Terminal, server, system, method and program for displaying message

The present invention relates to a message display terminal, a message management server, a message display system, a message display method, and a message display program for displaying the messages constituting the thread in an easy-to-read manner.

The display of the electronic bulletin board on the Web is from the one that is simply arranged in chronological order, the one that is managed by a tree structure for each thread, the user gives a rating (moderation) for each comment, and only the comments above a certain rating value are extracted There are a wide variety of things to display. However, when browsing electronic bulletin boards on the Web on devices with limited UI (user interface) such as mobile phones and TVs, it is difficult to use because it is premised on clicking with a mouse for existing PCs.

For example, the bulletin board is an asynchronous communication tool, and each message written constitutes a thread that is associated with the original message and the reply message in a parent-child relationship. Therefore, if you ignore threads on the bulletin board and simply display the messages in chronological order, it becomes difficult to understand the context of the messages.

In order to solve such problems, quotations are frequently made in e-mails and the like. In addition, the message is displayed in a tree structure according to the thread. However, when the display area is limited, it is difficult to cite a long sentence or display a thread structure. Mobile phones have a physically small display and low resolution. The TV display is physically large, but the resolution may not be high. Also, since the scroll operation does not match the UI of the TV, it is difficult to scroll like a PC to display a long quotation or a long thread structure. These devices are strongly required to have good visual quality and simple operability.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of displaying a message in the conventional bulletin board viewing software. FIG. 24 shows how the parent message is displayed based on the thread information. In this software, the messages are basically displayed in chronological order. As shown in Fig. 24 (a), each message is assigned a message number in chronological order, and when responding to a certain message, the user usually quotes the message number as >> 312. To make it possible to understand the message to be answered. Messages are displayed in ascending order by message number, so you can find message 312, which is the source of message number 348, by scrolling to the side with the smaller number. However, the scrolling operation is troublesome. It is also troublesome to return to the same position after confirming the parent message.

Therefore, this software analyzes the thread and sets the popup of the corresponding message in the quoted part such as ">> 312". If the user wants to see the parent message, just hover the pointer over the quoted part and the original message will pop up automatically (Figure 24 (b)). And the user can easily know the context of the thread. When you move the pointer away from the quoted part, the pop-up display disappears automatically. The popup can be displayed in multiple stages, and the original message can be displayed from the quoted part in the popup (Fig. 24 (c)). Similar processing may be realized by a script running on a Web browser.

Such a UI makes it possible to easily refer to thread information, but it is assumed to be used by a PC. Therefore, it requires mouse operation on a high-resolution screen, and is difficult to handle with an interface that mainly uses key input such as mobile phones and TVs.

On the other hand, although it does not target messages, UI technology on TV is disclosed for viewing images and selecting commands (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, a display method that allows the user to intuitively grasp the hierarchical structure for managing the content is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-356774</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>JP-A-2007-122562</text></patcit>

<p> However, the objects dealt with in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are classified into groups, and it is assumed that each group is accessed. The user accesses the object while moving between groups having a tree structure.</p><p> On the other hand, each interface for messages has attribute information such as time information, and it is required that all messages can be listed regardless of the thread to which they belong by arranging them in chronological order. Also, from the viewpoint of convenience, messages with a new time are often more important, so basically it is required to display the latest messages in chronological order. However, each message constitutes a thread that has a relationship between the original message and the reply message to it, and you may want to follow that thread to understand the meaning of the message. In such a situation, the user accesses the messages arranged in chronological order and refers to the thread information as needed. Since the objects to be treated in this way have different characteristics, it is not appropriate to apply the method disclosed in the prior art as it is. On the other hand, convenience is impaired when complicated operations are required.</p><p> The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is easy for the user to follow the thread of the message displayed in a column according to individual information such as the date and time by using an input interface with two types of inputs. The purpose is to make it easy to see the messages related to.</p>

