference of the overall channel during the normal period between times _tS0 and _tS1 (conference data including the speech contents of persons PS[1] to PS[n]); conference data indicating the contents of the electronic conference of the overall channel during the group conference period between times tS1 and _tE1 (conference data including the speech contents of persons PS[1] to PS[h] and not including the speech contents of persons PS[h+1] to PS[n]); and conference data indicating the contents of the electronic conference of the overall channel during the normal period between times _tE1 and tE0 (conference data including the speech contents of persons PS[1] to PS[n]).

During the group conference period, conference data including the speech content of each member of the group channel (persons PS[h+1] to PS[n] in the example of FIG. 11) is generated as the conference data of the group channel. The conference data of the group channel during the group conference period of FIG. 9 does not include the speech content of persons PS[1] to PS[h]. The recording control unit 150 sets a recording area 52 for the group channel in the recording device 50, and records the conference data of the group channel during the group conference period in the recording area 52. As shown in FIG. 12(b), the conference data recorded in the recording area 52 is conference data indicating the content of the electronic conference of the group channel during the group conference period between times t _S1 and t _E1 (conference data including the speech content of persons PS[h+1] to PS[n] and not including the speech content of persons PS[1] to PS[h]).

Recording area 52 is a separate recording area from recording area 51. Recording device 50 may be configured with multiple physically separated recording media, with recording area 51 set on a different recording medium from recording area 52 set on a different recording medium. Alternatively, recording areas 51 and 52 may be set within a single recording medium by virtually dividing the entire recording area of the single recording medium included in recording device 50. In addition, a method of recording with added identification data such as an identification flag is also possible, in which case the necessary filtering process is performed using the identification data during playback.

Figure 13 shows the structure of the conference data for the entire channel and the structure of the conference data for the group channel. The conference data for the entire channel is composed of audio data AD_W, image data VD_W, and additional data DD_W. The conference data for the group channel is composed of audio data AD_G, image data VD_G, and additional data DD_G.

The voice data AD_W is data showing the voice contents in the electronic conference of the overall channel, and represents the speech contents of each member of the overall channel. The voice data AD_W is generated based on the voice signals transmitted to the server device 30 from the terminal devices 10 assigned to each member of the overall channel. That is, in concrete terms with respect to the examples of Figs. 9 and ₁₁ , the voice data obtained by combining, in a time _series , the synthesized signal of the voice signals AS[1] to AS[n] between times _tS0 and _tS1 , the synthesized signal of the voice signals AS[1] to AS[h] between times _tS1 and _tE1 , and the synthesized signal of the voice signals AS[1] to AS[n] between times tE1 and tE0 corresponds to the voice data AD_W.

The image data VD_W is image data of a conference image displayed on each display screen 14 of the terminal device 10 assigned to each member of the overall channel. The conference image is shared not only with each terminal device 10 but also with the server device 30, so the server device 30 can obtain image data of the conference image at any time. Specifically, with respect to the examples of FIG. 9 and FIG. ₁₁ , the image data _{VD_W} corresponds to image data of a moving image obtained by combining, in a chronological order, the conference image displayed on each display screen 14 of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] between times t _S0 and t _S1 , the conference image displayed on each display screen 14 of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[h] between times t _S1 and t _E1 , and the conference image displayed on each display screen 14 of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] between times t E1 and t E0.

The additional data DD_W includes general meeting participant information indicating who each member of the overall channel is and from where each member of the overall channel is participating in the general meeting, and the general meeting participant information is obtained from the participant information 510 in FIG. 7. The participant information 510 itself may be included in the general meeting participant information. The additional data DD_W also includes general meeting date and time information indicating the date and time of the general meeting period. The general meeting date and time information specifies times t _S0 and t _E0 in the examples of FIG. 9 and FIG. 11. Furthermore, the additional data DD_W may include material data associated with the general meeting. This material data is, for example, data of material registered in advance in the server control unit 33 as material to be circulated to each participant before the period of the electronic conference (before time t _S0 in FIG. 9). However, the additional data DD_W may also include material data uploaded to the server device 30 by any member of the overall channel using the corresponding terminal device 10[i] after the start of the electronic conference of the overall channel (after time t _S0 in FIG. 9). When the uploaded material data is image data, the image represented by the material data can be displayed as a type of conference image on each display screen 14 of the terminal device 10 of each member of the entire channel.

The voice data AD_G is data showing the voice contents in the electronic conference of the group channel, and represents the speech contents of each member of the group channel. The voice data AD_G is generated based on the voice signals transmitted to the server device 30 from the terminal devices 10 assigned to each member of the group channel. That is, to be specific about the examples of Fig. 9 and Fig. 11, the voice data AD_G corresponds to a composite signal of the voice signals AS[h+1] to AS[n] between times _tS1 and _tE1 .

The image data VD_G is image data of the conference image displayed on each display screen 14 of the terminal devices 10 assigned to each member of the group channel. Specifically, with respect to the examples of Fig. 9 and Fig. 11, the image data VD_G is image data of the conference image displayed on each display screen 14 of the terminal devices 10[h+1] to 10[n] between times _tS1 and _tE1 .

The additional data DD_G includes group conference participant information indicating who each member of the group channel is and from where each member of the group channel is participating in the group conference, and the group conference participant information is obtained from the participant information 510 in FIG. 7. The participant information 510 itself may be included in the group conference participant information. The additional data DD_G also includes group conference date and time information indicating the date and time of the group conference period. In the example of FIG. 9, the group conference date and time information specifies times t _S1 and t _E1 . Furthermore, the additional data DD_G may include material data associated with the group conference. For example, after the start of the electronic conference of the group channel (after time t _S1 in FIG. 9), material data uploaded to the server device 30 by any member of the group channel using the corresponding terminal device 10[i] may be included in the additional data DD_G. When the uploaded material data is image data, the image indicated by the material data may be displayed on each display screen 14 of the terminal device 10 of each member of the group channel as a type of conference image.

The conference data of the entire channel may include both the additional data DD_W and the additional data DD_G as additional data. The conference data of the group channel may include both the additional data DD_W and the additional data DD_G as additional data. The recording method of the audio data and image data in the conference data may be a method of dividing the data into units of a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) and compressing and recording the data for each unit. In this case, the additional data may be added for each of the above units, or the additional data may be added collectively to the entire duration of the audio data and image data. Regardless of which recording method is adopted, a timestamp indicating the date and time of data generation or acquisition is added to each recorded data.

