Patent Application
20070242051
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail by reference to the following figures, wherein:
With reference to the drawings, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
The data management server 10 is a database server computer which retains and manages image data to be used in electronic conferences. The data management server 10 includes a document data storage unit 12 in which document data used in the electronic conferences, such as conference materials converted into an electronic form, to be displayed on touch panel display devices 21, 31 are stored. Meanwhile, screen images displayed on the touch panel display devices 21, 31 are stored in a screen image storage unit 13. In response to a request from the conference control apparatuses 20, 30, a data management unit 11 performs information management processing operations, such as registration of image data in the document data storage unit 12, readout of the image data from the document data storage unit 12, and registration of the screen images sent from the conference control apparatuses 20, 30 into the screen image storage unit 13. The data management unit 11 is implemented by collaborative operation of a computer forming the data management server 10 and a program running on a CPU mounted in the computer. Meanwhile, the document data storage unit 12 and the screen image storage unit 13 are implemented by external storage devices mounted in the data management server 10.
The conference control apparatuses 20, 30, which are client computers used for controlling a conference, are connected to peripheral devices of the touch panel display devices 21, 31 and IC card reader/writers 22, 32, respectively. In view that the conference control apparatuses 20 and 30 may have similar hardware configurations, a configuration of only the conference control apparatus 20 will be described as a representative example. The touch panel display device 21 is disposed similarly to an electronic white board, providing all participants with viewability to content displayed thereon, and displays conference materials or the like used for electronic conferences. The IC card reader/writer 22, which is typically a device for reading IC cards owned by conference participants in order to authenticate users participating in a conference, is also used as a reader for reading data stored in the portable terminal devices 50 carried by the users or a writer for writing data in the portable terminal device 50 in this exemplary embodiment. Although in the present exemplary embodiment the IC card reader/writer 22 is placed beside the touch panel display device 21 or integrated into the touch panel display device 21, the IC card reader/writer 22 may be placed at an arbitrary location.
The conference control apparatus 20 has a communication processing unit 23, a display device interface (IF) unit 24, a screen image input/output processing unit 25, and a conference controller 26. The communication processing unit 23 inputs data read from the portable terminal device 50 by the IC card reader/writer 22, and outputs data via the IC card reader/writer 22 to the portable terminal device 50. The data to be received and sent will be described below in detail. The display device IF unit 24 controls operation of the touch panel display device 21. An operation input unit 27 contained in the display device IF unit 24 detects user operation performed on the touch panel display device 21 and accepts an input, such as an instruction, note data, or the like, entered by the user operation. Further, a display controller 28 controls display of the touch panel display device 21, such as displaying of image data registered in the data management server 10 on the touch panel display device 21. The screen image input/output processing unit 25 acquires document data or screen image data to be displayed on the touch panel display device 21 from the data management server 10, or sends the screen image displayed the touch panel display device 21 to the data management server 10 for storing the screen image in the data management server 10. The conference controller 26 controls operation of the units 23 to 25 other than the conference controller 26 itself and performs overall control of an electronic conference in cooperation with other computers. The units 23 to 25 in the conference control apparatus 20 are implemented by collaborative operation of a computer forming the conference control apparatus 20 and a program running on a CPU mounted in the computer.
The portable terminal device 50 is an information device of a mobile type that the conference participants carry and bring in a conference room. In the present exemplary embodiment, the portable terminal device 50 is assumed to be a personal digital assistant (PDA). The portable terminal device 50 has a display controller 52, a communication processing unit 53, a display image information retaining unit 54, an identification information retaining unit 55, and an IC card unit 56. The display controller 52 controls display of the display screen 51. The communication processing unit 53 performs data communication with the conference control apparatuses 20, 30 via the IC card reader/writers 22, 32. More specifically, the communication processing unit 53 writes display image information sent from the conference control apparatuses 20, 30 into the display image information retaining unit 54 for storing the display image information, and sends the display image information stored in the display image information retaining unit 54 to the conference control apparatuses 20, 30. The identification information retaining unit 55 retains IP addresses as information necessary for identifying the portable terminal devices 50 and for performing inter-device communication and retains user IDs as information used for identifying owners of the portable terminal devices 50. In the present exemplary embodiment, short-range wireless communication is established between the IC card reader/writers 22, 32 and the portable terminal device 50, and the IC card unit 56 functions as a storage area for retaining data to be read by bringing the portable terminal device 50 close to the IC card reader/writers 22, 32 and accepting written data. The units 52 to 53 in the portable terminal device 50 are implemented by collaborative operation of a computer mounted in the portable terminal device 50 and a program running on a CPU mounted in the computer. The units 54 to 56 may be implemented by a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory.
