JP2003114857A - Information processing method and computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service to many persons from a company in an instant message. SOLUTION: An IP delivery server 7 transmits a report on availability of dialogue including a representative ID representing two or more reception terminals 9-15 and the IP address of a respondable reception terminal of the reception terminals to an IM server 3 for performing the mediation of the instant message. The IM server 3 registers the representative ID and the IP address. The IP delivery server 7 transmits a report of no availability of dialogue including the representative ID to the IM server 3 when a communication request to the IP address of the respondable reception terminal is received from a user terminal 5. In response to the communication request from the user terminal 5 to the respondable reception terminal, a response is returned to the user terminal 5 from the respondable reception terminal. Such a processing is repeated, whereby the set of representative ID and IP address can be switched so as to be respondable to many users by two or more reception terminals by use of only one representative ID.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a peer-to-peer (Peer to Peer) communication technique, and more particularly to a service providing technique by a company using the one-to-one communication technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, instant messages (Inst
An inter-personal real-time message communication technology called "ant message" is used in the Internet. To use this instant message, the user ID is registered in advance in the server of the service provider and the program for instant message provided by the service provider is installed in the user's terminal. Then, by logging on to the server of the service provider, the IP (Internet Protocol) address assigned to the user's terminal at that time is registered in the server, and it is registered that the user can interact. When the user ID of the conversation partner is known, when the user ID of the conversation partner is registered in the program for instant message, the IP address of the conversation partner and the state of the conversation partner (for example, communication is possible). No, temporary absence, etc.) is acquired and displayed on the display device of the user's terminal. Further, it becomes possible to search the user ID of the user having a predetermined profile in the server of the service provider and to have a dialogue after receiving the approval of the user. The server of the service provider is not involved in the communication itself between the user terminals.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
It is possible to talk to many users by yourself using a message program, but when a company considers providing services to many people, one person at a time may be required from the perspective of customer privacy. It is desirable that the corporate operator of the company respond to one customer. On top of that, there is a problem in that the system must be constructed so that it can respond to many people at once.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide instant
It is to provide a technique for enabling a company to provide services to a large number of people through one-to-one communication such as a message.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method, wherein representative identification information (for example, a company) representing a plurality of reception computers (for example, reception terminals or automatic response servers in the embodiments) is represented. An interactive notification including a representative ID (representative ID in the embodiment) and an address (for example, an IP address in the embodiment) of the accepting computer that can respond among a plurality of accepting computers is mediated by the communicable terminal. An interactive notification step for transmitting to an intermediary server (for example, an IM server in the embodiment) and an external terminal (for example, a user terminal in the embodiment) for the address of the accepting computer that can respond.
In the case of receiving the communication request from the communication request from the mediation server, the dialog non-communication notification step of transmitting the communication non-communication notification including the representative identification information to the relay server.

By providing a server for performing such processing, for example, a plurality of IP addresses (addresses) for one representative ID (representative identification information) can be sequentially registered in the IM server (mediation server). Become.
That is, one representative ID can be used for a large number of users.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the step of receiving the response enable notification from the accepting computer and setting the response enable for the accepting computer in the storage device (for example, the respondable terminal IP queue in the embodiment) It may also be included. For example, the addresses of the receiving computers are registered in the mediation server in the order in which they are registered in the storage device.

Further, in the above-mentioned dialogue enabling notification step, the address of the responding accepting computer is set as its own address, and in the above dialogue notifying notification step, the address of the responding accepting computer is set as its own address. It may be configured to cancel the setting to be performed.

Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, in response to a communication request from the external terminal for the address of the accepting accepting computer, the accepting accepting computer (for example, accepting terminal in the embodiment) changes the response from the accepting computer to the external terminal. The configuration may further include the step of returning a response to. In addition, in response to a communication request from the external terminal for the address of the responding accepting computer, the responding accepting computer (for example, the automatic response server in the embodiment) automatically provides information about a predetermined question to the external terminal. The configuration may further include the step of transmitting to the.

Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, when a response to a question is received from an external terminal, a storage device capable of responding to the question can be used as a storage device (for example, response history storage in the embodiment). Part), and at a predetermined timing, from the accepting computer that can respond to the proxy server (for example, the proxy server in the embodiment), the accepting computer that can respond is stored in a storage device that can use the accepting computer. The configuration may further include an operator selection request transmitting step of transmitting an operator selection request including at least the response to the question, the address of the accepting computer that can respond, and the address of the external terminal.