9 focuses on one group conference set during one general conference period, but as shown in FIG. 14 or FIG. 15, multiple group conference periods may be set during one general conference period. In the example of FIG. 14, the first group conference is started during one general conference period, and the second group conference is started after the first group conference ends. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 14, the first group conference period, which is the period during which the first group conference is held, and the second group conference period, which is the period during which the second group conference is held, exist without overlapping with each other during one general conference period. In the example of FIG. 15, the first group conference is started during one general conference period, the second group conference is started before the end of the first group conference, and then the second group conference ends after the first group conference ends. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 15, the first group conference period, which is the period during which the first group conference is held, and the second group conference period, which is the period during which the second group conference is held, exist in a partially overlapping manner during one general conference period. Figures 9, 14, and 15 are merely examples of how to set group conference periods; three or more group conference periods may be set during one general conference period, and the relationships between the start times and end times of multiple group conference periods may vary.

When multiple group conferences are held, multiple group channels corresponding to the multiple group conferences are set. Then, a recording area for each group channel is set in the recording device 50, and the conference data for each group channel is recorded in the recording device 50.

For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when a first group channel is set that includes only persons PS[1] and PS[2] as constituent members, and a second group channel is set that includes only persons PS[3] to PS[5] as constituent members, a recording area 52a for the first group channel and a recording area 52b for the second group channel are separately set in the recording device 50. Then, the conference data of the first group channel indicating the contents of the group conference of the first group channel is recorded in the recording area 52a, while the conference data of the second group channel indicating the contents of the group conference of the second group channel is recorded in the recording area 52b.

Referring again to FIG. 8, the authentication information setting unit 160 sets, for each channel, authentication information required to play back the conference data recorded in the recording device 50. The personal voice data acquisition unit 170 will be described later. The authentication processing unit 210 executes authentication processing for playing back the conference data recorded in the recording device 50. The playback transmission control unit 220 transmits the conference data in the recording device 50 after the authentication processing to a playback device that is to play back the conference data. The sound adjustment unit 230 adjusts the playback volume or playback sound quality when the conference data is played back on the playback device.

Figure 17 shows the relationship between the server device 30 and the playback device 10R. The server device 30 and the playback device 10R are connected to a network 70 and are capable of two-way communication through the network 70. The playback device 10R can be any one of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n], or it can be different from any one of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n]. However, even if the playback device 10R is different from each terminal device 10, the playback device 10R has the same configuration as each terminal device 10 and has at least the function of playing back audio data and image data.

In response to a request from the playback device 10R, the playback transmission control unit 220 can transmit conference data of the overall channel to the playback device 10R so that the contents of the general conference can be played back on the playback device 10R, and separately, in response to another request from the playback device 10R, the playback transmission control unit 220 can transmit conference data of the group channel to the playback device 10R so that the contents of the group conference can be played back on the playback device 10R.

Below, specific operation examples, application techniques, modified techniques, etc. related to the conference system SYS will be described in multiple examples. The matters described above in this embodiment are applied to each of the following examples unless otherwise specified and unless there is a contradiction. If there are any matters in each example that contradict the matters described above, the description in each example may take precedence. Furthermore, unless there is a contradiction, the matters described in any of the multiple examples shown below can also be applied to any other example (i.e., any two or more of the multiple examples can also be combined).

<<First Example>>
A first embodiment will be described. Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conference system SYS related to recording of conference data. Figs. 19 and 20 are flowcharts of the group conference start process and the group conference end process shown in Fig. 18, respectively. The flow of operations related to recording of conference data will be described with reference to Figs. 18 to 20.

Assume that the initial state is a state in which no electronic conference is being held in the conference system SYS. In the initial state, the process of step S11 is executed first. In step S11, the conference period setting unit 120 checks whether the start condition of the general conference is met. The start condition of the general conference may be any condition previously determined in the conference system SYS. For example, when a specific conference start operation is input to the operation unit 15 of a specific terminal device 10 among the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n], a start trigger signal is transmitted from the specific terminal device 10 to the server device 30, and the start trigger signal is received by the server device 30, thereby establishing the start condition of the general conference. Alternatively, the start condition of the general conference may be established when the current time reaches a predetermined start setting time. If the start condition of the general conference is not established (N in step S11), the process of step S11 is repeated. If the start condition of the general conference is established (Y in step S11), the process proceeds from step S11 to step S12, and the processes of steps S12 to S15 are executed.

In step S12, the channel setting unit 130 sets the entire channel. In step S13, the recording control unit 150 sets a recording area 51 for the entire channel in the recording device 50, and then in step S14 starts recording the conference data of the entire channel in the recording area 51. Recording starts here for the audio data AD_W and image data VD_W of the conference data of the entire channel, and recording of the audio data AD_W and image data VD_W continues until step S21, which will be described later. The timing of recording the additional data DD_W in the recording area 51 is arbitrary, but for example, the additional data DD_W may be recorded in the recording area 51 at the stage of step S14 or S21. In step S15, 1 is assigned to the variable x managed by the server control unit 33, and then the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, the conference period setting unit 120 checks whether the end condition of the general conference is met. The end condition of the general conference may be any condition previously determined by the conference system SYS. For example, when a specific conference end operation is input to the operation unit 15 of a specific terminal device 10 among the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n], an end trigger signal is sent from the specific terminal device 10 to the server device 30, and the end trigger signal is received by the server device 30, thereby establishing the end condition of the general conference. Alternatively, the end condition of the general conference may be established when the current time reaches a predetermined end setting time. If the end condition of the general conference is not met (N in step S16), the process proceeds from step S16 to step S17, whereas if the end condition of the general conference is met (Y in step S16), the process proceeds from step S16 to step S21.

In step S17, the conference period setting unit 120 checks whether the start condition of the xth group conference is satisfied. The xth group conference refers to the xth group conference that can be held during the general conference period. The start condition of the xth group conference may be any condition previously determined by the conference system SYS. For example, the conference period setting unit 120 checks whether the start condition of the xth group conference is satisfied based on a signal transmitted from one or more terminal devices 10 to the server device 30 and received by the server device 30 in response to an input operation (an operation requesting or instructing the start of the xth group conference) on the operation unit 15 of one or more terminal devices 10. More specifically, for example, when a group conference start request signal is exchanged between the terminal devices 10[1] and 10[2] through the server device 30 based on an input operation on the operation units 15[1] and 15[2] by the persons PS[1] and PS[2], the start condition of the xth group conference is satisfied, and in this case, the members of the xth group channel are the persons PS[1] and PS[2].

If the conditions for starting the xth group conference are met in step S17 (Y in step S17), the process proceeds from step S17 to step S18, but if the conditions for starting the xth group conference are not met (N in step S17), the process proceeds from step S17 to step S19.

In step S18, the server control unit 33 executes a group conference start process. In the group conference start process, the processes of steps S31 to S35 in FIG. 19 are executed in sequence. In the group conference start process, first, in step S31, the value of variable x is substituted for variable y managed by the server control unit 33. In the following step S32, the yth group channel is set by the channel setting unit 130, and further, in step S33, the recording area 52 for the yth group channel is set by the recording control unit 150. The recording area 52 for the yth group channel that is set here is a type of the recording area 52 shown in FIG. 11, and for example, if "y=1", it corresponds to recording area 52a in FIG. 16, and if "y=2", it corresponds to recording area 52b in FIG. 16.