The electronic conference system according to the present invention is not necessarily limited to application in teleconferences which take place by means of remote connections of distant sites, and may be applied to conferences which are conducted by means of the touch panel display devices 21, 31 and various computers connected to a network.
In short, the present exemplary embodiment is characterized in providing a function of copying and pasting a screen image displayed on the touch panel display device by means of the portable terminal device 50. Process steps of causing the touch panel display device 31 to display a screen image which has been displayed on the touch panel display device 21 using a copy and paste function according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described below. Referring first to
As shown in
In the present exemplary embodiment, a desired screen image can easily be displayed on the other touch panel display device 31 through the use of the portable terminal device 50 as described above.
Up to this point, the present exemplary embodiment has been described from a viewpoint of the user scene. Next will be described operation of the electronic conference system which provides the copy and paste functions according to this exemplary embodiment with reference to the communication sequence diagram shown in
If a conference participant wishes to reference the content displayed during a conference on the touch panel display device 21 in another conference, the conference participant inputs the predetermined copy request in the portable terminal device 50. When the portable terminal device 50 receives the input of the copy request (step 101), the communication processing unit 53 generates a new token (step 102). Then, the communication processing unit 53 writes into the IC card unit 56 the token and an IP address of the portable terminal device 50 stored in the identification information retaining unit 55. It should be noted that although in the present exemplary embodiment the IP address of the portable terminal device 50 is stored in advance in the identification information retaining unit 55, the IP address may be found and read by referencing a predetermined storage location. When the conference participant brings the portable terminal device 50 close to the IC card reader/writer 22 after completion of data writing into the IC card unit 56, the IC card reader/writer 22 reads the data; i.e. the token and the IP address stored in the IC card unit 56 (step 103). In response to the data reading, the communication processing unit 23 inputs the read data (step 104). In the present exemplary embodiment, when the read data are composed of the token and the IP address, it is determined that a copy request is issued. It is, of course, possible that explicit copy request information, such as flag information or control data, may be written along with the token and other data in the IC card unit 56 by the portable terminal device 50.
When the conference control apparatus 20 recognizes receipt of the copy request, the conference controller 26 causes the display device IF unit 24 to generate a thumbnail image for the screen image which is presently displayed while causing the screen image input/output processing unit 25 to send the screen image being displayed to the data management server 10 for storing the screen image. At this time, information about a storage destination of the screen image (for example, a URL) should be obtained from the data management server 10. The communication-processing unit 23 generates another token (step 105), and associates the generated token with the screen image. Specifically, the generated token is associated with the information about the storage destination of the screen image. Next, the communication processing unit 23 specifies the input IP address to establish a connection with the portable terminal device 50 via a wireless communication network. Then, the communication processing unit 23 sends, to the portable terminal device 50 via the IC card reader/writer 22, the input token (hereinafter referred to as a “portable token”), the token that the communication processing unit 23 has generated (hereinafter referred to as a “control token”), the IP address of the conference control apparatus 20 (hereinafter referred to as a “control IP address”), and the generated thumbnail image (step 106). The control IP address is not necessarily contained in the data to be sent, because the portable terminal device 50 can obtain the control IP address by checking attribute information of the sent data.
The communication processing unit 53 in the portable terminal device 50 checks the received portable token to thereby determine whether or not the received portable token is the valid token that the communication processing unit 53 has generated. When the validity of the received portable token is verified (step 107), the communication processing unit 53 writes and stores the received information in the display image information retaining unit 54. When, on the other hand, the received token is invalid, the communication processing unit 53 discards the received portable token and information (step 108).
Alternatively, the IC card reader/writer 22 may read the IP address of the portable terminal device 50, while the conference control apparatus 30 may generate the control token on the basis of the IP address and send the control token, the thumbnail image, and the IP address of the conference control apparatus 30 to the portable terminal device 50 when the user brings the portable terminal device 50 close to the IC card reader/writer 22. In other words, data may be transferred without the use of the portable token.