For example, in a responding reception computer, a question for operator selection is asked to the user, and the proxy server selects the operator in response to the question.

The answer to the question includes the identification information of the user who operates the external terminal (for example, the user ID in the embodiment), and the identification information of the user is stored in the storage device which can be used by the accepting computer. When the corresponding user information is stored, the operator selection request may include the user information. For a user who has used the service before, the information is also used for selecting an operator or for responding to an operator who responds. The user identification information may be, for example, an insurance policy number.

Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the proxy server receives the operator selection request,
An operator selection step of selecting an operator's terminal that communicates with an external terminal and registering at least the correspondence between the external terminal address and the operator's terminal address, and at least an answer to the question from the proxy server. It is also possible to further include the step of transmitting to the terminal of The proxy server generates a correspondence relationship between the address of the external terminal and the address of the operator's terminal based on the information from the accepting computer that can respond and the selection result of the operator, and registers it as a correspondence table, for example. In addition, at least the response to the question is notified so that the selected operator can grasp the situation properly.

Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the response is received from the proxy server, the configuration may further include the step of changing and setting the own address in the responding receiving computer. . Further, the proxy server may be configured so as to further include a step of setting the address of the accepting receiving computer included in the operator selection request as its own address. As a result, the accepting computer that can respond can respond to the next user, and the proxy server can appropriately mediate between the operator's terminal and the external terminal.

In the operator selection step described above,
A configuration is also possible in which an operator's terminal having the ability to respond to the user of the external terminal is selected based on at least the response to the question. Although the selection may be made simply in the order of registration in the queue, this makes it possible to select an operator having an appropriate skill by responding to the user.

In a first aspect of the invention, the proxy
In the server, when the operator response information from the operator terminal to the external terminal is received, a step of referring to the registered correspondence and transmitting the operator response information to the external terminal,
The proxy server may further include a step of transmitting the information to the operator terminal by referring to the registered correspondence when the information is received from the external terminal. This allows the proxy server to properly mediate between the external terminal and the operator terminal.

When the accepting computer that can respond is an automatic response server, a front end including a computer that communicates with the intermediary server and an automatic response server, and a back end including a proxy server and an operator terminal. The part that collects the predetermined information by separating with the communication with the intermediary server and automatically asking the prescribed questions to each user (front end)
Then, it becomes possible to achieve load balancing between a portion (back end) that assigns an appropriate operator to each user and makes an individual response to each user.

In the second aspect of the present invention, when a communication request is received from an external terminal, a step of transmitting information regarding a predetermined question to the external terminal, and the external terminal responding to the predetermined question. When a response is received, a step of storing the response in the storage device, and an operation including at least a response to the question stored in the storage device, the own address, and the address of the external terminal in the proxy server at a predetermined timing. And a step of transmitting an operator selection request for transmitting a personnel selection request. The present invention relates to the operation of a server corresponding to the automatic response server in the embodiment.

If the response to the question includes the identification information of the user who operates the external terminal and the storage device stores the user information stored in association with the identification information of the user, the operator The configuration may be such that the user information is included in the selection request.

In a second aspect of the invention, the proxy
When the server receives an operator selection request, an operator selecting step for selecting an operator terminal that communicates with an external terminal and registering at least a correspondence relationship between the external terminal address and the operator terminal address, and a proxy. -The server may further include a step of transmitting at least a response to the question to the terminal of the operator.

Further, when the response is received from the proxy server, the configuration may further include the step of changing and setting the own address. For example, the configuration may be such that a plurality of usable addresses are cyclically changed.

It is also possible to create a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to the present invention. The program is, for example, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory,
It is stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk or a storage device. It may also be distributed via a network. The data being processed is temporarily stored in the memory of the computer.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The Internet 1 has an IM (Instant Message) server 3 for providing an instant message service.
, One or more user terminals 5 in which a program for instant messaging is installed, and a firewall 11 for the corporate system according to the present embodiment are connected. The function of the IM server 3 and the function of the program for instant message installed in the user terminal 5 are the same as the conventional one,
No further details will be given. The firewall 11 is set so that an instant message from the user terminal 5 passes through the company system.
The type of the user terminal 5 is not limited, but is, for example, a personal computer.