When the recording area 52 for the y-th group channel is set, in step S34 the recording control unit 150 starts recording the conference data of the y-th group channel in the recording area 52 for the y-th group channel. Recording starts here for the audio data AD_G and image data VD_G of the conference data of the y-th group channel. The timing of recording the additional data DD_G in the recording area 52 is arbitrary, but for example, the additional data DD_G may be recorded in the recording area 52 at the stage of step S34 or at the stage when recording of the conference data of the y-th group channel is completed. In step S35, 1 is added to the variable x. When the processing of steps S31 to S35 is completed, the group conference start processing ends, and then proceeds to step S19 in FIG. 18.

In step S19, the conference period setting unit 120 checks whether the termination condition of any of the ongoing group conferences is met. For example, if only the first group conference is being held as a group conference, in step S19 only the success or failure of the termination condition of the first group conference is checked, whereas if both the first and second group conferences are being held as group conferences, in step S19 the success or failure of the termination condition of the first group conference and the termination condition of the second group conference are checked, respectively. The termination condition of the jth group conference may be any condition predefined in the conference system SYS (j is any natural number). For example, when the members of the jth group channel corresponding to the jth group conference are persons PS[1] and PS[2], the conference period setting unit 120 checks whether the end condition for the jth group conference is met based on a signal sent from the terminal device 10[1] or 10[2] to the server device 30 and received by the server device 30 in response to an input operation (an operation requesting or instructing the end of the jth group conference) on the operation unit 15[1] or 15[2].

When step S19 is reached, if there is one or more ongoing group conferences and the end condition of any of the ongoing group conferences is met (Y in step S19), proceed to step S20; otherwise (N in step S19), return to step S16.

In step S20, the server control unit 33 executes a group conference end process. In the group conference end process, the processes of steps S51 to S54 in FIG. 20 are executed in sequence. In the group conference end process, first, in step S51, the group channel number of the end condition that has been met is substituted for the variable z managed by the server control unit 33. That is, if the end condition of the jth group conference is met in step S19, and step S20 is reached, the value of j is substituted for the variable z. Then, in step S52, the recording control unit 150 ends the recording of the conference data of the zth group channel in the recording device 50 (recording area 52). That is, for example, when the first group conference is focused on (i.e., when "y=z=1" is considered), the recording of the audio data AD_G and image data VD_G of the first group channel that was started in step S34 in FIG. 19 in the recording device 50 (recording area 52) is ended in step S52. The same applies to the second group conference, etc.

Then, in step S53, the authentication information setting unit 160 sets authentication information PW_G[z], which is authentication information associated with the conference data of the z-th group channel. The authentication information PW_G[z] is issued to each terminal device 10 corresponding to the z-th group channel. That is, for example, if the members of the z-th group channel are persons PS[1] and PS[2], the authentication information setting unit 160 transmits authentication information PW_G[z] to the terminal devices 10[1] and 10[2] corresponding to persons PS[1] and PS[2]. In response to this, the authentication information PW_G[z] is displayed on the display screens 14[1] and 14[2], and is stored in the storage units 12[1] and 12[2] as necessary. In step S54 following step S53, the authentication information setting unit 160 stores the set authentication information PW_G[z] in an authentication information storage area (not shown) in the recording device 50 in association with the conference data of the z-th group channel. The authentication information setting unit 160 may set information automatically generated by using random numbers or the like as the authentication information PW_G[z], or one of the members of the zth group channel may determine the authentication information PW_G[z] by operating the operation unit 15.

When steps S51 to S54 are completed, the group conference termination process ends, and the process then returns to step S16 in FIG. 18.

The operation after moving from step S16 to step S21 will be described. In step S21, the recording control unit 150 ends the recording of the conference data of all channels to the recording device 50 (recording area 51). That is, the recording of the audio data AD_W and image data VD_W of all channels that was started in step S14 to the recording device 50 (recording area 51) is ended in step S21.

Then, in step S22, the authentication information setting unit 160 sets authentication information PW_W, which is authentication information associated with the conference data of the entire channel. The authentication information PW_W is issued to all terminal devices 10 corresponding to each member of the entire channel. That is, the authentication information setting unit 160 transmits the authentication information PW_W to each of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] corresponding to the persons PS[1] to PS[n]. In response to this, the authentication information PW_W is displayed on each of the display screens 14[1] to 14[n], and is stored in the memory units 12[1] to 12[n] as necessary. In step S23 following step S22, the authentication information setting unit 160 stores the set authentication information PW_W in an authentication information storage area (not shown) in the recording device 50 in association with the conference data of the entire channel. The authentication information setting unit 160 may set information automatically generated by using random numbers or the like as the authentication information PW_W, or any of the members of the entire channel may determine the authentication information PW_W by operating the operation unit 15. Upon completion of the process of step S23, the series of operations related to recording the conference data is completed.

Note that restrictions are placed on transitioning to step S21 so that the conditions for ending the general meeting are not met while one or more group meetings are being held.

Fig. 21 is a conceptual diagram of the flow of recording conference data in case α. In case α, first and second group conference periods that do not overlap with each other are set during one general conference period. Case α corresponds to the case shown in Fig. 16. In case α, as time progresses, times _tS0 , _tS1 , _tE1 , _tS2 , _tE2 , and _tE0 occur in this order. The flow of recording conference data in case α will be described with reference to Fig. 21 (also refer to Figs. 18 to 20 as appropriate).

At time _tS0 , the general conference period starts, and recording of the conference data of the general channel in the recording area 51 starts (step S14). After that, when the start condition of the first group conference is established based on an input operation to the operation unit 15 by at least one of the persons PS[1] and PS[2] (Y in step S17 for the first time), a first group channel including only the persons PS[1] and PS[2] as members is set (step S32 for the first time), and recording of the conference data of the first group channel in the recording area 52a starts from time _tS1 (step S34 for the first time). After that, when the end condition of the first group conference is established based on an input operation to the operation unit 15 by at least one of the persons PS[1] and PS[2] (Y in step S19 for the first time), recording of the conference data of the first group channel ends at time _tE1 (step S52 for the first time), and authentication information PW_G[1] for the first group channel is set and issued (step S53 for the first time).

Thereafter, when the start condition of the second group conference is established based on the input operation to the operation unit 15 by at least one of the persons PS[3] to PS[5] (Y in step S17 for the second time), a second group channel including only the persons PS[3] to PS[5] as members is set (step S32 for the second time), and recording of the conference data of the second group channel in the recording area 52b is started from time _tS2 (step S34 for the second time). Thereafter, when the end condition of the second group conference is established based on the input operation to the operation unit 15 by at least one of the persons PS[3] to PS[5] (Y in step S19 for the second time), recording of the conference data of the second group channel is terminated at time _tE2 (step S52 for the second time), and authentication information PW_G[2] for the second group channel is set and issued (step S53 for the second time).

