Print system for conferencing and print method thereof

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-241821 filed on Sep. 19, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a print system for conferencing, in which print apparatuses are provided in a plurality of conference locations and interconnected via a network, and a print method implemented by the print system for conferencing.

2. Description of the Related Art

The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.

In many cases, material handed out to attendees of a conference is printed documents, not electronic documents, for better readability and legibility.

As a technology to print such material to be handed out in a conference, a print system is suggested in Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-072471, and the print system facilitates printing material necessary for a scheduled event such as a conference, with contents and a print form suitable for the event, and in time for the scheduled event.

However, there is a problem here with the conventional print systems including the one that facilitates printing material based on information of prospective attendees before the start of a conference, then handing them out to attendees, as described in Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-072471. That is, if a scheduled conference happens to be changed or cancelled just before the start thereof, printed material become wasted.

And also, there is a security problem, that if a conference happens to be cancelled after material is printed, information even about the cancelled conference may be leaked due to the existence of the printed material.

The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been developed in view of the above-mentioned and/or other problems in the related art. The Preferred embodiments of the present invention can significantly improve upon existing methods and/or apparatuses.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a print system for conferencing, which prevents wasting printed material and eliminates the risk of leaking of conference information, caused due to the existence of printed material, even if a scheduled conference happens to be changed or cancelled just before the start thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a print method for conferencing, implemented by the print system for conferencing.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a print system for conferencing includes:

a plurality of print apparatuses provided in a plurality of conference locations and interconnected via a network; a storage that registers in itself, data of conference material and information of prospective attendees from the respective conference locations; and a detector that detects the start of a conference,

and wherein each of the print apparatuses provided in the respective conference locations comprises:

an obtainer that obtains the data of conference material and the information of prospective attendees from the conference location where the print apparatus itself is provided, which are registered in the storage; a memory that records in itself, the data of conference material and the information of the prospective attendees, obtained therefrom; and a printer that prints as many copies of conference material as the number of the prospective attendees, if the detector detects the start of a conference.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a print method for conferencing includes:

registering in a storage, data of conference material and information of prospective attendees from the respective conference locations; detecting the start of a conference; obtaining by each of the print apparatuses, the data of conference material and the information of prospective attendees from the conference location where the print apparatus is provided, which are registered in the storage; recording in a memory of each of the print apparatuses, the data of conference material and the information of the prospective attendees, obtained therefrom; and printing by each of the print apparatuses, as many copies of conference material as the number of the prospective attendees, if the start of a conference is detected.

The above and/or other aspects, features and/or advantages of various embodiments will be further appreciated in view of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Various embodiments can include and/or exclude different aspects, features and/or advantages where applicable. In addition, various embodiments can combine one or more aspect or feature of other embodiments where applicable. The descriptions of aspects, features and/or advantages of particular embodiments should not be construed as limiting other embodiments or the claims.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of example, and not limitation, in the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a frame format of a print apparatus employed in a print system for conferencing according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a print system for conferencing in which the print apparatus of FIG. 1 is employed, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view to explain the usage of the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 is a view also to explain the usage of the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representing a procedure executed by a master MFP, when conference organizers register conference information in the master MFP;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a screen in which a plurality of Boxes capable of storing data of conference material and other data, are listed;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a screen that is displayed when a user completes registering data of conference material, information of prospective attendees and other data, after selecting the Box “Conference 1”;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart to explain a print procedure that is executed by the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart to explain another example of a print procedure that is executed by the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representing an attendee identification process in Step S 31 of FIG. 9 ;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart to explain yet another example of a print procedure that is executed by the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representing an attendee identification process in Step S 41 of FIG. 11 ; and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart representing a procedure to transfer data of conference material automatically.

In the following paragraphs, some preferred embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example and not limitation. It should be understood based on this disclosure that various other modifications can be made by those in the art based on these illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a frame format of a print apparatus employed in a print system for conferencing according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 10 that is a tandem multifunctional full-color digital image forming apparatus collectively having the copy function, the print function, the facsimile function and other functions, is employed as the print apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the MFP 10 includes an image reader 101 that reads out image data from a document and a printer 102 that prints an image on a sheet.