As an in-company system, the IM server 3 is instantly connected to the intranet 19.
An IP distribution server 7 that registers a representative ID for a message together with an IP address, and a reception terminal A that is operated by an operator and has a program for instant messages and a dedicated processing program of this embodiment installed.
(9), reception terminal B (13), and reception terminal C (15)
And are connected. Here, an example in which three reception terminals are connected to the intranet is shown, but the number is arbitrary. The IP distribution server 7 manages a respondable terminal IP queue 17, which is a queue of the IP address of the reception terminal of the operator who can respond to the user.

Next, the operation of the system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the dedicated processing program of the reception terminal transmits a response enable notification including the IP address of the reception terminal to the IP distribution server 7 (step S).
1). The operator of the reception terminal instructs the reception terminal to send a response enable notification when, for example, the use of the reception terminal is started or when the response for one user is completed, for example, by a dedicated processing program installed in the reception terminal. A response enable notification is transmitted to the IP distribution server 7. The IP distribution server 7 receives the response enable notification including the IP address from the reception terminal, and registers the IP address in the response enabled terminal IP queue 17 (step S3). Note that, for example, when the response enable notification includes the operator ID information, the operator ID and the IP address are registered in the response enable terminal IP queue 17.

Next, the IP distribution server 7 takes out the IP address of 1 from the response-enabled terminal IP queue 17 and outputs its own IP address.
The address is set (step S5). The IP address of 1 is, for example, the oldest registered one.
Then, the acceptance permission notification including the representative ID representing the company and the IP address is transmitted to the IM server 3 (step S7). If a password is required, information about the password corresponding to the representative ID is also included in the acceptance notification. At this stage, the IP distribution server 7 retrieves the I extracted from the response-enabled terminal IP queue 17.
The P address may be set to be unresponsive. IM server 3
When receiving the acceptance permission notification including the representative ID and the IP address from the IP distribution server 7, registers the representative ID and the IP address (step S9), and when the user terminal 5 makes a request, the IP address of the representative ID, etc. And, information about the state of being able to talk is held so that it can be transmitted.

On the other hand, the user terminal 5 transmits a request for acquiring the IP address of the representative ID to the IM server 3 (step S11). Here, the user registers the representative ID in the program for the instant message, and the program sends a request to acquire the IP address of the representative ID to the IM server 3. In some cases, it is not a request to acquire an IP address, but a request to acquire the status of the computer with the representative ID.
Since the IP address is returned from the IM server 3 when the computer with the representative ID is in the interactive state, it has substantially the same meaning. The same process may be performed when logging on to the IM server 3, and in this case, password information may be transmitted together with the request. IM
Upon receiving the representative ID IP address acquisition request from the user terminal 5 (step S13), the server 3 transmits the representative ID IP address to the user terminal 5 (step S1).
5). Information about the state of the computer having the representative ID may be transmitted together with the IP address of the representative ID.

The user terminal 5 receives a representative I from the IM server 3.
When the IP address of D is received (step S17), the preparation for transmitting the message addressed to the representative ID is completed. For example, when the program for the instant message indicates that the computer with the representative ID is in the interactive state, the user inputs a message requesting the start of communication to the user terminal 5 and instructs the transmission. Then, the user terminal 5 transmits the input message to the IP address of the representative ID (step S19). Since the IP address of the representative ID is also set in the IP distribution server 7 in step S5, the message is a reception terminal that can respond to the IP distribution server 7 (here, the reception terminal A
(It is assumed to be (9)). Note that the IP distribution server 7 first receives the message from the user terminal 5,
The IP distribution server 7 sends the message to the reception terminal A (9).
It may be configured to be transferred to. In any case I
The P distribution server 7 and the reception terminal A (9) are user terminals 5.
Receives a message addressed to the IP address of the representative ID from (steps S21 and S23). The program for the instant message of the reception terminal A (9) displays the received message on the display device. Depending on the program for the instant message, there is a case where a procedure is first provided for the other party to approve the reception of the message. Note that, at this stage, the IP distribution server 7 may set the extracted IP address in the response-enabled terminal IP queue 17 to be unresponsive. Subsequent processing shifts to FIG. 3 via terminal A, terminal B, and terminal C.

The operator of the reception terminal A (9) having received the message from the user terminal 5 inputs a response to the message and causes the reception terminal A (9) to transmit the input response to the user terminal 5 (step S25). The user terminal 5 receives the response to the message from the reception terminal A (9),
It is displayed on the display device (step S27). User terminal 5
The communication between the reception terminal A (9) and the reception terminal A (9) is performed as many times as necessary.