Further, when the end condition of the general conference is satisfied (Y in step S16), the general conference period ends at time _tE0 , and recording of the conference data of the general channel in the recording area 51 ends (step S21). Then, authentication information PW_W for the general channel is set and issued (step S22). In case α, the members of the general channel are persons PS[ ₁ ] to PS[n] between times _tS0 and _tS1 , between times _tE1 and _tS2 , and between times _tE2 and _tE0 , but are persons PS[3] to PS[n] between times _tS1 and _tE1 , and are persons PS[1], PS[2], and PS[6] to PS[n] between times tS2 and _tE2 (in case α, "n≧6" is assumed).

Next, we will explain the flow of operations related to the playback of conference data after recording of the conference data of the entire channel and the conference data of the first and second group channels in case α is completed. As described above, the playback device 10R (see FIG. 17) can be any of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n], or can be different from any of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n], but here we consider the playback device 10R to be any of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n].

The flow of the transmission and playback operation of the conference data of the entire channel will be described with reference to FIG. 22(a). When the user of the playback device 10R inputs a transmission request operation to request the transmission of the conference data of the entire channel together with the authentication information PW_W to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, the terminal control unit 13 of the playback device 10R transmits a transmission request signal 610, which is a signal requesting the transmission of the conference data of the entire channel and includes the authentication information PW_W, to the server device 30. The user of the playback device 10R is assumed to be any one of the members of the entire channel (i.e., any one of the persons PS[1] to PS[n]).

When the server device 30 receives a transmission request signal 610 after the recording of the conference data of the entire channel and the conference data of the first and second group channels in case α is completed, the authentication processing unit 210 (see FIG. 8) compares the authentication information PW_W included in the transmission request signal 610 with the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage area (see step S23 in FIG. 18) and corresponding to the conference data of the entire channel, and outputs a comparison OK signal 612 for the transmission request signal 610 to the playback transmission control unit 220 if the authentication information included in the transmission request signal 610 is different from the authentication information PW_W, which is different from the situation shown in FIG. 22(a).

When the playback transmission control unit 220 receives a matching OK signal 612 in response to the transmission request signal 610, it transmits the conference data of the entire channel to the playback device 10R. When the playback device 10R receives the conference data of the entire channel, it plays the conference data of the entire channel in response to the input of a playback request operation to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, or regardless of whether or not a playback request operation is input. In playing back the conference data of the entire channel, the audio represented by the audio data AD_W is output from the speaker 18 of the playback device 10R, and in synchronization with this, the image represented by the image data VD_W is displayed on the display screen 14 of the playback device 10R. That is, the state of the entire conference is reproduced on the playback device 10R. In addition, in playing back the conference data of the entire channel, the additional data DD_W is displayed on the display screen 14 of the playback device 10R. By looking at the additional data DD_W, the user of the playback device 10R can recognize additional information related to the entire conference (such as information on participants in the entire conference and date and time information).

The flow of the transmission and playback operation of the conference data of the first group channel will be described with reference to FIG. 22(b). When the user of the playback device 10R inputs a transmission request operation to request the transmission of the conference data of the first group channel together with the authentication information PW_G[1] to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, the terminal control unit 13 of the playback device 10R transmits to the server device 30 a transmission request signal 620 which is a signal requesting the transmission of the conference data of the first group channel and which includes the authentication information PW_G[1]. The user of the playback device 10R is assumed to be one of the members of the first group channel (i.e., person PS[1] or PS[2]; see FIG. 21).

When the server device 30 receives a transmission request signal 620 after recording of the conference data of the entire channel and the conference data of the first and second group channels in case α is completed, the authentication processing unit 210 (see FIG. 8) compares the authentication information PW_G[1] included in the transmission request signal 620 with the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage area (see step S23 in FIG. 18) and corresponding to the conference data of the first group channel, and outputs a comparison OK signal 622 for the transmission request signal 620 to the reproduction transmission control unit 220 if the authentication information included in the transmission request signal 620 is different from the authentication information PW_G[1], which is different from the situation shown in FIG. 22(b), the comparison OK signal 622 is not output.

When the playback transmission control unit 220 receives a matching OK signal 622 in response to the transmission request signal 620, it transmits the conference data of the first group channel to the playback device 10R. When the playback device 10R receives the conference data of the first group channel, it plays the conference data of the first group channel in response to the input of a playback request operation to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, or regardless of whether or not a playback request operation is input. In playing back the conference data of the first group channel, the sound represented by the audio data AD_G is output from the speaker 18 of the playback device 10R, and in synchronization with this, the image represented by the image data VD_G is displayed on the display screen 14 of the playback device 10R. However, the audio data AD_G and image data VD_G here are the audio data AD_G and image data VD_G in the conference data of the first group channel. Therefore, the first group conference is reproduced on the playback device 10R. Furthermore, when playing back the conference data of the first group channel, the additional data DD_G in the conference data of the first group channel is displayed on the display screen 14 of the playback device 10R. By looking at this additional data DD_G, the user of the playback device 10R can recognize additional information related to the first group conference (group conference participant information, date and time information, etc.). Although the operations related to the playback of the conference data of the group channel have been described with a focus on the first group channel, the same applies when playing back conference data of other group channels.

In this way, the conference system SYS can record conference data for each channel and can play back the conference data for each channel. This allows conference participants to easily and conveniently check the contents of the conference at any time after the conference has ended.

In this case, authentication information is issued for each channel, and the conference data is provided to the playback device 10R after being authenticated for each channel. This provides a high level of security. In particular, when a highly confidential group conference is held, it is important to avoid a situation in which the contents of the group conference are leaked to others. In this embodiment, authentication information is set independently for each group channel, so the above-mentioned situation can be reliably avoided.

In addition, when the conference data is played back on the playback device 10R, the additional data (DD_W or DD_G) is displayed, making it possible to check the status of the conference in detail, including the additional information.

<<Second Example>>
Second embodiment will be described In the second embodiment, the personal voice data acquisition unit 170 in FIG. 8 and the operation using the same will be described.

The personal voice data acquisition unit 170 acquires, for each person, personal voice data that individually represents the contents of speech of persons PS[1] to PS[n] during the general conference period. The personal voice data for person PS[i] is specifically referred to as personal voice data AD[i] (i is any natural number equal to or less than n). The personal voice data acquisition unit 170 obtains personal voice data AD[1] to AD[n]. The personal voice data AD[i] represents the contents of speech of person PS[i] during the general conference period.