An expose lamp 105 installed on a scanner 104 exposes to light, a document placed on a document table 103 of the image reader 101 . The light reflected from the surface of the document goes to a CCD 10 , through mirrors 106 , 107 and 108 and a light collecting lens, then forms an image thereon. The CCD 110 converts the light reflected from the surface of the document, into RGB color data (an analog signal), and outputs to the MFP 10 . The scanner 104 scans the entire surface of the document by repeatedly sliding in the direction indicated by Arrow a, with power from a scanner motor 112 .

And an image processor 150 executes processing on the analog signal inputted from the CCD 110 and outputs a digital signal to a laser system 113 .

The digital signal inputted into the laser system 113 from the image processor 150 , corresponds to an image color data piece of Cyan, an image color data piece of Magenta, an image color data piece of Yellow and an image color data piece of Black. According to the inputted image color data pieces, the laser system 113 outputs laser beams to photoreceptor drums 115 C, 115 M, 115 Y and 115 K provided for the colors, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, respectively.

Inside of the printer 102 , the laser beams outputted from the laser system 113 expose the photoreceptor drums 115 C, 115 M, 115 Y and 115 K electro-statically charged by electrostatic chargers 114 C, 114 M, 114 Y and 114 K, and form electrostatic latent images thereon, respectively. And developers 116 C, 116 M, 116 Y and 116 K provided for the four colors, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, develop the electrostatic latent images formed on the photoreceptor drums 115 C, 115 M, 115 Y and 115 K, respectively.

Meanwhile, a looped belt 320 is hung without slack, by a drive roller 322 A, fixed rollers 322 B, 322 C and 322 D. When the drive roller 322 A turns around in a counterclockwise direction of FIG. 1 , the looped belt 320 also turns around in a counterclockwise direction of FIG. 1 , at a predetermined speed.

Now, an appropriate sheet is transferred from a sheet feed cassette 120 , 121 or 122 and a timing roller 123 provides the sheet on the looped belt 320 . Keeping the provided sheet on itself, the looped belt 320 transfers it in the left direction of Figure. And thus, the sheet is brought into contacts with the photoreceptor drums 115 C, 115 M, 115 Y and 115 K, for the colors, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, in this order. When the sheet closely slides on the photoreceptor drums 115 C, 115 M, 115 Y and 115 K, transfer chargers 127 C, 127 M, 127 Y and 127 K coupled with the photoreceptor drums 115 C, 115 M, 115 Y and 115 K, transfer onto the sheet, toner images formed on the photoreceptor drums.

A pair of fix rollers 132 heat the sheet holding the toner images, and thereby the toner is melted and fixed on the sheet. After that, the sheet is discharged from the printer 12 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a print system for conferencing according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which the MFP 10 of FIG. 1 is employed.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the print system for conferencing includes MFPs 10 A and 10 B, terminal apparatuses 20 A and 20 B and authentication devices 30 A and 30 B, provided in different conference locations, for example a plurality of conference rooms, respectively. The MFPs 10 A and 10 B are interconnected via a communication network 40 , thus they are capable of exchanging data. The terminal apparatuses 20 A and 20 B are connected to the communication network 40 , via the MFP 10 A and 10 B, respectively.

The communication network 40 may be a LAN, Internet, a dedicated line, a packet communication network, a collective entity of some of them, or etc. Also, it may be wired or wireless.

The MFPs 10 A and 10 B both have the same configuration as the MFP 10 explained with FIG. 1 . Hereinafter, explanation of a hardware configuration of the MFP 10 A will be provided on behalf, and explanation about the MFP 10 B will be omitted.

The MFP 10 A includes an image reader 101 A and a printer 102 A having the same configurations as the image reader 101 and the printer 102 explained with FIG. 1 . Furthermore, it also includes a display 11 A, a manipulated input portion 12 A, a memory 13 A, a network card 14 A, a device interface (device IF) 15 A and a CPU 16 A.