<p> (1) In order to achieve the above object, the message display terminal of the present invention includes a message recording unit that records a message and individual information and interrelated information of the message, and a message display unit that displays the recorded message. , The display target determination unit that determines the message to be displayed based on the individual information of the message, and the message to be displayed are changed according to the first input to a predetermined reference position. Based on the reference message change unit that changes the reference message displayed in, and the interrelationship information of the reference message according to the second input, the related message related to the reference message is extracted and used as the reference message. The related message extraction unit includes a related message extraction unit that superimposes or replaces the related message to display the related message, and the related message extracting unit displays the related message while the second input is maintained, and the second input is displayed. It is characterized in that the display of the related message is suppressed when the maintenance of the input is released.</p><p> As a result, the user can check the messages displayed in chronological order based on information such as the posting date and time of the message while switching the reference message by the first input. If the messages are arranged in the order of new arrival, you can read unread messages just by checking the required number of messages from the beginning.</p><p> Also, if you want to check the related message while checking the message, the related message will be displayed while the second input is continued, so you can easily check the history and message flow. it can. After that, if the second input is released, the display of the related message is suppressed, so that the original message can be easily resumed. After confirming the related message, the user releases the pressed button, and the display automatically returns to the original state. Navigation is easy because the user can operate with only the first input and the second input. Since the message to be displayed and the reference message are determined by the first input, no other selection operation is required, and the related message can be displayed if there is a second input as a single input. Therefore, the cursor keys can be sufficiently operated, and a means for aligning the cursor position with the message like a pointing device is not always necessary.</p><p> When a long message is included in the display target, it is preferable to display only a part of the message without displaying the entire message. The message is displayed even if the full text is not displayed. Further, the interrelationship information is information that specifies the relationship between the messages of parent or child, and the related message is a parent or child message with respect to the reference message. It should be noted that the suppression of the display includes not only the display disappearing but also the display such as reduction, translucency, movement to the side, and sinking to the back.</p><p> (2) Further, in the message display terminal of the present invention, the reference message changing unit changes the reference message to the related message being displayed in response to a predetermined input made during the display of the related message. It is characterized by.</p><p> If a predetermined input is made while the related message is displayed superimposed or replaced with the reference message, the display related message is changed as the reference message and the state returns to the steady state. Then, the message to be displayed is determined according to the reference message, and the message column is displayed on the screen. The predetermined input is, for example, the input of the enter key.</p><p> If there are multiple related messages to be displayed, select one from them and use it as the new reference message. This allows, for example, the user to follow the thread in multiple stages, either parental or childish. Even if you move the reference message to the parent message or child message, the message is displayed in chronological order in the steady state, and you can read the message with just the up and down keys (first input) of the cursor key, for example. It becomes.</p><p> (3) Further, in the message display terminal of the present invention, the display target determination unit is related by the interrelationship information of the reference message in response to a predetermined input made when the second input is not made. The message group to be displayed is extracted as a thread, and the message to be displayed is determined in the extracted thread.</p><p> As a result, the user can extract and browse only the thread to which the reference message belongs by a simple operation. In that case, the reference message does not change before and after the extraction. Further, for example, it is preferable that the thread can be confirmed while changing the reference message only by the up and down keys (first input) of the cursor key. In addition, it is preferable to return to the original display before extraction by inputting a predetermined value again. A thread is a group of messages that are related to each other based on interrelated information.</p><p> (4) Further, the message display terminal of the present invention is characterized in that the related message extraction unit uses parent-child relationship information as the interrelated information of the message and extracts the parent message as the related message. As a result, the user can easily check the parent message that goes back from the message being viewed.</p><p> (5) Further, the message display terminal of the present invention is characterized in that the related message extraction unit uses parent-child relationship information as the interrelated information of the message and extracts the child message as the related message. This allows the user to easily check child messages derived from the message being viewed.</p><p> (6) The first input and the second input have different directions, and the reference message changing unit has a direction corresponding to the first input in response to the first input. In addition, the message to be displayed is changed, and the related message extraction unit corresponds to one direction of the second input in response to the second input, and sets the parent message as the related message. It is characterized in that the child message is extracted as the related message by extracting and corresponding to the other direction of the second input. As a result, the user can operate the display of the message according to the image received from the respective directions of the first input and the second input. As a result, the operation becomes easy and the convenience as a user interface is improved.</p><p> (7) Further, the message management server of the present invention stores a message analysis unit that analyzes a message and specifies individual information and interrelationship information of the message, and the analyzed message and the individual information and interrelationship information thereof. A message storage unit, a transmission message extraction unit that extracts a part of the accumulated message set based on the individual information and interrelationship information of the message in response to a message request instruction received from the message display terminal, and a transmission message extraction unit. The extracted message, its individual information, and interrelated information are transmitted to the message display terminal.</p><p> As described above, the message management server of the present invention identifies and stores the message and the information associated therewith from the received mail or the like, so that a simple message can be written. In addition, a part of a set of messages is transmitted to the message display terminal in response to the message request received from the message display terminal. Therefore, it is possible to send a set of messages for each request and reduce the burden on the message display terminal.</p><p> (8) Further, the message display system of the present invention stores and manages the above-mentioned message display terminal and posted messages, and sends a message to the message display terminal in response to a request from the message display terminal. It is characterized by having a server. Such a system makes it possible to provide a bulletin board service that allows easy confirmation of history and message flow.</p><p> (9) Further, the message display method of the present invention is a message display method performed by using a message display terminal that records a message and individual information and interrelated information of the message and displays the recorded message. It is displayed at a predetermined reference position by changing the message to be displayed according to the step of determining the message to be displayed based on the individual information of the message and the first input. Based on the step of changing the reference message and the second input, the related message related to the reference message is extracted based on the interrelationship information of the reference message, and superimposed or replaced with the reference message. The display of the related message is suppressed while the step of displaying the related message and the maintenance of the second input are maintained, and the display of the related message is suppressed when the maintenance of the second input is released. It is characterized by including steps to be performed. This makes it possible to provide a bulletin board service that allows you to easily check the history and message flow on the thread.</p><p> (10) Further, the message display program of the present invention is a message display program that records a message and individual information and interrelated information of the message, and causes a message display terminal that displays the recorded message to execute the message display program. The message to be displayed is determined based on the individual information of the message, and the message to be displayed is changed according to the first input, so that the message is displayed at a predetermined reference position. In response to the process of changing the reference message and the second input, the related message related to the reference message is extracted based on the interrelationship information of the reference message, and the related message is superimposed or replaced with the reference message. The process of displaying the related message and the display of the related message are suppressed while the second input is maintained, and the display of the related message is suppressed when the maintenance of the second input is released. It is characterized by including processing. This makes it possible to provide a bulletin board service that allows you to easily check the history and message flow on the thread.</p><p> (11) Further, the message management server of the present invention stores a message analysis unit that analyzes a message and specifies individual information and interrelationship information of the message, and the analyzed message and the individual information and interrelationship information thereof. A message storage unit, a transmission message extraction unit that extracts a part of the accumulated message set based on the individual information and interrelationship information of the message in response to a message request instruction received from the message display terminal, and a transmission message extraction unit. Using the extracted message and its individual information and interrelationship information, the generation is provided on a message display terminal capable of executing the generated program, including a page generation unit that generates the program as a page. It is characterized in that the extracted message and its individual information and interrelated information are transmitted for each page.</p><p> In this way, the message management server of the present invention generates and transmits a page to be displayed on the message display terminal. Therefore, it is not necessary to generate a page on the message display terminal side, so that the burden on the message display terminal can be reduced.</p>

<p> According to the present invention, the user can easily check the history and the flow of messages while checking the displayed messages based on the individual information. Then, the display of the parent message can be suppressed, and the message browsing can be resumed immediately. As a result, it becomes possible to provide a bulletin board service that allows you to easily check the history and message flow.</p>

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same reference number is assigned to the same component in each drawing, and duplicate description is omitted.

[Embodiment 1] (Message display system configuration) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the message display system 100. The message display system 100 is composed of a message management server 110, a message display terminal 140, mail receiving servers 171, 173, and mail sending servers 172, 174.

The message management server 110 manages messages posted on the bulletin board. The message management server 110 transmits the managed message to the message display terminal 140 based on the request from the message display terminal 140. Access to the message management server 110 from the message display terminal 140 can be performed using http or https. The message management server 110 manages messages written by the user from the form by Web access by the user. The message management server 110 also manages individual message information and interrelated information.

The message management server 110 defines the appearance of a Web page based on resource files such as posted messages and icons received by mail from the mail receiving server 171. Then, a script describing the interaction with the input is embedded and sent to the message display terminal 140. In addition to the appearance of the message, the Web page sent by the message management server 110 also includes definitions of actions such as displaying the parent message in response to input. Moreover, such an operation may be embedded in HTML or loaded in advance.

The message may be acquired by AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript, registered trademark). In that case, not all the messages are embedded in the HTML passed from the message management server 110 to the message display terminal 140, and the message display terminal 140 asynchronously acquires the messages from the message management server 110 as needed.

The message display terminal 140 displays a Web page received from the message management server 110 with a Web browser. Then, the input is transmitted to the browser, and the thread can be operated according to the script associated with HTML. In addition, in order to facilitate the operation, it is preferable that the above input is a key input. Hereinafter, a case where key input is used as an input means will be described as an example. Also, when it becomes necessary to update the message, a new message is requested from the message management server 110. The message display terminal 140 may be a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal. Examples of mobile terminals include mobile phones, PDAs, mobile players, portable game machines, and the like. Examples of fixed terminals include television receivers equipped with a Web browser, PCs, and home appliances. In Fig. 1, as the message display terminal 140, a terminal connected to the server only by http or https, and further connected to the mail receiving servers 171, 173 and the mail sending servers 172, 174, and posting and browsing on the bulletin board by mail. Is illustrated as a terminal capable of

When sending an e-mail from the message display terminal 140 and writing to the bulletin board, the message display terminal 140 sends a message to the mail account of the message management server 110 via the mail transmission server 174. The message management server 110 periodically checks the mail account via the mail receiving server 171 to receive and record the message.

On the other hand, the message management server 110 circulates the posted message as an email to the email account of the user registered in advance via the email sending server 172. The message management server 110 operates in the same manner as a general mailing list management server for sending and receiving messages. The message management server 110 assigns a serial number to the subject for the mail sent to the own account, and forwards the mail to the registered account.

Normally, when writing a response to a message by e-mail, it may not be possible to identify the response source message from the description in the text. Even in such a case, by analyzing the header information of the mail, the relationship between the messages can be grasped and the messages can be managed as threads.

The message display terminal 140 can confirm the message posted on the bulletin board via the mail receiving server 173. In this way, the message display terminal 140 can post or browse the bulletin board by sending or receiving an e-mail without accessing the message management server 110. Access by e-mail is not necessarily limited to mobile terminals, and fixed terminals may access by e-mail.

Sending and receiving e-mail is a standard function of existing mobile phones, and users can use the bulletin board using familiar e-mail. On the other hand, in the current use of e-mail on mobile phones, information for grasping the context of threads, such as subjects and quotations of e-mail, is lacking, and the mainstream usage is to exchange short messages with only the main points in a short time. ..

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the message display system 100. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the message display terminal 140 is a television receiver. The message display terminal 140 includes a remote controller 190 that can be connected wirelessly such as infrared rays, and can obtain input information from the remote controller 190. The remote controller 190 transmits the corresponding command (input information) to the message display terminal 140 according to the key input. The message display terminal 140 updates the screen or the like according to the received command and the current status of the client application. A large number of keys are mounted on the remote controller 190, but in FIG. 2, only the up key 191, the down key 192, the right key 193, the left key 194, and the enter key 195 of the cursor keys are schematically shown. The up key 191 and the down key 192 correspond to the first input. Right key 193 and left key 194 correspond to the second input. As described above, since the first input and the second input have different directions, intuitive operation is possible and the convenience of the user is improved.

In the present embodiment, the input by the individual cursor keys is adopted as the first input and the second input, but the input by the integrated cross key or the joystick may be used. Furthermore, input may be performed using a touch panel that does not have a shape as a key, or the key input may be replaced by detecting the inclination of the housing with a gyro sensor or detecting the acceleration of the housing with an acceleration sensor. Absent. Such a logical input does not affect the physical shape. At this time, it is preferable that the operation direction on the screen is related to the key layout because it is intuitively easy to handle. As described above, the message display terminal 140 preferably has a cursor key, but is not essential. Further, the input unit may be provided on the main body instead of the remote controller.

(Message management server configuration) FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the message management server 110. As shown in FIG. 13, the message management server 110 includes a message receiving unit 111, a message analysis unit 112, a thread information management unit 116, a subject management unit 117, a caller information management unit 118, a text management unit 119, and a media management unit 120. , Message storage unit 125, media storage unit 126, page request reception unit 131, transmission message extraction unit 135, page generation unit 136, page resource management unit 137, and page transmission unit 138.

The message receiving unit 111 receives a message by receiving a mail from, for example, the mail receiving server 171. The message analysis unit 112 analyzes the message received as an email and identifies the individual information and the interrelated information of the received message. In addition, the received mail is processed such as character code conversion and sanitization.

The message analysis unit 112 includes a header analysis unit 113, a text analysis unit 114, and a media analysis unit 115, and proceeds with analysis by instructing each unit to analyze the message. The header analysis unit 113 identifies the sender from the From: header in the mail header, identifies the subject from the Subject: header, and identifies the thread from the Message-ID: header and References: header. The text analysis unit 114 shapes the message text such as folding quotes, deleting signatures, making links clickable, and making thumbnails of attached media, and normalizes them by line feed position correction, font size correction, and the like. The media analysis unit 115 extracts and converts the media attached to the message. The medium refers to an expression medium other than the text and attached to the e-mail, and refers to a still image, a moving image, an audio, or the like.