The individual voice data acquisition unit 170 acquires individual voice data AD[i] based on the voice signal AS[i] (see FIG. 6) during the general conference period. During the general conference period, there are a mixture of a section in which the person PS[i] is speaking (hereinafter, referred to as a speech section) and a section in which the person PS[i] is silent (hereinafter, referred to as a silence section). The silence section is also called a silent section. The acquisition unit 170 detects the speech section of the person PS[i] based on the intensity and spectrum of the voice signal AS[i]. Since the method of detecting the speech section based on the voice signal is well known, the description of the detection method is omitted. During the general conference period, the acquisition unit 170 includes the voice signal AS[i] during the speech section of the person PS[i] in the individual voice data AD[i], and does not include the voice signal AS[i] during the silence section of the person PS[i] in the individual voice data AD[i]. However, some of the audio signal AS[i] during the silence period of person PS[i] may be included in the personal audio data AD[i]. In any case, the audio signal AS[i] during the majority of the silence period of person PS[i] (part of the silence period of person PS[i]) is not included in the personal audio data AD[i].

An example is shown in Fig. 23. For convenience, the example in Fig. 23 is referred to as case β. As time progresses, times _tS0 , _tA1 , _tA2 , _tA3 , _tA4 , _tA5 , _tA6 , and _tE0 are assumed to occur in this order. In case β, during the general meeting period between times _tS0 and _tE0 , only a period 641 between times _tA1 and _tA2 , a period 642 between times _tA3 and _tA4 , and a period 643 between times _tA5 and _tA6 are detected as speech periods of person PS[1]. In this case, the personal voice data acquisition unit 170 can acquire, as personal voice data AD[1], a voice signal obtained by combining, in time series, voice signal AS[1]_a which is the voice signal AS[1] in the utterance period 641, voice signal AS[1]_b which is the voice signal AS[1] in the utterance period 642, and voice signal AS[1]_c which is the voice signal AS[1] in the utterance period 643. Personal voice data AD[2] and so on are acquired in a similar manner.

The personal voice data acquisition unit 170 creates and acquires the personal voice data AD[1] to AD[n] during the general conference period or without delay after the end of the general conference period. The recording control unit 150 records the created personal voice data AD[1] to AD[n] in the personal voice data recording area 53 in the storage device 50 (see FIG. 24). Thereafter, the playback transmission control unit 220 can execute a selective transmission process to selectively transmit any one of the personal voice data AD[1] to AD[n] to the playback device 10R. The playback device 10R plays back the received personal voice data (i.e., the voice represented by the received personal voice data is output from the speaker 18).

This is highly convenient, for example, as it can meet the needs of those who want to focus on checking only the comments of a certain person during an electronic conference.

In the selective transmission process, in response to receiving a predetermined transmission request signal from the playback device 10R, any one of the personal voice data AD[1] to AD[n] is selectively transmitted to the playback device 10R, and at this time, the above-mentioned authentication information may be used to control whether or not to transmit. This will be specifically explained using case α in Fig. 21 and case β in Fig. 23 as examples. Now, it is assumed that, of the speech sections 641 to 643 shown in Fig. 23, only the speech section 641 is included in the period between times t _S1 and t _E1 (see Fig. 21), which is the period during which the first group conference is held.

The flow of the transmission and playback operation of personal voice data AD[1] will be described with reference to Figures 25(a) and (b). When the user of the playback device 10R inputs a transmission request operation to request the transmission of personal voice data AD[1] together with authentication information PW_W to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, as shown in Figure 25(a), the terminal control unit 13 of the playback device 10R transmits a transmission request signal 660, which is a signal requesting the transmission of personal voice data AD[1] and includes authentication information PW_W, to the server device 30. The user of the playback device 10R is assumed to be any of the members of the entire channel (i.e., any of persons PS[1] to PS[n]).

When the server device 30 receives the transmission request signal 660, the authentication processing unit 210 (see FIG. 8) compares the authentication information PW_W included in the transmission request signal 660 with each piece of authentication information stored in the authentication information storage area (see step S23 in FIG. 18). Here, since the authentication information included in the transmission request signal 660 matches each piece of authentication information PW_W stored in the authentication information storage area, a comparison OK signal 662 is output from the authentication processing unit 210 to the playback transmission control unit 220.

When the playback transmission control unit 220 receives the matching OK signal 662, it transmits only the personal voice data AD[1] related to the entire channel to the playback device 10R. That is, it transmits personal voice data AD[1]' including only the voice signals AS[1]_b and AS[1]_c in FIG. 23 to the playback device 10R. This is because the authentication information PW_W is not granted playback authority for the electronic conference of the first group channel. When the playback device 10R receives the personal voice data AD[1]', it plays back the personal voice data AD[1]' in response to input of a playback request operation to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, or regardless of whether or not a playback request operation is input. In the playback of the personal voice data AD[1]', the voice represented by the personal voice data AD[1]' is output from the speaker 18 of the playback device 10R. At this time, since the image data VD_W has also been received by the playback device 10R, the image represented by the image data VD_W is displayed on the display screen 14 of the playback device 10R in synchronization with the playback of the personal audio data AD[1]'.

On the other hand, when the user of the playback device 10R inputs a transmission request operation to request the transmission of personal voice data AD[1] together with authentication information PW_G[1] to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, as shown in FIG. 25(b), the terminal control unit 13 of the playback device 10R transmits a transmission request signal 670, which is a signal requesting the transmission of personal voice data AD[1] and includes authentication information PW_G[1], to the server device 30. The user of the playback device 10R is assumed to be one of the members of the first group channel in the example of case α (i.e., person PS[1] or PS[2]; see FIG. 21).

When the server device 30 receives the transmission request signal 670, the authentication processing unit 210 (see FIG. 8) compares the authentication information PW_G[1] included in the transmission request signal 670 with each piece of authentication information stored in the authentication information storage area (see step S23 in FIG. 18). Here, since the authentication information included in the transmission request signal 670 matches each piece of authentication information PW_G[1] stored in the authentication information storage area, a comparison OK signal 672 is output from the authentication processing unit 210 to the playback transmission control unit 220.

When the playback transmission control unit 220 receives the matching OK signal 672, it transmits the entire personal voice data AD[1] to the playback device 10R. That is, it transmits the personal voice data AD[1] including the audio signals AS[1]_a, AS[1]_b, and AS[1]_c of FIG. 23 to the playback device 10R. When the playback device 10R receives the personal voice data AD[1], it plays back the personal voice data AD[1] in response to input of a playback request operation to the operation unit 15 of the playback device 10R, or regardless of whether or not a playback request operation has been input. When the personal voice data AD[1] is played back, the sound represented by the personal voice data AD[1] is output from the speaker 18 of the playback device 10R. At this time, since the image data VD_W and the image data VD_G for the first group channel are also received by the playback device 10R, an image represented by the image data VD_W or VD_G is displayed on the display screen 14 of the playback device 10R in synchronization with the playback of the personal audio data AD[1]. The same is true for the other group channels.