On the other hand, the IP distribution server 7 includes the user terminal 5
If you receive a message from
A response failure notification of the representative ID is transmitted to the M server 3 (step S29). This is to switch the IP address. The IM server 3 receives the notification that the representative ID cannot be accepted from the IP distribution server 7, and registers that the representative ID cannot be accepted (step S31). When the request for acquiring the IP address of the representative ID and the request for acquiring the state are received from the user terminal 5, the IM server 3 transmits the refusal of acceptance to the user terminal 5. By these steps, the set of the representative ID and the IP address registered previously is once invalidated.

Further, the IP distribution server 7 sets the IP address of the reception terminal that can respond next to the response-enabled terminal IP queue 1
7, and sets the IP address to the self IP address (step S33). Then, the acceptance permission notification including the representative ID and the next IP address is transmitted to the IM server 35 (step S35). If the IP address of the reception terminal that can respond is not registered in the response terminal IP queue 17, the processing from step S33 is not performed until the IP address of the reception terminal that can respond is registered. The IM server 3 receives the acceptance permission notification including the representative ID and the next IP address from the IP distribution server 7 and registers it in a form that can be transmitted to the user terminal 5 (step S3).
7). Hereinafter, the processing from step S11 onward is carried out for another user terminal 5 which is going to send a message next.

By providing the IP distribution server 7 in this way, I
A set of a representative ID and an IP address is switched and registered in the M server 3 every time one-to-one communication with the user terminal 5 is started.
Then, even if there is only one representative ID, many user terminals and reception terminals can carry out one-to-one communication. If the number of representative IDs is one, it is easy for the user to specify the access destination, which improves convenience.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a system according to a second embodiment. On the Internet 21, an IM server 23 for providing an instant message service, one or a plurality of user terminals 25 in which a program for instant message is installed, and a corporate system according to the present embodiment. Is connected to the fire wall 31. IM
The function of the server 23 and the function of the program for instant message installed in the user terminal 25 are the same as conventional ones and will not be described in further detail.
The firewall 31 is set so that an instant message from the user terminal 25 is passed through the corporate system. The type of the user terminal 25 is not limited, but is, for example, a personal computer.

As an in-house system, the front end
In the intranet 29, the IP distribution server 27 that registers the representative ID for the instant message with the IP address in the IM server 23, and the subnet A (41)
Router 43 for connection with and subnet B (49)
Router 47 for connection with and subnet C (55)
A router 53 for connection with is connected. Since the number of subnets is not limited to 3, the number of routers connected to the front-end intranet 29 is not limited to 3, either. The IP distribution server 33 manages a respondable server IP queue 33 that stores the IP address of a respondable automatic response server.

A router 43 is provided in the subnet A (41).
, An automatic response server A (35), and a router 57 for connecting to a proxy server are connected. The automatic response server A (35) manages, for example, a member DB 39 in which data of registered users (members) and the like are stored, and a response history storage unit 37 for storing the response history of the user. A router 47, an automatic response server B (45), and a router 59 for connecting to a proxy server are connected to the subnet B (49). Although not shown, the automatic response server B (45) manages the member DB 39 and the response history storage unit 37. Subnet C (5
5) includes a router 53 and an automatic response server C (51).
And a router 61 for connecting to the proxy server. Although not shown, the automatic response server C
(51) also manages the member DB 39 and the response history storage unit 37.

A router 57, a router 59, a router 61, and a proxy server 65 are connected to the network 63. The proxy server 65 is the user terminal 2
5 and the correspondence table storage unit 67 that stores the correspondence table of the IP address of the reception terminal of the operator who handles the user terminal 25, the response-enabled terminal queue 69 that stores the information of the reception terminals that can respond, and the operation. It manages the skill DB 79 in which the information on the skill of the worker is stored corresponding to the operator ID. The proxy server 65 is also connected to the back-end intranet 71, and the back-end intranet 71 has a reception terminal A (73) and a reception terminal B.
(75) and the reception terminal C (77) are connected. The number of reception terminals is three here, but the number of reception terminals is not limited. A program for instant message and a dedicated processing program for this embodiment are installed in the reception terminal.