The image reader 101 A includes an image sensor such as a CCD. And it controls a slider, various image processing operations and etc., optically reads a document and converts it into an electric signal, as described above.

The printer 102 A controls an engine that forms an image by a laser system, various image processing operations and etc., and outputs an image on a recording sheet according to the electric signal, as described above.

The printer 102 A does not necessarily form an image by a laser system, and may form an image by another system such as an inkjet system. Also, it may form a monochrome image, not a full-color image.

The display 11 A includes a liquid-crystal panel and etc., and displays on itself an operation mode of the MFP 10 A, various entry buttons, a message for a user, an indication for operation, an image for preview and etc.

The entry portion 12 A is used by a user for operating the MFP 10 A, and includes a key entry portion having numeric keys, a start key, a stop key and other keys; a touch panel provided on the surface of the display 11 A; and etc.

The memory 13 A consists of a recording medium such as a hard disk drive, and records in itself image data read out from a document by the image reader 101 A, print data received from an external apparatus, and other data. And also, in this embodiment, the memory 13 A records in itself information of prospective attendees and data of conference material that are entered by operating the MFP 10 A or received from another MFP. Furthermore, it also records in itself authentication data of many users including attendees of a conference.

The network card 14 A functions as a communicator to connect the MFP 10 A to an external apparatus such as the MFP 10 B, via the network 40 .

The device interface 15 A is connected to the authentication device 30 A, and thereby receives authentication data from the authentication device 30 A. As to be described later, it may function as an interface to connect to a USB memory, if the USB memory is employed as the authentication device 30 A.

The CPU 16 A centrally controls all operations of the MFP 10 A by executing processing according to an operation program recorded in a recording medium such as a ROM not shown in Figure. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the CPU 16 A has a function to detect the start of a conference according to a signal from the terminal apparatus 20 A, a function to identify attendees of the conference, a function to judge whether or not the attendees are identical with prospective attendees of the conference, by comparing them, and other functions.

The terminal apparatus 20 A ( 20 B) is a terminal for audio conferencing or a terminal for video conferencing, for example. It includes a microphone that enters attendees' voice, and transmits an audio signal entered by the microphone, to the terminal apparatus 20 B ( 20 A) provided in a different conference location, via the MFP 10 A ( 10 B) and the network 40 . It also includes a speaker that reproduces voice based on the audio signal received from the terminal apparatus 20 B ( 20 A) in a different conference location. The terminal apparatus 20 A ( 20 B) establishes a connection by exchanging a connection check signal such as a PIN code.

The authentication devices 30 A and 30 B are used to authenticate attendees at a conference in the respective conference locations. For example, the authentication devices 30 A and 30 B include a portable recording medium owned by an attendee such as a USB memory, recording in itself authentication data to identify the owner attendee, such as a user ID and a password; a photographic device that takes a facial photo of an attendee and outputs authentication data based on data of the obtained facial photo; and etc.

In this embodiment, the authentication data obtained from the authentication devices 30 A and 30 B is transmitted to the CPU 16 A of the MFP 10 A, via the device interface 15 A. The CPU 16 A identifies the attendee by comparing the received authentication data to the authentication data recorded in the memory 13 A.

Alternatively, the authentication devices 30 A and 30 B may record the authentication data in themselves and perform authentication of the attendee.

Alternatively, if a user logs in by entering the authentication data such as a user ID and a password by operating the manipulated input portions 12 A and 12 B of the MFPs 10 A and 10 B, just like he/she does in order to operate the MFPs 10 A and 10 B, the MFPs 10 A and 10 B may identifies this login user as an attendee.

Hereinafter, a method for using the print system of FIG. 2 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 . In the following description, the MFP 10 A is provided in a conference room of conference organizers (master point) and the MFP 10 B is provided in a conference room of participants (slave point). The MFP 10 A provided in the master point will be also referred to as “the master MFP 10 A” and the MFP 10 B provided in the slave point will be also referred to as “the slave MFP 10 B”.