If the authentication information included in the transmission request signal 660 is different from any of the authentication information PW_W, PW_G[1], and PW_G[2], a match OK signal is not output and no personal voice data is transmitted to the playback device 10R. The same applies to the transmission request signal 670. The flow of the transmission and playback operation of the personal voice data AD[1] has been explained, but the transmission and playback operation of the personal voice data AD[2] etc. is also performed in the same flow as described above. Note that it is also possible to request the transmission of two or more personal voice data in one transmission request signal, in which case two or more personal voice data are transmitted from the server device 30 to the playback device 10R.

Note that in cases where no group conference description period is set during the general conference period, or in cases where all of the speech sections of person PS[1] belong to the non-group conference period (i.e., the normal period in FIG. 9), in response to receiving a transmission request signal 660 (see FIG. 25(a)) from the playback device 10R, the personal voice data AD[1] including the voice signals AS[1]_a, AS[1]_b, and AS[1]_c in FIG. 23 is transmitted to the playback device 10R, and the personal voice data AD[1] is played back by the playback device 10R.

<<Third Example>>
A third embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the individual voice data AD[i] may be a voice signal having a length equivalent to the duration of the general conference. In this case, the individual voice data AD[i] is the voice signal AS[i] during the general conference. In relation to this, the recording control unit 150 may record the voice signals AS[1] to AS[n] themselves in the recording device 50 individually.

<<Fourth Example>>
A fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the function of the sound adjustment unit 230 in FIG. 8 will be described. The sound adjustment unit 230 can execute a sound adjustment process to adjust the playback volume or playback sound quality in the playback device 10R when the conference data of the entire channel is played back in the playback device 10R. The sound adjustment process may be executed for each channel of the electronic conference. That is, in the example of case α in FIG. 21, the sound adjustment unit 230 may be able to individually adjust the playback volume or playback sound quality when the conference data of the entire channel is played back, the playback volume or playback sound quality when the conference data of the first group channel is played back, and the playback volume or playback sound quality when the conference data of the second group channel is played back.

The sound adjustment process according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the example of FIG. 22(a). In the example of FIG. 22(a), when the playback transmission control unit 220 receives a matching OK signal 612 in response to the transmission request signal 610, it transmits the conference data of the entire channel to the playback device 10R. Prior to this transmission, the sound adjustment unit 230 reads the audio data AD_W of the entire channel from the recording device 50 and performs sound adjustment processing on the read audio data AD_W. After that, the audio data AD_W after the sound adjustment processing is transmitted to the playback device 10R as part of the conference data of the entire channel. Therefore, the playback device 10R reproduces the audio data AD_W after the sound adjustment processing (output from the speaker 18).

The method and content of adjusting the playback volume or playback sound quality of the audio data AD_W in the sound adjustment process are arbitrary. For example, when the audio data AD_W after the sound adjustment process is played back on the playback device 10R, the sound adjustment process is performed on the audio data AD_W so that the average level or maximum level of the playback volume from the speaker 18 becomes a predetermined appropriate level. This adjusts the playback volume when the audio data AD_W (first audio data representing the speech content of each member of the entire channel) is played back on the playback device 10R. Also, for example, the sound adjustment unit 230 can execute a compression process as one of the sound adjustment processes, compressing the audio data AD_W so that the data amount per unit time of the audio data AD_W after the sound adjustment process is a predetermined amount or less. The playback sound quality is adjusted by adjusting the compression rate in this compression process. However, the adjustment of the playback sound quality is arbitrary, such as emphasizing the low range or high range of the audio data AD_W.

The sound adjustment process according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the example in FIG. 22(b). In the example in FIG. 22(b), when the playback transmission control unit 220 receives a matching OK signal 622 in response to the transmission request signal 620, it transmits the conference data of the first group channel to the playback device 10R. Prior to this transmission, the sound adjustment unit 230 reads the audio data AD_G of the first group channel from the recording device 50 and performs sound adjustment processing on the read audio data AD_G. After that, the audio data AD_G after the sound adjustment processing is transmitted to the playback device 10R as part of the conference data of the first group channel. Therefore, the playback device 10R reproduces the audio data AD_G after the sound adjustment processing (output from the speaker 18).

The method and content of the adjustment of the playback volume or playback sound quality of the audio data AD_G in the sound adjustment process are arbitrary. For example, when the audio data AD_G after the sound adjustment process is played back on the playback device 10R, the sound adjustment process is performed on the audio data AD_G so that the average level or maximum level of the playback volume from the speaker 18 becomes a predetermined appropriate level. This adjusts the playback volume when the audio data AD_G (second audio data representing the speech content of each member of the first group channel) is played back on the playback device 10R. Also, for example, the sound adjustment unit 230 can execute a compression process as one of the sound adjustment processes, compressing the audio data AD_G so that the data amount per unit time of the audio data AD_G after the sound adjustment process is a predetermined amount or less. The playback sound quality is adjusted by adjusting the compression rate in this compression process. However, the adjustment of the playback sound quality is arbitrary, such as emphasizing the low range or high range of the audio data AD_G.

The sound adjustment process described above makes it possible to play back the contents of a meeting in a way that makes them easier to hear for each channel.

<<Fifth Example>>
A fifth embodiment will now be described. In the fifth embodiment, an application technique relating to the sound adjustment process shown in the fourth embodiment will be described.

Consider an example of case α in FIG. 21. In case α, the audio data AD_G of the first group channel corresponds to a composite signal of the audio signals AS[1] and AS[2] during the first group conference (i.e., between times _tS1 and _tE1 ), and therefore includes the signal components of the audio signal AS[1] and the audio signal AS[2]. Here, depending on the sound pickup condition of the microphone 17 during the electronic conference, the signal strength of the output audio signal AS[1] of the terminal device 10[1] may be relatively large, while the signal strength of the output audio signal AS[2] of the terminal device 10[2] may be relatively small. In such a case, if a simple composite of the audio signals AS[1] and AS[2] is transmitted to the playback device 10R and played back, it may be difficult to hear the speech of the person PS[2] compared to the speech of the person PS[1]. In order to avoid such a situation, the sound adjustment unit 230 of the fifth embodiment adjusts the playback volume of the speech content of persons PS[1] and PS[2] for each person during the sound adjustment process when the audio data AD_G of the first group channel is played back by the playback device 10R.

The sound adjustment process according to the fifth embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to case α in Fig. 21. Here, the audio data AD_G of the i-th group channel is particularly referred to by the symbol "AD_G[i]". In case α, the audio signals AS[1] and AS[2] between times _tS1 and _tE1 are included in the audio data AD_G[1] and recorded in the recording area 52a.