Next, the operation of the system shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that steps S1 to S23 shown in FIG. 2 can be applied as they are by replacing the reception terminal with an automatic response server as the first processing flow. That is, if the automatic response server can respond, the automatic response server sends a response enable notification including the current own IP address to the IP distribution server 27,
The IP distribution server 27 can respond with an IP address Server I
Register in the P queue 33. The IP distribution server 27 uses one automatic response server (here, automatic response server A
The IP address of (35)) is set as the own IP address, and the set of the representative ID and the IP address is transmitted to the IM server 23 as the acceptance permission notification. The IM server 23 transmits the IP address of the representative ID in response to the request from the user terminal 25, and the user terminal 25 transmits the message to the IP address of the representative ID. The IP distribution server 27 and the automatic response server A (35) receive the message from the user terminal 25.

FIG. 4 shows the processing after the IP distribution server 27 and the automatic response server A (35) receive the message from the user terminal 25. The terminals A and B in FIG.
And the terminal C.

The automatic response server A (35) uses the data of the question defined in advance as a return message to the user terminal 2
5 (step S41). The pre-defined question is a question for specifying information such as a member ID or a securities number for specifying the user, and what kind of field the consultation is about. The user terminal 25 receives the data of the predetermined question from the automatic response server A (35) as a return message and displays it on the display device (step S43). The user inputs the data of the answer to the predetermined question displayed on the display device, and causes the program for instant message of the user terminal 25 to transmit it to the automatic response server A (35) (step S45). Automatic response server A (35)
Receives the data of the answer to the predefined question from the user terminal 25 and stores it in the response history storage unit 37.
Then, when the response data includes information for identifying the user, the data of the user is extracted from the member DB 39 (step S47).

In the example of FIG. 5, the automatic response server A (35)
The question from is an example of one time, but step S
By repeating steps 41 to S47 many times,
Ask more than once, or ask repeatedly if the user doesn't get an appropriate answer, to find out more about identifying the user and what area to consult. It is also possible to narrow down to.

For example, in the case where the automatic response server A (35) receives an answer from a user regarding a predetermined matter, in order to output an operator selection request to the proxy server 65 and have the proxy server 65 select an appropriate operator. , User terminal 25
To the user terminal 25 (step S49). The user terminal 25 receives the standby message from the automatic response server A (35) and displays it on the display device (step S51). The subsequent processing shifts to FIG. 6 through the terminal E and to FIG. 9 through the terminal D.

On the other hand, the IP distribution server 27 which has received the message from the user terminal 25 together with the automatic response server A (35) ignores the message and sends the IM server 23 a notification that the representative ID cannot be accepted (step S53). .
This is to switch the IP address. IM
The server 23 receives the notification that the representative ID cannot be accepted from the IP distribution server 27 and registers the response disabled state of the representative ID (step S55). As a result, the IM server 23
When the IP address or state information acquisition request for the representative ID is received from the user terminal, the response of the representative ID is notified.

Next, the IP distribution server 27 sends the IP address of the next respondable automatic response server to the respondable server I.
It is read from the P queue 33 and set to the self IP address (step S57). Then, the representative ID and the next IP
The acceptance permission notification including the address is transmitted to the IM server 23 (step S59). On the other hand, the IM server 23
Receives the acceptance permission notification including the representative ID and the next IP address from the IP distribution server 27 and registers it (step S
61). As a result, in response to the IP address acquisition request for the representative ID and the status information acquisition request from other user terminals,
It becomes possible to transmit the IP address and status information indicating acceptance. It should be noted that after this, the processes after step S11 are performed for other user terminals.

The processing after the terminal E will be described with reference to FIG. The automatic response server A (35) uses its own IP address and
The IP address of the user terminal 25 and the response history storage unit 37
Proxy response to the operator selection request including the response history registered in the user database and the user data registered in the member DB 39.
It transmits to the server 65 (step S63). Proxy
The server 65 receives the operator selection request including the IP address of the automatic response server A (35), the IP address of the user terminal 25, the response history of the user, and the user data extracted from the member DB 39. , And stores it in the storage device (step S65). Then, the reception terminal of the operator having an appropriate skill is determined by searching the response-enabled terminal queue 69 from the received response history and user data (step S67). The item of the determined reception terminal may be deleted from the available terminal queue 69.