Preliminarily, conference organizers have to register in the master MFP 10 A, a conference ID to identify a conference; information of the slave MFP 10 B; data of conference material; and information of prospective attendees from the master point and the slave point (the conference ID, the information of the slave MFP 10 B, the data of conference material and the information of the prospective attendees are also referred to as “conference information”, collectively).

Prior to the start of a conference, the conference organizers enters a conference ID in the master MFP 10 A and operate the terminal apparatus 20 A. Then, the terminal apparatus 20 A transmits a connection check signal such as a PIN code, to the terminal apparatus 20 B in the slave point, via the MFP 10 A and the network 40 .

Receiving the connection check signal, the terminal apparatus 20 B in the slave point returns a receipt completion notification to the terminal apparatus 20 A in the master point. Receiving this notification, the terminal apparatus 20 A in the master point confirms the completion of a connection (the establishment of a connection) and returns a connection completion signal to the master MFP 10 A.

By receiving the connection completion signal, the master MFP 10 A detects the start of a conference and transmits to the slave MFP 10 B, the data of conference material and the information of prospective attendees from the slave point, via the network 40 .

The slave MFP 10 B receives and obtains the data of conference material and the information of prospective attendees from the slave point, and prints as many copies of conference material as the number of the prospective attendees.

Meanwhile, detecting the start of a conference, the master MFP 10 A also prints as many copies of conference material as the number of prospective attendees from the master point.

After that, voice of attendees in the master point and the slave point is entered in the terminal apparatuses 20 A and 20 B in the master point and the slave point, and outputted from the other terminal apparatuses 20 B and 20 A in the slave point and the master point, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representing a procedure executed in the master MFP 10 A, when conference organizers register conference information in the master MFP 10 A.

In Step S 01 , it is judged whether or not conference information is about to be registered, according to an instruction of a user trying to do so. And in Step S 02 , conference information such as a conference ID, data of conference material and information of prospective attendees from the master point and the slave point, is registered in the memory 13 A of the master MFP 10 A. There may be in the memory 13 , some Boxes that are areas capable of storing data in segments, and the conference information may be registered in predetermined one among the Boxes.

FIG. 6 is a screen displayed on the display 11 A, showing a plurality of such Boxes therein. In this example, there are three Boxes named as “Conference 1”, “Conference 2” and “Conference 3”, and the user trying to register the conference information selects one of the Boxes.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a screen that is displayed when the user completes registering data of conference material, information of prospective attendees and other data, after selecting the Box “Conference 1”. In this example, the two data pieces, “Conference Material” and “Conference Material 2 ” are registered as conference material. And the two persons, “Mr./Ms. L” and “Mr./Ms. M”, are registered as prospective attendees from the master point, and the three persons, “Mr./Ms. N”, “Mr./Ms. P” and “Mr./Ms. Q”, are registered as prospective attendees from the slave point.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart to explain a print procedure that is executed by the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 .

In Step S 11 , the terminal apparatuses 20 A and 20 B in the master point and the slave point, wait until the timing for transmitting a connection check signal comes around and wait until receiving a connection check signal.

The terminal apparatus 20 A in the master point transmits a connection check signal in Step S 12 . Then, the terminal apparatus 20 B in the slave point receives this signal in Step S 13 and returns a receipt completion signal in Step S 14 .

By receiving the receipt completion signal, the terminal apparatus 20 A in the master point confirms the establishment of a connection. And the master MFP 10 A detects the start of a conference in Step S 15 .

In Step S 16 , the master MFP 10 A transmits to the slave MFP 10 B, data of conference material and information of prospective attendees from the slave point, which are preliminarily registered therein.

And in Step S 17 , the slave MFP 10 B receives the data of conference material and the information of the prospective attendees and records them in the memory 13 B.

Subsequently, the master MFP 10 A prints as many copies of conference material as the number of prospective attendees from the master point, in Step S 18 . Meanwhile, the slave MFP 10 B prints as many copies of conference material as the number of prospective attendees from the slave point, in Step S 19 .