The thread information management unit 116 normalizes the thread information that identifies the thread and stores it in the message storage unit 125. The subject management unit 117 normalizes the specified subject and stores it in the message storage unit 125. The caller information management unit 118 normalizes the caller information that identifies the caller and stores it in the message storage unit 125. The text management unit 119 stores the normalized text in the message storage unit 125. The media management unit 120 stores the extracted and changed media in the media storage unit 126. Header information, text, and media information are stored in association with each other. The message storage unit 125 stores the analyzed message, its individual information, and interrelated information. The media storage unit 126 stores the analyzed media.

The page request receiving unit 131 receives a page request from the message display terminal 140, for example, through http or https. The transmission message extraction unit 135 extracts a part of the accumulated message set based on the individual message information and the interrelationship information in response to the message request received from the message display terminal 140. For example, the messages in the display screen, the messages to be read in advance outside the display screen, the parent or child messages of those messages, and the media are extracted. In this way, necessary messages are extracted from the message storage unit 125 and the media storage unit 126 and passed to the page generation unit 136.

The page generation unit 136 generates a page as a program for displaying on a message display terminal by using the extracted message, its individual information and interrelated information, and media. For example, the page generation unit 136 combines Web page resources such as icons, scripts, and HTML templates stored in the page resource management unit 137 with the messages and media received from the message storage unit 125 and the media storage unit 126, and threads. To configure. Then, it generates a web page written in HTML and a script.

The page resource management unit 137 accumulates and manages Web page resources such as icons, scripts, and HTML templates. The page transmission unit 138 transmits the Web page generated by the page generation unit 136 to the message display terminal 140. By transmitting the page in this way, the extracted message, its individual information and interrelated information, and the media are transmitted to the message display terminal 140.

(Message display terminal) FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the message display terminal 140. As shown in FIG. 4, the message display terminal 140 includes a page request unit 141, a page reception unit 142, a page recording unit 143, an input information reception unit 151, a page control unit 152, and a message display unit 168.

The page request unit 141 requests the page from the message management server 110 according to the instruction of the display target determination unit 154. The page receiving unit 142 receives a page from the message management server 110. The page recording unit 143 records the page received from the message management server 110.

The input information reception unit 151 accepts key input from the remote controller. The page control unit 152 starts the page as a program with reference to the page recording unit 143, and controls each unit by the operation of the page. As a result, it is possible to display a message for input. The page control unit 152 includes a control instruction unit 153, a display target determination unit 154, a message recording unit 155, a media recording unit 156, a reference message changing unit 157, and a related message extraction unit 158.

The control instruction unit 153 instructs the display target determination unit 154 to select a new message based on the current screen state and the key input information, or instructs the reference message change unit 157 or the related message extraction unit 158 to select a new message. Instruct to change the display. The display target determination unit 154 determines the message to be displayed based on the individual information of the message. Specifically, the message to be displayed on the screen is selected by referring to the current reference message position. Here, select the message to be displayed so that the reference message is in the center of the screen.

In addition, the display target determination unit 154 refers to the input (predetermined input) of the determination key 195 made when the right key 193 or the left key 194 of the cursor key is not input (second input). Based on the message interrelationship information, the related message group is extracted as a thread, and the message to be displayed is determined in the extracted thread. When it becomes necessary to acquire a new message, the display target determination unit 154 requests the message management server 110 for a new page through the page request unit 141.

The message recording unit 155 records the message received from the message management server 110, the individual information of the messages, and the interrelated information. The media recording unit 156 records the media associated with the message.

The reference message changing unit 157 changes the message to be displayed according to the input (first input) of the up key 191 or the down key 192 of the cursor keys, so that the reference message display unit 157 is displayed at a predetermined reference position. Change the message. That is, the selection of the reference message is changed in response to the instruction of the control instruction unit 153 according to the input information. For example, in the messages displayed side by side from top to bottom in the order of new arrival, the display target is moved down so that the old message is displayed for the input of the lower key 192, and for the input of the upper key 191. Move the display target up to display a new message. As described above, it is preferable that the reference message changing unit 157 changes the message to be displayed in the direction corresponding to the first input according to the first input.

A predetermined reference position is preferable because, for example, the central position is easy to see. The reference message changing unit 157 makes a change using the related message displaying the reference message as the reference message in response to the input (predetermined input) of the decision key 195 made while displaying the related message. The first input does not necessarily have to be the input of the up key 191 or the down key 192 of the cursor keys, but it is preferable that the first input corresponds to the direction of the column in which the messages are displayed side by side.

The related message extraction unit 158 extracts the related message related to the reference message based on the interrelationship information of the reference message in response to the input (second input) of the right key 193 or the left key 194 of the cursor key. Display related messages by superimposing or replacing them with the reference message. For example, the parent message of the reference message can be displayed in a slide-in manner by receiving an instruction from the control instruction unit 153 in response to the input of the right key 193 of the cursor key and using the parent-child relationship information as the interrelationship information of the messages. A child message can be displayed as a slide-in for the input of the left key 194. In this way, the related message extraction unit 158 extracts the parent message as a related message in response to the second input in one direction of the second input, and sets the other direction of the second input. Correspondingly, it is preferable to extract the child message as the related message.

Note that the interrelationship information is information that identifies the mutual relationship between messages, for example, information that identifies a parent message or a child message of the message, and the related message is, for example, a parent message or a child message. The second input described above does not necessarily have to be the input of the right key 193 or the left key 194 of the cursor keys, but the input of the key corresponding to the direction perpendicular to the direction of the column in which the messages are displayed side by side. Is preferable.

In addition, the related message extraction unit 158 displays the related message while the input (second input) of the right key 193 or the left key 194 of the cursor key is maintained, and the right key 193 or the left key 194 of the cursor key is displayed. Suppress the display of related messages when the input maintenance is released.

The message display unit 168 displays a screen and displays a message. The message display unit 168 monitors and displays the screen on which the message is finally displayed based on the instructions of the display target determination unit 154, the reference message change unit 157, or the related message extraction unit 158. The monitor may be an external monitor.

(Operation of message display terminal) FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the message display terminal 140. Figure 5 shows the operation when displaying related messages. First, in the steady state, it is determined whether or not the right key 193 has been input (step S1). If it is determined that the right key 193 has not been input, it is determined whether or not the left key 194 has been input (step S2). If it is determined that the left key 194 has not been input, the process returns to step S1. If it is determined that the left key 194 has been input, it is determined whether or not there is a child message of the reference message (step S3). If it is determined that the child message does not exist, the process proceeds to step S14. If it is determined that a child message exists, the child message is displayed to be slid in from the left side of the screen (step S4), and the process proceeds to step S7.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the right key 193 has been input, it is determined whether or not the parent message of the reference message exists (step S5). If it is determined that the parent message does not exist, the process proceeds to step S14. If it is determined that the parent message exists, the parent message is slid in from the right side of the screen (step S6).

In the above example, the search for the parent or child message is allowed only in one step, but if the slide-in display continues for a predetermined time or more, or the right key or left key is continuously input in the same direction. Correspondingly, the ancestor (parent's relative) or descendant (child's child, etc.) message may be searched in multiple stages and continuously displayed in slide-in.

Then, when either the parent message or the child message is displayed, it is determined whether the input of the right key 193 or the left key 194 is released (step S7). If it is determined that the key input has not been released, the process returns to step S7 with the display state as it is. If it is determined that the key input has been released, it is determined whether or not the enter key 195 has been input (step S8). If it is determined that the enter key 195 has not been input, it is further determined whether or not a predetermined waiting time has elapsed since the key was released (step S9). If it is determined that the waiting time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S8. If it is determined that the waiting time has elapsed, the slide-in display is canceled (step S10), and the process proceeds to step S14.

On the other hand, in step S8, when it is determined that the enter key 195 has been input, the slide-in display is canceled (step S11), and the reference message is changed with the currently displayed message as the reference message (step). S12). Then, the screen is scrolled (step S13) so that the reference message is displayed in the center of the screen, the state returns to the steady state (step S14), and the operation is terminated.

In this way, for example, when the input information receiving unit 151 detects the key input in the state where the messages are displayed in chronological order (steady state) and the input key is the right key, the related message extracting unit 158 is the parent message. Confirm the existence of. If the parent message exists, the message display unit 168 slides in the parent message from the right, and if it does not exist, does nothing. On the other hand, when the input key is the left key, the related message extraction unit 158 confirms the existence of the child message. If a child message exists, the message display unit 168 slides in the child message from the left, and if it does not exist, does nothing.

If the key is released while the parent or child message is displayed and the input of the enter key 195 is further detected by the input information reception unit 151 before the waiting time elapses, the slide-in display is displayed in the related message extraction unit 158. When it is canceled, the displayed message is used as the reference message, and the reference message is scrolled up and down so that it comes to the center of the screen, and then returns to the steady state. On the other hand, if the waiting time elapses without inputting the enter key 195, the slide-in display is canceled and the state returns to the steady state. In this case, there is no change in the reference message.

In the above example, the reference message is changed by inputting the enter key 195. However, for example, if the slide-in display continues for a predetermined time or longer, the reference message may be automatically changed to the displayed message. Good. Further, the reference message may be changed to the displayed message by continuously inputting the right key or the left key in the same direction.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the message display terminal 140. FIG. 6 shows the operation when the up cursor key or the down cursor key is pressed in the slide-in state of the related message. First, in the slide-in state of the related message, it is determined whether or not the up key 191 has been input (step T1). If it is determined that the up key 191 has not been input, it is determined whether or not the down key 192 has been input (step T2). If it is determined that the down key 192 has not been input, the process returns to step T1.

When it is determined that the down key 192 has been input, it is determined whether or not there is a message before the reference message in the message column displayed in chronological order (step T3). If it is determined that the previous message does not exist, the process proceeds to step T8. If it is determined that the previous message exists, the reference message with the previous message as the reference message is changed (step T4), and the process proceeds to step T7.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step T1 that the upper key 191 has been input, it is determined whether or not the message next to the reference message in the time series display exists (step T5). If it is determined that the next message does not exist, the process proceeds to step T8. If it is determined that the next message exists, the next message is used as the reference message (step T6). Then, the screen is scrolled (step T7) so that the reference message is displayed in the center of the screen, the steady state is returned (step T8), and the operation is terminated. In this way, check for the existence of the previous or next message, change the reference message if it exists, and scroll so that the reference message is in the center of the screen.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the message display terminal 140. FIG. 7 shows the operation when the enter key 195 is pressed in the steady state. First, in the steady state, it is determined whether or not the enter key 195 has been input (step P1). If it is determined that the enter key 195 has not been input, the process returns to step P1. If it is determined that the enter key 195 has been input, the thread to which the reference message belongs is extracted (step P2), and that thread is displayed. In that case, the thread can be extracted by extracting the message associated with the same thread information by using the thread information associated with the reference message. Threads can also be extracted by tracing the information of the parent message, searching for the original message, and extracting the child messages and grandchild messages of that message.

Next, with the thread displayed, it is determined whether or not the enter key 195 has been input (step P3). If it is determined that the enter key 195 has not been input, it is determined whether or not the up key 191 has been input (step P4). If it is determined that the up key 191 has not been input, it is determined whether or not the down key 192 has been input (step P5). If it is determined that the down key 192 has not been input, the process returns to step P3. When it is determined that the down key 192 has been input, it is determined whether or not there is a message before the reference message in the message column displayed in chronological order (step P6). If it is determined that the previous message does not exist, the process returns to step P3. If it is determined that the previous message exists, the reference message with the previous message as the reference message is changed (step P7), and the process proceeds to step P10.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step P4 that the upper key 191 has been input, it is determined whether or not the message next to the reference message exists in the message column displayed in chronological order (step). P8). If it is determined that the next message does not exist, the process returns to step P3. If it is determined that the next message exists, the reference message is changed with the next message as the reference message (step P9). Then, the screen is scrolled (step P10) so that the reference message is displayed in the center of the screen, and the process returns to step P3. If it is determined in step P3 that the enter key 195 has been input, the thread is released from the extracted state (step P11), returns to the steady state (step P12), and ends the operation.

In this way, when the enter key 195 is pressed, only the thread to which the reference message belongs is extracted and displayed. When the enter key 195 is input again in that state, thread extraction is canceled and the original steady state is restored. If the up / down key is entered while the thread is displayed, the reference message is changed. In addition, messages may be arranged side by side so that a thread can follow the parent or child message. Note that a thread may consist of one message, in which case only one message will be displayed.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a thread composed of messages. In this example, 12 messages are recorded from M0001 to M0012 in the order of the message posting date and time, and three threads Th01 to 03 are configured. In thread Th01, there are three messages M0002, M0003, and M0006 as the reply (reply) to the message of M0001, and M0004 is recorded as the reply of M0003, and M0007 is recorded as the reply of M0004. The parent message (reply source message) of M0002 is M0001, and there are three direct child messages (reply message) of M0001: M0002, M0003, and M0006. There are two non-direct child messages, M0004 and M0007.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a series of messages in three dimensions. In Fig. 9, a set of messages is displayed by adopting the message number on the x-axis, the temporal order on the y-axis, and the thread type on the z-axis. Hereinafter, an operation example will be described using a set of messages having the relationships shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 as an example.

(Operation example) FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the mail. Message M0005 shows an example of a mail sent from the message management server 110 to the message display terminal 140. The To header shows "bbs@foobar.Net" as the mailing list address, and the From header shows the sender's email account "alice@sharp.net". "[BBS: 0005] Today" is specified as the Subject, but "Today" is the only Subject specified when this email was sent to the message management server 110, and "[BBS: 0005] "Is given by the message management server 110 at the time of transfer. DATE indicates the date and time when the email was sent (the date and time when the message was posted), and "Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:42:08 + 0900" is specified. Message-ID is an ID that is uniquely generated and assigned to each email, and threads are managed based on such data.

Message M0012 shown in FIG. 10 indicates an email in which Bob replies to Alice's email by email and is forwarded from the message management server 110. In the References header, the Message-ID of the reply source mail M0005 is specified. By referring to this header, it can be determined that mail M0005 is a reply to mail M0012 and these mails form a thread. Bob's reply is as simple as "OK" and you can't tell what's OK just by looking at this email. However, by following the thread, we can see that this "OK" means that we understand Alice's message M0005. Thread analysis may be performed using the In-Reply-To header instead of the References header.

FIG. 11 is a table showing the outline of the message recorded by the message display terminal 140, the individual information of the message, and the interrelated information. The table shown in FIG. 11 has been simplified for convenience. The subject information is information indicating the title of the post, and "today" or "Re: today" indicating a reply to it is recorded. The caller information is information indicating the poster on the bulletin board, and "Bob", "Alice", etc. are recorded. The date and time information is information indicating the date and time when the message was posted, and for example, the time such as "14:06" or "13:42" is recorded. The relevant information is, for example, identification information that identifies the parent or child message of the message. In the example shown in FIG. 11, it is recorded that the parent message of message M0012 is M0005. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the message number is shown as the related information for simplification, but the actual related information is the identification information of the message.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a message display example of the message display terminal 140. Messages are displayed in chronological order on the display screen, and are arranged in the order of new arrival, such as M0012, M0011, ... M0005. In this example, it is assumed that the number of messages that can be displayed on one screen is 5, and the reference message is always displayed in the center of the screen. Therefore, when the reference message is message M0012, only three messages M0012 to M0010 are displayed on the screen. At this time, since the citation source M0005 is off the screen, the user does not know what Bob is saying "OK" even if he sees the message M0012.

As shown in FIG. 12, the modes of the messages M0012 and M0005 and the messages M0011, M0010 and M0009 are different. The mode is determined for each thread to which each message belongs, and the messages of the same thread are controlled to be displayed in the same mode. This prevents the user from misunderstanding that, for example, the reply "OK" in message M0012 is the reply to the message "Don't throw away the old album" in message M0011. Examples of the controlled mode include a message display color, a background color, a message display position (X, Y, Z), a font type, a size, a style, and the like.

FIG. 13 is a diagram conceptually showing an example of a steady state and a state in which a related message is displayed. The message display is a time series display in the steady state. The arrow indicates the slide-in of the message when the corresponding operation is performed (the same applies hereinafter). Of these, only the number determined by factors such as the display size of the message and the screen size is selected by the display target determination unit 154 and displayed on the screen. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the five messages M0001 to M0005 extracted by the display target determination unit 154 are the display target 700. In that case, it is preferable that the display target determination unit 154 determines to arrange the reference message in the center of the screen. As a result, the movement of the user's line of sight can be minimized. Further, in FIG. 13, the message M0003 surrounded by a thick line is a reference message. Similarly, in the following figure, the message displayed surrounded by a thick line will be described as a reference message.

The reference message moves from M0003 to M0004 or M0002 in response to the user pressing the up and down cursor keys. The display target 700 also changes in response to the change in the reference message. When the reference message becomes message M0004, the display target 700 changes to messages M0002 to M0006. On the other hand, when the reference message is message M0002, the display target is messages M0001 to M0004 centered on message M0002, and the bottom is filled with blanks. The position of the reference message may be shifted down by one on the screen without changing the display target 700 from the messages M0001 to M0005.

The right column shown in FIG. 13 shows the parent message displayed when the steady-state messages M0001 to M0012 in the center column are used as reference messages. Similarly, the left column shown in FIG. 13 shows the child messages displayed when the steady-state messages M0001 to M0012 are used as reference messages. When the parent message or child message does not exist, pressing the corresponding cursor key does not display the message. In addition, while confirming the parent or child message, it is effective to prevent the user from being confused by displaying different messages such as fading the display mode of other messages.

There may be multiple direct child messages in the message thread. As shown in FIG. 13, the message display terminal 140 shows only the message with the smallest number (oldest posting date and time) when there are a plurality of direct child messages. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 13, there are three direct child messages of message M0001, messages M0002, M0003, and M0006, but only message M0002 is shown to the left of message M0001.

14 (a) to 14 (d) are diagrams showing an example of displaying and suppressing the parent message of the reference message M0012. FIGS. 14 (a) to 14 (d) show the display operation in chronological order when the right key is continuously pressed and then released for the reference message M0012. As shown in FIG. 14A, first, when the user presses the right key, the parent message M0005 of the reference message M0012 slides in from the right side and is displayed on the screen. As long as the right key is held down, the parent message M0005 is overlaid on the reference message M0012 (Fig. 14 (b)). When the right key is released, M0005 slides out (Fig. 14 (c)). The display returns to the original reference message M0012 (Fig. 14 (d)).

In this way, the user can easily follow the thread and see the parent message. When the left key is pressed and the child message is confirmed, basically the same display operation is performed, and the child message is displayed by sliding in from the left side. At that time, if there are a plurality of child messages, it is possible to display a plurality of child messages.

If the up and down cursor keys are pressed while the parent or child message of the reference message is displayed as in the display examples of FIGS. 14 (a) to 14 (c), the reference message is responded to by key input. Switches and returns to the steady state. Further, if the enter key 195 is pressed while the message M0005, which is the parent message of the message M0012, is displayed as shown in FIGS. 14 (a) to 14 (c), the reference message is updated to the message M0005 and is steady. In the state, the screen shifts to the screen where the reference message is changed to M0005.

15 (a) to 15 (d) are diagrams showing a display example by the notification function for notifying the existence of the parent message. In the example of FIG. 15A, a part of the parent message M0005 is displayed to the right of the message M0012. The parent message M0005 may be made smaller to display the whole. In the example of FIG. 15 (b), the arrow sign A1 prompting the right key to be pressed is displayed on the right side of the message. In the example of FIG. 15 (c), the parent message M0005 is displayed on the right side of the message M0012. In the example of FIG. 15 (d), the user is notified that the parent message M0005 exists by expressing the crease A2 in which the upper right corner of the message is folded. Note that the display examples shown in FIGS. 15 (a) to 15 (d) are examples, and if the user can be notified of the existence of the parent message, the display by the notification function is not limited to the above example. Further, although the above example describes an example of notifying the existence of the parent message, it is also possible to notify the existence of the child message in the same manner.

16 (a) to 16 (f) are diagrams showing display examples of child messages in each scene. In the display example shown in FIG. 16A, only message M0002 is displayed when displaying a direct child message of message M0001. Note that the display may be controlled so that all child messages M0002, M0003 and M0006 can be confirmed instead of displaying only one message. Further, the child messages displayed each time the left key 194 is pressed may be replaced in the order of message M0002 M0003 M0006, or as shown in FIG. 16 (b), every predetermined time while the left key 194 is continuously pressed. You may switch between three child messages.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 16 (c) to 16 (f), three child messages may be displayed so that they can be listed at one time. In FIG. 16 (c), three messages M0002, M0003 and M0006 are displayed at the blank areas, M0001 and M0002, respectively, so as to be centered as much as possible. On the other hand, in FIG. 16 (d), the child messages of message M0001 are displayed above the blanks of M0001 and 2 messages so that the child messages can be confirmed in the latest order from the center of the reference position. Figures 16 (e) and 16 (f) show the display when the time series are arranged in chronological order. Here, only direct child messages are displayed, but grandchild and great-grandchild messages such as messages M0004 and M0007 can also be displayed for message M0001. In addition, when displaying the parent message, not only the direct parent but also the message that becomes the parent of the parent can be displayed. Further, even when a plurality of parents are allowed, such as when a plurality of messages can be quoted to compose a message, a plurality of messages can be displayed at the same time as in the above example. In particular, when replacing or superimposing a plurality of messages, it is important to prevent user confusion by displaying different messages such as fading the display mode of other messages.

FIG. 17A is a diagram showing a display example of thread Th02 including the reference message M0012. Similarly, FIG. 17B is a diagram showing a display example of thread Th03 including the reference message M0010. FIG. 17C is a diagram showing a display example of thread Th01 including the reference message M0003.

Since threads can be extracted in this way, the user can extract and browse only specific threads with a simple operation. The reference message does not change before and after extraction, and you can easily check the thread to which the reference message belongs. For example, the thread corresponding to each reference message can be confirmed while changing the reference message with the up and down keys of the cursor key in the steady state. In that case, by pressing a predetermined key again, it is possible to return to the original state before extraction. At that time, the reference message does not change. For example, in the display state shown in FIG. 17 (c), if the enter key is pressed with the reference message set to message M0006, the steady state is returned with message M0006 as the reference message.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display example when a thread containing message M0012 is extracted. When the enter key 195 is pressed with the message M0012 as the reference message, the messages M0012 and M0005 are extracted as threads containing the message M0012. As a result, the user can extract and check only the thread of interest with a simple operation. When the enter key 195 is pressed again, the original state shown in FIG. 12 is restored. Since the screen is controlled while the reference message is maintained before and after the switching, the user can subsequently confirm the message.

[Embodiment 2] In the above embodiment, the processing load of the terminal is light, but when the processing capacity of the terminal is high, the processing load may be increased. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the message display system 200. As shown in FIG. 19, the message display system 200 includes a message management server 210 and a message display terminal 240. In the example shown in FIG. 19, the message display terminal 240 is a PC. In the message display system 200, the message management server 210 provides only unanalyzed message data and generates all screens on the terminal side. In this case, the mail receiving server 173 may function as the message management server 210.

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the message display terminal 240. As shown in FIG. 20, the message display terminal 240 includes a message receiving unit 241, a message analysis unit 242, a thread information management unit 246, a subject management unit 247, a caller information management unit 248, a text management unit 249, and a media management unit 250. , Input information reception unit 151, control instruction unit 153, display target determination unit 154, message recording unit 255, media recording unit 256, reference message changing unit 157, and related message extraction unit 158, screen resource management unit 267, and message display. It has a part 168. Further, the message analysis unit 242 includes a header analysis unit 243, a text analysis unit 244, and a media analysis unit 245.

Of these, the message receiving unit 241, the message analysis unit 242, the header analysis unit 243, the text analysis unit 244, the media analysis unit 245, the thread information management unit 246, the subject management unit 247, the caller information management unit 248, and the text management unit 249. , Media management unit 250, message recording unit 255, media recording unit 256, and screen resource management unit 267 are the message receiving unit 111, the message analysis unit 112, the header analysis unit 113, and the text of the message management server 110 of the first embodiment, respectively. Analysis Department 114, Media Analysis Department 115, Thread Information Management Department 116, Subject Management Department 117, Caller Information Management Department 118, Body Management Department 119, Media Management Department 120, Message Storage Department 125, Media Storage Department 126, Page Resource Management Functions in the same way as part 137. Further, the message recording unit 255 and the media recording unit 256 also play the roles of the message recording unit 155 and the media recording unit 156 in the message display terminal 140 of the first embodiment.

[Embodiment 3] In the above embodiment, the processing load of the terminal is heavier or lighter in the sharing between the terminal servers, but a hybrid type in between may be used. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the message display system 300. As shown in FIG. 21, the message display system 300 includes a message management server 310 and a message display terminal 340. In the example shown in FIG. 21, the message display terminal 340 is a mobile terminal. The message display terminal 340 can be connected to the message management server 310 via a network.

The message display system 300 includes a message management server 310 and a message display terminal 340. FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the message management server 310. Further, FIG. 23 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the message display terminal 340. The message management server 310 records messages and media in the message storage unit 125 and the media storage unit 126, respectively, as in the case of the message management server 110.

In the above embodiment, the processing of each part is performed by the program. Then, messages and media are subject to transmission / reception and operation processing as data.

<figref num="1">It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the message display system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.</figref><figref num="2">It is a figure which shows typically the message display system which concerns on Embodiment 1.</figref><figref num="3">It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the message management server which concerns on Embodiment 1.</figref><figref num="4">It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the message display terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.</figref><figref num="5">It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the message display terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1.</figref><figref num="6">It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the message display terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1.</figref><figref num="7">It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the message display terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1.</figref><figref num="8">It is a figure which conceptually represented an example of a thread composed of messages.</figref><figref num="9">It is a schematic diagram which represented a series of messages three-dimensionally.</figref><figref num="10">It is a figure which shows an example of the mail content.</figref><figref num="11">It is a table which shows the outline of a message and individual information and interrelationship information of a message.</figref><figref num="12">It is a figure which shows the display example of the message of the message display terminal.</figref><figref num="13">It is a figure which shows typically an example of the steady state and the state which displayed the related message.</figref><figref num="14">It is a figure which shows the example of the display and suppression of the parent message of (a)-(d) reference message.</figref><figref num="15">(a)-(d) It is a figure which shows the display example by the notification function which notifies the existence of a parent message.</figref><figref num="16">It is a figure which shows the display example of the child message in each scene (a)-(f).</figref><figref num="17">It is a figure which shows the display example of (a)-(c) thread.</figref><figref num="18">It is a figure which shows the display example when a thread is extracted.</figref><figref num="19">It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the message display system which concerns on Embodiment 2.</figref><figref num="20">It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the message display terminal which concerns on Embodiment 2.</figref><figref num="21">It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the message display system which concerns on Embodiment 3.</figref><figref num="22">It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the message management server which concerns on Embodiment 3.</figref><figref num="23">It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the message display terminal which concerns on Embodiment 3.</figref><figref num="24">It is a figure which shows the display example of the message in the conventional bulletin board browsing software.</figref>

Code description

Th01 ~ 03 Thread 100 message display system 110 Message management server 111 Message receiver 112 Message Analysis Department 113 Header analysis section 114 Body Analysis Department 115 Media Analysis Department 116 Thread Information Management Department 117 Subject Management Department 118 Caller Information Management Department 119 Text Management Department 120 Media Management Department 125 Message storage 126 Media Storage Department Page 131 Request receiver 135 Send message extractor 136 page generator Page 137 Resource Management Department Page 138 Transmitter 140 Message display terminal 141 Page Request Department Page 142 Receiver Page 143 Recording section 151 Input information reception department Page 152 Control 153 Control indicator 154 Display target determination unit 155 Message recording section 156 Media Recording Department 157 Standard message change part 158 Related message extraction section 168 Message display 171 Mail receiving server 172 Mail sending server 173 Mail receiving server 174 Email sending server 190 remote control 191 Up key 192 Down key 193 Right key 194 Left key 195 Enter key 200 Message display system 210 Message management server 240 Message display terminal 241 Message receiver 242 Message Analysis Department 243 Header analysis section 244 Text Analysis Department 245 Media Analysis Department 246 Thread Information Management Department 247 Subject Management Department 248 Caller Information Management Department 249 Text Management Department 250 Media Management Department 255 Message recording section 256 media recording section 267 Screen Resource Management Department 300 message display system 310 Message management server 340 Message display terminal 700 Display target A1 arrow sign A2 crease M0001 ~ M0012 message