An example of data stored in the available terminal queue 69 is shown in FIG. 7, for example. Here, a column 701 of an IP address of a reception terminal that can respond, a column 703 of an operator ID of an operator of the reception terminal, and a column 705 of each skill level (Skill0 to Skill9) are provided. . The skill is, for example, a skill level of knowledge about car insurance, a skill level of knowledge about fire insurance, and the like. The proxy server 65 judges the condition of which skill level requires a predetermined level or higher in this consultation from the response history and user data, and the reception terminal operated by the operator who satisfies the condition. To get the IP address of. It should be noted that there may be a case where an operator who satisfies the condition cannot be found from the available terminal queue 69, but in that case, the operator who is closest to the condition may be found and responded.

When the reception terminal is determined, the proxy server 65 transmits a reception terminal determination notification to the automatic response server A (35) (step S69). Automatic response server A
(35) receives the acceptance terminal determination notification from the proxy server 65 (step S71), and responds to this by transmitting its own IP.
The address is changed (step S73). For example, the automatic response server A (35) holds a predetermined number of IP addresses as usable and changes the IP addresses to, for example, cyclically. Automatic response server A (3
5) transmits a response enable notification including the newly set IP address to the IP distribution server 27 (step S7).
5). The IP distribution server 27 receives the response enable notification including the new IP address from the automatic response server A (35) and registers it in the response enable server IP queue 33 (step S7).
7). For example, in the present embodiment, all the automatic response servers are equal, are arranged in the respondable server IP queue 33 in the order of registration, and the I of the oldest registered automatic response servers is I.
It is used in order from the P address.

When the acceptance terminal is determined, the proxy server 65 sets the IP address of the automatic response server A (35) as the response target IP address, and the IP address of the user terminal 25.
Address and the determined reception terminal (here, reception terminal A
The correspondence relationship with the IP address of (73) is registered in the correspondence table storage unit 67 (step S79). An example of the correspondence table is shown in FIG. In this example, a column 801 of the IP address (takeover IP address) taken over from the automatic response server A (35), a column 803 of the IP address (external IP address) of the user terminal 25, and an IP address (internal IP address) of the reception terminal Address) column 805 is provided. It is not always necessary to register the takeover IP address in the correspondence table.

Then, the proxy server 65 transmits data such as response history and user data to the determined reception terminal A (73) (step S81). Reception terminal A
(73) shows data such as response history and user data,
It is received from the proxy server 65 and displayed on the display device (step S83). Note that this communication is performed by a dedicated processing program for this system, not a program for instant messages. In addition,
For user data, automatic response server A (35)
Although the example of acquiring from the automatic response server A (35) is acquired from another server or the reception terminal itself, the information for specifying the user is searched and acquired based on the information specifying the user. It may have any configuration. The operator of the determined reception terminal A (73) reads the response history and the user data displayed on the display device, grasps the characteristics of the user and the content of the consultation, and then starts the following processing. . The processing flow shifts to FIG. 9 via the terminals F and G. The terminal D is connected to FIG.

In FIG. 9, the operator operating the reception terminal A (73) makes a judgment by looking at the display on the display device and inputs an appropriate response message to the user of the user terminal 25. Then, the reception terminal A (73) transmits a message to the user to the proxy server 65 (step S85). The data format at this time is shown in FIG. The transmission source (FROM) column includes the IP address of the reception terminal A (73), the transmission destination (TO) column includes the IP address of the proxy server 65, and the transmission contents such as a message to the user. Is included.

The proxy server 65 uses the reception terminal A (7
The message to the user is received from 3) and stored in the storage device (step S87). Then, the external IP address of the transfer destination (IP address of the user terminal 25) is detected from the correspondence table stored in the correspondence table storage unit 67, and the message is sent from the takeover IP address from the automatic response server A (35) to the user terminal. 25 (step S89). The takeover IP address is registered in correspondence with the user terminal 25 or the reception terminal A (73). The format of the data transmitted at this time is shown in FIG. The transmission source (FROM) column includes the takeover IP address, the transmission destination (TO) column includes the IP address of the user terminal 25, and the transmission content such as a message is included.

The user terminal 25 receives the message,
It is displayed on the display device (step S91). The user sees the message displayed by the program for instant messaging on the display device and enters a further reply message. The input message is transmitted from the user terminal 25 to the proxy server 65 (step S9).
3). The format of the data transmitted at this time is shown in FIG. The transmission source (FROM) column includes the IP address of the user terminal, the transmission destination (TO) column includes the takeover IP address, and further includes transmission contents such as a message.