As described above, in this embodiment, the MFP 10 A and the MFP 10 B in the master point and the slave point print out data of conference material, when the start of a conference is detected. Thus, if a scheduled conference happens to be changed or canceled before the start thereof, the start of the conference is never detected and data of conference material is never printed out. Therefore, even if a scheduled conference happens to be changed or cancelled, inconveniences such that printed material become wasted and conference information is leaked due to the existence of the printed material, can be eliminated, and this could contribute to cost-cutting and improve security of the print system for conferencing. Furthermore, as many copies of conference material as the number of prospective attendees are printed, and this could serve to prevent unnecessary printing.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart to explain another example of a print procedure that is executed by the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 .

In this example, data of print material is printed out only if all prospective attendees are confirmed to be at a conference in the master point or the slave point.

In Step S 31 , the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B performs an attendee identification process to identify attendees at a conference in the master point or the slave point. This process will be further described later.

In Step S 32 , the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B judges whether or not the conference is started. The master MFP 10 A makes a judgment according to the processes, Steps S 11 through S 15 shown in FIG. 8 . The slave MFP 10 B judges that the conference is started, if having received data of conference material and information of prospective attendees.

If the conference is started (YES in Step S 32 ), then in Step S 33 , the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B compares the attendees identified in Step S 31 with the prospective attendees from the master point or the slave point, which are preliminarily registered therein, and thereby judges whether or not all the prospective attendees are at the conference, in other words, whether or not the identified attendees are identical with the prospective attendees registered in advance.

If all the prospective attendees are at the conference (YES in Step S 33 ), the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B prints as many copies of conference material as the number of the attendees, in Step S 34 . If not all the prospective attendees are at the conference (NO in Step S 38 ), the routine goes back to Step S 31 . Also, if the conference is not started yet (NO in Step S 32 ), the routine goes back to Step S 31 .

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representing the attendee identification process in Step S 31 of FIG. 9 .

In Step S 311 , authentication data entered by a user is accepted. In this example, authentication is performed based on authentication information entered via the manipulated input portion 12 A or 12 B of the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B (this is referred to as “MFP authentication” in Figure). Alternatively, authentication may be performed based on authentication information entered from a USB memory or etc. employed in the authentication device 30 A or 30 B, or may be performed by a facial recognition system.

In Step S 312 , it is judged whether or not the user could log in the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B, by MFP authentication. If he/she could log in (YES in Step S 312 ), the user is identified as an attendee of the conference and registered in the memory 13 A or the 13 B, in Step S 313 . If he/she could not login (NO in Step S 312 ), the subroutine immediately returns to the main routine.

As described above, in this example, data of conference material is printed out if attendees identified by the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B are identical with prospective attendees registered in advance. Thus, this is more effective to prevent unnecessary printing and eliminate the risk of leaking of conference information.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart to explain yet another example of a print procedure that is executed by the print system for conferencing, shown in FIG. 2 .

In this example, as many copies of conference material as the number of attendees are printed, even if the attendees are not identical with prospective attendees in the master point or the slave point.

In Step S 41 , the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B performs an attendee identification process. This process will be further described later.

Then, it is judged in Step S 42 , whether or not a conference is started. This judgment is made in the same way as explained with Step S 32 of FIG. 9 . If a conference is not started yet (NO in Step S 42 ), the routine goes back to Step S 41 .

If a conference is started (YES in Step S 42 ), a number X that is the number of prospective attendees is extracted from information of prospective attendees, in Step S 43 .

Then, it is judged in Step S 44 , whether or not the number X is identical with the number of attendees. If it is identical therewith (YES in Step S 44 ), X copies of conference material are printed. On the other hand, if the number X is not identical with the number of attendees (NO in Step S 44 ), the number of attendees is set to the number X in Step S 45 , and X copies of conference material are printed in Step S 46 .

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representing the attendee identification process in Step S 41 of FIG. 11 .

In Step S 411 , facial authentication data entered by a user (for example, a facial portrait taken by a camera of the authentication device 20 A or 20 B) is accepted. Then, it is judged in Step S 412 , whether or not there exists any data piece of the user who is identified based on the entered facial authentication data, among the facial authentication data pieces registered in advance in the memory 13 A or 13 B. If there exists any data piece of the user who is identified based on the entered facial authentication data (YES in Step S 412 ), the user is identified as an attendee and registered in the memory 13 A or 13 B, in Step S 413 . If there exists no data piece of the user who is identified based on the entered facial authentication data (NO in Step S 412 ), the subroutine immediately returns to the main routine.

Alternatively, in the attendee identification process in Step S 41 , authentication may be performed by MFP authentication as explained with FIG. 10 .

As described above, in this example, as many copies of conference material as the number of attendees identified by the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B, are printed by the master MFP 10 A or the slave MFP 10 B, if the identified attendees are not identical with prospective attendees. Thus, even if there are at a conference more or less attendees against prospective attendees, an inconvenience such that data of conference material is not printed out, can be eliminated, and this would be closer to practical use. Furthermore, even if more or less attendees, as many copies of conference material as the number of attendees are printed, and this could effectively serve to prevent unnecessary printing and eliminate the risk for leaking of conference information.

In these embodiments having been described so far, data of conference material and information of prospective attendees are transmitted from the master MFP 10 A to the slave MFP 10 B, when the start of a conference is detected. However, the timing for the transmission is not limited. For example, data of conference material and other data may be automatically transmitted to the slave MFP 10 B, when conference organizers or etc. register the data of conference material and other data.

A procedure to transmit data of conference material automatically, executed by a print system having such a configuration right above, will be explained with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 13 .

Conference organizers or etc. store data of conference material in a predetermined Box of the master MFP 10 A in Step S 51 , and register the slave MFP 10 B in Step S 52 . Then in Step S 53 , the master MFP 10 A judges whether or not the master MFP 10 A and the slave MFP 10 B are connected to the network.

If the master MFP 10 A and the slave MFP 10 B are not connected to the network (NO in Step S 53 ), the routine waits until they are connected. If they are connected (YES in Step S 53 ), the data of conference material is transmitted to the slave MFP 10 B in Step S 54 .

Furthermore, in these embodiments having been described so far, data of conference material and information of prospective attendees are transmitted from the master MFP 10 A to the slave MFP 10 B, and thus the slave MFP 10 B obtains them. Alternatively, the slave MFP 10 B may request for data of conference material, by accessing the master MFP 10 A.

Furthermore, in these embodiments, the establishment of a connection between the terminal apparatuses 20 A and 20 B is confirmed, and thereby the start of a conference is detected. Alternatively, another configuration may be employed, wherein conference organizers, for example, operate a conference start button provided on the master MFP 10 A, and thereby the start of a conference is detected, and a notification of the detection is further transmitted to the slave MFP 10 B, and the MFP 10 B detects the start of a conference according to the notification. Or alternatively, yet another configuration to detect the start of a conference, may be employed.

Furthermore, the print apparatus is not limited to a MFP. Alternatively, the print apparatus may be a copier, a printer or etc.

While the present invention may be embodied in many different forms, a number of illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and/or illustrated herein.

While illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein, the present invention is not limited to the various preferred embodiments described herein, but includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g. of aspects across various embodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure. The limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. For example, in the present disclosure, the term “preferably” is non-exclusive and means “preferably, but not limited to”. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present In that limitation: a) “means for” or “step for” is expressly recited; b) a corresponding function is expressly recited; and c) structure, material or acts that support that structure are not recited. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “present invention” or “invention” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure. The language present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted as an identification of criticality, should not be improperly interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments (i.e., it should be understood that the present invention has a number of aspects and embodiments), and should not be improperly interpreted as limiting the scope of the application or claims. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “embodiment” can be used to describe any aspect, feature, process or step, any combination thereof, and/or any portion thereof, etc. In some examples, various embodiments may include overlapping features. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this case, the following abbreviated terminology may be employed: “e.g.” which means “for example”, and “NB” which means “note well”.