In the example of Fig. 22(b), when the reproduction transmission control unit 220 receives a matching OK signal 622 in response to the transmission request signal 620, it transmits the conference data of the first group channel to the reproduction device 10R. Prior to this transmission, the sound adjustment unit 230 reads the audio data AD_G[1] of the first group channel from the recording device 50 and performs sound adjustment processing on the read audio data AD_G[1]. For clarity of explanation, the audio data AD_G[1] before the sound adjustment processing is referred to as "AD_G[1]_BF", and the audio data AD_G[1] after the sound adjustment processing is referred to as "AD_G[1]_AFT". It is assumed that there are one or more speech sections of person PS[1] and one or more speech sections of person PS[2] between times _tS1 and _tE1 .

The sound adjustment unit 230 derives a statistical value of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[1] during the speech section of the person PS[1] between times _{t S1} and t _E1 , and a statistical value of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[2] during the speech section of the person PS[2] between times t S1 and t _E1 , and performs a volume adjustment process on the audio data AD_G[1]_BF as a sound adjustment process to match the two statistical values, thereby generating the audio data AD_G[1]_AFT. The above statistical value may be an average value or a maximum value. In the example of FIG. 22(b), the conference data of the first group channel including the audio data AD_G[1]_AFT is transmitted to the playback device 10R and played back by the playback device 10R. Therefore, the playback device 10R plays back the audio data AD_G[1] (i.e., AD_G[1]_AFT) after the sound adjustment process. At this time, the playback volume of the speech content of person PS[1] and the playback volume of the speech content of person PS[2] roughly match, making it easier to hear. In the sound adjustment process for the audio data AD_G[1], the playback volume of the speech content of person PS[1] and PS[2] can be adjusted individually (i.e., for each person) through individual adjustment of the signal strength of the audio signals AS[1] and AS[2] read from the recording device 50. The playback volume can also be adjusted for the audio data AD_G of the second group channel in a similar manner.

The playback volume can also be adjusted for the audio data AD_W of all channels in a similar manner. For ease of explanation, the sound adjustment process for the audio data AD_W will be described assuming that no group conference was held between times t _S0 and t _E0 (i.e., no group channel was set) between times t _{S0 and t E0. Under this assumption, the audio signals AS[1] to AS[n] between times t S0} and t _E0 are included in the audio data AD_W and recorded in the recording area 51.

In the example of Fig. 22(a), when the reproduction transmission control unit 220 receives a matching OK signal 612 in response to the transmission request signal 610, it transmits the conference data of the entire channel to the reproduction device 10R, but prior to this transmission, the sound adjustment unit 230 reads the audio data AD_W of the entire channel from the recording device 50 and performs sound adjustment processing on the read audio data AD_W. For clarity of explanation, the audio data AD_W before the sound adjustment processing is referred to as "AD_W_BF", and the audio data AD_W after the sound adjustment processing is referred to as "AD_W_AFT". It is assumed that there are one or more speech sections of each of the persons PS[1] to PS[n] between times _tS0 and _tE0 .

The sound adjustment unit 230 derives the statistical value of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[1] during the speech period of the person PS[1] between times _tS0 and _tE0 , the statistical value of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[2] during the speech period _of the person PS[2] between _{times tS0} and _tE0 , ..., the statistical value of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[n] during the speech period of the person PS[n] between times _tS0 and _tE0 , and performs a volume adjustment process to match these total n statistical values as a sound adjustment process on the audio data AD_W_BF between times tS0 and tE0, thereby generating the audio data AD_W_AFT between times _tS0 and _tE0 . The above statistical values may be average values or maximum values. In the example of FIG. 22(a), the conference data of all channels including the audio data AD_W_AFT between times t _S0 and t _E0 is transmitted to the playback device 10R and played back by the playback device 10R. Therefore, the playback device 10R plays back the audio data AD_W (i.e., AD_W_AFT) after the sound adjustment process. At this time, the playback volume of the speech content of the person PS[1] to person PS[n] is roughly the same, making it easier to hear. In the sound adjustment process for the audio data AD_W, the playback volume of the speech content of the person PS[1] to PS[n] can be adjusted individually (i.e., for each person) through individual adjustment of the signal strength of the audio signals AS[1] to AS[n] read out from the recording device 50.

For convenience of explanation, the sound adjustment process for the audio data AD_W has been explained on the assumption that no group conference was held between times _tS0 and _tE0 , but the same applies to the case where a group conference is held. However, since the audio signals of the members of the group channel are not included in the audio data AD_W during the group conference period, the audio signals of the members of the group channel are not taken into consideration in the volume adjustment process for the audio data AD_W. Therefore, for example, for case α in FIG. 21, the volume adjustment process for the audio signal between times _tS1 and _tE1 is as follows. That is, a statistical value of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[3] during the speech period of person PS[ ₃ ] between times _tS1 and _tE1 , a statistical value of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[4] during the speech period of person PS[4] between times _tS1 and _tE1 , ..., a statistical value _of the signal strength of the audio signal AS[n] during the speech period of person PS[n] between times _tS1 and _tE1 are derived, and a volume adjustment process for matching a total of (n-2) statistical values is performed on the audio data AD_W_BF between times tS1 and tE1 as a sound adjustment process, thereby generating audio data AD_W_AFT between times _tS1 and _tE1 .

The sound adjustment process (volume adjustment process) of the fifth embodiment makes it possible to play back the speech of each person in a manner that makes it easy to hear.

The sound adjustment process according to the fourth or fifth embodiment may be performed by the playback device 10R. In this case, the sound adjustment unit 230 described above as being provided in the server device 30 may be provided in the playback device 10R, and the playback device 10R may perform sound adjustment processing on the audio data AD_W or AD_G before sound adjustment processing received from the server device 30 in the sound adjustment unit 230, and play back the audio data AD_W or AD_G after sound adjustment processing using the speaker 18.

<<Sixth Example>>
A sixth embodiment will now be described. Under certain conditions, the conference data of a group channel may be recorded not in the recording device 50 but in the terminal devices 10 of the members of the group channel.

For example, when "x=1" in the flowchart of FIG. 18, the conference period setting unit 120 checks whether the start condition of the first group conference is met in step S17, and when the start condition of the first group conference is met, it further checks whether a predetermined confidentiality condition is met. When the members of the first group channel are persons PS[1] and PS[2], person PS[1] can input a confidentiality instruction to the terminal device 10[1] by operating the operation unit 15[1] as necessary, and when the confidentiality instruction is input to the terminal device 10[1], the confidentiality instruction is transmitted from the terminal device 10[1] to the server device 30. The confidentiality condition is met when this confidentiality instruction is transmitted to the server device 30. The confidentiality condition is met in the same way when person PS[2] inputs a confidentiality instruction to the terminal device 10[2].