The proxy server 65 uses the correspondence table stored in the correspondence table storage unit 67 to determine the transfer destination internal IP address (reception terminal A) corresponding to the IP address of the user terminal 25.
The IP address of (73) is detected, and the message is transmitted to the reception terminal A (73) (step S97). The format of the data transmitted at this time is shown in FIG. In the source (FROM) field, the IP of the proxy server 65
The address is included, and the receiving terminal A is included in the destination (TO) field.
The IP address of (73) is included, and further, transmission contents such as a message are included. The reception terminal A (73) receives the message from the proxy server 65 and displays it on the display device (step S99).

Some instant messaging programs can send not only textual information, but also images and other files and audio files. Therefore, the message (transmission content) is not limited to text information here as well.

By repeating the processing as shown in FIG. 9, the user and the operator of the reception terminal interact with each other. If the automatic response server responds in a natural manner, the user will be able to feel as if he or she is interacting with humans.

If the user terminal 25 and the reception terminal A (7
When the message exchange with 3) is completed, the processing shown in FIG. 11 is performed. That is, the reception terminal A (7
The operator in 3) orders the dedicated processing program installed in the reception terminal A (73) to send a dialogue end notification to the proxy server 65. Then, the dedicated processing program of the reception terminal A (73) transmits a dialogue end notification to the proxy server 65 (step S10).
1). On the other hand, the proxy server 65 receives the dialogue end notification from the reception terminal A (73) (step S10).
3) The item related to the reception terminal A (73) is deleted from the table stored in the correspondence table storage unit 67 (step S105). In addition, the automatic response server A (3
The return notification of the takeover IP address is transmitted to the automatic response server A (35) so that the automatic response server A (35) can use the takeover IP address taken over from 5) again (step S107). The automatic response server A (35) receives the return notification of the takeover IP address which is the IP address used in the past (step S109) and reuses it later. It should be noted that steps S107 and S109 can be performed by using the I
There may be no problem if the number of P addresses is large.

When the operator is ready to respond to the user again, the operator uses the dedicated processing program of the reception terminal A (73) to specify the IP address of the reception terminal A (73) and the operator I.
A response enable notification including D is transmitted to the proxy server 65 (step S111). The proxy server 65 is
The response enable notification including the IP address and the operator ID of the reception terminal A (73) is received and registered in the IP address of the reception terminal A (73) and the operator response enabled terminal queue 69 (step S113). The proxy server 65 reads the skill data corresponding to the operator ID from the skill DB 79 and registers it in the response-enabled terminal queue 69 (step S115). Then, the data of the available terminal queue 69 as shown in FIG. 7 is configured.

The operator can then respond again to the next user.

Although two embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these. For example, regarding a part described as being executed by one server, the function may be realized by a plurality of servers.

Further, in the above embodiment, the explanation was made on the premise that the number of representative IDs is one, but the number is not necessarily one. Also, although the automatic response server has shown an example of transmitting an operator selection request to the proxy server after obtaining an answer from the user to some extent, each time an answer is obtained from the user,
An operator selection request may be transmitted so that an appropriate operator can be selected at that stage.

Although the example described above is an example of using the instant message, another technique may be used as long as it enables one-to-one communication.

[0061]

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to provide a service to a large number of people from a company through one-to-one communication such as instant message.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system schematic diagram according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 1) in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 2) in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 1) in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 2) in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a response-enabled terminal queue.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a correspondence table storage unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing flow (Part 3) in the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of contents of transmission data.

FIG. 11 is a processing flow according to the second embodiment (part 4).
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,21 Internet 3,23 IM server 5,25 User terminal 7,27 IP distribution server 9,73 Reception terminal A 11,31 Firewall 13,75 Reception terminal B 15,77 Reception terminal C 17 Responsible terminal IP queue 19 Intranet 29 Front End Intranet 35 Automatic Response Server A 37 Response History Storage 39 Member DB 41 Subnet A 43, 47, 53, 57, 59, 61 Router 45 Automatic Response Server B 49 Subnet B 51 Automatic Response Server C 55 Subnet C 65 Proxy server 67 Response table storage 69 Responsible terminal queue 71 Background intranet 79 Skill DB

Claims (19)