Up to this point, process steps of copy function in the present exemplary embodiment have been described. In a state as described above, the conference participant who is using the portable terminal device 50 can perform a predetermined display operation. As a result of the predetermined display operation, the display controller 52 reads the thumbnail image from the display image information retaining unit 54 and displays the thumbnail image on the display screen 51 as shown in
Firstly, the control token and the control IP address must be written in the IC card unit 56 before initiating the paste function. This may be realized by writing the control token and the control IP address in the IC card unit 56 when they are received during the process steps of the copy function, or alternatively by reading the control token and the control IP address from the display image information retaining unit 54 and writing them in the IC card unit 56 in accordance with a predetermined paste instructing operation of the conference participant. The first way is applicable in cases where the pasting is executed immediately subsequent to the copying, and where an object to be copied and pasted is only a single screen image. Meanwhile, in addition to the above cases, the alternative second way can be applied also in cases where there is a time interval between the copying and the pasting, and where multiple screen images are retained. In this regard, the second way is more versatile.
The conference participant moves to the installation site of the touch panel display device 31 on which the image stored in the portable terminal device 50 is pasted, and brings the portable terminal device 50 close to the IC card reader/writer 32. As a result, the IC card reader/writer 32 reads the data stored in the IC card unit 56; i.e., the control token and the control IP address (step 109). In response to this data reading, the communication processing unit 33 inputs the read data (step 110). It should be noted that because the thumbnail image is generated for use in display on the portable terminal device 50, there is no necessity to send the thumbnail image to the conference control apparatus 30.
Next, the communication processing unit 33 designates the input control IP address to establish connection with the conference control apparatus 20 on the wireless communication network, and presents the input control token for sending a request to transmit screen image data via the IC card reader/writer 32 to the conference control apparatus 20 (step 111).
The communication processing unit 23 in the conference control apparatus 20 examines the presented control token to determine whether or not the presented control token is the valid token that the communication processing unit 23 has generated. When validity of the control token is verified (step 112), the communication processing unit 23 obtains the screen image data associated with the control token and sends the obtained data to the conference control apparatus 30 (step 113). When the presented token is invalid, the token is discarded (step 114).
In the present exemplary embodiment, an object associated with the control token is storage destination information regarding the screen image data. Accordingly, the screen image data which is identified on the basis of the storage destination information must be obtained from the data management server 10 by the screen image input/output processing unit 25 and sent to the conference control apparatus 30. When a target screen image to be transmitted remains displayed on the touch panel display device 21, corresponding target screen image data existing in the conference control apparatus 20 are simply transmitted to the conference control apparatus 30. However, in light of the possibility that the content displayed on the touch panel display device 21 is replaced, the control token is associated with the storage destination information of the screen image data. Alternatively, a screen ID which identifies each screen image may be associated with the control token as usable information for locating the screen image.
In the conference control apparatus 30, when the communication processing unit 33 obtains the screen image data to be pasted as described above, the display controller 38 displays the obtained screen image data on the touch panel display device 31. Consequently, the screen image identical with the screen image that has been displayed on the touch panel display device 21 is displayed as shown in
Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, the IP address of the conference control apparatus 20 is used as acquisition source information necessary for acquiring the screen image data to be displayed on the conference control apparatus 30. Accordingly, the conference control apparatus 30 causes the conference control apparatus 20 to acquire the screen image data to be pasted, and receives the screen image data from the conference control apparatus 20. Meanwhile, when storage destination information regarding the screen image data to be pasted is used in place of the acquisition source information, the conference control apparatus 30 is enabled to acquire and display the screen image data by sending a transmission request containing the storage destination information to the data management server 10 without requesting the conference control apparatus 20 to acquire the screen image.
Although in the present exemplary embodiment there is described an example of the cut and paste performed in a direction from the conference control apparatus 20 to the conference control apparatus 30, data may be cut and pasted in the opposite direction, because the conference control apparatuses 20 and 30 have the same structure. When it is assumed that cut and paste operation is performed in only one direction, a conference control apparatus from which data are copied and another conference control apparatus to which the data are pasted need not have the same structure.
In the cut and paste operation which is basically performed for the purpose of enabling the conference control apparatus 30; i.e., a destination, to display the screen image identical with that having been displayed on the conference control apparatus 20; i.e., a source, the conference control apparatus 30 and the conference control apparatus 20; i.e., the destination and the source, may be one and the same display device when there is an interval between the time when data are copied in the portable terminal device 50 and the time when the data are pasted from the portable terminal device 50.
Although in the above-described exemplary embodiment data exchange between the conference control apparatuses 20, 30 and the portable terminal device 50 is performed through short-range wireless communication, the data exchange may be realized through wired connection.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-111497 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |
