Instant message transmission and reception system

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention has later participated in a system for sending and receiving instant messages through networks such as the Internet and an intranet, particularly for a solicitation function using an online presence and a place where instant messages have already been sent and received. It's about a feature that allows people to see the progress of the chat so far.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

In information devices such as mobile terminals, personal computers, and word processors, in order to exchange instant messages, it is premised that the person with whom the message is exchanged is also online.

【0003】

Because if the other person is online, you can start exchanging instant messages immediately, but if the other person is offline, you have to wait for the other person to go online, and some action that prompts the other person to go online. This is because it is necessary to wake up.

【0004】

In other words, in the conventional instant message function, it is possible to use the instant message only when the other party is online, and when the other party is offline, the instant message cannot be used and the other party goes online. I had to wait for.

【0005】

So, if you wanted to start an instant message with someone who was offline, you had to take some additional action to bring them online.

【0006】

On the other hand, as seen in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-325776, the caller is automatically called by selecting the icon registration means that associates the data of the user ID and the computer with the corresponding icon, and that icon. There is a calling party selection means that can be called.

【0007】

However, an instant message can be started as long as the other party can be identified, and it is not necessary to have data corresponding to the other party and the computer used by the other party.

【0008】

Also, in the case of a computer connected to a network, it is easy for multiple people to use one computer by changing the login name, in other words, for one person to use multiple computers. Can be guessed.

【0009】

In other words, it cannot be said that the combination of user ID and computer has a one-to-one correspondence, and even if the user ID can be specified, does the person with this user ID always use the computer that has the data of that combination? That is not always the case. Also, even if the computer can be identified, it cannot be said that the person using this computer always has the user ID as the data of the combination.

【0010】

Also, in the past, where instant messages were already being sent and received, it was not possible for people who participated later to know what kind of chat had been done so far, so that smoothly. It was difficult to join the chat.

【0011】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

One problem of the present invention is to send and receive an instant message to a person to whom an instant message should be sent, which can start an instant message by the same operation method regardless of whether the person is online or offline. To provide the system.

【0012】

Another object of the present invention is to provide an instant message sending / receiving system that allows a person who participates later to smoothly enter the chat where the instant message has already been sent / received.

【0013】

[Means for solving problems]

One of the above issues is an instant that can be connected to a network such as the Internet or an intranet, has a character input means for inputting characters such as messages, a display means for displaying messages, and a message transmission / reception means for transmitting and receiving message information through the network. In the message sending / receiving system, we have a means to set data such as name, screen name (name used in instant message) and calling email address in the main body, and a database to save the set data as calling email address. However, when this is online, the message sending / receiving means immediately sends a message to the other party's screen if the other party is online, while if it is offline, the calling email address stored in the database is used. The solution is solved by the instant message transmission / reception system of the present invention, which is characterized by automatically transmitting a solicitation message for prompting online.

【0014】

Therefore, according to the instant message sending / receiving system of the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the instant message sending / receiving system has data corresponding to the name of the other party and the calling e-mail address as a database, and for example. As shown in Fig. 8, by automatically recognizing the online / offline status of the other party, if you select the other party who wants to start an instant message from the database, the same operation procedure is used regardless of the online / offline status of the other party. , If the other party is online, start exchanging messages as it is, if offline, send a message prompting online to the other party's computer, mobile phone, or other device that has an email receiving function, and when the other party goes online You will be able to start instant messaging with.

【0015】

It is also preferable that the instant message transmission / reception system of the present invention has a function of automatically disconnecting the connection if the other party is offline and the online processing is not performed. Further, it is preferable that the present invention automatically recognizes whether the state of the other party is online or offline, divides the state into an online group and an offline group, and displays the state on the display means.

【0016】

In one aspect of the present invention, a connection button for connecting to the network and a solicitation button for soliciting the other party are provided, and when the message sending / receiving means connects to the network with the connection button, the other party is online / offline regardless of whether the other party is online or offline. In response to the operation of the solicitation button, if the other party is online, a message is sent on the screen of the device used by the other party, while if the other party is offline, the calling e-mail address stored in the database. You may also automatically send a solicitation message to encourage you to go online, and send a message created when the other party is online.

【0017】

In another aspect of the present invention, the message transmitting / receiving means may perform the operation according to any one of claims 1 to 4 with respect to a plurality of parties. Another object of the present invention is to have a character input means for inputting characters such as a message, a display means for displaying the message, and a message transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving message information through the network, which can be connected to a network such as the Internet or an intranet. In the instant message transmission / reception system, the message transmission / reception means of the present invention is characterized in that a log is sent to a person who has participated later in a place where an instant message has already been transmitted / received. Resolved by an instant message sending and receiving system.

【0018】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a basic configuration of a device to which the instant message transmission / reception system 1 according to the present invention is applied. The display unit 10 includes a display screen such as a liquid crystal display or a CRT, and displays transmitted / received messages. The input control unit 12 controls the detection of characters and display positions input by the touch panel 14, the keyboard 16, and the mouse 18. Depending on the type of mobile terminal, the keyboard 16 and mouse 18 in the dotted line may not be connected. The mail control unit 20 controls and manages the input / output of the mail sent and received by the mail receiving unit 22 and the mail sending unit 24. The message control unit 26 controls and manages the input / output of messages sent and received by the message receiving unit 28 and the message transmitting unit 30. The storage device control unit 32 stores the mail sent / received by the mail control unit 20, the message sent / received by the message control unit 26, and the data and management items generated in the processing of the application such as the message board in the external / internal storage device 34. To memorize. The central processing unit 36 integrates the processing of applications such as mail and message boards, the input control unit 12, the display control unit 38 that controls the display unit 10, the mail control unit 20, the storage device control unit 32, and the message control unit 26. I manage it.

【0019】

The touch panel 14 is provided with a connection button 40 for connecting to a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The connection button 40 may not be on the touch panel 14, or may be on any surface of the main body.

【0020】

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the database provided in the external / internal storage device 34. As shown in Fig. 2, this database stores the name of the other party and the calling e-mail address in association with each other. In FIG. 2, so-called screen names such as nicknames are also stored in association with each other, but the screen names may not be present. Therefore, in the present invention, the name of the other party can be specified by specifying the e-mail address by combining the name of the other party and the e-mail address.

【0021】

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of operation of the instant message transmission / reception system according to the present invention, that is, the flow from actually creating a message to starting the instant message.

【0022】

Next, the operation of the instant message transmission / reception system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the instant message transmission / reception system 1 is powered on and ready for operation. In step S1, a message is created by a character input means for inputting characters such as a message such as a touch panel 14, a keyboard 16, a mouse 18, and the like.

【0023】

Next, in step S2, the connection button 40 on the touch panel 14 is touched to connect to a network such as the Internet or an intranet via a server, that is, to go online. Here, the mechanism by which the server recognizes the user's online will be described with reference to FIG. When user A touches the connection button 40 on the touch panel 14 of the instant message transmission / reception system 1, it is connected to the server 2 as shown in. Then, as shown in, the screen name is automatically transmitted to the server 2 by the mail transmission unit 24 or the message transmission unit 30 of the instant message transmission / reception system 1 of the user A. An email address may be used instead of the screen name, or both may be used. When the server 2 receives the automatically transmitted screen name and the like, it recognizes that the user A is online as shown in. Server 2 then automatically sends information that User A is online to another user's instant message sending and receiving system when another user's instant message sending and receiving system comes online to Server 2. ..

【0024】

On the other hand, the mechanism by which Server 2 recognizes User A's offline will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, if the connection button 40 of the instant message sending / receiving system 1 possessed by the user A is not turned on, the instant message sending / receiving system 1 remains offline as shown in. Therefore, as shown in the screen name, it is not sent to server A. When in this state, Server A recognizes that User A is offline, as shown in.

【0025】

The appearance of User A being connected to the network, that is, going online, will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 when the person selected in the later step S3 is online and offline. FIG. 6 shows the flow of movement between users A and B and the server when the selected person (user B) is online, and FIG. 7 shows user A when the selected person (user B) is offline. And shows the flow of movement between B and the server.

【0026】

First, the case where the selected partner in FIG. 6, user B, is online will be described. If user B's terminal 1'is connected to the network, that is, online, the screen name is automatically sent to server 2, and server 2 recognizes that user B is online. Therefore, since the screen name of user B is transmitted to the server 2, user B is displayed as online on the screen of terminal 1 of user A. Here, as shown in, user A connects to the network by the above operation.

【0027】

Next, the case where the selected partner in FIG. 7, user B, is offline will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, user B keeps terminal 1'offline to server 2. Therefore, since the screen name of user B has not been transmitted to the server 2, user B is displayed as offline on the screen of terminal 1 of user A. In this state, as shown here, user A connects to the network by the above operation.

【0028】

Returning to Fig. 3, when connected to the network in step S2, proceed to step S3 to determine whether the user with the screen name registered in the database of the main unit is connected to the network, and check the status together with the screen name. It is displayed on the display unit 10. That is, it is displayed on the display unit 10 by distinguishing whether the other party is online or offline by using the online presence, that is, based on the information that the other party is in the online state automatically transmitted from the server 2. That is, the central processing unit 36 compares the e-mail address of each other party registered in the database of the main body with the e-mail address of the user connected to the server, and displays "on" and "off" at the beginning of each data. .. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the instant message transmission / reception system 1 is connected to the message transmission / reception server 2 and the other party is displayed on the display unit 10 by dividing it into online and offline. The names, screen names, and email addresses pre-stored in the database shown in Figure 2 are the names, screen names, and solicitation destination addresses to send solicitation emails when offline, that is, invitations, as shown in Figure 8. It will be displayed in each field of the email address. Then, as indicated by reference number 60, the letters "on" or "on" indicating whether they are online or offline are displayed at the beginning of each person's name, that is, the registered person is divided into an online group and an offline group. The status of the other party can be confirmed by displaying the characters separately. You can also add a new person to this list by touching "Add friend" (reference number 42) on the screen in Fig. 8, and select when "Invite" (see 44 in Fig. 8) is touched. Invite someone to an instant message. That is, when the other party is online, the created message is sent and displayed on the display of the device used by the other party, and when the other party is offline, the device itself has it as the destination of the invitation e-mail address. Pre-registered in the main unit using the mail sending function

【0029】

In addition, in order to realize this mechanism, a separate mechanism for setting the Internet connection destination and connecting / communicating is required. Specifically, it is necessary to set the connected device, the access point of the provider, the ID, password, e-mail address, mail server, DNS, and so on.

【0030】

Here, in step S4, it is assumed that the person who wants to start the instant message is selected and "invite" (see 44 in FIG. 8) is touched. That is, the user touches the line of the person with whom he / she wants to chat, that is, exchange messages, whether online or offline, and selects that person. The touched line is reversed in color or black and white, for example, different from the line in which the color is not touched, as in the line 62 displaying "Koichi Harada" in FIG. The present invention may be in any form as long as the touched line is identified as a non-touched line. Further, in the present invention, when there are a plurality of parties to chat with, a plurality of lines corresponding to the plurality of parties may be touched so that they can be identified as untouched lines. When the line of the person with whom you want to exchange messages is touched, then the "invite" solicitation button 44 shown in FIG. 8 is touched.

【0031】

If the selected person is online, the process proceeds to step S5, and the message created in step S1 is displayed on the screen of the person. Explaining with reference to Figure 6 when the selected party is online, after online in, a pre-created message is automatically sent to user B's terminal 1'via server 2, as shown in. A message is displayed on the screen of terminal 1'.

【0032】

Then, if you want to move to step S6, see the message displayed on the screen by the other party (user B), and start an instant message (IM) with you (user A), move to step S7 and user B. Ends the instant message that is currently being performed, processes the process of starting the instant message with this person (user A) in step S8, and starts the instant message in step S9.

【0033】

On the other hand, if the other party (user B) sees the message displayed in step S5 and is not willing to start an instant message with this (user A), go to step S10 with no reaction for a certain period of time as a guide. Move and disconnect from this (User A) network. That is, the central processing unit 36 of the terminal 1 determines that the terminal 1 of the user A does not receive any information from the terminal 1'of the user B for a certain period of time, and automatically disconnects the connection to the network.

【0034】

Further, in step S4, it is assumed that user A selects a partner who is offline, user B. In this case, use the mail sending function of the device itself to send the solicitation message registered in advance in the main body to the invitation mail address registered in the database of the main body of user A in step S11. Send. Explaining with reference to FIG. 7, the above-mentioned operation brings the terminal 1 of the user A online, and then the terminal 1 of the user A sends the pre-created and registered solicitation message to the call of the user B. Automatically send to the email address and prompt the other party (User B) to go online.

【0035】

Then, the process proceeds to step S12, where the other party (user B) confirms the email of this solicitation message, and then proceeds to step S13. If the other party (user B) is willing to start an instant message in step S13, move to step S8, perform the process of starting an instant message with this (user A), and start the instant message in step S9. It will be. Explaining with reference to FIG. 7, after the operation described above, the other party (user B) connects the terminal 1'to the network, that is, brings it online by the operation as described in step S2. User A's terminal 1 then sends the message created in step S1 in response to user B coming online, and an instant message is initiated.

【0036】

On the other hand, if the other party (user B) does not want to start an instant message in step S13, move to step S14 and disconnect the connection to this network, assuming that there is no reaction for a certain period of time. For details, when a partner in the offline state is selected in FIG. 8 and the "invite" button 44 is touched, the timer function of the main body, that is, the terminal 1 (not shown in FIG. 1, but the configuration of either hardware or software). (May be), the time since the "invite" button 44 is touched is automatically measured. An example of processing when the other party (user B) shown in FIG. 9 is offline and has not been online for a certain period of time when there is no response from the other party even after the time set in advance on the terminal 1 side has elapsed. It will be explained in. The processing from to is the same as that shown in FIG. 7, but in FIG. 9, it is shown that the terminal 1 of the user A does not receive any information from the terminal 1'of the user B for a certain period of time. The central processing unit 36 determines and automatically disconnects from the network.

【0037】

Also, if there is no response for a certain period of time, such as when the other party (user B) has not confirmed the solicitation message email in step S13, proceed to step S14 in the same way and connect to this (user A) network. Disconnect. The operation is the same as the above-described operation when there is no reaction for a certain period of time unless the other party (user B) is willing to start an instant message in step S13.

【0038】

As described above, in the present invention, regardless of whether the other party is online or offline, the user who wants to start an instant message should only perform the same operation of composing and sending a message.

【0039】

In the above description, the case where the other party is one person has been described, but the present invention is not limited to one person, and can operate similarly even when there are a plurality of people. That is, when a plurality of opponents are displayed in step S2 as shown in FIG. 8, when a plurality of opponents are selected in step S3 and the "invite" button 44 is touched in step S4, the selected opponents are selected. When online, the processes of steps S5 to S9 are performed, and when offline, the processes of steps S11 to S13 and S8 and S9 are performed, so that a message can be sent and received with a plurality of parties. In addition, Fig. 10 shows a mechanism for instant messaging from the display surface of the screen regardless of the number of other parties. In FIG. 10, reference number 70 is a message input area for inputting a message, reference number 72 is a message send button for sending an input message, and reference number 74 is a member participating in an instant message. The member display area for displaying the message, the reference number 76 indicates the message display area for displaying the message, and the reference number 78 indicates the member confirmation menu for confirming the participating members. As shown in the figure, in the member confirmation menu 78, the current member is displayed by pulling down, so even if there are multiple parties, it is easy to know who is exchanging instant messages with. Further, since the message is displayed together with the sender by the message display area 74 and the message display area 76, it is possible to know who the message is even if there are a plurality of parties.

【0040】

Next, a configuration will be described in which, according to another aspect of the present invention, the log up to that point is sent to a person who has participated later in the place where the instant message has already been sent and received. When an instant message is being sent, the instant message sending / receiving system 1 has a mechanism for recording the exchange of data of the message as a log. For example, the central processing unit 36 may store the exchange of message data as a log in the external / internal storage device 34. In addition, the instant message transmission / reception system 1 has information on the connection time from the time of connecting to the network of each member currently performing the instant message. Figure 11 shows how the logs up to that point are sent to those who participated later. For example, if User A and User B are already online and a third User C logs in as indicated by, then the terminal that User A and B are using, that is, their respective instant messages. Since it can also be detected by the message sending / receiving system 1, when it is detected, a message is sent to the newly logged-in user C from the terminal having the longer connection time of either user A or B, that is, the instant message sending / receiving system. send. In FIG. 11, user A has a longer connection time than user B, and terminal 1 of user A automatically sends a log of the messages so far to terminal 1 of user C as shown by. Therefore, the log data is displayed on the screen of the terminal 1 of the user C, that is, the display unit 10 of the instant message transmission / reception system 1.

【0041】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, in the instant message transmission / reception system according to the present invention, for example, by connecting to an instant message server and checking the status of the other party by using an online presence, for example, a mobile terminal or a personal computer. In all information devices such as computers and word processors, the other party registered in the database is invited to the instant message by the same operation procedure without being aware of the other party's status (online / offline), and the instant message is started. can do.

【0042】

In addition, the instant message sending / receiving system of the present invention has a mechanism for recording the exchange of data of the message when the instant message is being sent, and is connected to the network of each member who is currently making the instant message. The configuration that has information on the connection time from the time of connection enables a person who joins later to smoothly enter the chat where the instant message has already been sent and received.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a basic configuration of a device to which the instant message transmission / reception system according to the present invention is applied.

[Figure 2]

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the database provided in the external / internal storage device 34.

[Fig. 3]

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the instant message transmission / reception system according to the present invention.

[Fig. 4]

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining how the server recognizes the user's online.

[Fig. 5]

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining how the server recognizes the user offline.

[Fig. 6]

FIG. 6 shows the flow of movement between users A and B and the server when the selected partner (user B) is online.

[Fig. 7]

FIG. 7 shows the flow of movement between users A and B and the server when the selected partner (user B) is offline.

[Fig. 8]

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the other party is divided into online and offline and displayed on the display unit 10.

[Fig. 9]

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a processing example when the other party (user B) is offline and is not online for a certain period of time.

[Fig. 10]

Figure 10 shows a mechanism for instant messaging from the display surface of the screen regardless of the number of people.

[Fig. 11]

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism for sending logs up to that point to those who participated later.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Instant message sending and receiving system 10 Display 12 Input control unit 14 touch panel 16 keyboard 18 mouse 20 Mail control unit 22 Mail receiver 24 Email sender 26 Message control unit 28 Message receiver 30 Message transmitter 32 Storage device control unit 34 External / internal storage 36 Central processing unit 38 Display control unit 40 Connect button