[Claims] Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A dialogue for transmitting a dialogue enable notification including representative identification information representing a plurality of reception computers and an address of a reception computer that can respond among the plurality of reception computers to a relay server that mediates a communicable terminal. An enabling notification step, and a dialog disabling notification step of transmitting a dialog disabling notification including the representative identification information to the intermediary server when a communication request is received from an external terminal to the address of the responding accepting computer. Information processing method. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving a response enable notification from the accepting computer and setting enable response in the storage device for the accepting computer. 3. The setting in which the address of the accepting computer that can respond is set as its own address in the notifying step of dialogue, and the setting of the address of the accepting computer that can respond in the own address is canceled in the notifying step of dialogue. The information processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of, in response to a communication request from the external terminal for the address of the accepting accepting computer, returning a response from the accepting accepting computer to the external terminal. The information processing method according to any one of the above. 5. A step of automatically transmitting information regarding a predetermined question from the responsive accepting computer to the external terminal in response to a communication request from the external terminal for the address of the responsive accepting computer. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising: 6. When a response to the question is received from the external terminal, a step of storing the response to the question in a storage device usable by the accepting computer capable of responding, the response being possible at a predetermined timing. Operator including at least a response to the question stored in a storage device available to the accepting accepting computer, an address of the accepting accepting computer, and an address of the external terminal from the accepting computer to the proxy server The information processing method according to claim 5, further comprising: an operator selection request transmission step of transmitting a selection request. 7. A user who includes identification information of a user who operates the external terminal in a response to the question and is stored in a storage device usable by the accepting reception computer corresponding to the identification information of the user. 7. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein when the information is stored, the operator selection request includes the user information. 8. When the proxy server receives the operator selection request, a terminal of an operator who communicates with the external terminal is selected, and at least the address of the external terminal and the address of the operator's terminal are set. The information processing method according to claim 6, further comprising: an operator selecting step of registering a correspondence relationship; and a step of transmitting at least a response to the question from the proxy server to a terminal of the operator. 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of changing and setting an own address in the responding accepting computer when a response is received from the proxy server.
Information processing method described. 10. The information according to claim 6, further comprising the step of setting, in the proxy server, an address of the accepting receiving computer included in the operator selection request as an own address. Processing method. 11. The operator selecting step selects an operator terminal having an ability to respond to at least the user of the external terminal based on at least a response to the question. Information processing method described. 12. The proxy server, when receiving operator response information from the operator's terminal to the external terminal, refers to the registered correspondence and sends the operator to the external terminal. A step of transmitting response information, and a step of transmitting the information to the operator terminal with reference to the registered correspondence when the proxy server receives the information from the external terminal, The information processing method according to claim 8, 9 or 11, further comprising: 13. When a communication request is received from an external terminal,
Transmitting information regarding a predefined question to the external terminal, storing a response in the storage device when a response to the predefined question is received from the external terminal, and a predetermined timing At the proxy server, an operator selection request transmitting step of transmitting an operator selection request including at least the response to the question stored in the storage device, the own address, and the address of the external terminal to the proxy server, Processing method. 14. When the response to the question includes the identification information of the user who operates the external terminal and the storage device stores the user information stored in association with the identification information of the user. 14. The information processing method according to claim 13, wherein the operator selection request includes the user information. 15. When the proxy server receives the operator selection request, a terminal of an operator who communicates with the external terminal is selected, and at least the address of the external terminal and the address of the terminal of the operator are set. The information processing method according to claim 13, further comprising: an operator selecting step of registering a correspondence relationship; and a step of transmitting at least a response to the question to the operator's terminal from the proxy server. 16. The information processing method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of changing and setting the own address when a response is received from the proxy server. 17. A program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 16. 18. A dialogue enable notification including representative identification information representative of a plurality of accepting computers and addresses of accepting accepting computers of the plurality of accepting computers,
An interactive notification means for transmitting to a mediation server mediating a communicable terminal, and a dialogue including the representative identification information in the mediation server when a communication request is received from an external terminal to the address of the responding accepting computer. A computer system comprising: a dialogue disabling notification means for transmitting a disallowance notification. 19. When a communication request is received from an external terminal,
A means for transmitting information about a predefined question to the external terminal; a means for storing the response in a storage device when a response to the predefined question is received from the external terminal; and a predetermined timing. At the proxy server, the operator selection request transmitting means for transmitting an operator selection request including at least the response to the question stored in the storage device, the own address, and the address of the external terminal to the proxy server. ·system.