When the start condition of the first group conference is satisfied, if the confidentiality condition is also satisfied, the server control unit 33 does not record the conference data of the first group channel in the recording device 50. Instead, the server control unit 33 sets the terminal device 10 of one or more members of the members of the first group channel as a transmission target terminal and transmits the conference data of the first group channel to the transmission target terminal. If the members of the first group channel are persons PS[1] and PS[2], at least one of the terminal devices 10[1] and 10[2] is set as the transmission target terminal. The transmission of the conference data of the first group channel to the transmission target terminal may be performed in real time during the electronic conference of the first group channel, or may be performed with a certain delay. The terminal device 10 set as the transmission target terminal stores the received conference data of the first group channel in a non-volatile memory in the storage unit 12. Although the first group channel is the focus, the same applies to other group channels.

Confidentiality can be improved by storing confidential meeting data not in the recording device 50 but in the terminal device 10 of a person who belongs to the group channel.

<<Seventh Example>>
A seventh embodiment will now be described. In the seventh embodiment, modified techniques or supplementary matters that can be applied to the above-described embodiments will be described.

During the electronic conference, the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] may be distributed in various locations. For example, some of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] may be located at the workplace of the corresponding person PS, and other parts of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] may be located at the home of the corresponding person PS. Still other parts of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] may be located in a vehicle driven by the corresponding person PS. In other words, a person PS[i], which is one of the persons PS[1] to PS[n], may participate in the electronic conference from a vehicle. In this case, the position information of the vehicle driven by the person PS[i] may be included in the additional data DD_W.

When recording conference data during an electronic conference, the conference system SYS functions as an electronic conference recording system, and the electronic conference recording system is configured with a server device 30, which is an example of an electronic conference management device, a recording device 50, and terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n].

When the conference data is to be played back after the electronic conference period ends, the electronic conference playback system functions effectively. The electronic conference playback system is configured with a server device 30, which is an example of an electronic conference management device, a recording device 50, and a playback device 10R. If any of the terminal devices 10[1] to 10[n] is the playback device 10R, the electronic conference recording system and the electronic conference playback system will be configured with common elements.

A specific program that defines any specific process and specific operation to be realized in the server device 30, the terminal device 10, or the playback device 10R may be created, and the specific program may be executed by a processor provided in the server device 30, the terminal device 10, or the playback device 10R, thereby realizing the specific process and specific operation. The terminal program PG1 stored in the storage unit 120 in FIG. 2 or the server program PG2 stored in the storage unit 32 in FIG. 3 are examples of the specific program.

The embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various ways as appropriate within the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims. The above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the meanings of the terms of the present invention or each of the constituent elements are not limited to those described in the above embodiments. The specific numerical values shown in the above description are merely examples, and can, of course, be changed to various numerical values.

<<Additional Notes>>
The present invention is further described below.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic conference management device (30) for use in holding an electronic conference among a plurality of persons (PS[1] to PS[n]) using a plurality of terminal devices (10[1] to 10[n]) connected to each other via a network (70), comprising:
The system includes a channel setting unit (130) that sets a first channel (whole channel) for a first group of people that can include all of the plurality of people, and a second channel (group channel) for a second group of people that can include only a part of the plurality of people, a recording control unit (150) that individually records first conference data indicating the contents of a first electronic conference (general conference) in the first channel and second conference data indicating the contents of a second electronic conference (group conference) in the second channel in a recording device (50), and a playback transmission control unit (220) that can individually transmit the first conference data and the second conference data to a playback device (10R) so that the contents of the first electronic conference or the contents of the second electronic conference can be played back on the playback device, wherein the playback device is any one of the plurality of terminal devices or has a configuration different from any of the plurality of terminal devices (hereinafter referred to as configuration _W1 ).

In the electronic conference management device of configuration _W1 , the electronic conference management device may further include an authentication information setting unit that sets first authentication information (PW_W) associated with the first channel and second authentication information (e.g., PW_G[1]) associated with the second channel, and the playback transmission control unit may be configured to transmit the first conference data to the playback device in response to receiving a first transmission request signal (610) including the first authentication information from the playback device after the first electronic conference and the second electronic conference are terminated, or to transmit the second conference data to the playback device in response to receiving a second transmission request signal (620) including the second authentication information from the playback device (hereinafter referred to as configuration _W2 ).

SYS Conference system 10 Terminal device 30 Server device 50 Recording device 70 Network 110 Participant information acquisition section 120 Conference period setting section 130 Channel setting section 140 Conference data generation section 150 Recording control section 160 Authentication information setting section 170 Personal voice data acquisition section 210 Authentication processing section 220 Reproduction transmission control section 230 Sound adjustment section

Claims (4)

An electronic conference management device that manages an electronic conference held via a plurality of terminal devices through a network, the electronic conference management device having a control unit,
The control unit is
If a second teleconference is held during the first teleconference,
During the first electronic conference,
setting a first channel for a first group of people during a period when the second electronic conference is not being held , and setting the first channel for people among the first group of people other than a second group of people who participate in the second electronic conference during a period when the second electronic conference is being held, and recording first electronic conference data on the first channel in a recording device;
during a period in which the second electronic conference is held, a second channel is set for the second group of people participating in the second electronic conference, second electronic conference data in the second channel is not recorded in the recording device, and the second electronic conference data is transmitted to at least one terminal device among two or more terminal devices assigned to people belonging to the second group of people to be recorded;
The first electronic conference data includes voice data representing the contents of speech of each member of the first channel and image data of a display image on a terminal device assigned to each member of the first channel,
The second electronic conference data includes voice data representing the contents of speech of each member of the second channel, and image data of a display image on a terminal device assigned to each member of the second channel.
Electronic meeting management device. The control unit is
when a confidentiality instruction for the second electronic conference data is input by a person belonging to the second person group, the second electronic conference data is not recorded in the recording device, and the second electronic conference data is transmitted to the at least one terminal device for recording .
The electronic conference management device according to claim 1 . The recording device is provided separately from the plurality of terminal devices.
The electronic conference management device according to claim 1 or 2. A program for managing an electronic conference conducted via a network using multiple terminal devices,
When a second electronic conference is set during a period in which a first electronic conference is being held, the program causes the arithmetic processing device to execute a control process;
In the control process,
During the first electronic conference,
setting a first channel for a first group of people during a period when the second electronic conference is not being held , and setting the first channel for people among the first group of people other than a second group of people who participate in the second electronic conference during a period when the second electronic conference is being held, and recording first electronic conference data on the first channel in a recording device;
a second channel is set for the second group of people during the period in which the second electronic conference is held , the second electronic conference data in the second channel is not recorded in the recording device, and the second electronic conference data is transmitted to at least one terminal device among two or more terminal devices assigned to the people belonging to the second group of people to be recorded;
The first electronic conference data includes voice data representing the contents of speech of each member of the first channel and image data of a display image on a terminal device assigned to each member of the first channel,
The second electronic conference data includes voice data representing the contents of speech of each member of the second channel, and image data of a display image on a terminal device assigned to each member of the second channel.
program.